Many schools across the country have made it mandatory for students to learn Mandarin lured by the Chinese government's offer to cover salaries of teachers who teach the language. Principals and staff of atleast 10 renowned private schools said Mandarin was a compulsory subject in their institutions, The Himalayan Times reported. However, Chinese Embassy Spokesperson, Ji Guangli, is yet to comment on the issue.

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. Worn by the wind and cold to near skeletons, the remains have been in a Kathmandu morgue since they were brought back from the slopes two weeks ago with nearly 11-tonnes of trash.

A 36-year-old Indian man has been arrested in Nepal for illegally operating call bypass on international-calls that caused a loss of millions of rupees to Himalayan nation's telecom department, police said. Khursed Ansari, a resident of Sunauli in UP, was arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation of Nepal Police from Kathmandu on charges of operating call bypass, a statement issued by Nepal Police said.