If you walked through the narrow lanes of Ward 3 in Dewanganj a week ago, you would have heard the familiar sounds of a Terai summer: the hum of irrigation pumps, children shouting over games of cricket, and the rhythmic clatter of tea shop saucers. Today, those lanes carry an eerie, heavy silence—broken only by the low rumble of Nepal Army armored vehicles rolling over crushed gravel. In Kaptanganj, doors are bolted tight. Curtain edges twitch as strangers walk past, but nobody comes out to talk. On the night of July 26, 2026, a petty argument over a flag and...

Some people live quietly within the boundaries of what seems possible. Others test those boundaries until they break. Nirmal “Nimsdai” Purja belonged entirely to the second group. From his days as a Gurkha commando to making history on the world’s highest mountains, Nimsdai lived with an intensity that reshaped how we view human endurance. When the news broke of his death at age 43 on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, it felt almost unreal to those who followed his journey. A man who had faced the world's most dangerous peaks—often seemingly immune to their perils—was ultimately taken by the very mountains he...

Record-breaking mountaineer dies in Pakistan avalanche, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy in the world of high-altitude climbing KATHMANDU — Nepal’s renowned mountaineer Nirmal “Nims Dai” Purja, whose extraordinary achievements transformed the modern world of high-altitude mountaineering, has died following an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak, according to reports confirmed on August 1. The tragedy occurred in Pakistan’s formidable Karakoram range as an international climbing expedition was caught in an avalanche on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains. The disaster claimed the lives of multiple climbers, including Purja and members of his expedition team. Difficult weather and dangerous terrain...

TOKYO — A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's southern Kyushu region, sending strong tremors across Kumamoto and neighboring prefectures, causing widespread damage to homes, roads, and public infrastructure while prompting a large-scale national emergency response. According to Japanese authorities, the earthquake originated at a relatively shallow depth near Uki City in Kumamoto Prefecture, intensifying ground shaking across the region. Residents described violent tremors lasting several seconds as buildings swayed, power lines collapsed, and debris scattered across streets. The quake was felt hundreds of kilometers away, including in parts of western Japan, raising immediate concerns over structural safety and potential secondary...