Over 58 percent of 274,000 regular examinees who had appeared in this year’s School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations have passed the ‘iron gate.’

According to the SLC results, which were published late night on Thursday, 58.64 percent of regular examinees have passed the exams along with 31.5 percent of the exempted ones. In total, there were over 352,000 students who appeared this year’s SLC.

Last year, only 46.51 percent of regular examinees had passed the SLC test.

As per the Office of the Controller of Examination (OCE), Sanothimi, 56,153 students have passed in first division; 89,662 in second division and 7789 in third division.

Likewise, over 7000 students have passed securing distinction marks. Like in the past year, the OCE has not published the names of top ten students.

The results of this year’s SLC will be published in daily newspapers including Gorkhapatra, The Kathmandu Post and Annapurna Post. They will also be made available in websites of the ministry of education and department of education ( www.moe.gov.np; www.doe.gov.np), among others. Likewise, they can also be availed through SMS to 1400 number of Nepal Telecom.

This year’s SLC had been held on April 4-12. This year the Ministry of Education held the examination based on the curriculum of grade 10 alone – unlike previous years when the exams were based on curricula of grade 9 and 10.

With the aim of resolving the problem of petroleum shortage, the government has decided to provide guarantee for loans worth Rs 1.2 billion for Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).

According to government spokesperson and Information Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the government has decided to instruct Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to provide loan of Rs 800 million and Citizen Investment Fund (CIF) to provide loan of Rs 400 million to the NOC on its guarantee.

The government hopes that the loan amount will help NOC pay some of its dues to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which would then ease the supply of fuel. Currently, the bandhs in Terai as well as lack of adequate supply have triggered acute shortage.

In the last few days, the fuel shortage has worsened. On Tuesday, long queues of vehicles could be seen in petrol pumps that sold the fuel.

Amid worsening security situation in Terai, two district-level leaders of Nepali Congress (NC) and NC-Democratic have been shot to death by unidentified group on Monday in Nawalparasi district.

Armed assailants who came on two motorcycles opened fire and killed Bechayi Yadav of NC-Democratic and Govari Yadav of NC at Bhujahawa area.

Bechayi Yadav was an influential Congress leader of the area. He had been displaced from his village due to constant Maoist threat in the past. He had returned after the peace agreement.

In recent months, spate of killings have gripped Terai area. There have been a number of tit-for-tat killings of local leaders of Maoists, and armed factions. However, this time two Congress leaders have been killed by unidentified group.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index made history in its 13-year-long existence when it crossed the 600 mark for the first time on Tuesday. Trade analysts attributed the rise to a continuous rise in share prices caused by the remarkable confidence shown by investors in stock trading.

The Nepse opened at 598.52 points Tuesday morning and ended at over 602 points, with shares of commercial banks and hydropower companies gaining.

According to the Himalayan Times, of the 40 leading scrips traded Tuesday, more than 90 percent of them gained in a range of Rs 1 to Rs 75 per share and only five companies were the losers among them.

The Nepse index has been soaring high for the last six weeks with investors making largely speculative buying amid rumors of persistent growth in share prices.

The Himalayan Times reported that the market has been overheated on speculation that the “financial institutions would soon announce positive annual financial results, as the book for this fiscal year is being closed in a week or so”.

“A rush of gullible and new investors is taking stock trading to a new high these days,” senior official at Nepse told the daily. He, however, warned that the current growth is “not justifiable in accordance with the country’s economic performance and actual financial health of the listed companies”

Terming the current Nepse as a ‘rumour-driven market’, the official also warned that the market could crash any day, if the existing speculation-dominated trend continued.

The government has formed a new 16 member National Dalit Commission for the period of two years. Earlier, the government had appointed Bhagwat Biswasi as the chairman of the commission.

The new members of the Dalit commission which is there to work for the rights and welfare of the Dalit people include Santoshi BK from Rolpa, Durgi Pawan from Dhanusa, Khadga Bahadur Basyal from Surkhet, Bangali Hajara Paswan from Bara, Karna Bahadur Chunar from Rupandehi, Hom Khati from Dolakha, Sharada Swarnakar from Dang, Bikram Ram from Bara. The remaining are member secretaries.

