Submit your Article

Security has been tightened in Kathmandu on Sunday in view of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s protest.

A large number of security personnel has been deployed in the places designated by the government as restricted areas.

Security personnel have been deployed in front of Singha Durbar, Parliament building, Maitighar and Baluwatar among other restricted areas since this morning.

The RPP has announced that it would breach the restricted area today.  

A meeting of the party held on Thursday had decided to stage a demonstration in the restricted area.

A leader of the RPP said that they are holding a protest today demanding that the party leaders arrested during the demonstration on March 28 be released at the earliest.

Two persons including a journalist lost their lives during the violent protest of pro-monarchy supporters in Tinkune on March 28.

The RPP has been staging protests demanding the reinstatement of monarchy.

The price of gold and silver remained stable in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 189, 800 per tola today.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,960 per tola.  

Vehicular movement along the Baneshwor-Babarmahal-Maitighar area in Kathmandu has been disrupted due to the protest of teachers.

Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office spokesperson SP Deepak Giri informed that there is a traffic jam in Baneshwor-Babarmahal-Maitighar area.

The teachers have been staging protests in Kathmadu for the past few days demanding immediate enactment of School Education Bill.

Meanwhile, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party is also holding a protest in Kathmandu this afternoon, adding further woes to the already affected traffic.

The RPP has announced that it would breach the restricted area today.

A large number of security personnel has been deployed in the restricted area.

The Bagmati Clean-up Mega Campaign, which was launched 12 years ago to restore the sanctity of the Bagmati River, has reached its 623rd week. Meanwhile, the government’s broader project to ensure a sewage-free Bagmati near the Pashupatinath area has completed 29 years. 

Yet, despite an investment of over Rs 18bn, the river remains heavily polluted and the project goals are far from achieved. While volunteers continue to clean up the river every Saturday, sewage continues to flow directly into the Bagmati, and solid waste dumping along the riverbanks has not stopped. This contradiction underscores the limitations of existing efforts.

To preserve the civilization that once flourished along the Bagmati, the government first formed the Pashupati Area Environment Improvement and Monitoring Committee in 1994, later upgraded in 2007 to the High-Powered Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee. In 2010, a Bagmati Action Plan was also introduced. The current clean-up drive began on 19 May 2013, with the ambitious goal of making the river suitable for ritual bathing once again. 

The campaign, launched under the leadership of then-Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal with the slogan “Two Hours for the Nation,” has seen the participation of over 1.5m volunteers and the removal of more than 20,000 tons of waste. But despite this massive civic effort, the river remains far from clean.

To prevent direct sewage discharge, a wastewater treatment plant was set up in Guheshwori with a total investment of Rs 2.55bn, including a loan of Rs 1.4bn from the Asian Development Bank. Its primary objective was to make the river near Pashupati suitable for ritual bathing. 

However, the plant has failed to demonstrate significant results. Once a sacred and culturally rich river, the Bagmati has now deteriorated to the status of a dying river. It flows through the heart of the Kathmandu Valley and should be closely tied to people’s daily lives. Instead, its foul smell caused by pollution disrupts urban life.

Despite park development and tree plantation efforts along riverbanks in areas like Gokarna, Koteshwor, Shankhamul, and Teku, proper sewage management remains lacking. Unplanned urbanization, industrial discharge, and plastic waste continue to degrade the river’s existence day by day. Efforts by both governmental and non-governmental bodies have so far failed to produce meaningful change. 

Experts say that effective collaboration between individuals, local governments, provincial authorities, and the federal government is crucial. To revive the Bagmati, the dumping of waste must be strictly prohibited, water flow needs to be increased, and a systematic sewage management system must be implemented. Only then can this river, which flows through the capital, become a center of environmental and touristic attraction.

Five people have drowned after huge waves hit parts of Australia at the start of the Easter weekend, BBC reported.

Off the shores of Victoria and New South Wales, two more are missing. A man's body was discovered in the water on Saturday close to Tathra in southern New South Wales. It happened the day after two other guys and a 58-year-old fisherman were discovered dead in other events across the state. Near Sydney, a man washed into the river and is being sought by rescuers.

Additionally, their group was washed into the sea near San Remo, Victoria, on Friday, resulting in one woman drowning and one man being missing. "One of the women managed to make her way back to shore but the other woman and the man were unable to," according to BBC.

Pakistan has deported over 19,500 Afghans this month as part of a broader trend that has seen more than 80,000 individuals leave ahead of an April 30 deadline, according to the United Nations.

The government has intensified its efforts to expel undocumented Afghans and those with temporary residency permits, citing capacity issues. Currently, 700 to 800 families are being deported daily, BBC reported.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar recently visited Kabul to discuss the deportations, which Afghan officials expressed concern over. Many deported Afghans report having been born in Pakistan, with the UN estimating 3.5 mn Afghans reside in Pakistan, including around 700,000 who arrived post-2021 Taliban takeover, half of whom are undocumented.

As stated by BBC, the situation has also led to increased border tensions, with clashes between security forces attributed to militants based in Afghanistan—a claim the Taliban denies. These mass deportations are straining Afghanistan's fragile infrastructure amid ongoing economic challenges.

Donald Trump has stated that if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to strike a peace deal, the US will "take a pass" on brokering future Russia-Ukraine negotiations, BBC reported.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he did not anticipate a truce to be reached in "a specific number of days," but that he wanted it done "quickly." 

His remarks came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that discussions will be abandoned unless significant signs of progress were seen within days. "We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio said, adding that the US has "other priorities to focus on", according to BBC.

This comes as Russian attacks on Ukraine continue, with two people killed and more than 100 injured in the north-eastern cities of Kharkiv and Sumy on Friday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently spoke with Elon Musk about potential collaboration in "technology and innovation." Modi shared details of the conversation on X, revisiting earlier discussions from their Washington meeting, BBC reported.

The talk comes as India seeks to finalize a bilateral trade agreement with the US to counteract potential tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump. It also precedes the upcoming visit of US Vice-President JD Vance to India.

Musk, associated with Trump and leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is aiming to expand his business in India. His company Starlink signed an agreement with major Indian telecom firms to deliver satellite internet and is awaiting government approval to launch services, according to BBC.

The dialogue follows Trump's announcement of a 27% tariff on Indian goods, which has since been paused, prompting ongoing trade negotiations between the two nations.