NEWS

Employers Unhappy Over Government’s Decision to Raise Minimum Wage

May 06, 2021 0 4 minutes 15 seconds to read

May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal…

Asia-Pacific Can Emerge From Pandemic Stronger Than Before: ADB President

May 05, 2021 0 3 minutes 5 seconds to read

May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic “even stronger than before” by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable…

Fall Armyworms Attack Maize in 67 Districts

May 05, 2021 0 1 minutes 52 seconds to read

May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms.…

ADB Launches Tax Hub to Enhance Domestic Resource Mobilization and International Tax Cooperation

May 05, 2021 0 3 minutes 13 seconds to read

May 5: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax…

Authorities Extend Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley by a Week

May 05, 2021 0 2 minutes 16 seconds to read

May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more…

Covid-19 Cases Reported Among Climbers at Everest Base Camp

May 05, 2021 0 1 minutes 56 seconds to read

May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms.…

Government Fixes Minimum Monthly Salary of Workers at Rs 15,000

May 04, 2021 0 1 minutes 10 seconds to read

May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000.…

Dairy Producers Have Stock of Milk Powder and Butter worth Rs 3 Billion

May 04, 2021 0 2 minutes 38 seconds to read

May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion.…

82,000 get Short-term Jobs under Prime Minister's Employment Programme

May 04, 2021 0 2 minutes 1 seconds to read

May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister's Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21.…

Govt Effortful to bring Enough COVID-19 Vaccines from China, Russia: PM

May 04, 2021 0 1 minutes 26 seconds to read

May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest.…

CAAN to Suspend all Domestic Flights from Today Midnight

May 03, 2021 0 1 minutes 0 seconds to read

May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection.…

Government to Bring 20,000 Oxygen Cylinders from China

May 03, 2021 0 2 minutes 40 seconds to read

May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China.…

Upasana Poudel appointed as United Insurance’s new CEO

May 02, 2021 0 40 seconds to read

United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer.…

Government Faces Challenges to Include Employees of Informal Sector in Social Security Programme

May 02, 2021 0 2 minutes 55 seconds to read

May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act.…

Offices can Operate with One-Fourth Employees: CCMC

May 02, 2021 0 2 minutes 2 seconds to read

May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing…

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No Laughing Matter

The Sweet Rewards of Power

By Madan Lamsal

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NEPSE

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			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Employers Unhappy Over Government’s Decision to Raise Minimum Wage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government&#39;s decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Employers are dissatisfied that the government has taken a unilateral decision amidst this crisis when employers are concerned about sustaining business and providing salary to the current employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security had issued a notice on Nepal Gazette on May 4, fixing the minimum wage. Since then, umbrella organization of employees and employers have come forward with various views.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Labor Act requires the minimum wage be fixed on a monthly, daily and hourly basis in every two years. In the Fiscal Year 2018/19, the minimum salary was raised to Rs 13,450 but in the Fiscal Year 2019/20 and the current fiscal year, the minimum wage was not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the Nepal Gazette, the increased salary will be implemented from mid-July of Fiscal Year 2021/22. As soon as this notice was published, the private sector expressed dissatisfaction. The umbrella organization of the private sector has engaged in discussions to publish their formal statement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that the government&#39;s decision has disappointed them. No discussions have been held with the FNCCI though it is the primary organization concerned with the decision.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the focus should be on how to secure current employment rather than on increasing minimum wages. &quot;It may be reasonable according to the Act, but this is not the right time to raise the minimum wage, since we are in the middle of a global crisis,&quot; Golchha said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Rajesh Agrawal, vice president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said it is not possible to implement the new wages. He said that it is not certain how long the prohibitory orders will be enforced so the announcement of increasing wages has disappointed them during this difficult time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Kumar Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT) said the new increased salary must be implemented from mid-July. He stressed on the need to implement the provision rather than debating whether it is the right time to raise the wages. He added that the increased salary is&nbsp;still low considering the current rate of inflation. Employers have been receiving various tax waivers from the government due to the impact of COVID-19.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are performing well so they can&#39;t deny to provide the increased salary. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;Instead of every two years, salary has been raised in three years so it is not right to express dissatisfaction over the decision. It is not reasonable to say they will not be able to provide the salary on the pretext of COVID-19 pandemic,&rdquo; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are doing well while many of them like five-star hotels are struggling. Employees of those hotels are still working for a meager salary of Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month, said Shrestha. The raised salary of Rs 15,000 includes basic salary and inflation allowance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Meanwhile, the daily wage of a worker has been increased to Rs 577 while the hourly wage has been increased to Rs 77 from Rs 48.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13351',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Asia-Pacific Can Emerge From Pandemic Stronger Than Before: ADB President',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic “even stronger than before” by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic &ldquo;even stronger than before&rdquo; by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future, according to the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">In his remarks to the ADB Board of Governors at its 54<sup>th</sup> annual meeting on Wednesday, May 5, Asakawa said that he believes &ldquo;the path we have laid out&rdquo; will help lead our region out of these uncertain times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We will continue to deliver ADB&rsquo;s unique synergy of finance, knowledge, and partnerships. And we will prioritize the quality of our assistance over quantity, meeting near-term needs with a clear vision for the future. If we stay on this course, I am confident the region will emerge from the current crisis even stronger than before,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a press statement issued by ADB, Asakawa outlined a five-point agenda for the region covering areas critical to achieving a lasting and equitable recovery for Asia and the Pacific:</span></span></span></p>

<ul>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Place ambitious climate actions at the center of development, with increased focus on adaptation and resilience, and with full commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Address inequality including the gender gap&mdash;which has worsened during the pandemic&mdash;by investing in health, education, and social protection.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Promote high-quality green and digital infrastructure, enabling economies to rebuild smartly while closing the digital gap and attracting substantial private investment.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Deepen regional cooperation and integration, so that ADB developing member countries can seize the opportunities of renewed globalization and strengthen regional health security.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">And strengthen domestic resource mobilization, to ensure that governments have the resources they need to finance sustainable growth and respond effectively to future crises.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Action on these priorities can build on ADB&rsquo;s response to COVID-19 in 2020. Its total commitments in 2020 reached a record high of $31.6 billion, with just over half supporting operations to respond to the pandemic, the statement added. The balance was committed to address long-term development issues such as the gender equality gap, the impacts of climate change, and investments in quality infrastructure. These achievements were supported by record-high co-financing of $16.4 billion and record-high capital market borrowings of over $35 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;During the height of the pandemic, I reassured my staff that we will someday look back with pride at what we accomplished for the people of the region.&nbsp;I believe more than ever that this is true,&rdquo; the statement quoted Asakawa as saying.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '13350',
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			'title' => ' Fall Armyworms Attack Maize in 67 Districts',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. According to the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, armyworms have attacked newly planted maize in all the districts of the Terai as well as some high hill districts. The pest especially damages crops like maize, wheat, and paddy. Last year, the pest had damaged crops in 63 districts.<br />
Sahadev Humagain, head of the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, said that they have not been able to get the details of the extent of damage done to the maize crop planted in 67 districts. He informed that it was difficult to collect the details of the damage due to the lack of sufficient manpower.<br />
However, for the control and prevention of outbreak, the district-based agricultural knowledge centre and technicians from the local bodies have been trained and mobilized. It is also said that the centre is working to spread public awareness on armyworm outbreak control measures through various media.<br />
Entrepreneurs have said that the country has sufficient pesticides for pest control and prevention. However, transportation is a bit inconvenient due to the ongoing prohibition order. Currently, the demand for pesticides has surged in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Chitwan, Birgunj, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, among other districts.<br />
Experts say that farmers and technicians have problems in controlling this insect even though they have received training about it. These insects are especially active between February to August. But in some Terai districts, these insects are active throughout the year, inform agronomists.<br />
Experts say that since this insect has adapted to Nepal&#39;s climate, it cannot be completely eradicated from the country. However, it can be controlled by being precautious and paying attention from the very beginning.<br />
According to Humagain, head of the centre, special attention should be given to healthy seeds, healthy soil, and balanced irrigation while planting crops to avoid pest infestation. He said that as the larvae of this insect would affect the crop more, it would be appropriate to kill the larvae using the recommended pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13349',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'ADB Launches Tax Hub to Enhance Domestic Resource Mobilization and International Tax Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub to create an open and inclusive platform to promote strategic policy dialogue, improve knowledge sharing, and strengthen coordination on tax policy and administration among ADB, its members, and development partners.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said in a statement that the hub will maximize regional and international resources to strengthen domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and international tax cooperation (ITC) in ADB&rsquo;s developing member countries (DMCs).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Domestic resource mobilization has emerged as a major strategic priority for our DMCs at this moment.&nbsp;It will&nbsp;be&nbsp;vital in&nbsp;the&nbsp;effort&nbsp;to address debt sustainability&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,&rdquo; the statement quoted ADB President Masatsuga Asakawa as saying in a seminar at ADB&rsquo;s 54<sup>th</sup> Annual Meeting.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lack of a pan-regional tax community has been a unique and significant&nbsp;shortcoming&nbsp;for Asia and the Pacific. To address this, I would like to announce today the official launch of the Asia Pacific Tax Hub,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to ADB, the hub will support DMCs on three main building blocks &ndash; preparation of medium-term revenue strategies (MTRS); roadmaps for the automation of tax administration, and proactive participation in international tax initiatives.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub aims to play a key role by stimulating regional dialogue and knowledge sharing on needed reforms. Through the hub, ADB will </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">coordinate closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support DMCs as they formulate country-specific MTRS, with activities such as regional workshops in collaboration with the Platform for Collaboration on Tax and diagnostic tools like the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">It will also</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">conduct needs assessments to prepare roadmaps for the automation of tax administrations in DMCs, and support their implementation in collaboration with development partners and leading countries in this area.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said it is establishing a secretariat to operationalize the hub and plans to organize a Steering Committee to bring together key development partners and DMCs willing to actively engage in the hub. It will work closely together with the hub secretariat to lead the operation of the hub.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub will organize a first High-Level Conference by the fourth quarter of 2021 to report on progress and discuss next steps on the three building blocks of the hub, including details of the operations of the hub secretariat and Steering Committee.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '13348',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Authorities Extend Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley by a Week',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur on Tuesday (May 4) took a decision to this effect. The DAOs extended the prohibitory orders in line with the recent cabinet decision allowing the districts chiefs to issue prohibitory orders for at least 15 days.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The prohibitory order will be in force till May 12 now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The authorities have also decided to further tighten the restrictions during this period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Kali Prasad Parajuli, government authorities have decided to change the modality of prohibitory order to curb the disease. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The district authorities have decided to bar movement of people except in case of emergency. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">&ldquo;We will take action against anyone found moving around without any emergency,&rdquo; said CDO Parajuli.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shops selling essential supplies will be allowed to operate from 7-9 am instead of 7-10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">All permits issued for vehicles will be invalid from now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, vehicles carrying essential goods and those supplying food will be allowed to operate during the prohibitory order. The prohibitory order does not apply to ambulances.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Meanwhile, Banks and Financial Institutions will be allowed to operate at a 25 per cent capacity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The three districts in the valley imposed prohibitory order on April 29 following a rise in number of Covid-19 cases. The government has authorised Chief District Officers to impose such orders.</span></span></span></p>
',
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			'article_date' => '2021-05-05 12:49:21',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13347',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Covid-19 Cases Reported Among Climbers at Everest Base Camp',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12px"><em>Photo: Tamish Giri/NBA</em></span></h1>

