In A Historic Step, Nepal Ratifies New Constitution That Includes LGBT Protections | Human Rights Campaign

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, hailed the passage of a new constitution in Nepal that provides explicit protections for LGBT people from discrimination, violence, and abuse--a historic first for a nation in Asia.  Nepal joins only a handful of countries, including South Africa and Ecuador, that have enshrined equal rights protections for LGBT people in their national constitutions.

Nepal’s Parliament endorsed the new constitution on September 16, making it the first constitution the republic has passed since abolishing its 239-year-old monarchy in 2008. President Ram Baran Yadav is slated to promulgate the constitution at a ceremony in Parliament on September 20.

“This is a momentous step forward for LGBT equality in Nepal. The nation’s leadership has affirmed that its LGBT citizens deserve the constitutional right to live their lives free from discrimination and fear,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global.  “We congratulate LGBT Nepalis and their allies for this historic victory, and hope to see other nations across Asia and the globe take similar steps to ensure full legal equality for their LGBT citizens.”

In A Historic Step, Nepal Ratifies New Constitution That Includes LGBT Protections | Human Rights Campaign

Saudi diplomat accused of using two Nepalese women as sex-slaves - The Hindu

India could be trapped in a major diplomatic scandal after a senior diplomat belonging to the Saudi Embassy was accused, along with his wife, of keeping two Nepalese women as sex slaves in Gurgaon. 

According to the FIR filed by the police in Gurgaon, the two women had been lured to India with a false promise of jobs, and then sold to the diplomat, who is the First Secretary at the embassy. 

According to the statements of the victims, aged 30 and 50, they were held captive by the First Secretary’s family for over three months, and were taken to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for a few days as well. During the entire period, the women said, they were repeatedly raped and forced to perform “unnatural sex” for the diplomat and other Saudi nationals, often at knife-point. 

An official who was aware of the women’s account of their captivity called the details “horrifying.” 

The Saudi embassy, dismissing the charges as “completely false” and “contrary to facts in our possession”, said it would wait for the Indian government to clarify on the matter as per diplomatic norms, IANS reported

Saudi diplomat accused of using two Nepalese women as sex-slaves - The Hindu

Young Nepalese boy slain in human sacrifice ritual - CNN.com

What is troubling, no mention of a punishment for the holy man who gave them this idea,,,

A Nepalese man has confessed to the murder of a young boy after saying a local holy man advised him that a human sacrifice would heal his ailing son, local police said.

The body of 10-year-old Jivan Kohar was found on July 24 on the outskirts of Kudiya village in southwest Nepal. The child had gone missing three days earlier.

Police superintendent Nal Prasad Upadhyaya, who headed the investigation, told CNN on Monday that Kodai Harijan admitted committing the gruesome crime with his relatives after consulting the priest. In some cultures, priests are believed to have magical or spiritual powers to cure the sick.

According to testimony given to police, Harijan and his relatives found the child playing with friends in the village and lured him away by giving him a pack of biscuits and promising him 50 rupees (49 cents). 

The boy was taken to a temple on the outskirts of the village, where they performed a religious ritual. He was then taken to a field nearby, where three people held him down as another slit his throat. When police found him, the boy's head was almost severed from his body. 

Eleven people in total, including the holy man, have been arrested for their involvement, with the perpetrators facing a life sentence. At least five have confessed to their part in the killing.

Young Nepalese boy slain in human sacrifice ritual - CNN.com

Avalanche sweeps down Everest, killing at least 12

I have always had a love of Mt Everest, a place I would like to visit (but not climb). I have read every book I could lay my hands on to try and understand why people want to climb and to understand the culture of the Sherpa. Into Thin Air (mentioned in the article) was one of the last books I read. It is sad that 12 guides lost their lives.

Rescuers were searching through piles of snow and ice on the slopes of Mount Everest on Saturday for four Sherpa guides who were buried by an avalanche that killed 12 other Nepalese guides in the deadliest disaster on the world's highest peak.

Krishna Lamsal, a Nepal Tourism Ministry official at the base camp, said the bodies of the 12 guides were pulled out and brought down Friday. Weather was fine Saturday morning, but conditions could quickly deteriorate and hamper the search efforts, he said.

The avalanche swept down a climbing route when the group of Sherpa guides were making their way up to the higher camps to fix ropes and dig a path for their foreign clients ahead of next month's peak season for scaling the summit.

The avalanche struck an area known as the "popcorn field" for its bulging chunks of ice at about 6:30 a.m. Friday.

Avalanche sweeps down Everest, killing at least 12

Nepal’s ex-goddesses to receive monthly allowance to help them adjust to normal life | The Raw Story

Can we say Toddlers and Tiaras: ",,, worshipped [sic} as goddesses, but lose their special status once they reach puberty."

Nepal’s former Kumaris, girls worshipped [sic] as living goddesses in a centuries-old tradition, are to be awarded a pension to help them re-adjust to normal life, an official said Tuesday.

Ten former Kumaris will receive the monthly allowance of 10,000 Nepalese rupees ($101) from July for the next 10 years, Kathmandu Metropolitan City chief executive officer Laxman Aryal said.

“Although most of the Kumaris come from well-to-do families, they miss a vital period of their lives and often lag behind in our increasingly competitive society,” Aryal told AFP.

The council made the decision this week as part of efforts to help the girls who are worshipped [sic] as goddesses, but lose their special status once they reach puberty.

Nepal’s ex-goddesses to receive monthly allowance to help them adjust to normal life | The Raw Story