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Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the school education bill should be passed in order to address the problems of teachers.

At the end of the discussion on the bill held with the stakeholders by the NC Parliamentary Party here today, Deuba said the problem cannot be left aggravating forever. Matters that can be addressed in the bill should be included.

He said the party will take the initiative to address the matter.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka, General Secretary Gagan Thapa, Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Health and Population Mohan Bahadur Basnet among others were present in the discussion held with heads and representatives of Nepal Teachers Federation, Private and Boarding Schools Organization of Nepal (PABSON), NPABSON, Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools' Association Nepal (HISSAN), Community School Management Committee Federation, Nepal.

Following a street protest held in Kathmandu by the Nepal Teachers' Federation expressing dissatisfaction over the bill, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had reached a six-point agreement with the teachers.

It may be noted that the bill was registered in the House of Representatives on September 13.

The Supreme Court (SC) has sought the government's response in writing on why cases were not lodged against former prime minister duo Madhav Kumar Nepal and Dr Baburam Bhattarai in connection with the Lalita Niwas land scam.

A single bench of Justice Binod Sharma on Tuesday issued a show cause notice in the name of government over the matter after a preliminary hearing on a writ petition. 

Senior Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane had filed the writ petition at the SC stating that the former prime minister duo were given exemption in the Lalita Niwas land scam.

Likewise, the SC has also ordered to submit two other writ petitions together that were filed before that demanded to register the supplementary charge sheet against the two former PMs Dr Bhattarai and Nepal.

At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a fuel depot explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh amid an exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region following a lightning military offensive by Azerbaijan, Aljazeera reported.

The region’s health department said 13 bodies were found and seven people had died of their wounds after the blast outside the regional capital of Stepanakert – called Khankendi by Azerbaijan – late on Monday.

It also said 290 people had been hospitalised and “dozens of patients remain in critical condition”. The warehouse was used to give out fuel to those who wanted to leave the region by their cars. Hundreds of people were gathered there when the explosion took place.

A team of medics are en route from Yerevan to Stepanakert by helicopter to help the victims, carrying necessary medication and medical supplies, the healthcare ministry said. Last week’s offensive came after a months-long blockade of the region by Azerbaijan that caused shortages of essential supplies.

“As a result of the explosion, Azerbaijan prepared nearby local hospitals and started negotiations on the evacuation of the wounded, but representatives of the Armenian residents of Karabakh did not accept this proposal,” said Al Jazeera’s correspondent Osama bin Javaid, reporting from the Azerbaijani city of Horadiz.

The announcement of the death toll came amid people fleeing the region, with Armenia saying that 13,350 “forcibly displaced persons” entered the country. In a statement, the government also said it would provide accommodation for all those in need.

On the diplomatic front, national security advisers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, France, Germany and the European Union special representative for the region are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Tuesday, according to Aljazeera.

Simon Mordue, chief diplomatic adviser to European Council President Charles Michel, will chair the talks, the latter’s spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

“This is to take stock of the current situation and prepare for a possible meeting of leaders in Granada,” said Ecaterina Casinege, referring to the Spanish city.

Azerbaijan’s military attacked Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, announcing 24 hours later to have won control over the enclave. The offensive forced ethnic Armenian authorities in the region to agree to lay down weapons and start “reintegration” talks, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by traditional regional powerhouse Russia.

Azerbaijani authorities promised to respect the rights and security of Armenians living in the region. But the news of their reintegration into Azerbaijan was met with panic and chaos among ethnic Armenians who fear that the long history of hatred and violence between the two would make any form of co-habitation impossible.

On the road heading to Armenia, more and more residents from the region appeared to be trying to get out.

“It’s a steady stream of people, we have seen in the distance miles and miles of ques of people lining up to leave,” said bin Javaid.

“The people are living with whatever they can put their hands, in whatever vehicle they can find, but they want to go out despite all assurances that have been given by the Azerbaijani authorities,” he added, Aljazeera reported.

At a refugee centre in Goris, Valentina Asryan, a 54-year-old from the village of Vank who fled with her grandchildren, told AFP news agency her brother-in-law was killed and several other people were injured by Azerbaijani fire.

After forty-two years, Nepal and China have agreed to amend the bilateral trade agreement that has been guiding the bilateral trade between the two countries. The two neighbors, on Monday, agreed to form a joint technical working committee to review and amend the Nepal-China Trade and Payment Agreement signed in 1981. 

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supply of Nepal and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce signed an agreement to this effect in Beijing during the bilateral meeting held at the Great Hall of the People between Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang. Prime Minister Dahal is on a week-long visit to the northern neighbor.

The Trade and Payments Agreement between Nepal and China has been in operation since 1981. The agreement allowed the use of a number of trading points for the transport of goods between the two countries. 

With a paradigm shift taking place in the international trade regime, trade experts have been insisting on an amendment to the bilateral trade agreement with China. According to them, there are several gaps in the current bilateral agreement and it has also turned obsolete in the current scenario as Nepal faces a huge trade deficit with China. 

