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The Confucius Institute at Tribhuvan University, the second in Nepal, was inaugurated on Tuesday in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, with the stakeholders pledging more resources to make it a better platform for cooperation, Xinhua reported. Though it was initiated in 2019, the university's institute had a two-year hiatus from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Liu Yueming, the Chinese director of the institute. Addressing the inauguration ceremony via video link, Nepali Minister for Education, Science and Technology Devendra Paudel noted that the Nepali side has recognized the importance of the Chinese language and listed it as an optional course for students from grade nine to 12 starting this year. Paudel said the learning of languages and cultures can help elevate the relationship between the two countries. He voiced hope that the Confucius Institute will be helpful for language teaching, cultural exchanges, bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding. "The Chinese language has become very necessary for Nepal's economic and social development, investment, tourism and higher education," Leela Mani Paudyal, former Nepali ambassador to China, said during the institute's inauguration. "We believe that China's development is an opportunity for us." More than 30,000 learners have been registered with the Confucius institutes at Kathmandu University and Tribhuvan University, contributing manpower to Nepal's tourism, infrastructure, business and trade sectors in particular, said Hou Yanqi, the Chinese ambassador to Nepal. Also addressing the inauguration ceremony via video link, Hou voiced hope that the two institutes would become a window for showcasing the Chinese culture, a bridge to promote cultural exchanges and a bond for China-Nepal friendship. Dharma Kanta Baskota, vice-chancellor of Tribhuvan University, said the Confucius Institute focuses on high-quality language and cultural projects, according to Xinhua. In June 2007, Hebei University of Economics and Business and Kathmandu University jointly established the first Confucius Institute in Nepal. The Chinese university oversees Chinese language and cultural programs for the institute.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Friday urged all creditor nations to discuss Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, after the crisis-hit South Asian nation reached a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Reuters reported. "It's important for all creditor nations, including China and India, to gather to discuss Sri Lanka's debt restructuring," Suzuki told a news conference. Sri Lanka has reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a loan of about $2.9 billion, the global lender said on Thursday, as the country seeks a way out of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, according to Reuters.

Heritage sites and tourist areas in Kathmandu were cleaned as a part of the ‘Clean Nepal, Green Nepal’ campaign. The campaign saw some 300 participants including Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Tourism Secretary Suresh Adhikari and the CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board Dr Dhananjay Regmi as well as local community engaging in cleaning of the heritage sites and tourist spots. The campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation while today’s program was organized by the Ministry in association with the Nepal Tourism Board and Thamel Tourism Development Council. During the cleanup program, Basantapur, Asan and Thamel areas were cleaned using broom, gloves and traditional floor scrubber among others, shared Board’s senior director Hikmat Singh Aiyer. The campaign is part of the 73-point strategy issued by the Ministry to revive COVID-19-affected tourism sector of the country. All the heritage sites across the country will be cleaned gradually under the campaign for tourism promotion, added Aiyer. Council’s president Bhabishwor Sharma was hopeful that such activity would aid in revival of tourism in the country. The Council would honor those significantly contributing in this sanitation drive of Thamel, shared Sharma.

Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday was sentenced to three years in jail with hard labor after a court found her guilty of electoral fraud. Zabuthiri Township judge Maung Maung Khin handed down the sentence at a junta-controlled closed court in the Naypyitaw Detention Centre, News Agency, Myanmar Now reported. Apart from Suu Kyi, other two leaders (Win Myint and Min Thu) from the ousted civilian government, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won the 2020 election in a landslide, were accused of violating Section 130 (a) of the Penal Code by unfairly influencing the election commission. The military council’s allegations were based on the report of 2,000 double votes, found after one year of investigation carried out since the February 2011 coup. Some 75 percent of Myanmar’s more than 37 million registered voters participated in the 2020 general election, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. However, the junta vowed to confront the alleged fraud with legal action against several NLD leaders and party members, as well as the more than 420 members of the previous Union Election Commission and nearly 2,500 members of local election commissions, reported Myanmar Now. Suu Kyi, 77, has already been sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption and sedition charges. Recently, in August, she was handed a six-year sentence for four corruption charges after the military accused her of abusing her position as party leader to benefit a private foundation named after her mother, Daw Khin Kyi, as well as an affiliated project. Notably, the military detained Suu Kyi in February 2021 as it seized power in Myanmar. Myanmar’s military leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the one who led a coup against an elected civilian government in 2021 and detained Aung San Suu Kyi over alleged election irregularities. In August last year, General Hlaing declared himself Prime Minister of a newly formed caretaker government. During an address to the nation on August 1, he repeated a pledge to hold elections by 2023. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed by Myanmar security forces with thousands of others arrested, according to the United Nations, amid a crackdown on strikes and protests which has derailed the country’s tentative democracy and prompted international condemnation. In a recent update, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said the conflict has intensified over the past month, with increased reports of army raids across Myanmar, especially in the northwest and southeast regions. (ANI)