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LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. Climate scientists generally think that the world's arid areas will become drier under climate change, and wet areas will get wetter, but the study found significant water loss even in humid regions. Scientists assessed almost 2,000 large lakes using satellite measurements combined with climate and hydrological models. Scientists and campaigners have long said it is necessary to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celisus (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Water levels rose in a quarter of the lakes, often as a result of dam construction in remote areas such as the Inner Tibetan Plateau.

☆ Nepali sherpa sets Everest record with 27th ascent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa waves upon his arrival after climbing Mount Everest for the 24th time in 2019, setting a record for the most summits of the world's highest mountain, in... Read moreKATHMANDU, May 17 (Reuters) - A Nepali sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 27th time on Wednesday, beating his own record, a government official and his hiking company said. Kami Rita Sherpa, 53, scaled the 8,849 metre (29,032-foot) mountain early in the morning along the traditional southeast ridge route, guiding a foreign climber. "Yes, Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha for the 27th time," said Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala, referring to the mountain by its Nepali name. For now it's 100% confirmed that Kami Rita scaled for the 27th time,” Guragai said. Climbing contributed $5.8 million to state coffers this year, $5 million of it from Mount Everest, according to government data.

☆ Karakorum: Mongolia’s ancient capital is a cultural delight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Breanna Wilson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Karakorum, Mongolia CNN —Karakorum is known by many names and even more reputations. Where to Stay in KarakorumThe new Silver Tree Guest House offers a variety of sleeping options including traditional yurts. Silver Tree Guest HouseWhile Karakorum is often considered a stop along the route to somewhere else, this culturally rich city deserves closer attention. The hotel is within walking distance to Erdene Zuu Monastery, Karakorum Museum, and the Erdenesiin Khuree Calligraphy Center. While Silver Tree Guest House is still in its opening phases, staying here feels like you’ve been invited into someone’s home.

☆ Human DNA can now be pulled from thin air and sequenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Scientists have been able to collect and analyze detailed genetic data from human DNA from all these places, raising thorny ethical questions about consent, privacy and security when it comes to our biological information. Environmental DNA has been obtained from air, soil, sediment, water, permafrost, snow and ice cores and the techniques are primarily being used to help track and protect endangered animals. However, the ability to capture human DNA from the environment could have a range of unintended consequences — both inadvertent and malicious, they added. They termed this information “human genetic bycatch” and decided to study the phenomenon in greater depth. We cannot avoid shedding DNA in the public space,” Moreau, who was not involved in this study, said via email.

☆ Why has India's Manipur state exploded in ethnic violence?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

People are evacuated by the Indian army to a temporary shelter as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, near Imphal on May 7, 2023. Manipur, a lush, hilly state which borders Myanmar, has long history of civil conflict since modern India’s creation. The divide between the Meiteis and the other ethnic groups is cut sharply across political and geographic lines. People wait at a temporary shelter in a military camp, after being evacuated by the Indian army, as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on May 7, 2023. Modi, who is in the southern Indian state of Karnataka to campaign for state elections, is yet to speak publicly about the unrest, sparking widespread anger among Manipur’s residents.

☆ He smelled something strange in his Tibetan hotel room. It was a dead body under his bed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —When a tourist at a Tibetan hotel noticed a foul smell in his room and asked to move, little could he have guessed he would get caught up in a murder investigation. The traveler spent half a day in the room wondering where the smell was coming from and initially suspected either the bakery downstairs or perhaps his own feet. But he was later informed it came from a dead body under the bed. So I asked them where,” he told Shangyou News. Recounting his experience to Shangyou News, Zhang said he had left Tibet as soon as he helped the police with their investigation.

