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A decade has passed since a massive earthquake ripped through Nepal, but in Ram Bahadur Nakarmi’s home the damage is still visible — and so is the fear another might strike.

Ten years ago, on April 25, 2015, the ground beneath Nepal shuddered with a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, killing nearly 9,000 people, injuring over 22,000, and leaving millions homeless.

The disaster also reduced monuments to ruins, including centuries-old temples and royal palaces in the Kathmandu valley that attracted visitors from around the world.

Nakarmi’s four-storey home in historic Bhaktapur city was damaged, but financial constraints made it impossible for him to rebuild.

The 61-year-old continues to live in his house despite the cracks.

“Even now, it is still scary,” Nakarmi told AFP. “We are still feeling the tremors and they terrify us — we run outside the house”.

The aftermath of the quake exposed deep cracks in Nepal’s disaster response system and the rebuilding efforts were initially hit by political infighting, bureaucracy and confusion.

Yet over the last decade, significant progress have been made.

According to official figures, nearly 90 percent of the homes destroyed have been rebuilt, alongside thousands of schools, health institutions, and public buildings.

Temples and cultural landmarks are also slowly rising again.

A joint assessment of affected districts by Nepal’s National Society for Earthquake Technology, and the international Global Quake Model showed marked improvements for resilience in the face of another quake.

They estimated there had been a 44 percent reduction in the number of buildings at risk of complete collapse, after Nepal’s rebuilding and retrofitting drive.

“Our initial years were focused on rebuilding. Now our focus should be in areas which were not affected in 2015 but are at risk of a quake,” Dinesh Prasad Bhatt chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), told AFP.

“We have to extend the reach of lessons learnt from the earthquake to all parts of the country.”

 ‘Inadequate Progress’ 

The disaster was a wake up call for a country that is situated on a dangerous geological faultline, where the Indian tectonic plate collides with the Eurasian plate to form the Himalayas.

According to the UN, Nepal ranks 11th in terms of earthquake risk.

Experts question if the country is prepared for the next one.

In the decade since the quake, the country has taken important steps.

The NDRRMA disaster reduction and management authority was established, and building codes were updated to reflect seismic safety standards.

Unlike 2015, there are elected members at local levels responsible for mobilising rescue teams, volunteers and stockpiles of emergency resources in case of a disaster.

“If you really look into a holistic picture, compared to what we had back in 2015 and right now, we’ve made massive progress,” said Anil Pokharel, a former NDRRMA chief.

“But still, it is inadequate given the kind of growing risks.”

Experts say that while Kathmandu’s skyline now includes more reinforced buildings, rural areas — where infrastructure is weaker and access to resources limited — remain exposed.

Only 9.4 percent of structures were revealed to be safe in a 2023 integrity assessment of nearly 29,000 buildings of schools, health centres and government offices across the country by the NDRRMA.

Implementation of disaster preparedness policies and building codes is also inconsistent.

“Nepal has made many policies learning from the 2015 quake experience, but policies are only pieces of paper that dictate the system,” said Surya Narayan Shrestha, from the National Society for Earthquake Technology.

“To make the system itself effective, we need people… and systems that have that capacity.”

‘Dangerously underprepared’ 

David Sislen, the World Bank chief Nepal, said that despite better policies and institutional framework, the country remains “dangerously underprepared for a major disaster”.

“Without stronger enforcement and implementation of risk reduction and mitigation measures, the physical footprint of vulnerability will continue to grow, putting people, services and assets are risk,” Sislen said.

He added that there was a need for “a phased financing strategy for retrofitting schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure”.

Records at the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center show that over 800 earthquakes with a magnitude of four or above have struck Nepal since the 2015 quake.

Every tremor takes Shri Krishna Chhusyabada, a quake survivor who lost three of his family members under the rubble of his house, back to the fateful day.

