Features

On Italian beaches, dog lifeguards are on watch

This summer, Italy’s special rescue workers were again chalking up success: some 300 dogs ready to help save lives on dozens of Italian beaches.In early

Afghanistan’s Buddhas beckon tourists

Two empty niches facing over a lush green valley towards the snow-capped Hindu Kush mountains stand in silent testimony to Bamiyan’s rich past – and ...

Time takes its toll on Latvia’s ‘Old Believers’

There are little more than a dozen residents left in as many wooden homes in this hamlet tucked away from civilisation in eastern Latvia. Most ...

King's rainmakers take to skies to ease Thai drought

High above Thailand's parched landscape the kingdom's fleet of intrepid royal rainmakers work their meteorological wizardry.A squadron of 20 aircraft plunges through the clouds firing ...

Erupting Vanuatu volcano lures thrill-seeking tourists

As the Mount Yasur volcano cracks like thunder, spewing molten rock and billowing clouds of ash, it sends a warm rush of air to tourists ...

Brazil's pampered pets, best hospitals

When Pierre's regular check-up revealed his kidneys were struggling and he needed dialysis, there was no question what to do.His owner, Cibele Dominigues, admitted the ...

The new face of Malaysia's Islamic witchdoctors

By day he is a BlackBerry-wielding computer analyst, but by night he destroys evil spirits using the Koran. Meet Mazlan Hakim, one of the new ...

Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers

Examining buckled film reels under a microscope, technicians pore over each precious original frame of Alfred Hitchcock's early movies as Britain bids to salvage the ...

In Lebanon it’s what you are that counts

A Shiite Muslim in Lebanon’s diplomatic corps can forget about being appointed ambassador to Washington. The same goes for a posting in London for a ...

Student politics wreck Bangladesh campus life

History student Abubakar Siddique, 21, was in his dormitory room on Dhaka University’s campus in February when a sharp object flew through a window and ...