Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has criticised what he described as an international system that allows military equipment to cross borders quickly while essential goods such as fertiliser and fuel remain difficult to obtain.

Addressing the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on September 24, Shah said a farmer in Nepal could struggle to obtain fertiliser or fuel at the time they are needed, while missiles, rifles and ammunition cross borders and meet deadlines.

“We have built a world with flawless logistics for war and broken logistics for food,” he said. 

Shah said the problem was not unique to Nepal, specifically naming Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as countries in the region facing similar pressures.

“Ask Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that countries across the region had been “hit by the climate we did not warm, and hit again by the wars we did not start.” 

He linked the issue to wider concerns over climate change, global supply chains and inequality, arguing that countries with fewer resources should not bear disproportionate consequences for crises they did not create.

Shah also called for stronger international cooperation on climate resilience and climate finance, saying vulnerable countries need faster access to support when disasters strike. (Newswire)

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At least two people have been rescued alive after being buried in a hydropower tunnel for nine days after deadly flash floods hit Nepal, leaving them trapped in deep mud. The two men were rescued during an ongoing operation at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, a hydropower project in one of the areas worst affected by the catastrophic Himalayan flooding.

Sanjay Shah, a foreman at Upper Trishuli 3A, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, were rescued from a depth of 170 meters inside the tunnel, according to Nepal Army spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet.

Shah, 30, was the first to be rescued and was in a “stable condition.” Maharjan, who was rescued second, was in intensive care, the Nepal prime minister’s office said.

A video posted by the Nepal Army showed a rescue team entering the air pocket in the narrow tunnel, where the two men were stuck. Men in orange vests can be seen strapping a man on a makeshift stretcher before carrying him outside. 

Rescuers called their discovery a “miracle” after the August 26 glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, which has killed at least 1,280 people and left more than 5,500 missing. 

According to experts and those monitoring the rescue operation, the deep underground sections of the massive 4.5-kilometer-long tunnel structure contained a stable air pocket with breathable oxygen and trapped water.

Australian rescue expert Arnold Dix, who has been supporting the operation remotely, explained that as floodwaters surged, workers likely ran upward through the tunnel, essentially being chased by rising water, boulders, sediment, and mud.

While the tunnel entrances were heavily choked by mud, boulders, and water for the past nine days since the glacier collapse and flood, the specific inner chamber where the men sheltered protected them from drowning or direct impact.

Dix told news agency AFP that earlier on Friday, teams at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project believed they had heard a faint response from inside the tunnel.

“They believe they received a faint response from inside saying, ‘hunchha’, yes or OK,” Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, told AFP, adding that he was en route to Nepal to join the rescue effort.

He said rescuers had called into the tunnel: “Don’t worry, we are rescuing you.”

Experts believe the emergency power inside the tunnel likely failed early on, and two rescued men survived without light, relying on whatever water and food supplies they could find inside and rationing their physical energy in the dark, damp underground environment until rescuers detected their voices using listening devices and bored into the blockage.

The rescue of two men has renewed hope for at least 35 additional workers believed to be trapped inside this specific tunnel.

The Search Continues

Searches were, meanwhile, continuing at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, where the two men were rescued, as well as multiple other sites, with at least 12 hydropower projects smashed by the floods. Rescuers have spent the past nine days clearing tons of debris using excavators while simultaneously pushing in pipes to pump clean air inside and prevent the air from turning toxic.

The government had initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive inside multiple tunnels. 

Nepali rescuers, aided by experts from India, China, and South Korea, have continued searching for survivors feared trapped inside hydropower tunnels, but teams have repeatedly hit walls of hard-packed debris. (NDTV)

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The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal by the President of Sri Lanka to donate one million US dollars to the Government of Nepal as humanitarian assistance following the devastating landslide disaster in the Rasuwa District of northern Nepal.

The disaster, which struck on August 26, claimed numerous lives, left many missing, and caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure. 

Nepalese authorities continue search operations for missing persons amid warnings of further flooding and widespread destruction of essential facilities.

Sri Lanka’s decision was framed around the deep cultural, religious, and longstanding ties between the two nations, as well as concern over the severe humanitarian and economic impacts of the tragedy. (Newswire)

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Rescuers struggled on Monday through mud and debris for a sixth day, as the number of missing people soared to nearly 4,500 since tsunami-like glacial floods roared down from the China-Nepal border, creating an “unimaginable” disaster.

The latest confirmed death toll surged above 900, with unidentified bodies buried in mass graves after DNA sampling.

The huge wave of freezing water, rocks and debris that smashed into villages and towns on Wednesday killed at least 939 people in Nepal and in Tibet, in China, with at least 17 bodies also pulled from rivers downstream in India.

Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Sunday called the disaster “unimaginable and heartbreaking”.

In Chitwan district, army personnel climbed out of rubber dinghies and carried dead victims in blue body bags up a river bank, placing them in a row along a dirt road.

Rescue teams are in a race against time in treacherous conditions to free around 100 hydropower workers believed trapped in multiple tunnels — digging, drilling and blasting through debris.

So far, three bodies have been pulled from two tunnels, and the teams have found routes blocked with mud.

An Indian army officer deployed as part of a specialised tunnel rescue team said rescuers were digging through “sludge”. He told AFP he was “still hopeful” there were survivors inside.

Nepal’s Home Affairs Ministry says 20,600 personnel have been mobilised, and that more than 3,100 people have been rescued from the disaster zone.

