<figure></figure> <img width="1638" height="1388" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedf54b0ad905ca02ef16jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: SANJEEVANI YONZON/WCN</figcaption> With classes closed for most of 2020, some schools in Nepal have used the time not just to conduct online learning, but also turn their attention to giving education a renewed focus on nature and the environment.This means adding new environmental elements to the curriculum, and pushing the ‘<a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/green-school-program/19/">green school</a>’ concept to their physical premises with trees and vegetation, rain-water harvesting, waste management, composting, energy conservation, and other measures.The pandemic period has allowed many schools across Nepal to plan on making their schools places where children learn about conservation and sustainability from a young age not just from text books, but from actually living them. <img width="1000" height="662" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedf84b0ad905ca02ef17jpeg.jpg" alt=""> When she was just 10, Sanjeevani Yonzon used to read the American children’s nature magazine <a href="https://rangerrick.org/">Ranger Rick</a> and this got her interested in nature, conservation and being involved in her school’s various environmental projects.Having the illustrious Nepali nature conservationist <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2011/11/01/pralad-yonzon-60/">Prahlad Yonzon</a> as an uncle helped, and as she grew up Sanjeevani became passionate about a career in environmental education. Fast forward two decades, and as founding member of Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN) Sanjeevani Yonzon is involved not just in biodiversity conservation, but also working with the government to run a nationwide program of green schools called <a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/environmental-education-program/1/">नेपाल प्रक्रिती पाठशाला (NPP)</a>. <img width="640" height="424" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedfb4b0ad905ca02ef18jpeg.jpg" alt=""> “The whole idea is that schools have to be an integral part of the nature conservation, especially when there are growing threats to the environment like climate change, habitat loss, poaching and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources,” Yonzon explains. <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://wcn.org.np/about-us/1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NPP has worked since 2006</a> to integrate environmental education into the school curriculum, trains teachers and works with government schools to turn their premises into models for a greener lifestyle.The program worked with the government’s Curriculum Development Centre to develop <a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/curriculum-on-environment-and-wildlife/6/">national and local educational curricula</a>, reviewing and re-designing subject content for Grades 9-12 in Environmental Studies. The emphasis was on integrating local conservation issues, since environmental concerns vary widely in a country of such vast natural diversity. In 2018, the government integrated the Green School Program into the national curriculum, and schools across Nepal have adopted the <a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/ecosmart-certification-program/18/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eco-Smart School</a> Principles. <img width="1000" height="662" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bedfd4b0ad905ca02ef19jpeg.jpg" alt=""> <img width="640" height="424" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bee004b0ad905ca02ef1ajpeg.jpg" alt=""> “By scaling up, we think we can contribute awareness and bring responsible behavioural changes in students and their parents who will later bring a positive impact on the environment and their communities when they grow up,” Yonzon says. <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/school-program/5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WCN</a> is also collaborating with over 600 schools all over Nepal in introducing students to birdwatching, getting them interested in conserving the country’s biodiversity, climate change education, disaster preparedness, waste management and recycling, and how the environment is linked to hygiene and health. Kathmandu’s <a href="http://triyog.edu.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Triyog High School</a> has been a part of the program, and principal Nildari Parial says the eco-smart concept has transformed the way students, teachers and even parents think about nature and conservation.“The program has re-emphasised that education should not just be confined to classrooms, and the learning should spread to the community with initiatives like waste segregation and composting, and the children take their learnings home to parents as well,” Parial says. <img width="2464" height="1632" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bee024b0ad905ca02ef1bjpeg.jpg" alt=""> Nisha Pande at <a href="https://www.kaasthamandap.edu.np/">Kasthamandap Vidhyalaya</a> agrees, saying the eco-smart and green school initiative has helped her colleagues and students appreciate the work farmers do, be aware of the importance of organic agriculture, and learn to grow their own vegetables.Pande is in charge of the green school project at Kasthamandap, and says her school has always believed in practice along with theoretical knowledge and this is a good opportunity to introduce concepts like growing vegetables, zero waste, rainwater harvesting, composting and vermiculture.The NPP initiative is now working in partnership with 14 municipalities, two metropolitan cities, and four rural municipalities in developing and implementing local curricula. And even though schools are closed, the<a href="https://wcn.org.np/covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Covid-19 crisis</a> has been a time to plan to extend the program when schools resume. <img width="1072" height="1920" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bee064b0ad905ca02ef1cjpeg.jpg" alt=""> When Bina Gurung opened her Montessori school in Maharajgunj 20 years ago, many scoffed at her focus on nature-based learning, since the focus of parents was on reading, writing and text books to pass exams. Gurung’s केटा केटी बारी, where children get their hands dirty working in the garden, is now a model for other schools.“I remember how some children were reluctant to hold earthworms in their hands at first, but later they got over their squeamishness, and learned by doing why nature’s organic cycle is important,” Gurung says. “The activity makes children learn about food, the culture and even improves their vocabulary.”

