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Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's upcoming visit to China will be based on the consensus between the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.

At a press conference held by the Nepal Press Union in Dhangadhi today, the Home Minister said that the Prime Minister's visit to China will not create any problem between the Congress and the UML. He said, "The Prime Minister's visit agenda will be prepared following consensus and if the parties failed to reach consensus on the agendas, then such agendas will not be floated for bilateral discussions."

On another note, Minister Lekhak clarified that there was no agenda for reshuffling the Cabinet till today, but the Prime Minister can take decisions in this regard when he feels it necessary. 

In the press inquiry regarding BRI, the Home Minister, who is also a Congress leader, said it was the decision of the Congress to take the BRI as a grant and not as a loan, adding that the UML was not also insisting to take it as loan; therefore, both parties have the same understanding over the agenda.

Stating that the government was formed for stability, good governance, development and economic development in the country, he said that there is no problem or disagreement between the ruling partners Congress and UML.

He said, "A joint system of two parties has been formed at three levels from the center to the district so that no problem is created between them."

The Home Minister said that activities against the law and Constitution will not be tolerated.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 164, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 163, 000 per tola on Wednesday.

The price of silver, however, has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,950 per tola today. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 9.09 points to close at 2,711.75 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0.34 points to close at 478. 50 points.

A total of 15,464,552-unit shares of 323 companies were traded for Rs 7. 09 billion.

Meanwhile, Corporate Development Bank Limited (CORBL), Sindhu Bikash Bank Ltd (SINDU), Nepal Hydro Developers Ltd. (NHDL), Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd (SAPDBL) and Mahila Lagubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (MLBSL) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) was the top loser as its price fell by 10.00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 31 trillion.

The World Children's Day is being marked throughout the world today, with the theme - "Listen to the Future. Stand Up for Children’s Rights."

On the occasion, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on all citizens, guardians, political parties, and rights activists to work towards ensuring the protection of children's rights.

In a press statement, NHRC Spokesperson Dr Tikaram Pokharel urged the government at all levels to create a conducive environment for implementing the provisions related to children's rights in the Constitution, laws, and various conventions. He also stressed the need to take action against those responsible for violations of child rights, ensuring children’s basic rights, promoting their welfare, systematically operating child correction homes, and implementing child-friendly initiatives.

The NHRC highlighted its ongoing monitoring of the status of child rights and pointed to positive state initiatives such as the rescue of child workers, the establishment of the Child Labor Prevention Fund, daycare services, and meal programs for children.

However, the NHRC expressed concerns over the deprivation of dependent children in prisons from their human rights, the absence of child-friendly correction homes, inadequate standards in day meal programs, and the lack of a supportive environment for children in families and society. Additionally, the NHRC called for stronger action against perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

Since 1954, at the call of the United Nations, November 20 has been observed as World Children's Day. The NHRC extended its best wishes to all children and child rights activists on this occasion.

The country has received Rs 407.31bn in remittances in the first three months of the current fiscal year (2024-25).

“Remittance inflows increased 11.5 percent to Rs 407.31bn in the review period compared to an increase of 25.8 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year,” Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) stated in the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal Report, which is based on three months’ data ending mid-October.

In US dollar terms, remittance inflows reached $3.04bn in the review period which was $2.76bn in the same period of the previous year, according to the NRB.

The central bank said the number of Nepali workers taking first-time approval for foreign employment stands at 110,654 and taking approval for renewed entry stands at 59,939 in the past three months. In the review period of the previous year, the number of workers taking time-time approval for foreign jobs was 113,397.

A surplus of Rs 111.87bn

The current account of the government remained at a surplus of Rs 111.87bn in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs 59.65bn in the same period of the previous year. “In the review period, net capital transfer amounted to Rs 2bn and foreign direct investment inflow (equity only) remained at Rs 4.81bn,” according to the NRB.

Meanwhile, the Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a surplus of Rs 184.99bn in the review period while it was at a surplus of Rs 101.66bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The report stated that the gross foreign exchange reserves increased 9.4 percent to Rs 2,232.28bn in mid-Oct 2024 from Rs 2,041.1bn in mid-July 2024.

It said that the year-on-year unit value export price index, based on customs data, increased 2.9 percent and the import price index decreased 3.5 percent in the past three months. The terms of trade index increased by 6.5 percent in the review period.

The net services income remained at a deficit of Rs 23.29bn in the review period compared to a deficit of Rs 29.39bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Trade goes down

During the three months, the country’s exports and imports decreased by 6.1 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. The exports decreased by 6.1 per cent to Rs 38.38bn compared to a decrease of 2.3 percent in the same period of the previous year. Exports to India, China and other countries decreased by 5.3 percent, 24.8 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively whereas the export of soybean oil, tea, particle board, shoes, sandals and oil cakes increased even as exports of zinc sheet, palm oil, cardamom, juice and readymade garments decreased in the review period.

