For Nepalis, the year 2023 was marked by one scandal after another at home, while Nepalis found themselves in the middle of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepalis-in-the-russian-army-want-to-quit">active conflict zones</a> across the world both unintentionally and of their own volition.&nbsp;
The year began with Pushpa Kamal Dahal being Prime Minister for the third time with a promise of better governance. Even the opposition UML gave him a vote of confidence. The new <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/for-whom-the-bell-tolls">RSP party’s Rabi Lamichhane</a> was in and out of the Cabinet, and finally decided to stay in the opposition.
Dahal's preoccupation during 2023 was to hold his fragile coalition together, despite having the Nepali Congress (NC) as an ideologically opposite partner. His government was rocked by a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-year-of-scandals">slew of corruption scandals </a>that led to the arrests of several senior officials across party lines, but the big fish eventually got away.&nbsp;
Nearly 800 Nepalis were promised entry into the US as fake Bhutanese refugees by government officials and traffickers. Property surrounding the Prime Minister’s residence was parcelled off to private buyers by the real estate mafia. Gold smuggling continues unabated at Kathmandu airport, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/crime-and-or-punishment-in-nepal">none of the kingpins ever get caught</a>.&nbsp;
Malaysian conglomerate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/axiata-may-find-breaking-up-hard-to-do">Axiata exited Nepal</a> after selling its majority stake in Ncell to a Singapore-based Nepali-origin businessman, which experts say would not have been possible without the involvement of top bureaucrats, regulators and politicians.
Despite the finance minister assuring us that the economy is “on the mend”, it <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-golden-age">stagnated some more</a> in 2023. Revenue collection was lower than projected, exports are at a record low, and 90,000 workers and students left Nepal in December alone. The government has been slow to promote electric transport even as petroleum import continues to soar.&nbsp;
In March, Dahal’s coalition government introduced the transitional justice amendment bill in the House. But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-tj-bill-protects-perpetrators-shortchanges-survivors">conflict survivors, victims and human rights groups said it ignored their concerns</a>, the Supreme Court’s directive and flouted international law on war crimes.&nbsp;
The earthquake in western Nepal on 3 November left 153 dead and two months later survivors are living in tents in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/below-zero-at-ground-zero">sub-zero temperatures</a>. The disaster also exposed Nepal’s demographic shift: most fatalities were women from the poorest families since the men have migrated out.&nbsp;
Migration, as Nepali Times has highlighted in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/50-diaspora-diaries-in-nepali-times">50 instalments of its Diaspora Diaries</a>, is now the central reality of Nepal. A majority of families have members who have left to work, study, or settle abroad, and Nepal’s economy is propped up by the money they send home. The search for jobs has also led Nepalis to some of the world’s most dangerous regions.&nbsp;
There are said to be at least 700 Nepalis in the Russian Army, families have not heard from many of them, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/from-frying-pan-into-fire-for-nepalis-in-russian-army">7 have been killed on the Ukraine front</a>. Nepali human traffickers have been supplying mercenaries to Russia by flying them to Moscow on tourist visas. Four Nepalis have been captured by the Ukrainian military. &nbsp;
The Hamas attack on 7 October killed 10 Nepalis who had gone to Israel under the government’s Learn and Earn program, while <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/hamas-releases-thais-but-where-is-bipin">Nepali student Bipin Joshi</a>, who was taken hostage, is believed to remain in captivity. Israel’s ongoing brutal bombardment of Gaza has led to the deaths of nearly 21,000 Palestinians, with the US helping Israel to block a UN ceasefire. &nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/burmese-of-nepali-descent-flee-to-thailand">Burmese of Nepali descent</a> have taken refuge in Thailand because of suppression by the military junta which staged a coup in Burma in 2021. Nepalis trafficked by a Chinese organised crime syndicate to work in call centres in Burma also need to be rescued. &nbsp;
UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Nepal ahead of COP28 in Dubai to draw attention to the climate crisis and the Himalaya, but the summit <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/unabated-greenwashing-at-cop28">failed to commit </a>to an immediate phase-out of fossil fuels. Nepal’s pledges at COP28 do not correspond to its lack of progress in switching to renewable energy, saving remaining forests and controlling air pollution.&nbsp;

Shristi Karki

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More of the same in 2024?

