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President Ram Chandra Paudel, who arrived in Azerbaijan leading a high-level Nepali delegation to attend the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is hosting a high-level session on behalf of Nepal today.

In the session 'Addressing Climate Induced Loss and Damage in Mountainous Regions', Nepal would draw the attention of the global community to the agenda.

In his address to the COP29 summit on Tuesday, President Paudel called for the global community to internalize the reality that the protection of the mountains is the protection of the earth.

"Let us all take care that the protection of the mountains is the protection of the earth. The world should not forget that the process of turning the white mountains into black mountains will not only lead to the crisis in the countries but also the low-lying coastal countries", he stressed.

In the meeting with the President of the Maldives, Mohamud Muizzu on Tuesday, President Paudel said countries like Nepal and the Maldives which have been hit hard by climate change should ramp up bilateral collaboration on the issue and reciprocate in climate negotiations.

This time Nepal has participated in the 'World Leaders Climate Action Summit' under the leadership of President Paudel.

President Poudel arrived here on Monday to attend the COP29 summit at the invitation of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.

Influential leaders working in the field of climate change in most countries of the world, including Presidents or Vice presidents of 40 countries and Prime Ministers of 35 countries, are participating in the conference for discussions and global cooperation.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment is in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, as the constitutional anti-graft body has questioned it for sending a large delegation to COP29, which kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) wrote a letter to the ministry on Monday, questioning the rationale behind sending a large delegation to Baku when only three representatives would have been sufficient.

President Ramchandra Paudel is leading the Nepali delegation to the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as the COP29. He is scheduled to address the conference on Tuesday.

The ministry has sent a 31-member team to Baku. The delegation includes Minister Ain Bahadur Shahi, Secretary Deepak Kumar Kharal, Administration Division Chief and Joint-secretary Bhupal Baral, and Administration Division Under-secretary Shobhakar Regmi.

It has been learned that several non-government organizations funded the delegation's expenses from their regular program and activity budgets in Nepal.

Ministry sources say the CIAA has asked the ministry to explain the responsibilities of all team members in Baku.

A source at the ministry says a reply will be sent to the CIAA after Administration Division Chief Baral returns to Kathmandu. While Baral is expected to return on Nov 16, Minister Shahi is scheduled to return on Nov 19. Minister of State for Forest and Environment Rupa BK is scheduled to fly to Baku on Nov 14. However, a member of her secretariat said she is reluctant to travel, given the negative media coverage the Nepali delegation has received.

Former Gandaki Province Minister Deepak Manange has been detained by Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers in Kathmandu's Sano Bharyang area this morning. Manange, whose real name is Rajiv Gurung, was convicted of attempted murder in connection with a plot to kill notorious gangster Milan Gurung, known as Chakre Milan.

On Nov 5, the Supreme Court upheld a previous Patan Appellate Court ruling, which had sentenced Manange to five years in prison. This ruling superseded an earlier Kathmandu District Court verdict from 2007, which had initially handed him a two-year prison term. After a government appeal, the Patan Appellate Court escalated his sentence to five years in 2012, though he had remained at large until recently.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, Manange avoided arrest until today. He was presented in court, where he was ordered to be detained at Dillibazar Jail. While Manange had previously refrained from appealing the Court of Appeal's decision for six years, he only filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after his arrest. Although initially dismissed for late filing, the court eventually accepted his appeal, releasing him on a bond of Rs 27,375.

Manange, elected unopposed to Gandaki Province's Assembly from Manang, previously served as a minister and was aligned with the Unified Socialist Party led by Madhav Nepal. Despite frequently voting against his party, he faced no disciplinary action. Now, following the Supreme Court's ruling, he will return to Dillibazar Jail to serve his sentence.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation unveiled the Lal Commission report on dedicated feeder and trunk lines in a press conference on Monday. The report, commissioned to address disputes between industrialists and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) over electricity supply, was made public following a decision by the Council of Ministers on Sunday.

Key decisions from the Council include reconnecting electricity to industries whose power lines had been cut, and enforcing a 15-day deadline for industries on dedicated and trunk lines to clear outstanding arrears as per their TOD meter readings. The commission, led by former judge Girish Chandra Lal, was established on Jan 9 and submitted its findings to the ministry on May 5, aiming to bring resolution and reforms in industrial electricity supply management.