March 12: The government has pledged to utilize all state mechanism in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the…
March 12: The government has pledged to utilize all state mechanism in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the…
March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the…
March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to…
March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly…
March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50…
March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two…
March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods.…
March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of…
March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign.…
March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous…
March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each…
March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus…
March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement.…
March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March…
March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of…
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), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11743', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Adopt Integrated Approach to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The government has pledged to utilize all state mechanism in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The government has pledged to utilize all state mechanism in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government made such announcement during an all-party meeting called by the High-Level Coordination Committee to Control COVID-19 at the office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday to review the works of the government and to take suggestions from all parties. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting called by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the coordinator of the committee, discussed about the efforts made by the government to prevent an outbreak in Nepal and the future strategy. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Leaders of the opposition parties attending the meeting said that the measures adopted by the government so far are not effective to prevent the disease that has spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The main opposition party Nepali Congress has suggested the government to expedite preparedness to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NC leader Gagan Thapa said that they suggested the government to take steps in an integrated manner by incorporating all sectors to combat the deadly disease. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting suggested the government to make arrangement to keep those entering Nepal from coronavirus-affected countries in quarantine for at least two weeks and to improve the service of the hospitals. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rajendra Shrestha of Samajbadi Party shared that the meeting focused on how to cope with the possible spread of COVID-19 in a united manner at a time when the World Health Organisation has put Nepal at high risk of coronavirus. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Communist Party Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, senior leaders Jhalanath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, NC leader Bal Krishna Khand, Rajendra Mahato of Rastriya Janata Party, Shrestha of Samajbadi Party and ministers were present in the meeting chaired by committee coordinator Ishwar Pokharel. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11494', 'image' => '20200312112722_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:25:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'New Criteria for Awarding Multi-Year Projects', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors. While the number of projects is increasing, the implementation part is quite pathetic. Therefore, the government has set new criteria for awarding multi-year projects to ensure timely completion of such projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The new criteria have made it mandatory for the contractors to secure the source of funds as per the medium-term expenditure framework before signing the contract. The contractors will now have to first sign agreement with donor agencies if the projects are to be funded with foreign investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the new criteria, the Ministry of Finance cannot sign an agreement with the contractors to waive customs duty, income tax, VAT and other taxes without the prior approval of the National Planning Commission (NPC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, more than 500 projects each worth Rs 300,000 to Rs 1 billion have been delayed, mainly due to non-performing contractors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Other reasons for the delay is the contractors’ access to influential politicians, dispute in compensation for land acquisition, management of electric poles and drainage system, court orders, protests from the locals among others.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11493', 'image' => '20200312010154_20190303050610_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 13:01:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11742', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Positive to Continue Supply of Medicines: State Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister of State for Industry, Commerce and Supply, Motilal Dugad, who returned home after participating in Global Summit 2020 held in India on March 6 and 7, shared that Civil Aviation Minister and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, directed his secretaries to continue export of medicines to Nepal. The directive was issued after a meeting with State Minister Dugad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Nepal imports 70 per cent of necessary medicines and medicated goods from foreign countries. Of them, 90 per cent is imported from India. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking with media persons at his office on Wednesday, Minister of State Dugad said, "We requested for a separate policy for Nepal, which received a positive response." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On a different note, Minister of State Dugad urged the consumers not to hoard daily essentials as there is enough stock of daily essentials for three to six months. However, people have started to stock daily essentials and medicines thinking there might be shortage of such things following coronavirus. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that the government has fined those involved in black marketing and hiding goods, he opined, "Do not stock goods unnecessarily. We will not allow shortage of medicines and daily essentials. Necessary goods are being imported. So there is no reason to be worried." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Minister Dugad said that the government has been carrying out monitoring regarding supply of mask and sanitizer and asked the businessmen not to increase the price of such things. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that the Indian authorities have urged Nepal to supply mask. - RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11492', 'image' => '20200312112516_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:24:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11739', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Willing to Share Information and Technology with Nepal to Combat COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi made such commitment during a meeting with Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Bhattarai and the Chinese ambassador discussed about the problems created by coronavirus, measures to control the disease and Nepal’s preparedness to handle a possible outbreak.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou informed Minister Bhattarai that out of 80,900 Chinese infected by the virus, 59,000 people have already returned their homes after treatment. She also shared the experience of China in handling the epidemic and the measures taken by the government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou expressed her belief that coronavirus would not spread in Nepal but said that China is ready to extend any help if required in case there is an outbreak here in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Minister Bhattarai informed the Chinese ambassador that the government is doing everything possible to prevent the spread of the disease. He said that the authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport have been screening passengers while they have set ho isolation wards and quarantine facilities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He also said that the government has urged the people not to attend public gatherings to avoid the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11491', 'image' => '20200311104013_1583835747.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 10:39:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11740', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'International Flights at TIA Down by 20 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed New Business Age that international airline companies have started reducing the number of flights to TIA as the deadly virus spreads across the globe. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 28 airline companies operate international flights to Nepal. CAAN insists that 80 percent of flights are still taking place despite a significant decrease in the number of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Although the international flights have decreased by 20 percent, the number of passengers has reduced by almost half,” said Rajkumar Chhetri, spokesperson of CAAN.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chhetri said that no country can impose a ban on international flights as per the international practice. But the airliners can adjust the number of flights considering the flow of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He further said that the flights to and from countries affected by coronavirus have been affected while the other flights have not been affected much by the epidemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Chhetri, the TIA used to have between 100 to 110 flights a day during this season of last year. That has now reduced to 80-85 flights per day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The flow of passengers has reduced to 5500 per day from 11,000 a year ago.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Most of the flights to China have been suspended while other flights are taking place as per the schedule. The number of flights to China has reduced to 10 from 60 per week at present compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">TIA informed that Nepal Airlines Corporation and Himalaya Airlines have suspended their flights to Doha from Tuesday. The decision comes after Qatar banned visitors from 14 countries including Nepal in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Gulf nation. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Qatar Airways has been operating three flights a day to Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11490', 'image' => '20200311110634_1583889398.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 11:05:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11741', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Revenue Collection From Biratnagar Customs Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The customs office had collected revenue of Rs 3.7 billion as of mid-February last year. But the revenue collection has reduced to Rs 1.78 billion so far this year. It means that the revenue collection this year is less by Rs 1.92 billion compared to last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to spokesperson of the customs office, Gopi Upreti, the import of goods has been reduced by 31 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period of last year, goods worth Rs 12.39 billion were imported from the customs point. This year, the import has slumped to Rs 8.55 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Mostly goods like toys, steel utensils, shoes, clothes, apples, electronic appliances, machinery parts among others are imported to Nepal from China via Biratnagar Customs Office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Vice President of Morang Industrial Association Pradeep Muraraka says that Nepal’s economy will face grave consequences if the effects of coronavirus prolong. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The reduction in import from China is the first sign of economic crisis in Nepal, according to Muraraka.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The government should take proper measures on time to minimize the impacts of coronavirus on Nepal’s economy,” he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He warned that lack of timely action by the government will create acute shortage of food, clothes and electrical appliances in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11489', 'image' => '20200311121642_20160104125041_Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 12:15:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11736', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Pledges to Curb Artificial Shortage of Daily Essentials', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Lekhraj Bhatta said that the government has instructed police to take action against anyone found charging exorbitant price to the consumers by taking advantage of the current situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Organising a press conference in the capital on Monday (March 9), Minister Bhatta said that various units of the ministry will orgainse joint monitoring along with Nepal Police to curb black marketing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“First the joint inspection team will monitor the market in the capital and then in the provinces and local units,” said Minister Bhatta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister accused the private sector of attempting to hike the price of essential goods like salt, edible oil, sugar and rice illegally and that the government will keep a check on such unscrupulous activities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The demand for daily essentials has shot up as people have started hoarding food stuffs and other goods fearing a possible outbreak of coronavirus, which has already spread to over more than 100 countries and killed over 3500 people. This has resulted in artificial shortage of daily essentials in the market. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11488', 'image' => '20200310111647_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:16:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11738', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales during Holi Slump due to Fear of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus. This resulted in a sharp decline in sales of colours, balloons and other materials used extensively while celebrating this festival. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The shopkeepers who used to be quite busy ahead of Holi in previous years spent their time in leisure during this Holi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Kaji Thapa, a trader who sold out around 400 T-shirts during last year, could not sale even 40 T-shirts this time. Since the government issued a directive to the public not to play Holi in mass to avoid in the possible outbreak of COVID 19, the sale decreased significantly, says Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that many people did not smear each other with colours during Holi this year because of which the business of Holi material was affected. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another trader Pramod Das also said that the business of materials used in Holi like colours, T-shirts, balloon, water-gun decreased in this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our business decreased by 15 percent compared to last year,” said Das.