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The government has decided to grant two days of public holiday a week—Saturday and Sunday—from May 15.

A Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday made the decision to this effect.

Likewise, the government has also decided to extend the office hours from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.

Government spokesperson and Minister for Information and Communications Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said that the government has decided to implement the decision effective from May 15 as a trial.

The government has also decided to impose a complete ban on 10 different types of items and give two days of public holiday to reduce the import of petroleum products and to increase foreign exchange reserves.

Nepal’s recent improvement in the global civil-aviation regulator ICAO’s audit score could be wasted. It would have been the perfect opportunity to lobby with the European Commission to lift the ban on Nepali airlines from European skies. But the country’s entreaties on that score are likely to be scorned. A pair of bills in the federal parliament to split the regulatory and service-providing arms of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) have been cunningly shelved. The commission has repeatedly clarified that European skies will remain closed to Nepali fliers until the split: the overlapping of CAAN’s regulatory and operational duties creates conflict of interest, adding to the risk of accidents.  

Just when the bills were to be put up for a vote in the federal lower house on March 2, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Ale had asked the parliament secretariat to hold them back. He had done so under the pressure of the CAAN top brass (and their political masters) who feared a loss in their clout from the authority’s split. So even as the country’s economy is nearing a point of crisis, one measure that could immediately help revive it was shelved: the European Commission’s ban discourages European tourists from visiting Nepal with its ‘unsafe skies’.  

Nor is this just a question of our economy’s health. So long as CAAN remains intact, even Nepali air passengers will feel unsafe. The interests of a handful of people have been allowed to endanger common lives. Owing to continuous obstruction from the main opposition, the 10th parliamentary session has been prorogued. The two bills are now unlikely to be discussed until the election of a new parliament later this year. 

Both the ministry of tourism as well as CAAN have been keen to highlight the ICAO’s recent favorable ratings of Nepal. But they surely know that the ban will stay until the central issue of the break-up of CAAN is completed. Instead of waiting for international organizations to help Nepal, our politicians need to first show that they can ensure the safety of their own brethren.

It’s a peaceful morning and you wake up craving for a nice bite of croissants before you head off to work.

Sami Croissant in Bakhundol, Lalitpur, is just the place for you. It specializes in vegan Austrian croissants and other dishes that revolve around it. A variety of unique flavored croissants to cronuts (croissant donuts), croissant sandwiches to croissant cereal and many more, Sami Croissants has it all. The croissants are made of almond flour, giving them one-of-a-kind taste. This small establishment, run by two friends, also offers this European desserts infused with traditional Nepali ingredients. The flavors compliment each other. Take Gundpaak Croissant. The gooey sugary delight packed inside croissant dough makes it the perfect pastry. 

Chef’s Special:

Traditional Croissant 

Chocolate Croissant 

Almond Croissant 

Gundpaak Croissant

Opening hours: 8:00 am to 9:00 pm

Location: Bakhundol, Lalitpur

Meal for 2: Rs 800

Phone pay: Yes

Contact:  981-3152788

Three persons died when a bike they were riding on hit a parked truck at Sindhuli Tole in Chireshwornath Municipality-5 of Dhanusha on Tuesday.

Police said that the bike (Na 2 Kha 8624) hit the truck (Lu 83 Pa 8652) at around 2:30 am today.

One of the deceased has been identified as Sumit Agrawal (20) of Janakpurdham-4.

Police said that the identities of two others are yet to be established.

DSP Jitendra Basnet, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Dhanusha, said that the bodies have been kept at the Janakpurdham-based Provincial Hospital for postmortem.

Police said that they have impounded the truck and arrested its driver for investigation.

Update
More than 137, 000 candidates filed their nominations at the election offices across the country for the local level elections slated for May 13. 

According to the data provided by the Election Commission on Tuesday morning, 137, 043 persons filed their candidacies for various posts including mayor, deputy mayor, chairperson and members.

Of them, 21, 879 candidates filed nominations in Province 1, 34, 747 in Madhesh Pradesh, 12, 146 in Gandaki Province, 21, 759 in Lumbini Province, 12, 318 in Karnali and 1, 198 in Sudurpaschim.

