Witness History

The kiwi fruit is synonymous with New Zealand in the minds of most European and American shoppers.But the hairy fruit actually comes from China and was once known as the Chinese gooseberry. So how did New Zealand hijack a Chinese fruit and turn it into their biggest horticultural export? Former fruit exporter Don Turner tells Vicky Farncombe how his family named the kiwi fruit in the 1950s and created a global industry.

In 1946, Italian confectioner Pietro Ferrero set out to bring chocolate to the masses. His recipe evolved over the years to become a world-famous product.Thomas Chatenier from the manufacturer tells Uma Doraiswamy how the chocolate and hazelnut formula spread across the globe.(Photo: The famous spread. Credit: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

In the 1960s, the singer Dafydd Iwan started campaigning for the Welsh language to gain official status in Wales. For years, Dafydd received little support. In January 1969 he decided to up the pressure, defacing a police station sign written in English with paint. He ended up in prison, but soon young people across the country were picking up paint pots and taking up the cause. Today, the Welsh language is found in schools, on documents and on police station signs. Dafydd tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty about his activism and singing.(Photo: Dafydd after his release from Cardiff prison. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images)

In 2014 three journalists were sentenced to seven years in jail in Egypt.Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed became known as the Al Jazeera Three.The jail terms handed out to them led to an international outcry as protesters called for press freedom.Peter Greste tells his compelling story to Gill Kearsley.(Photo: Peter Greste inside the defendants’ cage. Credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)

In late 1973, Chile was in turmoil. General Augusto Pinochet had led a military coup deposing the socialist president Salvador Allende who was now dead.The army was rounding up leftists; torturing, imprisoning and killing them.In the capital Santiago, the country’s best-known poet Pablo Neruda was lying in a hospital bed. He was 69 and had cancer.As a prominent member of the Communist Party his life was in danger. He had to get out.With him was his driver and personal assistant Manuel Araya who spoke to Gideon Long.(Photo : The poet in 1963. Credit: Angelo Cozzi/Mondadori/Getty Images)

On 25 March 1975, Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal was murdered, shot by his nephew as he bent to kiss him as a greeting.The king’s oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani was standing beside him when the gun went off.In 2017, Ahmed’s daughter, Dr Mai Yamani, told Louise Hidalgo of her father’s pain at witnessing the death.(Photo: King Faisal in 1967. Credit: Pierre Manevy/Getty Images)

On 29 September 2009, a devastating tsunami hit Samoa, killing 149 people and leaving a trail of destruction. For Lumepa Hald it was a terrifying day which resulted in a tragic loss. She tells her story to Gill Kearsley.(Photo: The devastation in Samoa after the tsunami in 2009. Credit: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

On 15 December 2013, South Africa held the funeral of Nelson Mandela who led the struggle in defeating apartheid and became the country’s first black president. His ancestral home in the village of Qunu in South Africa’s Eastern Cape hosted 60 world leaders including four United States presidents and two UN secretary generals. It was the first state funeral held by the country.Nelson Mandela’s eldest child Dr Makaziwe Mandela tells Josephine McDermott how it took eight years to plan and why it makes her proud to remember that day.(Photo: Candles are lit under a portrait of Nelson Mandela at his funeral service. Credit: Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)

In 1983, the disappearance of a teenage girl who was a citizen of Vatican City led to a scandal.When Pope John Paul II made a public appeal to the people holding Emanuela Orlandi captive, the world took notice and her case was treated as a suspected kidnapping.Forty years on, the reason she vanished is still unclear.Emanuela’s brother, Pietro Orlandi, speaks to Daniel Gordon about his life-long mission to find out what really happened to his sister.(Photo: A protester holds a photo of Emanuela. Credit: Stefano Montesi/Corbis/Getty Images)

