Nirmal 'Nims' Purja has climbed all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre-high mountains in a record-breaking 189 days. The Nepalese former British army soldier completed the last of his 14 climbs, to the summit of Shishapangma in China, at 8.58am local time on Tuesday. The previous record was held by Kim Chang-ho, of South Korea, who took seven years, 11 months and 14 days
Continue reading...Category Archives: Nepal
Hong Kong protests are at ‘life-threatening level’, say police
Warning follows another night of violent skirmishes between police and protesters in city
Violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have escalated to a “life-threatening level”, police have said, after a small bomb exploded and a police officer was stabbed in clashes overnight.
Peaceful rallies descended into chaos in the Chinese-ruled city on Sunday with running skirmishes between protesters and police in shopping malls and on streets. Black-clad activists threw 20 petrol bombs at one police station, while others trashed shops and metro stations.
Continue reading...Dead at 24: did heat kill Doha World Cup worker Rupchandra Rumba? | Pete Pattisson
The Nepali’s sudden death was attributed to ‘natural causes’ – but like hundreds of other young migrants who die in Qatar each year he worked in extreme temperatures
Revealed: hundreds of migrant workers dying of heat stress in Qatar each year
It is a grim place to die: a bunk bed in a filthy, crowded room, deep within Qatar’s largest labour camp, thousands of miles from home.
As Rupchandra Rumba lay there in the early hours of 23 June, his friends heard him struggle for breath.
Continue reading...Nepal’s family planning clinics feel the force of Trump’s global gag rule
Brutal cuts to US-funded reproductive health services threaten to throw progress in the south Asian country into sharp reverse
Devendra Amgai lost his job in November. The 42-year-old public health professional was working in one of Nepal’s more remote districts, distributing contraceptives to women.
The project was proving successful. With little alternative access to medicines or healthcare, local women were seeking out the clinic in ever-increasing numbers.
Continue reading...Nepal festival celebrates end of monsoon season – in pictures
The annual Infra Jatra festival, named after the god of rain and heaven, is celebrated by worshipping, singing, dancing and feasting in Kathmandu valley
Continue reading...Nepal sets new rules for Everest climbers after deadly season
Permit will depend on climbers having ascended at least one 6,500-metre Nepalese peak
All climbers seeking a permit for Everest must have prior high altitude mountaineering experience and demonstrable training, a high-level commission for the Nepalese government has ruled.
The recommendation was issued by the body charged with looking at the issue of high-altitude safety after one of the deadliest seasons in recent years on Everest, which was blamed on inexperience and crowding near the summit.
Continue reading...Death toll from floods in south Asia rises to more than 100
Millions displaced in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, with Assam and Bihar among the worst-hit regions
More than 100 people have been killed and millions more affected by devastating floods and landslides across India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
In the Indian state of Assam, among the worst hit areas, agencies were working on a war footing to deal with the situation, the chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said.
Continue reading...Deadly monsoon floods and landslides hit Nepal – video
The death toll in Nepal from flash floods and landslides in the past three days rose to 47 on Sunday, with dozens more injured or missing. Incessant monsoon rains have pounded many areas in the mountainous country, submerging large portions of land, inundating homes, and destroying bridges and roads across the country
Continue reading...Nepal jails Canadian former UN official for sexually abusing boys
Aid worker Peter Dalglish, 62, sentenced for abusing two boys, aged 12 and 14
A former United Nations official has been jailed for sexually abusing children in Nepal after a trial that underscored the country’s growing appeal for foreign paedophiles.
Peter John Dalglish, 62, a high-profile humanitarian worker from Canada, was sentenced on Monday to two separate terms of nine years and seven years after being convicted last month.
Continue reading...Himalayan glacier melting doubled since 2000, spy satellites show
Ice losses indicate ‘devastating’ future for region and 1 billion people who depend on it for water
The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the turn of the century, with more than a quarter of all ice lost over the last four decades, scientists have revealed. The accelerating losses indicate a “devastating” future for the region, upon which a billion people depend for regular water.
The scientists combined declassified US spy satellite images from the mid-1970s with modern satellite data to create the first detailed, four-decade record of ice along the 2,000km (1,200-mile) mountain chain.
Continue reading...Death, carnage and chaos: a climber on his recent ascent of Everest – podcast
On 23 May, an image taken by the climber Nirmal Pujra went viral. It showed a long queue of climbers waiting to reach the summit of Everest. Elia Saikaly, a film-maker, was on that climb. He describes the ascent, while the Guardian’s Michael Safi discusses why the number of people seeking to scale Everest has exploded. Plus: Helsinki’s radical solution to homelessness
May and June are the only months where weather conditions make it possible for climbers to reach the summit of Everest. This year, a record number of permits were issued by the Nepalese government, which, along with a rule that every climber has to be accompanied by a sherpa, led to there being more than 820 people trying to reach the summit. Eleven people died on the mountain, leading to questions about whether better regulation is needed.
