Europe

Dying art? A recipe to save Hong Kong's handmade dim sum

For the past 60 years, Chui Hoi has risen in the early hours of the morning to prepare bite-size steamed morsels for his small but popular dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong.

Rail life: history of trains brought to life in Brussels

Nearly two centuries ago, Belgium launched continental Europe's first commuter train line connecting Brussels to Mechelen, a small city halfway to the port of Antwerp.

Australian winemakers court Asian tastebuds

Wrapped tightly in sleeping bags to keep them from freezing in frigid conditions, Australian winemaker Sirromet's bottles slowly make their way across the vast Mongolian landscape on the back of a yak.

Expensive espresso: Thailand's elephant dung coffee

In the lush, green hills of northern Thailand, a woman painstakingly picks coffee beans out of a pile of elephant dung, an essential part of making one the world's most expensive beverages.

Sea of candles marks 'magical' rally that shook Berlin Wall

Some 200,000 people joined a candlelight procession marking a watershed mass protest 25 years ago that helped bring down the Berlin Wall a month later.

The Eiffel Tower in numbers

The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument in the world that charges for entrance. Here is a factfile on France's iconic building.

Berlin passion for 1940s fashion untempered by WWII hue

With her blotted red lipstick, perky coiffed curls and fitted 1940s skirt suit, Constanze Pelzer looks like she's stepped off a World War II film set. From head to toe, the 49-year-old German is the picture of 1940s elegance -- from the little glasses and striking jewellery to her red sling-backs, her entire outfit is authentic.

'Miracle' of the Marne: the WWI battle that changed history

At the start of September 1914, after just one month of war in Europe, the German army were at the gates of Paris. The word on the street was that Emperor Wilhelm II had already booked a dinner table on the Champs-Elysees.

Madagascar unleashes poisoned rain to break locust plague

The choppers swoop in, dumping insecticide over a plague-stricken village in Madagascar's stunning central highlands.

A day at the Met: opera for New Yorkers and the world

In a cramped backstage area at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, French mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch adjusts her 19th century dress.

Nazi past overshadows genius of Porsche

The name Porsche has long made sports car enthusiasts swoon but the Nazi past of the famous brand's founder has left his Czech hometown sorely divided over his legacy.

Paraguay group turns garbage into sweet melodies

Parents all over the world often complain about their children's music being garbage.

Former slave trade town seeks to become African art hub

Until last year, the few tourists who visited the small west African town of Ouidah were likely headed to the Gateway of No Return, a massive monument to the area's bleak history as a slave trading hub.

Oscar-nominated 'Act of Killing' confronts Indonesia's dark past

Anwar Congo makes no secret of the fact that he killed about 1,000 people with his bare hands, boasting about the methods he used to murder alleged communists in 1960s Indonesia.

Japan's Love Hotels see business booming

From rooms kitted out like medical clinics where couples can play "doctors and nurses" to grottos where it is permanently Christmas, Japan's "Love Hotels" cater to almost every taste, offering a few hours of reasonably-priced privacy in a crowded country.

Olympics: Fat boys slim as curlers shape up for gold

Bad raps are hard to reverse, but Brad Jacobs is doing his part to change the stereotype of the chain-smoking, beer-swilling curler who spends more time in the bar than fine-tuning his craft.