After three years of border closures and transportation disturbances, bilateral trade with China is coming back to normalcy with the opening of the Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani border points. 

Over the last several years, imports from China have grown steadily except for occasional hiccups such as in the fiscal year 2019/20 when the government in Nepal imposed a lockdown in March 2020 to curb coronavirus transmission that went on for nearly four months.

On the other hand, Nepal’s exports to its northern neighbor have dwindled leading to a massive trade deficit in the trade between the two countries. Nepal’s exports to China in the last FY 2022/23 stood at just Rs 2.34 billion whereas imports from China reached Rs 231.5 billion in FY 2022/23.

Despite being a next-door neighbor, Nepal has failed to boost its exports to China. China has also been providing duty-free and quota-free market access to thousands of Nepali products which are available to Nepal for being a least developed country. According to the Nepal Trade Information Portal of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, China has been providing zero tariff facilities for about 8,000 goods originating in Nepal. These goods make up 95 percent of the total exports of Nepal to China. 

To receive the Chinese zero-tariff facilities, exporters are required to fulfill certain rules of origin conditions for their goods. Despite such a facility, Nepal has been failing to utilize the duty-free facility and boost exports. One of the reasons, according to officials and experts, is the strict documentation requirements to get export clearances from the Chinese authorities. 

The World Bank in its Nepal Development Update Report in April 2021 pointed out that Nepal has the potential of exporting 12 times higher than its existing annual exports with the highest potential of boosting exports to China. The multilateral agency has termed the untapped export potential as ‘missing exports’. From the perspective of destinations, Nepal’s largest ‘missing exports’ are with China (by $2.2bn), followed by India ($1.2bn), the United States ($800m), and Japan ($700m), according to the report. According to GAN President Pandey, the thin population in the bordering Tibet region also limits Nepal’s export potential to China.

Under the first Thunderbolts Cup sports festival, the group stage matches of football have started on Monday. In the under 16 category, GEMS School displayed a strong performance, securing a 2-1 victory against NIST School, Bhaktapur. Meanwhile, in the under 12 category, APF School emerged victorious with a commanding 8-4 win over NIST School.

In the group stage cricket competition that started today, LRI School dominated their matches, defeating both Manakamana School and Radiant School by eight wickets each. Similarly, Nepal Police School defeated Manakamana School by a big margin of 62 runs and Radiant School by 18 runs. Radiant School defeated Manakamana School by 19 runs. Meanwhile, Little Angels’ School defeated GEMS School by five wickets.

In the group stage of Basketball that began on 24 Sept 2023, GEMS School displayed their dominance with an impressive 41 points against Lord Light Academy’s six points. United School could score only 23 points against Radiant School’s 33 points. Similarly,Teresa Academy played a neck to neck match but were unable to score beyond 38 points against the LRI School’s 42 points. Sainik School played a thrilling match scoring 41 points against Sanskriti School but they failed to defeat them by only four points. Little Flower School, Jhapa comfortably defeated NIST School  by a huge margin of 36-08 points. Further GEMS  School continued their spectacle, scoring 45 points against Nisarga School’s 40 points. Similarly, Matribhumi School, Lord Light School, Sainik School, Ullens School,  and Little Angels’ School emerged as winners in their respective games on Monday’s events.

Rape-accused leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has left for China to play Asian Games on Tuesday.

Nepali national cricket team duo Lamichhane and Sagar Dhakal left for the northern neighbor at 12:30 pm today.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said that Lamichhane left for China after the hearing of his case was postponed owing to the lack of judges.

Lamichhane even did not take part in the farewell program with the Nepali team due to the case.

As Lalit Rajbansi is injured and cannot take part in the Asian Games, the CAN has decided to send Dhakal in his place.

Nepal will play against Mongolia on Wednesday and Maldives on Sunday in the Asian Games.

Doctors serving in different hospitals staged a protest in the Capital on Tuesday demanding security.

They staged a demonstration in Maitighar this afternoon in protest against the assult on doctors of Lamjung Hospital and Manipal Teaching Hospital.

While staging the protest, they demanded the resignation of Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha and Health Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet.

The doctors staged the protest carrying placards and banners with various slogans such as How long will they attack the doctors? And Doctors cannot be assaulted among others.

Nepal Medical Association General Secretary Dr Sanjeeb Tiwari said that the people involved in attacking doctors in various parts of the country should be brought to book.

It has become difficult for doctors and health workers to provide health services in a safe environment in health institutions across the country after a doctor was assaulted following the death of a patient in the Manipal Teaching Hospital recetnly, he said.

Dr Tiwari said that the environment of providing regular health services will be adversely affected if stern action is not taken against the culprits.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 400 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 800 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 112, 200 per tola on Monday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 250 per tola. It was traded at Rs 111, 650 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,400 per tola today.