Timeline Thursday 16 March 1978

Events on Thursday 16 March 1978 3

• 1978 Amoco Cadiz oil spill Supertanker wreck causes one of the largest oil spills in history The supertanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany after its steering failed in a storm, spilling its entire cargo of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil. The spill devastated over 300 kilometres of French coastline and remains one of the largest in history.
• 1978 Kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro Red Brigades abduct and kill Italy's former prime minister The Marxist Red Brigades kidnapped former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in Rome, killing his five bodyguards. He was held for 55 days and murdered after the Italian government refused to negotiate, one of the defining crises of Italy's "Years of Lead".
• 1978 US Senate ratifies Panama Canal Treaties Treaties set course for handover of canal to Panama The US Senate narrowly ratified the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which set a schedule for transferring control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of 1999. The votes ended decades of dispute over the canal's sovereignty.