March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to…
…
March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to…
March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the…
March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fight backs against the ban imposed by the USA last…
March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the…
March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus…
March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma…
March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19.…
March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March…
March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke…
March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March…
CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain…
March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central…
March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by…
March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his…
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Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who is also the government spokesperson, informed that the government has already formed a task force which has been studying the impacts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a regular press meet at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Thursday, Minister Khatiwada said that Nepal Rastra Bank has also been studying the impacts of the deadly disease on Nepal’s economy separately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the minister, Nepal’s economy has witnessed slight glitches while the global epidemic is yet to cause any adverse effects here so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that the government is currently studying the impacts and has not yet decided to announce relief packages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Secretary at the ministry Uttar Kumar Khatri also said that the government is not yet ready to announce relief packages but has adopted high alertness about the possible effects of the disease on the national economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials at the Ministry of Finance opine that the government might include relief packages in the upcoming budget as they have already started making preparations for the annual budget.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, unveiling the mid-term review of the monetary policy, the central bank said on Monday that the government might not meet its target of economic growth as a result of coronavirus outbreak this year. Officials at the central bank said that they have decided to identify the sectors affected by coronavirus and extend additional loans to those sectors to help them cope with the effects of the deadly disease.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The effects of coronavirus have started taking toll on Nepal’s economy with the disease fast spreading across the globe. The tourism sector of Nepal has been affected the most while the trade between Nepal and China has come to a grinding halt.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11473', 'image' => '20200306122644_0180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 12:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Request India not to Halt Supplies of Medicines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level coordination committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel has decided to write to Indian authorities not to halt supplies of life saving drugs in the wake of coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada informed during a regular press meet on Thursday that the government has decided to write letter to the Indian government in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that there is no need to panic as there is adequate stock of medicines for the time being. However, the minister said that the government decided to solicit support from India to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines in the future as the global supplier plans to restrict export of medicines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Khatiwada also said that the government is collaborating with the private sector to increase the production of face masks to ward off coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal is chiefly dependent on India and China for medicines and APIs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The global supply of medicines has been threatened due to the coronavirus outbreak as China, the chief supplier of APIs has stopped exporting the raw materials to India and other countries.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11472', 'image' => '20200306114347_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 11:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels in Nepal Start Giving Paid Leave to Employees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Especially, star-rated hotels of the capital have laid off their staff temporarily on paid leave to adjust to the current situation. Some hotels have started capacity development training for their employees during the slowdown of business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Many star hotels and tourist areas have started wearing deserted looks in lack of visitors, most of whom have stopped travelling due to fears of contracting the deadly disease which has already killed over 3200 people mostly in China where the virus originated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel occupancy during this period of year used to be around 80 percent in the previous years. This had dropped to 35 percent at present. Hotel entrepreneurs have informed that cancellation of bookings is also increasing every day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result, hotel employees have had to stay idle in otherwise busy season. Therefore, the hotel entrepreneurs started giving them paid leave.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Normally, hotels employees can enjoy 45 days of paid leave throughout a year during normal circumstances. But this time, the hotels have started giving them such leave at once. Hotel entrepreneurs are yet to decide whether to extend their leave or not once the leave period comes to an end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mostly, star hotels of Nepal are chiefly dependent on foreign tourists. It is not possible to sustain the hotels with income generated from domestic tourists. However, tourist arrival has been witnessed a nosedive due to the widespread fear of coronavirus, which has now spread across the globe. Many countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens not to travel abroad during such a risky period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has also decided not to issue on-arrival visas to passengers arriving from five countries which have been severely affected by coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Coronavirus outbreak has not only affected Nepal’s hotel business but has caused cancellation of hotel bookings worldwide.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) President Shreejana Rana said that the association has urged its members to approve ‘pending leave’ to their staffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Coronavirus has not only affected the hotel business in Nepal but across the world,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are helpless at the moment,” she added.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11471', 'image' => '20200306100011_20200130020146_hotels.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 09:59:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Huawei Launches its Own App Gallery', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fight backs against the ban imposed by the USA last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fights back against the ban imposed by the USA last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The company, which faces accusation of security risk from the US, said in a statement that it launched the new app with the motive to build a secure and reliable mobile apps ecosystem.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our vision is to make Huawei App Gallery an open, innovative app distribution platform easily accessible to all our customers. Besides, we aim to strictly protect users’ privacy and security while providing them with a unique and smart experience,” Huawei said in a statement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei said its AppGallery is now available in over 170 countries/regions with 400 million monthly active users, covering mainstream apps and services worldwide. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> “Privacy, under your control has always been at the heart of our philosophy,” Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group commented during the launching ceremony. He additionally affirmed that privacy protection and cyber security is the top-most priorities of Huwawei’s business operations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We will strictly implement them in all phases of our products. We also have the strictest privacy and cyber security solutions in Huawei AppGallery,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei has hundreds of millions of users worldwide, laying a solid foundation for the development of the ecosystem. Together with HMS Core, which opens a variety of Huawei software and hardware capabilities, Huawei is en-route to providing the best and innovative application experience for its users. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In a statement the company informed that its AppGallery deploys the highest level of verification to isolate and protect users’ sensitive data and privacy. Personally-sensitive information – such as biometric data – will never be processed outside the Huawei device, giving the user complete control over their personal data, the statement added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The US had passed a bill at the end of 2018 preventing the federal government and its agencies from doing business with the Chinese technology giant, Huawei. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Newstatesman reported that the company, along with several dozen subsidiaries and affiliates, was added to the US’s “entity list” in 2019, severely restricting US companies’ ability to do business with one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment firms. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the BBC, US telecommunications regulators declared Huawei and ZTE national security threats in November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump did not want to do business with Huawei “at all” due to “national security concerns.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted Huawei a limited role in Britain’s 5G mobile network in late January, frustrating a global attempt by the United States to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant from the West’s next-generation communications.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A British official, according to Reuters, said excluding Huawei would have delayed 5G and cost consumers more, echoing warnings from the telecoms industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Britain’s move vindicated the fact that 5G’s much faster data speeds and increased capacity will make it the foundation stone of many industries and a driver of economic growth.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance is a milestone towards Chinese technological supremacy that could define the geopolitics of the 21st century,” Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has said the United States wants to frustrate its growth because no US company could offer the same range of technology at a competitive price.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11470', 'image' => '20200306011233_Huawei.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 13:11:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11718', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Ministry Instructs Forming “Action Teams” to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai issued such directive on Wednesday during a discussion with the concerned departments over the possible impacts of coronavirus and ways to deal with them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister also urged the departments to write to the ministry if there is any need for policy-level decisions. He said that the ministry will form a team headed by the secretary to deal with the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the concerned departments to give their suggestions within three days regarding the possible impact of coronavirus on the tourism sector and the steps government should take as counter measures.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai also informed that the government has initiated the process to set up health desks at other domestic airports where the inflow of tourists is high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Secretary at the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari said that the ministry will take appropriate steps to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus in Nepal in coordination with other line ministries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11469', 'image' => '20200305121728_20190418024748_visit-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11716', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'COVID-19 Fallout: Sauraha Hotels Start Cutting Down Staff ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The current rate of occupancy of hotels here is only 15 to 20 per cent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Regional Hotel Association Sauraha president Deepak Bhattarai said there was almost 90 per cent hotel booking around this period last year. He added that although hotel occupancy is now 20 per cent as domestic events and programmes are taking place, this would drastically go down after a few days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">There are only some European, Indian and Nepali tourists in Sauraha at present. All the advance bookings have been cancelled. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Bhattarai, around half the hotels in Sauraha have sent 50 per cent of their staff on leave with the dwindling number of visitors and hotel bookings. The hotels here employ employees ranging from 10 to 70. Some more hotels are said to be preparing to send half of their staff on leave. Staff staying on leave are paid half their salary. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Before this, the hotels here used to send their employees on leave like this until 10 years back during the lean period in the rainy season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bhattarai said that although the hotels did not come across this problem in the recent years, now they are facing the problem due to the fear of COVID-19. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The association's immediate past president Suman Ghimire said the hotel operators were not in a position to pay the bank loans and the interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ghimire believes that more than Rs 8 billion has been invested in the hotel industry in Sauraha. This investment does not include the land property. It is said the hotels have equal amount in bank loans. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel entrepreneurs are facing hard time to pay loans and interests and are worried about being blacklisted by banks as trade suffers due to the fear of the virus, he said. Businesspersons should be given additional deadline to pay loans and interests, according to Ghimire. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chinese travel agents are yet to make payments, said tourism entrepreneurs. Earlier, Sauraha suffered trade after being hit by many factors like the Maoist insurgency, the earthquake of 2015 and a border blockade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This time, the infection may affect trade here the most, said tourism entrepreneurs. Even domestic tourists fear visiting Sauraha due to the risk of infection, said Ghimire. The government has also requested people not to organise gatherings and programmes in view of the virus that has hit China hard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of this, Sauraha which mostly receives Chinese tourists has been affected the most. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Tourism sector ranging from big hotels, restaurants, shops and jungle safari etc in Sauraha have been severely affected, resulting in decline in revenue collection. - RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11468', 'image' => '20200305103834_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:38:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11714', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Faces Mounting Challenges in his Second Innings ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It seems that the finance minister will face an uphill battle in his second stint to meet the targets set by himself in his first term in office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada was re-appointed to the post due to a strong backing from PM Oli despite strong opposition within the ruling Nepal Communist Party. In such context, Khatiwada’s second stint at office seems to be quite challenging on top of poor capital expenditure and revenue collection as well as hosts of other financial problems including the a downcast private sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He also has an added responsibility of protecting the country’s economy from the widespread effects of coronavirus epidemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although he pledged to fight against poverty, illiteracy and injustice soon after assuming his office on Wednesday (March 4), the road ahead is not smooth. