October 4, 2024: Snapshot of today's main news

Kathmandu, October 4 — 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.

Sudurpashchim province: Budget disparities favoring influential politicians

The Sudurpashchim Province government has failed to resolve the budget controversy brought forth amid political turmoil, despite a significant delay in its release for the current fiscal year.

Led by Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah, the government had set four criteria for budget preparation before its presentation. However, it has fallen short in implementing these criteria, resulting in a budget that appears to be person-centered.

A large portion of the budget has been allocated to the constituencies of ministers and influential lawmakers. For instance, the budget allocated to Kailali Constituency No. 5 (2) is significantly higher compared to other constituencies.

Prakash Deuba from the Nepali Congress was elected from this area. According to the budget and annual program booklet presented on September 16, the provincial government has proposed a budget of NPR 31.62 billion for the current fiscal year, with 40.65% (NPR 12.85 billion) allocated for current expenditures and 59.32% (NPR 18.76 billion) for capital expenditures.

Foreign Minister Rana returns home

 Foreign Minister Dr. Arju Rana Deuba has returned to Nepal. She arrived back on Friday afternoon after participating in the third Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) conference held in Doha, Qatar.

Minister Rana had traveled to Qatar leading a Nepali delegation to attend a meeting of women foreign ministers held in Toronto, Canada, and the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Minister Rana stated that her foreign visits have been fruitful in enhancing Nepal's image and attracting foreign investment for prosperity.

District-in-charge positions also hotly contested in CPN (Unified Socialist)

After a scramble among central committee members and officials for departmental heads and district in-charges, the CPN (Unified Socialist) has decided to postpone work division until after Dashain.

A seven-member task force led by Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal had prepared for the formation of department heads, 77 district in-charges, mass organization heads, and central commissions. However, the leaders' insistence on holding key departmental positions themselves has made it difficult to finalize the work distribution.

Although a meeting of the task force was held last week, disagreements among officials regarding key departments such as the Finance Department, Organization Department, Foreign Affairs Department, and Publicity Department led to no decisions being made.

All highways to be fully operational within three days, except BP Highway

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has announced plans to restore all highways in the country, except for the BP Highway, within three days.

In a meeting of the Infrastructure Development Committee under the House of Representatives on October 4, Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma highlighted the severe rainfall on September 28 and 29 as the cause of significant damage.

He explained that it would take time to reopen the BP Highway, as 12 kilometers of the road were washed away, complicating the establishment of a temporary route.

Of the 80 affected highways, landslides impacted 805 locations, with clearance operations ongoing at 774 spots.

Five highways remain blocked at 21 points, and rescue efforts are underway for nearly 500 stranded vehicles and around 1,000 drivers and co-drivers on the BP Highway.

Seven injured in jeep accident in Syangja

A jeep accident occurred in Bhale Kharka of Ward No. 2 in Aandhikhola Rural Municipality, Syangja.

The Bolero jeep with the license plate Ga.1 Ja 5756 overturned into a roadside drain after its brakes failed while heading from Sirubari to Pokhara, according to DSP Hari Paudel from the District Police Office, Syangja.

Seven people were injured in the accident.

The injured include Atmaram Sigdel, Kalawati Ghimire, Srijana Chapagain, Amana Nepali, Shantikumar Sapkota, Shiva Sigdel, and three-year-old Sophiya Nepali, all from Aandhikhola-5.

Large vehicle operations halted on Narayangadh-Kathmandu route

The operation of large vehicles, including trailers, has been suspended from Narayangadh in Chitwan to Kathmandu.

The Department of Transport Management decided to halt the operation of trailers and other large vehicles from Ghatasthapana until October 17.

According to Rajiv Pokharel, the Director General of the Department of Transport Management, the decision was made to prioritize passenger vehicles.

He stated, "Except for vehicles carrying medicines and vegetables, other large vehicles will remain closed until October 17."

Tension follows cyclist's death in Biratnagar truck collision

A cyclist has died after being struck by a freight truck on the ICP Road in Biratnagar-18, leading to protests from the victim's relatives demanding action against the driver and compensation for the family. 

The protesters have obstructed traffic on the road, prompting police to use force to control the situation. According to Morang DSP Bed Joshi, the police fired 10 rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowd as they attempted to enter the ICP area.

Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions

Oil prices surged and major stock markets mostly retreated Thursday as investors reacted to fears of widening conflict in the Middle East.     

Prices jumped after US President Joe Biden said he was "discussing" possible Israeli strikes on Iranian oil sites in retaliation for Tehran's missile barrage on Israel.     

Brent, the international benchmark, surged more than five percent to $77.62 a barrel, with US contract West Texas Intermediate rising similarly.     

Major US stock indices spent most of the day in the red, with the S&P 500 ending down 0.2 percent.     

London, Paris and Frankfurt all closed in the red.  

Pensions halted for hundreds due to lack of National ID cards

Hundreds of ex-government employees have had their pensions halted just before Dashain due to the lack of national identity cards.