The great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova lived through some of the darkest chapters of Soviet history, but never stopped writing even though the communist regime repeatedly tried to silence her. One of Anna's most famous poems, Requiem, is about her son's arrest and the Stalinist terror.In 2022, art historian Era Korobova told Tatyana Movshevich about the poet's tumultuous relationship with her son.(Photo: Anna Akhmatova (second from right, at a Soviet writers' conference in 1965. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1998, Russia’s President Boris Yeltsin shocked the nation with a last-minute decision to speak at the reburial of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, 80 years after their murder.“We must end an age of blood and violence in Russia,” he said, as he called for the country to face up to the crimes of its communist past.Lilia Dubovaya, a reporter for the state news service, told Robert Nicholson about the emotional weight of the day. A Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Image: President Yeltsin at the reburial of Tsar Nicholas II. Credit: Reuters)

As civil war raged in Russia, on 17 July 1918, the imprisoned royal family were told they were to be taken to a place of refuge.But the move was a trick and half an hour later Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and his children lay dead, gunned down and bayonetted.In 2018, his great niece Olga Romanov told Olga Smirnova about that night, and the family’s reburial 80 years later.(Photo: The room where the Romanovs were murdered. Credit: Getty Images)

In December 1993, the release of a new video game captivated gamers around the world. It was called DOOM. Set on a Martian military base overrun by zombified soldiers and demons, DOOM saw players take control of a nameless soldier called ‘The DOOM guy’ as he fights the demonic enemies to stop them taking over Earth. The game was released at a time when violence in video games was big news and a topic of discussion in the United States Senate. Kurt Brookes speaks to John Romero, one of the game’s developers, and remembers the release of what went on to become one of the most influential games ever. A Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service. (Photo: John Romero. Credit: Made in Manchester)

Between 1976 and 1983 in Argentina, the military ruled the country. Thousands of mainly young, left-wing Argentinians went missing. Known as 'the disappeared', they were taken to detention centres, such as Escuela Superior de Mecanica de la Armada, known as ESMA in the capital, Buenos Aires. Around 5,000 prisoners passed through its gates. Most were killed. As well as the murders and torture, hundreds of babies were taken from pregnant prisoners and given away to military personnel and families who supported the government. In December 1983 the Argentinian president Raul Alfonsin signed a decree putting the military junta responsible on trial. In 2010, Candice Piete spoke to one of the survivors, Miriam Lewin. (Photo: ESMA. Credit: Reuters)

On 21 April 1967, a group of right-wing army officers seized power in Greece to prevent the election of a social democratic government led by veteran politician George Papandreou. The dictatorship, backed by the United States, lasted for seven years. Thousands of people were imprisoned, exiled and tortured. The grandson of that politician, also called George, was 14 at the time. He went on to be elected as Greece’s prime minister in 2009. In February 2012, George Papandreou Junior spoke to Maria Margaronis about the night when tanks rolled through Athens and soldiers came to arrest his father. Archive audio is used by permission of ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.Archival audio used by permission of ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.(Photo: The younger George Papandreou in 2011. Credit: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

In 1945, two Danish scientists opened an institute to study mental illnesses. In the four decades until it closed, almost 10,000 brains were collected from dead psychiatric patients and stored in plastic buckets. However, they were removed during autopsies without seeking permission from relatives. Following much debate in the 1990s, it was decided they should be used for research. Now based in the University of Southern Denmark, the collection is believed to be the world’s largest brain bank. Scientists hope it can help our understanding of mental illness and brain disease. Adrienne Murray speaks to pathologist and caretaker of the brains, Martin Wirenfeldt Nielsen. (Photo: Brains stored in plastic buckets at the University of Southern Denmark. Credit: BBC)

In 1993, film director Mathieu Kassovitz started work on what would become a cult cinema classic, La Haine. La Haine would follow three friends from a poor immigrant neighbourhood in the Paris suburbs 24 hours after a riot. The film was released in 1995 to huge critical acclaim and Mathieu won best director at the Cannes Film Festival. It was heavily critical of policing in France and it caught the attention of high profile politicians in the country, including then Prime Minister, Alain Juppé. Thirty years on, Mathieu has been sharing his memories of that time with Matt Pintus. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Vincent Cassel "Vinz" in La Haine. Credit: Studio Canal+)

