7th National Conference on climate concluded with emphasis on implementation of policies
The experts and scholars have called for effective coordination among federal, provincial and local governments to implement climate adaptation programs at the community level, and to reduce climate change risks.
In the 7th National Conference concluded in Lamahi of Dang district on Thursday, the speakers said the roles of local government and community should be made vibrant.
The conference was held under the theme 'Bridging Policy and Practice: Harmonizing Climate Governance' that brought the government officials, policymakers, scholars and development partners together.
They said that the gap between climate policies and practices should be narrowed down.
Inaugurating the conference, Minister for Forest and Environment of Lumbini Province Dev Karan Prasad Kalawar viewed for the expansion of the adaptation programs at the community level to reduce climate change impacts.
Vice Chairman of Provincial Planning Commission of Lumbini Province Dr Dilliraj Aryal said climate change is a crosscutting issue and Nepal is experiencing its impacts despite our negligible contributions to carbon emissions.
20th Loktantra Day being observed
The 20th Loktantra Day is being marked across the country today by organizing several programs, including offering tributes to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in democratic struggles.
The Loktantra Day has been observed in commemoration of the historic event when the direct rule and autocratic regime of then King Gyanendra Shah came to an end after the reinstatement of dissolved Parliament in 2063 BS following the 19-day-long People's Movement.
It may be noted that the autocratic regime was abolished on April 24, 2006 AD (Baishakh 11, 2063 BS) while the Parliament that was dissolved on May 22 2002 AD (Jestha 8, 2059 BS) was reinstated.
On the day, former King Shah's proclamation noted, "The House of Representatives (HoR) has been reinstated in accordance with the public sentiment expressed through the present people's movement, keeping in mind the fact that the source of state power rests on the Nepali people and the sovereignty and state power of Nepal lies with the Nepali people".
A meeting of the HoR was convened on April 28, 2006 AD on the strength of the People's Movement with the participation of seven political parties agitating against autocracy and the then rebel Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was proclaimed in 2015 by the Constituent Assembly through epochal Constituent Assembly elections.
Accordingly, the country is now in the practice of federalism after holding three elections at the federal, and two in provincial and local levels.
Rain and snow likely in hills and mountains
Nepal is under the partial influence of westerly winds and local winds at present and as a result, the Himalayan region of the country and the Tarai region of the Koshi Province is partly cloudy.
The weather in the other parts of the country is mainly fair, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
This afternoon, the Himalayan and hilly regions of the Koshi Province, as well as the remaining Himalayan and hilly regions, will be generally cloudy, while the remaining Tarai region will be partly cloudy, the Department stated in its weather bulletin.
There is a possibility of light to moderate rain and snowfall with thunder and lightning at some places in the Himalayan and hilly regions of Koshi Province. It mentioned that a few places in the Himalayan and hilly regions of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and some places in the Himalayan regions of Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces as well as few places in the Tarai region of Koshi Province will also witness light to moderate rain today.
The Department stated that there is a possibility of hot conditions in the Tarai as well as valleys and basins of Madhes Province and the Tarai of Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces.
Heat wave conditions are also likely in some Tarai areas of Lumbini and Sudurpashchim provinces.
Son of former shah of Iran appeals to Western countries for support
The son of the former shah appealed to Western countries to join the war against Iran and criticised the decision of the German government not to meet him during his visit to Berlin today (23 April), Reuters reported.
Reza Pahlavi, whose father was deposed in the revolution that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power in 1979, accused Europe of standing by and allowing the Tehran government to continue the bloody repression of protests that killed thousands at the end of last year.
"The question is not whether change will come. Change is on the way," he told a press conference in Berlin. "The real question is how many Iranians will lose their lives while the community of Western democracies continue to merely watch."
