On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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William C Rhoden, in Sports of The Times column, hails New York Mets' acquisition of pitcher Mike Hampton from Houston Astros; photo (M)
Five Sikh men hijack Indian Airlines jet and kill at least one of 189 people aboard, during forced odyssey across India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Persian Gulf, before touching down in Kandahar, Afghanistan; Taliban, militia that rules Afghanistan, denies having anything to do with hijacking; says it is concerned for safety of passengers and that its soldiers have surrounded plane; Taliban has reportedly refused Indian request for rescue attempt, and also refused plea for asylum from hijackers; plane is being refueled, indicating it might continue its tortured journey; India urges Taliban to keep plane on ground; hijackers are said to be armed with grenades, rifles and knives; photos; map (M)
Agreement between New York legislators and Gov George Pataki to provide medical coverage for the poor by raising cigarette tax contains little-noticed provision denying benefits to legal immigrants during their first five years in US; Pataki insisted on clause, because federal immigration law requires that sponsors, not taxpayers, be responsible for new immigrants; Mayor Rudolph Giuliani objects (M)
White House says drug companies may bring price controls on themselves if they continue to resist Pres Clinton's plan to have Medicare provide pharmaceutical benefits; cites new data showing that drug industry earns higher profits and pays lower taxes than most other industries; Clinton has repeatedly said his proposal for Medicare drug benefits does not envision federal regulation of drug prices, but latest statement from White House officials suggests he may take harder line as election year approaches (M)
Forty inmates are transferred out of maximum-security Green Haven prison in upstate New York after correction officials uncover strike plan; Comr Glenn S Goord orders lockdown at Green Haven, saying small group of inmates was attempting to strong-arm others into supporting work stoppage; about 1,800 Sing Sing inmates are also under lockdown after five rounds of ammunition are found; rumors of work stoppages planned for New Year's noted (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 22, 1999, covering December 25, 1999.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Celine Dion
Backstreet Boys
Britney Spears
Santana
1999Adut Akech, South Sudanese-Australian fashion model[†]
Adut Akech Bior is a South Sudanese-Australian model. Akech made her fashion week runway debut as an exclusive in the Saint Laurent S/S 17 show and went on to close both their F/W 17 and S/S 18 shows as an exclusive. In 2018, she was chosen as "Model of the Year" by models.com, an honour which was repeated the next year. Models.com includes Akech in its list of the "New Supers".
1999Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people.[†]
Cubana de Aviación Flight 310 was a scheduled international flight from José Martí International Airport, Havana, Cuba, to Arturo Michelena International Airport, Valencia, Venezuela, which crashed near Bejuma, Venezuela, on 25 December 1999. All 10 passengers and 12 crew on board were killed.
In 1999, the world population was approximately 6,089,006,339 people[†]