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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Indian Ocean tsunami - Tamil Nadu

    On 26 December 2004, communities around the Indian Ocean were swept away by a tsunami

  2. Dinner for One: How an English comedy became a German tradition

    The sitcom Dinner for One, recorded in 1963, has become a German New Year's Eve tradition

  3. 'Kimchi war'

    In the 1990s, a diplomatic dispute broke out between Japan and South Korea over kimchi

  4. Chef to five presidents

    Cristeta Comerford was the first woman and person of colour to the White House's top chef

  5. When instant noodles came to India

    A turning point in Indian culinary history

  6. 'I created MasterChef'

    In 1990, the cookery programme MasterChef launched on BBC TV

  7. Australian republic referendum

    On 6 November 1999, voters in Australia were asked if they wanted to become a republic

  8. Poland's bleak Christmas

    In 1981, the communist government of Poland declared martial law to suppress civil unrest

  9. Ceefax: the start of interactive television

    In 1974, the BBC launched the world's first teletext service

  10. Surviving Andes plane crash

    In 1972, 16 people survived for two months in the Andes mountains after a plane crash

  11. Peshawar school massacre

    In 2014, one of Pakistan’s worst terror attacks took place at Peshawar Army School

  12. The birth of reggaeton

    In the 1980s, Leonardo Renato Aulder pioneered a movement in Panama with his friends

  13. The handover of the Panama Canal

    In 1999 the Panama Canal was handed over from US to Panamanian rule.

  14. The Purple Heart Warriors

    In WW2, a Japanese American troop was one of the most decorated army units in US history

  15. 'I organised the Cuban thaw'

    On 17 December 2014, Barack Obama and Raúl Castro normalised Cuba and US relations

  16. Castro's Cuban revolution attempt

    In 1953, Fidel Castro attempted to revolutionise Cuba by attacking military barracks

  17. India’s 1998 nuclear tests

    Nalini Malani made an artwork protesting against India's nuclear tests

  18. Julia Gillard speaks out on sexism

    In 2012, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made a landmark speech on misogyny

  19. The ‘Three Marias’

    In 1974, a judge decided if three Portuguese women should be jailed for writing a book

  20. The discovery that led to Covid vaccines

    In 2005, Dr Katalin Karikó published research that eventually won her the Nobel Prize

  21. Gloria Steinem: The start of Ms. Magazine

    In 1972, Gloria Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine in the United States

  22. The end of the US HIV travel ban

    In 2010, a travel and immigration ban stopping people with HIV entering the US was lifted

  23. The deepest man-made hole in the world

    In the 1970s and 1980s, scientists in Russia managed to dig a 12,000-metre deep hole

  24. Thich Quang Duc: Buddhist monk who set himself on fire

    In June 1963, Thich Quang Duc set himself alight in protest against the government

  25. The Iran-Contra Affair

    In 1986, Oliver North was accused of orchestrating the illegal sale of weapons to Iran

  26. Strictly Come Dancing

    Television extravaganza Strictly Come Dancing debuted in 2004 in the UK

  27. Creation of the UFC

    In 1993, a new sport was born. Its founders called it the Ultimate Fighting Championship

  28. Lord of the Flies

    It’s 70 years since William Golding’s acclaimed novel was published

  29. Handover of Macau

    In 1999, Macau was handed back to China after more than 400 years as a Portuguese colony

  30. The Siege of Yarmouk

    How the Syrian army turned one neighbourhood near Damascus into a bombed-out wasteland

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