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The Hotel Association of Pokhara has organized the Phewa Festival from today. The tourism festival organized on the eve of the Nepali New Year 2082 BS will run till April 14.

The hotels in Pokhara are offering 20 percent discount to the tourists visiting the Lake City as part of the 20th Phewa New Year Festival-2082. 

Association President and Festival Coordinator Laxman Subedi said that the Bisket Jatra of Bhaktapur will be a special attraction in the Festival this time. The Bisket Jatra is a typical traditional cultural festival mostly celebrated in the ancient Newar town of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley.

The Phewa Festival will showcase the original culture of 11 districts of Gandaki Province. Musical programmes including the performance of the typical 'bhajans' and 'ratyauli' are also included in the festival. 

Entry to the festival will be free and the event will be held on the three-kilometre road from Khaharechowk to Damsite in Pokhara.

Tourism, culture and food will be the main attraction of the festival, according to the organizers. The festival will feature the province-level indigenous and traditional cuisine, presentation of cultural programmes, recreational sports programs  and tourist race competitions. The Badminton Cup is a new attraction this time.

Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province and Pokhara Metropolitan City are the promoters of the festival.

At present, the occupancy of tourists in Pokhara hotels is 60 percent and it is expected to reach 90 percent on the occasion of the Festival, said Subedi.

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has made a profit of Rs 9.55 billion in the fiscal year 2024/25. This information was shared in the Corporation's 43rd Annual General Meeting on Friday. 

In the last fiscal year, the corporation imported petroleum products worth Rs 356.72 billion and sold the same worth Rs 364.52 billion. 

The corporation has sold petroleum products worth Rs 383 billion in the previous fiscal year 2023/24.

The state-owned corporation, which has a monopoly on import and sale of petroleum products, has been facilitating the supply of petroleum products across the country.

Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak has said the arrests of those responsible for the violent demonstrations by pro-monarchists on March 28   continue to take place. 

During a meeting of the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee, the House of Representatives today, the Minister said the main accused in the demonstrations, Durga Prasai, has been apprehended. 

He added that the Council of Ministers has already decided to ensure free treatment for those injured in the demonstrations. "The government will bear the cost if the need to buy medicines outside the hospital pharmacies," he said. "I have visited the injured at hospitals." 

According to the Minister, the process has been initiated to provide compensation of Rs one million each to the families of two killed in the demonstrations. He described the Tinkune demonstrations as a violation of the Constitution. 

He further asserted that there is a space for expressing dissatisfaction in the constitutional and democratic system, but there is no excuse for seeking an alternative to democracy and for the regression. 

The government has taken the Tinkune incident seriously. Such incidents must not recur, he added. "We are clear that the incident was predetermined and is a crime capable of spreading terror and anarchy."

The Kathmandu District Court on Friday remanded Durga Prasai to 12 days in custody for his alleged involvement in the violent pro-monarchy protest in Tinkune on March 28.

A single bench of Kathmandu District Court Judge Shishirraj Dhakal remanded Prasai and his associate Deepak Khadka to 12 days in custody.

According to police, investigation will be conducted against both of them on the charges of committing crime against the State and organized crime.

Durga Prasai, who was arrested from Assam, India, was brought to Kathmandu this afternoon.

He was brought to Kathmandu by Buddha Air from Bhadrapur Airport, who was earlier brought to Jhapa via Kakadbhitta border point directly from Assam.

Prasai, who had led the violent pro-monarchy protest in Tinkune on March 28, was apprehended from Assam with the help of Indian police and brought to Jhapa this morning.

Before bringing him to the airport, he was kept at the District Police Office, Jhapa.

Prasai’s bodyguard Deepak Khadka, who was detained along with him, was also brought to Kathmandu.

Controversial medial entrepreneur Prasai, who played a key role in instigating violence in the name of royalists in Tikune on March 28, claimed that he has surrendered to the Indian police.

He claimed through social media that he has turned himself in to the Indian police.

A few days ago, a team of Nepal Police had left for India to search Prasai.

He mentioned on social media that he surrendered to the Indian police at 9:13 pm after the guarantee of safety.

The pro-monarchy supporters had vandalized and torched commercial buildings and also attacked the office of Annapurna Media Network and other media outlets.

Two persons—photo journalist Suresh Rajak and Sabin Maharjan of Kirtipur had lost their lives and 129 others were injured during the violent protest.

Police have rounded up dozens in connection with the violence including Rastriya Prajatantra Party Vice Chairman Rabindra Mishra and General Secretary Dhawal Shamsher Rana.

Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman and former Managing Director of Gorkha Media Pvt. Ltd has filed a writ at the Supreme Court against the order of the Tulsipur Butwal bench of the High Court to send him to prison for judicial custody.

Supreme Court Information Officer Assistant Spokesperson Nirajan Pandey informed that the petition on behalf of Lamichhane has been registered and the hearing has been scheduled for Sunday.

He was arrested and sent to jail after the Tulsipur-Butwal Bench of High Court overturned the order of Rupandehi District Court to release him on bail of Rs 10 million in cooperative and organized crime.

