November 6, 2024: Snapshot of today's main news

Kathmandu, November 6 — In this section, we present the key headlines of the day. If you have been busy and missed the news, we have got you covered. Here are the highlights.

Donald Trump elected US president in stunning comeback

Donald Trump was elected president, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad.

Trump, 78, recaptured the White House on Wednesday by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, Edison Research projected, following a campaign of dark rhetoric that deepened the polarization in the country.

The former president's victory in the swing state of Wisconsin pushed him over the threshold. As of 5:45 a.m. ET (1045 GMT) Trump had won 279 electoral votes to Harris' 223 with several states yet to be counted.

He also led Harris by about 5 million votes in the popular count.

"America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," Trump said early on Wednesday to a roaring crowd of supporters at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida.

Supreme Court convicts ex-UN official Dalglish for pedophilia

The Supreme Court of Nepal has found former senior United Nations (UN) official and Canadian national Peter John Dalglish guilty of child sexual abuse (pedophilia). The court’s spokesperson, Govinda Ghimire, confirmed the ruling.

On Wednesday, a bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel upheld the verdicts of the Kavrepalanchok District Court and the Patan High Court, which had previously convicted Dalglish. However, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence by one year. The district and high courts had sentenced Daglish to nine years in prison, but the Supreme Court changed the sentence to eight years. The court also upheld the district court’s ruling regarding compensation for the victims.

Daglish was arrested on April 7, 2018 in Mandandeupur, Kavre, after being caught in the act with two minors. His arrest had sparked international attention regarding the involvement of high-ranking individuals in pedophilia in Nepal.

Investigation launched into human trafficking case involving outgoing minister Adhikari

Nepal Police has initiated an investigation into a human trafficking incident involving a minister from the Koshi Province government.

Lilaballabh Adhikari, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Law of Koshi Province, has been accused of trafficking individuals while traveling to Japan, taking along unrelated persons with fake documents. After the accusations, Adhikari resigned from his ministerial position on Wednesday.

It has been revealed that Adhikari traveled to Japan with individuals carrying forged documents. The police have arrested six people, including three who traveled with Adhikari to Japan, and investigations are ongoing.

President Paudel congratulates US president-elect Trump

President Ramchandra Paudel extended his congratulations to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.

In a post on his official X account, @OOP_Nepal, he wrote: "Warm Congratulations, President-elect @realDonaldTrump on your historic win! Wishing you all success for your second term as the President of the USA! I am confident that Nepal-US relations will further be strengthened during your tenure."

Trump, 78, recaptured the White House on Wednesday by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, Edison Research projected, following a campaign of dark rhetoric that deepened the polarization in the country.

Deepak Manange goes incommunicado after Supreme Court conviction

After being convicted by the Supreme Court, Gandaki Provincial Assembly member and former minister Rajeev Gurung alias Deepak Manange has gone missing.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court found Manange guilty in a murder case.

The Supreme Court upheld the verdict from the Patan High Court, which had previously sentenced him to five years in prison for his involvement in the crime. The Supreme Court confirmed the five-year sentence.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Manange has gone out of contact. Attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful, with his mobile phone turned off.

TU part-time teachers threaten to shut down varsity from November 15

Part-time contract teachers at Tribhuvan University (TU) have warned of shutting down the university from November 15 if their demands are not met. The teachers are protesting the failure to implement an agreement made with the Part-Time Professors Association on July 3. 

The Tribhuvan University Service Commission is scheduled to conduct the examination for the position of Assistant Professor on November 15. The examination is being held in accordance with a 2020 advertisement issued for the recruitment of assistant professors. At that time, an advertisement was issued for 581 assistant professor positions. The part-time teachers have demanded that this examination be postponed and the process of converting them to permanent contracts be initiated instead.

5 kilograms of gold seized at TIA

Over 5 kilograms of gold have been seized at Tribhuvan International Airport.

On Tuesday evening, three individuals were arrested with a total of 5 kilograms and 700 grams of gold, according to Assistant Spokesperson of the Armed Police Force, DSP Shailendra Thapa, who provided the information on Wednesday morning.

The three individuals – Jian Zhong, a Chinese national from Sharjah, UAE, and San Daing Tung and Ri Nong, both from Myanmar – were traveling on an Air Arabia flight to Kathmandu. They were arrested with the gold in their possession, Thapa confirmed.

Dengue infection decreasing

Dengue infection is gradually decreasing across the country, with a notable decline in cases since mid-October.     