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%282%29.jpg" style="height:536px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11487', 'image' => '20200310122230_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 12:21:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Postpone VNY 2020', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation informed that the government has adopted a new strategy to postpone the VNY 2020 as the entire tourism industry is has been severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has now spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the deadly disease started spreading across the globe since it was first reported in China’s Wuhan in late December last year, the government had stopped all promotional activities of VNY 2020 and instead shifted its focus toward internal tourism. As this strategy was not much effective to support the beleaguered tourism industry that had invested heavily for the campaign, the government reached to a conclusion to defer the programme altogether.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry said the upcoming cabinet meeting will most likely take a decision to postpone the VNY 2020 campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The VNY Secretariat said it has already received a letter from the concerned ministry instructing it to clear all its arrears within one month and to cast off its staff hired on contract basis within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As the coronavirus first appeared in China, the government was hopeful that it would be able to attract tourists from other parts of the world. But with the deadly virus fast spreading to over 100 countries, the government has been forced to postpone the ambitious campaign which aims to welcome 2 million tourists to Nepal in 2020, says Rajan Poudel, under secretary at the VNY Secretariat.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11486', 'image' => '20200310092904_20190531031100_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:28:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11733', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Trade Body Predicts Big Coronavirus Hit to FDI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts, resulting in only marginal growth in 2020-21, Reuters reported citing a recent United Nations report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The report released on Sunday (March 8) indicated that the automotive, airlines and energy industries will be hit hardest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the negative impact of the virus would likely get worse in 2020.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to Reuters, UNCTAD tracks 100 multinational companies as a global economic barometer. Many of them are slowing capital expenditure in affected areas and 41 have so far issued profit warnings, which will hit reinvested earnings, a major driver of FDI, the news agency cited UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the profit warnings are from consumer-facing companies, indicating that slowing demand, for now, is expected to have more direct effects on earnings than production or supply chain disruptions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A wider sample of the top 5,000 listed companies showed earnings forecasts for fiscal year 2020 have been revised down in the last month by an average 9 percent due to the new virus, which has infected more than 100,000 people in over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The automotive industry (-44 percent), airlines (-42 percent) and energy and basic materials (-13 percent) have been hit hardest, UNCTAD said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"The revisions to date are most likely to be conservative. The negative impact of the virus is likely to spread and increase further," Reuters quoted UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In January, UNCTAD estimated that global FDI flows in 2019 were $1.39 trillion and expected them to rise by around 5 percent in 2020. Now, it thinks they may hit the lowest level since the financial crisis in 2008 should the epidemic spread and continue throughout the year, according to Reuters.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">James Zhan, UNCTAD's director of investment and enterprise, said East Asia will bear the brunt of lower FDI inflows.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"China has been the second-largest FDI recipient country, therefore a significant decline of FDI flows to the country in the short term will affect the level of global FDI flows," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11485', 'image' => '20200310093437_new.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:33:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11737', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bangladesh Agree to Waive Customs Duty on 20 Products', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The meeting held last week in Dhaka reached an understanding that both the countries will not impose customs duty on certain goods produced within the two countries, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. However, the two countries have not finalized the products that will benefit from customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has submitted a list of goods including threads, ginger, tea, coffee, shoes, cement, clinker and dairy products to Bangladesh for customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Likewise, Bangladesh has also submitted a list of its products like machineries, industrial equipment and juice for tax waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal had imposed a ban on energy drinks from Bangladesh since the start of the last fiscal year. Bangladesh had been requesting Nepal to lift the ban since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the ministry, the two countries will study the list and then take the decision on customs duty waiver. The two countries will sign an agreement after studying the list, according to Secretary Baikuntha Aryal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Both countries have their own interests to promote the home-grown products. We have presented our views. We have made it certain that our products will get easy access to Bangladeshi market,” he said.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11484', 'image' => '20200310114648_aa111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:46:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11735', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Qatar Bans Migrant Workers from Nepal Amid Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). This has put a halt to outbound migrant workers from Nepal aspiring to work in the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision has also affected flights between Kathmandu and Qatar’s capital Doha. Himalaya Airlines, a private joint venture company of Nepal, has already suspended its flight to Qatar while the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation will take a decision on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Of late, Qatar has become a prime destination for foreign employment for the Nepali migrant workers. Around 350 Nepali workers had been leaving for Qatar on a daily basis before the ban. But the latest decision of Qatar has barred even those workers who have already acquired work permit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, there are around 350,000 Nepali migrant workers in Qatar. More than 72,000 Nepali workers left for Qatar for foreign employment so far this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">South Korea, another major foreign employment destination, has also stopped taking in any more migrant workers as the country is grappling with coronavirus epidemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The bans imposed by the countries will have direct impact on the remittance inflow to Nepal. The inflow of remittance from Qatar in the first four months of the current fiscal year was Rs 53.93 billion. According to a Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) report on remittance, Gulf countries contribute 50.3 percent of the total remittance Nepal receives.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment, Kumar Prasad Dahal, says that the ban imposed by Qatar will create an imbalance in employment in the long run in Qatar. He said that the demand for workers in Qatar has not declined despite the ban.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Qatar imposed a ban on visitors from 14 countries including Nepal, India, China, South Korea among others effective from Monday (March 9).</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11483', 'image' => '20200310105652_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 10:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UNICEF Warns Public about Misinformation Regarding Coronavirus', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. It can also result in people being left unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus, said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF deputy executive director for partnerships.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gornitzka urged the public to seek accurate information from verified sources, such as UNICEF or WHO, government health officials and trusted healthcare professionals on how to keep oneself and family safe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She also requested everyone to refrain from sharing information from untrustworthy or unverified sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“For example, a recent erroneous online message circulating in several languages around the world and purporting to be a UNICEF communication appears to indicate, among other things, that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue,” she wrote.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In the recent statement, Gornitzka urged the creators of such falsehoods to stop sharing inaccurate information.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“It can be difficult in today’s information-rich society to know exactly where to go for knowledge about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. But it is critical that we remain as diligent about the accuracy of the information we share as we are about every other precaution we take to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She further said that UNICEF is actively taking steps to provide accurate information about the virus by working with the World Health Organization, government authorities and with online partners like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to make sure that accurate information and advice is available, as well as taking steps to inform the public when inaccurate information emerges.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11482', 'image' => '20200308100635_final.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 10:04:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Stress on Change of Mindset to Address Gender Disparity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The program titled ‘New Horizons: Women for Gender Equality’ saw participation of women entrepreneurs and also women from various sectors including IT, education, social work and media. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The programme focused on the need to change the perception of people from the high-school level where students learn the roles of men and women in society in order to bring gender equality in true sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“We have been brought up by learning that women are housewives and men go for work. This is one major thing people instill in their mind from their childhood,” said Rojee Kattel, political specialist at the US Embassy in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The participants emphasized on the importance of self-empowerment to bring a change in society. Bhumika Shrestha, transgender rights activist, stressed that for gender equality, the change starts with one’s own mindset. “Change has to come from within,” said Shrestha. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Also, discussion on the absence of data about gender disparity in Nepal was also another highlight of the program. Sumana Shrestha, management consultant and executive coach, brought up the issue of absence of data. She said that to address various challenges, we need concrete data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Global Gap Report 2020 by World Economic Forum, gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“In Nepal’s context, we don’t have any data regarding gender equality,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kattel said that the work of home-based workers should be recognised. “Only then, their contribution to the economy will be recognized,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11481', 'image' => '20200310094515__UME0429.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel in Limbo', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems. The project funded by the Japanese government has failed to gain momentum due to problems related to site clearance, land acquisition, and import of equipment required for the tunnel construction. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the government has failed to approve address the issue of land acquisition and site clearance. The inordinate delay on part of the government is likely to further delay the project undertaken by Hazma Ando Corporation of Japan with a commitment to complete it within 3.5 years. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been almost five months since Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel amid a function at Chandargiri Municipality on October 21. But the delay in policy-level decision on the land dispute and import of equipment is certain to affect the project. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Japanese company is yet to get approval from the government to import 300 different equipment worth Rs 5 billion to kickstart the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%281%29.jpg" style="height:470px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project chief Shyam Kharel says it has become quite urgent to approve the budget of Rs 5 billion to import the equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The longer it takes for the government to take a decision, the project will be delayed further,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The government waives customs duty on the import of these equipment. But the Ministry of Finance has to first approve the list of equipment prepared by the project, which is yet to happen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kharel said they have already prepared the list of necessary equipment and logistics required for the project including steel, machines, explosives and petroleum products. The list has to reach the Finance Ministry through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The procurement process will begin only after the Finance Ministry approves the list. But sadly the list has been returned four times by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project officials are preparing to dig the tunnel after three months. But it is not possible until they get the required equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project is a loan project funded by the Government of Japan where JICA is the development partner providing loan assistance of Japanese yen worth 16.636 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to JICA, the objective of the project is to improve the road condition around Nagdhunga pass by constructing a tunnel, thereby contributing to achieve a smooth transportation network between Kathmandu and other principal cities in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">JICA further said that the commencement of this tunnel project will be the first of its kind in Nepal. The highway will have two lanes of 2.7 kilometers in length and is expected to reduce the time to clear Nagdhunga Pass to one-third of the current time (currently 30 minutes when heading east and 20 minutes to the west).