Nepal’s national cricket team has made history with a stunning victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the ICC World Cup League-2 triangular ODI series. In the final match of the series, the team beat the UAE by nine runs according to Duckworth-Lewis method, securing a place in the ODI World Cup qualifiers. Nepal’s success in this match was all the more remarkable considering that they were chasing a mammoth target of 311 runs.

The government has recently announced measures to tackle the widening budget deficit caused by low revenue collection. The budget deficit as of eight months of the current fiscal year 2022/23 has surpassed Rs 156.44 billion, with the government having spent Rs 779.23 billion of its budget as of mid-March this year, while the revenue collection stood at Rs 622.78 billion.

The recent warning from the Banchare Danda Landfill Affected Area Concern Committee that they will not allow the dumping of the Kathmandu Valley’s waste at the landfill site after mid-May if their demands are not met, has raised concerns about the garbage management problem that the valley is likely to face after a couple of months.

The news report of the government failing to meet the revenue collection target for the first eight months of the current fiscal year is alarming. The government's inability to generate enough revenue indicates that it may not be able to fund its development projects and maintain its regular operations.

In a display of blatant disregard for the rule of law, various Maoist factions and splinter groups, including the ruling CPN (Maoist Center), convened a joint press conference on Sunday to launch a venomous attack against the judiciary. It is unconscionable for anyone, particularly those who claim to uphold the rule of law, to harbor such bitterness towards the country's judicial system. Under the law, everyone is equal, regardless of their status or position, including the prime minister and other high-ranking officials. The latest constitution of the country makes it clear that implementing the rule of law must be impartial and fair to all citizens.

China’s decision to include Nepal in its list of outbound destinations for its citizens in the second batch of countries for outbound travel is a welcome relief for Nepal’s ailing tourism industry. Nepal is among the 40 countries in the list of outbound destinations released by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, making it the third South Asian country to be included in the list of outbound destinations for Chinese tourists.

The race for the vice-presidency in Nepal seems to be more intense and competitive than that for the presidency, which already has a clear winner in Ram Chandra Paudel of the Nepali Congress.

Commercial banks of Nepal on Thursday decided to reduce their premium interest rates on loans by one percentage point effective from March 15. The decision was made by the Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA), who opted to lower the premium rate to a maximum of 5% from the current 6%.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report last week indicating that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2022 were the highest since 1900. The primary source of these emissions is the combustion of fossil fuels, which are responsible for the rising temperatures on Earth.

The presidential election scheduled for Thursday marks yet another significant moment in Nepal's political history. Two candidates, namely Ram Chandra Poudel of Nepali Congress and Subash Chandra Nembang of CPN-UML, are vying for the post of the country’s head of the state. The president is elected by an electoral college composed of the members of the federal parliament and the provincial assemblies. It consists of 884 members, including 275 members of the House of Representatives (Lower House), 59 members of the National Assembly (Upper House), and 550 members of seven provincial assemblies. The weight of each vote varies according to the Federal law, with a member of the federal parliament's vote carrying 79 votes, and a member of the provincial assembly's vote carrying 48 votes. Together, there will be a total of 52,707 votes up for grabs. Since the Election Commission (EC) has announced that the final results of the voting will be made public within hours after the election is over, we can expect to have the country’s third president elected by late evening on Thursday.