Submit your Article

The Supreme Court has issued a short-term order not to implement the decision of the government to suspend Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari.

A single bench of Supreme Court Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal on Tuesday issued the order directing the government not to stop Adhikari from working at his office.

The apex court has summoned both the parties to the court on April 26 for discussion.

Earlier on April 17, Adhikari had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court demanding his reinstatement.

Nepal reported 10 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 3, 058 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 10 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 345 people underwent antigen tests, of which no one tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 26 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 334 active cases in the country.

The Immigration Office has scrapped the provision for the tourists traveling to Nepal to carry $200 in cash to pay for their on-arrival visa at the Tribhuvan International Airport for now.

The office had issued a notice a few days ago urging the travelers to carry $200 in cash with them for the on-arrival visa.

The TIA office said that the provision has been scrapped for now following widespread criticism.

General Manager at the TIA Premnath Thakur said that the work of installing the ATM of machine Rastriya Banijaya Bank in the Immigration Office of the airport has already been started and the provision for the travelers to carry cash for on-arrival has been scrapped for now.

Sri Lanka has requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for rapid financial assistance and the global lender could consider it after initial reluctance, an aide to thecountry's finance minister said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Protests have erupted in the island nation as it battles a devastating financial crisis brought by the effects of COVID-19, mismanaged government finances and rising prices of fuel that have sapped foreign reserves.

A delegation headed by Sri Lanka's Finance Minister Ali Sabry kicked off formal talks with the IMF in Washington on Monday for a programme the government hopes will help top up its reserves and attract bridge financing to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicines, according to Reuters.

"The (foreign minister) made a request for a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to mitigate the current supply chain issues, yet initially IMF of the view that it doesn't meet their criteria," Sabry's aide Shamir Zavahir said on Twitter.

"However, India subsequently made representations on an RFI for (Sri Lanka) as well and IMF may consider this request due to the unique circumstances."

Sri Lanka is seeking $3 billion in the coming months from multiple sources including the IMF, the World Bank and India to stave off the crisis, Sabry told Reuters earlier this month.

Last week, the country's central bank said it was suspending repayment on some of its foreign debt pending a restructure, according to Reuters.

In the commercial capital Colombo, protests demanding the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa have dragged on for more than a week.