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/111%281%29.jpg" style="height:215px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11480', 'image' => '20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 11:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The government has pledged to utilize all state mechanism in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government made such announcement during an all-party meeting called by the High-Level Coordination Committee to Control COVID-19 at the office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday to review the works of the government and to take suggestions from all parties. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting called by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the coordinator of the committee, discussed about the efforts made by the government to prevent an outbreak in Nepal and the future strategy. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Leaders of the opposition parties attending the meeting said that the measures adopted by the government so far are not effective to prevent the disease that has spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The main opposition party Nepali Congress has suggested the government to expedite preparedness to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NC leader Gagan Thapa said that they suggested the government to take steps in an integrated manner by incorporating all sectors to combat the deadly disease. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting suggested the government to make arrangement to keep those entering Nepal from coronavirus-affected countries in quarantine for at least two weeks and to improve the service of the hospitals. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rajendra Shrestha of Samajbadi Party shared that the meeting focused on how to cope with the possible spread of COVID-19 in a united manner at a time when the World Health Organisation has put Nepal at high risk of coronavirus. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Communist Party Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, senior leaders Jhalanath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, NC leader Bal Krishna Khand, Rajendra Mahato of Rastriya Janata Party, Shrestha of Samajbadi Party and ministers were present in the meeting chaired by committee coordinator Ishwar Pokharel. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11494', 'image' => '20200312112722_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:25:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'New Criteria for Awarding Multi-Year Projects', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors. While the number of projects is increasing, the implementation part is quite pathetic. Therefore, the government has set new criteria for awarding multi-year projects to ensure timely completion of such projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The new criteria have made it mandatory for the contractors to secure the source of funds as per the medium-term expenditure framework before signing the contract. The contractors will now have to first sign agreement with donor agencies if the projects are to be funded with foreign investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the new criteria, the Ministry of Finance cannot sign an agreement with the contractors to waive customs duty, income tax, VAT and other taxes without the prior approval of the National Planning Commission (NPC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, more than 500 projects each worth Rs 300,000 to Rs 1 billion have been delayed, mainly due to non-performing contractors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Other reasons for the delay is the contractors’ access to influential politicians, dispute in compensation for land acquisition, management of electric poles and drainage system, court orders, protests from the locals among others.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11493', 'image' => '20200312010154_20190303050610_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 13:01:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11742', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Positive to Continue Supply of Medicines: State Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister of State for Industry, Commerce and Supply, Motilal Dugad, who returned home after participating in Global Summit 2020 held in India on March 6 and 7, shared that Civil Aviation Minister and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, directed his secretaries to continue export of medicines to Nepal. The directive was issued after a meeting with State Minister Dugad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Nepal imports 70 per cent of necessary medicines and medicated goods from foreign countries. Of them, 90 per cent is imported from India. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking with media persons at his office on Wednesday, Minister of State Dugad said, "We requested for a separate policy for Nepal, which received a positive response." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On a different note, Minister of State Dugad urged the consumers not to hoard daily essentials as there is enough stock of daily essentials for three to six months. However, people have started to stock daily essentials and medicines thinking there might be shortage of such things following coronavirus. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that the government has fined those involved in black marketing and hiding goods, he opined, "Do not stock goods unnecessarily. We will not allow shortage of medicines and daily essentials. Necessary goods are being imported. So there is no reason to be worried." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Minister Dugad said that the government has been carrying out monitoring regarding supply of mask and sanitizer and asked the businessmen not to increase the price of such things. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that the Indian authorities have urged Nepal to supply mask. - RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11492', 'image' => '20200312112516_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:24:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11739', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Willing to Share Information and Technology with Nepal to Combat COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi made such commitment during a meeting with Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Bhattarai and the Chinese ambassador discussed about the problems created by coronavirus, measures to control the disease and Nepal’s preparedness to handle a possible outbreak.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou informed Minister Bhattarai that out of 80,900 Chinese infected by the virus, 59,000 people have already returned their homes after treatment. She also shared the experience of China in handling the epidemic and the measures taken by the government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou expressed her belief that coronavirus would not spread in Nepal but said that China is ready to extend any help if required in case there is an outbreak here in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Minister Bhattarai informed the Chinese ambassador that the government is doing everything possible to prevent the spread of the disease. He said that the authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport have been screening passengers while they have set ho isolation wards and quarantine facilities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He also said that the government has urged the people not to attend public gatherings to avoid the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11491', 'image' => '20200311104013_1583835747.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 10:39:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11740', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'International Flights at TIA Down by 20 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed New Business Age that international airline companies have started reducing the number of flights to TIA as the deadly virus spreads across the globe. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 28 airline companies operate international flights to Nepal. CAAN insists that 80 percent of flights are still taking place despite a significant decrease in the number of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Although the international flights have decreased by 20 percent, the number of passengers has reduced by almost half,” said Rajkumar Chhetri, spokesperson of CAAN.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chhetri said that no country can impose a ban on international flights as per the international practice. But the airliners can adjust the number of flights considering the flow of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He further said that the flights to and from countries affected by coronavirus have been affected while the other flights have not been affected much by the epidemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Chhetri, the TIA used to have between 100 to 110 flights a day during this season of last year. That has now reduced to 80-85 flights per day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The flow of passengers has reduced to 5500 per day from 11,000 a year ago.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Most of the flights to China have been suspended while other flights are taking place as per the schedule. The number of flights to China has reduced to 10 from 60 per week at present compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">TIA informed that Nepal Airlines Corporation and Himalaya Airlines have suspended their flights to Doha from Tuesday. The decision comes after Qatar banned visitors from 14 countries including Nepal in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Gulf nation. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Qatar Airways has been operating three flights a day to Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11490', 'image' => '20200311110634_1583889398.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 11:05:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11741', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Revenue Collection From Biratnagar Customs Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The customs office had collected revenue of Rs 3.7 billion as of mid-February last year. But the revenue collection has reduced to Rs 1.78 billion so far this year. It means that the revenue collection this year is less by Rs 1.92 billion compared to last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to spokesperson of the customs office, Gopi Upreti, the import of goods has been reduced by 31 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period of last year, goods worth Rs 12.39 billion were imported from the customs point. This year, the import has slumped to Rs 8.55 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Mostly goods like toys, steel utensils, shoes, clothes, apples, electronic appliances, machinery parts among others are imported to Nepal from China via Biratnagar Customs Office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Vice President of Morang Industrial Association Pradeep Muraraka says that Nepal’s economy will face grave consequences if the effects of coronavirus prolong. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The reduction in import from China is the first sign of economic crisis in Nepal, according to Muraraka.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The government should take proper measures on time to minimize the impacts of coronavirus on Nepal’s economy,” he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He warned that lack of timely action by the government will create acute shortage of food, clothes and electrical appliances in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11489', 'image' => '20200311121642_20160104125041_Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 12:15:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11736', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Pledges to Curb Artificial Shortage of Daily Essentials', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Lekhraj Bhatta said that the government has instructed police to take action against anyone found charging exorbitant price to the consumers by taking advantage of the current situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Organising a press conference in the capital on Monday (March 9), Minister Bhatta said that various units of the ministry will orgainse joint monitoring along with Nepal Police to curb black marketing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“First the joint inspection team will monitor the market in the capital and then in the provinces and local units,” said Minister Bhatta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister accused the private sector of attempting to hike the price of essential goods like salt, edible oil, sugar and rice illegally and that the government will keep a check on such unscrupulous activities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The demand for daily essentials has shot up as people have started hoarding food stuffs and other goods fearing a possible outbreak of coronavirus, which has already spread to over more than 100 countries and killed over 3500 people. This has resulted in artificial shortage of daily essentials in the market. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11488', 'image' => '20200310111647_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:16:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11738', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales during Holi Slump due to Fear of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus. This resulted in a sharp decline in sales of colours, balloons and other materials used extensively while celebrating this festival. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The shopkeepers who used to be quite busy ahead of Holi in previous years spent their time in leisure during this Holi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Kaji Thapa, a trader who sold out around 400 T-shirts during last year, could not sale even 40 T-shirts this time. Since the government issued a directive to the public not to play Holi in mass to avoid in the possible outbreak of COVID 19, the sale decreased significantly, says Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that many people did not smear each other with colours during Holi this year because of which the business of Holi material was affected. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another trader Pramod Das also said that the business of materials used in Holi like colours, T-shirts, balloon, water-gun decreased in this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our business decreased by 15 percent compared to last year,” said Das.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%282%29.jpg" style="height:536px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11487', 'image' => '20200310122230_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 12:21:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Postpone VNY 2020', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation informed that the government has adopted a new strategy to postpone the VNY 2020 as the entire tourism industry is has been severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has now spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the deadly disease started spreading across the globe since it was first reported in China’s Wuhan in late December last year, the government had stopped all promotional activities of VNY 2020 and instead shifted its focus toward internal tourism. As this strategy was not much effective to support the beleaguered tourism industry that had invested heavily for the campaign, the government reached to a conclusion to defer the programme altogether.