An Indian tourist was killed and three others injured when Fishtail Air and Air Dynasty helicopters collided while landing at Pheriche.

Weak job growth, remittance dependency, and poor social safety nets threaten Nepal’s chance to capitalise on its demographic dividend.

In what is believed to be Nepal’s first mid-air helicopter collision, two choppers struck each other while attempting to land at Pheriche, raising fresh concerns over flight safety and the growing number of helicopter operations in the Everest region.

American arrivals surged 31 percent in October, while Indian visitors fell 30 percent as the August floods disrupted pilgrimage routes and dampened travel from Nepal’s traditionally biggest source market.

Domestic airfares in Nepal have doubled on the longest route in 12 years, with rising fuel costs, taxes and seasonal demand pushing up ticket prices.

Fifty-six women farmers in Sindhuli have completed four years of training under a Korea-Nepal initiative. They learned modern dairy farming, animal care and financial management.

The World Bank estimates $1.66 billion in direct damage to physical assets, with infrastructure accounting for 83 percent of the losses.

The delay in forwarding two bills to split aviation regulation from service provisions has jeopardised the government’s mid-January 2027 target to get Nepal off the European Commission’s air safety list.

The bill, unanimously endorsed by a parliamentary committee and tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday, seeks to overhaul insurance provisions in Nepal’s domestic airline industry.

Despite the pandemic, political unrest and natural disasters, Nepal’s tourism industry has endured, with visitors returning after each shock. But is that resilience masking the need to build a safer, more diversified tourism industry?

The Asian Development Bank has raised its inflation forecast to 5.3 percent and expects the fiscal deficit to widen as reconstruction spending increases following the devastation.

The peak September-November season accounts for nearly 40 percent of Nepal’s annual tourist arrivals. That makes the coming months crucial for an industry still recovering from successive shocks.

Once deployed mainly by international rescue teams after the 2015 earthquake, Nepal’s drone expertise is now helping deliver supplies, search for survivors and even airlift bodies from areas rescuers cannot safely reach.

The incident indicates that the risks Nepal face in the Himalayan region are increasing alongside climate change.

With the main gateway to China destroyed and alternatives vulnerable to floods, landslides and harsh weather, traders face another uncertain festival season.