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National cricket player Manish Thapa died in a motorcycle accident in Biratnagar on Thursday.

According to police, Thapa is a permanent resident of Biratnagar Metropolitan City-5.

Morang Police Chief Kabit Katuwal, Thapa was heading towards Ganesh Chowk from Airport Line via Biratnagar-4-based inner road when the incident occurred at around 1 am today.

He was riding the bike with registration number Pradesh 1-02-042 Pa 8002.

Critically injured in the incident, Thapa was rushed to the Koshi Hospital but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

National cricket player Thapa had been playing for over nine years, representing Koshi Province.

Police said that the body has been kept at the Koshi Hospital for postmortem, police said.

Prime Minister Sushila Karki, and top guns of three major political parties jointly called on President Ram Chandra Paudel today.

PM Karki, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Communist Party Coordinator Pushpa Kamal Dahal are holding the meeting with the Head of the State, according to the President's secretariat.

It is the first time that the top leaders and PM Karki held a joint meeting with the President after the September 8-9 Gen Z movement.

They are discussing the current political situation including the March 5 election.

All schools in Gaur Municipality in Rautahat district have been closed until Friday citing biting cold in the district in the past few days.

Issuing a notice on Monday, the Gaur Municipality announced a holiday in all community and institutional schools until December 26.

Chief Administrative Officer of Gaur Municipality Subas Kumar Thakur said that a decision to give a holiday in the schools was made, as the regular classes were affected due to excessive cold and considering the fact that the cold could impact the school children's health. The holiday will be adjusted with the summer break, it is said. 

Normal life in the district was affected due to a severe cold since the second week of December.

Goods worth Rs 20.14 billion were imported from the Mechi Customs Office in Jhapa in the first five months of the current fiscal year.

Information Officer and Customs Officer of the Mechi Customs Office, Ishwar Kumar Humagain, said that the total import of this year's review period was 7.57 percent more compared to the same period of the last fiscal year. In the first five months of the last fiscal, the Mechi Customs Office imported goods worth Rs 18.72 billion.

However, the total export of goods from the Mechi Customs Office has decreased in this period. The total exports stood at Rs 10.71 billion in the review period, which was Rs 11.47 billion in the same period last year.  

Cardamom, tea, plywood, veneer sheet, broom grass, ginger and iron sheet are the major exportable goods from the Mechi Customs Office while petroleum goods, readymade garments, vegetables, auto parts, cement clinker, cosmetics goods, coffee, plastic goods, shoes and some others are the major imported goods.

Likewise, the Office collected slightly more than Rs 6.82 billion in revenue from the exports and imports of goods during the first five months starting from the month of Shrawan, officials shared.

Any individual receiving wages from the institutions run under the grants of federal, province and local governments shall be ineligible if s/he is named as a candidate in the closed list of the political parties under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system in the forthcoming House of Representatives (HoR) elections scheduled for March 5.

As per the House of Representatives Member Election (First Amendment) Guidelines-2082, anyone charged with corruption, rape, human trafficking and smuggling, drug smuggling, money laundering, passport misuse and abduction will also be declared ineligible to become candidates in the poll. Likewise, the candidacy of those individuals sentenced on different charges shall be termed invalid if two years have not passed after the sentence, the new amendment to the election laws stated.

Furthermore, the candidacy shall be terminated if the individuals named in the closed list of the political parties were convicted of criminal offenses or if they have been sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment for 20 years, and the verdict was final.

MCA-Nepal has signed two essential contracts totaling USD 23.66 million for road maintenance under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact.

These contracts jointly represent a major step forward for the Compact’s goal to advance Nepal’s long-term economic growth and development, MCA-Nepal said in a press statement. 

MCA-Nepal signed today a USD 20 million contract with Sharma – Kumar Joint Venture for the Road Upgrading Works using Full-Depth Reclamation & Superpave Technology on the Dhankhola to Lamahi section of the East-West Highway, as part of implementing the Road Maintenance Project under the MCC Nepal Compact. 

Additionally, MCA-Nepal recently signed a supporting USD 3.66 million contract with Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. (ICT) for Consulting Services for Supervision of upgrading works of this road section and Design and Construction Supervision for Periodic Maintenance of the Narayanghat to Mugling Road Section, the statement says. 

Khadga Bahadur Bisht, executive director at MCA-Nepal, signed and exchanged the contract for the Dhan Khola - Lamahi Road works with Saurav Sharma, the authorized representative of Sharma – Kumar Joint Venture, in the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal  Dean Thompson, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Dr. Dhani Ram Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Sushil Babu Dhakal, the Director General at the Department of Roads Dr. Bijaya Jaishi, MCA-Nepal Board Members, MCC Nepal Acting Country Director Sanjay Poudyal and MCC and MCA-Nepal officials. 

