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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday issued a stern warning to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack, saying India will "pursue them to the end of the Earth," Business Standard reported.

Addressing a public meeting in Bihar's Madhubani, PM Modi said, "Today, on the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world - India will identify, trace, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism."

"Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to make sure that justice is done. The entire nation is one in this resolve. Everyone who believes in humanity is with us. I thank the people of various countries and their leaders who have stood with us," he added, according to Business Standard.

PM Modi's remarks came after terrorists killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. The Prime Minister emphasised that the attack had not just been on unarmed tourists, but on the "faith of the country".

Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) President Sunil KC held a meeting with visiting Indian Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday.

During the meeting, KC appraised him of energy cooperation possibilities between the private sectors of two neighboring countries.

He also appraised the Indian Minister of immense possibilities of energy cooperation between the private sectors of both the countries as the Power Trade Agreement has already been signed by two governments.

“NICCI will help facilitate the investment in energy from Indian private sector to take maximum benefit from recently signed Power Trade Agreement,” KC said in a statement issued by the NICCI, adding that the Business-to-Business (B2B) collaboration is key to expand the horizon of the trade and investment between the two South Asian neighbors.

“The recent Nepal-India power deal followed by Tuesday’s signing of memorandum of understanding on cross border transmission line has opened new avenues for both the countries to join hands in economic development.

Nepal and India signed a crucial memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cross border transmission line on Tuesday in the presence of Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation Deepak Khadka and visiting Indian Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Khattar.

The MoU, signed as per the agreement made by the 12th meeting of the Nepal-India Secretary Level Joint Directive Committee held in New Delhi two months ago, will help establish a joint company for the construction of 400 KV Inaruwa-New Poorniya and Dodhara-Bareli Transmission Line, according to the statement.

The Indian Minister arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday at the invitation of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Khadka.

Immediately after arriving at Kathmandu, the visiting India Minister Khattar along with Minister Khadka jointly inspected the Arun III Hydropower Project in Sankhuwasabha also.

The visiting Minister Khattar said that Nepal is a country with immense hydropower potential and that prosperity can be achieved through the energy sector. Stressing that the Arun III Hydropower Project should be completed on time as it would benefit both the countries, he said that the Indian government is ready to invest more in Nepal's hydropower sector.

Earlier, the Governments of India and Nepal had signed a long-term Power Trade Agreement on January 4, 2024. The 25-year long deal aims to export 10,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to India in the next ten years.

NICCI has been facilitating trade and economic ties between Nepal and India. “NICCI will be happy to welcome more private sector power players in Nepal,” KC added.

On the occasion, KC presented visiting Minister Khattar, the token of love on behalf of NIICI, and the ‘Business Climate Survey for Indian Companies in Nepal’ done by NICCI to promote Indian investment in Nepal.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 3.00 points to close at 2,658.94 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0.86 points to close at 446. 90 points.

A total of 19,754,245-unit shares of 308 companies were traded for Rs 7. 87 billion.

Meanwhile, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited (NMIC) and Crest Micro Life Insurance Limited (CREST) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Nepal Hydro Developers Ltd. (NHDL) was the top loser as its price fell by 6.88 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 41 trillion.

Humla is going to be declared as a literate district on May 23.

The district is going to be declared a 'literate zone' after 96.04 percent people aged between 15-60 years became fully literate.

According to the Education Development and Coordination Unit, the decision was taken to declare the district as literate zone on May 23 as all seven local levels of the district have already been declared as achieving the literacy standard.

A meeting held under chairmanship of the Committee Chief, Shiva Raj Sharma, this morning decided to declare the district as literate zone as it has fulfilled all criteria required for the same.

Out of a 35,345 population aged between 15-60 years, 33,954 (96.04 percent) have become literate, said Officiating Chief of the Unit, Yogesh Ale Magar.

Ninety-six percent population of Namkha, 95.6 percent of Simkot, 95.5 percent of Kharpunath, 95.74 percent of Sarkegad, 95.24 percent of Chankheli, 95.28 percent of Adanchuli and 98.28 percent of Taajkot Rural Municipalities are literate.

A moving bus was completely destroyed after it suddenly caught fire in Chandragiri Municipality-15 on Thursday.

The bus belonging to Panchpokhari Yatayat was heading towards Thankot from Kalanki when the incident occurred.

According to District Police Range, Kathmandu spokesperson Apilraj Bohara, the bus was completely destroyed after it abruptly caught fire.

He said that the passengers are safe.

The fire was doused with the help of a fire engine, water tanker, police personnel and locals.

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's capital Kyiv kill at least nine people and injure another 63.

Russia also attacks additional regions of the country, with Ukraine claiming the attacks included 11 ballistic missiles, 55 cruise missiles, and 145 drones, according to the BBC.

While Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelensky still intends to meet with South Africa's president Ramaphosa to widen the country's foreign partnerships, he says other activities in the country will be canceled because he is returning to Ukraine early following a Russian strike on the capital that killed nine people, BBC reported.

Earlier, US President Trump criticised Zelensky's approach to peace talks.

