Nepal Waives Climbing Fees for Some Peaks to Lure Mountaineers
The country has opened 491 of its peaks but climbers typically focus on around 25 in the northeast and central parts of Nepal, including the world's highest peak Mount Everest, which hundreds scale every year, Reuters reported.
Tourism Department official Himal Gautam said the decision to waive permit fees to 97 peaks, ranging from 5,870 meters (19,258 feet) to 7,132 meters (23,398 feet) in Nepal's Karnali and Far Western provinces, was aimed at promoting mountaineering on smaller mountains in remote areas.
"The idea is to encourage climbers to go to unexplored yet scenic areas and mountain peaks," Gautam told Reuters.
Nepal has just increased the fees it will charge from September for permits to $350 for a smaller mountain, from a previous $250, to $15,000 for Everest from $11,000.
Gautam said the permit fee waiver would help promote tourism and improve economic conditions for people in the least developed areas of Nepal.
Mountain climbing and trekking are the main attractions for tourists and a key source of income and employment in the cash-strapped nation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
19 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Xiaomi's Second-quarter Revenue up 30.5%, Boosted by Smartphone Shipment
A rise in shipments of smartphones, especially in Southeast Asia, helped to boost Xiaomi's second-quarter revenue by 30.5%, the smartphone and EV company said on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a sluggish global market. Xiaomi President Lu Weibing, however, slightly lowered the company's target on smartphone shipments to 175 million from a goal of 180 million set in the first quarter. "We expect the overall smartphone market to see little to no growth this year," Lu told a conference call with reporters. "If there is any increase, it might be around 0.1% to 0.2%. That's somewhat different from the growth we had anticipated at the beginning of the year,' he said, Reuters reported. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was 116 billion yuan ($16.16 billion), beating the 114.7 billion yuan average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Adjusted net profit rose 75.4% year-on-year to 10.8 billion yuan, exceeding the average estimate of 10.1 billion yuan, according to LSEG data. The world's third-largest smartphone maker became the bestselling smartphone brand in Southeast Asia in the second quarter and took second place by shipments in Europe, it said. Globally, it was ranked third, with a market share of 14.7%, the company said, citing data from researcher Canalys. Xiaomi's second-quarter global smartphone shipments rose 0.6% from a year earlier to 42.4 million handsets. However, its smartphone revenue decreased 2.1% to 45.5 billion yuan due to a lower average selling price. Its loss-making EV business generated 20.6 billion yuan in revenue during the second quarter, up from 18.1 billion during the first quarter. It delivered 81,302 EVs in the June quarter, compared with deliveries of 75,869 SU7 cars in January-March. Its second EV model YU7 was launched in late June, with the deliveries only beginning last month, meaning it has yet to be reflected in results. Together with AI and other new initiatives, EVs delivered a total net loss of 0.3 billion yuan in the June quarter, narrowing from a loss of 0.5 billion in the first quarter. Lu said that Xiaomi is confident it will achieve monthly or quarterly profit in its EV business in the second half, but cumulative losses remain significant after a more than 30 billion yuan investment in research and development. Xiaomi has sold a total of 300,000 EVs as of July since launching its EV business in March 2024. Lu also said Xiaomi is developing the next iteration of its self-developed mobile chip XRINGO1. Hong Kong-listed shares in Xiaomi, which also makes home appliances, closed down 1.2% at 52.4 Hong Kong dollars. The stock has risen 52% so far this year.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
India's Modi to meet China's top diplomat as Asian powers rebuild ties
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with China's top diplomat on Tuesday in a sign of easing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors after a yearslong standoff between the Asian powers. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who arrived in India on Monday, is scheduled to hold talks with Modi and other leaders, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, about the disputed border in the Himalayan mountains. Reducing the number of troops on the border, and resuming some trade there, is expected to be on the agenda. The rebuilding of ties coincides with friction between New Delhi and Washington after US President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on India, a longtime ally seen as a counterbalance against China's influence in Asia. India is part of the Quad security alliance with the US along with Australia and Japan. 