Submit your Article

The Ram Nawami festival is being celebrated today by worshipping Lord Shri Ram Chandra at various shrines across the country.

Shri Ram Chandra  is believed to have been born on the day of Chaitra Shukla Nawami as the son of King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya Devi of Ayodhya in the Treta Yuga. He is revered as the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu by Hindus. 

Theologian and Chairperson of the Nepal Calendar Determination and Development Committee, Prof Dr Ram Chandra Gautam, says that one of the importance of celebrating Ram Nawami festival is an inspiration for a dignified, disciplined and controlled state ruler like Ram.

On this occasion, Ramlila is performed in Janakpur, Nepal and Ayodhya, India. 

Today, men and women from Nepal and India flock to the Ram Janaki temple in Janakpur to celebrate a grand fair organized  to mark the occasion.

There is also a tradition of fasting, bathing in holy rivers, lakes and ponds, reciting the Ramayana and worshiping Lord Rama and singing bhajans all night long.

President and Vice-President extends best wishes

In a message on the occasion, President Ram Chandra Paudel has extended best wishes for happiness, peace and prosperity to all Nepali sisters and brothers living at home and abroad on the occasion of Ram Nawami festival, 2081.

He has expressed his belief that indigenous festivals like this, which have been in practice for centuries, would further help in preserving our ancient civilization as well as religion and culture. 

“I expect that cultural and historical festivals like Ram Nawami will help in further strengthening national unity by deepening the spirit of mutual trust, goodwill, tolerance and cooperation amidst our diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and geographical characteristics,” President Paudel has said in his message. 

In a similar message, Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav has expressed his belief that the Ram Nawami festival will help further strengthen the faith in the ideals, truth, religion and dignity of Lord Ram.

Vice President Yadav has emphasized that this festival should be taken as an opportunity to imbibe the ideals of Lord Ram and take a pledge to work for unity, prosperity and progress in the country. 

 “Ram Nawami is not just a festival it is also an auspicious occasion for us to connect our lives with the ideals of Shri Ram,” he said, “May everyone be inspired to move forward with good deeds and strong determination like Shri Ram.”

Marking the occasion, the federal government has also announced a public holiday across the country today.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 3, 900 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the gold is being traded at Rs 176, 400 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 180, 300 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 870 per tola today.

A woman died while four others were injured in separate wildfires in Panchthar.

The victim of the wildfire occurred in the Tamrakhu forest of Kummayak Rural Municipality-3 was a local Pratima Sambhahamphe (26). 

Three others injured in the fire were Sapana Sambahamphe (28), Shivana Sambahamphe (11) and Nirmaya Sambahamphe (60).

They were in the forest to collect fodder, according to the police inspector at the District Police Office, Bina Lal Sah.

The injured ones have been taken to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) for treatment. 

Injured seriously in the incident, Pratima breathed her last on the way, while three others are undergoing treatment.

Chairperson of ward no 3 from Kummayak Rural Municipality, Baburam Karki, informed that the forest fire has not been extinguished yet.

The locals were worried about the spread of the blaze in the nearby village if it was not doused on time. 

Meanwhile, Usha Nembang Rai (47), from Phidim-14 has been injured in a fire that occurred in the Raniban Community Forest. 

Rai was collecting wood from the forest. She has been receiving treatment at BPKIHS.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court removed impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office on Friday, ending his tumultuous presidency and setting up an election to find a new leader, four months after he threw South Korean politics into turmoil with an ill-fated declaration of martial law, Associated Press reported.

The unanimous verdict capped a dramatic fall for Yoon, a former star prosecutor who went from political novice to president in 2022, just a year after he entered politics. 

In a nationally televised verdict, the court’s acting chief Moon Hyung-bae said the eight-member bench upheld Yoon’s impeachment because his martial law decree seriously violated the constitution and other laws.

“The defendant not only declared martial law, but also violated the constitution and laws by mobilizing military and police forces to obstruct the exercise of legislative authority,” Moon said, “Ultimately, the declaration of martial law in this case violated the substantive requirements for emergency martial law.”

President Donald Trump has said he is moving forward with 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico into the US, adding that time had run out to reach a deal, BBC reported.

US stock markets sank in response to the measures, which he has threatened since earlier this year and said would now go into effect on Tuesday.

An additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports is also expected to come into force, leaving all of America's top three trade partners facing significantly higher barriers than just a few weeks ago. 

"No room left for Mexico or for Canada," Trump said at the White House on Monday. "The tariffs, you know, they're all set. They go into effect tomorrow."

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is addressing the sixth Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Thailand today. Other member states of BIMSTEC are also scheduled to address the event.

The first agenda of the Summit is the signing ceremony on 'BIMSTEC Maritime Transport Cooperation'. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is presenting the agenda after giving a welcome speech.

Her welcome speech will be followed by the addresses of the delegations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

After the passage of the agenda following the address, the hosting country Prime Minister Shinawatra will hold a news conference.

PM Oli meeting Indian PM today itself

Moreover, PM Oli will have a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4:00pm today itself. 

It is the first time Nepali Prime Minister is holding the official visit to Thailand since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

PM Oli and the Nepali delegation will be attending a welcome dinner to be hosted by the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok. 

A person died in a fire that occurred in a community forest at Bhimphedi rural Municipality-1, Makwanpur district on Thursday.

The victim was Akil Bahadur Pakhrin, 49, according to the District Police Office, Makwanpur.

Pakhrin had gone to take care of a cowshed near the Bokedaha community forest. While going to the cowshed, he, accidently, fell off a cliff, reaching the community forest that was on fire. 

He was found burnt to death in the forest, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shyamu Aryal.

The lifeless body was taken to Hetauda Hospital for a postmortem and investigation into the incident was underway, the police added.

The U.S. slapped a 26% reciprocal tariff on India in a setback to the South Asian country's expectation of getting relief from President Donald Trump's global trade policy that has unnerved world markets for weeks, Reuters reported.

The reciprocal tariff will be effective from April 9, according to a statement from the White House.

Trump's Wednesday announcement on India was part of his wider plan to impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from April 5 and higher duties on certain other countries including 34% on China and 46% on Vietnam.

"They (India) are charging us 52% and we charge almost nothing for years and years and decades," Trump said at the White House while announcing the reciprocal tax.

The duty of 26% was based on tariff and non-tariff barriers including currency manipulation, the Trump administration said.

India imposed "uniquely burdensome" non-tariff barriers, the removal of which will increase U.S. exports by at least $5.3 billion annually, the White House said in a statement, according to Reuters.