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada downsized the annual budget and the target of revenue collection in the mid-term review of the budget. However, he did not revise the economic growth target of 8.5 percent. Instead, he claimed that the government will meet its target of economic growth at any cost. Coronavirus outbreak is certain to play the spoilsport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, the finance minister’s claim that 80 percent of development budget will be spent during this fiscal year seems to be an unattainable target. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Speculations are rife that the country’s economy is in a slowdown process as a ripple effect of decline in financing by BFIs to the private sector, which in turn has affected big infrastructure projects and also reduced the demand for iron and cement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the coronavirus epidemic is most likely to decrease the inflow of remittance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In such circumstances, the finance minister faces an improbable task of achieving the targets set earlier this year. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11467', 'image' => '20200305100423_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:03:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11713', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Announces $12 Billion Support to Cope with the Effects of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => 'The amount will be provided on fast-track basis with poor countries on priority list', 'summary' => 'March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. The World Bank made such announcement on Tuesday (March 3) as the epidemic reached more than 60 countries with over 3200 casualties, mostly in China where the disease is believed to have originated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the World Bank, this financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Through this new fast track package, the World Bank Group will help developing countries strengthen health systems, including better access to health services to safeguard people from the epidemic, strengthen disease surveillance, bolster public health interventions, and work with the private sector to reduce the impact on economies, it said in a statement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package, with financing drawn from across IDA, IBRD and IFC, will be globally coordinated to support country-based responses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The COVID-19 support package will make available initial crisis resources of up to $12 billion in financing — $8 billion of which is new — on a fast track basis. This comprises up to $2.7 billion new financing from IBRD; $1.3 billion from IDA, complemented by reprioritization of $2 billion of the Bank’s existing portfolio; and $6 billion from IFC,including $2 billion from existing trade facilities. It will also include policy advice and technical assistance drawing on global expertise and country-level knowledge,” the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “This includes emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance, building on the World Bank Group's existing instruments and expertise to help countries respond to the crisis."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package will provide grants and low-interest loans from IDA for low income countries and loans from IBRD for middle income countries, using all of the bank’s operational instruments with processing accelerated on a fast track basis. International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, will provide its clients with the necessary support to continue operating and to sustain jobs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank support will cover a range of interventions to strengthen health services and primary health care, bolster disease monitoring and reporting, train front line health workers, encourage community engagement to maintain public trust, and improve access to treatment for the poorest patients. The bank said it will also provide policy and technical advice to ensure countries can access global expertise. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank Group support will prioritize the poorest countries and those at high risk with low capacity, the statement further said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11466', 'image' => '20200305093046_aaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 09:29:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11715', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Oli's Health Stable After Successful Kidney Transplant Surgery ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Doctors involved in PM Oli's treatment said his key health indicators are normal following the “successful kidney transplant”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement after the completion of the kidney transplant surgery, the Tribhuvavn University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) informed that Prime Minister's health was stable and the new kidney had started functioning. Doctors said that the prime minister has already regained consciousness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement issued by TUTH executive director Prof Dr Prem Krishna Khadka further said that the prime minister is receiving treatment after being shifted to the post-operative transplant ward from the operation theater. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This is the second time that the prime minister had a kidney transplant, following the first one 12 years ago. Oli’s first kidney transplant was performed in India in 2007.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was undergoing regular dialysis since the last four months after his transplanted kidney stopped functioning. He opted for kidney transplant for the second time as per the suggestions from doctors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Oli’s niece Samikshya Sangroula donated her kidney to PM Oli. Her health condition is also said to be normal.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of doctors consisting of Prof Dr Uttam Kumar Sharma, Prof Dr Prem Gyawali and Prof Dr Ananda Kumar had extracted a kidney from Sangraula. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The prime minister’s well-wishers had gathered on the hospital premises to express happiness after the successful completion of the kidney transplantation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was admitted to the hospital for kidney transplantation on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11465', 'image' => '20200305102040_oli.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:20:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11717', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Japanese Assistance for Improvement of New Born and Child Health Project in Banke', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo signed a grant agreement of with Yuka Onishi, Program Manager of ADRA Japan, in this regard on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The support was extended under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme for FY 2019. The project will be implemented by ADRA Japan, an international NGO based in Tokyo, with the implementing partner NGO, ADRA Nepal, and its local NGO partner, ENRUDEC.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The grant assistance will be used to repair and upgrade two health posts in the district and for the installation of 48 medical facilities, including at the Provincial Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, the project focuses on enhancing the capacity development of service providers and on raising awareness of local communities. ADRAbelieves that the understanding the importance of care is the first step towards saving the lives of new born babies, reads a statement issued by the embassy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expressed hope that the project will enhance child health care servicesand the understanding of people about basic health care.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The embassy further said it also believes that the project will further strengthen the friendly relations between the people of Japan and Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier on February 27, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Saigo had handed over an oxygen generation and distribution system to Dhankuta District Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The system was built with grant assistance of USD 88,118 (approximately Rs 9.66 million).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">At the handover ceremony, Ambassador Saigo said that the assistance would enable patients to access oxygen promptly and more easily, and the system would raise the standard of services provided by the hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project for installing an oxygen generation and distribution system at the hospital was funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan. The project was managed by the District Hospital, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Over 200 people visit the hospital in the outpatient Department (OPD) every day and it regularly has about 15 to 20 hospitalized patients. The oxygen supply will benefits patients requiring operations and those with respiratory issues, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11464', 'image' => '20200305115602_japan.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 11:55:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11719', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Judicial Officers Start Training on Case and Court Management in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per a press release issued by the Embassy of India, the course is fully supported by the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs’ Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Specially designed at the request of the Government of Nepal, this tailor-made course is believed to enhance the capacity of the officers to deal effectively with issues related to Case and Court Management and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the administration of justice. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, as a part of India’s continuing commitment for capacity building in Nepal, the Embassy of India has facilitated training of more than 200 Nepali officers in different training institutions of India like IIT, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, etc. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Moreover, the press release states that the second batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal will undergo training from March 23 to 29. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11463', 'image' => '20200305122128_judicial officer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:20:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11708', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suggested the government to implement the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on aviation sector to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The WHO has urged the governments across the world not to halt air service during health emergency arguing that it could further complicate the situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel has already submitted a seven-point recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry informed New Business Age that the ministry will table the recommendations to the High Level Coordination Committee formed by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus in Nepal for further discussions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The high level committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel is likely to take a decision on whether to halt international flights to and fro the countries affected by coronavirus or not based on the recommendations of CAAN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Any country enjoys the prerogative to halt flights based on its circumstances. But international flights are not linked to a single country. Based on international standards and values, we have suggested the government the best possible practice,” said DG Pokharel. “How the situation unfolds depends on government decision,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, 28 airline companies including the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation and another Nepali joint-venture company Himalaya Airlines are operating international flights to and from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China since it first appeared on December 31, 2019, the government has issued travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the virus unless absolutely necessary. The government has also stopped issuing on-arrival visas to people coming from five countries most affected by the coronavirus after the Supreme Court directed the government not to provide such visas to those arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Bahrain and Iran.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11462', 'image' => '20200304123307__UME2195.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 12:32:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11712', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mid-Term Review of Monetary Policy not Satisfactory: CNI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CNI said that the central bank has not made adequate effort on management liquidity crunch, problem related to contract on the issuance of credit and loan etc. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, the confederation appreciated the review in loan issuance to the sectors which are prone to coronavirus infection. The CNI also said that the new virus many adversely affect the country’s economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11461', 'image' => '20200304020356_20190530010232_sej pic (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 14:03:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11711', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Stop Sending Workers to Coronavirus Affected Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is hold a discussion with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stop sending migrant workers to China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain for the time being. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rameshwar Rays Yadav, minister for labor, employment and social security, informed New Business Age that the ministry has initiated discussions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to halt work permit approval for Nepali migrant workers travelling to coronavirus-affected countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“During a meeting held on Tuesday (March 3), the ministries discussed about halting the work permit for Nepali workers going abroad for work in coronavirus affected zones,” he informed. However, the decision is yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Minister Yadav, the government does not want to take chance of sending workers to countries where there is high risk of infection. The government has also issued a travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the deadly disease unless it is absolutely necessary.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even if they go, they will have to eventually come back to Nepal because the countries have been returning foreigners due to the risk of coronavirus infection. We have started discussions to make a policy-level decision in this regard," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minister further said that workers have not been able to travel to South Korea after the outbreak of coronavirus there. So far, the government has not made any decision whether to send the workers to South Korea or not. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“However, we are preparing to postpone the date of sending the workers to South Korea,” the minister added. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11460', 'image' => '20200304015603_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 13:55:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11706', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Khatiwada Re-appointed Finance Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">President Bidya Devi Bhandari re-appointed Khatiwada to the post on Wednesday (March 4) for his second stint after his term as National Assembly member expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the state-run national news agency – Rastriya Samachar Samiti – the president appointed Khatiwada to the post as per Article 78, Section 1 of the constitution upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is currently undergoing kidney transplant at TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Khatiwada had resigned from his post after his term as an upper house member had expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The president has also assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11459', 'image' => '20200304113702_20180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 11:36:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Studying Impacts of Coronavirus on Nepal’s Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The government has started studying the impacts of coronavrius on the country’s economy. Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who is also the government spokesperson, informed that the government has already formed a task force which has been studying the impacts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a regular press meet at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Thursday, Minister Khatiwada said that Nepal Rastra Bank has also been studying the impacts of the deadly disease on Nepal’s economy separately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the minister, Nepal’s economy has witnessed slight glitches while the global epidemic is yet to cause any adverse effects here so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that the government is currently studying the impacts and has not yet decided to announce relief packages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Secretary at the ministry Uttar Kumar Khatri also said that the government is not yet ready to announce relief packages but has adopted high alertness about the possible effects of the disease on the national economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials at the Ministry of Finance opine that the government might include relief packages in the upcoming budget as they have already started making preparations for the annual budget.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, unveiling the mid-term review of the monetary policy, the central bank said on Monday that the government might not meet its target of economic growth as a result of coronavirus outbreak this year. Officials at the central bank said that they have decided to identify the sectors affected by coronavirus and extend additional loans to those sectors to help them cope with the effects of the deadly disease.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The effects of coronavirus have started taking toll on Nepal’s economy with the disease fast spreading across the globe. The tourism sector of Nepal has been affected the most while the trade between Nepal and China has come to a grinding halt.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11473', 'image' => '20200306122644_0180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 12:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Request India not to Halt Supplies of Medicines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level coordination committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel has decided to write to Indian authorities not to halt supplies of life saving drugs in the wake of coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada informed during a regular press meet on Thursday that the government has decided to write letter to the Indian government in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that there is no need to panic as there is adequate stock of medicines for the time being. However, the minister said that the government decided to solicit support from India to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines in the future as the global supplier plans to restrict export of medicines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Khatiwada also said that the government is collaborating with the private sector to increase the production of face masks to ward off coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal is chiefly dependent on India and China for medicines and APIs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The global supply of medicines has been threatened due to the coronavirus outbreak as China, the chief supplier of APIs has stopped exporting the raw materials to India and other countries.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11472', 'image' => '20200306114347_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 11:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels in Nepal Start Giving Paid Leave to Employees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Especially, star-rated hotels of the capital have laid off their staff temporarily on paid leave to adjust to the current situation. Some hotels have started capacity development training for their employees during the slowdown of business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Many star hotels and tourist areas have started wearing deserted looks in lack of visitors, most of whom have stopped travelling due to fears of contracting the deadly disease which has already killed over 3200 people mostly in China where the virus originated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel occupancy during this period of year used to be around 80 percent in the previous years. This had dropped to 35 percent at present. Hotel entrepreneurs have informed that cancellation of bookings is also increasing every day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result, hotel employees have had to stay idle in otherwise busy season. Therefore, the hotel entrepreneurs started giving them paid leave.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Normally, hotels employees can enjoy 45 days of paid leave throughout a year during normal circumstances. But this time, the hotels have started giving them such leave at once. Hotel entrepreneurs are yet to decide whether to extend their leave or not once the leave period comes to an end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mostly, star hotels of Nepal are chiefly dependent on foreign tourists. It is not possible to sustain the hotels with income generated from domestic tourists. However, tourist arrival has been witnessed a nosedive due to the widespread fear of coronavirus, which has now spread across the globe. Many countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens not to travel abroad during such a risky period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has also decided not to issue on-arrival visas to passengers arriving from five countries which have been severely affected by coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Coronavirus outbreak has not only affected Nepal’s hotel business but has caused cancellation of hotel bookings worldwide.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) President Shreejana Rana said that the association has urged its members to approve ‘pending leave’ to their staffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Coronavirus has not only affected the hotel business in Nepal but across the world,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are helpless at the moment,” she added.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11471', 'image' => '20200306100011_20200130020146_hotels.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 09:59:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Huawei Launches its Own App Gallery', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fight backs against the ban imposed by the USA last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fights back against the ban imposed by the USA last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The company, which faces accusation of security risk from the US, said in a statement that it launched the new app with the motive to build a secure and reliable mobile apps ecosystem.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our vision is to make Huawei App Gallery an open, innovative app distribution platform easily accessible to all our customers. Besides, we aim to strictly protect users’ privacy and security while providing them with a unique and smart experience,” Huawei said in a statement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei said its AppGallery is now available in over 170 countries/regions with 400 million monthly active users, covering mainstream apps and services worldwide. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> “Privacy, under your control has always been at the heart of our philosophy,” Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group commented during the launching ceremony. He additionally affirmed that privacy protection and cyber security is the top-most priorities of Huwawei’s business operations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We will strictly implement them in all phases of our products. We also have the strictest privacy and cyber security solutions in Huawei AppGallery,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei has hundreds of millions of users worldwide, laying a solid foundation for the development of the ecosystem. Together with HMS Core, which opens a variety of Huawei software and hardware capabilities, Huawei is en-route to providing the best and innovative application experience for its users. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In a statement the company informed that its AppGallery deploys the highest level of verification to isolate and protect users’ sensitive data and privacy. Personally-sensitive information – such as biometric data – will never be processed outside the Huawei device, giving the user complete control over their personal data, the statement added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The US had passed a bill at the end of 2018 preventing the federal government and its agencies from doing business with the Chinese technology giant, Huawei. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Newstatesman reported that the company, along with several dozen subsidiaries and affiliates, was added to the US’s “entity list” in 2019, severely restricting US companies’ ability to do business with one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment firms. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the BBC, US telecommunications regulators declared Huawei and ZTE national security threats in November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump did not want to do business with Huawei “at all” due to “national security concerns.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted Huawei a limited role in Britain’s 5G mobile network in late January, frustrating a global attempt by the United States to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant from the West’s next-generation communications.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A British official, according to Reuters, said excluding Huawei would have delayed 5G and cost consumers more, echoing warnings from the telecoms industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Britain’s move vindicated the fact that 5G’s much faster data speeds and increased capacity will make it the foundation stone of many industries and a driver of economic growth.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance is a milestone towards Chinese technological supremacy that could define the geopolitics of the 21st century,” Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has said the United States wants to frustrate its growth because no US company could offer the same range of technology at a competitive price.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11470', 'image' => '20200306011233_Huawei.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 13:11:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11718', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Ministry Instructs Forming “Action Teams” to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai issued such directive on Wednesday during a discussion with the concerned departments over the possible impacts of coronavirus and ways to deal with them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister also urged the departments to write to the ministry if there is any need for policy-level decisions. He said that the ministry will form a team headed by the secretary to deal with the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the concerned departments to give their suggestions within three days regarding the possible impact of coronavirus on the tourism sector and the steps government should take as counter measures.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai also informed that the government has initiated the process to set up health desks at other domestic airports where the inflow of tourists is high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Secretary at the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari said that the ministry will take appropriate steps to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus in Nepal in coordination with other line ministries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11469', 'image' => '20200305121728_20190418024748_visit-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11716', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'COVID-19 Fallout: Sauraha Hotels Start Cutting Down Staff ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The current rate of occupancy of hotels here is only 15 to 20 per cent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Regional Hotel Association Sauraha president Deepak Bhattarai said there was almost 90 per cent hotel booking around this period last year. He added that although hotel occupancy is now 20 per cent as domestic events and programmes are taking place, this would drastically go down after a few days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">There are only some European, Indian and Nepali tourists in Sauraha at present. All the advance bookings have been cancelled. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Bhattarai, around half the hotels in Sauraha have sent 50 per cent of their staff on leave with the dwindling number of visitors and hotel bookings. The hotels here employ employees ranging from 10 to 70. Some more hotels are said to be preparing to send half of their staff on leave. Staff staying on leave are paid half their salary. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Before this, the hotels here used to send their employees on leave like this until 10 years back during the lean period in the rainy season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bhattarai said that although the hotels did not come across this problem in the recent years, now they are facing the problem due to the fear of COVID-19. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The association's immediate past president Suman Ghimire said the hotel operators were not in a position to pay the bank loans and the interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ghimire believes that more than Rs 8 billion has been invested in the hotel industry in Sauraha. This investment does not include the land property. It is said the hotels have equal amount in bank loans. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel entrepreneurs are facing hard time to pay loans and interests and are worried about being blacklisted by banks as trade suffers due to the fear of the virus, he said. Businesspersons should be given additional deadline to pay loans and interests, according to Ghimire. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chinese travel agents are yet to make payments, said tourism entrepreneurs. Earlier, Sauraha suffered trade after being hit by many factors like the Maoist insurgency, the earthquake of 2015 and a border blockade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This time, the infection may affect trade here the most, said tourism entrepreneurs. Even domestic tourists fear visiting Sauraha due to the risk of infection, said Ghimire. The government has also requested people not to organise gatherings and programmes in view of the virus that has hit China hard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of this, Sauraha which mostly receives Chinese tourists has been affected the most. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Tourism sector ranging from big hotels, restaurants, shops and jungle safari etc in Sauraha have been severely affected, resulting in decline in revenue collection. - RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11468', 'image' => '20200305103834_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:38:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11714', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Faces Mounting Challenges in his Second Innings ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It seems that the finance minister will face an uphill battle in his second stint to meet the targets set by himself in his first term in office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada was re-appointed to the post due to a strong backing from PM Oli despite strong opposition within the ruling Nepal Communist Party. In such context, Khatiwada’s second stint at office seems to be quite challenging on top of poor capital expenditure and revenue collection as well as hosts of other financial problems including the a downcast private sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He also has an added responsibility of protecting the country’s economy from the widespread effects of coronavirus epidemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although he pledged to fight against poverty, illiteracy and injustice soon after assuming his office on Wednesday (March 4), the road ahead is not smooth. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada downsized the annual budget and the target of revenue collection in the mid-term review of the budget. However, he did not revise the economic growth target of 8.5 percent. Instead, he claimed that the government will meet its target of economic growth at any cost. Coronavirus outbreak is certain to play the spoilsport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, the finance minister’s claim that 80 percent of development budget will be spent during this fiscal year seems to be an unattainable target. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Speculations are rife that the country’s economy is in a slowdown process as a ripple effect of decline in financing by BFIs to the private sector, which in turn has affected big infrastructure projects and also reduced the demand for iron and cement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the coronavirus epidemic is most likely to decrease the inflow of remittance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In such circumstances, the finance minister faces an improbable task of achieving the targets set earlier this year. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11467', 'image' => '20200305100423_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:03:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11713', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Announces $12 Billion Support to Cope with the Effects of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => 'The amount will be provided on fast-track basis with poor countries on priority list', 'summary' => 'March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. The World Bank made such announcement on Tuesday (March 3) as the epidemic reached more than 60 countries with over 3200 casualties, mostly in China where the disease is believed to have originated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the World Bank, this financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Through this new fast track package, the World Bank Group will help developing countries strengthen health systems, including better access to health services to safeguard people from the epidemic, strengthen disease surveillance, bolster public health interventions, and work with the private sector to reduce the impact on economies, it said in a statement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package, with financing drawn from across IDA, IBRD and IFC, will be globally coordinated to support country-based responses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The COVID-19 support package will make available initial crisis resources of up to $12 billion in financing — $8 billion of which is new — on a fast track basis. This comprises up to $2.7 billion new financing from IBRD; $1.3 billion from IDA, complemented by reprioritization of $2 billion of the Bank’s existing portfolio; and $6 billion from IFC,including $2 billion from existing trade facilities. It will also include policy advice and technical assistance drawing on global expertise and country-level knowledge,” the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “This includes emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance, building on the World Bank Group's existing instruments and expertise to help countries respond to the crisis."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package will provide grants and low-interest loans from IDA for low income countries and loans from IBRD for middle income countries, using all of the bank’s operational instruments with processing accelerated on a fast track basis. International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, will provide its clients with the necessary support to continue operating and to sustain jobs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank support will cover a range of interventions to strengthen health services and primary health care, bolster disease monitoring and reporting, train front line health workers, encourage community engagement to maintain public trust, and improve access to treatment for the poorest patients. The bank said it will also provide policy and technical advice to ensure countries can access global expertise. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank Group support will prioritize the poorest countries and those at high risk with low capacity, the statement further said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11466', 'image' => '20200305093046_aaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 09:29:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11715', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Oli's Health Stable After Successful Kidney Transplant Surgery ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Doctors involved in PM Oli's treatment said his key health indicators are normal following the “successful kidney transplant”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement after the completion of the kidney transplant surgery, the Tribhuvavn University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) informed that Prime Minister's health was stable and the new kidney had started functioning. Doctors said that the prime minister has already regained consciousness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement issued by TUTH executive director Prof Dr Prem Krishna Khadka further said that the prime minister is receiving treatment after being shifted to the post-operative transplant ward from the operation theater. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This is the second time that the prime minister had a kidney transplant, following the first one 12 years ago. Oli’s first kidney transplant was performed in India in 2007.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was undergoing regular dialysis since the last four months after his transplanted kidney stopped functioning. He opted for kidney transplant for the second time as per the suggestions from doctors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Oli’s niece Samikshya Sangroula donated her kidney to PM Oli. Her health condition is also said to be normal.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of doctors consisting of Prof Dr Uttam Kumar Sharma, Prof Dr Prem Gyawali and Prof Dr Ananda Kumar had extracted a kidney from Sangraula. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The prime minister’s well-wishers had gathered on the hospital premises to express happiness after the successful completion of the kidney transplantation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was admitted to the hospital for kidney transplantation on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11465', 'image' => '20200305102040_oli.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:20:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11717', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Japanese Assistance for Improvement of New Born and Child Health Project in Banke', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo signed a grant agreement of with Yuka Onishi, Program Manager of ADRA Japan, in this regard on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The support was extended under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme for FY 2019. The project will be implemented by ADRA Japan, an international NGO based in Tokyo, with the implementing partner NGO, ADRA Nepal, and its local NGO partner, ENRUDEC.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The grant assistance will be used to repair and upgrade two health posts in the district and for the installation of 48 medical facilities, including at the Provincial Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, the project focuses on enhancing the capacity development of service providers and on raising awareness of local communities. ADRAbelieves that the understanding the importance of care is the first step towards saving the lives of new born babies, reads a statement issued by the embassy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expressed hope that the project will enhance child health care servicesand the understanding of people about basic health care.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The embassy further said it also believes that the project will further strengthen the friendly relations between the people of Japan and Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier on February 27, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Saigo had handed over an oxygen generation and distribution system to Dhankuta District Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The system was built with grant assistance of USD 88,118 (approximately Rs 9.66 million).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">At the handover ceremony, Ambassador Saigo said that the assistance would enable patients to access oxygen promptly and more easily, and the system would raise the standard of services provided by the hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project for installing an oxygen generation and distribution system at the hospital was funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan. The project was managed by the District Hospital, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Over 200 people visit the hospital in the outpatient Department (OPD) every day and it regularly has about 15 to 20 hospitalized patients. The oxygen supply will benefits patients requiring operations and those with respiratory issues, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11464', 'image' => '20200305115602_japan.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 11:55:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11719', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Judicial Officers Start Training on Case and Court Management in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per a press release issued by the Embassy of India, the course is fully supported by the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs’ Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Specially designed at the request of the Government of Nepal, this tailor-made course is believed to enhance the capacity of the officers to deal effectively with issues related to Case and Court Management and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the administration of justice. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, as a part of India’s continuing commitment for capacity building in Nepal, the Embassy of India has facilitated training of more than 200 Nepali officers in different training institutions of India like IIT, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, etc. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Moreover, the press release states that the second batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal will undergo training from March 23 to 29. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11463', 'image' => '20200305122128_judicial officer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:20:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11708', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suggested the government to implement the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on aviation sector to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The WHO has urged the governments across the world not to halt air service during health emergency arguing that it could further complicate the situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel has already submitted a seven-point recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry informed New Business Age that the ministry will table the recommendations to the High Level Coordination Committee formed by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus in Nepal for further discussions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The high level committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel is likely to take a decision on whether to halt international flights to and fro the countries affected by coronavirus or not based on the recommendations of CAAN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Any country enjoys the prerogative to halt flights based on its circumstances. But international flights are not linked to a single country. Based on international standards and values, we have suggested the government the best possible practice,” said DG Pokharel. “How the situation unfolds depends on government decision,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, 28 airline companies including the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation and another Nepali joint-venture company Himalaya Airlines are operating international flights to and from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China since it first appeared on December 31, 2019, the government has issued travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the virus unless absolutely necessary. The government has also stopped issuing on-arrival visas to people coming from five countries most affected by the coronavirus after the Supreme Court directed the government not to provide such visas to those arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Bahrain and Iran.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11462', 'image' => '20200304123307__UME2195.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 12:32:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11712', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mid-Term Review of Monetary Policy not Satisfactory: CNI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CNI said that the central bank has not made adequate effort on management liquidity crunch, problem related to contract on the issuance of credit and loan etc. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, the confederation appreciated the review in loan issuance to the sectors which are prone to coronavirus infection. The CNI also said that the new virus many adversely affect the country’s economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11461', 'image' => '20200304020356_20190530010232_sej pic (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 14:03:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11711', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Stop Sending Workers to Coronavirus Affected Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is hold a discussion with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stop sending migrant workers to China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain for the time being. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rameshwar Rays Yadav, minister for labor, employment and social security, informed New Business Age that the ministry has initiated discussions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to halt work permit approval for Nepali migrant workers travelling to coronavirus-affected countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“During a meeting held on Tuesday (March 3), the ministries discussed about halting the work permit for Nepali workers going abroad for work in coronavirus affected zones,” he informed. However, the decision is yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Minister Yadav, the government does not want to take chance of sending workers to countries where there is high risk of infection. The government has also issued a travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the deadly disease unless it is absolutely necessary.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even if they go, they will have to eventually come back to Nepal because the countries have been returning foreigners due to the risk of coronavirus infection. We have started discussions to make a policy-level decision in this regard," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minister further said that workers have not been able to travel to South Korea after the outbreak of coronavirus there. So far, the government has not made any decision whether to send the workers to South Korea or not. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“However, we are preparing to postpone the date of sending the workers to South Korea,” the minister added. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11460', 'image' => '20200304015603_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 13:55:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11706', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Khatiwada Re-appointed Finance Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">President Bidya Devi Bhandari re-appointed Khatiwada to the post on Wednesday (March 4) for his second stint after his term as National Assembly member expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the state-run national news agency – Rastriya Samachar Samiti – the president appointed Khatiwada to the post as per Article 78, Section 1 of the constitution upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is currently undergoing kidney transplant at TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Khatiwada had resigned from his post after his term as an upper house member had expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The president has also assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11459', 'image' => '20200304113702_20180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 11:36:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Studying Impacts of Coronavirus on Nepal’s Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The government has started studying the impacts of coronavrius on the country’s economy. Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who is also the government spokesperson, informed that the government has already formed a task force which has been studying the impacts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a regular press meet at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Thursday, Minister Khatiwada said that Nepal Rastra Bank has also been studying the impacts of the deadly disease on Nepal’s economy separately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the minister, Nepal’s economy has witnessed slight glitches while the global epidemic is yet to cause any adverse effects here so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that the government is currently studying the impacts and has not yet decided to announce relief packages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Secretary at the ministry Uttar Kumar Khatri also said that the government is not yet ready to announce relief packages but has adopted high alertness about the possible effects of the disease on the national economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials at the Ministry of Finance opine that the government might include relief packages in the upcoming budget as they have already started making preparations for the annual budget.