Events January January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., United States, then falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 people. January 18 – 1982 Thunderbirds Indian Springs Diamond Crash: Four Northrop T-38 aircraft of the United States Air Force crash at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nevada, killing all 4 pilots. January 26 Mauno Koivisto is elected President of Finland. Unemployment in the United Kingdom increases by 129,918 to 3,070,621, a post-war record number. January 27 – The Garret FitzGerald government of the Republic of Ireland is defeated 82–81 on its budget; the 22nd Dáil Éireann is dissolved. January 30 – The first computer virus, the Elk Cloner, written by 15-year old Rich Skrenta, is found. It infects Apple II computers via floppy disk. February February 1 – Senegal and The Gambia form a loose Senegambia Confederation. February 2 – The Hama massacre begins in Syria. February 3 – Syrian president Hafez al-Assad orders the army to purge the city of Harran of the Muslim Brotherhood. February 5 – London-based Laker Airways collapses, leaving 6,000 stranded passengers and debts of $270 million. February 7 – Iraqi club Al-Shorta win the 1982 Arab Club Champions Cup with a 4–2 aggregate win over Al-Nejmeh in the final. February 9 – Japan Airlines Flight 350 crashes in Tokyo Bay due to thrust reversal on approach to Tokyo International Airport, killing 24 among the 174 people on board. February 15 – The oil platform Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing all 84 rig workers aboard. February 18 – The Republic of Ireland general election gives a boost to Fianna Fáil. February 24 – In South Africa, 22 National Party MPs led by Andries Treurnicht vote for no confidence in P. W. Botha. February 25 – The European Court of Human Rights rules that teachers who cane, belt or tawse children against the wishes of their parents are in breach of the Human Rights Convention. March March 2 – Decentralisation in France: Law of Decentralisation creates the administrative regions of France (régions). March 9 – Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. March 10 The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan state-sponsored