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Catching children young in green schools

<figure></figure> <img width="1638" height="1388" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6ed9c7e80680e0877cdjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: SANJEEVANI YONZON/WCN</figcaption> With classes closed for most of 2020, some schools in Nepal have used the time not just to conduct online learning, but also turn their attention to giving education a renewed focus on nature and the environment.This means adding new environmental elements to the curriculum, and pushing the ‘<a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/green-school-program/19/">green school</a>’ concept to their physical premises with trees and vegetation, rain-water harvesting, waste management, composting, energy conservation, and other measures.The pandemic period has allowed many schools across Nepal to plan on making their schools places where children learn about conservation and sustainability from a young age not just from text books, but from actually living them. <img width="1000" height="662" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6f19c7e80680e0877cejpeg.jpg" alt=""> When she was just 10, Sanjeevani Yonzon used to read the American children’s nature magazine <a href="https://rangerrick.org/">Ranger Rick</a> and this got her interested in nature, conservation and being involved in her school’s various environmental projects.Having the illustrious Nepali nature conservationist <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2011/11/01/pralad-yonzon-60/">Prahlad Yonzon</a> as an uncle helped, and as she grew up Sanjeevani became passionate about a career in environmental education. Fast forward two decades, and as founding member of Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN) Sanjeevani Yonzon is involved not just in biodiversity conservation, but also working with the government to run a nationwide program of green schools called <a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/environmental-education-program/1/">नेपाल प्रक्रिती पाठशाला (NPP)</a>. <img width="640" height="424" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6f39c7e80680e0877cfjpeg.jpg" alt=""> “The whole idea is that schools have to be an integral part of the nature conservation, especially when there are growing threats to the environment like climate change, habitat loss, poaching and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources,” Yonzon explains. <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://wcn.org.np/about-us/1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NPP has worked since 2006</a> to integrate environmental education into the school curriculum, trains teachers and works with government schools to turn their premises into models for a greener lifestyle.The program worked with the government’s Curriculum Development Centre to develop <a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/curriculum-on-environment-and-wildlife/6/">national and local educational curricula</a>, reviewing and re-designing subject content for Grades 9-12 in Environmental Studies. The emphasis was on integrating local conservation issues, since environmental concerns vary widely in a country of such vast natural diversity. In 2018, the government integrated the Green School Program into the national curriculum, and schools across Nepal have adopted the <a href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/ecosmart-certification-program/18/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eco-Smart School</a> Principles. <img width="1000" height="662" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6f69c7e80680e0877d0jpeg.jpg" alt=""> <img width="640" height="424" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6f89c7e80680e0877d1jpeg.jpg" alt=""> “By scaling up, we think we can contribute awareness and bring responsible behavioural changes in students and their parents who will later bring a positive impact on the environment and their communities when they grow up,” Yonzon says. <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://wcn.org.np/what-we-do/school-program/5/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WCN</a> is also collaborating with over 600 schools all over Nepal in introducing students to birdwatching, getting them interested in conserving the country’s biodiversity, climate change education, disaster preparedness, waste management and recycling, and how the environment is linked to hygiene and health. Kathmandu’s <a href="http://triyog.edu.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Triyog High School</a> has been a part of the program, and principal Nildari Parial says the eco-smart concept has transformed the way students, teachers and even parents think about nature and conservation.“The program has re-emphasised that education should not just be confined to classrooms, and the learning should spread to the community with initiatives like waste segregation and composting, and the children take their learnings home to parents as well,” Parial says. <img width="2464" height="1632" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6fb9c7e80680e0877d2jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Nisha Pande at <a href="https://www.kaasthamandap.edu.np/">Kasthamandap Vidhyalaya</a> agrees, saying the eco-smart and green school initiative has helped her colleagues and students appreciate the work farmers do, be aware of the importance of organic agriculture, and learn to grow their own vegetables.Pande is in charge of the green school project at Kasthamandap, and says her school has always believed in practice along with theoretical knowledge and this is a good opportunity to introduce concepts like growing vegetables, zero waste, rainwater harvesting, composting and vermiculture.The NPP initiative is now working in partnership with 14 municipalities, two metropolitan cities, and four rural municipalities in developing and implementing local curricula. And even though schools are closed, the<a href="https://wcn.org.np/covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Covid-19 crisis</a> has been a time to plan to extend the program when schools resume. <img width="1072" height="1920" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181144/636be6fe9c7e80680e0877d3jpeg.jpg" alt=""> When Bina Gurung opened her Montessori school in Maharajgunj 20 years ago, many scoffed at her focus on nature-based learning, since the focus of parents was on reading, writing and text books to pass exams. Gurung’s केटा केटी बारी, where children get their hands dirty working in the garden, is now a model for other schools.“I remember how some children were reluctant to hold earthworms in their hands at first, but later they got over their squeamishness, and learned by doing why nature’s organic cycle is important,” Gurung says. “The activity makes children learn about food, the culture and even improves their vocabulary.”

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

keta-keti-bari

Catching children young in green schools

Catching children young in green schools

Turkish Basketball

The Last Days of the Khampa

Turkish to Seville

Digital protection for Nepal’s art