In December 1948, a family of Hungarian refugees moved into the world's first home to be heated entirely by solar power.What made the Dover Sun House, in Massachusetts, United States, even more special was that it had been created by three women at a time when men dominated the fields of science and engineering.Heiress Amelia Peabody funded it, architect Eleanor Raymond designed it and biophysicist Maria Telkes created the heating system. Andrew Nemethy, who grew up in the house, tells Vicky Farncombe how it felt to live in an "elongated cheese wedge".This programme has been updated since its original broadcast. It was edited on 6 December 2023.(Photo: The Dover Sun House. Credit: Getty Images)

After Tanzania, then called Tanganyika, became independent from Britain in 1961, the country's leader, Julius Nyerere, made Swahili the national language to unite its people.Walter Bgoya tells Ben Henderson about his conversations with Nyerere and how the policy changed Tanzania.(Photo: Julius Nyerere. Credit: Keystone via Getty Images)

On 21 August 1986, hundreds of villagers in a remote part of Cameroon mysteriously died overnight, along with 3,500 livestock.In the weeks-long investigation that followed, scientists tried to work out what had happened. How had hundreds died, but hundreds of others survived?In 2011, scientists Peter Baxter and George Kling told Tim Mansel how they cracked the case.(Photo: Dead cattle by the shore of Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Credit: Eric Bouvet/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images)

In 1969, a Peruvian farmer called Gustavo Del Solar received an unusual assignment - finding a bird called the white-winged guan that had been regarded as extinct for a century.After years of searching, he found the bird deep in Peru’s wilderness in 1977. He then made it his life’s mission to save the species, setting up a zoo in his family home.Thanks to Gustavo's discovery, the Peruvian government protected the white-winged guan and its population continued to grow. His son, Rafael Del Solar, tells Ben Henderson about his dad's love for the 'chicken-sized' birds.(Photo: Gustavo Del Solar with a white-winged guan. Credit: Rafael Del Solar/El Comercio)

In 1983, all hell broke loose when a new toy hit stores in the United States. Cabbage Patch Kids were so popular that people were getting injured when they tried to buy them. But Martha Nelson Thomas, whose original design she said inspired the dolls, received little credit.She watched on as sales of the toys generated hundreds of millions of dollars.Martha’s close friend, Meredith Ludwig, told Madeleine Drury the story of how the strange-looking dolls became such a sensation.This programme has been updated since it was first broadcast.(Photo: Martha Nelson Thomas with her doll babies. Credit: Guy Mendes)

On 26 November 2008, 10 gunmen from the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba carried out coordinated attacks on Mumbai's busiest hotspots including the Taj and Oberoi hotels, a train station, hospital, and Jewish community centre. One hundred and sixty-six people were murdered in the attacks, which lasted for three days. The city was locked down as police searched for the gunmen. Only one, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive by police. He was sentenced to death and executed in 2012. Dan Hardoon speaks to Devika Rotawan and Arun Jadhav, who came face to face with the militants. (Photo: Buildings under attack. Credit:Getty Images)

In August 2003 Europe was hit by the hottest heatwave for hundreds of years. Tens of thousands of people died. Not built to withstand two weeks of extreme heat, Paris turned into a death trap for its most vulnerable citizens. The temperature reached 40C. Many elderly people died in their apartments alone. The government was criticised for its handling of the crisis. The head of the national health authority resigned shortly after the end of the heatwave. Emergency doctor, Patrick Pelloux, who was working at St Antoine Hospital in Paris, tells George Crafer what he encountered.(Photo: Paris looking hot. Credit: Getty Images)

On 22 November 1963, United States President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.Lucy Williamson looks back to 8 November 1960, when Richard Nixon and JFK went toe to toe at the polls in a battle to become the next president. The narrow success made Kennedy the youngest man ever elected to the role.Close aide and speechwriter Ted Sorensen was with the politician on the night of the election. This programme was first broadcast in 2010.(Photo: US President-elect John F Kennedy shortly after his election in 1960. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In 1987, a tea shop in Taiwan named Chun Shui Tang began selling pearl milk tea, or bubble tea, as it’s often called. It would revolutionise the tea-drinking world. Ben Henderson speaks to Liu Han-Chieh, the shop owner, and Lin Xiuhu, who first added the drink’s signature tapioca balls.(Photo: Bubble tea. Credit: Chun Shui Tang)

