The woman who smuggled HIV into Bulgaria in her handbag
In 1985, at the height of the Cold War, Bulgaria was a strictly controlled communist dictatorship. It was also facing a wave of infection and death caused by a mysterious new virus. The authorities re...
1 Dec 20229min
The islands Japan and Russia can’t agree on
In 1947, thousands of Japanese families were expelled from their island homes by Soviet troops. They were taken from the Northern Territories, also known as the Southern Kurils, after the Soviet Union...
30 Nov 202210min
CrossFit: The fitness phenomenon that changed the industry
In 2000, an American personal trainer invented CrossFit. They now have gyms around the world and hold an annual international competition.Rachel Naylor speaks to two-time world champion Annie Thorisdo...
29 Nov 20229min
Mombasa terror attacks
In 2002, journalist Kelly Hartog was on a press trip in Mombasa, in Kenya, when suicide bombers drove a car packed with explosives into the hotel where she was staying. The attack killed 18 people and...
28 Nov 20229min
How cat's eyes were invented
In 1934, the late Percy Shaw almost crashed while driving home from the pub on a foggy night in West Yorkshire, in England. He was saved when his headlights were reflected in the eyes of a cat and it ...
25 Nov 20229min
The corruption and sodomy trials of Anwar Ibrahim
On 20 September 1998, the former deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, was arrested and charged on suspicion of committing fraud and sodomy. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia but charge...
24 Nov 202210min
When Sweden’s roads went right
In September 1967, all Swedish traffic had to change the habit of decades and swap to driving on the right-hand side of the road.It brought them into line with most of the rest of Europe except for Br...
23 Nov 20229min
First women’s minister in Iran
Iran’s first ever minister for women’s affairs was appointed in 1975. Mahnaz Afkhami was the first person in the Muslim world to hold that position. While she was in that role, the government granted ...
22 Nov 20228min
