<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2899c7e80680e07baebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption>All photos; BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>On 1 September, the first day that the Nepal government reopened regular flights after nearly six months, there were no scheduled flights – all four were chartered <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/repatriation-regular-flights-to-nepal-to-resume/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">repatriation flights</a>.Nepal Airlines operated flights from Doha and Kuwait, and the private Himalaya Airlines flew in stranded Nepali workers from Doha, with one more cargo flight from Kunming. Doha, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are three countries to and from which regular flights are not yet allowed because of the difficulty for Nepali workers to get PCR tests before boarding.However, airlines are expected to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-to-open-regular-flights-from-1-september/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start operating regular flights</a> from countries where PCR tests are easily available this week with limited frequency, destinations and passengers. A Nepal Airlines Airbus will leave on its first regular flight since March to Tokyo Narita just after midnight on 1 September.Nepal Airlines will be operating two more flights to and from Narita this month, as well as four to Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. Altogether there will be 14 flights during September to and from Kuala Lumpur by Nepal Airlines, Himalaya, Malindo and Malaysia Airlines.Most other airlines are flying once a week with limited passenger loads to comply with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) limit on the number of arriving passengers. Earlier, CAAN had set a limit of 500 passengers a day, but has now increased it to 800, which includes chartered flights.International Airlines operating limited scheduled flights are Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Oman Air, Fly Dubai, Malaysia Airlines, Dragon Air, China Southern and Air China. Permission has not yet been given for flights from Indian cities because of the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/as-india-peaks-covid-19-spreads-rapidly-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> continuing rise in the number of Covid-19 cases </a>there, airlines sources said.So far, the government is allowing only Nepalis, diplomats, aid agency officials and their families to fly to Kathmandu on these flights. They will all need RT PCR negative reports done only 72 hours before their flights, and they will have to stay for seven days in home isolation (for Nepalis) and hotel quarantine (for foreigners).An exception has been made for a 13-member <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-allows-royal-himalayan-expedition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bahraini mountaineering expedition to Manaslu</a> that includes three Britons – the only tourists allowed into Nepal so far this season.There were 262 Nepali workers arriving on two flights from Doha on Tuesday, and they were taken province-wise from the airport to their designated holding centres by the Nepal Army to await results of their PCR tests. If negative, they will be allowed to go home and self-quarantine for 14 days.The restriction on passenger capacity and frequency means that the cost of tickets to and from many destinations are much higher than pre-lockdown fares.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb28c9c7e80680e07baecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2909c7e80680e07baedjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2939c7e80680e07baeejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2969c7e80680e07baefjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2999c7e80680e07baf0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb29c9c7e80680e07baf1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>All photos: BIKRAM RAI

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Nepal allows limited international flights

<figure><img width="1818" height="1016" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7909c7e80680e07378ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>In another reversal of policy, the Nepal government announced on Tuesday that it will resume flights to repatriate Nepali workers stranded abroad till 31 August. After that airlines will be allowed to operate limited regular international flights.On 17 August, the Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) abruptly cancelled permission for chartered repatriation flights that were previously scheduled till the end of the month. Now, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation says the chartered flights will be allowed for the coming week, so that 4,000 Nepalis stranded abroad can return. After 1 September, airlines will be allowed limited scheduled flights as long as the number of arriving passengers in Kathmandu airport does not exceed 500 daily.The Ministry’s timetable includes chartered flights by Air Arabia from Sharjah on Tuesday, Etihad from Abu Dhabi and Fly Dubai from Dubai on Wednesday. Nepal’s own carriers, Himalaya Airlines and Nepal Airlines will conduct chartered flights from Saudi Arabia on 27 August. On Thursday Turkish is flying in Nepalis who are stuck in Europe and North America, and Qatar Airways has a flight on Friday. Both airlines will be allowed to carry only 100 passengers inbound so as not to exceed the 500 limit at the airport. On Saturday, Silk Air is flying in Nepalis from Australia and Singapore, while Korean Air will operate from Incheon.All passengers will need PCR negative reports done not earlier than 72 hours prior to boarding. The government has also reversed its earlier requirement that all passengers, even those with PCR reports, have to spend at least one week in a hotel quarantine in Kathmandu at their own expense. Passengers with PCR negative reports will now be allowed to go home for 14 day self-isolation.However, countries where PCR tests are difficult to obtain, like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, can fly to Kathmandu without those reports, but have to stay one week in hotel quarantine on arrival in Kathmandu. They have to pay the hotel costs to the airline with their tickets.The government says it will strictly not allow airlines to mix passengers with PCR negative tests with those who do not have those tests.

