Contemporary
Fall of Saigon (1975): The End of the Vietnam War
South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally, North Vietnamese forces took Saigon, and Vietnam was formally reunified under communist rule in July 1976.
Region
Asia
Contemporary
Indonesian Invasion of East Timor 1975 and the Occupation
Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976; the occupation, never recognised by the UN, lasted until 1999 and cost an estimated 100,000 to 180,000 lives.
Contemporary
Cambodian Genocide 1975-1979: Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields
An estimated 1.5 to 2 million people died; the regime fell to a Vietnamese invasion in January 1979, and surviving leaders were tried decades later.
Contemporary
Banqiao Dam Failure (1975): China's Typhoon Nina Dam Catastrophe
Dozens of dams collapsed; estimates of deaths range from about 26,000 in early official figures to more than 200,000 including later famine and disease.
Contemporary
Korean Axe Murder Incident (1976): Death in the Panmunjom JSA
Two US Army officers were killed; three days later UN forces cut down the tree in Operation Paul Bunyan, and the Joint Security Area was divided along the demarcation line.
Contemporary
1976 Tangshan Earthquake: China's Deadliest Modern Disaster
The city of Tangshan was almost completely destroyed; the official death toll was 242,419, while some estimates are considerably higher.
Contemporary
Reform and Opening Up 1978: Deng Xiaoping Transforms China
China moved from a Maoist planned economy towards a market-oriented 'socialist market economy' open to foreign trade and investment, with decades of rapid growth.
Contemporary
Operation Cyclone: The CIA's Arming of the Afghan Mujahideen
The covert programme supplied billions of dollars in weapons and money to the Afghan resistance, raising the cost of the Soviet war until Moscow withdrew in 1989.
Contemporary
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979): Start of a Decade War
Soviet forces killed Hafizullah Amin, installed Babrak Karmal and became trapped in a nine-year war against the mujahideen that ended with their withdrawal in February 1989.
Contemporary
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (1983): Airliner Shot Down by USSR
All 269 people aboard were killed; the incident sharpened Cold War tensions and led to new civil aviation rules and the opening of GPS to civilian use.
Contemporary
Sri Lankan Civil War 1983–2009: The Tamil Tigers and the State
The Sri Lankan armed forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May 2009; the war cost an estimated 80,000–100,000 or more lives.
Contemporary
Assassination of Indira Gandhi (1984) and Operation Blue Star
Indira Gandhi was killed and her son Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister; anti-Sikh violence in Delhi and other cities killed around 3,000 people or more.