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Chinese Communist Party Foreign Department Deputy Chief Chen Zhou held a virtual meeting with CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Nepal on Thursday and expressed concern over the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

During the meeting, he said that China is ready to invest in the development project that Nepali people wanted independently.

Similarly, Chairman Nepal said that Nepal is committed to one-China policy and will not allow anti-China activities in Nepal.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks responding to the controversy over a US deadline to Nepal to pass the MCC compact through parliament by February 28.

“How could a ‘gift’ be sent by an ultimatum? How could people accept such a ‘gift’?” said Hua on Wednesday at a press conference in Beijing. “Is it a ‘gift’ or a Pandora's box? Is it afraid that just as the old Nepali saying goes, it looks delicious, but it's actually a meat tough to chew.

 

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba urged the main opposition CPN-UML to take part in the discussions on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

PM Deuba made such a request during a meeting held with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli at the Parliament building on Thursday afternoon, Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa said.

The Prime Minister urged UML Chairman Oli to take part in the discussions by lifting the House obstruction saying the MCC is a matter of international concern and should be resolved without any further delay, he said.

“MCC is not just an issue of arithmetic. This is also an issue of international concern. This should be resolved at any cost. We all parties are ready to hold discussions. The government also wants the UML to participate in the discussions by lifting the House obstruction,” Thapa said as PM Deuba saying.

It has been learnt that PM Deuba and Oli will meet again in Baluwatar at 7 pm today.

Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast on Thursday, officials and media said, after President Vladimir Putin authorised what he called a special military operation in the east, Reuters reported.

Shortly after Putin spoke in a televised address on Russian state TV, explosions could be heard in the pre-dawn quiet of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Gunfire rattled near the capital’s main airport, the Interfax news agency said, and sirens were heard over the city.

“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

“This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”

U.S. President Joe Biden, reacting to an invasion the United States had been predicting for weeks, said his prayers were with the people of Ukraine “as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack”, while promising tough sanctions in response.

“I will be meeting with the leaders of the G7, and the United States and our allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia,” Biden said in a statement.

Russia has demanded an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and Putin repeated his position that Ukrainian membership of the U.S.-led Atlantic military alliance was unacceptable.

Nepali Congress leader Ramchandra Poudel has said the ruling coalition can break if Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Madhav Kumar Nepal did not lend tangible support in endorsing the Millennium Challenge Corporation compact. 

At a press conference organized by Press Union Tanahun at Damauli today, he made it clear that NC was not in favour of keeping the coalition intact if the CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) did not provide support in endorsing the MCC compact. 

“The coalition partners should support the proposal brought out by the government. Even if the ruling coalition parties did not lend their support the MCC should be passed on the backing of the main opposition party. This is where NC stands now”, he further shared. 

Leader Poudel asked coalition partners to not think that the coalition would remain intact by foiling MCC compact. “If time demands the country can go for an election. Election can be declared soon if needed”. 

MCC was a gift of the US citizens, he said, accusing some people of creating unnecessary rumours about its agreement. “MCC is not a project to nurture any imperialism but a development project”, he said, expressing reservation on the sponsored rumour spreading against MCC. RSS