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Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged construction entrepreneurs to compete in the tender of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Addressing the 23rd general assembly of the Federation of Construction Entrepreneurs Nepal, Prime Minister Deuba said that Nepal could also take part in the MCC project as the tender would be announced at the international level.

He urged the construction entrepreneurs to participate in the international tender.

Saying that the US law envisioned that the tender should be announced internationally, the Prime Minister said that any country could take part in the same.

Nepalis would be happy if Nepal achieved success in the tender.

“There will be international competition, global tender. Construction entrepreneurs of Nepal can also take part in the tender,” he said.

Prime Minister Deuba went on to say that construction industries of Nepal should be made of international level.

He also made it clear that the government has also amended the Procurement Regulations to facilitate the entrepreneurs.

Nepal and South Africa have agreed to enhance mutual corporation. 

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Acting Director General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of the Republic of South Africa Nonce baLosi signed the Declaration of Intent on Cooperation on behalf of their respective Governments in Pretoria on Thursday. 

Addressing the signing ceremony, Foreign Secretary Paudyal stated that the Declaration would provide a fundamental basis for further strengthening of bilateral cooperation between Nepal and South Africa. 

The Foreign Secretary recalled Nepal’s solidarity with the South African people in their struggle for freedom, dignity and equality. 

Acting Director General of DIRCO Losi warmly welcomed the Nepali delegation and stated that this day would mark the new beginning in the friendly relations between Nepal and South Africa. She appreciated Nepal for firmly standing by the side of South African people in their fight against apartheid. 

The signing ceremony was followed by the First Nepal-South Africa Bilateral Consultation meeting. 

The meeting discussed wide range of issues of bilateral relations between the two countries, including trade, tourism, foreign direct investment, people-to-people contacts, and cultural cooperation as well as exchange of UN peacekeeping experience.

The second meeting of the bilateral consultation mechanism will be held in Kathmandu in 2024.

Foreign Secretary Paudyal also had a separate meeting today with Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Candith Mashego-Dlamini. Matters, including COVID-19 control, vaccine equity and economic recovery featured during the meeting. 

In an interview to Ubuntu Radio run by DIRCO, the Foreign Secretary highlighted key priorities of the Government of Nepal and potential areas that the two countries could explore to add more substance into their bilateral relations.

The Nepali delegation led by the Foreign Secretary comprised of Harishchandra Ghimire, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gyan Bahadur Magar, Charge´d'Affaires at the Embassy of Nepal in Pretoria and other officials of the Ministry and the Embassy. RSS

The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country’s public health laboratories to prevent “any potential spills” that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Biosecurity experts say Russia’s movement of troops into Ukraine and bombardment of its cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.

Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19. Its labs have received support from the United States, the European Union and the WHO.

In response to questions from Reuters about its work with Ukraine ahead of and during Russia’s invasion, the WHO said in an email that it has collaborated with Ukrainian public health labs for several years to promote security practices that help prevent “accidental or deliberate release of pathogens.”

“As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills,” the WHO, a United Nations agency, said, according to Reuters.

The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine’s laboratories. The agency also did not answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed.

Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and at their embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Ukraine’s laboratory capabilities are at the center of a growing information war since Russia began moving troops into Ukraine two weeks ago.

On Wednesday, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova repeated a longstanding claim that the United States operates a biowarfare lab in Ukraine, an accusation that has been repeatedly denied by Washington and Kyiv.

Zakharova said that documents unearthed by Russian forces in Ukraine showed “an emergency attempt to erase evidence of military biological programmes” by destroying lab samples, Reuters reported.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm her information.

In response, a Ukrainian presidential spokesperson said: “Ukraine strictly denies any such allegation.” U.S. government spokespeople also strongly denied Zakharova’s accusations, saying that Russia may use its claims as a pretext to deploy its own chemical or biological weapons.

The WHO statement made no reference to biowarfare. The agency said it encourages all parties to cooperate in “the safe and secure disposal of any pathogens they come across, and to reach out for technical assistance as needed.” It offered to help wherever possible with technical guidance and coordination.