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry said the upcoming cabinet meeting will most likely take a decision to postpone the VNY 2020 campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The VNY Secretariat said it has already received a letter from the concerned ministry instructing it to clear all its arrears within one month and to cast off its staff hired on contract basis within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As the coronavirus first appeared in China, the government was hopeful that it would be able to attract tourists from other parts of the world. But with the deadly virus fast spreading to over 100 countries, the government has been forced to postpone the ambitious campaign which aims to welcome 2 million tourists to Nepal in 2020, says Rajan Poudel, under secretary at the VNY Secretariat.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11486', 'image' => '20200310092904_20190531031100_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:28:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11733', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Trade Body Predicts Big Coronavirus Hit to FDI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts, resulting in only marginal growth in 2020-21, Reuters reported citing a recent United Nations report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The report released on Sunday (March 8) indicated that the automotive, airlines and energy industries will be hit hardest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the negative impact of the virus would likely get worse in 2020.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to Reuters, UNCTAD tracks 100 multinational companies as a global economic barometer. Many of them are slowing capital expenditure in affected areas and 41 have so far issued profit warnings, which will hit reinvested earnings, a major driver of FDI, the news agency cited UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the profit warnings are from consumer-facing companies, indicating that slowing demand, for now, is expected to have more direct effects on earnings than production or supply chain disruptions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A wider sample of the top 5,000 listed companies showed earnings forecasts for fiscal year 2020 have been revised down in the last month by an average 9 percent due to the new virus, which has infected more than 100,000 people in over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The automotive industry (-44 percent), airlines (-42 percent) and energy and basic materials (-13 percent) have been hit hardest, UNCTAD said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"The revisions to date are most likely to be conservative. The negative impact of the virus is likely to spread and increase further," Reuters quoted UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In January, UNCTAD estimated that global FDI flows in 2019 were $1.39 trillion and expected them to rise by around 5 percent in 2020. Now, it thinks they may hit the lowest level since the financial crisis in 2008 should the epidemic spread and continue throughout the year, according to Reuters.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">James Zhan, UNCTAD's director of investment and enterprise, said East Asia will bear the brunt of lower FDI inflows.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"China has been the second-largest FDI recipient country, therefore a significant decline of FDI flows to the country in the short term will affect the level of global FDI flows," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11485', 'image' => '20200310093437_new.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:33:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11737', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bangladesh Agree to Waive Customs Duty on 20 Products', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The meeting held last week in Dhaka reached an understanding that both the countries will not impose customs duty on certain goods produced within the two countries, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. However, the two countries have not finalized the products that will benefit from customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has submitted a list of goods including threads, ginger, tea, coffee, shoes, cement, clinker and dairy products to Bangladesh for customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Likewise, Bangladesh has also submitted a list of its products like machineries, industrial equipment and juice for tax waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal had imposed a ban on energy drinks from Bangladesh since the start of the last fiscal year. Bangladesh had been requesting Nepal to lift the ban since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the ministry, the two countries will study the list and then take the decision on customs duty waiver. The two countries will sign an agreement after studying the list, according to Secretary Baikuntha Aryal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Both countries have their own interests to promote the home-grown products. We have presented our views. We have made it certain that our products will get easy access to Bangladeshi market,” he said.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11484', 'image' => '20200310114648_aa111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:46:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11735', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Qatar Bans Migrant Workers from Nepal Amid Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). This has put a halt to outbound migrant workers from Nepal aspiring to work in the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision has also affected flights between Kathmandu and Qatar’s capital Doha. Himalaya Airlines, a private joint venture company of Nepal, has already suspended its flight to Qatar while the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation will take a decision on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Of late, Qatar has become a prime destination for foreign employment for the Nepali migrant workers. Around 350 Nepali workers had been leaving for Qatar on a daily basis before the ban. But the latest decision of Qatar has barred even those workers who have already acquired work permit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, there are around 350,000 Nepali migrant workers in Qatar. More than 72,000 Nepali workers left for Qatar for foreign employment so far this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">South Korea, another major foreign employment destination, has also stopped taking in any more migrant workers as the country is grappling with coronavirus epidemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The bans imposed by the countries will have direct impact on the remittance inflow to Nepal. The inflow of remittance from Qatar in the first four months of the current fiscal year was Rs 53.93 billion. According to a Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) report on remittance, Gulf countries contribute 50.3 percent of the total remittance Nepal receives.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment, Kumar Prasad Dahal, says that the ban imposed by Qatar will create an imbalance in employment in the long run in Qatar. He said that the demand for workers in Qatar has not declined despite the ban.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Qatar imposed a ban on visitors from 14 countries including Nepal, India, China, South Korea among others effective from Monday (March 9).</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11483', 'image' => '20200310105652_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 10:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UNICEF Warns Public about Misinformation Regarding Coronavirus', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. It can also result in people being left unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus, said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF deputy executive director for partnerships.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gornitzka urged the public to seek accurate information from verified sources, such as UNICEF or WHO, government health officials and trusted healthcare professionals on how to keep oneself and family safe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She also requested everyone to refrain from sharing information from untrustworthy or unverified sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“For example, a recent erroneous online message circulating in several languages around the world and purporting to be a UNICEF communication appears to indicate, among other things, that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue,” she wrote.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In the recent statement, Gornitzka urged the creators of such falsehoods to stop sharing inaccurate information.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“It can be difficult in today’s information-rich society to know exactly where to go for knowledge about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. But it is critical that we remain as diligent about the accuracy of the information we share as we are about every other precaution we take to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She further said that UNICEF is actively taking steps to provide accurate information about the virus by working with the World Health Organization, government authorities and with online partners like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to make sure that accurate information and advice is available, as well as taking steps to inform the public when inaccurate information emerges.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11482', 'image' => '20200308100635_final.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 10:04:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Stress on Change of Mindset to Address Gender Disparity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The program titled ‘New Horizons: Women for Gender Equality’ saw participation of women entrepreneurs and also women from various sectors including IT, education, social work and media. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The programme focused on the need to change the perception of people from the high-school level where students learn the roles of men and women in society in order to bring gender equality in true sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“We have been brought up by learning that women are housewives and men go for work. This is one major thing people instill in their mind from their childhood,” said Rojee Kattel, political specialist at the US Embassy in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The participants emphasized on the importance of self-empowerment to bring a change in society. Bhumika Shrestha, transgender rights activist, stressed that for gender equality, the change starts with one’s own mindset. “Change has to come from within,” said Shrestha. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Also, discussion on the absence of data about gender disparity in Nepal was also another highlight of the program. Sumana Shrestha, management consultant and executive coach, brought up the issue of absence of data. She said that to address various challenges, we need concrete data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Global Gap Report 2020 by World Economic Forum, gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“In Nepal’s context, we don’t have any data regarding gender equality,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kattel said that the work of home-based workers should be recognised. “Only then, their contribution to the economy will be recognized,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11481', 'image' => '20200310094515__UME0429.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel in Limbo', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems. The project funded by the Japanese government has failed to gain momentum due to problems related to site clearance, land acquisition, and import of equipment required for the tunnel construction. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the government has failed to approve address the issue of land acquisition and site clearance. The inordinate delay on part of the government is likely to further delay the project undertaken by Hazma Ando Corporation of Japan with a commitment to complete it within 3.5 years. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been almost five months since Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel amid a function at Chandargiri Municipality on October 21. But the delay in policy-level decision on the land dispute and import of equipment is certain to affect the project. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Japanese company is yet to get approval from the government to import 300 different equipment worth Rs 5 billion to kickstart the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%281%29.jpg" style="height:470px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project chief Shyam Kharel says it has become quite urgent to approve the budget of Rs 5 billion to import the equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The longer it takes for the government to take a decision, the project will be delayed further,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The government waives customs duty on the import of these equipment. But the Ministry of Finance has to first approve the list of equipment prepared by the project, which is yet to happen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kharel said they have already prepared the list of necessary equipment and logistics required for the project including steel, machines, explosives and petroleum products. The list has to reach the Finance Ministry through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The procurement process will begin only after the Finance Ministry approves the list. But sadly the list has been returned four times by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project officials are preparing to dig the tunnel after three months. But it is not possible until they get the required equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project is a loan project funded by the Government of Japan where JICA is the development partner providing loan assistance of Japanese yen worth 16.636 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to JICA, the objective of the project is to improve the road condition around Nagdhunga pass by constructing a tunnel, thereby contributing to achieve a smooth transportation network between Kathmandu and other principal cities in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">JICA further said that the commencement of this tunnel project will be the first of its kind in Nepal. The highway will have two lanes of 2.7 kilometers in length and is expected to reduce the time to clear Nagdhunga Pass to one-third of the current time (currently 30 minutes when heading east and 20 minutes to the west).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/111%281%29.jpg" style="height:215px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11480', 'image' => '20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 11:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government made such announcement during an all-party meeting called by the High-Level Coordination Committee to Control COVID-19 at the office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday to review the works of the government and to take suggestions from all parties. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting called by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the coordinator of the committee, discussed about the efforts made by the government to prevent an outbreak in Nepal and the future strategy. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Leaders of the opposition parties attending the meeting said that the measures adopted by the government so far are not effective to prevent the disease that has spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The main opposition party Nepali Congress has suggested the government to expedite preparedness to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NC leader Gagan Thapa said that they suggested the government to take steps in an integrated manner by incorporating all sectors to combat the deadly disease. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting suggested the government to make arrangement to keep those entering Nepal from coronavirus-affected countries in quarantine for at least two weeks and to improve the service of the hospitals. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rajendra Shrestha of Samajbadi Party shared that the meeting focused on how to cope with the possible spread of COVID-19 in a united manner at a time when the World Health Organisation has put Nepal at high risk of coronavirus. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Communist Party Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, senior leaders Jhalanath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, NC leader Bal Krishna Khand, Rajendra Mahato of Rastriya Janata Party, Shrestha of Samajbadi Party and ministers were present in the meeting chaired by committee coordinator Ishwar Pokharel. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11494', 'image' => '20200312112722_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:25:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'New Criteria for Awarding Multi-Year Projects', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors. While the number of projects is increasing, the implementation part is quite pathetic. Therefore, the government has set new criteria for awarding multi-year projects to ensure timely completion of such projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The new criteria have made it mandatory for the contractors to secure the source of funds as per the medium-term expenditure framework before signing the contract. The contractors will now have to first sign agreement with donor agencies if the projects are to be funded with foreign investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the new criteria, the Ministry of Finance cannot sign an agreement with the contractors to waive customs duty, income tax, VAT and other taxes without the prior approval of the National Planning Commission (NPC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, more than 500 projects each worth Rs 300,000 to Rs 1 billion have been delayed, mainly due to non-performing contractors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Other reasons for the delay is the contractors’ access to influential politicians, dispute in compensation for land acquisition, management of electric poles and drainage system, court orders, protests from the locals among others.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11493', 'image' => '20200312010154_20190303050610_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 13:01:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11742', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Positive to Continue Supply of Medicines: State Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister of State for Industry, Commerce and Supply, Motilal Dugad, who returned home after participating in Global Summit 2020 held in India on March 6 and 7, shared that Civil Aviation Minister and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, directed his secretaries to continue export of medicines to Nepal. The directive was issued after a meeting with State Minister Dugad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Nepal imports 70 per cent of necessary medicines and medicated goods from foreign countries. Of them, 90 per cent is imported from India. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking with media persons at his office on Wednesday, Minister of State Dugad said, "We requested for a separate policy for Nepal, which received a positive response." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On a different note, Minister of State Dugad urged the consumers not to hoard daily essentials as there is enough stock of daily essentials for three to six months. However, people have started to stock daily essentials and medicines thinking there might be shortage of such things following coronavirus. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that the government has fined those involved in black marketing and hiding goods, he opined, "Do not stock goods unnecessarily. We will not allow shortage of medicines and daily essentials. Necessary goods are being imported. So there is no reason to be worried." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Minister Dugad said that the government has been carrying out monitoring regarding supply of mask and sanitizer and asked the businessmen not to increase the price of such things. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that the Indian authorities have urged Nepal to supply mask. - RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11492', 'image' => '20200312112516_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:24:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11739', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Willing to Share Information and Technology with Nepal to Combat COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi made such commitment during a meeting with Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Bhattarai and the Chinese ambassador discussed about the problems created by coronavirus, measures to control the disease and Nepal’s preparedness to handle a possible outbreak.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou informed Minister Bhattarai that out of 80,900 Chinese infected by the virus, 59,000 people have already returned their homes after treatment. She also shared the experience of China in handling the epidemic and the measures taken by the government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou expressed her belief that coronavirus would not spread in Nepal but said that China is ready to extend any help if required in case there is an outbreak here in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Minister Bhattarai informed the Chinese ambassador that the government is doing everything possible to prevent the spread of the disease. He said that the authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport have been screening passengers while they have set ho isolation wards and quarantine facilities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He also said that the government has urged the people not to attend public gatherings to avoid the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11491', 'image' => '20200311104013_1583835747.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 10:39:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11740', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'International Flights at TIA Down by 20 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed New Business Age that international airline companies have started reducing the number of flights to TIA as the deadly virus spreads across the globe. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 28 airline companies operate international flights to Nepal. CAAN insists that 80 percent of flights are still taking place despite a significant decrease in the number of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Although the international flights have decreased by 20 percent, the number of passengers has reduced by almost half,” said Rajkumar Chhetri, spokesperson of CAAN.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chhetri said that no country can impose a ban on international flights as per the international practice. But the airliners can adjust the number of flights considering the flow of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He further said that the flights to and from countries affected by coronavirus have been affected while the other flights have not been affected much by the epidemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Chhetri, the TIA used to have between 100 to 110 flights a day during this season of last year. That has now reduced to 80-85 flights per day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The flow of passengers has reduced to 5500 per day from 11,000 a year ago.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Most of the flights to China have been suspended while other flights are taking place as per the schedule. The number of flights to China has reduced to 10 from 60 per week at present compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">TIA informed that Nepal Airlines Corporation and Himalaya Airlines have suspended their flights to Doha from Tuesday. The decision comes after Qatar banned visitors from 14 countries including Nepal in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Gulf nation. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Qatar Airways has been operating three flights a day to Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11490', 'image' => '20200311110634_1583889398.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 11:05:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11741', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Revenue Collection From Biratnagar Customs Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The customs office had collected revenue of Rs 3.7 billion as of mid-February last year. But the revenue collection has reduced to Rs 1.78 billion so far this year. It means that the revenue collection this year is less by Rs 1.92 billion compared to last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to spokesperson of the customs office, Gopi Upreti, the import of goods has been reduced by 31 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period of last year, goods worth Rs 12.39 billion were imported from the customs point. This year, the import has slumped to Rs 8.55 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Mostly goods like toys, steel utensils, shoes, clothes, apples, electronic appliances, machinery parts among others are imported to Nepal from China via Biratnagar Customs Office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Vice President of Morang Industrial Association Pradeep Muraraka says that Nepal’s economy will face grave consequences if the effects of coronavirus prolong. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The reduction in import from China is the first sign of economic crisis in Nepal, according to Muraraka.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The government should take proper measures on time to minimize the impacts of coronavirus on Nepal’s economy,” he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He warned that lack of timely action by the government will create acute shortage of food, clothes and electrical appliances in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11489', 'image' => '20200311121642_20160104125041_Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 12:15:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11736', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Pledges to Curb Artificial Shortage of Daily Essentials', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Lekhraj Bhatta said that the government has instructed police to take action against anyone found charging exorbitant price to the consumers by taking advantage of the current situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Organising a press conference in the capital on Monday (March 9), Minister Bhatta said that various units of the ministry will orgainse joint monitoring along with Nepal Police to curb black marketing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“First the joint inspection team will monitor the market in the capital and then in the provinces and local units,” said Minister Bhatta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister accused the private sector of attempting to hike the price of essential goods like salt, edible oil, sugar and rice illegally and that the government will keep a check on such unscrupulous activities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The demand for daily essentials has shot up as people have started hoarding food stuffs and other goods fearing a possible outbreak of coronavirus, which has already spread to over more than 100 countries and killed over 3500 people. This has resulted in artificial shortage of daily essentials in the market. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11488', 'image' => '20200310111647_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:16:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11738', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales during Holi Slump due to Fear of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus. This resulted in a sharp decline in sales of colours, balloons and other materials used extensively while celebrating this festival. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The shopkeepers who used to be quite busy ahead of Holi in previous years spent their time in leisure during this Holi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Kaji Thapa, a trader who sold out around 400 T-shirts during last year, could not sale even 40 T-shirts this time. Since the government issued a directive to the public not to play Holi in mass to avoid in the possible outbreak of COVID 19, the sale decreased significantly, says Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that many people did not smear each other with colours during Holi this year because of which the business of Holi material was affected. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another trader Pramod Das also said that the business of materials used in Holi like colours, T-shirts, balloon, water-gun decreased in this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our business decreased by 15 percent compared to last year,” said Das.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%282%29.jpg" style="height:536px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11487', 'image' => '20200310122230_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 12:21:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Postpone VNY 2020', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation informed that the government has adopted a new strategy to postpone the VNY 2020 as the entire tourism industry is has been severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has now spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the deadly disease started spreading across the globe since it was first reported in China’s Wuhan in late December last year, the government had stopped all promotional activities of VNY 2020 and instead shifted its focus toward internal tourism. As this strategy was not much effective to support the beleaguered tourism industry that had invested heavily for the campaign, the government reached to a conclusion to defer the programme altogether.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry said the upcoming cabinet meeting will most likely take a decision to postpone the VNY 2020 campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The VNY Secretariat said it has already received a letter from the concerned ministry instructing it to clear all its arrears within one month and to cast off its staff hired on contract basis within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As the coronavirus first appeared in China, the government was hopeful that it would be able to attract tourists from other parts of the world. But with the deadly virus fast spreading to over 100 countries, the government has been forced to postpone the ambitious campaign which aims to welcome 2 million tourists to Nepal in 2020, says Rajan Poudel, under secretary at the VNY Secretariat.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11486', 'image' => '20200310092904_20190531031100_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:28:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11733', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Trade Body Predicts Big Coronavirus Hit to FDI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts, resulting in only marginal growth in 2020-21, Reuters reported citing a recent United Nations report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The report released on Sunday (March 8) indicated that the automotive, airlines and energy industries will be hit hardest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the negative impact of the virus would likely get worse in 2020.