In 1964, Zambia became a republic. It was the ninth African state to leave British colonial rule.Simon Kapwepwe was one of the leaders in the fight for independence, along with his childhood friend Kenneth Kaunda, who became President in 1964.Simon’s daughter, Mulenga Kapwepwe, speaks to Laura Jones about her father’s role in naming the country and her memories of that time.(Photo: Sign welcoming people to Zambia in 1965. Credit: Lambert/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In 2000, the pioneering underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio made one of the greatest ever submerged discoveries.He found evidence that the remains he had found off the coast of Egypt were from Thonis-Heracleion, an ancient Egyptian port lost without trace.Before the foundation of Alexandria, it had flourished at the mouth of the Nile between the 6th to 2nd centuries BC, a city twice the size of Pompeii.He tells Josephine McDermott about the incredible artefacts he has found including the moment he realised he was at the foot of a five-metre tall statue of a pharaoh.(Photo: The pharaoh statue discovered off the coast of Egypt. Credit: Christoph Gerigk, Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation)

The Bolivian Water War was a series of protests that took place in the city of Cochabamba in 2000 against the privatisation of water. People objected to the increase in water rates and idea that the government was “leasing the rain”.In April 2000, President Hugo Banzer declared a "state of siege" meaning curfews were imposed and protest leaders could be arrested without warrant.During a violent clash between demonstrators and the military, teenager Victor Hugo was shot dead by an army captain.Union official Oscar Olivera tells Vicky Farncombe how Hugo’s death motivated the protesters and brought about an end to the privatisation.(Photo: Demonstrators wave the Bolivian flag as they participate in a strike against water utility rate increases. Credit: Reuters)

In 1951, Rosalind Franklin began one of the key scientific investigations of the century. The young British scientist produced an X-ray photograph that helped show the structure of DNA, the molecule that holds the genetic code that underpins all life. The discovery was integral to the transformation of modern medicine and has been described as one of the greatest scientific achievements ever. Farhana Haider spoke to Rosalind's younger sister, Jenifer Glynn, in 2017. (Photo: Dr Rosalind Franklin. Credit: Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images)

In 2010, a previously little-known Icelandic volcano erupted twice, sending a huge plume of volcanic ash all over Europe. The ash cloud grounded flights for days, causing disruption for millions of passengers. Reena Stanton-Sharma talks to Icelandic geophysicist and Eyjafjallajökull-watcher, Sigrun Hreinsdottir. This programme was first broadcast in 2022. (Photo: The awesome power of Eyjafjallajökull. Credit: Getty Images)

In the 1970s, engineer Sheldon Kaplan and his colleagues were tasked with creating an auto-injector pen to be used by US soldiers needing a nerve agent antidote.The Pentagon called it the ComboPen but, in 1987, it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the EpiPen, for patients with allergies.The device is carried by millions of people all over the world as it can quickly and easily deliver a shot of adrenaline to anyone at risk of death from anaphylactic shock.Sheldon Kaplan died in 2009 and was inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2016.Sheldon’s son Michael Kaplan and colleague Michael Mesa tell Vicky Farncombe the story behind the pen.

Following the devastating tsunami of 2004, a baby hippo named Owen was rescued from the sea off the coast of Kenya.He was taken to Haller Park in Mombasa, home of a 130-year-old giant tortoise called Mzee.Owen and Mzee formed an unusual friendship and their story gained worldwide fame.Dr Paula Kahumbu tells their story to Gill Kearsley. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Owen and Mzee. Credit: Peter Greste/AFP/Getty Images)

