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The world must not engage in “population alarmism” as the number of people living on Earth nears 8 billion, a senior UN official has said, The Guardian reported. The global population is projected to reach that milestone on 15 November, with some commentators expressing worries about the impact of the growing number on a world already struggling with huge inequality, the climate crisis, and conflict-fuelled displacement and migration. However, Dr Natalia Kanem, executive director of the UN Population Fund(UNFPA), urged countries not to panic but instead focus on helping the women, children and marginalised people who were most vulnerable to demographic change. “I realise this moment might not be celebrated by all. Some express concernsthat our world is overpopulated, with far too many people and insufficient resources to sustain their lives. I am here to say clearly that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear,” she said. Kanem said that if governments focused on the numbers alone they ran the risk of imposing population controls that had been shown by history to be “ineffective and even dangerous”. “From forced sterilisation campaigns to restrictions on family planning and contraception, we are still reckoning with the lasting impact of policies intended to reverse, or in some cases to accelerate, population growth,” she said. “And we cannot repeat the egregious violations of human rights … that rob women of their ability to decide whether [or] when to become pregnant, if at all. Population alarmism: it distracts us from what we should be focused on.” As a result of falling birthrates, the pace of worldwide population growth, which reached a recorded peak at just over 2% a year in the late 1960s, has now fallen below 1%. However, the global picture is more varied than ever before. The UN estimates that about 60% of people live in countries with fertility levels below the recognised replacement level (when a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next) of an average of 2.1 births for every woman, according to The Guardian. At the other end of the spectrum, just eight countries, including Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Philippines, are forecast to account for half of all population growth by 2050. One of those countries, India, is expected to pass China from next year and become the world’s most populous country.  

CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the only agenda of the ruling alliance was good governance and development. He believed that once the alliance was ensured victory, it would form stable governments from province to federal levels. Addressing an election assembly organized by the democratic-left alliance at Rainas Municipality-4 in the district on Monday, Chairman Dahal argued, "There is a public wave for the alliance. It will bring political stability." The election this time has much significance because it is chiefly the battle between two forces- those for regression and those for progression. Chairman Dahal reminded that Nepali Congress and the Maoist party had made huge contributions to the peace process. He viewed that the construction of a corridor along Chepe, Dordi, Marsyangdi, Madi and Madi will assure elevation of people's lifestyle in Lamjung. On the occasion, senior leader of the Nepali Congress, Ramchandra Poudel, said it was the country's need to forge an electoral alliance, so the alliance party cadres must vote for the alliance candidates. According to him, the political change has ensured Singh Durbar in each village- to dalits, indigenous community, women and backward groups. The constitution must be made sustainable for the country's development, he underscored.

