Speaker Sapkota directs government to resolve problems of Tribhuvan University
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has directed the government to resolve the problems of Tribhuvan University, the oldest university of Nepal. Sapkota issued the directive to resolve the problems at the earliest after the main opposition CPN-UML demanded a ruling to sort out the issues. Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, UML lawmaker Pradeep Gyawali said that the ruling parties have been attacking the university time and again. He accused the government of being a mute spectator instead of taking action against those who are trying to destroy the university. “The university is on the verge of collapse. Thousands of students have left the country,” he said, adding, “The case filed against the attackers of the professor has been withdrawn. The main opposition cannot be a mute spectator.” It has already been three months that the student unions have padlocked the university.
EU faces 'awful' winters without gas cap - minister
Belgium's energy minister has warned that EU countries will face "five to ten" "terrible" winters if nothing is done to reduce natural gas prices, BBC reported.
Calls are mounting for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and its decoupling from the price of electricity.
EU states have been struggling with huge energy price hikes since key gas supplier Russia invaded Ukraine in February, triggering sanctions.
But Germany says it is replenishing its gas stores faster than expected.
Western countries backing Ukraine are trying to cut the amount of Russian gas and oil they import. Russia, which supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year, has in turn restricted supplies.
Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten wrote on Twitter that gas prices in Europe needed to be frozen urgently, adding that the link between gas and electricity prices was artificial and needed to be reformed.
In Germany, the year-ahead contract for electricity reached €995 (£844; $991) per megawatt hour on Friday while in France, it rose to €1,130. This represents a more than tenfold increase in both countries from last year, AFP news agency notes, according to BBC.
"We have to stop this madness that is happening right now on energy markets," Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
Electricity prices must go down, he said, calling on the EU to decouple electricity and gas prices.
"We cannot let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin determine the European electricity price every day," he added.
Germany - the largest importer of Russian gas in 2020 - has been racing to bolster its gas reserves before winter despite Russia cutting deliveries.
Its aim is to fill its gas capacity to 85% by October. It has implemented energy-saving measures to do so.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said such measures - along with buying gas from alternative suppliers - had enabled Germany to fulfil its goal sooner than anticipated, BBC reported.
He estimated that the 85% target could be reached by the start of September.
Ukraine war: Russian recruitment drive unlikely to have impact - UK
Russia's plan to expand its armed forces is unlikely to have an impact on the Ukraine war, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said, BBC reported.
Vladimir Putin recently signed a decree to increase the Russian armed forces' military personnel to more than 1.15m - a potential increase of 137,000.
But the MoD said the boost was unlikely to increase Russia's combat power - partly because of ongoing losses.
President Putin's decree came amid a military recruitment drive.
There have been reports that recruiters have even been visiting prisons, promising inmates freedom and money.
Currently, Russia has a limit of just over a million military personnel, plus almost 900,000 civilian staff.
In one of its regular updates on the war, the UK ministry said it was not clear if the planned increase would be achieved by recruiting more volunteers - or by increasing conscription, according to BBC.
But any increase was unlikely to have an impact in Ukraine given that:
- Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops,
- Very few new contract (i.e. non-conscript) servicemen are being recruited
- Conscripts are not technically obliged to serve outside Russian territory, the MoD said.
Western officials say some 70-80,000 troops have been killed or wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago.
Russia planned a short, decisive campaign when it invaded Ukraine in February, but Ukrainian resistance has stalled its progress, and in recent weeks front lines have hardly moved, BBC reported.
Currently, Russian men aged 18 to 27 are subject to conscription, although many are able to avoid or reduce their service - usually one year - through medical exemptions or by enrolling in higher education.
Tribhuvan University demands government security
The Tribhuvan University has demanded the government's security stating that it has been receiving threats from a student union. The TU in a statement accused the Nepal Students Union, Kirtipur of issuing threats to TU staffs, office bearers and employees and to padlock, vandalise and encircle it. It has also created obstructions in TU's daily administrative work by barging into the office, it blamed. "Main administrative building of the central office has been padlocked. As a result, TU's day-to-day official work has come to a halt. It has appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs to take necessary action against the group that is trying to take the TU hostage through a padlocking, and manage security personnel and provide security," read the statement. Similarly, as a result of the padlocking of the account section, TU, college staffs and employees across the country under the TU have been deprived of salaries since two months, according to the statement. Also, retired college staffs and employees have also been deprived of pension and gratuity.
