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China plans to reopen borders on January 8 by abandoning quarantine and downgrading other safeguards against Covid-19. This is the country’s last step in shedding three years of zero-Covid and pivoting to living with the virus, The South China Morning Post reports. After almost three years of closed borders, this will reopen the country to those with work and study visas, or seeking to visit family, BBC reports.  But it comes as China struggles with the virus's ferocious spread in the wake of restrictions being lifted. Reports say hospitals are overwhelmed and elderly people are dying. The true toll—daily case counts and deaths—is currently unknown because officials have stopped releasing Covid data. From January 8, travelers to China will only need to present a negative PCR test result from the previous 48 hours at customs to enter the country, the State Council announced on Monday night, according to the report. The State Council said China would officially scrap centralized quarantine and Covid-19 tests on arrival from that date. Travelers will also no longer have to apply to Chinese embassies for a health code before departure. Nepal-China border virtually remains closed after the coronavirus outbreak. This has seriously affected two-way trade and transport. The Nepali side is requesting China to open the border but the northern neighbor is citing its strict zero-Covid policy. Nepal’s Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha said Nepal is requesting Beijing officials to remove the border hassles as soon as possible. After three years of closure, Rasuwagadhi-Kurung, a key crossing point for the bilateral trade between Nepal and China, was reopened from Tuesday. Nepal has started importing Nepali products to China. China will scrap restrictions on international passenger flights, increase the number of flights in stages, and optimize the distribution of routes, according to the statement, according to Xinhua news agency. Airlines will continue to carry out disinfection on board, and passengers are required to wear masks when flying, it said. China will further optimize arrangements for foreigners traveling to China for work, business, study, family visits, and reunions, and provide visa facilitations accordingly. Measures will be taken to ensure that freight at various ports will return to pre-epidemic levels as soon as possible, and outbound tourism for Chinese citizens will be resumed in an orderly manner, said the statement, according to Xinhua.  With the opening of the border, Nepal-China engagement that was restricted for nearly three years is likely to increase. Rasuwa/Kerung port between Nepal and the People’s Republic of China has officially resumed its operation for two-way trade from Tuesday, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Department of Commerce of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China organized an official ceremony in Kerung today to observe the opening of the port. Similarly, Hilsa/Purang port has also been opened for one-way trade from 26 December 2022. The resumption of the ports is expected to augment bilateral trade between Nepal and China, the Ministry said.  

The Home Ministry has directed security officials not to meet leaders and diplomatic officials without obtaining prior permission. Issuing a notice on Thursday, the Ministry has directed the security officials not to meet embassy officials and political leaders without taking approval from the concerned department. The statement issued by Ministry spokesperson Phanindramani Pokharel said that disciplinary action will be taken against those found violating the directive.  

The government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to $200m (equivalent to Rs 26.51bn) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) and a Grant Agreement of USD 12 million to implement the Strengthening Systems to Protect and Uplift Women Project. The Ministry of Finance in a press statement said that the project will benefit survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) across Madhesh, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschchim provinces through the establishment of long-term rehabilitation centers, development of survivor-friendly facilities for the women, children and senior citizen service centers within selected district and area police offices and strengthening of survivor-friendly services in these provinces. The project will also build a new national long-term rehabilitation center in Bhaktapur. Joint Secretary of MoF, Ishwori Prasad Aryal, and Saugata Dasgupta, ADB Officer-in-Charge for Nepal signed the agreement papers. The proposed assistance will support the implementation of the government’s School Education Sector Plan in a sector-wide approach supported by eight development partners, including ADB under the Joint Financing Arrangement. “The program will enhance learning provisions for basic and secondary schools; strengthen teaching and learning skills in schools; accelerate the recovery from learning losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; and improve the capacity of local governments in education planning, monitoring and reporting,” reads the statement. Speaking on the occasion, Aryal said that Nepal has achieved significant progress in terms of improving access to education in the past decades. "However, much more needs to be done to further improve equity of access and the quality of education," he mentioned. According to him, the program will be crucial to operationalize Nepal’s holistic approach to improving overall learning outcomes. “This agreement is a key part of ADB’s overall efforts to help Nepal accelerate reforms and transform the country’s education system to develop human capital, reduce social inequity, and attain sustainable growth. The plan is designed towards eliminating inequities in access and participation in school education, and improving quality and resilience of school education,” the statement quoted Dasgupta as saying.

