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A morning rally was organized today to raise awareness against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. The Ministry of Home Affairs organized the morning rally to mark International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The rally began from Bhrikutimandap and passed through Bhandrakali Temple and converged into a corner assembly at City Hall. Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Home Secretary Dinesh Bhattarai, Inspector General of Police, Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, high-ranking officials of Ministry, youths and students were present on the occasion. The participants in the morning rally had carried banners, ply cards inscribed with different awareness messages against drug abuse and its illicit trafficking.    

Three hundred cattle have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease in Gorkha Municipality. The cattle of Gorkha Municipality-13 and 14 were vaccinated against lumpy skin disease with technical support of Gorkha Municipality Livestock Service Section and Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre, Gorkha, said Information Officer of Livestock Service Expert Center, Dr Lalmani Aryal. He said that a vaccination campaign was launched to vaccinate cattle in two wards of the municipality to control the disease. The disease is spreading in the municipality. Aryal said that Budhikoti Dairy Production Cooperative provided financial support to run the vaccination program. Cows and buffaloes affected from lumpy skin disease do not only decrease milk production, they might also die due to this if not treated on time. The diseass has already spread in more than five local levels of Gorkha district—Bhimsen Thapa Rural Municipality, Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality, Barpak Rural Municipality, Gandaki Rural Municipality and Dharche Rural Municipality. More than 58 cattle have died from lumpy skin disease in the district so far.  

Everything is nature God gave us this future Birds fly in the sky And mountain so high Trees are green And water so clean and neat We are only harming it But it never betrays It always give us right way I love nature Nevlyn Shrestha Grade VI Balbalika English Secondary Boarding School, Thimi

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 62.21 points to close at 2,117.73 points on Sunday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 9.64 points to close at 395. 45 points. A total of 14,751,247-unit shares of 275 companies were traded for Rs 6. 49 billion. Meanwhile, Life Insurance Corporation (Nepal) Limited, Himalayan Life Insurance Limited, NMB 50 and Samling Power Company Limited were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Similarly, Shuvam Power Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 6.81 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 10 trillion.

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation for the 16th five-year periodic plan. With the 15th plan ending in the next fiscal year 2023/24, the NPC, the government’s main body for periodic development planning, has initiated discussions with the concerned stakeholders. NPC held an interaction with its former vice-chairmen, former members, and economists on Wednesday. The body discussed with the ministries related to labor and employment, industry and trade, tourism and civil aviation, and agriculture on Thursday which was participated by incumbent secretaries, former secretaries, and experts of the ministries. NPC has planned to hold discussions on infrastructure and energy sectors on Friday. NPC Vice Chair Min Bahadur Shrestha said discussions for the 16th plan have been initiated with the national aspiration of achieving good governance, prosperity, and social justice through structural transformation. The concept paper of the 16th plan will be ready by the third week of July incorporating the suggestions of the experts. NPC is preparing to finalize and publish the 16th plan by February 2024 in order to take into implementation from mid-July 2024. The 16th plan which will be implemented from FY 2024/25 to 2029/30 The experts participating in Thursday's discussion stressed that the 16th plan should be a national plan rather than a federal plan. According to them, the new five-year periodic plan should be drafted in such a way that it can guide the plans of provinces and local-level governments. Economists and experts have emphasized that the role of NPC should be strengthened. They have also suggested that the new plan should be made keeping in mind the National Census of 2021, and it (the new plan) should take the policy to increase private sector investments. During Wednesday’s discussion, former finance minister Yubaraj Khatiwada said that ambitious targets for economic growth should not be set for the next periodic plan. Stating that the economic growth target of 7-7.5 percent should be taken in the current situation, Khatiwada said, “If the target of eight percent is to be set, then full emphasis should be placed on exports-oriented industrial growth.” While former NPC Vice Chair Prithvi Raj Legal suggested being more realistic while setting the target of economic growth, another former Vice Chair Dinesh Chandra Devkota opinionated that the plan should be formulated prioritizing the use of technology and preventing the misuse of grant money. According to NPC Spokesperson Suman Dahal, after the concept paper is prepared, the commission plans to discuss and interact at the provincial level as well.

