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by Sam JAHAN BISWAMBHARPUR, Bangladesh (AFP) — Almost four million people have been hit by monsoon floods in South Asia, officials said Tuesday, with a third of Bangladesh already underwater from some of the heaviest rains in a decade. The monsoon — which usually falls from June to September — is crucial to the economy of the Indian sub-continent, but also causes widespread death and destruction across the region each year. “This is going to […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Nepal is offering farmers cash rewards for catching desert locusts to limit the damage caused by the destructive swarms that have ravaged harvests in India and Pakistan. South Asia is experiencing its worst infestation in decades, with the plague of locusts devastating agricultural heartlands and are now entering Nepal. “Our decision is aimed at encouraging people to catch the insects instead of using pesticides which might be harmful to the environment,” […]
by Paavan MATHEMA Pictures by PRAKASH MATHEMA Agence France-Presse KHUMJUNG, Nepal (AFP) — The Himalayan hilltown of Khumjung should be bustling ahead of Everest’s climbing season, but the coronavirus has forced the shut down of the world’s tallest mountain and threatened the livelihood of the famed local Sherpas. While there are no reported cases in the town — home to many of the ethnic Sherpas who dominate the industry helping climbers — the Himalayas have been closed by […]
by Noemi CASSANELLI Agence France Presse KORZOK, India (AFP) — For centuries the Changpa have tended the shaggy goats that provide silky-soft, super-expensive pashmina wool. But now many are rethinking their way of life, in part because of climate change. Winters have become harsher and summers drier for the semi-nomadic people living 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) up in the Changtang region straddling northern India and Tibet. This and other factors have pushed many on […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Health authorities in Nepal on Friday confirmed that a student who returned from Wuhan, China tested positive for the new coronavirus, becoming the first South Asian country to report the deadly disease. The 32-year-old student arrived in Nepal on January 9, and entered the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Kathmandu four days later after running a fever and reporting trouble breathing, hospital spokesperson Anup Bastola told AFP. The […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — At least 18 people died after a bus skidded off a highway in Nepal and plunged into a deep gorge on Wednesday, authorities said, as rescuers scoured the steep terrain for survivors. The bus was traveling from the hilly Arghakhanchi district west of Kathmandu to the southern city of Butwal when it left the road and plummeted some 350 meters (1,150 feet) to the ground. “We have recovered dead bodies of […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Severe floods and lightning have claimed the lives of more than 650 people across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, officials said Monday as the annual monsoon took its toll on the rainfed region. More than 10 million people in the South Asian countries have been affected by the deluge, which has also forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. In India, heavy rains since the start of July have […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Torrential monsoon rains swept away homes and triggered landslides across South Asia, affecting millions of people and claiming at least 180 lives, officials said Tuesday. The monsoon is crucial for irrigation and groundwater supplies in the impoverished region — home to a fifth of the world’s population — and brings relief after the unforgiving summers. But the downpours — which stretch from June to September — can turn deadly and […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Fourteen people were killed when a building collapsed in northern India following heavy monsoon rains which have left more than 130 dead across South Asia, officials said Monday. Floods and landslides caused by the annual deluge have wreaked deadly havoc from the Himalayan foothills to low-lying camps housing Rohingya refugees, with officials warning tolls could rise as they scramble to reach affected communities. In Bangladesh, at least 29 people died […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Floods and landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains have killed at least 50 people across Nepal while dozens more are missing, officials said Sunday. Northeast India has also been hit by floods with 11 deaths recorded as rivers burst their banks. Heavy rains since Thursday have hit several districts in Nepal, especially in the country’s eastern region and the southern plains, affecting thousands. Nepal police spokesman Bishwaraj Pokharel said 33 people […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — At least 27 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a freak storm hit southern Nepal, destroying houses, uprooting trees and toppling electricity poles, officials said. The thunderstorm swept through the district of Bara and adjoining areas late Sunday killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 600, according to the home ministry. “The winds took away everything, my home and my family,” Ram Babu Patel, 45, who lost […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Nepal’s government on Wednesday tabled draft legislation that would impose harsh penalties for “improper” social media posts, igniting concerns it could be used to suppress freedom of speech and stifle dissent. Under the proposed law, the government would have the power to block social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube unless they register in Nepal. And social media posts deemed defamatory or against national sovereignty could be punished with up […]