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has reduced the role of the Ministry of Forest and Environment in determining whether specific projects fall under the national priority project. As per the new Standard on Determining National Priority Projects 2022, NPC will be responsible for determining whether specific projects recommended by the provincial governments and local governments are national priority projects. A project that has its detailed project report (DPR) prepared, has secured a guarantee of resource availability and falls under the scope of the national priority as per the existing periodic plan, can be categorized as a national priority project. Likewise, additional criteria such as completion of environmental impact assessment (EIA) or initial environmental examination (IEE) and secretary-level decisions of categorizing the project as a national priority should also be fulfilled. A national priority development project receives approval to use the forest area and such a project can also conduct mining, process, and sell the mining materials. Both government and private sector projects can be categorized as national priority projects as per the set of standards. The NPC is the recommending body in the case of projects which has been categorized as National Priority Projects-1 or National Priority Projects-2 by the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, a three-yearly expenditure projection, and the Annual Development Program of the government. But NPC is responsible for determining the priority of local and provincial governments as national priority projects. As per the earlier standards, the NPC had little role in determining whether certain projects should be categorized as national priority projects. A senior NPC official said that the new set of standards has cut down the process of determining whether a certain project was a national priority. “It has reduced the compulsion of taking the file to an additional ministry,” the official said. In case of projects determined as a national priority by the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Annual Development Program, the NPC is responsible for notifying the line ministries about it only. And then, the ministries concerned should recommend that those projects are national priority projects to the Ministry of Forest and Environment which will do a needful to facilitate the development of such projects. For the prioritized projects of the provincial governments, the provincial cabinet and Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers should decide and recommend for categorization as a national priority. A member of the NPC looks after it and makes necessary recommendations. Then, the planning body will determine whether the recommended project is a national priority project. As per the earlier provision, the provincial government should have recommended to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the PMO would recommend to the Ministry of Forest and Environment for treating certain projects as national priority ones. Similarly, in case of the projects designated as 'local-level priority projects, the assembly meeting of the local governments should recommend to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, and based on the further recommendation of the ministry, the NPC will decide on the matter. Under the previous arrangement, the federal affairs ministry used to recommend to the forest ministry for treating such projects as national priority ones. Likewise, regarding projects with a cost of over Rs 100 million to be operated by the NGOs or the community for social development, the decision of the local-level rural municipality executive is required. This should be forwarded to the federal affairs ministry and based on the recommendation of the ministry, the NPC will determine whether to enlist recommended projects as national priority ones. An industry categorized under the national priority list will get approval from the forest ministry to use the forest area based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 100, 900 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 92, 101, 100 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 100, 400 per tola today. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1, 380 per tola.

A meeting of the senior leaders of the ruling coalition has decided to prepare a draft of the Common Minimum Program of the government within five days. The meeting held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar has decided to form a committee under the headship of CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli to prepare the draft. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane said that the draft of the government Common Minimum Program will be prepared within five days. Minister Lamichhane, who is also the Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, said that the meeting has also decided to send one member each from the ruling parties to the committee. “The committee will prepare the draft of the Common Minimum Program within five days. The final shape will be given after holding a meeting later,” he said. Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, UML Chairman Oli, Rastriya Swatantra Party Chairman Lamichhane and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden among others were present in the meeting.  

