Thirty years ago an all-female folk choir set up in Bulgaria became the darling of Western audiences with its tradition-steeped a cappella singing, before the fall of communism threatened its survival.

Dr. Isima Sobande was in medical school when she first heard of mothers who bleached the skin of their babies.

Hardly anybody likes hospital food but in Venezuela, it's so awful -- monotonous, starchy diets cooked in filthy conditions, and newborns fed intravenous solution for lack of baby formula -- that experts call it an actual health risk.

Tokyo's Gotokuji temple has long attracted spiritual visitors with its thousands of figurines of beckoning white cats, thought to bring good luck. But of late it has brought in another breed: Instagrammers.

An art installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama inside an old hurricane-damaged train garage on New York's Rockaway Peninsula. Featuring 1,500 mirrored balls to reflect and contrast the rundown interiors, the installation is part of a bi-annual art program "Rockaway!" established since 2014 to encourage redevelopment of the area following Hurricane Sandy.

Italian mosaics, once all the rage in France, fell into neglect and ruin by the 1970s, when homeowners began covering them up with parquet floors or even linoleum.

Situated in a fertile plain at the foot of Mount Zerhoun, the sprawling remains of Morocco's oldest Roman site -- Volubilis -- have survived pillage and long periods of neglect.

You may have more time than you realize. If not, it's crucial that you put out an effort to find or make some.

Ostriches at Kledu Farm, some 30km north of Bamako, Mali.

The little robotic waiter wheels up to the table, raises its glass lid to reveal a steaming plate of local Shanghai-style crayfish and announces in low, mechanical tones, "Enjoy your meal."