On February 2nd 1990, the South African president FW de Klerk surprised the world by announcing in parliament that he was dismantling apartheid - the system of institutionalised racial segregation which had denied black South Africans their basic rights for forty years, including the right to vote. Louise Hidalgo has been talking to Adriaan Vlok, FW de Klerk's law and order minister, about that day and about coming to terms with the crimes committed in apartheid's name.

Picture: Anti-apartheid protestors demonstrate in Cape Town on the same day that President de Klerk announced the lifting of the ban on the ANC and the release of all political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela (Credit: RASHID LOMBARD/AFP/Getty Images)

In 1993, the United States launched a disastrous raid against the forces of the Somali warlord General Mohamed Farah Aideed. During the operation, two American Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, 18 American troops were killed, dozens more were injured. Somali casualties were estimated to be in the hundreds. The disaster would have a major impact on US foreign policy in Africa and was made famous by the film Black Hawk Down. We hear a Somali account of the operation, and from one of the American helicopter pilots who was shot down during the raid.

In January 1997 Norwegian polar explorer Borge Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica alone. It took him more than two months to ski across the frozen territory. He spoke to Louise Hidalgo about the highs and lows of his dramatic journey.

(Photo Mario Tama/Getty Images)

In 1988 a woman in India accused the Director General of Police in Punjab, KPS Gill, of sexual harassment. It was the first case of its kind to reach court and the country was forced to confront the taboo. Claire Bowes has been speaking to Rupan Deol Bajaj about the incident she couldn't ignore and why she spent 17 years of her life trying to convict KPS Gill.

Photo: Rupan Deol Bajaj (courtesy of Rupan Deol Bajaj)

In January 1942, the BBC broadcast the first edition of its longest-running radio programme: Desert Island Discs. The idea was simple: persuade a well-known person to imagine they were marooned on a desert island and ask them which eight records they would like to take with them. Simon Watts introduces highlights from over 3,000 interviews with film stars, musicians and public figures.

PHOTO: Long-time Desert Island Discs presenter Roy Plomley (BBC)

On 26 January 1972 four Aboriginal men began a protest for land rights in Canberra, Australia. First they erected a beach umbrella on the grass outside Parliament House and labelled it an 'embassy'. Soon they were joined by other activists with tents. Ashley Byrne has spoken to Gary Foley, an aboriginal activist who took part in the demonstration which lasted until July 1972 when it was broken up by police.

(Photo: Aboriginal demonstrators with flags outside Old Parliament House on Australia Day 2016. Credit:Mick Tsikas/EPA)

One of the best-loved children's stories of all time, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, was first published in January 1964. Roald Dahl's nephew Nicholas Logsdail was one of the few people to read the first draft. He tells Witness what he thought of it and talks about the adventures he and his uncle had together when he was a small boy.

Extracts from audio book ©2014 Roald Dahl & Penguin Books Ltd.

(Photo: Roald Dahl, 1971. Credit: Ronald Dumont/Daily Express/Getty Images)

In January 1977, fascist gunmen killed five people at a left-wing law firm in Atocha Street, Madrid. The murder was a turning-point in Spain's transition to democracy. Simon Watts talks to Alejandro Ruiz-Huerta Carbonell, the last survivor of the killings.

(Photo: A monument to the Atocha Street Lawyers in Madrid. Credit: Getty Images)

Domestic microwave ovens first became widely available in 1967 in the United States. Until then they had mainly been used in restaurants or vending machines. Dr John Osepchuk, an engineer and expert in microwave technology spoke to Cagil Kasapoglu about the innovation.

Photo: A Londoner demonstrates how to use a new vending machine with frozen meals and a microwave oven for heating. Credit: Jim Gray/Keystone/Getty Images

In January 1974 the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons was launched from a Wisconsin basement. Within years it was being played by millions around the world. Witness speaks to Michael Mornard, one of the first people to play the game.

Photo by Paul Brown/REX/Shutterstock (193168d) Teenagers playing Dungeons and Dragons FIRE, 1991