标签： Asia

In the wake of catastrophic flash floods and mudslides that tore through the Himalayan region earlier this week, authorities in Nepal’s south-central Chitwan district have been forced to take unprecedented action: burying hundreds of unidentifiable disaster victims in temporary communal graves, a move that has sparked fierce public debate over cultural traditions and disaster response protocols.

The disaster, which struck Wednesday, has already claimed at least 800 lives across Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, with more than 3,000 people still unaccounted for. Many of the bodies recovered in Chitwan were swept hundreds of kilometers downstream along the Bhotekoshi River from the flood’s hardest-hit epicenter, leaving local officials overwhelmed by the sudden influx of remains. As of Saturday, around 250 bodies were still waiting for identification, and officials confirmed that roughly 100 victims had already been laid to rest in hastily dug temporary trenches in a forested area of the district, with another 50 set for burial on Sunday after DNA samples are collected.

Local law enforcement coordinating the operation say the rushed burials are a necessary response to a cascade of overlapping crises. Anil Thapa, a police inspector leading the body management effort, explained that most remains spent up to four days submerged in rushing floodwaters, and decomposition was already well advanced by the time they were recovered. Compounding this challenge, Chitwan faces severe limits to its forensic infrastructure and morgue capacity, unable to accommodate the surge of bodies brought in by the flood. Sweltering heat and high regional humidity have further sped decomposition, and public health officials have warned that leaving decomposing remains unburied poses a serious risk of infectious disease outbreaks.

The logistical challenges have been exacerbated by fresh natural hazards in the region. On Sunday, new landslides blocked the key highway connecting Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Chitwan, just one day after the route was partially reopened. This disruption has complicated both the movement of remains into the capital and the delivery of critical relief supplies to flood-impacted communities. Across the flood zone, the scale of destruction remains visible: homes, vehicles, and farm equipment are still left half-buried in thick mud deposited by the mudslides.

The decision to proceed with temporary burials has drawn sharp criticism from local residents, families of the missing, and prominent public figures, particularly given Nepal’s status as a majority-Hindu nation where traditional custom requires cremation of the dead, often conducted on riverbanks in the presence of immediate family. Ruby Chaudhary, a local resident who is still waiting for news of two missing relatives, said authorities had no right to proceed with burials without family consent. “The dead deserve to be treated with dignity,” Chaudhary said. “Our tradition is to cremate them on the riverbank, surrounded by their immediate family.”

Former Nepali prime minister Baburam Bhattarai also joined the criticism, arguing that disposing of unidentified bodies before search and rescue operations are concluded, and without broader consultation with affected families, is inappropriate. In a social media post Saturday night, Bhattarai noted that if permanent morgue space was insufficient, authorities could have mobilized emergency resources to set up temporary cold storage facilities instead of rushing to burials.

Nepali officials have defended the measure, emphasizing that the burials are only a temporary solution, not a permanent disposition of remains. Thapa stressed that authorities have taken steps to preserve future identification: DNA samples are collected from all victims, photographs of distinguishing features are taken, other identifying details are recorded, and each body is assigned a unique reference number to allow families to claim remains at a later date. “If someone is able to verify the identity later using the available information, they can take back the body and perform the appropriate funeral rites,” Thapa explained.

Amrit Bahadur Rai, Nepal’s foreign secretary, added that the process aligns with internationally accepted disaster management standards, including protocols established by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Speaking at a press briefing in Kathmandu, Rai confirmed that once identities are confirmed through matching records, families will be permitted to exhume the remains to carry out traditional funeral rituals.

Early on Sunday morning, the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln made its passage through waters adjacent to Singapore, beginning the final leg of its journey back to the United States following an intensive, months-long operational deployment to the Middle East. AP journalists positioned on the Indonesian island of Batam, which sits opposite Singapore across the Singapore Strait, visually confirmed the massive warship’s transit shortly after 1 a.m. local time, capturing the vessel as it sailed along the busy international waterway. Scheduled next for the supercarrier is a scheduled port call in Thailand, a stop arranged to give the crew much-needed time ashore before they complete their trip home to their home base in the U.S.

As one of the U.S. Navy’s largest and most capable frontline warships, the Lincoln was deployed to the region to support U.S. military operations focused on Iran. During this deployment, the vessel set an unconventional record: it spent more than 250 consecutive days at sea without making a scheduled port call, a stretch far longer than typical Navy deployments. This unprecedented extended time on operations has sparked growing public and official concern over the welfare of the ship’s crew, with multiple reports emerging that document worsening mental health outcomes among sailors, as well as persistent shortages of critical supplies ranging from fresh food to basic hygiene products.

Thai government officials have publicly confirmed the upcoming port visit, noting that the stop is explicitly intended to allow the crew rest and recovery after their grueling deployment, before the vessel continues on to its return to the United States.

