Witness History

When South African schoolchildren marched in protest against having to study Afrikaans in 1976, they were gunned down by the police. The killings sparked a cycle of protests across the country against the racist apartheid regime. In 2010, march organiser Bongi Mkhabela told Alan Johnston about her memories of the Soweto uprising. (Photo: Protestors on the march. Credit: Bongani Mnguni/CityPress/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

On 18 March 1992, white South Africans overwhelmingly backed a mandate for political reforms to end apartheid and create a power-sharing multi-racial government. It was a high-stakes referendum coming on the back of three by-elections where the ruling National Party had lost to the right wing Conservative party. In a speech after the polling victory, President FW de Klerk said: “Today we have closed the book on apartheid”. His communications adviser, David Steward speaks to Josephine McDermott. (Photo: President FW de Klerk with news of the referendum win. Credit: AP)

Major Charity Adams was the first African-American woman to lead a World War Two battalion. It was known as the Six-Triple-Eight (6888). The 6888 was a majority African-American women’s unit, the women sorted through mountains of post across Europe, using the motto: 'No Mail, Low Morale'. Charity went on to become lieutenant colonel, the highest possible rank for women in her unit. She died in 2002. Her son, Stanley Earley, speaks to Marverine Cole. This was a Soundtruism production for the BBC World Service. (Photo: American Women's Army Corps Captain Mary Kearney and American Commanding Officer Major Charity Adams inspect the first arrivals to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Credit. Archive Photos/Getty Images)

On 18 April 2014, an avalanche on Mount Everest killed 16 men, who were carrying supplies for commercial expeditions to higher camps. The sherpas were on the Khumbu Icefall, just above Base Camp in Nepal, when the avalanche happened. It resulted in the climbing season being cancelled and sherpas demanding better working conditions on the mountain. Lakpa Rita Sherpa helped dig bodies of his dead colleagues out of the ice, before transporting them home to their families. He speaks to Laura Jones. (Photo: The south-west face of Mount Everest and the Khumbu icefall. Credit: Eye Ubiquitous/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The 2014 Ebola outbreak devastated West Africa, killing more than 11,000 people over a two year period. One country that suffered was Sierra Leone. The disease started in Guinea, but quickly spread to neighbouring countries. Before May 2014, there had never been an outbreak of Ebola in Sierra Leone. By autumn that year, burial teams were struggling to keep up with the number of corpses that needed burying. Dan Hardoon speaks to Yusuf Kabba, an Ebola survivor from Sierra Leone. (Photo: Headstones in the Waterloo Ebola Graveyard, Sierra Leone. Credit: HUGH KINSELLA CUNNINGHAM/AFP via Getty Images)

When the train service between India and Bangladesh was suspended in 1965, following war between Pakistan and India, it lay dormant for 43 years. But in a day of celebration in 2008, the Maitree (or Friendship) Express rumbled into life and connected the two countries once more. In 2020, Farhana Haider spoke to Dr Azad Chowdhury who was on the inaugural train journey. (Photo: Crowds line the tracks for the train’s first journey. Credit: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)

A group of men known as the ‘Cairo 52’ were arrested in Egypt in May 2001. They were on board the Queen Boat, a floating gay nightclub on the River Nile. Omer, not his real name, was arrested and imprisoned for habitual debauchery. There is no explicit law against homosexuality in Egypt and Omer was released early following the orders of US president at the time, George W Bush. Omer speaks to Dan Hardoon about the arrest and its aftermath – in graphic detail. This programme has been updated with the correct trial date. (Photo: Some of the 'Cairo 52', dressed in white with their faces covered, being escorted by security into a court in Cairo. Credit: Marwan Naamani/Getty Images)

Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who spent nearly 30 years in the Philippine jungle, believing World War Two was still going on. Using his training in guerilla warfare, he attacked and killed people living on Lubang Island, mistakenly believing them to be enemy soldiers. He was finally persuaded to surrender in 1974 when his former commander, Yoshimi Taniguchi, found him and gave him an order. In a televised ceremony, Hiroo presented his sword to the then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos. President Marcos returned the sword and gave him a full presidential pardon and told him he admired his courage. Hiroo died in January 2014 at the age of 91. This programme was produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe, using BBC archive. (Photo: Hiroo Onoda steps out of the jungle. Credit: Getty Images)

After winning the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Franco's dictatorship began. During the war, he acquired St Teresa of Avila's severed hand and kept it for spiritual guidance, it was returned when he died in 1975. The hand was initially stolen by General Franco's opposition from a convent in Ronda, but Franco’s nationalist soldiers took it for themselves when they won the Battle of Malaga. Sister Jenifer is the Mother Superior of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Ronda, where the hand is kept on display for people to see. She tells Johnny I’Anson who St Teresa was, why her hand was cut off, and what made it special. (Photo: Monument of Saint Teresa of Avila, Spain. Credit: digicomphoto/Getty Images)

When Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream was stolen in 1994, an undercover operation was launched to get it back. Thirty years on from its recovery, hear from the art detective at the centre of the story. In 2013, Charley Hill told Lucy Burns how his task saw him take on a fake identity, rub shoulders with criminals and encounter the Thai kickboxing champion of Scandinavia. (Photo: The Scream on display in Oslo in 2008, after being stolen for a second time. Credit: Scanpix Norway/AFP/Getty Images)

Lake Karla supported hundreds of families in Thessaly, providing fish for all of the region and beyond. Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas grew up on the shores of the wetland and have mixed memories of the lake. They too lived off its fish, but they were also victims of its floods. The lake was drained by the Greek Government in 1962, destroying a vital ecosystem. In 2023, when torrential rain poured over Thessaly, the lake was restored – but the region was devastated. Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas speak to Maria Margaronis. (Photo: Lake Karla. Credit: Maria Margaronis) Music: “Platani apo to Metsovo,” used by permission of ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.

In July 2010, two bombs went off at a rugby club in Uganda's capital Kampala. It was where hundreds had gathered to watch the football World Cup final. The attack killed 74 people and injured 85 others. The militant Islamist group al-Shabab staged the attack, as revenge for Uganda's efforts to fight it in Somalia. Kuddzu Isaac, who witnessed the explosions, tells George Crafer the graphic details of what he saw. (Photo: The moment after the blasts, survivors look on in shock. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

A bonus episode from the Amazing Sport Stories podcast – The Black 14. Sport, racism and protests are about to change the lives of “the Black 14” American footballers. It’s 1969 in the United States. They’ve arrived on scholarships at the University of Wyoming to play for its Cowboys American football team. It was a predominantly white college. The team is treated like a second religion. Then, the players make a decision to take a stand against racism in a game against another university. This is episode one of a four-part season from the Amazing Sport Stories podcast. Content warning: This episode contains lived experiences which involve the use of strong racist language

Sweden’s most beloved pastry is the cinnamon bun and every year on 4 October, locals celebrate the sweet, spiced snacks. The country’s first official Cinnamon Bun Day (or Kanelbullens dag in Swedish) took place in 1999. The woman behind the idea, Kaeth Gardestedt, tells Maddy Savage how the Swedish public embraced the event and turned it into a huge annual tradition. A PodLit production for BBC World Service (Photo: Traditional Swedish cinnamon buns. Credit: Natasha Breen/Getty Images)

In the 1990s, Bluetooth was invented in a lab in Lund, Sweden. The technology is used today to wirelessly connect accessories such as mice, keyboards, speakers and headphones to desktops, laptops and mobile phones. It’s named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king who was said to have blue teeth. Sven Mattisson, one of the brains behind the technology, tells Gill Kearsley how the name Bluetooth came about following some drinks after a conference. (Photo: A mobile phone with the Bluetooth logo. Credit: Westend61 via Getty images)

Fifty years ago Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral. The state granted mothers and fathers 180 days that they could divide between them however they saw fit. The pioneering policy was designed to promote gender equality, but it wasn’t an instant success. Later governments decided to increase the number of leave days available and ring-fenced some specifically for each parent. Maddy Savage went to meet Per Edlund who was one of the first fathers in his town, Katrineholm, to embrace the new benefit. A Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service. (Photo: Per Edlund with his youngest daughter Märta Edlund. Credit: Maddy Savage)

In 1958, the late Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars. It's estimated to have saved more than one million lives around the world. In 2022, Nils's stepson Gunnar Ornmark told Rachel Naylor about the inventor’s legacy. (Photo: Nils Bohlin modelling his invention. Credit: Volvo Cars Group)

It's 50 years since Swedish pop group Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. The victory provided a platform for the band to become one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time. Abba's current manager, Görel Hanser, has been with them every step of the way. In a rare interview, she speaks to Matt Pintus about the band's meteoric rise to stardom. She also talks about Abba's break-up, the rumour that they were offered $1 billion to get back together and whether Abba Voyage will move to a new country. (Photo: ABBA pictured in 1974. Credit: Getty Images)

April 1994 was the start of the Rwandan genocide, 100 days of slaughter, rape and atrocities. As part of the Tutsi ethnic group, Antoinette Mutabazi’s family were a target for the killings. So her father told her to run, leaving her family behind. She was just 11 years old. As a survivor of the genocide, she speaks publicly about reconciliation and forgiveness. She tells Rosie Blunt her story. (Photo: Antoinette as an adult. Credit: HMDT)

Nato - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - was formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and France. Its aim was to block expansion by the then Soviet Union - a group of states which included Russia. The UK’s foreign secretary at the time, Ernest Bevin, played a key role in persuading the US to join the alliance. This programme, produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe, tells the story of Nato's founding using archive interviews. (Credit: Ernest Bevin signs the North Atlantic treaty. Credit: Getty Images)