On 9 November 1993, one of Bosnia's most famous landmarks, the historic bridge in Mostar, was destroyed by Croat guns during the Bosnian war. Built by the Ottomans in the 16th Century, the bridge was a symbol of Bosnia's multicultural past. In 2014, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Eldin Palata, who filmed the destruction of the bridge, and Mirsad Behram, a local journalist.(Photo: A temporary bridge where Mostar's historic bridge previously stood. Credit: Robert Nickelsberg/Liaison via Getty Images)

In the 1980s, a brother and sister from Pakistan topped the charts in countries all over the world with their dancefloor filler, Disco Deewane.Nazia and Zoheb Hassan were the first teenagers ever to make a hit record in India.Zoheb tells Vicky Farncombe about their rise to fame.(Photo: Nazia and Zoheb Hassan. Credit: BBC)

In 1978, British showbusiness star, Debbie McGee was a dancer with the Iranian National Ballet Company.Debbie was living in the capital, Tehran, at the start of the Iranian revolution. She tells Gill Kearsley the story of how she dealt with the unrest and escaped the country.Debbie, who went on to marry British magician Paul Daniels, said: "I would never have met my late husband if that hadn't happened... so I've got the ayatollah to thank for that."(Photo: Debbie McGee in 2018. Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Old Vic Theatre)

In August 2004, more than 300 people died when a supermarket caught fire in Paraguay's capital, Asunción.It is seen as the country's worst peacetime disaster.Tatiana Gabaglio escaped the fire. She speaks to Ben Henderson.(Photo: Mourners gathering after the Ycuá Bolaños fire. Credit: Norberto Duarte/AFP via Getty Images)

On 5 November, 1985 some of the world's top designers and music stars joined together in a special event at London’s Royal Albert Hall to raise money for drought-hit Ethiopia.The rock star Freddie Mercury and the actress Jane Seymour were chosen to model the bridal collection of David and Elizabeth Emanuel.Jane Seymour tells Josephine McDermott what it was like to play the role of Freddie Mercury's bride for a fashion spectacular.(Photo: Jane Seymour and Freddie Mercury at Fashion Aid. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1986 Dr Aleida Guevara, the daughter of revolutionary icon Che Guevara, went to Angola to work as a paediatrician.Dr Aleida was one of a number of medics Fidel Castro’s Cuban government sent to their fellow communist country in southern Africa as it emerged from Portuguese colonialism into civil war.Marcia Veiga hears how Dr Aleida treated children with cholera in a hospital in the Angolan capital Luanda.Dr Aleida also reveals how, during downtime from working as Cuba’s minister of industries, her tired father played with her by carrying her on his back as if he were a horse.The music for this programme is from Dadifox and Receba.(Photo: Dr Aleida Guevara with a patient at Luanda’s Josina Machel Hospital. Credit: Dr Aleida Guevara)

On 23 March 1962, a prototype of the first cockpit flight recorder, the black box, was tested in Australia. In the early 1950s, fuel scientist David Warren, who worked in the Australian government’s aeronautical research laboratories, attended a talk about the reasons for a recent plane crash. David thought that if only he could speak to a survivor, he’d have a much better idea of what caused the crash and could prevent future ones. This led him to develop a recorder that would collect vital information of the last few hours before a plane goes down. Today the modern equivalent of the black box is compulsory equipment on passenger planes all over the world. In 2015, David’s children, Jenny and Peter Warren, and a former colleague, Bill Schofield, spoke with Catherine Davis about how his idea changed air travel forever. (Photo: The flight data recorder known as a black box used in aircraft. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1983, scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris became the first to identify the HIV virus. It was a vital step in fighting one of the worst epidemics in modern history, AIDS.The Pasteur had been asked to investigate after reports of a mystery disease that was spreading rapidly, particularly among the gay community.Two weeks later, scientist Françoise Barré-Sinoussi detected the virus while working on a biopsy sample in the laboratory. She and the team leader, Luc Montagnier were later awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.But the discovery could easily have been missed, as she tells Jane Wilkinson.(Photo: French virologists Jean-Claude Chermann, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier. Credit: Michel Philippot/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