The Himal Media Mela 2023 sponsored by Ncell continued on Thursday with its fourth panel, ‘Investing in Investigative Journalism’, followed by a session on Media Introspection, which is also the theme for the two-day conference. In the session moderated by Rabiraj Baral of Media Kurakani, investigative reporters and editors examined what it takes for a journalist to be an investigative reporter, as well as the need for Nepal’s newsrooms, to facilitate investigative reporting.&nbsp; Kiran Nepal, editor for the Center of Investigative Journalism, said that investigative reporting must move beyond CIJ into all of Nepal’s newsrooms.&nbsp; “The reason that investigative reporting is at the center of journalism at present is due its impact in creating credibility and trust in media,” said Nepal, who was previously the editor of Himal. “As such, all reporting must be investigative.” Panelist Devendra Bhattarai of Kantipur in 2021 wrote an investigative story for the CIJ about Bhutanese refugees forcibly evicted by Bhutan in 1990-92, and arrested by the Bhutanese authorities. Bhattarai was previously based in Kantipur’s Qatar Bureau, and has also written extensively about the issues of Nepalis living abroad in the Gulf.&nbsp; But even as he considers his earlier stories to be investigative as well, Bhattarai explained that he only began doing investigative journalism after being a journalist for almost two decades.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/journalism-is-all-about-storytelling-and-money">Journalism is all about storytelling (and money)</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504160556_5511dd4d1aaf1a8604f9320a69555f52918b057d605e8a7d076003a7793c5a43.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230504160556_5511dd4d1aaf1a8604f9320a69555f52918b057d605e8a7d076003a7793c5a43" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela Day 2- Second half"> </figure>  In March, Kantipur published Bhattarai's investigative report uncovering racketeers defrauding 875 Nepalis of millions under the pretext of sending them to the US &nbsp;as Bhutanese refugees with falsified documents from the Home Ministry. Since then, Nepal Police has arrested individuals involved in the racket, including a current secretary at the Vice President’s office on Wednesday. “Everything I learned about investigative journalism has been through my own study and on the ground experiences,” Bhattarai notes. “Through my years as an investigative reporter, I have learned to read my own stories twice, pay attention to detail, and fact-check rigorously.” Deepa Dahal of Ukaalo, who previously worked in radio for a significant amount of time in Surkhet before reporting for the independent online news platform, and has during her career reported on health, science, education, politics and the environment.&nbsp; “As reporters, we are players of an editorial team, and as it stands, it is not enough for a journalist to want to become an investigative reporter,” said Dahal. “All the skill and the passion to be involved in investigative journalism will not matter as long as newsrooms do not have an interest.” Kiran Nepal agreed that journalists need to be patient and curious, the newsroom environment must be open to investigative stories, and newsroom—especially well-established ones— &nbsp;should be willing to allocate resources into investigative reporting.&nbsp; “Journalism is a challenging and often dangerous profession, investigative journalism even more so.” continued Dahal, adding that existing biases and prejudices surrounding women in the workplace make investigative journalism more challenging for women. &nbsp;“Those who want to get into this aspect of reporting must be prepared to spend any amount of time and play the long game to complete the story.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/voice-of-the-entire-nation">Voice of the entire nation</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504150544_a039322bf4659c474bfa76d05eb23336c9b03623956804176eb31f6cc0126853.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230504150544_a039322bf4659c474bfa76d05eb23336c9b03623956804176eb31f6cc0126853" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023 day 2"> <figcaption>Kanak Mani Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia, Umesh Shrestha of Center for Media Research - Nepal, Babita Basnet of Ghatana ra Bichar, and Rajendra Dahal, editor of Sikshak magazine during the panel on media introspection.</figcaption> </figure>  Meanwhile, moderator Kanak Mani Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia, opened the panel on media introspection to discussion by noting how trolling enhanced by algorithms has become a tool that individuals on social networking platforms, political leaders, and other figures. Dixit identified the need for the media to reflect on the capability, study, worldview, ideology, and independence of the newsrooms.&nbsp; The panelists also discussed how media in Nepal have an agreement not to criticise one another.&nbsp; “If we do not reflect on our own practices, there will be questions as to who is supposed to &nbsp;hold the media to account,” said Dixit. Umesh Shrestha of Center for Media Research - Nepal, however, spoke about the difficulty for media professionals to question their practices because of a risk of attacks &nbsp;attacked by the members of the media itself.&nbsp; “The one important thing to ask ourselves – introspect – is why is trust in media so low,” added Dahal. &nbsp;“A major reason why mainstream media is losing trust of readers and audience is because they don't fact-check and have aided in spreading misinformation.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-should-be-open-for-south-asia">Nepal should be open for South Asia</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504160556_e1a3b8cc77d898a14f84ffea1eeb2ffa8a28ec996563762bbec650116d0aa94b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230504160556_e1a3b8cc77d898a14f84ffea1eeb2ffa8a28ec996563762bbec650116d0aa94b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela Day 2- Second half"> </figure>  Babita Basnet of Ghatana ra Bichar added that it is difficult to those in media to question themselves, seeing that they &nbsp;are so used to&nbsp; Rajendra Dahal, editor of Sikshak magazine, said that contrary to what reporters are taught, it is not possible to be objective, but it is important to be factual and truthful. “Fact checkers have been doing some amazing work,” Dahal added. Dahal also pointed out the lack of proper education and instruction to facilitate and teach aspiring journalists. Basnet spoke about the challenges faced by women in media, drawing from personal experiences and citing recent research by her team that showed 88% of women in media experiencing online harassment by colleagues, from reporters associated with other media houses, as well as from news sources.&nbsp; “Nepal’s newsrooms need to address the challenges faced by women expeditiously,” said&nbsp; Speaking to the combined experiences of the panelists, Dixit added, “It is also important to the current generation of journalists to know about the history of journalism in Nepal, and how journalists have contributed to making Nepal one of the Nepal having one of the best environments for press freedom in Southasia.” Added Dahal: "It is important that we look to the past so that the media might have a better future.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">Media mêlée in the age of AI</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504150544_ea2e84d8ec9c9fe9018f95035cd828c7281f467c15ee42e1b3254fbd52e6ec22.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230504150544_ea2e84d8ec9c9fe9018f95035cd828c7281f467c15ee42e1b3254fbd52e6ec22" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela day 2"> <figcaption>Rishad Patel co-founder of Splice Media.</figcaption> </figure>  At the end of the day, Rishad Patel, co-founder and business consultant at Splice Media in Singapore, gave a presentation on how to build a viable media business. Patel spoke to the need for media conferences, commenting that journalism in 2023 was not limited to news, but also meant bringing together a crowd of talented and expert minds to share ideas and thoughts. He noted that the media is immensely powerful, not because of its connections with businesses and advertisers, but because it helps people make informed decisions. “The business strategy for media is not simply grants or looking towards multimedia,” said Patel “It is about asking where [the media] is, where it wants to go, and how to get there.” Patel likened content to a product and the audience to a market, saying that the media must test with the market about the kind of content they prefer and seek feedback. The key, Patel explained, is to talk to people and listen to what they have to say. “Media should be obsessed with a product-market fit,” he said. “The future of media is user-centred, demand-driven and interest-based.” Patel said that media must be focused on building something that is valuable enough to pay for, and not try to force-fit old media concepts into new, digital formats. Said Patel: “The media business is not broken, it has actually transformed for the better. Technology itself is not the disruptor. There &nbsp;is no one audience, and that gives [the media] an opportunity to be hyper-specific, and move forward.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">The new news age</a>, Sonia Awale

