WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO JULY 1989
Find out what all happened January to July 1989

Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. (14. February 1989)

Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States, allowing the manufacture of parts of the F-16 jet fighter plane in Egypt. (29. May 1989)

The United States becomes a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. (1. March 1989)

The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. (1. February 1989)

An IRA bomb destroys a section of a British Army barracks in Ternhill, England. (20. February 1989)

Prince Akihito is sworn in as the emperor of Japan after the death of his father Hirohito (7. January 1989)

The Montreal Protocol Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force. (1. January 1989)

Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so (29. January 1989)

Cedar Point opens Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what is known as the "coaster wars". (6. May 1989)

Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States. (1. May 1989)

Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots. (27. February 1989)

The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre. (20. May 1989)

The April 9 tragedy in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strikes, demanding restoration of Georgian independence is dispersed by the Soviet army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries. (9. April 1989)

Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors. (7. April 1989)

Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce their discovery of cold fusion at the University of Utah. (23. March 1989)

Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan. (15. February 1989)

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations. (2. April 1989)

Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike. (13. May 1989)

The Tank Man halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. (5. June 1989)

Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect. (2. May 1989)