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to Reuters, UNCTAD tracks 100 multinational companies as a global economic barometer. Many of them are slowing capital expenditure in affected areas and 41 have so far issued profit warnings, which will hit reinvested earnings, a major driver of FDI, the news agency cited UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the profit warnings are from consumer-facing companies, indicating that slowing demand, for now, is expected to have more direct effects on earnings than production or supply chain disruptions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A wider sample of the top 5,000 listed companies showed earnings forecasts for fiscal year 2020 have been revised down in the last month by an average 9 percent due to the new virus, which has infected more than 100,000 people in over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The automotive industry (-44 percent), airlines (-42 percent) and energy and basic materials (-13 percent) have been hit hardest, UNCTAD said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"The revisions to date are most likely to be conservative. The negative impact of the virus is likely to spread and increase further," Reuters quoted UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In January, UNCTAD estimated that global FDI flows in 2019 were $1.39 trillion and expected them to rise by around 5 percent in 2020. Now, it thinks they may hit the lowest level since the financial crisis in 2008 should the epidemic spread and continue throughout the year, according to Reuters.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">James Zhan, UNCTAD's director of investment and enterprise, said East Asia will bear the brunt of lower FDI inflows.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"China has been the second-largest FDI recipient country, therefore a significant decline of FDI flows to the country in the short term will affect the level of global FDI flows," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11485', 'image' => '20200310093437_new.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:33:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11737', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bangladesh Agree to Waive Customs Duty on 20 Products', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The meeting held last week in Dhaka reached an understanding that both the countries will not impose customs duty on certain goods produced within the two countries, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. However, the two countries have not finalized the products that will benefit from customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has submitted a list of goods including threads, ginger, tea, coffee, shoes, cement, clinker and dairy products to Bangladesh for customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Likewise, Bangladesh has also submitted a list of its products like machineries, industrial equipment and juice for tax waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal had imposed a ban on energy drinks from Bangladesh since the start of the last fiscal year. Bangladesh had been requesting Nepal to lift the ban since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the ministry, the two countries will study the list and then take the decision on customs duty waiver. The two countries will sign an agreement after studying the list, according to Secretary Baikuntha Aryal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Both countries have their own interests to promote the home-grown products. We have presented our views. We have made it certain that our products will get easy access to Bangladeshi market,” he said.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11484', 'image' => '20200310114648_aa111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:46:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11735', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Qatar Bans Migrant Workers from Nepal Amid Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). This has put a halt to outbound migrant workers from Nepal aspiring to work in the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision has also affected flights between Kathmandu and Qatar’s capital Doha. Himalaya Airlines, a private joint venture company of Nepal, has already suspended its flight to Qatar while the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation will take a decision on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Of late, Qatar has become a prime destination for foreign employment for the Nepali migrant workers. Around 350 Nepali workers had been leaving for Qatar on a daily basis before the ban. But the latest decision of Qatar has barred even those workers who have already acquired work permit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, there are around 350,000 Nepali migrant workers in Qatar. More than 72,000 Nepali workers left for Qatar for foreign employment so far this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">South Korea, another major foreign employment destination, has also stopped taking in any more migrant workers as the country is grappling with coronavirus epidemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The bans imposed by the countries will have direct impact on the remittance inflow to Nepal. The inflow of remittance from Qatar in the first four months of the current fiscal year was Rs 53.93 billion. According to a Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) report on remittance, Gulf countries contribute 50.3 percent of the total remittance Nepal receives.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment, Kumar Prasad Dahal, says that the ban imposed by Qatar will create an imbalance in employment in the long run in Qatar. He said that the demand for workers in Qatar has not declined despite the ban.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Qatar imposed a ban on visitors from 14 countries including Nepal, India, China, South Korea among others effective from Monday (March 9).</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11483', 'image' => '20200310105652_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 10:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UNICEF Warns Public about Misinformation Regarding Coronavirus', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. It can also result in people being left unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus, said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF deputy executive director for partnerships.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gornitzka urged the public to seek accurate information from verified sources, such as UNICEF or WHO, government health officials and trusted healthcare professionals on how to keep oneself and family safe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She also requested everyone to refrain from sharing information from untrustworthy or unverified sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“For example, a recent erroneous online message circulating in several languages around the world and purporting to be a UNICEF communication appears to indicate, among other things, that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue,” she wrote.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In the recent statement, Gornitzka urged the creators of such falsehoods to stop sharing inaccurate information.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“It can be difficult in today’s information-rich society to know exactly where to go for knowledge about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. But it is critical that we remain as diligent about the accuracy of the information we share as we are about every other precaution we take to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She further said that UNICEF is actively taking steps to provide accurate information about the virus by working with the World Health Organization, government authorities and with online partners like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to make sure that accurate information and advice is available, as well as taking steps to inform the public when inaccurate information emerges.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11482', 'image' => '20200308100635_final.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 10:04:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Stress on Change of Mindset to Address Gender Disparity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The program titled ‘New Horizons: Women for Gender Equality’ saw participation of women entrepreneurs and also women from various sectors including IT, education, social work and media. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The programme focused on the need to change the perception of people from the high-school level where students learn the roles of men and women in society in order to bring gender equality in true sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“We have been brought up by learning that women are housewives and men go for work. This is one major thing people instill in their mind from their childhood,” said Rojee Kattel, political specialist at the US Embassy in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The participants emphasized on the importance of self-empowerment to bring a change in society. Bhumika Shrestha, transgender rights activist, stressed that for gender equality, the change starts with one’s own mindset. “Change has to come from within,” said Shrestha. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Also, discussion on the absence of data about gender disparity in Nepal was also another highlight of the program. Sumana Shrestha, management consultant and executive coach, brought up the issue of absence of data. She said that to address various challenges, we need concrete data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Global Gap Report 2020 by World Economic Forum, gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“In Nepal’s context, we don’t have any data regarding gender equality,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kattel said that the work of home-based workers should be recognised. “Only then, their contribution to the economy will be recognized,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11481', 'image' => '20200310094515__UME0429.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel in Limbo', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems. The project funded by the Japanese government has failed to gain momentum due to problems related to site clearance, land acquisition, and import of equipment required for the tunnel construction. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the government has failed to approve address the issue of land acquisition and site clearance. The inordinate delay on part of the government is likely to further delay the project undertaken by Hazma Ando Corporation of Japan with a commitment to complete it within 3.5 years. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been almost five months since Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel amid a function at Chandargiri Municipality on October 21. But the delay in policy-level decision on the land dispute and import of equipment is certain to affect the project. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Japanese company is yet to get approval from the government to import 300 different equipment worth Rs 5 billion to kickstart the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%281%29.jpg" style="height:470px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project chief Shyam Kharel says it has become quite urgent to approve the budget of Rs 5 billion to import the equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The longer it takes for the government to take a decision, the project will be delayed further,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The government waives customs duty on the import of these equipment. But the Ministry of Finance has to first approve the list of equipment prepared by the project, which is yet to happen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kharel said they have already prepared the list of necessary equipment and logistics required for the project including steel, machines, explosives and petroleum products. The list has to reach the Finance Ministry through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The procurement process will begin only after the Finance Ministry approves the list. But sadly the list has been returned four times by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project officials are preparing to dig the tunnel after three months. But it is not possible until they get the required equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project is a loan project funded by the Government of Japan where JICA is the development partner providing loan assistance of Japanese yen worth 16.636 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to JICA, the objective of the project is to improve the road condition around Nagdhunga pass by constructing a tunnel, thereby contributing to achieve a smooth transportation network between Kathmandu and other principal cities in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">JICA further said that the commencement of this tunnel project will be the first of its kind in Nepal. The highway will have two lanes of 2.7 kilometers in length and is expected to reduce the time to clear Nagdhunga Pass to one-third of the current time (currently 30 minutes when heading east and 20 minutes to the west).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/111%281%29.jpg" style="height:215px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11480', 'image' => '20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 11:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The government has pledged to utilize all state mechanism in an integrated way to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government made such announcement during an all-party meeting called by the High-Level Coordination Committee to Control COVID-19 at the office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday to review the works of the government and to take suggestions from all parties. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting called by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the coordinator of the committee, discussed about the efforts made by the government to prevent an outbreak in Nepal and the future strategy. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Leaders of the opposition parties attending the meeting said that the measures adopted by the government so far are not effective to prevent the disease that has spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The main opposition party Nepali Congress has suggested the government to expedite preparedness to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NC leader Gagan Thapa said that they suggested the government to take steps in an integrated manner by incorporating all sectors to combat the deadly disease. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The participants of the meeting suggested the government to make arrangement to keep those entering Nepal from coronavirus-affected countries in quarantine for at least two weeks and to improve the service of the hospitals. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rajendra Shrestha of Samajbadi Party shared that the meeting focused on how to cope with the possible spread of COVID-19 in a united manner at a time when the World Health Organisation has put Nepal at high risk of coronavirus. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Communist Party Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, senior leaders Jhalanath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, NC leader Bal Krishna Khand, Rajendra Mahato of Rastriya Janata Party, Shrestha of Samajbadi Party and ministers were present in the meeting chaired by committee coordinator Ishwar Pokharel. