Editing 1998 (section)

==Events==
===January===
* [[January 6]] – The ''[[Lunar Prospector]]'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the [[Moon]], and later finds evidence for [[Lunar water|frozen water]], in soil in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's poles.
* [[January 11]] – Over 100 people are killed in the [[Sidi-Hamed massacre]] in [[Algeria]].
* [[January 12]] – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid [[human cloning]].
* [[January 17]] – The ''[[Drudge Report]]'' breaks the story about U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]]'s alleged affair with [[Monica Lewinsky]], which will lead to the [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|House of Representatives' impeachment of him]].

===February===
* [[February 3]] – [[Cavalese cable car disaster (1998)|Cavalese cable car disaster]]: A United States military pilot causes the deaths of 20 people near [[Trento]], Italy, when his low-flying [[EA-6B Prowler]] severs the cable of a cable-car.
* [[February 4]] – The 5.9 {{M|w|link=y}} [[February 1998 Afghanistan earthquake|Afghanistan earthquake]] shakes the [[Takhar Province]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VII (''Very strong''). With up to 4,000 killed, and 818 injured, damage is considered extreme.
* [[February 7]]–[[February 22|22]] – The [[1998 Winter Olympics]] are held in [[Nagano, Nagano|Nagano]], [[Japan]].
* [[February 16]] – [[China Airlines Flight 676]] crashes upon attempted landing at [[Chiang Kai-shek International Airport]], killing 203, the second-deadliest air crash in Taiwan.
* [[February 20]] – [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: Iraqi President [[Saddam Hussein]] negotiates a deal with U.N. Secretary General [[Kofi Annan]], allowing weapons inspectors to return to [[Baghdad]], preventing military action by the United States and Britain.
* [[February 28]]
** A [[Likoshane massacre|massacre]] in Likoshane, [[FR Yugoslavia]] starts the [[Kosovo War]].
**A [[Lancet MMR autism fraud|study]] led by [[Andrew Wakefield]] is published in ''[[The Lancet]]'' suggesting an alleged link between [[MMR vaccine]] and [[autism]]. Now known to be full of [[Lancet MMR autism fraud#Developing scandal|data manipulation]], the study was instantly controversial and fueled the nascent [[anti-vaccination movement]]. Although subsequent large [[epidemiological]] research found [[MMR vaccine and autism|no link between vaccines and autism]],<ref name=CDC-MMR-autism>{{cite web |url=http://cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_autism_factsheet.htm |title= Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine |date=August 22, 2008 |access-date=2008-12-21 |publisher= Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080407015528/http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_autism_factsheet.htm |archive-date = April 7, 2008}}</ref><ref name=IOM>{{cite book|last=Institute of Medicine (US) Immunization Safety Review Committee|date=May 17, 2004|pmid=20669467|url=http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2004/Immunization-Safety-Review-Vaccines-and-Autism.aspx|title=Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism|publisher=[[Institute of Medicine]] of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]]|access-date=June 13, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026043205/http://www.iom.edu/reports/2004/immunization-safety-review-vaccines-and-autism.aspx|archive-date=October 26, 2009|doi=10.17226/10997|isbn=978-0-309-09237-1}}</ref><ref name=MMRthefacts>{{cite web |url=http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4002972 |access-date=2007-09-19 |year=2004 |title= MMR The facts |publisher= [[National Health Service|NHS]] Immunisation Information|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4002972|archive-date=January 7, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Klaherty">{{cite journal |author=Flaherty DK |title=The vaccine-autism connection: a public health crisis caused by unethical medical practices and fraudulent science |journal=Annals of Pharmacotherapy |volume=45 |issue=10 |pages=1302–4 |date=October 2011 |pmid=21917556 |doi=10.1345/aph.1Q318|s2cid=39479569 | issn = 1060-0280}}</ref> the study contributed – in the following years and decades – to a sharp drop in vaccination rates and the [[Measles resurgence in the United States|resurgence]] of [[measles]] in several countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/20/low-mmr-uptake-blamed-for-surge-in-measles-cases-across-europe |title=Resurgence of deadly measles blamed on low MMR vaccination rates |last=Boseley |first=Sarah |date=August 21, 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 20, 2019 |archive-date=May 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503184028/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/20/low-mmr-uptake-blamed-for-surge-in-measles-cases-across-europe |url-status=live }}</ref> The study, fully retracted in 2010, was later characterised as "perhaps the most damaging medical hoax of the 20th Century".<ref name="Klaherty"/>

