Submit your Article

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 11.32 points to close at 1,866.48 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2. 56 points to close at 366. 19 points. A total of 2,085,284 unit shares of 223 companies were traded for Rs 69 billion. In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green except for Trading and Mutal Fund. Development Bank topped the chart with 69. 4 points. Meanwhile, Aviyan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Everest Bank Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 9. 83 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 68 trillion.

The CPN-UML has decided to support a rebel candidate of the Nepali Congress in Chitwan constituency-3. UML candidate Ram Prasad Neupane has decided to support Dinesh Koirala in the upcoming election. Koirala is a central member of the Nepali Congress. Dr Bhoj Raj Adhikari of the five party alliance and Bikram Pandey of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party have filed their candidacies from the same constituency. Earlier, Koirala had reached Balkot to seek support of the UML.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 94, 200 per tola today. The yellow bullion was traded at Rs 94, 000 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 93, 700 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1,200 per tola today.

Independent candidate Rajiv Gurung alias Deepak Manange has been elected unanimously as the Province Assembly member from Manang Province-2. Gandaki Province Youth and Sports Minister Manange was elected unopposed after another independent candidate Dorje Lama Gurung withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday. Dorje, who had filed his independent candidacy for Province (2) in the election slated for November 20, through his Facebook this morning said that he withdrew his nomination to fully support Deepak Manange. Deepak said that he has become an independent candidate in Province (2) with the support of CPN-UML. UML Manang Secretary and Manang Province (1) candidate Rajan Bahadur Gurung said that Dorje withdrew his candidacy at the request of the UML.

Two women were killed in two separate ‘ritualistic human sacrifices’ over three months by three accused persons at Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district, The Hindu reported. The overnight interrogation of the accused — Shafi alias Rasheed, a resident of Perumbavur in Ernakulam, and a couple, Bhagaval Singh and Laila of Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta — by Kochi city police led to theexplosive revelation of the twin murders. Padmam, a lottery vendor from Ponnurunni in Ernakulam and Rosli, a resident of Kalady near Angamaly, were the ones suspected to have been brutally murdered as part of an occult for the alleged economic wellbeing of the couple. Both women had been missing leading to registration of cases by Kadavanthra police of Kochi city and Kalady police of Ernakulam Rural respectively. The accused were taken into custody in connection with the case registered by Kadavanthra police. It was during the interrogation that the accused confessed to have ‘sacrificed’ another woman in a similar manner months back, according to The Hindu. “While Padmam was murdered in the last week of September, the other woman was killed in June. All three accused were involved in the brutal murder of both women and their bodies were buried side-by-side within the property of the couple. Whether there was a racket engaged in such human sacrifices and whether more people were involved in these murders remain to be investigated. The accused had confessed to the crime and we have corroborated their statements,” said C.H. Nagaraju, District Police Chief (Kochi City).  

A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on two more corruption charges Wednesday, with two three-year sentences to be served concurrently, adding to previous convictions that now leave her with a 26-year total prison term, a legal official said, Associated Press reported. Suu Kyi, 77, was detained on Feb. 1, 2021, when the military seized power from her elected government. She has denied the allegations against her in this case, in which she was accused of receiving $550,000 as a bribe from Maung Weik, a tycoon convicted of drug trafficking. Corruption cases comprise the biggest share of the many charges the military has brought against the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate. Suu Kyi has been charged with 12 counts in total under the Anti-Corruption Act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine. Suu Kyi had already been sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment after being convicted of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, breaching the country’s official secrets act, sedition, election fraud and five corruption charges. Her supporters and independent analysts say the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power while keeping her from taking part in the next election, which the military has promised in 2023. In recent months, her trials have been held in a purpose-built courtroom in the main prison on the outskirts of the capital, Naypyitaw. She has not been seen or allowed to speak in public since she was arrested and her lawyers, who had been a source of information on the proceedings, have not been allowed to speak publicly on her behalf or about her trial since a gag order was placed on them last year. In the case decided Wednesday, Suu Kyi was accused of receiving a total of $550,000 in 2019 and 2020 from Maung Weik, with separate payments being treated as two offenses, according to Associated Press. Maung Weik, a construction magnate, had a close relationship with the army generals in power during a previous military-run government, and has headed two main companies during three decades in business: Maung Weik & Family Co. Ltd., specializing in the trading of metals and agricultural products, and Sae Paing Development Ltd., a real estate and construction company. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2008 for trafficking drugs but was released in 2014 under a semi-democratic transitional government led by former General Thein Sein. After his release from prison, Maung Weik returned to doing business with former generals and according to a 2017 report in The Irrawaddy, an online news magazine, became chairman of Mandalay Business Capital City Development, which was involved in urban development work. Under Suu Kyi’s government, Maung Weik won a major development project that included the construction of houses, restaurants, hospitals, economic zones, a port and hotel zones in Myanmar’s central Mandalay region. He was reportedly interrogated by the army two weeks after its takeover last year, and shortly after that, in March 2021, military-controlled state television broadcast a video in which he claimed to have given cash payoffs to government ministers to help his businesses. He said in his video that the money included $100,000 provided to Suu Kyi in 2018 for a charitable foundation named after her mother, and another $450,000 in payments in 2019 and 2020 for purposes he did not specify. A state-controlled newspaper, the Global New Light of Myanmar, reported in February that Suu Kyi in her position as state counselor — the country’s de facto chief executive — received $550,000 in four installments in 2019-2020 “to facilitate the business activities of a private entrepreneur.” Suu Kyi’s close colleague, Zaw Myint Maung, who served as a chief minister in the Mandalay region, was separately accused of receiving more than $180,000 from Maung Weik and was convicted of corruption in June, Associated Press reported. Wednesday’s verdict sentencing Suu Kyi to two three-year sentences to be served concurrently was conveyed by a legal official who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities. He added that her lawyers are expected to file an appeal in the coming days. In separate proceedings, Suu Kyi is still being tried together with the country’s former president, Win Myint, on another five corruption charges in connection with permits granted to a Cabinet minister for the rental and purchase of a helicopter. Suu Kyi has been the face of the opposition to military rule in Myanmar for more than three decades. The previous military government put her under house arrest in 1989, which continued on-and-off for 15 of the next 22 years. Her National League for Democracy party initially came to power after winning the 2015 general election, ushering in a true civilian government for the first time since a 1962 military coup. However, democratic reforms were small and slow in coming, largely because the military retained substantial power and influence under the terms of a constitution it had enacted in 2008, according to Associated Press.

