National
ICYMI: Here are our top stories from Tuesday, May 14
Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (May 14, 2019).Post Report
Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (May 14, 2019).
Ruling party is using fear and coercion to control them, say party members
On May 5, the ruling Nepal Communist Party called a meeting of its Parliamentary Party to discuss the policies and programmes presented in Parliament by the President two days earlier. But the meeting quickly devolved into lawmakers venting their dissatisfaction with the party’s approach.
The May 5 meeting and the internal fallout over the policies and programmes document appears to exemplify the working style of the ruling communist party, where many members are afraid that the two chairpersons—KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal—are attempting to unilaterally run the party.
These fears have been building for the past year, where a series of events suggests that the party is becoming increasingly intolerant of dissenting voices within the party—to the extent that leaders at times are forced to maintain silence, said multiple NCP leaders the Post spoke to.
Government officials say they were unaware of Nepali lawmakers' visit to Europe to attend Tibet convention
Nepal’s official One-China policy has come under serious scrutiny after two Members of Parliament recently participated in an event organised by the Latvian Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet and the International Network of Parliamentarians on Tibet while on a personal trip to the European country.
This comes just as three government journalists are under investigation by the state news agency for disseminating a report about the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, in what the communication minister described as a violation of the official One-China policy.
Two years on, Nepal continues to bar women from taking housemaid jobs in Gulf
Two years ago, the government imposed a ban on Nepali women taking up jobs as housemaids in the Gulf countries as part of a bid to protect them from potential exploitation. But concerns are growing, as rights activists and organisations say such a ban infringes upon an individual’s right to mobility. The government, nonetheless, seems to be in a dilemma as to what it should do.
The ban was enforced as instructed by members of the parliamentary International Relations and Labour Committee, who had made a 10-day visit to the Gulf countries in April 2017 to take stock of the working conditions and other aspects.
Finance Ministry okays another Rs 700 million for Bhairahawa airport project
The Finance Ministry said it had approved additional funding of Rs700 million to restart the stalled Gautam Buddha International Airport project.
The contractor for the airport project being built in Bhairahawa had stopped work complaining that it had not been paid. The latest stoppage was another blow to the national pride project which has been facing endless delays since construction started in 2013.