===March===
* [[March 2]] – Data sent from the [[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo probe]] indicates that Jupiter's moon [[Europa (moon)|Europa]] has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
* [[March 5]] – [[NASA]] announces that the [[Clementine (spacecraft)#Mission|''Clementine'']] probe orbiting the Moon has found enough water in polar craters to support a human colony and rocket fueling station.
* [[March 11]] – [[1998 Danish general election]]: Prime Minister [[Poul Nyrup Rasmussen]] is re-elected.<ref>[[Dieter Nohlen]] & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p525 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}}</ref>
* [[March 13]] – The [[High-Z Supernova Search Team]] becomes the first team to publish evidence that the [[Accelerating universe|universe is expanding at an accelerating rate]].
* [[March 23]] – The [[70th Academy Awards]] ceremony, hosted for the 6th time by [[Billy Crystal]], is held at the [[Shrine Auditorium]] in Los Angeles, California. ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' wins 11 Oscars including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].
* [[March 24]] – [[1998 Westside Middle School shooting|Westside Middle School shooting]]: Five people are killed in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
* [[March 26]] – [[Oued Bouaicha massacre]] in [[Algeria]]: 52 people are killed with axes and knives; 32 of the killed are babies under the age of two.

===April===
* [[April 5]] – In Japan, the [[Akashi Kaikyō Bridge]] linking [[Shikoku]] with [[Honshū]] and costing about US$3.6&nbsp;billion, opens to traffic, becoming the largest [[suspension bridge]] in the world.
* [[April 10]] – [[Good Friday Agreement]]: An hour after the end of the talks deadline, the [[Belfast Agreement]] is signed between the Irish and British governments and most [[Northern Ireland]] political parties, with the notable exception of the [[Democratic Unionist Party]]. This would mostly put an end to the conflict known as [[The Troubles]].
* [[April 20]] – The alleged date the German [[Red Army Faction]] (created [[1970]]) is dissolved.
* [[April 23]] – The [[Military of Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslav Army]] [[April 23, 1998 Albanian–Yugoslav border ambush|ambushes]] a group of [[Kosovo Liberation Army]] fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 19.

