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The government has decided to grant two days of public holiday a week—Saturday and Sunday—from May 15.

A Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday made the decision to this effect.

Likewise, the government has also decided to extend the office hours from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.

Government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said that the government has decided to implement the decision effective from May 15 as a trial.

The government has also decided to impose a complete ban on 10 different types of items and give two days of public holiday to reduce the import of petroleum products and to increase foreign exchange reserves.

Three persons died when a bike they were riding on hit a parked truck at Sindhuli Tole in Chireshwornath Municipality-5 of Dhanusha on Tuesday.

Police said that the bike (Na 2 Kha 8624) hit the truck (Lu 83 Pa 8652) at around 2:30 am today.

One of the deceased has been identified as Sumit Agrawal (20) of Janakpurdham-4.

Police said that the identities of two others are yet to be established.

DSP Jitendra Basnet, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Dhanusha, said that the bodies have been kept at the Janakpurdham-based Provincial Hospital for postmortem.

Police said that they have impounded the truck and arrested its driver for investigation.

Bishwonath Regmi, 74, of Baglung Municipality had to wait for hours in queue while visiting Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital.

Though it is said that senior citizens do not have to stay in line to wait for their turn at the hospital to avail service, hospital staffers insulted Regmi and made him stand in queue.

Saying that although there is a provision of 50 percent concession to senior citizens while travelling in public vehicles, no one has implemented it, senior citizen Regmi complained that although the state has made legal arrangements, the senior citizens are deprived of such facilities due to lack of sensitivity of bodies concerned towards senior citizens' rights. At an interaction organised by the National Human Rights Commission in Baglung, senior citizens participating in the programme, shared they were neglected by all.

They complained about the discrimination they were facing while receiving treatment through insurance scheme at public places.

Secretary of Senior Citizens Association Harilal Subedi said there was no programme to honour senior citizens, adding that they had failed to organise some of the programmes after the local levels did not provide information about the budget allocated for senior citizens.

Employees did not respond when asked about the budget and programme, he said, adding "We have become burden on society."

Bishwanath Regmi, a local of Ward 3 complained that they had been deprived of health insurance and other facilities meant for senior citizens. "I am, till date, deprived of health insurance and concession in public transport given to senior citizens," he complained, adding that though the schemes targeing older people were good, its implementation was still awaited. "Our rights are just confined to paper."

According to civil society leader Kaji Gaunle Shrestha people in the rural areas are even not aware of the rights given to them by the law.

Advocacy for implementation of legal rights of senior citizens sometimes triggered a tussle among the implementing bodies and target groups.

They expressed their grievances during discussions on the rights of senior citizens. Commission of Senior Citizens' Chief Kalpana Nepal, human rights activist Sharmila Thapa, CDO Ramesh Dhakal and SP Dayanidhi Gyawali, among others, apprised about facilities meant for senior citizens.

Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the social media platform where he — the world’s richest person — promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on a wide range of issues to more than 83 million followers,Associated Press reported.

The outspoken Tesla CEO has said he wanted to own and privatize Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech.

Musk said in a joint statement with Twitter that he wants to make the service “better than ever” with new features while getting rid of automated “spam″ accounts and making its algorithms open to the public to increase trust.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” the 50-year-old Musk said, adding hearts, stars and rocket emojis in a tweet that highlighted the statement.

The more hands-off approach to content moderation that Musk envisions has many users concerned that the platform will become more of a haven for disinformation, hate speech and bullying, something it has worked hard in recent years to mitigate. Wall Street analysts said if he goes too far, it could also alienate advertisers.

The deal was cemented roughly two weeks after the billionaire first revealed a 9% stake in the platform. Musk said last week that he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal, according to the Associated Press.

Twitter said the transaction was unanimously approved by its board of directors and is expected to close in 2022, pending regulatory sign-off and the approval of shareholders. 

Shares of Twitter Inc. rose more than 5% Monday to $51.70 per share. On April 14, Musk announced an offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share. While the stock is up sharply since Musk made his offer, it is well below the high of $77 per share it reached in February 2021.

Musk has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist” but is also known for blocking or disparaging other Twitter users who question or disagree with him.

In recent weeks, he has proposed relaxing Twitter content restrictions — such as the rules that suspended former President Donald Trump’s account — while ridding the platform of fake “spambot” accounts and shifting away advertising as its primary revenue model. Musk believes he can increase revenue through subscriptions that give paying customers a better experience — possibly even an ad-free version of Twitter.

Asked during a recent TED interview if there are any limits to his notion of “free speech,” Musk said Twitter would abide by national laws that restrict speech around the world. Beyond that, he said, he’d be “very reluctant” to delete posts or permanently banning users who violate the company’s rules, Associated Press reported.

It won’t be perfect, Musk added, “but I think we want it to really have the perception and reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible.” 

After the deal was announced, the NAACP released a statement urging Musk not to allow Trump, the 45th president, back onto the platform. 

“Do not allow 45 to return to the platform,” the civil rights organization said in a statement. “Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech or falsehoods that subvert our democracy.” 

As both candidate and president, Trump made Twitter a powerful megaphone for speaking directly to the public, often using incendiary and divisive language on hot-button issues. He was permanently banned from the service in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, according to the Associated Press.