by Krishana Prasain in The Kathmandu Post Apr 9, 2023Following a meeting of the Nepal-China border trade mechanism in Lhasa on March 29, the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point has finally come into full operation from April 1, after being closed for 38 months. China also resumed passengers’ clearance at the Jilong (Rasuwa) dry port. Nepali traders say they are encouraged by the opening of the borders but remain cautiously optimistic. They hope there will be no…
Posts published in “Nepal”
By Tika R Pradhan in The Kathmandu Post, April 08, 2023A day after the 10-party ruling coalition unveiled its common minimum programme signed by its leaders, the Rastriya Jana Morcha, one of the coalition partners, said it does not approve of the government’s programme. Issuing a press statement, Jana Morcha chair Chitra Bahadur KC not only expressed his party’s displeasure with the coalition’s common programme, but also objected to the ‘unauthorised’ use of his signature…
By Binod Ghimire in The Kathmandu Post, April 07, 2023Three months since its first meeting, the House of Representatives is yet to constitute thematic committees due to differences among the political parties over the number of their representatives in each committee. The first meeting of the lower house elected through the November 20 elections commenced on January 9. The parties blamed the lack of regulations for the delay in the formation of the committees. It…
Report in The Kathmandu Post, April 7, 2023With the largest party in the ruling coalition, the Nepali Congress, unable to nominate its four ministerial candidates, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been struggling to give full shape to the Cabinet. The last time the prime minister expanded the cabinet was on Friday. The coalition has allocated eight ministries to the Congress. Party president Sher Bahadur Deuba is waiting for the Shekhar Koirala-Gagan Thapa faction to…
By Tika R Pradhan in The Kathmandu Post, April 07, 2023The Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government on Thursday brought a new Common Minimum Programme (CMP), its second in three months, copying most points from earlier programmes including the most recent one and the one before that brought by the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government. The 13-page document entitled “Policy Priorities and Common Minimum Programme of Government of Nepal” contains mostly populist promises. “As I led the CMP…
Report in The Kathmandu Post, April 06, 2023Foreign Secretary of Nepal Bharat Raj Paudyal called on Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on Thursday. A press release issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing following the meeting stated that the two sides discussed the matters related to strengthening the bilateral relations and cooperation between the two nations. “During the meeting, matters related to strengthening the longstanding…
by Raj Bahadur Shahi in the Kathmandu Post, April 7, 2023Residents of remote Mugu district bordering China have long been eking out a living by conducting trade with the northern neighbour. In early 2020, the border closed, and hundreds of households in this northwest corner of Nepal were pushed to the edge of poverty after all commerce came to a halt. Villagers living close to the Nepal-China border points say Beijing’s erratic trade policy is…
By Manoj Paudel in The Kathmandu Post, April 06, 2023The writer is the Kapilvastu correspondent for Kantipur Publications.The Kapilvastu District Court has issued an arrest warrant against Judge Bhuwan Giri, who is now working at the Judicial Council in Kathmandu. A month ago, Giri’s wife had registered a complaint at the Kapilvastu District Police Office against the judge, accusing the latter of marital rape, following which the district court on Monday issued the arrest warrant.…
By Nishan Khatiwada in The Kathmandu Post, April 06, 2023The writer is a reporter covering national politics for The Kathmandu Post.Three parties—the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the Janamat Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party—made it to Parliament last November in their first try at parliamentary politics, winning 20, six, and four seats, respectively. But they have failed to deliver effectively either as ruling parties or as strong opposition raising public voices, say observers. Jhalak Subedi, a…
By Binod Ghimire in The Kathmandu Post, April 05,2023The writer covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post.The first elected government after the restoration of democracy in 1990 started the practice of making public the property details of the prime minister and ministers. The practice started by then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s cabinet continued until 2018. Except Khil Raj Regmi and his team, all prime ministers and ministers until the time of…
By Anil Giri in The Kathmandu Post, April 05,2023Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal is Beijing-bound as the head of the Nepali delegation to the 15th meeting of the Bilateral Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism. At the meeting scheduled for Friday, Paudyal and Sun Weidong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, will lead their respective delegations. According to Nepali officials, although China has been pushing hard for Nepal’s support for the Global Security Initiative…