Almost all the political parties are scrambling to woo the electorate in their support ahead of the November 20 elections to the House of Representatives and Province Assembly. They are primarily raising issues related to political stability, good governance, prosperity and law and order in the course of their election campaigns. However, these issues figured in the election agenda of the parties in the last elections as well. The political parties have also included in their election manifestos topics like protection of nationalism, national sovereignty, building a self-reliant economy, increasing employment, infrastructure development, citizenship and issues related to religion and culture. In this connection, the Nepalka Lagi Nepali (Nepalis for Nepal) Party has vociferously raised the issues of banishing corruption and promotion of the 'Prithvipath' and 'Nepalwad'. According to this party, Prithvipath is the principles propounded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of modern Nepal, and Nepalwad is the policy of Nepal first, said the party president Bal Krishna Neupane. Nepalka Lagi Nepali Party's election symbol is the 'conch'. The party has fielded 110 candidates under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) and the proportional electoral system. Moreover, the party has prioritized issues like investigating the assets of persons holding high public posts from the time of Panchayat system till the present, adoption of a directly-elected Prime Minister, restoration of monarchical system and barring the legislators from becoming the government ministers. It has also come up with the agenda of a powerful citizen's ombudsman body for corruption control. Some of the political parties have highlighted issues such as deteriorating economy, external interference in the national affairs, establishing social justice and self-reliance, addressing the problems of women, children and senior citizens, and that of education, health and social security, in their election manifestos. The Nagarik Unmukti Party (Citizen Liberation Party) with its election symbol 'Dhakiya' and led by Ranjita Shrestha has primarily highlighted topics like the nation's development, identity, good governance, prosperity and inclusive identity in its manifesto. This party has fielded 85 candidates towards the House of Representatives and 137 towards the Province Assembly member election. It has been advocating for a directly-elected President or Prime Minister. The Kirant Khumbuwan Sajha Party has fielded only one candidate for the House of Representatives member and 15 candidates towards Province Assembly towards the FPTP system and 15 towards the proportional seats. The party with the election symbol the 'Dhaka Topi' has voiced for naming the Province no 1 as the Kirant Province, smooth supply of drinking water in Dharan, corruption control and addressing the burning problems in the education and health sectors. The party has also advocated for adopting a directly-elected Prime Minister and fully-proportional election system for institutionalization of political stability in the country. The Tamang Shaling Loktantrik Party with the 'Vajra' as its election symbol has fielded one candidate in the House of Representatives and 20 candidates in the Province Assembly, said party chairperson Simang Tamang. The party has been voiced for reforming the election system to make it less costly and pompous and adoption of a fully-proportional election system where the candidates are selected based on the population of the ethnic groups. The Miteri Party Nepal with election symbol 'the Horse' has called for redrawing the new administrative map of the country into five development regions and restoration of constitutional monarchy, said the party president Ghanendra Basnet. Nepal Bibeksheel Party has fielded two candidacies only for House of Representatives Member. The party with election symbol the 'Dog Face' has advocated for extensive reforms in the present form of governance and election system, according to party president Karma Lama. The Mangol National Organisation with its election symbol 'the rooster' is contesting the election to 238 seats for House of Representatives and Province Assembly from 50 districts, shared the party president Buddha Lal Meche. This party's main election agenda is democracy, secularism, federalism and the protection of rights and existence of the indigenous people. The Sanghiya Lokatantrik Rastriya Manch (Federal Democratic National Forum)'s chairperson Kumar Lingden said his party has fielded candidacies in 86 electoral constituencies in six provinces in this election. Federalism with identity, removal of the present minimum vote threshold for parties and empowerment of the provinces are the key issues the party has been advocating for. Its election symbol is 'Khukuri with the Sheath'. The Bahujan Ekata Party Nepal has kept equality, independence, self-respect and prosperity as its top priorities. The party's election symbol is the 'Seven-step Stairs'. It has fielded 34 candidates towards the FPTP and 49 candidates towards the proportional representation system of election. The party is for adopting a governance system where either the President or the Prime Minister is directly elected by the people. It has also been advocating for adopting a fully proportional election system along with reserved quotas for the ethnic groups. It is found that the electorate is also putting forth the same old demands like maintaining law and order, good governance, easing the supply of fertilizer, providing irrigation and expanding road networks, among other demands with the political parties and candidates.

Seven Nepali migrant laborers, who were stranded in Kuwait, have been rescued and brought back home to Nepal. They had gone to the Gulf country on a work visa. It is learnt that the Global Times Kuwait, the company employing them, made them work for 14 hours daily and not given their two months' salary. The stranded workers were brought to Nepal last night at the initiation of Dharma Overseas Pvt Ltd and media person Jeevan Sharma. The rescued and repatriated workers are Bibek Raj Yadav, Ekbal Jolha, Izahar Jolha, Hasan Raj Jolha, Nirmal Nepali, Ganesh Kumal and Bhim Prasad Rajbanshi. The Dharma Overseas stated that the rescued workers have been kept at Pasa Hotel at Chabahil at present. It is said they would be sent home after the job-placement company that sent them to Kuwait returns their money.