'The streets of Harare were littered with money'
In November 2008, Johns Hopkins University calculated Zimbabwe’s year-on-year inflation rate as 89,700,000,000,000,000,000,000% – one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history.Professor Gift Mugano was a government economist at the time.He tells Vicky Farncombe what it was like to live through those times when wages were worthless and there was no food to buy in the shops.“It was a very painful period. It is a year which one would not want to remember,” he said.(Photo: Harare shoppers in an almost empty supermaket. Credit: Desmond Kwande/AFP via Getty Images)
26 Okt 20239min
The 1993 MAD hijack
On 25 October1993, a Nigerian Airways flight from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by four teenagers calling themselves the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD). They demanded the removal of the military-backed government, who had annulled the results of that year's election. The plane was forced to land in Niger and later stormed after a protracted hostage crisis.Obed Taseobi was a passenger on the flight. He tells his story to Jill Achineku.A Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Picture: Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Credit: Getty Images)
25 Okt 20239min
The 1980 Turkey coup
On 12 September 1980, the army took control in Turkey. It was not the first time they had done so. It was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been in 1960 and 1971. The coup followed growing street fighting between left and right-wing groups. Politicians were arrested and parliament, political parties and trade unions were dissolved. Following the coup at least 50 people were executed and around half a million were detained. Many were tortured and hundreds died in custody. In 2011 Jonathan Head spoke to Vice Admiral Isik Biren, who was an official in the defence ministry, and a former student activist, Murat Celikkan, about their different memories of that time. (Photo: Portraits of people killed or tortured during the coup displayed in a courthouse in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Credit: Adem Atlan/ Getty Images)
24 Okt 20239min
The first Bosphorus Bridge
In 1973, the Bosphorus Bridge was completed connecting Europe and Asia.The suspension bridge was the first of three spanning the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey. Wayne Wright speaks to Harvey Binnie who was an important member of the design team. A Made in Manchester production for BBC World Service. (Photo: The Bosphorus Bridge. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
23 Okt 20239min
Osmondmania
On 21 October 1973, American heartthrobs The Osmonds were met by hysterical crowds when their plane landed at London's Heathrow Airport. A surge by some of the 10,000 fans caused a viewing balcony to collapse. Eighteen people were injured. Four fans were treated in hospital. The term "Osmondmania" was used across the newspapers.Donny Osmond shares his memories of it with Josephine McDermott.(Photo: Fans wait for The Osmonds on the viewing balcony at Heathrow Airport before the collapse)
20 Okt 20239min
Launching Lagos Fashion Week
In 2011, models, stylists and fashionistas gathered for Lagos Fashion Week’s debut which would put Nigerian style on the global map. Omoyemi Akerele founded the event which helped to launch the careers of designers internationally. The annual event has become a major fashion occasion attracting Africa's biggest celebs and collections are sent around the world. Omoyemi Akerele speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma.(Photo: A model prepares backstage at Lagos Fashion Week in 2013. Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson)
19 Okt 202310min
Mexico’s murdered women
In 1993 young women began disappearing in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juárez. Hundreds were reported to have been kidnapped and killed. Some of the first victims weren’t discovered until nearly 10 years later. In 2013, Mike Lanchin spoke to Oscar Maynez, a forensic scientist who used to work in the city and to Paula Flores, the mother of one of the murdered girls.(Photo: Wooden crosses in a Mexican wasteland. Credit: Jorge Uzon/Getty Images)
18 Okt 20238min
Rana Plaza building collapse
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)
17 Okt 20239min