The dividend capacity of commercial banks has reduced despite a 1.4 percent growth in net profit over the first nine months of fiscal year 2024/25. The third-quarter data of banks and financial institutions released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) shows the average Return On Equity (RoE) of commercial banks dropped to 7.73 percent over the review period, down from 8.34 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal year. The average RoE was 13.17 percent in the third quarter of 2022/23.

RoE refers to the return that investors receive on their total capital. An average RoE of 7.73 percent means investors received a return of Rs 7.73 for every Rs 100 invested. A lower RoE can indicate that the company is struggling to earn a high return on the capital raised from investors. Twelve out of 20 commercial banks in the country saw their RoE drop in the review period, while eight managed to increase it. Only six banks—Everest Bank, Standard Chartered, NMB, Sanima, Nepal Bank, and Nabil Bank—have RoE in double digits. Everest Bank recorded the highest RoE of 15.82 percent in the third quarter ending mid-April, while NIC Asia has the lowest at just 0.71 percent.

Data shows Nabil Bank, Global IME Bank, Nepal Investment Mega Bank, Everest Bank, NMB Bank, Sanima Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, and Nepal Bank managed to increase their RoE in the review period, while Prime Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Himalayan Bank, Prabhu Bank, Laxmi Sunrise Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, Nepal SBI Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Citizens Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Kumari Bank, and NIC Asia Bank saw their RoE drop.

Distributable profits plummet

The distributable profits of commercial banks have also turned negative. The combined distributable profit of 20 commercial banks as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2024/25 is negative by Rs 1.67bn. In the same quarter of 2022/23, these banks had distributable profits exceeding Rs 15.28bn. Specifically, the distributable profits of Kumari Bank, Himalayan Bank, NIC Asia Bank, Prabhu Bank, Nepal Investment Mega Bank and Rastriya Banijya Bank are collectively negative by more than Rs 22bn. As a result, even though 14 other banks have positive distributable profits, the overall figure for the banking sector remains negative.

By the end of the third quarter, six banks have negative distributable profits. Four others have distributable profits below three percent, which means they are highly unlikely to pay dividends to their shareholders. Among the 20 commercial banks in the country, Everest Bank has the highest dividend-paying capacity at 34.09 percent, followed by Standard Chartered Bank at 19.35 percent and Sanima Bank at 18.92 percent. Only eight banks have a dividend capacity exceeding 10 percent.

Standing on the base of the world's tallest peak, Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), Qatari princess Asma Al Thani expressed her serious concern over the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region. Princess Asma has also climbed Mt Everest in 2019.

Addressing the Summiteer’s Summit in Thame—a Sherpa village already devastated by glacial floods—Princess Al Thani described the status of the mountains as “lifeless” compared to her first visit in 2019.

The Summiteer's Summit was organized by an organization called Sathsathai on the occasion of the International Earth Day on April 22.

She said, "The melting of snow on mountains like Everest is a threat not only to Nepal, but to the entire global community."

“I climbed Everest in 2019 and was exhilarated by its beauty and vitality. But now, I return to find bare rocks where snow once lay, blackened cliffs, and a silence that speaks of loss. There is no life in these mountains anymore.”

In her experience, the weather in the Himalayas has changed and all these changes are very serious.

She pointed out that the natural disaster of 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), wreaked havoc here, displacing dozens of families, destroying power lines, and severing road links.

“These are not isolated disasters,” Princess Al Thani said, adding that they are symptoms of a much larger, man-made emergency. "And it’s not something Nepal can or should bear alone.”

She also showed concern about perishing snow in the snow-covered Himalayas.

“Everest is no longer the white peak we remember from photos,” said a local climber. “It’s a fragile mountain now, and it needs protection, not just admiration.”

Settlements such as Thame are facing the biggest impact of the changes in the Himalayan environment.

The princess stressed the need to install early warning systems to prevent disasters such as floods, landslides, glacial lake eruptions and avalanches.

"The mountainous regions are sensitive. If there is such a system here, life can be saved by disseminating information in time. Technology needs to be used,” the Qatari Princess suggested.

Princess Al Thani mentioned that Sagarmatha is the shared asset of all humans, not only of Nepal.

"Climbers like us don't just think it a matter of pride to climb the Sagarmatha. We also think it is a duty to protect it. Existence of mountains should be kept as the first priority in every development plan. Otherwise, Sagarmatha will be limited to photos only in coming days", she warned.

Supporting the Princess' statement, other participants – environmentalists, climbers and local representatives pointed out the need for collaboration of the world for the protection of mountains.

During the event, emphasis was laid on collaboration among the government, local bodies, NGOs and foreign mountaineering community.

As per the details presented in the conference, the temperature of Sagarmatha area is increasing every decade which is making a direct impact on glaciers.

The warning, experience and sentimental appeal of Princess Thani had made deep impacts in the conference. She shared, " We will lose the future of earth if there will be no snow in the mountains.  It is a shared responsibility of us to save Sagarmatha."

On the occasion, a message sent by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on the occasion of the summit was unveiled.

He expressed the belief that the conference would support the informal preparation of Sagarmatha Sambaad.

Prime Minister Oli mentioned that it was necessary to spread awareness about environmental risk.

The Summit organized by an organization, Sathsathai, in coordination with all three-tier governments is taken as the pre-event of Sagarmatha Sambaad to be organized by the government from May 16-18.