The international scene witnessed many ups and downs in the year 2000. For the Koreans it was the dawn of a new era but for the Lankans and the West Asians this proved to be `just another year` in the search of lasting peace. US witnessed the perils of excessive democracy when the electoral drama had the nation in knots.

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Pakistan…from devil to deep sea

The millennium unfolded on not so good note for deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family. On January 19, Nawaz Sharif (ousted in a coup) and six others were formally charged with attempt of murder, kidnapping, terrorism, abetment and hijacking in a Karachi court. On April 19, he was spared the death sentence but was given a 25-year life sentence by the Sindh High Court. After lot of appeals made by Sharif`s family to the military government of Pakistan, he, along with his family, was sent into and exile in Saudi Arabia under controversial circumstances. India was apprehensive about this new military regime as it played foul and disrupted the Hizbul Mujaheedeen ceasefire by stepping up militant activities. However, Musharraf did a volte-face towards the end of the year. In a conciliatory mood he started withdrawing troops from LoC.
Civilian coup d`etat in Fiji

In an unexpected turn of events, nightmare struck Fiji on May 19 with a coup. Disgruntled elements, led by George Speight, a failed businessman, took Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and several of his colleagues and parliamentarians hostage at gun point inside Fiji`s Parliament. The raison d`etre for this rebellion was the monopoly of the Indians in business as well as politics. The painful hostage crisis ended on July 13 with the release of deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and others after 55-days of captivity. There was mass exodus of Fiji Indians to neighbouring countries -- Australia and New Zealand. Though sanctions were slapped on Fiji by Australia and New Zealand the fact remains that the role of the Fiji Indians in Fijian politics has been put on a hold. Bloodbath in Middle East

For West Asia, the year began with fresh rounds of peace talks as September 2000 was the target date for a permanent settlement between Israel and Palestine. On the other hand, in a unanimous decision, the Israeli government decided to pull out its army from the southern zone of Lebanon by July 2000. The outgoing US President Bill Clinton tried to harbour peace in Middle East by inviting the Israeli and Palestinian presidents and holding marathon negotiations at Camp David. But old enemity and mutual distrust brought the talks to an abrupt end. Violence broke out between Israel and Palestine on September 28, 2000 with countless being wounded and many dead. Despite international efforts to find a solution to this crisis the deep-rooted conflict between the two continues.

The two Koreas break the ice

The middle of the year saw the first ever summit meeting Pyonngyang after 50 years of tensions and war between the two Koreas. Both the Presidents laid the groundwork for reunification of the divided country. On August 15 amidst high emotional scenes the two Koreas celebrated the fifty-fifth anniversary of the end of the Japanese colonial rule. This occasion was marked with the reunion of over 200 families from both North and South Korea. After coming so far, the annual military exercise of US and South Korea was seen by North Korea as a rehearsal for an invasion, jeopardizing the improving relations between them. At the end, the South Korean President Kim Dae Jung won the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts of reconciliation with North Korea. The world gave a standing ovation to these two countries when they marched under one banner in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Kursk Tragedy

On August 12, Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea with 118 crew-members on board. It was only five days later that Russia finally accepted foreign help to save the survivors. Efforts to rescue survivors began albeit tentatively. And hours after the arrival of British and Norwegian rescuers it was announced that there were no survivors. Meanwhile, without presenting any hard evidence, the Russian military command insisted that the most likely reason for such a grave loss was the vessel`s collision with a US or British submarine that survived the crash and escaped. Whereas, President Putin while issuing a statement in Kremlin said that the torpedoes inside the vessel exploded after the collision. It was a dark day for Russia as television was flooded with pictures of grieving relatives on the Kursk dockyards.
Republican ascent to the most powerful post in the world

On November 7 this year, the oldest modern democracy and definitely the most powerful nation went to polls to elect its new President. It was a neck-to-neck fight between Republican George W Bush Jr (Texas Governor) and Democrat Al Gore (Vice President). Almost like a Hollywood nail-biter. The scales balanced equally with the state of Florida in the middle. A tortuous process of counting and recounting of votes began. It was only after the long drawn legal battle that disgust and outrage gave way to the awareness of the fact that the complicated system has managed to survive so long. Al Gore finally conceded. George W Bush, as President-elect, is ready to assume what some Americans call, "leadership of world." Interestingly, despite securing more popular votes, Gore lost out to the American voting convention that elected Bush as President. Yugoslavia: Dawn of new era

Yugoslavian`s showed President Slobodan Milosevic the door by electing Vojislav Kostunica of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia in September 2000. Although the sanctions were lifted by US and the European Union but Milosevic`s authoritarianism and nepotism left little room for improvement in the dismal economic circumstances prevailing in the country. Some of challenges ahead for Kostunica would be to reinstall the legal system, to bring his predecessor to account for crimes against his own people and, most importantly, to reinstate and boost the economy. The ethnic crisis between Albaninas and Serbians which has plagued the country for so long also needs to be addressed in year 2001.

Meanwhile the raging ethnic strife in Sri Lanka turned the `Land of Gold` into a gory cauldron. Both the Lankan Army and the LTTE tried to out-manouevre each other by capturing strategic positions. Later in the year there were efforts to usher in peace but in vain. Sierra Leone too witnessed gory scenes as conflict raged to control the country`s rich resources, especially the diamond mines. The crisis heightened when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) (one of the world`s most brutal and inhuman fighting forces today) disarmed and held hostages, 500 UN peacekeepers. However, many of them were subsequently released in an environment of confusion and chaos. Hostages were taken in Philipines too when Muslim guerrillas of Abu Sayyaf group held 27 civilians in the Jolo Islands who were released soon. The world also woke up to the reality of cyber-crime as virus after virus invaded home computers wreaking havoc. I-love-you virus was a cyber black-hole programmed by a teenager from Philippines. Meanwhile Napster, the e-community of music lovers, waged a battle against music labels. New technologies like WAP and Bluetooth promised to make the world a wirefree land. As the year walks out of its last few days revelries have already started. But there was more heart-rending news when more than 300 people died in China, while enjoying in a disco, as a terrible fire gutted down the building.