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Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Maeda Toru paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sushila Karki on Friday.

During the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, matters relating to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Nepal-Japan relations were discussed, according to the Prime Minister's press coordinator, Ram Bahadur Rawat.

On the occasion, the ambassador applauded the government's resolution to conduct fresh elections for the House of Representatives on the announced date, adding that the Government of Japan is ready to extend all possible support to Nepal in its efforts to conduct the elections.

In response, the Prime Minister thanked Japan for its contributions to Nepal’s development sectors and other areas, expressing her confidence in the continuation of such support in the days to come.

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal participated as the guest of honor at the Mask Art Exhibition held at Patan Museum, Lalitpur on Friday.

The event, organized by the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal in collaboration with Lalitpur Metropolitan City and with the valued cooperation of IMACO Korea, showcased 60 Nepali masks alongside 40 masks from South Korea.

Speaking at the event, Woo Hyuk Cho, Secretary General of IMACO, said that the evet was organized with an objective to introduce South Korean masks as part of a culturally rich in an educational and aesthetic values and to support the development of cultural tourism in domestic and international levels.

South Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Taeyoung maintained that the similarities between Nepal and South Korea, has a rich mask tradition that reflects Korea’s cultural and traditional heritage.

He shed light on the importance of Budddhism which played a crucial link between two nations. Mask traditions across two countries share fundamental similarities, primarily revolving around transformation, the representation of spiritual or social entities.

Ambassador Park highlighted the long-standing relationship between South Korea and Nepal.

Officials from the Lalitpur metropolitan city, Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal, IMACO and a huge number of people participated in the program.

The event will conclude on December 7.  

Civil Society has urged the government, political parties, youth, and citizens to work together to restore stability and predictability in the country’s governance amid the sensitive situation following the Gen-Z protests of September 8 and 9.

Issuing a statement on Friday, the group said that it is not appropriate to burden the government that is beyond its mandate and capacity.

The present government was formed primarily to conduct elections and should not be hindered by vested political, collective, or individual interests.

The Society also warned that attempts to spread misinformation would further weaken the nation. “All of us will have to face the consequences if the government fails to hold the elections on the scheduled date. The resulting chaos and anarchy would certainly extend into the long term,” the appeal stated.

Emphasizing the need to safeguard the Constitution and the democratic gains achieved under it,  the Society stressed on the need to end corruption, nepotism, partisanship, and mal-governance.

“In order to ensure good governance, we must work to clear all obstacles and focus entirely on the holding of elections on March 6, 2026,” the Society said in the statement.

The Society further urged the government and the Election Commission to ensure that the polls are conducted in a free, fair, credible, and fearless environment.

Here is the full text of appeal

With the country in a sensitive and complex situation following the ‘Gen-Z movement’ of 8-9 September, it is the responsibility of the Nepal Government, political parties, the youth, as well as the rest of us citizens, to bring the polity back to stability and predictability.

At a time when the state is weakened, it is important not to make demands on the Government that are beyond its mandate and capacity. The current Government has been formed to hold elections, and its work should not be hampered by demands based on vested political, collective, or individual interests. Such demands, as well as attempts to spread falsehoods and suspicions, will only serve to further weaken our nation.

All of us need to be concerned with the kind of outcome should this Government fail in organising the elections on the scheduled date. The resulting chaos and anarchy would certainly extend into the long term.

We need to protect the Constitution and the advances achieved under its umbrella, and we must also end all anti-people trends such as corruption, nepotism, partisanship and mal-governance, ills that were targeted by the Gen-Z activists. In order to ensure good governance, we must work to clear all obstacles and focus entirely on the holding of elections on 6 March 2026. Only the medium of elections can keep the constitutional process alive as well as give unhampered and meaningful momentum to the political parties.

We hereby request the Government and the Election Commission to ensure that the upcoming polls are held under conditions that are free, fair, credible and without fear. Keeping in mind that only a successful election will justify its legitimacy, the Government must put all its efforts and activities into fulfilling that obligation. Meanwhile, we citizens will remain vigilant that nothing is done to mar the momentum that is developing for the elections.

We ask the citizens at large, political forces, civil society, media, the Gen-Z community, professionals from different walks, and all other responsible sections to contribute to making the 6 March elections free, fair and successful. Our country’s stability depends on it.

Presented on behalf of the following citizens by Kedar Bhakta Mathema:

Archana Thapa, Bhojraj Pokhrel, Bijaya Kant Karna, Bijaya Timilsina. Birendra Prasad Mishra, Chandrakishore, Charan Prasai, Dipendra Jha, Dovan Rai, Gajadhar Sunar, GejaSharma Wagle, Hari Sharma, Indra Adhikari, J.B. Biswakarma, Kanak Mani Dixit, Kedar Bhakta Mathema, Khagendra Sangraula, Krishna Khanal, Krishna Pokhrel, Mahesh Maskey, Pradip Khatiwada, Rajendra Dahal, Stella Tamang, Subodh Raj Pyakurel, Surya Dhungel, Sushil Pyakurel, Tula Narayan Shah, Uddhab Pyakurel, Vidhyadhar Mallik.

With the monsoon long gone, rains are not even on the horizon even as dust and smoke continue to give every living entity a hard time, in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley and other urban centers of the country.  

