Nepal Police busts alleged kidney trafficking racket =

   Kathmandu (dpa) - Ten members of a gang accused of kidney trafficking have been arrested in Nepal, police said Tuesday.

   Kidney trafficking has been a problem in some villages in Nepal, where criminals force poor villages to sell a kidney with the promise of a hefty sum, which never gets paid in full.

   At least 300 people have been identified as having sold a kidney. Racketeers are believed to have lured the poor to hospitals in India, where their kidneys was then sold. In some cases, the victims said they were led to Indian hospitals under different pretexts and would find out about a missing kidney only after it had been removed.

   The arrests are the first of its kind since the crime started spreading in Nepal villages two decades ago.

   “We had been working on it for a long time and had assigned officers to work closely with the victims so that we could nab the gang members,” said Kamal Gharti, one of the police officers in charge of the case.

   The arrests were made over the period of one month.

   Nepal shares a porous border with India. While organ donations can only be made by a relative in Nepal, the law is more relaxed in India.
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Women demolish sheds where they are confined during menstruation =

   Kathmandu (dpa) - Women in Nepal's far-western region have started destroying cow sheds where they are confined during menstruation, local media reported Sunday.
   The tradition known as "chaupadi" requires women to be confined during their monthly periods, as they are barred from going inside  houses or temples.
   "We have already pulled down more than three dozen chaupadi sheds," Deepa Karmi was quoted by the Republica newspaper as saying.
   Several women have lost their lives due to snakebites, cold or heavy bleeding during the time of isolation, while some have also been raped.
   The age-old practice is said to derive from a Hindu belief that regards menstruating women as impure.
   Official figures say two dozen women are reported dead each year while observing the tradition.
   Local women involved in the protest have also been going door-to-door to urge others to give up the practice.
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Everest brawl prompts Nepali investigation =

   Kathmandu (dpa) - A probe into a weekend brawl between a group of European climbers and their local Sherpa guides during an attempt to scale Mt Everest will be launched soon, local authorities assured Monday.

   "The government is investigating the matter for obvious reasons," said the spokesman of the Nepal Tourism Board, Sharad Pradhan.

   "But it is not a big issue and the climbers are preparing to start their climb once again."  According to media reports, the three climbers - a Swiss, a Briton and an Italian - got involved in a fight with their Sherpa guides between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on the world's highest peak Saturday night.    

   According to some accounts, the foreign climbers ignored the request of Sherpas trying to fix the rope on the climbing route to wait until they were finished.

   The Sherpas alleged ice fell on them when the foreign climbers tried to move ahead. The climbers said ice had not fallen and accused the Sherpas of pelting stones at them and kicking them.

   A group of Sherpas later went to the tent of the foreign climbers, after which an altercation broke out.

   Swiss Ueli Steck, a four-time-Everest-climber, and Italian Simone Moro were reportedly injured in the brawl. Steck flew back to the base camp on Monday, after receiving treatment in a Kathmandu hospital.

   Authorities said there would be arrests after an investigation and assured security arrangements for foreigners. Foreigners who come to Nepal to climb Mt Everest contribute heavily to the Nepali economy.    

   Sherpas, who are known for their climbing skills offer guiding services to climbers on Nepal's mountains.

   More than 3,000 people have climbed Mt Everest (8,848 metre), since it opened to the world in 1953. Hundreds have lost their lives attempting to climb it.
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Monuments erected to link Earth's high, low points =

Published on Aprivl 24, 2013
   Kathmandu (dpa) - A monument containing a stone from the Dead Sea was placed on Mount Everest in a symbolic link between the lowest and highest points on Earth Tuesday.

   The monument is part of an exchange programme between Nepal and Israel. A stone from the highest mountain will be placed in a matching monument by the Dead Sea on May 16.

   “The main objective of these projects is not only to promote natural beauty and cultural heritages of the two countries but also to mark the longstanding and the friendly relations between the two countries,” the Israeli embassy in Kathmandu said.
  
   A similar cultural exchange programme saw the simultaneous issuance of stamps bearing images of Mount Everest and the Dead Sea in both countries last year.
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Nepal TV host attempts to set Guiness record for longest show =

   Kathmandu(dpa)- Nepali TV host Rabi Lamichhane completed a talk show on Saturday after more than 60 straight hours, in an attempt to set a new world record for the longest marathon talk show.

   The show, themed, "Lord Buddha was born in Nepal," opened Thursday morning and was brought to an end on Saturday night as Nepal welcomed the new year on the Nepali Bikram Sambat calendar.

   Lamichhane said he hoped to set a Guiness world record by holding the longest marathon talk show, aired on local broadcaster News24.

   During the show, Lamichanne ate on set, taking only five-minute breaks between interviews. He interviewed politicians, celebrities and journalists, and took Skype calls from Nepalis worldwide, discussing religion, politics and social issues.

   His initially clean-shaven face showed stubble by the time the show came to a close.

   "If Rabi completes the 60 hours, it will be difficult for anyone to break that record easily," Pravin Patel, a Guiness World Record Deciding Commitee member, said while the show was on.

   The body is yet to confirm Lamichhane's record. The previous record holders are Ukraine's duo of Pavlo Kuzheyev and Tetiana Danylenk, who hosted a joint show on Ukraine's Channel 5 for 52 hours.
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Sherpa guide dies on Mount Everest =

   Kathmandu (dpa)- A Sherpa climbing guide was killed in Nepal as he was trying to fix a rope on Mount Everest, the country's mountaineering association said Monday.

   "Mingma Sherpa was trying to fix the rope on the climbing route when he fell into a crevasse on Sunday," association official Zimba Jangbu Sherpa said.

   His body was recovered several hours after the accident but had not yet been airlifted to the capital Kathmandu.

   The death at the start of the annual climbing season was the first recorded this year on the world's highest mountain.

   Nearly 250 people have died on the mountain since it opened to climbers 57 years ago. About 3,000 people have summitted and returned successfully, according to government officials.
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Anti-rape protests in Nepal enters 100th day =

   Kathmandu (dpa) - Anti-rape campaigners in Nepal staged their 100th day of protests on Saturday, with organizers vowing to continue demonstrating until the government meets their demands for stricter laws against rapists and a fast track court to oversee the cases.

   The daily protests near the prime minister's residence in the  Baluwatar neighbourhood of Kathmandu began in December after the rape and robbery of a young woman by government officials at the airport.

   Protesters on Saturday voiced frustration with the government's response to their demands.

   "This demonstration is not only against violence against women, but also against a government that has turned a deaf ear to people's voices," said Kanak Mani Dixit, a journalist who was participating in the protest.
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