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Flights have been disrupted at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) due to foggy weather in the Kathmandu Valley since early this morning. The domestic and international flights to and from the TIA have been affected since Thursday morning. TIA General Manager Premnath Thakur said though some flights were landed in the airport this morning, both domestic and international flights could not take off later. "Due to bad weather and poor visibility, some flights to be landed at TIA were diverted", he said. Flights will be operated smoothly once the weather condition improves, Thakur added.  

Winter is here, and with it comes cold-related and respiratory illnesses. The worsening air quality, particularly in urban centers like Kathmandu, is fueling such diseases. The Ministry of Environment and Kathmandu Metropolitan City have come up with a grand policy and program to curb air pollution, but they have little difference. Kathmandu is rated as one the most polluted cities in the world. This winter season, people need to pay extra attention, as the coronavirus is still circulating among us. It is difficult to distinguish covid infection from common cold or flu. In the Tarai, many people do not have warm clothes to see them through the winter. Distressing news is coming from Tarai that people are dying from extreme cold. Two persons from Musahar community died of cold in the last two weeks. Those losing lives to chill are from Pidari of Haripur Municipality-9 in Sarlahi.  Ramesh Majhi,40, from ward no 9 and Ram Bhagat Majhi, 65, from Haripur Municipality-6 lost their lives due to severe cold, according to the District Police Office. Ramesh used to work as a laborer. He died while sleeping. He had slept in a straw. Many families, particularly in poor communities, rely on bonfires to keep them warm. The practice of making bonfires to ward off cold not only contributes to air pollution and respiratory diseases. It also raises the risks of death due to smoke asphyxia and household fire. Availability of warm clothes could greatly minimize these risks. From an individual level, we could donate warm clothes to the least fortunate ones, either in person or through various charities and social organizations. When covid epidemic was at its peak, many people came out to support the poor. It is important that we show the same spirit of goodwill. It is equally important that all three levels of government—federal, provincial and local governments—raise awareness among people about diseases associated with cold weather and the ways to prevent them. They should also equip health facilities with medicines because poor people cannot afford to go to private clinics and hospitals.  As our healthcare system is still centralized, the federal government should take immediate measures to increase and improve the medical resources of health facilities in outlying regions of the country. We are currently in the government transition process. The incumbent Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government has been rendered into a caretaker role, and the process of new government formation is likely to take some time. For our political parties and their leaders, preventing winter-related diseases and deaths is not a priority.  But this cannot be an excuse not to address the issue. Government agencies should collect the data of people who do not have proper shelter and clothes, and take steps to protect them.