Army personnel were seen unloading bodies of victims from helicopters in Nepal’s Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts on Monday.

Amid the horror, there has been some hope; a six-year-old pulled out of the mud Friday was reunited with her parents after police found her crying for her mother.

“Her body was trapped in mud, but her head was outside,” Nepali Armed Police spokesman Netra Bahadur Karki told AFP. 

“She is out of danger and recovering at a hospital.”

‘Changing climate’ 

The disaster was sparked by a glacial collapse, the US Geological Survey said. 

Climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, raising the risk of such disasters.

“The people of Nepal are one of the major victims of the changing climate and its impact,” Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said. 

Scientists say the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise.

Aid needs are enormous after entire communities were swept away.

“This is an unfolding disaster,” UN children’s fund official Abiodun Banire told AFP, saying the needs of the tens of thousands impacted were vast.

Roads have been wiped out, power plants destroyed and dozens of bridges smashed.

“There are too many challenges,” said police officer E. Hawadi in badly affected Nuwakot district.

Overflowing mortuaries 

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has begun burying some of the hundreds of bodies recovered — after taking DNA samples so families can later retrieve them.

In Chitwan district, mourning relatives cremated some of the dead, while in riverside villages like Devighat, survivors were struggling to salvage any remaining belongings from their devastated homes.

Kathmandu has appealed for international support, saying Nepal needed “more than a thousand” freezer units to store bodies.

Distraught families watch images of bodies on screens at community centres in a bid to identify their loved ones.

Among Nepal’s list of the missing are 592 foreigners, including tourists who had come for mountain trekking, as well as Hindu pilgrims seeking spiritual peace at Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash.

In China, Tibet is largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, and Chinese authorities are the only source of information.

More than 2,000 personnel are part of rescue operations there, but they have faced intense challenges, and are slowly advancing towards the disaster’s epicentre.

China has said 16 people died in Tibet, with 546 missing. 

Tibetan advocacy groups in exile have questioned China’s account of the disaster.

Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, called for China to disclose “complete and verifiable information about the damage and casualties”.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said Monday that the “release of information has been open, transparent and timely”, and rejected international reports that it is underreporting deaths. (FRANCE 24 / AFP)

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While several countries, including the US and China, have pledged support, India stands out for the speed of its aid delivery to Nepal.

At around 8:35pm on Wednesday, an Air Force C-130J aircraft took off from India carrying 10 tonnes of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance to Nepal, less than 12 hours after the ecologically fragile Himalayan nation was hit by a deadly flash flood. The first consignment reached Kathmandu that night. 

India’s swift action also fits into a broader pattern of the country’s growing humanitarian and disaster-relief efforts. 

The prompt response reinforces India’s position as a “first responder”, as New Delhi moved quickly to physically deliver relief to its Himalayan neighbour even as several other countries and international organisations, including China and the United States, were still mobilising assistance.

India’s swift action also fits into a broader pattern of the country’s growing humanitarian and disaster-relief efforts—from Covid-19 vaccines supplied to countries in Africa and elsewhere to relief and rescue operations in earthquake-hit Turkiye and Syria in 2023, disaster-hit Myanmar in 2024, cyclone-hit Sri Lanka in 2025, and earthquake-hit Venezuela in 2026, among others.

On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah, conveyed his condolences, and said India was ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance. He also said Indian teams were coordinating closely on rescue and relief efforts. 

As the first aircraft was dispatched, foreign minister S Jaishankar said on X that India had sent 10 tonnes of humanitarian assistance, adding that “India stands with Nepal and its people”.

Other global players have also pledged or begun providing assistance to Nepal.

China, which has historically competed with India for influence in Nepal, has coordinated emergency supplies and cash assistance, according to China’s ambassador to Nepal. The formal mechanism for transferring the money and delivering physical supplies was still being worked out, according to local media.

South Korea, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the US, the United Nations, the World Health Organisation, and the World Bank have also offered or mobilised various forms of assistance. The US has committed $500,000 and a disaster-response adviser; the UK has pledged £5 million ($6.79 million) and emergency responders; and the World Bank has indicated it could provide up to 25 billion Nepalese rupees ($163.55 million) in emergency assistance.

But what stands out in India’s response is the speed of its physical relief delivery. On Thursday, New Delhi sent a second consignment, including medicines and food packets, taking the total delivered by air to 47.5 tonnes. By Friday afternoon, India had sent a total of 62 tonnes of relief material.

The August 26 disaster in the Nepal-Tibet border region is believed to have been triggered by a massive glacial collapse that sent a torrent of ice, rock, mud and water down mountain river systems, destroying villages and sweeping away roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Satellite imagery and geological assessments have since shed more light on the sequence of events, though scientists are continuing to study what caused the disaster. 

As of Friday afternoon, 469 people had died in Nepal and three in Tibet, taking the death toll across the border to 472. Nearly 1,000 people were reported missing in Nepal, while 558 remained unaccounted for in Tibet. (Hindustan Times)

A second flight has just taken off, carrying 37.5 tonnes of HADR material, medicines & food packets for Nepal.

India remains in close and continuous touch with the Nepalese authorities. We will continue to strongly support the ongoing relief efforts.

pic.twitter.com/4m46leqfkC

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 27, 2026

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More than 390 bodies have been recovered, and more than 1,500 people are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region after a huge collapse of mud and rock into a Himalayan river triggered catastrophic flooding across local towns and valleys, authorities have said.

