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Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, India has announced the dates for the Assembly elections. According to the Election Commission of India, five poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, and Manipur will be held between February 10 and March 7 in a total of seven phases and conclude with the counting on March 10.

Uttar Pradesh will vote in each of the seven phases: on February 10, February 14, February 20, February 23, February 27, March 3, and March 7. Punjab, Goa, and Uttarakhand will vote on February 14. Manipur will vote in two phases on February 27 March 3.

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has said that the ruling coalition does not want to endorse America’s Millennium Challenge Corporation(MCC) from Parliament.  

In an exclusive interview with Annapurna Post, the main opposition leader said the five-party coalition is yet to create a conducive environment for them in Parliament which means the coalition government does not want to endorse the MCC.

Will they pass the MCC from Parliament? asked Oli.

He said: “They did not mention MCC in the Common Minimum Program(CPM), hope they now have remembered it. They have 165 votes in Parliament, they can endorse it.” Oli further added that the government has not yet consulted with the opposition on MCC.

For full interview, click here.

With its American-style fast-food menu, Mad Munch has just the right amount of everything–rich taste, hygiene, and enticing flavors–which make for a new and delicious treat in itself. It is a perfect place to satiate your fast-food cravings now and then. Besides its one-of-a-kind recipes, its funky and artistic ambience makes this a cool hang-out place. 

Popular as the best place for corn dogs in town, Mad Munch is situated on the second floor of the World Trade Center at Tripureshwor. It also offers online services through Food Busters. You can either order through phone or DM on their Instagram page. It is also planning to cater to its customers in night hours. With the option of getting delicious food at your doorsteps, next time you crave a good plate of corn dogs at home, Mad Munch is the place to dial. 

Mad Munch

Chef’s Special Dishes:

Corn dogs
Loaded Chips with Bacon and Cheese
Gorkhali Chatpate

Opening time: 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM
Location: World Trade Center, Tripureshor 
Meal for 2: 500
Phone pay: Yes
Reservation: 9841425186

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has met main opposition leader CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli to end the parliamentary deadlock.

For the meeting, Deuba reached Oli’s residence in Balkot on January 8.

This is the first time that two leaders have held a one-on-one meeting to discuss the political deadlock since Deuba became PM in July, replacing Oli.

The main opposition UML is obstructing the Parliamentary session raising the question of the legitimacy of UML. According to sources, two leaders also discussed the endorsement of the MCC project.

CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been tested positive for the Covid-19 virus.

According to his secretariat, Dahal has developed mild symptoms and has isolated himself.

Similarly, senior Maoist leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha has also tested positive. Several Maoist leaders have been tested positive for the virus. 

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has launched the ‘Unity for Sustainability’ campaign, a two-year-long climate initiative, started by Annapurna Media Network, one of Nepal’s leading media houses.

PM Deuba inaugurated the campaign amid a special function organized by AMN at Hotel Yak & Yeti in Kathmandu on January 7.  The program itself, which came into force on January 7, was announced amid a special function in Kathmandu on November 24.

The first-of-its-campaign in Nepal aims to bring key climate stakeholders together to fight the effects of climate change and create sustainable development. Inaugurating the campaign, PM Deuba applauded AMN initiatives to create awareness on climate change issues.

PM Deuba added that media can play a vital role in highlighting issues of climate change and contribute to an enhanced dialogue. “I believe we can contribute to clean and green nature-based solutions to the prevailing climate change and environmental issues. I also strongly raised the issue in the recent COP26 Summit,” said PM Deuba. He informed of the initiatives taken by Nepal government to mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Three former prime ministers—KP Sharma Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Madhav Kumar Nepal—through their video message appreciated the AMN initiation as well. They also underlined the need to work together to fight climate change.

