1975

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• On 13 April, civil war between Muslim and Christian forces begins in Lebanon.

• On 17 April, Pol Pot's Khymer Rouge troops capture Phnom Penh and begin a reign of terror, with the whole of Cambodia becoming the 'killing fields'.

• On 29 April, as North Vietnamese troops capture Saigon and the last helicopter loaded with US personnel flies away from the roof of the American embassy, the Vietnam War ends in victory for the Communists. The country is officially reunited on 2 July 1976.

• Portugal recognises the independence of Mozambique (25 June) Angola and (10 November).

• On 15 October, Iceland increases its territorial waters to 200 miles. This is the beginning of the 'Cod War'. The first shots – between Icelandic gunboats and British frigates – are fired on 11 December.

• On 20 November, Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain, dies, and democracy returns to Spain.

• On 7 December, Indonesian troops illegally occupy East Timor, after the region declares independence from Portuguese colonial rule.

• The first Apollo-Soyuz joint space mission is undertaken by Soviet Union and the United States from 17 to 19 July.

• Microsoft co-founded by the 19-year-old Bill Gates.

• The first video recorders, personal computers and floppy disks are on sale.

• Independent director Robert Altman achieves his first major success since M*A*S*H (1970) with Nashville, which triumphantly mingles overlapping story lines.

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