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India’s ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party has invited eighteen political parties from 10 countries, including Nepal, “to get first-hand experience and insights into BJP’s election campaign”. Apart from witnessing the election campaign, they will also meet India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other leaders. From Nepal, BJP has invited representatives from the Nepali Congress, Janamat Party, CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Center) and Rastriya Swatantra Party.

BJP has also invited parties from Australia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Israel, Uganda, Tanzania, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius for the event. According to BJP, the visit is part of the global outreach program titled ‘Know BJP’, which was launched last year. The Nepali delegation to India includes Uday Shumsher Rana from the NC, Bishnu Rimal from UML, Matrika Yadav from the Maoist Center, Shishir Khanal from RSP, and Jayakant Raut from the Janamat Party. India is holding its 17th Lok Sabha election, which will conclude on June 1.

Over the past few years, BJP has been engaging with Nepal’s political parties and several senior leaders, including prime ministers, have visited the BJP headquarters. The invite comes amid forecasts that BJP will return to power for the third consecutive term with continuation of Narendra Modi as prime minister. BJP is suggesting Nepal’s political parties to scrap secularism and go for the Hindu state.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal has extended a message of best wishes to the media fraternity and all on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day stating that a matured and robust democracy cannot be imagined without press freedom.

In a message today, Chairman Dahal has expressed condolences to all the martyrs who got martyrdom while practicing journalism for freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

The NA Chairman has said the role performed by the press in establishing democracy by ending totalitarianism in the country is significant.

Chairman Dahal has stated that this day should be considered for making a commitment to abiding by professional ethics.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma has said that democracy will not be complete without freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

In a message of best wishes on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day today, Minister Sharma has recalled the contributions of all those who sacrificed their lives in the struggles waged for freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

Minister Sharma has stated that the government was committed to protecting and implementing complete press freedom, which is stated in the preamble of the Constitution of Nepal.

In her message, Minister Sharma shared that the government has been working in the drafting and review of media-related laws since last year to ensure further press freedom.  

The government has given priority to drafting laws in a transparent and democratic process by taking feedback from stakeholders and citizens, according to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology. 

Likewise, she has shared that the Media Council Bill, which is focused on the promotion of self-regulation of mass media, was registered in the Federal Parliament recently.

Minister Sharma has also said that the government is closely watching the concerns of national and international organizations active in the field of press freedom.

In her message, Minister Sharma has expressed a firm determination for the professional and physical security of journalists and added that the government is committed to ensuring the rights of working journalists as per the legal process and facilitating to end labor issues seen in different media houses.

The World Press Freedom Day is being observed today across the globe including in Nepal. 

May 3 each year is marked as World Press Freedom Day in commemoration of the Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press in Windhoek in Namibia in 1991. The Day was first observed in 1993 following the recommendation of UNESCO. 

This year, the Day is observed with the theme of “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis”.

On this occasion, the 31st edition of World Press Freedom is being organized by UNESCO and the government of Chile in Santiago, the Capital City of Chile.

President Ram Chandra Pauel said that freedom of press and freedom of expression are the foundation of democracy.

Issuing a message today on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, he recalled the contributions of the Nepali press sector in the country's major movements for democracy.

Saying that Press freedom is equally important for implementing citizens' constitutional right to get information, President Paudel said adding that the free press helps ensure transparency in the governance system and hold it accountable.

"This is a vital aspect of the entire society's democratization process," the President's message reads.

President Paudel said that the more the press is neutral, free and robust the more the democratic system will be strengthened, and it was all our responsibility to create an environment conducive to this. Due to this very role of the Nepali press, our constitution has ensured complete press freedom and freedom of expression, President Paudel viewed.

The President has described that free engagement in all steps from information collection to its dissemination is press freedom in a true sense adding that pluralism-based journalism ensures citizens' access to every sort of news. 

In his message, the President has suggested that the media fraternity should work hard to establish the truth by disseminating facts through independent journalism and has cautioned that rumors could misguide the citizens and could create challenges in making the right perception.

Likewise, the President has pointed out that fake news that could be disseminated through social networking sites could misguide the citizens and weaken the system, and has wished that World Press Freedom Day would inspire Nepal's media fraternity to disseminate true, factual and credible news.

The government is preparing to summon the summer session of the parliament, or the budget session, from as early as next week. As per the Constitution of Nepal, 2015, the government must bring fiscal budget on May 28.

Except for some bright spots, the Nepali economy is passing through a challenging situation marked by diminishing demand and sluggish growth. Banks, which have lending capacity of over Rs 600bn, are seeing a lack of demand for loans as the private sector is not making new investments. The central bank's efforts to stimulate the economy through monetary easing have not yielded desired success. Purchasing power of consumers is dwindling due to factors such as youth outmigration and the lingering effects of previous interest rate hikes. These developments have eroded the consumption base that fuels economic activity. This has left businesses struggling with unsold inventories and underutilized production capacities. While the central bank has lowered interest rates to historic lows, this has become ineffective as there is not much improvement in consumer demand.  