<h1><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. </span></span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the BBC, the number of positive tests among climbers has been rising. This has raised fears of a serious outbreak at the base camp, BBC reported on Wednesday (May 5).</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Base camp officials said they had received confirmation of 17 positive cases from hospitals in the capital Kathmandu, BBC further reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A number of climbers have been reportedly sent to those hospitals from the base camp and higher camps for treatment.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Staff at CIWEC Clinic, a private clinic in Kathmandu, confirmed to the BBC that patients had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Everest base camp. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the news report, the Government of Nepal has so far denied having any knowledge of positive cases at Everest base camp raising concerns that officials are downplaying the extent of the situation out of fear it will bring more pressure to close the mountain to expeditions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Foreign climbers are a major source of revenue for the Nepalese government, which shut Everest last year during the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the state-owned national news agency, RSS, as many as 294 summiteers of 42 groups have been granted permission for climbing the world&#39;s highest peak, Mount Everest, this year. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20190515023916_Everest-image.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13092',
			'image' => '20210505111406_20210316081635_Bahraini Team.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-05 11:11:58',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13346',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Fixes Minimum Monthly Salary of Workers at Rs 15,000',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The government announced the new wage of workers by issuing a notice in the Nepal Gazette. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced to increase the wages of workers recently during the May Day. Two days later, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security issued the notice on Nepal Gazette stating that the new wage of workers will come into effect from the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">As per the notice issued on Monday (May 3), the minimum basic salary of workers has been fixed at Rs 9,385. By adding inflation allowance, the minimum salary has been fixed at Rs 15,000.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Similarly, the daily wage of labourers has also been increased from R s 361 to Rs 577. Likewise, the wage per hour for workers has been increased from Rs 48 to Rs 77.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The minimum monthly salary at present is Rs 13,450. The new salary will not be applicable for workers employed in tea estates. </span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-05-04',
			'modified' => '2021-05-04',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13091',
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			'article_date' => '2021-05-04 15:59:13',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13345',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dairy Producers Have Stock of Milk Powder and Butter worth Rs 3 Billion ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic,  the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic, &nbsp;the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. Since the consumption has declined due to the pandemic, dairy producers and traders are forced to process the unsold milk into powdered milk and butter.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the data provided by the Nepal Dairy Association, the umbrella body of diary producers and entrepreneurs alone has milk powder and butter worth Rs one billion out of the total stock worth Rs 3 billion. The consumption of milk has declined by 60 percent in the Kathmandu valley with the sharp rise in coronavirus infections and the market situation is becoming alarming due to the prohibitory orders. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Prahad Dahal, General Secretary of the Association, with the decline in the consumption of milk, the stock of milk powder will continue to rise. This has imposed challenges to all farmers, traders and industrialists on how to manage the surplus milk. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Flow of money to the milk industries has stopped because of the protracted lockdown of last year which led to the shutting down of hotels, restaurants, party palaces that consume the highest volume of milk in the market. Due to this, most of the industries have not been able to pay back the farmers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dairy entrepreneurs have demanded that the government provide loans to the industry equivalent to the amount of the goods that they have in stock. This will help them to facilitate the operation of the industries and pay back the farmers.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dahal said that due to the prohibitory orders that are currently enforced, transporters that supply dairy products are having problems in getting the logo provided by the National Dairy Development Board.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The board had prepared the logo last April so that there would be no obstruction in the transportation of milk products. However, due to various pending procedures, the board has not been able to provide the logo to the transporters.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">One day before the prohibitory orders were enforced, the board had published a notice requesting transporters to contact the board to get the logos. &quot;But no transporter has received the logo so far because of the prohibitory orders that are currently in place,&quot; said Amogh Kafle, spokesperson of the board.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
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			'image' => '20210504034107_butter-milk.jpg',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13343',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '82,000 get Short-term Jobs under Prime Minister's Employment Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister's Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. However, only 82,500 people have received short-term jobs under the program so far.<br />
According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme, 21,054 individuals in the Far West, 16,200 in Karnali, and 15,600 in Province No. 2 have received short-term jobs for an average of 12 days. According to the PMEP Secretariat, Rs 579.5 million has been distributed under the programme so far. In the current fiscal year, 753,166 people have applied for jobs under the programme. However, not all applicants are eligible for employment.<br />
According to the criteria of PMEP, a family member can be employed for a minimum of 100 days only if he/she is unable to earn any income from anywhere else.<br />
The secretariat informed that more than 10,500 programmes worth Rs 7.86 billion have been selected in the current fiscal year to employ those who are eligible for employment. In the current fiscal year, Rs 10.34 billion has been allocated to implement the employment program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">To implement this programme from the current fiscal year, the government had received a concessional loan of Rs 13.65 billion from the International Development Association (IDA) under the World Bank.<br />
Expanding the scope of the programme from this year, the government has announced to employ the unemployed in public development works at the federal, state, and local levels. However, the implementation of the programme so far has not been effective.<br />
According to Loknath Bhusal, Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme Secretariat, the program was running effectively at the local level until the first week of April.<br />
However, implementation of the program suffered a setback due to the prohibitory order in various parts of the country.<br />
&quot;Some local level representatives and employees are not in a position to run the office. The prohibitory order has made it difficult to promote employment activities,&quot; Bhusal said.<br />
So far, more than seven hundred thousand unemployed individuals have submitted applications for employment for the upcoming year through the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13344',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' Govt Effortful to bring Enough COVID-19 Vaccines from China, Russia: PM ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He said that the government is in constant touch with the countries like China and&nbsp; Russia that produce the vaccines.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In his address to the nation on COVID-19 and other contemporary issues on Monday, the PM said that the government itself had started the process to purchase vaccines apart from vaccines donated by the friendly nations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the occasion, PM Oli urged one and all to stay on an alert against the virus, abide by the prohibitory order and provide support to the government&rsquo;s initiatives to prevent and control the infection.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He also requested neighbouring and friendly countries to provide health infrastructures including oxygen in assistance to fight the deadly virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He claimed that the government had gradually achieved progress in the development of the infrastructure of health sector of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-05-04',
			'modified' => '2021-05-04',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13088',
			'image' => '20210504121946_1620082311.Clipboard04.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-04 12:19:16',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13342',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN to Suspend all Domestic Flights from Today Midnight',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection.&nbsp; The aviation regulatory body has also decided to suspend international flights from midnight of May 6.<br />
Rajan Pokhrel, director-general of CAAN, informed New Business Age that all domestic flights will be suspended from midnight of May 3 until the May 14. Likewise, international flights will be suspended from May 6 midnight until May 14, added Pokharel. &nbsp;<br />
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 2 had decided to suspend all domestic flights from May 4 and international flights from May 6 due to the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.<br />
On May 2, Nepal recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in a day, with more than 7000 cases.<br />
The Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) had recommended the government suspend the flights to stop the virus from spreading.<br />
As the number of new cases and daily fatalities continue to spike in the country, the government announced two-week long prohibitory order on April 29 in several affected districts, including Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-05-03',
			'modified' => '2021-05-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13087',
			'image' => '20210503020944_20200805015856_nepali_flights.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-03 14:08:52',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13341',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Bring 20,000 Oxygen Cylinders from China',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. The Covid-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) informed that the ministries of foreign affairs, health and finance will immediately start working to this end.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The country is in need of additional oxygen cylinders as the demand for oxygen is increasing with the rise in new infections of COVID-19. Oxygen manufacturers have been stating that despite having enough oxygen, they are having problem is supplying oxygen due to limited number of cylinders. Likewise, it has been learnt that people are holding up oxygen cylinders at their home leading to a shortage of cylinders.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the doctors, the new variants of coronavirus affect the respiratory system of patients and they require oxygen support. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a meeting of the CCMC decided to reduce the movement of people in government offices in the districts where prohibitory orders have been enforced and has allowed secretaries, joint secretaries and head of government offices to commute carrying identity cards.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Likewise, the new building of Bir Hospital has been announced as coronavirus hospital. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO) has said that CCMC is looking for various alternatives following the rise in complaints about shortage of beds in hospitals.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Ganesh Pandey, Press Adviser to Deputy PM Ishwar Pokharel, cremation will be conducted using traditional methods and a letter has already been written to the concerned authority in this regard.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A cabinet meeting has already implemented quota system for domestic flights on the recommendation of the CCMC&nbsp;and has employed strict measures in some international flights to contain the spread of coronavirus. A minister said that flights to Brazil and South Africa have been suspended in light of the growing new COVID-19 cases.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Despite the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the Kathmandu Valley, the district-level CCMC meeting has decided to allow operation of banks and financial institutions with one fourth of employees. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Grocery shops that were allowed to open from 5pm to 7pm in the evening will not be allowed to open from Monday, May 3.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Kali Prasad Parajuli, Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, people walking without wearing masks will be fined and permits will be checked strictly.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-05-03',
			'modified' => '2021-05-03',
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			'image' => '20210503015716_20210429095930_Medical-Oxygen-Gas-Cylinders-Market.jpg',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13340',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Upasana Poudel appointed as United Insurance’s new CEO ',
			'sub_title' => 'Poudel’s appointment makes her the first female CEO in Nepal’s insurance sector.',
			'summary' => 'United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer. ',
			'content' => '<p>May 2:&nbsp;<br />
United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).&nbsp;<br />
According to the United Insurance Company Ltd&rsquo;s disclosure to Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), its board meeting held on Thursday decided to appoint Poudel as the insurance company&rsquo;s CEO for a tenure of four years.&nbsp;<br />
The United Insurance&rsquo;s decision also makes Poudel the first female CEO of an insurance company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She was serving as the officiating CEO of United Insurance after its former CEO Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai&rsquo;s four-year term ended in November last year.&nbsp;<br />
Promoted by leading industrialists and trading and commercial houses, United Insurance Company, a non-life insurance company, had started its operation from December 1, 1993.&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-05-02',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13085',
			'image' => '20210502052259_Upasana Poudel.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-02 17:19:38',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13339',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Challenges to Include Employees of Informal Sector in Social Security Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Trade unions have been demanding for registration of employees from the informal sector since 15 years to help them receive support from the government and address their problems. But it has not been implemented accordingly. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT), said although there has not been significant achievement in terms of registration, there has been some encouraging improvements. The issue of registration was raised to keep a tab on expenses of workers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;We want to link the informal sector to social security based on contribution but the question arises who will pay 20 percent of the daily wage workers working in the informal sector. Village councils and the local bodies need to help in this regard,&quot; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shrestha further said that a task force has been formed to register workers working in the informal sector and link them to contribution-based social security. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The government has committed to implement this provision so we can be hopeful about it,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Similarly, Pushkar Acharya, president of Nepal Trade Union Congress, said that it is the ineffectiveness on part of the government&nbsp; that the registration process has not been implemented even after one year. Until and unless workers are registered they will not be eligible for benefits from the Social Security Fund (SSF). </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">It is the workers from the informal sector who have been affected the most with the enforcement of prohibitory orders, said Acharya. If they had been linked with the SSF, they would have now got the benefits from the government. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to GEFONT, workers were laid off from work and deprived from the wages from the initial days of lockdown which has repeated again this time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><strong><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Emphasis on sustainable and reliable labor relations</span></span></strong></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The umbrella organization of employers have stressed on the need to make labour relation between industries and workers sustainable and reliable. Issuing a press release on the International Labour Day on May 1, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said that though labour relations are on the path of improvement, it needs to be made reliable and sustainable.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '     Offices can Operate with One-Fourth Employees: CCMC    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of the CCMC on Saturday decided to ask banks and financial institutions being operated in the lockdown-enforced Kathmandu Valley and other big cities to operate their business through one-fourth of the employees. Nepal Rastra Bank would facilitate the process in the enforcement of the order.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The press pass issued by the Department of Information and Publicity would be valid in case of the Kathmandu Valley while the Chief District Officers are authorized to issue such pass in other districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The CCMC also decided to enforce food and accommodation for employees and workers of the industries and enterprises within the industry to keep its smooth operation, run the factories and industries producing materials (mask, sanitizer, soap, gloves, oxygen) used for prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 by adopting health safety protocol and continue with public infrastructure construction by arranging food and accommodation for the workers involved in the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the CCMC&rsquo;s Secretariat, the public vehicles used for supplying construction materials in such public projects would be allowed based on the pass provided by the project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In Kathmandu Valley, the Department of Tourism, Department of Immigration, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Police would jointly monitor those residing in hotel quarantines while the province and local levels would carry out the task in other districts. The local levels would monitor the people residing in home quarantines. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, foreigners residing in hotel quarantines would be deported to their home country with penalty if they were found violating the health protocols. For the failure on proper management, the hoteliers would be fined as per the laws. - RSS</span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13352',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Employers Unhappy Over Government’s Decision to Raise Minimum Wage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government&#39;s decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Employers are dissatisfied that the government has taken a unilateral decision amidst this crisis when employers are concerned about sustaining business and providing salary to the current employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security had issued a notice on Nepal Gazette on May 4, fixing the minimum wage. Since then, umbrella organization of employees and employers have come forward with various views.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Labor Act requires the minimum wage be fixed on a monthly, daily and hourly basis in every two years. In the Fiscal Year 2018/19, the minimum salary was raised to Rs 13,450 but in the Fiscal Year 2019/20 and the current fiscal year, the minimum wage was not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the Nepal Gazette, the increased salary will be implemented from mid-July of Fiscal Year 2021/22. As soon as this notice was published, the private sector expressed dissatisfaction. The umbrella organization of the private sector has engaged in discussions to publish their formal statement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that the government&#39;s decision has disappointed them. No discussions have been held with the FNCCI though it is the primary organization concerned with the decision.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the focus should be on how to secure current employment rather than on increasing minimum wages. &quot;It may be reasonable according to the Act, but this is not the right time to raise the minimum wage, since we are in the middle of a global crisis,&quot; Golchha said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Rajesh Agrawal, vice president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said it is not possible to implement the new wages. He said that it is not certain how long the prohibitory orders will be enforced so the announcement of increasing wages has disappointed them during this difficult time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Kumar Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT) said the new increased salary must be implemented from mid-July. He stressed on the need to implement the provision rather than debating whether it is the right time to raise the wages. He added that the increased salary is&nbsp;still low considering the current rate of inflation. Employers have been receiving various tax waivers from the government due to the impact of COVID-19.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are performing well so they can&#39;t deny to provide the increased salary. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;Instead of every two years, salary has been raised in three years so it is not right to express dissatisfaction over the decision. It is not reasonable to say they will not be able to provide the salary on the pretext of COVID-19 pandemic,&rdquo; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are doing well while many of them like five-star hotels are struggling. Employees of those hotels are still working for a meager salary of Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month, said Shrestha. The raised salary of Rs 15,000 includes basic salary and inflation allowance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Meanwhile, the daily wage of a worker has been increased to Rs 577 while the hourly wage has been increased to Rs 77 from Rs 48.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13351',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Asia-Pacific Can Emerge From Pandemic Stronger Than Before: ADB President',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic “even stronger than before” by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic &ldquo;even stronger than before&rdquo; by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future, according to the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">In his remarks to the ADB Board of Governors at its 54<sup>th</sup> annual meeting on Wednesday, May 5, Asakawa said that he believes &ldquo;the path we have laid out&rdquo; will help lead our region out of these uncertain times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We will continue to deliver ADB&rsquo;s unique synergy of finance, knowledge, and partnerships. And we will prioritize the quality of our assistance over quantity, meeting near-term needs with a clear vision for the future. If we stay on this course, I am confident the region will emerge from the current crisis even stronger than before,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a press statement issued by ADB, Asakawa outlined a five-point agenda for the region covering areas critical to achieving a lasting and equitable recovery for Asia and the Pacific:</span></span></span></p>

