Sept 24: Republica Morning Brief

Published On: September 24, 2020 07:30 AM NPT

Graphics: Kamal Subedi/ Republica

Refuting media reports about the alleged encroachment of Nepali territory by China in Humla district, the government said that there is no disputes over territory between Nepal and China. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali, who is also the government's spokesperson, said a similar news about land encroachment from Chinese side in Limi village in Humla district had surfaced four years ago as well. He said that an inter-ministerial team after the field inspection had concluded that the said buildings were located approximately one kilometer inside the Chinese territory from the Nepal-China border. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in a separate statement, further said the boundary between Nepal and China was delineated and demarcated based on the Boundary Treaty and Boundary Protocols signed between the two countries.

The Embassy of China in Kathmandu in a statement had asked Nepali authorities to verify the border points as agreed between the two countries in the past, denying encroachment of Nepali territory. The buildings mentioned in the media have been verified to be on the Chinese side of the China-Nepal border. The Nepali side may make verification again," a spokesperson at the Embassy of China in Kathmandu said on Wednesday. Denying encroachment of Nepali territory, Chinese Embassy Spokesperson also said that there are no territorial disputes whatsoever between Nepal and China. "China and Nepal have no territorial disputes. The two sides have always maintained close communication on border affairs," the spokesperson further said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the appointment of Vice Chairman of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Bam Dev Gautam as a member of the National Assembly. A single bench of justice Ananda Mohan Bhattarai on Wednesday issued an interim order, asking the government not to entrust Gautam with the responsibility as a member of the upper house of the federal parliament. Raising a serious constitutional and ethical question to appoint as a lawmaker to the one defeated in the parliamentary election, the court also referred this case to the constitutional bench for hearing on September 30.

The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has recommended the government to enforce lockdown measures if the number of active cases of COVID-19 surpasses 25,000. A meeting of the Incident Command System, under the MoHP, on Wednesday made the recommendation to the government to this effect. “The services and activities that cannot adhere to safety protocols must be shut for at least a month in view of the spiking numbers of COVID-19 cases,” said Dr Jageshwar Gautam, spokesperson for the MoHP. According to the latest data from the MoHP, Nepal has 17,414 active cases as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has decided to fine a former board director of Himalayan Distillery Limited, Rahisha Shah Shrestha, and brokerage firm Investment Management Nepal Pvt Limited for flouting corporate governance related guidelines while selling the shares of the listed company. The securities market regulator decided to fine Shrestha, a former board director, Rs 75,000 for violating a provision of ‘Guidelines Related to Corporate Governance of Listed Companies 2018’. Shah sold her shares at the Himalayan Distillery Ltd on various dates before one year of leaving the company as a board director, flouting the guidelines, according to Sebon.

The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has requested people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. The DoTM, in a statement on Wednesday, asked people to avoid traveling if it is not absolutely essential in view of the pandemic. The government has allowed long-haul public transportation services to operate from September 17, following the health safety criteria set by the government. The service was suspended in March. Although the lockdown was lifted on July 21, the government did not allow long-route public transport to resume operation.

The last rites of legendary climber Ang Rita Sherpa, who passed away on Monday at the age of 72, were performed in Kathmandu on Wednesday. He was laid to rest with state honors at Teku Dovan this morning.Tourism Minister Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai draped a national flag on late Sherpa. A Nepal Army contingent accorded a guard of honor and a gun salute to late Sherpa. Monks, nuns, mountaineers and relatives took part in the funeral procession.

Bir hospital has denied accusations of medical misconduct on Ram Lakhan Jaiswal’s body. He was 63. In a press statement issued by the hospital on Tuesday evening, the hospital said that the allegations made by Jaiswal’s family members were not based on facts. Rumors of Bir hospital taking out Jaiswal’s eyes quickly spread on social media. Jaiswal’s dead body was brought to the hospital a few days ago from the central jail. The body was in the morgue of the hospital after it tested positive for COVID-19. But on Tuesday, multiple videos were made public by various YouTube channels where Jaiswal’s daughter and some family members were seen accusing the hospital of performing an ‘organ procumbent’ from the dead body.