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Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that he will inform the Parliament about his visit to the United States only after it is formally confirmed.

During a meeting with Nepali Congress whip Pushpa Bhusal, the Prime Minister said that he will inform the Parliament and the Parliamentary Committee after his visit is confirmed.

Earlier this morning, the Prime Minister snubbed the meeting of the International Relations Committee under the Federal Parliament called to discuss the State Partnership Program (SPP) and his planned visit to Washington.  He skipped the meeting citing his busy schedule.

In the meeting of the Committee held earlier, Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka said that the preliminary discussion has been held about the Prime Minister’s US visit but the final decision has not been made yet.

The government has ordered the authorities to ensure that shopping malls, stores, kitchen markets and other places of trading remain closed after 8pm everyday in an effort to save power and fuel amid rising energy prices worldwide, bdnews24.com reported.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced the order on Sheikh Hasina’s instructions in a letter dated Thursday to several ministries, departments and local authorities, stating that the Bangladesh Labour Act already stipulates the closure of shops at 8pm.

To keep up with the global energy prices, the government earlier this month increased gas prices across the board. Power plants will now get gas at Tk 5.02 per cubic metre, up from Tk 4.45. Gas prices for captive power plants have been raised to Tk 16 from Tk 13.85.

Fuel prices began soaring after the Russia-Ukraine war began. Unrefined oil was sold at $65 per barrel in December last year, but the price leapt to $124 by March. It is now being sold at around $120 each barrel.

Data showed the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation or BPC made a lot of profit over the past seven years, but the war between Russia and Ukraine is biting into its revenues.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged by 37. 27 points to close at 1,934.11 points on Sunday. 

Similarly, the sensitive index fell 7. 29 points to reach 373. 85 points.

A total of 3,666,891 units of shares of 223 companies were traded for Rs 1.13 billion.

Likewise, all sub-indices saw red in today’s market with Development Bank on the top of the table. 

Meanwhile, Adhikhola Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9 99 percent. Likewise, River Falls Power Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 9. 56 percent. 

At the end of the day, total market civilization stands at Rs 2. 75 trillion.

A group of 185 passengers travelling from Patna to Delhi by a SpiceJet flight (SG 725) had a providential escape when one of its engines caught fire soon after takeoff from Patna airport at about 12 noon on Sunday, officials said, Hindustan Times reported.

“The aircraft landed safely at the Patna airport after smoke was noticed from one of the left engines of the airplane, possibly after a bird hit or a technical fault. The matter is being investigated. All 185 passengers are safe,” said Chandrashekhar Singh, district magistrate, Patna.

The fire in the plane was noticed when the aircraft was between Khagaul and Phulwarisharif, which is 2 nautical miles from the Patna airport.

Bird hits are common as there is an open abattoir near the Patna airport, which attracts birds. The issue has been raised during several environment committee meetings with the Bihar government for the past several years, but nothing much has been done, said airlines officials.

The Boeing 737 aircraft with full load had taken off from Patna at about 12 noon and was scheduled to reach Delhi at 1:30 pm. The airline was making alternate arrangements to ferry the passengers to their respective destinations, said Singh, according to Hindustan Times.

Local residents, living near the airport in Pulwarisharif, said they heard a loud sound after which they noticed smoke billowing from one of the engines of the aircraft. Airport officials suspect it to be a bird hit.

The aircraft had to make an emergency landing at the Patna airport and it was immediately taken to the parking bay.

“I saw sparks flying from one of the engines below the left wing of the aircraft soon after the aircraft took off,” said Gaurav, a passenger, as he was huddled back inside the airport terminal building by airport and security forces.

SpiceJet station manager Syed Hassan and Patna airport director Anchal Prakash did not respond to calls.

The Patna airport caters to 84 aircraft movement in a day and all flights, especially to metros, including Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai are full due to the recent cancellation of trains due to protests over the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for defence recruitment, Hindustan Times reported.

With cancellation of trains, an economy class air ticket to Delhi had soared to ₹22,000 against its normal price between ₹6,000 and ₹7,000 during the summer holidays. Air tickets to Kolkata, which was otherwise sold between ₹4,000 and ₹5,000 had shot up to ₹17,000 on Saturday, said Kumud Ranjan of Mamata Travels.

A complaint has been filed against Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Ale.

The complaint was registered against Minister Ale after his audio of using obscene words became public one after another.

Saying that the minister violated the code of conduct of the House of Representatives, law practitioners Kishor Paudel, Anupam Bhattarai and law student Regine Paudel lodged the complaint against him.

The Annapurna Post, the sister publication of the Annapurna Express, made public the audio of Minister Ale yelling and assaulting the chairman of Nepal Airlines.

Saying that the minister, who has got the responsibility of making a civilized and cultured society, is going against the law, they have demanded action against him.

Speaker and Chairman is the Conduct Monitoring Committee Agni Prasad Sapkota, opposition party leader KP Sharma Oli and committee secretary and general secretary of the House of Representatives have been given the copy of the complaint.

The United States government is donating 2.2 million doses of pediatric vaccines to Nepal to fight Covid-19.

Issuing a statement on Sunday, the US embassy in Kathmandu said that these highly effective, life-saving vaccines for children ages 5-11 are provided through the generosity of the American people and add to the 2.26 million doses of Pfizer vaccines, and the 1.5 million single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines that the United States has donated to Nepal so far.

This donation also celebrates 75 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Nepal.

The United States' historic support for Nepal's health sector reflects the powerful results of our partnership.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government of United States has worked directly with the Government of Nepal to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure the continuity of critical health services, and support the country in mitigating the pandemic's secondary social and economic impact – particularly on education and livelihoods, the embassy further said.

"In preparation for the launch of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine campaign, USAID supported Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population to train frontline health workers in 56 districts on administration of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine," the statement further said.

Worldwide, the United States has pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion vaccines to 115 developing countries and has already delivered over half of a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. With its contribution of $4 billion, the United States is the largest bilateral donor to the global vaccine initiative, COVAX, US embassy said.

"The United States is committed to leading the global COVID-19 response because it is the right thing to do and will make us all-Americans and Nepalis alike-safer. We are proud to work with Nepal to end this pandemic."

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

With the price drop, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 97, 500 per tola today.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 97, 800 per tola on Friday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 97, 000 per tola today.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 265 per tola.

Floods in two northeastern states of India, Assam and Meghalaya, have killed 32 people in the past two days, officials said Saturday, the Global Times reported. 

According to an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin, 13 people were killed in the state, while over 1.8 million people were affected by the ongoing flooding in 28 districts. 

Officials at the State Disaster Management Authority of Meghalaya (SDMAM) said 19 people were killed in the state in two days. 

"Fourteen people, including a six-month-old infant, died in the rain-induced floods and landslides in the state on Friday, thus taking the death toll in the past two days to 19," an official of SDMAM said. 

The flooding has affected nearly 3,000 villages in Assam and 108,104 people are taking shelter in relief camps, according to the Global Times.

Officials said water has inundated 43,338 hectares of cropland and damaged crops. Several embankments, culverts and roads have been damaged. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday talked to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to enquire about the flood situation and assured all help from the federal government, the Global Times reported.