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 Kathmandu: The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Felipe González Morales, has recommended effective implementation of existing labor-related laws in Nepal for the welfare of migrant workers. At a press conference, Morales briefed journalists about his findings on Nepal’s foreign employment during his eight-day Nepal stay. He arrived on January 29 at the invitation of Government of Nepal. RSS

Kathmandu: The Supreme Court has paved the way for businessman Ajaya Raj Sumargi to recover around Rs 2.25 billion that the Nepal Ras­tra Bank had frozen earlier. A sin­gle bench of justice Tej Bahadur KC issued an interim order on Tuesday in the name of the bank to desist from implementing its earlier deci­sion to withhold the amount. “The legal reasons put forth by the bank to withhold the fund were not transpar­ent, and hence this order is issued to allow the petitioner to withdraw the money,” reads the order.

The court has also summoned both plaintiffs and defendants on February 14. Sumargi and Subas Chandra Poudel had filed a writ at the Supreme Court last Sunday on behalf of the Nepal Satellite Telecom Company, arguing that the bank’s decision to withhold the funds had damaged the company and had asked for immediate release of the funds. RSS

Matters are coming to a head in the Maldives, with President Abdulla Yameen’s government pitted against the judiciary, polity and sections of the bureaucracy.  Yameen has ruled since 2013 when he won power in an election, the result of which is still contested. He defeated Mohammad Nasheed, who had been deposed in 2012 and who, in 2015, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of terrorism.  Nasheed is now in exile. In an order on February 1, the Supreme Court cancelled his imprisonment term and that of eight other political leaders, reinstated 12 parliamentarians who had been disqualified last year, and ordered Yameen to allow the Maldivian parliament, or Majlis, to convene. Yameen has thus far failed to comply with any of these orders, despite an official statement on February 2 about his government’s “commitment to uphold and abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court”. The most egregious failure is the government’s refusal to cancel the imprisonment of the nine leaders, amongst whom is Yameen’s former vice president and his former defence minister, members of parliament and leaders of major opposition parties, apart from Mr. Nasheed himself. The President has also refused to allow the Majlis to meet, which has led to the resignation of its Secretary General. In fact, the government sent in the army to stop lawmakers from entering the premises, besides arresting two parliamentarians at the airport. Meanwhile, several officials, including two police chiefs and the prison chief have resigned or been sacked, reportedly for seeking to implement the Supreme Court’s orders. The Attorney General has now announced that only the Constitution matters, not “illegal orders” from the court. In short, the Maldives is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Calling fresh elections, which are in any case due later this year, may be the best way out.

Amidst the turmoil, India has joined the U.S., the European Union and several other countries in calling for Yameen to carry out the Supreme Court’s order. New Delhi said in a statement that it is monitoring the situation in Male “closely”. But currently, Delhi’s leverage in the Maldives is less than it has ever been. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to cancel his visit to Male three years ago, has singled Maldives out as the only country in the South Asian and Indian Ocean Region that he hasn’t visited. Given that the Maldives has pulled out of the Commonwealth, and there is little semblance of a SAARC process at present, India’s influence in Male is further limited. It will require concerted action from the international community to persuade Yameen to steer the Maldives out of this crisis, without taking recourse to coercive means.

AMMAN/AFP: At least 83 children were killed in Middle East war zones in January, most of them in Syria, the UN children's agency UNICEF said, vowing their voices "will never be silenced". "They were killed in ongoing conflicts, suicide attacks or frozen to death as they fled active war zones," said UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Geert Cappelaere. "In the month of January alone, escalating violence in Iraq, Libya, the State of Palestine, Syria and Yemen has claimed the lives of at least 83 children," Cappelaere added in a statement. Calling January a "dark (and) bloody month", Cappelaere said it was "unacceptable that children continue being killed and injured every single day".