Namaste, diaspora family! Bhai Tika is done, and Chhath began on Friday. In Virginia, a jury has convicted Naresh Bhatt of murdering his wife, Mamta Kafle. At home, a microbus carrying people home for Chhath went off the road, and civil servants say they are working in fear. But a 15-year-old in Rukum East has shown what one person can build. Let’s dive in.
🌍 Diaspora & Globalisation
Guilty: The Verdict for Mamta Kafle
For many Nepalis in the US, this case has been hard to look away from. This week a jury in Prince William County, Virginia, found Naresh Bhatt guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a nurse originally from Nepal. The jury rejected his claim that she died by suicide. Prosecutors said he killed her on or around July 30, 2024, in their Manassas Park home. He was also convicted of concealing and defiling her body, which has never been found. Bhatt faces 20 years to life for murder, plus up to five years on each of the other two charges. The judge revoked his bond, and sentencing is set for March 12. “This verdict represents an important measure of justice for Mamta Kafle Bhatt,” said Amy Ashworth, the county’s chief prosecutor. (Kathmandu Post)
Melbourne’s Cafés Get a Knock on the Door
If you’re studying in Australia and working shifts to pay the fees, this one is for you. Over three days, inspectors from the Australian Taxation Office and the Fair Work Ombudsman made unannounced visits to more than 30 fast-food outlets, restaurants and cafés in Melbourne’s CBD, looking for underpayment, unregistered businesses and unpaid tax and superannuation. In 2025–26, more than 3,538 workers in these sectors recovered over AUD 5.6 million in unpaid wages. Nepali students describe what it looks like from the inside. Smarika Rai in Melbourne says she was underpaid, put under pressure and never got her final wages. Kamana Shrestha on the Sunshine Coast worked a week unpaid as “training” after being promised a job. The Ombudsman’s message: “workers on visas have the same workplace rights as other employees in Australia.” Investigations are ongoing, and you can report confidentially. (Onlinekhabar)
In Brief: A topi in Sydney, flights from the US and a trail in India. - Anthony Albanese wore a Dhaka topi at NRNA Australia’s Nepal Festival at Darling Harbour last Saturday. The Kathmandu Post says it was the first time an Australian prime minister had attended a Nepali community event. (Kathmandu Post) - Seven Nepalis, all men, were deported from the US in October, down from charter flights of 101 in January and 130 in February. US immigration judges issued 783 removal orders against Nepalis in 2025, up from 196 in 2024. (NepYork) - More than 2,000 Nepalis, including workers from Bajhang, carry pilgrims in basket-seats up India’s 22-kilometre Kedarnath trail. They earn 15,000–22,000 Indian rupees a trip until the season closes after Bhai Tika. (Kathmandu Post)
🏛️ Politics & Governance
“A State of Fear and Tension”
Civil servants are quitting. Since mid-July, 464 have resigned, including four secretary-level officials and 33 joint secretaries, the Kathmandu Post reports. The paper lists a run of abrupt actions. On October 30, the irrigation director general and a project director were detained and held at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, then released the next day after a tender was cancelled. Three journalists were arrested the same day. The Cabinet then removed police chief Dan Bahadur Karki. “There is a clear trend within the government of keeping bureaucrats in a state of fear and tension to force decisions,” an unnamed joint secretary said. Former chief secretary Bimal Koirala warned it “will ultimately backfire on the government itself.” The PM’s office says it didn’t know about the journalists’ arrests in advance and ordered their release. Police had said they acted on its instructions. The government has not responded on the dismissals. (Kathmandu Post)
The Fake Refugee Scam: A Former Deputy PM Walks Free
If anyone you know paid to be passed off as a Bhutanese refugee for a ticket to America, this story is about them. Former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi walked out of Dillibazar prison on Thursday morning. In July, the Kathmandu District Court convicted him of fraud, organised crime and offences against the state in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, which took money from Nepalis hoping to go to the US as resettled refugees. He was sentenced to four years and fined Rs 40,000. The same court has now cut a year off the sentence because he is 65, saying he “qualified for a 25 percent reduction in his sentence” under provisions for senior citizens. The Kathmandu Post report carries no reaction from victims or officials. (Kathmandu Post)
In Brief: A trip without a date, and four new judges. - Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s Delhi visit is still unannounced. “The entire range of bilateral relations that we have with Nepal will be discussed,” said India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal. November 22–25 is the likely window. (Kathmandu Post) - President Ramchandra Paudel appointed four new Supreme Court justices: Ratna Bahadur Bagchand, Chandra Bahadur Saru, Janak Pandey and Gokarna Dangi. All were recommended by the Judicial Council and approved by Parliament’s hearing committee. The appointments come as leaked messages between an alleged fixer and a sitting justice hang over the court. (Kathmandu Post)
