1905, 5 May
In an attempt to defuse the escalating tension in Morocco, France allows Germany to use the port of Casablanca.
1925, 5 May
There is intense fighting between Abdul Krim's Riff rebels and French troops.
1936, 5 May
Addis Ababa falls to Mussolini's troops.
1941, 5 May
Emperor Haile Selassie returns to the Ethiopian throne, having travelled from Khartoum with an army of Abyssinian refugees.
1953, 5 May
Constitutional commission recommends 5,000-year-old monarchy be ended and Egypt become a republic.
1957, 5 May
Birth of actor Richard E. Grant in Swaziland.
1974, 5 May
Tallal Khaled Kaddourah and Safik Hussein el-Anda, under death sentence in Greece for their part in the 5 August terrorist attack on Athens airport, are deported to Libya.
1994, 5 May
A 20-year ban on big-game hunting is lifted in the Côte d'Ivoire in an attempt to raise tourist revenue.
