marriage on April 1. The royal family of Nepal was killed on June 1 by Crown Prince Dipendra, who effectively became king upon his father's death. King Dipendra died days later and was succeeded by his uncle Gyanendra. The Constitution of the Comoros was amended on December 24, creating a federal government with a rotating presidency and granting increased autonomy to the three island administrations. International Two major regional organizations were announced in 2001: The African Union was established on May 26 as a pan-African forum to promote unity between African countries, including cooperation in economic and security issues. It would take effect in 2002, replacing the Organisation of African Unity. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was announced on June 15 to facilitate political and economic cooperation between Asian countries. Three countries joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001: Lithuania on May 31, Moldova on July 26, and China on December 11. The WTO began the Doha Development Round in November to negotiate lower trade barriers between countries and integrate developing nations into the global economy. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was signed on May 22 to limit the production of persistent organic pollutants. The World Conference against Racism 2001 began on August 31, in Durban, South Africa, under the auspices of the United Nations. Israel and the United States withdrew from the conference on September 3 over objections to a draft resolution document equating Zionism with racism and singling out the Jewish state for war crimes. The Aarhus Convention agreement took effect on October 30, establishing the right to environmental information and environmental justice for European and Central Asian countries. The Convention on Cybercrime, the first international treaty to address cybercrime, was signed on November 23. A diplomatic incident occurred between China and the United States when military planes of the two countries collided on April 1. Science and technology The Human Genome Project released the first draft of its human genome sequence on February 12. The first self-contained artificial heart was implanted on July 2. Several accomplishments were made in the field of cloning in 2001, including the clone of a gaur the clone of a mouflon, and the first clone of a human embryo. There were only 57 successful orbital spaceflights in 2001, the fewest since 1963. Eight of these launches were crewed missions. Two failed spaceflights also took place. The NEAR Shoemaker made the