<p>The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case under the embezzlement charge against Chief of Badimalika Campus Kaldevmandau, Nawaraj Jaisi, and accountant Lal Bahadur Rawal. <br><br>The lawsuit registered against the two at the Special Court today has indicted them of misappropriating campus fund of Rs 3.7 million. They embezzled the campus funds, producing fake bills, the CIAA found in its preliminary investigation.</p><p>It has sought the recovery of the misappropriated amount along with fines from the accused. <br></p>

<p>Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the comment that the budget tabled by the Government yesterday is of 'huge size' and 'distributive' does not hold any substance.<br><br>Speaking at the parliamentary party meeting of his party, the CPN-UML at the UML PP office in New Baneswor today, he said the comments have come just because of a result of the trend that an opposition party has to express disagreement over the ruling parties' act. <br><br>Also Chair of UML and its PP, leader Oli challenged the opposition parties to come up with evidence to show where and how the budget is distributive.<br><br>He said the budget is oriented towards development of the country, advancement of the people and socialism as envisaged in the new constitution. &nbsp;<br>On remarks from various quarters on the size of the budget, the PM said that the size of the budget is smaller by four percent as compared to previous one. <br><br>He also said that the government has allocated budget in various sectors with due responsibility for the development of the country. The Prime Minister said the principles of the budget advocate development and prosperity of the country. &nbsp;<br><br>Responding to criticism of the budget by various quarters, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel said that the criticism was made on the ground that the government has brought a very popular budget, but not the fact that they dislike it. <br><br>He defended the budget, saying that it has accorded high-priority to the construction of federal structures, local elections, agriculture and energy. <br><br>CPN-UML chief whip Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal termed the budget as good and urged all lawmakers to support it, and help with passing it.<br><br>He said that a good message would be spread if a campaign regarding good aspect of government's policies and programmes would be launched across the nation.<br><br>Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Dr Yubraj Khatiwada, said that attention was paid in budget allocation to the production sector including agriculture, with an targeted economic growth rate of 6.50 to upgrade the country from a least developed to a developing country. <br><br>It was not right to criticize over the size of budget as budget was allocated on the basis of parliamentarians.<br><br>Likewise, NPC member Dr Suchitra Shakya suggested to take the budget for intellectual discussion across the nation.<br><br></p>

<p>Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the budget for the coming fiscal year&nbsp; has presented a new concept to accelerate the development task of Nepal. <br><br>Addressing the programme organised on the occasion of the 9th International Mt Everest Day today, Prime Minister Oli said that the budget has made every sector elated as well as tourism. <br><br>Mountaineering tourism and trekking, among others are necessary and indispensible for the development of the country. The government is serious towards it", he said &nbsp;<br><br>Stating that Mt Everest is a pride and identity of Nepal, the PM mentioned that it has been challenging to keep Mt Everest clean<br><br>Similarly, Minister of State for Culture, Tourism and Civil aviation, Bal Bahadur Mahat, pointed out the need of collaboration among bodies concerned for commercial promotion of immense potentialities of mountaineering, trekking and religious tourism. <br><br>Nine Mt Everest summiteers including Pasang Tenjing Sherpa, the first to reach atop Mt Everest this spring were honoured with Rs 50,000 each on the occasion.<br><br></p>

<p>The journalism sector has expressed dissatisfaction over the budget estimates that Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel presented at the parliament yesterday, stating that it did not include any significant plans for the media sector.</p><p>In his comment over the budget estimates for the fiscal year 2016/17, President of Federation of Nepali Journalists Dr Mahendra Bista said journalists were not much encouraged by the new budget.</p><p>President of Press Chautari Nepal Ganesh Basnet said the rate of public welfare advertisements should have been increased and added that enforcement of the working journalist act, capacity building of Rastriya Samachar Samiti are issues to be raised.<br><br>Former President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Taranath Dahal expressed concern over the ignorance of the present budget to the decision taken earlier to transform Nepal Television and Radio Nepal into a public broadcasting institution. <br><br>NRA reaches agreement with 36287 households in 10-quake hit district to release relief amounts <br><br>The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has signed an agreement with 36,287 affected households of 10 districts hit by the April 25, 2015 earthquake to distribute them the relief amounts announced by the government.<br><br>Every family who signed agreement to receive the reliefs will be provided with the first installment of Rs 50,000 of the Rs 200,000 to reconstruct damaged houses, after reaching an agreement with a bank for transaction, said NRA spokesperson Ram Prasad Thapaliya. <br><br>Those who signed the agreement are 10,733 from Okhaldhunga, 13,079 from Ramechhap, 2,300 from Gorkha, 599 from Dhading, 280 from Nuwakot, 208 from Rasuwa, 1,927 from Sindhupalchok, 900 from Kavrepalanchok, 5,161 from Dolakha and 1,100 from Sindhuli, he said. <br><br></p>

