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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said the country should give emphasis on the production of skilled human resources that meets the international standards in the health sector. There will be no compromise in the quality of the health sector.  

Addressing the 13th meeting of the Medical Education Commission today, the PM stressed on the need of producing quality human resources through an analysis of the national and international contexts and needs.

The PM viewed that there should be harmonization between the produced human resources and decent jobs.

"The Commission should be proactive in fulfilling and implementing the quality standards. Besides increasing the number of skilled human resources, fulfilling the minimum standards of teaching and learning is equally imperative and important," the PM said.

PM Dahal said Nepal's education system should be established as a center of excellence for the foreign students coming to Nepal for getting medical education.

The increasing trend of foreign students in Nepal as stated in the report of the Commission is evidence of attraction to Nepal's medical education, the PM said.

Nepali Congress (NC) is demanding an investigation against Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane for his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of cooperative funds. For the same reason, the main opposition party is pushing to form a probe panel, a move opposed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli. Certainly, there are valid questions regarding Lamichhane’s involvement in the misuse of cooperative funds.

 However, the way the NC is acting after the formation of the new coalition is unusual. The party has just come out of a government that failed to deliver on service delivery and economic fronts. Home Minister Lamichhane has taken some positive steps, including implementing the report submitted by the committee formed to investigate gold smuggling. Similarly, he has pledged to minimize political influence in the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force. He should be allowed to work freely without pressure from parties. If he fails to fulfill his pledges, questions should be raised, but for some period, it would not be justifiable to obstruct him.

In a parliamentary system, the opposition party should allow the government to work for at least 100 days without obstructions. Obviously, the opposition party should work to hold the government accountable and raise people's concerns and plights, but that should be done constructively. Past experiences show that opposition parties often resort to obstructing Parliament to press the government to fulfill their demands. However, Parliament cannot engage in its key task of the law-making process if it is obstructed for a long time. As a grand old party and the largest in Parliament, the NC should not resort to obstructing Parliament. Instead, it should find innovative ways to raise its voices within Parliament.

The performance of parliament has been dismal over the past few years due to intra-party disputes. There is a long list of crucial bills in the Parliament Secretariat that have long awaited parliamentary endorsement. Some of them are very important and related to the party's international image and prestige, on which all parties should come together. The new coalition has come up with new commitments and visions, so the NC and other opposition parties should wait some time to see how the new government addresses the problems the country is facing today. The NC should think seriously about its role as an opposition party.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said Lumbini is the fountain of Buddhism besides being the birthplace of Buddha and there can be no better choice of venue than Lumbini to deliberate on the agenda of peace and prosperity. "The Buddha, Buddhism and Lumbini are integral. Buddhism cannot be differentiated from the Buddha; it cannot be dissociated from Lumbini," He added.

Inaugurating the International Conclave on Global Peace for Prosperity in Lumbini on Thursday, the Deputy Prime Minister said Buddha and Lumbini have spread messages for the establishment of world peace.

Peace, harmony and compassion are the innate attributes that we have inherited from Gautam Buddha and the teachings of Buddha on compassion, kindness and empathy are timeless and continue to be relevant today, the Deputy Prime Minister argued.

He said Lumbini, the revered place, gave birth to the message of peace and the messenger, who dedicated his life in the quest for humanity’s happiness, well-being, and emancipation.

Being hosted jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Honorary Consular Corps Nepal (HCCN), the conclave has witnessed participation of ambassadors and representatives from diplomatic missions in Nepal, honorary consul generals, consuls of different countries for Nepal, experts on foreign affairs and heritage, and others.

On the occasion, Shrestha called for world peace saying "The growing inter- and intra-state conflicts continue to dominate the political landscape. Wars, armed conflicts, geopolitical rivalry, and polarization continue to pose threats to global peace and prosperity".

Shrestha said the ongoing conflicts are multiplying the global economic distress and inequalities. "Humanitarian needs are soaring. Climate catastrophes are creating deeper woes for all of us."

In his remarks, Shrestha said Lumbini is the center of attraction for pilgrims, scholars, researchers, and those in search of truth and emancipation and this is a place to reflect on the teachings of the Buddha; and to ponder upon what these teachings mean in today’s troubled world.

