October 21, 2024: Snapshot of today's main news

Kathmandu, October 21 — 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.

Opposition warn PM Oli against party division ordinance

Opposition parties have warned Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli against bringing an ordinance related to party division.

On Monday, during a meeting at Baluwatar, the opposition parties submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Oli, cautioning him against issuing a political party ordinance that "aims to establish a two-party dictatorship and divide other parties."

Congress against party split ordinance: Min Bishwokarma

Amid discussions about the government preparing to introduce an ordinance to facilitate party division, the ruling party, Nepali Congress, has shown opposition to it.

The party's publicity department head, Min Bishwokarma, stated that the Nepali Congress is against the ordinance concerning party division.

"Why the rush? Why is this ordinance needed now?" he said on Monday, expressing the official stance of the Congress party to Ratopati.

 Earlier, on Sunday night, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli sought support from leaders, including Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, to bring forward the ordinance during a discussion at Baluwatar.

Protests continue in Pokhara supporting Rabi Lamichhane

The Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) held another protest today in support of party president Rabi Lamichhane.

The demonstration took place at Prithvi Chowk, opposing Lamichhane's arrest.

On Sunday, the party also staged a protest at Shahid Chowk.

The Kaski Court has extended Lamichhane's remand by six days, counting from the day of his arrest. RSP leaders and supporters have been concentrated in Pokhara since Saturday.

Final stages of labour agreement preparation with Oman

The Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security is preparing to renew the labour agreements previously made with Malaysia and South Korea, and is also preparing to establish a labour agreement with Oman for the first time.

Approximately 25,000 Nepali workers are currently employed in Oman, and the government is set to sign a labour agreement for the first time. Kabiraj Uprety, the ministry's assistant spokesperson and information officer, provided this information.

Nepal first signed a bilateral labour agreement (BLA) with Qatar in 2008. Agreements were signed with South Korea in 2007 and with Malaysia in 2018 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Kulekhani-Sisneri road opens

Vehicular movement along the Kulekhani-Sisneri road section which connects Kathmandu to Hetauda has opened from today.

Two-way traffic resumed from today after completing the maintenance works at Simkhola of Indrasarovar Rural Municipality-2 in Makawanpur district, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Makawanpur Shyamu Aryal said.    

The road was shut for three days to carry out the maintenance works and fix hume pipes at Simkhola. 

Morang SP Karki transferred amid cryptocurrency controversy

SP Nabaraj Karki of the Morang District Police Office is embroiled in financial irregularities. Following the financial dispute, the police headquarters has recalled him and sent SP Narayan Prasad Chimoriya to Morang.

Karki, who went to Morang on Februray 14 was transferred on October 18. He is accused of accepting money from a cryptocurrency trader.

Allegedly, Karki received 2.2 million Nepali Rupees on the condition that he would not arrest the cryptocurrency trader or file a case against him.

Gold prices set historic records for five consecutive days

The price of gold has been setting historic records continuously for the past five days.

Following the reopening of the gold and silver market after Dashain, the prices have been climbing steadily since the third day.

On Monday, the price of gold increased by NPR 600, reaching NPR 165,600 per tola (11.66 grams).

Government to issue NPR 23.5 billion in Treasury Bills

The government is set to issue treasury bills worth approximately NPR 23.5 billion on Monday.

The Public Debt Management Office has announced an auction for treasury bills totaling NPR 23.49 billion.

Among these bills, NPR 18.49 billion will be allocated for renewable loans, while the remaining NPR 5 billion will be for new loan issuances.

 Banks and financial institutions are invited to participate in the auction electronically from 10 AM to 3 PM.

NEPSE sees decline: Index drops 58 points

Both the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index and trading volume experienced a decline on Monday. The market dropped by 58 points, bringing the index down to 2,640 points.

There was also a significant decrease in trading volume on Monday. A total of 1.38 million shares were traded, amounting to approximately NPR 5.90 billion.

On Sunday, despite a decline of 47 points, the trading volume was NPR 8.18 billion.

On Monday, the prices of 221 companies fell, while only 23 companies saw an increase in their prices.

Not my King, Australian senator shouts at Charles

King Charles faced shouts of "you are not my King" from an independent senator just after he finished an address at Australia's Parliament House on the second official day of his engagements in the country.

Lidia Thorpe interrupted the ceremony in the capital city of Canberra by shouting for about a minute before she was escorted away by security.

The King had just walked away from a lectern to rejoin Queen Camilla sitting on the stage when Thorpe started shouting as she walked forwards from the back of the assembly.

After making claims of genocide against "our people", she could be heard yelling: "This is not your land, you are not my King."

Israel says it will target Hezbollah’s financial arm and begins striking Beirut

Israel’s military announced Sunday it is now taking aim at the Lebanon-based Hezbollah’s financial arm and will attack a “large number of targets” in Beirut and elsewhere. Explosions began in Beirut’s southern suburbs about an hour later.

Evacuation warnings affected southern Beirut, the eastern Bekaa valley and parts of southern Lebanon. AP video showed strikes near Lebanon’s only airport but it continued to operate.

The strikes will target al-Qard al-Hassan “all over Lebanon,” a senior Israeli intelligence official said. Al-Qard al-Hassan is a Hezbollah unit that’s used to pay operatives of the Iran-backed militant group and help buy arms, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with army regulations.

Moldova says 'Yes' to pro-EU constitutional changes by tiny margin

People in Moldova have backed the Eastern European country's proposed changes to its constitution and commitment to joining the EU by the thinnest of margins in a referendum.

Official data put Yes on 50.46% and No on 49.54% on Monday afternoon, with more than 99.6% of votes counted.

The knife-edge nature of the vote has come as a shock to many. The referendum had been widely expected to comfortably pass in the country of 2.6 million, which borders Romania and Ukraine.

The vote was combined with presidential elections in which Maia Sandu, the incumbent pro-EU president, failed to win re-election outright and faces a second round next month.

SAFF Women's Championship: Nepal thrashes Maldives 11-0

Nepal achieved a remarkable 11-0 victory against the Maldives in the SAFF Women’s Championship on Monday at Dasharath Stadium.

The standout player, Rekha Paudel, scored five goals, leading a relentless attack that left the Maldivian team struggling to keep up.

Preeti Rai also shone in the match, netting three goals, while Anita KC, Sabita Rana Magar, and Amisha Karki each contributed one goal. 

Taijul Islam's five-for headlines 16-wicket opening day

South Africa 140 for 6 (de Zorzi 30, Rickelton 27, Taijul 5-49) lead Bangladesh106 (Mahmudul 30, Mulder 3-22, Rabada 3-26, Maharaj 3-34) by 34 runs.

Sixteen wickets fell on an eventful opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa in Dhaka.

At stumps, the visitors managed to take a lead of 34 runs despite Taijul Islam returning a five-wicket-haul on a surface that has helped spinners to grip and turn the ball.

Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder's unbeaten knocks took South Africa to 140 for 6 before bad light stopped play six overs short.