Features

  Lo Manthang / AFP A Himalayan Shangri-La that was closed to visitors until 1992, the former Buddhist kingdom of Upper Mustang in Nepal is facing unprecedented change as a new highway brings modernity to the roof of the world. Kerosene lamps have given way to solar panels, denim sneakers have replaced hand-stitched cowhide boots and satellite dishes are taking ...

  Ghana / AFP Patience Kum strides across the training pitch of the Right to Dream academy, a football centre of excellence nestled in the Ghanaian countryside, and welcomes visitors with an assured handshake. The 14-year-old managed to convince her mother she should go to the school some 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the capital Accra, because it teaches ...

  Washington / AFP It may be inside a protest rally, or in front of a deadly shooting. Smartphones, video and social media are empowering citizens to tell their stories like never before. This became clear with the live video earlier this month from Diamond Reynolds when she captured the aftermath of the shooting by a police officer of her ...

  Jean-Claude Elias / TNS Once again robots are making the headlines. Whether it is Amazon’s robotic arms sorting out the stock of goods, packing the clients orders and dispatching them, or Google’s self-driving car, robots are on us, and for good. Beyond the extraordinary prototypes that always manage to impress the crowd like Honda’s celebrated Asimo, robots working hard ...

  Bloomberg A four-mile walk home wasn’t a normal part of Peter Morency’s routine before Pokémon Go entered his life. But on Wednesday evening the 25-year-old Tufts University administrative assistant ditched the Boston-area bus and caught a virtual bestiary—Drowzee, Bellsprout, Poliwag, Clefairy, and Charmander, all characters from Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s blockbuster mobile game—during a leisurely two-hour stroll. Millions of Pokémon ...

  Yangon / DPA In a Yangon shopping mall, Wai Hin tucks into a lunchtime burger. “I like such foods and places,” he says, sitting in the cool air of the South Korean Lotteria franchise in Junction Square mall, one of the largest buildings in the former Myanmar capital. “It’s quiet, well-decorated and air-conditioned,” and well worth the relative expense, ...

  Bloomberg Many employees take pride in personalizing their workspace. But while it’s not uncommon to see desks littered with action figures or cubicle walls cluttered with pictures, few people give much thought to the light around them. The intensity and type of light we live with during the workday can have a major impact on our health, happiness, and ...

  Russ Fujioka / TNS If your business isn’t already using cloud technology, you run the risk of being left behind. With younger startup companies starting out in the cloud and an increasing number of existing companies making the move, it’s time to step away from that pen and paper and even your desktop software; the cloud is here and ...

  Lahore / AFP A flock of pigeons take off from a Lahore roof top at dawn, rising above the city’s Mughal-era minarets before disappearing out of sight. Rather than being viewed as pests, these birds are champions of endurance who evoke a passionate following across Pakistan. “It is a love affair,” says Akhlaq Khan, a famous octogenarian pigeon-fancier and ...

  Sao Paulo / AFP Designers Humberto and Fernando Campana improvise and explore in their quest for strange new creations. But their biggest inspiration is on their doorstep: everyday, discarded objects in their colorful and chaotic homeland, Brazil. Armchairs made from rag dolls, stuffed toy crocodiles or hundreds of yards of woven rope are among the offbeat creations that have ...