Submit your Article

Ram Chandra Singh Kushwaha, a veteran freedom fighter of the country's democratic movements, passed away on Tuesday night.

Kushwaha was long suffering from cancer and breathed his last at Bir Hospital while availing treatment.

He is survived by wife, two sons and two daughters. His body has been brought to his residence at Padariya in Mahottari district and his final rites would be performed today itself.

In separate condolence messages, Nepali Congress Mahottari district President Nageshwor Yadav, Communist Party of Nepal (UML) Mahottari's Chairperson Baliram Yadav and CPN (Maoist Centre)'s district In-Charge Prakash Hari Pokharel expressed their deep sorrow over the demise of Kushwaha.

They also extended condolence to the bereaved family, friends and well-wishers.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday advanced President Donald Trump’s request to cancel some $9 billion in previously approved spending, overcoming concerns from some lawmakers about what the rescissions could mean for impoverished people around the globe and for public radio and television stations in their home states, Associated Press reported.

The Senate vote was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.

A final vote in the Senate could occur as early as Wednesday. The bill would then return to the House for another vote before it would go to Trump’s desk for his signature before a Friday deadline.

Republicans winnowed down the president’s request by taking out his proposed $400 million cut to a program known as PEPFAR. That change increased the prospects for the bill’s passage. The politically popular program is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under then-President George W. Bush to combat HIV/AIDS, according to Associated Press.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that he has instructed officials to bring the Korala border with China in Mustang into full-fledged operation after setting up necessary infrastructure. During a meeting with people’s representatives from Mustang in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Oli said he had already issued directives to open the Korala border point as an alternative trade and transit route with China, particularly in the wake of recent natural disasters that have disrupted other customs points.

The Rasuwagadhi border point, Nepal’s primary land route for trade with China, has been shut since July 8 after a flash flood in the Lhendekhola River damaged customs and immigration facilities and roads. Similarly, the Tatopani customs point, another gateway to China, is facing operational issues due to frequent landslides and poor road conditions, making it an unreliable route for trade and passenger movement.

Given these setbacks, local representatives and other stakeholders of Mustang have been pressing the government to fast-track preparations for the Korala route. A few days ago, tourism entrepreneurs urged the government to initiate diplomatic talks with China to allow Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrims, who were stranded due to the Rasuwagadhi flood, to travel to Tibet, China via the Korala border.

During the meeting, local representatives drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the lack of necessary infrastructure at the border. They said the government should immediately initiate the process to blacktop the 97-kilometer Kagbeni–Korala section of the Kaligandaki Corridor Road and establish customs, immigration, an integrated security post and a dry port at the Korala point to support cross-border operations.

The Korala border, believed to be a part of the ancient Silk Route, facilitated trade between Tibet and the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Realizing the trade prospects of this border point, Nepal has been building the Kaligandaki Corridor Road to link Tibet with India. The 254-kilometer highway links Gaidakot along the East-West Highway with Korala via the Kali Gandaki Corridor.

While China has built most of the facilities on its side, the Nepali side of the border remains deserted. About a dozen tents of Nepali traders selling products brought from China can be seen at the border, catering to domestic tourists who reach the border point. The Armed Police Force (APF) has built a border outpost (BOP) a few kilometers below the border. Although the government has set up an immigration office, it is largely non-operational.

“As soon as Rasuwagadhi was hit by floods, I instructed officials to begin preparations for operating the Korala point as an alternative,” Oli told people’s representatives from Mustang.

Locals also raised concerns about the high restricted area permit fee, $500 per person for 10 days, which, they say, has restricted tourism activities in remote villages of Mustang, particularly those in Lomanthang and Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda rural municipalities.

The United Nations has voiced grave concern over intensifying conflict in Sudan, especially in North and West Kordofan states, where attacks have killed hundreds and displaced many.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that from last Thursday to Sunday, violence in villages near Bara, North Kordofan, left at least 300 dead, including children and pregnant women. Shelling also resumed in El-Obeid, the state capital. In West Kordofan, over 20 were killed in attacks on Al-Fulah and Abu Zabad, including an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families, UN News reported.

OCHA stressed that civilians and infrastructure must never be targeted and urged all parties to uphold international humanitarian law.

The ongoing violence has forced thousands to flee, with over 3,000 newly displaced people arriving in Northern State’s Ad-Dabbah locality since June. Heavy rains in eastern Sudan have worsened conditions, destroying shelters for 2,700 displaced people in Gedaref.

Since November 2024, more than 1.3m people have returned to their homes across Sudan but face severe shortages in basic services. OCHA renewed its appeal for urgent aid, warning that only 23 percent of the 2025 humanitarian response plan is funded, according to UN News.