Investigation, introspection, and investment in media

Bidhya Chapagain left a secure job in journalism in which she has already become a household name in Nepal to venture out to fulfil her passion in journalism -- to give a voice to those who have been deprived of it. She started her own video production group to go around the country to talk to people whom journalists never bothered to report about. The stories she brought out were so important in shining the light on a Nepal that was invisible to Kathmandu that it became most-seen on YouTube and other social media. “I was living my journalism dream at the BBC, but as I travelled for work and saw that we were telling the same stories of the same people, I realised that this was not my dream," said Chapagain during her conversation with Rajneesh Bahndari of Nepal Investigative Multimedia Journalism Network (NIMJN) at the HImal Media Mela 2023.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504060520_1df44df7843f5dee5c7a3752c63e2d07a9be3e8eef0312e30f4f62e6256e44ea.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230504060520_1df44df7843f5dee5c7a3752c63e2d07a9be3e8eef0312e30f4f62e6256e44ea" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela Day 2- Going Back to Good Storytelling"> <figcaption>Rajneesh Bahndari and Bidhya Chapagain. All photos: GOPEN RAI AND SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  So Chapagain and her colleague Kamal Kumar set out to find those extraordinary stories of ordinary people across Nepal largely ignored by mainstream media. They knew that these stories needed to be told through video since it is the medium most suited to the stories, but also because they had some expertise in it.&nbsp; Five years down the line, Herne Katha has broadcast 104 episodes and is one of the most popular and credible Nepali shows known for bringing impactful and extraordinary stories from some of the remotest parts of the country. The team was recently in Accham and locals easily recognised them as ‘Herne Katha’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504070524_4c8572857a8426c2661a020290285c11abfd88cabff0a69088f2f2f509422c67.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230504070524_4c8572857a8426c2661a020290285c11abfd88cabff0a69088f2f2f509422c67" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- Going Back to Good Storytelling"> <figcaption>Bidhya Chapagain</figcaption> </figure>  “It is not as difficult to find the subject matter or stories, we have to want to find them in the first place,” said Chapagain, recounting some of the risky trips she had taken to document her characters for Herne Katha.&nbsp; But while new age digital shows like Herne Katha have the audience, sustainability continues to be a challenge. Chapagain revealed that YouTube revenue is not as significant and the team also relies on advertisement, membership and donations.&nbsp; Said Chapagain: “It has been five years but we still have not figured out a business model best suited to us. But if we want to sustain and continue telling the stories, we must figure it out.” The business side of news  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504070528_69fc80c46460ab73c782b5f9b7c3bfa8bdbe91087f3f5b9ff26f4500c6f2e062.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230504070528_69fc80c46460ab73c782b5f9b7c3bfa8bdbe91087f3f5b9ff26f4500c6f2e062" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- Digital Reader Revenue"> <figcaption>A panel on Digital Reader Revenue.</figcaption> </figure>  Across the world and in Nepal, eyeballs have moved online but advertisers have not. This has made the sustainability of legacy media increasingly difficult at a time when even online portals are competing with the new age mass media like TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for both audience and revenue.&nbsp; How readers consume news have also changed media’s traditional business model but the print still brings in the money, said Sambridhi Gyawali of Nepal Republic Media which publishes Nagarik Daily. “We haven’t been able to monetise digital platforms, paywalls have not worked in Nepal,” she added during the panel Digital Reader Revenue.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504070528_4efc53201ef0de22dcac55a43124d37a9e165f07f2339a3741c7e193ee173872.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230504070528_4efc53201ef0de22dcac55a43124d37a9e165f07f2339a3741c7e193ee173872" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- Digital Reader Revenue"> <figcaption>Sambridhi Gyawali</figcaption> </figure>  Ameet Dhakal, editor of Setopati which pioneered long-form online portal in Nepal shared the humble beginnings of the digital platform, and financial challenges they faced in the early days while also the crisis Nepali media as a whole is undergoing. “It used to be cheaper to advertise in online portals because they didn’t have high operating costs of printing but now advertisers have even cheaper platforms like Facebook and Google who don't even need to pay people in Nepal,” added Dhakal. “We are now facing the same problem that print media has been facing for a while now.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504070528_983f3b9c42b40ff3b9b1f1630b4371ea9cd8d80f04eef172662a0b326fd41c18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230504070528_983f3b9c42b40ff3b9b1f1630b4371ea9cd8d80f04eef172662a0b326fd41c18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- Digital Reader Revenue"> <figcaption>Ameet Dhakal</figcaption> </figure>  Traditional media has always relied on advertisements but it is also known to interface with editorial decision-making. Recently, there has been a new model entirely based on contributions from readers. Pranaya Rana was with an independent online portal The Record Nepal (TRN) before it closed down last year, unable to sustain itself financially. “The idea was to get the grant and eventually move on to the membership model but we failed. Maybe Nepal is not ready for it yet, the fact that we are an English publication didn’t help matters,” said Rana who now publishes Off the Record, a weekly newsletter every Friday.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504070536_e3aadb74467fe8e5493fb0dbad39ae16df2b39767343c3665da5fcbb956acd61.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230504070536_e3aadb74467fe8e5493fb0dbad39ae16df2b39767343c3665da5fcbb956acd61" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- Digital Reader Revenue"> <figcaption>Pranaya Rana</figcaption> </figure>  He added: “But we have realised that we need a business plan and we cannot ignore the market, we are trying to figure out how we can bring in the advertisements without compromising our journalism.” Much like the TRN, Ukaalo has joined Nepal's cybersphere as an independent digital platform that relies entirely on contributions. Said co-funder Amod Pyakuryal: “Public supported media have worked elsewhere so why not in Nepal? We have people who are well educated and informed, they can pay us for unbiased agenda setting content.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504070536_a5be03ea31d7589d7cf026ce235c98f18fe9d47e087c956990bcb0b2e06e6f7a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230504070536_a5be03ea31d7589d7cf026ce235c98f18fe9d47e087c956990bcb0b2e06e6f7a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- Digital Reader Revenue"> <figcaption>Amod Pyakuryal</figcaption> </figure>  Meanwhile Gyawali noted that it might be time for an internal reflection for Nepali media and the kind of content that is being dished out. To that effect, Rana added that the media should be writing and developing content for the younger generation. “But our young generation are hooked into TikTok. First, we have to find ways to get the content they want and only then we can think about monitisation,” he added.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050408050_8f139dd0e78ede3cbc4f0961d3e301319c6b3ff76a48e6a1c7ddff7efcbffbae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2023050408050_8f139dd0e78ede3cbc4f0961d3e301319c6b3ff76a48e6a1c7ddff7efcbffbae" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1400" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela- Digital Reader Revenue"> <figcaption>Madhu Acharya</figcaption> </figure>  But interestingly, while audiences are consuming content on social media and on online portals, the general public do not trust them, they still trust mainstream media over others, noted moderator Madhu Acharya of the Sharecast Initiative quoting the recent survey conducted by his organisation as he concluded the panel.&nbsp; Climate change in media&nbsp; The climate emergency is arguably the biggest crisis of our times. How the media cover it can define the actions to be taken for adaptation and mitigation, and how soon.&nbsp; “Europe realised the impacts of climate change early on and began to take action. It took 25 or so more years for the US to catch-up. This was because of the coverage in he European media,” noted Kunda Dixit, author of Dateline Earth: As If the Planet Mattered during the panel on covering the climate crisis. “European media had a more global outlook, published news from around the world, and pressured their governments.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504090516_e393bf333d549e0027dbcf31d8db33062fc0c082343159110426d1af5d99cc0f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230504090516_e393bf333d549e0027dbcf31d8db33062fc0c082343159110426d1af5d99cc0f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- How the Media Can Cover the Climate Crisis"> <figcaption>Kunda Dixit</figcaption> </figure>  But for the media to inform the public and the policymakers alike they need to understand the science themselves. Also speaking at the panel, atmospheric scientist Arnico Panday said that Nepali media has been focusing on weather, not so much climate which is measured over a longer period. Panday is now a meber of the RSP, wch is the fourth largest party in Parliament. Nitu Ghale who is with the Annapurna Post shared her experience of trying to highlight stories on climate change while also tackling inherent challenges. “There is just not enough data and even when there is data, they are not managed properly. It is also not easy to get the right experts to talk to,” she added.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504090516_5f3ce88cc495c15800896ef8b51dd82344ec0cf46fdaf4b6f72b414bdea2ede6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230504090516_5f3ce88cc495c15800896ef8b51dd82344ec0cf46fdaf4b6f72b414bdea2ede6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- How the Media Can Cover the Climate Crisis"> <figcaption>Nitu Ghale</figcaption> </figure>  But either way, climate change often does not get the prominence it deserves in Nepali media, often sidelined by the political and economic issues. But panellists stressed that climate change is not an environmental issue for us but rather economic and political.&nbsp; Nepal’s import of petroleum is polluting the air and worsening public health but it is also emptying our foreign reserves. Petroleum accounts for over 20% of Nepal’s import. Switching to electric mass transit would save billions.&nbsp; “What Nepal does or does not won’t save the planet but will save our economy from collapsing and maintain our political independence by reducing our trade deficit, so they should be given the prominence they deserve in our coverage,” explained Dixit. “But having said that, climate change is becoming more of an excuse for leaders to blame their inaction and the discount governance failures and historical state neglect.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230504090516_8d4b3a774da7b2ec877f74278f6c3a256428d8acc694c3243699ebe2cee307ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230504090516_8d4b3a774da7b2ec877f74278f6c3a256428d8acc694c3243699ebe2cee307ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- How the Media Can Cover the Climate Crisis"> <figcaption>Panel on How the Media Can Cover the Climate Crisis.</figcaption> </figure>  But not everything is lost. China is developing itself as the centre of green energy whereas the United States under Biden has committed to convert 35% of all the automobiles into battery operated vehicles in eight years.&nbsp; Arnico Panday admitted that he entered politics after realising that science is not enough to bring urgent change to problems like air pollution and climate crisis. He asked the audience to vote for the party that actually works to resolve the climate emergency, among others, in the next election -- amidst much applause from the rapt audience.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050409058_bfebb45fb60bbb93f1a9b833ec83e0a3f43b6a00c117b7295f7e42a4d6bc8c8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2023050409058_bfebb45fb60bbb93f1a9b833ec83e0a3f43b6a00c117b7295f7e42a4d6bc8c8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023- How the Media Can Cover the Climate Crisis"> <figcaption>Arnico Panday</figcaption> </figure>  Nepali translation of Dixit’s Dateline Earth: As If the Planet Mattered and the third edition of the English version were launched following the panel discussion. The book has now been translated into five Asian languages.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050410050_ce529ecb914b5e946464e039722db60313f3a13a057a93c444f1538cba80aa35.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2023050410050_ce529ecb914b5e946464e039722db60313f3a13a057a93c444f1538cba80aa35" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023-Dateline Earth Book Launch"> <figcaption>Nepali translation of Dateline Earth: As If the Planet Mattered and the third edition of the English version were launched following the panel discussion.</figcaption> </figure>

