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A gunman has shot and killed eight people, and wounded at least seven others at a busy shopping mall north of the city of Dallas in the United States, according to police, Aljazeera reported. The assailant, whom authorities believe acted alone, was fatally shot by a police officer on Saturday after he began firing outside of the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, a suburb north of Dallas in the state of Texas, the police said. “He heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralised the suspect,” the city’s police chief Brian Harvey said at a press conference earlier on Saturday. “He also then called for ambulances.” Allen fire department chief Jon Boyd told the same press conference that his department took at least nine victims with gunshot wounds to area hospitals. Two of those people died at the hospital, Boyd said at a second press conference on Saturday night. Three of the victims were in critical condition, and four others were stable, he added. Medical City Healthcare, a Dallas-area hospital system, said in a written statement it was treating eight people between the ages of 5 and 61, according to Aljazeera. TV aerial images showed hundreds of people calmly walking out of the mall, located about 40 km(25 miles) northeast of Dallas, Texas, after the violence unfolded, many with their hands up as dozens of police stood guard. The footage also showed blood on sidewalks outside the mall and white sheets covering what appeared to be bodies. Fontayne Payton, 35, told the Associated Press news agency that he was at the H&M store when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearing. “It was so loud, it sounded like it was right outside,” Payton said. People in the store scattered before employees ushered the group into the fitting rooms and then a lockable back room, he said. When they were given the all-clear to leave, Payton saw the store had broken windows and a trail of blood to the door. Discarded sandals and bloodied clothes were laying nearby. Once outside, Payton saw bodies. “I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids,” he said. The bodies were covered in white towels, slumped over bags on the ground, he said. “It broke me when I walked out to see that,” he said. Further away, he saw the body of a heavyset man wearing all black. He assumed it was the gunman, Payton said, because, unlike the other bodies, it had not been covered up, Aljazeera reported. A second unidentified witness told local ABC affiliate WFAA TV that the gunman was “walking down the sidewalk just … shooting his gun outside,” and that “he was just shooting his gun everywhere for the most part”.

The budget session of the Federal Parliament is beginning today. President Ram Chandra Paudel had summoned the session as per Article 93 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal. The meeting is taking place at 4 pm. Government's policy and programs and annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year would be tabled in this session of the House. In today's House of Representatives (HoR) meeting, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat is scheduled to table a proposal on the Principle and Priorities of Appropriation Bill for discussions.  

Laxmi Acharya is a popular folk singer from Tikapur, Kailali. She started her musical career in 2013, and over the years she has recorded more than 150 songs. Many of her tunes can be categorized under Deuda genre, which comes from far-west Nepal. ApEx caught up with Acharya to discuss her musical journey and future plans.  Could you tell us about your journey so far? I have been working in this field for a decade, and I feel like I’m just starting out. There are still many things that I want to achieve for myself and my community. As a singer, I believe it is my duty to promote Nepali folk music and culture both within the country and outside. How much of an impact do you think your songs are making to promote the culture of the far-west? I want to believe that my songs have had a positive impact when it comes to promoting the culture and tradition of my region. I can only hope that my songs can one day serve as an archive of Deuda culture. After all, Deuda songs are more than just songs, they are also a rich source of information for anyone looking to learn more about our culture, history and tradition.  What are the immediate measures you think we need to take in order to promote this culture? There are many ways to do so. In today’s era of technology, we can disseminate information in different forms and formats. We need to incorporate Deuda culture in every platform, from school curriculums to social media. Also, local governments, politicians and political parties need to step up in order to preserve our indigenous history and culture.  What role do you think political parties play in promoting Nepali culture? Although their effort is minimal, political parties can play a vital role in promoting Nepali culture. We have politicians like Sher Bahadur Deuba from the far-west, who with his position could contribute a lot to promote the Deuda culture. There are other leaders too. If only they could give this issue a little bit of time and attention, I think we could draw a lot of national and international attention to Deuda culture.  The far-west region is rarely considered the center of arts, culture and development, even though the region has an incredibly rich heritage. Why do you think this is?   I think we are falling behind when it comes to promoting our culture and traditions.  We need more studies and research in various cultures and traditions from Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. Till now, there aren’t any comprehensive studies done in this field. Our publicity campaigns have also not been as effective because there aren’t enough texts or literature to refer to. 