It is evident that monetary measures alone cannot revive the economy. A combination of both monetary and non-monetary reforms that foster collaboration among the government, central bank, financial institutions and the private sector is what the economy needs. Non-monetary reforms should address structural issues hindering economic growth. Measures to boost employment opportunities can limit the outflow of potential consumers. Simultaneously, initiatives to improve productivity and competitiveness could bolster the private sector's confidence to invest. Furthermore, the government must play a catalytic role through targeted fiscal interventions. Expediting capital expenditure and clearing outstanding payments of construction entrepreneurs can provide an immediate boost to economic activity.

The National Statistics Office has forecast 3.87 percent GDP growth for the current fiscal year, which is more or less similar to the projections made by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. This shows a significant improvement compared to the previous fiscal year.  Addressing the demand-side constraints through a mix of monetary and non-monetary policies is crucial to continue this momentum.

When Nepal suddenly announced a ban on TikTok last year, lawyer Sunil Rajan Singh was determined to fight what he said was a government effort to hide its wrongdoings.

The hugely popular video-sharing platform has faced restrictions in several countries for allegedly breaking data rules and for its supposed harmful impact on youth.

Last week, the United States became the latest nation poised to ban the app outright, unless Chinese parent company ByteDance agrees to divest it.

Efforts to restrict access to TikTok have prompted vocal opposition wherever they have been attempted but especially so in Nepal, where the platform had been used to mobilize anti-government demonstrations.

Some Nepalis have skirted the ban entirely by accessing TikTok via virtual private networks (VPNs), which use a remote connection that obscures their location. Others like Singh are determined to fight.

“The government’s move is against freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Nepal’s constitution,” said the attorney, who is leading a legal challenge to the ban in the Himalayan republic’s top court.

“On TikTok the public would learn about corruption, financial embezzlement and other immoral activities of leaders,” he told AFP. “That was not helpful for the government.”

Nepal’s communications minister justified last November’s ban by accusing the platform of spreading content that damaged the country’s ‘social harmony’.

The announcement came days before a huge rally called by a prominent businessman who was using TikTok to organize a campaign demanding the reinstatement of Nepal’s monarchy.

The case before the Supreme Court is due to be heard next week with a decision expected later this year.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet with more than one billion users.

Its explosive growth has given its content creators and influencers an immense audience, and its editing features and AI-powered algorithm have proved particularly attractive.

But the platform has also been blamed for spreading disinformation, and ByteDance’s alleged ties to the Chinese government have prompted alarm in foreign capitals.

Multiple countries have sought to tighten controls on TikTok, and it was banned about four years ago in neighboring India.

AFP, along with more than a dozen fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

‘TikTok gave us hope’

Nepal’s ban was condemned not just by free speech advocates like Singh but the owners of popular accounts whose lives were transformed by the platform, which had about 2.2m users in the country.

Sangmo Bomjan, 28, was running a lucrative business reselling children’s clothes on the platform that began when the Covid-19 pandemic put her husband out of work, saving her household from financial ruin.

“We were worried, but TikTok gave us hope,” she told AFP.

Orders kept the couple busy packing clothes even at night to deliver across the country, and they were able to earn more than $2,000 every month.

After the ban, Bomjan used a VPN to keep posting videos to her account, circumventing the block on TikTok imposed by local internet service providers.

But her orders have shrunk to less than half of what they were before the ban and her videos get a fraction of their earlier viewers.

“They do not reach my customers in remote areas. They don’t know how to use VPNs,” she said.

The collapse in her earnings prompted her husband to migrate to South Korea, sending back money to support Bomjan and their two children.

‘So many people were earning’

Industry workers told AFP last year that Nepal’s TikTok ban had torpedoed a market worth an estimated $5m each year for advertisers and content creators, and which was set to grow rapidly.

After joining the platform in 2018, twin sisters Prisma and Princy Khatiwada built a following of nearly 8m on TikTok with videos of their synchronized dance routines.

Their popularity has netted them endorsement deals and modeling contracts in music videos and advertisements.

Both sisters still post to their individual accounts but their recent videos have been watched just tens of thousands of times on average—miniscule compared to the 70m views one of their biggest viral hits got before the ban.

“Where we stand today is because of TikTok... so many people were earning and getting opportunities through it,” Prisma told AFP. “We are hopeful that the ban will be lifted.” 

AFP 

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is arriving in Nepal for a two-day official visit on Sunday.

Government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said that the Japanese foreign minister is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on Sunday.

Sharma said that the bilateral talks will be held between Nepal and Japan during her visit.

A talks team has been formed under the headship of Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha for the same.