The death of Franco
General Francisco Franco died in November 1975, ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain. The general had been in power since 1939 after winning the country’s bloody civil war, and his death followe...
19 Nov 202510min
Angela Merkel suspends EU asylum rules in 2015
In the summer of 2015, there was a surge in the number of people from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, seeking asylum in Europe. Social Democrat politician Aydan Özoğuz was Angela Merkel's minister of sta...
18 Nov 202510min
Reagan and Gorbachev: The Geneva Summit
Forty years ago, in November 1985, two of the world’s most powerful leaders met for the first time. With Cold War tensions running high and the nuclear arms race dominating global politics, US Preside...
17 Nov 202510min
When Maldives' ministers met underwater
On 17 October 2009, the Maldives’ top government officials donned their scuba gear for the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting. Fish floated around while ministers communicated with hand gestures...
14 Nov 202510min
Bataclan attack in Paris
On 13 November 2015, 90 people were shot dead by gunmen at the Bataclan theatre in France during an Eagles of Death Metal concert. A further 40 people were killed in co-ordinated terror attacks by jih...
13 Nov 202510min
Prosecuting Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials
In November 1945, the first major war crimes trial in history opened in the German city of Nuremberg. Senior Nazis who had committed atrocities during World War Two were prosecuted by the victorious A...
12 Nov 202511min
Birth of the G7
In November 1975, a summit took place at Rambouillet, France, where the heads of six of the world’s most industrialised nations and their finance ministers came together. The leaders of the US, France...
11 Nov 202510min
Breaking the sound barrier
On 14 October 1947, American Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. Despite having two broken ribs, Chuck reached Mach 1.06 – a speed of more than 1,100km per hour....
10 Nov 202510min