Locals of Mahagadhimai Municipality, Bara burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday. Hundreds of locals burnt the effigy of the prime minister saying that the government did not show interest even when the services at the municipality were affected for four months due to the absence of a chief administrative officer. When the locals started chanting slogans by burning the effigy of Prime Minister Dahal, a team of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel put off the fire. Locals also demanded the resignation of Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Aman Lal Modi. They shouted slogans saying that the minister, who could not send a chief administrative officer, should resign immediately. At least 658 workers including municipality staffers, teachers and health workers have not got their salaries for four months and the municipality’s projects have also been affected in the absence of a chief administrative officer. Mahagadhimai Municipality Chief Upendra Prasad Yadav is currently in Kathmandu to demand a chief administrative officer.  

With hardly three weeks left for the government to bring the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2023/24, the government on Wednesday replaced the Finance Secretary. Transferring the incumbent Finance Secretary Toyam Raya to the Office of the Vice President, Arjun Pokharel has been brought in at the Finance Ministry. The reshuffle of the top bureaucratic post in the Finance Ministry was doing rounds in the past few weeks in Singha Durbar after Dr. Prakash Saran Mahat was appointed as the Finance Minister. However, the replacement of the finance secretary ahead of the federal budget has invited more questions at a time when the government is drafting a new budget amid a severe resource crunch. Economists say that given the current state of the economy, the next federal budget should be prepared with utmost planning and that frequently replacing the Finance Secretary doesn't augur well for the budget preparations and the country’s economy. In fact, the Finance Ministry has seen four secretaries over the past year. When FY 2022/23 started, Madhu Marasini was the Finance Secretary. However, he left the ministry following a dispute with the then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Then, Krishna Hari Pushkar was appointed to the post and replaced by Toyam Raya later when the new government was formed after the parliamentary elections and Bishnu Poudel became the Finance Minister. Poudel brought in Raya as new Finance Secretary who hardly spent four months at the ministry before he was replaced by Arjun Pokharel. Hard hit by the resource crunch, the government is not in a situation to announce new programs and projects in the next fiscal year's budget. The National Planning Commission (NPC) has also recommended the government to reduce the budget ceiling. Given the mismatch between revenue collection and expenditure, the NPC has set a limit of Rs 1,688.4bn for the next year's federal budget. The government has set a target of raising Rs 1403bn in revenue in this fiscal year. However, in the first 10 and half months, it has succeeded to collect only Rs 713bn which is only 50.84 percent of the target. With revenue worth Rs 2.5bn being collected daily, it looks quite impossible to meet the revenue collection target in the next 70 days. Economists are of the view that since the revenue collection has been very poor in this fiscal year, there is no possibility to increase the revenue estimate for the next fiscal year. They say, if there is no increment in revenue, there will be no space to bring more programs. While the current situation demands a prudent budget, the developments in recent weeks including bringing in a new finance secretary suggest the Finance Ministry could succumb to the pressure of the political leadership. Sources at the NPC and Finance Ministry said there has been pressure on them to increase the budget ceiling. Lawmakers and political leaders have been asking for special projects, especially in their constituencies. The Nepali Congress lawmakers have already asked the finance minister to reintroduce the highly controversial Local Infrastructure Development Partnership Program, popularly known as the 'constituency development fund'. As per the constitutional obligation, the government has to present the federal budget on Jestha 15 (May 29). With only 24 days left for the budget presentation in the parliament, the Finance Secretary has many tasks, including preparing crucial documents such as the government's policies and programs, economic survey, and economic act, apart from the budget. Analysts say the new finance secretary will have limited time to grasp the severity of the situation and prepare such documents. "Bringing a new person as Finance Secretary just ahead of the budget will not give a good signal," said economist Keshav Acharya. "There is very little time for the new finance secretary." According to him, the need of the hour is an experienced and responsible person in the Ministry of Finance who can convince the Prime Minister, Ministers, and other stakeholders.  

