Nepal on Wednesday postponed local elections for a third time after its tiny Muslim community expressed concerns about the polls clashing with the holy month of Ramadan. The elections — the first at local level in 20 years and a key step in Nepal’s drawn-out peace process that ended a civil war in 2006 — … Read more
Nepal’s government unveiled it’s annual budget on Monday focused on allocating funds to newly elected local units and sustaining its record high growth rate. The Maoist finance minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara outlined a $12.38 billion budget, giving resources for federal elections, rebuilding of quake-hit houses and infrastructure development. “The objective of this budget is implementation … Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek to repair India’s drifting partnership with Russia when he meets President Vladimir Putin this week, amid wariness over Moscow’s renewed interest in New Delhi’s backyard, analysts say. The two leaders will look to stem a decline in trade between the once robust economic partners and resolve tensions over their … Read more
A civilian was killed after clashes broke out between protesters and government forces following the death of a top rebel commander in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said Saturday. Authorities imposed a curfew in many parts of the main Srinagar city as violence spread across the restive region after Sabzar Ahmad Bhat’s death on Saturday. Bhat, head … Read more
The latest edition of the blockbuster shooter video game “Far Cry” plays out on US soil, inspired by angry political divides and intense isolationist passions in rural America. French video game powerhouse Ubisoft on Friday officially unveiled “Far Cry 5,” which pits players against a dangerous, violent cult calling the shots in a fictional setting … Read more
India has announced that it has fired mortars at Pakistani army posts across their disputed border in Kashmir, a rare public disclosure of such a pre-emptive assault against its neighbour. Troops fired at military camps in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir which were being used to harbour militants, an Indian army spokesman said. ‘As part of our counter-terror … Read more
India announced Tuesday it had fired mortars at Pakistani army posts across their disputed border in Kashmir, a rare public disclosure of such a pre-emptive assault against its neighbour. Troops fired at military camps in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir which were being used to harbour militants, an Indian army spokesman said. “As part of our counter-terror operations, … Read more
India’s army has commended an officer accused of tying a Kashmiri man to a jeep and using him as a human shield, media reports said, sparking strong criticism. Video footage showing Farooq Ahmad Dar bound to the front of an army jeep as it led a convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir went viral last month and … Read more
Nepal destroyed thousands of valuable animal skins and other parts seized from poachers on a giant bonfire Monday in a symbolic gesture against the illegal wildlife trade. More than 4,000 animal parts, including endangered tiger skins and rhino hides, were burned in a large pyre at Chitwan National Park, the nation’s most important conservation area. … Read more
An American climber died Sunday on his way to the summit of Mount Everest, expedition organisers said, the latest death to mar the ongoing climbing season. The 50-year-old mountaineer died close to the Balcony, a small platform above the 8,000-metre mark considered the mountain’s “death zone”. “An American climber has died around the Balcony area. … Read more
Voting began in Nepal on Sunday in its first local elections in two decades, a landmark moment in the country’s fraught transition to democracy. Polls opened in three provinces at 7 am (0115 GMT) with nearly 50,000 candidates vying for the position of mayor, deputy mayor, ward chairman and ward member in 283 local municipalities. … Read more
Nepal holds its first local elections in two decades on Sunday hoping to cement a fraught transition to democracy and fill an institutional void that has seen corruption flourish. The last local representatives were elected in 1997 and their mandates lapsed after their five-year terms expired at the height of the brutal Maoist insurgency. After … Read more
Sherpa climbers who successfully scale mountains including Mount Everest will be officially recognised, the Nepal government said Friday, reversing a controversial decision to stop issuing summit certificates to the guides. The Sherpas who guide foreign mountaineers are the backbone of Nepal’s lucrative high-altitude climbing industry, which nets the impoverished Himalayan country more than $3 million … Read more
Thousands of soldiers and paramilitaries were Thursday engaged in a huge anti-militant operation in Indian-administered Kashmir, where armed rebels have repeatedly attacked government forces in recent weeks. Police said government forces had surrounded at least 20 villages in the drive, launched early Thursday in Shopian district in the volatile south of the disputed Himalayan region. … Read more
Nepal has issued a record number of permits to climbers wanting to summit Mount Everest this spring, an official said Thursday, prompting fears of overcrowding on the world’s highest peak. A record 373 foreign climbers have been cleared to scale Everest from the south side during a narrow window of good weather this month — … Read more
Thousands of soldiers and paramilitaries were Thursday engaged in a huge anti-militant operation in Indian-administered Kashmir, where armed rebels have repeatedly attacked government forces in recent weeks. Police said government forces had surrounded at least 20 villages in the drive, launched early Thursday in Shopian district in the volatile south of the disputed Himalayan region. … Read more
Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers in disputed Kashmir on Monday and mutilated their bodies, India’s army said, calling it a “despicable act”. In a statement, the army said Pakistan’s border force attacked a patrol operating between two border posts on the de facto frontier known as the Line of Control in the remote Himalayan … Read more
Nepal’s first female chief justice has been suspended after the government filed a motion to impeach her, triggering protests within the fragile ruling coalition. The two main parties in the coalition accused Sushila Karki of interference after the Supreme Court last month overturned the government’s choice for chief of police. “We have decided to impeach … Read more
An unprecedented ban on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter in Indian Kashmir has highlighted social media’s role in energising an insurgency that has roiled the disputed Himalayan region for decades. Authorities in the Kashmir valley this week ordered internet service providers to block 15 social media services for at least one month, saying they were being … Read more
A 21-year-old trekker from Taiwan has been rescued alive in the Himalayas, 47 days after he and his girlfriend went missing. A high-altitude search and rescue team found Liang Sheng Yueh in a canyon at around 2,600m (8,500ft) near Tipling village in Nepal’s Dhading district. The body of his companion, 19-year-old Liu Chen Chun, was … Read more