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Ram Kumar Subedi and Shovakanta Dhakal have been found guilty in the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

Saying that the duo played a role in transferring the land of Lalita Niwas in the name of private individuals, the Special Court found Subedi and Dhakal among others guilty.

The joint bench of Special Court members Dr Khusi Prasad Tharu, Ram Bahadur Thapa and Ritendra Thapa issued the guilty verdict for their involvement in transferring the land of Lalita Niwas in the name of certain individuals.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, has underscored the need of all political parties to move ahead with consensus for achieving prosperity.

Talking briefly to the media at Biratnagar Airport today, the Speaker of the lower house of the Federal Parliament said that the political parties needed to move ahead on the basis of consensus in plan formulation and implementation on the common topic of nation building.

He called on the political parties and all citizens to unite against the efforts being made to foment dislike towards the present political system.

"Information has been received that the government is preparing to introduce 61 bills in the current session of the parliament. Therefore, the Parliament will not have any shortage of business," the Speaker said and expressed the belief that the current session of parliament would be fruitful.

The Employment Permit Section Korea under the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) is conducting the Korean Language Test (KLT) from February 19.

According to EPS Korea, the exam will be held at National Vocational Training Academy, Bhainsepati.

Director at EPS Korea Maiya Kandel said that exams will be conducted in five shifts in a day and arrangements have been made to conduct exams for 1,000 students each day.

"Arrangements have been made to run exams on Saturday as well. Around 47,000 students can take their KLT in the first shift," Kandel added.

The students should appear for the biometric registration of their fingerprints a day before at the EPS Korea Section Office at Gwarko, Lalitpur. And the biometric would be verified at the examination center.

A Nepali delegation under Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud, on a visit to New Zealand since Tuesday (Feb 13), has held a series of discussions with officials of the host country in a bid to boost bilateral ties. 

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Saud held a bilateral meeting with Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) of New Zealand at Wellington.

During the meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction over the excellent state of bilateral relations and exchanged views on enhancing cooperation in the areas of mutual interest, according to the Embassy of Nepal in Australia. 

Minister Saud also visited the Parliament of New Zealand and observed the Question Time at the Parliament where his presence was acknowledged by Gerry Brownlee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of New Zealand.

The Nepali society in Wellington together with the Honorary Consul of Nepal to New Zealand organized an interaction with the visiting delegation at Wellington. The interaction delved into matters relating to providing passport and consular services to the Nepali community in New Zealand more efficiently and utilizing the knowledge, expertise and skills of Nepalis residing in New Zealand for the benefit of Nepal. 

Minister Saud also visited Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand, and observed the vast repository of cultural attractions.

Earlier in the morning, the second edition of Nepal-New Zealand Foreign Ministry Consultation (FMC) was held under the leadership of Rita Dhital, Joint Secretary, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (SEAP) Division at Nepal’s Foreign Ministry and Joanna Kempkers, Divisional Manager for South Asia and Southeast Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand. 

The two sides took stock of various aspects of bilateral relations and exchanged views on further promoting cooperation through enhancement of economic and cultural engagements between the two countries. 

Minister Saud and his delegation will depart for Kathmandu from Wellington on Thursday.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 14. 46 points to close at 2,062.03 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 3. 71 points to close at 368. 56 points.

A total of 11,407,264-unit shares of 305 companies were traded for Rs 3. 86 billion.

Meanwhile, Bottlers Nepal (Balaju) Limited (BNL) and Samaj Laghubittya Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SAMAJ) were the top gainers today with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Mailung Khola Jal Vidhyut Company Limited (MKJC) was the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 70 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 24 trillion.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the 'economic outflow' from Nepal-like countries of South Asia for higher education should be stopped.

Addressing the inauguration programme of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) - North Zone Vice Chancellors' Meet 2024 & Bharat-Nepal Higher Education Summit today, he underscored on making efforts for retaining within the country itself a majority of the youths and the resources they have. 

"There is a huge outflow of money from countries like Nepal on higher education and this trend should now be reversed. We should create an environment conducive for those youths seeking opportunities globally," PM Dahal said, pointing out the need of re-evaluating the internationalization of higher education.

Stating the education sector is struggling against the challenges brought by global forces, the Prime Minister said the latest trend of students and intellectuals getting drawn to the universities of the North is seen as they have invested much resources in skill and education development.

"The balance of higher education is seen tilted towards the North.  Although the education system of the North has attracted international students due to the expensive budget, this situation cannot last long," PM Dahal further added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has directed the police officers to face administrative and security challenges in accordance with the laws, becoming free from any unwarranted pressure and influence.

Issuing special instructions today to the 34 Superintendents of Police who are assigned as the district and office chiefs in various districts following their transfer, he urged the officers to carry out their duty with dedication, making a deep analysis of the security situation in coordination with the provincial and local governments.

DPM Shrestha directed the police officers to take effective measures for drugs control and take action against the drug traffickers, to conduct awareness programs amongst the youths against drug abuse and trafficking and to develop the reform centers.

Stating that the government has been carrying out remarkable works in the social justice sector, he issued instructions to bring to book if any middle persons are found in the name of usurious lending.

The DPM and Home Minister asserted that the Ministry has pursued a policy on transfer based on the capability, work efficiency and opportunity, and not on the basis of political proximity and various interests.

He also called on the police officers to forsake the practice of influence-peddling and of offering bribes through middle persons to get the responsibility of the office chief, and of defaming one's colleague in case of oneself not getting that responsibility.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had, on February 13, transferred 34 police superintendents, including 22 district police offices, seven police battalions, four traffic police offices and one other.

Ministry Secretary Dinesh Bhattarai and Inspector General of Police, Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, among other high officials were also present on the occasion.

DPM Shrestha has initiated the practice of issuing the required instructions to the administrative and police officers before they go to assume their responsibilities. 

Before this, the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister had called the chief district officers who were assigned new responsibilities to the Ministry and directed them to fulfill their responsibilities paying attention to the government priorities.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the rich intellectual heritage founded on native and indigenous knowledge systems of the South can help provide answers to the global problems today, be it the question of medicine, lifestyle or peace.

In his address to the Association of Indian Universities AIU-North Zone Vice-Chancellors’ Meet and the Bharat-Nepal Higher Education Summit, in Dhulikhel today, the Prime Minister made this remark.

In the meet themed "Globalization and internalization of higher education" and hosted by the Kathmandu University, he said, "We must do away with the south versus north divide purely based on economic parameters. Rather, we must think of ways to connect the south and north by finding common grounds."

 According to the Prime Minister and the University Chancellor, the gathering, therefore, has great significance to devise a higher education manifesto for the global south.

"I believe that this meet will be a starting point for harnessing our own resources to contribute to the global order, which is changing anyway. 

Kathmandu University is leading the way from Nepal in writing such a manifesto. In its 32-year history, Kathmandu University has served as a beacon in this endeavor, with its commendable efforts in internationalization and the expansion of academic programs, he added.