Rescue teams waded through mud on Thursday, searching for the missing, as authorities in Nepal said at least 389 people have been killed there.

At least three people have died in the neighbouring Tibet region.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited the mudslide site in Tibet on Thursday afternoon to “guide emergency rescue and relief work” a day after the disaster, state media reported.

Nepal’s Department of Tourism said in figures released on Thursday that 668 tourists from 34 countries had been out of contact since Wednesday morning, most of them on trekking expeditions.

Among them are at least 177 from India, 90 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from the United Kingdom, and 25 from Canada. Beijing’s foreign ministry also said 100 Chinese nationals were among the missing in Nepal.

In Tibet’s Gyirong county, 558 people are reported missing, including 260 foreign nationals, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Search and rescue operations are proving to be a “massive challenge” as simply “getting to the affected areas … to try and recover the survivors” is proving to be extremely difficult, because the roads and bridges there have suffered extensive damage, said Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

A mix of government and private helicopters have “been drafted to fly into the areas to try to bring as many survivors as possible” to hospitals to receive treatment for injuries that doctors say include broken ribcages and skin burns, said Fernandez. 

Rescuers in Nepal have deployed helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands of people cut off in a rugged mountainous area popular with trekkers and pilgrims travelling between Lhasa in Tibet and Kathmandu.

Video footage from Wednesday, verified by news agencies, showed rapid torrents of water and debris sweeping away dozens of people at a border crossing in Gyirong, while downstream in Nepal, homes, roads, and power infrastructure were destroyed.

Nepal’s disaster authority said on Thursday that a lake, which formed at the site where the floods occurred, was rising and at risk of bursting.

Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said helicopters were dropping tents, food, and medicine, provided by neighbouring India, into the hardest-hit districts. More than 5,000 army and police rescue personnel have joined the rescue effort, he said.

On Friday, Nepal News reported that the army had rescued 350 workers and residents trapped in a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli hydropower project, working in poor weather and high river flows.

India evacuated thousands of people from the states bordering Nepal, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as the floods threatened the Gandak River Basin.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah left by road for Bidur in one of the worst-affected districts of Nuwakot to assess the flood situation, his office said on social media.

Early reports from Nepalese officials suggested an earthquake in the area may have caused the lower section of a glacier to collapse, triggering the flash floods.

However, the US Geological Survey noted that the seismic event, initially recorded as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, was actually the seismic energy generated by the sudden collapse of glacial rock and ice, followed by a huge debris flow.

Preliminary satellite imagery analysis by Planet Labs indicated that a landslide of ice and rock triggered a debris-laden surge down the Lhende River, approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing between Nepal and China.

In the affected valleys, thick mud swathed homes, trees, and vehicles, while aerial footage showed collapsed houses, submerged cars, and a metallic bridge washed away by the torrents.

Nepal’s National Planning Commission and National Statistics Office are launching a study into the extent of the damage inflicted on the economy. The flood struck 15 hydropower projects and shut down an estimated 431 megawatts of generating capacity, with heavy damage to the Rasuwagadhi, Chilime and Sanjen plants.

“There is devastation everywhere we look,” said Tula Bahadur BK, a healthcare worker in Rasuwa. “The settlements next to the river have been completely swept away. Five of my own relatives are missing.”

Others caught in the disaster were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, high-altitude sites in Tibet revered by Hindus, Buddhists, and followers of other faiths.

International response

The US Department of State announced it was dispatching a disaster response adviser and providing $500,000 in emergency aid.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the flooding as “devastating”, adding that Canadian officials were monitoring the situation closely.

Tom Fletcher, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, announced that $2m will be allocated from the UN’s Global Emergency Fund CERF for Nepal relief efforts.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had earlier confirmed that UN teams were delivering emergency supplies and support staff to Nepal’s affected communities.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted that gathering clear information from the remote area remained challenging due to limited local infrastructure and resources. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday that Canberra would give $3.6m in aid to communities hit by the flooding along the Nepal-China border and send extra consular staff to the area. (Al Jazeera)

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At least 384 tourists, including 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens, have been reported missing after flash floods in the Bhote Koshi River hit Nepal’s Rasuwa region, according to the Nepal Tourism Board.

Search and rescue operations are underway.

Devastating visuals of the Nepal flash floods have surfaced on social media, showing widespread destruction caused by the sudden rise in water. One of the videos showed a section of a bridge being washed away in seconds as it broke from the middle and got swept away by the strong flow of water as flash floods swept through villages. 

A CCTV footage from the immigration center in Chinese-administered Tibet has also gone viral, which looks like a dramatic movie scene. The clip shows hundreds of people running on the road to save their lives.

Suddenly, a torrent of flash floods can be seen engulfing the entire building and coming down with full force, leading to disruption of the visibility of the camera. The clip is reportedly from the Rasuwagadhi border point on the Nepal-Tibet border.

Another video shows people running for their lives as gushing water can be seen suddenly flowing towards them, sweeping away houses and public infrastructure.

At least eight people have died, while several others, including 105 Indians, remain missing. 

The flash flood struck the Bhote Koshi River at around 9 am local time, with authorities reporting that the surge came from the direction of the Chinese side of the border. NDTV, citing authorities, reported that the flooding caused widespread destruction in Rasuwa district, particularly around Timure and Syafrubesi. 

