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Ram Prasad Sapkota has been appointed as the vice chairman of the Nepal Tourism Board. A 368^th meeting of the Board held on April 15 under the chairmanship of Dr Deepal Kafle, Board’s Director and Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, appointed Sapkota as the vice-chairman of the Board.

A Cabinet meeting held on March 28, 2024 had appointed Sapkota along with Rajendra Lama and Rishi Bhandari as the members of the Board.

Among the Board’s members, there is a provision to appoint the senior as the vice chairman.

Sapkota was appointed as the vice-chairman according to the same provision.

The tenure of the newly appointed vice chairman will be three years.

The Nepal Tourism Board, established for the promotion of Nepal’s tourism sector, is the supreme body of the tourism sector of Nepal.

According to the provision of the Nepal Tourism Board Act 253, one member selected by the Board’s members will be appointed as the vice chairman of the Board from among the Ministry’s secretary, chairman and nominated members.

There is a provision to have an executive committee of 11 people including Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Director General of the Immigration Department, Joint Secretary at the Finance Ministry and five members nominated by the government.

Sapkota of Jyamarung, Nilakantha Municipality, Dhading has been active in the tourism business for a long time.

Sapkota, who received an honorary degree from the Word University of France, has received dozens of national and international awards like 'South Asian Youth Tourism Award 2019', 'Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award 2011' and 'International Sustainable Tourism Inspiring Story Competition 2013' Award and Tourism Man of the Year Award.

Chief of Sudurpaschim Province Nazir Miya has rejected contesting claims for the position of the province’s Chief Minister coming from rival factions of the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP).

On Sunday, Laxman Kishor Chaudhary of NUP’s Resham Chaudhary faction approached the province Chief’s Office staking claim for chief ministership, with support from the Nepali Congress and CPN (United Socialist). The day also saw Kailash Chaudhary of NUP’s Ranjita Shrestha faction staking claim for the position, with support from the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center).

But the province chief was far from impressed and called the contestants to submit their claims again within two days.

In accordance with Article 168 (2) of the Constitution, Miya has given both sides till 5 pm on April 18 to submit their claims for chief ministership, Dirgharaj Bhatta, information officer at the province Chief’s Office, said. 

NUP emerged as a formidable force in Sudurpaschim through the last general elections.  Now, there are fears that an ongoing conflict between Resham Chaudhary and Shrestha—founder and chair of NUP, respectively—may end up destabilizing the five-party ruling coalition at the Center. 

The 54-member Sudurpaschim Provincial Assembly has 18 members from the Congress, 11 from the Maoist Center (including the Speaker), 10 from the UML, nine from NUP, four from CPN (US), one from Rastriya Prajatantra Party and one independent member. Out of nine NUP members, two are from the Resham Chaudhary faction. As things stand, the four-party CPN (US) will have a crucial role in forming a majority government in the province.

Police have arrested All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) Vice-President Dawa Lama on Wednesday.

A team of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office apprehended Lama from Kathmandu.

"Lama had been on the run after the High Court Patan convicted him of dealing in narcotics (brown heroin) in 2064 BS. Our team arrested him today," Office spokesperson and Superintendent of Police, Rabindra Regmi, said.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Bin Hamad Al Thani, is arriving in Nepal on April 24 on a two-day official visit, sources said. 

 The government is expected to make an official announcement of the high-level visit soon. The Emir’s earlier visit, scheduled for November last year, was canceled due to an unfavorable situation in the Mideast. This is his first visit to Nepal. 

During the high official’s visit, Nepal plans to make a proposal for amending the labor agreement signed between the two countries 19 years ago. Qatar has reportedly responded positively to Nepal’s proposal, but it’s still unclear whether an updated agreement will be signed during the visit. About three lakh Nepali are working in Qatar, making the Gulf country one of the major destinations for Nepali migrant workers. The Emir came to power in 2013, following an announcement to this effect from his father, Sheikh Hamad Khalifa Al Thani. Born on 3 June, 1980, the Emir pursued his higher education in the United Kingdom where he attended the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst, graduating in 1998. 

Fourteen people were injured when a passenger bus met with an accident at Thinbang, Bagchaur Municipality-2 of Salyan.

The incident occurred when the bus (Ra 1 Kha 2085) heading towards Rukum from Dang fell off a bridge at Thinbang, Bagchaur-2, said Deputy Inspector General Kuber Kadayat, the Chief of the Lumbini Province Police.

According to him, four of the injured persons are in serious condition.