Only five percent of the total financial equalization budget allocated by the federal government to local governments actually reaches the municipalities. Despite the limited budget, municipal representatives remain optimistic, as the program has earned their trust. Since citizens directly participate in budget planning, municipalities do not receive arbitrary allocations. Local representatives argue that if the budget size is increased—especially in municipalities closely tied to the daily lives of people—development will no longer be a distant goal. The Federation of Rural Municipalities and Municipalities has also urged the federal government to increase the financial equalization budget allocated to the local level.

Devdaha Municipality in Rupandehi has introduced its annual policy, programs, and budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26, which includes a plan to provide land ownership certificates to 14,300 landless individuals. Mayor Dhruv Prasad Kharel emphasized that land ownership is crucial to identity and human dignity. “We have appointed 34 employees, and work is underway across the Rupandehi district,” Kharel said. “We’ve prioritized this program, and all landless individuals will receive land titles by the end of the next fiscal year.”

Madhukrishna Paudyal, the municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer, said a budget of Rs 20 million has been allocated for the program—double the amount allocated in the previous fiscal year. “This land title distribution program is our main priority,” Paudyal noted. Currently, land surveys are ongoing in wards 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10.

Out of 1,400 individuals who received public notices, 834 have already paid the necessary fees to receive land ownership certificates. The municipality plans to distribute the certificates to them in the coming days and aims to complete all surveying work by September.

Meanwhile, Jhimruk Rural Municipality in Pyuthan has launched a “One Ward, One Product” initiative. Each of the municipality’s eight wards has been designated for the cultivation of specific agricultural products. Ward 1 focuses on turmeric and soybeans; Ward 2 on turmeric, soybeans, and millet; Ward 3 on seed production; Ward 4 on oranges; Ward 5 on commercial vegetables; Ward 6 again on seed production; and Wards 7 and 8 on commercial orange farming.

“We’ve linked each ward with a product through our policies and programs,” said Pramod Pokharel, Vice-chairperson of the rural municipality. “A municipality cannot progress without commercial agriculture.” He added that subsidies are being provided to farmers who are eager to engage in productive farming. To help market the products, the municipality has constructed a new marketplace in Machhibazar, its administrative center, which will be operational at the beginning of the next fiscal year.

“Local municipalities are the true engines of grassroots development,” Pokharel said. “National prosperity lies in the hands of local governments. But the subsidies we receive from the federal and provincial governments are not scientific. This must change. If resources are allocated appropriately, these local Singha Durbars can truly deliver transformative results.” He emphasized that financial equalization subsidies should be determined not only by geography and population but also by revenue generation capacity.

Tilottama Municipality in Rupandehi has introduced a popular policy: “One Ward, One Kilometer of Blacktopped Road.” Now in its third year of a five-year plan, the initiative ensures that each ward gets one kilometer of road blacktopped annually. Additional roadworks are also being carried out under regular municipal planning.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany have agreed to restore tough U.N. sanctions on Iran by the end of August if there has been no concrete progress on a nuclear deal, two European diplomats said Tuesday, Associated Press reported.

The three countries’ ambassadors to the United Nations met Tuesday at Germany’s U.N. Mission to discuss a possible Iranian deal and reimposing the sanctions. The matter also came up in a phone call Monday between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of the three countries, according to two U.S. officials.

The State Department said after the call that the four had spoken about “ensuring Iran does not develop or obtain a nuclear weapon.”

The officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, according to Associated Press.

Malnutrition rates among children in the Gaza Strip have doubled since Israel sharply restricted the entry of food in March, the U.N. said Tuesday. New Israeli strikes killed more than 90 Palestinians, including dozens of women and children, according to health officials, Associated Press reported.

Hunger has been rising among Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians since Israel broke a ceasefire in March to resume the war and banned all food and other supplies from entering Gaza, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to release hostages. It slightly eased the blockade in late May, allowing in a trickle of aid.

UNRWA, the main U.N. agency caring for Palestinians in Gaza, said it had screened nearly 16,000 children under age 5 at its clinics in June and found 10.2% of them were acutely malnourished. By comparison, in March, 5.5% of the nearly 15,000 children it screened were malnourished, according to Associated Press.

Seventeen immigration court judges have been fired in recent days, according to the union that represents them, as the Trump administration pushes forward with its mass deportations of immigrants in the country, Associated Press reported.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents immigration court judges as well as other professionals, said in a news release that 15 judges were fired “without cause” on Friday and another two on Monday. The union said they were working in courts in 10 different states across the country — California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

“It’s outrageous and against the public interest that at the same time Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges, we are firing large numbers of immigration judges without cause,” said the union’s President Matt Biggs. “This is nonsensical. The answer is to stop firing and start hiring.”