<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebb99c7e80680e09ad22jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>As Covid-19 cases continue their record-breaking rise every day, the three district chiefs of Kathmandu Valley agreed on Tuesday to extend the lockdown announced on 29 April for two weeks till 12 May.The decision was taken with further restrictions on movement, and people not allowed to be on the roads unless for funerals or hospital treatment. Market-times have also been shortened to 7-9AM only.All domestic flights in Nepal have been suspended, although helicopter rescues and some charter flights were allowed to operate on Tuesday.From Wednesday midnight, the government has also suspended all international flights till 14 May, allowing only two flights a week between Kathmandu and Delhi.This last decision has come under intense criticism on Nepal's cybersphere, with many ridiculing the rationale for continuing flights to the world's biggest coronavirus hotspot while stopping flights to the rest of the world.Others have railed against the decision to stop outbound flights, even before other countries have banned flights from Nepal. So far, only Hong Kong and Singapore have stopped direct flights from Kathmandu. Airlines have pleaded with the government to at least allow them to bring planes in empty to fly out passengers booked on flights out of Kathmandu.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebbb9c7e80680e09ad23jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="598"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebbf9c7e80680e09ad24jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebc19c7e80680e09ad25jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebc39c7e80680e09ad26jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="748" height="499"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebc69c7e80680e09ad27jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131116/636cebc89c7e80680e09ad28jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">Nepal recorded 7,587 new Covid-19 cases-- the highest so far in the pandemic--from 16,702PCR tests on Tuesday. There were 55 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally for Covid-19 deaths to 3417. Altogether 1775 people recovered from the disease on Tuesday, with the number of active cases reaching almost 60,000 nationwide.Meanwhile, in Kathmandu the city's only electric crematorium at Pashupati that had been designated for Covid-19 patients could not handle bodies even while running round the clock. It has had to arrange pyres for coronavirus dead on the banks of the Bagmati.The crematorium can only take 16 funerals a day, and the number of daily fatalities in Kathmandu have been 20 every day for the past week. In addition, one of the two incinerators at the crematory has broken down.Families of the dead are not allowed inside, and have to watch the group cremation from the other side of the Bagmati River, and often cannot tell which one is the body of their loved ones.

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Kathmandu Valley lockdown till 12 May

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b83959c7e80680e067745jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>As Covid-19 cases continue their record-breaking rise every day, the three district chiefs of Kathmandu Valley agreed on Tuesday to extend the lockdown announced on 29 April for two weeks till 12 May.The decision was taken with further restrictions on movement, and people not allowed to be on the roads unless for funerals or hospital treatment. Market-times have also been shortened to 7-9AM only.All domestic flights in Nepal have been suspended, although helicopter rescues and some charter flights were allowed to operate on Tuesday.From Wednesday midnight, the government has also suspended all international flights till 14 May, allowing only two flights a week between Kathmandu and Delhi.This last decision has come under intense criticism on Nepal's cybersphere, with many ridiculing the rationale for continuing flights to the world's biggest coronavirus hotspot while stopping flights to the rest of the world.Others have railed against the decision to stop outbound flights, even before other countries have banned flights from Nepal. So far, only Hong Kong and Singapore have stopped direct flights from Kathmandu. Airlines have pleaded with the government to at least allow them to bring planes in empty to fly out passengers booked on flights out of Kathmandu.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b83989c7e80680e067746jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="598"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b839b9c7e80680e067747jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b839e9c7e80680e067748jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b83a19c7e80680e067749jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="748" height="499"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b83a39c7e80680e06774ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111140/636b83a69c7e80680e06774bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">Nepal recorded 7,587 new Covid-19 cases-- the highest so far in the pandemic--from 16,702PCR tests on Tuesday. There were 55 fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally for Covid-19 deaths to 3417. Altogether 1775 people recovered from the disease on Tuesday, with the number of active cases reaching almost 60,000 nationwide.Meanwhile, in Kathmandu the city's only electric crematorium at Pashupati that had been designated for Covid-19 patients could not handle bodies even while running round the clock. It has had to arrange pyres for coronavirus dead on the banks of the Bagmati.The crematorium can only take 16 funerals a day, and the number of daily fatalities in Kathmandu have been 20 every day for the past week. In addition, one of the two incinerators at the crematory has broken down.Families of the dead are not allowed inside, and have to watch the group cremation from the other side of the Bagmati River, and often cannot tell which one is the body of their loved ones.

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7d09c7e80680e0967e2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3687" height="2458"/><figcaption>All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>As a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-covid-tsunami/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">resurgence of Covid-19</a> engulfs Nepal, the two incinerators at the sole electric crematorium in Kathmandu have been in operation non-stop for the past week.The daily death toll on Thursday and Friday surpassed the highest daily rate during the first peak in October. The number of new cases detected every day is now also at about the same level as the highest point last year, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/our-health-system-cant-contain-the-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the rate of increase is much steeper</a>.On Friday, 5,657 new cases were reported across Nepal, with nearly 3,000 of them in Kathmandu Valley. There were 33 Covid-19 fatalities on Friday, and 35 on Thursday – most of them in Kathmandu Valley. The official death toll from Covid-19 is now 3,279, although public health experts put the number at much higher.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7d39c7e80680e0967e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3563" height="2375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7d69c7e80680e0967e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3999" height="2666"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7db9c7e80680e0967e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3836" height="2561"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7df9c7e80680e0967e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4018" height="2679"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The electric crematorium in Pashupati has been set aside for Covid-19 patients, with the Nepal Army handling the bodies. Relatives are not allowed inside to perform last rites and many distraught relatives are seen outside the gate with garlands and flowers in their hands.The total confirmed cases in Nepal has now reach 323,187, with 281,095 recoveries. There are now nearly 39,000 active cases in the country, up from a low of 480 in mid-March. This means the recovery rate has dropped from 98% last month to 87%. Only 928 people were discharged from hospitals, or recovered from the virus on Friday.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7e59c7e80680e0967e7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3679" height="2448"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7ea9c7e80680e0967e8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3965" height="2646"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7ef9c7e80680e0967e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3744" height="2496"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111013110/636ce7f29c7e80680e0967eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3393" height="2259"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The 5,657 new cases were detected out of nearly 16,000 PCR tests in the past 24 hours, and this shows that the positivity rate has also risen sharply to more than 35%. Of the new cases in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mom-in-delhi-dad-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu Valley</a>, 2,404 were in Kathmandu, 419 in Lalitpur and 133 in Bhaktapur. The Tarai cities like Birganj, Nepalganj, Dhangadi and Bhairawa also reported high rates of infections.

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Kathmandu electric crematorium running non-stop

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

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‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

electric-crematorium

Kathmandu Valley lockdown till 12 May

Kathmandu Valley lockdown till 12 May

Kathmandu electric crematorium running non-stop

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How to win friends and influence nations

Nepal’s new government springs into action