<ul>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Place ambitious climate actions at the center of development, with increased focus on adaptation and resilience, and with full commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Address inequality including the gender gap&mdash;which has worsened during the pandemic&mdash;by investing in health, education, and social protection.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Promote high-quality green and digital infrastructure, enabling economies to rebuild smartly while closing the digital gap and attracting substantial private investment.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Deepen regional cooperation and integration, so that ADB developing member countries can seize the opportunities of renewed globalization and strengthen regional health security.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">And strengthen domestic resource mobilization, to ensure that governments have the resources they need to finance sustainable growth and respond effectively to future crises.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Action on these priorities can build on ADB&rsquo;s response to COVID-19 in 2020. Its total commitments in 2020 reached a record high of $31.6 billion, with just over half supporting operations to respond to the pandemic, the statement added. The balance was committed to address long-term development issues such as the gender equality gap, the impacts of climate change, and investments in quality infrastructure. These achievements were supported by record-high co-financing of $16.4 billion and record-high capital market borrowings of over $35 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;During the height of the pandemic, I reassured my staff that we will someday look back with pride at what we accomplished for the people of the region.&nbsp;I believe more than ever that this is true,&rdquo; the statement quoted Asakawa as saying.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '13350',
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			'title' => ' Fall Armyworms Attack Maize in 67 Districts',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. According to the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, armyworms have attacked newly planted maize in all the districts of the Terai as well as some high hill districts. The pest especially damages crops like maize, wheat, and paddy. Last year, the pest had damaged crops in 63 districts.<br />
Sahadev Humagain, head of the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, said that they have not been able to get the details of the extent of damage done to the maize crop planted in 67 districts. He informed that it was difficult to collect the details of the damage due to the lack of sufficient manpower.<br />
However, for the control and prevention of outbreak, the district-based agricultural knowledge centre and technicians from the local bodies have been trained and mobilized. It is also said that the centre is working to spread public awareness on armyworm outbreak control measures through various media.<br />
Entrepreneurs have said that the country has sufficient pesticides for pest control and prevention. However, transportation is a bit inconvenient due to the ongoing prohibition order. Currently, the demand for pesticides has surged in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Chitwan, Birgunj, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, among other districts.<br />
Experts say that farmers and technicians have problems in controlling this insect even though they have received training about it. These insects are especially active between February to August. But in some Terai districts, these insects are active throughout the year, inform agronomists.<br />
Experts say that since this insect has adapted to Nepal&#39;s climate, it cannot be completely eradicated from the country. However, it can be controlled by being precautious and paying attention from the very beginning.<br />
According to Humagain, head of the centre, special attention should be given to healthy seeds, healthy soil, and balanced irrigation while planting crops to avoid pest infestation. He said that as the larvae of this insect would affect the crop more, it would be appropriate to kill the larvae using the recommended pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '13349',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'ADB Launches Tax Hub to Enhance Domestic Resource Mobilization and International Tax Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub to create an open and inclusive platform to promote strategic policy dialogue, improve knowledge sharing, and strengthen coordination on tax policy and administration among ADB, its members, and development partners.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said in a statement that the hub will maximize regional and international resources to strengthen domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and international tax cooperation (ITC) in ADB&rsquo;s developing member countries (DMCs).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Domestic resource mobilization has emerged as a major strategic priority for our DMCs at this moment.&nbsp;It will&nbsp;be&nbsp;vital in&nbsp;the&nbsp;effort&nbsp;to address debt sustainability&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,&rdquo; the statement quoted ADB President Masatsuga Asakawa as saying in a seminar at ADB&rsquo;s 54<sup>th</sup> Annual Meeting.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lack of a pan-regional tax community has been a unique and significant&nbsp;shortcoming&nbsp;for Asia and the Pacific. To address this, I would like to announce today the official launch of the Asia Pacific Tax Hub,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to ADB, the hub will support DMCs on three main building blocks &ndash; preparation of medium-term revenue strategies (MTRS); roadmaps for the automation of tax administration, and proactive participation in international tax initiatives.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub aims to play a key role by stimulating regional dialogue and knowledge sharing on needed reforms. Through the hub, ADB will </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">coordinate closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support DMCs as they formulate country-specific MTRS, with activities such as regional workshops in collaboration with the Platform for Collaboration on Tax and diagnostic tools like the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">It will also</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">conduct needs assessments to prepare roadmaps for the automation of tax administrations in DMCs, and support their implementation in collaboration with development partners and leading countries in this area.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said it is establishing a secretariat to operationalize the hub and plans to organize a Steering Committee to bring together key development partners and DMCs willing to actively engage in the hub. It will work closely together with the hub secretariat to lead the operation of the hub.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub will organize a first High-Level Conference by the fourth quarter of 2021 to report on progress and discuss next steps on the three building blocks of the hub, including details of the operations of the hub secretariat and Steering Committee.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13348',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Authorities Extend Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley by a Week',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur on Tuesday (May 4) took a decision to this effect. The DAOs extended the prohibitory orders in line with the recent cabinet decision allowing the districts chiefs to issue prohibitory orders for at least 15 days.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The prohibitory order will be in force till May 12 now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The authorities have also decided to further tighten the restrictions during this period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Kali Prasad Parajuli, government authorities have decided to change the modality of prohibitory order to curb the disease. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The district authorities have decided to bar movement of people except in case of emergency. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">&ldquo;We will take action against anyone found moving around without any emergency,&rdquo; said CDO Parajuli.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shops selling essential supplies will be allowed to operate from 7-9 am instead of 7-10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">All permits issued for vehicles will be invalid from now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, vehicles carrying essential goods and those supplying food will be allowed to operate during the prohibitory order. The prohibitory order does not apply to ambulances.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Meanwhile, Banks and Financial Institutions will be allowed to operate at a 25 per cent capacity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The three districts in the valley imposed prohibitory order on April 29 following a rise in number of Covid-19 cases. The government has authorised Chief District Officers to impose such orders.</span></span></span></p>
',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13347',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Covid-19 Cases Reported Among Climbers at Everest Base Camp',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12px"><em>Photo: Tamish Giri/NBA</em></span></h1>

