The News of 1980.

January:

Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession render Princess Victoria first in line to the throne ahead of her younger brother
In Saudi Arabia, 63 Islamist insurgents are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca two months previous
Nigel Short, 14, becomes the youngest chess player to be awarded the degree of International Master
Indira Gandhi returns to power as Prime Minister of India
At least 200 people are killed when the Corralejas Bullring collapses in Sincelejo, Colombia
Iran hostage crisis, the “Canadian Caper”: six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, escape from Tehran as they board a flight to Zürich
The Rubik’s Cube makes its international debut at The British Toy and Hobby Fair, Earl’s Court, London
The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is invaded and set on fire, killing 36 people
Workers at British Steel go on a nationwide strike over pay, the first steelworks strike since 1926

February:

FBI personnel target members of the United States Congress as part of the ABSCAM sting operation investigating corruption
Abolhassan Banisadr is sworn in as the first President of Iran
The 1980 Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York
M-19 guerrillas begin the Dominican embassy siege in Colombia, holding 60 people hostage, including 14 ambassadors
Margaret Thatcher announces state benefits to strikers will be halved
British Steel announces more than 11,000 jobs will be axed at its plants in Wales
Manchester United chairman Louis Edwards dies of a heart attack aged 65, just weeks after allegations about shady dealings with United and and his retail outlet chain

March:

The Commonwealth Trade Union Council is established
Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada
Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
US President Jimmy Carter announces that the US will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow over the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Mafioso Angelo Bruno is murdered in Philadelphia
Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador

April:

A group of Cubans become the first to occupy the Peruvian Embassy in Havana, leading to a mass exodus
Samuel K Doe overthrows the government of Liberia in a violent coup d’ètat, assassinating President William Tolbert and 26 others, ending over 130 years of democratic presidential succession
Zimbabwe gains de jure independence from the UK
Six Iranian-born terrorists take over the Iranian embassy in London taking 26 hostages
Police raid the Black and White Café in Bristol setting off the St Pauls riot, which comes amid increasing racial tension, poor housing and alienation of black youth in the area
Alton Towers Resort is opened as a theme park

May:

Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito dies. The largest state funeral in history is organised with state delegations from 128 different countries
Smallpox is declared eradicated globally by the World Health Organisation
American mobster Henry Hill is arrested for drug possession
The Sumpul River massacre occurs, in which between 300 and 600 refugees are murdered in El Salvador
A Tampa, Florida court acquits four white police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, sparking three days of race riots in Miami
The 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens volcano in Washington state kills 57 and causes $3 billion in damage
Ian Curtis, 23 year-old singer-songwriter of Joy Divison, is found hanged by his wife Deborah at their Macclesfield home
Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations for democratic reforms, clashes with military government forces leave 2000 protesters dead
Pac-Man is released in Japan
Second Division West Ham United defeat Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup final, as of 2020 they remain the last team outside the top division to win the trophy
Nottingham Forest retain the European Cup with a 1-0 win over Hamburger SV, it’s the fourth successive year an English side has won the trophy as Liverpool won consecutively prior to Forest
Inflation has risen to 21.8%

June:

The first 24-hour news channel, Cable News Network (CNN), is launched
The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela
Italy hosts the UEFA Euro 1980 tournament where West Germany beat Belgium 2-1 in the final
Vigdis Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland, making her the world’s first democratically elected female head of state
Unemployment reaches a postwar high of 1.6 million
Pre-decimal sixpence coin is withdrawn from circulation

July:

The 1980 Summer Olympics open in Moscow. 82 countries boycott the Games over the Soviet-Afghan War. The Soviet Union unsurprisingly top the medal table with 80 gold and 195 overall medals

August:

A terrorist bombing at the Bologna Centrale railway station kills 85 people and injures a further 200
Two month old Azaria Chamberlain disappears from a campsite at Ayers Rock (Uluru), reportedly taken by a dingo
Strikes in Gdańsk Shipyard lead to the signing of the Gdańsk Agreement, opening a way to start the first free trade union in the communist bloc, “Solidarity”
37 people, patrons of two unlicensed bars, die as a result of the Denmark Place fire, caused by arson
Unemployment now stands at 2 million for the first time since 1935

September:

A new constitution is confirmed in a Chilean referendum. The vote is held without electoral registers, opposition campaign and with electoral fraud
Kenan Evren stages a military coup in Turkey. It stops political gang violence but begins stronger state violence leading to the execution of many young activists
The command council of Iraq orders its army to “deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets” initiating the Iran-Iraq War
Thirteen people are killed and 211 injured in a right-wing terror attack during Oktoberfest in Munich

October:

Elisabeth blast furnace demolished at Bliston Steelworks marking the end of iron and steel production in the Black Country
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake shakes northern Algeria killing between 2633 and 500 people and injuring 8369-9000 others
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher delivers her famous “The lady’s not for turning” speech
James Callaghan announces his resignation as leader of the Labour Party
Greece rejoins the NATO military structure
Six Provisional IRA prisoners in Maze prison, Northern Ireland refuse food and demand status as political prisoners

November:

Republican challenger and former Governor of California Ronald Reagan defeats Democratic incumbent President Jimmy Carter to become the 40th President of the United States
A record number of viewers tune into watch Dallas to learn who shot lead character JR Ewing. It is reported that more US citizens watched this episode than voted in the presidential election
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes southern Italy, officially killing 2483 and injuring 8934, though the deaths may have been as high as 4900
Michael Foot is elected leader of the Labour Party
University student Jacqueline Hill, 20, is murdered in Headingley, Leeds. A police investigation establishes she is probably the 13th woman killed by the Yorkshire Ripper

December:

A missionary and three Roman Catholic nuns, all Americans, are murdered by a military death squad in El Salvador while performing charity work during the civil war
John Lennon is shot outside is New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman

Other:

Insider trading becomes illegal under UK company law
Britain becomes self-sufficient in oil
The Empire Strikes Back rakes in $538 million to become the highest grossing film of the year
The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” is the best-selling single of the year, spending four weeks at number-one