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The price of gold has dropped by Rs 9, 500 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 295, 200 per tola today.  It was traded at Rs 304, 700 per tola on Wednesday. 

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 620 and is being traded at Rs 4, 980 per tola.

Gold and gold ornaments worth Rs 10.04 million stolen from the house of Rinji Lama of Boudha in Kathmandu on Tuesday have been recovered.

Police arrested Prem Chaudhary of Banke from Nagarjuna Municipality-6 last night following an encounter.

A total of 65 tola of gold was also recovered from his possession, said Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Thapa.

According to him, the police were forced to open fire after he attacked the police with a khukuri. 

The accused has been shot in the leg and is currently undergoing treatment at the Trauma Center, Bir Hospital. 

A policeman was also injured in the incident.

An election-focused training program for police personnel deployed for security of the March 5 elections to the House of Representatives has started at the Police Headquarters from Wednesday.

The training has been provided to police personnel deployed for election security as per the Integrated Security Plan for the House of Representatives members' election.

Under the first phase, a total of 4,148 personnel ranging from senior sub-inspectors to police office assistants working at the Nepal Police Headquarters, bureaus and Nepal Police Hospital Maharajgunj, are to be trained in different phases for 10 days, according to the Central Police News Room.

Similarly, election-targeted training will be conducted for police personnel deployed for election security through the election cell formed in all district police offices.

The training will cover election security, introduction, role of police in elections, security management, election security and the roles or conditions that the police should adopt in security arrangements, areas that need to be secured in election work, problems that may arise in elections, expectations of the services that various individuals will receive from the police and the responsibilities of the police in elections. 

In addition, issues to be considered while constructing polling stations, conduct to be followed by security agencies, security personnel and security-related employees under the Election Code of Conduct, 2082, election management policy on the use of social media, 2077, the Police Act, 2012 and the Police Regulations, 2071, and other election-related topics (provisions related to crimes and punishments) will feature in the training.

Fog and mist will prevail in many places of the Tarai region of the country today. 

Likewise, the weather will remain mainly fair in the hilly and mountainous regions, according to the 8 am bulletin by the Meteorological Forecasting Division.

Later tonight, mist will continue to occur at a few places in the Tarai region. 

The weather will remain mostly clear in the hilly and mountainous regions of the country.

Meanwhile, Meteorological Analysis by the Division states that there is currently no significant weather system influencing Nepal.

The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection has directed producers, importers and distributors to stop the sudden and unjustified price hike seen in daily consumer goods in the market.

Issuing a press statement on Wednesday, the Department has directed all concerned to control unnecessary price hikes in the market and maintain a competitive and fair market system. 

“The major producers, importers and distributors of food grains and oil are instructed to provide their goods or services without taking unfair profits and to provide relief to consumers by addressing the unnatural price hike,” the statement reads. .

The Department said its serious attention has been drawn to the complaints received from the consumers and reports in the media regarding the unnatural price hike and shortage in supply of daily necessities including edible oil, cooking gas, staple rice, etc.

The right of consumers to receive quality goods and services in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act, 2075 BS and the Consumer Protection Regulations, 2076 BS shall be ensured by adopting all measures as required. 

For this, joint market monitoring is being carried out to check on the producers, sellers, importers, stockpilers, and service provider firms and establishments of essential and daily consumable goods in the country.

The Election Commission has introduced the 'Election Campaign Bank Account Operation and Management Procedures, 2082' to bring transparency in the expenses made by political parties and candidates contesting the elections. 

Accordingly, the campaign expenses of political parties and candidates during the general election have to be linked to the banking system.

The procedure has been enforced in accordance with Sections 24 and 50 of the Election Commission Act, 2073, Section 16 of the Election Code of Conduct, 2082, and the directive issued by Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank regulator.

According to the Commission, all political parties registered with the Commission and standing for the proportional representation (PR) and first past the post (FPTP) electoral system, candidates representing those parties and independent candidates will have to make all financial support and donations received and spent for campaigning through this special bank account. 

The arrangement has been made to discourage cash-based transactions and keep clear records of all income and expenses.

According to the procedure, political parties are required to obtain a recommendation from the Election Commission Secretariat to open a bank account for election campaigning, while in the case of candidates, a recommendation is required from the election office of the concerned district. 

Accounts can be opened in designated banks and financial institutions only on the basis of the recommendation. 

Provisions related to account operation, transaction limits, process for submitting details and monitoring have also been included in the procedure.

The Commission believes that transactions through the banking system will facilitate identification of sources, tracking of expenses and subsequent audits.

The U.S. and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remained at odds over Washington's insistence that negotiations include Tehran's missile arsenal and Iran's vow to discuss only its nuclear program, Reuters reported. 

The delicate diplomatic effort comes amid heightened tensions as the U.S. builds up forces in the Middle East and regional players seek to avoid a military confrontation that many fear could escalate into a wider war.

Differences in recent days over the scope and venue for the talks have raised doubts whether the meeting would take place, leaving open the possibility that U.S. President Donald Trump could carry out his threat to strike Iran, according to Reuters. 

The Trump administration is withdrawing some 700 federal immigration enforcement agents from Minnesota, although about 2,000 agents will stay in place, White House border czar Tom Homan announced on Wednesday, a number the state's Democratic leaders say is still too high, Reuters reported. 

In an unprecedented surge, U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed thousands of armed immigration enforcement agents in and around Minneapolis this year to detain and deport migrants, resulting in weeks of feuding with the state's elected leaders, angry and sometimes violent confrontations with residents, and street protests across the nation.

Homan said the deportation campaign was in the interest of public safety. He was partially reducing the deployment because he was seeing "unprecedented" cooperation from Minnesota's elected sheriffs who run county jails, although he did not give more details, according to Reuters.