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A mountaineer from Ireland, who had climbed Mt Everest 10 times, died while climbing Mt Annapurna at Narchyang in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4 of Myagdi district. An Indian national has been missing and another has been rescued alive by a helicopter. A Kailash Air helicopter rescued Baljeet Kaur from 7, 500 meters on Tuesday afternoon, Indra Singh Sherchan, a member of the rescue team, said. He had gone to climb Mt Annapurna through Pioneer Trekking Company in Kathmandu. Sherchan said Neol Hanna died at the high camp of Mt Annapurna last night. The body of Hanna, who had gone to climb Mt Annapurna through Seven Summit Trek, was brought to the base camp from 6,000 meters this afternoon. Neol and Baljeet were missing since Monday morning. The whereabouts of Anuraj Malu (34) of Kishangadh, Rajasthan, India is yet to be ascertained. Thaneshwor Guragain, Manager of Seven Summit Trek, said that Malu went missing from 7, 500 meters while descending to the base camp after he failed to climb the mountain on Monday afternoon. Four choppers of Simrik, Kailash, Air Altitude and Everest Air were deployed to search for the missing persons.

The loan shark victims have said that they would hold talks only with the Prime Minister. During a press conference organized at Shantibatika in the Capital on Tuesday, they strongly protested against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha. The loan shark victims said that they would not return home until their demands are met. They also accused the government of suppressing their peaceful protest. Earlier, at least nine loan shark victims were injured in a clash with police at Shantibatika. The Farmers-Workers Struggle Committee has forwarded a six-point demand to the government. The loan shark victims have also accused the government of not giving attention to their demands.

Two persons have been arrested for defrauding 22 persons of Rs 6.6 million assuring them of lucrative jobs abroad. A team of Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office nabbed Sudhan Kumari Shahi and Anil Shrestha. Somendra Singh Rathore, spokesperson at the Crime Investigation Office, said that a complaint was filed at the office stating that the duo had collected Rs 5 lakh each from 22 people on the pretext of sending them to Italy, South Korea, New Zealand and Portugal among other countries for foreign employment. Based on the complaint, police apprehended them from Gongabu. Shahi (28) is the operator of Greenleaf International Consultancy and Nepal Snowfall Mountain Trek and Expedition and Shrestha is the Managing Director. Further investigation into the incident is underway.

Fighting between the army and paramilitaries in Sudan has killed around 200 people and wounded 1,800, damaging hospitals and hampering aid on Monday after three days of urban warfare, AFP reported. A weeks-long power struggle exploded into deadly violence Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Analysts say the fighting in the capital of the chronically unstable country is unprecedented and could be prolonged, despite regional and global calls for a ceasefire as diplomats mobilise. The European Union's ambassador to Sudan was attacked in his home in Khartoum on Monday, the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell said. A spokesperson told AFP the veteran diplomat was "OK" following the assault. "Security of diplomatic premises and staff is a primary responsibility of Sudanese authorities and an obligation under international law," Borrell said, according to AFP. Battles have taken place throughout the vast country and there are fears of regional spillover. Terrified residents of the capital are spending the last and holiest days of Ramadan watching from their windows as tanks roll through the streets, buildings shake, and smoke from fires triggered by the fighting hangs in the air. The conflict has seen air strikes, artillery and heavy gunfire. Those compelled to venture out face queues for bread and petrol at outlets which are not shuttered. Residents are also dealing with power outages.

Hospitals 'out of service'

Volker Perthes, the head of the United Nations mission to Sudan, told the Security Council in a closed-door session that at least 185 people have been killed and another 1,800 wounded. "It's a very fluid situation so it's very difficult to say where the balance is shifting to," Perthes told reporters after the meeting. Earlier Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again urged Sudan's warring parties to "immediately cease hostilities". He warned that further escalation "could be devastating for the country and the region." Medics in Sudan had earlier given a death toll of nearly 100 civilians and "dozens" of fighters from both sides, but the number of casualties was thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals. The official doctors' union warned fighting had "heavily damaged" multiple hospitals in Khartoum and other cities, with some completely "out of service". The World Health Organization had already warned that several Khartoum hospitals tending to wounded civilians "have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other vital supplies". In the western region of Darfur, international medical aid organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported receiving 136 wounded patients at the only hospital in El Fasher still operating in North Darfur state, AFP reported. "The majority of the wounded are civilians who were caught in the crossfire -- among them are many children," MSF's Cyrus Paye said. Due to limited surgical capacity, "11 people died from their injuries in the first 48 hours of the conflict."

Call for talks

Three UN World Food Programme staff were also among those killed, on Saturday in Darfur, where humanitarian missions have had medical and other supplies looted, according to Save the Children and MSF. A number of organisations have temporarily suspended operations in the country, where one-third of the population needs aid. "This renewed fighting only aggravates what was already a fragile situation, forcing UN agencies and our humanitarian partners to temporarily shutter many of our more than 250 programmes across Sudan," said UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths. Diplomatic manoeuvres seemed to ramp up on Monday, as the fighting showed no signs of abating. Influential northern neighbour Egypt announced it had discussed with Saudi Arabia, South Sudan and Djibouti -- all close allies of Sudan -- "the need to make every effort to preserve stability and safety". President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the two warring parties to "return to the negotiating table" and said he was working on the return of Egyptian military "trainers" captured Saturday at an air base by RSF forces, according to AFP. The Gulf emirate Qatar spoke to African Union commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat, who is planning to "immediately" undertake a ceasefire mission. There are no more civilian flights arriving in Khartoum, where fighting has damaged aircraft.