Repatriation, regular flights to Nepal to resume

<figure><img width="960" height="452" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba67c9c7e80680e073724jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepali workers in Dubai after learning of the last minute cancellation of their flight to Kathmandu early Tuesday morning. Photo: NRNA UAE</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s sudden decision on 17 August to cancel all repatriation flights in and out of Kathmandu has left in the lurch tens of thousands of Nepalis abroad waiting to return home, as well as families and students who had already bought tickets to fly out.The government’s Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) which is chaired by Defence Minister Ishwor Pokhrel abruptly announced the cancellation on Monday night, the day airlines had started a new phase of repatriation flights till 31 August. This extended the uncertainty for many Nepali workers in the Gulf, Malaysia, Korea and Japan who had registered with embassies to come home. In addition, students and families who had confirmed bookings have been told outbound flights have been cancelled indefinitely.The CCMC’s Mahendra Guragain said the reason was that hotels that had been set aside for quarantine were not yet ready. However, many have pointed out that this is not logical because the number of arriving passengers had been reduced to 500 per day from this phase of repatriation flights – half the number arriving till last week.Over at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, deputy secretary Buddha Sagar Lamichhane had a different reason about why the scheduled charter flights were cancelled: “It is because the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is rising and there are neighbourhoods going into lockdown.”So, is it the lack of hotels or the rise in number of cases? When we put that question to the CCMC, they referred us to the government, even though the committee is made up of government ministers. The authorities at Kathmandu airport said they had no idea why the pre-scheduled flights had to be cancelled, and told us to ask the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry of Tourism said it was the CCMC’s decision. <figure><img width="590" height="753" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba67e9c7e80680e073725jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Letter from the CCMC abruptly announcing the cancellation abruptly on Monday night.</figcaption></figure>Amidst this confusion, there is growing anger – especially among Nepali workers overseas who have been waiting for nearly six months for flights to Nepal and have run out of money and patience. Many had to turn back from airports in Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur, and had already spent $50 carrying out mandatory PCR tests 72 hours before boarding. A Nepal Airlines Airbus 330 that had flown to Dubai to pick up passengers returned empty because of the government decision while it was en route.Nepali workers have been pouring outrage and scorn at the government for its mishandling and confusion. Many are threatening to start a campaign not to send money home via official government channels anymore to be taxed, and instead use unofficial hundi channels. Wrote one angry Facebook user in the Gulf: ‘We are not anymore going to let our remittance go to officials who will squander our hard-earned money.’Many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-grapples-with-bringing-workers-home/">stranded workers</a> say they have got no information at all from the government, the airline or the embassies about why the flights were announced and suddenly cancelled. They are even angrier about the mixed messages: is it because of the lack of quarantine hotels in Kathmandu, or because of government agencies working at cross purposes?“How can there not be enough hotels when the numbers flying in every day is going to be half of what it was last week?” asked one harried family member of a student booked on a flight later this week.Some flights, like Turkish Airlines, were allowed to land on Tuesday because passengers in North America and Europe had already boarded when the government made the announcement.“The government should just come out and tell the truth, that it is because case numbers in Kathmandu are rising,” said one airline source. ‘Why all this confusion? Also, if there are not enough quarantine hotels, why stop outbound passengers? Why stop people who want to leave?” <figure><img width="733" height="881" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914118/636ba6809c7e80680e073726jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nepal Embassy in the UAE listing repatriation flights for Nepali workers which were later cancelled.</figcaption></figure>At a time when Kathmandu’s hotels are reeling from the collapse of the tourism industry, the government could have easily designated different categories of hotels for quarantine and set a room tariff for each. For international airlines, what is most frustrating is that the CCMC this time has not set a date on when charter, or regular flights can resume. International airlines are all in wait-and-watch mode, and have had to cancel up to 5,000 passengers who had been booked on outbound flights from Kathmandu in the coming weeks. Domestic airlines which were set to resume operations on 17 August have also been told to postpone the restart indefinitely. But the operators, whose planes have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-nepal-flights-cancelled-22-31-march/">grounded for five months</a>, say they cannot do so any longer and have threatened action if flights are not allowed to resume on 31 August. The government says the spread of Covid-19 has put Tarai cities under lockdown, so there will be no passengers anyway.  “The government should just allow flights, and let us worry about passengers. We have done our rehearsals with safety protocols and can operate safely,” says Birendra Basnet of Buddha Air, Nepal’s largest domestic airline.  Nepal Airlines which had 17 repatriation flights and Himalaya Airlines with 14 flights from the Gulf and Malaysia have cancelled charter flights scheduled for the next two weeks, leaving thousands of Nepali workers stranded. This phase of repatriation flights would have been from 17-31 August and would have brought in 7,000 passengers. More than 51,000 Nepalis have returned on repatriation flights since they started on 15 June, but there are still another 250,000 who have registered with various embassies to return home. Previous passengers all needed coronavirus negative certificates, and were tested again on arrival and allowed to go home to self-isolate if they were negative. Public health sources say the real danger of virus influx is from those coming unregulated across the land border, and not so much those who fly in because of the strict rules on having PCR negative tests 72 hours prior to departure.

Chaos as Nepal bans repatriation flights

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum