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The Election Commission (EC) has banned the political parties and candidates from hanging banners and pasting posters for the local level elections slated for May 13.

“This is against the election code of conduct. The Commission directs the political parties and candidates to remove such banners and posters as soon as possible,” EC Assistant Spokesperson Surya Prasad Aryal said. 

He said that the political parties or candidates found hanging banners and pasting posters will be fined Rs 100, 000.

“The political parties and candidates will be fined Rs 100, 000 if they violate the election code of conduct and do not remove such banners and posters at the earliest,” he said.

Nepal reported nine new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 3, 333 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which eight returned positive. Likewise, 922 people underwent antigen tests, of which one was tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 18 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 221 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 48. 73 points to close at 2,307.44 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 8. 45 points to close at 441. 79 points.

A total of 3,978,079 units of the shares of 228 companies were traded for Rs 1. 42 billion.

Meanwhile, Jalpa Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. 

At the end of the day, the total market capitalisation stood at Rs 3. 28 trillion.

Additional Inspector General of Police Bishwo Raj Pokharel on Monday filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the decision of the government to appoint AIG Dhiraj Pratap Singh as the Inspector General of Nepal Police.

In the petition, Pokharel said that the government appointed Singh as the chief of Nepal Police by flouting the seniority basis and demanded that the decision to scrapped at the earliest.

Assistant spokesperson at the Supreme Court Devendra Dhakal confirmed that AIG Pokharel has filed a writ petition at the apex court.

A Cabinet meeting held on Sunday had decided to appoint Singh as the Inspector General of Nepal Police.

Newly appointed Nepal Police Chief was conferred insignia on Monday morning.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 8, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

With the price drop, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 98, 200 per tola today.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 99, 000 per tola on Sunday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 97, 700 per tola today.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 290 per tola.

The tejabi gold was traded at Rs 98, 500 on Sunday.

India on Monday reported 3,157 new Covid-19 cases, a decline from the 3,324 infections registered the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said, adding that the country's daily positivity rate has crossed the 1 per cent mark, Business Standard reported.

According to the Ministry, the daily positivity rate as of Monday morning stood at 1.07 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was 0.70 per cent.

Also in the last 24 hours, 26 new Covid fatalities increased the overall death toll to 5,23,869.

The active caseload also rose to 19,500, accounting for 0.05 per cent of the country's total positive cases.

The recovery of 2,723 patients in the period took the cumulative tally to 4,25,38,976. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 98.74 per cent, according to Business Standard.

A total of 2,95,588 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall to 83.82 crore.

As of Monday morning, India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 189.23 crore, achieved via 2,33,82,216 sessions.

Over 2.91 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket, Business Standard reported.

China's capital Beijing tightened Covid restrictions on Sunday as it battled an outbreak, while Shanghai let some of its 25 million residents venture out for light and air after reporting a second day of zero infections outside of quarantine areas, Reuters reported.

Shanghai's outbreak, which began in March, has been China's worst since the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Hundreds of thousands have been infected and the city has forbidden residents from leaving their homes, to great public anger.

The outbreak in China's most populous city and the risk of a spread in Beijing are testing the government's zero-Covid approach in a year when Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as president.

Beijing, with dozens of daily infections in an outbreak now in its 10th day, has not locked down. More than 300 locally transmitted cases have been logged since April 22.

But on Sunday the capital tightened social distancing rules and launched a fresh round of mass testing in its most populous and worst-hit district.

The city of 22 million has in the past week conducted mass testing in most of its 16 districts, suspended all entertainment venues and banned restaurant dining, according to Reuters.

"The impact of all this on us is too great - 20,000 yuan ($3,000) in a day gone, just like that!" said Jia, a manager at a normally popular burger restaurant in the east of Beijing.

"Our boss is stressing out about this too," Jia said, asking to be identified only by his surname. "We have three branches in Shanghai. They've all been shut and losing cash for a month. And now this."

Beijing's sprawling Universal Studios theme park closed on Sunday, while in the highly visited Badaling section of the Great Wall, visitors were told to show proof of negative Covid test results before entering.

Chaoyang district, accounting for the biggest share of infections in Beijing's outbreak, launched an additional round of mass testing, with public health workers knocking on doors to remind residents to get tested.

"I do the PCR test everyday and I know I am not sick," said a Chaoyang resident surnamed Ma, whose local health app on her mobile phone had marked her profile as abnormal, Reuters reported.

"I feel caged, like I am sick. These restrictions are too excessive," said Ma, who works in finance.

Anger in Shanghai

Shanghai's citywide lockdown since early April has upended the daily lives of its residents, sparking worries about food and concern about being taken to crowded quarantine centres should they catch the virus.

Extreme measures taken to seal up residential compounds, including fencing up entrances of buildings, have prompted outrage.

Some residents have turned to social media to vent their frustration, some clanged pots and pans outside their windows, and others clashed with public health workers.

The song "Do you hear the people sing?" from the musical Les Miserables has become a popular protest anthem. On Saturday, an online video of a Chinese orchestra playing the song, with the musicians performing from their respective homes, went viral with nearly 19,000 shares before it was blocked, according to Reuters.

While much of the city remains in lockdown, Shanghai officials, striking a confident tone, said on Sunday that curbs on some areas would be eased after the city reined in Covid transmission risks at the community level, excluding cases in quarantine centres.

Six of its 16 districts attained zero-Covid status, meaning three consecutive days with no new daily increases in infections, senior city government official Gu Honghui told a virtual news conference.

Public transport will be allowed to resume in five districts, but residents must remain in their districts as they visit supermarkets, pharmacies and hospitals, a health official told the news conference, according to Reuters.

A man died when a truck hit a motorbike he was riding on at Kanepokhari in Morang on Sunday.

The deceased has been identified as bike rider Rupak Shrestha (29) of Biratnagar Metropolitan City-16.

Morang traffic police Inspector Raj Kumar Karki said that the truck (Na 3 Kha 676) heading towards west from east hit the motorbike (Province 1-02-049 Pa 8971) coming from the opposite direction at Kanepokhari Rural Municipality-7 of Morng along the East-West Highway.

Critically injured in the incident, Shrestha was taken to the Neuro Hospital of Biratnagar but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival at around 8:30 pm.

Inspector Karki said that the fatal incident might have occurred because of over speeding. 

Police said that they have impounded the truck and arrested its driver Rabin Kumar Rai (44) of Khotang. 

Further investigation into the incident is underway.