Afghanistan Soviet Red Army withdraws
Soviet Red Army withdraws from Afghanistan.
More Information for the USSR withdraws from Afghanistan.
The Soviet Union agreed to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan after signing the Geneva Accords in April of 1988. The 1988 Accords were officially known as the “Agreements on the Settlement of the Situation Relating to Afghanistan.” These agreements were the result of talks between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the USSR, and the United States, which ended on April 8, 1988. The accords were signed by all four countries on April 14 and led to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the settlement of conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The USSR became involved in the conflict in 1979 and their troops did not leave until February of 1989.
World Expo 88 in Australia
World Expo 88 comes to an end during October News Events. Expo 88 began in April of 1988 and was held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The expo hosted more than 15 million attendees during its run and there were 35 countries that participated. The theme of the fair was “Leisure in the Age of Technology.” The expo was also a part of the celebrations for the Australian Bicentenary. It included attractions like a monorail, an amusem*nt park, sculpture park, and Japanese garden among much more across the 98 acre fairgrounds.
US Space Shuttle program
US Space Shuttle program resumes 2 1/2 years after Challenger disaster.
More Information for the US Space Shuttle Program.
NASA resumed the Space Shuttle program during September of 1988, with the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-26 mission. The program had been halted after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster for about two and a half years. The STS-26 mission became known as the “Return to Flight” mission and was an important factor in whether or not and to what capacity the Space Shuttle program would resume if successful. Besides the initial purpose of returning to flight, the STS-26 mission also had the purpose of launching a NASA satellite, which it did as planned. The flight was also the first Space Shuttle mission to have a veteran crew with all members having previously participated in at least one other mission. STS-26 lasted about four days and traveled in space for about 1.7 million miles before returning to Earth.
Soyuz TM-5.
The Soviet Union launches the Soyuz TM-5 mission to take cosmonauts to the Mir space station for the fifth time.
More Information and Timeline for Soyuz TM-5.
The USSR launches the Soyuz TM-5 spacecraft on June 7th of 1988. The mission carried three crew members to the Mir Space Station. This was the fifth mission to bring Soviet cosmonauts to the Mir Space Station. The crew on board the flight were Anatoly Solovyov, Aleksandr Aleksandrov, and Viktor Savinykh. The crew left the space station after one week had passed and used a different spacecraft, the Soyuz TM-4, to return to Earth. The Soyuz TM-5 was left at the space station for the two remaining cosmonauts who had been on a long-term mission to use to get home. They returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz TM-5 during September of 1988.
More News and Key Events From 1988
Iran -- Iraq war ends
After 8 years and 1.5 million dead the Iran -- Iraq war ends
Iraq Poison Gas Attack On Kurds
Iraq carries out Poison Gas Attack On Kurds
Armenia Earthquake
Earthquake in Armenia Kills 60,000
Scotland Lockerbie Bombing
Suspected Libyan terrorist bomb explodes on Pan Am jet over Lockerbie in Scotland on December 21st killing all 259 on board and 11 on the ground
Australia bicentennial
Australia celebrates its bicentennial.
U.S. Crack
A new drug Crack appears ( A derivative of Cocaine ) and is increasingly found in US Cities
Gibralta IRA bombers
UK SAS kill suspected IRA bombers in Gibraltar
UK English Pound Note
The English Pound Note ceases to be legal Tender
South Korea Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson wins the 100m gold at the Seoul Olympics and is then disqualified for taking the anabolic steroid, Stanozol
UK Salmonella
Salmonella is found in Eggs in Britain causing problems for British Farmers
UK Pubs
Laws restricting opening times for UK Pubs are changed allowing Pubs to stay open all day
UK Clapham Rail Crash
34 people die in the Clapham Rail Crash
Poland Solidarity
Widespread strikes in Poland by Solidarity Supporters
UK Globe Theatre
Archaeologists uncover the original Globe Theatre in London
Russia School Bus
A Soviet Union School Bus is Hijacked
Panama Noriega
Panama leader General Manual Antonio Noriega, is charged with drug smuggling and money laundering
UN Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat is invited to adress the U.N. General Assembly
Scotland Piper Alpha
Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires killing 165 oil workers and 2 rescue mariners.
South Korea Olympics
The Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea
Burma Buddhist monks protest
Students and Buddhist monks protest against military rule in Burma leading to multiple arrests and murder by the Military government.
U.S. Flight 655
The USS Vincennes shoots down Iranian passenger jet Flight 655
U.S. Yellowstone National Park
Over 1/3 of Yellowstone National Park is destroyed when a a series of more than 250 small different fires combined with the 1988 Drought destroys 793,880 acres of the park.
Switzerland Prince Charles
Prince Charles escapes avalanche in Switzerland
Canada Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Jamaica Hurricane Gilbert
Hurricane Gilbert devastated Jamaica, it turns towards Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula two days later
Popular Culture 1988
Popular Films
Popular Films
Rain Man
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Big
Twins
Crocodile Dundee II
Die Hard
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Beetlejuice
Dangerous Liaisons
A Fish Called Wanda
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Popular Musicians
Enya
Robert Palmer
Erasure
Kylie Minogue
U2
The Beach Boys
Bros
Michael Jackson with " Dirty Diana "
Gloria Estefan
Chicago with " Look Away "
George Michael with " father Figure "
Guns N' Roses
George Harrison
Technology
First transatlantic fibre optic cable laid able to carry 40,000 telephone calls simultaneously
Stephen Hawking Publishes " A Brief History Of Time "
The first major computer virus infects computers connected to the Internet.
The US Stealth Bomber is unveiled
Using Carbon Dating it is established that the Turin Shroud Can Not Be the Burial Cloth of Christ
The Antidepressant Prozac introduced which quickly became the market leader for treating depression
Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
Laser Eye Surgery USA
