Page 34 - Nepal

Nepal's govt formation likely to be delayed as parties fail to end impasse

Nepal's major political parties failed to break an impasse over the formation of a new government as a crucial five-party alliance meeting aimed at striking a deal for power sharing ended inconclusively here on Saturday, a day ahead of the deadline set by the president. President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday called on all the political parties of Nepal to form a new government within seven days, as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba discussed the power-sharing deal with the coalition partner Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. As no single party got a majority in the House of Representatives (HoR) election held on November 20, the president has called for submitting a claim by a member of the HoR who can garner a majority with support from two or more parties, as stipulated in the Article 76 clause 2 of the Constitution. The deadline for submission of the claim is 5 pm on December 25, according to a statement issued by the Office of the President. Inter-party consultations and ...

Nepal needs to prioritize its interest while executing China's BRI: Experts

"We tried our best to serve our national interests while signing the MoU on BRI," Mahat said

Nepal SC orders release of serial killer Charles Sobhraj on health grounds

Nepal's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who is serving a 19-year jail term in the country since 2003 on murder charges, on health grounds. A joint bench of justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tilak Prasad Shrestha passed the ruling to free 78-year-old Sobhraj from jail, according to Supreme Court sources. The order by the division bench of Nepal's top court came after Shobraj filed a plea claiming that he was put in prison more than the period recommended for him. There is a legal provision to release prisoners who have completed 75 per cent jail term and showed good character during imprisonment. The court verdict has also asked the concerned authority to arrange for Sobharj to return to his country within 15 days. Sobhraj through his petition had claimed that he had completed his jail term as per the concessions' entitled to senior citizens of Nepal. He claimed that he had already served 17 of the 20 years of his sentence an

Nepal blacklists 16 Indian pharma companies, including Ramdev's Pharmacy

Nepal's drug regulatory authority has blacklisted 16 Indian pharmaceutical companies, including Divya Pharmacy which manufactures Yoga Guru Ramdev's Patanjali products, stating that they failed to comply with the World Health Organisation's (WHO) drug manufacturing standards. The Department of Drug Administration, in a notice issued on December 18 asked the local agents in Nepal, which have been supplying these medicines, to immediately recall them. According to the notice issued by the Department, the medicines manufactured by the listed companies cannot be imported or distributed in Nepal. The list of the companies that do not comply with WHO standards were published after inspection of the manufacturing facilities of the pharmaceutical companies that had applied to export their products to Nepal, according to the Department officials. In April and July, the Department sent a team of drug inspectors to India to inspect the manufacturing facilities of pharmaceutical companies that

Nepal considers China's offer of building cross-border railways under BRI

Nepals caretaker government has expressed its reservations over a Chinese proposal for a feasibility study of an ambitious cross-border railway under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

Former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar quits as Nepal men's team head coach

Former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar on Thursday stepped down as Nepal team head coach after a four-month stint, the country's cricket board announced. The 59-year-old Prabhakar, who took 96 wickets and scored 1600 runs from 39 Tests between 1984 and 1995, was appointed to the post in August. He had also played in 130 ODIs, taking 157 wickets from them. "Mr. Manoj Prabhakar has stepped down from his position of Nepal Men's National Cricket Team's Head Coach with immediate effect on 15th December 2022," Cricket Association of Nepal announced on its official Twitter handle. "CAN has accepted his resignation and wish him the best for his future." Prabhakar was at the helm of affairs for the Nepal men's team in only five T20Is and seven ODIs, including four matches in the World Cup Super League 2. Under him, Nepal had a successful tour of Kenya, winning a five-match T20I series 3-2 and then sweeping the ODIs 3-0. Nepal also won a home ODI series against UAE 2-1 last month.

Indian Embassy, Nepal govt sign MoUs for projects in education, healthcare

The Embassy of India and Nepal government's Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) for undertaking three projects in Nepal

Nepal's ruling alliance wins majority of seats in provincial assembly polls

Nepal's ruling alliance has won a majority of seats in four of the seven provinces, as the Election Commission announced the results for the provincial Assembly polls

Rise of 2 new parties in Nepal ends monopoly of traditional forces

The recently concluded election in Nepal has witnessed two new parties - Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party - entering into Parliament from the Terai or Madhes region, ending the monopoly of the two traditional parties in the southern plains bordering India. In fact, the combined strength of both the traditional forces of Terai - Janata Samajwadi Party (JSP) led by Upendra Mahato and Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party (LSP) led by Mahantha Thakur - has been reduced by 50 per cent in the just concluded polls. Five years ago, the two Terai-based parties had a combined strength of 33 in the House of Representatives. However, their combined strength has been reduced to just 16 seats, with the emergence of two new political parties in the region. In the recent election, JSP has bagged seven seats under direct voting and it will get five more seats under proportionate voting. Similarly, LSP has won just 4 seats but it would not get any seat under proportionate voting as the party failed to

Nepal to lift ban on import of vehicles, liquor products from Dec 16

Nepal's cabinet has decided to lift an eight-month-long ban on the import of some vehicles, liquor products and expensive mobile sets from December 16, a cabinet minister said

Traders stage protest after stone pelting incident on India-Nepal border

India has reportedly closed a suspension bridge connecting Nepal since early Monday morning, following Sunday's stone-pelting incident on the Indian workers by the Nepalese at the Indo-Nepal border

