Latest news with #Paudel
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Business Standard
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Nepal govt announces budget of nearly Rs 2,000 billion for 2025-26
Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel on Thursday unveiled a budget of approximately NPR 1,964 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26. Paudel allocated NPR 730 million in subsidised loans to support startups in the budget, which was presented during the joint session of the Parliament. The loan scheme will be offered at a concessional interest rate of just 3 per cent and is aimed at encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly among the Gen-Z people (those born between 1997 and 2012). For the social security allowance, the government has allocated NPR 109 billion in the budget, which will take effect from mid-July. Similarly, NPR 10 billion has been set aside for health insurance. Additionally, to attract international students, free visas will be offered as part of a scheme outlined in the budget to foreign students wishing to pursue higher studies in Nepal.
The Independent
05-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Highly experienced American mountaineer dies of cardiac arrest climbing 8,485m peak
American mountaineer Alexander Pancoe died, likely from cardiac arrest, while preparing to summit Mt Makalu in Nepal. The renowned mountaineer from Illinois felt unwell late on Sunday night at Camp II after returning from Camp III, Iswari Paudel, managing director at Himalayan Guides, the expedition organiser, told The Independent. Pancoe, 39, had completed an acclimatisation rotation to Camp III, a practice climb meant to help the body adapt to reduced oxygen levels before a summit attempt. Pancoe aimed to raise $27,838 – the height of Mt Makalu in feet – for Lurie Children's pediatric blood cancer programme in his hometown. The climber had survived a brain tumour but was battling leukaemia at the time of his death. On Mt Makalu, the fifth-highest peak in the world at 8,485m above the sea level, climbers pass through high-altitude camps to acclimatise to the conditions. Camp II is generally at 6,600-6,800m and Camp III at 7,300-7,400m. Mr Paudal told The Independent that 'Alex died possibly of cardiac arrest'. 'The cause of the death can be confirmed after postmortem only, but we suspect that it was a cardiac arrest,' he said on the phone from Kathmandu. Mr Paudel said Pancoe had reached Nepal early last month. On Sunday, Pancoe's team of four, his expedition leader, was about to rest for the night when he felt unwell. The teammates tried to revive him for over an hour, but he was unresponsive, Mr Paudel said. Pancoe's family and the US embassy in Kathmandu had been informed of his death, Mr Paudel said, and efforts are ongoing to retrieve his body from the camp. The Independent has reached out to the US embassy in Kathmandu for comment. The Himalayan peak of Mt Makalu is on the border between Nepal and China's Tibet, about 23 km southeast of Mt Everest. Pancoe was a prominent figure in the mountaineering community. He dedicated his adventure pursuits to supporting Lurie Children's Hospital in Illinois where he had been operated upon after being diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2005. He aimed to raise funds for brain tumour research by completing the Explorers Grand Slam, a rare challenge involving climbs of the Seven Summits and cross-country skiing to the North and South Poles. He had founded Peaks of Mind, a project that merged his passion for mountaineering with a commitment to mental health advocacy. 'It was a wild few years filled with adventure, a near-fatal climbing injury that required a Blackhawk helicopter rescue and lots of climbing! In 2019, upon summiting Everest and Denali, I became just the 15th American and one of 75 people in the world to complete the Grand Slam, raising almost $500,000 in the process for Lurie Children's,' Pancoe wrote on the Peaks of Mind website. 'In 2023, while climbing Ama Dablam, a challenging climb in the Himalayan range, I became extremely hypoxic and struggled with the altitude. Several months later I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia and learned that my body had been unable to make the red blood cells necessary to acclimate at altitude.' Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, he explained, was a 'lifelong cancer'. 'After almost two years of receiving treatment to manage it, I am going to be attempting to climb Makalu, the 5th highest mountain in the world and raise $27,838 for Lurie Children's pediatric blood cancer programme.' Pancoe noted that 'climbing at altitude is plenty hard without a chronic ailment' but said he looked forward to 'rising to the challenge'.
