BBC

Oil money has fueled an urban development boom in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, prompting some to call it the "African Dubai". But with the continuing and deadly conflict in Darfur, many countries are hesitant to invest in Sudan.

Russia's super-rich live in a secret suburb hidden in a forest outside Moscow.

Mohawk Indians in Canada have parked a bus on a busy rail line, effectively cutting off transit between Toronto and Ottawa. They are protesting against the government's use of their ancestral land for gravel mining.

The Venezuelan government has plans to operate three remote-controlled zeppelins equipped with video cameras to monitor the streets of Caracas, the country's capital, where crime is high. Many are wary of the government's "big brother" tactics.

Housing activists and protesters have continued to occupy buildings in Brazil as they wait for long-delayed government funding for housing.

A residents' association in Paris is inviting locals to share their ideas about redeveloping a garden and public space in the center of the city by creating them in the virtual reality world Second Life.

Since the late-1960s, an irrigation project have been slowly draining the entire Aral Sea, located on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. But a new dam project is bringing the sea's water back, and with it the fish that support the region.

A small Swiss village may become a new luxury resort, as Egyptian investors have targeted the site for redevelopment. Many residents were at first apprehensive, but have come to see the redevelopment as a savior for their struggling home

Global warming is causing significant long- and short-term problems for the highly populated Mediterranean island of Malta, many parts of which would be submerged by rising sea levels, and whose water supply would be contaminated by sea water.

Under new rules put in place by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, public officials in Mexico City are required to ride their bikes to work at least once per month.

The Brazilian government plans to provide free satellite internet access to indigenous rainforest communities in an effort to improve communication between the groups and authorities with the goal of protecting the rainforests.

The effects of climate change are claiming a small Alaskan island community, with rising water levels and melting permafrost eroding the land beneath the homes of the village's 600 people. Relocation seems to be the only option to save the village.

Israel's oldest kibbutz -- a communal living settlement founded on socialist principles -- has approved a vote allowing community members to retain private salaries instead of pooling their income for the entire community.

Facing public pressure, Britain's PM stands firm on plans to relieve traffic congestion and improve public transport with motorist user fees.

The Communist government in West Bengal, India, has seized the land of thousands of farmer to make room for a car factory. Many criticize the government's emphasis on industrialization.

This video from the BBC follows the journey of a car through the inner workings at an automated parking garage in New York City.

Neglect, poor planning, and flawed city management are being blamed for the recent flooding in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta that has caused hundreds of thousands to evacuate.

The design of schools should account for advances in technology and consider how those changes will affect the way students learn, according to learning advocates who discuss the future of school design in this article from the BBC.

Tesco, a UK-based supermarket chain, has plans to provide housing for staff members in new mixed-use developments featuring its stores.

The historic city of Isfahan, Iran, has destroyed scores of 400-year old buildings to make way for new roads and shopping centers.