Taoiseach: Queen's death 'reminder to nurture UK-Ireland relations'
Queen Elizabeth's death is a reminder to the UK and Ireland that they need to "proactively nurture the relationship", the Taoiseach (Irish PM) told the BBC.
Micheál Martin noted the monarch's trip to Ireland in 2011 was a "watershed moment" for relations between the two.
It was the first trip by a British sovereign to the independent state and saw the Queen greeted by large crowds.
It was a diplomatic success, and left the Irish with a "fondness" for the Queen, Mr Martin said.
Her passing, he added, had left him with a sense of "deep sadness" - but also with hope for the future relationship between the UK and Ireland, which has come under strain amid the British government's plan to scrap parts of the post-Brexit trade deal it agreed with the EU.
"I would like to think that the visit of Queen Elizabeth II first of all to Ireland, her passing would give us all time for reflection, and will remind us of the need to proactively nurture the relationship between Britain and Ireland to enhance it in the time ahead," the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) said during an interview with the BBC's Fergal Keane.
The sight of the Irish flag at half-mast above City Hall spoke to the genuine affection of Cork people for Queen Elizabeth. Inside a book of condolence was filled with messages praising the Queen as a "healer" and "peacemaker".
One hundred years ago Cork was at the centre of the insurgency which pitted guerrillas of the Irish Republican Army against the forces of the British Crown. Following an IRA ambush in 1920, parts of the city - including the original City Hall - were destroyed by police and soldiers, BBC reported.
Two Lord Mayors who died in the conflict are commemorated by statues outside City Hall. One was assassinated by undercover police. His successor died on hunger strike in a British jail.
Yet by the time she arrived in Cork in 2011 it seemed sure that largescale political violence had ended on the island of Ireland. The Troubles in Northern Ireland had been brought to an end by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and violent activism was confined to small dissident Republican groups.
The Queen's visit signalled a closeness between the two countries after years of careful negotiation and compromise.
It saw the Queen speak a few words in Irish - a language once banned under British rule - at a state dinner in Dublin Castle, the former seat of British power in Ireland, and lay a wreath in Dublin's Garden of Remembrance - a park dedicated to Irish people who fought against the British.
It was her bowing her head in the Garden of Remembrance which struck Mr Martin in particular.
"It was a great, great gesture - more than a gesture, an act - that really meant a lot to people, and I think what it really said was, A hundred years on, we all must mature and evolve and have that generosity of spirit which allows us to look back on history in a much more informed, non-prejudicial way."
However, he pointed out that King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, had also played a role with his own visit in 1995, and then again in 2002 and 2015. He noted on the final visit, the King had made "again a very generous speech remembering all who had died". The Royal Family, he pointed out, had suffered their own hurt with the killing of Lord Mountbatten, the Duke of Edinburgh's uncle, in an IRA bombing, according to BBC.
"All of that has helped the cause of reconciliation - the basic idea we have a lot in common now," he added.
"He was there long before many, in terms of wildlife, biodiversity and climate change. That to me is leadership - in terms of pointing people in the right direction to protect future generations."
Nepal, China sign six-point MoU on inter-parliamentary cooperation
A six-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) on inter-parliamentary cooperation has been signed between Nepal and China on Monday.
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, signed the MoU at the Parliament building in New Baneshwor this evening.
Both the countries have agreed to respect each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and respect each other’s freely chosen social system and development paths and support each other’s core interests and important concerns.
According to the agreement, both sides have agreed to give priority to high-level visits and exchange of contacts between the Legislature of Nepal and the People's Republic of China.
Chinese Speaker Li had arrived in Kathmandu on a four-day visit to Nepal on Monday.
He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka on Tuesday.
The Chinese leader will pay a courtesy call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday.
Speaker Sapkota, Chinese leader Li hold meeting in New Baneshwor
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, the Chinese speaker, held a meeting on Monday.
The duo held the meeting at the Baneshwor-based Parliament building.
“Respected Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Li Zhanshu, who is on a Nepal visit, held a meeting. They held the meeting at the Tilicho Hall in New Baneshwor,” Speaker’s Secretariat said.
The Chinese leader arrived in Kathmandu on a four-day visit to Nepal this afternoon.
During his stay in Nepal, he is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Two ambassadors take oath of office and secrecy
President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered oath of office and secrecy to two Nepali ambassadors at a special ceremony organized at the Office of the President in Shital Niwas on Monday. The Head-of-State administered the oath to Nepal's ambassador to Myanmar, Harish Chandra Ghimire and ambassador to Malaysia, Dilli Raj Poudel, the Office of the President stated. Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka and high government officials were present on the occasion.
