Despite it being ill mannered, I find it difficult to resist the urge to read a newspaper over someone's shoulder on a bus or a train. Similarly, a headline or a person's name will catch my eye when I am browsing through the archive and I cannot resist quickly reading the article.  I have therefore decided to start posting articles on here which have this 'must read' effect on me - I hope you will enjoy them too. 

Today, a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela was unveiled in Parliament Square, London. At the unveiling Prime Minister Gordon Brown referred to Mandela as the "greatest and most courageous leader of our generation" and such a statement immediately made me want to read about Mandela's life.

The Keesing's World News Archive search engine makes researching individuals easy, and our articles are rich in hyperlinked cross references.  An article from the February 1990 issue of Keesing's Record of World Events reports President De Klerk's opening of Parliament speech in which the impending release of Nelson Mandela is announced and also the abolishment of the ban on the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC–the ANC's smaller rival) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).  To read the full article, click here to sign up for a Keesing's account today.