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Nepal recorded 577 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 474 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 391 returned positive. Likewise, 2,186 people underwent antigen tests, of which 186 tested positive.

The Ministry said that 269 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 4, 356 active cases in the country.

A parliamentary special probe committee formed to investigate charges against former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma tabled its report at the Parliament on Friday.

Before tabling it at the Parliament, Committee Chairman Laxman Lal Karna handed over the report to Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota today itself.

The panel prepared the report by holding discussions with various sides.

The committee had recorded the statement of former minister Sharma, secretary of the Finance Ministry and officials involved in making the budget. The panel was given 10 days to prepare its report.

The Parliament had extended the deadline of the committee by seven days after it could not complete the work within the given timeframe. The extended deadline ended on Thursday.

An 11-member probe committee was formed to investigate Sharma after he resigned following allegations that he allowed two unauthorized persons in the Ministry to tweak tax rates on the eve of budget announcement.

Laxman Lal Karna, Khagraj Adhikari, Dev Prasad Gurung, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Man Bahadur Bishwokarma, Bhanubhakta Dhakal, Bimala BK, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Sarala Kumari Yadav, Sita Ram Mahato and Surendra Yadav were in the committee.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 12. 92 points to close at 2,140.39 points on Friday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 3. 86 points to close at 409. 48 points.

A total of 5,110,700 unit shares of 215 companies were traded for Rs 2. 19 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green except for Hydropower, Non Life Insurance and Mutal Fund. 

Meanwhile, Rastra Uttha Labhubitta Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10 percent. Buddha Bhumi Nepal Hydropower Company Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 3. 48 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 05 trillion.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka held a meeting on Saturday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed financial assistance, food security and vaccination against Covid-19 among other issues, it has been learnt.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the also discussed mutual relations and cooperation between Nepal and the US.

Lu arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit to Nepal on Thursday.

The WBC Muay Thai Nepal has announced the National Championship on Saturday.

Issuing a statement on Friday, WBCMT Nepal President Raju Rai said that the event to be held at Hotel Amuprastha in Kathmandu will feature five fights in the main card along with six other fights in the pro- amateur fight card.

The main attraction of the event will be the battle between Karishma Karki and Teji Maya Gurung which will determine the national champion of Nepal in the female flyweight division, he said.

The winner and the loser will get Rs 80, 000 and Rs 24, 000 respectively.

Similarly, in the other five fights in the professional card, Borthung Rai will take on Milan Tamang in the welterweight division.

Badakazi Thapa will face Karan Thapa in the lightweight division and Gyanendra Singh will be competing against Shirish Bhuju Bantam in weight division.

The winners will get the gold medals and Rs 20, 000 in cash while the losers will receive Rs 10, 000 in cash.

Likewise, Santosh Khatri will take on Sonam Tsering Sherpa in the co-main event.

The winner and the loser will receive Rs 30, 000 and 15, 000 in cash respectively.

“This is the first time in the combat sports history in Nepal that the females are competing for titles and medals which are internationally recognized,” Deputy General Secretary of the WBCMT Nepal Subodh Niraula.

The event will start after 12 pm.

The WBC Muay Thai Nepal had organized the first edition of the National Championship on November 12, 2021.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 95, 600 per tola today.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 95, 000 per tola.

The yellow metal was traded at Rs 94, 800 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1,185 per tola today.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka said that the government has already informed the United States that Nepal will not move ahead with the State Partnership Program (SPP) of the US government.

During a meeting of the House of Representatives on Friday, Minister Khadka said that a letter has been sent to the United States through a diplomatic channel saying that Nepal would not be a part of the SPP.

“The government has already made a decision that Nepal will not be a part of the SPP. The Cabinet meeting held on June 20, 2022 had decided that Nepal will not move ahead with the SPP,” he said, adding, “The Ministry on July 25 had written to the United States through a diplomatic channel about the government’s decision to withdraw from SPP.”

Laxman Datt Pant is a media scholar and advocate of free and accountable media. He is the founder and the chairperson of Media Action Nepal (MAN) that advocates for freedom of expression and safety of journalists. The Media Freedom Coalition-Consultative Network (MFC-CN) this year selected MAN as one of its members, subsequently electing Pant as one of the network’s three co-chairs. A 22-member global network of media rights organizations, MFC-CN advises and updates the Media Freedom Coalition, a cross-regional collaboration of 52 governments across the world. ApEx talks to Pant about the suppression of critical voices in Nepal and South Asia.  