While six Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), namely UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman along with the east Asian nation Malaysia still take 80 percent of Nepali migrant workers annually, central and eastern European countries have emerged as new destinations for foreign jobs for Nepali migrant workers. According to the Nepal Labor Migration Report 2022, the United Kingdom, Albania, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Cyprus are being increasingly preferred by Nepali migrant workers for foreign employment. Similarly, Turkey in West Asia and the Maldives in South Asia also attract Nepali workers in large numbers. As wages and facilities are comparatively better in Europe than in GCC countries Nepali workers are choosing European countries over the Gulf nations. The average monthly income of Nepali workers in Gulf countries is Rs 30-40,000, and those working in European countries can earn Rs 100,000-150,000. The report states individual labor approvals for the United Kingdom increased by a whopping 975 percent in FY 2021/22 while that of Croatia increased by 247 percent. Similarly, labor approvals for Poland and Turkey surged by 251 and 101 percent respectively. The labor approvals issued for the Maldives increased from 2450 in 2017/18 to 6591 in 2021/22. Jordan and Malta have also seen a significant increase in the number of Nepali migrant workers going there. The rising popularity of these destinations could be due to the policy introduced by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) in 2022, to provide individual labor approvals to workers seeking to migrate to countries like Albania, Croatia, Poland, and Romania, among others. The report shows there has also been growth in the number of labor approvals for Nepalis going to the United Kingdom. The labor approvals for the UK increased by 95 percent in 2021/22 compared to 2017/18. The increase is due to the UK's exit from the European Union, causing labor shortages and resulting in the introduction of various temporary visas by the UK government for migrant workers for seasonal jobs. The UK government data shows that 599 Nepali citizens received temporary visas in 2021 and 415 in the first quarter of 2022 for skilled and temporary work. According to the report, "between January-March 2022, Nepal ranked fourth highest among the list of source countries for seasonal workers." The report further said, "the increase in the number of labor approvals for the UK could be due to the introduction of seasonal work visas." The data of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) correlates with the fact stated by the Nepal Labor Migration Report. According to the DoFE data, 5,997 Nepalis have reached Romania for foreign employment in the last 6 months alone while 4,256 have reached Croatia and 3,431 have reached Malta. Similarly, 2280 Nepali workers reached Cyprus for foreign jobs during the same period. Similarly, more Nepali workers are going to African countries including Mauritius and Seychelles. Official statistics show 228 Nepalis have reached Mauritius and 311 reached Seychelles in the last six months. The number of countries to which Nepalis are migrating for foreign employment has reached 150. While the government has approved 111 countries for labor migration through recruitment agencies, Nepalis are going to other than those approved after obtaining individual labor approvals. According to the report, there is variation in the pattern between men and women migration. Countries like Cyprus, Jordan, Turkey, Romania, Croatia and Malta are attractive destinations for women compared to men.  

