News Digest- Nepal

Govt Preparing to Replace the Budget of FY 2021/22- Rising Nepal
The government has started preparations for the Replacement Bill to replace the budget for the current fiscal year 2020/21 announced through ordinance by the previous KP Sharma Oli-led government.

Nepal-India border talks, supposed to be held every year, in limbo since 2019- Khabar Online
Nepal-India border management talks have not taken place since 2019 although they were supposed to happen every year.

Nepal reports 2052 cases, 26 deaths; recovery rate at 93.5 %- The Himalaya
Nepal’s coronavirus caseload reached 754,915 on Thursday with 2,052 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours.
CPN-Unified Socialist to follow norms of democracy- The Himalaya
The newly formed party – CPN-Unified Socialist – has set a goal to move forward on the path of socialism by protecting the norms and values of people’s multi-party democracy.

Nepal receives 130,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from UK
The British embassy in Kathmandu said on Thursday that 130,000 plus doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were handed over to Nepal, as part of the United Kingdom’s direct bilateral support.

Bhim Acharya replaces Sherdhan Rai as Province 1 chief minister
A day after the split in the CPN-UML, the party on Thursday changed the chief minister in Province 1. Party Secretary Bhim Acharya has been appointed the new chief minister in place of Sherdhan Rai.

Nepal needs weather stations in the Himalaya- Nepali Times
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has installed only 12 weather and precipitation monitoring stations above 3,000m, out of 282 such stations across the country. These numbers are insufficient given Nepal’s topography and the rapidly changing global climate.

Govt Preparing to Replace the Budget of FY 2021/22- Rising Nepal
The government has started preparations for the Replacement Bill to replace the budget for the current fiscal year 2020/21 announced through ordinance by the previous KP Sharma Oli-led government.

Nepal-India border talks, supposed to be held every year, in limbo since 2019- Khabar Online
Nepal-India border management talks have not taken place since 2019 although they were supposed to happen every year.

Nepal reports 2052 cases, 26 deaths; recovery rate at 93.5 %- The Himalaya
Nepal’s coronavirus caseload reached 754,915 on Thursday with 2,052 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours.

CPN-Unified Socialist to follow norms of democracy- The Himalaya
The newly formed party – CPN-Unified Socialist – has set a goal to move forward on the path of socialism by protecting the norms and values of people’s multi-party democracy.

Nepal receives 130,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from UK
The British embassy in Kathmandu said on Thursday that 130,000 plus doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were handed over to Nepal, as part of the United Kingdom’s direct bilateral support.

Bhim Acharya replaces Sherdhan Rai as Province 1 chief minister
A day after the split in the CPN-UML, the party on Thursday changed the chief minister in Province 1. Party Secretary Bhim Acharya has been appointed the new chief minister in place of Sherdhan Rai.

Nepal needs weather stations in the Himalaya- Nepali Times
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has installed only 12 weather and precipitation monitoring stations above 3,000m, out of 282 such stations across the country. These numbers are insufficient given Nepal’s topography and the rapidly changing global climate.

CPN-Unified Socialist to follow norms of democracy- The Himalayan
The newly formed party – CPN-Unified Socialist – has set a goal to move forward on the path of socialism by protecting the norms and values of people’s multi-party democracy.

44 fatalities reported Wednesday as 1862 more contract Covid-19- The Himalayan
Nepal’s coronavirus caseload reached 752,863 on Wednesday with 1,862 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours.

Government mulls options to ease growing burden of social security allowances- Kathmandu Post
The government has sought a voluntary renouncement of social security allowances, which come in the form of cash transfers, from the people who do not require such support in the wake of a consistent rise in resources it has to spend on the scheme.

Can Buddhism contribute to International Relations theories?- The Republica
A perfect Buddhist IR theory might seem utopian thinking for now. However, realigning the mainstream IR theories incorporating Buddha’s core philosophy would be a ‘middle path’ in addressing some of the fallacies of conventional IR thinking for the time being.

EC recognizes CPN (Unified Socialist) and Democratic Socialist Party- The Republica
The Election Commission (EC) has recognized the CPN (Unified Socialist) as a new political party. A meeting of the EC office bearers on Wednesday evening gave verification certificate to the CPN (Unified Socialist) led by Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Election officers being deputed as NC’s 14th Gen Convention nears- Khabarhub
With the 14th General Convention just around the corner, ruling Nepali Congress (NC) is set to publish the final list of active memberships and depute election officers in each district.

Gaijatra festival being observed today- Khabarhub
“The traditional festival of Gaijatra or the ‘cow festival’ is being observed starting today in three cities of Kathmandu Valley and some other places in the country. The festival, beginning on the first day of the waning moon in the month of Bhadra (Bhadra Pratiprada) as per the lunar calendar, lasts for a week.”

1702 new Covid-19 cases, 2248 recoveries, 24 more deaths reported on Sunday- Himalayan
“Nepal’s coronavirus caseload reached 747,733 on Sunday with 1,702 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours.”

Second batch of Japanese vaccine arrives- Himalaya
“More than 208,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines provided by the Government of Japan arrived in Kathmandu today.”

CPN-UML leaders for party unity told to take the call- Himalaya
“Some second generation CPN- UML leaders close to Madhav Kumar Nepal, who did not support him when he filed a petition at the Election Commission seeking to split the party, are now trying to keep party unity intact. However, leaders close to UML Chair KP Sharma Oli say there is slim chance of unity between the two sides.”

Remittance hits Rs961 billion, an all-time high in the time of Covid-19 – Kathmandu Post
“From 2020 to early 2021, the global economic crisis worsened with millions of workers losing jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like in other countries, a reverse migration started in Nepal too, with official figures suggesting that nearly half a million Nepalis who were stranded abroad were rescued, and outbound numbers plunged.”

UK aid for Nepali mothers and children- Nepali Times
“As the Covid crisis pushes millions of Nepalis back below the poverty line affecting their nutritional status, the UK government is funding supplemental food for mothers and children affected by the monsoon and Covid-19 pandemic in Nepal.”

Two Nepali nationals evacuated in an IAF aircraft from Kabul- Republica
“August 22: Two Nepali nationals have been evacuated in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft from Afghanistan on Sunday. Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, India, via his tweet informed that an AI 1956 aircraft carrying 87 Indians departed from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Earlier, the passengers were evacuated by an IAF aircraft.”

CPN (Maoist Center) names chiefs of its provincial committees- Rising Nepal
“The meeting of the standing committee of the CPN (Maoist Center) has named chiefs of the party’s provincial committees and different departments. Narayan Kaji Shrestha, spokesperson of the party, said that chiefs of the provincial committees and in-charge of the districts have been fixed by the meeting.”

CPN UML Chair Oli announces to provide Rs 1m to ‘Ward Chairperson Educational Development Fund’- Nepal News
“Chairperson of the CPN UML, KP Sharma Oli, has announced to provide one million rupees to the ‘Ward Chairperson Educational Development Fund’ established at Chandragiri Municipality-19. Ward Chairperson Uttam Bahadur Raut established the fund depositing his salary to ensure that no child is deprived of education due to the financial crisis.”