The conclave has been organized with the objective of promoting Lumbini, increasing investment in Nepal and enhancing global fraternity. Discussions and presentations on investment opportunities in Nepal and tourism potential will also be made.

The event is being organized to connect Lumbini with nearly one billion Buddhists around the globe and to highlight the cultural and religious importance of Lumbini. The event is also expected to contribute to increasing investment in Nepal.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested on Thursday by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the liquor probe, Hindustan Times reported.

Kejriwal becomes the second sitting chief minister to be arrested in recent times after Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren was arrested. While Hemant Soren made way for Champai Soren to take the mantle of the government, the AAP leadership on Thursday said Kejriwal will remain the chief minister and the national capital will be ruled from jail.

Kejriwal’s arrest comes a week after another big-ticket arrest in connection with the liquor probe. BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested from Hyderabad last week and was brought to New Delhi.

While Kavitha’s arrest dropped hints that Kejriwal would be ED’s next target, a high court order on Thursday made it easier as the court denied to grant any protection to Kejriwal from any coercive action of the agency. Hours after the high court verdict, ED officials swooped in at Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence with a search warrant. After a few hours, Kejriwal was taken into custody, according to Hindustan Times.

Why Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested

Kejriwal was summoned by the ED to join the probe last year but citing various engagements Kejriwal skipped all the summons so far. Kejriwal moved the court and challenged the ED summons calling them unconstitutional. A major blow came to Kejriwal after the court on Thursday said it has no intention to get into the case at this stage.

The case pertains to the liquor policy which was scrapped after allegations of corruption. Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh were arrested earlier in connection with the same case, Hindustan Times reported.

Maya Ko Pahichan Nepal, a non-profit organization advocating for the rights of the sexual and gender minorities, has announced Rehan Shrestha as the ambassador for the First International Pink Tourism Conference to be held on April 20-21.

Earlier, he was appointed as the ambassador for Visit Nepal 2020.

Organizing a press conference on Friday, the MKPN announced content creator and blogger Parakram Rana and woman entrepreneur Dr Mausam Bohara as the star promoters for the conference, according to Pahichan, an online news portal.

Blogger Lex Limbu has already been appointed the star ambassador for the conference.

Maya Ko Pahichan Nepal the Nepal Tourism Board are jointly organizing the conference.

Dr Bohara, as a successful woman entrepreneur, is expected to play a supportive role in promoting pink tourism.

During the program, Dr Bohara urged people to come together to make the event a grand success while Rana said that Nepal is a safe country for sexual and gender minorities. “Nepal is a safe country,” Rana said, adding, “I invite you to come to Nepal.”

Asia’s first openly gay former lawmaker of Nepal and also Executive Director for the Mayako Pahichan Nepal Sunil Babu Pant believes that the conference will play an important role in promoting Nepal’s tourism.

Pant, who is the pink tourism Cultural Ambassador for the Nepal, expressed the hope that Nepal’s gross domestic product would be boosted through pink tourism.

Maniraj Lamichhane, the NTB director underlined the importance of the conference saying travel companies have shown interest after training 24 people from the sexual and gender minority communities as trekking guides with the financial support of UNDP. The trained people have already started the jobs.

Lumbini Conclave, an international summit on 'Global Peace for Prosperity’ organized by Honorary Consular Corps Nepal (HCCN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, started in Lumbini on Thursday.

As the contemporary world is marred by geopolitical tensions, war and economic crisis, there is a growing need for dialogue, understanding and cooperation among nations. The conclave has been organized aiming to unite high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Honorary Consuls, and Ambassadors representing Honorary Consular Corps Nepal (HCCN) countries to foster peace, tourism, better relationship to work on peace and areas of mutual benefits, and investment opportunities in Nepal.

HCCN is a non-profit and non-political organization representing all Honorary Consulate General/Honorary Consulates in Nepal. With its 61 members, the organization is actively working to strengthen relations between Nepal and the represented country. These countries associated with HCCN represent five continents of the world which bring over 15 percent tourists to Nepal and have consolidated economic size worth $18.64trn. It facilitates diplomatic relations, cultural exchange, and economic cooperation between Nepal and these countries.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Hit Bahadur Tamang, along with other high officials from the Investment Board, Nepal Tourism Board, and Lumbini Development Trust, are scheduled to participate in the conclave. The other attendees include ambassadors and representatives from 18 countries without embassies in Nepal, honorary consuls of various countries, high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, experts in foreign affairs, and cultural heritage.