In 2010, a $3.6billion fund was launched to stop oil drilling in the most biodiverse place on the planet: the Yasuni national park in Ecuador.The Yasuni covers 10,000 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest and is home to thousands of species of plants and animals but underneath the soil lies another important resource - 20% of Ecuador’s oil reserves. It was feared that any drilling would cause pollution, deforestation and soil erosion so in a pioneering deal – known as the Yasuni ITT iniatitive - rich nations were asked to pay Ecuador not to remove the oil. Chief negotiator Ivonne A-Baki was put in charge of raising funds from around the globe but securing money was not an easy task, as she tells Jane Wilkinson.(Photo: A brown woolly monkey in the Yasuni National Park. Credit: Pablo Cozzaglio/AFP via Getty Images)

In 2013, environmental protests in Gezi Park, Istanbul led to civil unrest across Turkey.For one protestor, a post he made on social media led to a dramatic outcome.Memet Ali Alabora, was an activist and a famous actor in Turkey. He tells his story to Gill Kearsley.(Photo: Protestors construct a barricade in Istanbul. Credit: Ayman Oghanna/Getty Images)

In November 2008, Johns Hopkins University calculated Zimbabwe’s year-on-year inflation rate as 89,700,000,000,000,000,000,000% – one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history.Professor Gift Mugano was a government economist at the time.He tells Vicky Farncombe what it was like to live through those times when wages were worthless and there was no food to buy in the shops.“It was a very painful period. It is a year which one would not want to remember,” he said.(Photo: Harare shoppers in an almost empty supermaket. Credit: Desmond Kwande/AFP via Getty Images)

On 25 October1993, a Nigerian Airways flight from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by four teenagers calling themselves the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD). They demanded the removal of the military-backed government, who had annulled the results of that year's election. The plane was forced to land in Niger and later stormed after a protracted hostage crisis.Obed Taseobi was a passenger on the flight. He tells his story to Jill Achineku.A Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Picture: Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Credit: Getty Images)

On 12 September 1980, the army took control in Turkey. It was not the first time they had done so. It was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been in 1960 and 1971. The coup followed growing street fighting between left and right-wing groups. Politicians were arrested and parliament, political parties and trade unions were dissolved. Following the coup at least 50 people were executed and around half a million were detained. Many were tortured and hundreds died in custody. In 2011 Jonathan Head spoke to Vice Admiral Isik Biren, who was an official in the defence ministry, and a former student activist, Murat Celikkan, about their different memories of that time. (Photo: Portraits of people killed or tortured during the coup displayed in a courthouse in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Credit: Adem Atlan/ Getty Images)

In 1973, the Bosphorus Bridge was completed connecting Europe and Asia.The suspension bridge was the first of three spanning the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey. Wayne Wright speaks to Harvey Binnie who was an important member of the design team. A Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service. (Photo: The Bosphorus Bridge. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

On 21 October 1973, American heartthrobs The Osmonds were met by hysterical crowds when their plane landed at London's Heathrow Airport. A surge by some of the 10,000 fans caused a viewing balcony to collapse. Eighteen people were injured. Four fans were treated in hospital. The term "Osmondmania" was used across the newspapers.Donny Osmond shares his memories of it with Josephine McDermott.(Photo: Fans wait for The Osmonds on the viewing balcony at Heathrow Airport before the collapse)

In 2011, models, stylists and fashionistas gathered for Lagos Fashion Week’s debut which would put Nigerian style on the global map. Omoyemi Akerele founded the event which helped to launch the careers of designers internationally. The annual event has become a major fashion occasion attracting Africa's biggest celebs and collections are sent around the world. Omoyemi Akerele speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma.(Photo: A model prepares backstage at Lagos Fashion Week in 2013. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson)

In 1993 young women began disappearing in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juárez. Hundreds were reported to have been kidnapped and killed. Some of the first victims weren’t discovered until nearly 10 years later. In 2013, Mike Lanchin spoke to Oscar Maynez, a forensic scientist who used to work in the city and to Paula Flores, the mother of one of the murdered girls.(Photo: Wooden crosses in a Mexican wasteland. Credit: Jorge Uzon/Getty Images)