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It is a duty of the media to accurately report conflict issues as they have a key role to play to maintain and promote reconciliation and peace in the society, a study report released today stated. The report "Conflict-Sensitive Journalism and Communication in Nepal" found out 0.26% of news stories, opinion pieces and editorials, out of a total of 14,422, to be insensitive to conflict. The research, carried out by the Media Action Nepal as part of the GIZ's Civil Peace Service program, provides baseline information on the current situation of Conflict-Sensitive Journalism in Nepal and offers key suggestions to promote conflict sensitivity in Nepali media. "The mainstream media seem sensitive about communal issues and censor news stories about cases of conflict between different religious communities. But the new media, mainly online media outlets, seem insensitive to communal issues and risk of making the matter worse," the study said. "For a long time, discussions on conflict-sensitive reporting were confined to the mainstream media. This has entirely changed now with the emergence of online news platforms. The so-called mainstream media alone do not set the narrative. Online news media also set the narrative on certain issues," the report further stated. Those working for online news media, however, lack a proper understanding of conflict-sensitive journalism, the study concluded. Even as different types of conflict remain at the local level, media coverage of those issues is limited with journalists in need of proper knowledge, skills and tools, the report said. On media capacity-building, the report said that journalists and editors have not received any training after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Nepal and the rebel party in 2006. "Before the CPA or during the conflict, there was a flood of training on how to cover the conflict. After the war was over, conflict-related training was not imparted to journalists." The study was jointly launched by Chairperson of Media Action Nepal Laxman Datt Pant, Chairperson of Minimum Wage Fixation Committee Sangita Khadka, Communication Registrar of Bagmati Province Rawati Sapkota and Chairperson of Advertisement Board Laxman Humagain. Speaking on the occasion, Pant, who is also the lead researcher of the study, said that media persons should not merely cover the consequences of conflict, but also report its root causes and solutions. The book launch was followed by a panel discussion joined by CEO of Freedom Forum Taranath Dahal, senior journalist Namrata Sharma, former Commissioner of Truth and Reconciliation Commission Manchala Jha and Editor of Annapurna Express Kamal Dev Bhattarai. The experts agreed that conflict reporting in Nepali media has been mainly gendered and male-dominated in absence of an inclusive newsroom leadership. One of the recommendations of the study calls on media houses to lay the ground for institutional initiatives to prioritize conflict-sensitive journalism. "For this, media institutions, academics, civil society organizations and journalists should together work on an appropriate working modality," it further said.

Nepal has made significant progress on fiscal federalism, but more needs to be done to strengthen the regulatory framework, institutional setup, human resource capacity, and public financial management (PFM) systems at the provincial and local levels, says the World Bank in its first annual ‘Nepal Fiscal Federalism Update’. The report unveiled on Thursday said that moving into the next phase of fiscal federalism requires further legal and institutional reforms. “The existing structure of concurrent responsibilities on expenditure and service delivery among the three tiers of government provides overlapping mandates to different tiers of government and hinders responsiveness to citizens’ demands,” states the report. “Adjusting the regulatory framework to give clarity on these aspects would reduce duplication in spending and enable better service delivery.” The report also highlights that unclear division of tax responsibilities undermines the materialization of provincial and local governments (PLGs)’ own-source revenue potential. “There is a need to strengthen the institutional capacity and the coordination arrangements between the key federal institutions responsible for fiscal federalism; and of them with the provinces and local governments,” says the World Bank. “The report highlights the need to develop a fiscal federalism roadmap that encompasses a clear set of actions, sequence, timeline, and responsible actors to improve fiscal federalism outcomes in Nepal,” said Balananda Paudel, Chairperson of the National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission. The report says the intergovernmental fiscal transfer (IGFT) mechanisms need to be revised to make them more effective and introduce more flexibility. Four types of such mechanisms have been established to distribute funds from the Federal Government to PLGs and from provincial to local governments. While provincial and local governments received nearly 36.7 percent of the federal money through intergovernmental fiscal transfers which amounted to 64.8 percent of their revenue in the fiscal year 2021. The largest and proportionally growing fund transfers to subnational governments, in the past five years, have been through conditional grants. Since conditional grants are heavily earmarked, they limit PLGs’ spending autonomy and maintain undue control from the federal government on PLG spending. The share of conditional grants needs to be gradually lowered and other grants including equalization grants be increased following the expenditure capacity of the provincial and local government increases, according to the report “There is room to improve the current IGFT system to make the transfers more flexible, clear, and timely, as well as increasingly performance-based, to enable PLGs to better align their available resources with planning processes and investment priorities and facilitate better outcomes of PLG service delivery,” reads the report According to the World Bank, while considerable progress has been made on sub-national public financial management (PFM) performance, the report says, challenges remain in terms of the effectiveness of certain processes and compliance with the applicable policies of sub-national public financial management. “The proportion of conditional grants seems to be high in the early years of federalization due to the transfer of projects to provincial and local governments being operationalized by the federal government in the past and contributing the salary and allowances of teachers and health staff deputed in the local governments and it will be gradually improved as situation changes. The recommendations are well aligned with our national development plan and further support our ongoing efforts to advance fiscal federalism,” said Ram Prasad Ghimire, Revenue Secretary at the Ministry of Finance. The Nepal Fiscal Federalism Update identifies key reforms to help Nepal improve fiscal federalism outcomes. It recommends developing a fiscal federalism roadmap to guide and monitor the reforms in this area, reinforcing the Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer system, and establishing a consolidated PFM performance database at the subnational level. It also recommends amending the legal framework to clarify the concurrent and shared responsibilities among the three tiers of government, strengthening the capacity of provincial and local government staff to carry out PFM-related functions, and reinforcing systems to improve the budget credibility and delivery of services by subnational governments. “Fiscal Federalism is a foundation for sustained service delivery by provincial and local governments. To this, they need adequate financial resources and the ability to make spending decisions at the subnational level, in the spirit of federalism,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

