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Simara has remained tense for a couple of days, giving an indication of turmoil in Madhesh province as Nepal takes not-so-certain steps toward national elections slated for March 5 next year. The CPN-UML had plans to organize an ‘awakening campaign’ in the city located in Bara district but it did not go well with GenZers. On Wednesday, those wanting to organize the campaign clashed with those opposed to it, leaving a couple of GenZers injured.

On Thursday, as a group identifying themselves as GenZers hit the streets of Simara against the police’s ‘failure’ to arrest UML cadres involved in Wednesday’s clash on the basis of their complaint, police used force to disperse them and imposed a curfew. There’s no denying that everyone has the right to protest—and to counter-protest—but the ‘show of strength’ has to be peaceful. What’s more, a protest should not cause inconveniences to others in a democracy worth its name. As the good ole GB Shaw says: Your freedom ends where my nose begins.    

But protesters in our country take these things f0r granted and choose to bring life to a halt, which goes against the letter and spirit of our Constitution and makes a mockery of the rule of law.   According to Article 17(2)(b) of the 2015 Constitution of Nepal, every citizen has the freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms. 

While every outfit has the right to organize its programs peacefully, the host community also has the right to express its disinterest toward such programs and even bar them. In this day and age of information technology, knowledge and information are just a click away and people are generally ‘awake’. This means politicians do not need to take long flights or rough and tumble rides across Nepal all too often to sermon them on several things under the sun and beyond in a typical Panchayati fashion.

What’s more, a significant chunk of the national population appears tired of the old political parties and even their new leaders, thanks to thriving corruption, bad governance, nepotism, the lack of rule of law and chronic political instability over the decades. The loss of mass appeal for the big parties is no good tiding in a democracy, especially in view of the fact that new political forces have not become strong enough to replace the old ones.

Against this backdrop, time has perhaps come for Nepal’s political parties, especially those with the prefix ‘major’ attached to them, to come up with new ways of communicating with the masses that are in sync with changing times and a fast-changing technological landscape.

Having said this, forces across the political spectrum should develop a habit of hearing each other out and desist from suppressing dissent with a brute force to avert the kind of colossal losses that we as a nation suffered on Sept 8 and 9. Moreover, barring parties from organizing their programs will not create a conducive environment for the national elections. The sooner the political forces—and the government—realise this, the better.

Nepali Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi has said that the party's 15th general convention should not be held immediately.

He was speaking at a program organized by the Nepal Women's Association in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Saying that the current priority is the elections to the House of Representatives, he said that the general convention should be held only after the elections.

He said that the party's regular general convention should be held in April and preparations should be made accordingly.

"Let's prioritize the elections for now and hold the 15th general convention in April after the polls are completed. We should all start preparations for the same."

In recent weeks, the controversy over the general convention within the Congress has reached its peak.

The party's Central Committee meeting has not been able to reach a conclusion over the proposed convention date.

The Bagmati province government has raised revenue over Rs 11.59 billion or 17.18 percent of its annual target for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS.

The land and house registration and vehicle tax are considered the major sources of revenue of the province government.

As it was estimated to collect revenue of Rs 30.891 billion in the fiscal year 2082/83 BS, around 22.45 percent of the target or 6.936 billion has been raised during the period from Shrawan (mid-August) to Kartik (mid-November), said Public Information Officer at the Internal Affairs and Planning Ministry of the Bagmati Province, Suraj Paudel.

Under the land and house registration category, Rs 1.237 billion or 16.7 percent of the annual target was collected.

Likewise, the provincial government has collected revenue of Rs 2.411 billion or 28.2 percent of the target under the vehicle tax heading during the reporting period, it is stated.

Other sources of revenue of the provincial government during the period included Rs 2.495 billion from Value Added Tax and Rs 843.6 million from the excise duty, the ministry shared.

Information Officer Paudel further said that the province government received Rs 3.463 billion or 23.37 percent of the estimated revenue from the equalization grant of the federal government.

The province government has collected Rs 1.132 billion or 23.70 percent of the target under the internal sources during the reporting period of the fiscal year 2082/83 BS.

The sixth edition of the Nepal–US Land Forces Talk (LFT), a bilateral military dialogue that has been held since 2018, commenced today at the Nepali Army Headquarters in Kathmandu.

The three-day program aims to strengthen collaboration between the Nepali Army and the United States Army. The dialogue focuses on exchanging military experience and cooperation in areas such as global peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

As part of the event, Lieutenant General Scott A Winter, who is leading the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) delegation, is scheduled to hold a courtesy meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashok Raj Sigdel at the Army Headquarters.

