;Article Updates:up199707.001 - Wed, Feb 4, 1998 at 17:14:05 - make_updates v8.0
AIDS|008290|up079701
Albania|010780|up079702
Algeria|012820|up079703
Alzheimer's disease|015450|up079723
Anthropology|024140|up079721
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)|034345|up079735
Beijing|053300|up079711
Botswana|071590|up079712
Boxing|072960|up079728
Brain|073880|up079723|up079725
COUSTEAU, JACQUES-YVES|137900|up079707
Cambodia|089140|up079705
Cancer {disease}|090990|up079726
Chad|104545|up079706
China|111400|up079711
Cigarette|115220|up079726
Cuba|142820|up079731
Czech Republic|146090|up079720
Evolution|187860|up079721
Glacier|225440|up079738
Greenhouse effect|235730|up079738
Guevara, Che|239050|up079731
Heredity|253940|up079721
Holly|259460|up079737
Hong Kong|261340|up079711
Hungary|267300|up079720
India, Government of|274444|up079736
India, History of|274450|up079736
Irish Republican Army (IRA)|281230|up079732
Ivory|283520|up079712
Japan|285600|up079712
Language|312460|up079734
Liberia|322060|up079733
Mars|345980|up079716
Mexico|358800|up079717
Mexico City|358860|up079717
Montserrat|369790|up079719
NATO|394080|up079720
Namibia|380670|up079712
Narayanan, Kicheril Raman|381173|up079736
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)|382000|up079716
Neanderthal man|385300|up079721
Northern Ireland|395000|up079732
Paleontology|411180|up079721
Parkinson's disease|073880|up079725
Plant|433620|up079737
Poland|436700|up079720
Prehistoric people|444300|up079721
Races, Human|456660|up079721
Satellite, Artificial|492220|up079716
Sinn Fein|511840|up079732
Smoking|515960|up079726
Space exploration|522553|up079716
Stewart, James|533145|up079713
Television|549980|up079727
Tennis|551080|up079730
Tobacco|559860|up079726
Turkey|570880|up079722
Tyson, Mike|573070|up079728
UNESCO|574720|up079729
United Kingdom|575740|up079729
United Kingdom, Government of the|575747|up079732
United Kingdom, History of the|575750|up079711|up079732
United Nations|575780|up079712
Volcano|587920|up079719
Zimbabwe|616875|up079712
up079701|CDC reports drop in AIDS deaths|<strong>CDC reports drop in AIDS deaths</strong><p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta reported in July 1997 that deaths from AIDS in the United States fell 19 per cent during the first nine months of 1996 compared with the same period in 1995. Health officials attributed the decline largely to the effect of new, more effective AIDS drugs such as protease inhibitors.</p><p>The CDC reported in February 1997 that deaths during the first six months of 1996 showed a 13 percent decrease compared with the previous year. That decline in AIDS deaths was the first since the epidemic began in the early 1980's, according to the CDC.</p>
up079702|Sali Berisha resigns as president of Albania|<strong>Sali Berisha resigns as president of Albania</strong><p>Sali Berisha resigned as president of Albania on July 23, 1997, after losing a general election on June 29, when his Democratic Party won 24 seats to the Socialist Party's 100. Berisha had been in power for five years and was replaced by Rexhep Mejdani, a Socialist.</p>
up079703|Algerians elect new lower house of parliament|<strong>Algerians elect new lower house of parliament</strong><p>Voters in Algeria gave the National Democratic Rally (RND), a party closely connected with Algerian President Liamine Zeroual and his military-backed government, a near majority in elections for a new lower house of parliament on June 5, 1997. The RND won 155 seats in the 380-seat National Popular Assembly. The National Liberation Party, another close ally of the military, won 64 seats, giving the two government-aligned parties 58 percent of the assembly. The National Popular Assembly replaced Algeria's National Transition Council.</p><p>Algerians approved a new constitution on Nov. 28, 1996, that barred political parties founded "on a religious basis," effectively barring fundamentalist Islamic parties. The new law was an attempt to end a civil war that had raged in Algeria since 1992, when the government banned the Islamic Salvation Front, a conservative Islamic party that won a round of elections before the government banned it.</p>
up079705|Hun Sen seizes power in Cambodia|<strong>Hun Sen seizes power in Cambodia</strong><p>On 5-6 July, there was a coup in Pnomh Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The second prime minister, Hun Sen, seized power, ousting the first prime minister Prince Norodom. More than 50 people were killed during the two-day coup, which marks the failure of the United Nations' 1993 plan to restore democracy to Cambodia after nearly twenty years of war.</p>
up079706|Chad holds national multiparty elections|<strong>Chad holds national multiparty elections</strong><p>Chad held long-delayed multiparty elections for the 125-member National Assembly in January and February 1997.</p>
