What is 1998?
{{Year nav|1998}} {{Year in various calendars|1998}} '''1998''' ([[Roman numerals|MCMXCVIII]]) was a [[common year starting on Thursday]] in the [[Gregorian calendar]], the 1998th year of the [[Common Era]] (CE) and ''[[Anno Domini]]'' (AD) designations, {{Year article header/year number|1998}}. == Events == === January === [[File:Rouble.jpg|thumb|150px|right|New [[ruble]]s]] [[File:Ice Storm 98 trees line Noaa6198.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Frozen trees during the [[winter]] storm]] * [[January 1]] – Smoking is banned in all [[California]] bars and restaurants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/23/smoking.ban/|title=CNN|website=[[CNN]] |access-date=2010-01-06}}</ref> * [[January 2]] - [[Russia]] begins to circulate new [[Russian ruble|rubles]] to stem [[inflation]] and promote confidence. * [[January 2]] - A gunman shoots [[Antario Teodoro Filho]], Brazilian politician and radio presenter, in the middle of his broadcast. * [[January 4]]-[[January 10|10]] - A massive [[winter storm|ice storm]], caused by El Nino, strikes [[New England]], southern [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]], resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and a number of deaths. * [[January 4]] – [[Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998]] in [[Algeria]]; over 170 killed in three remote villages. * [[January 6]] – The [[Lunar Prospector]] spacecraft is launched into orbit around the [[Moon]] and later found evidence for frozen water on the moon's surface. * [[January 8]] - [[Ramzi Yousef]] is sentenced to life in prison for planning the [[World Trade Center bombing]]. * [[January 8]] - [[Cosmologist]]s announce that the expansion rate of the [[universe]] is increasing. * [[January 11]] – [[Sidi-Hamed massacre]] in [[Algeria]]; over 100 people killed. * [[January 12]] – 19 [[Europe]]an nations agree to forbid 1998 like a 1999 one [[human cloning]]. * [[January 14]] – Researchers in [[Dallas, Texas]] present findings about an [[enzyme]] that slows aging and cell death ([[apoptosis]]). * [[January 15]] – The stalker o