“It was a black day for us. That day took away all our happiness,” Chhusyabada said. “I hope we never see such devastation again.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Annabel Elliot, the younger sister of Queen Camilla, has admitted she “finds it impossible” to curtsy to her sister, despite Camilla being part of the royal family for two decades. The revelation comes in a special profile written by royal biographer Robert Hardman for Tatler, for the King and Queen’s 20th wedding anniversary.

In the past, royal tradition required women to curtsy to the King or Queen whenever they saw them for the first time each day. Though this practice has become more relaxed over the years, the royal family’s website says that “there are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family.”

It also mentions that many still choose to follow traditional customs. For men, the tradition is a simple bow of the head, while women are expected to give a small curtsy.

Although she cannot bring herself to curtsy, Ms Elliot is one of Queen Camilla’s “companions” – the modern equivalent of a lady-in-waiting.

Speaking with Mr Hardman, she talked about Camilla’s unexpected rise to public life. “I think she’s transitioned beautifully, actually. I mean, I sometimes look at her, and I can’t really believe it.”

Who is Annabel Elliot?

Annabel Elliot, 76, born Sonia Annabel Shand on February 2, 1949, is the younger sister of Queen Camilla and a respected British interior designer and antiques dealer. Married to the late Simon Elliot and mother to three children, including former Conservative Party Co-Chair Sir Ben Elliot, she has long been a close confidante of the Queen.

Ms Elliot played a key role in designing several royal properties under King Charles III’s Duchy of Cornwall, including the estate at Llwynywermod in Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall Inn in Poundbury. In 2023, she served as a lady-in-attendance during the King’s coronation. Last year, she was let go from her Duchy design duties after Prince William took over.

In 2024, Ms Elliot was a pillar of support for her sister, Camilla, 77, through a series of trials. These included the loss of her dog, ongoing family health battles, and her own struggle with pneumonia. Despite these challenges, Ms Elliot’s deep affection for her sister was evident in the ‘BBC documentary Charles III: The Coronation Year’. In one particularly emotional moment, she tearfully remembered watching Camilla leave for Westminster Abbey to be crowned Queen.

“When I thought back to being 2 years old and watching [Queen Elizabeth II’s] coronation on a tiny black and white television, there goes this golden coach with my sister in it,” Ms Elliot said. “I can’t explain the feeling, because it’s so surreal. This cannot be happening. It was quite a moment.”

A former New Mexico judge and his wife have been arrested for allegedly sheltering a Venezuelan gang member. Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody following a federal raid on their residence in Las Cruces. Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, believed to be a member of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, was caught at their home in February, The NY Post reported.

The couple is facing serious charges, including evidence tampering and hiding Ortega-Lopez. According to the court documents, Ms Cano initially hired him to carry out some repair work at their house, and later, the couple allowed him to stay in their guesthouse.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said, “Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens-including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang, adding, “If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you and lock you up. That’s a promise.”

Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, said that at first, they came to arrest Ms Cano, but after checking the evidence, they decided to arrest Mr Cano as well. 

He said, “Initially, we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started conducting our interviews and started looking at the evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr Cano as well.” 

The District Attorney’s Office said that Mr Cano’s daughter owned several firearms and she allowed Ortega-Lopez to hold, shoot and pose with them. The pictures were later shared on social media platforms. After seeing the pictures the federal agents seized those firearms and arrested the alleged criminal.

Evidence such as gang-related clothes, tattoos, voicemails, and text messages connecting Ortega-Lopez to the Tren de Aragua gang were also found by authorities.

On December 15, 2023, he entered the US illegally by crossing the border near Eagle Pass, Texas, without permission or inspection. He was temporarily released from the Border Patrol facility on December 18, 2023, as it became overcrowded, according to court documents.

Mr Stevens mentioned that apart from Ortega-Lopez, two more suspected members of the gang were staying at their home.

He said, “All three of them, we believe, are alleged members of that (Tren de Aragua). Obviously, we continue just to focus on the totality of the investigation instead of just zeroing in on them.”

