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Both import and export through the Birgunj transit point has recorded a decline in the three months of the current fiscal year.

In the three months of the current fiscal year, goods worth Rs. 143 billion were imported, which is less by 6.43 percent during the corresponding period last year, according to the Customs Office, Birgunj. During the same period last year, goods worth Rs. 153 billion were imported.

Chief Customs Administrator Deepak Lamichhane said there has been a slight decrease in imports due to the heavy rainfall that lashed the country during the period. However, overall revenue collection has increased in three months.

Likewise, during the three months, goods worth Rs 7.7 billion have been exported from Birgunj.

During the same period last year, goods worth Rs.8 billion had been exported.

A total of 60 people have died and 1,030 were injured in road accidents that took place in 10 districts of Bagmati Province in three months of the current fiscal year 2081/82.

A total of 397 road accidents took place during the period, according to the Nepal Police Highway Safety and Traffic Management Office in Chitwan.

During the period, the traffic police have collected revenue worth Rs 27.9 million from the traffic rule violators.

A total of 35,085 drivers were fined for violating traffic rules during the period. The amount was collected from last mid-August to mid-October.

Meanwhile, the traffic police are monitoring the speed of vehicles through CCTV and radar guns installed on the East-West Highway.

Police have arrested a person with a pistol and an empty magazine in Raniban, Nagarjun Municipality-1.

The arrestee has been identified as Anil Khadka (24) of Bhagwatimai Rural Municipality-7, Dailekh and currently residing at Raniban, Kathmandu Metropolitan City-16.

A police team deployed from the temporary police beat, Raniban nabbed Khadka with the pistol.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Tihar is less than a week away and it’s best to get a head start on all the cleaning and organizing lest you find yourself overburdened and thus unable to enjoy the festivities. Most of us wait for Laxmi Puja or a day before to get our homes in order. We are doing chores till the last minute and that way we miss out on the fun as we are tired and just want to get things over with. This year, start early and ensure you have enough time to meet friends and family, enjoy a good meal or two, and make memories to last a lifetime, all without collapsing on your bed at the end of the day.

Tackle the difficult tasks

This weekend, tackle chores that you haven’t paid attention to in a while. Air out your cupboards and clean the shoe cabinets. These places can gather dust and odd smells and airing them out will instantly make your space feel cleaner and fresher. Add some air freshener sachets when you are done. While you are at it, see if there are things—clothes, shoes, accessories—you haven’t used in a while that you would like to give away and put them away in bags and boxes. You can drop them at charity centers like the Sukhawati Store before Tihar for a tidier space.

Deep clean your kitchen equipment

Did you come across some great tricks to clean the microwave or the refrigerator on Instagram? You saved the reel but never actually got around to trying them out? Tihar is the perfect time to do a deep clean of things you use regularly but don’t clean as often, like the oven, washing machine, toaster, etc. Make a list of things you need to clean and tackle a couple each day till Tihar. This way you won’t have to spend too much time on the chores and will also have a cleaner space when it’s finally festival time. Ask your siblings or partner for help.

Give things a fresh coat of paint

Everyone in the city tends to paint their flowerpots during Dashain or Tihar. If you haven’t gotten around to it yet, now is the perfect time. The weather is just right. Getting flower pots painted is the easiest way to make your home festival ready as it infuses a bright, cheery feel to your space. While you are at it, take a look at what else needs a facelift. Perhaps your front door needs a good polish or the compound walls are looking a little drab. Invest in some paint and roller brushes and work those muscles. This actually makes for a fun family activity.

Get out the festive décor and light

It’s not unusual to wait for the last possible minute to hang the Tihar lights. But why not take a cue from the city which is already lit up in many places and bring out the string lights and lanterns at home a few days before Laxmi Puja? That way you won’t be scrabbling to fix them when it’s actually time and will also get to enjoy the festive feel for a few extra days. Give your puja vessels a good wash or wipe down during the weekend and keep them ready. Also, display whatever festive décor items you have at home well in advance so that your home exudes the Tihar vibe all week long.

Buy yourself some flowers

A bunch of flowers in a vase is one of the easiest ways to lend opulence to your living space. If you are someone who doesn’t splurge on flowers, the festival of lights is the perfect excuse to give into this simple luxury. Buy a bunch and watch your space come alive. You can also use garlands to decorate staircases and entryways. Put some flowers and floating candles in large urns and enjoy the simple, satisfying feeling of a cozy night at home.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 400 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 167, 400 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 166, 000 per tola on Friday.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 15 and is being traded at Rs 2,085 per tola today.

The 5th Kathmandu Symposia on Advanced Materials (KaSAM) concluded at Park Village Resort in Kathmandu, gathering over 200 scientists, researchers, and students from around the globe. Organized by the Nepal Polymer Institute (NPI), Tribhuvan University, College of Biomedical Engineering and Applied Sciences, India’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, and Germany’s Institute für Polymerwerkstoffe (IPW), the three-day event focused on interdisciplinary research in materials science.

