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At least 78 people have died and 41 are missing after flash floods struck central Texas, USA, on Friday. Kerr County was hardest hit, with 68 deaths, including 28 children, at Camp Mystic, a girls’ summer camp on the Guadalupe River. Ten American campers and a counsellor remain missing, according to BBC.

The river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes, sweeping away people and structures. Authorities expect the death toll to rise as storms continue to hamper rescue efforts A big recovery operation is underway.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the situation as "horrific" and vowed to continue search operations. US President Donald Trump has declared a federal disaster and intends to visit. Local residents are assisting, and Pope Leo XIV in Rome has offered prayers for the American victims, BBC reported.

Every time they yelled at you

Every time they raised their hands at you

Every time they made a fool of you

I wanted to protect you

But I stayed silent

I too was a child 

I too was a child without any support 

Without any courage

Should I have spoken?

Had I broken my silence,

Would you be free?

Would I have been able to save yourself and me?

I should have helped you

I shouldn’t have been afraid of the consequences 

I should have been there for you 

Without questioning myself

I was scared 

I’m sorry that I was scared

I too wanted to be there for you

But I couldn’t even help you

I should have spoken for myself 

I should have stood up for you too

But I believed in the power of silence

When I should’ve been able to be with you. 

Dristi Rajak

Grade XII

St Mary’s Secondary School, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur

India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. It is also the fastest-growing major economy globally and the only South Asian nation projected to maintain over six percent annual growth.

Earlier this month, the IMF’s World Economic Outlook confirmed that India remains the world’s fastest-growing economy, with its GDP now standing at $4.3trn. In 2015, India’s GDP was $2.1trn—meaning the economy has more than doubled in less than a decade. The IMF projects India's GDP will reach $5.5trn by 2028, overtaking Germany to become the third-largest economy.

India has developed one of the most dominant and diversified tech, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing sectors in the world. In stark contrast, Nepal—with a GDP of just $46.08bn, roughly 0.01 percent of India’s—remains heavily dependent on remittances and has failed to develop into a manufacturing hub.

Nepal’s trade deficit paints an even grimmer picture. India exports $432 bn annually, while Nepal manages only $1.13bn in exports—just 2.8 percent of its GDP. Given that Nepal is landlocked and 88.6 percent of its trade depends on India, diversification should be a strategic priority. Yet, the government has not developed a clear policy to build alternative trade partnerships.

Nepal lacks functional railway routes and robust trade agreements with China, the world’s second-largest economy. Projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have stalled due to concerns over debt sustainability and geopolitical sensitivities with India.

Political instability continues to drag Nepal’s economic progress. Around 68 percent of Nepalis blame political instability for delays in BRI projects. While anti-India sentiment occasionally flares—such as during the 2020 Lipulekh protests—people-to-people ties remain strong: about 65,000 Nepali students study in India compared to just 6,500 in China. Furthermore, Indian tourists to Nepal far outnumber Chinese visitors—317,000 versus 101,000 in 2024—even though more Chinese cities (seven) than Indian ones (four) are connected by direct flights to Nepal.

Despite strategic posturing, Nepal's reliance on India is grounded more in geography and economics than ideology. While China offers an alternative, structural limitations and risk aversion have hindered deeper engagement. Nepal’s cautious hedging—seeking infrastructure grants from China while relying on India for trade and security—is a pragmatic survival strategy in a competitive neighborhood.

Nepal’s missed economic moment

Nepali economists have overlooked several critical factors that stunted economic growth. The government's incremental budgeting approach has proven inadequate. For example, the FY 2025–26 budget targets only 4.61 percent growth—far short of the 7–8 percent needed to reach middle-income status.

Nepal has also failed to implement fiscal innovations like tax-base expansion, digital compliance, or performance-based budgeting—tools successfully adopted by countries like South Korea and Singapore.

While the 2006 civil war is often blamed for Nepal’s stagnation, it did catalyze brain drain and rapid, unplanned urbanization. Over one million youth still leave the country each year. The 2015 earthquake further derailed development, redirecting tech and infrastructure budgets toward reconstruction and heritage preservation.

Eight years after the federal transition, provinces remain under-resourced and lack competitiveness. Local capacity gaps meant that only 12 percent of capital budgets were executed mid-year. Despite immense potential in hydropower, Nepal has harnessed only 2,500 MW of an estimated 83,000 MW—its share of GDP from the energy sector fell from nine percent in 2000 to just 4.87 percent in 2024.

Systemic governance failures persist: 44 percent of earthquake-damaged health facilities remain unrepaired, worsening outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic. About 27 percent of pandemic relief funds were misused, contributing to rising poverty. Remittance inflows—29 percent of GDP—have largely fueled consumption and imports rather than domestic industry.

Meanwhile, only nine out of 35 proposed BRI projects have materialized, stalled by debt fears and lack of transparency. Nepal ranks 94th globally in ease of doing business, deterring foreign investment. Strategic paralysis has also hindered progress on Russian energy and IT cooperation, and stalled rail connectivity with China. The country continues to suffer from an 8.86 percent brain drain rate, ranks 117th out of 180 on the Corruption Perceptions Index, and faces the risk of FATF sanctions.

Recovery will require depoliticizing institutions, streamlining federal governance, and leveraging Nepal’s diaspora, clean energy resources, and strategic location for long-term economic transformation.

