KATHMANDU: It has been six months since the rape and murder of Nirmala Pant, a 13-year-old girl from Kanchanpur, but the government appears clueless on the status of the investigation as Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa failed on Wednesday to furnish a concrete answer to the House.

During the question-answer session in Parliament, opposition lawmakers asked Thapa about the investigation into Pant’s rape and murder and the progress officials have made so far. “Sincere efforts are being made to solve the case, but I cannot give you a timeline when the investigation will be completed,” Thapa told the House.  (The Kathmandu Post)

 Tourism Ministry, Aviation Authority cross swords over operational modalities

KATHMANDU: The Tourism Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal are crossing swords over the operational modalities for Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa.

While the ministry plans to appoint Germany’s Munich Airport to provide consultancy services for the operational readiness and airport transfer operation of the news airport which is expected to open by the end of 2019, its line agency has invited bids to operate ground handling and catering services at the airport.  (The Kathmandu Post)