SRINAGAR, April 28 (2010): Who is buried at a small shrine in Kashmir? Jesus or medieval Muslim scholars? Renewed debate over whose remains are actually in the Rozabal shrine, which attracts hundreds of tourists to the capital of lndia's only Muslim-dominated region, has led caretakers to close it to visitors after allowing access for several years. A decades-old theory that Jesus survived the crucifixion and spent his remaining years in Kashmir had drawn many people to Rozabal, a single-storey shrine with a...

Sheikh Mushtaq SRINAGAR, April 9 (2010) - Mountaineers, rejoice: India will, for the first time, allow foreign climbers to scale more than 100 high-altitude peaks this summer in the Himalayan state of Kashmir. Officials said the move was an effort to boost the scenic region's ailing tourism industry, hit by two decades of separatist rebellion. Officials say 60 percent of Kashmiris are dependent on tourism. Kashmir was once dubbed the...

SRINAGAR, April 2 (2010): Suspected separatist guerrillas blew up part of a railway track in Indian Kashmir on Friday, the first such attack since a train service opened last year. The blast followed days of gunbattles between Indian troops and separatist militants in the region that killed at least 14 people. "There were no casualties, as no trains were running when the militants set off a powerful bomb on the railway track," Aijaz Ahmad, a police official...

Sheikh Mushtaq SRINAGAR, April 1 (2010): India will throw open more than 100 high-altitude mountain peaks to foreign climbers for the first time this summer in the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir, officials said on Thursday. The move is an effort to boost the region's ailing tourism industry, hit by two decades of separatist rebellion. Officials say 60 percent of Kashmiris are dependent on tourism. Kashmir is described as the Switzerland of the...

SRINAGAR, April 1 (2010): Four Indian soldiers and 10 separatist guerrillas were killed in clashes in Kashmir, the highest number of people killed in firefights in 24 hours in recent months, the army said on Thursday. The new fighting comes amid Indian fears of an escalation in rebel violence in the disputed Himalayan region after a period of relative calm. The Indian army says Pakistan-based militant groups have stepped up efforts to infiltrate the region after snow started melting on the high mountain passes. On...