"Our army is advancing at a firm pace, watched over by God and pushed forward by Angels."

Umar al-Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir, president of the Republic of The Sudan, from BBC Focus on Africa, January-March 1996.

"People do not want words -- they want the sound of battle -- the battle of destiny."

Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt, from a statement to the National Assembly made on 20 January 1969.

"[A]n argument against war is like telling a farmer that it is a waste of time tearing up the weeds in his maize field because more weeds will grow ... War is just like bush-clearing -- the moment you stop, the jungle comes back even thicker, but for a little while you can plant and grow a crop on the ground you have won at such a terrible cost."

Kenneth David Kaunda, president of Zambia, from his book Kaunda on Violence, Collins, 1980.

"The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves."

Steve Biko, anti-Apartheid activist, from "Letter to SRC Presidents", in I Write What I Like, 1978.

"Being black is not a matter of pigmentation - being black is a reflection of a mental attitude."

Steve Biko, anti-Apartheid activist, from "The Definition of Black Consciousness", in I Write What I Like, 1978.

The cities of Melilla and Ceuta had been Spanish territory since 1497 and 1580 respectively, the latter handed over by Portugal. With the signing of the Treaty of Fez in March 1912, the sovereignty of the majority of Morocco passed to France, which declared the country a protectorate (this was part of a series of international agreements which saw recognition of French and Spanish territories in West Africa and the creation of a German colony Kamerun). A further agreement signed on 27 November between Spain and France established a Spanish Protectorate over the northern coastal zone which surrounded and joined Melilla and Ceuta, as well as Ifni on the Atlantic coast, and Tangiers (which became an International Zone in 1923).

In 1956 when French Morocco gained independence, Spain surrendered the majority of it's occupied territory - but not Ceuta, Melilla, Ifni, and Tarfaya. Tarfaya was prised back from Spain by Morocco in 1958, and Ifni followed in 1969. Spain, however, considers the cities of Melilla and Ceuta to be part of Spain proper and has refused Moroccan demands to return them.

From the diary of Howard Carter, 26 November 1922:

"After clearing 9 metres of the descending passage, in about the middle of the afternoon, we came upon a second sealed doorway ... The seal impressions were of Tutankhamun and of the Royal Necropolis, but not in any way so clear as those on the first doorway. The entrance and passage both in plan and in style resembled almost to measurement the tomb containing the cache of Akhenaten discovered by Davis in the very near vicinity; which seemed to substantiate our first conjecture that we had found a cache.

On 24 November 1991 Freddie Mercury died of AIDS induced bracho-pneumonia. Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on the island of Zanzibar (then a British Protectorate) on 5 September 1946. Feddie's parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, were Indian Parsis, and they had moved to Zanzibar for Bomi's job as a cashier in the British Colonial Office.

The family fled Zanzibar in 1964 when the recently elected government was overthrown and Zanzibar (briefly) declared a republic. The family moved to Feltham, London, and Farrokh studied art at Isleworth Polytechnic, eventually gaining a diploma in Art and Graphic Design. By April 1970, Farrokh had changed his name to Freddie Mercury and joined with Brian May and Roger Taylor to form Queen.

It is well known that one of the fundamental differences between the experiences of Whites and Blacks in Apartheid era South Africa was education. Whilst the battle against education in Afrikaans was eventually won, the Apartheid government's 'Bantu' education policy meant that Black children did not receive the same opportunities as White children. Find out more about the opposing views in Apartheid South Africa from this selection of quotes about Bantu Education.

More on Bantu Education
• School Enrollment in Apartheid South Africa
• South African Students' Organisation
• June 16th Student Uprising

According to the United Nations Population Fund continental Africa's population has passed the one billion level. Uganda and Nigeria are highlighted as regions of highest growth.

Passing this milestone means that Africa's population doubled in only 27 years. Thoraya Obeid, UNPF's Executive Director, talking to journalists at the BBC, suggested the reason for the massive increase is because "there is large number of women who have no access to planning their families".

The population boom has also led to children and young adults representing a much higher proportion of the population than in the developed nations, with associated economic and social problems.

For more see: Africa population tops a billion on the BBC Online.