'Compromise at the highest political level' India and China's decades-old border dispute worsened in 2020 after a deadly clash between their troops in the Ladakh region. The chill in relations affected trade, diplomacy and air travel as both sides deployed tens of thousands of security forces in border areas. Some progress has been made since then. Last year, India and China agreed to a pact on border patrols and withdrew additional forces along some border areas. Both countries continue to fortify their border by building roads and rail networks. In recent months, the countries have increased official visits and discussed easing some trade restrictions, movement of citizens and visas for businesspeople. In June, Beijing allowed pilgrims from India to visit holy sites in Tibet. Both sides are working to restore direct flights. Last week, the spokesman for India's foreign ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, said India and China were in discussions to restart trade through three points along their 3,488-kilometer (2,167-mile) border. Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, said relations are still at an uneasy level of normalization. 'Settling the boundary issue between the two countries requires political compromise at the highest political level,' said Joshi, who also served as a member of the advisory board for India's National Security Council. He asserted that the countries are 'still talking past each other when it comes to the border dispute and issues surrounding it.' On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing is willing to take Wang's India visit as an opportunity to work with the Indian side to 'properly handle differences and promote the sustained, sound and stable development of China-India relations.' Mao said Wang's meeting with Modi's national security adviser will 'continue in-depth communication to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas.' Modi plans to visit China soon The thaw between Beijing and New Delhi began last October when Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at a summit of emerging economies in Russia. It was the first time the leaders had spoken in person since 2019. Modi is set to meet Xi when he travels to China late this month – his first visit in seven years – to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional grouping formed by China, Russia and others to counter US influence in Asia. Earlier this year, Xi called for India and China's relations to take the form of a 'dragon-elephant tango' – a dance between the emblematic animals of the countries. Last month, India's external affairs minister visited Beijing in his first trip to China since 2020. The US and Pakistan play roles in the thaw The renewed engagement comes as New Delhi's ties with Trump are fraying. Washington has imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, which includes a penalty of 25 percent for purchasing Russian crude oil. The tariffs take effect Aug. 27. India has shown no sign of backing down, instead signing more agreements with Russia to deepen economic cooperation. Trump's renewed engagement with India's archrival, Pakistan, has also encouraged New Delhi's overtures to China, said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who led Indian military's Northern Command from 2014 to 2016. In June, Trump hosted Pakistan's army chief for a White House lunch and later announced an energy deal with Islamabad to jointly develop the country's oil reserves. Both followed Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the two sides traded military strikes in May. That clash saw Pakistan use Chinese-made military jets and missiles against India. 'China is heavily invested in Pakistan and, practically speaking, you can't have any expectation that Beijing will hold back support to Islamabad,' Hooda said. 'But you can't have two hostile neighbors on your borders and simultaneously deal with them also.'
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
LNG cargoes from sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project travel east, data shows
Four liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers carrying cargoes from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant, sanctioned over Moscow's war in Ukraine, are headed east toward Asia, according to ship tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. The Christophe De Margerie tanker is travelling along the Northern Sea Route after loading at Arctic LNG 2 on August 9, according to Kpler data. The tanker is currently off the northeast coast of Russia, the data showed. LNG tankers Voskhod and Zarya, which loaded on July 16 and 29 respectively and had been idling near Arctic LNG 2, started traveling eastward on August 15, the data showed. Meanwhile, the Iris tanker which headed west after loading at the Arctic LNG 2 project on June 26 made a U-turn in early July and is now also sailing east. The four LNG tankers are subject to US sanctions as part of a broader goal to curb Russia's oil and gas revenues. Companies can face fines or penalties for doing business or trade with sanctioned entities. Reuters previously could not find contact information for the registered owners and ship or commercial managers for the four tankers when they loaded the cargoes from the Arctic LNG 2 project this year. Arctic LNG 2, which is 60 percent-owned by Russia's Novatek, was set to become one of the country's largest LNG plants, with eventual output of 19.8 million metric tons per year. But its prospects have been clouded by the sanctions and it has struggled to sell LNG from the project. Last year, the project loaded eight cargoes onto several sanctioned LNG vessels, according to Kpler data, with some vessels discharging the fuel at two storage facilities. One is near the Arctic port of Murmansk, and the other is in Russia's Pacific peninsular of Kamchatka in the east.
