Search and rescue operations are ongoing and the death toll continues to rise after devastating flash floods hit the Nepal–Tibet border region on Wednesday.
More than 300 bodies have been found, with hundreds more missing from dozens of countries, including 33 British citizens, in the region’s worst disaster for more than a decade.
Contradictory accounts of what caused the catastrophe emerged in the aftermath, but a clearer picture of the sequence of events is now emerging, with the floods linked to a glacial collapse.
Exes could get rights to your assets under law change
Unmarried romantic partners could be entitled to part of their ex’s assets if a break-up leaves them unable to meet their basic needs.
Some believe the proposals being considered by the Government would tackle “completely outdated and inadequate” laws governing relationships, Sky News reported.
What is being proposed?
- Unmarried romantic partners could ask a court to get involved if distributing the couple’s assets based on who owns what is not enough to meet the needs of each partner or their children.
- The court would distribute them in a way that ensures everyone can afford housing and living costs.
- Children’s needs would come first so the primary caregiver has enough resources for them.
- The courts would look at each partner’s earning capacity, financial resources, age, any disabilities and the length of relationship.
Who would the rules apply to?
The rules would apply to adults in romantic relationships who have lived together for at least three years or who share a child and lived together for any period. They would apply automatically, with the option for couples to opt out if they mutually agree. The rules are intended to benefit financially exposed women who sacrificed their careers to care for their children or victims of domestic abuse.
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The expert view
Many people consciously choose not to remarry because they value both companionship and financial independence. They should remain free to make that choice, and the law should respect – not undermine – it
Baroness Ruth Deech, former law professor and chair of the Bar Standards Board
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The tactic that could protect your pension from inheritance tax raid – and the risks
There has been an increase in people looking to use a new tactic to avoid their pension wealth being subjected to high inheritance tax after their death, experts say.
What are people doing?
Experts say more parents are asking whether they could use a lifetime annuity, which provides a guaranteed income for life, to pass on their wealth to an adult child after their passing. Here’s what you need to know.
- The move would avoid the usual high inheritance tax bill for recipients, although it is currently an option only offered by two providers and there are several risks to be aware of.
- A lifetime annuity is a retirement product, bought from an insurer, that turns your pension into a guaranteed income for life.
- A joint annuity can be used to continue paying an income to a nominated person – in this case, potentially an adult child – after, for example, a parent dies in order to avoid a high IHT bill.
What are the risks?
The annuity is generally irreversible, suitable choices are limited and the income paid to the child may itself be taxable depending on the father’s age at death. Financial adviser Zoë Dagless said the insurer is pricing the annuity on the basis that it could continue for the child’s lifetime, so you are likely to be giving up a fair amount of income compared with an annuity based on the client’s life only.
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Men ‘hate diets’ and struggle to lose weight on them
Men struggle to lose weight on diets because they are mainly aimed at women and seem too restrictive, research has found.
Avoiding the word “diet” in weight-loss programmes could help men because it is seen as feminine, reported.
What the research found
- Framing weight-loss programmes as competitions or challenges could help men, scientists said.
- Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University found that men felt dieting was associated with being denied food they enjoyed and were reluctant to commit to programmes if significant sacrifices were involved.
- Men were more likely to lose weight when dietary changes were designed by their partners or when they were supported by them.
- Having a buddy or mentor was also beneficial.
What was the study based on?
The study, published in the journal was based on interviews with 24 men aged 30 and over about their experiences of weight-loss programmes.
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The expert view
For weight-loss programmes to appeal to men, they should involve quick wins, early rewards and a degree of social competitiveness around aesthetic gains, ahead of health-specific requirements. This could involve sport or physical challenges, perhaps focused on strength or stamina
Justin Roberts, the colead author and a professor of nutritional physiology
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Top Gear to return to BBC – everything we know
The BBC has confirmed is returning to the broadcaster. The show has been on hiatus since presenter Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff was almost killed during filming in December 2022.
What we know so far
The BBC’s director of entertainment Ed Havard confirmed the news of the return at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday. He said: “There has been a lot of speculation about this and we can confirm that is coming back.”
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What happened to Flintoff?
Following the crash, the BBC announced would not be returning “for the foreseeable future”, explaining it had “decided to rest the UK show”.
Who will host now?
- Havard declined to comment on reports that Jimmy Carr is being lined up as the show’s new host.
- However, reports claim talks are underway with the comedian.
- Joe Marler, a former rugby player who appeared in last year, is also being eyed by the BBC, according to Deadline.
- No deals are thought to be in place.
