Iranians launch Persian Spring protests
The Iranian Green Movement, also known as the Persian Spring by the western media, refers to a political movement that arose after the 2009 Iranian presidential election.
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12 nations sign the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty
The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty officially established the Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental continental union of twelve South American nations.
Apple’s iPhone is released
The original iPhone was described as “revolutionary” and a “game-changer” for the mobile phone industry.
Bhutan convenes its first democratic elections
The first democratic elections in Bhutan began in 2007, and all levels of government had been democratically elected by 2011.
The Human Genome Project is completed
The Human Genome Project was an international scientific research project to determine the sequence of nucleotide base pairs of human DNA, and of identifying and mapping all of the genes of the human genome.
New Zealand’s prime minister Helen Clark formally apologizes to Samoa
New Zealand’s prime minister Helen Clark formally apologized for two incidents during the period of New Zealand’s administration: a failure in 1918 to quarantine the SS Talune, which carried the ‘Spanish ‘flu’ to Samoa.
Banksy creates “Girl with Balloon” mural in London
Girl with Balloon is a 2002-started London series of stencil murals by the graffiti artist Banksy. A 2017 Samsung poll ranked Girl with Balloon as the United Kingdom’s number one favorite artwork.
Portugal cedes control of Macau to China, ending European colonization of Asia
Although offered control of Macau as early as the 1960s, the Chinese deemed the time “not yet ripe” and preferred to wait until December 1999 — the very end of the millennium, two years after the Hong Kong handover—to close this chapter of history. Upon the handover of Macau European colonization of Asia ended.
Democracy emerges in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule
On 29 May 1999, Abubakar transferred power to the winner of the 1999 presidential election, former military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo as the second democratically elected civilian President of Nigeria heralding the beginning of the Fourth Nigerian Republic.
More than 170 countries agree to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is an international treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament.