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A man has been sentenced to more than 52 years in jail raping his minor daughter.

The District Court Solukhumbu slapped 52 years and six months imprisonment on a man of Solududhkunda Municipality-35 for raping his daughter, who is less than 10 years old.

Nagendra Kumar Kalakheti, an official at the District Court Solukhumbu, said that the man of Gurung caste was sentenced to 52 years and six months in prison.

He has been sent to the District Prison in Salleri to serve his sentence.

Political instability, widespread corruption, cumbersome bureaucracy, and inconsistent implementation of laws have discouraged potential investment in Nepal, said a new US report.

While government authorities including the Prime Minister have been talking about simplifying the foreign direct investment (FDI) regime, a new report by the US Department of State has raised serious questions about the investment climate environment in Nepal.

The 2023 Investment Climate Statements released by the State Department says despite considerable potential—particularly in the energy, tourism, information, and communication technology (ICT), infrastructure, and agriculture sectors—political instability, widespread corruption, cumbersome bureaucracy, and inconsistent implementation of laws and regulations have deterred potential investment in Nepal.

The report has also questioned the government of Nepal’s commitment to implement the policies into meaningful practices. “While the Government of Nepal (GoN) publicly states its keenness to attract foreign investment, this has yet to translate into meaningful practices,” says the report.

The US government report has identified Nepal as an investment destination for those who're willing to accept the inherent risks and unpredictability of doing business in the country and who possess the resilience to invest with a long-term mindset.

While the report lauds the government’s efforts to bring some investment-friendly laws and regulations in recent years, it says significant barriers to investment still remain.

Corruption, laws limiting the operations of foreign banks, lingering challenges in the repatriation of profits, and controlled currency exchange facilities have undermined foreign investment in the country. The prohibition of FDI in certain sectors as well as a minimum foreign investment threshold of Rs 20m ($154,000), and the government’s monopoly over certain sectors of the economy (such as electricity transmission and petroleum distribution) are other factors that have dented foreign investment potential in Nepal.

Political uncertainty is a continuing challenge for foreign (as well as domestic) investors, according to the report. “Nepal’s ruling parties have spent much of their energy over the last years on internal political power struggles instead of governance,” says the report.

The US report has said what economists and business community members in Nepal have been saying for years. According to them, the political environment is one of the factors that affect the overall investment climate including FDI.

For a long time, Nepal has remained among the countries that receive the lowest FDI in the world. Despite many talks on attracting foreign investments in the country, the country has failed to attract foreign investors as targeted. At less than one percent of GDP, Nepal’s current levels of FDI are the lowest among similar economies.

FDI pledges in the country dropped by 22.2 percent in FY 2022/23. FDI commitments totaled Rs 38.457bn in FY 2022/23 compared to Rs 49.431bn in FY 2021/22.

The other factor deterring foreign investors from putting money in Nepal, according to the report, is a lack of understanding of international business standards and practices among the political and bureaucratic class. “A legal and regulatory regime that is not quite aligned with international practices also impedes, hinder, and frustrate foreign investors,” says the report. “Elements of Nepal’s tax regime, in particular, may be inconsistent with international practices and could trip up foreign investors.”

Immigration laws and visa policies for foreign workers are cumbersome.  Inefficient government bureaucratic processes, a high rate of turnover among civil servants, and corruption exacerbate the difficulties for foreigners seeking to work in Nepal.

While the US still features among the top 10 foreign investors in Nepal, the US FDI in Nepal, compared to other countries such as India, and China, is less, accounting for about 2.9 percent of the total FDI stock.  

Economists say it is necessary to improve the existing policy and structural system to bring more foreign investment into Nepal. According to them, while the immediate reason for the decline in FDI might be the global recession and domestic political situation, there are structural and procedural obstacles in Nepal that discourage investors.

Despite introducing a one-door system in the Investment Board Nepal and Industry Department, FDI has not come in as expected. “It has failed to facilitate FDI so far because it has failed to become a complete one-stop service center,” the economist said.

In the second week of March, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had said that the government is seriously working on further simplifying the procedures, fully operationalizing the one-stop service, and developing necessary rules for the automatic approval of foreign direct investments (FDIs) applications.

Of late, the government has eased procedures related to FDI. The Department of Industry (DoI), the government agency responsible for providing services to foreign investors, has developed a mechanism to approve foreign direct investments (FDIs) through the online channel. The mechanism that allows the department to approve FDI worth Rs 100m automatically has come into implementation from Jestha 1.

Citing the complaints about the higher threshold for FDI, the government in November last year lowered the threshold to Rs 20m from Rs 50m. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 5.84 points to close at 2,106.18 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2.18 points to close at 401. 85 points.