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, unveiling the mid-term review of the monetary policy, the central bank said on Monday that the government might not meet its target of economic growth as a result of coronavirus outbreak this year. Officials at the central bank said that they have decided to identify the sectors affected by coronavirus and extend additional loans to those sectors to help them cope with the effects of the deadly disease.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The effects of coronavirus have started taking toll on Nepal’s economy with the disease fast spreading across the globe. The tourism sector of Nepal has been affected the most while the trade between Nepal and China has come to a grinding halt.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11473', 'image' => '20200306122644_0180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 12:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Request India not to Halt Supplies of Medicines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level coordination committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel has decided to write to Indian authorities not to halt supplies of life saving drugs in the wake of coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada informed during a regular press meet on Thursday that the government has decided to write letter to the Indian government in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that there is no need to panic as there is adequate stock of medicines for the time being. However, the minister said that the government decided to solicit support from India to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines in the future as the global supplier plans to restrict export of medicines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Khatiwada also said that the government is collaborating with the private sector to increase the production of face masks to ward off coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal is chiefly dependent on India and China for medicines and APIs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The global supply of medicines has been threatened due to the coronavirus outbreak as China, the chief supplier of APIs has stopped exporting the raw materials to India and other countries.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11472', 'image' => '20200306114347_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 11:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels in Nepal Start Giving Paid Leave to Employees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Especially, star-rated hotels of the capital have laid off their staff temporarily on paid leave to adjust to the current situation. Some hotels have started capacity development training for their employees during the slowdown of business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Many star hotels and tourist areas have started wearing deserted looks in lack of visitors, most of whom have stopped travelling due to fears of contracting the deadly disease which has already killed over 3200 people mostly in China where the virus originated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel occupancy during this period of year used to be around 80 percent in the previous years. This had dropped to 35 percent at present. Hotel entrepreneurs have informed that cancellation of bookings is also increasing every day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result, hotel employees have had to stay idle in otherwise busy season. Therefore, the hotel entrepreneurs started giving them paid leave.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Normally, hotels employees can enjoy 45 days of paid leave throughout a year during normal circumstances. But this time, the hotels have started giving them such leave at once. Hotel entrepreneurs are yet to decide whether to extend their leave or not once the leave period comes to an end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mostly, star hotels of Nepal are chiefly dependent on foreign tourists. It is not possible to sustain the hotels with income generated from domestic tourists. However, tourist arrival has been witnessed a nosedive due to the widespread fear of coronavirus, which has now spread across the globe. Many countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens not to travel abroad during such a risky period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has also decided not to issue on-arrival visas to passengers arriving from five countries which have been severely affected by coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Coronavirus outbreak has not only affected Nepal’s hotel business but has caused cancellation of hotel bookings worldwide.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) President Shreejana Rana said that the association has urged its members to approve ‘pending leave’ to their staffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Coronavirus has not only affected the hotel business in Nepal but across the world,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are helpless at the moment,” she added.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11471', 'image' => '20200306100011_20200130020146_hotels.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 09:59:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Huawei Launches its Own App Gallery', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fight backs against the ban imposed by the USA last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fights back against the ban imposed by the USA last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The company, which faces accusation of security risk from the US, said in a statement that it launched the new app with the motive to build a secure and reliable mobile apps ecosystem.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our vision is to make Huawei App Gallery an open, innovative app distribution platform easily accessible to all our customers. Besides, we aim to strictly protect users’ privacy and security while providing them with a unique and smart experience,” Huawei said in a statement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei said its AppGallery is now available in over 170 countries/regions with 400 million monthly active users, covering mainstream apps and services worldwide. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> “Privacy, under your control has always been at the heart of our philosophy,” Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group commented during the launching ceremony. He additionally affirmed that privacy protection and cyber security is the top-most priorities of Huwawei’s business operations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We will strictly implement them in all phases of our products. We also have the strictest privacy and cyber security solutions in Huawei AppGallery,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei has hundreds of millions of users worldwide, laying a solid foundation for the development of the ecosystem. Together with HMS Core, which opens a variety of Huawei software and hardware capabilities, Huawei is en-route to providing the best and innovative application experience for its users. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In a statement the company informed that its AppGallery deploys the highest level of verification to isolate and protect users’ sensitive data and privacy. Personally-sensitive information – such as biometric data – will never be processed outside the Huawei device, giving the user complete control over their personal data, the statement added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The US had passed a bill at the end of 2018 preventing the federal government and its agencies from doing business with the Chinese technology giant, Huawei. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Newstatesman reported that the company, along with several dozen subsidiaries and affiliates, was added to the US’s “entity list” in 2019, severely restricting US companies’ ability to do business with one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment firms. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the BBC, US telecommunications regulators declared Huawei and ZTE national security threats in November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump did not want to do business with Huawei “at all” due to “national security concerns.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted Huawei a limited role in Britain’s 5G mobile network in late January, frustrating a global attempt by the United States to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant from the West’s next-generation communications.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A British official, according to Reuters, said excluding Huawei would have delayed 5G and cost consumers more, echoing warnings from the telecoms industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Britain’s move vindicated the fact that 5G’s much faster data speeds and increased capacity will make it the foundation stone of many industries and a driver of economic growth.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance is a milestone towards Chinese technological supremacy that could define the geopolitics of the 21st century,” Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has said the United States wants to frustrate its growth because no US company could offer the same range of technology at a competitive price.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11470', 'image' => '20200306011233_Huawei.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 13:11:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11718', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Ministry Instructs Forming “Action Teams” to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai issued such directive on Wednesday during a discussion with the concerned departments over the possible impacts of coronavirus and ways to deal with them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister also urged the departments to write to the ministry if there is any need for policy-level decisions. He said that the ministry will form a team headed by the secretary to deal with the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the concerned departments to give their suggestions within three days regarding the possible impact of coronavirus on the tourism sector and the steps government should take as counter measures.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai also informed that the government has initiated the process to set up health desks at other domestic airports where the inflow of tourists is high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Secretary at the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari said that the ministry will take appropriate steps to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus in Nepal in coordination with other line ministries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11469', 'image' => '20200305121728_20190418024748_visit-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11716', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'COVID-19 Fallout: Sauraha Hotels Start Cutting Down Staff ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The current rate of occupancy of hotels here is only 15 to 20 per cent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Regional Hotel Association Sauraha president Deepak Bhattarai said there was almost 90 per cent hotel booking around this period last year. He added that although hotel occupancy is now 20 per cent as domestic events and programmes are taking place, this would drastically go down after a few days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">There are only some European, Indian and Nepali tourists in Sauraha at present. All the advance bookings have been cancelled. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Bhattarai, around half the hotels in Sauraha have sent 50 per cent of their staff on leave with the dwindling number of visitors and hotel bookings. The hotels here employ employees ranging from 10 to 70. Some more hotels are said to be preparing to send half of their staff on leave. Staff staying on leave are paid half their salary. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Before this, the hotels here used to send their employees on leave like this until 10 years back during the lean period in the rainy season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bhattarai said that although the hotels did not come across this problem in the recent years, now they are facing the problem due to the fear of COVID-19. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The association's immediate past president Suman Ghimire said the hotel operators were not in a position to pay the bank loans and the interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ghimire believes that more than Rs 8 billion has been invested in the hotel industry in Sauraha. This investment does not include the land property. It is said the hotels have equal amount in bank loans. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel entrepreneurs are facing hard time to pay loans and interests and are worried about being blacklisted by banks as trade suffers due to the fear of the virus, he said. Businesspersons should be given additional deadline to pay loans and interests, according to Ghimire. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chinese travel agents are yet to make payments, said tourism entrepreneurs. Earlier, Sauraha suffered trade after being hit by many factors like the Maoist insurgency, the earthquake of 2015 and a border blockade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This time, the infection may affect trade here the most, said tourism entrepreneurs. Even domestic tourists fear visiting Sauraha due to the risk of infection, said Ghimire. The government has also requested people not to organise gatherings and programmes in view of the virus that has hit China hard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of this, Sauraha which mostly receives Chinese tourists has been affected the most. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Tourism sector ranging from big hotels, restaurants, shops and jungle safari etc in Sauraha have been severely affected, resulting in decline in revenue collection. - RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11468', 'image' => '20200305103834_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:38:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11714', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Faces Mounting Challenges in his Second Innings ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It seems that the finance minister will face an uphill battle in his second stint to meet the targets set by himself in his first term in office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada was re-appointed to the post due to a strong backing from PM Oli despite strong opposition within the ruling Nepal Communist Party. In such context, Khatiwada’s second stint at office seems to be quite challenging on top of poor capital expenditure and revenue collection as well as hosts of other financial problems including the a downcast private sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He also has an added responsibility of protecting the country’s economy from the widespread effects of coronavirus epidemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although he pledged to fight against poverty, illiteracy and injustice soon after assuming his office on Wednesday (March 4), the road ahead is not smooth. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada downsized the annual budget and the target of revenue collection in the mid-term review of the budget. However, he did not revise the economic growth target of 8.5 percent. Instead, he claimed that the government will meet its target of economic growth at any cost. Coronavirus outbreak is certain to play the spoilsport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, the finance minister’s claim that 80 percent of development budget will be spent during this fiscal year seems to be an unattainable target. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Speculations are rife that the country’s economy is in a slowdown process as a ripple effect of decline in financing by BFIs to the private sector, which in turn has affected big infrastructure projects and also reduced the demand for iron and cement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the coronavirus epidemic is most likely to decrease the inflow of remittance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In such circumstances, the finance minister faces an improbable task of achieving the targets set earlier this year. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11467', 'image' => '20200305100423_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:03:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11713', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Announces $12 Billion Support to Cope with the Effects of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => 'The amount will be provided on fast-track basis with poor countries on priority list', 'summary' => 'March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. The World Bank made such announcement on Tuesday (March 3) as the epidemic reached more than 60 countries with over 3200 casualties, mostly in China where the disease is believed to have originated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the World Bank, this financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Through this new fast track package, the World Bank Group will help developing countries strengthen health systems, including better access to health services to safeguard people from the epidemic, strengthen disease surveillance, bolster public health interventions, and work with the private sector to reduce the impact on economies, it said in a statement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package, with financing drawn from across IDA, IBRD and IFC, will be globally coordinated to support country-based responses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The COVID-19 support package will make available initial crisis resources of up to $12 billion in financing — $8 billion of which is new — on a fast track basis. This comprises up to $2.7 billion new financing from IBRD; $1.3 billion from IDA, complemented by reprioritization of $2 billion of the Bank’s existing portfolio; and $6 billion from IFC,including $2 billion from existing trade facilities. It will also include policy advice and technical assistance drawing on global expertise and country-level knowledge,” the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “This includes emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance, building on the World Bank Group's existing instruments and expertise to help countries respond to the crisis."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package will provide grants and low-interest loans from IDA for low income countries and loans from IBRD for middle income countries, using all of the bank’s operational instruments with processing accelerated on a fast track basis. International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, will provide its clients with the necessary support to continue operating and to sustain jobs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank support will cover a range of interventions to strengthen health services and primary health care, bolster disease monitoring and reporting, train front line health workers, encourage community engagement to maintain public trust, and improve access to treatment for the poorest patients. The bank said it will also provide policy and technical advice to ensure countries can access global expertise. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank Group support will prioritize the poorest countries and those at high risk with low capacity, the statement further said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11466', 'image' => '20200305093046_aaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 09:29:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11715', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Oli's Health Stable After Successful Kidney Transplant Surgery ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Doctors involved in PM Oli's treatment said his key health indicators are normal following the “successful kidney transplant”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement after the completion of the kidney transplant surgery, the Tribhuvavn University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) informed that Prime Minister's health was stable and the new kidney had started functioning. Doctors said that the prime minister has already regained consciousness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement issued by TUTH executive director Prof Dr Prem Krishna Khadka further said that the prime minister is receiving treatment after being shifted to the post-operative transplant ward from the operation theater. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This is the second time that the prime minister had a kidney transplant, following the first one 12 years ago. Oli’s first kidney transplant was performed in India in 2007.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was undergoing regular dialysis since the last four months after his transplanted kidney stopped functioning. He opted for kidney transplant for the second time as per the suggestions from doctors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Oli’s niece Samikshya Sangroula donated her kidney to PM Oli. Her health condition is also said to be normal.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of doctors consisting of Prof Dr Uttam Kumar Sharma, Prof Dr Prem Gyawali and Prof Dr Ananda Kumar had extracted a kidney from Sangraula. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The prime minister’s well-wishers had gathered on the hospital premises to express happiness after the successful completion of the kidney transplantation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was admitted to the hospital for kidney transplantation on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11465', 'image' => '20200305102040_oli.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:20:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11717', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Japanese Assistance for Improvement of New Born and Child Health Project in Banke', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo signed a grant agreement of with Yuka Onishi, Program Manager of ADRA Japan, in this regard on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The support was extended under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme for FY 2019. The project will be implemented by ADRA Japan, an international NGO based in Tokyo, with the implementing partner NGO, ADRA Nepal, and its local NGO partner, ENRUDEC.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The grant assistance will be used to repair and upgrade two health posts in the district and for the installation of 48 medical facilities, including at the Provincial Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, the project focuses on enhancing the capacity development of service providers and on raising awareness of local communities. ADRAbelieves that the understanding the importance of care is the first step towards saving the lives of new born babies, reads a statement issued by the embassy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expressed hope that the project will enhance child health care servicesand the understanding of people about basic health care.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The embassy further said it also believes that the project will further strengthen the friendly relations between the people of Japan and Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier on February 27, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Saigo had handed over an oxygen generation and distribution system to Dhankuta District Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The system was built with grant assistance of USD 88,118 (approximately Rs 9.66 million).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">At the handover ceremony, Ambassador Saigo said that the assistance would enable patients to access oxygen promptly and more easily, and the system would raise the standard of services provided by the hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project for installing an oxygen generation and distribution system at the hospital was funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan. The project was managed by the District Hospital, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Over 200 people visit the hospital in the outpatient Department (OPD) every day and it regularly has about 15 to 20 hospitalized patients. The oxygen supply will benefits patients requiring operations and those with respiratory issues, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11464', 'image' => '20200305115602_japan.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 11:55:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11719', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Judicial Officers Start Training on Case and Court Management in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per a press release issued by the Embassy of India, the course is fully supported by the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs’ Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Specially designed at the request of the Government of Nepal, this tailor-made course is believed to enhance the capacity of the officers to deal effectively with issues related to Case and Court Management and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the administration of justice. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, as a part of India’s continuing commitment for capacity building in Nepal, the Embassy of India has facilitated training of more than 200 Nepali officers in different training institutions of India like IIT, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, etc. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Moreover, the press release states that the second batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal will undergo training from March 23 to 29. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11463', 'image' => '20200305122128_judicial officer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:20:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11708', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suggested the government to implement the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on aviation sector to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The WHO has urged the governments across the world not to halt air service during health emergency arguing that it could further complicate the situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel has already submitted a seven-point recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry informed New Business Age that the ministry will table the recommendations to the High Level Coordination Committee formed by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus in Nepal for further discussions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The high level committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel is likely to take a decision on whether to halt international flights to and fro the countries affected by coronavirus or not based on the recommendations of CAAN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Any country enjoys the prerogative to halt flights based on its circumstances. But international flights are not linked to a single country. Based on international standards and values, we have suggested the government the best possible practice,” said DG Pokharel. “How the situation unfolds depends on government decision,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, 28 airline companies including the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation and another Nepali joint-venture company Himalaya Airlines are operating international flights to and from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China since it first appeared on December 31, 2019, the government has issued travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the virus unless absolutely necessary. The government has also stopped issuing on-arrival visas to people coming from five countries most affected by the coronavirus after the Supreme Court directed the government not to provide such visas to those arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Bahrain and Iran.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11462', 'image' => '20200304123307__UME2195.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 12:32:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11712', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mid-Term Review of Monetary Policy not Satisfactory: CNI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CNI said that the central bank has not made adequate effort on management liquidity crunch, problem related to contract on the issuance of credit and loan etc. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, the confederation appreciated the review in loan issuance to the sectors which are prone to coronavirus infection. The CNI also said that the new virus many adversely affect the country’s economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11461', 'image' => '20200304020356_20190530010232_sej pic (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 14:03:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11711', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Stop Sending Workers to Coronavirus Affected Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is hold a discussion with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stop sending migrant workers to China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain for the time being. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rameshwar Rays Yadav, minister for labor, employment and social security, informed New Business Age that the ministry has initiated discussions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to halt work permit approval for Nepali migrant workers travelling to coronavirus-affected countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“During a meeting held on Tuesday (March 3), the ministries discussed about halting the work permit for Nepali workers going abroad for work in coronavirus affected zones,” he informed. However, the decision is yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Minister Yadav, the government does not want to take chance of sending workers to countries where there is high risk of infection. The government has also issued a travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the deadly disease unless it is absolutely necessary.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even if they go, they will have to eventually come back to Nepal because the countries have been returning foreigners due to the risk of coronavirus infection. We have started discussions to make a policy-level decision in this regard," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minister further said that workers have not been able to travel to South Korea after the outbreak of coronavirus there. So far, the government has not made any decision whether to send the workers to South Korea or not. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“However, we are preparing to postpone the date of sending the workers to South Korea,” the minister added. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11460', 'image' => '20200304015603_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 13:55:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11706', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Khatiwada Re-appointed Finance Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">President Bidya Devi Bhandari re-appointed Khatiwada to the post on Wednesday (March 4) for his second stint after his term as National Assembly member expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the state-run national news agency – Rastriya Samachar Samiti – the president appointed Khatiwada to the post as per Article 78, Section 1 of the constitution upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is currently undergoing kidney transplant at TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Khatiwada had resigned from his post after his term as an upper house member had expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The president has also assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11459', 'image' => '20200304113702_20180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 11:36:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Studying Impacts of Coronavirus on Nepal’s Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The government has started studying the impacts of coronavrius on the country’s economy. Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who is also the government spokesperson, informed that the government has already formed a task force which has been studying the impacts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a regular press meet at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on Thursday, Minister Khatiwada said that Nepal Rastra Bank has also been studying the impacts of the deadly disease on Nepal’s economy separately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the minister, Nepal’s economy has witnessed slight glitches while the global epidemic is yet to cause any adverse effects here so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that the government is currently studying the impacts and has not yet decided to announce relief packages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Secretary at the ministry Uttar Kumar Khatri also said that the government is not yet ready to announce relief packages but has adopted high alertness about the possible effects of the disease on the national economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials at the Ministry of Finance opine that the government might include relief packages in the upcoming budget as they have already started making preparations for the annual budget.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, unveiling the mid-term review of the monetary policy, the central bank said on Monday that the government might not meet its target of economic growth as a result of coronavirus outbreak this year. Officials at the central bank said that they have decided to identify the sectors affected by coronavirus and extend additional loans to those sectors to help them cope with the effects of the deadly disease.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The effects of coronavirus have started taking toll on Nepal’s economy with the disease fast spreading across the globe. The tourism sector of Nepal has been affected the most while the trade between Nepal and China has come to a grinding halt.