Amy Barela, chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said, “We demand real accountability for Judge Cano’s connection to a gang-affiliated criminal and full transparency on how our judiciary is being held to the same laws as the rest of us. Enough is enough.”

She said, “The people of New Mexico are tired of a system where the powerful don’t play by their own rules.”

The couple is currently in the Dona Ana County Detention Center without any bail.

A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer involved in the department’s youth “Police Explorers” programme has been arrested and charged with attempting to have a sexual conversation with an undercover cop whom he thought to be a 14-year-old girl.

Travis DeSouza, 35, assigned to the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, was taken into custody for allegedly sexting an undercover police officer posing as a young girl from the program, The NY Post reported.

DeSouza, a 13-year veteran of the NYPD, was charged with child endangerment on Thursday for sending sexually explicit content to an undercover cop, officials said.

In Brooklyn, he was charged with first-degree attempted dissemination of explicit content to minors, third-degree attempted endangerment of a child’s welfare, and third-degree obscenity, the report added.

Last October, DeSouza’s actions came under scrutiny while working with the Police Explorers program, which prepares youths interested in law enforcement between the ages of 14 and 20.

According to the complaint, under the guise of a young participant in the Police Explorers program, an adult undercover cop approached DeSouza and asked for his phone number.

Officials said DeSouza openly acknowledged she was a minor and yet carried on with the explicit sexual advances and innuendos through texts and social media.

According to the lawsuit, the officer also sent the “teen girl” a photo of himself in boxer shorts with an erection.

“And I don’t know even why you got me thinking things I shouldn’t because of how far we are of age LOL I should be telling you to stop…” DeSouza allegedly wrote in a Snapchat message to the undercover agent.

But your maturity and the way you act is different, he added.

On Thursday, the NYPD announced that Officer DeSouza was put on unpaid leave.

The charges against him include third-degree obscenity, official misconduct, attempted endangering the welfare of a child, and first-degree attempted publication of indecent material to children in Queens court.

According to court documents, the former police officer was released on Thursday without posting bail.

US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Friday shunned a Pakistani journalist during a press briefing for questioning her over border tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made it clear that the US stands with India and have strongly condemned all forms of terrorism, she said. Follow Live Update here

“I am not going to be remarking on it. I appreciate this, and perhaps we will come back to you with another subject. I will say nothing more on that situation. The President and the Secretary have said things, as have the Deputy Secretary; they have made their positions clear. I will not continue with something of that manner,” Ms Bruce said.

A day without humiliation is a day wasted for Pakistan

US State Department spox shuns Pak Journalist pic.twitter.com/vhsSiA8xMe

— FluxMind (@Flux_Mind_) April 25, 2025

She said that the US prays for those who lost their lives in the terror attack and for the recovery of the injured.

On the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, she said, “As President Trump and Secretary Rubio have made clear, the US stands with India, strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. We pray for the lives of those lost and pray for the recovery of the injured and call for the perpetrators of this heinous act to be brought to justice.”

President Trump had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer condolences for the victims of the terror attack. PM Modi thanked Trump for his support and said India is determined to bring perpetrators and backers of this “cowardly and heinous terrorist attack” to justice.

On April 22, terrorists killed 26 people, including tourists, at Baisaran, a popular tourist spot in South Kashmir’s Pahalgam, known as “Mini Switzerland”.

Addressing a public meeting in Bihar’s Madhubani yesterday, PM Modi vowed that India will “identify, track, and punish” every terrorist and their “backers” involved in the Pahalgam carnage and pursue the killers to the “ends of the earth”.

“Friends, today from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism,” he added.

In its first retaliation, India announced punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and downgrading diplomatic ties. India on Thursday announced revoking all visas issued to Pakistani nationals from April 27 and advised Indian nationals residing in Pakistan to return home at the earliest amid tensions between the two countries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters, saying the proposal was being lined up for announcement during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.