The newly established party, led by former television anchor Ravi Lamichhane, is caught in a bitter inter-party dispute after the faction close to Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah raised an objection to the PR lawmaker nomination list. On Dec 10, Ganesh Karki, press coordinator of Rastriya Swatantra Party(RSP), took to social media to express his displeasure with the name list of party lawmakers under proportional representation category. Karki didn’t make it on the list and he blamed the party Chairman Ravi Lamichhane and General Secretary Mukul Dhakal for the omission. Karki claimed that the party leadership dropped him and Dipak Bohara from the list to make room for Dr Chanda Karki and Nisha Dangi, who were nominated under women’s quota. The RSP won 20 seats under the first-past-the-post electoral system, emerging as a new political force.  Karki’s contention is that since two women party candidates had already won under the first-past-the-post electoral system, the party needed just five women PR candidates to meet the 33 percent women’s participation. In an interview with AP1 Television, Central Committee member of the party Karki said party leadership does not want to hold discussions on pressing intra-party issues.  The party leadership breached the rules set by the party while selecting the candidates under the PR category, Karki said. Karki joined the RSP as a representative of Kathmandu mayor, Balendra Shah. A party source requesting to conceal his name said Karki’s entry in the party was a result of a compact between Shah and Lamichhane, who are apparently planning for a campaign to do away with federalism. It is noteworthy that in the Nov 20 elections, the RSP didn’t contest for provincial assembly seats and Shah didn’t cast a vote for provincial candidates. Another source said Shah’s supporters in the party are unhappy with the leadership’s decision to block Karki’s nomination. Some say this could lead to potential insurrection and factionalism inside the party. Already, Lamichhane and his close aides are facing criticism of holding clandestine meetings and trying to suppress dissenting voices inside the party. On the night of Dec 16, Lamichhane called on CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli to discuss the power-sharing deal. The meeting was kept secret from the media as well as the party members. The media caught wind of the meeting after two days, but the subject of discussion between the two leaders remains a secret. Lamichhane is also accused of keeping Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary party under wraps. The meeting, held at a hotel in Budhanilkantha to elect the PP leadership, however, failed to pick deputy PP leader, chief whip and whip following a disagreement among party members. The intra-party dispute is deepening and Lamichhane and the co are scrambling to keep it from spilling out in public. To this end, the party leadership has directed the central members and lawmakers-elect from speaking with the media. In order to keep Karki from raising further ruckus, the party leadership is trying to entreat him with a promise of a seat in the National Assembly. Biraj Bhakta Shrestha is the only lawmaker-elect from the party who is close to Shah. Shah had played a significant role to ensure the electoral success of Lamichhane’s party. The same team behind Shah’s local election campaign had supported the candidates of RSP. Karki was one of the chief strategists in Shah’s election campaign. “Shah’s campaign team was instrumental for the party’s success in the federal election,” a party leader said. “Karki’s entry in the party was a result of quid pro quo agreement between Shah and Lamichhane.” Shah and Lamichhane decided to work together because they shared a similar political line of dismantling the provinces. Karki has also confirmed the mutual point of interest that brought them together. One leader said the only reason Shah has not joined the party is because he won the mayoral election as an independent candidate. “Him joining the party now will not be good for the reputation he has built as an independent,” the leader added. While there are only a few indications of Shah’s support to the RSP, one of them being his decision not to vote for provincial election, Lamichhane has openly endorsed the independent mayor as an agent of change. Shah’s win in the local election had also given Lamichhane the confidence to form a party to challenge the old established political forces. Another leader requesting anonymity said Shah had shown an undeclared support to the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which he proved by distancing himself from the ‘lauro’ (walking cane) campaign. When Shah ran in the mayoral race, he was assigned a walking cane as his election symbol. The cane would go on to become more than an election symbol throughout Shah’s campaign and after his election victory. It became a symbol of support and trust for many voters disenchanted with the old parties. It was also a symbol of warning for mainstream political parties and their leaders. The ‘lauro’ campaign continued to gather momentum until the elections to the federal and provincial elections. When Suman Sayami, who had lost the mayoral election to Shah, decided to file his candidacy in the federal polls from Kathmandu-8, he fashioned the ‘lauro’ campaign as his own to attract voters. There was a widespread public belief that Shah was going to support Sayami. But when Sayami and his Hamro Nepali Party was dragged into a controversy for co-opting the ‘lauro’ campaign, Shah came forward to clarify that he had nothing to do with the party and its candidates. At the time of the controversy, Shah had already agreed to support Lamichhane and his party, a party leader said. It remains to be seen what will happen to the Shah-Lamichhane relationship, and by extension, to the RSP with more disputes likely to come to a head. There are also differing opinions about the party joining the government. Some leaders are of the view that the party should join the coalition government, while others say the party should remain in opposition. But Santosh Pariyar, a lawmaker-elect from the party, denied reports of disputes. Initially, there were some issues regarding the selection of PR candidates, which has since been resolved, he said. He added recent meetings of the party's Parliamentary Party and Central Committee have decided to safeguard the party’s unity and work toward addressing the people’s demand.

The Supreme Court has issued an interim order against the Nepal Army’s move to award the contract of the sixth package of the Kathmandu-Nijgadh Fast Track project to a controversial Chinese company. The Nepal Army on December 12 had sent a letter to the Chinese company and asked its officials to come to the Nepal Army headquarters within 15 days for the contract agreement. Responding to a writ petition filed by advocate Rojan Khadka on behalf of an Indian company—Afcons Infrastructure Limited, on Tuesday, a single bench of Justice Tanka Bahadur Moktan on Wednesday issued an interim order directing the Nepal Army to not award the contract to the Chinese company at a time when the case is under consideration at the court. In his writ, Khadka had demanded that the Nepal Army’s invitation to award the contract to the Chinese company be stopped at the earliest. After the hearing on December 6, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki and Justice Pushpalata Mathema on December 12 had ordered the Nepal Army to submit the original documents of the contract. But, the Nepal Army wrote a letter to the Chinese company—China First Highway Engineering Company Limited, on December 12 and asked the officials to come to the Nepal Army headquarters within 15 days for the contract agreement. Later, the Indian company—Afcons Infrastructure Limited on December 20 filed a writ against the decision of the Nepal Army. Nepal Army, in charge of the project, on November 11 had decided to award the contract to the China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd, which was disqualified earlier in the bidding process. Later, the company was deemed qualified and included in the bidding process on November 6. A total of 12 companies had applied for the bidding process of ‘Double Lane Dual Carriageway Standard Expressway Road, Bridge, Slope Stabilization, Interchange, Toll Plaza and Allied Works, in the sixth package of the Kathmandu-Tarai-Madhesh Expressway. Based on Nepal Army’s technical evaluation, five companies were qualified for the bidding process. The China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd, which was not selected in the bidding process, filed a case against the decision at the Public Procurement Review Committee. Later, the Committee issued a directive to include the Chinese company in the bidding process which was called on June 1. After the inclusion of China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd, six companies were selected for the bidding process. Of the qualified companies, CFHEC won the contract to construct the fast track at Rs 18. 80 billion.  