===May===
* [[May 6]] – A large [[Eritrea]]n mechanized force entered [[Badme]] in [[Tigray Region]], Ethiopia, resulting in the [[Eritrean–Ethiopian War]].
* [[May 11]]
** [[Pokhran-II]] (Operation Shakti): India conducts three underground nuclear tests in [[Pokhran]], including one [[thermonuclear]] device.
** The first [[euro]] coins are minted in [[Pessac]], France. Because the final specifications for the coins were not finished in 1998, they will have to be melted and minted again in 1999.
* [[May 13]]–[[May 14|14]] – [[May 1998 riots of Indonesia|Riots directed against Chinese Indonesians]] break out in Indonesia, killing around 1,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.serve.com/inside/digest/dig86.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000920073842/http://www.serve.com/inside/digest/dig86.htm|title=Inside Indonesia – Digest 86 – Towards a mapping of 'at risk' groups in Indonesia|archive-date=September 20, 2000 |work=serve.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.library.ohiou.edu/indopubs/1998/05/31/0029.html|title=[INDONESIA-L] DIGEST - The May Riot|work=ohiou.edu|access-date=November 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325223916/https://www.library.ohiou.edu/indopubs/1998/05/31/0029.html|archive-date=March 25, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/netnews/1998/and20_v2.htm|title=ASIET NetNews Number 20 – June 1-7, 1998|work=asia-pacific-solidarity.net|access-date=November 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213074917/http://www.asia-pacific-solidarity.net/southeastasia/indonesia/netnews/1998/and20_v2.htm|archive-date=February 13, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Donald L. Horowitz|title=Constitutional Change and Democracy in Indonesia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCsgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-35524-8|page=34}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ohio.edu/cas/classics/faculty/upload/Indonesia-A-Violent-Culture.pdf Collins 2002] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213065127/http://www.ohio.edu/cas/classics/faculty/upload/Indonesia-A-Violent-Culture.pdf |date=February 13, 2015 }}, p. 597.</ref> [[Maria Catarina Sumarsih]] held [[Prabowo Subianto]] responsibilities for involved in a series of human rights abuses during the riot.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ratcliffe |first1=Rebecca |last2=Hariandja |first2=Richaldo |date=2024-02-16 |title='A betrayal': mother's fight for justice as Indonesia elects Suharto era figure |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/he-must-surrender-mothers-fight-for-justice-amid-indonesian-regime-change |access-date=2024-02-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
* [[May 15]] – The [[Windows 98]] operating system is [[Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM)|released to manufacturing]].
* [[May 19]]
** The [[Galaxy IV]] communications satellite fails, leaving 80–90% of the US's pagers without service.
** The wreck of the aircraft carrier {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6}}, sunk during the [[Battle of Midway]] in [[1942]], is found near [[Midway Atoll]] by a team led by former US Navy officer [[Robert Ballard|Robert D. Ballard]].
* [[May 21]] – [[Suharto]] (elected [[1967]]) [[Fall of Suharto|resigns]] after 31 years as [[President of Indonesia]], effectively ending the [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] period. It is his 7th consecutive re-election by the Indonesian Parliament (MPR). Suharto's hand-picked Vice President, [[B. J. Habibie]], becomes Indonesia's third president.
* [[May 28]] – [[Nuclear testing]]: In response to a series of Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan explodes five nuclear devices of its own in the Chagai hills of Baluchistan, codenamed ''[[Chagai-I]]'', prompting the United States, Japan and other nations to impose [[economic sanction]]s. Pakistan celebrates [[Youm-e-Takbir]] annually.
* [[May 30]]
** A [[May 1998 Afghanistan earthquake|6.5 magnitude earthquake]] hits northern [[Afghanistan]], killing up to 5,000.
** A second nuclear test, codenamed ''[[Chagai-II]]'', is conducted and supervised by the [[Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission]] (PAEC).

===June===
* [[June 1]] – [[European Central Bank]] established, replacing the [[European Monetary Institute]].
* [[June 3]] – [[Eschede train disaster]]: an [[Intercity-Express]] [[high-speed rail|high-speed train]] derails between [[Hanover]] and [[Hamburg]], Germany, causing 101 deaths.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Oestern |first1=H. J. |last2=Huels |first2=B. |last3=Quirini |first3=W. |last4=Pohlemann |first4=T. |date=May 2000 |title=Facts about the disaster at Eschede |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10898202/ |journal=Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=287–290; discussion 277 |doi=10.1097/00005131-200005000-00011 |issn=0890-5339 |pmid=10898202 |access-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408220330/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10898202/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[June 7]] – Former Brigadier-General [[Ansumane Mané]] [[1998 Guinea-Bissau coup attempt|seizes control]] over military barracks in [[Bissau]], marking the beginning of the [[Guinea-Bissau Civil War]] (1998–99).<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} Africa {{!}} Guinea-Bissau palace ablaze |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/337853.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803175217/http://www.iss.co.za/ASR/10No4/Ostheimer.html |archive-date=2009-08-03 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
* [[June 10]]–[[July 12]] – The [[1998 FIFA World Cup]] in France: [[France national football team|France]] beats [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] 3–0 in the [[1998 FIFA World Cup Final|FIFA World Cup Final]].
* [[June 10]] – The [[Organisation of African Unity]] passes a resolution which states that its members will no longer comply with punitive sanctions applied by the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] against [[Libya]].
* [[June 27]] – [[Kuala Lumpur International Airport]] officially opens, becoming the new international gateway into Malaysia.
* [[June 30]] – [[Philippines|Philippine]] Vice President [[Joseph Estrada]] is sworn in as the 13th President of the Philippines.