Pakistan said on Monday that it has sought “clarification” from India on the recent joint notice issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), advising students to not choose Pakistan for pursuing higher education, The Indian Express reported.

“We have sought clarification from the Indian government with reference to the said public notice. Pakistan reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response to this openly discriminatory and inexplicable action by India,” the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

In the notice issued on April 22, the UGC and the AICTE said any Indian national or overseas citizen of India who intends to take admission in any degree college or educational institution of Pakistan “shall not be eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India”.

In the past, the UGC had issued similar orders for the students studying in the colleges of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK),according to The Indian Express.

Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs in an IPL match here on Monday, The Indian Express reported.

Invited to bat, Shikhar Dhawan hit an unbeaten 88 with the help of nine fours and two sixes to power Punjab Kings to 187 for 4.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa (42), Liam Livingstone (19) and Mayank Agarwal(18) also chipped in with useful contributions.

Defending the total, PBKS restricted CSK to 176 for six.

Ambati Rayudu was the top-scorer for Chennai as he hammered seven fours and six maximums during his 39-ball 78, while Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 30 off 27 at the top, according to The Indian Express.

 Kagiso Rabada (2/23) and Rishi Dhawan (2/39) were Punjab’s most successful bowlers, while Arshdeep Singh (1/23) and Sandeep Sharma (1/40) scalped one each.

For CSK, Dwayne Bravo (2/42) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/32) were among wickets.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said he hopes Russian losses in Ukraine will deter its leadership from repeating its actions elsewhere, BBC reported.

Ukraine can still win the war if given the right support, he added.

He also announced the US would allocate an extra $713m (£559m) of military aid to Ukraine and other European nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of attempting to "split Russian society and destroy Russia from within". 

Mr Austin, a retired four-star general, was speaking after meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Also involving Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the visit marked the highest-level trip to Ukraine by US officials since the invasion began over two months ago, according to BBC.

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian parties, which ran for over three hours, comes as Russia escalates its military campaign in the south and east of the country. 

At a news conference in Poland after the visit, Mr Austin told reporters the US wants to see "Russia weakened to the degree that it can't do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine".

The Pentagon chief added that US officials still believed Ukraine could win the conflict with "the right equipment" and the "right support". 

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale observed that Mr Austin's comments calling for a weakened Russia were unusually strong for a US defence secretary. It is one thing to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression, it is quite another to speak of weakening Russia's capabilities, he said, BBC reported.

Mr Putin's accusations of the West attempting to "destroy Russia", made during a speech on Monday, appeared to be in response to Mr Austin's comments.

US defence officials said of the millions announced in fresh military funding, nearly $332m (£260m) would be allocated to Ukraine. 

It brings the total US security assistance provided to Ukraine since the invasion began to more than $3.7bn (£2.9bn). 

Mr Zelensky has been pleading with Western leaders to increase the flow of military equipment for weeks, vowing that his forces can overcome Russia's military if provided with fighter jets and other vehicles.

Last week the US confirmed it had supplied Ukrainian troops with howitzer artillery cannons and anti-artillery radars for the first time. 

Russia's ambassador in Washington said Moscow had sent a diplomatic note demanding an end to the US supply of weapons to Ukraine. 

Mr Blinken announced some US diplomatic staff would start to return to Ukraine from next week. They are expected to be based in Lviv initially, with a longer-term plan to re-open the US Embassy in the capital, Kyiv.

President Joe Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brink, a career diplomat, as US ambassador to Ukraine - a post that has remained vacant for more than two years, according to BBC.

Mr Blinken also defended America's diplomatic approach, telling reporters that the Western alliance the Biden administration had assembled had put pressure on President Putin's government.

"The strategy that we've put in place, massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure against Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries engaged in these efforts, is having real results," Mr Blinken said. "And we're seeing that when it comes to Russia's war aims, Russia is failing, Ukraine is succeeding."

"A sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin's on the scene," Mr Blinken added, BBC reported.

Speaking following the meeting, Mr Zelensky said his government appreciated "the unprecedented assistance" from Washington and added that he "would like to thank President Biden personally and on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people for his leadership in supporting Ukraine".