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The Christian community is celebrating Christmas Day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity.

Jesus Christ is believed to have been born in Bethlehem, Israel some 2022 years ago today, on December 25.

Today is celebrated as Love Day for those who came to love people, Peace Day for those who came to establish peace, and Liberation Day for those who came for liberation.

On the occasion, the government also announced a public holiday today.

It has been revealed that Min Bahadur Ghale, who was arrested with 14 kg gold from the Tribhuvan International Airport on December 7, used to smuggle gold into Nepal by contacting Ankit Agrawal of Dubai.

The probe committee formed by the Customs Office of the TIA to investigate the gold smuggling case concluded that Min Bahadur Ghale, Chandra Ghale and Krishna Kumar Shrestha smuggled a total of 138 kg  gold into Nepal.

The committee submitted the investigation report to Tekraj Pandey, Chief Customs Administrator of the TIA Customs Office, on Sunday.

A six-member probe committee was formed under the headship of Customs Office of the TIA Customs Office Maniram Paudel after Min Bahadur was arrested with 14 kg gold from the TIA on December 7.

Out of 138 gold smuggled into Nepal, police have managed to recover only 14 kg gold, the committee said.

According to the report, the TIA staffers were also found to have been involved in taking out the gold from the airport.

The committee said that AC mechanic Radkha Krishna Shrestha of Civil Aviation Office, Gauchar, office assistant Lek Bahadur Tamang, Ramesh Deula, working on contract, assistance Anil Shrestha and plumber Sher Bahadur Basnet had played an important role to take the gold out of the airport.

Once the gold was taken out of the airport, Ramesh Deuba, Radha Krishna Shrestha and Anil Shrestha delivered the precious yellow metal to the house of DB Gurung at Suryadarshan Height in Baniyatar, Tokha Municipality.

It has also been revealed that Min Bahadur Ghale and his friend Jeevan Gurung aka John take the gold to the place mentioned by Ankit Agrawal.

DSP Surya Prakash Subedi of Nepal Police, customs officers of the airport Customs Office Prakash Niraula, Dillu Prasad Sharma, Manju Thapa and Lok Raj Dhungana are the members of the committee.

The CPN-UML today made public the achievements of its 18-day long roadshow (Sankalpa Yatra) along the Mid-hill districts.

The Yatra started from Jhulaghat of Baitadi district on November 30 and concluded upon reaching Chiwa Bhanjyang of Panchthar on December 17.

During a press conference organized at the party central office, Chyasal and in the presence of UML Chair KP Sharma Oli today, the party said that the 'Sankalpa Yatra’ has achieved important milestone in linking development, prosperity and nationality, besides bringing enthusiasm in the party and amongst the party workers and the local people. 

Describing the Yatra as unprecedented and unforgettable, Chair Oli urged the government to give priority to the development and prosperity of the Mid-hilly region. Public assemblies and meetings, and discussions with college and school students were held in course of the campaign with the spirit and message of 'Relation Local, Message National'.

Similarly, the UML stated that interaction with the local farmers, dialogue with agriculture scientists, observation of developmental works and meeting with entrepreneurs carrying out model works, observation of historical, religious and cultural places, and collection of people's experiences, grievances and feedback were other highlights of the campaign.

UML General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel said the campaign helped the party in identifying the growing out migration from the hills and seeking solution to it, in promoting social harmony and national unity, and in understanding the economic, social, cultural and religious condition as well as the industrial and tourism potentials of the mid-hilly region.

The party top leadership, central office-bearers, the standing committee, politburo and central members and technical teams participated in the ‘Sankalpa Yatra’.

Automated cause-list management system has been launched at the high courts throughout the country from today.

Chief Justice Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha inaugurated the system amidst a program held at the Patan High Court. There are 18 high courts, including one high court in each province and the temporary benches. The cause list would be determined through this automated system at all these courts from today. 

On the occasion, Chief Justice Shrestha said the service-recipients would be able to access services in an easy manner and the quality, transparency and credibility of the service would be enhanced when the courts are fully made technology-friendly.

"We have started the system of determining the cause-list at high courts also through the automated machine after it was a success at the Supreme Court. It is transparent, credible and ensures quality. It is not done on the basis of one's special request. This system is initiated in high courts for the first time in the judiciary's history," the Chief Justice said.

According to him, this system has been possible from the human resources available at the IT Division of the Supreme Court alone and a study is ongoing for starting this service at district courts in the coming days.

"There is no discrimination in determining the cause-list through this system. Works in which the court and the bar have to carry out together are done in an effective manner. We are making a study regarding managing a system of registering cases at the Supreme Court from own law firm in the near future. This work has reached the final stage," he further added.

Stating that preparations are being made to create a situation in which one will not have to go to the court to take court date, Chief Justice Shrestha said arrangements are being made to conduct hearings via online at the Supreme Court and high courts as well.

He also shared on the occasion that preparation is being made to conduct online hearing at the remaining high, special and labor courts and at the foreign employment tribunal as well.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to move ahead the process of purchasing aircraft in a transparent manner, leaving no room for any error and dispute.

He gave this directive in the joint briefing and discussions program of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Water Supply held at the Singha Durbar today.