Journalism is all about storytelling (and money)

The Himal Media Mela 2023 continued on Wednesday afternoon with media professionals and academics from across Nepal discussing how the advancement of technology contributes to misinformation, disinformation, and the legitimisation of flasehoods. And how journalism centred in Kathmandu has lead to the underrepresentation of the rest of Nepal in media, and how lack of diversity in newsrooms affects content. Verify, verify, verify The panel on Journalism in the Age of Deep Fake and Alternative Facts moderated by Kantipur’s Sajana Baral was prefaced by a collection of deep fake videos involving celebrities and political figures, made both to comedic effect as well as to mislead the general public. Shiva Gaunle of the portal Onlinekhabar noted that the biggest challenge to the newsroom in an era of social media and AI has been access to genuine information, and the ability to turn that into meaningful stories. “While primary information was instantly verifiable in the past, newsrooms are now having to be careful, visible sources of information must also be treated with caution and suspicion,” said Gaunle, adding that the evolution of AI and the consequent development of deep fakes has shown how easily information can be manipulated. Gaunle added that the race among Nepal’s newsrooms to be the first to put out content has been at the expense of the credibility of the media.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-should-be-open-for-south-asia">Nepal should be open for South Asia</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503170520_c750ec5b8c214b4eeca4d4316b1d4e8212667172699f6882dfdc6fbe1e781821.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230503170520_c750ec5b8c214b4eeca4d4316b1d4e8212667172699f6882dfdc6fbe1e781821" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1308" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Media Mela"> <figcaption>Onlinekhabar's Shiva Gaunle, NepalCheck's Deepak Adhikari, and Digital Right Nepal's Santosh Sigdel in conversation with Kantipur's Sajana Baral during the 'Journalism in the Age of Deep Fake and Alternative Facts' panel at the Himal Media Mela on Wednesday.</figcaption> </figure>  Deepak Adhikari of NepalCheck commented on the mainstream media’s reluctance to establish fact-checking mechanisms, pointing out the need for each newsroom to have in-house fact-checking desks and ‘disinformation reporters’. “Journalism is no longer the credibile profession it used to be, and as such, radical transparency can play a huge role for the media to regain the audience’s trust,” said Adhikari. “Additionally, while it is given that journalism is a competitive profession, newsrooms in Nepal must also practice radical sharing — collaborate, and share resources in order to come up with quality investigative journalism.” Santosh Sigdel of Digital Rights Nepal presented a more optimistic view of the role of legacy media. “The antidote to misinformation and disinformation is the truth, and there is still trust in traditional media because people still look to those media to confirm facts,” he said.&nbsp; He added: “As such, our biggest responsibility is still to steadfastly provide factual information to the public so that they might make informed decisions.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">Media mêlée in the age of AI</a>, Kunda Dixit “The rest of the Nepal is as newsworthy as Kathmandu” The ‘Nepal is Not Just Kathmandu’ panel, moderated by Birgunj-based Nepali Times columnist Chandra Kishore heard a spirited discussion on how even as Nepal has adopted a decentralised political structure, that devolution is not reflected in the country’s media landscape.&nbsp; “Journalism has not been able to utilise federalism, so much so that the practice in even regional media has been historically to cover Kathmandu,” said panellist Bipul Pokhrel, who was previously based in Dang, and is currently the president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists. “Local issues must be the first news for local newspapers and as such, media must be focused towards solution-based journalism within their own communities.” Montessori Rajbhandari of Communication Corner that manages the Ujyalo FM agreed that news from the centre is seen by the public as more noteworthy, and is taken as involving more skill and hard work, and therefore seen as more worthy to read. That is compounded, Rajbhandari added, by the curiosity of Nepali audiences towards what they see as the centres of power. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">The new news age</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503170516_35b12e665e8561287b623626d7a8ba94afc432ddd47c422cb7075b4d26d64a9d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230503170516_35b12e665e8561287b623626d7a8ba94afc432ddd47c422cb7075b4d26d64a9d" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Media Mela"> <figcaption>Nepali Times columnist Chandra Kishore moderates the panel ‘Nepal is Not Just Kathmandu' with FNJ president Bipul Pokhrel, Montessori Rajbhandari of Communication Corner, and Paschim Today's Dirgha Raj Upadhaya.</figcaption> </figure>  “But politics is not just limited to Singha Darbar, the political process is alive and well in our villages,” said Rajbhandari. "So, stories from beyond Kathmandu should be given equal importance.” Meanwhile, Dirgha Raj Upadhaya of Paschim Today based in Dhangadi pointed out that regional media were much more capable of providing credible information from the grassroots than mainstream media while emphasising the need for newsrooms as well as the audience to altogether stop considering issues from Kathmandu as ‘national’ and the issues of everywhere else as ‘local’. "What do the media in Kathmandu, who are too busy writing about Rabi Lamichhane and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, know about how starvation plagues the people of Bajura?” questioned Upadhaya. “Local media brings mainstream issues to the forefront much more effectively than ‘national’ media can." Inclusive newsrooms and inclusive content Meanwhile, in the last panel of the first day, panellists recounted to moderator Shobha Sharma of Setopati their personal experiences of starting out as media professionals as they scrutinised the level of inclusion and diversity in Nepal’s newsrooms. &nbsp; Dharmendra Jha of Rastriya Samachar Samiti questioned whether there is space or an environment in the newsroom for diverse issues to be raised. “The amount of stories about women, about the Dalit community, about the Madhes is directly proportional to the presence of people from those communities in Nepal’s newsrooms,” he said. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-as-the-custodian-of-people">Media as the custodian of the people</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503170516_6aea96f3ad166c451da12976883dd43383fcb2de46f7ebd575890402f0d8df0a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230503170516_6aea96f3ad166c451da12976883dd43383fcb2de46f7ebd575890402f0d8df0a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="2023 Media Mela"> <figcaption>Rastrita Samachar Samiti's Dharmendra Jha, academic Yam Bahadur Dura and Nagarik Daily's Pabitra Sunar discuss Inclusive newsrooms and inclusive content during the final panel of the day.</figcaption> </figure>  Academic Yam Bahadur Dura discussed previous studies that looked into the type of content in Nepali media, noting that there is indeed not much diversity in the bylines of stories, with most written by the dominant caste groups. "Given how socio-culturally diverse Nepal is, every community must be represented in our media, be it in terms of media professionals or content,” said Dura, adding that what is taught in Nepal’s classrooms should also be reflected in practice in the newsrooms.&nbsp; Pabitra Sunar of Nagarik Daily added that people on top of the chain of command in Nepal's mediascape are unwilling to let go of their power and privilege. She said: "Newsrooms need to be inclusive for two reasons— firstly, no one should be prevented from being able to pursue the profession that they want. Secondly, a newsroom that is representative of diverse communities fosters a more creative environment.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/paradigm-shift-in-nepali-media">Paradigm shift in Nepali media</a>, Shristi Karki

