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Two persons died on the spot and 18 others were injured, one seriously when a moving bus came in contact with a live wire at Chorkhola in Kapurkot Rural Municipality-3 of Salyan. Gopal Shrestha, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Salyan, said that the two passengers died on the spot when the bus (Ra 1 Kha 834) heading towards Rolpa from Tulsipur, Dang touched the wire of 33 KV transmission line. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Kapurkot Health Post in Salyan, he said.  

The National Examinations Board (NEB) is set to publish the Secondary School Examination (SEE) results today. The Board said its preparations to publish the SEE results has come to a final stage. With this, the results would be published by Thursday evening, the Board sources said. Examination Controller of the Examination Control Office Bishnu Narayan Shrestha said that technical works, including computer data entry and re-checking are being carried out after completing answer-sheets checking. "We have come to a final stage to publish the SEE results by this evening. The results would be published today itself if technical problems did not come along", he said. The Board has decided to publish the results as per the system adopted in 2072 BS. NEB Chairperson Dr Mahashram Sharma said that the Board has made arrangements for easily accessing SEE results to be published today. Students can access the results through websites, SMS and IVR. One can dial up 1600 to access the SEE results, the Board said. Also, the results are accessible through the NEB and Nepal Telecom websites. One can dial 1600, 31003, 34949, 35001 and 31064 to get results through SMS. The results would be accessible through www.see.gov.np, www.neb.gov.np, www.see.ntc.net.np, www.khaltif\.com, www.neemaacademy.com, www.ekantipur.com, www.theconncetplus.com, www.see.edusanjal.com, www.admissionnepal.com, www.seenicasiabank.com, www.neemaaacademy.com, www.mypay.com.np, www.nepaleducatipnportal.com, www.ayoresult.com, ww.results.matra education.com, www.tuteeline.com.  

A jailbird committed suicide inside a prison in Nepalgunj, Banke on Thursday. Neeraj Gupta (23) of Janaki Rural Municipality-6 was found hanging in the bathroom this morning, said Banke Chief District Officer Bipin Acharya. Gupta has been in jail for the past three years. The family and relatives of the deceased have been informed about the incident, CDO Acharya said.  

Police have arrested four persons with the skin and bones of a spotted tiger in Kohalpur of Banke. A joint team from the Lumbini Province Investigation Bureau and the Area Police Office, Kohalpur apprehended them in possession of a piece of skin and 6.8 kg of tiger bones from Hamrobazar, Kohalpur-11. The arrestees have been identified as Prabin Kumar KC (33) of Bhagawati Rural Municipality-5, of Dailekh Sunil Chunara (30) of Thantikandh Rural Municipality-4 of Dailekh, Lokendra Shahi (36) of Panchandewal Rural Municipality-2 of Achham and Karana Bahadur Rokaya (52) of Barkot Rural Municipality of Jajarkot. According to Forest Officer at the Division Office Banke, Ajit Kumar Karna, the skin and bones are of an adult female tiger. The tiger skin seized from them is 9.8 inches long. Police said that there were two bullet-made holes in the tiger's neck. As per the Clause 26 (1) of the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act, 2029 BS, those found guilty in such crime will either face 15-year jail term or penalty ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh or both, Karna added. Further Investigation into the case is underway, the Division Forest Office said.  

