_{July 2 - July 8}

Top Highlights of the Week

• 🤥 Neta News: Prachanda out, Mask mayhem, MaKuNe back

• 🚎 Economy: EVs taking over Nepal, bato & tourism updates, AI paper

• 🫡 Aayo Gorkhali: Golfer, Chef, and female double-deck driver,

• 🌎 Around the world: Nepali kills Nepali in Nashville

• 📆 Events: Speed Dating, Sushant KC, Nepathya tour dates

Neta News

Weekly Roundup: 5 Things That Happened This Week

👋 Prachanda out!: KP Oli’s UML has joined forces with Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress to kick Prachanda out as Prime Minister. Maoists only have 32 seats, so we’ll most likely be saying bye-bye to Comrade Prachanda and welcoming back Oli-Ba.

😷 Mukul dai suspended: RSP suspended General Secretary Mukul Dhakal for protesting the decision not to livestream his report on RSP’s poor election performance. He protested by wearing a mask with an “X” on it, a symbolic gesture to demonstrate how he is being silenced.

🙈 Long Time No See: Madhav Kumar Nepal, aka MaKuNe, has been re-elected as Chair of UML (Unified-Socialist). Nepal split from UML (Oli) a few years back to form their party. UML (US) has 25 members in the House of Representatives compared to CPN (UML)’s 93 members.

🌍 Ambassador Ko Hune: The process for ambassadorial appointments has stopped following UML’s decision to withdraw support for the current coalition government. Although eight ambassadors were appointed, they are yet to be registered at the Parliamentary Secretariat.

🛂 Greencard na lukaunu: The National Vigilance Center has started investigating government officials with foreign PR cards. The Prime Minister's Office asked them to do this after complaints were filed against two secretaries with PR status in the US and the UK.

Nation & Economy

⛈️ Paani le Pidit: Flooding and landslides have resulted in more than 47 deaths across Nepal. PM Dahal has directed all state bodies to focus their resources on rescue and relief efforts. Gandaki, Bagmati, and Lumibini are the most affected provinces.

🛣️ Bato Khuldai Cha: The Kathmandu-Nijgadh expressway achieved another tunnel breakthrough last week. The 76 km highway connects the Capital to Terai, with 11 km of bridges and 6 km of tunnels. As of May 24, 34% of the project has been completed.

📈 Tourists haru bade: Around 600,000 tourists visited Nepal in the past six months. In June alone, 76,736 tourists entered Nepal, the highest ever recorded in the history of Nepal. The government is targeting 1.6 million tourists in the upcoming fiscal year.

🤖 AI Concept Paper: The Ministry of Communication and IT released a report recommending the government enact necessary policies and laws for AI development in Nepal. The report recommends to formulate a national policy compatible with international standards. Full Report.

🚎 EVs on the rise: EV imports have overtaken conventional combustion vehicles. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, Nepal imported 3,537 combustion vehicles compared to 11,466 Electric Vehicles. The government predicts EV sales will make up 90% of all private vehicle sales by 2030.

👑 Gold High: For the second time in 30 days, the price for Fine Gold reached an all-time high of Rs 1,45,000 per tola. The latest price jumped by Rs. 1,600 in a single day, indicating a fairly volatile market.

🚌 Bus Yatra: The Tourist Bus Association has sent an 18-member team to explore bus service between Bangkok and Kathmandu. The journey would be around 3,305 KM and probably take a week from start to end. Jane ho?

🤝 Sastodeal Comeback: IME Group has reportedly acquired 70% of Sastodeal with plans to re-launch the e-commerce platform soon. Sastodeal has been non-operational for the past several months.

🏦 Cooperative Justice: A 7-member committee investigating shady cooperatives has summoned dozens of operators. As per the govt, 54 major corporations have failed to return Rs. 160 Billion (USD 1.2 billion) of deposits.

Did you know?

Aayo Gorkhali

🚌 Double Decker First: Shanti Kumari Bhandari is the first female double-decker Bus driver in UAE. Shanti started as a bus supervisor and got her taxi-driving license before she started the process of becoming a bus driver.