Voice of the entire nation

The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/himal-media-mela-2022-726cqsd6">Himal Media Mela</a> 2023 sponsored by Ncell, opened on the World Press Freedom on 3 May in Kathmandu with practitioners from Nepal and the region examining journalism and how it can be meaningful and survive. “Press freedom is not just for journalists, it is a right of every citizen. We journalists have to safeguarded it,” said co-publisher of Himalmedia Kunda Dixit in his opening remarks. The theme of this year’s two-day Himal Media Media is ‘trust and introspection’ at a time when media has undergone a massive transformation in the recent years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120548_357accde61295e6a0914d0e23d94d8e7718160d4effa0ff69d68a222a08ee4b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230503120548_357accde61295e6a0914d0e23d94d8e7718160d4effa0ff69d68a222a08ee4b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> <figcaption>Himalmedia co-publisher Kunda Dixit giving his opening remarks. Photos: Gopen Rai and Suman Nepali</figcaption> </figure>  Legacy media and new portals alike are now vying for both readership and revenue with TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. And now with the use of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/media-melee-in-the-age-of-ai">AI in the newsrooms</a>, there is a real question about the relevance of traditional journalism. On the other hand, with the proliferation of mis- and disinformation, the public's trust in mainstream media is eroding rapidly. The pressure to be the quickest to disseminate news without fact-checking information hasn’t helped matters.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/media-as-the-custodian-of-people">Media as the custodian of the people</a>, Shristi Karki Added Dixit: “Nepal has entered a new decade, but we have more or less the same leaders, the same disputes, the same reactive media content that we have seen over the past two decades. Besides trying to find a new role for media in the age of AI, Nepal’s traditional press also needs to turn the gaze on itself.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120544_c6cde8ff92cbbc50ff69aa71e5b53bd68997f497c5077a1e3401231a9bccab4e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230503120544_c6cde8ff92cbbc50ff69aa71e5b53bd68997f497c5077a1e3401231a9bccab4e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> <figcaption>Keynote speaker Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire.</figcaption> </figure>  Keynote speaker Siddhartha Varadarajan, the Founding Editor of The Wire said the media is under great threats and challenges even as there is a greater consciousness of human rights and democracy across the world. “Historically when democracy has come under strain and perished, it has because of the collapse of open, free democratic media,” said Varadarajan, giving next-door India’s example. “In Nepal, media freedom is seen as something sacrosanct. It is powerful that Nepal is a meeting place for Southasia when other countries are happy to close their borders to ideas.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120544_1fc71ce0f69a74e5a161d20971370e9f84ee3e46ed15adb132cdc5815b71330a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230503120544_1fc71ce0f69a74e5a161d20971370e9f84ee3e46ed15adb132cdc5815b71330a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> </figure>  But just as social media and digital platforms have made it easier for the dissemination of news and content to reach more audience, technology has also allowed the government and censurers to further restrict and control media like the use of a spyware Pegasus for the surveillance of journalists. Reporters and publication houses are also being increasingly harassed with defamation, sedition and criminal charges. Worse, they are threatened with physical harm. Many journalists in the region have in fact lost their lives for their critical voice. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/paradigm-shift-in-nepali-media">Paradigm shift in Nepali media</a>, Shristi Karki But perhaps the biggest change for mainstream media today is to sustain itself. Journalism today has an even more important role in safeguarding democracy and press freedom against populist demagogues but media companies are at their financially weakest. And a f<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">inancially weak media is not politically independent</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120544_372ba75c18c86065d1602425214026342bac2d4929359dd5f4a7df8c6b9a77b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230503120544_372ba75c18c86065d1602425214026342bac2d4929359dd5f4a7df8c6b9a77b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> </figure>  "The less media rely on government favours, large companies and sponsors, and more on your subscription, donation and contribution from your readers, viewers and the civic society, the more it will be sustainable and credible,” added Varadarajan who set up The Wire to be a non-profit digital platform. He also warned media and civil society in Nepal not to be complacent. “Don’t take Nepal’s openness for granted, guard it and protect it,” he said.&nbsp; Media and coverage of evolving geopolitics In the first panel of the day, speakers Sudheer Sharma of Kantipur and Kanak Mani Dixit of Himalmedia delved into increasing interest of India, China and now the United States in Nepal as the battle for regional dominance intensifies.  <figure> <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230503120544/90033c822b9a057369e821f5c28cd7ab216da08b6225af1f0c9d0a937074b802.jpg" alt="" /> <figcaption>First panel of the day, Media and coverage of evolving geopolitics. </figcaption> </figure>  This has further heightened the importance of how Nepali media balances its coverage with India-Sino and US-Sino relations arguably at its most fragile. “In Delhi, Nepal and our media is seen as pro-China whereas when I was in Beijing, I could see that the Chinese thought we have been Americanised following the ratification of the MCC,” said Sharma who is the editor of the largest daily in Nepal, Kantipur.&nbsp; He added: "But at a time when there are more challenges due to the increased geopolitical tension which needs to be tackled with zeal and alertness, the ability of our organisation and leadership seems to have dininished." Sharma also stressed that Nepali media’s coverage of geopolitics focused too much on political diplomacy and not much on economic diplomacy even as Nepal tries to export its hydropower surplus to India.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120544_58fc10d372333add459796f274b8b12f2437f8832d286193aa498259f9c92d44.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230503120544_58fc10d372333add459796f274b8b12f2437f8832d286193aa498259f9c92d44" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> <figcaption>Speaker Sudheer Sharma, editor of Kantipur.</figcaption> </figure>  The installed capacity of hydropower projects in Nepal is expected to cross 3,000MW this monsoon and another 3,200MW will be added to the grid in the next three years. With domestic consumption at just 1,600MW, the only other alternative is to export surplus, except India doesn’t buy power from projects with Chinese investment or contractors. In fact, India is edging China out of Nepal’s river projects as water becomes a strategic commodity. “Media is raising these issues to an extent but that discourse is never really brought to the light because of politics and our parties,” said Kanak Mani Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia. “Nepal is the oldest nation-state in South Asia, but Nepali politicians have often put Nepal’s geopolitics on the line for their interests.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120544_b0793aa82c9936af1b4dc2dcc10b38a503af060f319fa13f9f7f0b7d2b3e4336.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20230503120544_b0793aa82c9936af1b4dc2dcc10b38a503af060f319fa13f9f7f0b7d2b3e4336" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> <figcaption>Speaker Kanak Mani Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia.</figcaption> </figure>  Ahead of the 2024 elections in India, speakers also warned of politicised use of Hindutva in Nepal and that Nepali media needs to be alert so as not to let the pincer of Hindutva enter our politics and society. “Nepal is too diverse a society to be defined by one form of Hindutva or the other but we have groups who wish these sentiments to flourish in Nepal but it is up to the media to take this up,” remarked Dixit. He added: "Nepal is a meeting place for South Asia and has to remain an open space for itself and for the region. And the media has to realise this soft power of Nepal." Data Journalism Data is crucial for good journalism. Paper trails and data mining have led to some of the biggest money laundering exposes. Data supported journalism has led to constructive discourse in a longer term. "In any developing or developed economy, availability of data, its quality and depth help citizens as well as policymakers to form democratic decisions. Data allows better discourse, it is critical when forming unbiased and objective judgement in any issue" said guest speaker Govindraj Ethiraj of IndiaSpend and BOOM FactCheck as he presented various case studies to prove the point.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230503120544_319b0473f2a9d48dcb88a78a8e6aae2f179046880baeecc45ff8d7146fb527ca.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20230503120544_319b0473f2a9d48dcb88a78a8e6aae2f179046880baeecc45ff8d7146fb527ca" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> <figcaption>Govindraj Ethiraj of IndiaSpend during his session on data journalism.</figcaption> </figure>  IndiaSpend found out that 12PM at noon has the best air quality in India for a walk, mornings were the worst much like in Kathmandu. They also found that odd-even vehicle rule did not actually help reduce air pollution in Delhi. Ethiraj also briefed the audience about an on-going project to measure methane emission in India, which they found out was among the biggest polluters in India with the country being the fourth biggest emitter. But oftentimes, it is hard to access data, either because they are withheld or because it is very time consuming to crunch all the numbers and clean them up. Other times, there is simply no data.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050313050_ed561208530ccbdf6b979738adc90851da17cad7b4ccfd692deab0f6b2e19c8b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2023050313050_ed561208530ccbdf6b979738adc90851da17cad7b4ccfd692deab0f6b2e19c8b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Himal Media Mela 2023"> </figure>  “There will be data gaps especially on critical matters but let us ask for better quality data, more data but equally use the data that is already there in your hand to build high quality journalism which is really critical in this time and day. And project that data in a way people can make sense of it,” added Ethiraj. Given the importance of data in storytelling, there is often a question of whether the story comes first or data. Said Ethiraj: "Truth is, they go together. As much data, as many stories. This aids us in making unbiased opinions and objectives, presents a clearer picture, and empower people with better understanding."