"Questions are always raised in aircraft purchase deals in Nepal. Let there be no such errors this time. The aircraft purchase process should be cent percent correct, error-free and transparent. There should be no mistakes and questions like in the past in the procurement process this time," he reiterated.

The PM also spoke on the need of changing several of our tourism-related policies and regulations as they are not tourist-friendly. "Let us all think about creating a conducive environment for the tourists. You bring the proposals and let us attract tourists by opening up the prohibited areas. Night time services should also be opened in the tourist areas and the government should be flexible in this too," he said.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati said the airports constructed on the basis of 'political pressure' were not operating in an effective way, stressing on the need of constructing airports only on the need-basis in the coming days.

He said that the solution should be sought for the areas prohibited for tourists and suggested making diplomatic initiation for operating the Bhairahawa and Pokhara international airports in their full capacity.

On the occasion, PM Dahal instructed the bodies concerned to immediately resolve the problem of the consumers having to pay water tariff even for taps which are dry. He directed for writing off the water tariff of consumers not getting water supply.

He also called for further expediting works on the Melamchi Water Supply Project while expressing happiness over the works currently being carried out in two shifts as per the 28-day integrated action plan for bringing 170 million liters of water daily from Melamchi to Sundarijal of Kathmandu within a month.

The PM also urged the bodies concerned to look for other sources of water to supply water in the Kathmandu Valley which has a daily demand of 250 million liters of water.

Water Supply Minister Mahendra Raya Yadav, Minister Kirati, Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sushila Shreepali, Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Water Supply Ministry secretary Suresh Acharya, Culture Secretary Deepak Kafle, Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Pushkar, among others put their views on topics related to works and responsibilities of their respective ministries.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 21. 03 points to close at 2,088.07 points on Sunday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 5. 29 points to close at 391. 33 points.

A total of 18,589,379-unit shares of 309 companies were traded for Rs 7. 11 billion.

Meanwhile, Bottlers Nepal (Balaju) Limited, Kalika power Company Ltd, Samling Power Company Limited, BPW Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited and Chirkhwa Hydropower Limited were the top gainers today with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Jyoti Bikash Bank Bond 2087 and Nepal Republic Media Limited were the top losers as their price fell by 10. 00 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 24 trillion.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has held consultations with the top leaders of major parties on finalization of the transitional justice issues.

Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak were present in the discussions held at the Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar today. 

On the occasion, the leaders talked on various topics including finalizing the remaining tasks of the peace process in relation to transitional justice, said Manohari Timilsina, the media expert to the Prime Minister. The meeting will be held on Monday as well, Timilsina added.

The bill for amending the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) and the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Act, 2071 is still under consideration in the Federal Parliament.

Preparation has been made to pass this bill in the coming session of the Federal Parliament forging consensus at the highest political level.

The government is in preparation to summon the winter session of the Federal Parliament.

The Banking, Finance and Insurance Institute of Nepal (BFIN) and “India-Nepal Centre” of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organized the second edition of "Nepal BFSI Summit 2023” on December 22, 2023 at Hotel Radisson, Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Summit aimed at sharing the best practices in banking innovations and exploring the areas of cooperation and collaboration in the financial sector—and further enriching the economic relation between two countries (India and Nepal) besides exploring the emerging regional and subregional collaboration opportunities.

“At a time when Nepal’s economy is witnessing challenges at crucial fronts like liquidity, Balance of Payment (BoP), falling demands, decline in both export and import, low employment generation in formal sectors, high rate of migration, lack of proactive policy measures for much needed economic reforms—a daylong well-curated and presented “Nepal BFSI Summit 2023” offered a unique policy platform for strategizing the economic rebounding in Nepal besides giving impetus to the economic growth in region. Here, the role of the BFSI sector was seen as a force multiplier,” said Atul K Thakur, Secretary, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI while chairing a session with the regulator and leading industry captains of Nepal.

Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister of Finance, Government of Nepal was the chief guest on this occasion.

Among the key takeaways of “Nepal BFSI Summit 2023 were:

-To identify the areas and scope to boost economic growth in Nepal and the South Asian Region (with bilateral, regional and subregional cooperation) at large with focus on BFSI Sector.

-To explore and discuss possible new avenues of financial sector innovations and cooperation, including for payments and new technology.

-To discuss issues regarding Green Banking, Energy Financing, Energy Trade, and other areas of cooperation.

-Discuss the HR Management and Transformation Challenges in the BFSI Sector.

-To further enhance India-Nepal bilateral cooperation in BFSI sector.

 “Given the wide-ranging benefits of cooperation and integration for the entire region, and the economic ties of the different countries in the region, a strongly felt need is to further explore the possibilities to strengthen and expand the scope of bilateral, subregional and regional cooperation in South Asia especially in the BFSI Sector. The shared experiences and collaboration shall script the new chapters of collaborative growth through the BFSI Sector in Nepal and South Asia at large,” added Atul K Thakur, Secretary, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI during the Summit.

A joint initiative of BFIN and PHDCCI India-Nepal Center Nepal BFSI Summit 2023, proved to be a major intervention for exploring the areas of collaboration and progressive action, the success stories of the financial sector, the issues and challenges in the region, with a shared resolve to come up with opportunities to work together in the region.

The program had wide-ranging participation from the decision-makers in the government and industry (financial sector), regulators, diplomats and Think Tanks.