The Siege of Yarmouk

In April 2013, Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, collapsed. More than 1,000 people died and many others were injured. The building contained five garment factories which manufactured clothes for well-known international brands. It was the worst industrial disaster in Bangladesh's history. Parul Akhter, a sewing machinist who survived the collapse, talks to Dan Hardoon. (Photo: An injured victim of the Rana Plaza disaster at the site. Credit: Getty Images)

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In 1992, the first peace walk was held in Cambodia aimed at uniting a country torn apart by years of conflict. Buddhist monks, Cambodian refugees and aid workers set out on the 415 km journey which became known as the Dhammayietra – or the pilgrimage of truth.The hope was to reunite Cambodian refugees who had fled into Thailand during Pol Pot’s brutal Marxist rule, with those people still living within Cambodia.Distrust and fear had built up on both sides but that began to melt away during the 30-day trek, as organiser Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan tells Jane Wilkinson.(Photo: Dhammayietra, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Credit: Romeo Gacad/AFP via Getty Images)

16 Loka 202310min

In 2013, India's Supreme Court made a landmark ruling aimed at transforming the lives of acid attack survivors.It followed a campaign led by Laxmi Agarwal, who at the age of 15 was burned by acid thrown over her body. The attack changed Laxmi’s life and scarred her face. In 2006, she took legal action demanding a ban on the sale of acid and more help for survivors. But it took seven years of campaigning before the court made a ruling, as Laxmi tells Jane Wilkinson.(Photo: Laxmi Agarwal. Credit: Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

13 Loka 202310min

In February 1966, Kwame Nkrumah, one of Africa's most famous leaders, was ousted from power in Ghana.While he was out of the country, the Ghanaian military and police seized power in a coup. Ghanaian film maker Chris Hesse worked closely with Nkrumah and was with him at the time. In 2021, Chris spoke to Alex Last about his memories of the coup and his friendship with the man who led Ghana to independence.(Photo: Kwame Nkrumah after Ghana's independence from Britain. Credit: Bettman, Getty Images)

12 Loka 202310min

In March 1957, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence and a new flag was unveiled marking a fresh start for the former British colony known as the Gold Coast. The woman behind the design was Theodosia Okoh, an artist and former teacher who won a government competition for a new emblem which would signify the end of British rule.Her flag had red, gold and green horizontal stripes with a black star in the centre and it replaced the symbol of an elephant encircled in front of a palm tree below the Union Jack.Theodosia’s son Kwasi Okoh was a young boy at the time of independence, he speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the inspiration behind his mother's creation.(Photo: Ghanaian football fans with the flag at the 2006 World Cup. Credit Joerg Koch/DDP/AFP via Getty Images)

11 Loka 202310min

In 2004, Kimani Maruge became the oldest man to start primary school when he enrolled at the Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Kenya. The 84-year-old student was a former soldier who had fought against colonial rule in the Mau Mau independence movement. He missed out on school as a child so when the Kenyan government scrapped all fees for state primary education, he saw his chance to finally learn to read and write. Kimani's former teacher Jane Obinchu tells Vicky Farncombe how his story inspired people all over the world.(Photo: Kimani Maruge attends class at Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Kenya. Credit: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

10 Loka 202310min

On 24 May 2010, artist Yinka Shonibare unveiled Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, on the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square.The piece was the world’s largest ship in a bottle, but it wasn’t just any vessel.It was a replica of HMS Victory, commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar, except Yinka had made an eye-catching change. The ship’s plain sails had been replaced with colourful Dutch wax sails. Dutch wax is a fabric typically sold in West Africa.Yinka’s work captivated crowds and left people wondering what it meant.“Some people were like ‘oh great we are celebrating Britishness. Fantastic’, and then some other groups said ‘Oh this is a critique of Britain. Fantastic’. I love it when the work does that!”, says Yinka. He tells Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty how his artwork was created and what it means to him.

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In 2003, an oil company entered the indigenous Sarayaku community’s territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon in search of oil. Neither the government nor the firm had consulted the community beforehand.The locals responded by filing a lawsuit against the company. The ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights would go onto become an important case for indigenous communities all over the world. Former Sarayaku president Jose Gualing and community leader Ena Santi recall the landmark case.A Munck Studios production for BBC World Service presented by Isak Rautio.(Photo: Ecuadorian rainforest. Credit: Fabio Cuttica/Reuters)

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