October 3, 2024: Snapshot of today's main news

Kathmandu, October 3 — In this section, we present the key headlines of the day. If you've been busy and missed the news, we’ve got you covered. Here are the highlights.

Pokhara and Kathmandu: The most corrupt local governments

Local governments have been significantly implicated in cases of misuse of authority and corruption.

According to data from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Pokhara Metropolitan City and Kathmandu Metropolitan City have experienced the highest levels of corruption.

The mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City is Dhanraj Acharya from CPN (US).

The mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Balen Shah, is known for his strong stance against corruption.

However, a complaint filed with the commission has confirmed that the metropolitan city led by Shah is the second most corrupt local government.

Former King Gyanendra Shah visits Bhutan with family members

Former King Gyanendra Shah has traveled to Bhutan with family members.

He arrived in Bhutan's Thimphu on Thursday via a Druk Airlines flight.

Along with Shah, his daughter Prerana and family members Shitasma Shah, Rajesh Singh, and personal secretary Sagar Timilsina also went to Bhutan.

Upon arrival in Thimphu, Shah was welcomed by a Bhutanese princess.

Shah's visit to Bhutan is private, as confirmed by his communications secretary Phaniraj Pathak.

During his stay in Bhutan, he is expected to visit religious sites and meet various personalities.

His trip to Bhutan is being viewed as significant. Former King Shah is scheduled to return to the country on Sunday, October 6.

Oli government faces backlash over disaster response

 Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is facing severe criticism due to the loss of life and property in heavy landslides and floods that struck recently.

Despite prior warnings, the government had shown little concern for mitigating the loss of lives and property caused by these disasters.

Experts indicate that the government's shortcomings have been evident in the incidents in the federal capital, Kathmandu Valley, particularly in Nakkhu, where three individuals were swept away, and in Dhading's Jhyaple Khola, where landslides claimed the lives of 35 people.

Stakeholders have pointed out the government's indifference in providing rescue and relief amidst significant human and property losses.

35 victims of Jhyaple Khola landslide identified

The identities of 35 individuals killed in Jhyaple Khola disaster have been revealed today. Among the deceased are 25 men, 9 women, and 1 girl, as confirmed by Inspector Prahlad Silwal from the Dhading District Police Office.

The victims were traveling in two microbuses and one bus that were caught in the landslide on September 27.

The bus with registration number Na. 4 Kha 2270, coming from Gorkha to Kathmandu, had four passengers.

The Hiace with registration number Ba. 2 Kha 1345, traveling from Chitwan to Kathmandu, had 17 passengers, while the Winger with registration number Lu. 1 Ja 4577 contained 14 passengers.

The bodies retrieved from the site have been sent to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for post-mortem and will be handed over to their families afterward.

BP Highway likely to resume temporarily within couple of days

The Road Division Office in Bhaktapur has commenced temporary repair on a 200-metres section of the BP Highway at Chaukidanda that was significantly damaged by recent monsoon floods. 

This area, located at the border of Namobudhha and Roshi municipalities, saw significant erosion of up to 50 meters due to the escalated flow of the Roshi River.

Division's Chief senior engineer Suman Yogesh said that efforts are underway to correct the river's course, allowing for the temporary reopening of the highway. One-way traffic is expected to resume within a couple of days.

Kathmandu to Muglin: 6-hour travel time amid increased traffic

With the start of Dashain, the number of passengers returning home from Kathmandu has increased. Alongside this, the Muglin–Narayangadh road is currently busy.

Due to continuous rainfall last week, many highways connecting the Kathmandu Valley are blocked because of landslides and flooding. Vehicles entering and leaving the valley through BP Highway, Pharping, and Kanti Lokpath have also been unable to operate due to landslides in various locations.

In Kavrepalanchok, the Roshi River has eroded the roads, leading to a complete blockage of the BP Highway. With the BP Highway blocked, which connects most districts in eastern Nepal, the traffic on the Muglin–Narayangadh road has increased.

As the number of vehicles has increased, severe traffic jams have started to occur. It typically takes around 4 hours to travel from Kalanki to Muglin; however, transport operators report that it now takes over 6 hours.

NRB amends directives, holds banks accountable for money laundering

The central bank can now take action against officials and employees of banks and financial institutions involved in money laundering. This provision has been established by amending the unified directive issued to banks and financial institutions.

The directive stipulates that if any bank or financial institution is penalized for money laundering, the employees involved must be prosecuted according to the law. If such action is not taken, the central bank has indicated that it will impose fines ranging from 1 million to 5 million Nepali Rupees, remove officials from their positions, or impose both types of penalties.

Additionally, the directive requires banks and financial institutions to prepare an annual report, including a review of actions taken throughout the year regarding money laundering, terrorist activities, and the financing and expansion of weapons of mass destruction.

Nepal, Bangladesh, and India formalize electricity export deal

A long-awaited historic trilateral agreement regarding the export of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh has been signed between Nepal, Bangladesh, and India.

On Thursday, at a ceremony held in Kathmandu, Kul Man Ghising, the Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Deino Naran, CEO of NTPC Electric Trading Corporation of India, and Mohammad Rizwan Karim, Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), represented their respective countries in signing the agreement.

Energy Minister Deepak Khadka and Shahid Rizwana Hasan, an advisor to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Energy, were also present.

Mexican soldiers open fire on migrant truck, six including Nepali killed

The Mexican military has revealed that soldiers opened fire this week on a truck carrying dozens of migrants, killing six people.

Mexico’s Ministry of Defence announced in a press release on Wednesday that the incident took place near the town of Huixtla in the southern state of Chiapas the evening before, on October 1.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, “military personnel identified 33 migrants of Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian, Pakistani and Arab nationality, of whom 4 had died, 12 injured and 17 unharmed”, according to the press release.

It added that two more people died after being transported to a local hospital.

CIA seeks informants in North Korea, Iran and China

The US Central Intelligence Agency has launched a new drive to recruit informants in China, Iran and North Korea.

The organisation posted messages on its social media accounts in Mandarin, Farsi and Korean on Wednesday, instructing users how to contact it securely.

This latest effort follows a campaign to enlist Russians in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, which the CIA says was a success.

"We want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we're open for business," a CIA spokesman said in a statement.

The recruitment messages - which were placed on platforms such as X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Telegram and LinkedIn, as well as on the dark web - asked for individuals' names, locations and contact details.

Messi back in Argentina’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia

 Lionel Messi will return to Argentina’s national team for the South American World Cup qualifying matches against Venezuela and Bolivia.

The 37-year-old star had missed recent matches because of an ankle injury.

Coach Lionel Scaloni announced his squad Wednesday for the matches at Venezuela on Oct. 10 and five days later in Buenos Aires against Bolivia.

Messi did not play the two previous rounds after sustaining an injury in the Copa America final against Colombia. Argentina won 1-0.

Argentina leads South American qualifying with 18 points, followed by Colombia (16) and Uruguay (15). The top six teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and the seventh position will play an international playoff for a berth.

Sri Lanka's Jayawickrama handed one-year ban

Sri Lanka spinner Praveen Jayawickrama has been handed a one-year ban from all forms of cricket for breaching the anti-corruption code.

Jayawickrama was charged with three breaches of the code by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in August after failing to report an approach to fix matches and obstructing an investigation.

The 26-year-old subsequently admitted to breaching the anti-corruption code.

"As a result of the admission, Jayawickrama has accepted a sanction of a one-year period of ineligibility, of which the last six months are suspended," the ICC said.