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Police have arrested two persons with pangolin, an endangered animal, scales from the Makalu Barun National Park area in Sankhuwasabha district.

Tshiring Bhote (35) of Ridak village from Bhotkhola Rural Municipality-2 in the district and a woman, who identity is yet to be ascertained, were nabbed with 200 kilograms of pangolin scales and other residual parts, the District Police Office Sankhuwasabha said.

The arrestees would be brought to the district headquarters at Khandbari and their status would be made public by organizing a press conference, according to the police.

As per the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (NPWC) Act, anyone involved in the trade of protected species may be slapped with a fine up to Rs 100,000 and a jail term of five to 15 years.

 Pangolin is included in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and falls under protected list in Nepal´s National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act.

The government has decided to fix the minimum support price of wheat at Rs 3,650 per quintal for the fiscal year 2023/24.

A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday made the decision to this effect, government spokesperson and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said. 

Likewise, the cabinet has appointed Mahesh Bhattarai to the post of member-secretary of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), Minister Sharma said.

The government has decided to restructure the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

A Cabinet meeting held today decided to reduce the existing 68 posts in the Prime Minister's Office, government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said.

"The PM office has been restructured in line with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s address to the nation on Tuesday. Altogether, 68 posts have been reduced at the PM office accordingly,” she said.

The Minister Sharma further said that the employees in the posts under the PM Office will be posted in other working stations. "Implementation of the commitments the prime minister made while addressing the nation has started. We will implement this measure in all other agencies", Sharma said.

The Yeti Airlines plane crash that occurred in Pokhara on January 15, 2023 was due to human error.

The Investigation Commission formed after the crash submitted the report today with this conclusion. The Commission formed under coordination of former Secretary Nagendra Prasad Ghimire submitted the report to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kiranti. It took eight months and three days for the Commission to carry out the investigation and prepare the report.

The government had formed a five-member probe commission on the day of the plane crash.  

Retired captain of the Nepali Army, Deepak Prakash Bastola, retired Captain Sunil Thapa, aeronautical engineer Ekraj Jung Thapa and Joint-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane were the members of the probe commission.

Receiving the report, Minister Kiranti directed the subordinate bodies to strictly implement the probe commission's suggestions.

Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Kikuta Yutaka paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel.

During the meeting held at Sheetal Niwas today, President Paudel mentioned that the Nepali people have appreciated Japan's unconditional respect for Nepal's sovereignty, geographical integrity and independence. 

He also thanked the Japanese government for its continuous support in the social and economic development sector of Nepal since long, according to the Office of the President.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 1. 93 points to close at 2,068.90 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 1. 62 points to close at 385. 44 points.

A total of 11,658,110-unit shares of 303 companies were traded for Rs 4. 29 billion.

Meanwhile, Vision Lumbini Urja Company Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Dhaulagiri Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited and BPW Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha 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. 21 trillion.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that complaints have been received that the service seekers have not got the driving license on time.

During a meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the prime minister issued a directive to make arrangements to provide the driving license at the earliest.

Saying that delay in printing the smart driving license would show the managerial weakness, Prime Minister Dahal directed the concerned officials to make arrangements in printing and distributing the smart driving license seriously.

Stating that the government and the prime minister will have to face criticism if the Ministry does not work properly, he urged the officials to be aware of the same.

“We are making qualitative changes in the process of policy program and budget formulation. The Planning commission and the Finance Ministry should also consider this carefully. Our responsibility is to develop the country,” the prime minister said, adding, “We should work seriously to restore the people’s hope. We should not leave any room for complaints.”

The Election Commission has appointed seven district judges as election officers for the National Assembly elections.

The election watchdog said that the judges were appointed as the election officers for seven provinces with effect from December 27.

EC spokesperson and Joint Secretary Shaligram Paudel said that seven district judges have been appointed as election officers for seven provinces for the National Assembly elections scheduled for January 25.

Morang District Court judge Durga Prasad Dhungel has been appointed as the election officer of Koshi, Dhanusha District Court judge Narayan Prasad Subedi as the election officer of Madesh, Makwanpur District Court judge Mahendra Bahadur as the election officer of Bagmati Province.

Similarly, Kaski District Court judge Keshav Prasad Bastola has been appointed as the election officer of Gandaki, Dang District Court judge Kripasur Karki as the election office of Lumbini, Surkhet District Court judge Bishnu Prasad Aryal as the election officer of Karnali and Kailali District Court judge Om Prasad Aryal as the election officer of Sudurpaschim Province, the Election Commission said.

The election officer should establish an election officer’s office at the Province Election Office of the respective province on January 1.