The Khrushchev Thaw

In the 1950s Soviet citizens were allowed to buy tape recorders for the first time.

• 9 mins

The Downfall of Jean-Bertrand Aristide

In February 2004 the president of Haiti was forced out of power by a countrywide uprising

• 9 mins

Hugo Chavez's First Coup

Left-leaning army officers staged an unsuccessful coup in Venezuela in February 1992

• 9 mins

The Assassination of Benigno Aquino

In 1983, the Philippines opposition leader was shot dead on his return from exile.

• 15 mins

The Maharishi's World Tour

In spring 1959, an Indian guru toured the world teaching Transcendental Meditation.

• 9 mins

British Miners' Strike

In March 1984, coal miners across the UK went on strike over planned pit closures

• 9 mins

The Miss World Protest

In 1970 feminists stormed the stage at the Miss World pageant in London.

• 9 mins

Soviet Mission to Halley's Comet

In 1986, two Soviet space probes intercepted Halley's Comet

• 9 mins

Ghana Veterans and the 1948 Accra Riots

In 1948 Ghana was rocked by riots following the killing of Ghanaian WW2 veterans

• 9 mins

Fighting the Contras in Nicaragua

A former left-wing Sandinista soldier talks about the war against US-backed Contras.

• 15 mins

Suffragette Art Attack

In 1914 a suffragette attacked a painting in London's National Gallery with a cleaver

• 9 mins

The Madrid Train Bombings

The bombing of commuter trains in Spain's capital that killed 191 people and injured 1800

• 9 mins

The Creation of Barbie

The woman who created the most famous doll in the world - Barbie

• 9 mins

Taiwan '228 Incident'

In 1947, Chiang Kai-Shek's Chinese nationalist troops killed 20,000 civilians in Taiwan

• 9 mins

1989 and the Lebanese Civil War

Fighting intensified in the Lebanese capital Beirut in March 1989

• 9 mins

Taiwan - The 228 Incident

In early 1947, Chinese nationalist forces killed thousands of Taiwanese islanders.

• 15 mins

The Torrey Canyon Disaster

An oil tanker hit the rocks off the the south-west coast of England in March 1967

• 9 mins

Germany's Guest Workers

In the 1960s foreign workers were invited to power the country's economic regeneration

• 9 mins

A Failed Royal Kidnapping

Princess Anne escaped a kidnap attempt by a lone gunman in London in March 1974

• 9 mins

The Development of the First AIDS Drug

AZT was approved within two years, the fastest approval in US history at the time

• 9 mins

Uganda Cult Deaths

Hundreds of doomsday cult members were found murdered in Uganda in March 2000

• 9 mins

Missing Plane Mystery

In 1947 a passenger plane vanished without trace, only to reappear 53 years later

• 9 mins

Maori Song Rocks New Zealand

How Poi E became the first Maori language song to reach number one in New Zealand

• 9 mins

The First Democratic Elections in the USSR

In March 1989, Soviet citizens were given a chance to vote for non-communists candidates

• 9 mins

The Conviction of Jack Kevorkian

In March 1999, US doctor Jack Kevorkian was convicted for performing euthanasia

• 9 mins

The First Outbreak of the Ebola Virus

Almost 300 people died before the outbreak in Zaire in 1976 was eventually contained

• 9 mins

Germany's Guest Workers

In the 1960s, Germany recruited hundreds of thousands of foreign workers, many from Turkey

• 15 mins

The Murder of Selena Quintanilla-Perez

On March 31 1995, rising Latino superstar Selena was shot dead by her fan club manager.

• 9 mins

The Kidnap and Murder of Axel Blumberg

In April 2004 the death of a 23-year-old student provoked a wave of protests in Argentina

• 9 mins

Georgia's Struggle for Independence

Soviet troops crushed a mass demonstration in Georgia's capital Tbilisi on 9 April,1989

• 9 mins