At 4:01 pm on Thursday, Kathmandu stood 18th (not so proudly) on the air quality index with a score of 123 (an air monitoring website considers the AQI between 101-150 as unhealthy for sensitive groups) far behind Tashkent (218), Kolkata (230). Lahore (217), Delhi (192), Hanoi (182), Dhaka (181), Mumbai (178), Almaty (163), Wuhan (160), Krakow (154), Kabul (153), Doha (140), Sarajevo (140), Karachi (133), Shenzhen (127) and Guangzhou (127). 

Even a cursory look at air quality monitoring sites suggests that we survive somehow in a neighborhood where pollution has crossed limits. 

Major cities in our neighborhood experiencing "unhealthy" to "very unhealthy" AQIs for days on end and posing serious health risks to residents, especially children and the elderly, should be a matter of serious concern for our government because we the inhabitants of this living planet breathe the same air and live under the same sky, and pollution anywhere affects us all everywhere.

An alarming situation like this calls for serious transboundary talks aimed at mitigating the debilitating impact, but the government appears to have other priorities, including the extension of South Asia’s first cross-border petroleum pipeline to Kathmandu via Chitwan and the construction of another such pipeline in eastern Nepal along with the construction of storage facilities. In a country where petroleum imports already account for a lion’s share of the trade deficit, the development and expansion of petroleum import infrastructure is sure to bleed the national economy further, apart from taking a heavier toll on public health due to increased emissions resulting from a surge in the consumption of dirty fuels.

In summary, a lush-green country (Nepal has increased its forest cover from 29 percent in 1994 to around 50 percent) taking pride in her nominal carbon footprint must go greener by taking measures such as reduced consumption of petroleum products, adoption of green technologies and engaging in climate diplomacy with neighbors and the rest of the world to curb pollution, air pollution in particular, that has been severely affecting everything and being—from the world’s tallest peak, the Sagarmatha, to flora and fauna to every ordinary Nepali with extraordinary potential. 

A man was found dead with a bicycle fallen in the Dhobi Khola in Kathmandu on Thursday.  

The deceased has been identified as Lalit Giri (50) of Mandandeupur Municipality-1 in Kavrepalanchok, according to Pawan Kumar Bhattarai, Superintendent of Police of the District Police Range, Kathmandu.

Giri was found dead with a bicycle in Dhobi Khola near Rudramati Bridge in Kathmandu Metropolitan City-29 this morning.

A police team has been mobilized to carry out the necessary investigation.

Black cardamom has emerged as Nepal’s second-largest export in the first four months of the current fiscal year 2025/26. According to the latest foreign trade data released by the Department of Customs, Nepal exported 1,823.90 tons of black cardamom worth Rs 3.97bn between mid-July and mid-November. 

In the same period of the previous fiscal year, total exports remained at 1,306.25 tons worth Rs 1.9bn. The spice was Nepal’s fourth-largest export in 2024/25 when shipments reached 4,301.04 tons valued at Rs 7.68bn.

Exports grew strongly in the first quarter alone. From mid-July to mid-October, Nepal exported 1,072.20 tons of black cardamom, up 36.8 percent from 783.75 tons a year earlier. Earnings during the period rose 33.3 percent to Rs 1.68bn, compared to Rs 1.26bn last year. 

Almost all of Nepal’s black cardamom goes to India. Exporters say the spice is processed, graded, packaged, and branded there before being re-exported to Pakistan, Gulf markets, and other destinations—often relabeled as “Made in India.” Once re-exported, black cardamom can sell for up to $28 per kilogram, far higher than what farmers received. Nepali farmers earn less than Rs 2,000 per kilogram from Indian buyers.

Nepal is the world’s largest producer of black cardamom, accounting for more than 55 percent of global production. Over 80 percent of the crop comes from five districts in eastern Nepal: Taplejung, Ilam, Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar, and Tehrathum.

However, since the country lacks basic processing and value-addition capacity, farmers are forced to export raw pods, losing out on the higher margins available through drying, grading, oil extraction, and branded retail products. Experts say processing and branding inside Nepal could raise earnings by 50 percent–100 percent.

The country exported 5,017 tons worth Rs 7.93bn in 2023/24, and hit an all-time earnings record of Rs 8.27bn in 2022/23. Revenue stood at Rs 4.77bn in 2021/22 and Rs 6.93bn in 2020/21. Annual earnings stayed above Rs 4bn from 2017/18 to 2019/20.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 253, 300 per tola today.  It was traded at Rs 254, 100 per tola on Wednesday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 3, 625 per tola.

The Birgunj Customs Office has collected Rs 22.9 billion from the imports of five different kinds of petroleum products in the first four months of the current fiscal year and Rs 10.1 billion from the imports of vehicles and auto spares during the same period.

The Office also collected Rs 4.58 billion from the imports of iron and iron-made products, Rs 4.25 billion from garments and Rs 3.17 billion from the imports of machinery and their parts.

Likewise, Rs 3.07 billion revenue was collected from the imports of electric machinery, equipment and their parts during the review period.

The Office stated that goods worth Rs 284.89 billion were imported in the first four months of the current fiscal year and the Office collected Rs 75.59 billion in revenue during the review period of the current fiscal year.