Submit your Article

The United States of America spent half a million US dollars to promote atheism in Nepal, Republican Congressman Brian Mast claimed while confronting a US government official over the issue. Notably, Mast is the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability. 

On March 21, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources in the Biden Administration, Richard R Verma, testified before the subcommittee as it assessed the State Department’s compliance with the Oversight. During Verma’s testimony, Republican politician Mast confronted him stating that the department’s ‘grant request’ document mentions that it gave money to “promote atheism in Nepal”. 

In the video of Verma’s testimony shared by the Republican Congressman, Mast can be heard asking him, “Would it be appropriate for the (US) state department to authorize half a million dollar grant from American taxpayers money to promote atheism.” 

To which, the official of the Biden administration, Verma replied, “It would not be appropriate to have a grant to promote any religion or non-religion coming from the United States.” 

After Verma admitted that it wouldn’t be appropriate for the US to promote any religion including non-religion (atheism), Mast inquired about the alleged $500,000 grant to promote atheism in Nepal. 

He asked Verma, “Half a million dollar grant to Nepal regarding the expansion of atheism, do you believe that is an appropriate use of the money.”  However, the Biden administration official denied extending any such grant to Nepal and argued that the grant was being misconstrued.  

Verma said, “That’s not what the grant is for and that’s not what the work would be for and frankly we would never authorize such a grant to any organization to promote any kind of religion.”  Further in the video, Mast asked him whether Verma was saying on record that no grant had been allocated for atheism in Nepal or divided up in other areas. 

The Holi festival is being observed in Tarai districts today. Mutual harmony and happiness is shared with Holi greetings.

The festival revelers smear colors on each other's face in a jovial manner. The Holi festival was observed in the hilly districts yesterday.

Observed with the onset of Spring Season, the Holi festival is regarded as the symbol of victory of good over evil.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country today. Nepal is currently under the influence of a western low-pressure system and an induced low-pressure system in north-east Assam and adjoining areas of India.

Light rain is taking place in some places of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces, informed the Meteorological Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

The weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly regions of the country, including Koshi Province, Madhes Province, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province this afternoon. Light rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of the hilly region of the country, including all the four provinces.

According to the Division, there is a possibility of light snowfall in some places of the high hilly and mountainous region of the country.

Tonight, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in Koshi, Bagmati, Madhes and Gandaki provinces and partly cloudy in the rest of the country.

Light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of rest of the hilly region.

The country reported almost 70,000 new patients of tuberculosis in the fiscal year 2079/80.

According to the National Tuberculosis Center, only 37,447 patients received treatment of the total 70,000 new patients reported in the year 2079/80 BS.

Likewise, the TB claims 18,000 lives in the country every year.

The information was shared today on the occasion of World TB Day, which was marked across the country by organizing different events with the theme "Yes! We can end TB".

Director of the Centre Dr Prajwal Shrestha said that the people aged 15 to 44 are more vulnerable to TB and the prevalence of TB is also among the senior citizens aged over 65.

Presently, the government is offering anti-TB medicines for free from 6,000 plus health institutions.

According to Director Shrestha, the country is implementing intervention programs against TB as a part of 'TB Free Nepal Campaign' and the identification, diagnosis and treatment services have been implemented in 125 local levels.

The Government of Nepal has set a target to eradicate TB from the country by 2050.

With the start of trekking and mountaineering season, daily flights to Lukla have started from Ramechhap's Manthali Airport.

Tara Air, Summit Air and Sita Air started regular flights to Solukhumbu's Lukla from today. It is believed that operation of flights from Manthali to Lukla and vice-versa will make the travel of tourists to the gateway of Mt Everest easier.

Since the Tribhuvan International Airport is busy during the tourist season, airlines bring tourists to Manthali and fly them to Lukla to avoid traffic jams. A large number of foreign tourists come twice a year to Lukla for hiking and climbing.

Previously, there used to be a large number of tourists visiting Khumbu region from the first week of October to the first week of November.

Praveen Subedi, Ramechhap in-charge of Tara Air, said that the number of tourists visiting from March to May this year is very high. He says that even though the flight started last Friday, flights were not operated that day due to bad weather.

Pooja Thapa, Acting Chief at the Office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Ramechhap, said that regular flights have been started from today with the improvement in the weather. 

She said that supply of aviation fuel has been arranged in Manthali.

Foreign tourists celebrated the Holi festival enthusiastically in Thamel, the major tourist hub in the federal capital Kathmandu and other heritage sites today.

