One of the world's most famous perfumes was launched in 1921 Read more
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Chanel No. 5
One of the world's most famous perfumes was launched in 1921
Spying in Berlin
At the height of the Cold War Berlin was known as the spy capital of the world.
The South African football star murdered for being a lesbian
How the killing of a female footballer got South Africa talking about ‘corrective rape’.
Kuwaiti oil fires of 1991
As the first Gulf War ended, retreating Iraqi forces set light to oil wells in the desert
Shoot: A milestone in performance art
In November 1971, Chris Burden asked a friend to shoot him in the name of art
The capture of war criminal Radovan Karadzic
How Serbia finally caught one of Europe's most wanted men in Belgrade in 2008.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
How a particular form of psychotherapy became popular for treating anxiety and depression
Sudan's October Revolution
How Sudanese civilian protesters first brought down a military regime in 1964
Russia’s Democracy pioneer
Galina Starovoitova, the murdered politician who championed democracy in '90s Russia
The Woman in Gold by Gustav Klimt
The story behind one of Klimt's most famous paintings
Europe's last smallpox epidemic
The virologist who helped tackle the last smallpox outbreak in Europe
The doctor who helped her mother to die
How a Dutch doctor’s euthanasia dilemma changed the world.
Estonia’s internet ‘Tiger Leap’
Estonia started connecting all schools to the internet in 1996 ahead of other countries
The assassination of the Mirabal sisters
Three sisters, all political activists, were murdered in 1960 in the Dominican Republic
The Aids 'patient zero' myth
How Gaetan Dugas was mistakenly identified as the 'patient zero' of the Aids epidemic.
The early days of HIV/Aids
The experience of a Ugandan-born woman diagnosed with HIV in the early days of the virus.
AZT: The breakthrough treatment for Aids
How the first successful Aids drug was developed and approved in record time in 1987
South Africa and Aids drugs
How activists fought successfully for cheaper Aids treatment in South Africa.
Derek Jarman
The British experimental film-maker who spoke out about Aids in the 1980s.
Fighting 'virginity tests' in the Indonesian police
How an Indonesian policewoman campaigned to ban intrusive examinations of female recruits
The V2 rocket
How the Nazis secretly developed the first modern ballistic missile
Spies or plane-spotters?
Why a group of British aircraft enthusiasts were arrested for spying in Greece in 2001.
The Aldi kidnap
The abduction of Theo Albrecht, co-founder of the discount supermarket chain ALDI.
The explosion heard by millions
In 2005 people across southern England woke up when a huge fuel depot exploded.
The Bengali language movement
How a march in defence of Bengali galvanised demands for an independent Bangladesh.
The birth of Bangladesh
How Pakistan's first elections sparked civil war and the creation of a new country
Rape as a weapon in Bangladesh
How Bengali women suffered appalling sexual violence during the war of independence.
On the front line in Bangladesh
A Pakistani soldier's account of fighting in the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971.
Bangladesh wins independence
An inside account of the moment Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Tanzania's first elected albino MP
How Salum Barwany overcame discrimination and fear to make history in Africa
Rudolf Nureyev defects
In 1961 the great ballet dancer stunned the world by defecting from the Soviet Union.