The search for peace figured prominently in February with the start of talks aimed at stopping the persecution of ethnic Albanians by the Yugoslav government in the Serbian province of Kosovo.
There was also the historic face-to-face meeting in the UK between delegates from Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists, part of the continuing effort to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
The man at the top of Turkey's wanted list, the rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was caught in Kenya - sparking a wave of diplomatic protests across Europe, Canada and Australia.
One man who wriggled free of those who would bring abour his downfall, however, was Bill Clinton, who was cleared of all charges in his impeachment trial.
The world paid tribute to King Hussein of Jordan, who died of cancer shortly after power was transferred to his eldest son Crown Prince Abdullah. Another new leader on the international stage was General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was elected Nigeria's first civilian president in 15 years.
The catalogue of natural disasters was added to with a number of deaths in avalanches in ski resorts in the Alps. Meanwhile, Germany sought to atone for one of the century's worst atrocities against mankind by announcing plans to compensate Nazi Holocaust survivors.
In the UK, the controversy over genetically modified food rumbled on. Tony Blair accused the media of scare-mongering and said he was happy to eat GM food. The fallout from the racist murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence continued to reverberate with the publication of a report severely criticising the Metropolitan Police.
Meanwhile, US heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson kept fighting outside the ring and ended up in prison once again after assaulting two men.
Mergers and acquisitions were once again the flavour of the month for international business. Goodyear made the largest investment by an American company in Japan, spending almost $1bn on Sumitomo. Europe's then-largest unfriendly takeover bid was launched with Olivetti offering £37bn for Telecom Italia.
The entertainment company USA Networks created an online retailing powerhouse when it took over Lycos, the third biggest online search engine. And an American venture capitalist decided that giving away computers with free internet access and email in return for users viewing particular adverts was a sure way boost his profits.
The summer silly season came early this year with claims that the Teletubby character Tinky Winky was a homosexual role model.
World: Reformers sweep to victory in Iran
UK: £85m cocaine haul
UK: Art faker sentenced for biggest fraud of century
Entertainment: Robbie hits high note in Brits
Sci/Tech: Stardust probe launched
Obituary: Novelist Iris Murdoch
Obituary: Actor Derek Nimmo
|Ringing in the new millennium | Witness | Speaking for the century | Millennium diaries | What happened next? | Y2k | Review of the year | Your millennium | Talking Point|