Trump says US will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, saying they are necessary to defend the country because Russian President Vladimir Putin "talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening," Reuters reported.

Trump did not give a number of Patriots he plans to send to Ukraine, but he said the United States would be reimbursed for their cost by the European Union. The U.S. president has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin because the Russian leader has resisted Trump's attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked for more defensive capabilities to fend off a daily barrage of missile and drone attacks from Russia.

"We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then bombs everybody in the evening. But there's a little bit of a problem there. I don't like it," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, according to Reuters.

 

Heavy rainfall likely in some areas of four provinces

There will be generally cloudy weather throughout the country due to the influence of monsoon winds.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology informed that the monsoon low-pressure line is located slightly north of the average position in the east. 

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur in some areas of the mountainous regions of the country, including Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudurpashchim Provinces, and in a few places in the remaining provinces. 

There is also a possibility of heavy rain in one or two places in Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, and Karnali Provinces, while light to moderate rain or snowfall is predicted in a few places in the high mountainous and Himalayan regions of the country.

Similarly, there is a possibility of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning in some areas of Kosi, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, and Lumbini Provinces, and in a few areas of the remaining provinces tonight. 

There is also a possibility of heavy rain in one or two places of Koshi and Lumbini Provinces. 

The Department has indicated chances of light to moderate rain/snow in a few areas of the high-hilly and Himalayan regions of the country. 

 

KMC unveils budget of Rs 25.76 billion for FY 2025/26

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has unveiled the new budget of Rs 25.76 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26.. 

Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Sunita Dangol tabled the budget in the 17th convention of the municipal assembly on Sunday. 

Of the total budget of the metropolitan city for the new fiscal year, Rs 20.12 billion would be covered from the internal resources of the metropolitan city and bank deposits.

Likewise, almost Rs 5 billion would be received from the federal and province governments as the conditional and equalization grants and revenue sharing.  

As stated in the budget, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City would identify new taxpayers to make the revenue collection effective in the upcoming fiscal year and coordination would be made by visiting the transaction site itself. 

Similarly, the metropolitan city has announced the provision to provide subsidies to the new taxpayers for joining the list of the taxpayers by the end of the first six months of the upcoming fiscal year.    

Furthermore, coordination will be made with the federal government to integrate the house rental tax into a one-door system. 

 

Lawmakers call for declaring Tarai/Madhes as drought-hit zone

Lawmakers have drawn the government's attention to the challenges facing the Tarai /Madhes region due to a lack of rainfall, which has affected rice planting this year.

They stated that several districts in the region are still waiting for rain and urged the government to declare the area as drought-affected and introduce and implement relief programmes.

Krishna Kumar Shrestha highlighted that districts such as Bara and Parsa are also facing an acute shortage of drinking water. 

Independent lawmaker Amresh Kumar Singh said a prolonged drought has caused severe water shortages for both household use and irrigation, from Birgunj to Janakpur.

Ramkrishna Yadav of the Nepali Congress informed the House that hand tube wells and wells in the Tarai /Madhes are drying up due to the ongoing drought.

Gyan Bahadur Shahi of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party expressed concern over the removal of the Jumla-based Water Supply and Sewage Management Office. 

Chhiring Lhamu Lama (Tamang) of the CPN (Maoist Center) also opposed the decision, urging authorities to ensure timely completion of the Dhauligad Greater Drinking Water Project in Jumla.

Kantika Sejuwal of the Nepali Congress accused the state of discriminating against citizens of the Karnali region and voiced concern over the closure of the Jumla-based Sewage Office.

Sita Kumari Rana of the Nepali Congress informed the House that the academic calendar of Tribhuvan University has been affected by the ongoing protests of part-time teachers. She emphasized the need to implement a report aimed at managing the issues of part-time teachers.

Rekha Sharma of the CPN (Maoist Center) accused the government of making it more difficult for citizens to access the health insurance facility. 

Meanwhile, Durga Rai from the same party alleged that appointments of chiefs of the Kaski District Revenue Office and the Land Commission were influenced by money and favoritism.

Sumana Shrestha of the Rastriya Swatantra Party reiterated her party’s demand to form a high-level investigation committee or commission to address the visit visa scam. After she finished presenting her views, the party’s lawmakers walked out of the meeting hall in protest. 

