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The government attorneys are giving the response pleading with the conclusion of the pleadings on behalf of the accused in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. The government attorneys will today respond to the legal questions raised by the lawyers pleading on behalf of the accused and the time until 1 pm has been set for this purpose, said Laxman Upadhyaya Ghimire, the District Attorney and spokesperson for the District Government Attorney Office. Chief of the District Government Attorney Office, Joint Attorney Achyut Mani Neupane, District Attorney Ghimire, District Attorney Mahesh Prasad Khatri and Assistant District Attorney Nirmala Marasini will be making the response pleading at the Kathmandu District Court today. Ghimire said that they are preparing to conclude the pleading before 1pm. It is said the court order regarding whether or not the accused should be held in custody is expected by the evening today. Generally, the court decision regarding whether or not the accused should be held in custody is made the day the response pleading by the government attorneys concludes. The District Government Attorney Office had filed cases at the District Court, Kathmandu against the accused on May 24, based on the report submitted by the police in connection to the scandal. Cases have been filed against 30 people for their involvement in the scam. They include former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, Dr Indrajeet Rai who was the security advisor to the former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa and Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rizal among others. They have been charged with fraud, cheating, organized crime and treason. Twelve accused in this case are still absconding.  

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee unanimously endorsed Supreme Court acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki as the Chief Justice. A meeting of the Hearing Committee held in Singha Durbar on Friday unanimously endorsed Karki’s name as Chief Justice. Committee member Mahesh Bartaula informed that Karki’s name was unanimously endorsed as Chief Justice. Karki will be appointed as Chief Justice if President Ram Chandra Paudel appoints him to the top post of the Supreme Court. There is a constitutional provision that the President appoints the Chief Justice if the person recommended by the Constitutional Council is endorsed by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. The Constitutional Council recommended Karki, also the acting Chief Justice, for the post of Chief Justice on April 28. More than 30 complaints were registered against him.  

The Ministry of Health and Population has directed the health institutions not to carry out any activities to identify the gender of babies in pregnant women. Under Secretary at the ministry Yekdev Khanal has written to the government, private and community health institutions to avoid sex-selective ultrasound. The Ministry has also directed the health institutions and laboratories to paste such information at their premises. The ministry's circulation to the health institutions comes as the recently released report of the National Housing and Population Census, 2021 has shown imbalances on sex ratio of newborns in the country. In recent years, the number of newborn boys is higher compared to the girls mostly due to sex-selective fetus abortion, which is a crime in the eyes of law.

What’s stopping Nepal, a country with good hydropower potential, from going electric? Before navigating the choppy waters for possible answers, it will be worthwhile to recall in brief what the then Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, pledged on behalf of Nepal at the World Leaders’ Summit during the 26th Conference of Parties in Glasgow. While reiterating Nepal’s firm commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement, the PM pledged to decarbonize the national economy in all sectors with the aim of reaching a net zero emission by 2045. During the last 40 years, disasters have caused Nepal physical and economic damage worth $6 billion, he pointed, adding: We will ensure that 15 percent of our total energy is supplied from clean energy sources and maintain 45 percent of our country under forest cover by 2030. Fast forward World Environment Day (05 June, 2023). In his address on the big day, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed confidence that the day will inspire all concerned to transform into results the several initiatives and commitments the government has made at national and international fora to combat environmental problems. PM Dahal pledged that his government will make the Environment Conservation and Climate Change Management National Council more effective. When it comes to swearing by the green cause, successive governments have not been lagging behind. But the status of implementation of their lofty promises leaves much to be desired. In this context, government pledges to develop one more cross-border pipeline (Siliguri-Charali), extend the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border pipeline up to Lothar of Chitwan and develop more pipelines for easing oil supply within the country are likely to result in increased consumption of fossil fuel instead of the green energy (hydroelectricity), taking a heavier toll on environmental well-being and public health. India’s per capita energy consumption stands at 1255 MW against Nepal’s 300 MW (approx). Still, Nepal aims to earn big by selling the green energy to a monopsony market, despite reports that consumption of green energy within the country yield multiple benefits, electrifying the economy as a whole, whereas the sale largely benefits the buyers. Therefore, Nepal should focus more on increasing domestic consumption of the green energy. As the transport sector has a huge contribution to Nepal’s greenhouse gas emissions, the government should think seriously—and act—to switch to electric mass transit systems throughout the country, to begin with. Through policy interventions, it should create a conducive environment for the production of vehicles that run on electricity in Nepal itself. On the consumer end, reduced taxes on private electric vehicles like two-wheelers and four-wheelers will provide considerable relief.

