Cost of scaling world’s tallest peak rises for first time in nearly a decade to $15,000

Nepal will increase the permit fees for climbing Mount Everest by more than 35%, making the world’s tallest peak more expensive for mountaineers for the first time in nearly a decade, officials have said.

Income from permit fees and other spending by foreign climbers is a key source of revenue and employment for the cash-strapped nation, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains.

Muslim refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar are being detained and forced back by Bangladeshi border guards

In the dim light of his home in Arakan, Myanmar, Mohammed is talking above the wailing of his youngest child. All three of his children are hungry, he says. The 32-year-old Rohingya man’s parents, leaning together against the wall, are just visible as Mohammed speaks on the video call.

He fears for his safety too much to allow his surname to be used – Rakhine state is a dangerous place to be after four years of Myanmar’s civil war.

Ryan Corbett and William McKenty swapped for Khan Mohammed, who was held in California for drug trafficking

A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban has freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug-trafficking and terrorism charges.

The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the US and Afghanistan, but that probably remains a tall order as most countries in the world still do not recognize their rule and another two Americans are believed held.

In its heyday, Chettinad in southern India was a thriving hub of international traders. Today, the grandeur of their homes is being restored by a community keen to celebrate the houses’ cultural importance and promote them to tourists

The single-stone granite pillars and Burmese teak beams of Chettinad’s heritage hotels are adorned with strands of marigolds, while the verandas and corridors are hung with small, handmade palm-leaf parrots that sway gracefully among fragrant blooms. Six-metre-long banners made of Chettinad cotton sarees proclaim “The Chettinad Heritage and Cultural festival”.

At first glance, it is hard to believe that these grand mansions turned heritage hotels were ever neglected. Built by the illustrious Chettiar merchant community from the middle of the 19th century to the 1950s, they spread across the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, eventually dwindling to the 73 villages and two towns that remain today across 1,550 sq km (600 sq miles).

Visalam hotel decorated for the Chettinad Heritage and Cultural festival