Current Affairs, Environment, Heritage
The Mongolian Gold Wars
Gold mining has sparked a clash between illegal diggers, artisanal mining associations and large multinationals
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Culture
Love Without Boundaries
They sound like customs that belong to a forgotten culture of an ancient community. The Mosuo people do not traditionally marry, but engage uninhibitedly in consensual relationships with different and often multiple partners
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Culture
Revisiting the Samurai
Today it is Tokyo but once, many lifetimes ago, the same city was Edo, the imperial capital of Japan. Amidst the marks of modernity – the skyscrapers, the flyovers and the neon signs – are hidden hints of a world many think are lost, but which are just waiting for the eagle-eyed to discover.
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On Assignment
Namasté
The Hindu devotee’s hands are pressed together. His palms touch, close to his chest, and his fingers point upwards. His brightly-coloured turban is in stark contrast to his thick white beard. “Namaste,” he says with a slight bow. Literally translated, the word means “I bow to the divine in you.” A respectful greeting, namaste, or namaskar, combined with the wordless hand gesture, conveys the same meaning of acknowledgement for a loved one, a guest or a stranger, regardless of the speaker’s language, culture or religion.
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Science
The Future of Language
In our everchanging lexical world, where languages twist and turn, and sometimes bend over backwards or die out to suit trends, cultural changes and technology, the future of the spoken and written word is difficult to predict.
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