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Finance Minister Janardan Sharma’s open involvement of vested interests in the budget-making process—as first reported in Annapurna Post, our sister publication—is inexcusable. Late in the night before the budget-presentation, Sharma, as reported, invited a pair of outsiders into his chambers in the ministry. He then asked finance ministry officials present there to “lock the door”. The minister said the two guests were “tax experts” who were authorized to tweak tax rates “on my behalf”. While the identity of one guest has been disclosed (he was a former finance minister official himself), the identity of the second guest remains unknown.

This behavior of Finance Minister Sharma is wrong on multiple fronts. One, when the budget is being finalized, no third person is allowed any access to it in order to prevent vested interests from influencing (and profiting from) the country’s economic blueprint. Two, it is not for the minister or his proxies to dictate tax rates, which should rather be set by senior ministry officials–all experts in the field–after widespread deliberations and careful cost-benefit analysis. But Sharma effectively ‘outsourced’ budget-making.

Following the Annapurna Post report, the ministry’s spokesperson put out a lame statement that does not in any way absolve Minister Sharma of his financial crimes. There cannot be two ways about it: Either Sharma has to credibly refute the allegations against him or he must resign. His highly irresponsible actions that directly affect the lives and livelihoods of 30m Nepalis merits no less. This is not the first time Sharma has been in controversy in recent times. A few months ago Sharma (successfully) lobbied with the government to sack Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari when the latter tried to stop a business group from illegally sending money abroad. (The Supreme Court later overturned the sacking.)  

His shambolic 11 months in office make it clear that Minister Sharma has little knowledge about running the country’s economy and even less compunction about abusing his office for personal gains. About time he was replaced by someone more qualified for the job on both these counts. 

The Global IME Bank and the Bank of Kathmandu have decided to merge. 

The two banks signed a merger agreement at Hotel Yak and Yeti on Thursday.

Chairman of the Global IME Bank Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Chairman of the Bank of Kathmandu Prakash Shrestha signed the agreement this morning.

It has been agreed that the new bank will be called Global IME BoK Limited and the Board of Directors will have five members including Chairman Dhakal from the Global IME Bank and two members from the Bank of Kathmandu.

Similarly, it has been agreed that the Ratnaraj Bajracharya will be the Chief Executive Officer. 

He is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global IME Bank. 

Meanwhile, the Nepal Stock Exchange suspended the trading of shares of both the banks following the merger agreement.

India has reported more than 12,213 fresh covid cases in the last 24 hours, , registering a 38.4% jump in daily cases, Mint reported.

The total tally of active caseload rose to over 58,215 the union health ministry said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the country had reported 8,822 new covid cases across the country.

The death toll has climbed to 5,24,803 with 11 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.

In view of rising covid cases across the nation, Rajesh Bhushan, union health secretary had directed five states--Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Maharashtra --to continue monitoring spread of infection and undertake required steps for prompt and effective management of Covid-19, as these states are reporting increase in covid-19 cases.

A person died when a mini-truck fell off the bridge over the Ruwakhola in Abukhaireni Rural Municipality-4 of Tanahun district on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as Ram Bahadur Dame (47) of Manpang, Myade Rural Municipality-6, Tanahun, DSP Yuvaraj Khadka of the District Police Office, Tanahun said.

The incident occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle (Ga 1 Ka 4469) and fell 20 meters down the road this morning, police said. The truck was heading towards Abukhaireni from Muglin when the tragedy took place.

Critically injured in the incident, Dame breathed his last while undergoing treatment at the Purano Medical College, Chitwan at around 6 am.

Police said that they are looking into the case.  

Sri Lanka is giving government officials an extra day off a week to encourage them to grow food, amid fears of a food shortage, BBC reported.

The country has around one million public sector employees.

It comes as the island nation, home to around 22 million, faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.

Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for critical imports such as food, fuel and medicine as it faces a severe shortage of foreign currencies.

Late on Monday, the government approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months.

It said the decision was partly to help workers who are facing difficulties getting to work due to fuel shortages as well as to encourage them to grow fruit and vegetables to help feed themselves and their families, according to BBC.

"It seems appropriate to grant government officials leave for one working day of the week and provide them with the necessary facilities to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards or elsewhere as a solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future," the government said in a statement on its online news portal.

Also on Monday, the United States said that it was ready to help Sri Lanka.

After a phone call with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US "stands ready to work with Sri Lanka".

Earlier this month, Mr Wickremesinghe said the country needed at least $5bn (£4.15bn) this year to pay for essential imports.

The government is in talks over an economic bailout package, with an IMF delegation expected to arrive in the capital Colombo next Monday.

The fall in the value of the Sri Lankan rupee, rising global commodity prices and a ban chemical fertilisers - which has now been lifted - helped to push annual food price rises to more than 57% in April, BBC reported.