A video shared by Nepal police shows a house collapsing like a pack of cards. “Due to a large flood entering the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa from the Tibetan side, districts along the Trishuli River basin, including Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Gorkha, and surrounding areas, are urged to remain highly vigilant and stay in safe locations until further notice,” the caption of the post read. 

Nepal police and the Nepal Army are currently carrying out rescue operations for stranded individuals. Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah chaired an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers to review the flooding, damage and rescue efforts. (Free Press Journal)

Devastating scenes from Nepal

Many people have been killed and others remain missing after flash floods and mudslides swept through villages in Rasuwa district, damaging homes, roads and infrastructure.

Search and rescue operations are underway on both sides of the… pic.twitter.com/IDyt3xcan5

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) August 26, 2026

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Chairman of CG Corp Global and Nepal’s only Forbes-listed billionaire, Dr. Binod Chaudhary, recently joined the Sri Lanka Chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation for a candid conversation on building businesses across some of the world’s most demanding markets. 

Moderated by Haresh de Soysa, Director at Trade Promoters Limited and former President of EO Sri Lanka, the conversation ranged from the discipline of Japanese business culture to the mechanics of family succession, drawing on Dr. Chaudhary’s five decades of building a multi-billion dollar empire across 32 countries, starting from a landlocked nation of 30 million people.

His connection with Sri Lanka goes back nearly 25 years. He entered in 2001 during the civil war and has remained through every crisis the country has faced since, at one point announcing an additional USD 50 million investment when others were pulling back. 

His group’s presence here today spans banking through a majority stake in Union Bank, hospitality through multiple properties including the Taj Samudra, a partnership with John Keells on the BYD agency, and a cement feasibility study currently underway – a footprint that reflects genuine long-term conviction in the country’s potential.

Following are five key insights from Nepal’s only Forbes-listed billionaire, Dr. Binod Chaudhary:

On operating in hard markets

The line that drew the most reaction from the room came when Dr. Chaudhary was asked about the advantage of building in difficult environments. “If you can figure out how to succeed in countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka, it is like you know how to get on a badminton court and be ready for a cricket ball to come at you,” he said. 

His argument was straightforward: entrepreneurs who have survived currency crises, political instability, and regulatory uncertainty develop a shock-readiness that those who have only operated in stable markets simply do not carry. That reflex, he suggested, transfers well when you eventually move into easier terrain.

On Japan and the collective mindset

Dr. Chaudhary has long cited Japan as the education he never received in a classroom – a country whose business culture shaped his thinking during visits in the 1970s. He described three qualities he observed that have stayed with him: a deep organisational discipline, a resistance to individual grandstanding, and a willingness among those who lose an internal argument to give unconditional support to the outcome that was chosen.

The logic behind that last quality, he explained, is simple. “If we win, I win.” Individual and collective outcomes are treated as identical. His observation for the room was that this behaviour cannot be mandated – it can only follow from an environment where that belief is made economically real. Incentive structures, shared metrics, and genuine collective accountability must come first. The discipline follows naturally from there.

On partnerships

With partnerships spanning Marriott, Tata, and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance – among many others – Dr. Chaudhary has built more joint ventures than most entrepreneurs will encounter in a lifetime. His advice on what makes them last came down to a single distinction. “For both sides to win, each side must bring something valuable and value-adding,” he said.

The difference between the two matters enormously. Value that is handed over in a transaction – a contract, a licence, a market introduction – is a stock. Once transferred, it depreciates. Value that keeps regenerating – a capability, a distribution network, a relationship that deepens – is a flow. Partnerships, he argued, do not die from betrayal. They die when one party stops being a flow and becomes a stock. His counsel was to run that test honestly on every partnership you are in.

On succession and family business

As a third-generation builder – whose grandfather arrived in Nepal from Rajasthan, and whose father opened the country’s first department store – the question of succession carries particular weight for Dr. Chaudhary. He spoke to it with a candour that is rarely heard in public settings.

His central point was structural. The instinct to divide responsibility among family members along functional lines tends not to work, he said. Each generation needs room to own an outcome completely – not a role within someone else’s business. It is a lesson he has applied within his own family. His eldest son Nirvana Chaudhary serves as Managing Director of Chaudhary Group in Nepal and is also Chairman of Union Bank of Colombo. Rahul Chaudhary, as Managing Director and CEO of CG Hospitality, leads the group’s ambition to reach 500 hotels by 2030. Varun Chaudhary serves as Managing Director of CG Corp Global with oversight of the group’s broader global operations. Three sons, three distinct domains – each with room to build something of their own.

Beyond structure, he spoke of the importance of a strong family constitution: a framework for ownership and governance that gives the business continuity regardless of which individuals happen to be leading it at any point in time.

On talent and credentials

Dr. Chaudhary was pointed in his view on how entrepreneurs should think about hiring. “No business school has a monopoly on bringing out the best in people,” he said. “The most average of schools can produce some of the best.” The implication was that credentials signal starting conditions, not ceiling. Drive, track record under pressure, and the rate at which someone learns from constraint are better predictors of who will grow with a business than the name of the institution they attended. His suggestion was to identify at least one or two high-potential people without the obvious CV and back them with intention.

The session was organised by Umayanga Nanayakkara, Learning Chair of EO Sri Lanka and Director of Asset Engineering Pvt Ltd. 

EO Sri Lanka, currently chaired by Tarindra Kaluperuma, Executive Director of Stafford Motor Company (Pvt) Ltd, is part of a global network spanning 222 chapters and more than 19,000 entrepreneurs across 87 countries. 

