Features

  DPA The heroes of Africa’s highest mountain like to call themselves Wagumu – “soldiers” in Swahili. On Mount Kilimanjaro, they perform the same role as the sherpas in the Himalayas: tireless burden bearers hauling baggage and equipment to the base camps for visiting mountaineers – through rainforest, scree and ice fields. For decades, it was a world dominated by ...

  AFP A dozen young men and women stand before a rock face on the outskirts of Islamabad, challenging and cheering each other on as they take turns scrambling up the limestone in front of curious onlookers. The country has long been a magnet for mountaineers, drawn by the grandeur of regions like Gilgit-Baltistan, where three of the world’s greatest ...

  Relaxnews What makes a car go from collecting dust and rust to becoming collectible? Is it rarity, performance, aesthetics, pop culture clout or is it really all down to individual taste? For the world’s oldest carmakers, the definition is simple. “When a car has been out of production for 10 years we define it as a classic,” explains Jaguar’s ...

  AFP Fancy spending the night in a former military prison that is now a youth hostel with an artistic twist? In Slovenia you can, and with a clear conscience about your ecological footprint. The technicolour building in Ljubljana was originally a jail built by the occupying Austro-Hungarian army in 1882 and remained in use until Yugoslavia fell apart in ...

  AFP For farmer Mohlakoane Molise, the view of the enormous Katse dam from his smallholding high in the mountains of Lesotho taunts him daily. His country is suffering through its worst drought in 35 years, but the vast and vital water reserves remain out of reach, destined instead for export to neighbouring South Africa. “I am very angry about ...

  DPA Renewable energy is seen as the solution to much of the world’s environmental problems with the German government, for example, looking to have virtually all its energy requirements sourced in this way by the year 2050. A major problem with renewable energy sources, however, is the reliability of supply as renewable energy often relies on the weather for ...

  Bloomberg Urban rooftops are buzzing across France, but the fad for beekeeping from Montpellier to Lille to Paris — including atop AFP’s headquarters — will do little do reverse declining bee populations, experts say. The northern city of Lille was a pioneer in efforts to defend the bee by providing pesticide-free environments, and it was among the first to ...

  DPA Friederike Kolb is 100 years old and never thought she’s be able to dance again. “When I was a young girl I used to love dancing and I still really love it,” she says. Every Wednesday morning social worker Gerburg Cartus gives quite a special dance lesson at the Frankenhoehe senior citizens home in Mainz, western Germany. The ...

  Bloomberg Deep within a building shaped like the Starship Enterprise, a little-known Chinese company is working on the future of education. Vast banks of servers record children at work and play, tracking touchscreen swipes, shrugs and head swivels — amassing a database that will be used to build intimate profiles of millions of kids. This is the Fuzhou hive ...

  Los Angeles / AFP Vegan diets are considered by most as healthy and environmentally responsible, with celebrity poster children touting benefits like weight loss, clear skin and increased energy. But even vegans — who eschew all animal products like meat, eggs and dairy — crave junk food. As the movement becomes more and more popular, temptations including donuts, pizza ...