Postcard from Copiapó

Monday, Feb. 21, 2011

Under the Chilean desert, thousands of independent gold miners trade safety for the slim chance of hitting a mother lode. The risks and rewards of life as a pirquinero

Getting Ready for the Next Big Quake in Nepal

Thursday, Feb. 03, 2011

Geologists have identified the region as due soon for a major earthquake, putting millions of people in danger and the nation's fragile economy at further risk.

Sidi Bouzid

Bouazizi: The Man Who Set Himself and Tunisia on Fire

Friday, Jan. 21, 2011

Mohammed Bouazizi's self-immolation is being emulated elsewhere in the Arab world but without the same political effect. Yet the conditions the Tunisian was protesting remain

Xieng Khouang

How Deadly Weapons Continue to Rule Daily Life

Friday, Dec. 31, 2010

Laos remains carpeted in unexploded ordnance from a 40-year-old U.S. bombing campaign

Maputo

How One Newspaper Wants to Change Mozambique

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010

With a target audience of Mozambique's poorest, the free weekly Jornal @Verdade runs stories on bread prices, HIV — and reviews of high-tech toys. Ambition, the paper's founder believes, is the key to lifting the country out of poverty

Afghan Radio Wars: Combating the Taliban's Message Machine

Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010

To combat the increasingly sophisticated Taliban message machine, the U.S. is employing its own band of hardy radio DJs

Postcard from Fort McMurray

Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

As Canada mines the world's second biggest oil reserves, one indigenous group looks to James Cameron for help. Digging deep into the oil-sands debate

Postcard from Sells, Ariz

Monday, Nov. 01, 2010

With long stretches of border to keep track of, one tribe is forced to enter into an uneasy partnership. The unique dilemma of the Tohono O'odham

Postcard from New Delhi

Thursday, Sep. 23, 2010

The Commonwealth Games were meant to showcase the new greatness of a developing India. But they have become a source of deep anger instead

Heiden

A Swiss Town Celebrates the Red Cross Founder It Never Much Liked

Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010

After founding the Red Cross, Henry Dunant fell into poverty and obscurity, sheltering in Heiden, where townsfolk never warmed to him. Why is it celebrating him today?

Ailing Greece Struggles with an Influx of Illegal Migrants

Friday, Dec. 17, 2010

This year, Greece has seen the steady flow of immigrants crossing from Turkey turn into a flood. But with the country already buckling under huge debt, many who make it over the border find themselves jobless and ostracized

A Boardwalk Empire Crumbles: Can Atlantic City Be Revived?

Monday, Sep. 20, 2010

Hobbled by the recession and outglitzed by new competitors, America's Playground has fallen on hard times. Betting big on a comeback by the boardwalk

Krav Maga: Israeli Self-Defense Goes Global

Friday, Nov. 26, 2010

Bored by the beach in Tel Aviv? Go take a lesson in the self-defense practice Krav Maga — a workout that can literally save your life

Postcard from Dry Tortugas

Monday, Sep. 06, 2010

On the blue edge of the Gulf of Mexico, one reporter learns what it means to live sustainably. Going for a sail on board Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise

The Eternal City's Residents Fight Graffiti

Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010

Volunteers have taken on the challenge of ridding the city's walls of graffiti, doing what their leaders can't — or won't — do. The Eternal City's residents join a fight against grime

Cambodia's New Vacation Spot: A Khmer Rouge Bastion

Tuesday, Jul. 20, 2010

Hoping to divert visitors from the well-worn temple-beach circuit, the Cambodian government is trying to turn a former Khmer Rouge stronghold into an unlikely tourist attraction

Abyei

Sudan's Looming Civil War: Obama's Peace Overture

Monday, Nov. 15, 2010

As the referendum on the separation of Sudan threatens to spark violence, the U.S. hopes that an offer of a more amicable relationship will help keep the peace. But with so much at stake, is it enough?

Postcard from Parwan

Monday, Aug. 16, 2010

After years of alleged abuse, a new U.S. prison in Afghanistan aims to improve conditions for its detainees. Trying for a better kind of justice

The War of the Olive Harvest: Palestinians vs. Settlers

Monday, Nov. 15, 2010

In a West Bank village, Israeli settlers claiming historic ownership use an equally ancient technique to hurt their Palestinian neighbors. The battle over olive orchards

Slow Food: Can You Eat Well and Save the World?

Friday, Oct. 29, 2010

Organized by the Slow Food movement, the biannual Terra Madre meeting advocates for good practice while celebrating good eating — but can it really do both?

Birmingham

Can Britain's Conservatives Escape Thatcher's Legacy?

Wednesday, Oct. 06, 2010

The Tories have worked hard to convince voters of their compassion but welfare cuts, announced at their annual conference, bring echoes of the party's bracing past

Levi

Lichen and Reindeer: Cooking It Raw in Lapland

Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2010

On the Arctic fringes of Lapland, a conclave of master chefs forages in the woods for ingredients. What haute cuisine can gain from the great outdoors

San Francisco

Striving to Save Jobs in San Francisco

Friday, Sep. 24, 2010

A stimulus program that has put thousands back to work is on the verge of expiring. It won't go without a fight

New Delhi

The Commonwealth Games: Can India Avoid a Debacle?

Thursday, Sep. 23, 2010

Officials had promised a world-class Commonwealth Games to announce New Delhi's arrival as a global capital, but concerns over hygiene and safety have cast India in an unflattering light

Rome

The Roma's Struggle to Find a Home

Thursday, Sep. 23, 2010

France is taking the brunt of international scorn for expelling Roma, but Italy has been deporting its immigrant Gypsies for years. One community's struggle to find a home

Liverpool

For Britain's Lib Dems, Power Has its Problems

Wednesday, Sep. 22, 2010

The Liberal Democrats' annual party conference shows that the junior partner in Britain's government coalition is still adjusting to finally being in office. But has the deal with the Conservatives forever tainted the Lib Dem dream?

