Lawmakers demand issuance of white paper on foreign aid
Lawmakers demanded the government issue a white paper for the monetary aid it received from the United States of America.
Demanding time in the meeting of the House of Representatives today, Ramahari Khatiwada urged the government to make public the details of US aid expenditures amid the alleged misappropriation of the fund.
He urged the government to issue a white paper on it, providing details of funds obtained through non- government offices and international non- government offices.
He also drew the government's attention to the US deportations of Nepali citizens and the suspension of press pass of journalists for their questions to the Prime Minister.
Devendra Paudel apprised the House that so far the US has made deportations of 35 Nepali, urging the government to take initiatives for respectful return of Nepali citizens facing problems in various countries.
"Nepali continue to be deported from Dubai, Japan, Canada and Korea as well." Hari Dhakal expressed his dismay at the situation forcing the government to increase the price of cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas) for the commission interest of suppliers.
Similarly, he said the Public Account Committee's direction to reduce the cost of cement has not been implemented yet.
"Prices of consumer goods have soared significantly," he complained. Madhav Sapkota urged the government to implement agreements it signed with school teachers last year. Amresh Kumar Singh accused the government of violating the Constitution in the appointment of secretary at the Ministry of Health. "
The exclusion of a senior employee in the appointment shows that the government is biased against indigenous community, Madheshi, and women," he accused, seeking the resignation of the Health Minister.
China says it is ready for 'any type of war' with US
China has warned the US it is ready to fight "any type" of war after hitting back against President Donald Trump's mounting trade tariffs, BBC reported.
The world's top two economies have edged closer to a trade war after Trump slapped more tariffs on all Chinese goods. China quickly retaliated, imposing 10-15% tariffs on US farm products.
"If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end," China's embassy said on X, reposting a line from a government statement on Tuesday.
It is some of the strongest rhetoric so far from China since Trump became president and comes as leaders gathered in Beijing for the annual National People's Congress.
On Wednesday, China's Premier Li Qiang announced that China would again boost its defence spending by 7.2% this year and warned that "changes unseen in a century were unfolding across the world at a faster pace." This increase was expected and matches the figure announced last year.
Leaders in Beijing are trying to send a message to people in China that they are confident the country's economy can grow, even with the threat of a trade war.
China has been keen to portray an image of being a stable, peaceful country in contrast to the US, which Beijing accuses of being embroiled in wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, according to BBC.
China may also hope to capitalize on Trump's actions relating to US allies such as Canada and Mexico, which have also been hit by tariffs, and will not want to ramp up the rhetoric too far to scare off potential new global partners.
The Premier's speech in Beijing on Wednesday emphasised that China would continue to open up and hoped to attract more foreign investment.
China has, in the past, emphasized that it is ready to go to war. Last October, President Xi called for troops to strengthen their preparedness for war as they held military drills around the self-governing island of Taiwan. But there is a difference between military preparedness and a readiness to go to war.
The Chinese embassy in Washington's post quoted a foreign ministry statement in English from the previous day, which also accused the US of blaming China for the influx of the drug fentanyl
"The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports," the foreign ministry spokesperson said.
"Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China," he added.
The US-China relationship is always one of the most contentious in the world. This post on X has been widely shared and could be used by the China hawks in Trump's cabinet as evidence that Beijing is Washington's biggest foreign policy and economic threat, BBC reported.
Officials in Beijing had been hopeful that US–China relations under Trump could get off to a more cordial start after he invited Xi to his inauguration. Trump also said the two leaders had "a great phone call" just a few days before he entered the White House.
There were reports that the two leaders were due to have another call last month. That did not happen.
Xi had already been battling persistently low consumption, a property crisis and unemployment.
China has pledged to pump billions of dollars into its ailing economy and its leaders unveiled the plan as thousands of delegates attend the National People's Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament, which passes decisions already made behind closed doors.
China has the world's second-largest military budget at $245bn but it is far smaller than that of the US. Beijing spends 1.6% of GDP on its military, far less than the US or Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
However, analysts believe China downplays how much it spends on defence.
Govt decides to form Recommendation Committee for appointment of new Governor
The government has given approval to the Finance Ministry to form the Recommendation Committee for the appointment of a new Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank.
A Cabinet meeting held in Baluwatar on Wednesday evening had given approval to the Finance Ministry to take the process ahead for the appointment of a new Governor.
The tenure of Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is ending on April 7.
The government had appointed Adhikari as the Governor for five years on April 6, 2020.
KP Oli was the Prime Minister and Dr Yuvaraj Khatiwada was the finance minister when Adhikari was appointed as the Governor.
Governor Adhikari is hoping to become Governor again. However, according to a source, the Governor will be from the Nepali Congress.
Currently, there is a coalition government of Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.
Dr Devkota promoted as health secretary
The government has decided to promote Dr Bikas Devkota to the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on March 5 took the decision to promote him to the post.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Prakash Budhathoki said that Dr Devkota will assume the office as the ministry secretary today itself.
It may be noted that Dr Devkota along with two other candidates were recommended for the promotion to the post.