<p>The Nepali Congress has concluded that the budget for the fiscal year 2016/17 brought by violating the fiscal discipline could not be implemented.<br><br>A joint meeting of the NC Parliamentary Party and central committee held at the Legislature-Parliament Building in New Baneshwor this morning determined that it would only be limited to imagination as the budget has no policy and structural-level arrangement for the implementation. <br><br>Talking to the RSS, after the meeting, NC leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat said that challenge would be faced in course of implementing the budget as it would fail to collect resources from the sources mentioned in the budget.<br><br>Leader Ramesh Lekhak said that the ambitious budget for next fiscal year could not be implemented as 20 per cent budget of the current fiscal year has not been spent yet.<br><br>The NC demanded that Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel should tender his resignation on moral grounds as information regarding size of the budget and its priorities were disseminated a day before the budget was presented to the parliament. <br><br>Women should unite for implementation of the constitution: Speaker Gharti<br><br>Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar has said that all women should unite for the implementation of the new constitution. <br><br>Speaking at a programme organised to mark the 21st establishment day of the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) in the capital, the Speaker stressed the need for women to work together to enforce their rights granted by the constitution, as the constitution has accommodated many rights.<br></p>

<p>Iraqi government forces have made gains in their offensive to drive Islamic State militants from Falluja – one the country's two major cities in IS hands.</p><p>The nearby town of Karma, the first line of IS defence, is now in the army's hands, a BBC correspondent says.</p><p>Large numbers of elite combat troops have also been deployed near Falluja, about 45km (28 miles) west of Baghdad.</p><p>But IS hit back north of Falluja, killing and injuring some Iraqi forces in a suicide car bomb attack.</p><p>A counter-attack south of the city was repelled with the help of helicopter gunships, the BBC's Jim Muir in Karma reports.<br><br></p>

<p>Seventeen people have died in a fire at a building housing elderly people in a village near Ukraine's capital Kiev.</p><p>The fire broke out in the early hours today in a two-storey building housing some 35 people.</p><p>Emergency services units saved 18 people, five of whom have been hospitalised with burns of varying degrees of severity," Ukraine's emergencies ministry said.</p><p>The authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.</p><p>Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman described the fire as a "terrible tragedy that has caused irreparable loss" and said the government offered "sincere condolences" to the victims' families, Ukrainian media reported.<br><br></p>

<p>Up to 700 migrants are feared drowned in a series of shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in the last few days, the UN refugee agency says.</p><p>The boats sank south of Italy on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as the migrants tried to reach Europe in unseaworthy vessels.</p><p>Spring weather has led to a surge of people attempting the perilous crossing from Africa to Europe.</p><p>Almost 100 migrants are missing from a smugglers' boat which capsized on Wednesday. Horrifying pictures of the incident and its aftermath were filmed by rescuers.About 550 other migrants are missing from a boat which overturned on Thursday morning after leaving the Libyan port of Sabratha on Wednesday. Survivors said the boat had no engine and was being towed by a second smuggling vessel.</p><p>In a third shipwreck on Friday, 135 people were rescued, 45 bodies pulled from the water and an unspecified number of others are missing.</p><p>Meanwhile, the MSF Sea group suggested the death toll from the last week could be as high as 900.<br>Survivors are being taken to the Italian ports of Taranto and Pozzallo.<br><br><br></p>