1990s

1990s

1990
- Thatcher steps down from prime minister. John Major comes in
- British Satellite Broadcasting makes its debut but the company is quickly hit by financial difficulties. It then merges with Sky
- Yugoslav Communists end 45-year monopoly of power.
- Nelson Mandela is freed after being imprisoned for 27yrs.
-The X rating is replaced by NC-17 (no children under 17).

1991
- The Broadcasting Standards Council is set up to monitor sex, violence and bad language on radio and tv.
- Europeans end sanctions on South Africa (April 15). South African Parliament repeals apartheid laws (June 5).

1992
- Previously agreed by EC governments in 1991, the treaty on closer political and economic union between European states is finally signed.
- Channel 4 ‘The Big Breakfast’ begins
-Bush and Yeltsin proclaim a formal end to the Cold War (Feb. 1).
-US lifts trade sanctions against China (Feb. 21).

1993
-Vaclav Havel elected Czech President (Jan. 26).
-British House of Commons approves European unity pact (May 20). Maastricht -Treaty takes effect, creating European Union (Nov. 1).
-Twenty-two UN troops killed in Somalia (June 5).
-Clinton agrees to compromise on military's ban on homosexuals (Jan. 29).
-Five arrested, sixth sought in bombing of World Trade Center in New York (March 29).

1994
-Thousands dead in Rwanda massacre (April 6).
-South Africa holds first interracial national election (April 29); Nelson Mandela elected President.
-Israel signs accord with Palestinians (May 4), peace treaty with Jordan (Oct. 17).
-IRA declares cease-fire in Northern Ireland (Aug. 31). Ulster Protestants declare cease-fire (Oct. 13).
- Friends and ER begin.

1995
- OJ Simpson found not guilty.
- The Rhona Cameron show for gays and lesbians.

1996
- First GM food goes on sale.
- The Simpsons arrive to the BBC.
-France agrees to end nuclear testing (Jan. 29). Background: nuclear disarmament
-Britain alarmed by an outbreak of "mad cow" disease (March 20 et seq.).
-Ethnic violence breaks out in Zairian refugee camps (Oct. 13); Clinton approves plan for UN-backed relief mission for 1.2 million Hutu refugees starving in eastern Zaire (Nov. 13). Hundreds of thousands return to Rwanda (Nov. 15–18).

1997
- Channel 5 launches.
- The ‘Teletubbies’ begins.
- News 24 launches.
-Tony Blair leads Labour to huge victory making him the youngest prime minister.
- Princess Diana and Mother Teresa die.
-US, UK, and France agree to freeze Nazis' gold loot (Feb. 3).
-Hong Kong returns to Chinese rule (June 30).

1998
- Viagra goes on sale.
- ITV screens a three-part series about the wave of women MPs that have arrived with the advent of Tony Blair’s Labour Gov.
-ITV2 launches.
-Europeans agree on single currency, the euro(May 3).
-India conducts three atomic tests despite worldwide disapproval (May 11, 13). Pakistan stages five nuclear tests in response (May 29, 30).
-US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bombed (Aug. 7). US cruise missiles hit suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan (Aug. 20).

1999
- Total Eclipse (I remember this I thought I was going to be blind if I looked directly)
- Queer as Folk- gay sitcom which received complaints about the sex scenes
- Last transmission of ITV’s news at 10
- Television cameras are allowed into the House of Commons for the first time on an experimental basis.
-Nelson Mandela, first black president of South Africa, steps down (June 16), and Thabo Mbeki takes over.
-Pakistani government is overthrown in the midst of economic strife and intensified fighting with India over Kashmir (Oct. 12). Background: 1999 in Review.
-The world awaits the consequences of the Y2K bug, with more drastic millennial theorists warning of Armageddon.