Contact is taking a holiday!

Contact is taking a break after 25 years of bringing you news of Tibet and Tibetan issues. We are celebrating our 25 years by bringing you the story of Contact and the people who have made it happen, and our archive is still there for you to access at any time, and below you can read the story of Contact, how it came into being and the wonderful reflections of the people who have made it happen over the years.

When and how Contact will re-emerge and evolve will be determined by those who become involved.

International Headlines

Oct 14: Russian Missile

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which crashed in July last year in Ukraine at the height of the conflict between government troops there and pro-Russian separatists, is now known to have been targeted by a Russian-made Buk missile. The Dutch Safety Board has completed its investigation but their report does not say who fired the missile. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Oct 13: PM for Nepal

Khadga Prasad Oli has been elected Prime Minister by the Nepali Parliament. He is faced with continuing protests over Nepal’s new constitution, the rebuilding of the country after April's devastating earthquake and a fuel shortage. Mr Oli, the first prime minister to be elected under the new constitution, was backed by a coalition of royalists, Maoists and centrists receiving 338 votes of the 597-member chamber.

Oct 11: Twin Blast in Turkey

Two bomb explosions at a peace rally near the main train station in Turkey’s capital Ankara killed at least 95 people and injured more than 246. The explosions happened at rally calling for an end to the conflict between the Kurdistan Workers Party and Turkish government. 14,000 people were said to be in the area. The Turkish Prime Minister said two suicide bombers are believed to have caused the blast.

Oct 10: Russian Buddhist Temple

The Datsan Kunzechoinei Temple in St Petersburg is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The historic Buddhist temple was built by Tsenshab Agwan Dorjiev, a debate partner of His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama, who was instrumental in establishing cordial relations between Russia and Tibet. The temple united followers of Tibetan Buddhism across Russia. It was ransacked during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1919 and lost many of its relics and ritual objects.

Oct 9: Ebola Again?

Southern Nigeria has reported that ten people have been quarantined after coming into contact with an Ebola victim. This comes a year after the country was declared free of the virus. Earlier this week Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the three countries which were worst affected by Ebola, recorded their first week with no new cases since the start of the outbreak in March last year.

Oct 8: Explosives Seized

The police in the Czech Republic have seized more than 100kg (220lb) of various explosives in one of the biggest seizures of illegal explosives and other dangerous substances in the country's history. Four men were arrested in three raids which took place simultaneously in the regions of Pardubice, Hradec Kralove and Central Bohemia. The operation was prompted by rumours that large amounts of explosives were being sold illegally.

Oct 7: End-of-Life Care

End-of-life care in the United Kingdom is the best in the world, thanks to the National Health Service and hospice movement, according to a report by the Economic Intelligence Unit. Australia and New Zealand ranked second and third respectively. 34 out of 80 countries provided good end-of-life care, and some of the poorest countries were praised, particularly Mongolia and Uganda. China was in the bottom ten

Oct 6: Trans Pacific Trade

The world's biggest ever trade deal has been signed after five years of negotiations. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will cover about 40% of the world economy, cutting trade tariffs and setting common standards in trade for 12 Pacific rim countries including the United States and Japan. China is not involved; the US hopes China will be forced to accept most of the standards laid down by TTP.

Oct 5: Iraq Opens Green Zone

Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone is open to the public for the first time in 12 years as part Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s series of measures to ease sectarian tensions and crack down on corruption. The ten sq km (four sq miles) area, which is home to government buildings and foreign embassies, was closed after the United States-led invasion in 2003. Some restrictions will remain.

Oct 1: Russian Air Strikes

Russia has commenced air strikes in Syria, their declared target was Islamic State forces there. Russian defence officials say they have carried out about 20 missions against IS. However the United States and Nato say that these first Russian air strikes have not targeted IS but have hit non-IS opponents of Russia’s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Nato says there had been little co-ordination with US-led anti-IS forces

Sep 28: Independence?

Pro-independence for Catalonia parties have won an absolute majority in Spain’s regional elections, winning 72 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament. They say this gives them a clear mandate to form an independent Catalan state while Spain's central government in Madrid has pledged to challenge independence in court.

Sep 26: Bankok Bomb Arrest

Thai police have arrested the man responsible for the bombing at Bangkok's Erawan shrine last month. Adem Karadag was the figure in a yellow shirt seen on CCTV leaving a bag at the shrine. The motive for the bombing, which killed 20 people including 14 foreigners, remains unclear. Police have released warrants for a total of 17 people over charges stemming from the attack.

Sep 25: Pilgrims Tragedy

Over 700 people were killed and more than 850 injured during a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Two million pilgrims were taking part; this is the deadliest incident to occur during the pilgrimage in 25 years. Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered a safety review and said there was a need "to improve the level of organisation and management".

Sep 24: VW Caught Cheating

Volkswagen, the German car production company, has been found cheating on diesel emissions tests. The company’s stock market value has crashed and chief executive Martin Winterkorn has resigned. VW is setting aside €6.5bn (£4.7bn) to cover the costs of the scandal. The world's biggest carmaker, VW admitted installing a device to give more positive results and says this affects 11 million vehicles worldwide.

Sep 23: Mexico Protests

Mexican teaching students clashed with riot police in a violent protest near Chilpancingo over the disappearance of 43 students last year. It is suspected their disappearance was due to government corruption. The students, who seized 12 buses, intending to travel to an official protest in Guerrero, were stopped at a road block by over 200 police. Petrol bombs were hurled by students, injuring 11 officers.