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11494', 'image' => '20200312112722_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:25:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'New Criteria for Awarding Multi-Year Projects', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 12: The government has adopted strict criteria while awarding multi-year projects to contractors due to the non-performance of the contractors. While the number of projects is increasing, the implementation part is quite pathetic. Therefore, the government has set new criteria for awarding multi-year projects to ensure timely completion of such projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The new criteria have made it mandatory for the contractors to secure the source of funds as per the medium-term expenditure framework before signing the contract. The contractors will now have to first sign agreement with donor agencies if the projects are to be funded with foreign investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the new criteria, the Ministry of Finance cannot sign an agreement with the contractors to waive customs duty, income tax, VAT and other taxes without the prior approval of the National Planning Commission (NPC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, more than 500 projects each worth Rs 300,000 to Rs 1 billion have been delayed, mainly due to non-performing contractors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Other reasons for the delay is the contractors’ access to influential politicians, dispute in compensation for land acquisition, management of electric poles and drainage system, court orders, protests from the locals among others.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11493', 'image' => '20200312010154_20190303050610_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 13:01:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11742', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Positive to Continue Supply of Medicines: State Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 12: The Indian government has pledged to give continuity to supply of medicines to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister of State for Industry, Commerce and Supply, Motilal Dugad, who returned home after participating in Global Summit 2020 held in India on March 6 and 7, shared that Civil Aviation Minister and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of India, Hardeep Singh Puri, directed his secretaries to continue export of medicines to Nepal. The directive was issued after a meeting with State Minister Dugad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Nepal imports 70 per cent of necessary medicines and medicated goods from foreign countries. Of them, 90 per cent is imported from India. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking with media persons at his office on Wednesday, Minister of State Dugad said, "We requested for a separate policy for Nepal, which received a positive response." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On a different note, Minister of State Dugad urged the consumers not to hoard daily essentials as there is enough stock of daily essentials for three to six months. However, people have started to stock daily essentials and medicines thinking there might be shortage of such things following coronavirus. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that the government has fined those involved in black marketing and hiding goods, he opined, "Do not stock goods unnecessarily. We will not allow shortage of medicines and daily essentials. Necessary goods are being imported. So there is no reason to be worried." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Minister Dugad said that the government has been carrying out monitoring regarding supply of mask and sanitizer and asked the businessmen not to increase the price of such things. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He also shared that the Indian authorities have urged Nepal to supply mask. - RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-12', 'modified' => '2020-03-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11492', 'image' => '20200312112516_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-12 11:24:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11739', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Willing to Share Information and Technology with Nepal to Combat COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The Chinese government has said it is willing to share with Nepal all the information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) including the technologies and medicines used to curb deadly disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi made such commitment during a meeting with Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the meeting, Minister Bhattarai and the Chinese ambassador discussed about the problems created by coronavirus, measures to control the disease and Nepal’s preparedness to handle a possible outbreak.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou informed Minister Bhattarai that out of 80,900 Chinese infected by the virus, 59,000 people have already returned their homes after treatment. She also shared the experience of China in handling the epidemic and the measures taken by the government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Ambassador Hou expressed her belief that coronavirus would not spread in Nepal but said that China is ready to extend any help if required in case there is an outbreak here in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Minister Bhattarai informed the Chinese ambassador that the government is doing everything possible to prevent the spread of the disease. He said that the authorities at the Tribhuvan International Airport have been screening passengers while they have set ho isolation wards and quarantine facilities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He also said that the government has urged the people not to attend public gatherings to avoid the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11491', 'image' => '20200311104013_1583835747.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 10:39:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11740', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'International Flights at TIA Down by 20 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The fear of coronavirus has resulted in 20 percent reduction of flights at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while the number of passengers has reduced by 50 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed New Business Age that international airline companies have started reducing the number of flights to TIA as the deadly virus spreads across the globe. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 28 airline companies operate international flights to Nepal. CAAN insists that 80 percent of flights are still taking place despite a significant decrease in the number of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“Although the international flights have decreased by 20 percent, the number of passengers has reduced by almost half,” said Rajkumar Chhetri, spokesperson of CAAN.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chhetri said that no country can impose a ban on international flights as per the international practice. But the airliners can adjust the number of flights considering the flow of passengers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He further said that the flights to and from countries affected by coronavirus have been affected while the other flights have not been affected much by the epidemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Chhetri, the TIA used to have between 100 to 110 flights a day during this season of last year. That has now reduced to 80-85 flights per day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The flow of passengers has reduced to 5500 per day from 11,000 a year ago.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Most of the flights to China have been suspended while other flights are taking place as per the schedule. The number of flights to China has reduced to 10 from 60 per week at present compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">TIA informed that Nepal Airlines Corporation and Himalaya Airlines have suspended their flights to Doha from Tuesday. The decision comes after Qatar banned visitors from 14 countries including Nepal in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the Gulf nation. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Qatar Airways has been operating three flights a day to Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11490', 'image' => '20200311110634_1583889398.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 11:05:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11741', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Revenue Collection From Biratnagar Customs Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 11: The revenue collection from Biratnagar Customs Office has been hit hard by the reduction in import from China following the deadly coronavirus outbreak in mainland China since the last two months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The customs office had collected revenue of Rs 3.7 billion as of mid-February last year. But the revenue collection has reduced to Rs 1.78 billion so far this year. It means that the revenue collection this year is less by Rs 1.92 billion compared to last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to spokesperson of the customs office, Gopi Upreti, the import of goods has been reduced by 31 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period of last year, goods worth Rs 12.39 billion were imported from the customs point. This year, the import has slumped to Rs 8.55 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Mostly goods like toys, steel utensils, shoes, clothes, apples, electronic appliances, machinery parts among others are imported to Nepal from China via Biratnagar Customs Office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Vice President of Morang Industrial Association Pradeep Muraraka says that Nepal’s economy will face grave consequences if the effects of coronavirus prolong. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The reduction in import from China is the first sign of economic crisis in Nepal, according to Muraraka.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“The government should take proper measures on time to minimize the impacts of coronavirus on Nepal’s economy,” he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He warned that lack of timely action by the government will create acute shortage of food, clothes and electrical appliances in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-11', 'modified' => '2020-03-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11489', 'image' => '20200311121642_20160104125041_Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-11 12:15:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11736', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Pledges to Curb Artificial Shortage of Daily Essentials', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government has formed a mechanism to deal with the excessive demand in the market caused by fears of coronavirus that can result in artificial shortage of essential goods. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Lekhraj Bhatta said that the government has instructed police to take action against anyone found charging exorbitant price to the consumers by taking advantage of the current situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Organising a press conference in the capital on Monday (March 9), Minister Bhatta said that various units of the ministry will orgainse joint monitoring along with Nepal Police to curb black marketing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“First the joint inspection team will monitor the market in the capital and then in the provinces and local units,” said Minister Bhatta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister accused the private sector of attempting to hike the price of essential goods like salt, edible oil, sugar and rice illegally and that the government will keep a check on such unscrupulous activities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The demand for daily essentials has shot up as people have started hoarding food stuffs and other goods fearing a possible outbreak of coronavirus, which has already spread to over more than 100 countries and killed over 3500 people. This has resulted in artificial shortage of daily essentials in the market. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11488', 'image' => '20200310111647_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:16:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11738', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales during Holi Slump due to Fear of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: People in Nepal abstained from merrymaking during the festival of Holi this year due to the fear of coronavirus. This resulted in a sharp decline in sales of colours, balloons and other materials used extensively while celebrating this festival. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The shopkeepers who used to be quite busy ahead of Holi in previous years spent their time in leisure during this Holi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Kaji Thapa, a trader who sold out around 400 T-shirts during last year, could not sale even 40 T-shirts this time. Since the government issued a directive to the public not to play Holi in mass to avoid in the possible outbreak of COVID 19, the sale decreased significantly, says Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that many people did not smear each other with colours during Holi this year because of which the business of Holi material was affected. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another trader Pramod Das also said that the business of materials used in Holi like colours, T-shirts, balloon, water-gun decreased in this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our business decreased by 15 percent compared to last year,” said Das.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%282%29.jpg" style="height:536px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11487', 'image' => '20200310122230_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 12:21:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Postpone VNY 2020', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The government is planning to postpone the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation informed that the government has adopted a new strategy to postpone the VNY 2020 as the entire tourism industry is has been severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has now spread to over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the deadly disease started spreading across the globe since it was first reported in China’s Wuhan in late December last year, the government had stopped all promotional activities of VNY 2020 and instead shifted its focus toward internal tourism. As this strategy was not much effective to support the beleaguered tourism industry that had invested heavily for the campaign, the government reached to a conclusion to defer the programme altogether.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry said the upcoming cabinet meeting will most likely take a decision to postpone the VNY 2020 campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The VNY Secretariat said it has already received a letter from the concerned ministry instructing it to clear all its arrears within one month and to cast off its staff hired on contract basis within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As the coronavirus first appeared in China, the government was hopeful that it would be able to attract tourists from other parts of the world. But with the deadly virus fast spreading to over 100 countries, the government has been forced to postpone the ambitious campaign which aims to welcome 2 million tourists to Nepal in 2020, says Rajan Poudel, under secretary at the VNY Secretariat.