Speaking at the program, AMN Chairman Capt. Rameshwar Thapa said the world was passing through a climate crisis so all stakeholders must unite and work in collaboration. “I am confident that this initiation will add one more brick towards green minds, thereby green behaviors,” Thapa said. Thapa added that as a media house it is AMN’s duty to make people aware and alarmed about this life-and-death issue. “The issue of climate change concerns me. This it the time to give back to the environment and society,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer of Annapurna Media Network Sanat Neupane formally asked for more and more climate partners to support the initiative. Neupane said, “Join us or please make us join you, all that matters is a partnership and doing something more.” He further added, “Climate change, we thought, was a distant ghost but now it is knocking on our doors.”

The program also witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with dozens of organizations to work together on climate change. The inauguration program was attended by high-level government officials, climate activists, leaders of civil society, and national and international media representatives.  

To fight climate change individual steps are not enough and all stakeholders need to work together. Right now, these stakeholders are not working in unison and there is a lack of coordination, and hence no concrete output. AMN hopes to change this state of affairs by bringing together climate stakeholders and fostering meaningful interactions between them.

Nepal is in the process of rapid development and achieving economic prosperity. In the current development process, the issue of environmental protection has not received due attention. AMN believes in a sustainable development framework that strikes balance between development and environmental protection.

It wants to highlight the issue of sustainable development that takes care of the planet, and to address the challenges posed by the effects of climate change. So the core of the campaign is to unite all stakeholders to work on a sustainable development framework. AMN will be organizing a series of related programs in the days to come.

Nepal has reported additional 24 cases of Omicron variant of a Covid-19. With the surge of this high transmissible variant, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has urged hospitals across the country to prepare themselves for another wave of Covid-19. Earlier, Nepal has reported three Omicron variants.

The Ministry of Health and Population has requested everyone to wear masks and to follow the safety protocols and keep a safe distance from others while going out.

A study launched today by Media Action Nepal has concluded that Nepali media give less priority to issues of women and people with different sexual orientations. The research report titled 'Gender Sensitivity in Nepali Media' found that newspapers and online media in Nepal have not published gender issues as a matter of public importance.

Out of 21,919 news items published in 20 media outlets, only 76 had bylines of female journalists. This is only about 0.30 percent of the total news published by those media, the study revealed.

According to the study, out of the total number of media materials published in those media over the period of two months, only 388 or 1.67 percent of news stories are about women and people belonging to different sexual orientations. Of those 388 women and people with different sexual orientations, 386 are on women’s issues and only two are about sexual minorities.

Highlighting that free and responsible media is a key component of democratic societies and essential to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Mathew Loken, Councellor and Head, Political, Economic, and Public Affairs at High Commission of Canada in Delhi remarked that it is critical that a free press reflects the diverse views of those within society, which includes the perspective of women and girls. MAN’s approach of working closely with industry groups increases the likelihood that there can be immediate and tangible results for advancing women’s empowerment in the Nepali media, he added. 

Underscoring that Nepali women are constantly facing gender discrimination and problems arising out of patriarchal power relations, Laxman Datt Pant, Chairperson of Media Action Nepal urged media to highlight these issues and make the relevant stakeholders accountable. "Giving more space to women and people with different sexual orientations is more urgent than ever. There is a growing need to make the media inclusive by ensuring gender equality through the implementation of the Gender-Sensitive Indicators and the Code of Conduct for Journalists", Pant added.

Aimed at measuring the level of gender sensitivity in media and determining how much and what kind of news content about women and people with different sexual orientations are published in Nepali media, this study assessed a total of 23,515 media contents published by a total of 20 media outlets–three national dailies and three online news portals operating in Kathmandu, and one national daily and one online news portal each from seven provinces.

It analyzed news stories and other materials published by 14 media outlets (seven daily newspapers and seven online news portals) from the seven provinces during the period of two months from August 1 to September 30, 2021, and six media outlets (three daily newspapers and three online news portals from Kathmandu) from August 30 to November 1, 2021.

The study recommended that media houses must make clear policy arrangements to strengthen diversity, gender identity, and inclusion in the workplace. The media can promote gender equality, justice, and equality only when the content they produce and the workplace they develop is gender-sensitive, it added. Read full report here: https://mediaactionnepal.org/reports/