Israeli soldiers prepare to enter southern Lebanon from a position on the Israeli Lebanese border22July2003. The Israeli military confirmed that ground forces had been holding positions in two villages in southern Lebanon for several days..(MORE PHOTOS->
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Shiela (L), 30, sitting on husband Chris Tucker’s lap, kisses Shalee as her husband looks on at the annual Lifestyles convention in Las Vegas, Nevada July 21, 2006. About 1,500 couples are gathering through Sunday to enjoy an atmosphere of open sexuality.
Asian elephant Sissy, 41, right, cools down witha splash as her pal Winkie, 36, left, comes to join her at their nine-foot-deep pond on Tuesday, June 24, 2003, at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., about 60 miles south of Nashville. A female handler was killed and another handler was injured by an elephant Friday, July 21, 2006, at the sanctuary. There was one death and one injury from an elephant at the site, said Steve Nifong, assistant chief of enforcement for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. He did not identify which elephants were involved in the attack.
U.S. Marines help American evacuees into a landing craft at a beach in Beirut July 21, 2006. The U.S civilians were transported to the USS Trenton, which will evacuate 2,000 Americans to Cyprus.
A Lebanese family, some holding white flags, ride in the back of a truck past a building destroyed in an Israeli missile strike as they flee their home, between the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre in southern Lebanon, Saturday, July 22, 2006.
Willy, a 1-year-old cat is photographed Thursday, July 20, 2006, with a display of several pairs of garden gloves that he took from unknown yards in his neighborhood in Pelham, N.Y. Willy has brought home nine pairs of gloves and five singles over several weeks laying them on his owners’ front or back porches.
PRETENDER: Towards the rear of the drilling formation, the women guerrillas have .303s but this one doesn’t even have that,Nepal.
Guerrillas welcoming journalists at Kami Danda of Kavre.
Giving journos a helping hand.
PRETENDER: Towards the rear of the drilling formation, the women guerrillas have .303s but this one doesn’t even have that.
MESS IN THE MESS: A Maoist cadre serving meal in the mess.
REPORTING ALIVE: Kantipur Television reporter speaks into his camera while a Maoist cadre also shoots.
LIGHT-CAMERA ACTION: A guerrilla with an AK47 rifle puts up a pose.
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR: A Singaporian student is allowed to fondle a Heckler & Koch G36 captured from the Nepal Army.
WHO’S FAST ENOUGH: A woman guerrilla teaches a media man to take aim.
Goodbye to the TUG-OF-WAR!
In this photo provided by the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Sen. Murkowski hugs a 63-pound king salmon she caught July 7, 2006, along the Kenai River in Alaska, during the annual Kenai River Classic. The event, primarily attended by senators, corporate executives and lobbyists, raised about $800,000 for river conservation. BP Vice President Peggy Hudson caught the largest fish, a 67-pound king.
Lightning strikes above the Luxor Hotel and Casino during a thunderstorm in Las Vegas, Nevada July 17, 2006. The Mandalay Bay Resort is at left.
Pinky and Perky two four week old miniature piglets cool off at Pennywell Farm and Wildlife centre near Buckfastleigh, south western England Wednesday July 19, 2006 in this photo provided by the centre. The piglets were keeping cool with a huge lolly packed with carrots and other vegetables. ‘The recent heatwave has been exhausting for everyone and animals are no exception,’ said Catherine Tozer, assistant manager of the farm. ‘All the animals have been struggling with the heat so we have just tried to do everything we can to make them more comfortable. ‘After the initial shock and a bit of investigation, the ice lollies went down a real treat,’ she said.
A night market
Minus the advertisement blitzkriegs of a myriad of Indian tea, oil, mobile and other brands, Darjeeling looks like any other mid-hill-town in Nepal. The main reason for that is its Nepaliness: the accented Nepali lingo, music, culture and literature; and the Tibeto-Burmese-Nepali looks of the rainbow of Nepali ethnic diversity. At the pub by the Chau-Rasta, a Nepali live band belts out ‘Musu musu hashi deu na’, ‘Chhekyo Chhekyo Darjeeling danda’ on weekend evenings.
Momo steaming
A girl, sitting beneath Bhanubhakta’s statue, tasting Titaura
A weekend visitor doesn’t get to see that kind of downside. Lounge at the pleasant terrace called Chaurasta; read Subash, the pen name of littérateur-cum-politician Subash Ghising, or Indra Bahadur Rai; or just listen to Shanti Thatal, Ambar Gurung or Aruna Lama or Daisi Baraili. All of them hail from the surrounding hills. Here, as overweight Kolkata tourists ride mules and go for a ‘chakkar’, the statue of Nepali-language and ‘Nepali Jatiya’ poet Bhanu Bhatka stands tall.
Shawl market in Darjeeling
At 21,00 meters, Darjeeling smiles at the visitors even on a gloomy monsoon day. During British Raj in India, it was the best hill station for British officers. Famous as much for its natural beauty as it is for its tea, Darjeeling is simply dazzling. Rainfall drenches this town during the 100 days of monsoon. Yet there’s acute shortage of water in the hills. “There’re a lot of migrants here these days so a lot pressure on nature,” says Sanjay Pradhan, a restaurateur.
A trolley ride on a railway in Siliguri
“Hanna kata hindeko yo keto, chhito aijo la,” a local bloke sporting hip-off jeans, gelled and spiked hair and funky sunglasses is overheard yelling at his friend at the nearby road-side teashop. Take a walk along the snaking trial leading to the hilltop. Past the pine trees with fluttering Om-Mani-Peme-Hum Lungtas, and the Shiva Lingam, playful monkeys quarrel for a share of food or fruit most of the time.
Mahakaal Baba temple of Darjeeling
At a distance, as the cool breezes soothe your soul, another beautiful sight greets you: a maroon-robed monk comes out of the temple full of Hindu priests and pilgrims. Just about everything here is in near-perfect harmony. On a clear day, you can also see Tenzing Norgay’s second home from this summit. And Kalimpong and Tiger Hill to the east and Antu Danda, Ilam, to the west. Not Kanchanjungha, though. It’s monsoon time!
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