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11486', 'image' => '20200310092904_20190531031100_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:28:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11733', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Trade Body Predicts Big Coronavirus Hit to FDI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">March 10: The coronavirus outbreak will cause global foreign direct investment (FDI) to shrink by 5 to 15 percent from previous forecasts, resulting in only marginal growth in 2020-21, Reuters reported citing a recent United Nations report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The report released on Sunday (March 8) indicated that the automotive, airlines and energy industries will be hit hardest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the negative impact of the virus would likely get worse in 2020.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to Reuters, UNCTAD tracks 100 multinational companies as a global economic barometer. Many of them are slowing capital expenditure in affected areas and 41 have so far issued profit warnings, which will hit reinvested earnings, a major driver of FDI, the news agency cited UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the profit warnings are from consumer-facing companies, indicating that slowing demand, for now, is expected to have more direct effects on earnings than production or supply chain disruptions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A wider sample of the top 5,000 listed companies showed earnings forecasts for fiscal year 2020 have been revised down in the last month by an average 9 percent due to the new virus, which has infected more than 100,000 people in over 100 countries and killed more than 3500 people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The automotive industry (-44 percent), airlines (-42 percent) and energy and basic materials (-13 percent) have been hit hardest, UNCTAD said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"The revisions to date are most likely to be conservative. The negative impact of the virus is likely to spread and increase further," Reuters quoted UNCTAD as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In January, UNCTAD estimated that global FDI flows in 2019 were $1.39 trillion and expected them to rise by around 5 percent in 2020. Now, it thinks they may hit the lowest level since the financial crisis in 2008 should the epidemic spread and continue throughout the year, according to Reuters.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">James Zhan, UNCTAD's director of investment and enterprise, said East Asia will bear the brunt of lower FDI inflows.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">"China has been the second-largest FDI recipient country, therefore a significant decline of FDI flows to the country in the short term will affect the level of global FDI flows," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11485', 'image' => '20200310093437_new.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:33:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11737', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bangladesh Agree to Waive Customs Duty on 20 Products', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: The fifth secretary-level commerce meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh has agreed to waive customs duty on 20 different goods produced by each country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The meeting held last week in Dhaka reached an understanding that both the countries will not impose customs duty on certain goods produced within the two countries, according to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. However, the two countries have not finalized the products that will benefit from customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has submitted a list of goods including threads, ginger, tea, coffee, shoes, cement, clinker and dairy products to Bangladesh for customs duty waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Likewise, Bangladesh has also submitted a list of its products like machineries, industrial equipment and juice for tax waiver.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal had imposed a ban on energy drinks from Bangladesh since the start of the last fiscal year. Bangladesh had been requesting Nepal to lift the ban since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the ministry, the two countries will study the list and then take the decision on customs duty waiver. The two countries will sign an agreement after studying the list, according to Secretary Baikuntha Aryal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Both countries have their own interests to promote the home-grown products. We have presented our views. We have made it certain that our products will get easy access to Bangladeshi market,” he said.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11484', 'image' => '20200310114648_aa111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 11:46:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11735', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Qatar Bans Migrant Workers from Nepal Amid Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 10: Qatar has temporarily banned visitors from 14 countries, including Nepal, in its effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). This has put a halt to outbound migrant workers from Nepal aspiring to work in the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision has also affected flights between Kathmandu and Qatar’s capital Doha. Himalaya Airlines, a private joint venture company of Nepal, has already suspended its flight to Qatar while the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation will take a decision on Tuesday (March 10).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Of late, Qatar has become a prime destination for foreign employment for the Nepali migrant workers. Around 350 Nepali workers had been leaving for Qatar on a daily basis before the ban. But the latest decision of Qatar has barred even those workers who have already acquired work permit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, there are around 350,000 Nepali migrant workers in Qatar. More than 72,000 Nepali workers left for Qatar for foreign employment so far this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">South Korea, another major foreign employment destination, has also stopped taking in any more migrant workers as the country is grappling with coronavirus epidemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The bans imposed by the countries will have direct impact on the remittance inflow to Nepal. The inflow of remittance from Qatar in the first four months of the current fiscal year was Rs 53.93 billion. According to a Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) report on remittance, Gulf countries contribute 50.3 percent of the total remittance Nepal receives.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment, Kumar Prasad Dahal, says that the ban imposed by Qatar will create an imbalance in employment in the long run in Qatar. He said that the demand for workers in Qatar has not declined despite the ban.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Qatar imposed a ban on visitors from 14 countries including Nepal, India, China, South Korea among others effective from Monday (March 9).</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11483', 'image' => '20200310105652_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 10:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UNICEF Warns Public about Misinformation Regarding Coronavirus', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Misinformation during times of a health crisis like the one caused by coronavirus can spread paranoia, fear, and stigmatization, a high ranking UNICEF official said in a statement. It can also result in people being left unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus, said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, UNICEF deputy executive director for partnerships.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gornitzka urged the public to seek accurate information from verified sources, such as UNICEF or WHO, government health officials and trusted healthcare professionals on how to keep oneself and family safe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She also requested everyone to refrain from sharing information from untrustworthy or unverified sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“For example, a recent erroneous online message circulating in several languages around the world and purporting to be a UNICEF communication appears to indicate, among other things, that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue,” she wrote.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In the recent statement, Gornitzka urged the creators of such falsehoods to stop sharing inaccurate information.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“It can be difficult in today’s information-rich society to know exactly where to go for knowledge about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. But it is critical that we remain as diligent about the accuracy of the information we share as we are about every other precaution we take to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">She further said that UNICEF is actively taking steps to provide accurate information about the virus by working with the World Health Organization, government authorities and with online partners like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to make sure that accurate information and advice is available, as well as taking steps to inform the public when inaccurate information emerges.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11482', 'image' => '20200308100635_final.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 10:04:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Stress on Change of Mindset to Address Gender Disparity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 10: On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2020, Kathmandu Mariott Hotel and Vishal Group Foundation organized a panel discussion on gender equality on Sunday (March 8).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The program titled ‘New Horizons: Women for Gender Equality’ saw participation of women entrepreneurs and also women from various sectors including IT, education, social work and media. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The programme focused on the need to change the perception of people from the high-school level where students learn the roles of men and women in society in order to bring gender equality in true sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“We have been brought up by learning that women are housewives and men go for work. This is one major thing people instill in their mind from their childhood,” said Rojee Kattel, political specialist at the US Embassy in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The participants emphasized on the importance of self-empowerment to bring a change in society. Bhumika Shrestha, transgender rights activist, stressed that for gender equality, the change starts with one’s own mindset. “Change has to come from within,” said Shrestha. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Also, discussion on the absence of data about gender disparity in Nepal was also another highlight of the program. Sumana Shrestha, management consultant and executive coach, brought up the issue of absence of data. She said that to address various challenges, we need concrete data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Global Gap Report 2020 by World Economic Forum, gender parity will not be attained for 99.5 years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“In Nepal’s context, we don’t have any data regarding gender equality,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kattel said that the work of home-based workers should be recognised. “Only then, their contribution to the economy will be recognized,” said Kattel. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-10', 'modified' => '2020-03-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11481', 'image' => '20200310094515__UME0429.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-10 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel in Limbo', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 8: Construction of the much-hyped Nagdhunga-Naubise has hit a snag due to a host of problems. The project funded by the Japanese government has failed to gain momentum due to problems related to site clearance, land acquisition, and import of equipment required for the tunnel construction. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the government has failed to approve address the issue of land acquisition and site clearance. The inordinate delay on part of the government is likely to further delay the project undertaken by Hazma Ando Corporation of Japan with a commitment to complete it within 3.5 years. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been almost five months since Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel amid a function at Chandargiri Municipality on October 21. But the delay in policy-level decision on the land dispute and import of equipment is certain to affect the project. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Japanese company is yet to get approval from the government to import 300 different equipment worth Rs 5 billion to kickstart the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222%281%29.jpg" style="height:470px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project chief Shyam Kharel says it has become quite urgent to approve the budget of Rs 5 billion to import the equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The longer it takes for the government to take a decision, the project will be delayed further,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The government waives customs duty on the import of these equipment. But the Ministry of Finance has to first approve the list of equipment prepared by the project, which is yet to happen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kharel said they have already prepared the list of necessary equipment and logistics required for the project including steel, machines, explosives and petroleum products. The list has to reach the Finance Ministry through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The procurement process will begin only after the Finance Ministry approves the list. But sadly the list has been returned four times by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project officials are preparing to dig the tunnel after three months. But it is not possible until they get the required equipment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Nagdhunga Tunnel Construction Project is a loan project funded by the Government of Japan where JICA is the development partner providing loan assistance of Japanese yen worth 16.636 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to JICA, the objective of the project is to improve the road condition around Nagdhunga pass by constructing a tunnel, thereby contributing to achieve a smooth transportation network between Kathmandu and other principal cities in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">JICA further said that the commencement of this tunnel project will be the first of its kind in Nepal. The highway will have two lanes of 2.7 kilometers in length and is expected to reduce the time to clear Nagdhunga Pass to one-third of the current time (currently 30 minutes when heading east and 20 minutes to the west).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/111%281%29.jpg" style="height:215px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-08', 'modified' => '2020-03-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11480', 'image' => '20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-08 11:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
