The proposed Nagmati Dam in Nepal threatens the prime habitat of the critically endangered pangolin. Researchers warn that even limited flooding could decimate local populations due to the species' specific habitat. Leopards & black bears also face displacement. @bibekbhandari.bsky.social reports.

In Nepal, controversial dam threatens endangered pangolins: Study

KATHMANDU — A proposed dam in Kathmandu’s northeastern ridge promises to revive the sewage-choked sacred Bagmati River that runs past revered Hindu temples and ease the valley’s chronic water…

mongabay.cc

How will Nepal vote this time following the Gen Z protests in September? Who are the candidates and what do voters expect? My analysis for @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/24/n...

Wrote about the recent discovery of the first of its kind apsidal temple in Nepal, in Tilaurakot, which archeologists say provides an “absolute irrefutable evidence that this place was hugely significant for Buddhist pilgrims in the past.” www.scmp.com/week-asia/li...

Unearthed temple in Nepal sheds new light on Buddha’s early life

Archaeologists hope the newly discovered ruins at Siddhartha Gautam’s childhood palace will help secure Unesco World Heritage status.

scmp.com

Last month, I reported on single Chinese men flocking to Nepal seeking wives. China’s skewed gender ratio has made countries like Vietnam and Myanmar a hunting ground for brides for decades, but illegal matchmakers are now turning to South Asia. Here’s our video story. www.scmp.com/video/china/...

Why are Chinese men looking for brides in Nepal?

Read more: https://sc.mp/2e4469 Chinese men facing a skewed sex ratio at home are seeking wives from Nepal amid a trend fuelled by online marriage brokers. The matchmakers, who often feature…

scmp.com

Air pollution causes an estimated 2 million premature deaths annually in the region.

Air Pollution Is Choking South Asia

Smog is crossing borders and wrecking lives.

foreignpolicy.com

After Southeast Asia, China's "surplus men" are seeking wives in South Asia, which is also resulting in cases of "bride trafficking." Two cases in Nepal underscore the need for urgent actions from both countries. I've barely scratched the surface here. www.scmp.com/week-asia/pe...

‘Like a market’: Chinese marriage brokers hunt for brides in Nepal

China’s bachelor crisis meets Nepal’s poverty in a trade that blurs the lines between arranged marriage and coercion.

scmp.com

Happy to see Lonely Planet's new Guidebook, which also mentions our conservation work for pangolins & other threatened species in Nepal. Thanks, @bibekbhandari.bsky.social, for covering wildlife conservation in this book - shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/nepal #nepalpangolin @greenhood.bsky.social

Nepal - Book

Lonely Planet's local travel experts reveal all you need to know to plan a multi-week adventure to Nepal. Explore bustling markets, search for wild elephants and rhinos, visit beautiful hidden temples...

shop.lonelyplanet.com

Nepal’s police has shot and killed at least 19 protestors, mostly college kids, protesting over corruption, censorship and government apathy. Some voices from the ground. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Nepal’s Gen Z revolt turns deadly as police fire on protesters, killing 19

The government’s lethal crackdown on young protesters has deepened a crisis sparked by a social media ban and long-standing corruption.

scmp.com

I profile Nepal’s ultra-marathon star Sunmaya Budha who has taken the running world by storm. Her indomitable running spirit and journey to the top is inspiring. www.scmp.com/postmag/cult...

Ultra-marathon sensation Sunmaya Budha blazes a trail for women to follow

Not only has she taken the ultra-marathon world by storm, Nepali running star Budha has opened hearts and minds.

scmp.com

A small women-led pad factory in southern Nepal is advocating for plastic and chemical-free menstrual pads that harm women’s bodies and the environment. Researches show that it takes up 500-800 years for pads to decompose. My latest www.scmp.com/week-asia/li...

‘Green menstruation’: Nepal’s activists tackle pad pollution for women’s health

A factory in Nepal is challenging traditional views on menstruation by educating the public about its biodegradable menstrual pads.

scmp.com

China is massive to experience it all in a single trip, but certain places are a must during that first visit. Here are some of the major attractions, mostly drawn from my seven years in China. Also, this is my digital debut for Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/top...

China: best things to do

From vibrant cities to national parks and more.

lonelyplanet.com

Today marks 10 years since the 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Took these photos while reporting that day — the pics might be a bit blurry but the memory isn't. It's frightening to think how unprepared we still are for the next big one.

UN experts find that Bhutan’s arbitrary detention of ethnic Nepali-speaking Bhutanese political prisoners serving lengthy sentences, including life imprisonment, is illegal under international law. My latest: www.scmp.com/week-asia/li...

Grateful to all the doctors who spoke to me for this story and commend the interns for exposing the toxic academic and work culture in the psychiatry department of one of Nepal’s leading university hospitals in Dhulikhel. www.scmp.com/week-asia/he...

