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There has been a continued influence of monsoon wind across the country.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said the low-pressure line of the monsoon is located to the south from its average position. 

At present, the weather will be generally cloudy in Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country. Light to moderate rainfall is taking place at some places of Koshi, Bagmati, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the weather will be generally to fully cloudy in the Sudurpaschim Province and partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the provinces tonight.

Light to moderate rainfall with lightning is likely to occur at many places of the Sudurpaschim Province and at a few places of the rest of the provinces.

There is a possibility of heavy rainfall along with gusty winds at some places of Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces. There is a chance of heavy rainfall at one or two places in Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

Issuing a special weather bulletin on Wednesday afternoon, the Department has said that the weather will be generally to fully cloudy in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces and partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the provinces from Thursday evening to Saturday morning.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has forecast rain for three days beginning on Thursday.

In a special bulletin today, the Division said heavy rain is likely in some parts of the country in this period, urging the people to remain alert amid such possibility.  

According to Division's meteorologist Shanti Kandel, presently the influence of monsoon wind is across the country and the monsoon trough is positioned towards the south than the average location. However, the monsoon trough positioned around Madhya Pradesh in India is likely to further develop and shift towards the north, triggering monsoon activities in Nepal mainly in the western parts of the country. 

The western Nepal is likely to see rain from Thursday evening to Saturday morning.

Generally to fully cloudy weather has been expected in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces and partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the provinces.

As the Bulletin states, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely in many parts of Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces and some parts of the remaining provinces.  

A few parts of Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces and one-two part of the remaining provinces are likely to see heavy to very heavy rain in the next three days.

Tonight, partly to generally cloudy is forecast throughout the country while light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of Gandaki, Lumbini, and Sudurpashchim provinces and a few places of the rest of the provinces.

Chances remain for heavy rainfall at one or two places in the Koshi, Gandaki, Lumbini, and Sudurpashchim Provinces.

The Division warns of the risk of floods and inundation during the night due to rains, urging one and all to remain watchful of potential consequences.

A team of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has arrested artist Suryaman Shankar aka (IKU) on the charge of swindling various people by making fake promises to send them abroad.

He was found collecting money from various people in the pretext of sending them abroad on artist visas. CIB Spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Hovindra Bogati said that Suryaman, was arrested on the charge of defrauding various people of millions of rupees.

Spokesman Bogati said that it was reported that he had collected at least 1.5 to 2 million rupees from people to carry out the illegal act.

The Supreme Court has issued a show cause order demanding written clarification from the defendants over the writ petition filed against the appointment of Deepak Raj Joshi as Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Tourism Board.

A single bench of Justice Kumar Chundal today issued the order to the government to submit written clarification within 15 days.

Dhananjaya Regmi, another competitor for the same post, on Tuesday filed a writ petition seeking an order asking the government not to implement the decision to appoint Joshi.

In the petition, Regmi argued that Joshi was appointed against the rules using discretionary powers rather than being based on the outcome of the examinations taken for the same and appointed him to the post scrapping the board decision.

The meeting of the NTB Board of Directors on Thursday had decided to appoint Joshi as the CEO. Joshi has already assumed his post.

President Ram Chandra Paudel has said the annual reports of the National Security Council are historic documents.

Receiving the annual reports of the Council for the past two fiscal years 2079/80 BS (2022/23) and 2080/81 BS (2023/24) from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli amidst a function at the Office of the Shital Niwas on Tuesday, he insisted on the full implementation of the reports incorporating the overall challenges.

He thanked all, including the Prime Minister and the Council Chair who contributed to the preparations of the reports, according to Council Member Secretary and Secretary at the Ministry of Defense, Rameshwor Dangal.

The reports presented the details about decisions made and major works executed by the Council in the past two years with international, regional, and national security analysis.

Submitting the documents to the Head-of-the-State, the Prime Minister said dimensions of international, regional, and national security and related challenges are changing with time. He stated that economic, strategic, and diplomatic competitive rivalry among the major power nations and the regional powers have gradual impacts on the country's economic and foreign relations policies.

A new form of security atmosphere is likely to emerge in the world security theatre due to various ongoing wars, conflicts, and strife in the international maritime transport routes. The rapid and unprecedented development in the area of information technology has contributed hugely to the world's socio-economic development, while also inducing additional complexities and challenges in the security sector simultaneously, according to the President.

