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Cuba’s Labour Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera resigned after claiming there are “no beggars” in Cuba, only people pretending to be poor, according to Al Jazeera.

Her remarks, made during a National Assembly meeting, sparked public backlash and calls for her removal. She described street beggars as people in disguise and accused those collecting recyclables of dodging taxes.

The Cuban presidency said Feito admitted her “lack of sensitivity” and stepped down. President Miguel Díaz-Canel also criticized the tone of her comments, stressing the government must not ignore the vulnerable, Al Jazeera reported.

Cuba is facing a severe economic crisis, worsened by US sanctions and fuel shortages.

Lawmakers have demanded updates about those Nepali affected by the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. 

During a meeting of the National Assembly today,  lawmakers  advised the government to take diplomatic initiatives to know about the Nepalis residing in these countries and appeal to the world community for an end to war and for peace. 

The lawmakers also expressed views that the line ministers should apprise the House about measures implemented for disaster risk reductions, relief and rehabilitation works.  They were airing their views in a special hour of the upper house session. 

Additionally, the session advised the government to develop strategic plans to address the challenges Nepal will face after graduating from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDC) to a middle-income nation, noting that the country will lose certain international support and facilities following the transition.

Concerns were also voiced over the removal of grants for sugarcane farmers in the upcoming fiscal year, and the government was criticized for its failure to adequately address farmers' urgent needs for agricultural fertilizers.

Women lawmakers highlighted ongoing issues related to superstition-based violence, including witchcraft accusations and dowry practices. They also expressed alarm over the 'rising' trend of sex-selective abortions and demanded timely government intervention to curb the practice.

Among those who spoke during the special hour were Nara Bahadur Bista, Mohammed Khalid, Kiran Babu Shrestha, Dr. Bedu Ram Bhusal, Sharada Devi Bhatta, Bishnu Kumari Sapkota, Urmila Aryal, and Indira Devi Gautam.

Today's meeting of the National Assembly could not enter the business due to protest from the opposition parties.

Soon after the Upper House of the Federal Parliament meeting began, lawmakers of the opposition parties protested by standing up from their respective seats.

Dr Beduram Bhusal of CPN (Unified Socialist) said the government should furnish the reasons why Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Kul Man Ghising, was dismissed from the post. 

"The dismissal is a Cabinet decision. As per the Article 76, the Prime Minister should be accountable to the federal Parliament. So, the Prime Minister should respond to the House", he argued.

Saying that the attention of the NA was drawn towards the issue, NA Chairperson Narayan Prasad Dahal urged lawmakers not obstruct today's business. "Attention of the NA was drawn to it. But we have to pass the bills brought to replace ordinances soon," he argued.

Similarly, Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader at NA, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, requested the opposition parties to help run the meeting because the obstruction would hinder the passage of the replacement bills. Sitaula also reminded the constitutional provision as per which replacement bill should be passed within 60 days of the approval of ordinances.

The NA meeting was postponed for an hour.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, on behalf of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, presented a proposal in today's meeting of the National Assembly (NA), seeking consideration of the Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to the Promotion of Good Governance and Public Service Delivery received from the House of Representatives.

Soon after the discussion on the proposal began, lawmaker Renu Chand argued that Rule 93 of the National Assembly Regulations, 2075 BS required that any bill brought through an ordinance in the Parliament should be done so as a replacement bill, but the word 'replacement bill' had not been mentioned in the bill presented by the Minister and, therefore, discussions could not be held on the bill.

National Assembly Chair Narayan Prasad Dahal announced that the meeting has been postponed for some time due to the conflict in the provisions of the regulations.

Three bills have been tabled in the National Assembly today.

National Assembly Secretary Dr Surendra Aryal tabled the Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Improvement of the Economic and Business Environment and Investment Promotion, 2081 BS, the Privatization (First Amendment) Bill, 2081 BS and Economic Procedure and Financial Responsibility (First Amendment) Bill, 2081 BS with the message received from the House of Representatives.

Five ordinances approved by National Assembly

National Assembly has endorsed the five ordinances tabled by the Government.
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The NA follows suit of the House of Representatives that passed the Ordinance on Wednesday.

The Ordinance to amend some Nepal Acts relating to the promotion of good governance and public service delivery, 2081, the Economic Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2081, the Privatization (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2081, the Ordinance to amend some Nepal Acts relating to economic and business environment improvement and investment promotion, 2081, and the Ordinance to amend some Nepal Acts relating to cooperatives, 2081, were approved by the Upper House with a majority. Earlier, various MPs had tabled a motion to reject the ordinances but was rejected by a majority.

The National Assembly will meet again tomorrow.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said the government is seriously and sensitively working to ensure peace, order and security for the citizens with maximum utilization of available resources towards that end.