The Nepali Army has been participating in various bilateral and multilateral exercises and competitions with the armed forces of friendly nations including India, China, the United Kingdom and Pakistan, with the objective of enhancing its professional capabilities.

The Army believes that such engagements help further deepen military relations among partner countries.

The government has introduced a more flexible fee structure for foreign visitors entering the restricted area of Upper Mustang. Under the revised rule, foreigners visiting Upper Mustang, an area bordering China’s Korala crossing, will now be charged $50 per day, instead of paying a mandatory $500 lump-sum fee for a 10-day permit. The new provision allows trekkers to pay only for the number of days they actually spend inside the restricted zone. 

According to Government spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Jagadish Kharel, the permit fee was revised by amending Schedule 12 of the Immigration Regulation, 1994. The previous rule required every foreign visitor to buy a minimum 10-day permit at $500, after which an additional $50 per day was charged if they stayed longer. Other requirements like traveling in groups of a minimum of two and through government authorized companies, however, still remain.

Local governments and communities in the region had long been demanding a complete removal of Upper Mustang from the restricted-area list. Upper Mustang falls within the Annapurna Conservation Area and remains listed as a restricted and controlled zone. High permit costs have long discouraged trekkers, resulting in only a small fraction of the roughly 150,000 foreign tourists who enter Mustang each year traveling beyond Kagbeni and Muktinath into the restricted northern area. Nepal first declared its northern villages as restricted areas in the 1970s following security concerns after Chinese takeover of Tibet and the Khampa uprising. 

However, officials say restricted areas were declared due to cultural sensitivity, environmental fragility, and security concerns. After multiparty democracy was established in 1990, the government gradually opened many of these areas to foreign trekkers through a special-permit system administered by the Department of Immigration. 

Restrictions in Mustang currently apply to Lomanthang Rural Municipality (wards 1–5), Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality (wards 1–5), and Baragung Muktichetra Rural Municipality (ward 3 and Satang village of ward 5). Similar rules also remain in place in Upper Dolpa, Manaslu and Tsum Valley of Gorkha, Upper Humla, parts of northern Taplejung, Lower Dolpa, Lamabagar and Tso Rolpa areas of Dolakha, the Kimathanka area of Sankhuwasabha, Nar and Phu of Manang, sections of Solukhumbu and northern Rasuwa, Upper Mugu, Bajhang, and Darchula. 

Debate continues over whether restrictions should be fully lifted. Advocates for removal argue that the rules, which date back to the Khampa insurgency era in Mustang and were reinforced following China’s annexation of Tibet, are no longer relevant. Others, however, caution that unrestricted tourist inflow could affect the region’s carrying capacity and disrupt its distinct cultural and geographical landscape.

Lumbini Lions are playing against Chitwan Rhinos in the only match to be played today under the ongoing Nepal Premier League (NPL), a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament.

This will be the first match of the tournament for Lumbini, led by Rohit Poudel, who is also the captain of the National Men's Cricket team of the country.

Meanwhile, Chitwan Rhinos led by Kushal Malla is playing their second match.

In the first match, Chitwan defeated Karnali Yaks by four wickets to collect two points.

The day-night match is scheduled to start at 4 pm at TU International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur and will be played under floodlights, installed for the second season of NPL 2025.

A person died in a tractor accident at Chiuri, Nalgad Municipality-1, Jajarkot.

The deceased has been identified as 29-year-old Karan BK of Chiuri, Nalgad Municipality-1, who was assistant to the driver of the tractor (Bhe 2 Ta 559).

The tractor was heading towards Chisapani from Chiuri when the incident took place, police said.

BK succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Nalgad Municipal Hospital.

Further investigation into the accident is underway, while the reason behind the incident is not yet known, police said.

The World Children’s Day 2025 is being observed across the globe, including Nepal today under the theme "My day, my rights."

The theme focuses on amplifying children's voices and the importance of their rights while another prominent theme "For Every Child, Every Right," emphasizes that every child deserves affection, care, and the opportunity to grow.

At the call of the United Nations, the Day is celebrated annually on November 20. Also known as Universal Children’s Day, this was the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

On the same day in 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, the Day has also marked the anniversary of the day the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Meanwhile, UNICEF, the UN's specialized agency working for children and their rights, has appealed to all to amplify children’s voices and stand up for the rights of every child. Children and young people are powerful agents of change, bringing new ideas and perspectives that can help shape a better world for all of us.

In his World Children's Day message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted that the future is defined by how we care for the next generation, but acknowledged that children's rights are under attack from poverty, conflict, and climate change.

He urged that, on this day, we should listen to children and amplify their voices as they advocate for their rights, emphasizing that it is our responsibility to build a safe and equal world for every child.