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Visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief Sarwat Jahan today paid a courtesy call on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel.

During the meeting held at the Finance Ministry, the two made the sixth review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), discussing the economic structural issues.

Due to a sharp decline in foreign exchange reserves, Nepal reported a significant deficit in its balance of payments and subsequently obtained an Extended Credit Facility equivalent to USD 395.9 million in 2022.

This amount equals 180 percent of Nepal's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) quota.

The IMF agreed to disburse the loan in several installments over a four-year period to support budget financing.

An IMF mission team is presently in Nepal for the sixth review of this loan facility.

Ukraine carried out its largest long-range drone attack, hitting four Russian military bases in an operation involving 117 drones. President Zelensky said the strikes damaged 34 percent of Russia’s strategic missile carriers.

Russia confirmed attacks in five regions, calling them a “terrorist act”, BBC reported.

The strikes occurred before of peace talks in Istanbul, where hopes are low.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reported missile strikes on Kharkiv that injured six people, and Russia claimed to have prevented a railway sabotage attempt, according to BBC.

CPN-UML is holding its Parliamentary Party meeting on Monday.  

In the meeting to be held at 1 pm in Lhotse Hall of the Federal Parliament building, New Baneshwor, matters related to the budget presented in the Parliament on May 29 and contemporary situation would be discussed, Chief Whip Mahesh Kumar Bartaula informed.

The meeting to be presided over by party Chair and Parliamentary Party leader KP Sharma Oli will make in-depth discussions and deliberations from various perspectives on the budget.

In this connection, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, General Secretary Shankar Pokharel, and Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission Dr. Shivraj Adhikari will provide analytical information, it has been learnt.  

Police have arrested eight  persons including Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa from Narayanchaur, Kathmandu. They were arrested during a demonstration.

Police nabbed  Chairman Thapa and leaders and cadres of his party, as they breached the restricted area, according to Apil Raj Bohara, spokesperson at Kathmandu Police Sector. They are currently kept at the Sector, he added.

Those arrested are Dipak Singh and Shila Rana, Rakesh Basnet, Ram Chandra  Lamichhane, Binod Kapali, and Saroj Timilsina. 

The RPP and RPP-Nepal have been demonstrating in the Capital for some days.