up079707|Jacques Cousteau dies|<strong>Jacques Cousteau dies</strong><p>Jacques Cousteau died of a heart attack on June 25, 1997, in Paris. He was 87 years old.</p>
up079711|China takes control of Hong Kong|<strong>China takes control of Hong Kong</strong><p>At midnight on June 30, 1997, the People's Republic of China took control of Hong Kong and the city's 6.3 million citizens after 156 years of British colonial rule. Chinese leaders, including President Jiang Zemin, attended the handover ceremony, along with the United Kingdom's Prince Charles and the outgoing governor of Hong Hong, Chris Patten.</p><p>With the handover, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China under a new set of laws called the Basic Law. The Basic Law served as Hong Kong's new constitution and was scheduled to remain in force until 2047. The new law allowed Hong Kong to retain many of its economic and social freedoms under an arrangement referred to as "one country, two systems." Under its SAR status, Hong Kong was allowed to maintain its capitalistic economy for at least 50 years, but China became responsible for Hong Kong's defence and foreign relations.</p><p>Despite Hong Kong's special status within China, signs appeared quickly that Beijing meant to maintain firm control over the region. The former colony's elected legislature was abolished, and a Beijing-appointed body of lawmakers took its place.</p>
up079712|International ivory ban partially lifted|<strong>International ivory ban partially lifted</strong><p>The United Nations Convention on Endangered Species (CITES) voted in June 1997 to allow limited ivory trading in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana. CITES agreed to let the three countries sell 60 tons of stockpiled ivory to Japan.</p>
up079713|James Stewart dies|<STRONG>James Stewart dies</STRONG><P>James Stewart died on July 2, 1997, in Beverly Hills, California, as a result of a blood clot in his lung. He was 89 years old.</P>
up079716|Pathfinder lands on Mars|<strong>Pathfinder lands on Mars</strong><p>The NASA Pathfinder spacecraft landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. The landing marked the first time in 21 years that a spacecraft had landed on Mars. NASA engineers designed air-filled cushions to inflate around the Pathfinder and soften its landing on the Martian surface.</p><p>The Pathfinder carried a small, six-wheeled research robot called Sojourner. The remote-controlled rover was the first mobile explorer of another planet. NASA planned to use instruments aboard Sojourner to study the Martian geology for clues to how the planet formed and to determine whether the possibility of life exists on Mars.</p>
up079717|Mexican ruling party suffers election setback|<STRONG>Mexican ruling party suffers elections setback</STRONG><P>The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost control of the lower house of the Mexican national Congress in general elections on July 6, 1997. The loss was first time since 1929 that the PRI had failed to win a majority in the lower house. The PRI won just 238 of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies compared with 125 for the Party of the Democratic Revolution and 123 seats for the National Action Party.</p><P>Voters also elected PDR candidate Cuauhtemoc Cardenas Solorzano mayor of Mexico City. Cardenas became the first democratically elected mayor of Mexico City. The Mexican president had traditionally appointed the mayor.</P>
up079719|Volcano forces masssive evacuation in Montserrat|<STRONG>Volcano forces massive evacuation in Montserrat</STRONG><P>The Soufriere Hills volcano, which began erupting in southeastern Montserrat in 1995, exploded violently on June 25, 1997, killing at least nine people. In August 1997, the volcano showered Plymouth, the capital, with hot ash and damaged many buildings. About 7,000 of the island's 11,000 people were evacuated between 1995 and June 1997 from the areas threatened by the eruption. </P>
up079720|NATO invites Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary to join|<STRONG>NATO invites Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary to join</STRONG><P>The North Atlantic Treaty Organization on July 8, 1997, invited Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary to join the alliance. All 16 NATO members must approve the new members before they become official members. </P>