Nepal should be open for South Asia

Violations of Nepal’s airspace during WWII

In 2025, Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry" target="_blank">added six new 8,000m peaks </a>to those listed on its website. These are subsidiary summits of <a href="https://explorersweb.com/kangchenjungas-challenging-confusing-subpeaks/" target="_blank">Kangchenjunga</a> and <a href="https://explorersweb.com/through-the-unknown-to-the-impossible-lhotse-middle/" target="_blank">Lhotse</a>, which some view as insufficiently independent to be called separate peaks. In 2024, the international mountaineering federation (UIAA) responded to a request by the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) and the government to officially recognise these peaks. While recognising that ‘there is no one definition of a “mountain” or a “peak” or a “top” or “point” in topographic terms’, and encouraging further debate the UIAA’s opinion was that the 8,000m peaks should continue to the ‘Classic 14’, first completed by Reinhold Messner in 1986. The degree of prominence and isolation of <a href="https://www.climbing.com/news/new-8000-meter-mountains-nepal/?scope=initial" target="_blank">the six new peaks </a>varies, with Yalung Kang having the strongest claim to being a separate peak with a prominence of 135m, but they are all separate enough to be included on some peak-bagging lists. The UIAA’s own list of 4,000m summits in the European Alps includes Punta Giordani with a prominence of only 6m. Whatever the case for the six peaks being geographically separate mountains, they represent significant climbing challenges. They are not minor tops that can simply be ‘bagged’ on route to a main summit. In the case of <a href="https://explorersweb.com/through-the-unknown-to-the-impossible-lhotse-middle/" target="_blank">Lhotse Middle and Lhotse Shar</a>, no one has ever managed to traverse between them and Lhotse itself.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260107080144_881321a6e46818beb7bbd4fe6f21589d89d19bf77ae8218474d373ef7ab0c431.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260107080144_881321a6e46818beb7bbd4fe6f21589d89d19bf77ae8218474d373ef7ab0c431" data-rendition-name="original" width="2888" height="1590" loading="lazy" alt="New 8,000ers"><figcaption>Nepal’s 8 existing 8,000ers: Chomolungma 8,848.86, Kangchenjunga 8,586, Lhotse 8,516, Makalu 8,485, Manaslu 8,163, Dhaulagiri 8,167, Annapurna 8,091, Cho Oyu 8,201. Photo: GOOGLE EARTH PRO</figcaption></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260107080144_27bf905c1a559c46819dc96ca33d22c27fc301d415fc034f26b8acd105c12da7.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260107080144_27bf905c1a559c46819dc96ca33d22c27fc301d415fc034f26b8acd105c12da7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="976" loading="lazy" alt="New 8,000ers"><figcaption>Nepal has listed six additional 8,000ers: Yalung Kang (8,505, Yalung Kang West 8,077, Kanchenjunga Central (8,473, Kanchenjunga South 8,476, Lhotse Middle 8,410, and Lhotse Shar 8,400. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>  Several fine routes have already been climbed on these mountains, such as Slovenians Andrej Štremfelj and Marko Prezelj’s alpine style ascent of the South-West Ridge of Kangchenjunga South. The six peaks have not yet achieved universal acceptance, but it is possible that climbing an expanded list of 20 eight-thousanders could become a new mountaineering challenge, just as the 14 classic peaks are today. It is therefore interesting to analyse who is currently closest to achieving this goal, using data from The Himalayan Database and other Internet research. The first conclusion of my analysis is that these six additional peaks have received far less attention than the classic 14 eight-thousanders. One of them, Yalung Kang West, has never been climbed or even attempted: probably because it is a subsidiary peak of <a href="https://explorersweb.com/kangchenjungas-challenging-confusing-subpeaks/" target="_blank">Yalung Kang</a> which is itself a subsidiary peak. The other five peaks have seen a total of 138 ascents. Just 101 people have ever climbed one or more of the additional peaks, which compares with 354 people who climbed Everest on a single day: 23 May 2019. Russian Evgeni Vinogradski is unique in having climbed five of the six new peaks. He has also climbed six of the classic 8,000ers, giving him a total of 11 out of the 20 peaks on the expanded list. Vinogradski is now 80 and is unlikely to increase this total. Several other former Soviet climbers have climbed three of the new peaks, having participated in the 1989 traverse of the four main summits of Kangchenjunga. This includes two legends of Soviet climbing: Kazakh Anatoli Boukreev and Ukrainian Sergey Bershov, each of whom has climbed 13 out of the 20 peaks on the extended list. Boukreev died attempting Annapurna in 1997. Bershov, one of the only men to have ever climbed Lhotse South Face, is now 78 and, although he was in good form when I met him in Chamonix last summer, he is unlikely to further extend his tally. The addition of the new peaks does not take any of these climbers beyond the total of 14 peaks achieved by the 76 climbers who have completed the classic ‘Himalayan Crown’. Of those who have climbed all 14 classic eight-thousanders, only one, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/um-hong-gil-s-project-impossible" target="_blank">Korean Um Hong-Gil</a>, has climbed any of the six additional peaks.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260107080144_5651fc6445f5e5fd838f28e1eac1da45da136b309a4a00db1e4aafa7d4836251.png" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20260107080144_5651fc6445f5e5fd838f28e1eac1da45da136b309a4a00db1e4aafa7d4836251" data-rendition-name="original" width="2142" height="1310" loading="lazy" alt="New 8,000ers"><figcaption>Only one mountaineer, Korean Um Hong-Gil, has climbed any of the six additional peaks.</figcaption></figure>  Um climbed both Lhotse Shar and Yalung Kang, giving him a total of 16 summits. He required four attempts to climb Lhotse Shar, including one attempt in which he turned back just 100m from the summit following the deaths of two teammates. He finally succeeded in 2007 via a route up the Lhotse South Face. If a race to climb all 20 eight-thousanders were to begin, Um is currently in the lead. <a href="https://www.himalayandatabase.com/" target="_blank">The Himalayan Database</a> also lists two additional mountains in Nepal not included among the peaks announced by the Ministry of Tourism: Annapurna Central and Annapurna East. If these are included, bringing the total to 22 peaks, a few additional climbers deserve mention. Poles Piotr Pustelnik and the great Jerzy Kukuczka have both climbed all 14 classic eight-thousanders as well as Annapurna East, giving them 15 out of 22. Swiss climber Erhard Loretan climbed all 14 as well, and both Annapurna subsidiary summits, giving him a total of 16 out of 22 peaks. Annapurna East has a greater prominence than some of the 6 new peaks proposed by Nepal, but Broad