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

Sep 7: Apology

The person who bombed the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand 30 years ago has apologised for the first time. Jean-Luc Kister, the French intelligence agent who led the attack said that it was not the aim to kill anybody. The ship was mined to stop Greenpeace protests against French nuclear tests. The vessel sank in Auckland harbour, killing French photographer Fernando Pereira.

Sep 5: Tutu out of Hospital

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 83, has been discharged from hospital in South Africa where he spent over two weeks receiving treatment for a recurring infection. The Nobel peace laureate, who retired from public life in 2011 but continues to travel, has been in hospital on several occasions in recent months. He was the first black archbishop of Cape Town and played a vocal role opposing white-minority rule in South Africa

Sep 4: Photo: Anguish

A picture of the body of a three year old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach has sparked a massive online and on-air debate about the humanitarian crisis of the people fleeing arab states and Islamic State rule to try and reach western European countries and seek asylum there. There is strong feeling that this image epitomises the crisis and has changed peoples’ perception of what is happening.

Sep 3: Polio Strikes Ukraine

Polio has paralysed two children in the Ukraine in the first polio outbreak in Europe for five years. Only half of all children in the Ukraine are fully immunised and it is likely large numbers of other children have also been infected without developing symptoms. The WHO has said that the risk of the virus spreading is "high" and that the outbreak needs to be rapidly controlled.

Sep 1: Temple Destroyed

The Temple of Bel in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra has been destroyed. The Temple is dedicated to the Palmyrene gods and was one of the best-preserved parts of Palmyra. The United Nations has used satellite imaging to confirm that almost nothing of the temple remains. Palmyra is held by militants from Islamic State who have in the past targeted historical sites, regarding their temples and sculptures as heretical.

Aug 31: Nepal: Gay Rights

Hundreds of people danced in the streets of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to press for their demands for gay rights to be enshrined in the constitution. The protesters are demanding same-sex marriage, and gay couples' rights to adopt and to buy joint property or inherit from one another. Nepal decriminalised homosexuality in 2007. It remains illegal in many South Asian countries.

Aug 29: Kashmir Conflicts

India is celebrating the 50th anniversary of what it claims as victory in the 1965 war with Pakistan. Pakistan sent 30,000 troops into Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in 1965, sparking the conflict and Indian soldiers invaded Pakistan in retaliation. Over the years, both sides have claimed victory: Kashmir is claimed by both countries in a continued conflict with soldiers and civilians killed on both sides of the border.

Aug 26: A New Plastic Beak

Tieta, a Brazilian toucan, has been fitted with a plastic beak made with a 3D printer. She lost the upper part of her beak while being trafficked, and was later rescued from a wildlife animal fair in Rio de Janeiro. The prosthetic is made of plastic, covered with nail polish and sealed with a special polymer made from the castor oil plant.

Aug 25: Stockmarket Crash

Fears of a Chinese economic slowdown have caused stock markets to fall across the world. London's FTSE 100 index closed down 4.6% (a loss of £73.75bn); major markets in France and Germany were down by 5.5% and 4.96% respectively. Wall Street's Dow Jones fell 6%, but recovered somewhat to close at 3.6% down. In Asia, Shanghai Composite in China closed down 8.5%, its worst close since 2007 and India's main index was down 6%.

Aug 24: American Heroes

A Moroccan gunman attempting to hold up a train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris was tackled and subdued by three Americans, assisted by a Briton. The Americans have been thanked by French President Hollande. US airman Spencer Stone said survival instinct led him to react and his friend, Alek Skarlatos of the US National Guard, said the gunman appeared to have no training. The gunman has been linked to radical Islamism.

Aug 21: Greek PM Resigns

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister, is resigning and has called an early election. He said he had a moral duty to go to the polls now a third bailout had been secured with European creditors. Tsipras had to agree to painful state sector cuts in exchange for the bailout - and keeping Greece in the eurozone. He will lead his leftist Syriza party into the polls.

Aug 20: No Parole for Pistorias

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic athlete currently serving a five-year sentence for the manslaughter of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has had his early release blocked. The parole board made a decision to release him after serving 10 months of his sentence but South Africa's justice minister said the decision was premature and without legal basis. It could now take months for the board to review its decision.

Aug 18: Protests Continue

The mass arrest and interrogation of over 200 human rights lawyers and activists in China last month is still sparking global outcry and protests. Chinese lawyers, expatriates, students and locals protested in front of the Washington Chinese consulate during the US-China Human Rights Dialogue. They were responding to reports of “torture” and “incommunicado detention” of over 20 people who are still held in custody in China

Aug 17: Bangkok Bomb Blast

A bomb blast in the Erawan Hindu shrine in central Bangkok has killed 22 people and wounded around 120. The bomb exploded at around 12:00 GMT when the area was at its most crowded. Reports have confirmed that most of the victims are Thai people, with eight tourists from around the world. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is temporarily difficult to say what the motive was, and who the perpetrator is.

Aug 17: Brazil: Protestors

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is accused of failing to stamp out corruption and blamed for the economy's worst slump in 25 years, and protestors across Brazil in their thousands are marching to call for her impeachment. They took over Copacabana beach in Rio and also demonstrated outside congress in the capital Brasilia, while thousands of others demonstrated in San Paulo.