21.   Five Westerners being held hostage by Kashmiri militants in the Himalayan mountains for nearly a month are safe, an Indian official said Wednesday.

22.   Fifteen teams from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia have been permitted by the Nepalese government to climb Himalayan mountain peaks this spring, officials said Monday.

23.   Foreign companies have opened hotels in Nepal for the many tourists the country attracts, especially for trekking and climbing through its Himalayan mountains.

24.   He said the government does not plan to have army soldiers storm the militant hideout in the Himalayan mountains to rescue the hostages.

25.   In early July, a previously unknown Kashmiri rebel group calling itself Al-Faran kidnapped six Western tourists hiking through the Himalayan mountains in Jammu-Kashmir.

26.   Incessant monsoon rains in northern India have dramatically increased the water levels of the Yamuna River, which flows from the Himalayan mountains through New Delhi.

27.   Indian soldiers clear Islamic guerrillas from another Himalayan mountain spur Monday.

28.   Indian troops claimed to have cleared nearly all guerrillas from Batalik, the easternmost of the four battle sectors in the Himalayan mountains of Kashmir.

29.   Kidnappers claiming to hold five Western tourists in Kashmir threatened to kill their hostages Tuesday if soldiers continue to search the Himalayan mountains.

30.   More than two months ago, Al-Faran kidnapped six Westerners in the Himalayan mountains of Jammu-Kashmir.