The session with Dr. Chaudhary, who later this year will break ground on a USD 100 million Ritz-Carlton in Kathmandu, reflected the kind of access the organisation makes possible: candid, specific, and rooted in real experience. (Newswire)

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Two renowned Nepali guides have scaled Mount Everest with one called the “Everest Man” breaking his own record set last year with a 32nd climb and the other, known as the “Mountain Queen”, breaking her own women’s record with an 11th summit.

“This is another milestone in Nepal’s mountaineering history,” Himal Gautam, spokesperson for Nepal’s Tourism Department, told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, first stood on top of the world’s highest mountain in 1994 while working for a commercial expedition. Since then, he has continued to guide clients climbing Mount Everest almost every year, reaching the summit twice in some years.

Lhakpa Sherpa, 52, first stood on top of Everest in 2000, becoming the first Nepali woman to successfully summit and descend the Himalayan peak.

“Their record gives greater excitement to other climbers,” Gautam said. “By breaking records through healthy competition on Everest will help make climbing safer, more dignified and better managed.”

In 2024, after another ascent of the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) peak, Kami Rita said he was “just working” and did not plan on setting records.

Kami Rita was born in the same Thame village in Solukhumbu district as Tenzing Norgay, who with Edmund Hillary was the first to climb Everest in 1953.

Since then, a climbing boom has made mountaineering a lucrative business.

Nepal has issued a record 492 Everest permits this year for the March-May climbing season. More than 8,000 people have climbed the mountain since Hillary and Norgay’s expedition, many of them several times.

Among non-Sherpa climbers, the record is held by British guide Kenton Cool, who has accomplished the feat 19 times, followed by American climbers Dave Hahn and Garrett Madison with 15 climbs each. Cool and Madison are currently on Everest to improve their records.

The high numbers of climbers along with their Sherpa guides who are expected to head for the summit in the next few days have rekindled concerns about overcrowding on the mountain, especially if poor weather shortens the climbing window. (Al Jazeera)

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Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung has resigned, less than a month after his appointment, following questions over his investments.

Mr. Gurung announced his resignation in a social media post on Wednesday (April 22, 2026).

“I have resigned from the post of Home Minister, effective from today, to ensure an impartial investigation into matters related to me and to ensure that no conflict of interest arises or affects the investigation process due to my office,” he wrote on Facebook.

Mr. Gurung also said he has taken seriously recent public questions about his investments, including shares.

“For me, ethics is greater than position, and there is no greater force than public trust. The ongoing Gen Z movement in the country, which is demanding good governance, transparency and accountability, has also conveyed this message — that public life must be clean and leadership must be accountable,” he added. “If anyone questions the government formed on the blood and sacrifice of my 46 brothers and sisters, the answer to that is ethics.”

Mr. Gurung, a key figure in last September’s Gen Z protests, was appointed Home Minister on March 27 after Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party took oath.

Thirty-six-year-old Gurung’s involvement in the youth protests had previously been questioned, as he is a millennial, not Gen Z, which had organised the protests demanding accountability and an end to corruption.

In a major crackdown on corruption, police have arrested Deepak Bhatt, a controversial businessman, on charges of money laundering. Local media have reported extensively in recent days on Mr. Gurung’s alleged ties to Mr. Bhatt and unusual financial transactions.

Mr. Gurung’s appointment as Home Minister had come as a surprise to many. He moved quickly into action the very next day after his appointment, ordering the arrest of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak.

Both were arrested in the early hours of March 28, a day after the new government was formed. Police said the two politicians were arrested in connection with negligent killings on September 8, the first day of the Gen Z protests, as pointed out by a commission formed to investigate the September 8-9 incidents.

Both have since been released.

The Shah government has vowed to act against corruption. Mr. Gurung’s controversy had put the government in a tight spot, with the media raising questions about the gap between its promises and actions. (The Hindu)

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Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Nepal, Ruwanthi Delpitiya, called on Nepal’s newly elected Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, in Kathmandu. 

She joined other Heads of Diplomatic Missions in a courtesy visit at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers at Singha Durbar.

During the meeting, Delpitiya extended warm congratulations to Prime Minister Shah on his decisive election victory and reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations. 

She also stressed the importance of continued diplomatic engagement and mutual support. (Newswire)

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The full video of the Police operation conducted to arrest Ishara Sewwandi, the suspect wanted over the murder of underworld figure ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’, has been released to the media. 

It is reported that an individual known as ‘Jaffna Bhai’, who was arrested alongside Ishara Sewwandi, had assisted in the arrest in Nepal.

The video footage shows ‘Jaffna Bhai’ luring Ishara Sewwandi for a meeting, after which she was arrested. (Newswire)

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The Kathmandu Post has reported that Nepal has deported six Sri Lankan nationals linked to the murder of underworld figure Ganemulla Sanjeewa, following their arrest in Kathmandu.

According to the Nepalese media, the deportation took place on Wednesday after a special operation conducted in coordination with Nepal Police uncovered that the accused had been residing in rented houses across Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.

Police investigations claimed that all six were members of the notorious Kehelbaddara Padme gang. The suspects were found to have been living discreetly in Nepal for several weeks, using false identities and claiming to be Indian nationals. Two of them reportedly entered Nepal by air, while the others are believed to have crossed the border from India by land.