This has caused distress among thousands of pension holders who were planning to celebrate the festival with their pensions.

The Rashtriya Banijya Bank, which manages the pensions for civil and government employees, has been sending back those without national identity cards, leading to complaints from service users.

Nepal Rastra Bank seeks various staff position

The Nepal Rastra Bank has announced a recruitment drive for various staff positions. On Friday, the bank sought to hire contract employees ranging from procurement officers to guards.

According to the announcement, the bank is looking to fill 2 procurement officer positions, 6 drivers, 7 peons, 10 police personnel (both male and female), and 5 guards. 

The contract positions will be for a duration of six months, and applicants must be under 45 years of age. Selected employees may be posted at the central bank or any of its branches.

For the positions of guards, police, and peons, retired personnel from the Nepal Army are mandatory. Drivers are required to have at least 10 years of experience in banking or financial institutions.

For more information on the vacancy, please see the details here.

Haiti gang attack leaves at least 20 dead

At least 20 people including children have been killed after an armed gang attacked a small town in Haiti.

Another 50 were wounded as Gran Grif gang members rampaged through Pont-Sondé in the central Artibonite region about 71km (44 miles) north-west of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Video footage shows groups of people fleeing the violence on motorbikes and on foot. A government prosecutor described the attack as "a massacre", reported the Associated Press.

Melania Trump is latest Republican First Lady to back abortion

Melania Trump seems to have joined a long line of Republican former first ladies who have come out in support of abortion rights, putting them at odds with their husbands' public views.

In a short video clip promoting her forthcoming book, Mrs Trump expressed her support for women's "individual freedom", describing it as an "essential right that all women possess from birth".

It comes a day after an excerpt of her soon-to-be-released memoir, in which she reportedly takes an even clearer pro-choice stance, was published in a newspaper report.

Iran's leader defends strikes on Israel in rare public speech

Iran's missile strikes on Israel were "correct, logical, and lawful", Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a vast crowd which had gathered to hear him speak in Tehran on Friday.

The country's supreme leader described the attack as the "minimum punishment" for what he called Israel's "astonishing crimes" while leading Friday prayers in the capital, something he has not done since 2020.

Khamenei's speech came three days after Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel, in what it said was retaliation for the assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Himalayan International Expo kicks off in Bhrikutimandap (pictures)

The "Himalayan International Expo" has started at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from Thursday. The organizers stated that the expo aims to support the globalization of Nepali handicraft businesses.

The expo, which will run until October 5, has given special emphasis to Nepali handicraft products. Items made from natural fibers such as Himalayan giant nettle, banana, bamboo, nettle, screw-pine, and pineapple are showcased, along with bags, fabrics, shoes, and food items like honey.

Northern Lights possible as solar storms gather

A huge solar flare, the largest since 2017, has been spotted erupting from the Sun’s surface.

Solar flares are made up of electromagnetic radiation that travel from the Sun at the speed of light and can reach Earth in about eight minutes.

They can disrupt some radio communications and satellites but most of us are unlikely to see those effects.

There is also a chance that northern latitudes could see the Northern Lights this weekend as two geomagnetic storms are predicted to hit Earth.

Google introduces new way to search by filming video

 Google has released a new feature which will allow people to search the internet by taking a video.

Video search will let people point their camera at something, ask a question about it, and get search results.

Android and iPhone users globally will gain access to the feature from 1700 GMT by enabling "AI Overviews" in their Google app, but it will only support English at launch.

It is the latest move from the tech giant to change how people search online by utilising artificial intelligence (AI).

It comes three months after ChatGPT-maker OpenAI announced it was trialling the ability to search by asking its chatbot questions.

All-round Fatima Sana, spinners give Pakistan a winning start

Pakistan 116 (Sana 30, Dar 23, Athapaththu 3-18, Sugandika 3-19, Prabodhani 3-20) beat Sri Lanka 85 for 9 (Silva 22, Iqbal 3-17) by 31 runs.

Pakistan secured their first win in four meetings against Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka and opened their campaign with a win at T20 World Cup 2024. Sri Lanka had been riding a wave of success since the last T20 World Cup, winning three out of six bilateral T20I series and 22 out of 32 games, but Pakistan, who had lost four out of their last six series and 16 out of 27 games, had the measure of them on a slow, low Sharjah pitch.

Belgium without Lukaku and De Bruyne for Nations League matches

Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco called up four new players Friday for upcoming games against Italy and France in the Nations League while leaving out stalwarts Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne.

Malick Fofana, Cyril Ngonge, Matte Smets and Maarten Vandevoordt are the quartet of newcomers. Tedesco said the Nations League is the right tournament to test players.

“We will not do it during the important World Cup qualification,” he said.

Belgium plays Italy the Stadio Olimpico in Rome next week before hosting France. Italy tops the group with six points ahead of Belgium and France, which are tied with three points each. Israel is in last place having lost its first two matches.