Thirty-three Britons, including a girl aged 13 and a boy of 14, are among more than 1,500 people who are still missing after the devastating flash flood at the Nepal-Tibet border.
Rescuers are scrambling to locate the missing in the remote Himalayan region, while families at home wait desperately for updates.
The death toll in Nepal has risen to 579, officials say, after the torrent of water, rock and mud, suspected to have been triggered by a glacial collapse, swept down a river valley, sweeping away buildings, bridges and roads.
Why Trump has renamed Lake Ontario
Donald Trump has signed an executive order aiming to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Here’s why, and whether the move is actually likely to work.
Split custody
One of North America’s five Great Lakes, Lake Ontario straddles both the United States and Canada; its northern and western shores sit in the Canadian province of Ontario while its southern and eastern shores fall in the US state of New York.
There is no universally recognised international body setting the names of international waters, but the lake’s name has its roots in the indigenous word “Ontarí’io”, often translated as “great lake”, and traces back several hundred years.
Tariff retaliation
- It comes after trade talks broke down between the two neighbouring nations last week.
- That led the US to impose new 50 per cent tariffs on $20bn (£14.7bn) worth of Canadian goods.
- In response, Canada is set to introduce “dollar for dollar” counter tariffs starting next month.
3 min read
This story in pictures
What has Canada said?
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the news by saying “things must be called by their name, and this lake is called Lake Ontario – today and forever”.
Carney also highlighted that the lake’s current name predates the formation of both the Canadian Confederation and the US Declaration of Independence.
3 min read
Will it work?
Trump’s executive order says it gives 30 days for the name change to be updated with the Geographic Names Information Service, the official repository of domestic geographic names in the United States.
While the US President generally has discretion over how their country recognises landmarks, other nations do not have to follow suit.
3 min read
4 min read
August’s stunning Sturgeon Moon – in pictures
The August full moon, also called the Sturgeon Moon, lit up the night sky on Thursday. Here are a few of the best images.
The name’s origins
The August full moon, which reached its peak in the UK shortly after 5am on Friday 28 August, is also commonly referred to as the “Sturgeon Moon”.
Why?
That’s thanks to North American fishing tribes, who are understood to have dubbed it as such because the sturgeon species of fish appeared in number during this particular month.
Why was this Sturgeon Moon red?
In many parts of the world, including the UK, California and Australia, a partial lunar eclipse – whereby the Earth passed between the sun and the moon, placing the moon briefly in its shadow – was also observed.
As sunlight that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere is scattered, and red light can pass through in greater abundance due to its longer wavelength, the moon appeared to be tinged red, earning the phenomenon another nickname: ““.
Pictures around the world
Safe to see
- Visibility in many parts of the UK may not have been great, though.
- That’s due to both cloudy skies and the moon’s low positioning in the sky during the partial eclipse.
- Still, unlike the recent solar eclipse, this astronomical event is at least safe to observe with the naked eye.
7 min read
Young teenagers among the missing
Many of the Britons were on pilgrimage to sacred sites in the Himalayas, and had been travelling with tour operators. Twelve were with tour company Alpine Eco Trek. Its manager Ram Kumra Adhikari said the youngest member of the group is a 13-year-old girl and the oldest is 65.
nine other Britons had been travelling with Nepalese tour operator the Trekkers’ Society, and were making a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred Hindu site. The youngest of that group is a 14-year-old boy.
Below are some of the missing Britons who have been named.
Ms Tiwari, 51, went to Nepal on 14 August to take part in a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash – which had been “her dream”, her brother Naresh Goyal told the BBC. She travelled to Delhi from London and then to Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, with a group from the Isha Foundation, a spiritual organisation. She was meant to return to India on Thursday to meet her family. “Please help us find her,” Mr Goyal said.
Ms Simkhada, a senior nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, was on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash when her family lost contact with her. Her brother Shambhu wrote on social media: “My dear sister, wherever you are, please stay strong. We are praying for your safety every moment and waiting desperately for you to return home.”
Ms Bector, from Slough, had travelled to the region with tour operator Fishtail Tours and Travels. Bhupesh Bector, her husband, told : “I know that she’s in Nepal for sure, so even if they find her today or tomorrow, I need to be there.”
A family of four from Surrey
The Nepal tourism board and a Hindu news outlet reported that Santosh Sahu, 46, Surabhi Manmath Padhy, 44, Spandan Sahu, 18, and Syna Kumari Sahu, 13, are missing. reported that the mother and daughter – Surabhi and Syna both have British citizenship, while father and son – Santosh and Spandan – hold Irish citizenship. The family is from Surrey and a neighbour told that they believed the four travelled to Nepal on Tuesday for a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda, a high-altitude glacial lake sacred to Hindus.
Ms Amin, 63, from Croydon in south London, was visiting on a pilgrimage from Nepal to Tibet with Alpine Eco Trek when the floods hit. Her husband Sunil told Sky News: “I keep trying to call her. I’ve been trying, trying, trying.”
Mala and Bipin Patel
The couple from Coventry were also on a pilgrimage from Nepal to Tibet. Their son Anant told Sky News: “I think from our perspective, we’re not just shocked that our parents appear to be missing, but also… the ongoing lack of certainty is causing further distress.”
Das, from Streatham in south London, is a Hindu priest at South London Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre in Coulsdon. He is a graduate of the University of Kent. He was leading a tour group of 11 British citizens at the time of the deluge.
Atmakur, a psychiatrist, was leading a group of 77 pilgrims in Tibet when the disaster happened, according to . He was born in southern India before moving to the UK to work for the NHS, the paper reported. His wife Manjula Atmakur, has travelled to Nepal to help in the search for him. “I came here with the only agenda that I want to take Pravin back home alive,” she said.
Tourists of other nationalities
A total of 596 foreign nationals remain missing, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
As well as the 33 Britons, they include 167 from India, 100 from China, 53 from Ukraine, 51 from Malaysia, 35 from Australia and 25 from Canada.
Others come from Belarus, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Sweden, the ministry said.
Around 90 US citizens were unaccounted for as of Thursday, the Associated Press reported, citing US officials.