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Singer and composer Arjun Sapkota has been named the most popular Nepali music artist of the past month, according to the December ranking released by music data platform “Viberate.”

Sapkota topped the list with a score of 492.4K. The platform publishes the popularity ranking on a monthly basis. His song Jhaliko, composed by Sapkota, has gained wide attention on social media. The song has received more than 19.5m views on YouTube, while thousands of users have also created videos using the track on TikTok.

The folk-style song features vocals by Melina Rai and Samikshya Adhikari alongside Sapkota, with lyrics written by Santosh Sapkota.

Maithili and Bhojpuri singer Sannu Kumar from Rajbiraj ranked second on the list with 444.7K points. Kumar enjoys significant popularity in Nepal’s Tarai and Madhesh regions.

Singer Sushant KC ranked third, followed by Tanka Budathoki in fourth place and Balen in fifth. The remaining artists in the top 10 are Sajjan Raj Vaidya, Trishna Gurung, Vten, Prakash Dutraj, and Melina Rai.

Viberate compiles its rankings using real-time data collected from major streaming platforms, social media, and radio, aimed at tracking artist popularity for musicians, managers, and record labels.

The CPN-UML has finalized its candidates for the National Assembly elections.

The UML has decided to field Roshni Meche, Prem Dangal, Samjhana Devkota, Ramkumari Jhankri, Mina Rakhal, Leela Bhandari and Som Portel as National Assembly candidates for the elections to be held on January 25.

Jhakri, who left the CPN (Unified Socialist) and joined the UML shortly before its 11^th General Convention, was elected as a central member at the convention.

A UML official said that any change in the agreement between the parties could lead to a revision of the candidate list.

The Nepali Congress, UML, and Nepali Communist Party have formally decided to forge an alliance in the National Assembly elections which will fill 18 seats.

The Congress and UML have also reached an agreement on the number of seats. They have divided seven seats each.

The Nepali Communist Party has been given three seats and the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal has been given one seat.

However, Pushpa Kamal Dahal of Nepali Communist Party has expressed his dissatisfaction with the number of seats.

A wild elephant was found dead at Dandagaun in Buddhashanti Rural Municipality-3, Jhapa district on Tuesday.

A male elephant was found dead at a farm of a local Lal Bahadur Rasaili, said Deputy Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Jhapa, Khagendra Bahadur Khadka.

Teams from the Area Police Office, Budhabare and the Division Forest Office, Jhapa, have reached the incident site.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, added police.

With this, two elephants were found dead in the current fiscal year so far, said Forest Officer at the Division Forest Office, Jhapa, Himal Pathak.

Similarly, four persons were killed in elephant attacks in the district in the current fiscal year so far.

The Election Commission (EC) has stressed the need for an effective mechanism to regulate the challenges surfaced in the implementation of the election code of conduct in the wake of massive use of the information technology.

The first meeting of the Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee held on Monday underscored the need to devise a special mechanism to control issues such as misinformation, hate speech and fake information circulated through social media and digital platforms during elections.

The Central Code of Conduct Monitoring Committee is formed as per Clause 26 of Election Code of Conduct, 2082 BS. 

The meeting was presided over by EC Commissioner Sagun Shumsher JBR in the presence of Officiating Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari and Commissioner Dr Janaki Kumari Tuladhar, the EC Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said. 

The meeting discussed the coordination among the agencies, role of regulatory bodies and challenges in implementation, and various other issues relating to the effective implementation of the election code of conduct. 

On the occasion, the officials viewed that awareness-based, promotional, and punitive programs should be initiated simultaneously for effective implementation of the code of conduct.

Officiating Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari said that regulation of the social sites was imperative and the Commissioner should effectively mobilize all its mechanisms.

The government has planned to conduct the second Economic Census, 2025 from mid-March to mid-July.

The census aims to provide an accurate picture of the national economy through statistical information.

This information on it was shared at a program organized here to unveil the schedule, log and theme of the census. The census will be conducted under the theme of 'Economic Census for Measuring Economy' from March 15 to July 16, 2025, according to the National Statistics Office.

Office Spokesperson and Deputy Chief Statistics Officer Dhundiraj Lamichhane informed that details of the census would be released gradually starting from the fiscal year, 2026-27. He stated that the census is a significant initiative for gathering basic and reliable statistics, which are essential for formulating economic policies, plans and development strategies.

Lamichhane added that the main purpose of national economic enumeration is to collect data on the number, type, investment, employment, production, and service flow of industries, trade, businesses, services, cooperatives, and private–public institutions.

Shedding light on the objective and importance of the survey, Chief Statistics Officer Dr Kamal Prasad Pokharel said this census would play a significant role in building a strong institutional foundation of economic statistics. He underscored, "It is expected that the economic census will make a vital contribution in short-term and long-term economic plans prepared by the government, investment promotion and employment creation and receive details."

Strengthening of the estimates of gross domestic product of the country, production of necessary data to change the base of national accounts, formulation of policies and plans of the government and assessment of the goals sets by the government are other objectives of the economic census.

The government had conducted the national economic census for the first time seven years back.

A total of 923,356 business institutions across the country were recorded during the first economic census and 3.228 million people were involved in the business institutions. 

Similarly, around 30 percent of business firms had women managers. There were equal numbers of formal and informal institutions, according to the first economic census.

Economic activities to be measured are divided into 21 parts as per international industrial categorization. 

The study takes stock of the roles these sectors have played in the national economy. Basic information on 18 sectors out of 21 would be collected for the census.

US Ambassador to Nepal Dean R. Thompson paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Sushila Karki.

During the meeting held today at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, matters related to various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

The Muslim community has been protesting in Birgunj since Sunday morning following the vandalism of a mosque in Dhanusha.

A group of unidentified persons vandalized a mosque at a Muslim Tole in Sakhuwa Maran, Dhanukamala Municipality-6, Dhanusha, and burned a copy of the Quran, according to an information circulated on social media.

The demonstrators have burned tires on the streets and shouted slogans in various places including Ghantaghar in Birgunj and Murali among others.

Meanwhile, a minor clash broke out between protesters and police at Idgah Chowk in Chhapakaiya.

Pollice also fired five rounds of tear gas shells to control the situation.

A police man sustained minor injuries in the incident.

The protesters have demanded immediate arrest and action against those who entered and vandalized mosques, the holiest places for Muslims, and burned the religious book, Quran.

Somnath Ghimire, a longtime Woodside resident and community leader, will formally announce his candidacy for the New York State Assembly in District 30 at a public event on 01/11/2026 at 6:30 pm at Gulshan Terrace.

"At its best, Queens is a place where every family belongs and has a voice," said Ghimire. "I'm stepping forward because District 30 deserves leadership that understands our communities and is committed to delivering real, smart practical solutions that work for everyone."

At the announcement event, Ghimire will outline his vision for a stronger and fairer Queens. His stated priorities include affordable housing, strong public schools, worker protections, and inclusive representation for all residents of Assembly District 30.

"I believe public service means listening, showing up, and fighting for the people we represent," Ghimire added. "Together, we can build a Queens where every family has the opportunity to thrive."

Further details are expected to be released following the announcement event.

Ghimire has lived in Woodside since 1996 and has spent more than two decades serving the Nepali American and South Asian community, advocating for workers, immigrants, and working families throughout Queens. His background includes serving as a 2020 Census Field Supervisor, helping ensure underrepresented communities were fully counted, and participating in human rights missions to 22 countries through the International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development (INHURED International).