UML to field Dev Raj Ghimire for Speaker’s post
The CPN-UML has decided to field lawmaker Dev Raj Ghimire for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives. Though the names of Prithvi Subba Gurung, Chabilal Bishwokarma, Raghuji Pant and Bidhya Bhattarai among others were discussed, the party has decided to make Ghimire the candidate, an office bearer said. He was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Jhapa-2. According to an agreement made earlier, the CPN (Maoist Center) will take the post of Prime Minister, UML the post of President and share the Speaker’s post on rotation basis. As long as CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal remains as the Prime Minister from the ruling alliance, the UML will get the post of Speaker. That is why the UML is filing the candidacy from the ruling coalition. Nominations for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives are being registered today. The Parliament Secretariat said that the candidates should file the nominations from 1 pm to 4 pm. The election for the post of Speaker of the Parliament has been scheduled for 11 am on Thursday.
PM Dahal expands Cabinet
Three week after he was appointed to the top executive post, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expanded his Cabinet on Tuesday. Earlier, PM Dahal had formed a small Cabinet by inducting seven ministers including three Deputy Prime Ministers and four ministers without portfolios. List of Ministers
- Pushpa Kamal Dahal of CPN (Maoist Center): Prime Minister
- Bishnu Prasad Poudel of CPN-UML: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
- Narayankaji Shrestha of CPN (Maoist Center): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure
- Rabi Lamichhane of Rastriya Swatantra Party: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs
- Rajendra Lingden of Rastriya Prajatantra Party: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy
- Rekha Sharma of CPN (Maoist Center): Minister for Communications and Information Technology
- Bikram Pandey of Rastriya Prajatantra Party: Minister for Urban Development
- Jwala Kumari Sah of CPN-UML: Minister for Agriculture
- Damodar Bhandari of CPN-UML: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supply
- Rajendra Kumar Rai of CPN-UML: Minister for Land Management and Cooperatives
- Abdul Khan of Janamat Party: Minister for Drinking Water
- Bimala Rai Paudel of CPN-UML: Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Padam Giri of CPN-UML: Minister for Health
- Bhagwati Chaudhary of CPN-UML: Minister for Women and Children
- Hari Upreti of CPN-UML: Minister for Defence
- Sudan Kiranti of CPN (Maoist Center): Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation
- Aman Lal Modi of CPN (Maoist Center): Minister for Federal Affairs
- Shishir Khanal of Rastriya Swatantra Party: Minister for Education
- Dol Prasad Aryal of Rastriya Swatantra Party: Minister for Labor and Employment
- Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan of Rastriya Prajatantra Party: Minister for Law
- Sushil Shreepali Thakuri of CPN (Maoist Center): State Minister for Culture, Tourism
- Toshima Karki of Rastriya Swatantra Party: State Minister for Health
- Deepak Bahadur Singh of Rastriya Prajatantra Party: State Minister for Energy
Bhim Bahadur Bhandari elected Sudurpaschim Province Speaker
Bhim Bahadur Bhandari has been elected as the Speaker of Sudurpaschim Province. Bhandari, CPN (Maoist Center) Province Assembly member, was elected as the Speaker from the election conducted for the third time today. In the 53-member Province Assembly, 52 votes were cast. Out of which, he obtained 29 votes while 23 voted against him. Man Bahadur Rawal of the Nepali Congress garnered 23 votes. Earlier, the Speaker could not be elected in the Province Assembly after none of the candidates secured a majority in the elections held on January 28 and 30. Nepali Congress has 19 members, CPN (Maoist Center) 11, CPN-UML 10, Unmukti Party 7, CPN (Unified Socialist) 4 and Rastriya Prajatantra Party has one member in the Province Assembly. The Assembly has one independent lawmaker.
Death toll from strike on Ukraine apartment block rises to 40
The death toll from a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 40 on Monday, with dozens more missing, making it the deadliest civilian incident of Moscow's three-month campaign of firing missiles at cities far from the front, Reuters reported.
Ukraine says the mass civilian deaths, which it describes as terrorism, demonstrate why it needs more weapons to defeat Russian forces 11 months after they invaded. Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians.
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned on Monday as her government came under rising pressure to let allies send Ukraine German heavy tanks, at the start of what looks like a pivotal week for Western plans to further arm Kyiv.
Officials acknowledged little hope of finding anyone else alive in the rubble of Saturday's attack in the central city of Dnipro, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the rescue operation would go on "as long as there is even the slightest chance to save lives".
"Dozens of people were rescued from the rubble, including six children. We are fighting for every person!" Zelenskiy said in an overnight televised address.
Zelenskiy, speaking later in his nightly video address, said the Dnipro attack underscored the need to speed up decisions on arms supplies and "coordinate all the efforts of the coalition defending Ukraine and freedom." He expects key decisions by Ukraine's allies when they meet in Germany later this week, he added.
Dnipro was in mourning on Monday.
A serviceman in uniform laid flowers and sobbed, clutching his head in grief next to an impromptu shrine to the dead at a bus stop across the street from a gaping hole where the apartment block had stood.
The missile flattened all nine storeys in a section of the long concrete housing unit. Rescue workers shovelled through debris more than 48 hours after the attack, according to Reuters.
"We all live in buildings like this one and we all imagine what if it happened to us. It is awful," said Polina, 28, a resident of the neighbourhood.
Russia, which since October has been conducting large scale strikes on Ukrainian cities mainly targeting power generation infrastructure, said it was not to blame for the destruction in Dnipro as it was caused by Ukrainian air defences. Kyiv says the apartment building was hit by a Russian ship-to-ship missile, a type that Ukraine does not have the capability to shoot down.
At least 40 people were killed in the attack with 30 still unaccounted for, city official Gennadiy Korban said. He said 75 people were wounded, including 14 children, Reuters reported.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the Dnipro strike., a U.N. spokesperson said. "Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. They must end immediately," the spokesperson said.