Hydropower promoter and climate change activist Krishna Prasad Bhandari has taken an initiative to set up Climate Impact and Evaluation Fund (CIEF).

According to Bhandari, the main aim of the fund is to conduct study and research on the impact of climate change in hydropower projects and suggest ways for possible mitigation.

The main areas of research will be environmental balance and impact of climate change in hydropower projects and electricity centers. Bhandari has submitted an application to the Independent Power Producers’ Association (IPPAN), providing Rs 51,000 as seed money for the establishment of the fund. In his proposal, Bhandari has said preventive measures are necessary that the hydropower sector could face in the coming days due to climate change related disasters.

The clean energy that Nepal produces is a main source of green energy, and through such green energy we can produce green hydrogen that could power electric vehicles as well as contribute to the production of chemical fertilizers, Bhandari has proposed.

He has also drawn the attention of IPPN to play a vital role on how to maximize the benefit from carbon tax and carbon credit. As Nepal has already announced its plan to l achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, Bhandari said the government needs to promote clean energy policies. To implement such a policy, there is a need for strong and productive collaboration between government and private sector for the management of catchment and maintaining a status quo of watershed Management Conservation.

Adverse impacts of climate change are already seen in the Himalayas which are the sources of many rivers. The government and IPPN should take the environmental issues without any delay and with a sense of urgency, Bhandari said.

The date and organizer of Asia Cup 2023 have been finalized. Nepal have already been selected in the Asia Cup which has become indefinite due to the political dispute between India and Pakistan. Issuing a statement on Thursday, the International Cricket Council said that the Asia Cup will be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 31 to September 17. Four matches of the 16th edition of the Asia Cup will be held in Pakistan and remaining games in Sri Lanka. A total of 13 One-Day International (ODI) games will be played in the tournament where Nepal along with India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will participate. The participating teams will be divided into two groups and the top two will make it to the ‘super four’. The top two teams from super four will make the journey to the finals. Nepal will play against Indian and Pakistan in the group stage. Similarly, Sri Lanka, Bagladesh and Afghanistan are in another group. Nepal were selected in the Asia Cup by defeating the UAE in the final of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup at home ground. Sri Lanka had become defending champion by defeating Pakistan in the final held in UAE.

President of the Independent Power Producers' Association-Nepal (IPPAN) Krishna Prasad Acharya today said the government should pave the way for the private sector to trade electric power. The private sector has had a large investment in the energy sector, he argued while speaking at the inaugural session of the 21st annual general meeting of the IPPAN today. He stressed the need for the country to make optimum utilization of energy, the foundation of economic prosperity for a country. "Lately, carbon emission reduction has been a global issue. Nepal is one of the countries with the ability to contribute to carbon reduction. There is much potential for clean energy in Nepal. There is potential for hydropower and solar energy," he said. Saying that increment of internal power consumption has been a challenge, he suggested increasing power consumption in industries, irrigation, electric ovens and electric vehicles. The private sector could play a role in power consumption increment and energy export, he was of the view. Referring to the recent Indian visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, he said, "The visit focused on economic issues. More so, this focused on energy. This is a matter of happiness for power entrepreneurs." The matter of reaching a memorandum of understanding to export 10,000 megawatts of electricity during the visit was an important achievement itself for Nepal, he said.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 5.00 points to close at 2,042.07 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 0.30 points to close at 383. 39 points. A total of 7,896,478-unit shares of 270 companies were traded for Rs 3. 16 billion. Meanwhile, City Hotel Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 97 percent. Similarly, Bhugol Energy Development Company Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 5.86 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 98 trillion.