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| 1988 |
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| Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian novelist, received the Nobel Prize for literature. | 1 |
| United Nations peacekeeping forces received the Nobel Peace Prize. | 2 |
| A new novel, The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie was banned in some Muslim countries because censors thought it dealt blasphemously with the Prophet Muhammad. | 3 |
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| May |
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| U.S. president Reagan and Soviet leader Gorbachev held their fourth summit meeting, during Reagan's visit to Moscow. U.S. and Soviet representatives signed nine different agreements on subjects ranging from student exchanges to fisheries to arms control. The formal documents of ratification of the INF TREATY were exchanged. | 4 |
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| June |
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| The G-7 summit met in Toronto and discussed farm subsidies and the economic needs of developing countries. | 5 |
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| July |
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| U.S. missiles mistakenly shot down an Iranian commercial airliner in the Persian Gulf during U.S. naval escort operations to protect oil shipping. Ayatollah Khomeini accepted the UN Security Council cease-fire resolution relating to the Iran-Iraq War. Hostilities came to an end on August 20 in a war in which more than one million people had been killed. | 6 |
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| Sept |
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| Growing global interest in environmental affairs was reflected in Sweden. In national elections, the Green Environmental Party won 20 seats in the 349-seat Swedish Riksdag. It was the first new party to win representation in 70 years. | 7 |
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| Oct |
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| The U.S. government formally charged the Bank of Credit and Commerce International with conspiracy to launder drug money in a huge global financial network. BCCI operated in more than 70 countries, with assets of more than $20 billion. The charges had an impact on financial institutions around the world. | 8 |
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| Dec |
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| Southern African agreement signed by Angola, Cuba, and South Africa. The accord granted independence to Namibia. South Africa agreed to withdraw from Namibia in return for Cuba's withdrawal from Angola. | 9 |
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