The gathering aims to promote Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, as a tourist and religious site, attract investment to Nepal, and foster global unity. Discussions and presentations on investment opportunities in Nepal and its tourism potential will also be featured during the course of the conclave.

The conclave symbolizes HCCN’s commitment to peace and prosperity. It’s an opportunity to reflect on our shared responsibilities and to forge pathways for a harmonious and prosperous future. 

The HCCN, alongside MoFA, envisions this conclave as a stepping stone towards a more peaceful and prosperous world, states the release issued.   

During the conclave, there will be an art exhibition by Ujay Bajracharya and presentation by Sumnima Udas, founder and executive director of Lumbini Museum Initiative on Leveraging Lumbini's 'Soft Power,' and a presentation by Prof. Naresh Shakya, on 'Of Buddhist Art on Nepalese Art'.

Also, there will be a presentation on investment opportunities and proposed Nepal Investment Summit by Ramesh Adhikari, along with a presentation by Santosh Panta, director Nepal Tourism Board, on the tourism opportunities in Nepal.

Additionally, there will be a briefing from Prof Basant Bidari about various important sites in Lumbini and five precepts by venerable Bhikshhu. Meanwhile the participants will also be visiting various heritage sites in Lumbini Premises.

Bishnu Kumar Agarwal, the dean of HCCN, stated that the event is organized to connect Lumbini with nearly one billion Buddhists worldwide and to underscore its cultural and religious significance.

The event will conclude on March 23. 

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has underlined the need of eliminating all sorts of discrimination against humanity.

In his address to a function organized to mark the 59th International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination here today, the Prime Minister announced that until discrimination is not eliminated, the accomplishments of change could not be safeguarded. 

The Prime Minister said that despite the constitutional guarantee of the fundamental rights of the Dalit community, they continue to suffer from caste-based discrimination. The expected outcomes have remained unmet.

According to him, it is a matter of concern that cases of insult, suppression, exploitation, social exclusion, beating and murder against the Dalit community are not mitigated due to the social practice of caste-based discriminations.

The government head also urged one and all to contribute to eliminating all forms of bias including the gender-based and linguistic discriminations and regional suppression to build an inclusive and discrimination-free society.

Acknowledging the significant contribution of the Dalit community to bringing political transformations in the society, the Prime Minister stressed the need of mainstreaming the involvement of Dalit community in the building of a federal inclusive democratic republic and discrimination-free society along with the guarantee of a proportional representation system.

The Prime Minister asserted that it is the responsibility of the state to legally prosecute anyone indulging in caste-based discrimination and untouchability. "It is an unalienable right of every citizen to live with equality and independence. However, the Nepali society is yet to be freed from the slavery mindset in this modern era of human civilization."

He also took time to highlight the necessity of another phase of struggle for an effective implementation of the Constitutional and legal provisions that promote the rights of Dalits. PM Dahal pressed an idea of launching a social awakening and political campaign along with the strong enforcement of law to eliminate the caste-based discrimination, a crime against humanity.

The Home Ministry has issued a 21-point directive to the District Administration Offices of all 77 districts of the country.

As per the ministerial decision of March 20, the Ministry issued the directives to the DAOs, as the representative of the government of Nepal, to increase the trust of citizens by playing an active role on the issues of peace, security, service delivery, good governance, regulations, coordination and facilitation.

The Ministry issued such directives as per the instructions by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane to make improvement in work execution of local administration making the people feel about it, according to Minister Lamichhane's Secretariat. 

Various issues including maintaining peace and security, controlling crime, cybercrime, financial crime, disciplined use of social media, road safety and reducing road accidents, controlling revenue leakage, effective service delivery, complaints management, employees’ behavior and discipline, protection of government and public property, coordination and felicitation in development activities are incorporated in the 21-point directives.

Home Minister Lamichhane urged the high-level officials to evaluate whether the Ministry's directives were implemented or not.

He also instructed the inline employees not to be influenced by anyone while delivering services.