Editing 1983 (section)

=== August ===
* [[August 4]] 
** [[Thomas Sankara]] becomes President of [[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]].
** [[Bettino Craxi]] is sworn in as [[Prime Minister of Italy|Italy]]'s first prime minister from the [[Italian Socialist Party|Italian Socialist Party (PSI)]].<ref name=":0" />
* August 7 – [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] authorities pass harsher punishments for [[Alcohol intoxication|drunkenness]] and [[absenteeism]], responding to public calls to curb high rates of [[Alcohol in Russia|alcoholism]].<ref name=":0" />
* [[August 17]] – President [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] authorizes construction of the [[Los Angeles Metro Rail]].<ref name=":0" />
* [[August 18]]
** [[Hurricane Alicia]] hits the [[Texas]] coast, killing 22 and causing over US $3.8 billion ([[2005]] dollars) in damage.
** Five people are killed and 18 others injured when a road train is deliberately driven into a motel at [[Uluru|Ayers Rock]] in the Northern Territory of Australia (the driver, Douglas Edward Crabbe, is convicted in [[March]] [[1984]]).
* [[August 21]] – [[Benigno Aquino Jr.]], [[Philippines]] opposition leader, is [[Assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr.|assassinated]] in [[Manila]] just as he returns from exile.
* [[August 23]] – In a crackdown on crime, the [[China|Chinese]] state [[Capital punishment in China|executes]] 19 people for murder, 10 for rape, and one for auto theft. By the end of the year, [[Amnesty International]] estimates that at least 600 people have been [[Capital punishment in China|executed in China]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1983 |title=30 Killers and Rapists Executed in China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/24/world/around-the-world-30-killers-and-rapists-are-executed-in-china.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* August 24 – [[South Africa]] announces "all outstanding issues" preventing independence for [[South West Africa]] (present-day [[Namibia]]) have been resolved, except for the continuing presence of 23,000 [[Cuban intervention in Angola|Cuban troops]] in neighboring [[Angola]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lelyveld |first=Joseph |date=August 25, 1983 |title=South Africa Calls Cubans Sole Snag on Namibia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/25/world/south-africa-calls-cubans-sole-snag-on-namibia.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[August 26]] – Heavy rain triggers flooding at [[Bilbao]], Spain, and surrounding areas, killing 44 people and causing millions in damages.
* August 29 – Two [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] are killed by [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] blast in [[Beirut]], marking the first U.S. combat fatalities of the [[Multinational Force in Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Richard |date=August 30, 1983 |title=2 Marines Killed in Lebanon and 14 Others Wounded as Beirut Fighting Spreads |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/30/world/2-marines-killed-in-lebanon-and-14-others-are-wounded-as-beirut-fighting-spreads.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>