Submit your Article

The Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday extended the remand of former Nepal national cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane, who was arrested on the rape charge, by four more days. Though the police had requested the court to extend the remand of Lamichhane by seven more days to take the investigation to a logical conclusion, the court extended the remand only for four days. This is the third time that the court extended the remand of Nepal’s leg spinner Lamichhane. The Kathmandu District Court had allowed police to keep Lamichhane in custody for seven days for this first time on October 10 to investigate a rape charge against him. Later, on October 13, the court extended the remand by five more days. A 17-year-old girl had filed a rape complaint against Lamichhane at the Metropolitan Police Circle, Gaushala when he was abroad to play Caribbean Premier League (CPL) from Jamaica Tallawahs. According to the complaint, Lamichhane had allegedly taken the girl to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur on August 21 and raped her in a hotel room the same night.

The Election Commission (EC) has issued a seven-point directive to the political parties and candidates to implement the election code of conduct. The poll body issued the directive to hold the upcoming elections in a free, fair and transparent manner. The EC said that it issued the seven-point directive to the political parties and candidates to hold the elections in free, fair and transparent manner as many political personalities have been found carrying out publicity campaigns by using government resources, running door-to-door programs with more than 25 people, organizing any corner or mass meetings with the objective of spreading their messages to the public and using vehicles to conduct election campaigns.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 93, 200 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 93, 400 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 92, 700 per tola today. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1, 175 per tola.

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said it is necessary to make the alliance, formed to protect the Constitution, democracy and federal democratic republic, victorious in the elections to the House of Representatives and the Province Assembly slated for November 20. Addressing the election mobilization program organized by the left-democratic alliance in Lalitpur today, Chair Dahal said that it is necessary to continue with the alliance until the threat of regression exists. He said that victory of alliance is necessary to bring positive political changes in the nation. According to leader Dahal, the alliance was formed with the objective of safeguarding the rule of law, democratic republic and the nationality. He said that the victory of the alliance was necessary to further consolidate democracy. The former prime minister urged the leaders and cadres from the political parties in the ruling alliance not to hesitate to vote for each other's election symbols. He was of the opinion that the downfall of the Panchayat system would remain impossible if the Nepali Congress and Communist did not join hands against the rule. "In addition, the Comprehensive Peace Accord would not be possible in lack of collaboration between the Congress and Communists,” he said. Dahal was hopeful that a coalition government to be formed after the elections would expedite the economic development in the nation.    

The ruling coalition issued a joint appeal on Tuesday, urging the people to vote in favor of the ruling alliance for the protection of the Constitution, stability and prosperity. Among the parties in the ruling coalition, Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) issued the appeal today. The coalition claimed that the alliance has been working as per the spirit of the Constitution after the formation of the five-party coalition government, controlled the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out immediately after the formation of the coalition government and the current coalition government has maintained a balance in foreign policy. “The victory of the coalition is necessary for the good governance and prosperity in the country. Hence, the coalition urged the people to vote in favor of the alliance,” the appeal stated.  

Six people, including a pilot, were killed after a helicopter carrying the pilgrims crashed near Kedarnath in Uttarakhand today, officials have said, NDTV reported. The helicopter crashed near Garu Chatti, they said, adding that six bodies have been recovered so far and a rescue operation is underway. The helicopter crashed right after the takeoff from Kedarnath because of bad weather, sources say, according to NDTV.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 93, 400  per tola today. It was traded at Rs 93, 300 on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 92, 900 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1, 180 per tola today.

In the report delivered to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Sunday, Xi Jinping said that from this day forward, the central task of the CPC will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, China Daily reported. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China with Xi Jinping at the core, China has adopted the right policies both domestically and internationally for common development. Due to his evolving strategy, China has been playing an exceptional role in international relations and global governance. Also, the Xi-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and his call to build a community with a shared future for humankind have been promoting global development. However, despite its growing influence across the world, China has been reiterating that it will never seek to "dominate" the world. Instead, as always, it will respect the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. In fact, unlike the previous US administration's "America first" policy, Beijing has never adopted a "China first" policy because, as Xi said, no country alone can address the many challenges facing humankind and no country can afford to retreat into isolation. The 21st century has seen the emergence of many non-traditional security challenges including climate change, cybersecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic which can be overcome only through a common approach and joint global efforts. Perhaps the adoption of China's governance model can help the international community to meet such challenges. It is because of its governance and development models that China, under Xi's leadership, has eradicated extreme poverty and succeeded in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and maintained a healthy economic growth rate which has helped it remain a major driver of the global economy. And now it is on its path to achieve common prosperity. More important, by eradicating extreme poverty, China has met the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development's target 10 years ahead of schedule and contributed to more than 70 percent of global poverty reduction. China's achievements in science and technology, on the other hand, have made life and work for people within as well as outside the country more convenient while promoting innovation across the world. Under the leadership of Xi, China has supplied medicines, COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment to many countries to help them cope with the pandemic, and thus strengthened the global fight against the novel coronavirus, according to China Daily. As a result, the Chinese leadership has gained the trust of many countries around the world. In fact, China has been providing assistance for other developing countries without any political strings attached to boost their economies ever since the People's Republic of China was founded. Now, with the ongoing 20th National Congress of the CPC, it is expected that China will continue to help resolve global development issues and implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China's increasing investments around the world have been expanding its global outreach, and prompting it to make more efforts to maintain global peace and stability, in order to better protect its core interests including economic interests. To safeguard its international investments and further expand its global influence, China has also been providing more and more public goods for other countries. The Belt and Road Initiative is a perfect example of such a policy drive. As a global infrastructure development plan, the initiative has now incorporated many new fields of cooperation, including cultural integration, people-to-people exchanges and academic cooperation. By doing so, China has more or less ensured the stability of the global economy and strengthened its ties with partner countries. Given these developments and Xi Jinping's leadership, it is very likely that China will once again enter a golden period of peace and development after the 20th Party Congress. And China's path to modernization will provide one more option for the whole world, especially developing countries, to seek their own modernization, China Daily reported.