A total of 5,531,737-unit shares of 262 companies were traded for Rs 1. 85 billion.

Meanwhile, Sunrise Bluechip Fund was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 7. 10 percent.

Likewise, Wean Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 4.31 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 09 trillion.

With the onset of monsoon, dengue fever is emerging as a major public health problem in the country. Data from the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division show that Eastern Nepal has witnessed the highest number of dengue cases as of July 26. Province-wise, Koshi has reported the highest number of cases—2,971—followed by Bagmati (767), Gandaki (347),  Sudurpaschim (318), Lumbini (168), Madhes (25) and Karnali (23 cases) as of July 26, per the EDCD, which put the total number of cases reported from 70 districts at 4,619.  

District-wise, Sunsari has the highest number of reported cases (2,737), followed by Dhading (483), Kaski (208), Darchula (190) Kathmandu (88), Sankhuwasabha (75), Myagdi (54), Kanchanpur (52), Rupandehi (45) and Jhapa (42). The township of Dharan in Sunsari had 2,353 people infected during the reporting period and eight of them have died, according to Umesh Mehata, chief at Dharan Sub-metropolitan City’s Health Division. These cases were from ward numbers 11, 15, 17 and 18 of the town.  

“Vessels containing water, drains, unmanaged pigsties, flower pots and plates containing water have become breeding grounds for the dengue-causing mosquitoes,” Mehata said.  

Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, chief at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital’s Clinical Research Unit, expressed concern that dengue infections could take epidemic proportions in Sunsari if control measures are not taken immediately.

Death and severity rates increase when a new serotype of the virus spreads in areas that have witnessed large-scale outbreaks from a different serotype, per experts.

A new serotype may be behind the rise in the number of dengue cases in Dharan, experts point out. We need to find out which serotype is spreading in the area, Dr Pun added.

Three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have reported a total of 88 dengue cases during the reporting period, per the EDCD.  

“In the valley, the number of patients visiting hospitals is quite few. Some pocket areas in the valley might  witness cases, but the possibility of mass spread of the disease is pretty low. As of now, things are under control,” said Pun.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by female Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Mild to high fever, severe muscle pain, rashes, severe headache and pain in the eyes are some of its symptoms.

Last year, more than 54,000 people got infected with dengue in Nepal; 88 of them died.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Population has launched a campaign appealing to all public offices to conduct a cleanliness campaign on their office premises for at least 10 minutes every Friday at 10:30 am in a bid to curb infections. 

The meeting of the House of Representatives has been postponed till 1 pm tomorrow.

The meeting called for 1 pm today has been postponed for tomorrow due to a special reason, the Parliament Secretariat said.

It has been learnt that Speaker Devraj Ghimire postponed the meeting at the request of the government after the main opposition CPN-UML said that it would obstruct the meeting today.

The UML has been seeking answers from Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha in the one quantal gold smuggling case.

The UML had planned to seek answers from Home Minister Shrestha in the latest gold smuggling case in today’s meeting.

Earlier this morning, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli had held talks about removing the House obstruction.

Saying that the Prime Minister did not give a clear answer about the gold smuggling case during the meeting, the UML had said that it would not let the House proceed with its business today.

Construction entrepreneurs staged a demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar on Monday demanding payment of the remaining amount.

Construction entrepreneurs had reached Baluwatar to stage the demonstration under the leadership of the Federation of Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs.

Saying that they have not got the payment for some of the projects that had already been completed, the construction entrepreneurs have been flaying the government.

They staged the demonstration putting forth nine-point demands including scrapping the consumer committee, payment of remaining construction work, price adjustment and extension of the deadline of the projects among others.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and main opposition CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli held a meeting on Monday.

During the meeting that took place at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar this morning, the two leaders discussed contemporary political affairs, with a particular emphasis on ending the ongoing House obstructions, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

On Sunday too, senior leaders of three major political parties held a meeting at Baluwatar to discuss contemporary political issues.

Janamat Party’s two ministers without portfolio resigned on Monday.

A minister and another state minister of Madhes Province tendered their resignation today.

Basanta Kumar Kusawaha and state minister Sanjay Kumar Yadav, who were made ministers without portfolio by snatching the ministries, resigned at the direction of the party.

On May 23, Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav replaced Kusawaha, who was taking the responsibility of the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, by Govinda Neupane of CPN (Unified Socialist). Since then, both of them became ministers without portfolio.

The Janamat Party is preparing to send Chief Whip Chandan Singh and Manju Khang, who will represent Dalit, for the state minister in the upcoming Cabinet expansion.

Janamat Party had two ministers and one state minister in Madhes Province.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to expand the Cabinet at 5 pm today.