Nepal Police personnel and the locals have rescued the injured persons and taken them to a Tharmare-based hospital and the District Hospital in Salyan for treatment.

Further details of the accident are awaited, DIGP Kadayat said.

The gold is being traded at Rs 139, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 138, 550 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 750 per tola today.  

Today is the birthday of Maryada Purushottam Shree Ram. Also known as Ram Jayanti, Ram Nawami is considered the day when the light of truth and dignity prevails over untruth and darkness.

Ram Nawami festival is celebrated on Chaitra Shukla Nawami (the ninth day of the bright half in the month of Chaitra as per the lunar calendar).

It is celebrated to commemorate the victory of truth over evil and to the memory of Lord Ram. The festival celebrates the descent of Vishnu as the Ram avatar, through his birth to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya during the Treta Yuga.

The day is marked by Ram Katha recitals or reading of Ram stories, including the epic Ramayana which narrates the tale of Ram. Hindus visit a temple while others pray within their homes, paying homage to Ram.

Devotees are thronging the temples and shrines dedicated to the Hindu god Ram throughout the country since the morning today on the occasion.

A large number of devotees have thronged several Shree Ram Temples in Kathmandu valley, including Battisputali to pay homage to Lord Ram.

Devotees have also thronged the Ramjanaki temple in Janakpurdham to offer prayers. Today, a fair is also held on the premises of Janaki Temple. Thousands of devotees from India are also participating in the fair and take holy baths in the Gangasagar and offer prayers at the Ramjanaki Temple. There is also a tradition of staying awake at night with recital of hymns dedicated to Shree Ram.

Ram's reign in Ayodhya is remembered even today as exemplary statecraft. Ram is worshipped as an ideal man devoted to his father and mother, respecting elders and loving the younger. It is said that Lord Vishnu took birth in the form of Ram in the world to protect the righteous by ending the evil in the universe.

The kingdom of Lord Ram, known as Ram Rajya, is considered a model for justice.

The ongoing fourth general conference of the Traditional Poetry Writers Association of the World (TPWAW) honored three poets on Tuesday. On the first day of the two-day event, poets Sita Ram Adhikari, Bhuwan Hari Sigdel, and Prahlad Pokharel were conferred with the Yew Suhng-Gyou Literary Award.

They were awarded by the President of TPWAW, Kim Bong-Goon, on the recommendation of the TPWAW Nepal Chapter for the poets’ achievements in publishing around a dozen books about literature, including traditional poetry, over the decades.

President Kim and the President of the Nepal Chapter, Ram Kumar Panday, jointly inaugurated the conference by illuminating the traditional Panas lamp. The inauguration ceremony featured chanting of veda/swasti verses along with shankha dwani and mangal dhoon.

Presidents of member countries—Hoon Kim (Canada), Li Wen-Hua (China), Kang Jung-Hi (Germany), Choi Soonn-Hyang (South Korea), Sun Hwa Griffiths (UK), and Kim Ki-Sook (USA)—delivered congratulatory speeches for conducting the general conference.

Additionally, there were paper presentations on the analysis of the beauty of Chinese traditional poetry by Guang Shao-Kui, Korean traditional poetry (sijo) by Kim Bong-Goon, an introduction to the tradition of humor poems in Nepal by Ram Kumar Panday, and sonnets by Toony Peek (UK).

Further, there were poetry symposiums, art-crafts, and artifacts exhibitions, musical performances, and book exhibitions. Dr Mitra Bandhu Poudel, General Secretary of the TPWAW Nepal Chapter, delivered the vote of thanks.

Participants from member countries are also scheduled to visit Kathmandu, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the Pashupati World Heritage Site, and the Bouddhanath Stupa.

The two-day event will conclude on Wednesday with a closing ceremony and the distribution of awards and certificates.

TPWAW, initially formed through collaboration between China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, the UK, and the USA, saw South Korea take the initiative in promoting traditional poetry globally in 2007. Nepal joined the association later in 2013.

The series of international conferences began in 2013 in South Korea, followed by events in China in 2016 and the UK in 2019.

In addition to Panday as the President and Dr Poudel as General Secretary of the Nepal Chapter, the executive committee includes Dr Ram Bahadur Jitali and Dr Yadav Prasad Dhungana as Vice-presidents, Kishor Bajra Bajracharya as Treasurer, and Sita Ram Adhikari, Shiromani Dawadi, Ashok Man Shingh, and Shanti Sapkota as members.