The winds of war died down in 1995, as cease-fires ended the bloodshed in Bosnia and slowed the fighting in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya. There were also signs of progress toward peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland.
It would be the first Christmas of its kind in Bethlehem and the first time in a long time that peace reigned on Christmas Day in Sarajevo.
It was a year in which divorce was sanctioned in Ireland, and within the halls of Buckingham Palace. It was also a year that Israel's prime minister would die with a song of peace on his lips.
More than 350 killed in Indian rail disaster
It was early morning on August 20. The Purshottam Express was speeding along, nearing the Northern city of Ferozabad. Most of its 1,000 or so passengers were asleep. A few minutes later, with the train 160 miles from its destination, Delhi, the air filled with terrified screams as the Purshottam Express rammed into a train that had stopped midway between two stations after hitting a stray cow.
At least 350 people were killed and an equal number injured. And, in a country whose railways carry 13 million people every day, it was one of India's worst rail disasters.
Between them, the two trains were carrying more than 2,000 people. The high-speed collision mangled the rear cars of the stationary train, the Kalindi Express, and threw the front cars and engine of the Purshottam Express off the track. The Purshottam's engineer and his assistant were killed instantly. The Indian army was called in to assist rescue operations, but heavy rain impeded its efforts. A signalman who fled the scene was blamed for giving the green light to the Purshottam Express, when the other train had stopped on the tracks.
Doomsday cult linked to Japan nerve gas attack
March 20, 1995 -- Japan's Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) doomsday cult is accused of unleashing a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways that killed 12 and injured more than 5,000 March 20. It was the world's first mass-scale chemical terrorist attack.
Authorities say Shoko Asahara, Aum Shinri Kyo's leader, was the mastermind of the attack.
Two members of the cult pleaded guilty December 11 to releasing the deadly gas into the Tokyo subway system. Toru Toyoda, 27, and Kenichi Hirose, 31, were on trial for murder and attempted murder.
They are the first sect members directly involved in the attack to go on trial. Both could receive the death penalty.
Asahara also faces a possible death penalty for his role in the attack, but the start of his trial has been delayed because he has twice fired his defense lawyer. More than 100 sect followers are in custody, either already on trial or awaiting the start of court hearings.
Canada's unity has a close call
October 30, 1995 -- Quebec separatists who wanted their Canadian province to become an independent country almost took a giant step toward getting their wish.
The outcome of the vote in Quebec was an indication to both separatists and federalists that a future split is still possible. "All Canadians should see this as a wake-up call," said New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna.
The final vote was 50.6 percent "no" (against independence) and 49.4 percent "yes." A victory for the "yes" vote would have meant the first step toward possible independence.
And supporters of an independent Quebec vowed to continue their fight. Quebeckers first elected a separatist government in 1976, and since that time the province's French-speaking majority has battled with the English-speaking majority of the rest of Canada over Quebec's position in the country.
Nigeria ignores world pleas, executes Saro-Wiwa and eight others
On the morning of November 10, Nigeria's government hanged Nobel Peace prize nominee Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his colleagues, rebuffing pleas for clemency from across the world. Saro-Wiwa and his friends were charged with the murder of four men at a political rally in 1994, and executed merely 10 days after they were convicted. But the 54-year-old writer, who campaigned for the rights of the small Ogoni community in Nigeria's oil basin, had said they were framed for criticizing the military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha.
Moments after the execution, the international community reacted swiftly and scathingly. The 52-member Commonwealth, a grouping of Britain and its former colonies, suspended the oil-rich West African nation, giving it a two-year deadline to embrace democratic reform or face expulsion. Countries like the United States banned arms sales and slapped travel restrictions on visiting Nigerian officials, but stopped short of imposing an oil embargo -- much to the disappointment of human rights groups.
The executions were perhaps the most horrific manifestation of Abacha's two-year reign. But it was not the first time Abacha was thumbing his nose at democracy. Early in his regime, he jailed opposition leader Mashood Abiola after national elections had Abiola poised to win. And, in October 1995, he announced that he would lead Nigeria for at least three more years.
Poland elects former Communist as President
By electing a former Communist as President, Poland went back to the future -- repeating a trend seen in some other parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as well. On November 19, Polish voters rejected Lech Walesa's re-election bid, instead choosing 41-year-old Aleksander Kwasniewski by some 650,000 votes. Stung by the defeat, Walesa's supporters organized a drive to have the election results annulled, charging that Kwasniewski had lied about having a university degree. Poland's highest court found the accusation to be correct, but held that the election was still valid.
Critics, including Walesa say the debonair Kwasniewski, who served as a minister of sport, is an opportunist. Despite his Communist background, Kwasniewski has pledged to keep Poland's growth rates the highest in Europe with continuing privatization of industry. It was Walesa and his Solidarity Labor movement which put Poland's free market into place after they were elected in 1990.
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