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At a time when the CPN (Unified Socialist) is preparing to withdraw support extended to the government, Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah on Thursday sacked Minister for Economic Affairs Naresh Kumar Shahi.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Chief Minister had removed two ministers and one state minister of the CPN (Maoist Center).

The CPN (US) is preparing to withdraw support to Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah today itself.

The Unified Socialist has four Province Assembly members.

With the removal of his own Cabinet ministers, it is certain that Chief Minister Shah will fall into the minority.

On Wednesday, the Maoist Center had also withdrawn support to the government.

After the CPN (US) withdraws the support to the government, Chief Minister Shah will have the support of only 26 members.

He will have the support of 18 lawmakers of Nepali Congress, seven of Nagarik Unmukti Party and one independent lawmaker.

Experts claimed that neighboring China's economic development can also benefit Nepal.

At an interaction 'China's Economic Development and New Opportunities for Neighboring Countries' organized by China Media Group and co-organized by Nepal-China Youth Friendship Association here on Wednesday, the speakers said that China's economic development will benefit other neighboring countries.

On the occasion, former Nepali Ambassador to China Leelamani Poudyal said China's economic policy would have an impact in the world.

He said Nepal could benefit from stability and economic development in China. "China's economic policy during the global recession in 2008 had helped the world economy," he said.

Diplomat Hiranya Lal Shrestha said China has made great strides in economic development in a short span of time. He said the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Nepal has given some hope for Nepal's development.

Wang Xin, representative of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, said China's economy has been able to take a leap due to rapid industrialization development and research. He also claimed that China contributed 42 per cent to the global economy in 2023.

President of the Federation of Export Entrepreneurs Shankar Pandey, Chairman of Nepal-China Cultural and Educational Council Dr Harish Chandra Shah, Chairman of World Cultural Net Deepak Sarkar, General Secretary of Nepal Himalayan Cross-Border Commerce Association Ram Chandra Parajuli, Secretary of China Study Center Prakash Babu Poudel, among others, said Nepal-China relations have not developed as they should have been.

Chief of China Media Group, South Asia Bureau Zhang Yue and President of Nepal-China Youth Friendship Association Bishnu Sapkota stressed the need to work for Nepal's development by removing the confusion among the people about Nepal-China relations.

The assembly plant of the two-wheelers Honda has been established in Nepal. On 6 March 2024, Minoru Kato, Vice-president of Honda Motorcycle’s main business unit, inaugurated Honda’s Assembly Plant in Bhairahawa. Various domestic and foreign representatives of Honda Company were present at the ceremony. Tayuki Nakanose, General Manager of Kumamoto Factory, Vehicle Assembly Plant, along with Tetsuya Komine, Sales Director from ASH (Thailand), Yoichi Shimada, Production Director, Masahide Hirose, Sales Department Manager, Yasuyuki Yamamoto, Assistant Manager, from Japan, Naveen Awal, Production Director from HMSI (INDIA), and Pradeep Chaudhry, General Manager of Export/Import Sales & After Sales among others were present at the event..

In the program, prominent figures from Nepal such as Chabilal Biswakarma, Member of the House of Parliament, Santosh Pandey, Home Minister of Lumbini Province, Bhagwati Chaudhary, Province Member of Parliament, Bidya Yadav, Chairperson of Rohini Rural Municipality, Hari K Bhatt, former Chairperson of Om Satiya Rural Municipality were present. Padma Jyoti, Chairman of Jyoti Group, Saurabh Jyoti, Chairman of Himal Moto Nepal P Ltd, were also present in the event.

With an investment of Rs 1,500m, covering an area of 220,000 square feet, this plant has the capacity to produce 100,000 motorcycles and scooters. “With the new plant, Honda Nepal is committed to maintaining its world class quality standards and ensuring customer satisfaction. Syakar Trading Company Pvt Ltd, Honda’s authorized distributor for Nepal, has stated that the company will increase availability of products, accessibility of spare parts and service with this newly established assembly plant through its subsidiary company Himal Moto Nepal Pvt Ltd,” says the company.

Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has called its Central Executive Committee meeting to finalize names of the ministers from the party in the new coalition government.

The meeting has been called for 8 am today at the Balkumari-based party central office, informed JSP's publicity and publication department chief Purna Basnet.

According to him, the party having 15 federal parliamentarians has already decided to join the government.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expanded his Cabinet on Wednesday.

The newly appointed ministers take the oath of office and secrecy amidst a function at Sheetal Niwas as per Article 80 of the Constitution, the President’s Office said.

President Ram Chandra Paudel, Vice-President Ram Sahaya Yadav, Prime Minister Dahal and Speaker Devraj Ghimire among others were present in the swearing in ceremony.

The CPN-UML got eight ministries in the Dahal-led government.

