China and India reopened the Lipulekh Pass in the Himalayas for cross-border trade last week after a six-year closure. This move, following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to New Delhi, signals a cautious warming of ties between the two nations.
A 25-year study found PM pollution in India's Indo-Gangetic Plain increased over 20% from 2010-2019, affecting Bihar and West Bengal most. Emissions now reach the Himalayas, impacting sensitive zones. The study critiques India's city-focused National Clean Air Programme for not addressing rural biomass burning.
A Japanese climbing team, including guide Ryota Nomura, successfully summited Jaljale Himal (6,473m) in the Himalayas on May 11. This marks the first recorded ascent of the peak, according to the Japanese Alpine Club. The team, comprising Nomura (31), Masayuki Takenaka (36), and Tatsuo Sugimoto (38), reached the summit after departing from base camp.
An American climber has died in an avalanche on Mount Makalu, officials said on Tuesday, as fatalities mount early in Nepal’s busy spring climbing season. Shelley Johannesen, 53, was killed on Monday while descending from the summit of the world’s fifth-highest peak, expedition organisers said, marking the season’s latest death. David Roubinek, a 38-year-old Czech climber, and three Nepali guides have died in the Himalayas so far this season. Johannesen, co-founder of US-based outfitter Dash...
China would see India's defense industry cooperation with South Korea on artillery and anti-aircraft guns as inevitably sensitive given Beijing's border dispute with New Delhi in the Himalayas, analysts say. South Korea's Lee said Seoul backs India's Atmanirbhar Bharat self-reliant policy and hopes to actively support production and operation of Indian defense equipment. India operates about 100 K9 Vajra-T 155mm self-propelled howitzers, made in India based on South Korea's K9 Thunder design, and plans to acquire 100 more.
On Earth Day, we take a look back at the rocky history of "tree-huggers." The term originated in the 1970s in the Himalayas and was later co-opted by American politics in the 1990s. Now, environmentalists are reclaiming the word.
