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Viral infection has gripped Solukhumbu district.

Number of patients suffering from viral fever, common cold and cough, asthma, pneumonia, headache, respiratory problems and diarrhea has been increasing at different places in the district since last week.

According to the District Health Office, the number of patients visiting Phaplu Hospital has increased all of sudden, creating problems in service delivery of the hospital.

More than a dozen patients suffering from viral infection visit Phaplu Hospital for treatment daily.

The 15-bed hospital has now been providing treatment admitting more than 50 patients, according to the hospital administration.

Officiating Chief of the hospital, Sani Sherpa, said they have been facing problems in managing human resources to attend to the patients following the increasing number of patients at the hospital.

Of the patients admitted in the hospital, most of them are patients of viral infection.

"We lack adequate human resources but the patient inflow is high. We have now been mobilizing all available means and resources," Sherpa mentioned.

Most of the patients visiting the hospital are in critical health condition and they have to be put under oxygen.

"All beds in the hospitals are packed. We have been providing treatment keeping the viral patients even in beds in the maternity room. A situation might occur wherein patients will have to be treated keeping them on the floor if the number of patients surges like this," shared the hospital's Dr Ram Babu Joshi.

The Socialist Front Nepal is to organize a massive rally in Kathmandu on March 28.

A meeting of the Socialist Front, which comprises four opposition parties, held on Friday morning made the decision to this effect.

Leader Khadga Bahadur Bishwokarma aka Prakand, who participated in the meeting, informed that the Front has decided to hold a massive rally in Kathmandu on March 28.

"The massive rally to be held on March 28 will be made grand. The decision has been made to ensure the participation of thousands of people," he said.

According to him, an interaction and consultation program will be held with intellectuals and civil society from 11 am tomorrow.

He said that the information about the massive rally will be provided at a press conference at 2:30 pm on Saturday.

Similarly, the meeting has concluded that the demonstration of the royalist held recently is to push the country into a full-blown crisis.

CPN (Maoist Center), CPN (Unified Socialist), Netra Bikram Chand-led Nepal Communist Party and Mahendra Raya Yadav-led Nepal Samajbadi Party are in the Socialist Front.

Gold price has set a new record in the domestic market today.

According to the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of precious yellow metal has increased by Rs 4, 000 per tola and is being traded at Rs 174, 500 per tola. It was traded at Rs 170, 500 per tola on Thursday.

Likewise, the silver is being traded at Rs 2, 050 per tola.

The Holi festival is being observed in Tarai districts today. Mutual harmony and happiness is shared with Holi greetings.

The festival revelers smear colors on each other's face in a jovial manner. The Holi festival was observed in the hilly districts yesterday.

Observed with the onset of Spring Season, the Holi festival is regarded as the symbol of victory of good over evil.

Literary writer Lil Bahadur Kshetri has passed away at the age of 92.

Kshetri, a permanent resident of Assam, India, breathed his last at Guwahati on Thursday night, chief editor of literary magazine 'Shabdapath', Murari Sigdel said.

Kshetri was honored with the Jagadambashree Award in recognition of his contribution to the enrichment of Nepali language and literature through literary writing.

He had penned novels such as 'Basain' and 'Atripta Ra Bahmaputrako Chheuchhau', and a collection of prose 'Assam Ma Nepali Bhashiko Sahrogahro' as well as short fiction, essays and plays.

Kshetri who had received various awards, including Bhanu Award was feted with the Padma Shri, India's highest civilian award, by the Government of India.

The country now has partial impacts of westerly winds with local winds. The Weather Forecasting Division said the weather will largely remain fair with partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region.

According to the Division, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of the country, including Sudurpaschim Province while it will be mainly fair in the rest of the country this afternoon.

Light snowfall is likely to occur at a few places of the high hilly and mountainous region.

Light rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places in the hilly region of the country.

Similarly, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of the country, including Sudurpaschim and Karnali Provinces tonight.

As informed, one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces will have light snowfall.

There will be light snowfall at one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous regions in the next 24 hours.

The Division has urged all to place cautionary measures in view of partial impact of weather conditions on daily life, health, road and aviation.

How effective, innovative and imaginative is our diplomacy, in this day and age of a rapidly changing world?

Let us do a fact check on the basis of a key test case. 

On 07 Oct 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Gaza Strip, killing more than 1100 people, including 10 Nepali students, and capturing 250, including a young Nepali student from Kanchanpur, Bipin Joshi, who was studying agriculture in Israel along with his friends.

