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The price of gold has dropped by Rs 400 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 125, 800 per tola today.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 124, 800 per tola.

Meanwhile, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,515 per tola today.

The Janak Education Materials Center Limited is preparing to supply school textbooks across the country before the start of the academic year 2081 BS. 

For this to materialize, the Center is completing the printing of school textbooks by March 28.

The Center then plans to distribute the school textbooks from nine distribution centers of all seven provinces from March 29.

Managing Director of Centre, Anil Kumar Jha, said that the Center has completed printing of 95 percent of the total textbooks from grade 5 to 10. "Printing of remaining textbooks will be completed and we will start distribution from March 28 itself. Entire set of the textbooks of all classes will reach students' hands till the start of the academic year," Jha stated.

Currently, the Center is printing 100,000 pieces of textbooks on a daily basis by running its printing press round the clock.

The Center is to print 17.5 million pieces of the school textbooks for the new academic session.

According to Jha, the Center is committed to completing the printing of the remaining 1.8 million pieces of the school textbooks within two weeks and ensuring timely distribution.

For the distribution bid, first priority will be given to the districts of the mountain region and then to the hilly districts.

There will be no shortage of the school textbooks this year too like that of the previous year, Jha shared.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane submitted a report of the probe commission on gold smuggling to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday.

Lamichhane reached Baluwatar this morning to submit the report to Prime Minister Dahal.

Probe commission Chairman Dilliram Acharya had submitted the report to Home Minister Lamichhane on Thursday.

Receiving the report, Home Minister Lamichhane said that stern action will be taken against those found guilty in the gold smuggling case.

The government in September had formed a probe commission to investigate the 60 kg gold smuggled from Hong Kong and the gold brought from Dubai by hiding in the electric cigarette ‘vape’.

The commission investigated the cases for almost five months.

Acharya said that a report of 485 pages has been prepared in 13 chapters.

The commission conducted field inspections of seven different customs checkpoints including Tribhuvan International Airport and Rasuwagadhi.

In the report, the commission has proposed the government to amend the existing laws to curb the gold smuggling and recommended various ways to improve the weaknesses seen in the investigation and prosecution of gold smuggling cases in the past.

A powerful pressure cooker bomb exploded at the tower of Nepal Telecom in Dumja of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-1, Sindhuli on Friday.

According to the District Police Office, Sindhuli, a telecom tower and a house near BP Park in Dumja were damaged in the blast.

DSP Chiranjeevi Dahal, who is also the spokesperson of the District Police Office, Sindhuli, informed that a bomb exploded in Dumja this morning.

Based on the information provided by locals about hearing the sound of the explosion at around 3 am, police reached the incident site and confirmed the explosion of a powerful pressure cooker bomb, he said.

Police said that they have recovered a pamphlet written People Vibration Army and Jan Mukti Sena from the site.

The 25th edition of the Flora Expo began at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from Thursday.

Organized by Floriculture Association of Nepal and Floriculture Development Centre, the Expo will run until March 17.

Chairman of Association Min Bahadur Tamang shared that a total of 73 stalls including 60 commercial ones, three landscaping, eight official and others are kept in the Expo.

The organizers have expected some 50,000 visitors and business transactions of worth Rs 10 million in the Expo.

The Association said that Nepal is now self-reliant on flower production in most of the seasons except for Tihar festival.

With the rise in demand for flowers, flower production and its farming has increased to 43 districts in the country including in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kaski, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Kavre, Gulmi, Palpa, Dhading, Morang and others.

Nepal produces some 450 species of flowers and the market of this business is of Rs 3 billion plus annually.

Six rhinos are being internally relocated in the Chitwan National Park from today.

The officials are working for the translocation of the rhinos with the increased number of the endangered animal in the western belt of the national park.

Now, the rhinos will be relocated to the eastern belt of the national park.

