Chavez: Leftist firebrand who divided nation, vexed 'US'Former paratrooper Hugo Chavez led a self-styled revolution that redistributed Venezuela's oil wealth, earning the devotion of the long-neglected poor while provoking foes at home and abroad.
Right move: Chess gives Ugandan slum children hopeSitting in a dimly lit room in the run-down Kampala suburb of Katwe, Phiona Mutesi stares fixedly at the chessboard in front of her as she ponders the next move in her improbable journey.
In El Salvador, from busting heads to breaking breadAfter a life of crime in one of Central America's most fearsome gangs, a group of Salvadoran street toughs, some tattooed from head to toe, have now found a way out: making bread.
Paris's favourite Dame turns 850Quasimodo only had eyes for Esmerelda but the famous hunchback's fellow Parisians have always had another special lady in their lives.
Bedouins brave elements to attend bamboo schoolIt takes a certain kind of dedication to be a pupil at the Jahalin primary school, where children often walk for hours across tough desert terrain just to get there.
Morocco's 'liquid gold' enriches Berber women In the heart of Essaouira's medina, Khadija, 21, runs a small shop selling bottles of the golden liquid on behalf of five women producer groups, one of many argan oil outlets in the historic port city targeting the tourist trade.
Fly-by art? Gagosian opens Paris airport galleryIn a globalised art market, what better place for a gallery than an airport? Thus reasoned US art mogul Larry Gagosian, who this week opens a cavernous new art space right inside Paris's main private air hub.
Taiwan showgirls strip for the dead Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud, pumping pop music. Their job: to appease the wandering spirits.
India's perfume capital threatened by scent of modernityIn the remote town of Kannauj, the perfume capital of India, traditional workers are struggling to keep their craft alive in the face of fierce competition from modern fragrance makers.
Cook Islands rediscover the lost art of Pacific tattooOnce banned by Christian missionaries as a barbaric, heathen custom, traditional tattooing is making a comeback in the Cook Islands as locals in the Pacific nation reconnect with their cultural roots.
France melts for marshmallow Marshmallows roasted over a campfire may be a staple of American childhood, but few realise the pillowy treats were invented in 19th-century France, where they are bouncing back into foodie fashion.
New York graffiti haven braces for gentrificationGraffiti artists are used to escaping cops, jumping from roofs, and dodging trains, but New York painters who turned an abandoned factory into a street art legend now face their real nemesis: gentrification.
Church hounding of Pussy Riot troubles RussiansThe dominant Russian Orthodox Church's tough stance against the all-girl punk band Pussy Riot has troubled some faithful and estranged it from the younger generation it must foster for future growth.
150-year-old Bangladesh brothel fights closureTara Das says she is the fifth generation of her family to work at the same brothel in Bangladesh, but now she is fighting against Islamic protesters who want her business to close.
Chefs reveal eating secrets of world leadersBarack Obama can't stand beetroot, artichokes are off the menu at France's presidential palace and Vladimir Putin does not take any chances with dishes that emerge from the Kremlin kitchens.