Peak Central in the Karakoram has the greatest prominence of any subsidiary 8000m summit. Kukuczka has also climbed Broad Peak Central, so if the list is extended to 23 peaks, he has 16, equal with Loretan and Um. Then, there is a case for Shishapangma Central in China, which further complicates the task of coming up with a definite extended list. At the moment, these subsidiary summits are not attracting a lot of attention: of the 138 summit climbs on them, only 12 occurred in the last 25 years and none since 2011. Most climbers like to have some wide recognition of a target before investing time and money in trying to achieve it, and this may make it hard to build interest. But as completing the classic 8,000m peaks starts to become a rather frequent occurrence, some may be attracted to the longer list. If this new challenge catches on, as the Ministry of Tourism presumably hopes, how long will it be before someone passes Um Hong-Gil’s total and how long before someone climbs all 20 or 22 or 23 summits? <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/dispelling-myths-about-climbing" target="_blank">Edward Morgan</a> is a British author and climber based in Switzerland. His first book, Lhotse South Face - The Wall of Legends, has been published in several languages and his second book, Chasing Mallory's Dream is due out in the UK this year.

New 8,000ers may restart peak-grabbing race

The American military action in Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro Moros may redefine Nepal’s geopolitics as it juggles between three world powers, India, China and the United States.&nbsp;
Nepal’s interim government is busy preparing for elections on 5 March, and it was late issuing a statement on the American intervention in Venezuela, but the country may have to re-evaluate how it deals with its immediate neighbours and the global power.
“How does Nepal avoid being the next Ukraine or Venezuela? Small countries shouldn’t go around irritating big neighbours. And when big neighbours really get upset, they usually put up a moral fig leaf justifying their miltary action,” says energy economist Dipak Gyawali. “What we see with Venezuela today is bereft of such moral content, essentially banditry which in today’s day and age is unacceptable. Neither the rising new powers nor much of the Global South will take this lying down.”
International relations experts have said that there is now a new world order in which rules-based diplomacy has been thrown out of the window, and the world has been carved into America leading the western hemisphere, Russia is allowed to do what it wants in Ukraine and Europe, and China’s sphere of influence is now the Indo-Pacific.
Foreign affairs expert Nischal Pandey says there is a lesson for smaller nations like Nepal: “We have to be aware of the sensitivities of the major powers in the vicinity.”
There is also a lesson for smaller resource-rich countries not to give an excuse for intervention with poor governance and political instability due to inequity. In Venezuela’s case it was throttling democracy and not using its immense oil-wealth to uplift its people.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration’s abduction of a sitting president of a foreign government regardless of the dictatorial nature of his regime and Venezuela’s volatile internal politics, is illegal and breaches the international order that has been in place since after World War II and its devastation on humanity.
While Trump’s intervention in Venezuela, and threats against Colombia, Cuba and Greenland have brought international condemnation, here in Nepal it has not been taken as seriously as it should.
Says Amish Mulmi, author of the book All Roads Lead North: Nepal's Turn to China: “Some of the reaction on social media has been that of glee over the fall of a dictatorial Communist government on the other side of the world. However, the government statement about fully respecting the principles of sovereignty and the Charter of the United Nations is a strong statement that makes clear Nepal's position on the matter.”
“The abduction of Maduro is a clear sign of Trump's America ensuring its sphere of influence through might and a warning to toe the line,” Mulmi adds. “It also infringes on the sanctity of borders and the preservation of sovereignty. Trump's actions reek strongly of a bygone era of imperialistic control and resource capture.”
Venezuela has 17% of the world’s reserves of crude oil, even though refining this heavy tar-like oil will be costly, and is possible in only a few places including Texas.
“This has to do with a larger political economy of oil, the unravelling of pax Americana and the post-World war II order. This is USA’s heavy-handed response to remain on the top as well as to partly solve its debt of $39 trillion,” explains Gyawali. “But this is not going to help: China is far ahead, Russia has recovered from its 1990s low point, and manufacturing capital has moved away from America. So controlling only financial capital - and using military power so brazenly - is not going to work.”
The might also be specific lessons for Nepal as a smaller country with vast water resources. While water, unlike oil, is renewable, India’s interest in Nepal’s hydro resources cannot be ignored. Ironically, America’s capture of Venezuelan oil reserves could exacerbate climate breakdown and the melting of Himalayan glaciers, which will put Nepal’s water resources in jeopardy in the coming decades.
The only way to deal with this for Nepal and downstream India will be to build reservoirs on rivers to store monsoon precipitation, and that makes water a strategic commodity for the future.&nbsp;
“If we continue in the current mode of hydropower-biased water resources development ignoring irrigation, flood control, navigation, fisheries, tourism and other benefits, India will get the free benefit of regulated water while we pay the upstream environmental and social costs. History will blame our elected leaders for having undersold our resources,” adds Gyawali, who served as water resource minister in the early 2000s.
As for a larger geopolitical lesson: “We in Nepal are fortunate in having not one threatening hegemon but two superpowers India and China: they don’t agree with each other, but do agree on a peaceful Nepal for their own security. However, our current political leaders are irritating both the neighbours, unlike since the centuries past when our rulers looked solely after Nepal’s core interests and our neighbours knew that.”
American intervention in Venezuela also calls for strengthening of our institutions and diplomatic outreach. Nepal has been a non-aligned state, and for all its history has tried to follow a policy of equidistance between India and China. The difference with Venezuela is that Nepal has to deal with two giant neighbours, and not just one.
Says Mulmi: “It is no more only about balancing great power relations but also about benefiting from them. But that will be increasingly difficult as international law and the principles of sovereignty are encroached upon.”

