Nepal

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Himalaya Adventurers Find 'Yeti Tracks'

Traces aren't animal, experts say, 'look human'

(Newser) - The legendary abominable snowman of the Himalayas remains camera-shy, but a Japanese team has made a breakthrough, discovering what the lead researcher says are yeti footprints. "Myself and other team members have been coming to the Himalayas for years and we can recognize bear, deer, wolf and snow leopard...

18 Killed in Everest Plane Crash

German, Swiss tourists killed after Nepali flight crash-lands

(Newser) - A small tourist plane has crashed on Mt. Everest, killing 18 passengers and crew, AFP reports. Most of the passengers on the Yeti airlines flight from Kathmandu to Lukla were German tourists, officials said. Two Swiss nationals and five Nepalis were also on the passenger manifest. Witnesses said the plane...

Nepal Names New Living Goddess

Three-year-old will leave family to live in temple

(Newser) - A new 3-year-old “living goddess” has been named in Nepal, Reuters reports, and she took up her post today, clad in red and gold, in an ornate 15th century temple in Kathmandu. Matina Shakya has left her family to live as the Kumari, appearing in a window to be...

Skydivers Jump From Everest
 Skydivers Jump From Everest 
Oct 5, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

Skydivers Jump From Everest

Trio spends 15 years, $24K for 29,500-ft. leap from world's highest peak

(Newser) - Three skydivers bounded into record books today, completing the first parachute jump from Mt. Everest, the BBC reports. “It was amazing, just spectacular,” gushed one adventurer, who, along with her fellow divers, shelled out $24,000 each and 15 years of planning on the 29,500-foot leap. The...

Sacred History Resonates in Kathmandu
 Sacred History
 Resonates in
 Kathmandu
GLOSSIES
Aug 17, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Sacred History Resonates in Kathmandu

Traditional building practices coexist with global trade in Nepal's capital

(Newser) - Decades of restoration have kept up the medieval splendor of a region long hidden from the world: Kathmandu Valley. Started by Germany in the 1960s and later spearheaded by a Harvard professor, the repairs have maintained many of the area's stupas and pagodas, Lucinda Lambton writes for Vanity Fair—but...

Piglets-for-Girls Bargain Saves Thousands

Nepalese spared from slavery, sent to school by non-profit program

(Newser) - An American’s plan to keep poor Nepalese families from selling daughters into slavery by offering them pigs has saved thousands of girls in the Himalayan country, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The non-profit founded by Olga Murray gives pigs (which, grown, fetch the same $35-75 buyers would pay for...

Nepal to Become a Republic
 Nepal to Become a Republic 
May 28, 2008 7:26 AM CDT

Nepal to Become a Republic

People celebrate as monarchy ends

(Newser) - Nepal is becoming a democratic republic today—and it's getting its first taste of democracy's hiccups. As thousands gathered in the streets of Kathmandu to celebrate, the newly-elected constitutional assembly met to abolish the country’s monarchy. But the momentous vote has been delayed a few hours over disagreements about...

Nepal Detains 560 Tibetan Women

Cracks down on 3 all-female protests against China

(Newser) - Nepalese authorities today arrested 560 Tibetan women, including Buddhist nuns, for protesting China's actions in three all-female rallies across Kathmandu. They marked the first protests of their kind, and the largest round-up since China's crackdown in the region in March; the prisoners will be freed later. Nepal, home to 20,...

Tibetans Storm Chinese Embassy in Nepal

200 protesters detained, including monks and nuns

(Newser) - At least 300 Tibetan protesters, many of them monks and nuns, stormed the Chinese embassy in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu today. The demonstrators threw debris into the embassy compound and tried to break down the gates. "We want our freedom. Stop China!" they chanted. Some 200 protesters...

Nepal Boots Pro-Tibet US Climber

American banned from Everest for two years over protest banner

(Newser) - Nepal deported an American climber yesterday, the Times of India reports, after police at a Mount Everest base camp found a pro-Tibetan banner in his backpack. Nepal, staunchly pro-China, has enacted restrictions—and authorized security forces to use guns—to prevent protests when the Olympic torch ascends the world's tallest...

