Nepal

2 August 2024
Carlsberg is buying a 33.33% stake in Carlsberg South Asia from partner CSAPL (Singapore) Holdings in a $744 million deal.
Smoke rises from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on July 24, 2024 after a plane slipped off the runway and crashed while trying to take off. 
Society

Plane slips off runway in Nepal, killing 18 passengers

Crash occurred during takeoff; pilot is only survivor

24 July 2024
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is a veteran that has held the office three times before.
International relations

Nepal poised for closer ties with China under new prime minister

Returning PM Oli may bolster economic and military cooperation with Beijing

24 July 2024
Newly appointed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli signs a document after taking the oath of office at the Shital Niwas presidential building in Kathmandu on July 15.
Politics

Nepal coalition to amend constitution, change electoral system

Pushing Hindu nationalism, restoring monarchy will spark protests, experts say

17 July 2024
Staff from housekeeping services provider Bears. While a severe labor shortage in Japan means many companies are keen to hire from overseas, comparatively low wages and the historically weak yen are blunting the country's appeal. (Photos by Yuji Murakami and Ryosuke Matsui)
Asia Insight

Japan's new enemy in fight to lure immigrant workers: The tumbling yen

Visa rules eased, but currency weakness tarnishes Japan's appeal for overseas hires

16 July 2024
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, chief of the Communist Party of Nepal, has the backing of the Nepali Congress -- the country's largest political party.
Politics

Nepal appoints veteran Communist politician as new prime minister

Oli becomes 14th prime minister since 2008, with majority support in Parliament

15 July 2024
Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, delivers a speech before a confidence vote at the parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 12.
Politics

Nepal poised for new leadership after PM Dahal loses confidence vote

Oli seen heading 14th government since monarchy was abolished in 2008

13 July 2024
"Nepal is one of the best places to do bug bounty," said ethical hacker Ananda Dhakal in Kathmandu, due to sufficient connectivity and a low cost of living.
Technology

Demand for emerging nation 'bug bounty hunters' grows in rich countries

One Nepalese works for Pentagon and Google, earned average annual income with one hunt

27 May 2024
Shot in Himalayan locations, "Shambhala" from Nepal became the country's first film to be shown in the Berlinale's competition section.
Arts

Lesser-known Asian films challenge the world from Berlinale

Festival can be a springboard to success for indie filmmakers

1 May 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, met with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in Beijing in January.
20 March 2024
Nepal's prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, is balancing Kathmandu's relations with giant neighbors India and China. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images and AP)
International relations

Nepal political shakeup thrusts Kathmandu into India-China rivalry

PM Prachanda's new Beijing-friendly coalition tips scales away from Delhi

16 March 2024
People line up outside a government hospital for a PCR test in Kathmandu in 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic provided the first substantial stress test for Nepal's federal system.
Opinion

COVID proved Nepal's new federal system works

Despite PM's dithering, empowered local governments delivered effective help

21 February 2024
One of the attractions for international students who come to Japan to learn the language is the opportunity to work 28 hours a week to offset living expenses.
Japan immigration

Surge in Nepalese students in Japan tests multiculturalism

Number second only to Chinese after overtaking Vietnamese for first time

31 December 2023
Durga Bahadur Subedi, Nepal's ambassador to Japan, speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on Dec. 20. (Photo by Shigeru Seno)
Economy

Nepal calls for more Japanese investment in tourism, health care

Ambassador underscores growing relationship between the two nations

21 December 2023
The Hindu Kush Himalaya region, which stretches 3,500 kilometers and includes Earth's highest mountain range, is warming by 0.3 C per decade -- faster than the global average, according to the U.N.'s science body for climate change. (Illustration by Yoshiko Kawano)
Asia Insight

COP28 spotlights key climate battle: Saving Himalayan ice

From Afghanistan to China, vanishing glaciers risk floods and drought for billions

19 December 2023
Advertisements in Saint Petersburg promote military service contracts in the Russian Armed Forces.
Ukraine war

Nepal mourns mercenaries who died for Russia, faces tough questions

Trafficking of soldiers highlights Himalayan nation's high youth unemployment

13 December 2023
Saima Wazed, left, with her mother, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, right, in 2014. Wazed has been chosen to lead the WHO's regional office for Southeast Asia.
International relations

Bangladesh PM's daughter nominated for key WHO regional post

Saima Wazed chosen over Nepali rival despite criticism of 'apparent nepotism'

1 November 2023
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, right, is pictured with her daughter Saima Wazed in 2018. Wazed is running to become the World Health Organization's regional director in South and Southeast Asia.
International relations

Bangladesh PM's daughter denies nepotism driving run for WHO post

Experts urge election transparency as outcome could affect health of billions

17 October 2023
Global IME Bank is the largest bank in Nepal, while IFC is a multinational lender and member of the Word Bank Group. (NIKKEI montage/Source photo Getty. Logos from Global IME Bank and IFC websites)
DealStreetAsia

Nepal's Global IME Bank likely to get $56m from IFC

World Bank Group member proposes three-year U.S. dollar-denominated loan

6 October 2023
This Bhutanese man, Sumba, took the author and his expedition partner to visit a cave where yetis allegedly sleep. (Photo by Andrew Benfield)
Tea Leaves

Yeti or not, something interesting is out there

A Himalayan odyssey brings some unexpected insights

4 October 2023
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal arrives to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21, before his scheduled trip to China.
International relations

Nepal PM jets from U.S. to China to talk connectivity, security

Pushpa Kamal Dahal's trip follows India visit, highlights balancing act

23 September 2023
Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, center, visits a school: He has introduced scholarships for underprivileged 11th graders. (Photo by Dipendra Dhuungana)
Opinion

Fresh faces are shaking up politics in Nepal

2022 election victors have had rapid impact but endurance not yet clear

23 September 2023
Stream article image
Arts

Photographer James Nachtwey's stunning retrospective comes to Asia

'Memoria' depicts lifetime of bearing witness to wars, disasters and the human condition

10 September 2023
Nonnative English researchers struggle to read, write, revise and prepare presentations in English, taking nearly twice as long as native speakers to read research papers, for example. 
Education

Nonnative English researchers take 91% longer in reading: study

Japanese, Bangladeshi, Nepali scholars face high hurdles to scholarship

29 July 2023
A view of Kathmandu covered in smog: Nepal needs to invest $15.25 billion, or the equivalent of nearly half its annual GDP, to attain U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
Opinion

Aid programs for Nepal aren't working anymore

Donors should go back to effective approach of partnering with community groups

27 July 2023