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The three major parties—the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center)—have reached an understanding to get the Bill on Constitutional Council (CC) approved through the Parliament, apart from agreeing to form a special committee for inter-party discussions on the long-pending Truth and Reconciliation Bill. With the CC Bill stuck, the council tasked with making appointments in constitutional bodies, including the Supreme Court, has not been able to hold its meeting, stalling the process for the appointment of the Chief Justice. Monday’s meeting at Singhadurbar between Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and KP Sharma Oli, chair of the UML, the main opposition, delved into the CC Bill. The three leaders agreed to end the prevailing constitutional void by getting Parliament's approval for the Bill. Tabled in the House of Representatives, the TRC Bill has drawn fire from victims of the decade-long Maoist insurgency as well as the international community for its ‘lenient provisions intended to grant blanket amnesty in serious cases of human rights violations’ by seeking to get it approved through a fast-track method. Lawmakers from different parties have forwarded more than 30 proposals in the lower house seeking amendments in the TRC Bill and stalling the Dahal-led ruling alliance’s attempts to get a swift parliamentary nod. The UML in particular has been standing against the efforts to pass the Bill through fast track, demanding serious discussions on the legal instrument and incorporation of the conflict victims’ concerns. Prime Minister Dahal’s recent remarks about ‘shouldering partial responsibility’ for the insurgency-era killings had triggered protests, once again reminding the parties how sensitive the issue is. The top leaders have agreed to form a 15-member parliamentary special committee for facilitating discussions on the TRC Bill.

Three persons died and two others sustained injuries in a tractor accident at Kalidamar in Manahari-3 of Hetauda on Monday. According to DSP Tek Bahadur Karki, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Makwanpur, the incident occurred after the tractor (Madhes Province 03-001 Ta 7188) turned turtle last night. The deceased have been identified as Prabin Praja (20), Raj Kumar Praja(24) and driver Birman Rumba (30) of Manahari-3. Similarly, Amrit Praja and Jokh Lal Praja of the same place were injured in the accident. They have been receiving treatment at Churehil Hospital, Hetauda.

Rastriya Swatantra Party candidate Dr Swarnim Wagle has been elected as the member of the House of Representatives from Tanahun-1. According to the final voting results made public this morning, Wagle defeated his closest contender by a margin of 14, 797 votes. The Chief Election Officer’s office, however, is yet to formally announce the winner. Out of 65, 316 votes cast in the election, Wagle secured 34, 919 votes. His closest contender Govinda Bhattarai of the Nepali Congress garnered 20, 122 votes while Sarbendra Khanal of the CPN-UML obtained 8, 488 votes. Wagle won the election by around 10, 000 more votes than Nepali Congress candidate Ram Chandra Paudel in the November 20 elections. Paudel had won the election by receiving 25, 361 votes. His nearest rival Ek Bahadur Rana Magar of the CPN-UML had secured 19, 981 votes. The by-election was held in Tanahun-1 on April 23 as the HoR seat had fallen vacant after Ram Chandra Paudel of Tanahun-1 was elected as the President of the country.      