At the end of last month, the country's Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera called on farmers to grow more rice, saying "it is clear the food situation is becoming worse".

"We request all farmers to step into their fields in the next five to ten days and cultivate paddy [rice]," he added.

At the same time the government raised taxes to help shore up its finances, according to BBC.

Germany has accused Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom of attempting to push up energy prices by sharply reducing supplies, BBC reported.

Gazprom said it was limiting the amount of gas to Germany to under 70m cubic metres per day - well under half the current rate. 

The reason it gave was to service equipment in the Nord Stream pipeline.

But German economy minister Robert Habeck said it was "a political decision" and not a technical one.

"It is obviously a strategy to unsettle and drive up prices."

Gazprom said initially on Tuesday it was cutting the Nord Stream 1 gas flow from 167m cubic metres a day to 100m but then on Wednesday announced it would be cut further to 67m cubic metres. 

Gazprom also reduced its gas supply to Italy by around 15% on Wednesday, energy firm ENI said. Italy, like Germany, is heavily reliant on Russian gas, which accounts for 40% of its imports, according BBC reported.

The Russian company's move came two weeks after European Union leaders agreed to block most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.

Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands have already had their Russian natural gas deliveries suspended after they refused a demand for "unfriendly countries" to pay in Russian roubles.

Russia's payment demand was seen as an attempt to boost the rouble after it was hit by Western sanctions. Greater foreign exchange demand for roubles was likely to increase demand and push up the currency's value.

Mr Habeck said Russia's actions showed European countries needed to end their dependency on fossil fuels urgently. In February, Germany suspended the opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, shortly before Russia launched its war in Ukraine.

The minister said he would wait to see how the move affected the European and German gas markets but said suppliers had always managed to find gas from other sources.

"We don't have a supply problem in Germany either," he said. "Gas will probably continue to be stored. We have made very good progress in this area in the last few days and weeks. 

"However, we will certainly have to wait two or three days to get a complete overview of how things are developing now."

In another development on Wednesday, the EU signed a framework agreement with Israel and Egypt aimed at increasing the amount of Israeli natural gas exported to European countries, BBC reported.

The US central bank has announced its biggest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years as it ramps up its fight to rein in soaring consumer prices, BBC reported.

The Federal Reserve said it would increase its key interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.

The rise, the third since March, comes after inflation in the US surged unexpectedly last month.

More hikes are expected, adding to the uncertainty facing the economy.

Forecasts released after the meeting showed officials expect the rate the Fed charges banks to borrow could reach 3.4% by the end of the year, the moves rippling out to the public in the form of higher borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards and other loans.

As central banks around the world take similar steps, it marks a massive change for the global economy, where businesses and households have enjoyed years of low borrowing costs, according to Associated Press.

"Most advanced economy central banks and some emerging market central banks are tightening policy in sync," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at strategy consulting firm EY-Parthenon.

"That is a global environment that we've not been accustomed to in the past few decades, and that will represent ramifications for the business sector and for consumers throughout the world."

Thousands of civilians are trapped in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk with essential supplies running out, the United Nations is warning, BBC reported.

Many of them are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city's Azot chemical plant.

The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week - effectively trapping its 12,000 remaining residents inside.

For weeks capturing Severodonetsk has been a top military goal for Russia, which now controls most of the city.

"The lack of water and sanitation is a big worry. It's a huge concern for us because people cannot survive for long without water," spokesperson for the UN's Humanitarian Affairs office Saviano Abreu told the BBC.

Mr Abreu added that food supplies and health provisions were also running out in Severodonetsk, which is in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region.

The UN is hoping to provide aid to those trapped in the city, but continued fighting means its agencies cannot get access or assurances to safely reach the civilians still there, including women, children and the elderly.

The warning followed Russian promises to open a humanitarian corridor earlier on Wednesday to evacuate civilians trapped beneath the Azot plant. 

But so far there has been no confirmation that the planned safe route - which would have evacuated civilians into Russian-controlled territory to the city's north - had actually gone ahead.

On Wednesday a pro-Russian separatist official accused Ukrainian forces of "completely thwarting" the evacuation of civilians trapped in the chemical plant, according to BBC.

"At Azot, militants are trying to disrupt the evacuation! From the territory of the plant, the militants have begun firing from a mortar and a tank," Rodion Miroshnik, the "ambassador" to Moscow of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, said on Telegram.

The BBC has not been able to verify this claim.

Russian media outlets also blamed Ukrainian forces for the fact that civilians were trapped alongside its fighters in the plant - accusing them of using local residents as "human shields".

Gazprom-owned NTV suggested there may be as many as 1,200 people, including children, trapped underneath the plant, BBC reported.