Submit your Article

Nepal will make 97 of its Himalayan mountains free to climb for the next two years in a bid to boost tourism in some of its more remote areas, BBC reported.

It comes as permit fees to summit Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, during peak season will go up to $15,000 (£11,170) from September - the first increase in nearly a decade.

Nepal's tourism department said it hopes the initiative will highlight the country's "unexplored tourism products and destinations". 

Mountaineering generates a significant source of revenue for Nepal, which is home to the world's 10 tallest mountains. Climbing fees brought in $5.9m last year, with Everest accounting for more than three quarters of that, according to BBC.

Newly-appointed Chief Minister of Bagmati Province Indra Bahadur Baniya is seeking a vote of confidence from the Province Assembly today.

Secretary of Bagmati Province Assembly Secretariat Ram Kumar Paudel said that Chief Minister Baniya is scheduled to table a proposal seeking the vote of confidence  at the province assembly meeting at 4 pm today. 

Baniya was appointed the Chief Minister of Bagmati Province on August 5 with the signature of 64 Province Assembly Members of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML in his support.

As per the constitution, the Chief Minister should take a vote of confidence from the Province Assembly within 30 days of the appointment. 

Chief Minister Baniya is seeking the confidence motion as per Article 168 (4) of the Constitution of Nepal and Rule 143 (1) of the Province Assembly Regulations, 2074.

Likewise, the ruling NC and UML have issued whips to their provincial assembly members to give the vote of confidence to Baniya. 

The monsoon trough is towards the north of its average position at present. 

The Meteorological Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology stated that the weather will remain generally cloudy across the country today.

Moderate rainfall is expected in most parts of the hilly region of the country as well as in the Tarai region. Similarly, heavy rainfall is likely at one or two places in the hilly areas of Koshi Province.

Likewise, the weather is expected to remain generally cloudy across the country tonight, with a forecast of moderate rainfall in some areas of the hilly regions of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces, as well as in parts of the hilly and Tarai regions of the remaining provinces. 

A very heavy rainfall to heavy rainfall is also likely at one or two places in the hilly areas of Koshi and Bagmati Provinces and some areas of the Tarai belt, and a heavy rainfall in one or two places of the hilly parts of Gandaki Province and the Tarai belt of Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces.

No stray dogs roaming the streets of New Delhi?

That could be possible in the future after India’s top court ordered authorities in New Delhi to start removing all stray dogs from the streets, and to sterilize and relocate them to shelters permanently. 

In its order Monday, the Supreme Court directed the capital’s civic bodies to immediately initiate the process of capturing 5,000 stray dogs from “high-risk areas” for now and send them to shelters equipped with adequate staff and CCTV surveillance within six to eight weeks, Associated Press reported.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday his country would inevitably be drawn “kicking and screaming” into any war over Taiwan due to its proximity to the self-ruled island and the presence of large numbers of Filipino workers there, despite China’s strong protest over such remarks, Associated Press reported.

Marcos also told a news conference that the Philippines’ coast guard, navy and other vessels defending its territorial interests in the South China Sea would never back down and would stand their ground in the contested waters after the Chinese coast guard on Monday staged dangerous blocking maneuvers and used a powerful water cannon to try to drive away Philippine vessels from the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal.

It’s the latest flare-up of long-simmering territorial disputes in the busy waterway, a key global trade route, where overlapping claims between China and the Philippines have escalated in recent years. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters, according to Associated Press.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that the Bill to amend the Citizenship Act-2063 BS (2006) aims to recognize the mother as the primary patron of a child, granting her the right to solely declare and assume responsibility for the child.

Responding to concerns raised during the theoretical discussions on the Nepal Citizenship Bill-2081 BS at the Legislation Management Committee under the National Assembly today, the minister said, "The objective of the Bill is to ensure the mother’s full rights to pass on citizenship to her child, provided she declares that the child's father cannot be presented."

He added that the provision does not seek to grant rights exclusively to mothers. "If the mother's declaration is found to be false, the Bill includes provisions for legal inquiry and penalty as well," he clarified.

The minister highlighted that, due to the absence of citizenship, many children are facing serious challenges in their education and career development.

Regarding naturalized Nepali citizenship, the Bill has sought the mother's declaration that her child has not acquired citizenship of a foreign country based on the father’s nationality. Under the current law, only the individual applying for naturalized citizenship is required to make such a declaration.

In regard with the naturalised citizenship, the existing provision is that "A child born to a Nepali female citizen through marriage with a foreign citizen, residing permanently in Nepal, may be granted naturalized citizenship as prescribed, provided the child has not acquired foreign citizenship through the father."

The Bill has also proposed that a child is eligible for obtaining citizenship in the mother’s name if the father is dead or not supporting the child in acquiring citizenship, or is married to another person. "We have simplified the procedures for transferring citizenship in the mother's name," Minister Lekhak said.

He also reminded the committee of the Supreme Court's directive to the government regarding the issuance of citizenship in the mother’s name.

Japan's deepening political uncertainty risks prolonging policy paralysis that could affect the drafting of next year's budget and the timing of the central bank's next interest rate hike, analysts say, clouding the outlook for the fragile economy, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is facing increased calls from within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to step down and take responsibility for the party's huge defeat in an upper house election in July and a lower house poll last year.

While Ishiba has denied he has any plans to resign, his fading support has triggered inevitable questions about his political future and analysts say a leadership change would likely have implications for the outlook for fiscal and monetary policy, according to Reuters.

The U.S. military is preparing for the activation of hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.

The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a final decision was still to be made by U.S. President Donald Trump but the troops were prepared to deploy.

One of the officials said it was unclear what exactly the troops would do, but could take part in efforts to protect federal agents or even carry out administrative tasks to free up law enforcement officials, according to Reuters.