Editing 1998 (section)

===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]].