South Koreans pair up with new partners for the new millennium

South Korean singles get in step with that special person as eve of new millennium nears

In this story: Norway celebrates 1000-year-old Viking history on eve of new epoch Painful memories tinge past millennium for Amazon Indians Uganda among countries hoping to ward off Y2K bug Austrians anticipate start of new era with predictions, prophecies Artist brings millennial message of peace to Lebanon RELATED STORIES, SITES

The big night is rapidly approaching ... when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, people all around the world will be raising glasses to toast the beginning of a new millennium, and many will be celebrating the significant event alongside their significant other.

About CNN World Report: CNN World Report strives to fulfill its mission: To provide television viewers around the world with the opportunity to see other countries as they see themselves. CNN World Report gives the world's broadcasters a global forum from which to report the news 'as they see it' to the rest of the world. CNN World Report airs daily on CNN International and weekends on CNN. For program times in your area, click here (international viewers) or here (viewers in the United States & Canada)

In South Korea, some singles are hoping to meet that special person in time for the New Year's parties. South Korean broadcaster Arirang News met with some of the 2,000 young men and women at a matchmaking get-together in Seoul.

The participants were there to try their luck at meeting Mr. or Ms. Right ... but the singles organization behind the event worked to leave little to chance: Guests were seated next to each other based on statistically proven "success factors" of mutual attraction.

Arirang News reporter Cho Heemyung checked in with some of the men and women who were hoping to meet an ideal mate. After a bit of conversation and some party activities, most still seemed undecided, yet hopeful that special someone might not be far away.

"Not a bad idea to start the new millennium with someone you love," Cho Heemyung concludes.

Oslo museum houses ships used by Norwegian ancestors to roam across the seas

As the world prepares to ring in the new millennium and anticipate what the next thousand years may hold, many Norwegians are pausing to reflect on some of the events that shaped Norway's and the world's history up to this point.

As Norway's NRK explained to CNN World Report viewers, the Vikings' travels across the seas had a long-lasting impact on the process of exploring the new world.

Some of the relics of those great voyages of discovery are preserved in Oslo's Viking Ship Museum, and NRK reporter Bjorn Hansen took viewers on a tour of Viking vessels. The ornate decorations on the ships, while artistically attractive, were meant to strike fear in the hearts of enemies. A wooden figurehead combining a dragon's head on a snake body, for example, surely was an ominous sign for those the Vikings encountered.

But more than anything else, Hansen regards these ancient vessels as reflections of a culture that valued skilled craftsmanship and the spirit of exploration. "Above all, the ships themselves are creations of beauty," he says.

Youngsters from Brazil's Yanomami tribe learn to put their native language to paper

The European voyages to the New World opened up an unprecedented wave of human migration. That migration pushed aside native inhabitants of the Americas, often in a brutal manner.

Brazil's Amazon Network spoke with Indian leaders of the Amazon region, who reflected on the plight of their people following the arrival of Portuguese explorers some 500 years ago. Those five centuries have often been filled with the blood of Indians killed by the European newcomers.

Correspondent Marcela Rosa explained that the native peoples of Brazil are caught in a struggle between overcoming stifling poverty through greater economic development, and preserving their traditional culture and traditions. Brazilians are beginning to recognize that the Indian culture is an integral part of the whole country's culture, as the poet Tiago de Melo acknowledged to Amazon Network.

"The Indians play the main part in our literature with their legends and myths, which have been transmitted for generations. Even though they were ruthlessly massacred, they are still enchanting us with their beauty," he says.

	VIDEO
Yusuf Kalyango Jr. from WBS TV, reports on Y2K concerns in South Africa. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

The stroke of midnight, December 31, 1999, will be a moment of joyful celebration for many around the globe. But for people such as computer technicians, it may be a tense moment of anticipation. That's because of predictions of computer problems due to the inability of older software to differentiate between 2000 and 1900.

In Uganda as elsewhere, banks and other institutions have been busy working on ways to correct the problem. As Uganda's WBS told CNN World Report viewers, most of the country's authorities feel confident that things will be running smoothly come January 1, 2000.

Austrian Christians turn to symbols of their faith for Year 2000 comfort

The potential computer glitches caused by the rollover to 2000 may be causing plenty of fears, but for some, the date holds more profound, spiritual significance. While many of us may not believe the end of the world is near, the upcoming New Year's Eve is still an occasion to ponder what the future may hold.

CNN World Report contributor ORF of Austria tackled the subject, noting that as early as the 16th century, the prophet Nostradamus foretold the end of the world as we know it at the close of the current millennium. Some people are turning to the stars for the answers, and Austrian astrologers are lining up their prognostications of what may be in store for us in the future.

ORF reporter Merlin Koene pointed out that the Bible has often been used as a source for predictions about the end of the world at a particular point in time. But as one Roman Catholic priest told Koene, the Bible makes it clear that no one knows when the day of final judgment will come, except God.

Yet as December 31 approaches, questions remain. "Is it the end of the world as we know it, or will tomorrow just be another day?" Koene leaves us wondering.

Mia Woods prepares to display her artwork at stopover in Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon, once a Mediterranean paradise for vacationers, has been the scene of destruction and despair in the latter half of this century. As the end of the century nears, one artist is hoping her message of peace will resonate with the residents of "the Paris of the Middle East."

Lebanon's Future TV met with the artist, Mia Woods, who arrived from her home in the United States to show her collages and talk about her vision of peace. Woods told Future TV's Mohalhel Fakih that Beirut's turbulent background, coupled with the strong spirit of survival of the city's inhabitants, attracted her to focus on Beirut as a subject for her artwork.

"I chose Beirut because it has such an interesting history as a place that's come from a war that really devastated it, now working on reconstructing a peace in a very original way," Woods says.