How an election kicked off a Kyrgyz crisis

It’s less than a fortnight since elections in Kyrgyzstan triggered mass protests. Since then the prime minister has resigned, the president too, and a man who was in prison then is now prime minister and self-declared acting president. BBC Kyrgyz Editor Gulnara Kasmambet shares the view from Bishkek.

My Home Town: Byblos
In our series My Home Town, we revisit Byblos in Lebanon with Janay Boulos of BBC Arabic.

Giving Afghan mothers a name
Afghan women recently won a major victory; after a 3 year campaign mothers' names can now be recorded alongside fathers' on children's ID cards. Mahjooba Nowrouzi of BBC Afghan explains why this change is so significant.

BBC Persian reports the US election debates
Iranians are following the US presidential election closely, with the candidates taking opposite positions on US sanctions. BBC Persian’s Siavash Ardalan and Nicholas Niksadat talk about the challenges of simultaneously interpreting the raucous, and occasionally rude, first presidential debate.

In praise of mahjong
The tile-based game has been played in China for centuries, but what’s the appeal? It's a question we posed to our BBC Chinese colleagues and mahjong aficionados, Howard Zhang and Suping.
Image: A rally in Bishkek in support of the former Kyrgyz president
Credit: EPA/IGOR KOVALENKO