New York City

A Fashion Week Model's Secret: Sensible Shoes

Thursday, Sep. 09, 2010

On the eve of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the hottest event on New York City's couture calendar, TIME takes a look inside the grueling audition process for hundreds of high-fashion hopefuls

Mejorada del Campo

Will Bureaucracy Fell Spain's One-Man Cathedral?

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010

For the past 40 years, Justo Gallego has dedicated his days to single-handedly building a full-size cathedral. But at 85, Gallego will never finish his project — and an issue with building permits could force officials to tear down his life's work

Pozuelo

Spain's Immigrants Suffer in Economic Downturn

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010

Having taken up Spain's invitation to boost its construction industry, immigrants now find themselves hit especially hard by the crisis that has crippled the nation's economy

Bali

The Eat, Pray, Love Industry

Thursday, Jul. 22, 2010

After selling millions of copies, Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 book Eat, Pray, Love has inspired hordes of spiritual tourists to visit the island of Bali

Anlong Veng

Cambodia's New Vacation Spot: A Khmer Rouge Bastion

Tuesday, Jul. 20, 2010

Hoping to divert visitors from the well-worn temple-beach circuit, the Cambodian government is trying to turn a former Khmer Rouge stronghold into an unlikely tourist attraction

Postcard from New Tripoli

Monday, Jul. 12, 2010

Whether they are going organic or just want a low-maintenance pet, fowl fanciers flock together. Hanging out at a chicken swap

Dijon

A Shortage of Catholic Clergy in France

Thursday, Jul. 08, 2010

Priests from Africa step in as the French Catholic Church struggles through a clergy shortage. Can a p.r. campaign boost the ranks of the country's religious recruits?

Postcard from Port-au-Prince

Monday, Jul. 26, 2010

Six months after a devastating earthquake, many are looking to the past as a possible way forward. Rediscovering Haiti's gingerbread houses

Postcard from Oakdale

Monday, Jul. 19, 2010

The cast and crew of As the World Turns bid farewell to the fictional town they've called home for 54 years. On set for the end of the soap-opera era

Muxía

The BP Spill: Learning from Spain's 2002 Disaster

Monday, Jun. 28, 2010

In 2002, an oil slick threatened to doom the small Spanish fishing town of Muxía, but instead it brought citizens and volunteers together to save the beaches. Their message for the victims of the Gulf oil spill: Believe in the power of people

Final Bell: Kansas City's Effort to Save Its Schools

Monday, Jun. 14, 2010

One school district finally decides that the only way to get better is to get smaller. Closing schools in the City of Fountains

Tabese

South Africa's Female Tribal Chiefs Often Rule in Fear

Monday, Jun. 07, 2010

In South Africa, a growing number of women are becoming leaders of village tribes. But as tensions grow between democracy and tribal tradition, female chiefs are facing mounting pressure and prejudice

The World Cup Comes to the People of the Dew

Monday, Jun. 07, 2010

How a small African tribe came to play host to two of the most powerful nations on earth. World Cup soccer comes to the People of the Dew

Athens

In Bouzouki Clubs, Some Greeks Still Live in Excess

Monday, May. 24, 2010

As Greece buckles under the weight of its debt, its citizens escape into traditional bouzouki clubs, where pop stars sing onstage, cover charge is a bottle of $200 whiskey, and patrons indulge in the kind of excesses that got the country into trouble

Postcard from The Galápagos

Monday, May. 31, 2010

On Charles Darwin's former stomping ground, it's war between commerce and conservation. Survival of the fittest on Isabela Island

Komodo Island

In Indonesia, the People Who Live With Dragons

Saturday, May. 08, 2010

Komodo Dragons are fast and poisonous but the Bugis who share the island with them have learned to live and make some money off the giant lizards

Paris

Paris' Plan to Kick Cars Off Its Riverbanks

Wednesday, Apr. 28, 2010

In a controversial move designed to get Parisians off the road, Mayor Bertrand Delanoë has unveiled plans to close parts of the Seine's banks to traffic and turn them into a pedestrians' paradise

Norway Builds the World's Most Humane Prison

Monday, May. 10, 2010

In Norway, criminals lose their right to freedom — but not to jogging trails, flat-screen televisions and orange sorbet. A look inside Halden Fengsel, the world's most humane prison

Kabul

Kabul Nightlife: Thriving in Between Bombs

Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2010

A veteran TIME correspondent's guide to the nightlife scene in Kabul, the Afghan capital that is besieged by jihadists

Hyderabad

India's Celebrity Wedding Nearly Derailed by Scandal

Thursday, Apr. 15, 2010

When a scandal threatened to derail a wedding between Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, the media in Hyderabad, India, shifted their attention from the real problems of the city

Nairobi

Down and Out in Nairobi: Somali Pirates in Retirement

Thursday, Apr. 01, 2010

Who profits from piracy in Somalia these days? Not the men who do the dirty work

The Federal Jobs a Maryland Town Doesn't Want

Monday, Apr. 12, 2010

A new State Department facility would bring hundreds of jobs to Maryland's Eastern Shore. But some locals aren't happy. How a proposed government project went sour

Jaffna

Where to Buy a Land Mine in Sri Lanka

Wednesday, Mar. 31, 2010

The civil war in Sri Lanka may be over, but you can buy a "land mine" in Jaffna — though they're more likely to explode in your mouth than anywhere else