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The final round of qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, set to be held in Saudi Arabia, begins today. Teams outside Asia's top 18 rankings will compete for the tournament's final six slots.This is the third and last round of Asian Cup qualifications, with 24 teams split into six groups of four.
Nepal is also competing at this stage, starting its qualification campaign today against Malaysia.
The Group F match between Nepal and Malaysia will begin at 7:45 PM Nepal time at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia.​​​​​​​
Malaysia is regarded as a stronger team than Nepal, as it ranks far better in the FIFA rankings—132nd, versus 175th. Furthermore, Nepal has never defeated Malaysia in previous matches.Nepal, on the other hand, enters the match with confidence after winning its last two games, whereas Malaysia has only lost two of its last eleven games.
 

The number of Nepalis, who have died due to various reasons in Saudi Arabia, has reached 136.

According to Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia, they died from mid-July to March 24.

Out of 136 bodies of Nepalis who lost their lives owing to various reasons, 121 have been sent to Nepal. The Embassy said that legal procedures are underway to send the remaining bodies.

The Embassy said that many died due to natural causes, though the causes may be numerous.

Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr Naresh Bikram Dhakal expressed grief over the untimely deaths of Nepalis who had reached Saudi Arabia for foreign employment.

He informed that the process has been taken ahead to repatriate the remaining bodies by holding discussions with concerned bodies.

The monitoring of the rare wildlife species, the snow leopard, has begun in Upper Mustang. The monitoring assisted by camera trapping method at three locations of Mustang is expected to present the existing status of the animal and its number.

The rising cases of human-snow leopard conflict here have prompted the monitoring.

Annapurna Conservation Area Project Office Chief, Umesh Paudel, said 12 cameras have been fitted in the area around Baragung Muktikshetra-3, above the Thurlungphant of Lomanthang and above the Lomanthang market.

The initiative aims to determine further measures for protecting the animal by managing human-animal conflict. There are concerns over inconveniences caused by the annuals to locals including the losses of their livestock 

The snow leopard known as the Queen of Himalayas, has a significant contribution to the ecosystem, carrying the religious, cultural and biological values here.

It is said there has been an urgent need to protect the animal and the traditional livestock farming here simultaneously with the implementation of new measures for the management of snow leopard. "The locals have been practicing livestock farming for centuries, and now is the time to implement new programs for sustainable management of animals, keeping the farming safe and undamaged," he said.

Prior to this, the ACAP had been monitoring the status of the animal at various locations in the district with the help of 31 cameras.

It is said that the lifestyle of the animal has changed due to the impact of climate change. The reports are that the snow leopards come down to the lower altitude areas following its prey, mainly Naur (The Himalayan Blue Sheep), that has started shifting down in the absence of alpine grassland in the highlands as a result of climate change.

A person died after a truck fell into the Trishuli river on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Ram Narayan Yadav (35) of Sakhuwa, Rautahat, according to the District Police Office, Chitwan. He was the driver of the truck.

DSP Rabindra Khanal of the District Police Office, Chitwan said that the truck (Ba Pra 03-001 Kha 4874) carrying coal veered off the road and plunged into the Trishuli river at Chaudha Kilo, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29, this morning.

The vehicle was heading towards Muglin from Narayangadh.

Critically injured in the incident, Yadav breathed his last during the course of treatment at the Bharatpur Hospital at 8: 30 am, DSP Khanal informed.

Assistant driver Asundra Kumar Yadav (19) of Garuda Municipality-5, Rautahat, who was also injured in the incident, is undergoing treatment at Chitwan Medical College, police said.

The United Nations has indicated that it will be scaling back the number of its international team in Gaza following fresh Israeli military assaults on Palestinian territory that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, including UN staff, Alzajeera reported.

UN spokesperson Stephan Dujarric, who acknowledged that the pullout occurs at a time when humanitarian needs have increased and "concern over the protection of civilians intensifies," perhaps 30 of the organization's 100 or so international employees would depart Gaza this week during a news briefing on Monday with Alzajeera.

