Editing 1990s (section)

==Additional significant events==
*Worldwide New Year's Eve celebrations on 31 December 1999, welcoming the year 2000.

'''Europe'''
*1991 – [[January Events (Lithuania)]] – Soviet Union military troops attack [[Lithuania]]n independence supporters in [[Vilnius]], killing 14 people and wounding 1000.
*In Paris, [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] and her fiancé, [[Dodi Al-Fayed]], were killed in a car accident in August 1997, when their chauffeured, hired [[Mercedes-Benz S-Class]] crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. The chauffeur, Henri Paul, died at the scene, as did Al-Fayed. Diana and an Al-Fayed bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the accident. The Princess of Wales died at a Paris hospital hours later. The bodyguard, Rees-Jones, is the sole survivor of the now infamous accident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-20-mn-34192-story.html|title=Survivor Can't Recall Paris Crash|last=Dahlburg|first=John-Thor|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=20 September 1997|access-date=9 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409090141/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-20-mn-34192-story.html|archive-date=9 April 2020|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}</ref>
*[[Mother Teresa]], the Roman Catholic [[nun]] who won the [[Nobel Peace Prize]], dies at age 87.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-06-mn-29425-story.html|title=Mother Teresa, 87, Dies; Devoted Her Life to Poor|last=Dahlburg|first=John-Thor|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=6 September 1997|access-date=9 April 2020|url-access=limited}}</ref>
*The birth of the "Second Republic" in Italy, with the [[Mani Pulite]] investigations of 1994.
*The [[Channel Tunnel]] across the [[English Channel]] opens in 1994, connecting France and England. {{as of|2022}} it is the third-[[List of longest railway tunnels|longest rail tunnel in the world]], but with the undersea section of {{convert|37.9|km|mi|abbr=on}} being the longest undersea tunnel in the world.
*The resignation of [[President of Russia|President]] Boris Yeltsin on 31 December 1999 resulted in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's succession to the position.

