February 1988

Wednesday 03:

Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.

Friday 05:

Comic Relief hold the first "Red Nose Day", which raises £15 million in the United Kingdom for charity.

Saturday 13:

1988 Winter Olympic Games open in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Sunday 21:

Jimmy Swaggart, on his own televangelism program being taped in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, confesses that he is guilty of an unspecified sin and will be temporarily leaving the pulpit.

Wednesday 24:

The Supreme Court of the United States sides with Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine by overturning a lower court decision to award Jerry Falwell $200,000 for defamation.

Monday 29:

South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town