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11473', 'image' => '20200306122644_0180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 12:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Request India not to Halt Supplies of Medicines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: The Government of Nepal has decided to request the Indian government not to halt the supplies of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level coordination committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel has decided to write to Indian authorities not to halt supplies of life saving drugs in the wake of coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada informed during a regular press meet on Thursday that the government has decided to write letter to the Indian government in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He further said that there is no need to panic as there is adequate stock of medicines for the time being. However, the minister said that the government decided to solicit support from India to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines in the future as the global supplier plans to restrict export of medicines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Khatiwada also said that the government is collaborating with the private sector to increase the production of face masks to ward off coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal is chiefly dependent on India and China for medicines and APIs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The global supply of medicines has been threatened due to the coronavirus outbreak as China, the chief supplier of APIs has stopped exporting the raw materials to India and other countries.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11472', 'image' => '20200306114347_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 11:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels in Nepal Start Giving Paid Leave to Employees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 6: Hotels across the country have started giving paid leave to their staff due to the slump in business caused by the coronavirus outbreak across the globe.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Especially, star-rated hotels of the capital have laid off their staff temporarily on paid leave to adjust to the current situation. Some hotels have started capacity development training for their employees during the slowdown of business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Many star hotels and tourist areas have started wearing deserted looks in lack of visitors, most of whom have stopped travelling due to fears of contracting the deadly disease which has already killed over 3200 people mostly in China where the virus originated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel occupancy during this period of year used to be around 80 percent in the previous years. This had dropped to 35 percent at present. Hotel entrepreneurs have informed that cancellation of bookings is also increasing every day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result, hotel employees have had to stay idle in otherwise busy season. Therefore, the hotel entrepreneurs started giving them paid leave.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Normally, hotels employees can enjoy 45 days of paid leave throughout a year during normal circumstances. But this time, the hotels have started giving them such leave at once. Hotel entrepreneurs are yet to decide whether to extend their leave or not once the leave period comes to an end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mostly, star hotels of Nepal are chiefly dependent on foreign tourists. It is not possible to sustain the hotels with income generated from domestic tourists. However, tourist arrival has been witnessed a nosedive due to the widespread fear of coronavirus, which has now spread across the globe. Many countries have issued travel advisories to their citizens not to travel abroad during such a risky period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepal has also decided not to issue on-arrival visas to passengers arriving from five countries which have been severely affected by coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Coronavirus outbreak has not only affected Nepal’s hotel business but has caused cancellation of hotel bookings worldwide.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) President Shreejana Rana said that the association has urged its members to approve ‘pending leave’ to their staffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Coronavirus has not only affected the hotel business in Nepal but across the world,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are helpless at the moment,” she added.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11471', 'image' => '20200306100011_20200130020146_hotels.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 09:59:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Huawei Launches its Own App Gallery', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fight backs against the ban imposed by the USA last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Huawei has launched its own App Gallery as the Chinese technology giant fights back against the ban imposed by the USA last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The company, which faces accusation of security risk from the US, said in a statement that it launched the new app with the motive to build a secure and reliable mobile apps ecosystem.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Our vision is to make Huawei App Gallery an open, innovative app distribution platform easily accessible to all our customers. Besides, we aim to strictly protect users’ privacy and security while providing them with a unique and smart experience,” Huawei said in a statement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei said its AppGallery is now available in over 170 countries/regions with 400 million monthly active users, covering mainstream apps and services worldwide. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> “Privacy, under your control has always been at the heart of our philosophy,” Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group commented during the launching ceremony. He additionally affirmed that privacy protection and cyber security is the top-most priorities of Huwawei’s business operations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We will strictly implement them in all phases of our products. We also have the strictest privacy and cyber security solutions in Huawei AppGallery,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei has hundreds of millions of users worldwide, laying a solid foundation for the development of the ecosystem. Together with HMS Core, which opens a variety of Huawei software and hardware capabilities, Huawei is en-route to providing the best and innovative application experience for its users. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In a statement the company informed that its AppGallery deploys the highest level of verification to isolate and protect users’ sensitive data and privacy. Personally-sensitive information – such as biometric data – will never be processed outside the Huawei device, giving the user complete control over their personal data, the statement added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The US had passed a bill at the end of 2018 preventing the federal government and its agencies from doing business with the Chinese technology giant, Huawei. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Newstatesman reported that the company, along with several dozen subsidiaries and affiliates, was added to the US’s “entity list” in 2019, severely restricting US companies’ ability to do business with one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment firms. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the BBC, US telecommunications regulators declared Huawei and ZTE national security threats in November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump did not want to do business with Huawei “at all” due to “national security concerns.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted Huawei a limited role in Britain’s 5G mobile network in late January, frustrating a global attempt by the United States to exclude the Chinese telecoms giant from the West’s next-generation communications.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A British official, according to Reuters, said excluding Huawei would have delayed 5G and cost consumers more, echoing warnings from the telecoms industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Britain’s move vindicated the fact that 5G’s much faster data speeds and increased capacity will make it the foundation stone of many industries and a driver of economic growth.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance is a milestone towards Chinese technological supremacy that could define the geopolitics of the 21st century,” Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has said the United States wants to frustrate its growth because no US company could offer the same range of technology at a competitive price.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-06', 'modified' => '2020-03-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11470', 'image' => '20200306011233_Huawei.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-06 13:11:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11718', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Ministry Instructs Forming “Action Teams” to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) to form “action teams” to study the possible effects of coronavirus on the tourism sector of Nepal and to suggest preventive measures to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai issued such directive on Wednesday during a discussion with the concerned departments over the possible impacts of coronavirus and ways to deal with them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The minister also urged the departments to write to the ministry if there is any need for policy-level decisions. He said that the ministry will form a team headed by the secretary to deal with the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the concerned departments to give their suggestions within three days regarding the possible impact of coronavirus on the tourism sector and the steps government should take as counter measures.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister Bhattarai also informed that the government has initiated the process to set up health desks at other domestic airports where the inflow of tourists is high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Secretary at the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari said that the ministry will take appropriate steps to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus in Nepal in coordination with other line ministries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11469', 'image' => '20200305121728_20190418024748_visit-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11716', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'COVID-19 Fallout: Sauraha Hotels Start Cutting Down Staff ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 5: Hotels in Sauraha, a major tourist area in Chitwan, have started sending their staff on leave after the fall in the number of visitors due to the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The current rate of occupancy of hotels here is only 15 to 20 per cent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Regional Hotel Association Sauraha president Deepak Bhattarai said there was almost 90 per cent hotel booking around this period last year. He added that although hotel occupancy is now 20 per cent as domestic events and programmes are taking place, this would drastically go down after a few days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">There are only some European, Indian and Nepali tourists in Sauraha at present. All the advance bookings have been cancelled. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Bhattarai, around half the hotels in Sauraha have sent 50 per cent of their staff on leave with the dwindling number of visitors and hotel bookings. The hotels here employ employees ranging from 10 to 70. Some more hotels are said to be preparing to send half of their staff on leave. Staff staying on leave are paid half their salary. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Before this, the hotels here used to send their employees on leave like this until 10 years back during the lean period in the rainy season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bhattarai said that although the hotels did not come across this problem in the recent years, now they are facing the problem due to the fear of COVID-19. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The association's immediate past president Suman Ghimire said the hotel operators were not in a position to pay the bank loans and the interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ghimire believes that more than Rs 8 billion has been invested in the hotel industry in Sauraha. This investment does not include the land property. It is said the hotels have equal amount in bank loans. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Hotel entrepreneurs are facing hard time to pay loans and interests and are worried about being blacklisted by banks as trade suffers due to the fear of the virus, he said. Businesspersons should be given additional deadline to pay loans and interests, according to Ghimire. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chinese travel agents are yet to make payments, said tourism entrepreneurs. Earlier, Sauraha suffered trade after being hit by many factors like the Maoist insurgency, the earthquake of 2015 and a border blockade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This time, the infection may affect trade here the most, said tourism entrepreneurs. Even domestic tourists fear visiting Sauraha due to the risk of infection, said Ghimire. The government has also requested people not to organise gatherings and programmes in view of the virus that has hit China hard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of this, Sauraha which mostly receives Chinese tourists has been affected the most. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Tourism sector ranging from big hotels, restaurants, shops and jungle safari etc in Sauraha have been severely affected, resulting in decline in revenue collection. - RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11468', 'image' => '20200305103834_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:38:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11714', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Faces Mounting Challenges in his Second Innings ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 5: Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada, who had resigned from his post after his two-year term as National Assembly member expired the same day, was reappointed again to the post a day later upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It seems that the finance minister will face an uphill battle in his second stint to meet the targets set by himself in his first term in office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada was re-appointed to the post due to a strong backing from PM Oli despite strong opposition within the ruling Nepal Communist Party. In such context, Khatiwada’s second stint at office seems to be quite challenging on top of poor capital expenditure and revenue collection as well as hosts of other financial problems including the a downcast private sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He also has an added responsibility of protecting the country’s economy from the widespread effects of coronavirus epidemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although he pledged to fight against poverty, illiteracy and injustice soon after assuming his office on Wednesday (March 4), the road ahead is not smooth. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Khatiwada downsized the annual budget and the target of revenue collection in the mid-term review of the budget. However, he did not revise the economic growth target of 8.5 percent. Instead, he claimed that the government will meet its target of economic growth at any cost. Coronavirus outbreak is certain to play the spoilsport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, the finance minister’s claim that 80 percent of development budget will be spent during this fiscal year seems to be an unattainable target. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Speculations are rife that the country’s economy is in a slowdown process as a ripple effect of decline in financing by BFIs to the private sector, which in turn has affected big infrastructure projects and also reduced the demand for iron and cement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the coronavirus epidemic is most likely to decrease the inflow of remittance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In such circumstances, the finance minister faces an improbable task of achieving the targets set earlier this year. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11467', 'image' => '20200305100423_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:03:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11713', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Announces $12 Billion Support to Cope with the Effects of COVID-19', 'sub_title' => 'The amount will be provided on fast-track basis with poor countries on priority list', 'summary' => 'March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 5: The World Bank has announced an initial package of of up to $12 billion in immediate support to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global outbreak of COVID-19. The World Bank made such announcement on Tuesday (March 3) as the epidemic reached more than 60 countries with over 3200 casualties, mostly in China where the disease is believed to have originated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the World Bank, this financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Through this new fast track package, the World Bank Group will help developing countries strengthen health systems, including better access to health services to safeguard people from the epidemic, strengthen disease surveillance, bolster public health interventions, and work with the private sector to reduce the impact on economies, it said in a statement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package, with financing drawn from across IDA, IBRD and IFC, will be globally coordinated to support country-based responses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The COVID-19 support package will make available initial crisis resources of up to $12 billion in financing — $8 billion of which is new — on a fast track basis. This comprises up to $2.7 billion new financing from IBRD; $1.3 billion from IDA, complemented by reprioritization of $2 billion of the Bank’s existing portfolio; and $6 billion from IFC,including $2 billion from existing trade facilities. It will also include policy advice and technical assistance drawing on global expertise and country-level knowledge,” the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We are working to provide a fast, flexible response based on developing country needs in dealing with the spread of COVID-19,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “This includes emergency financing, policy advice, and technical assistance, building on the World Bank Group's existing instruments and expertise to help countries respond to the crisis."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The financial package will provide grants and low-interest loans from IDA for low income countries and loans from IBRD for middle income countries, using all of the bank’s operational instruments with processing accelerated on a fast track basis. International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, will provide its clients with the necessary support to continue operating and to sustain jobs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank support will cover a range of interventions to strengthen health services and primary health care, bolster disease monitoring and reporting, train front line health workers, encourage community engagement to maintain public trust, and improve access to treatment for the poorest patients. The bank said it will also provide policy and technical advice to ensure countries can access global expertise. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The World Bank Group support will prioritize the poorest countries and those at high risk with low capacity, the statement further said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11466', 'image' => '20200305093046_aaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 09:29:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11715', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Oli's Health Stable After Successful Kidney Transplant Surgery ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s kidney transplant was done successfully after a grueling four-hour surgery on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Doctors involved in PM Oli's treatment said his key health indicators are normal following the “successful kidney transplant”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement after the completion of the kidney transplant surgery, the Tribhuvavn University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) informed that Prime Minister's health was stable and the new kidney had started functioning. Doctors said that the prime minister has already regained consciousness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement issued by TUTH executive director Prof Dr Prem Krishna Khadka further said that the prime minister is receiving treatment after being shifted to the post-operative transplant ward from the operation theater. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This is the second time that the prime minister had a kidney transplant, following the first one 12 years ago. Oli’s first kidney transplant was performed in India in 2007.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was undergoing regular dialysis since the last four months after his transplanted kidney stopped functioning. He opted for kidney transplant for the second time as per the suggestions from doctors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Oli’s niece Samikshya Sangroula donated her kidney to PM Oli. Her health condition is also said to be normal.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of doctors consisting of Prof Dr Uttam Kumar Sharma, Prof Dr Prem Gyawali and Prof Dr Ananda Kumar had extracted a kidney from Sangraula. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The prime minister’s well-wishers had gathered on the hospital premises to express happiness after the successful completion of the kidney transplantation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Oli was admitted to the hospital for kidney transplantation on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11465', 'image' => '20200305102040_oli.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 10:20:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11717', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Japanese Assistance for Improvement of New Born and Child Health Project in Banke', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">March 4: The Japanese government has announced to provide grant assistance of US$ 433,030 (approximately Rs 50 million) to Nepal for implementing a project to improve newborns and child health in Banke district.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo signed a grant agreement of with Yuka Onishi, Program Manager of ADRA Japan, in this regard on Wednesday (March 4).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The support was extended under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme for FY 2019. The project will be implemented by ADRA Japan, an international NGO based in Tokyo, with the implementing partner NGO, ADRA Nepal, and its local NGO partner, ENRUDEC.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The grant assistance will be used to repair and upgrade two health posts in the district and for the installation of 48 medical facilities, including at the Provincial Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu, the project focuses on enhancing the capacity development of service providers and on raising awareness of local communities. ADRAbelieves that the understanding the importance of care is the first step towards saving the lives of new born babies, reads a statement issued by the embassy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expressed hope that the project will enhance child health care servicesand the understanding of people about basic health care.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The embassy further said it also believes that the project will further strengthen the friendly relations between the people of Japan and Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier on February 27, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Saigo had handed over an oxygen generation and distribution system to Dhankuta District Hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The system was built with grant assistance of USD 88,118 (approximately Rs 9.66 million).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">At the handover ceremony, Ambassador Saigo said that the assistance would enable patients to access oxygen promptly and more easily, and the system would raise the standard of services provided by the hospital.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The project for installing an oxygen generation and distribution system at the hospital was funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan. The project was managed by the District Hospital, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Over 200 people visit the hospital in the outpatient Department (OPD) every day and it regularly has about 15 to 20 hospitalized patients. The oxygen supply will benefits patients requiring operations and those with respiratory issues, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11464', 'image' => '20200305115602_japan.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 11:55:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11719', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Judicial Officers Start Training on Case and Court Management in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 5: The first batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal have started their seven day training on ‘Case Management and Court Management’ at the National Law University, Jodhpur, India on March 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per a press release issued by the Embassy of India, the course is fully supported by the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs’ Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Specially designed at the request of the Government of Nepal, this tailor-made course is believed to enhance the capacity of the officers to deal effectively with issues related to Case and Court Management and use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the administration of justice. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, as a part of India’s continuing commitment for capacity building in Nepal, the Embassy of India has facilitated training of more than 200 Nepali officers in different training institutions of India like IIT, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, etc. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Moreover, the press release states that the second batch of 30 Judicial Officers from the Supreme Court of Nepal will undergo training from March 23 to 29. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-05', 'modified' => '2020-03-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11463', 'image' => '20200305122128_judicial officer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-05 12:20:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11708', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'CAAN Against Imposing Ban on International Flights to Contain Coronavirus', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suggested the government to implement the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on aviation sector to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The WHO has urged the governments across the world not to halt air service during health emergency arguing that it could further complicate the situation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel has already submitted a seven-point recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A source at the ministry informed New Business Age that the ministry will table the recommendations to the High Level Coordination Committee formed by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus in Nepal for further discussions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The high level committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel is likely to take a decision on whether to halt international flights to and fro the countries affected by coronavirus or not based on the recommendations of CAAN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Any country enjoys the prerogative to halt flights based on its circumstances. But international flights are not linked to a single country. Based on international standards and values, we have suggested the government the best possible practice,” said DG Pokharel. “How the situation unfolds depends on government decision,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, 28 airline companies including the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation and another Nepali joint-venture company Himalaya Airlines are operating international flights to and from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China since it first appeared on December 31, 2019, the government has issued travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the virus unless absolutely necessary. The government has also stopped issuing on-arrival visas to people coming from five countries most affected by the coronavirus after the Supreme Court directed the government not to provide such visas to those arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Bahrain and Iran.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11462', 'image' => '20200304123307__UME2195.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 12:32:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11712', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mid-Term Review of Monetary Policy not Satisfactory: CNI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Although the mid-term review of the monetary policy tried to solve some issues faced by the industrial sector, the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) said that most of the problems of the industrialists have not yet been addressed by the central bank.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CNI said that the central bank has not made adequate effort on management liquidity crunch, problem related to contract on the issuance of credit and loan etc. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, the confederation appreciated the review in loan issuance to the sectors which are prone to coronavirus infection. The CNI also said that the new virus many adversely affect the country’s economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11461', 'image' => '20200304020356_20190530010232_sej pic (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 14:03:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11711', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Stop Sending Workers to Coronavirus Affected Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 4: The government is preparing to stop sending migrant workers to countries affected by coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is hold a discussion with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stop sending migrant workers to China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Kuwait and Bahrain for the time being. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rameshwar Rays Yadav, minister for labor, employment and social security, informed New Business Age that the ministry has initiated discussions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs to halt work permit approval for Nepali migrant workers travelling to coronavirus-affected countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“During a meeting held on Tuesday (March 3), the ministries discussed about halting the work permit for Nepali workers going abroad for work in coronavirus affected zones,” he informed. However, the decision is yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Minister Yadav, the government does not want to take chance of sending workers to countries where there is high risk of infection. The government has also issued a travel advisory to its citizens not to travel to countries affected by the deadly disease unless it is absolutely necessary.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Even if they go, they will have to eventually come back to Nepal because the countries have been returning foreigners due to the risk of coronavirus infection. We have started discussions to make a policy-level decision in this regard," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The minister further said that workers have not been able to travel to South Korea after the outbreak of coronavirus there. So far, the government has not made any decision whether to send the workers to South Korea or not. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“However, we are preparing to postpone the date of sending the workers to South Korea,” the minister added. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11460', 'image' => '20200304015603_aa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 13:55:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11706', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Khatiwada Re-appointed Finance Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">March 4: Former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has been appointed finance minister for a second term, just a day after he tendered his resignation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">President Bidya Devi Bhandari re-appointed Khatiwada to the post on Wednesday (March 4) for his second stint after his term as National Assembly member expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the state-run national news agency – Rastriya Samachar Samiti – the president appointed Khatiwada to the post as per Article 78, Section 1 of the constitution upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is currently undergoing kidney transplant at TU Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Khatiwada had resigned from his post after his term as an upper house member had expired on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The president has also assigned the portfolio of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-03-04', 'modified' => '2020-03-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11459', 'image' => '20200304113702_20180724052602_IMG_0298.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-03-04 11:36:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