☆ Balto: A good dog with great genes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cleveland Museum of Natural History/Handout via REUTERS. Balto was feted as a hero, the subject of books and movies, and the dog's taxidermy mount still stands on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Balto, belonging to a population of working sled dogs in Alaska, also was found to have possessed greater genetic diversity and genetic health than modern canine breeds. Balto was found to share ancestry with modern Siberian huskies and Alaskan sled dogs as well as Greenland sled dogs, Vietnamese village dogs and Tibetan mastiffs, with no discernible wolf ancestry. Balto had a body built for strength and not speed, disappointing the breeder, who had the dog neutered.

☆ A good dog with great genes - 1920s Alaska sled-relay hero Balto
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cleveland Museum of Natural History/Handout via REUTERS. Balto was feted as a hero, the subject of books and movies, and the dog's taxidermy mount still stands on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Balto, belonging to a population of working sled dogs in Alaska, also was found to have possessed greater genetic diversity and genetic health than modern canine breeds. Sled dogs were the only viable option. Balto was found to share ancestry with modern Siberian huskies and Alaskan sled dogs as well as Greenland sled dogs, Vietnamese village dogs and Tibetan mastiffs, with no discernible wolf ancestry.

☆ Fact Check-Fake cover of The New European depicting UK’s Sunak, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy and the Dalai Lama shared online
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image of a fake cover of The New European (TNE) news outlet showing a cartoon with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is circulating online. The fabricated cover of an April Special Issue, 337, shows a cartoon of Sunak looking down at Zelenskiy, who is sitting on the Dalai Lama’s knee. Furthermore, the Issue 337 found in the archive shows a photo of Sunak and a different story headline by another writer (here ). The cartoon cover is not authentic, according to the magazine. The cover of Issue 337 can be found in online archive of The New European.

☆ I'm a vet who had a retro pug live for 18 years. Here's how I kept her healthy and why this super breed lives longer than pugs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She says retro pugs are playful and energetic and have fewer breathing problems than purebred pugs. Kasey was a retro pug who lived for 18 years, a few years longer than what's typical for a traditional pug. How healthier retro pugs came aboutAn 1802 painting of what pugs may have looked like in the early 19th century. Not only did retro pugs resemble historical pugs, they had improved genetics, fewer health issues, and a longer life expectency than purebred pugs. Bread and Butter Productions / Getty ImagesEye issues are common among pugs and retro pugs, but I've found retro pugs can heal much faster than their purebred relatives.

☆ Dalai Lama 'unfairly labelled' over tongue video - Tibet govt-in-exile
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rupam Jain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Patron of Children in Crossfire, speaks during a press conference in Londonderry, Northern Ireland September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File PhotoNEW DELHI, April 13 (Reuters) - The head of Tibet's government-in-exile on Thursday defended the Dalai Lama over footage of him asking a boy to suck his tongue, saying the incident had demonstrated the country's spiritual leader's innocent and affectionate side. Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (political leader) of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration, said the Dalai Lama had been "unfairly labelled with all kinds of names that really hurt the sentiment of all his followers". The video clip, filmed in February and circulated this month, has been viewed over one million times on Twitter. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.

☆ Dalai Lama Apologizes After Video of Kiss With Boy at Public Event Stirs Criticism Online
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Dalai Lama is a widely recognized religious teacher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. HONG KONG—The Dalai Lama apologized on Monday for an encounter during a public talk with a boy who he kissed and told to “suck on my tongue.”Video of the February event circulated online recently in India, where the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader lives, and beyond, spurring criticism on social media.

☆ A Utah miner blasted his own cave home with dynamite and now rents it out on Airbnb for $1,000 per night: 'Nothing has been in this space since the dinosaurs'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In 1995, Grant Johnson purchased 40 acres of land and used dynamite to blast a cave in a boulder. Now he rents out a room in the cave for $350 or the whole space for $1,000 a night on Airbnb. The living room is "E."You can rent the property on Airbnb for $1,000 per nightThe cave now even welcomes visitors on Airbnb. The "west end" room, with its own staircase leading up to a private balcony, rents out for $350 per night. He recommends every guest climbs out to the patio on the west end at night, and watch the still, desert night.

