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Press Council Nepal has directed sidhakura.com to remove a fake news published on April 26, 2024, claiming that the leadership of Annapurna Media Network and Kantipur Publications were part of a meeting involving sitting and former Supreme Court justices and senior lawyers to dismiss more than 400 corruption cases. The news portal has named Capt. Rameshwar Thapa, chairman of Annapurna Media Network (AMN), and Kailash Sirohiya, chairman of Kantipur Publications, as key members of the so-called high profile secret meeting.

The Press Council has instructed the news portal to take down the news and furnish clarification for publishing such malicious and fabricated content. The made-up report advertised to readers as ‘exclusive’ is aimed at damaging the reputation of the Supreme Court as well as the media houses, the press body said in a statement. It is in serious violation of Journalistic Code of Conduct, it added. The fabricated news has seriously undermined the constitutional court and has made serious allegations against justice Ananda Mohan Bhattarai.

Earlier, on the same day, Thapa filed a case at Press Council Nepal. AMN Chairman Thapa said the so-called news was published with an ill intention to assassinate his character and to defame the media institutions associated with him.

“These are baseless and misleading rumours to manipulate the people and to serve some interest groups," he said. "The questionable content published under the garb of ‘exclusive sting operation’ was created with extreme prejudice and filled with illusionary characters. It was a desperate act to go viral.” 

Thapa further said that sidhakura.com  has crossed the ethical and moral boundaries of journalism by trying to discredit the media institutions that have always stood for democracy. It has also besmirched the sanctity of the Supreme Court, he added, demanding legal action against the news portal. AMN management has said that it is consultation with lawyers to seek legal remedies for the reputational damage through fabricated news.

Annapurna and Kantipur news outlets have been reporting news on Lamichhane’s alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds from a financial cooperative.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justice Ananda Mohan Bhattarai said that he was surprised and shocked to see his name in the news published by sidhakura.

He said that his 43 years of judiciary journey is like an open book.

“The verdict of the case has already proved that I was not involved in the case,” reads a statement issued by Justice Bhattarai on Friday.

“I would also like to make it clear that when the  constitutional bench had issued the verdict on the case, I was not the member of the constitutional bench,” he said.

It is baseless that I had met someone or attended any meeting in the aforementioned issue.

I strongly condemned the news published with an ill intention to spread rumours and manipulate the people.

New York Writers Workshop, an alliance of published authors and professional writers based in New York City is organizing an international literary conference and workshop in Kathmandu starting on May 22 in partnership with White Lotus Book Shop, Lalitpur. The workshop shall be accentuated with Himalayan Literature Festival on May 27 and 28 at Kathmandu Guest House where the workshop writers will be showcasing their literary productions from the workshop- from memoir pieces to poetry and other forms of literature.

As per the Festival director Shreejana Bhandari, over thirty-five international authors and faculties will be participating in the Kathmandu Workshop as well as Himalayan Literature Festival. The first edition of the Himalayan Literature Festival shall encompass panel discussions, poetry readings in various languages, book launches and interactions. Yuyutsu RD Sharma, the curator of Himalayan Literature Festival as well as the Himalayan poet played a pivotal role in persuading the New York Writers Workshop team to organize the new edition of Workshop and Conference in Kathmandu and begin an international literature festival in its true sense.

As per Tim Tomlinson, President of New York Writers Workshop and Bhandari, director of the Himalayan Literature Festival, the festival shall feature authors Lourdes Rodriguez Tomlinson and Dr. Ravi Shankar, faculties such as Jami Proctor Xu, Poet, Essayist, Translator, Julie Krishnan-Williams, International Photographer, Dr. Tony Barnstone, Professor at Whitƫer College, California.

The Workshop and Literature Festival will also feature the Polish poets Son Van and Dariusz Lebioda; Panamanian poet Gorka Lasa; South African poet and performer JahRose Jafta; US poets Ruth Danon, Peter Allenspach and his wife Da Mao; English poet Maria Claire Heath; Greek poet, writer, and educator Vasilis Manousakis; Hindi novelist, Pankaj Bisht; Indian poet and scholar K Satchidanandan; Hong Kong writer and performer Neville Sarony; Brian Hou, photographer, and Jane Houng, musician, writer, philanthropist, from Hong Kong; writer and university professor from NYU Abu Dhabi, Piia Mustamaki; Australian writer Lizzie Packer; as well as aspiring writers Kathleen Butler, Kathryn Kempf, Ann Gordon, Nancy Parish, and Marianne Sciberras.

In addition, over three dozen Nepalese authors including Dwarika Shrestha, Narayan Wagle, Shailendra Sakar, Raj Kumar Baniya, Deepak Sapkota, Manoj Dahal, Sarad Pradhan, Narayan Dhakal, Shyam Rimal, Amar Aakash, Bhuwan Thapaliya, Vijay Gurung, Rajani Mila and others will be joining the festival and some of them shall be interacting on various themes in Nepali literature as the panelists. The festival is dedicated to the great Nepali poet Gopal Prasad Rimal and his contributions to the Nepali literature will be discussed as well as the English translations of his works shall be made public.

The grade 12 examinations have begun across the country at once from 8 am today.