<h1><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. </span></span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the BBC, the number of positive tests among climbers has been rising. This has raised fears of a serious outbreak at the base camp, BBC reported on Wednesday (May 5).</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Base camp officials said they had received confirmation of 17 positive cases from hospitals in the capital Kathmandu, BBC further reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A number of climbers have been reportedly sent to those hospitals from the base camp and higher camps for treatment.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Staff at CIWEC Clinic, a private clinic in Kathmandu, confirmed to the BBC that patients had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Everest base camp. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the news report, the Government of Nepal has so far denied having any knowledge of positive cases at Everest base camp raising concerns that officials are downplaying the extent of the situation out of fear it will bring more pressure to close the mountain to expeditions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Foreign climbers are a major source of revenue for the Nepalese government, which shut Everest last year during the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the state-owned national news agency, RSS, as many as 294 summiteers of 42 groups have been granted permission for climbing the world&#39;s highest peak, Mount Everest, this year. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20190515023916_Everest-image.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13346',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Fixes Minimum Monthly Salary of Workers at Rs 15,000',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The government announced the new wage of workers by issuing a notice in the Nepal Gazette. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced to increase the wages of workers recently during the May Day. Two days later, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security issued the notice on Nepal Gazette stating that the new wage of workers will come into effect from the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">As per the notice issued on Monday (May 3), the minimum basic salary of workers has been fixed at Rs 9,385. By adding inflation allowance, the minimum salary has been fixed at Rs 15,000.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Similarly, the daily wage of labourers has also been increased from R s 361 to Rs 577. Likewise, the wage per hour for workers has been increased from Rs 48 to Rs 77.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The minimum monthly salary at present is Rs 13,450. The new salary will not be applicable for workers employed in tea estates. </span></span></p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13345',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dairy Producers Have Stock of Milk Powder and Butter worth Rs 3 Billion ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic,  the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic, &nbsp;the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. Since the consumption has declined due to the pandemic, dairy producers and traders are forced to process the unsold milk into powdered milk and butter.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the data provided by the Nepal Dairy Association, the umbrella body of diary producers and entrepreneurs alone has milk powder and butter worth Rs one billion out of the total stock worth Rs 3 billion. The consumption of milk has declined by 60 percent in the Kathmandu valley with the sharp rise in coronavirus infections and the market situation is becoming alarming due to the prohibitory orders. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Prahad Dahal, General Secretary of the Association, with the decline in the consumption of milk, the stock of milk powder will continue to rise. This has imposed challenges to all farmers, traders and industrialists on how to manage the surplus milk. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Flow of money to the milk industries has stopped because of the protracted lockdown of last year which led to the shutting down of hotels, restaurants, party palaces that consume the highest volume of milk in the market. Due to this, most of the industries have not been able to pay back the farmers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dairy entrepreneurs have demanded that the government provide loans to the industry equivalent to the amount of the goods that they have in stock. This will help them to facilitate the operation of the industries and pay back the farmers.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dahal said that due to the prohibitory orders that are currently enforced, transporters that supply dairy products are having problems in getting the logo provided by the National Dairy Development Board.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The board had prepared the logo last April so that there would be no obstruction in the transportation of milk products. However, due to various pending procedures, the board has not been able to provide the logo to the transporters.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">One day before the prohibitory orders were enforced, the board had published a notice requesting transporters to contact the board to get the logos. &quot;But no transporter has received the logo so far because of the prohibitory orders that are currently in place,&quot; said Amogh Kafle, spokesperson of the board.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13343',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '82,000 get Short-term Jobs under Prime Minister's Employment Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister's Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. However, only 82,500 people have received short-term jobs under the program so far.<br />
According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme, 21,054 individuals in the Far West, 16,200 in Karnali, and 15,600 in Province No. 2 have received short-term jobs for an average of 12 days. According to the PMEP Secretariat, Rs 579.5 million has been distributed under the programme so far. In the current fiscal year, 753,166 people have applied for jobs under the programme. However, not all applicants are eligible for employment.<br />
According to the criteria of PMEP, a family member can be employed for a minimum of 100 days only if he/she is unable to earn any income from anywhere else.<br />
The secretariat informed that more than 10,500 programmes worth Rs 7.86 billion have been selected in the current fiscal year to employ those who are eligible for employment. In the current fiscal year, Rs 10.34 billion has been allocated to implement the employment program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">To implement this programme from the current fiscal year, the government had received a concessional loan of Rs 13.65 billion from the International Development Association (IDA) under the World Bank.<br />
Expanding the scope of the programme from this year, the government has announced to employ the unemployed in public development works at the federal, state, and local levels. However, the implementation of the programme so far has not been effective.<br />
According to Loknath Bhusal, Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme Secretariat, the program was running effectively at the local level until the first week of April.<br />
However, implementation of the program suffered a setback due to the prohibitory order in various parts of the country.<br />
&quot;Some local level representatives and employees are not in a position to run the office. The prohibitory order has made it difficult to promote employment activities,&quot; Bhusal said.<br />
So far, more than seven hundred thousand unemployed individuals have submitted applications for employment for the upcoming year through the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13344',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' Govt Effortful to bring Enough COVID-19 Vaccines from China, Russia: PM ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He said that the government is in constant touch with the countries like China and&nbsp; Russia that produce the vaccines.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In his address to the nation on COVID-19 and other contemporary issues on Monday, the PM said that the government itself had started the process to purchase vaccines apart from vaccines donated by the friendly nations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the occasion, PM Oli urged one and all to stay on an alert against the virus, abide by the prohibitory order and provide support to the government&rsquo;s initiatives to prevent and control the infection.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He also requested neighbouring and friendly countries to provide health infrastructures including oxygen in assistance to fight the deadly virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He claimed that the government had gradually achieved progress in the development of the infrastructure of health sector of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13342',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN to Suspend all Domestic Flights from Today Midnight',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection.&nbsp; The aviation regulatory body has also decided to suspend international flights from midnight of May 6.<br />
Rajan Pokhrel, director-general of CAAN, informed New Business Age that all domestic flights will be suspended from midnight of May 3 until the May 14. Likewise, international flights will be suspended from May 6 midnight until May 14, added Pokharel. &nbsp;<br />
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 2 had decided to suspend all domestic flights from May 4 and international flights from May 6 due to the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.<br />
On May 2, Nepal recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in a day, with more than 7000 cases.<br />
The Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) had recommended the government suspend the flights to stop the virus from spreading.<br />
As the number of new cases and daily fatalities continue to spike in the country, the government announced two-week long prohibitory order on April 29 in several affected districts, including Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-05-03',
			'modified' => '2021-05-03',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13087',
			'image' => '20210503020944_20200805015856_nepali_flights.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-03 14:08:52',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13341',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Bring 20,000 Oxygen Cylinders from China',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. The Covid-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) informed that the ministries of foreign affairs, health and finance will immediately start working to this end.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The country is in need of additional oxygen cylinders as the demand for oxygen is increasing with the rise in new infections of COVID-19. Oxygen manufacturers have been stating that despite having enough oxygen, they are having problem is supplying oxygen due to limited number of cylinders. Likewise, it has been learnt that people are holding up oxygen cylinders at their home leading to a shortage of cylinders.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the doctors, the new variants of coronavirus affect the respiratory system of patients and they require oxygen support. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a meeting of the CCMC decided to reduce the movement of people in government offices in the districts where prohibitory orders have been enforced and has allowed secretaries, joint secretaries and head of government offices to commute carrying identity cards.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Likewise, the new building of Bir Hospital has been announced as coronavirus hospital. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO) has said that CCMC is looking for various alternatives following the rise in complaints about shortage of beds in hospitals.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Ganesh Pandey, Press Adviser to Deputy PM Ishwar Pokharel, cremation will be conducted using traditional methods and a letter has already been written to the concerned authority in this regard.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A cabinet meeting has already implemented quota system for domestic flights on the recommendation of the CCMC&nbsp;and has employed strict measures in some international flights to contain the spread of coronavirus. A minister said that flights to Brazil and South Africa have been suspended in light of the growing new COVID-19 cases.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Despite the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the Kathmandu Valley, the district-level CCMC meeting has decided to allow operation of banks and financial institutions with one fourth of employees. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Grocery shops that were allowed to open from 5pm to 7pm in the evening will not be allowed to open from Monday, May 3.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Kali Prasad Parajuli, Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, people walking without wearing masks will be fined and permits will be checked strictly.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-05-03',
			'modified' => '2021-05-03',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13086',
			'image' => '20210503015716_20210429095930_Medical-Oxygen-Gas-Cylinders-Market.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-03 13:56:13',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13340',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Upasana Poudel appointed as United Insurance’s new CEO ',
			'sub_title' => 'Poudel’s appointment makes her the first female CEO in Nepal’s insurance sector.',
			'summary' => 'United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer. ',
			'content' => '<p>May 2:&nbsp;<br />
United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).&nbsp;<br />
According to the United Insurance Company Ltd&rsquo;s disclosure to Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), its board meeting held on Thursday decided to appoint Poudel as the insurance company&rsquo;s CEO for a tenure of four years.&nbsp;<br />
The United Insurance&rsquo;s decision also makes Poudel the first female CEO of an insurance company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She was serving as the officiating CEO of United Insurance after its former CEO Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai&rsquo;s four-year term ended in November last year.&nbsp;<br />
Promoted by leading industrialists and trading and commercial houses, United Insurance Company, a non-life insurance company, had started its operation from December 1, 1993.&nbsp;</p>
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			'modified' => '2021-05-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '13085',
			'image' => '20210502052259_Upasana Poudel.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-02 17:19:38',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13339',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Challenges to Include Employees of Informal Sector in Social Security Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Trade unions have been demanding for registration of employees from the informal sector since 15 years to help them receive support from the government and address their problems. But it has not been implemented accordingly. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT), said although there has not been significant achievement in terms of registration, there has been some encouraging improvements. The issue of registration was raised to keep a tab on expenses of workers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;We want to link the informal sector to social security based on contribution but the question arises who will pay 20 percent of the daily wage workers working in the informal sector. Village councils and the local bodies need to help in this regard,&quot; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shrestha further said that a task force has been formed to register workers working in the informal sector and link them to contribution-based social security. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The government has committed to implement this provision so we can be hopeful about it,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Similarly, Pushkar Acharya, president of Nepal Trade Union Congress, said that it is the ineffectiveness on part of the government&nbsp; that the registration process has not been implemented even after one year. Until and unless workers are registered they will not be eligible for benefits from the Social Security Fund (SSF). </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">It is the workers from the informal sector who have been affected the most with the enforcement of prohibitory orders, said Acharya. If they had been linked with the SSF, they would have now got the benefits from the government. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to GEFONT, workers were laid off from work and deprived from the wages from the initial days of lockdown which has repeated again this time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><strong><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Emphasis on sustainable and reliable labor relations</span></span></strong></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The umbrella organization of employers have stressed on the need to make labour relation between industries and workers sustainable and reliable. Issuing a press release on the International Labour Day on May 1, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said that though labour relations are on the path of improvement, it needs to be made reliable and sustainable.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13338',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '     Offices can Operate with One-Fourth Employees: CCMC    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of the CCMC on Saturday decided to ask banks and financial institutions being operated in the lockdown-enforced Kathmandu Valley and other big cities to operate their business through one-fourth of the employees. Nepal Rastra Bank would facilitate the process in the enforcement of the order.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The press pass issued by the Department of Information and Publicity would be valid in case of the Kathmandu Valley while the Chief District Officers are authorized to issue such pass in other districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The CCMC also decided to enforce food and accommodation for employees and workers of the industries and enterprises within the industry to keep its smooth operation, run the factories and industries producing materials (mask, sanitizer, soap, gloves, oxygen) used for prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 by adopting health safety protocol and continue with public infrastructure construction by arranging food and accommodation for the workers involved in the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the CCMC&rsquo;s Secretariat, the public vehicles used for supplying construction materials in such public projects would be allowed based on the pass provided by the project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In Kathmandu Valley, the Department of Tourism, Department of Immigration, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Police would jointly monitor those residing in hotel quarantines while the province and local levels would carry out the task in other districts. The local levels would monitor the people residing in home quarantines. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, foreigners residing in hotel quarantines would be deported to their home country with penalty if they were found violating the health protocols. For the failure on proper management, the hoteliers would be fined as per the laws. - RSS</span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13352',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Employers Unhappy Over Government’s Decision to Raise Minimum Wage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government&#39;s decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Employers are dissatisfied that the government has taken a unilateral decision amidst this crisis when employers are concerned about sustaining business and providing salary to the current employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security had issued a notice on Nepal Gazette on May 4, fixing the minimum wage. Since then, umbrella organization of employees and employers have come forward with various views.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Labor Act requires the minimum wage be fixed on a monthly, daily and hourly basis in every two years. In the Fiscal Year 2018/19, the minimum salary was raised to Rs 13,450 but in the Fiscal Year 2019/20 and the current fiscal year, the minimum wage was not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the Nepal Gazette, the increased salary will be implemented from mid-July of Fiscal Year 2021/22. As soon as this notice was published, the private sector expressed dissatisfaction. The umbrella organization of the private sector has engaged in discussions to publish their formal statement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that the government&#39;s decision has disappointed them. No discussions have been held with the FNCCI though it is the primary organization concerned with the decision.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the focus should be on how to secure current employment rather than on increasing minimum wages. &quot;It may be reasonable according to the Act, but this is not the right time to raise the minimum wage, since we are in the middle of a global crisis,&quot; Golchha said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Rajesh Agrawal, vice president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said it is not possible to implement the new wages. He said that it is not certain how long the prohibitory orders will be enforced so the announcement of increasing wages has disappointed them during this difficult time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Kumar Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT) said the new increased salary must be implemented from mid-July. He stressed on the need to implement the provision rather than debating whether it is the right time to raise the wages. He added that the increased salary is&nbsp;still low considering the current rate of inflation. Employers have been receiving various tax waivers from the government due to the impact of COVID-19.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are performing well so they can&#39;t deny to provide the increased salary. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;Instead of every two years, salary has been raised in three years so it is not right to express dissatisfaction over the decision. It is not reasonable to say they will not be able to provide the salary on the pretext of COVID-19 pandemic,&rdquo; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are doing well while many of them like five-star hotels are struggling. Employees of those hotels are still working for a meager salary of Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month, said Shrestha. The raised salary of Rs 15,000 includes basic salary and inflation allowance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Meanwhile, the daily wage of a worker has been increased to Rs 577 while the hourly wage has been increased to Rs 77 from Rs 48.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '13351',
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			'title' => 'Asia-Pacific Can Emerge From Pandemic Stronger Than Before: ADB President',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic “even stronger than before” by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic &ldquo;even stronger than before&rdquo; by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future, according to the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">In his remarks to the ADB Board of Governors at its 54<sup>th</sup> annual meeting on Wednesday, May 5, Asakawa said that he believes &ldquo;the path we have laid out&rdquo; will help lead our region out of these uncertain times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We will continue to deliver ADB&rsquo;s unique synergy of finance, knowledge, and partnerships. And we will prioritize the quality of our assistance over quantity, meeting near-term needs with a clear vision for the future. If we stay on this course, I am confident the region will emerge from the current crisis even stronger than before,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a press statement issued by ADB, Asakawa outlined a five-point agenda for the region covering areas critical to achieving a lasting and equitable recovery for Asia and the Pacific:</span></span></span></p>

