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'Halkara', a feature film that tells the story of the social dimension of foreign employment in Nepal through a postman, has been selected in the 9th edition of the Asian Film Festival in the USA.

This film represented Nepal in the 'International Feature Film' genre under the 96th edition of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar Award). 

Bikram Sapkota, the film director, informed that 'Halkara' has been selected in the competitive section under the Festival to be organized in Culver City, Los Angeles of the USA from November 8 to December 3.

"We are excited to announce that our film has been nominated for the Award. Two shows are planned. We are inspired by the review that our unique story got in the international film festival," said Sapkota.

Artistes Mahesh Tripathi, Binita Thapa Magar and Deepak Chhetri, among others, have acted in the film.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is presently on a four-day official visit to Nepal beginning on Sunday, has said the world should learn a lesson from Nepal's homegrown practices for the establishment of peace.

In his address to a program organized at the Pulchowk-based UN Building in Lalitpur today, Guterres said the world should take a lesson from Nepal's homegrown practices for establishing peace, efforts to conclude transitional justice and its contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations.

On the occasion, he urged the UN staff in Nepal to assist Nepal to become competitive and successful in each areas including the socio-economic sector.  He sought the role of UN staff here in Nepal's efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

He made it clear that his Nepal visit is primarily centered on the matters to conclude the peace process, to assist those affected by the impact of climate change and to facilitate Nepal to graduate to a developing country from the category of the least developed country.  He reminded that the interests of survivors be prioritized while taking the transitional justice process to a conclusion.

Expressing his concerns about Nepal bearing the brunt of the impacts of climate change including snow melting although it does not have any role in carbon emissions globally, Secretary-General Guterres stressed the need for all stakeholders to take the matter seriously.

Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal said all assistance would continue for upgrading Nepal to a developing country and achieving a sustainable peace as per the UN guidelines and recommendations. The UN continues to support Nepal for the implementation of its constitutional rights and the equitable inclusive development, she added.

Guterres arrived in Nepal on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 3.04 points to close at 1,878.70 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1.18 points to close at 363. 13 points.

A total of 2,824,007-unit shares of 287 companies were traded for Rs 694 billion.

Meanwhile, Panchakanya Mai Hydropower Ltd was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 7. 82 percent. Likewise, Sonapur Minerals and Oil Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 10.00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 89 trillion.

India has implemented a new energy rule that allows its distributors to include imported hydropower energy within the renewable energy quota allocated to them.

In a notification published in the Gazette on Oct 20, India’s Ministry of Power established a revised quota for renewable energy that distribution companies must adhere to, starting from the fiscal year 2024/25. This new quota comprises separate shares for wind, hydropower, distributed renewable energy, and other renewable sources.

As per the new rule, Indian energy distributors are required to source 29.91 percent of their total energy demand from renewable sources in 2024/25. The share will increase to 43.33 percent by 2029/30. The specific quota for hydropower has been set at 0.38 percent for 2024/25, with an increment to 1.33 percent by 2029/30.

“The hydropower renewable energy component may also be met from hydropower projects located outside India, as approved by the Central Government on a case-to-case basis,” the notification states. Previously, Indian energy distributors were allowed to count hydropower produced domestically to meet their hydropower purchase obligations (HPOs). Distributors who fail to meet the new HPOs may face penalties imposed by the government.

Kul Man Ghising, executive director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), welcomed the new rule and said that it would benefit Nepal and Bhutan as well as India. “We had long been requesting Indian officials to recognize imported energy within the HPO, and it has finally been implemented,” Ghising said. “This new rule, if effectively enforced, will create a promising market for our energy in India.”

NEA has been exporting surplus energy to India during the wet season. It has received permission to sell 522 MW in the Day-Ahead market of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX). Furthermore, it has been selling 110 MW to NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd after reaching a five-year agreement with the Indian energy distribution company. NVVN is distributing energy imported from Nepal in the Haryana state. NEA has also received permission to export 44 MW, out of the 522 MW permitted for sale in the competitive market, in the Real TIme market of IEX.