Lawmakers call for prompt rescue, relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected people in Rasuwa 

Meanwhile, the lawmakers have urged the government for the prompt search for the missing, treatment for the injured, and for rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the floods in the Lhende River on the Nepal-China border in Rasuwagadhi.

The flooding was caused by the bursting of the Supraglacial lake on the morning of July 8.

In today's meeting of the House of Representatives, they emphasized that the concerned agencies need to pay timely attention to the matter, as it has been almost a week since the flood incident occurred, and the search for the missing has not been carried out vigorously.

During the special hour of the HoR meeting, lawmaker Mohan Acharya mentioned that due to the flood, a 30 megawatt capacity hydroelectric project was damaged, the Miteri Bridge was swept away, 20 people are missing on the Nepal side and 11 on the China side, and more than a hundred electric vehicles were swept away by the flood. 

He demanded that rescue, search, and reconstruction should be expedited.

"With many structures being built near the river areas, we have suffered a lot of damage now. We must construct disaster-resilient infrastructure anticipating the occurrence of natural disasters. We need to pay attention to air rescue matters. Considering the risks that climate change can bring, we must prioritize adaptation programmes now," said Acharya.

Hit Bahadur Tamang also urged the government to expedite the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts for the flood-affected people of Rasuwa. He stressed on promptly reconstructing the infrastructure damaged due to the flooding.

Lawmaker Achyut Prasad Mainali praised the current government led by KP Sharma Oli, stating that with the current government's one year in office, the construction of the parapet at the cricket stadium in Kirtipur has reached the final stage, transitional justice has reached a conclusion, foreign investment has increased, extraction of petroleum products in Dailekh, the Gwarko overpass, the Nagdhunga–Thanakot tunnel, the acceleration of the Siddhbaba tunnel construction, and the swift progress of the Narayangadh–Butwal and Muglin–Pokhara road construction.

According to Mainali, we need to move forward together for prosperity, good governance, and development based on the feelings of the people. 

Meanwhile, Rajendra Pandey, a member of the Nepal Communist Party (Unified Socialist), called for action against those guilty, stating that the issue of two government ministers taking bribes has come into public.

He demanded that the government should promptly respond as questions have been raised about the Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration and the Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation in that connection.

Similarly, lawmakers Sushila Shrestha of Janata Samajbadi Party, Abdul Khan of the Janamat Party, Rekha Yadav of Janata Samjbadi Party Nepal, Ram Prakash Chaudhary of the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Prem Suwal of Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party, Chitra Bahadur KC of Rastriya Janamorcha Party, Prabhu Sah of Aam Janata Party, independent MP Yogendra Mandal, Nagina Yadav of the Nepali Congress and Tara Lama of the CPN (UML) called attention of the government on various issues of public importance.

 

Chinese authorities release water from Kerung blocked by Lhende Stream flood

Work has begun on the Chinese side to release water that accumulated in the Kerung Stream after a flood in the Lhende Stream on Tuesday morning.

Chinese authorities are using heavy machinery to release the blocked water toward Chinese territory. 

According to local border security officials, large rocks, uprooted trees and logs had piled up at the confluence of the Lhende and Kerung stream, blocking the flow of Kerung and causing inundation towards China as well. 

The flooding submerged over 30 Nepali containers and some houses in Kerung, China.

On the Nepali side, 70 electric cars, six large Sino Company trucks, and 24 operational Nepali container trucks were swept away, according to Tulsi Prasad Bhattarai, Chief Customs Officer at Rasuwa Customs Office.

Wang, a senior Chinese technician in Rasuwagadhi, reported that the sudden flood on July 8 swept away six Chinese nationals, three Nepal Police personnel, and five Nepali workers.

Similarly, Dhruba Prasad Adhikari, Assistant Chief District Officer of Rasuwa, confirmed that a total of 20 people were swept away by the flood, including six Nepali drivers employed by a Chinese company. 

Similarly, the flood has swept away one tipper of Tibet Fuli Construction Group used in the construction of the dry port at Rasuwagadhi, along with one cement mixer, one excavator, one roller, and one Hilux jeep were swept away. He said, 'Suddenly, a flood came in the river, and the security personnel nearby began shouting to move to a safe place, we panicked and ran away; the flood swept away some friends who couldn't escape, but we managed to slip away to the Ghattekhola to save our lives.' 