Key sessions explored innovations in smart materials, sustainable technologies, and bio-based materials, underscoring the importance of material science research in societal applications. “This year’s conference was dedicated to disseminating Nepal’s latest scientific advancements globally,” said Rameshwar Adhikari, President of NPI and KaSAM-2024 Chair.

Distinguished speakers included Vice-chancellor Keshar Jung Baral of Tribhuvan University and Vice-chancellor Poonam Tandon of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, with attendees from Nepal, India, the USA, Germany, and Japan. The event featured 151 research papers and awarded standout presentations with the Best Poster Award. Notably, three MoUs were signed to foster institutional collaborations between universities and scientific organizations in Nepal, India, and Germany.

The event was supported by various Nepali institutions and private sector entities, including the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, NAST, and Nabil Bank. In the closing remarks, Hari Sharan Adhikari, Vice-president of NPI, announced that the sixth KaSAM conference will take place in Pokhara in 2026, aiming to further strengthen global partnerships and advance material science research in Nepal.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli instructed the concerned ministries and agencies to eloquently advocate for climate justice in the impending COP-29 climate conference.

PM Oli directed the relevant ministries and agencies to strongly raise the issues relating to climate justice for vulnerable countries like Nepal as articulated by Nepal in the UN's 79th General Assembly (UNGA).

The UN climate conference is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11 to 22 this year. The Nepali delegation to the conference is being led by President Ram Chandra Paudel.

Addressing the third meeting of the Environment Conservation and Climate Change Management National Council at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers today, Oli urged the Nepali delegation to put forward Nepal's clear stance and perspective on climate change and its impact in the upcoming COP-29.

PM Oli has been championing climate justice and advocating for compensation for Nepal from the countries responsible for significant carbon emissions, highlighting the adverse effects of global warming on the Himalaya region and its habitat.

He is calling for an action-plan from the global community aimed at maintaining environmental balance from high mountains to sea.

Prime Minister Oli directed to give priority to intensive forest expansion by ending the situation where there is no forest in the designated forest areas. He emphasized that even though Nepal has 46 percent of forest area, only 28 percent of special forest area should be expanded in the remaining 12 percent area.

Prime Minister Oli urged the authorities to work to maintain at least 40 percent forest area and mentioned that Nepal is contributing to global environmental cleanliness by keeping forests, mountains and valleys.

In Nepal, 17 percent of the land is mountains and 7 percent is lakes. Prime Minister Oli also instructed not to delay the approval of the Ministry of Forest for the work that the government has decided for the project. He said, "The Ministry of Forest should not act as if it brought the forest from its own home. During the construction of the project, there have been complaints that the Ministry of Forest has stopped the decisions made by the Council of Ministers.

Protecting the forest according to the need, the industry will be allowed to operate in places where there is no forest. The meeting reviewed the work of the council for one year and informed about the status of implementation of the decisions of the previous meeting, the effective participation of Nepal in the World Climate Conference (COP-29) to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2024, changing the name of the Ministry of Forests and Environment to Forests, Environment and Climate Change and It has decided to take guidelines etc. for the next one year.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Urban Development Minister Prakashman Singh, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Devendra Dahal, Forest and Environment Minister Ain Bahadur Shahi, Chief Ministers of various provinces, National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Dr Shivraj Adhikari, chief secretary Eak Narayan Aryal and others.

Newly amended laws in Nepal to tackle crimes committed during its decade-long bitter civil war could instead deprive victims of justice and grant amnesty to those culpable, rights lawyers warned Thursday.

Both government forces and former rebels are accused of carrying out torture, killings, rapes and forced disappearances during Nepal's Maoist insurgency.

The conflict ended in 2006 with a peace deal that brought the rebels into government and promised justice for the victims, whick included more than 16,000 dead and around 1,000 missing.

Nepal's two transitional justice commissions began operating in 2015, but failed to resolve a single case, despite receiving over 60,000 complaints of murders, torture and unexplained disappearances.

In August, parliament passed long-delayed amendments to the transitional justice act aiming to address this.

But a team of international rights lawyers, in a report released Thursday and based on a research mission to Nepal, warned the changes could do the opposite and exclude "swathes of victims" from justice.

The lawyers added that the new law "permits amnesties which would prevent criminal accountability for gross violations of human rights".

The lawyers said that until addressed, the "doors to the regular justice system should not be closed".

The group was supported by rights organisation Peace Brigades International (PBI).

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, a constitutional lawyer from Sri Lanka, and part of the team, said effective justice was not possible so long as the law "excludes certain gross violations, opens the door for amnesties and allows for the exclusion of certain victims".

Just two convictions related to crimes committed during the civil war crimes have been handed down in civilian courts. One was linked to the murder of a teenage girl. The other was related to the killing of a journalist.