Meanwhile, NEA exported electricity worth Rs 11.8bn to India from the second week of June to mid-October. NEA began its energy exports on June 11 this year. It sold electricity worth Rs 4.02bn in the month of mid-Sept to mid-Oct alone. Likewise, it sold energy worth Rs 1.75bn in mid-June to mid-July, Rs 2.14bn in mid-July to mid-Aug and Rs 3.47bn in mid-Aug to mid-Sept. 

The average unit price for the energy sold stood at Rs 10.27. Kul Man Ghising, Executive Director of NEA, projects that NEA could earn Rs 16bn by selling energy to India during the current fiscal year. The Indian cabinet has already decided to import 10,000 MW electricity from Nepal in the next 10 years. 

Five conflict victims’ organizations have sought an urgent meeting with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is currently on a four-day official visit to Nepal, to share their collective pain and experience of the TJ process so far.

“Secretary General, between now and the time of your departure on Wednesday morning, we request you to find time for a meeting so that victims’ representatives may share with our collective pain, experience of the TJ process thus far, our efforts for credible TJ process and suggestions,” reads a statement signed by Rupesh Shah, Chairperson Nepali Society of Families of Disappeared and Missing Nepal (NEFAD), Surendra KC, Chairperson of National Network of Disabled Conflicts Victims, Srijana Singh, Chairperson of Conflict Victim Women National Network (CVWN), Gopal Shah, Chairperson of Conflict Victims National Alliance (CVNA) and Kalyan Budhathoki, Acting Chairperson Conflict Victims Common Platform (CVCP).

“We are happy that Nepal’s peace process and transitional justice form a prominent part of your current visit’s agenda. We have been gratified by your public call for our transitional justice process to follow precepts of international humanitarian law, judgements of Nepal’s Supreme Court and the needs of conflict victims,” according to the statement.

They, however, expressed their displeasure over not including them, the victims of Nepal’s decade-long conflict, in his itinerary.

“As far as the peace process is concerned, we note that your scheduled meetings have been with the leaders of the former warring sides but not citizens who were victimized by the actions of the state on the one hand and the rebels on the other,” the statement further reads.

Underscoring that Nepal’s peace process has the possibility of succeeding where so many others have failed and stand as an example for post-conflict societies, they said that it is important to ensure success of the Nepali process with immediate provision of reparation to victims and a principled truth, justice, reparation and reconciliation process that includes accountability of heinous crime.

“While our own government has not been enthused to arrange a meeting between us, we hope that his request for an appointment by us victims, united regardless of the source of our pain will be considered positively by you,” the statement further reads.

An unidentified group opened fire at Rupesh Sarap aka Guddu, principal of Bal Ekta Boarding School in Madrasa Tole, Kalaiya Sub-Metropolitan City-6, Bara on Monday.

The District Police Office, Bara said that four unidentified persons riding on two bikes opened fire at 35-year-old Sarap this afternoon.

The incident occurred while he was heading home from school on a motorbike at around 1pm today.

Sarap received two bullets on his chest and stomach.

Initially, he was taken to Provincial Hospital in Kalaiya for primary treatment. Later, he was referred to Birgunj-based Nepal Mediciti Vayodha Hospital for further treatment.

According to a hospital source, he is in critical condition.

SP Suresh Kafle said they are searching for the miscreants.

Visiting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has pledged to bring global attention to the impact of climate change on mountain life in Nepal.

He made this commitment while visiting the Khumbu Pasang Lhyamu Rural Municipality-4 in Solukhumbu as part of his four-day official trip to Nepal.

On the occasion, Guterres engaged in an interaction with the local community to discuss the challenges posed by climate change and its impacts on their daily lives. He vowed to inform the world about the consequences of climate change in mountain regions, incorporating the input of the local residents in the upcoming COP-28, the UN Climate Change Conference.