Rojen Budha Shrestha

BA LLB 4th Year 

Kathmandu School of Law

In Kathmandu and other urban centers of Nepal, it's increasingly common to hear young people say things like “I’m so depressed” in everyday conversation. These expressions—often heard in cafes or posted on social media—usually refer to temporary moods rather than diagnosed medical conditions. This casual use of mental health terminology reflects a broader trend among Nepali youth, where complex psychological issues are often reduced to catchphrases, especially in digital spaces.

Recent studies show that nearly half of Nepali youth using platforms like Instagram and TikTok report symptoms of anxiety and depression, with over a third experiencing these conditions. The rise of short-form content and influencer-driven narratives has contributed to the oversimplification of mental health. Terms like “OCD” are now casually used to describe habits like organizing a bookshelf, rather than their clinical meaning. An analysis of one million social media posts by Oxford researchers found that discussions around mental illness are 14 percent more likely to trivialize the topic than those about physical health. Equating serious mental conditions with everyday struggles diminishes the gravity of these issues.

Nepal faces substantial challenges in mental health care, with only one psychiatrist and one psychologist per one million people, according to the World Health Organization. This shortage is further complicated by the growing presence of unqualified wellness influencers on social media, who often offer unverified advice and promote viral catchphrases instead of evidence-based support.

Cultural factors also play a role. Western diagnostic categories don’t always align with traditional Nepali understandings of the mind and spirit. As a result, young people may use terms like “bipolar” without fully grasping their meaning, while families may dismiss such conditions as mere trends. According to the Nepal Health Research Council, only a quarter of individuals diagnosed with mental health disorders receive treatment—partly because casual usage of terms like “depression” leads many to mistake clinical symptoms for routine stress.

Another emerging concern is the rise of “illness identity,” where online communities romanticize mental health diagnoses, encouraging young people to adopt these labels as part of their identity. Research from the University of Balamand suggests this can hinder genuine recovery, as authentic appeals for support are often lost in a flood of superficial or performative content.

Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach. Strengthening online counseling protocols to ensure that only credentialed professionals offer mental health services is essential. Incorporating media literacy into school curricula can help students critically evaluate the mental health content they encounter online. Training community health workers to recognize early warning signs is also crucial, especially given the shortage of mental health professionals. Meanwhile, social media platforms should be encouraged to limit sensationalized content and promote accurate, evidence-based information.

Nepali youth have taken important steps toward breaking the silence around mental health. Yet the casual misuse of psychological terms risks trivializing serious conditions and obstructing access to proper care. It’s vital to channel this growing openness into informed dialogue and meaningful support—moving beyond superficial language to foster real understanding and treatment.

Binayak Sapkota

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would need Patriot missiles for its defenses, after speaking with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, and voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin's failure to end the fighting, The Economic Times reported.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had a good call with Zelenskiy, repeating that he was "very unhappy" about his call with Putin a day earlier, given what he called the Russian leader's refusal to work on a ceasefire.

Asked whether the United States would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Zelenskiy, Trump said: "They're going to need them for defense... They're going to need something because they're being hit pretty hard."

Elon Musk says he is launching a new political party, weeks after dramatically falling out with US President Donald Trump, BBC reported.

The billionaire announced on his social media platform X that he had set up the America Party, billing it as a challenge to the Republican and Democratic two-party system.

However, it is unclear if the party has been formally registered with US election authorities. Musk, who was born outside of the US and is thus ineligible to run for the US presidency, does not say who will lead it.

He first raised the prospect of forming a party during his public feud with Trump, which saw him leave his role in the administration and engage in a vicious public spat with his former ally, according to BBC.

Nepali Congress central member and Education Department Chief Nain Singh Mahar has expressed his dissatisfaction over the postponement of the senate meeting of Tribhuvan University.

It is not good to postpone the senate meeting at the direction of Chancellor and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

“The post of Vice Chancellor of the Tribhuvan University has been lying vacant since March 28. It is not a natural thing to postpone the annual meeting of the TU Assembly at the direction of the Prime Minister at this time,” Mahara said while giving a brief response to media persons in the premises of the central office.

Saying that the university is an academic institution, he was of the opinion that it should proceed according to the annual calendar.

He pointed out that this could send a message that the government is not serious towards Nepal's education.

“The School Education Bill is under discussion for a long time. The government’s commitment to bring the School Education Act on March 28 has not been fulfilled yet. The government and the Parliament have not been able to achieve much success in making laws. This will decline trust in the government,” he said.

“It is not good to cancel that the meeting called to endorse the budget of the Tribhuvan University for next year and the list of 90,000 students who have received academic degrees (grace list) at the direction of the Chancellor. The Prime Minister should move ahead on the path of reform,” leader Mahara said.

The meeting which was supposed to be held on Friday was postponed for Sunday as the Prime Minister was on a visit. The meeting was deferred again at the instruction of the Prime Minister, Mahar further said.

Prime Minister Oli is to leave for Humla to inaugurate the bridge on Sunday by postponing the TU’s senate meeting.

Israeli airstrikes killed 64 Palestinians in Gaza today, including nine near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid hub in Rafah, hospital sources said. The death toll at GHF centres has reached 743, Al Jazeera reported.

Hamas says it is ready for immediate talks on a 60-day ceasefire to allow aid access. Islamic Jihad supports talks but demands guarantees for a permanent truce.

The announcement comes ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where US President Trump is pushing to end the 21-month war.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reports 57,338 Palestinians killed and over 135,000 wounded. Israel recorded 1,139 deaths in the October 7 attacks, according to Al Jazeera.