Times of Oman
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Nepal govt moves to amend the constitution to face monarchists
Kathmandu: With growing royalist sentiment, the Nepal government has clarified that it will defend the incumbent system and constitution, expressing its intention to advance the amendment process. Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudel, while presenting the plans and policies of the KP Sharma Oli-led government, announced that the constitution amendment will be advanced further in the coming year. Reading out the draft in the joint meeting of the Federal Parliament, President Paudel stated that the Constitution would be reviewed, and the amendment process would be initiated based on consensus to address existing weaknesses. "This government is determined to protect the far-reaching achievements brought about by the sacrifices, struggles, and movements of the Nepali people by strengthening the federal democratic republic against those who exploit the negative thinking that emerges from time to time in society, spread rumors about the constitution and system, and create chaos," the President said, hinting at the resurging royalist movement. "To strengthen the constitution and the federal democratic republican system of governance, to oppose any reactionary-resurgent anarchic activities against it. To review the constitution, strengthen its strengths, and correct the shortcomings seen during its implementation, to proceed with the process of amendment based on consensus," President Paudel added further. Nepali capital Kathmandu on March 28 saw the bloodiest pro-monarch clash, which left two people dead, with arson and vandalism all across the capital. Since the overthrow of a two-century-old monarchy in 2006 with the reinstatement of Loktantra, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party has been waging the demand for the monarchy. Police arrested over a dozen party leaders, cadres, and members following the deadly violence of March. Formed in the 1990s after the lifting of the ban on the formation of political parties by the monarchial system, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has since served as the force always supporting the Kingship. It has also been taking part in periodic elections and presenting its demands. In 2008, right after the overthrow of the monarchy rule in Nepal, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) secured eight seats in the Constituent Assembly out of the 575-seat parliament. In the 2013 election, it was able to secure 13 seats. In 2017, it fell to 1 seat, but it bounced back in the 2022 election with 14 seats. The party has been supporting the Hindu State and Kingship as interdependent in the tiny nation buffered between two giants, India and China. As per the census of 2022, the Himalayan Nation of Nepal has a population of 30.55 million and a Hindu population of 81.19 per cent. The Monarch of the Himalayan Nation, which follows the lineage of the Shah dynasty, was revered as an incarnation of the Hindu God Bishnu. With the abolishment of the monarchy, it was limited to a very small group, which is now reemerging. In 2005, the last monarch of the Himalayan Nation, Gyanendra Shah, staged a royal coup, taking over all the power, dissolving the parliament and cabinet, and ordering political leaders to be kept under house arrest. A year later, following the mass uprising, Gyanendra, unable to face international pressure, had to step down from the post and reinstate the parliament. The successful movement that changed the political landscape of the Himalayan nation, sandwiched between India and China, is called the "People's Movement II." Gyanendra, at the time, had tried to suppress the movement by deploying all levels of security forces, which resulted in the death of 18 people in 19 days and injuring more than 4000, mainly children, as per the record of Human Rights Watch of the year 2006. Then, the insurgent CPN--Maoist came to mainstream politics in Nepal, ending a decade-long insurgency by signing a comprehensive peace accord on November 21, 2006. Two years after abolishing nearly two and a half centuries-old monarchy, the Himalayan nation became a republic and a secular state on May 28, 2008. Within less than two decades of the new governance practice, the Himalayan nation is now divided into pro and anti-monarch factions.
Sharjah 24
23-04-2025
- Business
- Sharjah 24
President of Nepal welcomes Abdullah bin Zayed
Exchange of greetings and mutual well-wishes At the start of the meeting, Sheikh Abdullah conveyed the greetings of President His Highness Sheikh In response, President Paudel extended his greetings to President Sheikh Mohamed, expressing his hopes for the UAE's ongoing success and prosperity. He reaffirmed Nepal's desire to strengthen relations with the UAE across various sectors. Discussions on bilateral cooperation The two sides explored opportunities to enhance cooperation in several key areas, including economic, commercial, investment, and developmental fields. They also addressed other matters of mutual interest concerning UAE-Nepal relations. Strengthening UAE-Nepal ties Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed praised President Paudel's commitment to deepening cooperation with the UAE, highlighting the consistent growth in bilateral partnerships across diverse sectors. Attendees from the UAE delegation The meeting was also attended by Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State; Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs; Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability Affairs; and Abdullah bin Jarwan AlShamsi, UAE Ambassador to Nepal.
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The Independent
20-02-2025
- The Independent
Indian national arrested over hydrogen balloon explosion at Nepal tourism event
A man responsible for filling hydrogen gas balloons at a tourism event in Nepal has been arrested after an explosion left deputy prime minister Bishnu Paudel and mayor Dhanraj Acharya with burn injuries. Nepali authorities have arrested Kamlesh Kumar, an Indian national, in connection with the explosion of hydrogen-filled balloons at the inauguration of Visit Pokhara Year 2025. The blast occurred on 15 February when Mr Paudel and Mr Acharya released the balloons while lighting ceremonial candles with an electric switch. Police confirmed that Mr Kumar, 41, had been in charge of inflating the balloons, which ignited and burst into a fireball. The explosion injured the two officials and others standing nearby. Both Mr Paudel and Mr Acharya were immediately airlifted to Kathmandu for medical treatment. Footage from the event, widely shared on social media, showed the moment the balloons exploded, engulfing the stage in flames. The Kathmandu Post reported that a spark from the automatic switch ignited the hydrogen, leading to the explosion. Deputy superintendent of police, Basanta Sharma, stated that a case has been registered against Mr Kumar at the Kaski district court. Following the incident, country's home minister Ramesh Lekhak established an investigation committee to determine the cause of the explosion and assess any lapses in safety protocols. Mr Paudel, who also serves as Nepal's finance minister, suffered burns to his hands and face. He was discharged on Monday after receiving treatment at Kirtipur Burn Hospital in Kathmandu. Mayor Acharya, who sustained facial burns, remains under medical observation. The event, aimed at promoting Pokhara as a key tourist destination, proceeded despite the explosion. Organisers have assured that safety measures will be reviewed to prevent such incidents in the future. Local media reports indicate that Visit Pokhara Year 2025 is expected to attract around two million tourists.
