KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A controversial spiritual leader in Nepal known as “Buddha Boy” has been sentenced to a 10-year prison term Monday for sexually assaulting a minor, court officials said.
Ram Bahadur Bamjan — believed by some to be the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism — was also ordered to pay $3,700 in compensation to the victim by a judge at the Sarlahi District Court in southern Nepal.
The man will have 70 days to appeal against the court order, court official Sadan Adhikari said.
Police arrested Bomjan from a suburb in Nepal's capital Kathmandu in January on charges of sexual assault and suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of at least four of his followers.
Nepalese banknotes worth $227,000 and other foreign currencies amounting to $23,000 were seized from him at the time of the arrest, police said.
Last week the court found him guilty of sexually assaulting an underage girl.
The charges related to the disappearances of his followers are still pending trial.
Bamjan is believed by many Nepalese to be the reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal some 2,600 years ago and became revered as the Buddha. Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of Bamjan’s claims.
Bamjan became famous in southern Nepal in 2005.
His popularity has declined amid accusations of sexual and physical assaults on his followers, but he still maintains camps in southern Nepal where thousands come to worship or live.
FILE- Ram Bahadur Bamjan, center in white, is surrounded by Buddhist monks in Nijgadh town, south of Katmandu, Nepal, Nov. 12, 2008. The controversial spiritual leader known as “Buddha Boy” has been sentenced to a 10-year prison term Monday, July 1, 2024 for sexually assaulting a minor, court officials said. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi, File)
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla shares zoomed up more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to new records.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to finish at 40,580.76. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained nearly 0.3% to 7,739.90. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.5% to 2,794.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.1% to 17,956.55, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 2,982.38.
Asian investors were cheered by hopes for an interest rate cut in the U.S. But some traders were keeping to the sidelines ahead of Thursday’s Independence Day holiday in the U.S.
“On the radar is the Japan’s Nikkei, which may extend its run above the 40,000 level, with overnight strength in tech while the Japanese yen continues to trade at a 38-year low,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 161.80 Japanese yen from 161.44 yen. The euro cost $1.0752, little changed from $1.0743. Among Tokyo technology-related shares, Kyocera Corp. jumped 3.1% while Murata Manufacturing Co. surged 6.4%.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.6% to 5,509.01, topping its all-time high set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 39,331.85, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8% to 18,028.76, besting its own record set a day earlier.
Tesla led the way with a 10.2% jump after the electric-vehicle maker reported a milder drop in sales for the spring than analysts expected. Modest gains for other big, influential stocks also helped lift the market, including a 1.6% climb for Apple.
Stocks got a lift from easing Treasury yields after the head of the Federal Reserve made comments that investors took as a signal for possible cuts to interest rates later this year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave a nod to improvements in inflation data after some disappointingly high readings early in the year.
“We just want to understand that the levels that we’re seeing are a true reading of underlying inflation,” he said during a panel discussion at the European Central Bank’s monetary policy conference in Sintra, Portugal.
Investors hope inflation will slow enough to convince the Fed to lower its main interest rate, which has been sitting at its highest level in more than two decades and pressing the brakes on the economy.
Keeping Wall Street’s gains in check was Nvidia, which has been one of this year’s brightest stars. It fell 1.3%, though it’s still up nearly 147.7% for the year so far.
Eli Lilly fell 0.8%, and U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk dropped 1.7% after President Biden criticized in an opinion piece for USA Today how much the companies are charging for their drugs for weight loss and diabetes.
The week’s most anticipated economic data will arrive on Friday, when the U.S. government reports the total jobs employers added in June. Before then, the U.S. stock market will have a shortened trading day on Wednesday and Thursday's Fourth of July holiday.
Treasury yields have been feeling some upward pressure recently because of politics. Last week’s debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump pushed traders to make moves in anticipation of a possible Republican sweep in November. That included sending Treasury yields higher, in part because of the possibility for policies that would further raise the U.S. government’s debt.
The 10-year yield is still well above its 4.29% level from late Thursday, before the debate.
In commodities markets, the price of benchmark U.S. oil ended up slipping modestly after touching its highest price since April. Crude prices have largely been rising on expectations for strong demand during the summer, as well as the possibility of hurricanes damaging oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Beryl is roaring through the Caribbean.
U.S. benchmark crude added 33 cents to $83.14 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 38 cents to $86.62 a barrel.
The Fearless Girl statues faces the New York Stock Exchange on July 2, 2024, in New York. Global stocks are mostly lower after benchmarks ended higher on Wall Street. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader walks by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla gained more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to more records. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader stands by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla gained more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to more records. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader watches computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla gained more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to more records. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Currency traders work by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla gained more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to more records. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rates at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after Tesla gained more than 10%, helping to drive U.S. benchmarks to more records. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