Chief Conservation Officer of Chitwan National Park Dil Bahadur Purja Pun said the rhinos are being translocated from Friday and 60 workforce including elephants, technical human resources, officials, Nepal Army personnel and other officials have been mobilized to carry out the task.

Information Officer of Chitwan National Park Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said six rhinos are being relocated and the move comes as per the study report prepared by the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation.

It is said that the rhinos aged 8-20 will be relocated to the Dibyapuri post of the national park and it could take some two weeks to complete the task. 

With the translocation of rhinos, the intercourse between the rhinos from the east and west belts of the national park could contribute in reproduction of rhinos as well.

Officials said that rhinos causing troubles to the people by entering into the human settlements would be relocated with high priority and the proportion of the male and female rhinos would be taken into consideration.

The Nepali football team has been forced to relocate their joint FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifying match to the opposing country due to deteriorating conditions at Dashrath Stadium. Originally scheduled to be held at home, the match against Bahrain will now take place in Bahrain itself, owing to subpar field conditions at Dashrath Stadium. This change in venue could potentially influence the outcome of the game. The negligence of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) in improving the condition of Dashrath Stadium has contributed to this situation. Such mismanagement in football has led players to seek opportunities abroad for a better future.

Furthermore, despite their unnecessary presence, 10 ANFA officials have accompanied the Nepali team currently in Malaysia. Their inclusion with the team serves no practical purpose and appears to be solely for their personal enjoyment, reflecting further mismanagement within the association.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has raised objections to the foreign travel of the 10 ANFA officials, directing the National Sports Council (NSC) to take action against ANFA for their unauthorized trip abroad. 

There is optimism among athletes, fans, and the Nepali populace regarding the actions of the newly appointed Minister of Youth and Sports, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, particularly his decision to address issues within ANFA. However, Minister Shrestha faces significant challenges ahead. The state of Nepali sports, not just in football but across various sectors, is concerning. 

Athletes are facing payment issues, sports leagues lack consistency, and there’s a notable absence of a proper scouting system. These factors are prompting emerging players to consider opportunities abroad. It falls upon the new minister to rectify these shortcomings within the sports fraternity.

The shortage of sports facilities is a pressing issue, exacerbated by the inadequate functioning of existing ones. Frustrated and disillusioned with the government’s inaction, individuals have taken it upon themselves to fund sports centers. Recently, Binod Kunwar, a cricket enthusiast and entrepreneur, independently financed the construction of a multipurpose stadium in Tilottama municipality of Rupandehi by investing Rs 400m. This significant investment by the private sector serves as a clear indictment of the government’s failure to address the issue. The new minister faces the challenge of increasing the number of government-owned stadiums and improving the conditions of existing ones to ensure that Nepali teams do not have to resort to playing their home games on foreign soil.

General secretary of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), Paras Khadka, exemplifies how effective leadership can positively impact the sports fraternity. Since his election to the position, there has been a notable increase in cricketers’ salaries and the organization of regular cricket matches. It is crucial for Minister Shrestha to uphold the expectations of the people and ensure that these positive changes continue.

Former Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chairman Sharma Oli has said national interest could be served better with unity among all political parties.

All parties' unity counts for the country's territorial unity, independence and national interest.

Chairman Oli was speaking at a program organized to inaugurate the ward office building for Dodhara Chandani Municipality-6 of Kanchapur district.

"Unity is essential also for curbing corruption and taking action against those involved in financial sleaze," he underscored.

He argued that development activities could not move forward in absence of political concord. Oli further viewed the importance of public service is reflected on how effectively they are delivered to the people. "I take initiative to solve the problems facing the people here," the former Prime Minister vowed.

On the occasion, Mayor of Dodhara Chandani Municipality, Kishor Limbu, sought UML Chairman Oli's cooperation on resolving problems facing the local people.

"Mahakali River erosion is a severe problem here. Shuklaphanta Reserve creates obstruction on development activities," he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman Oli inspected the four-lane motorable bridge over the Mahakali River and the site where the dry port is proposed.