The offered package comes after the administration of former President Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to finalize a defense pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.

The Biden proposal offered access to more advanced U.S. weaponry in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing’s investment in the country. Reuters could not establish if the Trump administration’s proposal includes similar requirements.

The White House, Pentagon and Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In his first term, Trump celebrated weapons sales to Saudi Arabia as good for U.S. jobs.

Lockheed Martin Corp could supply a range of advanced weapons systems including C-130 transport aircraft, two of the sources said. One source said Lockheed would also supply missiles and radars.

RTX Corp, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, is also expected to play a significant role in the package, which will include supplies from other major U.S. defense contractors such as Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp and General Atomics, said four of the sources.

All the sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop and General Atomics declined to comment. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters could not immediately establish how many of the deals on offer were new. Many have been in the works for some time, two of the sources said. For example, the kingdom first requested information about General Atomics’ drones in 2018, they said. Over the past 12 months, a deal for $20 billion of General Atomics’ MQ-9B SeaGuardian-style drones and other aircraft came into focus, according to one of the sources.

Several executives from defense companies are considering traveling to the region as a part of the delegation, three of the sources said.

The U.S. has long supplied Saudi Arabia with weapons. In 2017, Trump proposed approximately $110 billion of sales to the kingdom.

As of 2018, only $14.5 billion of sales had been initiated and Congress began to question the deals in light of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In 2021, under Biden, Congress imposed a ban on sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi killing and to pressure the kingdom to wind down its Yemen war, which had inflicted heavy civilian casualties.

Under U.S. law, major international weapons deals must be reviewed by members of Congress before they are finalised.

The Biden administration began to soften its stance on Saudi Arabia in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacted global oil supplies. The ban on offensive weapons sales was lifted in 2024, as Washington worked more closely with Riyadh in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack to devise a plan for post-war Gaza.

A potential deal for Lockheed’s F-35 jets, which the kingdom has been reportedly interested in for years, is expected to be discussed, three of the sources said, while downplaying the chances for an F-35 deal being signed during the trip.

The United States guarantees that its close ally Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states, giving it what is labeled a “Qualitative Military Edge” (QME) over its neighbors.

Israel has now owned F-35s for nine years, building multiple squadrons.

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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff is leaving his job, a senior defense official said Thursday, in the latest shakeup to hit the upper echelons of the Pentagon’s leadership.

“Joe Kasper will continue to serve President Trump as a Special Government Employee (SGE) handling special projects at the Department of Defense,” the official said, adding: “Secretary Hegseth is thankful for his continued leadership and work to advance the America First agenda.”

His departure is the latest in a series of high-profile exits from top Pentagon posts, including three officials who were removed last week amid an investigation into leaks after they reportedly clashed with Kasper.

Former senior advisors Darin Selnick, Dan Caldwell and Colin Carroll hit back on Sunday, saying Pentagon officials had “slandered our character with baseless attacks.”

“We still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with,” they said in a joint statement posted on social media.

Hegseth’s former Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot also took aim at him in a scathing opinion piece on Sunday that described “a month of total chaos at the Pentagon.”

“President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer,” wrote Ullyot.

The shakeups come as Hegseth faces a new scandal over his reported use of messaging app Signal to discuss US strikes on Yemen with his wife and other people not usually involved in such discussions.

The White House has stood by him so far, just weeks after it emerged that Hegseth also shared details about the strikes against Yemen’s Huthi rebels in another Signal chat to which a journalist had been inadvertently added.

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New Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan on Thursday announced upcoming layoffs at the struggling US chip maker as White House tariffs and export restrictions muddy the market.

Tan did not provide details about the number of employees affected, but said he was “a big believer in the philosophy that the best leaders get the most done with the fewest people.”

Despite the promise of cost-cutting and an earnings report that bested market expectations, Intel’s share price sank more than five percent after it reined in its financial outlook for the current quarter due to broader market conditions.