☆ Exiled leader tells US Congress Tibet faces 'slow death' under China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - Tibet is dying a "slow death" under Chinese rule, the head of the India-based organization known as Tibet's government in-exile said on Tuesday in a first address to the U.S. Congress. The Sikyong role was created in 2012 after the Dalai Lama, Tibetans' 87-year-old spiritual leader, relinquished political authority in favor of an organization that could outlive him. China has ruled the remote western region of Tibet since 1951, after its military marched in and took control in what it calls a "peaceful liberation." Actor and long-time Tibet activist Richard Gere told the hearing that Chinese policies in Tibet increasingly "match the definition of crimes against humanity." Reporting by Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian tax inspectors examine mobiles, laptops of BBC employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) stand guard outside a building housing BBC offices, where income tax officials are conducting a search for a second day, in New Delhi, India, February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Altaf HussainNEW DELHI, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Indian tax officials examined mobile phones and laptops used by some BBC editorial and administrative employees, two sources told Reuters, as an inspection at the British broadcaster's offices in New Delhi and Mumbai entered a third day on Thursday. Tax officials had remained at the BBC's offices, some sleeping there, since the surprise inspection was launched on Tuesday, according to witnesses. A second source gave a similar account. The BBC has stood by its reporting, which investigated one of the worst outbreaks of religious violence in India during the modern era.

☆ Cracks begin to show in India's Himalayan building spree
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Krishn Kaushik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

"Modern connectivity is also a guarantee of national security," Modi said at an election rally at a border village in October, where he said the new transport links would bring development to remote regions. India's ministries of highways and railway, which own the state-run companies building the road and rail projects, also did not respond. Hundreds of homes have sunk and cracked in an Indian tourist town close to the Himalayan border with China. Eight of the families neighbouring Butola have now left the village, their homes riven with cracks, villagers told Reuters. Officials halted road construction work near the town, fearful of a bigger collapse.

☆ Ketamine is being sold as a depression wonder drug. For some, it's making everything worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +42 min

The infusions at the ketamine clinic in his West Texas hometown were a Christmas gift from his grandmother. About five years ago, more and more of my friends started using ketamine recreationally. IV ketamine treatment centers charging $400 to $2,000 an infusion popped up all over the country. "Ketamine used as directed in an appropriate clinical setting very rarely leads to any dependence," Mindbloom says on its website. Like Nadia, most of the people I interviewed said when they started using ketamine, they didn't think it was possible to become dependent on it.

☆ China rings in Lunar New Year with most Covid rules lifted
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Lunar New Year is the most important annual holiday in China. A popular temple fair at Badachu Park that was suspended for three years will be back this week, but similar events at Ditan Park and Longtan Lake Park have yet to return. Andy Wong / APIn Hong Kong, revelers flocked to the city’s largest Taoist temple, Wong Tai Sin Temple, to burn the first incense sticks of the year. Worshippers believe those who are among the first to place their incense sticks will stand the best chance of having their prayers answered. As communities across Asia welcomed the Year of the Rabbit, the Vietnamese were celebrating the Year of the Cat instead.

☆ India-China border clash video shows troops fighting with sticks and bricks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Though they’re separated by barbed wire, the footage appears to show Indian troops beating the Chinese soldiers with makeshift weapons, including what look like wooden sticks and metal pipes. In several instances, Indian soldiers can be seen throwing bricks or stones. Many of the Chinese soldiers, gathered on the other side of the wire, also appear to be holding long sticks or batons. Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, India’s defense minister accused Chinese troops of trying to cross the LAC, saying they were trying to “unilaterally” change the status quo. Later that evening in a statement posted online, the Chinese military’s Western Theater Command accused Indian troops of “illegally” crossing into the Chinese side of the border.

