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Outlook: Venezuelan Mayor Who Went on The Run

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Hatillo's Mayor David Smolansky speaking at a rally (credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images)

14/12/2017 GMT

Venezuelan Mayor Who Went on The Run

BBC World Service - Outlook, Venezuelan Mayor Who Went on The Run

Opposition mayor David Smolansky embarked on an epic 1200km escape to Brazil

David Smolansky was elected as Venezuela's youngest mayor, until he was forced to flee his country under threat of a prison sentence.

In 2013 David Smolansky became the Venezuela's youngest mayor when he was elected to run a district of Caracas called El Hatillo. He is a founding member of the Popular Will party which is often at loggerheads with the government of  President Nicholas Maduro. When violent protests broke out he was accused of failing to prevent them. David fled, embarking on an epic 1200km escape to Brazil.

Sonam Dorji is a master musician in Bhutan.  As the Director of the Music of Bhutan Research Centre, he spends his time travelling from village to village, recording songs and dances and carrying out interviews with local musicians trying to save the traditional music of his homeland. He tells Outlook's Candida Beveridge how his recordings have been made into an archive for future generations to enjoy.

The Baghdad-based Iraq Bikers group are determined to change the image of motorcycle gangs in their country. There are just over three hundred members from different denominations of Islam and Christianity, and unlike some bikers, they don't start fights with rival gangs and instead run humanitarian projects. Their founder calls himself Captain Bilal.

When 89-year-old Japanese woman Kimiko Nishimoto decided to take photography lessons from her son Kazutami, she wasn't expecting to become an internet sensation. Kimiko uses software to create comical and striking selfies. 

(Photo: Hatillo's Mayor David Smolansky speaking at a rally. Credit: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images)

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