How do you evaluate the state of free speech in Nepal?

Nepal’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression and free press. But the legislative reforms taking place at the province and federal levels show lawmakers and the governments have forgotten their commitment to national and international principles of human rights, freedom of speech and the independent media. Attempts at instituting government-controlled media-related bodies, such as Media Council, Mass Communication Authority, and Media Academy, at the province level, without wider expert and civil society consultations, and tabling repressive Informational Technology Management Bill, Media Council Bill and Social Media Directives, at the federal level, with limited or no consultations, pose threats to freedom of expression and independent media.

Efforts such as the rollout of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity back in 2013 had provided a solid opportunity for Nepal to sensitize stakeholders about the intersectional approach to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. 

This could have been instrumental had the National Human Right Commission established an independent mechanism for the protection of free expression, one of the plan’s three key components. But the commission’s draft of the directive to establish the mechanism ignores Nepal's local realities of the impunity for crimes against journalists. 

Limited consultations, reluctance to institutionalize the opportunity, and internal conflict within the national rights body have imperiled Nepal’s human rights situation. The transitional justice bodies are almost dysfunctional to effectively address conflict-era cases including those against journalists.

Are South Asian countries becoming more intolerant of media freedom?

Prolonged impunity for crimes against journalists and the legislative reforms that undermine freedom of expression and internet freedom in Nepal, growing intolerance to critical journalism and internet surveillance including violent attacks on media workers in Pakistan, and lawsuits and illegal surveillance of journalists using Pegasus spyware in India are the evidence that the governments of these countries are intolerant to free and independent media. 

With the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, media there faces increased security challenges with over 40 percent of media outlets being shut in recent months. Similarly, authorities in Bangladesh continue to jail journalists by using the Digital Security Act. Maldives' proposed Evidence Bill also presents a noticeable threat to media, as its provisions compel journalists to reveal their sources.

In Sri Lanka, incidents of harassment and intimidation of journalists and restricted access to social media have increased with the recent political and economic turmoil. And in Bhutan, online campaigns against investigative journalism including racist attacks have undermined the principles of free press.

All these incidents are not good signs for the region’s media. 

Shouldn’t there be limits to freedom of speech and expression?

The international human rights law allows some limits on freedom of expression, which in many contexts in Nepal and South Asia have been misinterpreted by authorities to suppress critical voices and the media’s watchdog role. Authorities often overlook the fact that the criteria set out in the Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights permits restrictions on free speech only if it goes through a ‘three-part test’ of legitimacy, legality and proportionality. 

Section 3 of Article 19 states that restrictions shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others, protection of national security or public order, or of public health or morals. It is high time governments in South Asia understood and respected these tests.  

It is also essential that governments do not conduct these tests. There should be independent courts for this.

How do you ensure the safety of journalists in the digital age?

Journalists in South Asia face high levels of digital risks, as governments across the region have taken the pandemic as a pretext to suppress both online and offline media. Stealing of data by authorities, introducing so-called anti-disinformation laws to curb free press, cyber bullying, trolling, and character assassination, particularly of critical media and women journalists, are some of the digital challenges the region faces today.

As online threats and harassment against journalists through digital surveillance keep growing, the editorial self-censorship continues, impacting people’s right to information and journalists' duty to report the wrongdoings of the power centers. Journalists of today must increase their digital literacy, assess the substantial safety threats, including on social media with high-level privacy settings, to stay safe. 

What do you suggest South Asian governments do to improve the situation of freedom of expression?

With many of the perpetrators of violence against media and journalists going unpunished, South Asia today faces a huge problem of impunity, which has undermined the national and international laws concerning freedom of expression. The state of impunity has diminished public trust in security and justice systems, further ruining the editorial freedom of the media and increasing self-censorship among journalists.

Governments across the region should create an enabling environment for the media to do their job by respecting the fundamental human rights including the right to freedom of expression and press freedom. They should see media freedom as a fundamental element of participatory democratic process. Prompt, independent and effective investigations should be carried in cases of crimes against journalists through independent and constitutional bodies. Perhaps instituting a regional mechanism reflecting the ongoing UN initiatives—i.e. the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity—to defend free and independent media can make substantial change.