In the past decade, the People's Republic of China has grown enormously in economic strength and global stature. At the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, put forward the "two centenary goals". The goals mean building a moderately well-off society in all respects by 2020, just before the centenary year of the CPC in 2021, and a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful by the middle of this century, while the People's Republic's 100th anniversary is 2049, China Daily reported. The Party and the leadership mobilized tens of millions of people to achieve the first goal, the key component of which was the eradication of extreme poverty, which was achieved in 2020. At the start of the targeted poverty alleviation program in 2013, a little less than 100 million people were identified as living below the poverty line. Seven years later, the figure was zero. As Xi said, "thanks to the sustained efforts of the Chinese people from generation to generation, those who once lived in poverty no longer have to worry about food or clothing or access to education, housing and medical insurance". Eradicating extreme poverty in a developing country of over 1.4 billion people, which at the time of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 was one of the poorest countries in the world－characterised by widespread malnutrition, illiteracy, foreign domination and technological backwardness－is truly an extraordinary achievement. With the realization of the first centenary goal, the second goal has come into sharp focus. Building a great modern socialist country in all respects implies reducing relative poverty, increasing per capita GDP, narrowing gaps between regions and different income groups, and achieving ecologically sustainable, high-quality development. At the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017, a set of objectives for 2035 were adopted as staging posts to achieve the longer-term 2049 goal. These include making China a global leader in science and technology, creating a green economy, reducing the urban-rural income gap, and increasing per capita GDP to the level of a moderately developed country. China has already taken important steps to realize its targets for 2035 and the middle of this century. While investing heavily in education and research, and establishing China as a global leader in several key areas of technology (including telecommunications, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing), the Party leadership has reaffirmed and placed renewed emphasis on the principle of common prosperity. While common prosperity has always been an important goal of Chinese socialism, extraordinarily rapid economic growth over the last four decades has led to some negative side effects, such as high levels of inequality. That's why since 2020, the government has put more emphasis on tackling issues such as the disorderly expansion of unscrupulous private companies including some high-tech enterprises, speculation in the housing sector, widening income inequality, and private education providers. This program is already producing important results and helping improve the lot of ordinary people. China has also stepped up its contribution to the global fight against climate change and to efforts to preserve biodiversity, reduce air pollution and ensure the supply of clean water. Thanks to his love for the environment, President Xi has reiterated the importance of ecological civilization in the past decade and put environmental sustainability at the key position of Chinese policymaking, according to China Daily. Last year, China vowed to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Since announcing these goals, the Chinese government has developed systematic programs for achieving them. It has already made extraordinary progress on environmental issues, and is unquestionably the world leader in renewable energy, with the biggest generation capacity of clean energy. As for China's forest cover, it has increased from 12 percent in the early 1980s to 23 percent today. It has established national parks covering 230,000 square kilometres, and is the global leader in production and use of electric cars, trains and buses. China is also home to more than 90 percent of the world's electric buses and 70 percent of high-speed railways. China's integration into the global economy, its friendly relations with other countries and its reputation as a responsible and peace-oriented power have all increased significantly since 2012. Besides, the Belt and Road Initiative, proposed in 2013, has transformed the investment landscape for infrastructure and connectivity, particularly in the developing world. And more than 140 countries that have joined the initiative can now address their infrastructure, telecommunications, transport and energy needs, China Daily reported. Furthermore, addressing the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly last year, Xi proposed the "Global Development Initiative" and called on countries to work closely together in order to revitalize the global economy and "pursue more robust, greener and more balanced global development". This shows that, while certain countries continue to implement Cold War policies focused on consolidating their hegemony, China's foreign policy is aligned with the international community's demand for peace, progress and sustainable development, and for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Ten-man Manchester City missed a penalty and had a goal ruled out in a VAR-dominated goalless draw at Copenhagen, but still reached the last 16 of the Champions League, BBC reported.