New Nepal government faces old challenges
The Straits Times
Among the challenges are economic growth and maintaining stability. Read more at straitstimes.com.
KATHMANDU – Nepal’s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah is set to become the next prime minister after his centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a commanding majority in parliamentary elections.
His meteoric rise – propelled by anti-establishment sentiment and youth anger over corruption – marks one of the most dramatic shifts in Nepal’s political landscape in decades.
The high-stakes March 5 election came six months after deadly protests that toppled the government, in which at least 77 people were killed.
Just 35, Mr Shah rose from mayor of the capital Kathmandu to defeat veteran four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli in his own constituency.
But the new government now faces the far harder task of fixing the Himalayan nation’s ailing economy.
Here are the key challenges it will face.
VATICAN CITY, March 16 - Pope Leo met on Monday with an investigative journalist who alleges that a prominent Catholic organisation with ties to right-wing politicians in the U.S. and other countries covered up sexual and financial crimes, which the group firmly denies. Read more at straitstimes.com.
China urged an immediate ceasefire after deadly cross-border clashes flared. Read more at straitstimes.com.
DEBRECEN, Hungary, March 16 - Istvan Hollo, a 76-year-old supporter of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, spends up to an hour daily on Facebook promoting the right-wing leader's messages to bolster his chances in an April 12 parliamentary election. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The two former ministers are set to return to the fold as UMNO seeks to strengthen its position ahead of upcoming state and federal elections. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The phone will debut alongside an Oppo AI Pen accessory. Read more at straitstimes.com.
MADRID, March 16 - Spain will not take part in any military mission in the Strait of Hormuz because it considers the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran to be illegal, Madrid's defence and foreign affairs ministers said on Monday. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Any changes would be due to logistics amid the Iran war, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Read more at straitstimes.com.
VATICAN CITY, March 16 - Pope Leo urged journalists on Monday to highlight the suffering caused by war, cautioning against news reports that risk sliding into propaganda by glorifying conflicts or serving as \"a megaphone\" to amplify the voices of those in power. Read more at straitstimes.com.
AMSTERDAM, March 16 - Dutch police are investigating an explosion that damaged an office building in Amsterdam and was claimed by the same extremist organisation which also claimed it was behind a recent blast at a Jewish school in the area, a police spokesperson said on Monday. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The move has been welcomed by the “Accidental Americans” struggling with the US tax system. Read more at straitstimes.com.
The Philippines rejects a China-circulated letter questioning its Scarborough Shoal claim in the South China Sea dispute. Read more at straitstimes.com.
LONDON, March 15 - Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would not be drawn into a wider war in Iran but would work with allies including those in Europe to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz, although he acknowledged that it would not be easy. Read more at straitstimes.com.
ZURICH, March 16 - The Swiss government on Monday pressed the electorate to reject an initiative aimed at restricting the population to 10 million, which it argues will jeopardise cooperation with the European Union and damage the economy. Read more at straitstimes.com.