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World leaders past and present on Monday gathered for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with 100,000 people expected at celebrations to toast a free and united Europe. Chancellor Angela Merkel is hosting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French and Russian presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitry Medvedev and representatives from across the European Union as well as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity. Duration: 01:07

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Fifteen years after bloodshed drove them out of southeast Turkey, some 12,000 Kurdish refugees still languish in the Makhmour camp in northern Iraq. They dream of returning home, but say they will not move unless Ankara grants extensive political and cultural rights to Kurds. Duration: 02:33

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As the world marks the fall of the Berlin Wall on Monday, sections of that infamous barrier are on display in Bordeaux, in the south of France. Shortly after the wall was first breached in November 1989, artists on the eastern side wanted to take up their paint brushes and unleash their pent up emotions on the wall. And they did so with the help of a French businessman. Duration: 01:39

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Ailing European dairy farmers have been promised financial aid by the European Union for 2010 but, until then, some have found solutions of their own. In southwestern France, local milk producers have sealed a deal with a local supermarket that is paying a little more than usual. Duration: 01:50

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Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiaobao pledged 10 billion dollars in concessional loans to Africa on Sunday, at the start of a two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. He also pledged to cancel debts of African countries to boost his country's role in the continent. Beijing has been pouring investments into oil and other raw materials on the resource-rich continent to fuel China's booming economy.

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Berlin-Hohenschönhausen was the prison used by the infamous Stasi, East Germany's secret police service. Though Mario Röllig spent a traumatic three months there after being caught trying to escape to the West, he still returns, in order to teach the youngest generations about life behind the Iron Curtain. Duration: 02:08.

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For the past 20 years Berlin is a city reunified. But another European capital, Nicosia, remains cut in two. UN troops oversee security on the so-called Green Line dividing the Greek Cypriot republic in the south from the Turkish-backed statelet to the north. Since a UN-backed reunification plan was scrapped in 2004, the island has remained in a state of limbo. Duration: 02:20

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The US House of Representatives approved the broadest overhaul of US health care in four decades late Saturday, handing President Barack Obama a hard-fought victory for his top domestic priority. The bill amounts to a 10-year, trillion-dollar plan to extend coverage to some 36 million Americans who lack it now. Duration: 0:42                       

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China's Communist Party has experienced tumultuous times over the past 60 years but has managed to maintain its grip on power throughout a massive famine, the Cultural Revolution, pro-democracy protests on Tiananmen Square and recent ethnic tensions. Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall -- and the ensuing demise of Communism throughout Europe -- the regime remains strong, buoyed, many say, by Beijing's impressive economic success. Originally filed on 103009.

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They're a throwback to a bygone era, but the Soviet statues in Lithuania's Gruto Park still draw a crowd. While for the younger generation, the huge busts of Lenin and Stalin are something of a novelty, for the older park visitors, they're a reminder of 45 years of Soviet occupation. Originally filed on 020709.

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The Ivory Coast's long-awaited presidential election is officially taking place on 29th November, but it's feared the poll will be delayed while the country's electoral commission sifts through almost two million potentially ineligible voters.

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The Swedish island of Gotland has discovered huge reserves of Burgundy truffles whose quality matches the best of what France has to offer. Swedish chefs already prefer the local variety, even though it's more expensive. AFP goes foraging for delicacies in the newfound truffle trove.

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During the momentous events in Berlin in 1989, they worked as news reporters for Russian media. Twenty years on AFPTV talks to two journalists who witnessed first-hand the fall of the Wall and the crumbling of the Soviet Union.

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Former French president Jacques Chirac's charity foundation gave its first award for the prevention of conflicts to two Nigerian preachers on Friday. The jury also gave a special prize to Park Jae-Kyu, South Korea's former unification minister.

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In a bid to boost its flagging tourism industry, Cyprus is laying golf courses by the acre. But the manicured greens demand much irrigation and opponents say developers' plans to use water from desalination plants would be harmful to the environment. Duration : 02:16.

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How would you pair French wine with braised abalone? A year after Hong Kong scrapped a 40 percent tax on wine, sales are booming, and the territory is positioning itself as the wine capital of Asia. Duration : 01:56

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An exhibit on climate change in Mexico City’s Papalote children’s museum aims to raise awareness of global warning in one of the world’s top oil producers. Although Mexico has led global efforts to combat climate change, the issue is still new at home.

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Central London is one of the most expensive places to live on the planet. But hundreds of properties -- amongst them mansions and former embassies -- are left empty by their owners, often leaving the way open for communities of squatters to set up home. One multi-million pound property, in London's famous Leicester Square, has been taken over by an art collective offering a rent-free space to cash-strapped performers.

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French banks pledged on Thursday to stagger payment of half of all banker bonuses over three years and to pay half in the form of shares, in line with measures agreed at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh.