USAID on Thursday launched an up to $5m USAID Agriculture Higher Education activity. In December 2022, USAID awarded this five-year activity to Tuskegee University, in collaboration with Nepali partner Sathguru, Inc., to enhance the capacity of the Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) and increase the number of workforce-ready students by strengthening the university’s research and teaching methodology. Established in 2010 and with a current student population of more than 1,800, AFU is Nepal’s premier agricultural university. Tuskegee University has a long history in agriculture and higher education while using the asset of student diversity to drive innovation. Through this new partnership, AFU will be able to leverage Tuskegee University’s experiences to strengthen the academic, research, and extension capacity of AFU and develop the entrepreneurial spirit of AFU students to become a significant force in the agricultural transformation of Nepal. Speaking at the launch event, USAID Agency Counselor Clinton White said, “USAID is thrilled to launch this new Agriculture Higher Education activity to further strengthen our engagement with AFU. The partnership with Tuskegee University, a US higher education institution and a Historically Black College and University, brings a unique set of strengths, experiences, and expertise. The activity will improve the quality of agricultural higher education, increase graduates’ employability through a market-driven curriculum, and contribute to strengthening agricultural research and extension. It also helps expand and diversity our partnerships with new local Nepali organizations” USAID Agriculture Higher Education is one of the latest examples of the United States’ long partnership with Nepal to improve food security and strengthen economic development in Nepal. Counselor White is on a three-day visit to Nepal, where he will meet with the Government of Nepal, civil society leaders, community groups, students, and businesses and will discuss continued collaboration and partnership between the US and Nepal.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepal Samajbadi Party (NSP) Chairman Baburam Bhattarai held a meeting on Friday. During the meeting held at the Prime Minister Dahal’s official residence in Baluwatar this morning, they discussed contemporary political issues. The meeting focused on the recent visit of the PM to India, federal budget, and remaining tasks of the peace process including the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission among others, said Bhattarai. They also discussed the issue of the formation of a socialist front. According to Bhattarai, also the former PM, an agreement has been made on concluding ideological, policy, program and organizational procedures to form a broader socialist front to continue to take the society on the progressive path while safeguarding achievements made so far including the federal democratic republic. Stating that an understanding has been reached to move ahead after discussing the matter with all sides, he said, "There is an understanding reached between us. I urge all not to go after rumors."

CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary Barshaman Pun, who has been suffering from hereditary hyper-bilirubinemia jaundice since long, has returned home from China after treatment. Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Aman Lal Modi, and leaders of CPN (Maoist Centre) welcomed Pun at Tribhuvan International Airport. On the occasion, Deputy General Secretary Pun said he returned home becoming completely healthy due to the best wishes of all. Also, the former minister, Pun had left for China on February 13. He underwent treatment at Third People's Hospital, China.    

Energy Minister Shakti Basnet has asked the private sector to get ready for the power trade. Addressing the 21st annual general meeting (AGM) of the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) on Thursday, Basnet said the government is all set to open power trading for the private sector. According to Basnet, the Electricity Bill 2080 will be registered in the parliament soon and its parliamentary endorsement will pave the way for the private sector to engage in power trading. “The bill is currently reviewed by the ministries concerned,” said Basnet. The government, according to Basnet, is going to implement a campaign called ‘Energy for Development’ to further develop the energy sector. “The campaign is aimed at increasing production, distribution, transmission, trade, and consumption of electricity,” he said. IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya said that the government should open the way as the private sector is ready for power trading. Stating that the country’s electricity generation increased after the entry of the private sector, Acharya said that the private sector should now be allowed to do power trade business in order to increase consumption and export of electricity. Private power producers have been lobbying for their involvement in power trading. This demand stems from the fact that the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) currently holds a monopoly on power purchase agreements (PPAs), leaving no other entity in the country authorized to sign such agreements with power producers. The power producers have been gearing up for power trading licenses by establishing power trade companies. According to the Department of Electricity Development (DoED), Nepal Power Exchange Ltd (NEPEX) and Power Trading and Energy Exchange Ltd (PTEEL) have applied for power trading licenses. Similarly, Nepal Infrastructure Bank has applied to the Ministry of Energy, on behalf of the Power Trading Company (PTC) Ltd, and the Himalayan Trading Company is also preparing to register an application for the license. While the private sector in Nepal is still awaiting the trading license to sell electricity in both domestic and foreign markets, some private entities have already signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Indian companies for the cross-border trading of electricity. The Nepal Power Exchange Limited (NPEL), subsidiary of IPPAN has already signed an agreement with Manikaran Power Limited, India to carry out cross-border electricity trade. As per the MoU, the Indian company will buy 500MW of electricity from the Nepal Power Exchange Limited besides investing in the Nepali company itself. During the Power Summit 2023, Nepali and Indian companies signed initial deals for selling 2,200 MW of electricity to India. Karki elected new IPPAN President The 21st AGM of IPPAN also elected a new executive committee. Ganesh Karki has been elected as the new president of the association unopposed. Similarly, all office bearers including Mohan Kurma Dangi as Senior Vice President were elected unopposed. The meeting elected Ashish Garg, Bharat Kumar Khatri, Uttam Vlon Lama, Ram Prasad Acharya, and Anand Chaudhary as vice presidents of IPPAN. Similarly, Balram Khatiwada was elected as the General Secretary. Prakash Chandra Dulal as the Deputy Secretary General. Likewise, Bharat Prasad Nepal, Bharat Kumar Khadka, Kavita Pokharel, Vikram Bista, and Him Prasad Pathak have been elected as secretaries.

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.