Chairperson of the National Examination Board, Dr Mahashram Sharma said the examinations were being conducted at 1,525 examination centers in all 77 districts.

A total of 1,526 examination centers have been set up by the board, including 1,525 in the country and one in Japan.

The examination has also been conducted by sending question papers through email to the examination center in Japan.

Dr Sharma said, "The grade 12 examinations have started peacefully across the country from 8 am today. We have received information that the students have participated in the examination with enthusiasm.

Center for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF) organized a National Seminar on “Reflecting on BRI: Experiences and Lessons from South Asia”. The seminar aimed to navigate the opportunities and challenges of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with experiences from regional neighbors who have implemented the projects under BRI. The seminar was held at a critical time of accelerated Chinese push for the BRI implementation plan agreement with Nepal.

Welcoming the participants, Executive Chairperson of CESIF Amb. Vijay Kant Karna raised concerns about the rationale and significance of the BRI Implementation Plan Agreement instead of negotiating projects on an individual basis. “The negotiation should be on an individual project basis; a single financing and implementation modality may not fit different nature of projects”, he said, reads a statement issued by CESIF.

Delivering the keynote speech, former Minister for Finance, Prakash Sharan Mahat stressed that Nepal should have the same approach to financial support from all sources because where the support comes from does not matter so much, as long as it serves the country’s national interest. “In the context where we struggle to utilize the low-interest multilateral loans from the World Bank and ADB, we should critically examine, compare, and question the terms and conditions of bilateral loans that have market rate and short-term repayment periods,” he said.

Mahat also pointed out the lack of homework on Nepal’s part when it comes to either bilateral or multilateral negotiations; only later do we engage in debates and discussions.

Another keynote speaker Raj Kishor Yadav, Chairman of the International Relations and Tourism Committee of the Parliament, stressed the need for wider discussion on BRI in the Parliament, urging the government to release the BRI MoU signed with China in 2017, according to the statement.

He further mentioned that the government should clarify the current status of negotiation on BRI and should not opt for any commercial loans. “Our negotiation with China should focus on grants and concessional loans with interest rates at par with other multilateral financial institutions and should not have any strings attached”, he stated.

Following the speeches, the speakers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India presented the experiences and perceptions of individual countries on BRI. Elaborating on Nepal’s experience with BRI, senior journalist Anil Giri stressed the lack of understanding about BRI among policymakers, politicians, and the public alike. He pointed to forging a national consensus on the negotiation bottom line to move forward with BRI, particularly due to some ambiguous conditions in the MoU such as policy exchange and financial integration.

Talal Rafi, Economist and Fellow at Oxford Global Society, Sri Lanka, pointed out several issues on BRI projects in Sri Lanka while highlighting some positive aspects. Although International Sovereign Bank (ISB) debt ranks above the Chinese bilateral debt, Sri Lanka’s experience with BRI shows a lack of transparency, ad-hoc planning, selection of projects without viability assessment, lack of technological spillover, and environmental concerns. “The slow pace debt negotiation with China is delaying the economic recovery process”, he mentioned.

Mostakim Bin Motaher, Associate Professor at Jahangirnagar University of Bangladesh, highlighted that China’s presence in Bangladesh’s infrastructure has surged quite significantly in recent years, with deep trade and investment ties. Some of the common features of the projects financed by China are escalation of cost, non-transparent or absent bidding procedures, and delays in execution, the statement further reads.

Constantino Xavier’s presentation cited three reasons behind India’s decision to stay out of the BRI: the China-driven and led unilateral nature of the initiative, Chinese economic and strategic interests behind the Initiative unfavorable for India, and the concern about its capacity to absorb capital. He also highlighted how this decision has affected India’s relations with its neighbors, whereby India reinvented its delivery system. “Nepal needs to rely on itself and develop its capacity,” he stressed.

Following the country-specific presentations, the seminar hosted two panel discussions. The first panel discussion brought together Nepali experts to probe into current developments and Nepal’s concerns on BRI negotiation.

The panel hosted Amb. Madhu Raman Acharya, Rameshore Khanal, Akhilesh Upadhyay, and Amish Mulmi.

It was moderated by Amb. Vijaya Kant Karna. Key points in the discussion included the need for clarity on project implementation modalities, concerns about oversight, transparency, and environmental viability, as well as evolving narratives surrounding BRI's focus and China's interests in Nepal's development. The discussion underscored the necessity for transparent discourse and strategic negotiation to navigate Nepal's engagement with the BRI effectively.

Citing the example of Pokhara International, Amb. Acharya reiterated that China has been “shifting the goalpost” regarding BRI and emphasized that Nepal should have its own “objective assessment of each project,” as China has its strategic and economic interests in BRI.

The second panel discussion hosted delegates from countries across South Asia to discuss experiences and lessons for Nepal from their BRI journey. The session was moderated by Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, Research Director at CESIF.

Wrapping up the event, in his closing remarks, Arpan Gelal, Research and Program Coordinator at CESIF, summarized the key issues raised and the consensus reached on the seminar. “Nepal needs wider stakeholder consultation and debate to set Nepal’s negotiation priorities to ensure implementation of BRI that best serves Nepal’s interests”, he said.

More than 100 participants including policymakers, politicians, national and international experts, analysts, academics, diplomats, bureaucrats, and journalists attended the event.