It will be wrong to say that the government has been doing nothing to secure the release of the youth, bring him home and bring cheers to his family and the country. It has been making frantic efforts that have failed to yield a result.

Let’s revisit some of those efforts.    

On 24 Sept 2024, for instance, Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba, addressing the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement during the 79th United Nations General Assembly, urged the global community to take initiatives for the safe release of Joshi.

On 08 Jan 2025, Minister Deuba requested the Israeli government, through Ambassador Shmulik Arie Bass, to secure the release of Joshi.

On Jan 15, in the wake of reports that Hamas was releasing some hostages, Minister Deuba called up Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi, who serves as Qatar’s chief negotiator and mediator in peace talks with Hamas, and appealed for special intervention to secure Joshi’s release.

During a meeting with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad bin Sultan Al Muraikhi in Doha on Feb 16. Minister Deuba sought the latter’s good offices in securing Joshi’s release.

Adding to these efforts, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli recently called upon Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi,  the president of Egypt, which played a key role in mediating the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, renewing Nepal’s request for Egypt’s assistance in securing the release of Joshi.

Nepal has been playing a key role in the UN peacekeeping missions around the world for about 70 years and its involvement in securing peace in the Mideast is as long. It has served twice in the UN Security Council as an elected non-permanent member, in 1969-70 and in 1988-1989. In 2018-20, Nepal served as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Nepal was the first country in South Asia to recognize Israel after its birth as a state on 14 May 1948. The country has excellent relations with Qatar, which is a popular employment destination for Nepali workers. And the enduring ties between Nepal and Egypt, a key NAM member, go a long time back.

Despite these positives and efforts from our side, the release of Joshi has not materialized even as freedom comes calling for many of the hostages.

This debacle reminds one of Henry Kissinger’s famous quote: Behind the slogans lay an intellectual vacuum.

And a razor-sharp Chanakya goes: In diplomacy, the tongue is mightier than the sword. 

In the words of Chanakya, diplomacy is the art of winning the war without bloodshed.

Delays in securing the release of Joshi perhaps call for learning lessons from past failures and adopting a subtler, quieter approach, keeping in mind that this is an acid test for our “art of the impossible”.

The current account remained at a surplus of Rs.166.80 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs.162.52 billion in the same period of the previous year, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) stated in its 'Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal (Based on Seven Months Data Ending Mid-February, 2024/25) Report'.

In the US Dollar terms, the current account registered a surplus of 1.24 billion in the review period against a surplus of 1.22 billion in the same period last year. In the review period, net capital transfer amounted to Rs.5.83 billion.

In the same period of the previous year, such transfer amounted to Rs.3.80 billion. Similarly, in the review period, Rs.7.45 billion foreign direct investment (equity only) was received.

In the same period of the previous year, foreign direct investment inflow (equity only) amounted to Rs.5.19 billion.

Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a surplus of Rs.284.41 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs.297.72 billion in the same period of the previous year.

In the US Dollar terms, the BOP remained at a surplus of 2.11 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of 2.24 billion in the same period of the previous year.

Foreign Exchange Reserves Gross foreign exchange reserves increased 16.1 percent to Rs.2369.08 billion in mid-February 2025 from Rs.2041.10 billion in mid-July 2024.

In the US dollar terms, the gross foreign exchange reserves increased 11.7 percent to 17.05 billion in mid-February 2025 from 15.27 billion in mid-July 2024.

Of the total foreign exchange reserves, the reserves held by NRB increased 13.9 percent to Rs.2105.14 billion in mid-February 2025 from Rs.1848.55 billion in mid-July 2024.

Reserves held by banks and financial institutions (except NRB) increased 37.1 percent to Rs.263.93 billion in mid-February 2025 from Rs.192.55 billion in mid-July 2024.

The share of Indian currency in total reserves stood at 22.0 percent in mid-February 2025.

Foreign Exchange Adequacy Indicators Based on the imports of seven months of 2024/25, the foreign exchange reserves of the banking sector is sufficient to cover the prospective merchandise imports of 17.2 months, and merchandise and services imports of 14.4 months.

The ratio of reserves-to-GDP, reserves-to-imports and reserves-to-M2 stood at 41.5 percent, 120.3 percent and 32.5 percent respectively in mid-February 2025.

Such ratios were 35.8 percent, 108.6 percent and 29.3 percent respectively in mid-July 2024.