Interns expose dark side of medical training in Nepal

An explosive social media post has ignited a movement to address the grim conditions faced by Nepal’s aspiring healthcare professionals.

scmp.com

Bipin Joshi was among the foreigners and Israelis kidnapped by Hamas amid the Palestinian militant group’s attack on October 7, 2023. His family in Nepali is waiting for his return. I spoke to his father and cousin for this story. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Nepali family hopes for hostage’s return from Gaza to end ‘excruciating’ wait

Bipin Joshi was among the foreigners and Israelis kidnapped by Hamas amid the Palestinian militant group’s attack on October 7, 2023.

scmp.com

Seit knapp drei Jahren führt #Putin einen #Krieg gegen die #Ukraine. Dafür rekrutiert #Russland mit falschen Versprechungen auch Männer aus dem Ausland, etwa aus Nepal, wie @bibekbhandari.bsky.social schildert. Bis heute warten sie auf Lohn oder Entschädigung. www.welt-sichten.org/artikel/4353...

Russlands Söldner aus Nepal

Armut und Arbeitslosigkeit treiben viele Nepalis ins Ausland. Hunderte ließen sich als Koch- oder Putzkraft für Russlands Armee anwerben und fanden sich dann nicht selten gegen ihren Willen an der Fro...

welt-sichten.org

Planning to visit Nepal? I’ve got a guide for its capital Kathmandu on Cathay Pacific’s in-flight magazine this month. www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_NP/ins...

When in Delhi

A new report documents the inhumane and dire situation of Rohingya refugees arbitrarily and indefinitely held in India’s detention camps. Kudos to The Azadi Project Refugees International for this important work. My latest www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

‘Inhumane’: inside India’s detention camps for Rohingya refugees

A new report details dehumanising treatment and dire living conditions faced by hundreds of Rohingya held in detention camps across India.

scmp.com

On point. On why a generation of journalists are moving on. “Instead of rewarding these things with fair pay, job security and moral support, journalism as an industry exploits their love of the craft.” www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/a-ge...

Public service in Nepal is usually associated with corruption. But Kalpana Adhikari, a senior divisional engineer at the Dept. of Roads, is aiming to change that narrative. My latest for German magazine Welt-Sichten’s issue focusing on corruption-related issues.

Every five years, a temple in southern Nepal becomes the site for what is considered the world’s largest ritual animal sacrifice. I write about the tradition and the debates around the ongoing Gadhimai festival. www.scmp.com/week-asia/li...

Nepal’s ‘barbaric’ animal sacrifice ritual persists despite outcry

Activists estimate as many as 500,000 animals will be sacrificed at Nepal’s Gadhimai Temple this week to honour the Hindu goddess of power.

scmp.com

Wolf Warriorism is dead, to the point the Chinese state are now actively trying to undo the damage. Here's some thoughts on the CPC's recent "assertive" period. How it happened, why, and why it failed. --Warning. May thump onto your screen-- Go make a cup of tea~ 🍵

Wolf Warriorism: China's disastrous attempt at aggressive discourse is over

Hemmed in by a stuttering economy and low foreign opinion, Beijing is trying to 'play nice' again. Phew.

open.substack.com

Bhutan’s “Mindfulness City” is an ambitious project to boost the kingdom’s economy. But it’ll be built on the land of the evicted ethnic Nepalis. I spoke to some expelled residents, some settled abroad and others waiting to return and contribute. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Bhutan’s ‘mindfulness city’ angers displaced Nepali-speaking Bhutanese

Bhutan’s plan for southern farmlands has sparked outrage among forced-out ethnic Nepalis, who say the megaproject would be on stolen land.

scmp.com

A poignant piece of writing, one of the best I’ve read lately. www.esquire.com/news-politic...

My Life As a Homeless Man in America

An extraordinary firsthand account.

esquire.com

China isn’t typically associated with classism, but on some levels, it embodies it even more unapologetically than societies elsewhere actively confronting it. www.chineseconsumers.news/p/china-migr...

‘People Like Me’: We Need to Talk About China’s Invisible Blue-Collar Workers 🦺 | Following the Yuan

China isn’t typically associated with classism, but on some levels, it embodies it even more unapologetically than societies elsewhere actively confronting it.

chineseconsumers.news

“You could almost smell the oil in the cologne of over 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists, who received more passes to COP29 than all the delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined. What was missing was the whiff of money.” www.deccanherald.com/opinion/cop2...

COP29 | No deal would have been better than the bad deal in Baku

If the downslide of international climate negotiations began in Copenhagen, when a dozen rich nations forced their agenda to deny and delay the need for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, it finally ...

deccanherald.com

The Covid lockdowns led to so many deaths that could have been prevented in cities across China. The coverage for Urumqi fire was censored, but it ultimately led to rare protests that would later dismantle the zero-Covid policy. Remembering is important.

Yaling Jiang@yaling.bsky.social · 2y ago

2 years today, 10 people died in a fire in a locked-down apartment in Urumqi 🕯️🕯️#neverforget

In all that chaos that is Kathmandu, a moment of calmness.

I like books, so I’m dedicating my first post to the best novel I’ve read this year, which I’ve just finished. “Brotherless Night” is a fantastic novel set in the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s civil war. Tenderly told, achingly beautiful. Highly recommend it.