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International Taekwondo referee Dipendra Dhakal has left for Uzbekistan to participate in Olympic referee selection and closed training on Friday. The decisive selection and closed training is being conducted on Feb 12-14. International Referee Dhakal was recently promoted to the second class in the Kyorugi category. The World Taekwondo Referee Committee sent Dhakal a promotion certificate a few days ago. It took Dhakal four years to get promoted from the third class to the second class.

The Election Commission has decided to hold a by-election in Chitwan constituency-2 on April 23. A meeting of the Election Commission held on Sunday decided to hold the by-election for a member of the House of Representatives in Chitwan-2 as per Section 68 of the House of Representatives Act 2074, EC spokesperson Shaligram Sharma said. Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane was elected as a member of the House Representatives from Chitwan-2 in the November 20 elections. But, the Supreme Court annulled his status as a lawmaker saying that he didn’t have valid Nepali citizenship.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 60. 77 points to close at 2,121.86 points on Sunday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 10. 99 points to close at 404. 43 points. A total of 8,139,840 unit shares of 253 companies were traded for Rs 3. 04 billion. Meanwhile, Khaptad Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 59. 00 percent. Likewise, Ngadi Group Power Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 20. 90 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 06 trillion.

Jang Sung-min, political advisor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, is arriving in Nepal on Sunday. He is the senior Secretary at the President’s office. Jang has been helping the South Korean President to formulate policies. According to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jang along with his team will arrive in Kathmandu this afternoon. During this stay in Nepal, he will pay courtesy calls on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal and Industry Minister Damodar Bhandari among others. An official at the Foreign Ministry said that the team led by Jang will leave for Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Leaders have agreed to move ahead by further strengthening the ruling alliance. During a meeting of the high-level political mechanism held in Baluwatar on Sunday, leaders have agreed to further strengthen the ruling alliance, Deputy Prime Minister and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden said. “The government’s performance was reviewed in the meeting today. It has been agreed to move forward by cooperating with each other and to give continuity to the meeting,” he said. He was of the opinion that the government will move ahead as per the past agreement. Lingden further said that a discussion was also held to bring the Rastriya Swatantra Party in the government.    

The government and the agitating doctors signed a six-point agreement on Sunday. Following the agreement, the Nepal Medical Association has withdrawn its protest programs. The doctors decided to withdraw the protest programs after the government pledged them to arrange treatment for the injured doctor Jenith Lal Singh during the talks held in Singha Durbar this morning. Similarly, it has been agreed to effectively implement the provisions related to safety of health workers and health institutions in accordance with Act 2066. The doctors had staged a demonstration after senior police Constable Sambhu Gurung baton-charged Dr Singh, a senior orthopaedic surgeon of the National Trauma Center, during President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s convey. Nepal Police has already suspended Constable Gurung accused of assaulting Dr Singh.

Rescuers continued to pull some survivors out of the rubble on Saturday, five days after the tremors of the first earthquake struck Syria and Turkey, but hopes were fading for many more to be found, Aljazeera Reported. Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake is Turkey’s most devastating since 1939 and the death toll continues to rise. The death toll exceeded 24,600 in Turkey and more than 3,500 others were confirmed dead in Syria, as the overall toll surpassed 28,000. Reporting from Antakya, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said that despite the overwhelming level of destruction in the capital of Turkey’s Hatay province, there was still a glimmer of hope. “We are in the 135th hour now since the quakes, but there is still some hope. In the 132nd hour, a toddler was rescued, and a couple of hours before that, a man and woman were rescued alive. The search for survivors has not stopped,” said Smith. He added the government plans to reopen the airport in the city within 24 hours, according to Aljazeera. “The airport runway was badly damaged. They said they are about to re-tarmac. This will be essential for relief flights. The need is so desperate for aid,” said Smith. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, facing questions over earthquake planning and response time, has said authorities should have reacted faster.

Property worth around Rs 6 million was reduced to ashes when a fire completely destroyed five shops at the City Market in Jitpur of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City-7 on Sunday. The fire had started from the shop of local trader Anil Sah due to electric short circuit at around 6 am today. The blaze was taken under control with the help of Nepal Police and Armed Police force personnel and locals backed by fire engines after around three hours. Police said that they are looking into the case.