Feb 6th, 2008 · Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that new attacks in the United States and Europe could be launched from al-Qaida sanctuaries in the mountainous region of Pakistan on the Afghanistan border. A key figure there is Baitullah Mehsud, who emerged from obscurity to become a major Taliban commander and an al-Qaida ally.
Feb 4th, 2008 · Spicy Sichuan-style hot pot is a signature dish in Chongqing, a mountainous city on the Yangtze in southwest China, and small, family-run restaurants draw the real connoisseurs. China correspondent Anthony Kuhn visits one of the best.
Jan 24th, 2008 · The mountain enclave of Davos, Switzerland seems hardly big enough for the 1,000 corporate CEOs and 27 heads of state gathering for the World Economic forum. Slate's Daniel Gross squeezes in.
Jan 11th, 2008 · The Italian city of Naples is suffocating under mountains of garbage. All the local dumps are full, and many Neapolitans, including author Roberto Saviano, believe it is the Camorra, a mafia organization, that is behind the crisis.
Jan 11th, 2008 · Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to stand atop Mount Everest, died in Auckland, New Zealand. He was 88. Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, were the first to conquer the world's highest mountain in 1953.
Jan 11th, 2008 · A recent blizzard in the Sierra Mountains brings hope to drought-stricken California. The blizzard bolsters the mountain snowpack, which serves as vast reservoir during the dry months by gradually letting its water drain into the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers.
Jan 10th, 2008 · The first man to summit Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, has died. He was 88. In 1953, Hillary and his team reached the mountain's south peak. He and sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the only two to make the summit. Hillary's friend and fellow climber David Breashears says Hillary dedicated much of his life to supporting the Sherpas.
Jan 10th, 2008 · Iowa Hill, Calif., will finally get land-line phone service. The mountain town of about 150 residents is located between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, but the road there is dangerous and steep. With such a remote location, and so few customers, phone companies were uninterested in hooking up the town. Residents use cell phones, but service is terrifically spotty. Some residents, like Cathy Morgan, have to drive 1 to 2 miles away from home to make a phone call. Those days should end this spring, when Iowa Hill will get a non-traditional microwave land-line service, thanks to a state grant.