In his replies to lawmakers' queries in a session of the National Assembly today, the Minister reiterated the government compulsion to work amidst limited resources.

He also claimed that following his assumption on the post, various efforts have been launched for policy and legal reforms.

"Your feedback, submissions and concerns are always the guidelines for me," he told the lawmakers, arguing that his work speed and spirit matched with the concerns of lawmakers for peace and security, service delivery, disaster management and so on.

He apprised the House that Nepal Police Bill, Armed Police Force Bill, Nepal Citizenship (Second Amendment) Bill are already the properties of the Parliament and discussions with stakeholders concerned are underway regarding the need and relevance of other policy and legal reforms.

"The reconstruction of structures damaged by monsoon-related disasters and the earthquake is progressing, and the mechanisms under the Home Ministry are actively working to implement laws that promote civic freedom, the rule of law, human rights, and the democratic values guaranteed by Nepal’s Constitution," he added.

Meanwhile, during the zero hour, Suresh Kumar Ale Magar demanded the continuity of citizenship by descent for ex British Gurkhas. There are rumors that citizenship by descent for them will be discontinued, he said.

National Assembly Chairperson Narayan Prasad Dahal has demanded an investigation into the death of a student, Prakriti Lamsal of Butwal, studying at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University.

Speaking in today's NA meeting, Chair Dahal said NA's serious attention was drawn due to the mysterious death of Lamsal and drew the government's attention to start diplomatic initiative immediately to investigate the case and provide appropriate justice.

He also urged the government to take initiative to create a favorable environment for study to other Nepali students of KIIT. 

Speaking in the emergency hour of the meeting, lawmakers asked for a serious investigation into Lamsal's case.

Radhe Shyam Paswan said, "Lamsal was compelled to commit suicide after the college administration turned its deaf ear towards her frequent complaints with evidence of mental torture," demanding investigation into the case.

He further said the government of Nepal should take diplomatic initiative and rescue the stranded Nepali students.

Similarly, Krishna Bahadur Rokaya objected saying other Nepali students are being oppressed while raising voice on the issue of the death case of the Nepali student Lamsal.

He asked the government to investigate the case through diplomatic initiative and create a safe environment for study to other Nepali students there.

Stating that it was injustice not allowing Lamsal's relatives to see the dead body, Madan Kumari Shah objected to the misbehavior meted out against Nepali students by KIIT college administration.

Lawmaker Mohammad Khalid called on the government to take initiative for the safety and protection of the Nepali students studying at KIIT.

Tula Prasad Bishwakarma also called attention of the government over the death of Lamsal at KIIT.

"Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal was found dead in the hostel; it is sad that instead of investigating the truth behind Lamsal's death, the KIIT authorities used coercion and suppression against Nepali students demanding a fair investigation into the incident," he said and called on the government to take initiatives so that a fair investigation is carried out and the guilty are brought to justice.

Similarly, lawmaker Tulasa Kumari Dahal demanded further investigation into the death of Nepali student at KIIT hostel.

Mistreatment on civil servant flayed

Meanwhile, the upper house lawmakers have expressed their objection to what they called the increasing cases of physical assault on and mistreatment of civil servants by the local level people's representatives.

Speaking during the Zero Hour of the National Assembly session today, they said it was a matter of serious concern that the public employees were 'insecure' from the people's representatives themselves.

MP Padam Bahadur Pariyar objected to the recent attack on the staff by the people's representative of Bandipur Municipality-6 in Tanahun district and demanded an investigation.

Another MP Manarupa Sharma also denounced the incident and demanded action against the culprits.

MP Renu Chand drew the attention of the government to end all kinds of discrimination and take action against those who discriminate.

Bishnudevi Pudasaini stressed the need for inter-agency coordination in the construction of infrastructure, including sewage, drinking water, and electricity in Kathmandu.

Lawmakers Rukmini Koirala, Bishnu Kumari Sapkota, Bishnu Bahadur Bishwakarma, Krishna Prasad Adhikari, and Sabitri Malla stressed the need for the government to take immediate steps to investigate the death of Prakriti Lamsal from Butwal, a student at KIIT University in Odisha, India.

Reports of two bills have been tabled in today's meeting of the National Assembly.

In the 17th session of the NA, commenced from today, President of Legislative Management Committee, Tulasa Kumari Dahal, presented the Committee's reports on 'Media Council Bill, 2080' and 'Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Bill, 2081'.

Presenting the reports, Dahal mentioned that goals of maintaining professional ethics in the journalism sector as well as achieving sustainable development goals from the promotion of renewable energy through these bills have been set.