Nepal OKs Deadly Force Against Torch Protesters

Flame will ascend Everest next month

(Newser) - Nepal has plans for protesters intent on disrupting the Olympic flame's ascent up Mount Everest, the AP reports. An official today authorized the use of deadly force "to stop any protest on the mountain using whatever means necessary." Climbers are scheduled to reach the summit in the border...

Nepal Set to Abolish 240-Year-Old Monarchy

Voters out in droves for first election in 9 years

(Newser) - Voting is under way in Nepal's parliamentary elections, where citizens of the Himalayan nation are expected to endorse parties that will oust the 240-year-old monarchy, reports AFP. UN observers have commended a high turnout despite eight deaths in protests ahead of today's polling, the centerpiece of a peace deal between...

China Closes Everest to Curb Protests

Torch route deemed 'unsafe' due to 'environmental' problems

(Newser) - China has closed down Mount Everest, worried that pro-Tibet protesters might disrupt what’s supposed to be the emotional and physical pinnacle of this summer's Olympic torch relay—the ascent to the summit. Just ahead of the climbing season—April, May and early June—authorities  told expedition companies the Tibetan...

Nepali Goddess Retires at 11
Nepali Goddess Retires at 11
Mar 3, 2008 12:35 PM CST

Nepali Goddess Retires at 11

Kumari briefly deposed last year after traveling abroad

(Newser) - Sajani Shakya, one of Nepal's living goddesses, is officially retiring at age 11, the AP reports. Religious leaders briefly stripped the Kumari of her divine status last year after she defied custom and traveled abroad, but her premature retirement isn't related to the controversy, officials say. She has "come...

Wealth Doesn't Always Aid Health
Wealth Doesn't Always
Aid Health
Feb 18, 2008 3:17 AM CST

Wealth Doesn't Always Aid Health

UN finds child mortality rates uneven in developing nations

(Newser) - Citing new child mortality statistics, analysts say a nation's wealth doesn’t always translate into better health for its youngest citizens, the BBC reports. Every year, 10 million children die before their fifth birthday, with 99% of the fatalities occurring in the developing world. But even when conditions improve, survival...

Police Bust Doctor Heading Kidney Racket

Rogue MD from India found hiding in Nepal jungles

(Newser) - An Indian doctor hiding out in the jungles of Nepal has been arrested, accused of heading the country's largest organ transplant racket. Hundreds of poor workers were hoodwinked into selling their kidneys, which Amit Kumar then offered to rich clients in India and abroad seeking a transplant. The doctor will...

Nepal Bridge Fails; 200 Missing
Nepal Bridge Fails; 200 Missing
Dec 25, 2007 1:04 PM CST

Nepal Bridge Fails; 200 Missing

15 bodies recovered after suspension span collapses

(Newser) - Nepalese rescuers were searching into the night for about 200 people who plummeted into a swirling river when a suspension bridge collapsed. Another 15 bodies have been recovered, and 32 were taken to nearby hospitals. Up to 1,000 Hindu pilgrims were on the bridge when it failed in a...

Nepal to Ax Monarchy, Install Republic

Leaders cave after 3-month standoff with Maoists

(Newser) - After almost three months of deadlock, Nepal agreed today to end its 240-year-old monarchy and set up a republic, the BBC reports. Maoist rebels, who had walked out in October and staged violent protests, struck the deal with Nepal's leaders, which will go into effect after elections next spring.

Nepal Court Rules for Gay Rights
Nepal Court Rules for Gay Rights
Dec 22, 2007 10:23 AM CST

Nepal Court Rules for Gay Rights

Landmark decision to scrap laws discriminating against gay, lesbian, transgender Nepalese

(Newser) - Conservative Nepal must stop its discrimination against homosexuals and make laws to protect their rights, the nation's highest court ruled yesterday. The decision is a major victory for gay rights advocates in the Himalayan country, where gay men and women have long complained of discrimination and attacks, BBC reports. "...

Sherpas Navigate Big Apple Canyons
Sherpas Navigate Big Apple Canyons
Dec 3, 2007 10:49 AM CST

Sherpas Navigate Big Apple Canyons

As tourism fades, expat Nepalese guides turn to driving NYC cabs

(Newser) - When a 10-year civil war drove tourists and climbers out of Nepal, the Sherpas who catered to them also left in droves, and many wound up in New York driving cabs. The taxis offer not only a livelihood but also fewer risks. "I stopped extreme climbing for my own...

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