The imports decreased 4.2 percent to Rs 390.75bn compared to an increase of 1.7 percent a year ago. Destination-wise, imports from India, China and other countries decreased 3.9 percent, 1.5 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively.

The total trade deficit decreased four percent to Rs 352.37bn during the first three months of the current fiscal year against a 2.1 percent increase in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The export-import ratio decreased to 9.8 percent in the review period from 10 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The consumer price increased by 4.82 percent in mid-October compared to 7.5 percent a year ago. Food and beverage inflation stood at 7.18 percent whereas non-food and service inflation stood at 3.49 percent in the review period.

Under the food and beverage category, the year-on-year price index of vegetables increased by 25.15 percent, pulses and legumes by 10 percent, cereal grains and their products by 9.57 percent and ghee and oil by 4.98 percent but the price index of meat and fish sub-category decreased 1.18 percent.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided aid to 845 floods and landslide victims of Namobuddha Municipality in Kavrepalanchowk.

UNICEF handed over Rs 15 million in cash to Mayor Kunsang Lama on Tuesday to give it away to the disaster-hit families.

On the same day, UNICEF Representative to Nepal Alice Akunga handed over the aid amount to the victims of ward 6 of the municipality.

A total of 59 families of the ward received the assistance amount. A total of Rs 15,000 will be provided to 453 families and Rs 20,000 to 392 families in the municipality.

The representative further said the assistance amount has been provided in consideration that women and children were most affected by the disaster.

UNICEF also pledged to provide financial assistance to the floods and landslides victims of Mandandeupur in the near future.

Earlier, UNICEF had provided financial assistance to 269 families of two wards of Bethanchok Rural Municipality.

In a bid to unleash the causes of conflict and provide relief and reparation to the victims, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed on November 21, 2006, some 18 years ago.

The objective of the peace accord signed between the government and the then rebel force, CPN (Maoist), was to investigate the truth about people seriously breaching human rights and involved in crimes against humanity and bring the perpetrators to justice, thereby keeping peace in the society by normalizing the adverse situation arising out of the armed conflict.

After a prolonged serve-rattling, the government had established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission for Investigation of Disappeared Persons on February 10, 2015.

The two commissions were constituted eight and a half years after the agreement between the government and the former rebels. Both the commissions took applications from the survivors and initiated general works related to reparation, but could not take strides on other aspects.

It may be noted that the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN (Maoist) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal had signed the 12-point CPA to bring a decade-long armed conflict to the peace process.

On the basis of the same agreement, the promulgation of the Interim Constitution, the two rounds of election to the Constituent Assembly, and the drafting of the Constitution were accomplished.

Yet it is imperative to provide relief, justice and reparation to the survivors that are the backlog of the home-grown peace process, and spell out the causes of the conflict and prevent repetition in coming days.

Recently the government had initiated the process by forming a 'recommendation committee' to recommend office-bearers to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission for Investigation of Disappeared Families on April 12, 2024.

The recommendation committee headed by former Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra will recommend the office-bearers of the two commissions. The application process is currently underway. Although the government and the concerned political parties were of the common stance that justice should not be delayed to the victims, there were some doubts about the enactment of the law for a decade.

Since the Transitional Justice Act was enacted on the basis of political consensus last time, the basis for the survivors to get justice has now been prepared.

A total of 63,718 complaints have been registered with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission so far. The Commission had decided to keep 3,000 applications in the parking lot.

Likewise, 3,243 complaints have been so far registered at the Commission for Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons. A total of 2,496 complaints are being investigated at length.

After protracted efforts, the Bill (Third Amendment), 2081 to amend the Commission for Investigation, Truth and Reconciliation of Disappeared Persons Act, 2071 has been brought into force.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ajaya Kumar Chaurasia said the government was working to conclude the remaining tasks of the peace process at the earliest. "Although many works of the CPA have been completed, the task of providing justice to the victims by investigating the truth has yet to be finalized", he said, adding the task related to transitional justice has already progressed, and the victims will get justice as soon as possible.

CPN (Maoist Center) Chief Whip Hitraj Pandey, however, commented that the peace process was supposed to be concluded in six months as per the agreement, but due to various reasons it could not move ahead as anticipated.

Bal Krishna Sah, a reporter for The Himalayan Times, received a Global AMR Special Mention Award in the Southeast Asia regional category of the Global AMR Media Awards 2024. He shared this recognition with Dr Tin Maung Htwe, a senior columnist for Standard Time, a Burmese-language newspaper in Myanmar, and Rindi Salsabilla, a journalist with CNBC Indonesia.

The Global AMR Media Alliance presented the award during its fourth Global Media Forum, held virtually on Thursday, Nov 7, after reviewing 413 applications from 43 countries.

Launched this year, the AMR Media Awards invited submissions from all six WHO regions, selecting winners in both regional and global categories.

Shobha Shukla, founder of the Global AMR Media Alliance, said the awards aim to encourage sensitive and responsible reporting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).