🧑‍🍳 Michelin Chef: Rahul Shrestha is part of the senior chef team at Row on 45 that was recently awarded the Michelin 2-stars in the prestigious Michelin Guide. Row On 45 is located right next to the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

⛳️ First Nepali Golfer: Sadhbhav Acharya will become the first Nepali ever to compete at the 124th US Amateur Championship in Chaska, Minnesota. Acharya will also compete in the 2024 Junior Players Championship.

Know any stories/news about Nepalis abroad? Reply to feature them!

Around the World

Nepali Killed by Another Nepali During Mantra Concert

Umesh Dahal, a 41-year-old father of two, has died while trying to break up a fight during a concert in Nashville, Tennessee. The dispute started inside the venue and spilled out into the parking lot.

According to the local police, “Umesh was reportedly trying to diffuse the argument when he was punched, causing him to fall and hit his head on the concrete.” As he lay on the ground, he was kicked in his head.

Umesh died Tuesday morning.

26-year-old Bishal Rai has been identified and arrested as the suspect who kicked Umesh on his head. Rai was originally charged with aggravated assault but will be upgraded to criminal homicide.

Bhetghat

Event Roundup

🎡 Nepal Festival: On July 7, Laligurans Sports and Cultural Club organized another edition of the “Nepal Festival” in Brampton, Ontario. The festival included various cultural performances such as Lakhe dance and performances by Nepalese artists.

✍️ MOU Signed: The Great Nepali Diaspora (TGND) signed an MOU with One to Watch (OTW) to leverage each other’s networks and actively work together to help grow tech companies in Nepal.

🗣️ Leadership Summit: Leadership Academy Nepal, based out of Rice University, Houston, completed a Leadership Development program with 25 participants.

Bhetghat

Mark Your Calendars: Next 7 days

📆 July 9
Passport Service Mobile Camp [🇺🇸 Los Angeles, CA]
Nepalese Night [🇦🇺 Church Point, NSW]

📆 July 10
TGND Fireside chat with MD of Daraz [🇺🇸 New York, NY]

📆 July 13
Swoopma Suman Live [🇦🇪 Dubai]

📆 July 14
Gaun Aayeko Bato Screening [🇺🇸 St. Louis, MO]
HIMSOC Kids Soccer Camp [🇨🇦 Vancouver, CA]
TGND Creatives Hub webinar with Author Prajwal Parajuly, [🛜 Virtual]

📆 July 15
NST Global Nepali Pathashala Junior Summer Camp [ 🇺🇸 Euless, TX]
Free US Citizenship Application Assistance Event [🇺🇸 New York, NY]

Mark Your Calendars: Next 30 days

July 19-21: ANA Nepali National Convention [🇺🇸 Emeryville, CA]
July 20: TGND Hike [🇺🇸 New York, NY]
July 20: Sushant KC live [🇺🇸 New York, NY]
July 21-22: Purna Rai [Melbourne, VIC]
July 22: TGND Sustainability Hub [🌏 Virtual]
July 22-28: NST Summer Camp [ 🇺🇸 Euless, TX]
July 26: Sushant KC live [🇺🇸 Minneapolis, MN]
July 27: Sajjan Raj Vaidya Live [🇬🇧 London, UK]
July 27: 2nd Kent Volleyball Club [🇬🇧 Ashford, Kent]
July 27: 1974 AD Live [🇯🇵 Nippon, Kimitsu]
July 28: Sushant KC live [🇺🇸 Manassas, VA]
August 1: Momo Mingle Speed Dating [🇺🇸 New York, NY]
August 3, 4: Yeti Cup 2024 [🇨🇦 Vancouver, BC]
August 3: Sushant KC live [🇺🇸 Harrisburg, PA]
August 4: Sushant KC live [🇺🇸 Pittsburg, PA]
August 4: Nima Rumba live [🇺🇸 Los Angeles, CA]
August 10: Nepathya live [🇺🇸 San Francisco, CA]
August 10: Himalayan Mela 2024 [🇨🇦 Toronto, ON]
August 10: Sushant KC live [🇺🇸 Dallas, TX]

👋 Feel free to send in events by replying to this email

That’s all for this week!

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See you next Tuesday ✌️

— 5MinsNepal Team