The UN spokesman also confirmed that an Israeli tank was responsible for the attack on a UN compound in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on March 19, that killed a Barian UN staff member and left six other foreign staff with severe injuries.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 173, 300 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 173, 500 per tola on Monday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 980 per tola today.

Senior citizens from Gamtha Village of Khatyad Rural Municipality-7 in Mugu have faced difficulty to receive social security allowance due to not having the national identity card.

Khimta Ghodashaini (69), Tuli Sanjyal (70), Purna Chandra Upadhyay (77), and Saura Devi Ghodashaini (64) complained that they were facing hardship to secure state entitlement.

The local levels are returning the elderly service seekers empty handed, reasoning that it was essential to produce the national ID card to claim allowance. On the other hand, it takes two to three days' trekking to reach the district headquarters, Gamgadhi, to prepare the national ID card. It has resulted in sheer harassment and deprivation to the senior citizens.

The senior citizens blamed that the local level did not pay heed to these problems. It could take initiative to resolve the problem, they argued.

Khamma Budha (71) from Khamale Village of Khadtyad wailed that he could not draw the money from the bank for a year due to not having the national ID card. He shared that he was struggling to manage daily spending. The money he receives as elderly allowance is deposited in his bank account.

There are more than 35 such senior citizens and a single woman at ward no 5 alone not getting access to the allowance.

Chauli Budha (84) from Khatyad shared the plight that she could not visit the district headquarters because of her poor health. So, she had no national ID card, which is now made mandatory to receive state entitlement.

Chairman of ward-5 at Khatyad, Chitra Bahadur Budha, however, blamed the bank for not providing the allowance to the senior citizens, reasoning the need for a national ID card.

There are over 145 senior citizens and a single woman registering their names for social security allowance in the ward. Most of them are not getting the allowance for lack of essential documents.

"The District Administration Office needs to conduct a camp to facilitate the distribution of national ID cards to the locals so that needy ones would get quick access to state entitlements," Chairman Budha demanded.

Meanwhile, Chief District Officer, Kamal Prasad Pande, informed that they were planning to conduct a public service camp to ensure services at people's doorsteps.

The government has added 433,703 taxpayers over the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2024-25. In the same period of the previous year, the number of taxpayers had increased by 426,330.

According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the total number of taxpayers reached 6,659,836 by mid-February of the current fiscal year. This represents a 6.97 percent increase in the number of PAN holders over the eight-month period. The total number of taxpayers stood at 6,226,133 in mid-February of 2024.

However, while the number of taxpayers has grown, revenue collection has not increased proportionally. This is largely because the majority of new registrations are for individual Permanent Account Numbers (PAN), which contribute less to revenue compared to business entities.

According to the IRD, individual taxpayers account for 69.3 percent, or 4,612,406, of the total taxpayers. Business PAN holders account for 30.2 percent, or 2,012,586, of the total taxpayers. The remaining 34,844 PANs, or 0.5 percent of the total taxpayers, have been issued to tax-exempt entities.

Total revenue collection has reached Rs 739bn as of March 24. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office (FCGO), tax revenue accounts for about 80 percent of the total revenue. The government has mobilized Rs 656.39bn in tax revenue, Rs 82.83bn in non-tax revenue, and Rs 9.20bn in grants as of March 24.

With less than four months remaining in the current fiscal year, the government has reached the halfway point in revenue mobilization. Total revenue mobilization stands at 52.08 percent of the
Rs 1,419.30bn target for the current fiscal year. Progress in tax and non-tax revenue collection stands at 51.11 percent and 61.32 percent, respectively.

Nepal’s revenue-to-GDP ratio, which was 9 percent in 1989-90, increased to 21.6 percent in 2021-22, only to decline to 17.8 percent in 2022-23. Similarly, the tax revenue-to-GDP ratio, which was seven percent in 1989-90, improved to 20 percent by 2021/22 but dropped to 16.1 percent in 2022-23, marking a 4 percent decline.