Simon Denyer

The State Department heightened its travel advisory for China on Thursday, urging citizens not to travel there due to the rapid spread of coronavirus. The announcement came hours after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a “public…

BEIJING — A top U.S. health official said Tuesday that he offered to send a team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to China to help with the coronavirus outbreak. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar did not describe…

BEIJING — As officials grow increasingly fearful about their ability to contain the fast-spreading outbreak of a novel coronavirus, this metropolis recorded its first death on Monday, hundreds of foreign nationals prepared to flee the country, and…

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Saturday the "accelerating spread" of coronavirus infections had created a "grave" situation in his populous nation, which extended travel restrictions to 48 million people in hardest-hit Hubei province,…

Even as it struggled to dig its people out of piles of rubble, Nepal’s government rejected Taiwan’s offer to send in a search and rescue team. The United States, meanwhile, sent condolences to victims of Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal and to the much…

NEW DELHI — Buddhists from around the world chose India on Wednesday as the headquarters of a new international Buddhist organization and united in their criticism of the Chinese government for trying to prevent the Dalai Lama from speaking at their…

NEW DELHI — It was billed as a new assertiveness, when India’s usually meek Prime Minister Manmohan Singh supposedly looked his Chinese counterpart in the eye at a summit in Bali last weekend and defended his country’s “commercial” right to explore…

Some fidget, a few eyes wander here and there, but for a minute or two, hundreds of primary schoolchildren are quiet, learning to meditate together at morning assembly — palms upturned and thumbs together in the style of Buddha. This is Gross…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - With mediaeval tradition and Buddhist spirituality, a 28-year-old with an Oxford education assumed the Raven Crown of Bhutan on Thursday, to guide the world’s newest democracy as it emerges into the modern world. As the chief…

THIMPHU (Reuters) - In the Chamber of the Golden Throne, a 28-year-old with an Oxford education will assume the Raven Crown of Bhutan Thursday, to guide the world’s newest democracy as it emerges into the modern world. In a sense Jigme Khesar Namgyel…

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A small private plane crashed in the remote mountains of northeast Nepal Wednesday, killing at least 18 people, mostly foreigners, airline and airport officials said. Twelve Germans and two Australians were among the dead. The…

PURNEA, India (Reuters) - For several days, Urmi Mahato and her family were glued to the radio and TV, eager for information on rising floodwaters and waiting for the government to tell them whether and when to evacuate their home. The warning never…

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Resigned to his fate, Nepal’s deposed King Gyanendra left his pink pagoda-roofed palace for the last time on Wednesday, but vowed to stay in the country and work for its people. He swept out of the sprawling Narayanhiti complex…

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Not long ago he was revered by some as a Hindu god, waited upon by thousands of royal palace retainers. His face adorned banknotes and the national anthem sang his praises. Now Nepal’s former King Gyanendra is vilified, has lost…

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - For centuries they enjoyed absolute power in their mountain fastnesses, revered by their subjects as incarnations of gods or Buddha, but one by one the monarchies of the Himalayas are falling. Pressure has come from China to the…

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Not long ago he was revered as a Hindu god, waited upon by thousands of royal palace retainers. His face crowned banknotes and the national anthem hailed him. Now Nepal’s King Gyanendra is vilified, has lost his crown and will…

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - The writing of Nepal’s new constitution is being clouded by a political squabble for power, underlining the enormous difficulties in store when it comes to framing the all-important document. The April 10 election to form a…

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - As Nepal wakes on Friday relieved to have got through its first election in nine years in an amazingly peaceful atmosphere, a whole new set of challenges lie ahead. The first is to negotiate the post-poll period. It is crucial…

OKHARPAUWA, Nepal (Reuters) - Confounding pessimistic predictions of widespread violence, Nepalis turned out enthusiastically on Thursday to vote in a historic and largely trouble-free election they pray will bring lasting peace. Many queued from…