Oscar magic brewing in gritty Chicago factory Oscar magic is brewing in a gritty Chicago factory where the statues soon to be hoisted in victory by the stars of the silver screen are born in a bubbling vat of britannia.
Gabon sees quiet emergence of a middle class Daniel Minkoh flashes a smile as he stands alongside his wife and three kids, proud of his middle-class status in the equatorial west African state of Gabon.
Nepali girls confined by stigma and superstition Isolation is part of a centuries-old Hindu ritual known as chhaupadi that has been blamed for prolonged depression and even deaths in remote, impoverished western Nepal.
US presidents live longer than average menGray hair and a wrinkled brow beset most US presidents soon after they take office, but a study said most live longer than average men due to their wealth and access to medical care.
USSR collapse: the earthquake still shaking the world The cataclysmic collapse 20 years ago of the Soviet Union, an empire which bound republics from Europe to Asia for seven decades, unleashed conflict, instability and poverty that are still felt today.
Could Euro contagion doom Obama in 2012? President Barack Obama can do little but watch and wait, hoping a European debt crisis does not leap the Atlantic and doom the fragile US recovery on which his reelection hopes depend.
Japan's rice farmers mull TPP future Osamu Tamaki is one of the few rice farmers in Japan who see an Asia-Pacific free trade deal as a window of opportunity rather than the death knell for a highly cosseted industry.
'Skysisters' fall for skydiving Heather Swan admits skydiving used to terrify her -- it took her about 50 jumps before she stopped feeling sick to the stomach.
Crisis exposes Europe's cracks The eurozone debt crisis, the worst economic disaster in Europe's history, threatens to drive a rift between non-euro and euro nations.
How much is a Nobel worth? A lot more than the prize moneyThe prestigious Nobel science awards are worth far more than the $1.5 million prize money: they can pad a company's coffers with $24 million and even add two years to a laureate's life, experts say.
Some squids do it in the dark, male-on-maleThe sex life of Octopoteuthis deletron is a cruelly hit-or-miss affair, according to footage of the deep-sea squid in its element.
Bhutan: The costly 'Shangri La' The kingdom of Bhutan is one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world and a haven for celebrities and the well-heeled.