Nepali rock icon, singer and songwriter, actor and frontman of Robin and the New Revolution, Robin Tamang has died at the age of 60. For many who grew up during the nighties and the noughties, Tamang embodied the idea of a rockstar: a tall, swarthy fellow with a powerful voice and an undeniable stage presence. He inspired many youngsters to start a band of their own. Tamang was born in Bukit Timah, Singapore in 1963. He was the youngest son among the five siblings. He came to Nepal in 1996, and teamed up with Looza, one of the Nepali bands, to form ‘Robin N’ Looza’. Their first album ‘Nepal’ was released in 1998. It was one of the first blues-rock albums witn Nepali and English songs. Nepal’s rock music scene was still in its infancy at the time, and the music of Robin N’ Looza was loved by only select city crowds who attended concerts regularly and were devoted rock music fans. Many rock musicians of today attest to the fact that they would not have started a band had they not listened to Robin N’ Looza or seen them perform live during their teenage years. In 2006, Tamang formed Robin and the New Revolution, and the band was propelled to overnight success with hits like ‘Bhool Ma Bhulyo’, ‘Shine on Me’, ‘Keta Keti’ and ‘Dum Maro Dum’. Sunny Mahat, member of the blues-rock group Midnight Riders, says Tamang inspired and encouraged many upcoming artists and performers. “He was a rock legend, but he would often show up to see the live performances of bands that played their original songs to show his support,” says Mahat, who met Tamang for the first time almost two decades ago. Mahat remembers how overwhelming the meeting was for him. “But he was quite humble, and even offered me a drink,” he says. For Tamang, it didn’t matter if the band was new and not well-established, or if the songs they played were good or bad. “As long as the band was working hard to create something new, he was there to show his support,” says Mahat. “He loved music, traveling, motorbiking, and nature.” Before his passing, Tamang had been working on a new project. “It was something quite different from what he had been doing,” says Mahat of Tamang’s unfinished music project. Tamang’s demise was sudden, and a shock to the public and the people from the industry. He passed away on Tuesday at his residence in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu. Fellow artists and fans have expressed their condolences in social media, remembering Tamang for the musical legacy he left behind. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The acute shortage of liquidity, rising interest rates, and the slowdown in demand have hit the industries in Madhes Province badly in the first half of the current fiscal year. As industries grapple with multiple issues, their capacity utilization dropped by 5.36 percent points in the first half of FY 2022/23. The average capacity utilization of industries in Madhes Province stood at 44.56 percent in the first half of FY 2022/23 compared to 49.92 percent during the same period of the last fiscal, states a new report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The decline in the average capacity utilization of the industries in the province is due to the shortage as well as the price rise of raw materials, says the NRB report. As the supply of raw materials remained not easy and the construction sector came to a standstill due to the economic recession, the industrial production and activities in the Madhes Province suffered in the first half of this fiscal. “The capacity utilization of the industries producing vegetable ghee and oil, rice flour, beverages, cement, iron rods, and medicinal products has decreased compared to the last fiscal,” says the NRB report. According to the NRB report titled “Provincial Economic Activities Report-Koshi Province”, the liquor industry has the highest capacity utilization of 96.32 percent, while the vegetable ghee industry has the lowest capacity utilization of 3.85 percent. The capacity utilization of the wheat flour industry stood at 91.69 percent, the aluminum industry at 71.25 percent, the iron rod industry at 64.13 percent, the soap industry at 63.43 percent, and the soft drink industry at 37.23 percent. The capacity utilization of the soybean oil industry stood at 28.63 percent, the synthetic yarn industry at 6.65 percent, the animal feed industry at 37.87 percent, and the steel industry at 13.90 percent. The slowdown in the construction sector has badly hit the cement industry whose capacity utilization, according to the NRB report, has fallen to zero in this fiscal year. The capacity utilization of the cement industry during the first half of the last fiscal was 98.3 percent. Similarly, the capacity utilization of the iron rod industry and vegetable ghee industry also declined in this fiscal. With industries operating below capacity, the bank and financial institutions’ (BFIs) loan disbursement to them grew marginally in the first half of FY 2022/23.  The BFIs’ loan disbursement to industries surged by 1.5 percent to Rs 114.02bn. The BFIs’ loan to the industrial sector had stood at Rs 112.34bn during the first half of FY 2021/22. Of the total industrial loans disbursed by the BFIs in Madhes Province, Parsa district has the highest share of 59.97 percent while Saptari district has the lowest share of 2.32 percent. As the majority of industries are based in the Parsha district, the BFIs’ disbursement of loans to the district stood at Rs 68.39bn. Of the total loans, the share of the non-food-producing sector is the highest. The BFIs disbursed 53.01percent of total industrial loans) to the non-food-producing sector. The agriculture sector was the second highest recipient of industrial loans with the BFIs disbursing 28.98 percent of loans. The BFIs’ loans to the electricity and gas sector surged by 90.9 percent, the mining sector by 43 percent, and the non-food-producing sector by four percent. However, loan disbursement to the construction sector declined by 50 percent in the first half of the current fiscal.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 39. 26 points to close at 2,049.44 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 5. 89 points to close at 382. 74 points. A total of 8,092,969-unit shares of 277 companies were traded for Rs 3. 07 billion. Meanwhile, City Hotel Limited and Rawa Energy Development Limited were the top gainers today with their price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, BPW Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited and Modi Energy Limited were the top losers with their price dropping by 10. 00 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 00 trillion.

The main opposition CPN-UML has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. UML lawmaker Raghuji Pant warned that they would not allow the House to proceed with its business until the prime minister tendered his resignation. While launching a book of sardar Pritam Singh, Prime Minister Dahal had said that Singh visited India time and again while he was the prime minister and also helped him to become the head of the government. The UML said that the prime minister’s statement was against the sovereignty of the country. “Dahal’s statement has hurt the sentiment and self-respect of Nepalis,” lawmaker Pant said. He said that the Prime Minister cannot be greater than the dignity of the nation. Pant said that they would not let the House proceed with its business until Dahal resigned as prime minister. Along with the UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmakers also gheraoed the rostam when Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire tried to proceed with the House business. Following the obstruction, Speaker Ghimire adjourned the meeting for half-an-hour. Earlier also, the Parliament meeting could not be held after the UML sought answers from the prime minister. The meeting of the National Assembly has also been postponed due to the obstruction of the main opposition party.