Asia News Wrap: Lack of snow hits tourism in India's Kashmir, and more

Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.

No snow, no tourists in Indian Kashmir

Lack of snowfall has led to empty ski resorts and holiday cancellations in the India's Kashmir. Scientists link the "unusual" winter to the El Nino weather phenomenon. This has seriously affected tourism, a key source of income, that typically contributies between seven and eight percent of Kashmir's income. 

The dry spell in Kashmir has pushed skiers to skip the popular resort of Gulmarg, one of the highest in the world, and left hotels in the scenic region waiting for fresh snow to draw tourists to the panoramic views of snow-capped peaks. Scientists say this winter's conditions in northern India have not been seen for about a decade.     

Pakistan-Iran military strikes

Iran carried out a missile and drone attack on western Pakistan on Tuesday, killing two children. Iran's foreign minister said the operation targeted the militant group Jaish al-Adli, which he described as an "Iranian terrorist group" in Pakistan. 

Islamabad conducted retaliatory strikes inside Iran on Thursday, targeting separatist Baloch militants, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said. Consequently, Pakistan's government recalled its ambassador to Iran and blocked Tehran's envoy from returning.

Indonesian volcano erupts, forcing evacuations

Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupted on Sunday, after weeks of spewing ash. On Sunday, ash was ejected 1,300 meters from the peak. The volcano in West Sumatra province erupted at least twice by 0337 GMT on that day, the country's geological agency said, urging the evacuation of people within 4.5 kilometers of the center of the eruption, with the possibility of lava flows in rivers and valleys. 

Last month more than 20 people were killed after Marapi, one of Sumatra's most active volcanoes, erupted and spewed grey clouds of ash as high as 3,000 meters.

Nawaz Sharif's election campaign launched 

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, launched its election campaign on Monday for polls to be held on February 8. Sharif is considered the front-runner to win the upcoming election given that his main rival and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been jailed. 

Sharif's daughter, Maryam Nawaz, started the party's campaign at a rally in the eastern city of Okara in Punjab province. "The more you vote for us the more you will see your household expenses going down," she said, amid inflation that has been hovering around 30 percent in recent months.

Tianzhou-7 launched, docks with China Space Station

China successfully launched the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft atop a Long March-7 Y8 carrier rocket from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province on Wednesday. 

The Tianzhou-7 craft later adopted a three-hour fast rendezvous and docking scheme with the China Space Station. Compared with the 6.5-hour rendezvous and docking scheme, the three-hour scheme provides a more efficient way to transport supplies to the space station, and it can ease the stress on the systems involved in performing the task when compared with the two-hour scheme, said Wang Ran, a researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology.

(Cover: A prolonged dry spell is sweeping across Kashmir valley during the harshest phase of winter, Srinagar, India, January 16, 2024. /CFP)