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The Ministry of Health and Population has urged one and all not to advertise and promote tobacco products in the name of festivals.

Stating that the involvement of producers of tobacco products has been noticed and found in some festivals and cultural gatherings, the Ministry urged one and all to refrain from such activities.

Ministry Spokesperson Dr Prakash Budhathoki reminds that the Tobacco Products (Control and Regulation) Act, 2068 BS (2011) prohibits the advertisement, promotion, or sponsorship of tobacco products in any form. This includes dissemination through newspapers, electronic media (radio, television, FM, internet, email), interaction programs, hoardings, wall paintings, logos, signage, writing, visuals, audio, or through any other media. "Violating these provisions is punishable by law," he said.

Budhathoki urged the public to not seek the sponsorship of tobacco manufacturers in public events, bearing in mind the consequences of consumption of tobacco products in human health including their economic, social and cultural lives.

The spokesperson added that the effective implementation of the Act, relevant regulations and the directives will contribute to preventing diseases to be caused by tobacco consumption, reducing mortality rates and improving public health.

Anyone who notices violations of the Act is encouraged to report them to the Ministry through the 'Hello Health Call Center' at 1115 (available from 8 am to 8 pm) or via Viber and WhatsApp at 9851330592.

The Road Division Office Bhaktapur has terminated the contract of under-construction Dhulikhel-Khawa road section along the Araniko Highway.

In a public notice issued today, the office informed that the contract for the four-kilometer road, which is under expansion, has been canceled.

A meeting of the Office held on Tuesday had decided to terminate the contract of the road.

Gauri Parbati Construction Service Pvt Ltd was awarded the contract for the construction of the road from Dhulikhel to Khawa, the district headquarters, for Rs 201.946 million.

The construction could not be completed even after 11 months of the deadline due to delay in the construction by the contractor company.

The deans and associate deans of seven schools at Kathmandu University have urged the selection committee to recommend candidates for the position of vice-chancellor based on merit.  

In a joint statement, they called for the selection process to adhere strictly to the established procedure.

The selection committee includes KU’s founding Vice-chancellor Suresh Raj Sharma as chair, with Arjun Karki and former secretary Janardan Nepal as members. Interviews for the ten shortlisted candidates were completed on Feb 14 and 15, but no recommendation has been made due to disagreements among committee members.

The deans and associate deans have raised concerns over alleged attempts to manipulate the scores of shortlisted candidates. “There are claims that candidate scores are being altered and new conditions are being introduced, making it difficult for committee members to reach a consensus. We hope that the committee will refute such claims by recommending three names based on the approved process and criteria as soon as possible,” the statement read.

The selection committee was formed after Vice-chancellor Bhola Thapa’s tenure ended on Jan 20. However, disagreements among the three committee members have delayed the recommendation process.

The shortlisted candidates for the vice-chancellorship are Achyut Wagle, Kanhaiya Jha, Janardan Lamichhane, Bal Chandra Luitel, Bibhuti Ranjan Jha, Bedmani Dahal, Bhola Thapa, Rajendra Prasad Koju, Shyam Narayan Labh, Bim Prasad Shrestha, Dhiraj Giri and Subodh Sharma.

Meanwhile, eight candidates for the position of university vice-chancellor have appealed to Chancellor and Prime Minister KP Oli for a merit-based selection.  

Though formed two-and-a-half months ago, the selection committee has not yet recommended any names. Consequently, Vice-chancellor candidates Bal Chandra Luintel, Hari Prasad Neupane, Kanhaiya Jha, Bibhuti Ranjan Jha, Bedmani Dahal, Shyam Narayan Labh, Bim Prasad Shrestha and Dhiraj Giri have turned to Prime Minister and university Chancellor Oli for intervention.  

Even though two weeks have passed since the completion of all selection procedures, the committee members have yet to arrive at a consensus. “The Vice-chancellor Search and Recommendation Committee has completed all the selection processes as per its own procedures, yet the university remains without a vice-chancellor. Meanwhile, the coordinator of the committee has given two interviews expressing contradictory views. These interviews have highlighted several underlying issues,” states the letter addressed to Prime Minister Oli.  

The letter further states, “Professors who have dedicated years of service to the university and held key positions are now uncertain about what language to use to correct the coordinator’s perspective, as he seems to believe only his preferred candidate will serve the university’s best interests.”

The candidates have urged the Prime Minister to facilitate the recommendation process as per established procedures. “The committee’s own plan and directive were to recommend three candidates with the highest scores to the Chancellor. However, after the selection criteria were established and certain candidates did not even rank third, the coordinator’s attempts to manipulate the process and push for certain recommendations are inappropriate,” the letter states.  