Since none of the suspects had committed crimes in Nepal, authorities coordinated with the Department of Immigration to facilitate their deportation in line with Nepali law.

Full report by the Kathmandu Post: 

Nepal has deported six Sri Lankan nationals linked to the murder of underworld leader Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne, also known as Ganemulla Sanjeewa, following their arrest in Kathmandu.

According to the Nepalese media, the deportation took place on Wednesday after a special operation conducted in coordination with Nepal Police uncovered that the accused had been residing in rented houses across Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.

According to senior Nepal police sources, the deported individuals are Ishara Sewwandi Weerashingha Pinpura Dewage (26), Jeevathasan Kanakarasa (33), Takshi Nanthakumar (23), Dinesh Shyamantha De Silva Kaludara (49), Kenedy Bastiampillai (35), and Dinesh Nisantha Kumara Wikkrama Arachchige (43).

Ishara Sewwandi, the prime suspect in the killing of Sanjeewa inside the Hulftsdorp Magistrate’s Court in Colombo on February 19, 2024, was on Interpol’s red notice list. The notice had prompted Interpol member countries, including Nepal, to track her movements.

A Nepal Police officer said the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kathmandu had shown particular concern over the case, leading to increased surveillance. “The Interpol National Central Bureau at Nepal Police Headquarters in Naxal deployed a special team to locate and arrest the suspects,” the officer said.

Police investigations claimed that all six were members of the notorious Kehelbaddara Padme gang, a Sri Lankan criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking and organised crime from Malaysia and Dubai. Interpol had also issued a red notice against Padme, who was arrested in Indonesia on August 25. Sri Lankan media have reported that Padme was the mastermind behind Sanjeewa’s assassination.

The suspects were found to have been living discreetly in Nepal for several weeks, using false identities and claiming to be Indian nationals. Two of them reportedly entered Nepal by air, while the others are believed to have crossed the border from India by land.

Since none of the suspects had committed crimes in Nepal, authorities coordinated with the Department of Immigration to facilitate their deportation in line with Nepali law.

A senior immigration official confirmed, “They have been fined as per legal requirements and handed over to Sri Lankan authorities under police supervision.”

Interpol officials noted that such cases of Sri Lankan underworld figures seeking refuge in Nepal are extremely rare, adding that coordination between Nepal Police and the Sri Lankan Embassy was crucial in ensuring their swift deportation. (Newswire)

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Nepal and Oman have secured two of the three available places in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Oman on Wednesday.

The two teams clinched their spots to the tournament taking place in India and Sri Lanka with guaranteed top three finishes in the tournament log ahead of their Super Six stage clash on Thursday, with one more spot still available.

Oman and Nepal are in first and second place respectively with unbeaten records in their three completed matches, with only the net run rate separating them.

Five of the first six matches in the Super Six stage went to the final over, highlighting the close finishes between the teams, featuring Nepal prevailing in two nail-biters to book their place.

They brought two carry-over points to the Super Six stage, before clinching final-ball victories against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.

Similarly, Oman also carried over two points to the Super Six, where they also returned victories against Qatar and the UAE.

The UAE currently hold third place after beating Samoa and are just one critical match against Japan away from their T20 World Cup hopes coming to fruition, with Japan needing wins in both their remaining matches.

Qatar and Samoa are still mathematically in with a chance, though they need other results to go their way, as well as a win over the other in their meeting on Thursday, plus the edge on net run rate to remain alive.

Remaining Fixtures

• 16 October, 14:30: United Arab Emirates v Japan
• 16 October, 19:00: Qatar v Samoa
• 17 October, 10:00: Japan v Oman
• 17 October, 14:30: Samoa v Nepal

*All times are local (ICC)

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Written by Milinda Moragoda

The uprisings in Nepal and Indonesia, and earlier turbulences in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are not random flare-ups. They are symptoms of a deeper global phenomenon reshaping societies. From the Arab Spring to today’s protests, politics is being recast by inequality, elite capture, and a restless younger generation.

The pandemic acted as both a trigger and a breeding ground for this turbulence. It widened the gap between rich and poor, eroded trust in governance, and sharpened frustration among youth who already felt excluded from opportunity. What we are now witnessing across South Asia and beyond is part of a global pattern of volatility, with structural roots that cannot be ignored.

The inequality trap

For eight decades, capitalism and open markets have generated extraordinary prosperity. Hundreds of millions across Asia were lifted out of poverty, and global integration spurred innovation and growth. Yet, capitalism today faces a legitimacy crisis.

The “top one per cent” phenomenon has become starker, not only in advanced economies but in the Global South. Wealth and influence are concentrated in the hands of a few, while the middle class feels squeezed and the poor remain vulnerable. Social media and digital technologies have amplified this inequality, exposing privilege and corruption in real time while fuelling polarisation. The result has been growing impatience among young populations, who are less willing to wait for incremental change.

South Asia reflects these trends vividly. Sri Lanka’s dramatic political and economic crisis in 2022 was not only about fiscal management but also about the collapse of trust between rulers and ruled. Bangladesh is wrestling with political polarisation; Nepal’s streets echo with popular dissatisfaction; Afghanistan and Pakistan remain mired in instability; and even smaller states such as the Maldives and Bhutan have faced their own disruptions.

The uprisings in the region are, therefore, not isolated events. They are signals of a deeper malaise — an inequality trap that erodes legitimacy, undermines stability, and fuels volatility.