DHADING, Nepal – Fresh fears of additional catastrophic flooding are spreading across northern Nepal on Sunday, after disaster management authorities issued an urgent alert for at-risk communities following a sudden rise in water levels along the Bhotekoshi River. The warning comes days after catastrophic flash floods that have already claimed hundreds of lives and left thousands unaccounted for across the cross-border mountain region spanning Nepal and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

Throughout Sunday morning, emergency flood alert notifications were pushed to mobile phones across vulnerable districts, even as search and rescue teams worked to clear debris from the Prithivi Highway — Nepal’s critical transport artery that links the capital Kathmandu to the regions hardest hit by Wednesday’s disaster. In the riverside town of Galchhi, dozens of local residents have clustered on the elevated deck of a nearby bridge to escape low-lying flood zones, watching as churning, sediment-choked water roars past. Onlookers pointed to massive boulders tumbled downstream by the earlier flood surge, while safety officials blew warning whistles to clear people from a narrow suspension bridge spanning the swollen river, fearing it could be swept away.

The destructive power of the initial flood is visible along every stretch of the riverbank. Entire homes, passenger vehicles and farm tractors now jutt out from thick, grey-brown mud that has buried whole villages in the worst-affected zones. Terraced rice paddies that line the river have been damaged by landslides, with large sections of the fertile farmland collapsing into the rushing water. Multiple spans — large concrete bridges and small pedestrian suspension bridges alike — have been destroyed by the surge, cutting off isolated communities and trapping residents on both sides of the river.

As of Sunday’s latest official updates, the combined death toll across Nepal and Tibet has climbed to 750, with more than 3,000 people still reported missing. Nepal’s national disaster management agency confirmed 734 deaths in the country, alongside 2,498 unaccounted-for residents. On the Chinese side of the border, authorities have recorded 16 deaths and 546 missing people, a group that includes more than 100 Nepali citizens and travelers from more than a dozen other countries.

Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, told the Associated Press that the new flood warning was issued after Chinese officials notified Nepalese authorities of increased water flow in the river’s upstream section. But for local residents in already affected communities, the steady stream of alerts has brought persistent disruption and exhaustion. Local resident Govind Shrestha described the relentless cycle of evacuations, saying that warnings often force families to flee to higher ground repeatedly, sometimes in the middle of the night amid ongoing rain.

“It’s really difficult for me. I have a 72-year-old father and 70-year-old mom. I must carry them and I am exhausted. It’s going on like this for those who are still alive,” Shrestha said. Sattan Singh Tamang, a 47-year-old worker who was near a local bridge when Wednesday’s flood hit, noted that the destroyed bridges have split communities, leaving families and neighbors trapped on opposite sides of the river. “Those that are there are now stuck there. Those who are here are stuck here. It’s going to be very difficult,” Tamang said.

The damage has also wiped out critical local infrastructure: buildings and businesses that survived the initial flood surge remain without power on Sunday, as downed power poles and tangled utility lines lie half-buried in flood sediment. While most of the Prithivi Highway, which carries all key supplies of food, fuel and other essential goods to Kathmandu from across the country, has been reopened for traffic, significant stretches still face major repair challenges, leaving supply chains at risk of disruption.

AP writers Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi and Shristi Kafle in Kathmandu contributed reporting to this article. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations, with AP retaining full editorial control over all content.

Five days after catastrophic flash floods swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region, British Sunday newspapers have turned their focus to the growing human cost of the disaster, alongside coverage of shifting geopolitical tensions, domestic political negotiations, and a range of other headline-making stories.

Leading the international coverage, The Observer confirms the official death toll has climbed to at least 675, with more than 3,000 people still unaccounted for across a 60-mile stretch of landscape left devastated by mud and floodwater. The newspaper’s front page features an image of distraught family members gathering to support one another as they wait for news of missing relatives. The Independent, meanwhile, centers its coverage on the agonizing uncertainty facing these waiting families, highlighting the widespread anguish that has spread through affected communities as rescue operations stretch into their fifth day.

Turning to European geopolitics, the Mail on Sunday reveals that a senior advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued an explicit warning that Russia could launch a hybrid attack against a drone manufacturing facility located in the United Kingdom. The warning comes as tensions continue to escalate between Moscow and London over the UK’s consistent military and political support for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.

On the domestic political front, the Sunday Times reports that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has approved a generous pay increase for train drivers operating on the high-speed London-Manchester route, a deal negotiated to head off a planned major strike. The agreement, struck with Avanti West Coast, preserves service on a line connecting London to Burnham’s former political base, where he served as mayor before taking office as prime minister.

As Chancellor John Healey prepares to unveil his first national budget, the Sunday Telegraph understands Healey is actively considering implementing a new windfall tax targeting profitable banks and oil and gas companies. The policy is being explored to close a growing gap in the UK’s public finances, with the goal of avoiding direct tax increases for ordinary individual taxpayers.

