Marcos dies in Hawaii in 1989.

Emperor Akihito is crowned Emperor of Japan in 1989.

In 1989, the nation of Burma, under the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) changes its name to Myanmar.

Deng Xao Ping institutes economic reforms in China, but suppresses student dissidents.

On June 3, 1989, Chinese authorities order soldiers to attack a peaceful crowd of some 100,000 student demonstrators in Beijing's central Tiananmen Square killing hundreds, wounding thousands and arresting thousands more.

Vietnam withdraws most of its troops from Cambodia in 1989 in an effort to win US recognition.

The last Soviet soldier leaves Afghanistan on February 15, 1989.

The civil war continues, despite predictions of an early collapse of the Najibullah government upon the withdrawal of the Soviets.

The mujahideen form an interim government in Pakistan and steadfastly resist efforts of reconciliation by Najibullah.

On November 14, Afghan government troops repulse a three-pronged attack launched on Jalalabad by the mujahideen.

Najibullah declares a state of emergency based on claims that Pakistan and the US have violated the Geneva Accords.

On December 31, Najibullah calls for the PDPA to change its name.

After the Soviet troop withdrawal, Massoud is one of the first mujahideen to expand his military control in areas north of Kabul and northern Afghanistan.

Sibghatullah Mujaddadi, who in 1979 had founded the Afghan National Liberation Front (ANLF), is in 1989 selected as the head of the Interim Islamic State of Afghanistan.