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The graph of crimes is increasing in Kathmandu year by year, data shows.

According to the Kathmandu District Police Range, the cases of banking fraud and other economic offenses have significantly soared here in recent times. 

In the fiscal year 2077/78 BS (2020/21) a total of 5,662 cases of crimes were registered in Kathmandu and this number increased to 8,977 in the following year and further rose to 13,464 in the fiscal year 2022-23. Notably, more than half of these cases, specifically 7,101 cases, were related to banking fraud.

Similarly, 2,894 are related to abuse, 647 involve theft, 414 are associated with swindling, 368 are related to drug abuse and smuggling, 357 are related to suicide incidents, and 326 are concerning to women and children.

Likewise, 189 cases are related to traffic accidents and injuries, 27 cases are about murder, and 1,141 cases related to other forms of offenses.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Dan Bahadur Karki, said the data presents the escalating trend of banking fraud and other economic offenses in Kathmandu lately. 

This includes banking fraud, swindling through lottery scams, and deceptive promises of lucrative employment opportunities abroad. 

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country today due to the impact of the monsoon wind.

Light to moderate precipitation accompanied by lightning is taking place at some places of Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Karnali Provinces and at a few places in the rest of the provinces at present, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy across the country in the afternoon today. There is a possibility of light to moderate rainfall along with lightning at some places of Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces and at a few places in the rest of the country.

The Division has urged one and all to adopt alertness as there are also chances of occurrence of heavy rainfall along with thunderbolts at one or two places of Koshi, Madhes, Lumbini, Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces.

Likewise, it will be generally cloudy throughout the country tonight.

The Division stated in its weather bulletin that there is a possibility of light to moderate rain accompanied by lightning at a few places of the hilly region in all provinces and at one or two places in the rest of the regions.

It said there are also chances of heavy rainfall accompanied by lightning at one or two places of Koshi, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

The Ministry of Health and Population carried out monitoring at pharmacies across the country including the Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts).

The monitoring aims to check whether or not the pharmacies are selling quality medicines and pharmaceutical products in the right way, said Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet. 

As part of the monitoring drive, a government team including the minister himself carried out monitoring at Time Medical Pharmacy at Patan in Lalitpur, Sewa Health Care Pvt. Ltd. at Ekantakuna, and Alka Hospital Pharmacy at Jawalakhel.

During the monitoring, Time Medical and Sewa Health Care were found selling date-expired medicines and the medicines that are not allowed to sell, said Minister Basnet.

On the occasion, the minister said the pharmacies selling date-expired medicines would be taken action as per the law.

Director General of the Department of Drug Administration Narayan Prasad Dhakal, assistant Chief District Officer of the District Administration Office, Lalitpur Amardeep Sunsar, representatives of the Ministry of Health and Population, and the Narcotics Control Bureau, employees of the Department and media-persons were other members of the team.

According to the Ministry, 20 monitoring teams were mobilized in the Kathmandu Valley today.

Separate mechanisms have been created in all 77 districts to monitor pharmacies.

The BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan has additionally allotted 30 beds dedicated to the treatment of dengue.

The 30-bed dengue ward came into operation on Sunday.

Now, Dharan Sub-Metropolis in Sunsari and adjoining areas are in a grip of dengue fever.

As the number of dengue cases continues to rise in Sunsari and the surrounding areas, the existing medical facilities at BPKIHS, such as the 'central emergency' and the 'dengue clinic,' are no longer sufficient to handle the situation, according to BPKIHS acting vice-chancellor Prof Dr Prahlad Karki.

In the past two days, the 50-bed 'observation ward' has been largely occupied by dengue patients.  

Eighty-five percent of beds in the ward are occupied by dengue patients.  The emergency ward in the hospital received 60-75 dengue cases each day.

Number of tourists visiting Mustang has increased by 45 percent.

According to the Area Conservation office, Jomsom of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), tourists' arrival in Mustang has increased by 45.75 percent in the fiscal year 2079/80 in comparison to the previous fiscal year, 2078/79 BS.

ACAP Jomsom In-charge Ashok Subedi said a total of 71,707 foreign tourists had entered Mustang in the fiscal 2079/80 BS.

"The data shows immoderate rise in the inflow of tourists before and after COVID-19", he said, adding, "Total 38,896 tourists had entered Mustang in the year 2078/79 BS.

Compared to the previous fiscal year, over 32,811 tourists had visited Mustang in FY 2079/80.

In the FY 2079/80, as many as 59,310 tourists arrived here from SAARC member countries and 6,749 tourists from the third countries.

Likewise, in FY 2079/80, a total of 3,388 tourists visited Upper Mustang which is the semi-prohibited area.

Influx of tourists has increased in Mustang last year owing to favorable weather, easy road access, hotel/lodge facilities and nominal incidents of natural disasters.

The monetary policy for the fiscal year 2023-34 unveiled by the Nepal Rastra Bank today has set seven various targets.

The structure and targets of the new monetary policy seek to maintain the foreign exchange reserve at a level sufficient to cover the anticipated imports of goods and services at least for seven months.

The monetary policy has determined its policy rates being based on the capacity of the foreign exchange reserves to cover imports and the target annual inflation rate. Additionally, the exchange rate of the Nepali currency against the Indian currency has been maintained as it is.

It aims to keep interbank interest rates within the interest corridor by operating and promoting open market operations based on the position of the operating target.

Similarly, it has set a target of limiting the inflation at 6.5 percent by preventing a pressure on prices by the monetary expansion.

The central bank has accorded priority to shift the fiscal resources to the productive sector in line with the target of achieving six percent economic growth set by the budget for the current fiscal year.

The broad money supply is expected to increase by 12.5 percent and credit to the private sector from banks and financial institutions is likely to go up by 11.5 percent in the current fiscal year.  

The Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Jumla, has sufficient stock of salt.

STC Jumla Chief Khagendra Malla said currently there is a stock of 1,721 quintals of salt in the depots.

The district headquarters depot has a stock of 821 quintals of salt, 550 quintals in Narakot depot and 350 quintals in Guruchour depot.

He said, "There will be no shortage of salt in the district.  Salt would be distributed to all wards of eight local levels of the district within the next few weeks."

There was a quota of Rs 4,200 quintals of salt for three depots of the district in the fiscal year 2079/80 and it was already supplied.

The office received 320 quintals of salt from STC Province Office, Nepaljung, on July 19, said Malla.

The Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday on technology development and exchange of skills in the field of agriculture. 

Executive Director of NARC Dr Dhurba Raj Bhattarai and Vice Chairman of SAAS Dr Leo Younghang signed the MoU on technology transfer and skills exchange.

It is said that the two institutions would cooperate on technology transfer and promotion developed for the farmers and agriculture sector.

Sharing the information about the MoU, NARC Executive Director Dr Bhattarai said that agreement has been made to collaborate on increasing quality productions as well as agriculture development.

Likewise, SAAS Vice-Chairman has pledged to provide training to Nepali researchers and technicians on high-quality agricultural technology. 

Such training would be given to Nepali researchers on maize and sweet yam production in the near future.

A team of SAAS Vice-Chairman is currently on a three-day Nepal visit.