Page 58 - 2000

Pata Roque/AP Sava Radovanovic/AP

An earthquake pounded the island of Taiwan in September, killing more
than 2 ,0 0 0 people and toppling thousands of buildings. Measuring 7.6
on the Richter scale, it was Taiwan's worst earthquake on record and
one of five major tremblers that struck around the globe between August
and November. Fatima Nevic's eight-pound baby boy, born Oct. 1 2, 1 999, in Sarajevo,
was designated the world's six billionth person by the United Nations
Population Fund. The organization had estimated the world's population
would reach six billion that day, and U.N . Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
Peter Cosgrove/AP in Bosnia-Herzegovina for a two-day visit, said he would declare the first
child born in the Bosnian capital after midnight local time "Baby Six
Billio n ." The UN PF reported it had taken 1 2 years for the population to
grow from five to six billion people.

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Planet Hollywood filed for bankruptcy reorganization in
October, reporting estimated losses of a third of a billion
dollars. The movie-themed restaurant chain debuted in 1991
with the financial backing of such Hollywood superstars as
Bruce W illis and Sylvester Stallone.

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Archive Photos
In the 14th Century, Europe descended Seaborne trade prospered in the
into a minor ice age. Temperatures 14th century when monsoons provided
dropped as floods inundated the coasts, swift passage across the Indian Ocean,
drowning animals and driving people creating the world's busiest trade routes.
inland. Glaciers expanded, icebergs Summer monsoons blew ships from Africa
moved south and the northern seas grew to India and the Spice Islands. There the
treacherous. The exceptional winters dev­ ships idled in port, waiting for winter mon­
astated the poor. soons to blow them back.
The Sla c k D e a th , or plague, an infec­ Geoffrey Chaucer began writing "The
tious fever spread in urban areas by rat Canterbury Tales" in 1387, completing
fleas, was first reported in India, spread to the bulk of the epic by 1392. Chaucer's
China and arrived in Italy aboard ships in classic masterpiece, which in its final form
1347. It spread throughout Europe within features a round of more than 30 tales by
months, killing more than a third of the a host of pilgrims, such as the W ife of Bath,
population or some 30 million people. the Pardoner and the Cook, consumed the