<ul>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Place ambitious climate actions at the center of development, with increased focus on adaptation and resilience, and with full commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Address inequality including the gender gap&mdash;which has worsened during the pandemic&mdash;by investing in health, education, and social protection.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Promote high-quality green and digital infrastructure, enabling economies to rebuild smartly while closing the digital gap and attracting substantial private investment.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Deepen regional cooperation and integration, so that ADB developing member countries can seize the opportunities of renewed globalization and strengthen regional health security.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">And strengthen domestic resource mobilization, to ensure that governments have the resources they need to finance sustainable growth and respond effectively to future crises.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Action on these priorities can build on ADB&rsquo;s response to COVID-19 in 2020. Its total commitments in 2020 reached a record high of $31.6 billion, with just over half supporting operations to respond to the pandemic, the statement added. The balance was committed to address long-term development issues such as the gender equality gap, the impacts of climate change, and investments in quality infrastructure. These achievements were supported by record-high co-financing of $16.4 billion and record-high capital market borrowings of over $35 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;During the height of the pandemic, I reassured my staff that we will someday look back with pride at what we accomplished for the people of the region.&nbsp;I believe more than ever that this is true,&rdquo; the statement quoted Asakawa as saying.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => ' Fall Armyworms Attack Maize in 67 Districts',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. According to the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, armyworms have attacked newly planted maize in all the districts of the Terai as well as some high hill districts. The pest especially damages crops like maize, wheat, and paddy. Last year, the pest had damaged crops in 63 districts.<br />
Sahadev Humagain, head of the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, said that they have not been able to get the details of the extent of damage done to the maize crop planted in 67 districts. He informed that it was difficult to collect the details of the damage due to the lack of sufficient manpower.<br />
However, for the control and prevention of outbreak, the district-based agricultural knowledge centre and technicians from the local bodies have been trained and mobilized. It is also said that the centre is working to spread public awareness on armyworm outbreak control measures through various media.<br />
Entrepreneurs have said that the country has sufficient pesticides for pest control and prevention. However, transportation is a bit inconvenient due to the ongoing prohibition order. Currently, the demand for pesticides has surged in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Chitwan, Birgunj, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, among other districts.<br />
Experts say that farmers and technicians have problems in controlling this insect even though they have received training about it. These insects are especially active between February to August. But in some Terai districts, these insects are active throughout the year, inform agronomists.<br />
Experts say that since this insect has adapted to Nepal&#39;s climate, it cannot be completely eradicated from the country. However, it can be controlled by being precautious and paying attention from the very beginning.<br />
According to Humagain, head of the centre, special attention should be given to healthy seeds, healthy soil, and balanced irrigation while planting crops to avoid pest infestation. He said that as the larvae of this insect would affect the crop more, it would be appropriate to kill the larvae using the recommended pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13349',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'ADB Launches Tax Hub to Enhance Domestic Resource Mobilization and International Tax Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub to create an open and inclusive platform to promote strategic policy dialogue, improve knowledge sharing, and strengthen coordination on tax policy and administration among ADB, its members, and development partners.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said in a statement that the hub will maximize regional and international resources to strengthen domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and international tax cooperation (ITC) in ADB&rsquo;s developing member countries (DMCs).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Domestic resource mobilization has emerged as a major strategic priority for our DMCs at this moment.&nbsp;It will&nbsp;be&nbsp;vital in&nbsp;the&nbsp;effort&nbsp;to address debt sustainability&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,&rdquo; the statement quoted ADB President Masatsuga Asakawa as saying in a seminar at ADB&rsquo;s 54<sup>th</sup> Annual Meeting.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lack of a pan-regional tax community has been a unique and significant&nbsp;shortcoming&nbsp;for Asia and the Pacific. To address this, I would like to announce today the official launch of the Asia Pacific Tax Hub,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to ADB, the hub will support DMCs on three main building blocks &ndash; preparation of medium-term revenue strategies (MTRS); roadmaps for the automation of tax administration, and proactive participation in international tax initiatives.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub aims to play a key role by stimulating regional dialogue and knowledge sharing on needed reforms. Through the hub, ADB will </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">coordinate closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support DMCs as they formulate country-specific MTRS, with activities such as regional workshops in collaboration with the Platform for Collaboration on Tax and diagnostic tools like the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">It will also</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">conduct needs assessments to prepare roadmaps for the automation of tax administrations in DMCs, and support their implementation in collaboration with development partners and leading countries in this area.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said it is establishing a secretariat to operationalize the hub and plans to organize a Steering Committee to bring together key development partners and DMCs willing to actively engage in the hub. It will work closely together with the hub secretariat to lead the operation of the hub.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub will organize a first High-Level Conference by the fourth quarter of 2021 to report on progress and discuss next steps on the three building blocks of the hub, including details of the operations of the hub secretariat and Steering Committee.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13348',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Authorities Extend Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley by a Week',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur on Tuesday (May 4) took a decision to this effect. The DAOs extended the prohibitory orders in line with the recent cabinet decision allowing the districts chiefs to issue prohibitory orders for at least 15 days.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The prohibitory order will be in force till May 12 now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The authorities have also decided to further tighten the restrictions during this period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Kali Prasad Parajuli, government authorities have decided to change the modality of prohibitory order to curb the disease. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The district authorities have decided to bar movement of people except in case of emergency. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">&ldquo;We will take action against anyone found moving around without any emergency,&rdquo; said CDO Parajuli.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shops selling essential supplies will be allowed to operate from 7-9 am instead of 7-10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">All permits issued for vehicles will be invalid from now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, vehicles carrying essential goods and those supplying food will be allowed to operate during the prohibitory order. The prohibitory order does not apply to ambulances.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Meanwhile, Banks and Financial Institutions will be allowed to operate at a 25 per cent capacity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The three districts in the valley imposed prohibitory order on April 29 following a rise in number of Covid-19 cases. The government has authorised Chief District Officers to impose such orders.</span></span></span></p>
',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13347',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Covid-19 Cases Reported Among Climbers at Everest Base Camp',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12px"><em>Photo: Tamish Giri/NBA</em></span></h1>

