40 years ago October 12, 1986: Reagan-Gorbachev talks

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on October 12, 1986.

2 min readOct 12, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Oct 12, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, completed the second session of their talks in Iceland. While a news blackout prevailed, publicised positions are that the Soviet leader wants either a test ban or a Euromissile accord, and Reagan wants to continue testing, among others, nuclear components for space arms.

11 die in Punjab bus tragedy

Eleven people were killed and 22 injured, three of them seriously, when a Punjab Roadways bus fell into a deep ditch near Dhar, 20 km from Pathankot. According to an official report received here, the injured have been admitted to hospital in Pathankot.

Earthquake claims 1,000 lives

Catastrophic earthquakes, which badly damaged San Salvador and almost flattened its centre on Friday, caused about 1,000 deaths and injured 4,000 people. President José Napoleón Duarte has declared a national state of emergency and ordered his Cabinet to report to the headquarters of the joint chiefs of staff and broadcast urgent calls for doctors and nurses to report to hospitals.

US offer on arms production

The US Defence Secretary, Caspar Weinberger, offered co-production facilities for manufacturing defence equipment to India. He was also willing to undertake talks with Pakistan and China to remove any misgivings India might have about its security environment and reduce tensions in the Subcontinent.