Sherpa guide cremated in Nepal: ❑❑❑ Pak says Indian fire killed 2:

Hundreds of government officials, mountaineers, fellow Sherpa guides and supporters gathered in Nepal on Wednesday to mourn the veteran guide who was the first person to climb Mount Everest 10 times.

The body of Ang Rita was cremated Wednesday according to Buddhist rituals two days after he died. He was 72 and had been ill with liver and brain diseases for months.

The body wrapped in Buddhist flags, flowers and cream scarf was taken on a decorated truck from the Sherpa Monastery in the outskirts of Kathmandu to cremation grounds in the heart of the city.

Hundreds lined up at the monastery to pay their last respects, covering the body with the scarf and flowers. Among them was Nepal’s tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai.

“This is an irreplaceable loss to not just Nepal but also for the entire mountaineering community. He has been the reason for Nepalese mountaineers getting recognition around the world,” said Tika Ram Gurung of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, the umbrella body of Nepalese climbers and guides. (AP)

Pakistan’s military said two of its soldiers were killed Wednesday by Indian fire in an “unprovoked cease-fire violation” in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

In a statement, it said Pakistani troops responded by targeting the Indian posts where the fire originated, causing “substantial damage” on the Indian side.

The Indian military accused Pakistan of initiating the clashes, saying Pakistani troops fired bullets and mortar shells along the Line of Control in the southern Poonch district early Wednesday. India did not report any casualties.

India and Pakistan routinely accused each other of unprovoked attacks along the tense Kashmir frontier in violation of a 2003 cease-fire agreement.

Pakistan says India has violated the truce more than 2,000 times this year alone.

The region is split between the two countries, which each claim it in its entirety. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir. (AP)