Hundreds of people are missing or have been killed after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday. Entire villages have been destroyed, many of which are popular pilgrimage and trekking destinations for tourists. Lucy Hough talks to global editor Devika Bhat about how the devastating event unfolded – watch on YouTube The Guardian
Month: August 2026
China’s Tourism Industry Gains Momentum Thanks to Visa-Free Policies
In the first six months of 2026, China received 22.91 million visits from foreign nationals, up 20.4 percent year on year. The uptick is the result of China’s visa-free policy, which accounts for 77.7 percent of all foreign arrivals. Earlier this year, China announced that starting February 17, 2026 all ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom can travel to its mainland for up to 30 days without a visa. The expansion in China’s unilateral visa-exemption program to include Canada and the U.K. followed recent visits to Beijing…
Why climate extremes will not stop expansion of China’s nuclear power industry
While extreme weather is disrupting nuclear power generation in some parts of the world, it is unlikely to derail China’s rapid expansion in the sector, according to an industry specialist. The unusually hot and dry summer has disrupted reactors across Europe, forcing units to shut down from France to Romania, as river levels have fallen and water temperatures risen. France – where nuclear accounts for around 70 per cent of electricity generation – had a record shortfall of more than 20 per cent in its nuclear-based capacity, with outages linked…
Humanoid robots will be useful, just not as we imagined
Bipedal robots may look impressive doing tricks on YouTube, but the real value lies with their less flashy, highly functional industrial cousinsFinancial Times
US lawmakers condemn right-wing podcast’s calls for Chinese-American internment
Asian-American lawmakers in the US Congress have condemned a right-wing podcast that called for the forced internment of Chinese-Americans during a hypothetical war with Beijing, warning that such rhetoric fuelled hate against the community. The joint statement was released by congresswomen Grace Meng, chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Capac), and Judy Chu, Capac’s chairwoman emerita, as well as congressman Ted Lieu, vice-chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. The backlash was sparked by comments made on Timcast IRL, a pro-Trump video podcast with 2.77 million subscribers on YouTube…
China and Nepal built an early warning system for melting glaciers in Himalayas. Does it work?
Chinese scientists have developed a cross-border early warning system with counterparts in Nepal to monitor Himalayan glacial lake outburst floods. The system has issued timely alerts over the past several years, effectively preventing casualties. But on Wednesday, a high-altitude ice-rock avalanche took everyone by surprise. The debris flow hit a river in Nepal, generating a devastating flash flood that swept all the way down to Gyirong county in the Tibet autonomous region in China. Some specialists say the disaster was triggered by glacial rock collapse. Timeline of the China-Nepal border…
Himalayan glacier collapse hits crucial China-Nepal trade route as casualties mount
The catastrophic flash floods and mudslide that devastated the Gyirong Port crossing along the China-Nepal border on Wednesday have dealt a heavy blow to China-Nepal trade and imperilled Kathmandu’s push to cut reliance on Indian transit routes. However, if Beijing and Kathmandu are to proceed with ambitious infrastructure projects, they are expected to take environmental factors into consideration and adjust their construction methods accordingly, one expert said. Timeline of the China-Nepal border disaster Chinese officials confirmed three deaths and said more than 500 people, including 260 foreign nationals, remained missing…
Search on for at least 33 Britons missing after flash floods in Nepal and Tibet
Rescue teams in Nepal are searching for at least 33 British nationals who are among those missing after flash floods ravaged its border with Tibet, killing at least 270 people. Nearly 1,400 people are missing, most of them tourists, authorities have said, after a glacier collapse triggered floods that roared down valleys and razed entire villages. The tour company Kailash Journeys confirmed it had not been able to account for seven UK nationals – five women and two men aged between 18 and 55 – travelling with it. Another tour…
The US Army’s $2bn push into the nuclear power race
The military awarded contracts to five companies to build and operate first-of-a-kind nuclear microreactors at five bases across the countryFinancial Times
Flights, ferries cancelled in Shanghai and Shenzhen as Typhoon Saudel closes in
The coastal Chinese province of Zhejiang is battening down for the approach of Typhoon Saudel, with flights cancelled across the area. The eastern province is home to a number of major commercial centres, including the industrial hub of Ningbo, the port city of Zhoushan, and Wenzhou. Ningbo Lishe International Airport said flights in and out of the facility would be suspended from 11.30pm on Thursday. In Wenzhou, 90 flights were cancelled, while 22 flights were grounded in Zhoushan. According to the National Meteorological Centre, Saudel is expected to make landfall…