The United Nations Security Council will convene on Friday at Russia’s request, diplomats said, to discuss Moscow’s claims, presented without evidence, of U.S. biological activities in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

With the BJP’s landslide in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election and chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s win from Gorakhpur (Urban) seat, a number of records have been created, The Times of India reported.

BJP and Adityanath have created at least seven records as results were announced on Thursday.

1. Yogi Adityanath first CM to complete tenure and win a second term

The first assembly of Uttar Pradesh - India’s most populous state - was constituted on May 20, 1952. The state has seen 21 CMs in about 70 years. Adityanath has become the first chief minister in 70 years of UP’s electoral history to complete a full tenure of five years and go on to win a second consecutive term.

2. Yogi Adityanath is fifth CM to win a second consecutive term

Only five CMs, including Adityanath, have won a second consecutive term in UP ever. The four CMs before him to do so were Sampurnananda in 1957, Chandrabhanu Gupta in 1962, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna in 1974 and Narayan Dutt Tiwari in 1985.

3. First CM to retain power in 37 years

ND Tiwari of the Congress was CM of undivided UP in 1985 when the state went to election. The Congress won and so did Tiwari who went on to retain the post for the second term in a row. Since then, no CM has succeeded in retaining the CM’s chair for a second consecutive term. Adityanath is the first CM to do so since then.

4. First BJP CM to return to power

UP has seen four BJP CMs so far. Before Adityanath, Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and defence minister Rajnath Singh occupied the post. However, none of them could retain office for a second consecutive term. Adityanath is the first BJP CM to do so. 

5. First MLA CM in 15 years

When Adityanath takes oath as chief minister for a second consecutive term, he will become the first MLA (member of legislative assembly) CM in 15 years. Before him, Mayawati was an MLC (member of legislative council) as CM between 2007 and 2012. 

Akhilesh Yadav was also an MLC when he was CM between 2012 and 2017. When he became CM, Adityanath was a Lok Sabha MP. After taking over, he too chose to become an MLC instead of getting an MLA to vacate an assembly seat and become an MLA within six months of assuming office. In the process, he became the fourth MLC CM of UP. Ram Prakash Gupta, also of the BJP, was the first MLC CM of the state in November 1999.

Adityanath was a five-term Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur when he was elected CM with the BJP coming to power with a resounding victory, winning 312 of the 403 assembly seats in 2017. Along with its two allies, the Anupriya Patel-headed Apna Dal and OP Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, the NDA won 325 seats.

At the moment, two CMs - Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra - are MLCs. 

6. Third CM to complete tenure

Adityanath has already registered a record in his name. Of the 21 CMs in 70 years, only three have completed the full tenure of five years. Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati was the first one (2007-2012) and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav the second (2012-2017).

7. First CM to break Noida jinx

The “Noida jinx” is a feared phenomenon in UP politics. 

The residential-cum-industrial city of Noida, which stands for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a satellite town of the national capital Delhi and a city in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district of UP.

According to the Noida jinx, whichever CM visits the city during his/her tenure loses the next election or does not complete his/her term. However, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath ignored the superstition and visited Noida to inaugurate Delhi Metro's Magenta Line on December 25, 2018.

Akhilesh Yadav had then commented that Modi and Adityanath would lose the next Lok Sabha and UP assembly elections respectively. However, while Modi won the 2019 Lok Sabha election and broke the jinx, Adityanath has also proven it wrong, according to The Times of India.

The Noida jinx became popular after the then UP CM Veer Bahadur Singh had to quit office in June 1988, a few days after he returned from the city. Singh's successor ND Tiwari too lost the CM’s post after visiting Noida. Subsequently, CMs and other leaders started bypassing Noida.

Akhilesh's father Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh skipped visiting Noida when they were in office. As UP CM between October 2000 and March 2002, Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Flyway from Delhi instead of Noida.

Similarly in May 2013, Akhilesh skipped the Asian Development Bank (ADB) summit organised in Noida in which former PM Manmohan Singh was the chief guest. He bypassed Noida again when he inaugurated the 165-km Yamuna Expressway from Lucknow instead of the industrial city. Mayawati as CM ignored the jinx by flying to Noida to inaugurate the Dalit Smarak Sthal in October 2011. She lost the 2012 assembly election, Times of India reported.