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The back story
- It enjoyed a second life when Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness and Flintoff took over hosting duties from Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans, before the crash involving Flintoff occurred.
Liver disease cases linked to obesity up five-fold
Cases of a linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes have risen five-fold in a decade, a study has found.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) happens when in the liver and is left undiagnosed, researchers said.
What are the symptoms?
- Symptoms include feeling very tired or generally unwell, and pain in the abdomen.
- People who are overweight or not active are more likely to develop MASLD.
- Those who have type 2 diabetes, are over 50, or have high blood pressure are also more at risk.
- New diagnoses doubled from 2012 to 2022, and those diagnosed with the condition were three times as likely to have type 2 diabetes, analysis of GP records found.
A closer look at the findings
The study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Glasgow found that 2.4 per cent of adults – 283,762 people had the disease in 2022, up from 0.02 per cent (1,300 people) in 2003.
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The expert view
The diagnostic gap remains large compared to expected rates. At-risk groups such as those living with type 2 diabetes and obesity should be identified and -finding actively pursued
researchers at Queen Mary University and University Glasgow
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Thunderstorms expected across England and Wales
Flooding has hit part of the West Midlands as are expected across large areas of England and Wales.
A yellow thunderstorm has been issued from 5am until 10pm on Thursday.
What the warning says
The yellow warning covers swathes of the country, from Norwich and London to Cardiff and Manchester.
Some areas could see 50-75mm of rainfall on Thursday, as well as lightning and hail, which could cause disruption.
Warm temperatures with highs of 27°C or 28°C are expected, and there is a small chance some areas could see more than 75mm of rainfall.
Where the warning is in place
What happened in Birmingham?
There has been significant flooding in Birmingham. A flood warning was issued for the Perry Barr area on Wednesday night due to rising river levels.
The Environment Agency has issued 22 flooding alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in the Midlands and South East.
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The forecast for the rest of the week
- Further heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected on Friday across the UK.
- Further rain will move in on Saturday, followed by a mix of sunshine and showers on Sunday and Monday.
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Dozens of Britons missing in deadly Nepal flood
More than 160 people have died and hundreds are missing, including , after a devastating flash flood on the Nepal–Tibet border.
What happened?
- Floodwater swept along the Bhote Koshi river in Rasuwa region, in the Himalayas, at around 8.30am local time on Wednesday, destroying roads and washing away houses and bridges.
- More than 40 people were injured in the tragedy and are receiving treatment in hospital.
- Nepali officials said a further 826 people are missing, the majority of them tourists, including 33 Britons.
- Around 2,000 military personnel have been deployed by the Nepali army to assist with search and rescue operations.
What is known about the missing Britons?
Among the 33 Britons missing, 12 were with one tour company. Ram Kumar Adhikari, manager of Alpine Eco Trek, said the group included a 13-year-old girl, with the oldest member aged 65.
He said they had passed Chinese border controls to enter Tibet.
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The flood in pictures
The trigger
The Nepali government and US Geological Survey (USGS) initially said that an earthquake in the border region on Wednesday had triggered landslides that led to the flood. But the USGS later reported that the “seismic event was instead a glacial collapse” at 8:37am on Wednesday, which registered a 5.2 magnitude on the Richter Scale.
Scientists assessed, based on satellite images, that a massive sheet of ice had come loose from a Himalayan mountain and plummeted thousands of metres into a Nepali valley.
“It looks like a glacier in the area basically snapped off in a clean break, allowing it to fall just over a vertical kilometre to the valley bottom,” Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of Calgary in Canada, told . “The bottom looks like a bomb exploded.”
The cause of the glacier collapse is unclear but scientists have warned that rising temperatures are melting ice and permafrost in the Himalayas. An analysis by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in March found this process is accelerating, with the rate of ice loss across the mountain range doubling since the year 2000.
The impact of the falling glacier unleashed a cascade of water, mud and ice that entered the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, and then the Narayani river, according to local authorities.
The event triggered alarms in the flood-hit region. A water-level monitoring station in Rasuwa, close to the impact site, stopped transmitting data at 8:50am, according to the Flood Forecasting Division of the Centre of Hydrology and Water Resources Research in Nepal.
The department said it was alerted to a major flood shortly after and sent more than 600,000 text messages warning local residents by 9:16am.
Moment of impact
Waves of up to 30 metres high swept through riverside villages, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving them buried under mud. Videos posted on social media showed a bridge along the Trishuli river in Nepal’s Nuwakot district collapsing under the surging tide. The municipality of the neighbouring Rasuwa reported “significant damage” shortly after 10am local time.
