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President Ram Chandra Pauel said that freedom of press and freedom of expression are the foundation of democracy.

Issuing a message today on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, he recalled the contributions of the Nepali press sector in the country's major movements for democracy.

Saying that Press freedom is equally important for implementing citizens' constitutional right to get information, President Paudel said adding that the free press helps ensure transparency in the governance system and hold it accountable.

"This is a vital aspect of the entire society's democratization process," the President's message reads.

President Paudel said that the more the press is neutral, free and robust the more the democratic system will be strengthened, and it was all our responsibility to create an environment conducive to this. Due to this very role of the Nepali press, our constitution has ensured complete press freedom and freedom of expression, President Paudel viewed.

The President has described that free engagement in all steps from information collection to its dissemination is press freedom in a true sense adding that pluralism-based journalism ensures citizens' access to every sort of news. 

In his message, the President has suggested that the media fraternity should work hard to establish the truth by disseminating facts through independent journalism and has cautioned that rumors could misguide the citizens and could create challenges in making the right perception.

Likewise, the President has pointed out that fake news that could be disseminated through social networking sites could misguide the citizens and weaken the system, and has wished that World Press Freedom Day would inspire Nepal's media fraternity to disseminate true, factual and credible news.

When Nepal suddenly announced a ban on TikTok last year, lawyer Sunil Rajan Singh was determined to fight what he said was a government effort to hide its wrongdoings.

The hugely popular video-sharing platform has faced restrictions in several countries for allegedly breaking data rules and for its supposed harmful impact on youth.

Last week, the United States became the latest nation poised to ban the app outright, unless Chinese parent company ByteDance agrees to divest it.

Efforts to restrict access to TikTok have prompted vocal opposition wherever they have been attempted but especially so in Nepal, where the platform had been used to mobilize anti-government demonstrations.

Some Nepalis have skirted the ban entirely by accessing TikTok via virtual private networks (VPNs), which use a remote connection that obscures their location. Others like Singh are determined to fight.

“The government’s move is against freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Nepal’s constitution,” said the attorney, who is leading a legal challenge to the ban in the Himalayan republic’s top court.

“On TikTok the public would learn about corruption, financial embezzlement and other immoral activities of leaders,” he told AFP. “That was not helpful for the government.”

Nepal’s communications minister justified last November’s ban by accusing the platform of spreading content that damaged the country’s ‘social harmony’.

The announcement came days before a huge rally called by a prominent businessman who was using TikTok to organize a campaign demanding the reinstatement of Nepal’s monarchy.

The case before the Supreme Court is due to be heard next week with a decision expected later this year.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet with more than one billion users.

Its explosive growth has given its content creators and influencers an immense audience, and its editing features and AI-powered algorithm have proved particularly attractive.

But the platform has also been blamed for spreading disinformation, and ByteDance’s alleged ties to the Chinese government have prompted alarm in foreign capitals.

Multiple countries have sought to tighten controls on TikTok, and it was banned about four years ago in neighboring India.

AFP, along with more than a dozen fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

‘TikTok gave us hope’

Nepal’s ban was condemned not just by free speech advocates like Singh but the owners of popular accounts whose lives were transformed by the platform, which had about 2.2m users in the country.

Sangmo Bomjan, 28, was running a lucrative business reselling children’s clothes on the platform that began when the Covid-19 pandemic put her husband out of work, saving her household from financial ruin.

“We were worried, but TikTok gave us hope,” she told AFP.

Orders kept the couple busy packing clothes even at night to deliver across the country, and they were able to earn more than $2,000 every month.

After the ban, Bomjan used a VPN to keep posting videos to her account, circumventing the block on TikTok imposed by local internet service providers.

But her orders have shrunk to less than half of what they were before the ban and her videos get a fraction of their earlier viewers.

“They do not reach my customers in remote areas. They don’t know how to use VPNs,” she said.

The collapse in her earnings prompted her husband to migrate to South Korea, sending back money to support Bomjan and their two children.

‘So many people were earning’

Industry workers told AFP last year that Nepal’s TikTok ban had torpedoed a market worth an estimated $5m each year for advertisers and content creators, and which was set to grow rapidly.

After joining the platform in 2018, twin sisters Prisma and Princy Khatiwada built a following of nearly 8m on TikTok with videos of their synchronized dance routines.

Their popularity has netted them endorsement deals and modeling contracts in music videos and advertisements.

Both sisters still post to their individual accounts but their recent videos have been watched just tens of thousands of times on average—miniscule compared to the 70m views one of their biggest viral hits got before the ban.

“Where we stand today is because of TikTok... so many people were earning and getting opportunities through it,” Prisma told AFP. “We are hopeful that the ban will be lifted.” 

AFP 

The cases of banking fraud are on the rise in Nawalpur (Nawalparasi Bardghat Susta East).

According to the District Police Office, Nawalpur, this year the complaints regarding the offense have increased more than double their number last year. This year, a noticeable number of complaints have been registered in the office.

In the past ten and half months of the current fiscal, the office registered 50 complaints of banking fraud.  Last fiscal year, this figure was 23. 

Most cases are related to cheque bounce and it suggests an increasing economic crisis, according to Superintendent of Police Narhari Regmi.

Kathmandu, the federal capital of Nepal, has been ranked the world's most polluted city again.

According to the data of the Air Quality Index today, Kathmandu's overall AQI has reached 162 while Chiang Mai city of Thailand is in the second position and Medan of Indonesia has been identified as the world's third most polluted city.

According to the people concerned, air pollution is soaring in Kathmandu due to rising incidents of forest fire amidst the increasing temperature.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, today, recorded 165 incidents of forest fire in 39 districts across the country.

According to wildfire expert Sundar Sharma, the increasing number of forest fires has contributed to air pollution in major cities of the country including the federal capital.  If there is no rainfall in the next few days, it will be challenging to contain the forest fire and reduce air pollution, according to him.

Meteorologist Govinda Jha said there are no chances of rainfall immediately despite a brief rain in some parts.

Disaster management expert Dr Dharma Raj Upreti said AQI from 0-50 is considered good for public health as it is indicated by a green signal while 51-100 is moderate and marked by yellow, but it still warns us to be careful on time.

It is unhealthy specifically for sensitive groups such as those who have respiratory and cardiac issues if measured from 101-150 and is highlighted by orange. 

Similarly, AQI from 151-200 is indicated by red to suggest that it is unhealthy for all, 201-300 is highlighted by purple and it is very unhealthy.  If it is measured 301-400, it is hazardous and 401-500 is highly hazardous and they are denoted by maroon.

Air Quality Management Action Plan for the Kathmandu Valley, 2076 BS considers the situation measuring AQI above 300 as a disaster.