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Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Nepal Police Pushkar Karki has been arrested on charge of killing his four-month-old son.

Karki was arrested from Nagdhunga while he was fleeing the incident site, Sinamangal, Kathmandu, according to Pavan Kumar Bhattarai, Superintendent of Police and Spokesperson of District Police Range, Kathmandu.

"We arrested Karki for his involvement in killing his infant son. He was held from Nagdhunga and further investigation is underway," SP Bhattarai said, adding that Karki strangled the infant to death.

Further information would be revealed after the investigation, he added.

Nagdhunga-Malekhu road section would be partially closed for a week for upgrading tasks.

The Nagdhunga-Muglin road project is closing the vehicular movement for five hours from 10:30 am-3:30 pm every day from December 10-16.

The vehicular movement would be closed from Piplamod from Nagdhunga and Pokharebhir area.  The Road Project urged people to use alternative routes during the period.

Small and middle-size vehicles could use the Sitapaila-Bhimdhunga-Ramkot-Dharke road section. Similarly, a route from Samakhusi-Tokha-Chhahare-Galchhi as well as another route Jarekhet-Trishuli-Ghatbesi bridge could be used as alternative routes during the period.

Upgrading the Nagdhunga-Naubise section of the Tribhuvan Highway is in the phase of completion after blacktopping.

Engineer of the project, Keshav Ojha, said the road section would be partially closed as very heavy equipment and supplies should be mobilized at a time which might increase risk of accidents. 

Farmers in the Sunthan area of ​​Panauti Municipality-9, Kavre are currently busy harvesting potatoes. The area produces potatoes twice a year, contributing significantly to local supply.

Nepal, which has not yet become fully self-sufficient in potatoes, has been importing potatoes worth Rs 6 to 8 billion annually to meet domestic demand, according to data from the last five years.

It has been learnt that Nepal imported 287,000 tons of potatoes worth Rs 7.10 billion in the last fiscal year 2024/25.

According to statistics, the annual production of potatoes in Nepal stands at 3.3 to 3.5 million metric tons and the annual demand ranges between 3.3 to 3.7 million metric tons.

Current production is sufficient to Nepal for only 11 months, leaving the country dependent on imports for a month.  

Most of the potatoes grown in Nepal are used for domestic consumption.

It is the main food crop in the hilly areas, while it is used as a vegetable and snack item in urban areas.

In the industrial sector, potatoes are used to make chips and finger chips.

Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Maeda Toru paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Friday.

During the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, matters relating to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Nepal-Japan relations were discussed, according to the Prime Minister's press coordinator, Ram Bahadur Rawat.

On the occasion, the ambassador applauded the government's resolution to conduct fresh elections for the House of Representatives on the announced date, adding that the Government of Japan is ready to extend all possible support to Nepal in its efforts to conduct the elections.

In response, the Prime Minister thanked Japan for its contributions to Nepal’s development sectors and other areas, expressing her confidence in the continuation of such support in the days to come.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal participated as the guest of honor at the Mask Art Exhibition held at Patan Museum, Lalitpur on Friday.

The event, organized by the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal in collaboration with Lalitpur Metropolitan City and with the valued cooperation of IMACO Korea, showcased 60 Nepali masks alongside 40 masks from South Korea.

Speaking at the event, Woo Hyuk Cho, Secretary General of IMACO, said that the evet was organized with an objective to introduce South Korean masks as part of a culturally rich in an educational and aesthetic values and to support the development of cultural tourism in domestic and international levels.

South Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Taeyoung maintained that the similarities between Nepal and South Korea, has a rich mask tradition that reflects Korea’s cultural and traditional heritage.

He shed light on the importance of Budddhism which played a crucial link between two nations. Mask traditions across two countries share fundamental similarities, primarily revolving around transformation, the representation of spiritual or social entities.

Ambassador Park highlighted the long-standing relationship between South Korea and Nepal.

Officials from the Lalitpur metropolitan city, Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal, IMACO and a huge number of people participated in the program.

The event will conclude on December 7.  

Civil Society has urged the government, political parties, youth, and citizens to work together to restore stability and predictability in the country’s governance amid the sensitive situation following the Gen-Z protests of September 8 and 9.

Issuing a statement on Friday, the group said that it is not appropriate to burden the government that is beyond its mandate and capacity.

The present government was formed primarily to conduct elections and should not be hindered by vested political, collective, or individual interests.

The Society also warned that attempts to spread misinformation would further weaken the nation. “All of us will have to face the consequences if the government fails to hold the elections on the scheduled date. The resulting chaos and anarchy would certainly extend into the long term,” the appeal stated.

Emphasizing the need to safeguard the Constitution and the democratic gains achieved under it,  the Society stressed on the need to end corruption, nepotism, partisanship, and mal-governance.

“In order to ensure good governance, we must work to clear all obstacles and focus entirely on the holding of elections on March 6, 2026,” the Society said in the statement.

The Society further urged the government and the Election Commission to ensure that the polls are conducted in a free, fair, credible, and fearless environment.

