Editing 1986 (section)

===January===
* [[January 1]]
** [[Aruba]] gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the [[Netherlands Antilles]].
** [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]] enter the [[European Community]], which becomes the [[European Union]] in 1993.
* [[January 11]] – The [[Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges|Gateway Bridge]] in [[Brisbane]], Australia, at this time the world's longest [[prestressed concrete]] free-[[cantilever bridge]], is opened.
* [[January 13]]–[[January 24|24]] – [[South Yemen Civil War]].
* [[January 20]] – The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the [[Channel Tunnel]].
* [[January 24]] – The [[Voyager 2]] space probe makes its first encounter with [[Uranus]].
* [[January 25]] – [[Yoweri Museveni]]'s National Resistance Army Rebel group takes over [[Uganda]] after leading a [[Ugandan Bush War|five-year guerrilla war]] in which up to half a million people are believed to have been killed. They will later use January 26 as the official date to avoid a coincidence of dates with Dictator [[Idi Amin]]'s [[1971]] coup.
* [[January 28]] – [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]] – [[STS-51-L]]: [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] disintegrates 73 seconds after launch from the United States, killing the crew of seven astronauts, including schoolteacher [[Christa McAuliffe]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Broad |first=William J. |date=1996-01-28 |title=Challenger's Legacy;Risks Remain Despite NASA's Rebuilding |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/28/us/challenger-s-legacy-risks-remain-despite-nasa-s-rebuilding.html |access-date=2025-02-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[January 29]] – [[Yoweri Museveni]] is sworn in as President of [[Uganda]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rule |first1=Sheila |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1986-01-30 |title=Rebel Sworn In as Uganda President |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/30/world/rebel-sworn-in-as-uganda-president.html |access-date=2021-05-26 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>