1970 - 1979
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1968 - 1978 Decade of Terror: West Germany terrorists targeted capitalism. Other terrorism activities soon spread across western countries. Notorious groups and people are Red Army Faction, Symbionese Liberation Army, Carlos the Jackal, the Red Brigades.
1970 - 1972 With the help of India, Bangladesh (east Pakistan) broke away from the west.
1971 - 1979 Rule of Idi Amin in Uganda. He was a former officer in the British colonial army. He staged a coup to overthrow Obote and become president of Uganda. His rule was erratic and cruel. He went into exile when he launched an attack on Tanzania and was defeated. He died in exile in 2003. Eventually Obote became president of Uganda again.
1968 - 1998 Northern Ireland. 30 years of violence between Catholic Republicans who want to unite with Irish Republic and Preotestant Unionists closer to Britain. In 1981 republican Bobby Sands died on hunger strike in prison. Eventually peace deals were signed.
1972 Massacre at the Munich Olympic. Palestinian terrorists took 11 Israelian hostages. A failed German rescue mission caused all of them dead.
1970 - 1998 Chilean Marxist preosident was overthrown by a general. The general remained in power for 2 decades until getting arrested while he went to hospital in London.
1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel won over Egypt and Syria. Arab oil embargo to Europe and USA caused an economic recesion.
1972 - 1974 Watergate
1960 - 1974 Following the independence from Britain, tensions rose between Cyprus's Greek majority and Turkish minority. In the end the island was partitioned.
1974 - 1976 Carnation Revolution in Portugal: military coup overthrew the dictatorial rule and won the support of civilian. Then followed years of political turmoil until 1976.
1974 "Rumble in the Jungle". George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali in Zaire.
1975 - 1990 Lebanese Civil War: When the Palestine Liberation Army (PLO) was expelled from Jordan in 1970, it established a new base in Lebanon and was welcomed by the Muslims there. They believed the PLO would help fight the Phalange (a far-right Christian party). The president of Lebanon requested military aid from Syria to impose a ceasefire between PLO and Phalange. However Israel decided to attack PLO and then UN intervened. PLO left Beirut and headed for Tunisia. The fighting continued into 1990 until Syria captured Lebanon. In 2005 Lebanonese finally won their independence back.
1983 Beirut barracks bombings: 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, 6 civilians were killed by Lebanese Muslims terrorists.
1968 - 1975 US finally withdrew from Vietname in 1973. In 1975 Saigon was captured by North Vietnamese.
1968 US troops commited war crimes against Vietname villagers, suspecting them to be communist supporters. More than 300 men, women, and children were killed.
1975 - 2003 Angolan Civil War. It is estimated that one in every 334 Angolans lost a limb to a landmine.
1970 - 1979 Khmer Rouge (a communist guerrilla force) led by Pol Pot (returned from studies in Paris) seized control of Cambodia in 1975. They committed genocide (about 1/5 of the population died) and was invaded by Vietname in 1979. Pol Pot has been resisting new government and died in 1998 without standing trial for his crimes. The landmines in Cambodia would take 100 years to clear.
1978 Afghan civil war between Islamic resistance group and 2 communist parties.
1979 USSR invaded Afghan to support communist parties. US supported Mujahideen guerrilla fighters. USSR withdrew in 1988.
1980 US-led boycott of 1980 Moscow Olympics. 64 other nations including China joined the boycott.
1977 - 1979 Iranian Revolution. The dictorial Shah was overthrown and an Islamic republic was established. The Westernization of Iran was reversed. "Spiritual enforcers" was set up. Women lost the social gains and had to wear head coerings (hijab) again.
1979 - 1981 Iraninan Hostage Crisis. Iranian students, angry at US taking the Shah in, stormed the US Embassy in Tehran taking US hostages. US recue mission Eagle Claw failed. Carter lost the election and Shah died in US. Iran finally let the hostages return home with US's agreement to unfreeze $8 billion assets.
1972 - 1990 Nicaraguan Revolution: Communist FSLN overthrew the US-backed government. Then it fought with US-backed Contras, despite their linkes to drug-trafficking and human rights abuses. The war ended with a peace agreement and a free election.
Medicine:
1901 Blood types discovered.
1928 Penicillin discovered.
1952 Vaccine against Polio
1953 Double-helix DNA structure discovered.
1960s Oral contraceptives
1967 First heart transplant
1979 Smallpox conquered
1980s AIDS emerged