In order to internationalize the Bhutanese refugee problem, which remains as a thorn in the bilateral relations between Nepal and Bhutan for the past 16 years, the government has given the Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal permission to seek resident visas in third countries, Kantipur Daily reports.

It has been stated in the decision recently taken by foreign and home ministry that
“Bhutanese refugees would be given permission to begin process for resident visas in third countries”.

After 15 rounds of talks between Nepal and Bhutan on the fate of Bhutanese refugees living in 7 camps in eastern Nepal failed to bear fruit, the government had extended its support to the refugee rehabilitation process that started 4 years ago.

The Asia pacific regional conference of the Non Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) is scheduled to be held in Singapore on July 14 and 15.

In a statement, NRNA vice president for Asia Pacific, Devman Hirachan, said more than 120 members from the region and Europe including NRNA International Coordination Committee (ICC) president Dr Upendra Mahato, FNCCI and Tourism Board representatives are participating in the conference.

Issues like the networking between NRNs in Asia Pacific, their contribution to the nation, NRN laws, internal matters of the organization and the third global conference of NRNA would be discussed.

According to NRNA spokesperson, Dr Jugal Bhurtel, the third global conference would be held in Kathmandu in October this year.

An unidentified armed group has abducted a civil servant in eastern Terai district of Saptari, Wednesday morning.

Ashok Kumar Singh, an overseer at the District Development Committee (DDC), Saptari was abducted by a group of armed men while he was sleeping at his home in Rajbiraj Municipality-7 at 2 am in the morning Wednesday and taken to an unknown destination, according to police.

Although no group has claimed the responsibility of the abduction as yet, the police suspect one or the other faction of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) for it given that the outfit has been involved in most of the killings, abduction and similar crimes in terai of late.

Meanwhile, police finally secured the safe release of Narayan Neupane, a local of Rangapur VDC, Rautahat, Tuesday afternoon following a heavy gun battle with the cadres of Jwala Singh faction of JTMM in Santapur VDC, Rautahat.

Neupane had been abducted by the armed outfit involved in number of killings and abduction related crimes.

In the gun battle that ensued after the cadres of JTMM-J opened fired at the police squad that had reached the place in the course of search operation to secure the release of abducted person, Neupane and three policemen sustained bullet injuries.

Neupane is undergoing treatment at Gaur hospital and his condition is said to be stable.

The police also confiscated three motorcycles from the abductors.

Chief of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) Ian Martin returned Kathmandu Wednesday morning from Norway.

Martin had gone to the Norwegian capital Oslo a week ago to take part in an international conference that was held there.

With Martin’s return, work on second phase verification of Maoist combatants that had been stalled for some time is also expected to gain pace.

Meanwhile, construction work on the 29 residential quarters for the Maoist combatants with the first division cantonment based in Chulachuli of Ilam has also finished, reports cited Deputy Commander Nanda Kishor Pun as saying.

Maoist combatants have started to move into the newly constructed quarters, each of which is meant for accommodating 15 soldiers.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said that the November 22 elections of Constituent Assembly will usher in a new era.

Speaking at the parliament on Wednesday, PM Koirala said that the CA will be like a new revolution for the country and added that it will adjust the remnants of old system.

PM Koirala said that actual development process would start only after the election to constituent assembly and asked the leaders to remain ready for massive transformation in socio-economic and political scenario in near future.

He said peaceful revolution in the country would start after the polls and added the leaders should work in such a manner that Nepali people should no more have to come to streets (to fight for democracy). “This should be the final struggle,” he said.

Giving example of Mahatma Gandhi, who had sought support even from the British government for India ‘s independence movement, PM Koirala said he believes all sides would cooperate in peaceful transformation of the country.

Meanwhile, he also asked the leaders not to have too much expectation from the forthcoming budget.