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Finance Minister Dr Prakash Saran Mahat has left for India on Sunday.

He left for the southern neighbor this morning to take part in the Third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBGs) meeting.

Along with the finance minister, Shreekrishna Nepal Chief at the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry and minister’s personal secretary Yuvaraj Pandey have also left for India.

The meeting will start at the Gujarat-based Gandhinagar of India from Monday.

Finance Minister Mahat will return home on Wednesday.

Though Nepal is not a member of G20, Finance Minister Mahat will participate in the meeting as a guest member.

World economy and world health, sustainable finance and infrastructure development, global financial scenario, international tax system and financial inclusion are among the major agenda of discussions in the meeting.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Governor of Reserve Bank of India Dr Shakti Kanta Das will jointly chair the meeting.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 112, 200 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 112, 500 per tola on Friday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 650 per tola. It was traded at Rs 111, 950 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,480 per tola today.

Law enforcement is searching for a man accused of fatally shooting four people in Hampton, Georgia, Saturday morning, according to authorities, CNN reported.

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 40-year-old Andre Longmore. Authorities believe the suspect is driving a 2017 black GMC Acadia with license plates DHF 756, which is not his own vehicle.

The first call about the shooting came in around 10:45 a.m. ET, Hampton police Chief James Turner said at a Saturday afternoon news conference.

The incident happened in an area close to the Dogwood Lakes subdivision in Hampton – about 29 miles south of Atlanta – an area that features lake-front homes and a nearby baptist church.

 Turner said the victims were all adults, three men and one woman. He added authorities were not releasing the names of the victims to allow the families to be notified.

Since the shooting, “all hands have been on deck,” Turner said.

 Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett said an arrest warrant has been issued for Longmore on murder charges, according to CNN.

Addressing the suspect, he said, “We will hunt you down in any hole you may be residing in and bring you to custody.”

He added the sheriff’s office is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to Longmore’s arrest. “The suspect is known to be armed and dangerous,” Scandrett said.

The sheriff’s office is working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as well as police departments across the Atlanta metro area to track down the suspect, according to Scandrett.

Turner said investigators “do not have a motive at this time” for the killings. There are at least “four crime scenes that we’re actively investigating,” he said. He added that police do not believe Longmore is related to the victims but authorities are “still investigating.”

 At the news conference, Hampton Mayor Ann Tarpley said “today is a sad and somber occasion” and vowed the person responsible would be held responsible and “brought to justice.”

“We ask that you lift up the families and the victims in your prayers, your thoughts, and that you give them the privacy that they may need to overcome this horrific tragedy,” she went on. “We have full confidence in our law enforcement that they will perform their duties and bring the suspect to justice.”

Officials advised the public to avoid the area near the incident, CNN reported.

The shooting is one of at least 382 mass shootings in the United States in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one that injured or killed four or more people, not including the shooter.

The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari.

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala will launch the extension service today.

The train service currently being provided in a 35 km stretch from Jayanagar to Janakpurdham and Kurtha will increase to 52 km. After being halted for a long time, the train service has been operating regularly for the past 15 months.

After the completion of the second phase of physical infrastructure expansion, the train service is going to be extended to Bijalpura, said the Railways General Manager Niranjan Jha.

However, due to the dispute over land compensation, the construction of the third phase railway infrastructure from Bijalpura to Bardibas has been stopped.

The broad gauge two-set train was put into operation from April 2, 2022.

A person died and 11 others were injured when a jeep met with an accident at Goudamuni in Durlung of Kushma Municipality-3, Parbat on Saturday.

The jeep (Ga 1 Ja 5229) carrying passengers was heading towards Durlong from the district headquarters Kushma when the incident occurred last night.

Sheetal BK (7) of Kushma-3, who was seriously injured in the accident, died during the course of treatment at a local hospital, according to Suman Niure, Chief of District Traffic Police Office, Parbat.

Prince Chhetri (4) and Chandrakala Chhetri (50) of the same place, who were injured in the incident, have been sent to Gandaki Hospital Pokhara for further treatment.

Likewise, Three-year-old Saurabh BK, Shanti BK (23) Krishna Prasad Padhya (70), Nishan Pariyar (16), Hiradevi Magar (55), Min Bahadur Chhetri, Amrit Sharma (47), Bhajat Sharma (76), Amar BK (16) of Pokhara, who were also injured in the accident, are undergoing treatment at the local health facility.

The jeep reportedly fell some 30 meters from the road.

Police said that they have arrested the jeep driver for necessary action.

Commercial paragliding flights have started from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel Municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok.

The paragliding flight takes place from Devisthan to Badal village located in ward no 8 of the municipality, covering a distance of about one and a half kilometers from at an altitude of 5,500 feet.

Former Minister and Member of Parliament Gokul Prasad Banskota launched the commercial paragliding flight on Saturday.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has given permission to Bishwabazar Paragliding Pvt Ltd the company for recreational aviation flights after meeting the necessary criteria.

In collaboration with the paragliding companies operating in Pokhara, commercial flights are going to be started in Dhulikhel as well, said Kiran Karki, Chairman of the company.

An accident insurance of Rs. 3.7 million has been established for the people who take the paragliding flight. One has to pay Rs. 7,000 for a one-time flight.

Traffic police have taken action against 149 drivers who were driving under the influence of drugs in the fiscal year 2079/80 in Kathmandu.

The drivers, who were driving under the influence of drugs, were taken into custody and necessary actions were taken against them, said spokesperson of Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajendra Prasad Bhatta.

The office had, with the technical support of Nepal Police Hospital and Narcotics Control Bureau, conducted a special drive to check drivers for drug abuse at various locations in Kathmandu Valley.

Among the drivers who were found driving under the influence of drugs were those driving public vehicles, which is quite a serious offense given the risk to the lives of passengers, said SSP Bhatta.

Meanwhile, the Office has also requested passengers to immediately report to the nearest police office, traffic control room hotline number 103 and police hotline number 100 in case they suspect that any public vehicle driver is under the influence of drugs.

Kathmandu: US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu has returned from Kathmandu after understanding the progress made in implementing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project in Nepal. The MCC is scheduled to be implemented starting from August next year. 

During his one-day visit on Friday, Lu met with various Nepali officials, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Foreign Minister NP Saud, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli. Lu expressed interest in Nepal’s level of readiness for the MCC implementation. 

Upon his arrival in Nepal, Lu’s initial meeting was with Deuba, who was the Prime Minister when the MCC was approved by Parliament. According to the Deuba Secretariat, Lu inquired about Nepal’s preparation for the implementation of the MCC. In response, Deuba reassured that there would be no obstacles in implementing the matter that had already been passed by the House. 

After meeting Deuba, Lu also held discussions with Foreign Minister Saud. A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that Minister Saud assured Lu that Nepal is fully prepared and there would be no issues with the MCC implementation. 

Quoting Lu’s statement, a source from Baluwatar said that Lu appreciated Nepal’s preparations and assured that the MCC is in Nepal’s best interest. In response, the Prime Minister stated, “Nepal is ready to implement the MCC.”