WORLD EVENTS AND THE YEAR 1986

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World Events of 1986

The world's worst nuclear accident occurs in the Soviet town of Chernobyl.

Chernobyl
Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") flees to France, ending 28 years of family rule.
President Reagan freezes Libyan assets in US.
At least 15 people die after United States planes bomb targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region as part of Operation El Dorado Canyon.
Portugal and Spain join European Economic Community.
After a 20 year reign, President Ferdinand Marcos flees the Philippines, newly elected Corazon Aquino replaces him.
Georg Bednorz and Karl A. Muller invent first high temperature superconductor.
World Court rules US broke international law by mining Nicaraguan waters.
The first PC virus, Brain, starts to spread.
The French Air Force raids the Libyan Ouadi Doum airbase in northern Chad.
The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station.

Mir space station.
The US space shuttle Challenger, breaks up shortly after lift-off. This sets the US space program back by years.

Challenger
The European Community adopts the European flag.

European flag
1700 die in toxic gas leak in Cameroon.
The public begins to get glimpses of the criminality of the Reagan administration as the Iran-Contra scandal comes to the public's attention.

Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal comes to light

** Master Index for Years ** Index for This Year ** World Events ** South Asian Events ** Film World Events ** Film Song Videos **
Last Year's World Events ** 1986 ** Next Year's World Events

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