'''North America'''
*[[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold]] kill 13 people and then themselves during the [[Columbine High School massacre|Columbine High School shooting]] in April 1999, which would [[Columbine effect|inspire]] a number of future [[school shooting|school shooters]] to commit similar offenses.
*[[O. J. Simpson murder case]] – [[O. J. Simpson]]'s trial, described in the American media as the "[[trial of the century]]", proceeds for nearly a year under intense media publicity. A majority of the trial was broadcast nightly during [[prime time]] television. On 3 October 1995, Simpson was found not guilty of the double-murder of ex-wife [[Nicole Brown Simpson]] and her friend, [[Ronald Goldman]].
*With help from clinical [[fertility medication|fertility drugs]], an Iowa mother, [[McCaughey septuplets|Bobbie McCaughey]], gave birth to the first surviving [[septuplets]] in 1997. There followed a media frenzy and widespread support for the family.
*[[John F. Kennedy Jr.]], his wife [[Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy|Carolyn Bessette]] and sister-in-law [[Lauren Bessette]] are killed when Kennedy's private plane crashes off the coast of [[Martha's Vineyard]] in July 1999.
*Debate on [[assisted suicide]], highly publicized by [[Michigan]] doctor [[Jack Kevorkian]], surfaces when Kevorkian is charged with multiple counts of [[homicide]] of his terminally ill patients through the decade.
*Beer [[keg registration]] becomes a popular public policy in the United States.
*The 500th anniversary of [[Christopher Columbus|Christopher Columbus']] purported discovery of the Americas in 1992 was popularly observed in the United States, despite controversy and protests against the victimization of Native Americans by Columbus' expeditions. The holiday was labeled by some as [[racism|racist]], in view of Native American experiences of [[colonialism]], [[slavery]], [[genocide]], and cultural destruction.
*[[Matthew Shepard]] is murdered near the [[University of Wyoming]], purportedly for being [[homosexual|gay]]. This sparks intense national and international media attention and outrage. Shepard becomes a major symbol in the [[LGBT]] rights movement and the fight against [[homophobia]]. Claims of crystal methamphetamine related "meth rage" as a contributing factor in the crime surfaced in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bindel |first=Julie |date=2014-10-26 |title=The truth behind America's most famous gay-hate murder |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/26/the-truth-behind-americas-most-famous-gay-hate-murder-matthew-shepard |access-date=2023-10-18 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
*[[Murder of Shanda Sharer|Shanda Sharer]] was murdered on 11 January 1992. She was lured away from her house and held captive by a group of teenage girls. She was tortured for hours and burned alive. She died from smoke inhalation. Those found guilty and sentenced to prison were [[Melinda Loveless]], [[Laurie Tackett]], [[Hope Rippey]], and [[Toni Lawrence]]. According to Loveless, she was jealous of her former partner Amanda Heavrin's relationship with Shanda Sharer.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
*[[Karla Homolka]] was arrested with her husband, [[Paul Bernardo]], in 1993. Both sexually tortured and killed their victims. Their first victim was Karla's 15-year-old sister, [[Tammy Homolka]]. The second and third victims were [[Leslie Mahaffy]] and [[Kristen French]]. Karla told the investigators that she reluctantly did what Paul told her to do because he was abusive, and was given a [[plea bargaining in the United States|plea deal]]. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison (10 years for Mahaffy and French, and two years for Tammy). Later, investigators discovered the crime videotapes, proving that Karla was a willing participant. But by that time the deal had already been made. In 1995, Paul was sentenced to life in prison. Karla was released from prison in 2005.
*[[Polly Klaas]] (3 January 1981 – October 1993) was kidnapped by [[Richard Allen Davis]] from her home during a slumber party. She was later strangled to death. After her death, her father, Marc Klaas, established the KlaasKids Foundation.
*[[Jonbenet Ramsey]] (6 August 1990 – 25 December 1996) was a child beauty pageant contestant who was missing and found dead in her [[Boulder, Colorado]], home. The crime terrified the nation and the world. Her parents were initially considered to be suspects in her death but were cleared in 2003 when DNA from her clothes was tested. To this day, her murderer has not been found and brought to justice.
*[[Lorena Bobbitt]] was charged with malicious wounding for severing her husband [[John and Lorena Bobbitt|John Bobbitt]]'s penis after she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Bobbitt, for which he was charged. Both parties were acquitted of their respective crimes. The story was notable because of the use of [[Microsurgery]] to re-attach the man's penis.
*[[Wanda Holloway]] was convicted of solicitation of capital murder when she attempted to hire a [[hitman]] to kill the mother of her daughter's junior high school cheerleading rival.
*American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor [[John Denver]] died in a plane crash in [[Monterey Bay]] near [[Pacific Grove, California|Pacific Grove]] on 12 October 1997.
*Scandal rocked the sport of [[figure skating]] when skater [[Nancy Kerrigan]] was [[1994 Cobo Arena attack|attacked]] during practice by an assailant hired by Jeff Gillooly, former husband of skater [[Tonya Harding]]. The attack was carried out in an attempt to injure Kerrigan's leg to the point of her being unable to compete in the upcoming [[1994 Winter Olympics]], thereby securing Harding a better spot to win a [[Olympic gold medal|gold medal]].
*[[1992 Los Angeles riots]] – resulted in 53 deaths and 5,500 property fires in a {{convert|100|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} riot zone. The riots were a result of the state court [[acquittal]] of three white and one [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] L.A. police officer by an [[all-white jury]] in a [[Police brutality in the United States|police brutality]] case involving motorist [[Rodney King]]. In 1993, all four officers were convicted in a federal civil rights case.
'''South America'''
*In 1990, the [[Carapintadas|last military uprising attempting at a military coup]] in Argentine history, was successfully put down by the government.
*In 1994, [[Conscription in Argentina|Conscription]] ceases to exist and becomes voluntary in [[Argentina]] after the murder of a conscript which caused great social upheaval, the trial to clarify the cause of death was named [[:es:Caso_Carrasco|Caso Carrasco]]. 
*The government of [[Carlos Menem]] privatized several enterprises owned by the Argentine state, such as [[YPF]], [[Aerolíneas Argentinas]], [[Ferrocarriles Argentinos]], [[:es:Radio_y_Televisión_Argentina|Radio y Televisión Argentina]], among others.
*[[Puerto Madero]], the richest neighbourhood of [[South America]] is developed during the 1990s in [[Buenos Aires]], due to the great economic growth [[Argentina]] experienced. 

'''Asia'''
*[[1990s post-Soviet aliyah|Massive immigration wave of Jews from the Commonwealth of Independent States to Israel]] – With the end of the Soviet Union, Israel faced a mass influx of Russian Jews, many of whom had high expectations the country was unable to meet. Israel also came under an Iraqi missile attack during the Gulf War but acquiesced to US pressure not to retaliate militarily, which could have disrupted the US-Arab alliance. The US and Netherlands then rushed anti-missile batteries to Israel to defend the country against missile attacks.
*The [[Spratly Islands]] issue became one of the most controversial islands in Southeast Asia.
*The closing Mass of the X [[World Youth Day 1995]] was held in [[Rizal Park]] on 15 January 1995, attended by more than 5 million people. This is the [[List of largest peaceful gatherings in history|record gathering]] of the Roman Catholic Church.
*The [[Philippines]] celebrates the 100th anniversary of [[Independence Day (Philippines)|Philippine Independence]] in 1998 with its theme: "Kalayaan: Kayamanan ng Bayan."