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The Ministry of Finance held a discussion with the Ministry of Health and Population regarding the implementation of the budget for the current fiscal year, 2025/26.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Health and Population proposed the recruitment of an additional 2,100 healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses at the federal level to support the expansion of specialized services to the province levels and the upgrading of federal hospitals, according to the Secretariat of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Bishnu Prasad Paudel.

Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, voiced the critical need for increasing the healthcare workforce to extend services to the province levels and to enhance the overall efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery.

The meeting also discussed various issues, including the national health insurance scheme, social security measures, the provision of free medicines for children, the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed Bir Hospital facility in Duwakot of Bhaktapur, and challenges related to burn treatment services.

Four people succumbed to dengue fever in the last fiscal year 2024/ 25 in Surkhet district.  

According to the District Public Health Service Office, Surkhet, the district recorded 1,837 dengue patients and four deaths in the last fiscal year. 

Focal person of the Office for the dengue control Udaya BC said that the risk of dengue fever is rising every year in Surkhet. 

He said 639 cases were reported in the fiscal year 2020/21 and 1,322 cases in 2021/22 while the cases rose to 1,484 in the fiscal year 2022/23. 

However, the cases slightly decreased in the year 2023/24.. 

The Office has identified Birendranagar, Panchapuri and Gurvakot as the high risk zones for dengue fever.

Thailand’s embattled prime minister was suspended from duty Tuesday and could face dismissal pending an ethics probe over a leaked phone call she had with Cambodia’s powerful former leader, CNN reported.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 38, has only held the premiership for 10 months after replacing her predecessor, who was removed from office. Her suspension brings fresh uncertainty to the Southeast Asian kingdom, which has been roiled by years of political turbulence and leadership shake-ups.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court accepted a petition brought by a group of 36 senators who accused Paetongtarn of violating the constitution for breaching ethical standards in the leaked call, which was confirmed as authentic by both sides.

Chairman of Nepal Pariwar Dal and lawmaker Ek Nath Dhakal has awarded to 195 students from 102 schools with Ambassador of Pakistan Scholarship amid a function organized in Kathmandu on June 26. The scholarship are awarded to the most deserving and bright Nepali students selected by the respective principals of the schools across Nepal.   

Speaking in the program, Dhakal lauded Pakistan for its continued technical support, especially in the field of education. This, he said, was a reflection of the close friendly ties between Pakistan and Nepal. He expressed hope that Pakistan’s support would go a long way in reminding the youth of the two countries about shared vision. He stressed the need for enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries in other areas as well.

Pakistanti Ambassador to Nepal said that Pakistan would continue its endeavor of scholarship programme and expanding the cooperation at all levels of education, including Higher Secondary students in Nepal. He said that today’s event was celebration of success of the students and a reflection of it being shared responsibility. Ambassador Hashmi highlighted that to encourage Nepali youth in the fields of studies, sports and healthy social activities is a vital part of our bilateral cooperation.  

There is an influence of the westerly and local winds in the country. 

The Meteorological Forecasting Division said that there is a partial influence of the water vapor-rich air coming from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. 

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and fair in the rest of the country this afternoon, according to the Division. 

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of the hilly region and at one or two places of the rest of the provinces. 

Light rain and snowfall is likely to occur at some places of the mountainous region. 

Similarly, the weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly region and fair in the rest of the country tonight. 

Light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly region of the country, including Koshi Province.

There is a possibility of light rain and snowfall at one or two places in the mountainous region of the country.

CPN-UML lawmaker Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai has said the policies and programs presented in the House are youth-oriented and investment-friendly. In Tuesday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, he said the policies and programs have ensured suitable policies for providing employment to the youth and for investment.

“There are provisions related to the integrated plan bank and to industrial, environment and youth-centric policies and programs, while priority has been given to policies and programs for agriculture, industry, production and infrastructure development,” Bhattarai said. He argued that if the capital of Nepalis scattered in different parts of the world could be integrated, there would be no need to look to others for national economic development. Lawmaker Bhattarai was of the view that the country would progress through the development of energy, agriculture and tourism.

Rastriya Swatantra Party leader and lawmaker Swarnim Wagle described the government's policies and program as routine. He was airing his views on party basis during a discussion on the government’s annual policy and programs for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 in Tuesday’s meeting of the House of Representatives. “This is merely a list of the old programs brought reluctantly by a tired government. The order of the budget is also not aligned. Tourism has been lumped under the physical infrastructure and agriculture under trade. There is also no coordination between ministries of foreign affairs and finance,” he said.

According to him, although the agreement reached between the Nepali Congress and the UML during the formation of the government was aimed at banishing corruption and maintaining good governance, this is completely missing in practice. He said though the NC and UML had agreed to amend the constitution, they could not bring out the details of amendment even after 10 months of the formation of the government.

Wagle pledged his party’s support if the high-level economic reform suggestion report included in the policies and programs was implemented practically. Referring to his party’s support to the government in the Economic and Business Environment Reform and Investment Promotion Bill, he said the issue of re-prioritizing physical infrastructure projects in the policies and programs was positive.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leader and lawmaker Gyanendra Shahi said, “The government’s policy document speaks of bringing about a revolution in agriculture, but the situation is such that farmers are not able to sell fish due to the import of foreign fish, the apples of Jumla remain unsold; at least if a policy is made to not import agricultural products from outside, then the people themselves will be engaged in production.”

‘Policies and programs traditional’

Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) and member of the House of Representatives Devendra Paudel described the government’s policies and programs as ‘traditional’. During a discussion on the policies and programs for the fiscal year 2025/26 in Tuesday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, Paudel said, “Public policy synchrony, social justice, employment of students 20 hours a week and provisions on citizen apps, online tax system, digital foundation, cyber security, digital Nepal and bank system were included in last year’s policies and programs. These have been copied and included in the new policies and programs.” 

Stating that the policies and programs should incorporate strong resolve for nation-building, Paudel slammed the policy document for failing to cover the overall national development. According to him, the projects of national pride in the current fiscal year are facing problems due to lack of budget. Paudel said only 31.9 percent of the development budget has been spent in the 10 months of the current fiscal year.
Stressing the need to increase investment in the manufacturing sector, he said, “We sell electricity to neighboring countries at cheaper price but buy it at higher price. This should not be the way.”

Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Shmulik Arie Bass paid a courtesy call on Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav.

During the meeting held today at the Vice President's Office, various issues including bilateral relations between the two countries, cooperation in the agriculture and labour sectors were discussed, according to the Vice President's Office.

CPN-UML leader and former minister Pradeep Nepal passed away this afternoon. 

Suffering from Parkinson's disease for some years, leader Nepal breathed his last at Norvic Hospital in Kathmandu, UML parliamentary party's chief whip Mahesh Bartaula said.

Nepal served as the Minister for Information and Communications in the country's first communist government led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari.    

Likewise, leader Nepal took charge of the Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Education during his political journey. 

The former politburo member of the UML, leader Nepal served as the spokesperson and chief of publicity department of the UML. 

Also an established literary figure, leader Nepal used to write his opinions and literary creations in the name of Sanjaya Thapa when he was underground during the Panchayat era. 

With multiple feathers in his hat, Nepal served as the Editor of Nabayug, Chhalphal and Prakash weeklies and used to write for different newspapers as a columnist. 

Leader Nepal was born in 2010 BS at Gogane village in Bhojpur district.