19881988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United States (NSFNET) and Europe (Nordunet) as well as the first Internet-based chat protocol, Internet Relay Chat. The concept of the World Wide Web was first discussed at CERN in 1988. The Soviet Union began its major deconstructing towards a mixed economy at the beginning of 1988 and began its gradual dissolution.
2023On May 5 this year, the WHO ceased calling the COVID-19 pandemic a global health emergency, as infections continued to decrease. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, continued, and an armed conflict broke out in Sudan, beginning in April. Catastrophic natural disasters included the fifth-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century striking Turkey and Syria, leaving nearly 60,000 people dead, as well as Cyclone Freddy, the longest-lasting recorded tropical cyclone in history, leading to over 1,400 deaths.
1994The year 1994 was designated as the "International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In Line Islands and Phoenix Islands, this year has only 364 days as Saturday, December 31 was skipped when 1995 began after Friday, December 30. That means aligning the rest of Kiribati within its capital Tarawa by redrawing the international date line on its territorial boundaries. January 1 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is established.
20102010 was designated as: International Year of Biodiversity International Year of Youth 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures There is a debate among experts and the general public on how to pronounce specific years of the 21st century in English. The year 2010 is pronounced either "twenty-ten" or "two thousand [and] ten". 2010 was the first year to have a wide variation in pronunciation, as the years 2000 to 2009 were generally pronounced "two thousand (and) one, two, three, etc.