The foreign visitors who have been here with the arrival of the spring season joined the Holi celebrations with much fanfare. Lately, there is an increasing trend of foreign tourists actively participating in the celebrations of Holi, the festival of colors.

The foreign guests were seen since early morning smearing colors at each other, singing and dancing at various locations including Thamel, Basantapur, Durbar Marg, Patan and Boudha areas.

The Thamel Tourism Development Council organized a Holi special program in front of the Employees' Provident Fund Building at Kathmandu metropolis-26.  The program featured a musical performance as well.

Council Chair Bhabishwor Sharma expressed hope that the active participation of foreign tourists in such cultural celebrations would contribute to promoting Nepal's tourism, extending the religious and cultural significance of Nepali festivals globally.

He pressed an idea of preparing a calendar incorporating our cultural festivals so as to connect values for the cause of tourism promotion. "If this happens, we can observe the tourism seasons throughout the year."

Among foreign tourists visiting Nepal, 80 percent reach the Thamel area, according to Council Vice Chair Sahadev Dahamala. 

The Council dedicates the English New Year, Nepali New Year, the Sagarmatha Day, World Tourism Day, Holi and other cultural festival celebrations to entertain foreign tourists.

The Cambridge Learner Award ceremony, jointly organized by the British Council and Cambridge International Education, took place on March 22 at the Hyatt Regency in Boudha. The event aimed to recognize the achievement of the November 2022 and June 2023 Cambridge examination series.

The British Council Nepal has built a strong reputation for fostering cultural exchange, education and language proficiency. With 65 years of involvement in the Global British Council Network, it continues to champion educational opportunities and deepen the relationship between Nepal and the UK.

Rob Fenn, the British Ambassador to Nepal, along with Mahesh Srivasthava, the Regional Director for South Asia International Education at Cambridge University Press Assessment, Satyajit Sarkat, Senior Manager for East India, Bangladesh, and Nepal of Cambridge International Education, Harriet Gardner, the Regional Exam Director for South Asia at the British Council, Shahida MacDougall, the Country Director of the British Council Nepal, principals, academic coordinators, school representatives, parents and students participated in the event. Their presence aimed to celebrate academic excellence and acknowledge their  achievements.

Students from educational institutions such as British School, Trinity International College, St Xavier’s College, Nami College, Budhanilkantha School, Malpi Institute and others were awarded for their Best across Four Cambridge International AS Level, Examination Series, High Achievement-Cambridge International AS Level in different categories like Information Technology, Further Mathematics, Literature in English, Environmental Management, Geography, Sociology, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology and more.

Harriet Gardner, the Regional Exam Director for South Asia at the British Council, praised students for their accomplishments in Cambridge education. She highlighted the partnership with Cambridge International Education in providing recognized qualifications not only in Nepal but also internationally. She emphasized the British Council’s dedication to assisting students in realizing their dreams through Cambridge International Exams, IELTS exams or UK qualifications. She reiterated their mission of promoting peace and prosperity worldwide by fostering connections, understanding and trust.

Fenn emphasized on 100 years of friendship between the UK and Nepal. He says “You are now ready for the world” and expects every student to stay connected, help build a brighter future for Nepal and build friendship deeper than before.

The districts in the Terai/Madhesh, including Kanchanpur, will be celebrating Holi, the festival of colors, tomorrow, Monday. The festival is observed today in the hilly districts.

However, with changing times, the celebratory events of Holi are shrinking, it is said. The traditional Hindu festival, which once featured worship and prayers offered to deities such as Ram and Krishna, as well as presentations of special Holi songs, dances, stories and dramas based on social, natural, and cultural themes, has now become limited to color celebrations.

In the past, dance and singing performances relating to historic and mythical events would be carried out during the festival, symbolizing the victory of truth over falsehood.

However, literary figure Kabiraj Bhatta said that such cultural presentations have vanished over time. The present generation mainly internalizes the festival with playing with colors.

Bhatta sees the need of preserving the cultural values and prestige of the festival. Traditionally, people would visit public places and neighbors' homes to celebrate Holi. The cultural narratives presented during Holi carry historic and cultural values, according to Ramesh Pant, Chair of the Progressive Writers' Association in the far-west region.

He expressed concern over the increasing trend of consuming alcohol and haphazardly playing with colors during Holi, which as he believes undermines its aesthetic values.

Moreover, modern music has replaced traditional musical instruments during the celebrations.

The District Police Office in Kanchanpur has urged everyone to refrain from engaging in any untoward activities and to observe the festival in a decent and civilized manner. They warned of taking action against any unwanted behavior.