NEWS: Icy winter kills hundreds of Himalayan Pashmina goats

This news was forwarded fr a friend who call's e place, my beloved Ladakh ;)
Even i dont catch up so much on spore news, or kl news.. e biggest thing on e news today seems to be e manhunt for e JI mastermind in spore..

SRINAGAR, India, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Hundreds of goats that provide wool for Kashmir's famous Pashmina shawls have died and thousands more face starvation because of heavy snow in India's Ladakh region where they live, officials said.
About 150,000 goats graze on pastures near the border with China where temperatures plunge to as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 29 degrees Fahrenheit). Pashmina goats, which grow a thick warm fleece, survive on grass but fodder becomes scarce in the harsh winter.
A Ladakh government official saw "heaps" of carcasses after visiting some of the frozen winter pastures.
"The death toll could increase as the pregnant goats have been having miscarriages," Tsering Dorjay told Reuters late on Wednesday, adding the goats faced death from starvation.
"The young ones have been dying because of the cold."
After a ban on shahtoosh, the world's finest wool derived from the hair of an endangered Tibetan antelope, shawls made from Pashmina wool are considered some of the world's finest and they are exported worldwide.
Ladakh authorities said they are trying to get emergency supplies to Pashmina grazing grounds as winter stocks of fodder had run out.
"The fodder has reached to some areas but 30,000 to 40,000 goats still face starvation in snow-bound areas," said Dorjay. (Reporting by Sheikh Mushtaq; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee)

CNY 2008

THE 2 weeks went by so quickly.. With e cny festivities & visits.

Cny-eve was a session of sumptious dinner with family, with kids around. Definitely very happening. TCCL also had celebrations, & i went by later in e nite.. on time to catch e lion & dragon dances & wealth puja :)

As like e last few years, my family & uncle's family made a daytrip to malaysia, another round of food, angpows & also a catch-up session with aunts, uncles, cousins.

CNY is also a time of "open hse" at friends homes. I went to 2, again lots of food & also some games (we had blackjack & e sherriff game at Athene's... interesting card game). Doris came to visit green meadows, ah.. & spent an hour telling my parents e best places to eat in hongkong.

This will also be e last cny at green meadows, so its extra special. On e 14th day (last day cny), we had an alfresco feast in e garden under e amazingly bright moon. Kait found her little snail friend, .. somehow e little slug comes out when Kait's around. Bentley perching on e chair, n sometimes going back to his "bungalow"(big cage to protect him fr cats). Next Cny, it will be a different place, but well... what makes it most meaningful is not just e place but family & friends.. hmm perhaps an amk hill party next cny!

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Lat's Upih Pinang

Who's ever sat on an upih pinang, raise ur hand !? :)

Happy Valentine's 2008

Hey just last year, i was making a spoof of e sms val's ads.. n its now V-08! *st valentine's special moment again.. here's wishing all my wonderful friends a super duper good st valentine's day!

^^ Rabbits rule! hehehe