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Two persons of a single family died when a landslide triggered by incessant rainfall buried a house at Bilandu in Champadevi Rural Municipality-8 of Okhaldhunga on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Rana Bahadur Gurung (36) and his wife Shiva Maya Gurung (31). Similarly, their 10-year-old Dinesh Gurung and 18-month-old daughter Kritika Gurung have gone missing in the incident. DSP Deepak Bahadur Gurung of the District Police Office, Okhaldhunga said that they are searching for the missing persons. He said that the landslide washed away the houses belonging to Bal Bahadur Gurung and Jar Singh Gurung. Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel have been deployed to carry out rescue operations.  

Five persons died and 12 others were injured when a jeep met with an accident in Manakamana of Gorkha on Friday. The jeep (Province 3-01-023) carrying 19 wedding attendants including bride and groom was heading towards Pokharidanda when the tragedy occurred at Siling in Shahid Lakhan Rural Municipality-3 this morning. DSP Lilaraj Lamichhane said that the four-wheeler fell some 200 meters down the road The identities of the deceased and the injured are yet to be established.

Six months after inauguration, Pokhara International Airport received its first international flight—from China—on Wednesday. The Lake City known for its scenic beauty and hospitality offered the guests, including the participants at the Nepal-China Dragon Boat Race Festival scheduled at the Fewa Lake on Friday, a hearty welcome. The landmark touchdown at the airport has offered a ray of hope for Nepal’s economy as a whole. Let the pundits of diplomacy wrack their brains over whether it was fitting on the part of Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, to reiterate the same old line—that the airport is part of BRI. This allows us to delve a bit more into more pressing concerns. Half a year into the inauguration and a maiden flight later, let’s reread part of the $215.96m loan deal between the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and China’s Exim Bank. Of this loan with a repayment period of 20 years, 25 percent is interest-free while the remaining amount has a two percent annual interest attached. This means the airport has to start earning right away, which is easier said than done. While the airport on the lap of picturesque hills and snow-clad peaks keeps looking at the sprawling city of Pokhara and much beyond for flights, politicians and bureaucrats seem to be twiddling their thumbs. Remember, this is the very crop that goes out of the way to fast-track projects, bothering not even to conduct in-depth viability studies. As the airport continues to stay idle, it will be timely to ask as to what the government, particularly the Center, has been doing to promote it in international markets. Has it been using diplomatic channels to encourage international airlines to operate flights to and from Pokhara as it has become clear that star-gazing isn’t an effective way to bring business to the airport, even if it is located at one of the most popular tourist destinations? While the envoy’s latest BRI claim has helped keep the controversy alive, it has also shown, most probably, the northern neighbor’s willingness to make this project a success. Nonetheless, it is objectionable on the part of China to claim the airport as part of BRI as a framework deal on BRI was signed only in 2017 whereas Chinese loan for the airport was taken in 2016. Also under rough weather is the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Lumbini, developed with financing from the Asian Development Bank and the government of Nepal by mobilizing Chinese contractors. For want of shorter and more cost-efficient flight routes, this airport hasn’t been able to attract international flights. Our government seems pretty comfortable with this state of affairs, even as the burden of one more foreign-financed project keeps increasing on the taxpayer. Lumbini, the birthplace of Shakyamuni Buddha and several other lesser Buddhas like Krakkuchanda and Kashyap, is the ultimate pilgrimage of peace-loving humanity. Ambassador Chen’s remark is perhaps an indication that his country’s international prestige is attached with these projects. So, Nepal should request China to send in guests and make these projects a success. In the long run, the government should expand its diplomatic outreach to bring in guests from around the world. That’s too little to ask from the practitioners of the art of the impossible, isn’t it?

The CPN (Maoist Center) has called its Central Committee meeting for July 8. Around 700 party central and alternative central members, and office bearers of party commissions and provinces will take part in the meeting to be held  in Nepal Academy, Kathmandu, said secretary of the party central office, Dor Prasad Upadhyay. The party Central Committee has a total of 588 members (386 central and 202 alternative central ones). It has three commissions, seven geographical and three non-geographical provinces. The party has urged the subordinate bodies to clear arrears and levies on time. The meeting is expected to discuss the issue of a unity among political parties with the same ideologies and that relating to the newly formed socialist front, he said. The subject of launching a new campaign and an action plan to effectively connect the party with people will also be discussed, Upadhyay said. Similarly, other agenda of the meeting are the party membership renewal and management and the allocation of duties and responsibilities of party leaders, he said.  

The Supreme Court has issued an interim order directing the government not to withdraw the case filed against the alleged assaulters of assistant professor Prem Chalaune. A single bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma ordered the government not to implement the decision. Chalaune had filed the case making the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Home Ministry, Office of Attorney General, District Public Prosecutor's Office and Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs defendants. The assistant professor was critically injured when he was attacked by a group of Hari Acharya, TU chapter President of Nepal Students’ Union (NSU), student wing of Nepali Congress, on October 6, 2020. The final hearing of the case was scheduled for Tuesday. But the Cabinet meeting held on June 13 decided to withdraw the case. Following the decision, Chalaune moved the Kathmandu District Court demanding justice. In the meantime, police apprehended him from the premises of the apex court. The case against five persons including Acharya was pending in the Kathmandu District Court. Chalaune has been staging a fast-unto-death at the premises of the Tribhuvan University after the government decided to withdraw the case.    

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 4.75 points to close at 2,055.53 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0.30 points to close at 385. 81 points. A total of 8,008,246-unit shares of 276 companies were traded for Rs 3. 44 billion. Meanwhile, Taragaon Regency Hotel Limited, Oriental Hotels Limited, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited and BPW Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Similarly, Citizens Mutual Fund -1 was the top loser as its price fell by 8.41 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 01 trillion.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah on Thursday said that he would not abide by the Patan High Court’s order not to ban the screening of Indian movies in the halls of Kathmandu. Earlier this afternoon, the court had issued a short-term interim order directing the Kathmandu metropolis not to stall the screening of any movies approved by the Censor Board including the Indian films. Shortly after the court’s order, Mayor Shah through Facebook said that he would not allow Indian movies to be screened in the halls of Kathmandu, but would be ready to face any kind of punishment. He also accused the court and Nepal government of being the slaves of India. “I am not ready to comply with the law or court when it comes to the sovereignty and independence of the country,” he said. Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah had banned the screening of Indian movies from Monday after his call to remove a portion of the movie ‘Adipurush’ which shows that Janaki is the Indian daughter, went unheeded. Later, the Nepal Film Association moved the court against the decision of Mayor Shah.

The Patan High Court has issued a short-term interim order not to bar the screening of Indian movies in the film halls of Kathmandu. Hearing the writ petition filed by Nepal Film Association on Thursday, a single bench of Justice Dhir Bahadur Chand issued a short-term interim order not to stall the screening of any movies approved by the Censor Board including the Indian films. The court has summoned both sides on June 27 to discuss the interim order on the issue. Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah had banned the screening of Indian movies from Monday after his call to remove a portion of the movie ‘Adipurush’ which shows that Janaki is the Indian daughter, went unheeded. Later, the Nepal Film Association moved the court against the decision of Mayor Shah.