By Prithvi Man Shrestha in The Kathmandu Post, June 14, 2023CPN-UML chair and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli allegedly assured Ncell and its parent company Axiata that no capital gains tax would be applicable when Axiata was preparing to buy Ncell in 2015. Axiata Investments (UK) Limited and Ncell made such claims while submitting their position at the dispute settlement tribunal formed by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an international…
Posts published in “Nepal”
Report in The Kathmandu Post, June 14, 2023The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice against Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai over the use of children in the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency. A single bench of Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla asked Dahal and Bhattarai, the then supreme commander of the Maoist combatants and the chief of “people’s government,” respectively, to furnish in writing whether they recruited child soldiers. “The…
By Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, June 14, 2023China has once again sought Nepal’s support for its newly announced Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). The GCI, according to the Chinese government, is “an enrichment of the civilisational values deriving from the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, and represents both the latest achievements of world civilizations and the crystallization of China’s wisdom for the world.” Chinese President…
Report in The Kathmandu Post, June 13, 2023National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina discussed various facets of Nepal-China relations on Monday with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China. Timilsina, who is on an official visit to China, met Zhao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. During the meeting, chair Timilsina said Nepal and China have had cordial and very close relations for centuries, adding…
By Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, June 13, 2023Senior Nepali and Indian officials are set to sign the final agreement on a long-term energy deal next week. During the recent India visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the sides had agreed in principle that India would import 10,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal in the next 10 years. An initial agreement was signed between Nepal and India at the energy secretary-level on June…
By Binod Ghimire in The Kathmandu Post, June 12, 2023A writ petition demanding prosecution of the supreme commander of the disbanded Maoist ‘People’s Liberation Army’, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who currently is the prime minister, and the chief of the insurgency-era ‘people’s government’, Baburam Bhattarai, who is also a former prime minister, has been registered at the Supreme Court. The court administration registered the petition on Sunday following a ruling by a single bench of Justice…
By Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, June 12, 2023The writer is a reporter covering national politics for The Kathmandu Post.Ajambar Rai Kangmang is among the CPN-UML leaders who quit the party en masse to form the Federal Socialist Party in 2012. The new party’s goal was to champion the cause of identity-based federalism. In 2015, it merged with other forces. Kangmang then joined the CPN (Maoist Centre) and is now the party’s central committee…
by Krishana Prasain in The Kathmandu Post, June 12, 2023Nepali kitchens may have to do without potatoes and onions as traders have stopped importing these indispensable vegetables after the government slapped value-added tax (VAT) on them. Consumer rights activists say a revenue-hungry government is taxing everything, and now it has even invaded the kitchen, making life harder for inflation-stricken Nepalis. Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat defended the move telling Parliament recently that imposing taxes on…
By Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, June 12, 2023Nepali politicians are in the habit of lying to cover their tracks or to spoil the reputation of their counterparts from other parties. They get away with it most of the time but sometimes these lies are so egregious they badly backfire. Take the latest jibes of CPN-UML chair and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli aimed at Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. On Saturday, Oli…
by Anup Ojha in The Kathmandu Post, June 11, 2023The elderly couple were making just about enough to survive from a small eatery run from their Jorpati home on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Pem Tsering Sherpa, 71, and his wife Jambung, 55, were making enough to survive. A few years ago, one of their regular customers suggested they save their income so that they will have no hassles when they get too feeble to earn…
Report in The Kathmandu Post, June 10, 2023Ruling coalition leaders have publicly criticised the budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024 unveiled on May 29 as the fiscal estimates are being discussed in Parliament. Speaking at the general convention of the Press Organisation on Friday, CPN (Unified Socialist) Vice-chair Rajendra Pandey said the annual budget has done extreme injustice to the people and they would not tolerate it, even if that meant quitting the government. Pandey…