With the government pursuing the citizens to open bank accounts for savings with initiatives such as the “One Person, One Bank Account” campaign, and the need for a bank account to receive social security payments, savings account use has jumped dramatically in the last decade. A new report by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) shows the number of adults who have their savings in formal financial institutions has increased from 40 percent in 2014 to 63 percent in 2022. According to the report titled 'Nepal Financial Inclusion Report 2023' states 36 percent of Nepali adults have savings in banks, while 27 percent have their savings in other formal financial institutions, mainly in saving and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) which are not regulated by the central bank. However, the growth in savings is higher than at the banks. Bank savings increased from 27 percent to 36 percent while savings with other formal financial service providers increased from 13 percent to 27 percent in 2022. The growth in formal savings has also been driven by other policy initiatives. The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has directed banks and financial institutions (BFIs) under its purview to increase access points to financial services across the country. Similarly, the mandatory requirement of bank accounts for migrant workers to get foreign employment permits, and the additional one percent interest on remittance deposit accounts have encouraged many migrant workers and remittance-receiving households to use formal channels to remit money and for savings. The government's recent move to allow Nepali migrant workers abroad to participate in primary market Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) is expected to drive both formal remittances and bank savings. The report says the usage of formal savings mechanisms is higher among women, with 66 percent of them saving using formal channels (banks – 33 percent and other formal financial service providers – 32 percent ) while men are trailing lower at 59 percent (banks – 38 percent and other formal financial service providers – 21 percent). Urban adults have higher usage of formal savings channels at 64 percent, while rural adults have usage at 58 percent. The growth has largely been aided by attractive returns on long-term deposit accounts resulting in a rise in formal savings. The role of NRB has also been instrumental in driving long-term deposits, as the share of total fixed deposit accounts has surpassed savings accounts. "As of mid-July 2022, fixed deposits accounted for 55 percent, savings deposits – for 27.2 percent, demand deposits – for 9 percent, and other deposits – for 8.8 percent of the total deposits," reads the report. There has been tremendous growth in the usage of formal credit in the past decade as the number of adults having credit access has increased to 47 percent in 2022 from 14 percent in 2014. Of this 47 percent, 34 percent used banks while 13 percent used other formal financial channels. The use of informal credit has decreased from 23 percent in 2014 to 8 percent in 2022, largely due to increased reach and expansion of formal channels across the country. "The increased usage of credit from the formal sector is an outcome of strong structural market development in the financial sector," says the report. Bank credit usage has grown across urban and rural areas and reached 45 percent of the rural and 49 percent of the urban population. It was only 17 percent and 21 percent respectively in 2014. With the increase in uptake of formal credit, the usage of informal channels has come down drastically in both rural at 9 percent and in urban areas at 6 percent, which stood at 26 percent and 11 percent, respectively, in 2014. Contrary to the situation where 46 percent of women have higher usage of formal savings mechanisms, men have slightly higher usage of formal credit at 49 percent. The credit distribution through BFIs has been gradually increasing over the years. Of the total credit distribution by BFIs, 57 percent has been disbursed in metropolitan areas, 29 percent in sub-metropolitan areas, 11 percent in municipalities, and 3 percent in rural municipalities. As of mid-July 2022, BFIs had 1.83 million loan accounts, up 77 percent from 1.03 million in 2015. The report says

• The number of adults who have their savings in formal financial institutions has increased from 40 percent in 2014 to 63 percent in 2022.
• 36 percent of Nepali adults have savings in banks, while 27 percent have their savings in other formal financial institutions
• The usage of formal savings mechanisms is higher among women, with 66 percent of them saving using formal channels while men are trailing lower at 59 percent
• The number of adults having credit access has increased to 47 percent in 2022 from 14 percent in 2014.
• Bank credit usage has grown across urban and rural areas and reached 45 percent of the rural and 49 percent of the urban population.
• Of the total credit distribution by BFIs, 57 percent has been disbursed in metropolitan areas, 29 percent in sub-metropolitan areas, 11 percent in municipalities, and 3 percent in rural municipalities

A Simrik Air helicopter crashed at Jijinkha in Siprung of Bhotekhola-4 in Sankhuwasabha on Friday. It has been learnt that the chopper was  carrying construction materials for the Upper Arun Hydropower Project when the incident occurred. Details about the incident are yet to come.  

Two women have been arrested in possession of brown sugar from Bhadrapur-based Chandragadhi Airport on Thursday. The suspects have been identified as Soni Shrestha (21) and her sister Sandhya Shrestha (23) of Hetauda-1 and currently residing at Mechinagar, Jhapa, DSP Khagendra Prasad Rijal of the District Police Office, Jhapa said. He said that the Shrestha sisters were apprehended with 76. 34 grams of brown sugar. The airport police nabbed the duo while they were about to board a flight to Kathmandu on a Buddha Air plane at 9pm yesterday, DSP Rijal said. Soni had tried to take the brown sugar to Kathmandu by hiding in the pad she was wearing in her private parts, police said. After the brown sugar was recovered from Soni’s possession, police also detained her sister Sandhya for investigation, Rijal said. Police said that they are looking into the case.