Kathmandu: Sunita Dangol, a photojournalist from Annapurna Post, was recently recognized and awarded the Sports Photojournalist Award. This prestigious accolade was presented to her during the award ceremony organized by the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) on June 23, which coincided with Olympic Day.  In addition to Dangol, three other journalists were also honored with awards by the NOC. Saroj Tamang received the Best Multimedia Award, Prajit Shakya was recognized with the Best Print Media Award, and Prajwal Shakya received the Best Visual Media Award.  Furthermore, Deepak Adhikari from Athletics, and Srijana Ghising, a participant in Para Taekwondo, were both recipients of the NOC Award. The Best Coach Award was granted to Kaviraj Negi from Para Taekwondo and Renu Devi Konda from Tennis. Lastly, the Nepal Boxing Association was honored with the Best Association Award.

Nepal and the Republic of Cameroon have established diplomatic relations. With this, the number of countries with which Nepal has diplomatic ties has reached 180. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Amrit Bahadur Rai and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cameroon to the United Nations Michel Tommo Monthe signed a Joint Communiqué to this effect in a brief ceremony held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Thursday. Both the ambassadors had signed a joint letter informing the UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations said. On the occasion, the ambassadors exchanged views on various topics of common interest to strengthen the bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries on national and international forums, especially in the UN forums. Cameroon lies in West Africa and it has more than 240 ethnic communities speaking 230 languages. It shares borders with Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. Cameroon borders the Atlantic Ocean to its south-west. With a population of over 27 million, Cameroon's total area is 475 thousand 440 sq Km. It gained independence on 1 January 1960 and became a UN member on 20 September the same year. Both Nepal and Cameroon are members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

When Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat during the presentation of the budget for the next fiscal year announced that 20 government entities whose presence is no longer essential would be scrapped, many welcomed the government move. The Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITDB) is on the list of to-be-scrapped entities. As per the budget announcement, the board will be scrapped and its task will be handed over to Nepal Transit and Warehousing Company Limited. But, officials of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) are not in favor of scrapping NITDB. One major concern they raise is that handing over the task of the board to the company means that there would be a single entity for both regulation and operation of commercial activities. MoICS officials pointed out another government decision i.e., the proposed splitting of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) into two separate entities as service provider and regulator. The government is now preparing to introduce two bills—The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Bill and the Air Service Authority of Nepal Bill—to separate the CAAN into two entities. The main reason behind the planned split of CAAN is to remove the situation of conflict of interest and it has been considered vital to ensure the removal of Nepal from the European Commission’s air safety list. MoICS officials also point out the risk of conflict of interest if Nepal Transit and Warehousing Company Limited is also handed over the task of NITDB. Nepal Transit and Warehousing Company Limited currently provides warehousing, clearing and forwarding, and undertaking services. The company provides warehousing facilities at important transit points such as Raxaul in India and Birgunj, Tribhuvan International Airport, and Gautam Buddha International Airport in Nepal for exports and imports in transit to and from third countries. It also provides clearing and forwarding services to Nepali cargoes—in-transit through Indian customs. The company provides a guarantee-undertaking service for the import cargo of Nepal and government-owned undertakings. The major functions of NITDB are to develop and operate terminals for the import and export of goods, enter into agreements with selected companies for the operation of terminal services, and evaluate and monitor terminal management contracts. “In fact, the board is responsible for regulating the task of Nepal Transit and Warehousing Company Limited,” said a senior MoICS official. “Handing over the task of NITDB to the company means the company will have a dual role as a regulator and a service provider which will invite conflict of interest.” The government has clarified that its decision is aimed at implementing the recommendation of the Public Expenditure Review Commission 2018. The commission headed by economist Dilliraj Khanal had also suggested merging the board with the company. The government had long resisted to implement the recommendation of the commission. But the present-day financial realities forced the government to reconsider measures related to reducing expenditures. However, a former joint secretary of MoICS said that even though the government's move to cut costs was a welcome step, it should have considered whether it would lead to a conflict of interest. “The government should have looked at this issue from the example of the current efforts to split the CAAN,” he said.