- Monday, 25 August 2025
The Rising Nepal
Tackling Unemployment Problem
With a population of around 29 million, Nepal faces acute unemployment problem. Two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30 and the unemployment rate within this demographic group is about 20 per cent. This number is far greater than the national average joblessness. A report suggests that 500,000 people enter the domestic and international labour market every year, a clear indication of the quantitative component of the employment challenge in Nepal. The unemployment issue also has a qualitative aspect as it is mostly confined to informal sectors where earnings and working conditions are subpar. As a result, Nepal faces a situation where it must lower the unemployment rate as well as create meaningful and secure employment opportunities.
Local Polls And Development
The preliminary data provided by the Election Commission, Nepal (ECN) shows that the total vote cast is only 66.86 per cent. This percentage varies with provinces: The largest percentage of votes cast is in Karnali Province (70 per cent) and the lowest percentage of votes cast was found in Bagmati Province (64.16 per cent). Further, the vote cast percentage of other provinces in descending order are Gandaki province (68.28 per cent), Madesh Province (67.69 per cent), Lumbini Province (66.79 per cent), Far-western (65.80 per cent), and province 1 (65.35 per cent). In contrast to the above figures, Kathmandu has only 52 per cent of the votes cast. This variation in the percentage of vote cast infers that the place with difficult geographical terrain and low education rate has a high rate of vote caste and vice versa.
Menstrual Leave
Spain recently passed a bill to become the first nation in Europe to offer a menstrual leave to its female workers. The bill envisages providing the female workers with paid leaves for which the payment will come from the government’s own treasury. This is definitely a progressive step towards women’s welfare. Menstruation is a monthly biological phenomenon that happens to every girl and woman. Many experience period pains and heavy bleeding during menstruation. Dysmenorrhea is a pain associated with women. Pain or menstrual cramps could range from mild to severe. But pain can make it difficult for girls and women to go along with their day-to-day activities. Many find it very difficult in their first and second days of the monthly cycle. Therefore, certain nations like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia have developed women-friendly policies.
Mushfiqur ton guides Bangladesh to lead
Mushfiqur Rahim struck his eighth Test century and became the first Bangladeshi to pass 5,000 runs as the hosts took the upper hand in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong on Wednesday. Bangladesh were all out for 465 runs with a first-innings lead of 29 when last man Shoriful Islam was unable to carry on his innings after a blow to the hand while batting. Sri Lanka lost two wickets in the second innings.
Liverpool take title race to final day
Jurgen Klopp rated Liverpool's chances of winning the Premier League as "not likely but possible" after the under-strength quadruple chasers took the title race to the final day of the season with a 2-1 win against Southampton on Tuesday. After Liverpool defeated Chelsea on penalties in a gruelling FA Cup final just three days earlier, Klopp took a gamble with nine changes at St Mary's. Despite effectively fielding a reserve team and trailing to Nathan Redmond's early strike, Liverpool hit back through goals from Takumi Minamino and Joel Matip.
We are ready to partner with Gorkhapatra: CM Bhatta
Chief Minister of Sudurpaschim Province Trilochan Bhatta has said that the provincial government is ready to collaborate with Gorkhapatra Corporation. During a meeting with GC General Manager Lal Bahadur Airi on Wednesday, Chief Minister Bhatta said that the provincial government is ready to move ahead together with Gorkhapatra Corporation. “We are positive to work with the Corporation to inform the readers about our activities and to hear the voices of the people,” he said.
EC asks election offices to speed up vote counting
The Election Commission has instructed the concerned election offices to conclude the vote counting by May 19 and publish the final results at the earliest. Issuing a press statement on Wednesday, the EC asked the concerned election officers to complete the vote counting by May 19 considering that the tenure of the local representatives elected in the last local poll will expire on May 19 and this will create a vacuum in the local levels.
House discussion on budget priorities begins
Discussion on principles and priorities of the Annual Appropriation Bill-2079 (except tax) for the coming fiscal year began in the House of Representatives (HoR) on Wednesday. Lawmakers of the ruling coalition stood in favour of the document and the main opposition opposed it. Lawmakers from the ruling alliance said that the document was the need of the hour to make better appropriation for next fiscal year as several targets were waiting to be fulfilled. However, the opposition lawmakers said it was just a traditional draft which could not fulfill contemporary needs of the country.
KTM-Kunming direct flight from May 30
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand. During the meeting held at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singha Durbar, bilateral relations and exchange of cooperation between the two countries were discussed, according to Madhusudan Bhattarai, press coordinator of the Home Minister. During the meeting, Ambassador Hou congratulated Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for holding the local elections successfully.
Actor Joshi to cycle from London to Paris
Actor and producer Bikram D Joshi will be cycling 240 mile (around 387 KM). Joshi, actor of Happy Days, Password and Hello Jindagi, is going to have a London to Paris Charity Ride with six Nepali friends on Friday with the aim of raising funds for the Children’s Home run by Help Nepal Network in Dhulikhel. The cycling team includes Joshi, Shulav Pant, Sushil Prasai, Manoj Shrestha, Prashidha Pradhan, Sunil Karki and Lachhuman Gurung.
Thapa elected Ilam Municipality mayor
Kedar Thapa has been elected mayor and Bishnu Dahal deputy mayor in Ilam Municipality of Ilam. It is the first time that Nepali Congress (NC) candidates have won the local level election in Ilam municipality in 30 years. The CPN-UML had won the posts of both mayor and deputy mayor in the local level elections of 1997 and 2017. NC candidate Thapa garnered 13,165 votes while his closest rival, Dhiren Chemchong of the CPN-UML, got 10,587. Likewise, Dahal of NC has been elected deputy mayor with 13,542 votes. Her closest rival Sita Devi Rijal of CPN-UML got 10,587 votes.
Mercury exposure high among gold plating workers
People of ethnic community have been traditionally engaged in gold plating business for centuries, however they are unaware of the fact that they come close to hazardous elements and mercury amalgam while continuing their business. Both men and women are involved in gold plating business.
Jazeera to conduct three flights a week to Kuwait from Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport
Kuwait’s leading airline, Jazeera Airways, has announced the launch of a new service to newly built Gautam Buddha International Airport in Nepal, connecting the large community of Nepali expatriates living in the Middle East and Europe to the south-west area of the country. The airline that is expanding its services in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, expressed its commitment to conducting regular commercial flights to and from the GBIA.
Nepali rupee becomes further weaker
The Nepali rupee has, of late, depreciated against the U.S. dollar. The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Wednesday fixed the exchange rate of one U.S. dollar at Rs. 124.41. The Nepali currency plunged to a record low against the US dollar today. Earlier, the US dollar appreciated at its highest level against the Nepali Rupee at Rs. 124.25 per dollar on May 10, this year. Under the current system, the exchange rates quoted by different commercial banks may differ, the NRB said.
Transporters happy with auto-adjustment of fares
Transport operators have expressed happiness over the implementation of automatic fare adjustment system on the basis of petroleum price. Federal and provincial transport ministries have assured to adjust fare of public transport based on the increment or decrement of petroleum price. If the petroleum price increases or decreases by 5 per cent, the fare is automatically revised by the authorities.
