Kathmandu - Climbers wanting to take on Mount Everest will first have to tackle another Nepal mountain of at least 6,500 metres (21,325 feet) under new proposals by a committee seeking to improve safety on the world's highest peak.

Kathmandu - Floods and landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains have killed at least 50 people across Nepal while dozens more are missing, officials said Sunday.Northeast India has also been hit by floods with 11 deaths recorded as rivers burst their banks.

Kathmandu - A former UN official has been jailed for sexually abusing children in Nepal, officials said Tuesday, following a trial underscoring the country's growing appeal for foreign paedophiles.

Kathmandu - The Dalai Lama's birthday celebrations in Nepal were cancelled after the government refused permission for the event to go ahead, officials said Sunday, in another sign of the growing influence of China over its Himalayan neighbour.

Kathmandu - A record 885 people climbed Everest in May this year, figures showed Tuesday, capping a deadly traffic-clogged season that also saw 11 climbers die on the world's highest mountain.

Kathmandu - Nepali activists rallied in Kathmandu on Friday calling for an end to religious animal sacrifices, months ahead of a festival that in the past has seen tens of thousands of animals slaughtered.

Kathmandu - Nepali prosecutors said Tuesday they will seek a 13-year jail term for a former United Nations official from Canada found guilty of sexually abusing two boys.

Kathmandu - The bodies of four climbers who failed their Everest challenge and left little clue as to their identity have thrown up a new challenge for Nepalese authorities who control the world's tallest peak.

Kathmandu - Under pressure after a deadly season on traffic-clogged Mount Everest, Nepal is considering tightening access to the world's highest peak, but mountaineering experts fear the proposed changes could amount to little more than lip service.

Kathmandu - As the return of cloud and frozen hurricane-force winds seal off Mount Everest for another year, questions are being asked about how to police the world's highest peak after the deadliest climbing season in years.

Kathmandu - Ameesha Chauhan, a survivor of the Everest "traffic jam" who is in hospital recovering from frostbite, said climbers without basic skills should be barred to prevent a recurrence of this year's deadly season on the world's highest peak.

Kathmandu - The deaths of an Irish and a British climber on Mount Everest took the toll from a deadly season on the world's highest peak to 10, expedition organisers said Saturday.

Kathmandu - French climber Elisabeth Revol, who was dramatically rescued last year from Pakistan's Mount Nanga Parbat, summited Lhotse Friday morning, a day after reaching the top of Everest, her expedition organiser said.

Kathmandu - A traffic jam of climbers in the Everest "death zone" was blamed for two of four new deaths reported Friday, heightening concerns that the drive for profits is trumping safety on the world's highest peak.

Kathmandu - Three more climbers have died on Everest, expedition organisers and officials said Friday, taking the toll from a deadly week on the overcrowded world's highest peak to seven.

Kathmandu - The first black African woman to climb Everest said Thursday that people from her continent must seek "amazing" new challenges to prove they can compete with the best.

Kathmandu - An American has died on Everest, his expedition organiser said Thursday, as a rush of climbers marked one of the busiest days on the world's highest mountain.

Kathmandu - Only last week Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa set a new record by climbing Everest a 23rd time. On Tuesday for good measure he did it again, expedition organisers said."This is historic.

Kathmandu - Mount Everest claimed Friday its first fatality of the main spring climbing season, an Indian man, while an Irish mountaineer was also missing, expedition organisers in Nepal said.

Kathmandu - A South African business executive reached the top of Mount Everest on Thursday in what is believed to be the first summit of the world's highest mountain by a black African woman.