===July===
* [[July 5]] &ndash; Japan launches the probe [[Nozomi (spacecraft)|''Nozomi'']] to [[Mars]], joining the United States and Russia as an [[outer space]]-exploring nation.
* [[July 17]]
** [[Rome Statute]]: at a conference in [[Rome]], 120 countries vote to create a permanent [[International Criminal Court]] to prosecute individuals for genocide, [[crimes against humanity]], [[war crime]]s, and the [[crime of aggression]].
** In [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Nicholas II of Russia]] and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel, 80 years after he and his family were [[Murder of the Romanov family|killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918]].
** The 7.0 {{M|w|link=y}} [[1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake|Papua New Guinea earthquake]] shakes the region near [[Aitape]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of VIII (''Severe''). This [[submarine earthquake]] triggered a landslide that caused a destructive tsunami, leaving more than 2,100 dead and thousands injured.
* [[July 21]]&ndash;[[September 5]] &ndash; The [[1998 Sydney water crisis]] involved the suspected contamination by the microscopic pathogens ''[[cryptosporidium]]'' and ''[[giardia]]'' of the water supply system of [[Sydney|Greater Metropolitan Sydney]].<ref name="McClennanFinalVol2">{{cite book |author=McClennan, Peter |author-link=Peter McClellan |date=December 1998 |title=Sydney Water Inquiry: Final Report |volume=2 |edition=Fifth Report |publisher=[[Department of Premier and Cabinet (New South Wales)|NSW Premier's Department]] |isbn=0-7313-3073-0 |location=Sydney |url=http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/15361/05_Fifth_Report_-_Final_Report_Volume_2_-_December_1998.pdf |access-date=March 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315133001/http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/15361/05_Fifth_Report_-_Final_Report_Volume_2_-_December_1998.pdf |archive-date=March 15, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[July 24]] &ndash; Russell Eugene Weston Jr. enters the [[United States Capitol Building]] and [[1998 United States Capitol shooting|opens fire]], killing two members of the [[United States Capitol Police]], [[Jacob Chestnut]] and [[John Gibson (police officer)|John Gibson]].

===August===
* [[August 1]] – [[Puntland]] State leaders declared the territory an [[States and regions of Somalia|autonomous state]] in 1998 and the capital city is the city of [[Garoowe]] in the [[Nugal, Somalia|Nugal]] region.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.puntlandgovt.com/puntland-state-of-somalia |title=Puntland State of Somalia |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105202641/http://www.puntlandgovt.com/puntland-state-of-somalia/ |archive-date=5 November 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[August 4]] – The [[Second Congo War]] begins; 5.4&nbsp;million people die before it ends in [[2003]], making it the bloodiest war, to date, since World War II.
* [[August 7]]
** [[1998 China floods|Yangtze River Floods]]: in China the [[Yangtze]] river breaks through the main bank; before this, from August 1–5, peripheral levees collapsed consecutively in Jiayu County Baizhou Bay. The death toll exceeds 12,000, with many thousands more injured.
** [[1998 U.S. embassy bombings]]: the bombings of the United States embassies in [[Dar es Salaam]], Tanzania, and [[Nairobi]], Kenya, kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to terrorist [[Osama bin Laden]], an exile of [[Saudi Arabia]].
* [[August 15]] – [[The Troubles]]: The [[Omagh bombing]] is carried out in [[Northern Ireland]] by the [[Real Irish Republican Army]]. Shortly after these events, the group would call a ceasefire in response, signaling an end to the 30+ year conflict. 
* [[August 17]] – Russia's government devalues the ruble, defaulted on [[domestic debt]], and declared a [[Debt moratorium|moratorium]] on repayment of [[foreign debt]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Chiodo|Owyang|2002}}.</ref> This marks the beginning of [[1998 Russian financial crisis]].

