WHAT ALL HAPPENED AUGUST TO DECEMBER 1986
Find out what all happened August to December 1986

Nezar Hindawi is sentenced to 45 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down by a British court, for the attempted bombing on an El Al flight at Heathrow. After the verdict, the United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, claiming that Hindawi is helped by Syrian officials. (24. October 1986)

Israeli secret nuclear weapons are revealed. The British newspaper The Sunday Times runs Mordechai Vanunu's story on its front page under the headline: "Revealed — the secrets of Israel's nuclear arsenal". (5. October 1986)

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China (12. October 1986)

The British government suddenly deregulates financial markets, leading to a total restructuring of the way in which they operate in the country, in an event now referred to as the Big Bang. (27. October 1986)

Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from exile in Gorky. (19. December 1986)

Sumburgh disaster – A British International Helicopters Boeing 234LR Chinook crashes 2.5 ! 21⁄2 miles east of Sumburgh Airport killing 45 people. It is the deadliest civilian helicopter crash on record. (6. November 1986)

Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground. (31. August 1986)

Mike Tyson defeats Trevor Berbick to become youngest Heavyweight champion in boxing history. (22. November 1986)

The Boston Red Sox win Game 2 of the 1986 World Series versus the New York Mets 9-3 at Shea Stadium. (19. October 1986)

Iran-Contra Affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. (3. November 1986)

Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling. (23. December 1986)

The Compact of Free Association becomes law, granting the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands independence from the United States. (13. November 1986)

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway. (29. October 1986)

Pan Am Flight 73 with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport. (5. September 1986)

An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale strikes San Salvador, El Salvador, killing an estimated 1,500 people. (10. October 1986)

The King Fahd Causeway is officially opened in the Persian Gulf. (25. November 1986)

The Soviet passenger liner  Admiral Nakhimov sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423. (31. August 1986)

Iran Contra Affair: U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. (25. November 1986)

Reinhold Messner becomes the first person to summit all 14 Eight-thousanders. (16. October 1986)

Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa. (7. September 1986)