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King Gyanendra and Queen Komal grace the National Film festival |
KING GYANENDRA HAS, IN accordance with the Constitution of Nepal 1990, promulgated the Social Welfare (First Amendment) Ordinance 2005 and the Civil Service (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2005. This was stated by the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on July 14.
NEPAL HAS BACKED JAPAN’S BID to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council but has yet to decide whether to support a resolution on UNSC expansion Japan jointly submitted with Germany, Brazil and India, Nepalese Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, who is in Tokyo, along with Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani, told The Japan Times in an interview. The ministers expressed support for Japan ’s effort to gain a permanent seat in the UNSC, saying Nepal wants Japan to play a more decisive role in the international community. “But we should not reform (the organization) in a way that, instead of strengthening the UN, will weaken the UN,” he said. “When to reform and how to reform…these are the matters we have not decided yet.” Meanwhile, in Tokyo , Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani met with Japanese foreign minister Nobutaka Machimura. Likewise, Foreign Minister Pandey held bilateral consultations with Machimura. Agency reports add that Japanese foreign minister urged his Nepalese counterpart to move Nepal towards the path of democratic reforms.
THE ROYAL NEPALESE ARMY (RNA) has established the first-ever Aviation Training Center . The center was inaugurated by army chief General Pyara Jung Thapa on Wednesday (July 13) on the occasion of auspicious birthday of the King. The center is located in the premises of airport. The center would begin its operation by providing training to 6 pilots. The aviation unit in RNA had been set up four decades ago. The unit has been carrying out functions like transporting soldiers and goods, rescue mission, para training etc. According to the army, in future the center would, in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), also provide pilot training to non-military personnel charging certain money.
A SENIOR WORLD BANK EXPERT HAS warned that in absence of timely measures to control it, the spread of HIV/AIDS, in the long run, would devastate a country’s economy. An economist at the Bank Shanta Devrajan said that the HIV/AIDS not only invited public health problem but also national economy problem. He was speaking at a talk program on Long-term Economic Effects of HIV/AIDS in Kathmandu . He mentioned how the GDP growth had decelerated in countries ravaged by the disease. He pointed out that the fight against HIV/AIDS must not be fought alone by the Health Ministry but also by the Finance Ministry and the whole country. The expert said that the present situation in Nepal was like the one seen 15 years ago in African countries. He urged for immediate high-level political commitment and support from all sectors to prevent the situation from deteriorating and resembling that in African countries. He said how the HIV/AIDS spread from infecting 1 percent (of the population) to 25 percent in a matter of 15 years in South Africa . Speaking at the same program, Dr. Shyam Sundar Mishra, director of National AIDS and STD Control Center , said that there were around 62,000 HIV/AIDS patients in Nepal .
ACCORDING TO THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS, the death rate is 622 while the birth rate is 2128 per day. Nepal has a total population of 2,53,59035, with the population growth at 2.25 percent. If the present growth rate continues, experts fear the population will double in 31 years. This information was made available on the occasion of World Population Day on July 11. Meanwhile, reports indicate that while its demand is increasing, the supply of contraceptives is likely to fall short due to financial crunch both on the government’s as well as the donor agencies’ side. Dr. Janardan Lamichhane of Nepal family Health Program said by 2008, the total fund needed for contraceptives would be $ 8.53 million, and of which only $ 2.39 million has been promised by partner agencies, thus leaving a shortfall of $ 6.14 million. “The shortage will start showing in two or three years,” Dr. Lamichhane said. In Nepal , use of modern contraceptives methods increased from 3 percent in 1976 to 39 percent in 2001.
THE 39 TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry kicked off in the capital on Wednesday (July 13). The outgoing FNCCI president Binod Bahadur Shrestha said that the business and industry sector was passing through most painful phase. “There are indications of some improvement since the February 1 royal steps. It has become easier to conduct business activities in urban areas. But the improvement is very limited and the problems still persist in districts,” Shrestha said. He, however, added that the Nepalese businessmen and industrialists firmly believed that prosperous future of Nepal can be guaranteed only through constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy. He also criticized the government’s policy of taking stringent action against defaulters of bank loans. He said there ought to be clear distinction between willful defaulters and those defaulters who could not pay back the loans due to genuine problems. Vice chairman of the Council of Ministers Kirti Nidhi Bista, inaugurating the AGM, expressed full support of the government in the creation of industry-friendly environment. He said that the government would introduce new policies governing industrial, commercial and foreign investment sector. He also assured of setting up Special Economic Zones, introducing Competition Law and new Company act, among others, to reinvigorate the business sector. Chandi Dhakal has been elected unopposed as the new president of the FNCCI. The umbrella organization of the private sector, FNCCI covers 88 district/city chamber of commerce and industry; 59 product association; 9 bi-national chambers; and 351 industrial academies.
