up069801|Government allows drivers to disconnect airbags|<STRONG>Government allows drivers to disconnect airbags</STRONG><P>Beginning in January 1998, the U.S. government allowed some drivers to disconnect airbags due to concerns over the safety of children and small adults who ride in cars equipped with the devices. To disconnect airbags, drivers had to obtain permission from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.</P>
up069802|Egyptian satellite launched|<STRONG>Egyptian satellite launched</STRONG><P>In April 1998, the European Space Agency launched an Egyptian communications satellite. The satellite was the first for an African country. The satellite was designed to relay television transmissions. </P>
up069803|Bormann's remains identified|<STRONG>Bormann's remains identified</STRONG><P>Scientists announced in May 1998 that genetic tests on human remains found in Berlin in 1972 were those of Martin Bormann. Workers had found the remains at a construction site, and experts determined at the time that the remains were Bormann's. They had believed that he died in May 1945 as the Soviet army advanced on Berlin. But doubts persisted about his fate due to rumors that he may have escaped Berlin. To confirm Bormann's identity, scientists compared genetic material from the remains with that of one of Bormann's living relatives.</P>
up069804|London voters approve office of mayor|<STRONG>London voters approve office of mayor</STRONG><P>In May 1998, Londoners voted to restructure their city's government. In a referendum, voters approved plans to create the office of mayor and a 25-member assembly to be called the Greater London Authority. The mayor and assembly members will be directly elected by voters. The Greater London Authority will have the power to regulate matters that cross boundaries of the city's 32 boroughs, such as transportation, development, environmental regulation, and policing.</P>
up069805|Seldane taken off market|<STRONG>Seldane taken off market</STRONG><P>In late 1997, Seldane's manufacturer followed the recommendation of the United States Food and Drug Administration and stopped making and selling the drug due to potentially serious side effects, including heart problems and interactions with other drugs.</P>
up069807|Bougainville rebels sign peace accord with Papua New Guinea|<STRONG>Bougainville rebels sign peace accord with Papua New Guinea</STRONG><P>On April 30, 1998, antigovernment separatists on the island of Bougainville signed a peace agreement with the government of Papua New Guinea. The accord ended a 10-year rebellion that had claimed about 20,000 lives. The rebellion centered around a dispute over ownership and proceeds from Bougainville's Panguna copper mine. </P>
up069808|Volkswagen acquires Rolls-Royce|<STRONG>Volkswagen acquires Rolls-Royce</STRONG><P>The German carmaker Volkswagen acquired the British carmaker Rolls-Royce in June 1998.</P>
up069809|Bob Hope is knighted|<STRONG>Bob Hope is knighted</STRONG><P>In May 1998, Bob Hope was knighted by the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States.</P>
up069810|India tests nuclear weapons|<STRONG>India tests nuclear weapons</STRONG><P>In May 1998, India declared that it was capable of producing and using nuclear weapons after conducting several underground nuclear tests. </P>
up069811|New President elected in Paraguay|<STRONG>New president elected in Paraguay</STRONG><P>Raul Cubas Grau of the Colorado Party was elected president of Paraguay in May 1998. He defeated Domingo Laino, who headed an alliance of opposition parties.</P>
up069812|Warren Beatty directs, stars in Bulworth|<STRONG>Warren Beatty directs, stars in <I>Bulworth.</I></STRONG><P>Warren Beatty directed and starred in <I>Bulworth.</I> (1998)</P>
up069813|Eddie Arcaro dies|<STRONG>Eddie Arcaro dies</STRONG><P>Eddie Arcaro died on Nov. 14, 1997, in Miami. He was 81 years old.</P>
up069814|John Ashbery publishes new book|<STRONG>John Ashbery publishes new book</STRONG><P>In April 1998, John Ashbery published <I>Wakefulness</I>.</P>
up069817|Multiple sclerosis found to damage nerve cells|<STRONG>Multiple sclerosis found to damage nerve cells</STRONG><P>In January 1998, researchers reported findings from a study showing that, in addition to damaging myelin, multiple sclerosis kills nerve cells. Neuroscientists at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland reported finding dead nerve cells in brain tissue taken during autopsies of people with multiple sclerosis. The researchers compared the diseased tissue with that taken during autopsies of people without multiple sclerosis.</P>
up069818|Peace agreement approved in Northern Ireland|<STRONG>Peace agreement approved in Northern Ireland</STRONG><P>On May 22, 1998, the citizens of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic voted overwhelmingly for a referendum approving the Stormont Agreement, a peace accord designed to end hundreds of years of conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. More than 70 percent of voters in Northern Ireland and 94 percent of voters in the Irish Republic supported the accord, which was completed on Good Friday, April 10, 1998, after nearly two years of negotiations between Northern Ireland political leaders and representatives of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.</P><P>The Stormont Agreement provides for a National Assembly in which Catholics and Protestants are to govern jointly. The assembly is charged with cooperating with the Irish Republic in a new lawmaking body--the North-South Council. The accord also provides for a body of representatives--the Council of the Isles--made up of members of the parliaments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the new assemblies of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Finally, the Irish Republic is to amend its constitution to renounce territorial claims on Northern Ireland.</P>
up069819|Tyson gives up WBC heavyweight title|<STRONG>Tyson gives up WBC heavyweight title</STRONG><P>Mike Tyson gave up his WBC heavyweight title in September 1996 rather than fight British challenger Lennox Lewis. Lewis won the vacant tile in February 1997 with a victory over Oliver McCall. </P>