The UN Secretary General highlighted that developed nations bear significant responsibility for climate change, but it is disheartening that rural areas like Khumbu are experiencing its consequences disproportionately, according to rural municipality chair Laxman Adhikari.

Guterres vowed to initiate efforts to mitigate the consequences of climate change and raise global awareness of the urgency of addressing these issues.

During the interaction, local residents informed him about various climate change-related issues, including the melting of snow, climate change-induced hazards, the depletion of water resources, the impact on local agriculture, and occurrences of avalanches. They also discussed the energy crisis in their locality and requested UN support for the development of micro hydropower projects.

The delegation led by Secretary General Guterres includes Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Undersecretary General for Peace Operations, the United Nations, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal and other UN officials.

Guterres arrived in Nepal on Sunday on his four-day official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

On the first day of his visit, he separately paid a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel and PM Dahal. He also had separate meetings with Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud.

Following the meetings, Secretary General Guterres visited the Patan Durbar Square, a heritage site of historical and archeological importance.

PM Dahal hosted a banquet reception on Sunday evening in his honor. 

During his stay in Nepal, he is planning to visit Pokhara, Annapurna Base Camp and Lumbini.

According to the Parliament Secretariat, he is slated to address the joint session of the Federal Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has said that Nepal’s transitional justice process should meet the international standards, the Supreme Court’s ruling and the needs of the conflict victims.

Speaking with media persons after meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the head of the global body stated that Nepal has embarked on the final stages of the peace process with progress on transitional justice process. Government is making preparations to present an amendment bill in the federal Parliament for endorsement but conflict victims and the international community are expressing dissatisfaction over some of the provisions. They are of the view that there still is room for blanket amnesty in the proposed bill.

Transitional justice must help bring peace to victims, families and communities, the secretary-general said, The United Nations stands ready to support Nepal to develop a process that meets international standards, the Supreme Court’s rulings, and the needs of victims—and put it into practice.

The UN Chief, who arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday, said he is in Kathmandu to strengthen the deep friendship and cooperation between Nepal and the UN.  Nepal has a long and proud tradition of championing peace and multilateralism, he said, and the United Nations is hugely grateful to Nepal for “your support for multilateral solutions—backed up by the enormous contribution you make to peacekeeping missions around the world.”

“Nepal’s progress over the past 20 years has been astonishing: You have become a republic, established peace and thrown yourselves behind the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action.” The next few years will be decisive, as Nepal prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country status, he said. Nepal is also caught in a blizzard of global crises not of its making: The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation caused by the international economic situation and the enormous threat posed by climate chaos, the UN Chief said. “Much more international action is needed. Developed countries must step up to support sustainable development, and help developing economies including Nepal to tackle the climate crisis.”

On this trip, I will visit the Himalayas to see for myself the terrible impact of the climate crisis on the glaciers, he further said, describing the situation as “dire and accelerating”. 

He said: Nepal has lost close to a third of its ice in just over 30 years. And glaciers are melting at record rates. The impact on communities is devastating and I will meet local people in the Himalayas to hear directly from them about how they are affected. 

The UN head also spoke about the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. 

We are living in difficult and tense times, he said. “I know that even though the conflict in the Middle East is thousands of miles away, it has hit very close to home for the people of Nepal.”

The UN head extended his deepest condolences to the families of the 10 Nepali students killed in the terror attacks by Hamas in Israel on Oct 7, and extended his best wishes for the safe return of Bipin Joshi, who is missing.

“And I repeat my utter condemnation of the appalling attacks perpetrated by Hamas. There is no justification, ever, for the killing, injuring and abduction of civilians,” he said. 

“The situation in Gaza is growing more desperate by the hours. I regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations.”

Guterres said he would also visit Lumbini, Gautam Buddha’s birthplace in southern Nepal “to reflect on Lord Buddha’s teachings of peace and non-violence, which are more relevant than ever in our deeply troubled world.”