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The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has clarified that Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal did not enter the main premises of the Pashupatinath Temple wearing leather shoes.

The minister had made a private visit to the temple along with his family on October 22. 

According to PADT Acting Member Secretary Subhash Chandra Joshi, the Home Minister had not entered the prohibited areas with the shoes put on.

He took a family photo in front of a door at the Nairitya Kon (southwest corner) outside the main temple. The same photo was later circulated on social media with false claims, PADT stated.

The Home Minister had taken the photo in front of the door that was opened during the tenure of Basanta Chaudhary as the PADT Member Secretary in 2059 BS.

The PADT further said that Home Minister Aryal took the family photo on the pavement along the route from Aryaghat toward Guhyeshwari. 

The PADT Acting Secretary and a priest also appeared in the photo, which was falsely circulated on social media.

On Wednesday, the Home Minister paid homage at the Pashupatinath, Mrigasthali-based Gorakhnath, and Guhyeshwari temples.

The Election Commission (EC) is currently assessing the documents of five new political parties that have applied for registration following the announcement of fresh elections to the House of Representatives.

According to the EC, the documents submitted by these parties are under consideration. 

While any party can apply for registration at any time, the Commission noted that the trend has increased notably after the formation of the incumbent interim government following the September 8-9 Gen Z movement and the announcement of new elections, suggesting the growing participation of youth in politics.

EC Spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai stated that applications meeting the required criteria will be approved.

The Shram Sanskriti Party, led by the Mayor of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City, Harka Sampang, applied for registration on September 23. 

Similarly, the Nepal Nagarik Party, headed by advocate Surendra Bhandari, applied on 25. The Gatisheel Loktantrik Party, led by Dinesh Raj Prasai with the proposed election symbol Jyoti (Light), filed its application on October 16. 

The Nepal Liberal Party, led by Gopilal Neupane with the proposed symbol Coin, and the Rastriya Gen Z Party, led by Hira Prasad Soti with the proposed symbol Crossed Khukuri, both submitted their applications on October 19. 

The EC has stated that no other party suggesting a specific age group with the election symbol of Crossed Khukuri has yet claimed the registration. A decision regarding its allocation will be made in accordance with existing laws and practices.

Meanwhile, the applications of 10 political parties submitted before the announcement of the election have been disapproved for failing to meet the required documentation standards. Among these are Ujyalo Nepal and the Rastriya Pariwartan Party.

Prior to these new applications, 122 political parties had been registered with the EC. With the split of two existing parties, the total number has now reached 124. 

According to the election schedule approved by the commission on October 6, the notice for party registration for election purposes will be published on November 14.

The Election Commission will provide a period of 10 days from November 17 to 26 for the parties to get registered for election purposes. Only those parties that register in this manner will be allowed to apply for registration as parties for the proportional electoral system.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) has called a Central Committee meeting in Kathmandu on October 29.

The Central Committee meeting has been called to discuss the proposal of party unification with various leftist forces.

Central Deputy Head of the Department of Publicity, Damodar Aryal, said that the meeting will be focused on swiftly concluding the ongoing unification talks with leftist, communist, and socialist parties. It will also hold discussions on the post-unity party's ideological perspective, management of leaders' positions, and other related matters.

"Ideological disputes and internal conflicts within the organisation are to be resolved at the central committee meeting. Most party leaders have suggested that before moving ahead with unification among some communists, homework should be done for polarisation among all leftists," Aryal said.

The meeting is expected to direct the party for lobbying to hold the House of Representatives election on the stipulated date and to actively involve all party and mass organisation committees to play the required role in the election process to help conduct the election in a free, fair and fear-free environment. 

The party central committee is also expected to assign responsibility to the party to promote dialogue and cooperation between democratic republican and constitution-supporting forces and with other parties to resolve the current crisis, protect the republic and the constitution, and create a reliable environment for elections. 

The Unified Socialist's Central Committee meeting is also taking place in the context of the CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli's call to the Unified Socialist, which had prepared the groundwork for unity among the parties affiliated with the Socialist Front and other leftist forces, to join the UML.

Afua Kyei, the Bank of England's chief financial officer, has been named the UK's most influential black person, BBC reported.

The 43-year-old is one of the UK's most senior finance leaders, in charge of the financial governance of the Bank's £1 trillion balance sheet and funding reforms.

The BoE executive director topped the 2026 Powerlist, which recognises the most powerful people of African, African Caribbean, and African American heritage in the UK.

Other influential names include former footballer Ian Wright, who's new to the list, make-up artist Dame Pat McGrath and actor Idris Elba, according to BBC.

A joint Nepal-India Chhath ghat has been constructed along the Bigahi River located on the border of Mahottari and Dhanusha.

An attractive ghat, about two kilometres long, has been constructed on the bank of the Bigahi River, for convenience of the devotees observing the Chhath festival on October 27.

Matihani Municipality Mayor Hari Prasad Mandal said that the Chhath ghat has been constructed for the residents of Wards 6, 7, and 8 of Matihani Municipality in Nepal, Tulasiyahi of Mukhiyapatti Musaharnia Rural Municipality–3 in Dhanusha, and for the locals in Madhawapur and Rampur areas in India.

He stated that although they live in separate countries, citizens of Nepal and India have been constructing a common Chhath ghat as they practice shared religion, culture, festivals, marital traditions and joys and sorrows.

"The no-man's land has separated our two countries, but our costumes, language, culture and festivals are the same. There is a culture of celebrating cultural festivals together, and this ghat is an example of that," said Mayor Mandal.

Citizens from Matihani and Tulasiyahi in Nepal and Madhawapur and Rampur in India have come together to decorate this shared ghat between Nepal and India.

Jit Narayan Majhi, the Chairman of Matihani, Ward 7, said that more than two thousand devotees from both countries are expected to perform the Chhath Arghya rituals at this ghat and over ten thousand devotees will be present to observe the festival. 

During this festival, devoted to the worship of the Sun god and the goddess Shashti Devi (commonly called Chhathi Devi), the fasting devotees will offer 'arghya' to the setting sun on the evening of Kartik Shukla Shashthi which falls on October 27 and to the rising sun on the morning of Saptami on October 28, after bathing at this very ghat.

Ghana's former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings has died at the age of 76, BBC reported.

She was the widow of Ghana's longest-serving leader, Jerry John Rawlings, who died five years ago.

He led two coups before twice being elected president in multiparty polls.

Social media is awash with tributes to the former first lady, politician and women's rights advocate, who Ghanaian presidential spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu said had died after a short illness on Thursday morning, according to BBC.

At least 12 people have died and several were injured after a bus they were travelling in caught fire following a collision with a motorcycle on a highway in Andhra Pradesh in southern India, reports say, BBC reported.

The motorcycle was trapped under the bus, rupturing its fuel tank and triggering an explosion. The Bangalore-bound bus carrying about 40 passengers was engulfed in flames within minutes early on Friday.

Reports cited eyewitnesses saying they heard passengers screaming for help as locals rushed to pull out survivors. Some managed to escape through an emergency exit window, according to BBC.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will push allies to provide Ukraine with more long-range missiles to strike Russian targets at a meeting in London on Friday, BBC reported.

He will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky along with the so-called "coalition of the willing", comprising of more than 20 of Ukraine's allies who have agreed to provide Kyiv security guarantees once a ceasefire is brokered.

Zelensky has been pleading for weeks for more long-range weapons from the West, a move Russia has warned would escalate the conflict. 

Ukraine's leader is travelling from Brussels, where he met EU leaders on Thursday seeking financial support, according to BBC.