Nepal

I am a native of Nepal. Your article about Katmandu ("Crossroads Kingdom," Oct. 9), will contribute greatly to understanding between our cultures. Nepal is very poor and tourism is very important. We have a lot to offer. Because of the isolation until 1950, the rich culture has been preserved. Now that we are opening the door to people around the world, we hope to preserve the respect for our culture shown by the writer. SATISH BHATTACHAN Fullerton

Frank Riley's article on trekking in Nepal ("Colorful Nepal Is Still a Favorite Spot for Treks," Oct. 22) is preceded by a small heading: "Adventure Travel." From our experience, his descriptions should be classified as "Adventure Travel For People With Money to Burn." It is completely unnecessary to book Nepal treks from home because trekking companies are plentiful throughout Katmandu and Pokhara, and the rates are roughly half those quoted in the article. It does take a day for the trekking company to obtain trekking permits and food, but most travelers would probably appreciate a day to recover from the long flight before setting out on a trek.

I read with interest the article on Nepal by Susan Spano ["Nepal at Peace," Jan. 21]. Nepal is one of those countries that gets in your soul after a visit and makes you want to return again and again. I was rather disappointed that Spano did not mention some of the iconic hotels like the Yak & Yeti, a 100-year-old renovated palace, within walking distance of the main shops, and the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, a legendary landmark with spectacular mountain views. VARINI DE SILVA Huntington Beach

In all the years that I've taken The Times, and I subscribed as soon as you began home delivery in San Diego, I don't recall an article more enjoyed than the one on Nepal by Virginia Barton (Oct. 11). I am not now or ever have been particularly interested in taking the kind of trip she did, but her account--how delightful! She's the kind of accomplished writer who might convince me to visit Southeast Asia during the monsoon. Please, let us share more of her adventures, as she sounds like someone who has many more under her (shrinking)

Communist rebels attacked a police station in a remote mountain village today, killing at least 40 policemen and injuring 19 others, a government minister said. Seventy officers were stationed at the post in Bhiman village, about 100 miles southeast of the capital, Katmandu. The remaining 11 officers at the station were believed to be hiding in the nearby jungle, said Devendra Raj Kadel, deputy home minister.

Police in Nepal arrested 57 opposition protesters Friday as King Gyanendra cut phone service to thwart nationwide demonstrations against his recent seizure of power. The rallies, scheduled for the Himalayan kingdom's annual Democracy Day celebration, were the first major protests since the king took sole control, dismissing the government and declaring a state of emergency. Only eight protesters showed up in the capital, Katmandu, and they were promptly arrested.

Nepal's deposed king left this city's main palace Wednesday night to begin life as a civilian in the newly declared republic. Former King Gyanendra said he handed in his royal scepter and crown of peacock feathers, yak hair and jewels to the Nepalese government as he left his home in the capital for one of his former summer palaces on a forested hill on its outskirts.

Able to carry a fifth of their body weight with virtually no effort, porters in the mountains of Nepal are the most efficient human haulers ever described, a study published in the current issue of the journal Science has found. Guillaume Bastien and colleagues at Belgium's Universite catholique de Louvain analyzed the porters' efficiency by measuring their oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production, both of which reflected how much energy was used.

THE State Department has issued a travel warning urging Americans to delay nonessential travel to Nepal because of the threat of violence by the Communist Party of Nepal. The Maoist organization has been demonstrating against the government, and some of those protests have turned violent. In June, more than 100 people were killed or injured in a blast that was set off beneath a packed bus in the Chitwan district. Maoist rebels were blamed for the attack.

1 Jamaica Jamaica extended its state of emergency last week, despite the capture and extradition of an accused drug lord whose manhunt had spawned deadly violence last month in the Jamaican capital of Kingston. In May, authorities had sent hundreds of police and soldiers into slums to arrest accused drug and gun trafficker Christopher " Dudus" Coke, whose extradition has been requested by U.S. prosecutors. During four days of violence, more than 70 people were killed, and hundreds were detained by the armed forces.