According to Dr Gokarna Prasad Dahal, Chief of the Vector Disease Section at the Division of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases, the decrease can be attributed to the plummeting temperatures and the government’s efforts to control mosquito breeding.     

In response to the rising dengue cases, the government launched a "mosquito search and destroy campaign," which takes place every Friday across government and non-government institutions, as well as hospital premises.     

Dengue cases began to decline from the 42nd week of the latest outbreak of the epidemic some 10 and half months back. In the 42nd week, 2,582 cases were recorded, whereas only 55 cases were reported in the 45th week.

Gold prices see modest rise, silver prices drop

Gold prices saw a slight increase in the Nepali market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the price of hallmark gold, which was traded at NPR 168,200 per tola on Tuesday, rose by NPR 300 to reach NPR 168,500 per tola on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the price of silver declined on Wednesday. The price of silver, which was NPR 2,030 per tola on Tuesday, fell by NPR 15, bringing the price down to NPR 2,015 per tola, the Federation informed.

NEPSE sees slight decline on Wednesday

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a slight decline today (Wednesday). According to the Nepal Stock Exchange, the trading indicator, the NEPSE Index, fell by 1.88 points, dropping to 2,675.51 points. The market had also seen a small decrease of 0.21 points on Tuesday.

The Sensitive Index, which tracks the trading of Class 'A' companies, also decreased by 1.88 points, settling at 477.18 points.

Despite the fall in the NEPSE Index, the trading volume increased compared to Tuesday. A total of 244 companies traded 11.6 million shares, with a total turnover of NPR 5.22 billion. In comparison, Tuesday's turnover was NPR 4.11 billion.

Five World Bank funded-projects to be implemented in fast track

A meeting at the Ministry of Finance has set timeline for taking forward five projects and decided to carry out preparatory and other works relating to those projects in fast track modality.     

Five projects, collectively valued over Rs 72 billion, are funded by the World Bank and those projects will be executed in the fast track modality, the meeting decided.     

In the meeting presided by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel at the Ministry of Finance today, other significant decisions include expansion of Bagmati-Pathalaiya section under the East-West Highway, repair and maintenance of third bridge, early preparedness for modernization of electricity distribution system project among others.  

Analysis: Result hands Trump free rein

His victory cements a fundamental realignment of American politics toward a conservative populism that began in 2016 and was thought to have been discarded with his defeat in 2020.

His political movement is back and seemingly more durable than ever.

Trump now will have the opportunity to set about building his new administration and enacting the policies that he has promised will create that new golden age.

Trump will be joined in power by a Senate that is now again in Republican hands after four years of Democratic control. This will ease the path for Trump’s political appointees, including Cabinet officials and judicial picks, who require Senate confirmation.

It will take days, if not weeks, to determine if Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives. But in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Trump predicted his party would prevail there as well.

Israeli strike kills 20 in north Gaza

An Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed at least 20 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Tuesday, as Palestinians fled Israel’s assault. Some said they had hardly eaten, with aid cut off for weeks to the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory.

Israel has been waging an offensive in Gaza’s northernmost end for weeks, saying it is targeting Hamas militants who regrouped in the area.

The U.N. has said Israel hasn’t allowed food and other supplies into the area north of Gaza City since the assault began, even as tens of thousands of people remain there. That has drawn rebukes from the Biden administration, which has warned that U.S. laws might force it to curb military aid to Israel if more aid is not allowed in.

ICC Women U-19 T20 World Cup Asia Qualifiers: Nepal defeats Thailand by 67 runs

Nepal has defeated Thailand in today's match held under ICC Women U-19 World Cup Asia Qualifiers.     

Nepal won the inaugural match by 67 runs at The Seven Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.     

Chasing the target of 103 runs posted by Nepal, Thailand was limited to 35 runs in 11.4 overs losing all wickets.     

For Nepal, Rachana Kumari Chaudhary alone took 4 wickets while Captain Puja Mahato and Riya Sharma two wickets each.     

Similarly, Karishma Gurung and Manisha Kumari Upadhyay had one wicket each.     

Earlier, invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 102 runs at the loss of 6 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.  

Gauff advances at Finals with rare win over Swiatek

Coco Gauff confirmed her semi-final spot at the WTA Finals with a rare win over defending champion Iga Swiatek.

The American beat second seed Swiatek 6-3 6-4 to join Aryna Sabalenka in the last four in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The result also means Sabalenka will be the year-end world number one as number two Swiatek can no longer catch her in the rankings.

It is only the second time Gauff has defeated Poland's Swiatek in 13 attempts.