India’s first response

India has not stood idle. Through its Neighborhood First policy, New Delhi has acted decisively in moments of crisis. When Sri Lanka teetered on the edge of collapse, India provided more than $4 billion in assistance, a lifeline that few others were willing to extend. Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives have also benefited from India’s development aid, infrastructure projects, and people-to-people initiatives.

Through the Vaccine Maitri programme, India provided critical support during the pandemic, supplying vaccines that potentially saved millions of lives across the neighborhood and far beyond.

These interventions reinforced India’s role as the indispensable partner in South Asia. But they also highlighted a limit: Crisis management alone cannot ensure lasting stability. The underlying economic and social pressures — inequality, youth exclusion, and fragile institutions — remain unresolved.

The case for Neighborhood First 2.0

This is why the time has come for a Neighborhood First 2.0. The region requires not just fire-fighting but a long-term architecture. The challenge is structural, and so must be the solution.

India, with anticipated economic growth of nearly 7 per cent, is well placed to anchor this next phase. It can serve as the locomotive of regional prosperity, pulling neighbors along through deeper integration and shared opportunities.

Where other powers are closing doors, India can open them. As the United States and parts of the West turn protectionist, India can demonstrate leadership by expanding market access to its neighbours. Preferential trade frameworks, easier movement of goods and services, and regional supply chains can help smaller economies stabilise while giving Indian industry new depth.

What Neighbourhood First 2.0 could look like

Regional connectivity: Investments in ports, airports, highways, and railway networks that knit South Asia into a single economic ecosystem. Modernised and cross-border rail links can reduce costs, expand markets, and accelerate people-to-people ties.

Youth-centered growth: Skill development programmes, regional employment platforms, and digital entrepreneurship opportunities that channel the energy of South Asia’s young populations into constructive enterprise.

Inclusive trade and supply chains: Trade frameworks that support not just large firms but also small businesses, women-led enterprises, and rural producers, ensuring that growth spreads more widely.

Shared energy networks: Cross-border electricity grids, gas pipelines, oil logistics, and rail corridors for energy and commodity transport that can lower costs, build resilience, and strengthen interdependence. South Asia has enormous potential for solar, wind, green hydrogen and hydro; connecting these resources through integrated networks could be transformative.

Shared security of essentials: Cooperative mechanisms on food, energy, climate, and health and addressing the vulnerabilities that can quickly turn into crises.

A more inclusive capitalism: India can model a form of capitalism that reconciles growth with fairness, and that is transparent, participatory, and less extractive than the elite-driven systems that have fueled unrest.

The multipolar context

All this is unfolding against the backdrop of a collapsing old order. Multipolarity is no longer a hypothesis but a lived reality. Global power is dispersed, competition is sharper, and smaller states are exposed to new uncertainties. In this environment, South Asia cannot afford to remain fragmented or disconnected.

Economics will be the defining arena of this multipolar world. Those who are able to plug into value chains, ensure connectivity, and offer markets will shape the future balance of influence. India, with its size and growth, can serve as the anchor market for South Asia, absorbing goods, sharing investments, and providing neighbours access to larger opportunities.

Importantly, a Neighbourhood First 2.0 can be organically linked to India’s participation in the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (IMEC). If India succeeds in knitting South Asia together through trade, connectivity, rail, energy, and digital integration, the region will not remain a periphery — it will become a bridge between the Indian Ocean and Europe via the Middle East. For Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives, this is not only about access to India, but also about entry into one of the most ambitious connectivity frameworks of the 21st century.

The uprisings in Nepal, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are not anomalies; they are warnings. They show what happens when inequality festers, opportunity stalls, and trust collapses. But they also point to the solution: Shared growth as the foundation of stability.

India has already proven it can act in moments of crisis. Now it must move from reactive to proactive, from episodic interventions to systemic leadership. A Neighbourhood First 2.0 — with India as the region’s economic locomotive — can help deliver prosperity, stability, and resilience.

To succeed, India’s diplomacy will need to make her neighbours feel more secure and less afraid. Regional cooperation cannot be sustained by economics alone; it requires trust, reassurance, and the recognition of a greater shared cause. This will be easier said than done, but it has to be attempted. By linking South Asia’s growth story to larger frameworks such as the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor, and by building rail, energy, trade, and digital networks, Delhi can ensure that its neighbours are not left behind but instead become partners in a broader transformation. In the wider Indo-Pacific context India should consider Japan too as a potential partner for this initiative.

If India succeeds, it will not only secure its neighbourhood, but also define what leadership looks like in a multipolar world.

The writer is former Sri Lankan cabinet minister, diplomat and founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, a strategic affairs think tank (Indian Express)

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SriLankan Airlines has resumed flights to Kathmandu following the reopening of Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines flight UL-181 departed from Katunayake Airport for Nepal at 8:15 this morning.

Due to the recent unrest in Nepal, international flights between Sri Lanka and Nepal were suspended yesterday following the temporary closure of the airport.

SriLankan Airlines is currently the only carrier operating flights to Tribhuvan Airport, with services scheduled four times a week, on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. (Newswire)

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Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, an unusually youthful elected official in Nepali politics dominated by seasoned legislators, has emerged as a favourite among young people to represent them in an interim government.

The capital’s 35-year-old mayor, a former rapper who often appears on Instagram and in public wearing a dark blazer and sunglasses, is in the spotlight after deadly protests prompted the resignation of Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, 73.