Here is the full text of appeal

With the country in a sensitive and complex situation following the ‘Gen-Z movement’ of 8-9 September, it is the responsibility of the Nepal Government, political parties, the youth, as well as the rest of us citizens, to bring the polity back to stability and predictability.

At a time when the state is weakened, it is important not to make demands on the Government that are beyond its mandate and capacity. The current Government has been formed to hold elections, and its work should not be hampered by demands based on vested political, collective, or individual interests. Such demands, as well as attempts to spread falsehoods and suspicions, will only serve to further weaken our nation.

All of us need to be concerned with the kind of outcome should this Government fail in organising the elections on the scheduled date. The resulting chaos and anarchy would certainly extend into the long term.

We need to protect the Constitution and the advances achieved under its umbrella, and we must also end all anti-people trends such as corruption, nepotism, partisanship and mal-governance, ills that were targeted by the Gen-Z activists. In order to ensure good governance, we must work to clear all obstacles and focus entirely on the holding of elections on 6 March 2026. Only the medium of elections can keep the constitutional process alive as well as give unhampered and meaningful momentum to the political parties.

We hereby request the Government and the Election Commission to ensure that the upcoming polls are held under conditions that are free, fair, credible and without fear. Keeping in mind that only a successful election will justify its legitimacy, the Government must put all its efforts and activities into fulfilling that obligation. Meanwhile, we citizens will remain vigilant that nothing is done to mar the momentum that is developing for the elections.

We ask the citizens at large, political forces, civil society, media, the Gen-Z community, professionals from different walks, and all other responsible sections to contribute to making the 6 March elections free, fair and successful. Our country’s stability depends on it.

Presented on behalf of the following citizens by Kedar Bhakta Mathema:

Archana Thapa, Bhojraj Pokhrel, Bijaya Kant Karna, Bijaya Timilsina. Birendra Prasad Mishra, Chandrakishore, Charan Prasai, Dipendra Jha, Dovan Rai, Gajadhar Sunar, GejaSharma Wagle, Hari Sharma, Indra Adhikari, J.B. Biswakarma, Kanak Mani Dixit, Kedar Bhakta Mathema, Khagendra Sangraula, Krishna Khanal, Krishna Pokhrel, Mahesh Maskey, Pradip Khatiwada, Rajendra Dahal, Stella Tamang, Subodh Raj Pyakurel, Surya Dhungel, Sushil Pyakurel, Tula Narayan Shah, Uddhab Pyakurel, Vidhyadhar Mallik.

With the monsoon long gone, rains are not even on the horizon even as dust and smoke continue to give every living entity a hard time, in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley and other urban centers of the country.  

At 4:01 pm on Thursday, Kathmandu stood 18th (not so proudly) on the air quality index with a score of 123 (an air monitoring website considers the AQI between 101-150 as unhealthy for sensitive groups) far behind Tashkent (218), Kolkata (230). Lahore (217), Delhi (192), Hanoi (182), Dhaka (181), Mumbai (178), Almaty (163), Wuhan (160), Krakow (154), Kabul (153), Doha (140), Sarajevo (140), Karachi (133), Shenzhen (127) and Guangzhou (127). 

Even a cursory look at air quality monitoring sites suggests that we survive somehow in a neighborhood where pollution has crossed limits. 

Major cities in our neighborhood experiencing "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy" AQIs for days on end and posing serious health risks to residents, especially children and the elderly, should be a matter of serious concern for our government because we the inhabitants of this living planet breathe the same air and live under the same sky, and pollution anywhere affects us all everywhere.

An alarming situation like this calls for serious transboundary talks aimed at mitigating the debilitating impact, but the government appears to have other priorities, including the extension of South Asia’s first cross-border petroleum pipeline to Kathmandu via Chitwan and the construction of another such pipeline in eastern Nepal along with the construction of storage facilities. In a country where petroleum imports already account for a lion’s share of the trade deficit, the development and expansion of petroleum import infrastructure is sure to bleed the national economy further, apart from taking a heavier toll on public health due to increased emissions resulting from a surge in the consumption of dirty fuels.

In summary, a lush-green country (Nepal has increased its forest cover from 29 percent in 1994 to around 50 percent) taking pride in her nominal carbon footprint must go greener by taking measures such as reduced consumption of petroleum products, adoption of green technologies and engaging in climate diplomacy with neighbors and the rest of the world to curb pollution, air pollution in particular, that has been severely affecting everything and being—from the world’s tallest peak, the Sagarmatha, to flora and fauna to every ordinary Nepali with extraordinary potential. 

A man was found dead with a bicycle fallen in the Dhobi Khola in Kathmandu on Thursday.  

The deceased has been identified as Lalit Giri (50) of Mandandeupur Municipality-1 in Kavrepalanchok, according to Pawan Kumar Bhattarai, Superintendent of Police of the District Police Range, Kathmandu.

Giri was found dead with a bicycle in Dhobi Khola near Rudramati Bridge in Kathmandu Metropolitan City-29 this morning.

A police team has been mobilized to carry out the necessary investigation.