===September===
* [[September 2]]
** A [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]] airliner ([[Swissair Flight 111]]) crashes near [[Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia]], after taking off from New York City en route to [[Geneva]]; all 229 people on board are killed.
** A [[United Nations]] court finds [[Jean-Paul Akayesu]], the former mayor of a small town in [[Rwanda]], guilty of nine counts of genocide, marking the first time that the [[1948]] law banning genocide is enforced.
* [[September 4]] – [[Google]], Inc. is founded in [[Menlo Park, California]], by [[Stanford University]] PhD candidates [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]].<ref>"The History Of Google – Searching The World" (notes), Matt Jacks, January 10, 2005, webpage: [http://www.work-at-home-net-guides.com/articles/history-of-google.html WAH-HGoogle] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402030016/http://www.work-at-home-net-guides.com/articles/history-of-google.html |date=April 2, 2007 }}.</ref>
* [[September 5]] – The [[Politics of North Korea|Government]] of [[North Korea]] adopts a military dictatorship on its 50th anniversary. The constitution [[Constitution of North Korea#1998 amendment|is amended]], and the late [[Kim Il Sung]] is enshrined as the eternal President.
* [[September 10]] – At midnight, a [[Russian submarine Vepr (K-157)#1998 incident|shooting occurs]] aboard an [[Akula-class submarine|''Akula''-class]] [[nuclear-powered]] [[attack submarine]] of the [[Russian Navy]] docked in the northern Russian port city of [[Severomorsk]].
* [[September 12]] – The [[Cuban Five]] intelligence agents are arrested in [[Miami]], and later convicted of [[espionage]]. The agents claim they were not spying against the [[Federal government of the United States|United States Government]] but against the [[Cuban exile]] community in Miami.
*[[September 24]] – [[President of Iran|Iranian President]] [[Mohammad Khatami]] retracts a fatwa against ''[[The Satanic Verses|Satanic Verses]]'' author [[Salman Rushdie]] that was in force since [[1989]] stating that the Iranian government will "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie".

===October===
* [[October 1]] – [[Europol]] is established when the Europol Convention signed by all of its member states comes into force.
* [[October 3]] – [[1998 Australian federal election]]: [[John Howard]]'s [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]/[[National Party of Australia|National]] [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] [[Howard government|government]] is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority, defeating the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] led by [[Kim Beazley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://australianpolitics.com/elections/federal-1998|title=1998 Federal Election - AustralianPolitics.com|date=June 9, 2012|access-date=November 8, 2022|archive-date=November 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108112403/https://australianpolitics.com/elections/federal-1998}}</ref>
* [[October 10]] – [[Indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet]]: General [[Augusto Pinochet]], [[Chile]]an dictator from [[1973]] to [[1990]], is [[indicted]] [[legacy of Augusto Pinochet|for human rights violations]] he committed in Chile by Spanish magistrate [[Baltasar Garzón]]. 6 days later British police place him under house arrest during his medical treatment in the UK. This is a leading case in the law of [[universal jurisdiction]].
* [[October 17]] – [[1998 Jesse pipeline explosion]]: An oil pipeline explosion in Jesse, [[Nigeria]] results in 1,082 deaths.
* [[October 29]] – [[Hurricane Mitch]] makes landfall in Central America, killing an estimated 11,000 people.

