01·South Asia·NP·3h agoUnder-covered Nepal's grim DNA puzzle to identify flood dead
Clutching a photograph of his missing son, Rajesh Ram is pinning his hopes on DNA testing — like thousands of others desperately seeking relatives swept away by Nepal’s catastrophic Himalayan floods.
“I searched for him everywhere, but I could not find his body,” 53-year-old Ram told AFP, still waiting for answers about his son Suroj Kumar, a garage mechanic in Betrawati, which was swamped by the floods.
Nepal was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of destruction from the tsunami-like wall of freezing water and debris triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on the Nepal-China border on August 26.
The scale of the identification task is immense.
A forensic analyst conducts DNA testing to help identify missing flash flood victims at the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur on September 19, 2026. —AFP/File
With thousands of DNA profiles to process, fragmented remains and limited technical capacity and manpower, experts warn matching bodies to families could take weeks.
Nepali disaster authorities have recovered 1,454 bodies — but around a third of those are only partial remains.
Just 112 bodies have been identified and returned to their families. A further 5,285 people are missing in Nepal, including hundreds of foreigners.
In China, the toll is 43 dead and 519 missing, according to state media — taking the combined toll to nearly 1,500 dead and 5,800 missing.
At Nepal’s two forensic laboratories, both in Kathmandu, experts are working to profile samples and build a database on a scale they have never handled before.
A forensic analyst conducts DNA testing to help identify missing flash flood victims at the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Lalitpur on September 19, 2026. —AFP/File
“In a year we would analyse 1,000-1,500 samples, often in case of paternity or crime scenes,” said Mukul Pradhan, chief scientific officer at the National Forensic Science Laboratory.
“We are now processing thousands of samples.”
‘Pain’
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1 source · no Western pickup
02·South Asia·PK·1h agoUnder-covered 7 terrorists eliminated in KP's North Waziristan IBO: state media
Seven terrorists were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan in the Eidak area in an intelligence-based operation (IBO), state media reported on Friday, citing security sources.
“Security forces pursued the terrorists of Fitna al Khawarij with determination and combat skills and destroyed their hideouts,” Radio Pakistan said. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
President Asif Ali Zardari lauded security forces for the successful operation, a statement issued by his office said.
“Under the Azm-i-Istehkam initiative, the efforts of the security forces to completely eliminate terrorism and establish lasting peace are commendable,” the president was quoted as saying.
KP has been witnessing terrorist attacks and security challenges for a long time. The province, excluding the merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August compared with 36 in July, representing an increase of 50 per cent, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
On September 30, security forces killed three terrorists in an IBO in KP’s Mir Ali. A day before that, in an IBO in KP’s Bara area, security forces killed five terrorists. On Monday, four terrorists were killed during an IBO in Dera Ismail Khan.
Last week, a dozen people lost their lives while 35 others were injured in a suicide blast that targeted the Aman Mela police checkpost in DI Khan’s Darazinda tehsil.
On Sept 18, a major attack in the old Police Lines in KP’s Kohat claimed 23 lives and injured about 100 others. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation.
On Sept 17, security forces killed 10 terrorists in separate operations in KP between Sept 15 and 17. Earlier in the month, over 20 terrorists were killed during multiple engagements in KP between Sept 3 and 5.
1 source · no Western pickup
03·Sub-Saharan Africa·ET·2h agoUnder-covered Ethiopia: South Ethiopia Police Report Deadly 'Heinous' Attack in Gamo Zone, Several Security Personnel Killed
[Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- The South Ethiopia Regional State Police Commission said several police officers and security personnel were killed in what it described as a "heinous act" in Koshale Kebele, Geresse Zuria Woreda, Gamo Zone, as the wider area continues to grapple with prolonged security tensions and unresolved local grievances.
1 source · no Western pickup