Nepal plane crash: 50 dead on US-Bangla flight; Oli assures probe; updates

At least 50 people were killed and 22 injured when a passenger plane of the US-Bangla Airlines crash-landed and exploded into a ball of flame at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) here on Monday, authorities said.

"fifty people were killed in the incident. Now we are carrying out rescue operations," Bishwo Raj Pokharel, a senior police official involved in the rescue operation at TIA, told Xinhua news agency.

The 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, with 71 people on board, was flying from Dhaka to Kathmandu. It veered off the runway and caught fire while landing at 2.20 p.m., said TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur.

All flights in and out of the Tribhuvan International Airport were cancelled. The airport was reopened later.

Nepal begins historic vote; army on alert after a series of small blasts

Nepalis began voting for a new parliament on Sunday with the army on alert as a series of small blasts blamed on a rogue Maoist group reminded the Himalayan nation of the violence and instability it is hoping to leave behind.

More than decade after the end of a civil war between Maoist peasant guerrillas, Nepal is hoping this election - the first parliamentary polls since 1999 - will complete its long journey from a monarchy to becoming a federal republic.

A second phase of the election will take place on Dec. 7, and the election commission has said that the final results probably won't be known for several days because of the cumbersome counting procedures.

A Maoist splinter group was behind a series of small blasts in the run up to the polls, and security forces have defused around 30 improvised explosive devices since Friday, army spokesman Nain Raj Dahal said.

Suresh Balsami was the first voter at Kagatigaun polling centre near the capital Kathmandu.

"I voted for peace, development and prosperity of the country,” said the 32-year-old bus driver as other voters began to trickle in.

Nepal voted in 2008 and 2013 for a Constituent Assembly, which doubled as parliament, to write a post-monarchy charter that plotted the course to becoming a federal republic.
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Nepal scraps Budhi Gandaki agreement with China citing irregularities

Citing irregularities, the Nepal government has scrapped the contract awarded to China's Gejuwa Group for the construction of Budhi Gandaki hydropower project.

Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa took to twitter to inform that the project has been scrapped as directed by the parliamentary committees.

"The agreement marred by irregularities with the Chinese company - Gejuwa Group regarding the construction of Budhi Gandaki hydropower project has been scrapped in a cabinet meeting as directed by the parliamentary committees," (Translation), Thapa tweeted.

Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project is a storage type project located in Central/ Western Development region on the Budhi Gandaki River of Nepal.

The project was granted to the Gezhouba Water & Power (Group) Co Ltd (CGGC) company one and half year ago by the then Maoist-led government headed by the Former Prime Minsiter Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda).
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Nepal's central bank issues alert as hackers target major pvt bank

Cybercriminals reportedly hacked into the electronic fund transfer system of a major private sector bank in Nepal, prompting the country's central bank to issue an alert, officials said on Tuesday.

According to the officials of the Nepal Rastra Bank, the country's central bank, hackers tried to make illegal payment worth millions of rupees from the bank accounts of NIC Asia Bank Ltd using the SWIFT electronic money transfer system.

The NRB, they said, has asked foreign central banks not to make any payments sought.

"It has been found that transactions of NIC Asia Bank have been carried out from various banks in six countries by hackers using SWIFT, an international banking network," said Rajendra Pandit, deputy spokesperson of the NRB.

"We have already requested the central banks in those countries to stop processing payments to the parties requested by the hackers. Even payments which have already been made are likely to be retrieved," Pandit said.

The hackers reportedly broke into the SWIFT system of the NIC Asia Bank and siphoned off an undisclosed amount last week during the Diwali holidays.

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Nepal, China sign three pacts to boost energy, economic, technological ties

Nepal and China on Tuesday signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern Terai plains.

The pacts were signed after visiting Chinese vice premier Wang Yang held discussions with Nepal's deputy prime ministers Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar and Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

The agreements cover three different domains - economic and technological cooperation, China-aid oil and gas resources survey project and framework agreement on promotion of investment and economic cooperation, Nepal's state-run National News Agency reported.

They include a feasibility study for excavating natural gas and petroleum in mountain areas and plains of the Terai region.

The two countries agreed to establish hydropower projects and transmission lines and take steps for economic and technological development in Nepal, which suffers from acute shortage of electricity.

Finance Secretary Shanta Raj Subedi told the agency the pacts would make significant contributions in Nepal's socio- economic transformation.

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India's monopoly ends as Nepal to get internet connection from China

Nepal is likely to get internet connection through Chinese optical fiber from next month, ending India's monopoly over the online services in the landlocked Himalayan country.

Nepal has relied on India for internet services for long as the country is optically connected with the southern neighbour through Bhairahawa, Birgunj and Biratnagar.

However, the connection with China will end the monopoly of India in supply of internet bandwidth.

The long-awaited internet connection from China is expected to be completed by the end of July as the work of laying optical fiber on the Chinese side has resumed.

Nepal has already completed the task of laying optical fiber on its side for the connection.

The task of laying optical fiber was about to be completed in early June. But it could not take place after an avalanche disrupted the work on the Chinese side, an official said.

"Connection test was already conducted. Nepal would have already been connected with Chinese internet if the work was not halted in June," the official at the Nepal Telecom said.

Shobhan Adhikari, deputy spokesperson for the Nepal Telecom, said that the local government of China had suspended the work of laying optical fiber after a worker collapsed due to high attitude sickness. Now the work has already resumed.
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