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The UN announced Thursday it was evacuating more than half its international staff from Afghanistan after a deadly Taliban attack on a guesthouse for UN workers.

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More people are HIV positive in South Africa than in any other country in the world. Yet many men still refuse to face up to the problem. A new scheme in Johannesburg hopes to change that, by talking directly to guys in the bars and clubs around town. Duration: 02:21

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Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps is standing tall -- all 4,810.45 metres of it. That's only 45 centimetres less than when it was last measured four years ago, but three metres above the height French schoolchildren have long been taught. Scientists carried out new measurements in September -- and on Thursday announced some surprising finds from the top of the summit straddling France and Italy. Duration: 01:15

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Music therapy has been found to help some sufferers of Alzheimer's disease, as well as their family and caregivers. In one home for Alzheimer's and dementia patients, residents take up drumming and singing as a means of connecting to others in the midst of these isolating illnesses. Duration: 01:48

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Carrying around a dash of eloquence and a well-groomed moustache, cheese-maker Bernard Mure Ravaud has won several prices and, over 25 years, his cheese-shop in the French Alps city of Grenoble has proved a hit. Duration: 01:54

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A new innovation is helping Peru's most isolated communities -- nets which "catch" clouds in the country's Andean heights, soaking up precipitation to be converted into water.

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Israeli naval commandos intercepted a ship carrying "hundreds of tonnes" of arms which officials said were being sent from Iran to the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. The haul from the Francop ship is among the largest ever seized by Israel, containing hundreds of ammunition crates packed into shipping containers, many hidden behind sacks of cement. 

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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday the future of Jerusalem must be on the agenda of any Middle East peace talks, as the Palestinians again took Israel to task over Jewish settlements in the disputed holy city. Duration: 00:52

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A group of Kurdish rebels recently crossed from Iraq into Turkey in a gesture of support for a Turkish government plan to end the 25-year Kurdish conflict. From their base in the Iraqi Qandil Mountains, PKK commander Murat Karayilan, second in command of the rebel movement, spoke exclusively to AFPTV. Duration: 01:42

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With the last hurdle for the Lisbon Treaty out of the way, people across the European Union can now focus on another question: what is it, exactly? The document seeks to reform the unwieldy 27-nation bloc, but it is unclear to most how that will change life for the 300 million people within its mandate. Reaction from the streets of London, Warsaw, Paris and Berlin. Duration: 02:24

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Afghanistan's former presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday slammed Hamid Karzai's re-election as illegal, piling pressure on the head of state as his foreign allies warned him to deliver on reform pledges. Duration: 00:44

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For more than two years the Gaza Strip has suffered a penury of all essentials goods due to the ongoing Israeli blockade. But some things do manage to make it into the enclave -- including drugs. Increasing numbers of young Gazans, overcome by the misery and monotony of their situation, are seeking refuge in oblivion. Duration: 02:05.

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Afghan opium production is on the rise, helping to fund the Taliban and other terror groups and having a devastating impact across the world, experts say. Inside the country, too, opium addiction is now becoming a problem, especially among the poorest. Duration: 02:31.THIS REPORT WAS ORIGINALLY FILED ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2009.

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A surf culture is beginning to develop on China's tropical island of Hainan as both middle-class and counter-culture hippie types learn to ride the waves. Surf operators, including foreign veterans of the sport, are popping up to service this new clientele, and this coming weekend, Hainan will host China's only surfing competition -- the Hainan Open. Duration: 02:03.

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US President Barack Obama on Tuesday said it was "imperative to redouble our efforts" to combat global warming, as European leaders pressed Washington to take action on climate change ahead of next month's summit.

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US President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama made the Middle East conflict a cornerstone of his diplomacy when he came to the White House. A year after his election, America's changing role is as crucial as ever in mediating diplomatic efforts for the troubled region's peace process.

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The 1Goal campaign is pushing to make education for all children the legacy of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Tatum Keshwar, Miss South Africa was in a Soweto school to promote 1 Goal, which aims to get the estimated 75 million children worldwide who aren't in school into the education system. Backed by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the campaign is trying to gather 30 million signatures and the backing of countries around the world.

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A year ago Wednesday, Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States of America. A look at images from that historic election. 

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The annual Kimberley Process talks, which aim to bring an end to the trade in conflict diamonds around the world, are taking place in Namibia. While experts argue there is more transparency than ever in the industry, there are still concerns that the Kimberley Process does not go far enough.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel hit out at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday, saying it would be unacceptable to allow a Holocaust denier to get the nuclear bomb.

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Known for its anaesthetic, anti-inflammatory and even antibiotic qualities, the leech is making a return to the world of medicine. In Russia, 10 times more of the blood-suckers are grown than anywhere else in the world and leech therapy is nothing new. Duration: 01:55