Page 5 - Nepal

'Bikini killer' Charles Sobhraj freed from Nepal jail after 19 yrs 2 mths

Charles Sobhraj, 77, who is popularly known as "serpent killer" and "bikini killer" was freed from the jail on Friday afternoon as per the order from the Supreme Court of Nepal

PM Modi congratulates Nepal's new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on being elected as Nepal's PM. Taking to his official Twitter handle, PM Modi stated that he looks forward to working with 'Prachanda' to further strengthen the "friendship" between India and Nepal.PM Narendra Modi noted that the "unique relationship" between the two nations is based on "deep cultural connect" and ties between people. He tweeted, "Warmest congratulations @cmprachanda on being elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. The unique relationship between India & Nepal is based on deep cultural connect & warm people-to-people ties. I look forward to working together with you to further strengthen this friendship."On Sunday, Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari appointed Maoist Center leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the country's Prime Minister, the Nepal President's Office said. "Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) will take oath as the new ..

Nepal President appoints Pushpa Kamal Dahal as new Prime Minister

Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Sunday appointed Maoist Center leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal as the Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation, Nepal President's Office said

Prachanda set to become Nepal's next PM with support from Oli-led CPN-UML

In a dramatic turn of events on Sunday, opposition CPN-UML and other smaller parties extended their support to CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", who is now set to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal. A crucial meeting of former prime minister K P Sharma Oli-led opposition CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Centre, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and other smaller parties agreed to form a government under the leadership of Prachanda'. The CPN-UML, CPN-MC and other parties are set to stake a claim for Prachanda's premiership at the President's Office Sheetalniwas' with the signature of 165 lawmakers under Article 76 (2) of the Constitution, General Secretary of CPN-MC Deb Gurung said. Gurung said that an agreement letter is being prepared to submit to the president. The meeting was attended by Oli, Prachanda, RSP president Ravi Lamichhane, Rastriya Prajatantra Party chief Rajendra Lingden, Janata Samanwadi Party president Ashok Rai among others at Oli's residence ...

Nepali ruling party discusses PM candidate as new govt deadline looms

The Nepali-Congress-led ruling coalition has intensified its negotiations to choose its prime ministerial candidate, as the deadline given by President Bidya Devi Bhandari comes closer

Nepal health ministry issues alert on new Covid-19 variant BF.7

It added that fever measurement, antigen testing and genetic testing of suspected travellers coming from international checkpoints and airports are currently being carried out in 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