Monday, June 21, 2010 Monday's Highlights SERIES Money Rocks: Billionaire Richard Branson is the inaugural guest on this new series hosted by Eric Bolling (5 p.m. Fox Business Network). Behind the Music: Rock music's Courtney Love is profiled in this new episode (8 p.m. VH1). History Detectives: The series that examines the purported historicity of particular objects returns (9 p.m. KCET). Ultimate Car Build-Off: A soccer mom's mini-van gets a racetrack-ready makeover on the debut installment of this new series (9 p.m. Discovery)

It was just a week after Chang Shui received her acceptance notice from Harvard that the first book offer came. A publisher approached her father with a detailed outline for an inside guide to how a Shanghai couple prepared their daughter to compete successfully with the best students from America. Local newspapers weighed in with articles about how Chang's membership in a dance troupe surely helped. "Magical girl 'danced' her way into Harvard," the Shanghai Evening Post headlined its story.

This crumbling Delta town, set amid cotton fields, abandoned railroad tracks and cypress-studded bayous, is a hard place. So hard that the plaintive sound of a local musician drawing a knife blade across the strings of his guitar gave birth to the blues here a century ago. So hard that a Roman Catholic nun named Anne Brooks has struggled for the last 27 years to keep a medical clinic open for the poor. "It's a pretty hand-to-mouth existence," said Brooks, 71, a physician with a wry sensibility and a profane streak.

Two dozen Haitian students manage a ragged unison in their stab at English. " Today we go to school," they pronounce, more or less as one. Their instructor approves and gives the next cue. "In school I will learn to write." "In school I will learn to write," the students echo. "The teacher will help me." "The teacher will help me," the Haitians offer in return. On this day, the teacher, Justin Purnell, sits 1,300 miles away in Asheville, N.C. The students are packed into a bare-bones classroom in Port-au-Prince, watching and answering via video on a laptop computer propped in front of them.

At some point, on every snow-covered mountain she climbs, Oh Eun-sun gazes down as though from the heavens. But rather than embracing euphoria, she's trapped in a spirit-crushing physical hell. Her legs wobbly, her lungs screaming for oxygen, she feels like she could just lie down and die. But she doesn't. She pushes on. "With every move, I feel like quitting," she says. "I am so exhausted. I ask myself, 'Why am I doing this?' It's just too hard." At 5-foot-1, she looks more like a gymnast than a stubborn scaler of mountains.

A 13-year-old from Big Bear Lake became the youngest person to scale Mt. Everest, gaining renown for the feat while renewing controversy over a trend of young record-breaking adventurers. Jordan Romero called his mother, Leigh Anne Drake, 37, from a satellite phone when he reached the peak Saturday along with his father, stepmother and a team of three guides, Drake said. "I'm calling from the top of the world," he told her. The record was previously held by Ming Kipa of Nepal, who was 15 when she made the climb in 2003 with her brother and sister.

Recent images of Thai army snipers shooting at anti-government protesters in front of a Louis Vuitton outlet during Bangkok street battles have shocked a world accustomed to postcard scenes of sandy beaches and splashing elephants. Yet even as the spotlight glares harshly on Thailand, analysts say neighboring nations suffer conditions similar to those that have fueled the political crisis in downtown Bangkok, although they've generally managed to keep them in better check and prevent them from becoming as combustible.

I admit it: I fall in love easily. First, it was with a 268-pound guy. Despite his youth, he was gray and wrinkled. But there were others as the day wore on. One had a face like a horse. Another was nice-enough looking, but that neck — oh, heavens, that neck. And yet another was way too fast for me. Oh, baby. Or, more correctly, babies. These were all animal babies — an African elephant, a zebra, a giraffe and a cheetah, respectively — I saw on a two-hour photo caravan at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park.