He said the reports have advised diplomatic, strategic, economic, social, and security measures to be implemented ahead keeping the overall national security in the center with consideration to possible challenges due to international, regional, and national security scenarios.

In accordance with Article 266(3) of the Constitution, the National Security Council shall submit its annual report to the President, and the President shall cause the report to be presented through the Prime Minister before the Federal Parliament.

The Constitution has provisioned the National Security Council for making recommendations to the government, Council of Ministers for the formulation of a policy on overall national interest, security and defense of Nepal, and the mobilization and control of the Nepal Army.

It consists of the Prime Minister as the Chairperson and ministers of defense, home affairs, foreign affairs and finance, the chief secretary, and the Nepali Army chief as the members. 

The secretary at the Ministry of Defense shall constitutionally act as the member secretary of the National Security Council.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 22. 73 points to close at 2,610.21 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 30 points to close at 463. 07 points.

A total of 15,428,724-unit shares of 317 companies were traded for Rs 6. 85 billion.

Meanwhile, Wean Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (WNLB) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Asian Hydropower Limited (AHL) was the top loser with its price dropped by 6. 88 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 15 trillion.

Nepal’s carpet industry, a leading source of employment and foreign currency, has been in decline, drawing increasing complaints from business owners. Statistics confirm the downturn in this key sector.

In its prime, Nepal exported carpets worth Rs 35bn annually to international markets. However, over the past five years, exports have dropped significantly, ranging from Rs 6bn to Rs 11.5bn annually. According to the Department of Customs, carpet exports for the fiscal year 2023/24 amounted to approximately Rs 11.4bn, representing 8 percent of total exports. During this period, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 1.52bn in total.

Once the top export, carpets are now ranked fourth, with iron, steel, coffee, tea, and spices dominating Nepal’s exports. Business owners attribute this decline to the removal of exemptions previously provided under the 1995/96 Act, making it harder to sustain operations in the carpet and wool industry. On Sunday, over 100 carpet business owners met with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, urging the government to remove value-added tax (VAT) on the import of carpets and raw materials. They presented a six-point list of demands to address the industry’s challenges.

The Nepali Carpet Producers and Exporters’ Association, along with the Nepal Exporters’ Federation, highlighted to Finance Minister Paudel that the carpet industry has long been a top job provider and foreign currency earner. They stressed that the recent reduction in government support has had a severe impact on the sector. “The production cost of Nepali carpets has risen, and the application of VAT complicates the process,” one representative stated. He explained that while VAT is refunded after export, the lengthy seven-month production cycle has increased the financial burden on businesses.

The challenges are exacerbated by the need to carry out different stages of production, such as yarn cutting and dyeing, in separate locations, further driving up costs when VAT is applied. Balram Gurung, a carpet business owner, expressed concern that Nepal’s carpet industry has lost its competitive edge in global markets.

The Economic Act of 2023 also imposed a 13 percent duty on raw materials imported into Nepal, further increasing production costs and harming the industry’s ability to compete internationally.

In response, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Paudel acknowledged the decline in carpet production, exports, and earnings. He committed to addressing the industry's concerns and promised to engage relevant authorities in finding solutions.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli underscored doubling agricultural production and called for adopting modern and productive agriculture rising above subsistence farming.

PM Oli, also Chancellor of the Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), said so while addressing the 13th annual general assembly of AFU from the official residence of the Prime Minister at Baluwatar today.

Insisting that we should remove the reliance on farming for livelihood, Oli viewed that agricultural production would be boosted with thorough study on what crops could be planted where and how the market could be expanded for those products.

For that, he emphasized collaboration among government, cooperatives and the private sector. The Head of the Government requested the AFU to produce skilled agriculture scientists, engineers as well as other human resources given the increasing need and demand of human resources in the agriculture-based country like Nepal.

Around 66 percent of Nepal's population is engaged in the agriculture sector and this sector contributes one-third of the nation's GDP, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

PM Oli in his address further asserted that modern systems and mass production find a market. We will suffer a trade deficit until we increase our production. The tendency of running an economy on the basis of exports and remittance should be bucked," he stressed.

Furthermore, he shared that the government was planning fruit cultivation in vacant land in the forest. In this way we could ensure agriculture contributes to the national economy and thereby increasing self-reliance on food production."