Senior member of the House of Representatives Pashupati Shumsher JB Rana took the oath of office and secrecy on Wednesday. President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy amidst a program organized in Sheetal Niwas this afternoon. Rana is a PR lawmaker. He was born in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu on May 7, 1941. Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki among others were present in the program. Rana will administer the oath of office and secrecy to other lawmakers on Thursday.    

At a time when serious discussions are going on about a new power sharing, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden held a meeting on Tuesday. During the meeting held at the residence of Oli in Balkot, the duo discussed a new power sharing, future strategy and contemporary political issues among others. The UML and RPP had forged electoral alliances in some places. Both Oli and Lingden were unanimously elected as the Parliamentary Party leader of their respective parties on Tuesday itself. The UML intensified meetings with senior leaders of various political parties after President Bidya Devi Bhandari called upon the political parties to form a new government by December 25. Earlier on Tuesday morning, UML Vice-Chairman and former speaker Subash Chandra Nembang formally proposed CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to become the prime minister. A few days ago, the Maoist Center itself had formally proposed UML for the power sharing. Dahal, who had moved forward with a strategy to rout Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, had sent General Secretary Dev Gurung to Balkot making him his messenger. On the occasion, Gurung had sought Oli’s opinion on power sharing. Saying that the left alliance is essential to form a stable government in the country, Gurung had formally proposed for power sharing. With the response of the same proposal, Nembang had reached Khumaltar with the proposal of the prime minister. During the meeting, Nembang also put forth two conditions. The UML will take the post of president and not incorporate Madhav Kumar Nepal-led CPN (Unified Socialist) in the alliance. Nembang had also said that the UML will be flexible in sharing other posts also if the Maoist Center accepts the two conditions, a Khumaltar source said. “We are ready to accept you as the prime minister. You become the prime minister, we are ready to take the post of president,” a source said, quoting the dialogue of two leaders. “Other posts will be shared in consensus. Let’s take politics ahead through a new course to take the country towards the path of stability.” Deuba and Dahal have been staking claims for the post of prime minister in the ruling alliance. No party in the 275-member House of Representatives has 138 seats required to form the government. The Nepali Congress has emerged as the single largest party in the November 20 elections with 89 seats. The UML secured 78 seats. The CPN (Maoist Center) garnered 32 seats, Rastriya Swatantra Party 20, Rastriya Prajatantra Party 14, Janata Samajbadi Party 12, CPN (Unified Socialist) 10, Janamat Party 6, Democratic Socialist Party 4, Nagarik Unmukti Party 3, and Rastriya Janamorcha and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party won one seat each. Independent candidates got five seats.  

Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa has announced that he would not join the government. Thapa said that he would not join the government and would take an initiative to form the government under the leadership of the Nepali Congress. He said so after the results of the Parliamentary Party leader election were made public on Wednesday. “Other friends will join the government if it is formed under the leadership of Nepali Congress. There is a need for transformation and generational transfer of power in the party,” he said. He was of the opinion that he will make preparations to become the Parliamentary Party leader in the coming days. “I am not disappointed with this result. Instead I will work hard. The time will come when the friends will feel it,” leader Thapa said. He faced a defeat at the hands of party President Sher Bahadur Deuba in the Parliamentary Party leader. Deuba secured 64 votes while Thapa garnered 25 votes.