Date Headline Summary 31 October, 1984
Indian prime minister shot
dead
Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, has been
killed by assassins in New Delhi
3 December, 1984
Hundreds die in Bhopal
chemical accident
Hundreds of people have died from the effects of
toxic gases which leaked from a chemical factory
near the central Indian city of Bhopal
19 September, 1985
Mexico suffers devastating
earthquake
A massive earthquake has hit Mexico not far from
its capital, Mexico City, causing untold casualties
and widespread damage
7 October, 1985
Gunmen hijack Italian cruise
liner
Palestinian militants have hijacked an Italian cruise
liner, the Achille Lauro, in the Mediterranean and
threatened to blow it up
11 October, 1987
Search ends for Loch Ness
monster
A major sonar exploration of Loch Ness in Scotland
has failed to find a monster
29 September, 1988
Shuttle blasts US back into
space
The United States has successfully launched its
first manned space mission since the Challenger
disaster two and a half years ago
10 December, 1988
Death toll rises in Armenian
earthquake
Up to 45,000 people have died and a further
500,000 are homeless after the devastating
earthquake which ripped through Armenia, official
figures revealed today
30, July, 1991
Pavarotti sings in the British
rain
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti has given a huge
free concert in London's Hyde Park to celebrate 30
years in opera
2 October, 1993
Hardline Communists riot in
Moscow
Shots have been fired and several people injured
after pro-Communist demonstrators fought running
battles with security forces loyal to President Boris
Yeltsin in Moscow
5 February, 1996
First GM food goes on sale in
UK
The first genetically modified, or GM, food goes on
sale today in British supermarkets
31 August, 1997
Princess Diana dies in Paris
crash
Diana, Princess of Wales, is killed after her car
crashes in a Paris underpass - the driver and her
friend Dodi Fayed are also dead
5 September, 1997
Mother Teresa dies
Mother Teresa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who
devoted her life to helping the sick and the poor,
has died at the age of 87
22 February, 1997
Dolly the sheep is cloned
Scientists in Scotland have announced the birth of
the world's first successfully cloned mammal, Dolly
the sheep
7 November, 2000
Hillary Clinton is first First Lady
in Senate
Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of the president, has won
a seat for the Democrats in the Senate to become the
only First Lady to win elective office in US history
11 September, 2001
US rocked by day of terror
The United States is in a state of shock after a day
of attacks which left thousands dead and the World
Trade Center destroyed
8 October, 2003
The Terminator takes on
California
The film star Arnold Schwarzenegger has been
elected governor of California, ousting the
incumbent, Gray Davis, three years before his term
was due to end
24 October, 2003
End of an era for Concorde
The legendary supersonic aircraft, Concorde, has
landed at the end of its last commercial passenger
flight, amid emotional scenes at Heathrow airport
11 March, 2004
Many die as bombs destroy
Madrid trains
At least 170 people have died and 500 have been
injured as huge explosions tore through three
Madrid train stations during the morning rush-hour