up079721|DNA samples reveal that Neanderthal remained separate species|<STRONG>DNA samples reveal that Neanderthal remained separate species</STRONG><P>Paleontologists from the University of Munich in Germany reported the first instance of successful DNA extraction from Neanderthal remains on July 10, 1997. The 30,000 year-old DNA was the oldest retreived from a hominid.</P><P>The scientist said that the DNA revealed that Neanderthal lineage is four times older than human lineage and that Neanderthals did not breed with humans, as some scientists had suspected. Based on the DNA finding, the split between the human and Neanderthal lineage occurred between 550,000 and 690,000 years ago, according to the scientists.</P>
up079722|New prime minister appointed in Turkey|<STRONG>New prime minister appointed in Turkey</STRONG><P>Mesut Yilaz became prime minister of Turkey on June 30, 1997, replacing Necmettin Erbakan of the pro-Islamic Welfare Party. The Turkish army had forced the Welfare Party from power earlier in the month. </P>
up079723|New protein found in Alzheimer's patients' brains|<STRONG>New protein found in Alzheimer's patients' brains</STRONG><P>Researchers in July 1997 announced the discovery of a formerly unknown protein that is common in the brains' of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The researchers, led by neurologist John Trojanowski at the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia said the new protein could play an important role in understanding the cause of Alzheimer's and in developing treatments for it. </P><P>According to Trojanowski's team, the protein occupied as much space in the brains of patients they studied as did amyloid protein, traditionally considered the culprit in Alzheimer's. The researchers said that the new protein had not been discovered before because the standard chemical dyes and methods used to detect changes in the brain tissues of Alzheimer's patients were unable to detect it.</P>
up079725|Gene found for Parkinson's disease|<STRONG>Gene found for Parkinson's disease</STRONG><P>Researchers announced on June 27, 1997, that they had found a defective gene that causes Parkinson's disease. Neuroscientist Mihael H. Polymeropoulos of the Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and Lawrence I. Golbe of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey, led the research. The June announcement followed the November 1996 discovery by the same researchers that the suspected gene was on a portion of chromosome 4.</P><P>Researchers studied an Italian family and three Greek families with high incidences of Parkinson's disease to locate the gene. People with a mutated form of the gene produce a defective form of a protein called alpha synuclein, according to reseachers. They said the gene causes an unknown but likely significant percentage of Parkinson cases.</P>
up079726|Tobacco settlement sets record fines, limits on advertising|<STRONG>Tobacco settlement sets record fines, limits on advertising</STRONG><P>On June 20, 1997, several of the largest tobacco companies in the United States approved a tentative agreement with a group of state attorneys that, if approved by the U.S. Congress, would severely limit how cigarettes are sold in the United States and provide 368.5 billion U.S. dollars to compensate states for health expenses related to illnesses caused by smoking. Tobacco companies agreed to stop advertising on billboards, the Internet, and in sports promotions. The companies also agreed to accept regulation by the FDA. In return, the companies would be immune from future class action lawsuits.</P><P>In a separate settlement, four major tobacco companies agreed on July 3, 1997, to pay the state of Mississippi 3.4 billion U.S. dollars over 25 years to resolve a lawsuit over health-care costs associated with smoking. The agreement made Mississippi the first state to reach an agreement with tobacco companies to recover health-care costs related to smoking.</P>
up079727|Newer, stricter television ratings system adopted|<STRONG>Newer, stricter television ratings system adopted</STRONG><P>Network television executives from most of the major television networks in the United States agreed on July 9, 1997, to a stricter television rating system than the one that had been in place since the beginning of the year. The new ratings system was scheduled to take effect in October 1997.</P><P>In addition to rating shows by appropriate age groups, the new ratings were to include letters denoting sexual content and violence. A "V" designation denotes that a show contains violence; a "D' rating designates a show with sexually suggestive dialogue; an "S" rating designates a show contains sexual content; and an "L" denotes a show with coarse language. The rating also includes an "FV" rating, which stands for fantasy violence. All of the major cable and broadcast networks agreed to the new ratings except the National Broadcasting Company.</P>