Footage from a border crossing between Nepal and Chinese-controlled Tibet showed a massive wave crashing through buildings as people fled for their lives. Chinese state media said the impact was at around 10:30am and said there were “major casualties and missing persons”.
Survivors described losing family members and miraculous escapes.
Keshav Prasad Baral, 68, said his wife was swept away into the Trishuli river. “As [the water] got closer, it kept rising higher and higher,” he told ABC News. “When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife’s hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud.”
Nepali labourer Bibek Kumal said he was digging a pit downstream from Rasuwa when the disaster struck. “I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake,” he told Reuters from his bed at Kathmandu’s National Trauma Centre, where he was receiving treatment.
The torrent swept him into the branches of a mango tree “Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death,” he said.
The first rescue helicopters were airborne by 11am to retrieve survivors in the village of Timure, Rasuwa, but turned back with no place to land. Pilot Subash Khadka told the : “It looked as though a river that had been frozen suddenly burst its banks. The entire village of Timure was out of sight.”
Shortly after, Nepal’s Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, called a crisis meeting of the security cabinet to plan a large-scale response to the disaster as the first reports of casualties emerged.
Rescue operation
Nepal mobilised 15 helicopters and hundreds of emergency workers in the hours after the flood hit, while sending appeals to neighbouring China and India, which said they would support the relief operation. Photos from the disaster zone showed police carrying victims to safety using any equipment available, including tractors and bulldozers.
Initial estimates for casualties and missing people rose steadily in the immediate aftermath, including a large proportion of foreign nationals in a popular destination for tourism.
Local authorities announced the first 12 people to be rescued shortly after 1pm, which rose to 114.
Dozens of the wounded were evacuated to nearby hospitals. But officials warned that emergency workers were hampered by difficult and dangerous conditions. Footage showed rescuers wading through deep mud to reach survivors.
The Nepali government announced large-scale infrastructure damage, including roads, communication networks, and power stations, with several bridges washed away. Survivors said they were unable to reach or contact family members in the affected areas.
The recovery
The search operation slowed as darkness fell before ramping up again on Thursday morning as floodwaters receded and water levels dropped. Helicopters scanned the riverbanks and dropped emergency supplies for thousands of residents cut off from escape routes.
As the death toll rose, local authorities warned to expect more bad news. “This will go up, as we have resumed the search and more bodies are expected to be recovered,” police spokesperson Abi Narayan said.
Countries around the world have begun sending assistance, with Andy Burnham saying the UK has offered to send emergency responders to Nepal along with £5m in aid.
Nepal’s home minister Sudhan Gurung said the focus was on finding survivors. Rescue teams found 100 Indian tourists, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the region around Trishuli. More than 650 foreigners are still unaccounted for, while Nepali authorities have yet to determine the number of locals missing.
Twelve of the missing Britons were travelling with one tour company, Alpine Eco Trek – the youngest being a 13-year-old girl and the oldest aged 65. Nine of the missing British citizens were travelling with Nepalese tour operator the Trekkers’ Society – four of them male and aged 14 to 65 and five women aged 40 to 53.
Sunil Sharma, a Nepali tourism board spokesman, said that Americans, Australians and Canadians were also among the missing.
Another wave
Authorities in China have now identified the risk of another wave from a dammed lake in Gyirong, upstream from the flooded border crossing, with more rain forecast, according to state-owned broadcaster CCTV.
The dammed lake was already overflowing on Thursday morning, CCTV reported, citing the Chinese water resources ministry.
Three million cubic metres of water — roughly 1,200 Olympic-size swimming pools — is expected to enter the lake over the next three days, with peak flow expected around Tuesday, creating a high risk of a breach. Last July, the rapid drainage of a lake on Tibet’s Purepa glacier led to deadly flooding in Nepal.
The latest disaster is part of a pattern of floods and landslides caused by glacier collapses. The same region of Nepal was hit by deadly flooding last year after a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed.
In 2021, a chunk of Himalayan ice sheared off a glacier in northern India, creating a cascade of debris and water that killed 200 people. Switzerland and Italy have also experienced floods and landslides caused by glacier collapses in recent years.
Dr Simon Cook, a glacier expert with the University of Dundee, told the BBC: “The logic is that with a warming planet, you will see shrinking glaciers, lots of snowmelt. The permafrost [centuries-old frozen soil] that is partially holding some mountainsides together is warming and thawing and degrading.
“So you are going to get more landslides, debris flows, glacial meltwater, lake outbursts, glacier collapses, because climate warming ultimately destabilises these high mountain environments.”