<h1><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. </span></span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the BBC, the number of positive tests among climbers has been rising. This has raised fears of a serious outbreak at the base camp, BBC reported on Wednesday (May 5).</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Base camp officials said they had received confirmation of 17 positive cases from hospitals in the capital Kathmandu, BBC further reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A number of climbers have been reportedly sent to those hospitals from the base camp and higher camps for treatment.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Staff at CIWEC Clinic, a private clinic in Kathmandu, confirmed to the BBC that patients had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Everest base camp. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the news report, the Government of Nepal has so far denied having any knowledge of positive cases at Everest base camp raising concerns that officials are downplaying the extent of the situation out of fear it will bring more pressure to close the mountain to expeditions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Foreign climbers are a major source of revenue for the Nepalese government, which shut Everest last year during the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the state-owned national news agency, RSS, as many as 294 summiteers of 42 groups have been granted permission for climbing the world&#39;s highest peak, Mount Everest, this year. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20190515023916_Everest-image.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13346',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Fixes Minimum Monthly Salary of Workers at Rs 15,000',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The government announced the new wage of workers by issuing a notice in the Nepal Gazette. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced to increase the wages of workers recently during the May Day. Two days later, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security issued the notice on Nepal Gazette stating that the new wage of workers will come into effect from the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">As per the notice issued on Monday (May 3), the minimum basic salary of workers has been fixed at Rs 9,385. By adding inflation allowance, the minimum salary has been fixed at Rs 15,000.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Similarly, the daily wage of labourers has also been increased from R s 361 to Rs 577. Likewise, the wage per hour for workers has been increased from Rs 48 to Rs 77.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The minimum monthly salary at present is Rs 13,450. The new salary will not be applicable for workers employed in tea estates. </span></span></p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13345',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dairy Producers Have Stock of Milk Powder and Butter worth Rs 3 Billion ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic,  the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic, &nbsp;the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. Since the consumption has declined due to the pandemic, dairy producers and traders are forced to process the unsold milk into powdered milk and butter.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the data provided by the Nepal Dairy Association, the umbrella body of diary producers and entrepreneurs alone has milk powder and butter worth Rs one billion out of the total stock worth Rs 3 billion. The consumption of milk has declined by 60 percent in the Kathmandu valley with the sharp rise in coronavirus infections and the market situation is becoming alarming due to the prohibitory orders. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Prahad Dahal, General Secretary of the Association, with the decline in the consumption of milk, the stock of milk powder will continue to rise. This has imposed challenges to all farmers, traders and industrialists on how to manage the surplus milk. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Flow of money to the milk industries has stopped because of the protracted lockdown of last year which led to the shutting down of hotels, restaurants, party palaces that consume the highest volume of milk in the market. Due to this, most of the industries have not been able to pay back the farmers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dairy entrepreneurs have demanded that the government provide loans to the industry equivalent to the amount of the goods that they have in stock. This will help them to facilitate the operation of the industries and pay back the farmers.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dahal said that due to the prohibitory orders that are currently enforced, transporters that supply dairy products are having problems in getting the logo provided by the National Dairy Development Board.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The board had prepared the logo last April so that there would be no obstruction in the transportation of milk products. However, due to various pending procedures, the board has not been able to provide the logo to the transporters.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">One day before the prohibitory orders were enforced, the board had published a notice requesting transporters to contact the board to get the logos. &quot;But no transporter has received the logo so far because of the prohibitory orders that are currently in place,&quot; said Amogh Kafle, spokesperson of the board.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13343',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '82,000 get Short-term Jobs under Prime Minister's Employment Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister's Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. However, only 82,500 people have received short-term jobs under the program so far.<br />
According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme, 21,054 individuals in the Far West, 16,200 in Karnali, and 15,600 in Province No. 2 have received short-term jobs for an average of 12 days. According to the PMEP Secretariat, Rs 579.5 million has been distributed under the programme so far. In the current fiscal year, 753,166 people have applied for jobs under the programme. However, not all applicants are eligible for employment.<br />
According to the criteria of PMEP, a family member can be employed for a minimum of 100 days only if he/she is unable to earn any income from anywhere else.<br />
The secretariat informed that more than 10,500 programmes worth Rs 7.86 billion have been selected in the current fiscal year to employ those who are eligible for employment. In the current fiscal year, Rs 10.34 billion has been allocated to implement the employment program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">To implement this programme from the current fiscal year, the government had received a concessional loan of Rs 13.65 billion from the International Development Association (IDA) under the World Bank.<br />
Expanding the scope of the programme from this year, the government has announced to employ the unemployed in public development works at the federal, state, and local levels. However, the implementation of the programme so far has not been effective.<br />
According to Loknath Bhusal, Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme Secretariat, the program was running effectively at the local level until the first week of April.<br />
However, implementation of the program suffered a setback due to the prohibitory order in various parts of the country.<br />
&quot;Some local level representatives and employees are not in a position to run the office. The prohibitory order has made it difficult to promote employment activities,&quot; Bhusal said.<br />
So far, more than seven hundred thousand unemployed individuals have submitted applications for employment for the upcoming year through the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13344',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' Govt Effortful to bring Enough COVID-19 Vaccines from China, Russia: PM ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He said that the government is in constant touch with the countries like China and&nbsp; Russia that produce the vaccines.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In his address to the nation on COVID-19 and other contemporary issues on Monday, the PM said that the government itself had started the process to purchase vaccines apart from vaccines donated by the friendly nations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the occasion, PM Oli urged one and all to stay on an alert against the virus, abide by the prohibitory order and provide support to the government&rsquo;s initiatives to prevent and control the infection.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He also requested neighbouring and friendly countries to provide health infrastructures including oxygen in assistance to fight the deadly virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He claimed that the government had gradually achieved progress in the development of the infrastructure of health sector of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13342',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN to Suspend all Domestic Flights from Today Midnight',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection.&nbsp; The aviation regulatory body has also decided to suspend international flights from midnight of May 6.<br />
Rajan Pokhrel, director-general of CAAN, informed New Business Age that all domestic flights will be suspended from midnight of May 3 until the May 14. Likewise, international flights will be suspended from May 6 midnight until May 14, added Pokharel. &nbsp;<br />
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 2 had decided to suspend all domestic flights from May 4 and international flights from May 6 due to the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.<br />
On May 2, Nepal recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in a day, with more than 7000 cases.<br />
The Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) had recommended the government suspend the flights to stop the virus from spreading.<br />
As the number of new cases and daily fatalities continue to spike in the country, the government announced two-week long prohibitory order on April 29 in several affected districts, including Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '13087',
			'image' => '20210503020944_20200805015856_nepali_flights.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-03 14:08:52',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13341',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Bring 20,000 Oxygen Cylinders from China',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. The Covid-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) informed that the ministries of foreign affairs, health and finance will immediately start working to this end.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The country is in need of additional oxygen cylinders as the demand for oxygen is increasing with the rise in new infections of COVID-19. Oxygen manufacturers have been stating that despite having enough oxygen, they are having problem is supplying oxygen due to limited number of cylinders. Likewise, it has been learnt that people are holding up oxygen cylinders at their home leading to a shortage of cylinders.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the doctors, the new variants of coronavirus affect the respiratory system of patients and they require oxygen support. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a meeting of the CCMC decided to reduce the movement of people in government offices in the districts where prohibitory orders have been enforced and has allowed secretaries, joint secretaries and head of government offices to commute carrying identity cards.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Likewise, the new building of Bir Hospital has been announced as coronavirus hospital. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO) has said that CCMC is looking for various alternatives following the rise in complaints about shortage of beds in hospitals.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Ganesh Pandey, Press Adviser to Deputy PM Ishwar Pokharel, cremation will be conducted using traditional methods and a letter has already been written to the concerned authority in this regard.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A cabinet meeting has already implemented quota system for domestic flights on the recommendation of the CCMC&nbsp;and has employed strict measures in some international flights to contain the spread of coronavirus. A minister said that flights to Brazil and South Africa have been suspended in light of the growing new COVID-19 cases.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Despite the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the Kathmandu Valley, the district-level CCMC meeting has decided to allow operation of banks and financial institutions with one fourth of employees. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Grocery shops that were allowed to open from 5pm to 7pm in the evening will not be allowed to open from Monday, May 3.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Kali Prasad Parajuli, Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, people walking without wearing masks will be fined and permits will be checked strictly.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'modified' => '2021-05-03',
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			'sortorder' => '13086',
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			'article_date' => '2021-05-03 13:56:13',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13340',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Upasana Poudel appointed as United Insurance’s new CEO ',
			'sub_title' => 'Poudel’s appointment makes her the first female CEO in Nepal’s insurance sector.',
			'summary' => 'United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer. ',
			'content' => '<p>May 2:&nbsp;<br />
United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).&nbsp;<br />
According to the United Insurance Company Ltd&rsquo;s disclosure to Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), its board meeting held on Thursday decided to appoint Poudel as the insurance company&rsquo;s CEO for a tenure of four years.&nbsp;<br />
The United Insurance&rsquo;s decision also makes Poudel the first female CEO of an insurance company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She was serving as the officiating CEO of United Insurance after its former CEO Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai&rsquo;s four-year term ended in November last year.&nbsp;<br />
Promoted by leading industrialists and trading and commercial houses, United Insurance Company, a non-life insurance company, had started its operation from December 1, 1993.&nbsp;</p>
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			'image' => '20210502052259_Upasana Poudel.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-02 17:19:38',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13339',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Challenges to Include Employees of Informal Sector in Social Security Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Trade unions have been demanding for registration of employees from the informal sector since 15 years to help them receive support from the government and address their problems. But it has not been implemented accordingly. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT), said although there has not been significant achievement in terms of registration, there has been some encouraging improvements. The issue of registration was raised to keep a tab on expenses of workers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;We want to link the informal sector to social security based on contribution but the question arises who will pay 20 percent of the daily wage workers working in the informal sector. Village councils and the local bodies need to help in this regard,&quot; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shrestha further said that a task force has been formed to register workers working in the informal sector and link them to contribution-based social security. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The government has committed to implement this provision so we can be hopeful about it,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Similarly, Pushkar Acharya, president of Nepal Trade Union Congress, said that it is the ineffectiveness on part of the government&nbsp; that the registration process has not been implemented even after one year. Until and unless workers are registered they will not be eligible for benefits from the Social Security Fund (SSF). </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">It is the workers from the informal sector who have been affected the most with the enforcement of prohibitory orders, said Acharya. If they had been linked with the SSF, they would have now got the benefits from the government. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to GEFONT, workers were laid off from work and deprived from the wages from the initial days of lockdown which has repeated again this time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><strong><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Emphasis on sustainable and reliable labor relations</span></span></strong></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The umbrella organization of employers have stressed on the need to make labour relation between industries and workers sustainable and reliable. Issuing a press release on the International Labour Day on May 1, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said that though labour relations are on the path of improvement, it needs to be made reliable and sustainable.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '13338',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '     Offices can Operate with One-Fourth Employees: CCMC    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of the CCMC on Saturday decided to ask banks and financial institutions being operated in the lockdown-enforced Kathmandu Valley and other big cities to operate their business through one-fourth of the employees. Nepal Rastra Bank would facilitate the process in the enforcement of the order.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The press pass issued by the Department of Information and Publicity would be valid in case of the Kathmandu Valley while the Chief District Officers are authorized to issue such pass in other districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The CCMC also decided to enforce food and accommodation for employees and workers of the industries and enterprises within the industry to keep its smooth operation, run the factories and industries producing materials (mask, sanitizer, soap, gloves, oxygen) used for prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 by adopting health safety protocol and continue with public infrastructure construction by arranging food and accommodation for the workers involved in the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the CCMC&rsquo;s Secretariat, the public vehicles used for supplying construction materials in such public projects would be allowed based on the pass provided by the project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In Kathmandu Valley, the Department of Tourism, Department of Immigration, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Police would jointly monitor those residing in hotel quarantines while the province and local levels would carry out the task in other districts. The local levels would monitor the people residing in home quarantines. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, foreigners residing in hotel quarantines would be deported to their home country with penalty if they were found violating the health protocols. For the failure on proper management, the hoteliers would be fined as per the laws. - RSS</span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
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			'title' => 'Employers Unhappy Over Government’s Decision to Raise Minimum Wage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government's decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 6: Private sector employers have expressed dissatisfaction over the government&#39;s decision to raise the minimum salary of workers to be implemented from the start of the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Employers are dissatisfied that the government has taken a unilateral decision amidst this crisis when employers are concerned about sustaining business and providing salary to the current employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security had issued a notice on Nepal Gazette on May 4, fixing the minimum wage. Since then, umbrella organization of employees and employers have come forward with various views.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The Labor Act requires the minimum wage be fixed on a monthly, daily and hourly basis in every two years. In the Fiscal Year 2018/19, the minimum salary was raised to Rs 13,450 but in the Fiscal Year 2019/20 and the current fiscal year, the minimum wage was not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the Nepal Gazette, the increased salary will be implemented from mid-July of Fiscal Year 2021/22. As soon as this notice was published, the private sector expressed dissatisfaction. The umbrella organization of the private sector has engaged in discussions to publish their formal statement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that the government&#39;s decision has disappointed them. No discussions have been held with the FNCCI though it is the primary organization concerned with the decision.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the focus should be on how to secure current employment rather than on increasing minimum wages. &quot;It may be reasonable according to the Act, but this is not the right time to raise the minimum wage, since we are in the middle of a global crisis,&quot; Golchha said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Rajesh Agrawal, vice president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said it is not possible to implement the new wages. He said that it is not certain how long the prohibitory orders will be enforced so the announcement of increasing wages has disappointed them during this difficult time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Kumar Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT) said the new increased salary must be implemented from mid-July. He stressed on the need to implement the provision rather than debating whether it is the right time to raise the wages. He added that the increased salary is&nbsp;still low considering the current rate of inflation. Employers have been receiving various tax waivers from the government due to the impact of COVID-19.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are performing well so they can&#39;t deny to provide the increased salary. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;Instead of every two years, salary has been raised in three years so it is not right to express dissatisfaction over the decision. It is not reasonable to say they will not be able to provide the salary on the pretext of COVID-19 pandemic,&rdquo; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the industries are doing well while many of them like five-star hotels are struggling. Employees of those hotels are still working for a meager salary of Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month, said Shrestha. The raised salary of Rs 15,000 includes basic salary and inflation allowance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Meanwhile, the daily wage of a worker has been increased to Rs 577 while the hourly wage has been increased to Rs 77 from Rs 48.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Asia-Pacific Can Emerge From Pandemic Stronger Than Before: ADB President',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic “even stronger than before” by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: The Asia and the Pacific region can emerge from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic &ldquo;even stronger than before&rdquo; by focusing on five areas to help achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future, according to the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">In his remarks to the ADB Board of Governors at its 54<sup>th</sup> annual meeting on Wednesday, May 5, Asakawa said that he believes &ldquo;the path we have laid out&rdquo; will help lead our region out of these uncertain times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We will continue to deliver ADB&rsquo;s unique synergy of finance, knowledge, and partnerships. And we will prioritize the quality of our assistance over quantity, meeting near-term needs with a clear vision for the future. If we stay on this course, I am confident the region will emerge from the current crisis even stronger than before,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a press statement issued by ADB, Asakawa outlined a five-point agenda for the region covering areas critical to achieving a lasting and equitable recovery for Asia and the Pacific:</span></span></span></p>