“You should be our new prime minister,” said Rewant Adhikari on X, one of many who have urged Shah to contest as prime minister and eventually replace Oli. “Long live Nepal!”

This week’s anti-graft protests that killed 19 people were organised by the group “Gen Z Nepal“, which draws support from more than half the country’s 30 million people who are younger than 30, but often led by prime ministers twice their age.

Shah should be among the Gen Z representatives who hold talks with President Ram Chandra Poudel to chart the next steps for the Himalayan nation, said Balaram K.C., a former judge of the Supreme Court and constitutional expert.

Shah has offered no detailed response to the calls. Reuters could not immediately contact him as his mobile telephone was switched off, and his office declined a request to interview him.

Popularly known as Balen, the structural engineer by training won the 2022 mayoral election as an independent candidate, defying Nepal’s traditional party system and becoming a symbol of political disruption.

Among his rap tracks “Balidan”, or “Sacrifice”, released in 2020, stands out, with more than 11 million YouTube views for its critique of corruption, social injustice, and governance failures.

On his Instagram account, followed by more than 800,000 people, the thickly-bearded Shah has consistently voiced his support for the protesters, calling Oli a “terrorist” who did not understand the “pain of losing a son or daughter”.

INTERIM REPRESENTATIVE

A draft policy prepared by the Gen Z Nepal group names Shah as a potential representative of youth and protest movements on a Neutral Interim Authority Council proposed to restore law and order and guide Nepal toward elections in about 18 months.

He will sit on the body alongside technocrats and civil society leaders, according to the document seen by Reuters.

Shah has said he did not join the protests because they were mainly for people younger than 26, who saw him by comparison as an old man, but added it was necessary to hear them out.

On Tuesday, he warned the protesters of the challenges in store. “Now your generation will have to lead the country!” he said. “Be prepared!”

Born in 1990 in Kathmandu, Shah studied civil engineering in Nepal and completed a master’s in structural engineering in India. Time magazine listed him among its Top 100 Emerging Leaders of 2023.

Analysts say Shah’s tenure as mayor has been marked by anti-corruption efforts, urban reforms, and a strong social media presence.

He has improved pedestrian infrastructure, cracked down on accusations of tax evasion by private schools, and pushed for better oversight of public education.

“The youth want you to step forward as a temporary spokesperson during this transition,” young IT professional Pramod Kandel told Shah on X.

“For the long term, we need you … to work with, even work under, other non-corrupt leaders who have demonstrated competence, integrity, and love for the country.” (Reuters)

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All SriLankan Airlines flights to Nepal have been temporarily suspended, the national carrier announced today.

According to the Airline, the flights have been cancelled due to the closure of the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.

The Kathmandu Airport has been closed due to unrest in the country. Demonstrations led by young people angry about the blocking of several social media sites gripped the nation this week, with 19 people reported killed. 

The ban was lifted Tuesday, but the protests continued, fueled by rage over the deaths and accusations of political corruption in the nation.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Sri Lankans living in Nepal are safe, with no reports of harm.

According to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kathmandu, there are 102 Sri Lankans in Nepal, including 22 students, other residents, and embassy staff.  

The Foreign Ministry is also taking steps to evacuate 73 Sri Lankan pilgrims currently in Nepal. The group had travelled to Nepal via India. 

Sri Lankans in Nepal in need of assistance have been requested to contact Sri Lankan Embassy officials via +977- 9851048653. (Newswire)

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The Foreign Ministry says it is working to evacuate 73 Sri Lankan pilgrims currently in Nepal, due to ongoing nationwide protests.

According to the Ministry, the group had travelled to Nepal via India. 

The ministry said that despite initial technical difficulties, coordinated efforts are underway with the support of Nepali authorities to evacuate the pilgrims.

Earlier today, the Foreign Ministry said that all Sri Lankans living in Nepal are safe, with no reports of harm.

According to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kathmandu, there are 102 Sri Lankans in Nepal, including 22 students, other residents, and embassy staff. 

Embassy officials have been in direct contact with the community through WhatsApp groups and personal networks to monitor their safety.

Protests against Nepal’s short-lived ban on social media grew increasingly violent on Tuesday as demonstrators set government buildings and politicians’ homes on fire and attacked some leaders. The prime minister resigned amid widening criticism of the country’s political elite.

Tens of thousands of protesters remained on the streets late in the day, blocking roads and storming government facilities. Army helicopters ferried some ministers to safe places.

A day earlier, demonstrations led by young people angry about the blocking of several social media sites gripped the capital, and police opened fire on the crowds, killing 19 people.

The ban was lifted Tuesday, but the protests continued, fueled by rage over the deaths and accusations of political corruption in the nation. (Newswire)

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Sri Lankans in Nepal to take precautions and remain indoors to protect themselves from possible attacks during the ongoing nationwide protests.

Issuing a notice, the Foreign Ministry said Sri Lankan Embassy officials can be contacted 24 hours a day via +977- 9851048653.

Sri Lankans in Nepal have been advised to keep a supply of water and dry food close at all times, as well as the necessary medication.

The Foreign Ministry further said that it continues to monitor the situation and is in touch with the Sri Lankan mission and some community leaders in Nepal.  

Late on Monday night, the government of Nepal lifted a ban on social media, which had led to what the organisers call a Gen Z protest in the capital, Kathmandu, and other cities.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli resigned after three of his ministers earlier quit following deadly protests over alleged government corruption that killed 19 people. 

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