☆ Indian, Chinese troops suffer minor injuries in clash on Dec 9: Indian army
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Indian and Chinese troops suffered minor injuries in a clash in the Tawang sector of India's Arunachal Pradesh state on Dec. 9, the Indian army said on Monday, the first such incident since the deadly clash between the two neighbours in June 2020. An Indian foreign ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, while a defence spokesperson declined to comment on injuries sustained by Indian or Chinese soldiers during the skirmish. Neither the Chinese foreign ministry nor its embassy in New Delhi responded to a request seeking comment. In June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, abutting the Chinese-held Tibetan plateau. The incident led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers, while China suffered an undisclosed number of casualties.

☆ Factbox: A chronology of dissent in China in recent decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( James Pomfret | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The following is a timeline of some other notable protests, and public dissent against China's ruling Communist Party. 2009 - Xinjiang - In the region's worst ethnic unrest in decades, ethnic Uighurs attacked majority Han Chinese in the capital Urumqi, after an incident involving Uighur workers in a factory in southern China. China later builds massive "facilities" to turn Xinjiang into what a United Nations panel described as a "massive internment camp shrouded in secrecy". China later imposes a powerful national security law, arresting scores of democrats and shutting down civil society groups and liberal media outlets, including the Apple Daily newspaper. 2022 - Henan bank protests - Public protests simmer as thousands lose access to their savings in a banking fraud scandal centred on rural lenders in Henan and Anhui provinces.

☆ Obituary: China's Jiang Zemin confounded doubters, mended U.S. ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] A security guard stands next to a portrait of China's former President Jiang Zemin at an exhibition to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China, July 7, 2011. Under Jiang, China weathered the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001 and won the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "Jiang Zemin was more ready to be natural, even though sometimes it could be perceived as vulgar, not very sophisticated." At celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic in 1999, floats carried giant portraits of Mao, Deng and Jiang past Tiananmen Square. Jiang, like Mao, wore his trousers well above his waist and brushed his hair straight back.

☆ Everything in Elon Musk's bedside table photo, including what appears to be 2 replica guns and a Buddhist ritual object
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Objects on the table include cans of caffeine-free Diet Coke and what appear to be two replica guns. In a 2007 profile of Musk, Inc. wrote that Musk was drinking eight cans of Diet Coke a day, until he started cutting back. "Now, the office has caffeine-free Diet Coke." Musk must really like George WashingtonThe replica gun and painting aren't the only Washington-related things on Musk's table. Twitter/@elonmuskThere also appears to be a Buddhist ritual object on the tableIn the bottom-left corner of the photo appears to be a Buddhist ritual object called a Vajra Dorje, according to the New York Post.

☆ Greek court acquits activists over 2021 protest against Beijing Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ATHENS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A Greek court has acquitted three activists detained in October 2021 after unfurling banners at the Athens Acropolis opposing the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, their lawyer and activists said on Thursday. Those acquitted were 19-year-old Tibetan student Tsela Zoksang, 22-year-old Hong Kongese-American Joey Siu and a 35-year old Vietnamese-American activist. They had staged a brief protest at the Acropolis in the Greek capital, holding up a Tibetan flag and a banner reading "Free Hong Kong - Revolution" at a scaffolding surrounding part of the monument. The protest took place hours before a dress rehearsal of the torch-lighting ceremony for the Games in Greece's Olympia, site of the ancient Olympics. "Today's result is a huge victory for the right to peaceful protest and for the Tibetan and Hong Kongese people, said Michael Polak, director of the group."

☆ Biden wants to discuss Taiwan, Russia and trade with China’s Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Wednesday he plans at an anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, trade policies and Beijing’s relationship with Russia. Biden told reporters at a White House news conference that he had much to discuss with Xi as U.S.-Chinese relations have grown more fraught in recent months. The White House and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were quick to clarify that there was no change in U.S. policy. Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects a joint operations command center at an undisclosed location on Tuesday. Li Gang / Xinhua via APAs president, Biden has repeatedly accused China of human rights abuses of the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities.

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