<ul>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Place ambitious climate actions at the center of development, with increased focus on adaptation and resilience, and with full commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Address inequality including the gender gap&mdash;which has worsened during the pandemic&mdash;by investing in health, education, and social protection.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Promote high-quality green and digital infrastructure, enabling economies to rebuild smartly while closing the digital gap and attracting substantial private investment.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Deepen regional cooperation and integration, so that ADB developing member countries can seize the opportunities of renewed globalization and strengthen regional health security.</span></span></span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">And strengthen domestic resource mobilization, to ensure that governments have the resources they need to finance sustainable growth and respond effectively to future crises.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">Action on these priorities can build on ADB&rsquo;s response to COVID-19 in 2020. Its total commitments in 2020 reached a record high of $31.6 billion, with just over half supporting operations to respond to the pandemic, the statement added. The balance was committed to address long-term development issues such as the gender equality gap, the impacts of climate change, and investments in quality infrastructure. These achievements were supported by record-high co-financing of $16.4 billion and record-high capital market borrowings of over $35 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;During the height of the pandemic, I reassured my staff that we will someday look back with pride at what we accomplished for the people of the region.&nbsp;I believe more than ever that this is true,&rdquo; the statement quoted Asakawa as saying.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13350',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' Fall Armyworms Attack Maize in 67 Districts',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: Maize planted in 67 districts across the country have been overwhelmed by fall armyworms. According to the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, armyworms have attacked newly planted maize in all the districts of the Terai as well as some high hill districts. The pest especially damages crops like maize, wheat, and paddy. Last year, the pest had damaged crops in 63 districts.<br />
Sahadev Humagain, head of the Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Center, said that they have not been able to get the details of the extent of damage done to the maize crop planted in 67 districts. He informed that it was difficult to collect the details of the damage due to the lack of sufficient manpower.<br />
However, for the control and prevention of outbreak, the district-based agricultural knowledge centre and technicians from the local bodies have been trained and mobilized. It is also said that the centre is working to spread public awareness on armyworm outbreak control measures through various media.<br />
Entrepreneurs have said that the country has sufficient pesticides for pest control and prevention. However, transportation is a bit inconvenient due to the ongoing prohibition order. Currently, the demand for pesticides has surged in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Chitwan, Birgunj, Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, among other districts.<br />
Experts say that farmers and technicians have problems in controlling this insect even though they have received training about it. These insects are especially active between February to August. But in some Terai districts, these insects are active throughout the year, inform agronomists.<br />
Experts say that since this insect has adapted to Nepal&#39;s climate, it cannot be completely eradicated from the country. However, it can be controlled by being precautious and paying attention from the very beginning.<br />
According to Humagain, head of the centre, special attention should be given to healthy seeds, healthy soil, and balanced irrigation while planting crops to avoid pest infestation. He said that as the larvae of this insect would affect the crop more, it would be appropriate to kill the larvae using the recommended pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13349',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'ADB Launches Tax Hub to Enhance Domestic Resource Mobilization and International Tax Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 5: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday (May 3) launched the Asia Pacific Tax Hub to create an open and inclusive platform to promote strategic policy dialogue, improve knowledge sharing, and strengthen coordination on tax policy and administration among ADB, its members, and development partners.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said in a statement that the hub will maximize regional and international resources to strengthen domestic resource mobilization (DRM) and international tax cooperation (ITC) in ADB&rsquo;s developing member countries (DMCs).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Domestic resource mobilization has emerged as a major strategic priority for our DMCs at this moment.&nbsp;It will&nbsp;be&nbsp;vital in&nbsp;the&nbsp;effort&nbsp;to address debt sustainability&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,&rdquo; the statement quoted ADB President Masatsuga Asakawa as saying in a seminar at ADB&rsquo;s 54<sup>th</sup> Annual Meeting.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lack of a pan-regional tax community has been a unique and significant&nbsp;shortcoming&nbsp;for Asia and the Pacific. To address this, I would like to announce today the official launch of the Asia Pacific Tax Hub,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to ADB, the hub will support DMCs on three main building blocks &ndash; preparation of medium-term revenue strategies (MTRS); roadmaps for the automation of tax administration, and proactive participation in international tax initiatives.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub aims to play a key role by stimulating regional dialogue and knowledge sharing on needed reforms. Through the hub, ADB will </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">coordinate closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support DMCs as they formulate country-specific MTRS, with activities such as regional workshops in collaboration with the Platform for Collaboration on Tax and diagnostic tools like the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">It will also</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">conduct needs assessments to prepare roadmaps for the automation of tax administrations in DMCs, and support their implementation in collaboration with development partners and leading countries in this area.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">ADB said it is establishing a secretariat to operationalize the hub and plans to organize a Steering Committee to bring together key development partners and DMCs willing to actively engage in the hub. It will work closely together with the hub secretariat to lead the operation of the hub.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The hub will organize a first High-Level Conference by the fourth quarter of 2021 to report on progress and discuss next steps on the three building blocks of the hub, including details of the operations of the hub secretariat and Steering Committee.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13348',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Authorities Extend Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley by a Week',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">May 5: The district administration offices in the Kathmandu valley have decided to extend the ongoing prohibitory order by one more week.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur on Tuesday (May 4) took a decision to this effect. The DAOs extended the prohibitory orders in line with the recent cabinet decision allowing the districts chiefs to issue prohibitory orders for at least 15 days.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The prohibitory order will be in force till May 12 now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The authorities have also decided to further tighten the restrictions during this period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, Kali Prasad Parajuli, government authorities have decided to change the modality of prohibitory order to curb the disease. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The district authorities have decided to bar movement of people except in case of emergency. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">&ldquo;We will take action against anyone found moving around without any emergency,&rdquo; said CDO Parajuli.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shops selling essential supplies will be allowed to operate from 7-9 am instead of 7-10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">All permits issued for vehicles will be invalid from now.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, vehicles carrying essential goods and those supplying food will be allowed to operate during the prohibitory order. The prohibitory order does not apply to ambulances.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Meanwhile, Banks and Financial Institutions will be allowed to operate at a 25 per cent capacity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The three districts in the valley imposed prohibitory order on April 29 following a rise in number of Covid-19 cases. The government has authorised Chief District Officers to impose such orders.</span></span></span></p>
',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13347',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Covid-19 Cases Reported Among Climbers at Everest Base Camp',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12px"><em>Photo: Tamish Giri/NBA</em></span></h1>