I’m a 22-years-old student and lately, I’m having difficulty sleeping at night. I overthink, feel guilty for no reason, and think about things I have regretted doing the most. None of these thoughts leave my head and I end up crying every night. This usually happens at midnight and I have had this for the past two weeks. There is no reason for me to feel this way. So, I have no idea why I cry all the time. But after I’m done with it, I feel relaxed and it helps me sleep peacefully. This doesn’t seem normal. Why is this happening? Please help!—A night weeper Answered by Rishav Koirala, psychiatrist and researcher Looking at the symptoms you’ve mentioned, it seems like you are suffering from disturbed sleeping pattern, over brooding, and heightened emotional sensitivity. Unfortunately, the information you’ve shared isn’t enough to make a proper diagnosis. But I can help you in managing these symptoms as well as guess what might be causing it.  You’ve mentioned that these symptoms have been affecting you for around two weeks, which is a short time frame. This means that the problem is still in its initial stage. Therefore, it may not require long term medication or treatment. Usually, with symptoms like these, it’s either anxiety or depressive disorder. But, for now, that’s just a guess. Like I said before, these symptoms aren’t enough to give you an exact diagnosis. However, we can evaluate them in order to identify the intensity of this issue.  Anxiety has a wide spectrum of other symptoms such as restlessness, difficulty to concentrate, forgetfulness, irritability, fearfulness, as well as physiological problems like palpitations, shortness of breath and fasciculation. Feeling guilty is mostly associated with depressive disorder but since most of your symptoms aren’t related to that, I’d say you might be suffering from an anxiety disorder. The best decision here, for you, would be to visit a psychiatrist as early as possible. The earlier you get diagnosed, the easier it gets to manage your mental health status and chances of recovering without medication are also higher.  You’ve mentioned that it’s mostly during the night time that you feel uneasy, overthink your regrets/guilt, and end up crying. The reason you are crying at night in particular might be because you are always occupied during the day time and you don’t have time to think about anything else. And when you’re free, you end up feeling every emotion at once, which pushes you to cry. That might also be the same reason why you overthink. Since you particularly mentioned that this started happening two weeks ago, I would suggest that you try to remember if something happened around that time that triggered your emotions. There might be something around you, or you might be thinking about something that makes you break down every night. Identifying that will help you understand what to do next.  Although it’s best to visit a professional at times like these, I know some people prefer to take some time before making that decision. In that case, try to figure out what has been affecting you emotionally, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. You can exercise regularly, meditate, and have an appropriate sleep cycle. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes or any other drugs for that matter. Lastly, I would like to assure you that whatever you’re going through can definitely be fixed. 

Top leaders of the major political parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have agreed to form a parliamentary special committee to discuss the TRC bill. They have also agreed to endorse the bill related to Constitutional Council directly through the Parliament. Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said that the 10 thematic committees and two joint committees will get full shape soon. Talking to journalists after the meeting held in Singha Durbar on Monday, Lekhak said, “The TRC bill will be finalized by forming a special committee.” The meeting discussed finalizing the TRC bill and Constitutional Council bill through political consensus. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and chief whip of these parties were present in the meeting. The UML has been saying that the transitional justice bill should be taken to the parliamentary committee while the ruling coalition parties have been saying that the bill should be endorsed through fast track.  

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Belan Shah said that he will comply with the order issued by the Supreme Court. Last week, the apex court had issued an order directing the metropolis to collect the garbage of Singha Durbar and Sheetal Niwas within three days. Following the order, Mayor Shah responded that the metropolis has been working on issues related to garbage management and sanitation giving priority. “We have received a copy of the interim order issued by the honorable court to remove garbage from Singha Durbar and Sheetal Niwas. We will abide by the order,” he said. Mayor Shah said that the federal government should also follow the order of the Supreme Court. “We are committed to comply with the order of the apex court. But, not only the metropolis, the federal government among others should also adhere the verdicts, orders and directives of the honorable court seriously,” he said. It has been more than two weeks that the garbage of Singha Durbar, the country’s administrative hub, has not been collected following the directive of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Shah. The metropolis had been saying that the garbage would not be collected unless the government showed readiness to hold talks. Mayor Shah said that the decision to not collect garbage from Singha Durbar was an outcome of neglect, lack of responsibility and carelessness on part of the federal government. Earlier on Monday, a writ was filed at the Supreme Court against the decision of Mayor Shah not to collect waste of Singha Durbar, Baluwatar and Sheetal Niwas.  

Nepal reported 113 new Covid-19 cases on Monday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 766 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 64 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 044 people underwent antigen tests, of which 49 tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours and 72 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 362 active cases in the country.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 2.71 points to close at 1,888.32 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0.23 points to close at 359. 37 points. A total of 2,260,823-unit shares of 270 companies were traded for Rs 751 billion. Meanwhile, People’s Power Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 8. 11 percent. Kalinchowk Darshan Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 9.62 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 75 trillion.