The project includes the construction of a 7-meter carriage way and 2.5-meter shoulder on both sides of the road, making it 12 meter wide using Full-Depth Reclamation & Superpave technology for the upgradation of the 40km Dhan Khola to Lamahi section of the East-West Highway and periodic maintenance of the Narayanghat to Mugling Road Section, the statement reads. 

The upgrading and maintenance works will be conducted with new technologies, i.e., Full Depth Reclamation and Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (Superpave), for the first time in Nepal, the statement says. 

Addressing the event, the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal  Dean Thompson said, “The upgrading of the Dhan Khola - Lamahi Road project and the Narayanghat - Mugling Road Maintenance project represent much more than individual contracts. Together, they are another milestone reflecting the strength of the U.S-Nepal partnership, the momentum of the Millennium Challenge Compact, and a shared commitment at all levels of government to delivering tangible results for the people of Nepal and American businesses working in Nepal.” 

He added, “As the Compact delivers essential road infrastructure across Nepal, these two contracts will introduce American excellence in road maintenance.”

Dr. Dhani Ram Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, expressed his confidence that the latest technologies going to be used in Nepal for the first time will open the road to sustainable, effective and cost-effective road maintenance, and MCA-Nepal would complete the project within the timeline.  Sushil Babu Dhakal, Joint-Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, said, “The progress reflects MCA-Nepal’s continued efforts to implement the MCC Nepal Compact by introducing new technologies that improve the quality of Nepal’s road system.” 

MCC Nepal Acting Country Director Sanjay Poudyal said that this project will contribute meaningfully to improving Nepal's road reliability and serve as a practical model that Nepal can replicate more broadly across its road network. He said well-built and well-maintained roads are not merely a consequence of economic growth; they are one of its essential drivers.

MCA-Nepal Executive Director Khadga Bahadur Bisht said, “It is indeed a remarkable milestone to sign two contracts to move ahead with the Road Maintenance Project. The activities under the contracts will help in lowering trade and vehicle operation costs, increase road safety, decrease travel time, and improve travel quality. 

Loan shark victims have started a Kathmandu-centric protest from today.

They will take out a rally from Balkhu and pass through Tripureshwor and Shahid Gate before converging into a corner assembly at Shanti Batika.

Commercial banks have once again lowered deposit interest rates for the month of mid-December to mid-January, extending a downward trend that has continued for several months amid weak credit demand and sluggish economic activities in the country. According to interest rates for the new months published by banks, most commercial and development banks have reduced the maximum interest rate on individual fixed deposits. Only a few have chosen to keep rates unchanged. 

The latest revisions reflect excess liquidity in the banking system and limited lending opportunities as private sector investment remains subdued. Thirteen out of 20 commercial banks in the country have reduced their maximum interest rate on individual fixed deposits for Poush, while seven banks have continued their rates of Mangsir. 

Prime Commercial Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank and Global IME Bank have reduced their rates by 0.5 percentage points each, while Prabhu and Agricultural Development Bank have lowered their rates by 0.4 percentage points each, and Kumari Bank by 0.38 percentage points. Seven commercial banks have kept their interest rates unchanged. They include Citizens International, Machhapuchhre, NIC Asia, Siddharttha, Nepal Investment Mega, NMB and Himalaya Bank. 

With the fresh revision, Global IME and Himalaya are offering the highest individual fixed deposit interest rates of 5.5 percent each, while the lowest is 4.25 percent offered by Prime Commercial Bank. With this, the average maximum interest rate on individual fixed deposits have dropped to 4.834 percent from 5.0405 percent in the previous month. The average maximum interest rate on institutional fixed deposits have also come down by 0.13 percentage points in Poush.

A similar trend is visible among national-level development banks.Muktinath, Lumbini, Kamana Sewa, Shangrila and Garima Development Banks have reduced their rates for Poush. With the revision, Muktinath and Lumbini are offering a maximum interest rate of 5.5 percent on individual fixed deposits, while Kamana Sewa, Shangrila and Garima have fixed rates at 5.55 percent. Mahalaxmi Development Bank has kept the rate unchanged at 5.8 percent.

Bankers say interest rates are likely to remain under pressure as long as credit growth stays weak. Despite ample liquidity, banks have struggled to expand lending due to low demand for loans, reflecting broader economic slowdown and delayed investment decisions.