On April 7th, the Pakistani army endured the worst tragedy in its history when an avalanche fell on the Gayari military base in Kashmir, trapping 140 soldiers. Rescue operations are still underway. Since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars over Kashmir. Despite a 2003 ceasefire, both countries still have bases in the Himalayas. Here, in the highest battlefield in the world, weather is a greater killer than weapons, as Noémie Lehouelleur reports.
Pakistan's military dug through slush and snow high up in the Kashmir mountains on Sunday in a search for 135 soldiers buried in an avalanche. Almost 36 hours after snow crushed a remote army camp, rescuers have yet to find any survivors.
Are the Taliban poised to enter into new negotiations? They say they are and will open a political office in Qatar to prove it. Meanwhile, people in Beijing want the Chinese government to take a leaf out of the US's book when it comes to pollution. Finally, in India’s Kashmir valley, many of the area's Christians were forced to spend Christmas in fear.
Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, many people in Afghanistan still have no idea why American troops are there. Also, in Kashmir, 8,000 men have disappeared in the space of 20 years, leaving thousands of women known as the "half-widows". Finally, New Zealand gears up for the Rugby World Cup, but the competition carries a hefty cost.
Among kidnaps and allegations of vote-rigging, Afghans take to the polls in a key parliamentary vote. We meet some of the female candidates daring to run for election under the threat of Taliban attacks. Separatist anger in Indian-controlled Kashmir continues to boil over into violence. And China's middle class spreads its wings. The country's nouveau riche are increasingly looking overseas for the opportunities they can't find at home - be it investment or education.
India has deployed soldiers to the streets of Kashmir after paramilitary forces struggled to contain ongoing protests staged by separatist activists in the disputed region. Nearly 100 people have died in recent demonstrations.
The web bears witness to tensions in Indian Kashmir. A Kuwaiti cartoon outrages the Moroccan blogosphere. And Eva Longoria is organizing a Twitter auction for Haiti
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is holding crisis talks with leaders of India's major political parties over the deteriorating situation in Kashmir, where a deadly security clampdown has failed to stem anti-Indian protests.
Indian police patrolled Kashmir's streets on Tuesday to enforce a curfew imposed a day after violence erupted between troops and protesters, killing 19 people. Monday's unrest was the deadliest since a series of anti-India protests began in June.
Some 15 people, including a policeman, have been killed in Indian Kashmir during clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters enraged by a US pastor's threat to burn copies of the Koran.