“The economic landscape has become increasingly uncertain, driven by shifting trade policies, persistent inflation and increased regulatory risk,” Intel chief financial officer David Zinsner said during an earnings call.

“The very fluid trade policies in the US and beyond, as well as regulatory risks, have increased the chance of an economic slowdown with the probability of a recession growing.”

Intel reported a loss of $800 million on revenue of $12.7 billion in the first three months of this year. The chip maker forecast revenue of between $11.2 and $12.4 billion in the current quarter.

Bloomberg reported that more than 20 percent of Intel staff could be laid off. 

When asked by AFP for more details about the job cuts, a spokeswoman did not offer figures, but referred to an email to staff from Tan, who said the layoffs would begin in the current quarter and continue “over the next several months.”

“As we refocus on engineering, we will also remove organizational complexity,” Tan said in the note to staff. 

“There is no way around the fact that these critical changes will reduce the size of our workforce.”

Malaysia-born tech industry veteran Tan, who took over as Intel chief executive in March, has said it “won’t be easy” to overcome challenges faced by the company.

Competition from Nvidia

Intel is one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies, but its fortunes have been eclipsed by Asian powerhouses TSMC and Samsung, which dominate the made-to-order semiconductor business. 

The company was also caught by surprise with the emergence of Nvidia as the world’s preeminent AI chip provider.

Intel’s niche has been in chips used in traditional computing processes being eclipsed by the AI revolution.

“I strongly believe we can reduce our costs while securing our future,” Tan said.

“Our competitors are lean, fast and agile — and that’s what we must become to improve our execution.”

Tan’s predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, was forced out as Intel chief in December after the board lost confidence in his plans to turn the company around. 

Former US president Joe Biden’s administration last year finalized a $7.9 billion award to Intel as part of an effort to bring semiconductor production to US shores.

But Intel in February extended the timeline for completing two new fabrication plants in Ohio, saying it is taking a prudent approach to the $28 billion project.

Intel has also delayed projects in Germany, Poland and Malaysia.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A US judge on Thursday partially blocked an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at sweeping election reforms, the latest legal setback in enacting his agenda.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly specifically prevented the Trump administration from requiring voters to provide proof of US citizenship when registering to vote at the state level.

The executive order, signed at the end of March, set its sights on restricting mail-in voting, which Trump has criticized for years.

The order faced legal challenges as soon as it was signed, with the Democratic Party itself launching court proceedings against it.

Kollar-Kotelly justified enacting a preliminary injunction against Trump’s order by arguing that on further review of “the merits, the plaintiffs are substantially likely to prevail.”

“Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President —  with the authority to regulate federal elections,” she wrote in her 120-page decision.

Kollar-Kotelly declined to block another significant part of the executive order, which required states to impose a deadline for mail-in ballots coinciding with the close of polls on Election Day.

Though US citizenship is required to vote in federal elections, not all states require voters to bring documents attesting to their citizenship status, opting instead for other verification methods.

States that failed to comply with the executive order were threatened with having their federal election funding cut off.

Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles has described the executive order as “dangerous” because it could “potentially disenfranchise millions of voters.”

In a March post on his Election Law blog, Hasen called Trump’s directive “an executive power grab,” and noted that “federal elections are largely the responsibility of the states, with Congress setting rules for the conduct of elections.”

Trump has never conceded defeat in the 2020 presidential election against Joe Biden, and has repeatedly and baselessly claimed widespread voter fraud.

Since his return to the White House on January 20, the 78-year-old Republican has issued dozens of executive orders, many of which have faced legal challenges.

As recently as Thursday, a judge blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from so-called “sanctuary cities” that offer protective measures for migrants.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in deadly Kyiv attack that killed 12 and wounded dozens.

“According to preliminary information, the Russians used a ballistic missile manufactured in North Korea. Our special services are verifying all the details,” Zelensky said on social media.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)