up079728|Mike Tyson loses license to fight|<STRONG>Mike Tyson loses license to fight</STRONG><P>The Nevada State Athletic Commission revoked Mike Tyson's license to box on July 9, 1997. The commission took the action because Tyson twice bit the ears of Evander Holyfield in a heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas on June 28, 1997. Other states were expected to honor the Nevada ban. The ban was set for at least one year, when Tyson could ask the commission to overturn the ruling.</P>
up079729|United Kingdom rejoins UNESCO|<STRONG>United Kingdom rejoins UNESCO</STRONG><P>The United Kingdom said on May 14, 1997, that it would rejoin UNESCO. The United Kingdom withdrew from the organization in 1985 to protest alleged mismanagement and corruption.</P>
up079730|Sampras and Hingis win Wimbledon singles titles|<STRONG>Sampras and Hingis win Wimbledon singles titles</STRONG><P>Pete Sampras of the United States captured his fourth Wimbledon singles title on July 6, 1997, beating Cedric Pioline of France 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The victory gave Sampras 10 Grand Slam singles titles, just two short of Roy Emerson's record.</P><P>Martina Hingis of Switzerland retained her number-one ranking on July 5, 1997, by beating Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.</P>
up079731|Che Guevara's remains are returned to Cuba|<strong>Che Guevara's remains are returned to Cuba</strong><p>In July 1997, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's remains were found in a mass grave in Bolivia and flown to Cuba to be interred in a mausoleum in Santa Clara. Guevara, a guerrilla fighter and comrade of President Fidel Castro of Cuba, was killed by Bolivian troops in October 1967, while trying to start a revolution in Bolivia.</p>
up079732|A new IRA cease-fire|<strong>A new IRA cease-fire</strong><p>In Northern Ireland, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced a cease-fire, which began at noon on July 20, 1997. The previous cease-fire, called in August 1994, ended in February 1996 with a bomb explosion in London's Docklands area. The new cease-fire meant that Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, was allowed to participate in peace talks aimed at resolving political problems in Northern Ireland.</p>
up079733|Charles Taylor elected president of Liberia.|<strong>Charles Taylor elected president of Liberia.</strong><p>On July 19, 1997, Charles Taylor was elected president of Liberia, Africa's oldest republic. Taylor, a former warlord, convicted felon, and the man who started the Liberian civil war in 1990, received 65 per cent of the votes. The election marked the end of the civil war, during which Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia emerged as the strongest faction.</p>
up079734|Living languages|<strong>Living languages</strong><p>A comprehensive classification of the world's languages was completed in 1997 by an international team headed by David Dalby of Observatoire Linguistique in Dyfed, Wales. It identified more than 10,000 living languages, about 50 per cent more than previous estimates. The three languages most widely used are Chinese (1,123 million speakers), English (470 million), and Hindi (418 million).</p>
up079735|Burma and Thailand join ASEAN|<strong>Burma and Thailand join ASEAN</strong><p>Burma and Thailand became members of ASEAN in July 1997.</p>
up079736|India's first 'untouchable' president|<strong>India's first 'untouchable' president</strong><p>India's first 'untouchable' president, Kicheril Raman Narayanan, was elected in July 1997. Narayanan, who was vice-president for five years, was voted in by state and federal politicians in New Delhi. He received 4,231 votes and his nearest rival, T. N. Seshan, won 240 votes.</p>
up079737|World's oldest living plant|<strong>World's oldest living plant</strong><p>The oldest living plant in the world has been found to be 'Lomatia tasmanica', also known as King's Holly. It is a self-propagating bush in Tasmania, Australia, which is believed to have been growing for more than 43,00 years. It was discovered in 1947 in a rainforest in southwest Tasmania, but its age was not established until July 1997.</p>
up079738|Global warming melts glacier|<strong>Global warming melts glacier</strong><p>Global warming has profound effects on the environment. As delegates from 150 nations gathered in Bonn, Germany, in July 1997, ready to resume international negotiations on greenhouse gas reduction, the environmental group Greenpeace gave a dramatic example of a changing climate. Their report, based in conjunction with the US Geological Survey, documented the retreat of the 191-kilometre long Bering glacier in Alaska, U.S.A. the glacier has shrunk by 10 to 12 kilometres in length over the past century, losing more than 130 square kilometres in area. Sections of the glacier have thinned by up to 180 metres (20-25 per cent of its depth).</p><p></p>
