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The Special Court has been granted the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification in recognition of the court’s ability in advancing accountability, sustainability, and administrative reform within the judiciary. 

According to Special Court Chairman Tek Narayan Kunwar, the Court is effortful to ensure an impartial justice delivery based on openness, transparency, professional training, technology and well-documented judicial procedures. 

The Court officially unveiled the ISO 9001:2015 certificate it obtained amidst a program at the Court itself today. 

On the occasion, Chairman Kunwar said that the Court has succeeded in achieving the certificate due to its continuous efforts in maintaining the highest level of integrity, accountability, and public trust in judicial and administrative procedures. 

"The Special Court is the first Court in the country to obtain ISO certification," he said, adding that the Court is required to re-justify its position in coming years.

The Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), a Kathmandu-based foreign policy think-tank on Wednesday organized a high-level seminar on “Terrorism in South Asia: Challenges to Regional Peace and Security” in Kathmandu. 

Sunil Bahadur Thapa, advisor to the President of Nepal and former Minister of Industry, said that that Groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which are UN-designated terrorist organizations, have historical ties to Al-Qaida and operate in Pakistan, posing risks to India and potentially using Nepal as a transit point.

Minendra Rijal, Former Defense Minister of Nepal, stressed that a terrorist attack on India will have spillover effects on Nepal. He called for global unity—similar to the solidarity seen after the September 11 attacks in the United States—to combat terrorism effectively.

Chanda Chaudhary, Member of Parliament and former Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, highlighted the importance of curbing money laundering as a means to prevent cross-border terrorism.

Dinesh Bhattarai, former Diplomat and Advisor to Former Prime of Nepal shared Pahalgam attack was the deadliest attack in recent years, because the victims were brutally killed after asked them to disclose their religion and shot in their head. 

NP Saud, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Irrigation, stated that Nepal and regional powers should develop a clear mechanism to control terrorism, warning that terrorism affects everyone indiscriminately. 

On the occasion, Sumitra Karki, Director of NIICE and Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director at NIICE spoke about the wide-range of issues related to terrorism.

Europe’s top human rights court has ruled that Russia violated international law in Ukraine and was responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which killed 298 people, according to Al Jazeera.

The decision, part of cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands, marks the first international court ruling holding Moscow accountable for human rights abuses since its 2022 invasion. While symbolic—Russia was expelled from the court in 2022—it is seen as a key step in seeking justice.

The ruling follows a record Russian drone assault on Ukraine and renewed Western pledges of military support.

Nepal and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a grant agreement for “The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS)” for Fiscal Year 2025.

The grant amounting to 572 million Japanese Yen (JPY 572,000,000) will provide 22 scholarships to the government officials of Nepal through advanced education.

The Government of Japan has been providing scholarships continuously since 2016.

Ghanashyam Upadhaya, Secretary, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of Nepal and MAEDA Toru, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal on behalf of the Government of Japan signed the agreement, reads a statement issued by JICA.

Similarly, the grant agreement was signed by Dhani Ram Sharma, Joint Secretary, International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division (IECCD), Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of Nepal and MATSUZAKI Mizuki, Chief Representative of JICA Nepal Office.

Each year, the scholarship offers 20 seats for two-year master’s degree courses (since 2016) and two seats for three-year Doctoral level courses (starting 2019) to reputed universities in Japan.

These scholarships enable participants to study at prestigious Japanese universities, enhancing their expertise in fields such as judiciary and economic policy among others while also expanding their global professional networks. Since 2016, 209 civil servants have been awarded scholarships through the JDS Grant Aid program.

On the occasion, MATSUZAKI Mizuki, Chief Representative of JICA Nepal Office, emphasized JICA’s commitment to strengthen human resources in Nepal.