The film-maker Elia Saikaly tells India Rakusen about his ascent on 23 May, a climb he has described as “Death. Carnage. Chaos. Lineups. Dead bodies on the route and in tents at Camp 4. People who I tried to turn back who ended up dying. People being dragged down. Walking over bodies. Everything you read in the sensational headlines all played out on our summit night.” The Guardian’s South Asia correspondent, Michael Safi, looks at the history of climbing Everest and whether this year’s events might prompt better regulation.
Continue reading...‘Walking over bodies’: mountaineers describe carnage on Everest
Death toll grows on world’s highest summit as climbers face challenging conditions
An experienced mountaineer has described the “death, carnage and chaos” at the top of Mount Everest as climbers pushed past bodies to reach the world’s highest summit.
The death toll on the mountain grew to 11 in the past day after an American doctor was killed while descending from the peak. It emerged also that an Australian climber was discovered unconscious but had survived after being transported downhill on the back of a yak.
Continue reading...Why I won’t be joining the queue at the top of Everest
A startling picture of overcrowding near the summit shows the peril of turning the mountain into a form of adventure tourism
Mountaineering is a physical pursuit demanding an affinity for suffering. Where it is cerebral is in its requirement of good judgment, most importantly in extreme situations when the mind is most clouded and consequences of bad decision-making tend to multiply.
Considering risks requires being honest with yourself. At what climbers call the objective level, that involves assessing dangers you may encounter – weather, avalanches, poor rock, even whether there will be overcrowding on your route.
Continue reading...British climber latest to die on Everest amid overcrowding
Several climbers have died after enduring long waits to reach summit
A British climber has been named as the latest fatality on Everest, in a season marred by poor weather and overcrowding on the world’s highest mountain.
The death of Robin Fisher, who reportedly collapsed while returning from the summit, was announced by Mira Acharya, the director at the Nepalese Department of Tourism, which details fatalities on the mountain.
Continue reading...At least four more die on Everest amid overcrowding concerns
Latest deaths, including an Irish climber, come as others report ‘insane’ delays at the peak
Four more deaths have been reported on Everest as concerns grow about the risks posed by the severe overcrowding on the world’s highest mountain this year.
Kevin Hynes, 56, from Ireland, died in his tent at 7,000 metres early on Friday, having turned back before reaching the summit. The father of two was part of a group from the UK-based 360 Expeditions.
Continue reading...‘Hygiene is the first priority’: Nepal looks to clean up its act on sepsis
In a country where dirty water and poor sanitation jeopardise the lives of millions, moves are afoot to improve health facilities
It was midnight when Kalpana and Rohit Agri had to take their three-day-old daughter, Kritima, to Bardiya hospital in western Nepal. She was listless and, despite the antibiotics she’d been prescribed, had developed a high fever. Hearing her struggling to breathe, they woke a neighbour to take them.
Kritima was admitted with life-threatening neonatal sepsis, probably an infection she had picked up in the hospital where she was born.
Continue reading...‘The harder you look the more you find’: Nepal’s hidden leprosy | Rebecca Ratcliffe
Almost two decades ago the World Health Organization declared leprosy eliminated, but millions of cases go undiagnosed
One summer’s morning Paniya Sardar noticed a strange mark on her leg. It was the size of her palm, light in colour and felt numb to touch. She had no idea what had caused it.
The family took Paniya, then 14, to a private clinic near their home on the outskirts of Biratnagar, a city in southern Nepal, where they were sold lotions and pills and told not to worry. Three months later, a deep wound appeared on her foot. “This particular blister was pretty big and wouldn’t heal,” her father, Sita Sardar, says through an interpreter. Six months later, it was still there.
Continue reading...Red dawn: the Sindoor Jatra festival in Nepal
Every year, Nepal becomes awash with vermillion powder as Hindus celebrate Sindoor Jatra to welcome the arrival of spring and Nepalese new year
Continue reading...Severe Nepal thunderstorm leaves 25 dead, hundreds injured
Death toll may increase as rescuers contend with heavy rain and uprooted power lines
More than two dozen people have been killed in a severe thunderstorm that swept through parts of southern Nepal and hundreds more were injured, police and officials said.
Nepal’s prime minister KP Sharma Oli wrote in a tweet that 25 people had been killed on Sunday, and around 400 were injured.
Continue reading...‘Slowly the craze will come’: the off-piste plan to get Nepal skiing
Entrepreneurs aiming to set up Nepal’s first ski resort are undeterred by difficult terrain and lack of state support
Along the single icy road leading through the village of Kuri, high in the hills of eastern Nepal, tourists stop to stare at a pair of skis. “Is it a skateboard?” asks one. “Maybe they are ice skates,” suggests another. “No idea,” they agree, before walking off gingerly along the slippery track.
Nepal may have the highest mountains in the world, but you are about as likely to see a skier here as you are a yeti. Nepal sent no athletes to the Winter Olympics last year, and there is not a single ski resort in the country.
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