WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1988
Find out what all happened January to December 1988

Benazir Bhutto is appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan. (1. December 1988)

The ET3 television network is launched in Thessaloniki, Greece. (14. December 1988)

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus. (3. July 1988)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux becomes the only National Hockey League player to score goals in five different ways: even strength, shorthanded, power play, penalty shot, and empty net, during a 8–6 win over the New Jersey Devils. (31. December 1988)

Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted. (24. May 1988)

Two officers of the Victoria Police are gunned down executional style in the Walsh Street police shootings, Australia. (12. October 1988)

Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges. (5. February 1988)

Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz TM-5 after 9 days on the Mir space station. (7. September 1988)

In R. v. Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws, effectively allowing abortions in Canada in all 9 months of pregnancy. (28. January 1988)

The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. (25. March 1988)

United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. (3. July 1988)

Jaffna University Helidrop: Commandos of Indian Peace Keeping Force raided the Jaffna University campus to capture the LTTE chief and walked into a trap. (12. October 1988)

In the Soviet Union, the unmanned Shuttle Buran makes its only space flight. (15. November 1988)

Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet. (17. March 1988)

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town. (29. February 1988)

Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane in the Western Hemisphere, later replaced by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 (based on barometric pressure). (13. September 1988)

A fire at Illinois Bell's Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered the 'worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history' and still the worst to occur on Mother's Day. (8. May 1988)

The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, is launched from MIT. (2. November 1988)

"Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park (20. August 1988)

Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries try to overthrow the Maldivian government. At President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's request, the Indian military suppresses the coup attempt within 24 hours. (3. November 1988)