Planned Everest road under scrutiny

Government officials in Tibet announced Saturday that a planned road to the base camp of Mount Everest would have to undergo environmental impact analysis in order for construction to begin, AP reported. Authorities have been planning the road for several years as part of an attempt to develop Everest-related tourism, announcing earlier this year that it would be included as a waypoint on the torch relay for the Olympics in Beijing next year. Environmentalists and native Tibetans had raised objections to the road on the grounds that it would promote tourist crowding of the mountain.