Kathmandu

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Insult Reportedly Frazzled Pilot Before Fatal Crash

Inquiry suggests he suffered a breakdown, distracted the pilot at the controls in Nepal

(Newser) - A former Bangladesh air force pilot was in the midst of an emotional breakdown when an airliner crashed in Nepal's capital in March, killing 51 people, according to a leaked copy of the draft investigation report. It says US-Bangla Airlines Captain Abid Sultan appeared to "suffer an emotional...

Plane Waiting to Land Goes Down; Dozens Dead

'It was flying so low'

(Newser) - A plane carrying 71 people from Bangladesh swerved erratically and flew dangerously low before crashing and erupting in flames as it landed Monday in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, killing at least 50 people. The exact number of dead and injured remained unclear amid the chaos of the crash and...

What Really Happened to Dahlia Yehia in Nepal?

After flying to help earthquake victims, everything but her iPhone disappeared

(Newser) - About two weeks after American art teacher Dahlia Yehia messaged a friend to confirm that she had arrived in Pokhara, Nepal, her parents reached out to the US embassy in Kathmandu. Their 25-year-old daughter had left volunteer work in the earthquake disaster zone in Gorkha district and traveled to Pokhara...

Survivors Flee Kathmandu as Quake Toll Tops 3.7K

Disease fears rise as food, water runs out

(Newser) - Aftershocks from Saturday's devastating earthquake are still shaking Kathmandu, and while more aid is starting to arrive, a lot of people are trying their best to get out of the Nepalese capital. Roads out of the city are jammed, and for a second night, hundreds of thousands of people...

Nepal Toll Hits 2,150
 Nepal Toll Hits 2,200 

Nepal Toll Hits 2,200

As first avalanche survivors are flown off Everest

(Newser) - A powerful aftershock shook Nepal today, making buildings sway and sending panicked Kathmandu residents running into the streets a day after a massive earthquake left more than 2,200 people dead. The cawing of crows mixed with terrified screams as the magnitude 6.7 aftershock pummeled the capital city this...

19 Dead in Nepal Plane Crash
 19 Dead in Nepal Plane Crash 

19 Dead in Nepal Plane Crash

Plane caught fire minutes after takeoff

(Newser) - Tragedy has hit trekkers in Nepal for the second time in under a week. All 19 people on board a plane bound for the Everest region died when the Sita Air flight crashed and burned soon after taking off from Kathmandu this morning, reports the AP . Authorities say seven passengers...

Nepal Airport on High Alert After Hijack Warning

Al-Qaeda-linked extremists believed to be targeting Asian flights

(Newser) - Nepal's only international airport has been placed on high alert after warnings from Indian authorities that it could be the target of a terror plot. Intelligence suggests that flights in Nepal and other South Asian countries are part of a new plot by al-Qaeda, AP reports. Travelers using Kathmandu's airport...

Nepal Suffers Shortage of Sacrificial Goats

Country running short of goats ahead of major Hindu festival

(Newser) - Baa-ad news. Nepal is facing a severe shortage of sacrificial goats ahead of one of the Hindu calendar's biggest festivals, the BBC reports. Officials are searching the countryside for as many as 4,000 goats to buy and bring to Kathmandu ahead of the Dashain festival, in which goats are...

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty
 Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty 

Pollution Dulls Nepal's Beauty

(Newser) - Nepal's once-pristine natural beauty has been ravaged by years of civil war, neglect, and corruption, the Washington Post reports. Dangerous levels of pollution now cloud Kathmandu, forcing many residents to wear masks. Even the top of Mount Everest is marred by litter left behind by generations of climbers, and many...

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...

Sacred History Resonates in Kathmandu
 Sacred History
 Resonates in
 Kathmandu
GLOSSIES

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...

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 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 Bridge Fails; 200 Missing
Nepal Bridge Fails; 200 Missing

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...

16 Stories