Raghubir Mahaseth has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Padam Giri as Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Hari Upreti as Minister for Defense, Bhagwati Chaudhary as Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Rajendra Rai as Minister for Drinking Water, Damodar Bhandari as Minister for Commerce and Supplies, Jwala Kumari Sah as Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development and Balram Adhikari as Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.

Similarly, the CPN (Maoist Center) got six ministries including the Prime Minister.

Narayan Kaji Shrestha has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs, Barsha Man Pun as Minister for Finance, Rekha Sharma as Minister Communications and Information Technology, Shakti Bahadur Basnet as Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation and Hit Bahadur Tamang as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

Likewise, the Rastriya Swatantra Party got the responsibility of four ministries including Home.

President Rabi Lamichhane has been appointed as Minister for Home, Vice-President DP Aryal as Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, Sumana Shrestha as Minister for Education, Science and Technology and Biraj Bhakta Shrestha as Minister for Youth and Sports.

Bhanu Bhakta Joshi has been appointed as Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration and Dhan Bahadur Buda as Minister for Urban Development from the CPN (Unified Socialist).

The new power equation formed on Monday includes UML, Maoist Center, Rastriya Swatantra Party and Janata Samajbadi Party.

They were also trying to rope in other parties as well.

Padam Giri from UML, Hitman Tamang from Maoist Center and DP Aryal from Rastriya Swatantra Party had taken the oath of office and secrecy as ministers without portfolio on Monday.

Meanwhile, though Janata Samajbadi Party leader Mohammad Istiyak Rai supported the new ruling alliance, he said that it has not been decided whether to join the government or not.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 9.33 points to close at 2,017.03 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1.06 points to close at 358. 37 points.

A total of 9,138,154-unit shares of 308 companies were traded for Rs 3. 45 billion.

Meanwhile, Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likesise, Molung Hydropower Company Limited (MHCL) was the top loser as its price fell by 9.71 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 17 trillion.

The CPN (Maoist Center) has withdrawn its support to the Lumbini Province government.

A meeting of the CPN (Maoist Center) Lumbini Province Parliamentary Party decided to pull out its support to Chief Minister Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary who is from the Nepali Congress.

According to Indrajeet Tharu, the party's chief whip for the province, the party on Wednesday submitted a letter to the Chief Minister's Secretariat informing later about its withdrawal of the support.

In the 87-member Lumbini PA, 86 lawmakers represent 10 political parties and one is an independent. The Maoist Center has 11 members.

The development is the ripple of the latest change in political equation in the national politics with the ruling Maoist Center on Monday deciding to break its alliance with the Nepali Congress to form a new coalition government with the support of the CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party and others.

The 22nd International Festival of Owls was held in Houston, Minnesota, in the United States from March 1-3.

The festival was originally started in 2003 to commemorate the first hatching by a Great Horned Owl named Alice, which was rescued with a broken wing and was unable to survive in the wild.

“Alice fell from her nest when she was just three months old. She is still under our care,” Karla Bloem, the director of the International Owl Center, said.

Rescued owls from seven different species, including Great Horned Owls, Snowy Owls, and Barn Owls, who are unable to survive in the wild, were put on display at the festival to raise awareness about the need for owl conservation.

Researchers, scientists, conservation activists, among others, from different countries made presentations on different aspects of owls during the festival. To better launch awareness about owl conservation, the organizers also organized a competition among kids to produce owl sounds and several other events.

Dr Martin Salek, a little owl researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology under the Czech Academy of Sciences, spoke on the importance of owls and their conservation. Likewise, Dr Roar Solheim, a researcher from Norway, made a presentation on the importance and identity of owls.

An art exhibition on owls showcasing creations of over 4,000 artists from 33 different countries was one of the major attractions of the festival. Several posters and banners related to owl conservation were exhibited inside and outside the event venue.

According to the organizers, the festival saw the participation of over 3,000 people ranging from students to researchers and the elderly.

Douglas Thompson (79), one of the participants of the festival, said the festival was helping in the promotion of ecotourism and the conservation of different birds and wildlife species.

Nepal has also been holding conservation festivals to raise awareness for the conservation of owls. A two-day Npeal Owl Festival was organized at Lek Phant in Jaljala Rural Municipality of Parbat district last month. A documentary on owl conservation was exhibited during the festival. The festival is being organized by an organization named Friends of Nature.

Photo and video exhibition

An exhibition of a photo story related to the rescue of three different species of owls by journalist and conservation activist Krishna Mani Baral was also organized during the International Owl Festival.

Likewise, a documentary showcasing Nepal’s ecological diversity, ecotourism, owl conservation, and activities of the Nepal Owl Festival was also shown during the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Baral said festivals like these are becoming effective in raising awareness about owl conservation. “Nepal may be a small country in terms of geography. However, the country is home to great bio and geographical diversity with topography stretching from the lowlands of Tarai to as high as Sagarmatha—the tallest peak on earth.”

A total of 892 species of birds have been recorded in Nepal so far. Likewise, 23 species of owls have been recorded in Nepal, compared to 19 in the US.