===November===
* [[November 8]] – [[Valve Corporation]] releases their [[first-person shooter]] video game ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'' to critical acclaim. The game would be deemed one of the most influential titles of its genre, and one of the [[List of video games considered the best|greatest video games of all time]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half-Life on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/70/HalfLife/ |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=store.steampowered.com |language=en |archive-date=May 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501203940/https://https//store.steampowered.com/app/70/HalfLife/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[November 17]] – ''[[Voyager 1]]'' overtakes ''[[Pioneer 10]]'' as the most distant man-made object from the [[Solar System]], at a distance of {{convert|69.419|AU|km|abbr=on}}.
* [[November 20]] – A Russian [[Proton (rocket family)|Proton rocket]] is launched from the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]] in [[Kazakhstan]], carrying the first segment of the [[International Space Station]], the 21-ton [[Zarya Module]].
* [[November 24]] – A declassified report by Swiss [[International Olympic Committee]] official [[Marc Hodler]] reveals that bribes had been used to bring the [[2002 Winter Olympics]] to [[Salt Lake City]] during bidding process in [[1995]]. The IOC, the [[Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002|Salt Lake Organizing Committee]], the [[United States Olympic Committee]] and the [[United States Department of Justice]] immediately launch an investigation into the [[2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal|scandal]].

===December===
* [[December 1]] – [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] formally relinquishes its territorial claim over [[Northern Ireland]] and recognizes the United Kingdom's sovereignty there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/546146.stm|publisher=BBC|location=England|title=Republic drops claim to NI|work=BBC News|date=2 December 1998|quote=Irish Constitution was amended to remove the republic's territorial claim to the north. }}</ref>
* [[December 4]] &ndash; The [[Space Shuttle Endeavour|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'']] launches the first U.S.-built component to the [[International Space Station]], the {{convert|25,600|lb|kg}} [[Unity (ISS module)|Unity]] module on [[STS-88]]. It docks with Zarya two days later.
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[Hugo Chávez]], politician and former officer of the Venezuelan army, is [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|elected]] President of [[Venezuela]].
* [[December 11]] &ndash; [[Thai Airways International Flight 261]] crashes upon attempted landing at [[Surat Thani International Airport]], killing 101, the second-deadliest air crash in Thailand.
* [[December 14]] &ndash; The [[Military of Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslav Army]] [[December 14, 1998 Albanian–Yugoslav border ambush|ambushes]] a column of 140 [[Kosovo Liberation Army]] militants attempting to smuggle arms from Albania into [[Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija|Kosovo]], killing 36. 
* [[December 16]] &ndash; [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] orders [[1998 bombing of Iraq|airstrikes]] on [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]]. UNSCOM withdraws all weapons inspectors from Iraq.
* [[December 19]] &ndash; The [[U.S. House of Representatives]] forwards [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|articles of impeachment against President Clinton]] to the Senate, making him the second [[President of the United States|president]] to be impeached in U.S. history.
* [[December 29]] &ndash; The [[Khmer Rouge]]'s leaders apologize for the post-[[Vietnam War]] [[genocide]] in [[Cambodia]] that killed more than one million people in the 1970s.
* [[December 31]]
** The first [[leap second]] since June 30, 1997, occurs.
** In the [[Eurozone]], the currency rates of this day are fixed permanently.

===Date unknown===
* [[European Small Business Alliance]] organization is formed.<ref>"ESBA, A New European Association for Small Firms". European Report. 27 January 1999. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160504194600/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53661075.html HighBeam]</ref>
* Ibrahim Hanna, the last native speaker of [[Mlahsô language|Mlahsô]], dies in [[Qamishli]], [[Syria]], making the language effectively extinct. Also, the last native speaker of related [[Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic|Bijil Neo-Aramaic]], Mrs. Rahel Avraham, dies in [[Jerusalem]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Barzani Jewish Neo-Aramaic | website = endangeredlanguages.com | url = http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/bjf | access-date = January 23, 2017 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170202070135/http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/bjf | archive-date = February 2, 2017 }}</ref>