💸 Economy & Development
Why 2,000 People Leave Every Day
Most of us know the answer from our own families. Now there are numbers. About 500,000 young people enter Nepal’s job market each year, and around 2,000 leave for work abroad every day, the Kathmandu Post reports. More than 839,000 labour permits were issued in 2024-25. Thirty-five years after liberalisation, only a handful of business groups employ more than 10,000 people. IME Group employs about 20,000 directly, and Chaudhary, Triveni and Shankar about 15,000 each. “More than 81 percent of total employment in the country comes from the private sector,” says IME chairman Chandra Prasad Dhakal. But private-sector credit has grown only about 5–6% a year recently, according to economist Prakash Kumar Shrestha. The country has had 32 governments since 1990. (Kathmandu Post)
COP31: The Mountains Lose Their Line
Nepal went to the climate talks in Antalya, Türkiye, wanting mountains on the agenda. It hasn’t got that yet. A joint Nepal–Bhutan proposal for a dedicated mountain agenda item was not adopted and was reportedly dropped from the negotiating paper. Negotiators now hope some of their demands survive in the final text. Those demands include recognising mountain vulnerability, faster loss-and-damage money as grants, not loans, and glacier monitoring and early warning systems. “At this point, what we really want is the mountain issues to be recognised in the decision-making process,” said Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal. “Until money is there, we cannot address the challenges and crises faced by the mountain countries,” said UML lawmaker Arjun Karki. Back home, the August Bhotekoshi floods are a reminder of what’s at stake. (Kathmandu Post)
In Brief: The lights stayed on, and the flood count goes on. - Electricity demand hit 1,813MW on Laxmi Puja evening, about 113MW above forecast, with “no disruptions or instances of tripping” and 587MW exported to India. (Kathmandu Post) - In Uttargaya, a single Rasuwa municipality hit by the August 26 flood, families have registered 655 people as dead or missing. Only 11 of the missing have been identified. The figures still await national verification before relief is paid. (Onlinekhabar)
⭐ Social & Cultural
A Journey Home for Chhath Ends at Bhimphedi
Most of them sold vegetables and fruit in Kathmandu, and they were going home to Sundarpur, Sarlahi, for Chhath. At about 5:45 am on Thursday, their microbus plunged about 700 metres off the road at Chisapanigadhi in Makawanpur’s Bhimphedi. Fourteen people died, 13 passengers and the driver, and seven were injured. The vehicle had 14 seats but carried 20 people. The driver had recorded only 11 at the Pharping police post. Police point to overloading and driver fatigue but have not confirmed the cause, and a committee is due to report within seven days. “Drivers must record the correct number of passengers,” said Superintendent Shyam Khatri. Families at first refused to claim the bodies, demanding compensation, jobs and state-funded treatment for the injured, and have since agreed to receive them. “Everything is over,” said Upendra, a relative of one of the dead. (Kathmandu Post, Onlinekhabar)
Sadiksha’s Bridge
In June the bridge over the Domai stream near Luma village, Rukum East, was swept away. Schoolchildren were left without a safe crossing. On August 17, Sadiksha Oli, 15, posted a Facebook video asking her MP, former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, to rebuild it. The video went viral. Nobody came. So she spent Rs 60,000 of her own Facebook earnings on iron sheets, nails and skilled workers’ wages, and with relatives and neighbours built a four-metre wooden footbridge in three days. “I decided to use the money I had earned through the platform to fix it myself,” she said. “The government could not build the bridge, so a girl from our own village took the initiative,” said resident Sherdhan Khadka. The Post’s report carries no response from Dahal or the government. If you’re looking for this week’s good news, here it is. (Kathmandu Post)
In Brief: Wickets, prayers and a title. - Sandeep Lamichhane took the first hat-trick of NPL Season 3, finishing with six for 27 as Biratnagar Kings beat Pokhara Avengers by four wickets and moved to fourth. Lumbini, Kathmandu and Sudurpaschim are already through to the playoffs. (Kathmandu Post) - Chhath began on Friday with Nahay-Khay, and the government has declared Monday, November 16 a public holiday. (Kathmandu Post) - Nepal’s under-19 women won the Belt and Road Series in China unbeaten, with four wins and two rain-offs, including a washed-out final against Hong Kong. (Kathmandu Post)
Question of the week: Have you ever had to fight for wages you were owed abroad? Reply or comment. I read every one, and I won’t share names.
This edition is brought to you by belayat.uk, UK Nepali classifieds for jobs, housing and events. Next week: the NPL playoffs, Delhi preparations and the end of COP31.
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Until next week, stay connected! — Binit, for the Nepali Diaspora Digest