In entertainment news, The Sun on Sunday has broken the news that British commercial broadcaster ITV is in early discussions to revive the iconic singing competition show *The X Factor*, seven years after the conclusion of the last original UK series. The outlet adds that Simon Cowell, the show’s creator and long-time judge, is expected to return to the program if the reboot moves forward.

Climate and health coverage from the Daily Star links this summer’s record-breaking UK heatwaves to at least 3,000 excess deaths across the country, adding a stark warning that such deadly heat events will only become more frequent and severe in coming years as climate change accelerates.

The Sunday Express leads a story on asylum policy, reporting that migrants housed in taxpayer-funded hotels are receiving free condoms through the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). In response to the coverage, NHS England clarified that the provision is part of standard public health services offered to all people residing in the UK, including asylum seekers supported by the state.

The Sunday Mirror publishes an investigation into a long-running maternity care scandal at Nottingham NHS Trust, where an official review found 520 mothers and infants experienced avoidable harm or death. Grieving parents have spoken out to the paper to express outrage that the trust’s former chief executive Peter Homa, who led the organization during the period of failures, now co-owns a private company that provides maternity training services to the NHS, and has earned substantial income from the business.

Finally, the Sunday People shares positive medical news: research indicates common cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins can dramatically reduce a patient’s risk of developing dementia, a finding that offers new hope to the more than 10 million people currently taking the drug across the UK.

A fresh wave of violence by Israeli settlers has plunged the occupied West Bank village of Qusra into crisis, continuing a steady escalation of attacks that have disrupted communities and drawn urgent calls for global intervention. Dozens of Israeli settlers have breached the village, barricaded themselves inside a private Palestinian home, and laid siege to the property, leaving at least four Palestinian residents trapped inside as the group set nearby agricultural land ablaze.

Publicly shared footage of the incident captures scores of settlers moving toward Qusra’s outer limits and clearing stones from a local access road, as emergency response teams work frantically to secure safe passage for ambulances. The medical teams aim to evacuate at least one injured Palestinian from the conflict zone south of Nablus. Both the Israeli military and border police have acknowledged responding to violent confrontations involving what they label “Israeli rioters” in Qusra. In a joint official statement, the forces confirmed that dozens of settlers entered the village and occupied the Palestinian family’s home. Palestinian officials report that multiple Palestinians, including one woman, sustained injuries during the incursion, noting that settlers launched stone attacks on local residents.

While Israeli forces announced they had removed the settlers from the besieged home, seized the group’s vehicles, and would deploy personnel to the area to prevent further unrest, Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi contradicted this account in an interview with Al Jazeera. Wadi claimed that Israeli forces actually attempted to arrest the Palestinian civilians who remained trapped inside the home during the siege.

This latest incident is far from an isolated event: it marks the most recent escalation in a sustained month-long campaign of settler violence targeting Qusra’s Palestinian community. Earlier this month, settlers confined entire Palestinian families inside three separate homes in the village’s Ras al-Ain neighborhood. The ongoing blockade has cut off residents from critical basic supplies, including potable water, electricity, and food. In July, settlers set fire to Qusra’s local mosque in another act of aggression.

The Israeli military has reinforced the isolation of Qusra’s affected communities by designating the area a closed military zone. Authorities have installed a locked gate at the village’s main entry point, forcing Palestinian travelers to use winding alternative routes that Israeli soldiers regularly block. Just days ago on Wednesday, the army added three new permanent roadblocks circling the peak of Ras al-Ain hill, physically severing the besieged homes from the rest of the village’s populated lower areas.

The crisis in Qusra follows a separate urgent appeal from Palestinian authorities over parallel violence targeting another West Bank village. Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to step in to protect residents of al-Mughayyir, a village located northeast of Ramallah. In an official statement condemning the wave of recent settler attacks, the ministry detailed a suffocating combined military and economic blockade that has been imposed on al-Mughayyir for nearly three weeks.

Palestinian officials frame the blockade, which includes indiscriminate targeting of civilian residents, as a core component of a systematic campaign to eliminate Palestinian presence from the occupied territory. The ministry labeled these actions as a deliberate state policy of “killing, terrorism and forced displacement,” warning that Israel is advancing policies aimed at expelling and eliminating Palestinian communities. The statement further cautioned that extending political and legal immunity to violent Israeli settlers risks triggering an uncontrollable regional escalation, stressing that immediate coordinated global action is essential to halt the ongoing violence.

Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian homes, commercial properties, and agricultural land across the occupied West Bank have been a deeply rooted systemic issue for decades, aligned with the steady expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. However, independent analysts and Palestinian authorities document that the frequency and severity of these state-backed assaults have surged dramatically since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.