Likewise, Kami Chiring Tamang, the chairperson of Gosainkunda Rural Municipality-2 stated, 'As soon as we received the news of the flood, I remembered the people in the customs yard. We alerted them to flee while sitting on the hill. Then we asked our villagers at risk to stay alert; nevertheless, due to the unimaginable flood, there has been significant loss of lives and property, and we are currently in a state of grief here.'

Chairperson Tamang urged the government to pay attention to prepare a comprehensive damage report for providing relief to the flood victims and to create an environment for Nepali brothers currently in Kerung to return home safely.

Likewise, another local Purushottam Paudel informed that arrangements have been made for travelers returning from 'Manasarovar-Kailash' to come towards Nepal via the Tatopani border after the Miteri Bridge in Rasuwagadhi was washed away. 

Similarly, Chief District Officer Arjun Paudel mentioned that travelers who have completed the Manasarovar Kailash journey and have already entered Nepal were airlifted to their destinations by helicopter on July 8 and 9. 

According to him, security personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force are currently engaged in search and rescue operations and are stationed to assist the incapacitated and helpless. 

Due to the floods, most of the road sections from Syaphrubesi to Rasuwagadhi have been destroyed, completely blocking the road and leaving the lives of people in that area desolate. 

According to Ward Chairperson Tamang, the work of assessing the damage caused by the flood in the Rasuwagadhi area has started, and local residents and employees are still in a state of fear.

 

T20 World Cup Qualifiers: CAN calls up 32 players for closed training camp

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has called up 32 players for a closed training camp.

Issuing a statement on Sunday, the CAN said that it has called up 32 players for a closed training camp for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers.

The CAN has also called Mohammad Adil Alam (Adil Ansari) for the closed training.

Along with Captain Rohit Paudel, Kushal Bhurtel, Anil Sah, Asif Sheikh, Bhim Sarki, Gulshan Jha, Rupesh Singh, Basir Ahmed, Shahab Alam, Yuvraj Khatri, Dipendra Singh Airee, Kushal Malla, Arif Sheikh, Nandan Yadav, Karan KC, Sompal Kami, Rijan Dhakal, Pratish JC, Lalit Rajbanshi, Kamal Singh Airee will be in the  closed training.

Sagar Dhakal, Kiran Thagunna, Sandeep Lamichhane, Akash Chand, Vivek Yadav, Mohammad Adil Alam, Pawan Sarraf, Sandeep Zora, Sher Malla, Subha Kansakar, Arjun Gharti and Lokesh Bam will also be in the camp.

 

 

 

 

Nepse surges by 31. 08 points on Sunday

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 31. 08 points to close at 2,762.88 points on Sunday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 9. 51 points to close at 481. 54 points.

A total of 32,592,030-unit shares of 311 companies were traded for Rs 11. 41 billion.

Meanwhile, NIC Asia Bank Ltd. (NICA) and Khanikhola Hydropower Co. Ltd. (KKHC) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Himalayan Hydropower Limited (HHL) was the top loser as its price fell by 9.93 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 1. 57 trillion.

PM Oli inaugurates Madandangi - Tarabari - Dipu Road Upgrading Project

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the Madandangi - Tarabari - Dipu Road Upgrading Project in Damak Municipality, Jhapa today. 

The road is one of 17 selected from across the country as a pride project of the municipality, supported by the World Bank. 

Built at the cost of Rs 442 million, the 4.86 kilometers long road is considered a model project completed on time.  

On the occasion, Prime Minister Oli said that this road is also a model of development work in the country, mentioning that the government is engaged in the campaign to complete projects from Mechi to Mahakali.

He also announced the construction of a stadium in Beldangi, Damak. 

According to the Prime Minister's private secretariat, the PM mentioned that after conducting free 'online' classes on important subjects with the spirit of volunteerism as part of plans to bring about improvements in every sector, this year's SEE results improved by 13 percent. 

He commented that it was unnecessary to respond to some opponents who falsely propagated that he returned from Spain leaving people behind, overshadowing the success of his visit. 

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal, Chief Minister of Koshi Province, Hikmat Kumar Karki, former Chief Ministers Sherdhan Rai and Uddhav Thapa among others were present on the occasion.