Nepal marked the second anniversary of a devastating quake on Tuesday with rebuilding finally under way, but thousands of survivors still living in flimsy shelters have been told they can never return home. Experts say the 2015 quake, which killed nearly 9,000 people, has heightened the risk of natural disasters in parts of the Himalayan … Read more
A bus has swerved off a mountain road and plunged into a deep ravine in a Himalayan region of northern India, killing at least 44 people, an official said on Wednesday. The bus with 56 passengers on board plunged into a river in northern Himachal Pradesh state, around 115 kilometres (70 miles) from the capital … Read more
China has renamed six districts along a disputed Himalayan border region with India, in a move seen as “retaliation” for a visit by the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader, 81, had visited Arunachal Pradesh in India’s remote north-east earlier in April. China had said the visit had a “negative impact” on bilateral relations and … Read more
A bus has swerved off a mountain road and plunged into a deep ravine in a Himalayan region of northern India, killing at least 44 people, an official said Wednesday. The bus with 56 passengers on board plunged into a river in northern Himachal Pradesh state around 115 kilometres (70 miles) from the capital Shimla. … Read more
Nepal’s government is trying to tackle rising pollution levels in the smog-choked Kathmandu Valley, but standing in the way is a powerful bus mafia that controls the capital’s roads. The rulers of Kathmandu’s streets are a web of transport syndicates made up of private bus owners who have repeatedly blocked official attempts to modernise the … Read more
The Dalai Lama on Saturday accused China of spreading false information about his trip to a monastery near India’s border that drew protests from Beijing which claims the Himalayan area as its territory. ‘People have the wrong information,’ the 81-year-old monk told reporters in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang where he took shelter on his flight from … Read more
The Dalai Lama on Saturday accused China of spreading false information about his trip to a monastery near India’s border that drew protests from Beijing which claims the Himalayan area as its territory. “People have the wrong information,” the 81-year-old monk told reporters in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang where he took shelter on his flight from … Read more
The Dalai Lama will Saturday address devotees at the monastery near India’s border with China where he took shelter on his flight from Tibet, drawing protests from Beijing which claims the Himalayan area as its territory. Huge crowds are expected to turn out for the 81-year-old monk on what may be his last-ever visit to … Read more
Three soldiers have died after avalanches struck a high-altitude army post in Indian-administered Kashmir, an officer said Friday, after heavy snowfall in the disputed Himalayan region. Multiple avalanches hit a post in Batalik near the Line of Control — the de-facto border that divides Kashmir — on Thursday, burying five soldiers, an army spokesman said. … Read more
When Kashmiri teenager Shabnam Bashir first took up classical Sufi music three years ago, she had to practise singing in secret because all the men in her Muslim family opposed her new passion. Now the 14-year-old is a proud member of what her teacher Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh says is the first mixed Sufi singing ensemble … Read more
The Dalai Lama has had an emotional reunion with the Indian border guard who escorted him as he fled his native Tibet following a failed uprising nearly 60 years ago. The 81-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in exile ever since, was visibly emotional as he embraced the retired paramilitary guard on Sunday evening … Read more
A grenade explosion killed a police officer and injured 10 other security personnel in Indian-administered Kashmir on Sunday, police said, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the tense region. Suspected rebels lobbed a grenade at a group of police and paramilitary troops in the main city of Srinagar following protests against Modi’s visit. “Four … Read more
An Indian court has recognised Himalayan glaciers, lakes and forests as “legal persons” in an effort to curb environmental destruction, weeks after it granted similar status to the country’s two most sacred rivers. In a decision that aims to widen environmental protections in the mountainous region, the court granted the legal standing to glaciers Gangotri … Read more
Caretaker Deepak Shrestha padlocked shut the quake-ravaged remains of the Trailokya Mohan Narayan temple in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to keep out the contractors who are meant to be rebuilding it. The 17th century monument’s three-tiered pagoda completely collapsed in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Himalayan nation in April 2015, leaving the main statue … Read more
India and Australia begin the finale of a bitterly fought Test series Saturday, with home skipper Virat Kohli keen to silence attacks that even Australia’s ex-skipper Michael Clarke has warned are “getting out of control”. Kohli, who has been compared in the Australian press to US President Donald Trump, has had a series to forget … Read more
It’s an area better known as a hotbed of insurgency but Indian Kashmir’s only ski resort — a favourite among aficionados for its silky snows — is now trying to attract international-level competition to its slopes. Nestled in the mountain range that encircles the Indian-controlled Kashmir Valley, Gulmarg is a stone’s throw from the highly-militarised … Read more
Two of India’s most iconic rivers, considered sacred by nearly a billion Hindus in the country, have been given the status of living entities to save them from further harm caused by widespread pollution. The High Court in the northern state of Uttarakhand ruled Monday that the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers be accorded the … Read more
Two of India’s holiest but most polluted rivers have been recognised as a “legal person” in a landmark court ruling that could see the sacred waterways restored to health. The decision to bestow legal standing to the Ganges and the Yamuna, one of its major tributaries, comes just days after New Zealand awarded similar rights … Read more
Nepal police Tuesday demolished the largest remaining settlement of people displaced by a powerful earthquake that struck nearly two years ago, a move that will leave hundreds homeless. Around 100 families were still living in the camp in Kathmandu when police wearing riot gear used bulldozers to flatten the bamboo and tarpaulin structures. “The gods … Read more
India’s defence minister resigned Monday to lead the coastal state of Goa after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party secured enough support from minor parties to retain power in the popular tourist region. Manohar Parrikar will be sworn in as Goa’s chief minister on Tuesday — the fourth time he has held the position in his … Read more