The Vice-chancellor candidates have requested the Prime Minister to expedite the process. “The coordinator must be reminded to follow the procedures and criteria set by his own committee. Since he has also sought the Chancellor’s role in facilitating the recommendation process through the media, we request necessary support to ensure a swift conclusion of the selection process,” the letter concludes.

Annapurna Media Network will be the media partner of UbuCon Aisa 2025, an international IT conference.

An agreement was reached on Thursday to be the official media partner of the conference during a ceremony held at the Tinkune-based headquarters of Annapurna Media Network.

AMN General Manager Manoj Basnet, Senior Marketing Manager Binod Koirala and UbuCon Nepal Chairman Aditya Singh, Secretary Roshan Pandey, Marketing Head Yush Pokharel jointly signed the agreement.

“We are proud to hold the international conference of IT UbuCon Asia in Nepal,” UbuCon Nepal Chairman Aditya Singh said, adding, “At the same time, we are more than happy that Annapurna Media has supported the young IT engineers.”

According to him, around 500 coding and software developers and IT company managers from across the world will take part in the event.

Open Source experts will also participate in the conference.

The event will be held in Kathmandu on August 30-31. This conference is the fourth edition.

It has already been held in South Korea, Indonesia and India.

Life insurers have collected more than Rs 96.01bn in insurance premium over the first seven months of fiscal year 2024/25. According to Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA), the insurance sector regulator, 14 life insurance companies collected Rs 95.38bn in premium in the review period, while three micro insurers doing life insurance business collected Rs 625.2m in premium during the review period.

These companies collected Rs 14.83bn in premium in the seventh month (mid-January to mid-February) alone. Life insurance companies collected Rs 75.25 from renewal premium, Rs 18.43bn in new premium and Rs 1.7bn in foreign employment insurance premium. Similarly, micro insurers collected Rs 347.5m in first premium, Rs 272.7m in foreign employment premium and Rs 4.9m in renewal premium.

Nepal Life Insurance leads the life insurers in terms of premium collection. The company collected Rs 26.54bn in premium in the review period. National Life Insurance and Life Insurance Corporation (Nepal) were next with total insurance premium collections of Rs 11.23m and Rs 11.16m, respectively.

Total premium collections by these companies account for nearly half of the total premiums collected by 14 life insurance companies and three micro insurers. Among micro life insurers, Guardian Micro Life Insurance collected the highest premium of Rs 245.12m in the review period.

The number of active policies held by life insurers have reached 14.15m. Of this, 13.4m active policies are held by life insurance companies and 746,800 by micro life insurers. These companies issued 507,891 new policies, including 79,677 issued by micro insurers, in the review month alone. The total insured amount of these policies is Rs 158.82bn.

Meanwhile, net profit of life insurance companies increased by 14.85 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year. According to NIA, 14 insurance companies posted a combined net profit of Rs 3.48bn over the first six months of 2024/25 compared to Rs 3.03bn in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Police have arrested four foreign nationals with four kg of gold from Tribhuvan International Airport.

SSP Somendra Singh Rathore of the Airport Security Office informed that they have apprehended four foreign nationals, who arrived in Kathmandu from Dubai, with 3. 745 kg gold.

They had already passed the customs check at the airport.

The Armed Police Force and airport staff have been entrusted with the responsibility of customs check.

However, the confiscation of the gold in large amounts has once again proved the negligence of the security personnel and the customs staff.

Police nabbed Akhmadjanovna dilfuza marifalieve , Israilovna saodat fayzieva , Gulamdjanovan umida akhmedov  and Sardor tursunov of Uzbekistan from the terminal gate.

Among the arrestees, three are women and one is a man.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, said SSP Rathore.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 170, 300 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 170, 500 per tola on Wednesday.

The price of silver, however, has increased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1, 945 per tola today.

Four buildings were destroyed in a fire that broke out in a hotel on the bank of the Rara Lake last night.

The fire damaged the buildings made up of wooden structures. The hotel staff along with Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force doused the fire this morning.

A 15-member police team headed by Sub Inspector Deepak KC had reached Rara from the district headquarters Gamgadhi immediately after knowing the incident.

According to the District Police Office, the fire that broke out from the hotel's kitchen caused damages to three other buildings after the gas cylinder exploded.

The security personnel had immediately rescued the guests from the hotel and shifted them to nearby hotels, army barracks and national park offices.

Details of the incident are awaited.