5 Bihar villages to be developed into human-carnivore coexistence zone

Five villages of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district of Bihar will be developed into a model human-carnivore coexistence zone, with the state government joining hands with the Wildlife Trust of India, a Nepalese organisation and a UK-based zoo for the project, officials said. The objective of the project is to end the human-carnivore conflict in the Valmiki-Chitwan-Parsa transboundary landscape, they said. The WTI, National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC-Nepal) and Chester Zoo (UK) had jointly applied for the project and sought a letter of support from the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, said P K Gupta, Bihar's Chief Wildlife Warden. The department has given its go-ahead for the initiative, he told PTI. The Chester Zoo has been actively working on human-wildlife conflict worldwide for the last several years, including in Terai in Nepal, where human-tiger conflict is a matter of concern, Gupta said. Human-wildlife conflict is among the most

Best of BS Opinion: Don't ignore Covid, Nepal's destiny, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Nepal's destiny

The election offers some new signals for India

PM Deuba's Nepali Congress emerges single largest party in Nepal polls

The ruling Nepali Congress led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Sunday maintained its lead as the single largest party by winning 53 seats in the parliamentary polls held to end the prolonged political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation. Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on November 20. The counting of votes started on Monday. The Nepali Congress has won 53 seats and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist) (CPN-UML) secured 42 seats in the elections. The CPN-Maoist has emerged as the third largest party with 17 seats while the CPN-Unified Socialist has bagged 10 seats. The newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and pro-Hindu Rastriya Prajatantra Party have won 7 seats each. Independent and other smaller parties have emerged victorious on 21 seats. Out of the total 165 seats under direct voting, the results on 21 seats are still awaited. The ruling five-party alliance has won 85 seats,

NC led-ruling alliance heading towards majority in Nepal parliamentary poll

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress-led ruling coalition was on Friday heading towards winning a clear majority in Nepal's parliamentary elections with the alliance bagging 64 seats out of the 118 declared In the 275-member House of Representatives, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system. A party or a coalition needs 138 seats to win a clear majority. The Nepali Congress was set to emerge as the single-largest party after winning 39 seats alone under the direct voting system. Its alliance partners -- CPN-Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist have won 12, 10 seats. The Lokatantrik Samajwadi and Rastriya Janamorcha have bagged two and one seat respectively. They all are part of the ruling alliance. The Opposition alliance led by former premier K P Sharma Oli-led CPN-UML has bagged 35 seats. The CPN-UML has won 29 seats. The CPN-UML partners - the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Ja

Nepal's political leaders start efforts for govt formation amid vote count

As the counting of votes in Nepal's parliamentary election is on, the country's top leaders have initiated efforts to explore possibilities for the formation of a new government to end the political instability that has plagued the Himalayan nation for more than a decade. Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on Sunday. The counting of votes started on Monday. Communist Party of Nepal (Unified MarxistLeninist) (CPN-UML) chairman K P Oli on Thursday called CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda and the two leaders congratulated each other on getting elected to the HoR. Prime Minister and Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba also telephoned Prachanda and Oli to congratulate them on their victory. All three top leaders have been elected to the HoR after registering victories in the election. During their telephonic conversation, Oli offered Prachanda to move ahead by forging collaboration in the process of ...

Nepal parliamentary polls: Nepali Congress-led coalition leads in counting

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress (NC)-led ruling coalition was on Thursday on its way to winning Nepal's parliamentary elections and has bagged 40 seats out of 65 declared so far. Out of the 275 Members of Parliament, 165 will be elected through direct voting, while the remaining 110 will be elected through a proportional electoral system. Till now, the Nepali Congress has won 25 seats and is leading in 31 more. The CPN-Maoist Centre has bagged 7 seats, CPN-Unified Socialist 6 and Rastriya Janamorcha and Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party one each. They all are part of the ruling coalition. The Maoist Centre and CPN-Unified Socialist have been leading in 10 and 5 seats respectively. The main Opposition CPN-UML led by former premier K P Sharma Oli has won 15 seats and is leading in 29 others. The CPN-UML partners - the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Janata Samajwadi Party - have won two and one seats respectively. The newly-formed Rastriya Swotantra Party has wo

China encroaches on 36 hectares of land along Nepal's northern border

China's salami-slice strategy on Nepal's northern border has resulted in the encroachment of 36 hectares of Nepal's land at 10 places

Nepal polls: PM Deuba wins from Dadeldhura; Congress ahead in tally

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected on Wednesday with a huge margin of votes from the Dadeldhura constituency in far west Nepal for the seventh consecutive time, with his Nepali Congress party leading in the election tally by winning 11 seats so far. Elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and seven provincial assemblies were held on Sunday. The counting of votes started on Monday. Deuba secured 25,534 votes against his nearest rival Sagar Dhakal, 31, an independent candidate who received 1,302 votes. Deuba has never lost any parliamentary election in the five decades of his political career. The 77-year-old Nepali Congress president Deuba is currently holding the post of Prime Minister for the fifth term. Dhakal is a young engineer, who had a verbal squabble with Deuba during a public debate at a BBC's Sajha Sawal programme five years ago, after which he decided to challenge Deuba saying that now youths should get a chance in politics and senior people like Deuba