New Delhi, Sep 7: India maintained a stable contribution to Germany’s inbound tourism with Indian visitor nights up 0.1 per cent year‑on‑year and the country’s ten leading city destinations accounting for about 61 per cent of all Indian overnight stays, a statement said on Monday.

Germany recorded 36.4 million international overnight stays in the first half of 2026, “while India maintains stable growth and strong long-term potential,” a statement from the German National Tourist Office said.

Germany’s international overnight stays saw year-on-year growth of 0.5 per cent, and June overnight stays rose 1.6 per cent compared with June 2025.

“India remains an important and highly promising source market for Destination Germany. The stable performance during the first five months of 2026 demonstrates the resilience of Indian travel demand despite geopolitical uncertainty and changing economic conditions,” said Romit Theophilus, Director – Marketing & Sales Office, India, GNTO.

Indian travellers are increasingly seeking safe, well-connected destinations that offer authentic cultural experiences, premium hospitality and excellent value, Theophilus said.

Germany is strongly positioned to meet these expectations, with its diverse cities, heritage, natural landscapes and efficient public transport network, he added.

“The Indian audience for Germany is also young and experience-driven, with an average traveller age of 38 years. Around 95 per cent of Indian travellers to Germany are below the age of 55, highlighting the market’s significant long-term potential,” Theophilus said.

He also expressed optimism about continued demand during the second half of 2026.

Hotel occupancy also increased by 1.2 percentage points to 65.5 per cent during the same period.

Germany offers a compelling combination of vibrant cities, historic attractions, nature, premium experiences and convenient onward connections across Europe for Indian travellers, the German National Tourist Office said.

Kathmandu, Sep 7: A national day of mourning is being observed on Monday in Nepal in honour of those who lost their lives in the devastating flood that struck the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa district on August 26.

A Cabinet meeting held on September 3 decided to observe a national day of mourning on Monday in honour of those who lost their lives in the deadly floods, which occurred 13 days ago.

The national flag was flown at half-mast at government offices across Nepal, as well as at Nepali embassies and diplomatic missions abroad.

According to the Nepal Police, as many as 1,353 bodies of people who died in the floods had been recovered by Sunday evening.

According to the latest details, the recovered bodies include 530 men and 328 women, while 495 bodies were recovered in parts and remain unidentified.

Police said 3,992 people remain out of contact, including 595 foreign nationals.

Police said 1,044 of the recovered bodies have been safely buried, while the identification and management of the remaining bodies are underway.

Meanwhile, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah has urged elderly people affected by the floods not to feel that they are alone, assuring them that the state and government stand firmly with them.

Issuing a message on social media on Monday, Prime Minister Shah said, “You are not alone. The state is with you, and the government is with you.”

In an emotional statement, Prime Minister Shah noted that during the floods, some elderly parents had to flee to higher ground while clutching their grandchildren with trembling hands, without even caring about their own lives.

They were forced to endure such difficult circumstances in the later years of their lives, he said.

“Even legs that could barely move two steps without the support of a walking stick found extraordinary strength at that moment to save their children,” he added.

Security agencies have continued search and rescue operations for people who remain out of contact, particularly at hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors.

According to the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), a representative body of private-sector power developers in Nepal, as many as 919 people employed at 11 hydropower projects remained out of contact as of Sunday evening.

There have been a few successful rescues of people alive from some hydropower projects, including two Nepali nationals from the 60-MW Upper Trishuli 3A project on September 4 and a Chinese national from the 216-MW Upper Trishuli-1 project on September 5.

Aden (Yemen), Sep 7: At least 117 people have been killed in four days of fierce clashes between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group in the western provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah, medical officials said.

A senior medical official accompanying government forces on the western coast frontlines told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity that 54 government soldiers had been killed and many others wounded since fighting erupted on Thursday.

Two medical sources at Houthi-run hospitals in western Hodeidah province said 63 Houthi members had been killed during the same period, bringing the combined death toll from both sides to 117.

Yemeni government warplanes struck Houthi-held areas in the western provinces of Hodeidah and Taiz on Friday, backing ground troops battling a major Houthi offensive near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The airstrikes came as fierce fighting raged across multiple fronts in the two provinces, where Houthi fighters had made rapid advances over the past 24 hours, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said the warplanes targeted Houthi positions and movements in areas of active ground combat. Further details on the strikes or casualties were not immediately available.

A government military official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that government forces also retook several key positions in western Taiz in a swift overnight counterattack, hours after Houthi members had seized them.

The latest escalation marks some of the heaviest ground fighting in western Yemen in recent years, raising concerns of a broader return to large-scale hostilities after years of relative calm across many of the country’s frontlines.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.