Comet Hale–Bopp discovered:
Also known as C/1995 O1 by the scientific community, this well known comet was discovered independently by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.

Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia:
The Republic of Abkhazia, is a disputed territory of Georgia and is recognized as an independent state by only a handful of counties including Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu.

International Whaling Commission bans commercial whale hunting:
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) passed a resolution to restrict commercial whaling and ban it completely after 1986.