Lamichhane has demanded that the order be annulled and that he should be allowed to fight the case from outside.

Lamichhane, who was arrested in Kathmandu on Friday, was taken to Bhairahawa from Tribhuvan Airport on Saturday morning. Later, he was kept in custody at the District Police Office.

He was produced at the court today as there were holidays on Saturday and Sunday.

On January 19, the District Attorney's Office, Rupandehi, had filed a case in the Rupandehi District Court making President Lamichhane among others as defendants in connection with the fraud case of the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative Society in Butwal.

Prime Minister and CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli has said attempts to stop the journey of prosperity and development by weakening the UML would not be successful.

Addressing an 'awakening assembly' organized by the party's Rupandehi district committee in Butwal today, he said the reactionary elements at home and abroad who were trying to divide the UML had failed.

"Those who are thinking of decimating the UML and creating a UML without KP Oli will not be successful. I am not going to live longer, even after that stronger leaders than me will emerge in the party. We ourselves will draw the lucky lines for the development of this nation. Those who set fire to people's homes and escape after looting shops cannot do anything for the revolution and change," PM and Party Chair Oli said.

Stating that there was misrule and disorder in the country during the monarchy and Panchayat rule, he said the democratic republic was brought through the sacrificial struggle of the people and the government was making all efforts to strengthen it.

Prime Minister Oli urged all to contribute to the journey of prosperity and good governance without being distracted by the regressive elements trying to spread anarchy and rumors to defame this system by thinking of the rule of their misrule and autocracy in the past.

Stating that it was useless to pursue the principle of hereditary superiority in the modern times, PM and UML Chair Oli said the present government was committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people for prosperity and development by strengthening the democratic republic.

Prime Minister Oli claimed that during the tenure of his government, various development projects, technology schemes and programmes such as various highways, hospitals, international convention centers, meditation centers and development of the agriculture production sector were brought to Lumbini.

UML Vice-Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel stressed the need to move ahead by tearing apart the false propaganda that has been done to overshadow the good works done under the leadership of Prime Minister Oli for prosperity and good governance.

UML Secretary and Lumbini province in-charge Padma Aryal said they were ready to discuss the works done by the UML and the party leadership and urged people not to go after the false propaganda spread by the opposition and the regressive elements.

Chief Minister of Lumbini Province Chet Narayan Acharya, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Balram Adhikari, among others, were present on the occasion.

With the arrival of spring, mountaineering activities in Nepal have picked up momentum. According to Leeladhar Awasthi, the Information Officer at the Department of Tourism, a total of 381 climbers from 41 groups have been granted permission to climb various mountains between March 1 and April 9. The department has granted permits for 15 different peaks.

Awasthi told ApEx that a total of Rs 245.2m has been collected as royalty fees for mountain climbing permits. Among the climbers granted permission, 297 are men and 84 are women.

As always, Sagarmatha remains the main attraction for climbers. This season too, it has attracted the highest number of climbers, with 134 people from 14 groups receiving permits to climb the world’s highest peak.

Awasthi noted that during the same period last year, only three groups had obtained permits to climb Sagarmatha. This year, Rs 201.6m has been collected just from Sagarmatha climbing permits. According to the department, the highest number of permits for Everest has been issued to climbers from the United States (42), followed by China (19) and India (17).

Altogether, climbers from 57 different countries, including Nepal, have received mountaineering permits. Among them, only two climbers are Nepali. The highest number of permits—69—has gone to American climbers, followed by 51 from India and 43 from China. The department reports a highly encouraging increase in climbers for the first mountaineering season of 2025.

Currently, the department is issuing around five climbing permits per day, Awasthi added. In 2024, a total of 296 teams undertook mountain expeditions, including 46 teams for Everest alone. Of the Rs 780m collected in royalties last year, Rs 600m came from Sagarmatha permits alone, he said.

On Wednesday morning, an avalanche occurred at the Everest Base Camp, the world’s highest peak. Awasthi said the avalanche hit the Khumbu Icefall area, located between the base camp and Camp I. Due to the avalanche, climbers who were working on fixing ropes have been unable to proceed. Around 1,000 meters of fixed rope have been buried, along with four ladders. Awasthi stated that the situation is currently being monitored, and due to wind speeds of up to 35 km/h, the weather has turned unfavorable. He also mentioned that there was heavy snowfall on Tuesday.

A stoppage-time finish from Rayan Cherki earned Olympique Lyonnais a dramatic 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, with visiting goalkeeper Andre Onana's errors costing his side dear, Reuters reported.

Onana was the centre of attention in the Groupama Stadium after his pre-match war of words with Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matic, and the pressure told as his mistake gifted Thiago Almada a 25th-minute opener.

A timely equaliser right on halftime from Leny Yoro, the young centre-back's first goal for United since joining in the close season, levelled things up, before Joshua Zirkzee's late header looked to have earned the visitors a battling victory.

Cherki, however, capitalised on another Onana error, when the Cameroonian could only push Georges Mikautadze's shot straight out to him, denying United a win to galvanise their disappointing season, according to Reuters.