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Foreign Minister Arjun Rana Deuba today held a telephonic conversation with her Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, requesting the latter for an initiation to free Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi who has been held by Hamas in Gaza for 15 months.

Following a ceasefire deal between the government of Israel and Hamas, the Hamas has started freeing hostages beginning Sunday.

The Foreign Minister urged Egypt, which is facilitating the ceasefire negotiations, to prioritize Joshi’s release in the first phase.

The Minister who is presently in Bangkok for her medical checkup made the call from there.

In response, the Egyptian Minister assured that he would direct Egypt’s facilitators to work toward Joshi’s release.

A few days ago, Rana also spoke with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, and Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, requesting their intervention in setting the Nepali hostage free in the initial phase.

Khulaifi plays a key role in the Israel-Hamas peace talks.

The Nepali government has been actively engaged in diplomatic efforts since last year, seeking Bipin’s release.

The Foreign Minister has been appealing through various international and regional forums, as well as the United Nations, to facilitate for ensuring Bipin's release.

The government has recommended President Ram Chandra Paudel to convene a meeting of both the Houses of the Federal Parliament on January 31.

A Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to recommend President Paudel to call the Parliament meeting at 1 pm on January 31 (Friday).

Prior to calling the meeting, Prime Minister KP Sharma had held a meeting with Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire.

During the meeting, they discussed convening the winter session of the Parliament.

Opposition parties have been mounting pressure on the government to call the Parliament session at the earliest.

Issuing a joint statement on Friday, the opposition parties had urged the government to call the Parliament session as soon as possible.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire held a meeting at the former's official residence in Baluwatar on Monday.

According to a Baluwatar source, they held a discussion on convening the Parliament session on January 31.

Opposition parties have been mounting pressure on the government for not calling the winter session of the Parliament.

It has been said that they also held a discussion on the Parliament business.

The opposition parties have already warned the government that they would start the process to call a special session if the Parliament session is called at the earliest.

Organizing a press conference on Friday, the opposition parties had urged the government to convene the Parliament session as soon as possible.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has directed the Ministry of Health and Population to develop an action plan based on the submissions from the Task Force on Health Insurance Reform.

After a briefing on the report and recommendations by the Task Force at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar today, the Prime Minister stressed that no one should be deprived of healthcare services due to lack of money during illness.

He also highlighted the importance of working towards building a disease-free society.

Stating the Task Force’s recommendations on the health insurance programme as objective, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry to present an action plan for reform within a week.

Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, Task Force coordinator Dr Shambhu Acharya, members Dr Bhagawan Koirala, Dr Raghuram Kafle, and member secretary Dr Saroj Sharma briefed the Prime Minister on the need for policy, legal, and structural changes in the health insurance program.

Currently, the payment of around Rs 11 billion is awaited under the programme. Of the total population, 27 per cent is enrolled and 48 percent of them are receiving services.

The Task Force recommended that the government make participation in the programme mandatory for all citizens, ensuring free services for those living below the absolute poverty line.

More, the Task Force suggested integrating basic health services with other social security programmes.

The Task Force submitted its report to the Ministry on December 29, 2024.