<h1><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 5: Mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp have reported increasing numbers of climbers with Covid-19 symptoms. </span></span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the BBC, the number of positive tests among climbers has been rising. This has raised fears of a serious outbreak at the base camp, BBC reported on Wednesday (May 5).</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Base camp officials said they had received confirmation of 17 positive cases from hospitals in the capital Kathmandu, BBC further reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A number of climbers have been reportedly sent to those hospitals from the base camp and higher camps for treatment.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Staff at CIWEC Clinic, a private clinic in Kathmandu, confirmed to the BBC that patients had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Everest base camp. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the news report, the Government of Nepal has so far denied having any knowledge of positive cases at Everest base camp raising concerns that officials are downplaying the extent of the situation out of fear it will bring more pressure to close the mountain to expeditions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Foreign climbers are a major source of revenue for the Nepalese government, which shut Everest last year during the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the state-owned national news agency, RSS, as many as 294 summiteers of 42 groups have been granted permission for climbing the world&#39;s highest peak, Mount Everest, this year. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20190515023916_Everest-image.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13346',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Fixes Minimum Monthly Salary of Workers at Rs 15,000',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">May 4: The government has fixed the minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 15,000. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The government announced the new wage of workers by issuing a notice in the Nepal Gazette. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced to increase the wages of workers recently during the May Day. Two days later, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security issued the notice on Nepal Gazette stating that the new wage of workers will come into effect from the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">As per the notice issued on Monday (May 3), the minimum basic salary of workers has been fixed at Rs 9,385. By adding inflation allowance, the minimum salary has been fixed at Rs 15,000.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Similarly, the daily wage of labourers has also been increased from R s 361 to Rs 577. Likewise, the wage per hour for workers has been increased from Rs 48 to Rs 77.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">The minimum monthly salary at present is Rs 13,450. The new salary will not be applicable for workers employed in tea estates. </span></span></p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13345',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dairy Producers Have Stock of Milk Powder and Butter worth Rs 3 Billion ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic,  the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 4: With the disruption in market cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic, &nbsp;the domestic market of Nepal currently has a stock of milk powder and butter worth Rs 3 billion. Since the consumption has declined due to the pandemic, dairy producers and traders are forced to process the unsold milk into powdered milk and butter.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the data provided by the Nepal Dairy Association, the umbrella body of diary producers and entrepreneurs alone has milk powder and butter worth Rs one billion out of the total stock worth Rs 3 billion. The consumption of milk has declined by 60 percent in the Kathmandu valley with the sharp rise in coronavirus infections and the market situation is becoming alarming due to the prohibitory orders. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Prahad Dahal, General Secretary of the Association, with the decline in the consumption of milk, the stock of milk powder will continue to rise. This has imposed challenges to all farmers, traders and industrialists on how to manage the surplus milk. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Flow of money to the milk industries has stopped because of the protracted lockdown of last year which led to the shutting down of hotels, restaurants, party palaces that consume the highest volume of milk in the market. Due to this, most of the industries have not been able to pay back the farmers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dairy entrepreneurs have demanded that the government provide loans to the industry equivalent to the amount of the goods that they have in stock. This will help them to facilitate the operation of the industries and pay back the farmers.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Dahal said that due to the prohibitory orders that are currently enforced, transporters that supply dairy products are having problems in getting the logo provided by the National Dairy Development Board.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The board had prepared the logo last April so that there would be no obstruction in the transportation of milk products. However, due to various pending procedures, the board has not been able to provide the logo to the transporters.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">One day before the prohibitory orders were enforced, the board had published a notice requesting transporters to contact the board to get the logos. &quot;But no transporter has received the logo so far because of the prohibitory orders that are currently in place,&quot; said Amogh Kafle, spokesperson of the board.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13343',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '82,000 get Short-term Jobs under Prime Minister's Employment Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister's Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">May 4: The government had announced to provide minimum employment to 200,000 people under the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme (PMEP) in the budget of Fiscal Year 2020-21. However, only 82,500 people have received short-term jobs under the program so far.<br />
According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme, 21,054 individuals in the Far West, 16,200 in Karnali, and 15,600 in Province No. 2 have received short-term jobs for an average of 12 days. According to the PMEP Secretariat, Rs 579.5 million has been distributed under the programme so far. In the current fiscal year, 753,166 people have applied for jobs under the programme. However, not all applicants are eligible for employment.<br />
According to the criteria of PMEP, a family member can be employed for a minimum of 100 days only if he/she is unable to earn any income from anywhere else.<br />
The secretariat informed that more than 10,500 programmes worth Rs 7.86 billion have been selected in the current fiscal year to employ those who are eligible for employment. In the current fiscal year, Rs 10.34 billion has been allocated to implement the employment program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">To implement this programme from the current fiscal year, the government had received a concessional loan of Rs 13.65 billion from the International Development Association (IDA) under the World Bank.<br />
Expanding the scope of the programme from this year, the government has announced to employ the unemployed in public development works at the federal, state, and local levels. However, the implementation of the programme so far has not been effective.<br />
According to Loknath Bhusal, Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Programme Secretariat, the program was running effectively at the local level until the first week of April.<br />
However, implementation of the program suffered a setback due to the prohibitory order in various parts of the country.<br />
&quot;Some local level representatives and employees are not in a position to run the office. The prohibitory order has made it difficult to promote employment activities,&quot; Bhusal said.<br />
So far, more than seven hundred thousand unemployed individuals have submitted applications for employment for the upcoming year through the Prime Minister&#39;s Employment Program. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13344',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' Govt Effortful to bring Enough COVID-19 Vaccines from China, Russia: PM ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the government is making efforts to bring enough COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He said that the government is in constant touch with the countries like China and&nbsp; Russia that produce the vaccines.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In his address to the nation on COVID-19 and other contemporary issues on Monday, the PM said that the government itself had started the process to purchase vaccines apart from vaccines donated by the friendly nations.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the occasion, PM Oli urged one and all to stay on an alert against the virus, abide by the prohibitory order and provide support to the government&rsquo;s initiatives to prevent and control the infection.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He also requested neighbouring and friendly countries to provide health infrastructures including oxygen in assistance to fight the deadly virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He claimed that the government had gradually achieved progress in the development of the infrastructure of health sector of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13342',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN to Suspend all Domestic Flights from Today Midnight',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">May 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to suspend domestic flight from today midnight (May 3) due to the spike in Covid-19 infection.&nbsp; The aviation regulatory body has also decided to suspend international flights from midnight of May 6.<br />
Rajan Pokhrel, director-general of CAAN, informed New Business Age that all domestic flights will be suspended from midnight of May 3 until the May 14. Likewise, international flights will be suspended from May 6 midnight until May 14, added Pokharel. &nbsp;<br />
A meeting of the Council of Ministers on May 2 had decided to suspend all domestic flights from May 4 and international flights from May 6 due to the unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.<br />
On May 2, Nepal recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in a day, with more than 7000 cases.<br />
The Covid-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) had recommended the government suspend the flights to stop the virus from spreading.<br />
As the number of new cases and daily fatalities continue to spike in the country, the government announced two-week long prohibitory order on April 29 in several affected districts, including Kathmandu. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13341',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Bring 20,000 Oxygen Cylinders from China',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">May 3: The government has taken initiative to immediately bring 20,000 cylinders of oxygen provided by China. The Covid-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) informed that the ministries of foreign affairs, health and finance will immediately start working to this end.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The country is in need of additional oxygen cylinders as the demand for oxygen is increasing with the rise in new infections of COVID-19. Oxygen manufacturers have been stating that despite having enough oxygen, they are having problem is supplying oxygen due to limited number of cylinders. Likewise, it has been learnt that people are holding up oxygen cylinders at their home leading to a shortage of cylinders.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to the doctors, the new variants of coronavirus affect the respiratory system of patients and they require oxygen support. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a meeting of the CCMC decided to reduce the movement of people in government offices in the districts where prohibitory orders have been enforced and has allowed secretaries, joint secretaries and head of government offices to commute carrying identity cards.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Likewise, the new building of Bir Hospital has been announced as coronavirus hospital. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">The Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office (PMO) has said that CCMC is looking for various alternatives following the rise in complaints about shortage of beds in hospitals.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Ganesh Pandey, Press Adviser to Deputy PM Ishwar Pokharel, cremation will be conducted using traditional methods and a letter has already been written to the concerned authority in this regard.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">A cabinet meeting has already implemented quota system for domestic flights on the recommendation of the CCMC&nbsp;and has employed strict measures in some international flights to contain the spread of coronavirus. A minister said that flights to Brazil and South Africa have been suspended in light of the growing new COVID-19 cases.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Despite the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the Kathmandu Valley, the district-level CCMC meeting has decided to allow operation of banks and financial institutions with one fourth of employees. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Grocery shops that were allowed to open from 5pm to 7pm in the evening will not be allowed to open from Monday, May 3.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">According to Kali Prasad Parajuli, Chief District Officer of Kathmandu, people walking without wearing masks will be fined and permits will be checked strictly.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13340',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Upasana Poudel appointed as United Insurance’s new CEO ',
			'sub_title' => 'Poudel’s appointment makes her the first female CEO in Nepal’s insurance sector.',
			'summary' => 'United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer. ',
			'content' => '<p>May 2:&nbsp;<br />
United Insurance Company Ltd has appointed Upasana Poudel as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).&nbsp;<br />
According to the United Insurance Company Ltd&rsquo;s disclosure to Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), its board meeting held on Thursday decided to appoint Poudel as the insurance company&rsquo;s CEO for a tenure of four years.&nbsp;<br />
The United Insurance&rsquo;s decision also makes Poudel the first female CEO of an insurance company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She was serving as the officiating CEO of United Insurance after its former CEO Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai&rsquo;s four-year term ended in November last year.&nbsp;<br />
Promoted by leading industrialists and trading and commercial houses, United Insurance Company, a non-life insurance company, had started its operation from December 1, 1993.&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'image' => '20210502052259_Upasana Poudel.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2021-05-02 17:19:38',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13339',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Challenges to Include Employees of Informal Sector in Social Security Programme',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">May 2: The government has failed to register the number of employees working in the informal sector despite such provision mentioned in the Labour Act and Social Security Act. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Trade unions have been demanding for registration of employees from the informal sector since 15 years to help them receive support from the government and address their problems. But it has not been implemented accordingly. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Binod Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT), said although there has not been significant achievement in terms of registration, there has been some encouraging improvements. The issue of registration was raised to keep a tab on expenses of workers. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&quot;We want to link the informal sector to social security based on contribution but the question arises who will pay 20 percent of the daily wage workers working in the informal sector. Village councils and the local bodies need to help in this regard,&quot; said Shrestha.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Shrestha further said that a task force has been formed to register workers working in the informal sector and link them to contribution-based social security. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The government has committed to implement this provision so we can be hopeful about it,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Similarly, Pushkar Acharya, president of Nepal Trade Union Congress, said that it is the ineffectiveness on part of the government&nbsp; that the registration process has not been implemented even after one year. Until and unless workers are registered they will not be eligible for benefits from the Social Security Fund (SSF). </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">It is the workers from the informal sector who have been affected the most with the enforcement of prohibitory orders, said Acharya. If they had been linked with the SSF, they would have now got the benefits from the government. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to GEFONT, workers were laid off from work and deprived from the wages from the initial days of lockdown which has repeated again this time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><strong><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Emphasis on sustainable and reliable labor relations</span></span></strong></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The umbrella organization of employers have stressed on the need to make labour relation between industries and workers sustainable and reliable. Issuing a press release on the International Labour Day on May 1, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said that though labour relations are on the path of improvement, it needs to be made reliable and sustainable.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '13338',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '     Offices can Operate with One-Fourth Employees: CCMC    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">May 2: The COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has decided to operate all other offices except those providing the most essential services with one-fourth of their existing employees.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of the CCMC on Saturday decided to ask banks and financial institutions being operated in the lockdown-enforced Kathmandu Valley and other big cities to operate their business through one-fourth of the employees. Nepal Rastra Bank would facilitate the process in the enforcement of the order.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The press pass issued by the Department of Information and Publicity would be valid in case of the Kathmandu Valley while the Chief District Officers are authorized to issue such pass in other districts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The CCMC also decided to enforce food and accommodation for employees and workers of the industries and enterprises within the industry to keep its smooth operation, run the factories and industries producing materials (mask, sanitizer, soap, gloves, oxygen) used for prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19 by adopting health safety protocol and continue with public infrastructure construction by arranging food and accommodation for the workers involved in the field.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the CCMC&rsquo;s Secretariat, the public vehicles used for supplying construction materials in such public projects would be allowed based on the pass provided by the project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In Kathmandu Valley, the Department of Tourism, Department of Immigration, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Police would jointly monitor those residing in hotel quarantines while the province and local levels would carry out the task in other districts. The local levels would monitor the people residing in home quarantines. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, foreigners residing in hotel quarantines would be deported to their home country with penalty if they were found violating the health protocols. For the failure on proper management, the hoteliers would be fined as per the laws. - RSS</span></span></span></p>
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FOREX

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)

Bullion

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

Petroleum

Petrol	1 Liter	106.00
Diesel	1 Liter	95.00
Kerosene	1 Liter	95.00
LP Gas	1 Cylinder	1375.00