The Japanese invasion of Malaya
On 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed in northern Malaya marking the start of the second world war in the Pacific.Invasion forces moved quickly down the British colony – which is now called Malay...
25 Feb 10min
The Aga Khan meets Florence Nightingale
In 1898, the British founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, invited the Muslim leader Aga Khan III around to her London home for tea. They were two of the most famous figures of the 20th cen...
24 Feb 10min
The storming of Spain's parliament
In February 1981, armed Civil Guards tried to take control of the Spanish parliament.A total of 350 politicians were held hostage for 18 hours in the debating chamber including Joaquin Almunia, a youn...
23 Feb 10min
The playboy spy who inspired James Bond
During the 1940s, a playboy spy became one of wartime’s most successful double agents, as well as the reported inspiration behind James Bond. A gambler and womanizer who spoke several languages, Dusko...
20 Feb 10min
'I taught the Dalai Lama'
In 1944, two Austrian mountaineers fled into the forbidden land of Tibet to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in India.Heinrich Harrer and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter spent seven years there.Harrer...
19 Feb 10min
The photo which symbolised Argentina’s resistance
Adriana Lestido, an Argentinian newspaper photographer, captured a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest in 1982. With clenched fists and anguished faces, they were wearing white...
18 Feb 10min
Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety
In 1980, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) emerged as a public health crisis among women who used tampons. There were hundreds of cases, and The Centers for Disease Control linked deaths from TSS to super-ab...
17 Feb 10min
World War Two’s Shetland Bus
During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding their country’s resistance. Named “The Shetland B...
16 Feb 10min
