Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at flooding rescue efforts across Nepal and Tibet, Taiwan’s drone production ambitions, and potential Russian strikes on British targets.

Emergency rescue teams scoured the Nepal-Tibet border on Thursday in search of survivors of a devastating flash flood that hit the region the day before. In Nepal, at least 360 people have been killed, and more than 1,400 others remain missing, including around 700 foreigners, according to Nepali police. Local authorities expect the death toll to rise. On the Tibetan side, Chinese state media said at least three people have been killed and 558 others are missing, though it’s not clear if these numbers overlap with the Nepali figures.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at flooding rescue efforts across Nepal and Tibet, Taiwan’s drone production ambitions, and potential Russian strikes on British targets.

Emergency rescue teams scoured the Nepal-Tibet border on Thursday in search of survivors of a devastating flash flood that hit the region the day before. In Nepal, at least 360 people have been killed, and more than 1,400 others remain missing, including around 700 foreigners, according to Nepali police. Local authorities expect the death toll to rise. On the Tibetan side, Chinese state media said at least three people have been killed and 558 others are missing, though it’s not clear if these numbers overlap with the Nepali figures.

Initial investigations indicate that an ice avalanche caused the torrential flood. Early Wednesday morning local time, a large chunk of ice broke off a glacier and fell into Nepal’s Bhotekoshi River, triggering heavy flooding. The landslide was so strong that seismologists first recorded it as an earthquake.

Scientists are unsure why the glacial collapse occurred, but many suspect that global warming could be to blame. Nepal’s mountain ranges lost nearly one-third of their ice in just the past three decades due to climate change, the United Nations reported in 2023. The tiny South Asian country sits wedged between two of the world’s largest carbon emitters: China and India.

Now, it’s a race against time to rescue as many........

© Foreign Policy