The Health Ministry of Uzbekistan on Tuesday said 18 children, with acute respiratory disease, have died from taking excessive doses of a cough syrup, Doc-1 Max, manufactured by Marion Biotech, an Indian firm, The Hindu reported. The children consumed “excessive amounts” of the cough syrup, which contained ethylene glycol, a substance that ought not to be present in cough syrup. This comes days after a parliamentary panel in The Gambia found “unacceptable levels” of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in cough syrups made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharma. Here, the cough syrups were linked to instance of acute kidney injury that is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 63 children. India’s health ministry officials said they were “aware” of the report from Uzbekistan but declined comment. “To date, 18 out of 21 children with acute respiratory disease have died as a result of taking Doc-1 Max syrup... It was found that deceased children took 2.5-5 ml of the drug at home for 2-7 days, 3-4 times a day, which exceeds the standard dose of the drug for children. All children were given the drug without a doctor’s prescription. Since the main component of the drug is paracetamol, Doc-1 Max syrup was incorrectly used as an anti-cold remedy on the recommendation of the pharmacy sellers and this was the reason for the deterioration of the condition of the patients… preliminary laboratory studies have shown that this series of Doc-1 Max syrup contains ethylene glycol. This substance is toxic and about 1-2 ml/kg of a 95% concentrated solution can cause serious changes in the patient’s health, such as vomiting, fainting, convulsions, cardiovascular problems and acute kidney failure.” “Tablets and syrups of the drug Doc-1 Max are withdrawn from sale in all pharmacies of the country in a prescribed manner,” reads the translation of the statement from Uzbekistan’s Health Ministry, according to The Hindu. Following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) warning on October 5, linking four syrups to the deaths in The Gambia, Maiden Pharma’s export licence has been suspended. However, India has said that the WHO has drawn a “premature link” between the deaths of the children and the India-made cough syrups.

CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has a lot of challenges to overcome as prime minister. Above all, he needs to improve the national economy, which is getting worse. The soaring interest rate, liquidity crunch, and a sharp slowdown in business activity are major causes of concern. The private sector has already submitted a long list of demands to PM Dahal.  On top of their agenda is the postponement of the guidelines on working capital loans introduced by Nepal Rastra Bank. The two leading private sector organizations–Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI)–separately briefed Dahal about the health status of the economy. The private sector says reviving the economy should be the first and the foremost priority of the government. The Dahal-led government needs to take immediate and drastic measures to improve the economy. The second challenge obviously is to improve the service delivery. As parties remained busy in the elections and intra-party and inter-party fighting, the quality of service delivery has suffered. Corruption and irregularities are thriving. The first meeting of the Dahal Cabinet has decided to improve service delivery, particularly in the passport and transport offices. This is indeed a welcome step, but it is not sufficient. If the past is any guide, proactive measures like these last just a few days. People are still forced to pay bribes to get their job done. So, the Dahal-led government should launch a special campaign to improve service delivery. The next step would be to revive people’s trust in key state institutions, such as the parliament, the judiciary and other constitutional bodies. Politicization of state organs has shaken the basic democratic tenet of checks and balances. The judiciary is without a full-fledged chief justice, with an impeachment motion pending against the high officeholder, Cholendra SJB Rana. The damning exposé on Rana’s political ambition whilst leading the Supreme Court has eroded public trust in the judiciary. Rebuilding the court’s image and its legitimacy will require hard work and a long time. To perform these tasks effectively, the government needs to take a consultative approach. Before taking any decision, the PM should take all the coalition partners and even the opposition into confidence. Previous governments failed to take decisions on time because coalition partners were not on the same page on various issues. The new PM faces the challenge of accommodating more than seven coalition partners and their conflicting interests. This government’s failure to deliver will further fuel people’s dissatisfaction with the mainstream political parties. The November 20 elections have clearly shown that frustration against the mainstream parties will further strengthen the rightist forces challenging the constitution. So, to build on the progress made so far, the current government should work seriously. PM Dahal has said on several occasions that he will not repeat past mistakes and will work to revive people’s faith in the political parties. The onus is on all political parties to lend their support to the Dahal-led government, enabling it to serve the people in a difficult time.