Might might be right, after all

At Budhanilkantha School Ujwal Thapa was a few years my senior. He was a quiet person who kept to himself; I didn’t know him very well despite being related to him because of that introversion and natural shyness. What we did have in common, coming of age in the 1990s, is our generation, GenX, which became weary, inured for the most part, to Nepal’s famously unstable politics.&nbsp; Counting the events of this past September, GenX has, astonishingly, lived through three people’s revolutions, one armed conflict, a flawed but hard won constitution, and a major earthquake. Ujwal Thapa, one of Nepal’s most cherished Gen Xers, despite his previous, youthful reticence, did not long remain a complaisant bystander against the backdrop of these extreme upheavals.&nbsp; By the mid 2000s he had become deeply political, but without the equivocation that so often accompanies politics. Thanks to his lived experience, he came to believe that the youth of Nepal are the key to our future. He believed in discerning wisdom (bibeksheelta), innovation, and nurture. He inspired entire generations, young and old, including GenZ, before his untimely death due to Covid in 2021. He was only 44.&nbsp; By the time of his passing he had started a tech company, and employed and mentored scores of youth. It is important to note that only after he had made a significant contribution to civil society did he turn towards politics, founding and then stepping back from the Bibeksheel Nepali party, which has now, after several complicated mergers and splits, been integrated into the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). When the Ujwal Thapa Foundation set out to make a documentary on his life three years ago, no one could have known that it would premiere at such a crucial point in Nepal’s social and political history.&nbsp; Everything that Ujwal Thapa believed in still holds true. I think he would have been proud to see the youth of our country, GenZ, stand up for themselves, peacefully. He would have been grieved at the state condoned bloodshed, and, believing in non-violent protest himself, been deeply shocked by the savage revolution that followed.&nbsp; Most of all, I wonder how he would have reacted to the publishing of the blatantly elitist RSP proportional representation list - the party that many had pinned their hopes on, and that Bibeksheel Nepali has ultimately been absorbed into. That party now seems like it may be a chip off the rotten old block, ruled by men endorsing rampant nepotism, and outnumbered by people without scruples.&nbsp; Many of the names on the list and the rankings, in particular, disrespect the very spirit of a provision that was created for those competent individuals who would not otherwise be able to contest elections, due to lack of monetary and social capital, but whose marginalised voices are vital for inclusive policy making. There is still time for real inclusion, to embrace a more bibeksheel path, before the March elections.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa’s own, firm, ethical stances are clear in the The Man Who Shook Our Minds, translated loosely from the Nepali title Dimaag Ghhochne Manchhe. While long, at almost two hours, it is filled with thought-provoking and sage counsel. The film also offers very real insight into how Ujwal Thapa evolved into the icon he is today.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> <figcaption>Stills from the documentary.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>  It isn’t easy making a documentary after the passing of the primary subject. While there are many talking heads, the people featured, friends, family, fellow activists and senior politicians are all eloquent in their descriptions of Ujwal Thapa and his transformation from an engaged, civic minded entrepreneur into a committed political leader who among many other commendable things, believed in putting women first, and understood the crucial necessity for a welfare state that would serve its people. The main man is not deified, he is humanised.&nbsp; The feature is punctuated, and leavened, with moments of real humour as his infamous bluntness and occasional domestic haplessness are gently exposed. Another strength of the film is the profound love story between Ujwal Thapa and his brave, brilliant, incredibly resilient wife, Erica Adhikary, the heroine to a real life hero, and a major force behind the making of this film, alongside many of his stalwart wellwishers and friends, old and new.&nbsp; Sushila Karki, the Prime Minister, was present at the premiere of the film with members of her Cabinet. Candid and sincere in her opening remarks, she said she had wanted to attend the moment she heard about the film. She had known Ujwal Thapa, and she had mourned his loss, praying for him during his illness. She wished that leaders like him were here today to show us the way forward in a time of need. The film opened in theatres on the 9th of January, and is an essential viewing experience for anyone who cares about Nepal’s future and wants some insight into how they might make a difference.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa was not perfect, but he was remarkable. He realised that being a civic minded citizen just isn’t enough. To make a real difference, one also needs to be principled, insightful, entrepreneurial, creative, self motivated, able to speak truth to power, uncorruptible, practical, well prepared, and, perhaps, most importantly, able to step back from holding power even after attaining it.&nbsp; The saying by Plato that goes “He who does not desire power is fit to hold it” was surely meant for people like Ujwal Thapa. One can only hope that in the near future more people embodying this description will, however reluctantly, come forward to lead Nepal. Ujwal Thapa worked hard to enable this, they must be out there. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/veO1yVM4pS4?si=f0Lcbs1wasyqfnK1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> The Man Who Shook Our Minds is being screened at QFX cinemas across town. Sophia L Pandé is on the Ujwal Thapa Foundation Advisory Board. She is a writer, art-historian and filmmaker, advising on the economic and social potential of the Cultural and Creative Industries. She is Director of Development at the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, and Founding Director of The Kalā Salon, a non-profit space for the arts.

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