Lawmakers speaking in the 'Zero Hour' of the National Assembly meeting today demanded that the government ease the process for providing citizenship certificates in the name of mother.

Complaining that it was still not easy to get citizenship in the name of mother, the upper house lawmakers stressed on establishing women's rights in parental property and the family lineage.

Lawmaker Ganga Kumari Belbase called for easing the process of providing citizenship in the name of the mother.

Taraman Sunar complained that the senior citizens were facing problems accessing government services like the social security allowance due to the cumbersome provision requiring the National Identity Card for the same.

Tulasa Kumari Dahal drew attention of the government towards the senior citizens sheltering at the Janaki Old-age Home to avail of health services as the government has not provided such support to this old-age home.

Bhagawati Neupane said that although traffic lights are installed in Kathmandu, they are not functioning well. She drew the attention of the government towards the urgent need of fixing this problem.

Maya Prasad Sharma called for timely rescue of the people injured in incidents of landslides and flooding. He demanded that the government take the necessary steps for minimizing the growing human-wildlife conflict.

Sharada Devi Bhatta and Sumitra BC called for building a robust disaster preparedness and response system, drawing the government's attention to the loss of life and property with the start of the monsoon.

The government has presented the annual report for Fiscal Year 2022/23 in the National Assembly, the upper house of the Federal Parliament, today.

The report has been presented in the upper house in accordance with Article 53 of the Constitution of Nepal.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, tabled the report on behalf of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The meeting of the National Assembly (NA) scheduled for today has been postponed without entering its business.  

The meeting was put off after the lawmakers of the main opposition party protested, standing from their respective seats.

NA Chairperson Narayan Prasad Dahal urged the opposition parties to facilitate running the Assembly business.

"We have not been able to discuss the policies and programs presented by the government for the coming fiscal year. We have not been able to carry out activities on the issues wanted by the people. The day to unveil the budget is coming closer. The NA should be more responsible to end parliament deadlock and a time has come to think on it," he mentioned.

NA Chairperson Dahal announced the postponement of today's meeting after the opposition parties continued with the obstruction.

The next meeting of the National Assembly will be at 11:30 am on Sunday.

The meeting of the National Assembly (NA) has been postponed today after the main opposition party, Nepali Congress, obstructed the proceedings on Friday.

The NA Chairman Narayana Prasad Dahal adjourned the meeting after the Nepali Congress lawmakers stood up from their seats at the outset in protest. He postponed the meeting till 1: 15 pm on May 19, Sunday.

The Nepali Congress has been obstructing the meeting of the upper house of the Federal Parliament, calling for the formation of a parliamentary committee to carry out an impartial investigation into the alleged involvement of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in the misappropriation of the cooperative funds.

The government has recommended President Ram Chandra Paudel to nominate Dr Anjana Shakya to the vacant post of National Assembly.

A Cabinet meeting held on Friday decided to recommend President Paudel to nominate Dr Anjana Shakya to the vacant post of National Assembly, government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma said.

Bimala Ghimire of the CPN-UML and Bishnu Devi Pudasaini of the Nepali Congress filed their nominations for the post of National Assembly vice-chairperson on Tuesday.

They filed their candidacies at the Lhotse Hall of the federal Parliament building for the election of the upper house vice-chair to be held on Wednesday.

The UML had already decided to field Ghimire as its candidate for the election to the National Assembly vice-chair. She has the support of the ruling alliance.

Meanwhile, a Congress Parliamentary Work Execution Committee meeting held on Tuesday morning had decided to pick Pudasaini as the party candidate for the election.

Pudasaini was elected as a National Assembly member from Bagmati Province.

According to the Secretariat, the filing of nominations will be held from 11:45 am to 1:45 pm.

The post remained vacant after Urmila Aryal, who was elected as the National Assembly vice-chair unopposed on January 17, 2023, tendered her resignation on March 28.

An election for the post of National Assembly (NA) Vice-Chairperson is scheduled to take place on April 10.

NA Chair Narayan Prasad Dahal apprised the House today of the election schedule for the post of upper house Vice-Chairperson. The NA Vice-Chairperson’s post has been vacant since Urmila Aryal resigned on March 28.

The NA Chair has directed the Federal Parliament Secretary General Padam Prasad Pandey to publish the election schedule.

The NA shall meet again at 1:15 pm on April 10.

National Assembly Vice-Chairperson Urmila Aryal resigned on Thursday.

She submitted the resignation to National Assembly Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal.

Aryal was elected unopposed as the National Assembly Vice-Chairperson on January 17, 2023.

After Dahal was elected as the Chairman from the CPN (Maoist Center) in the ruling coalition, she tendered her resignation in consensus.

While forming a new coalition, an agreement was reached among the four parties that the Chairman of the National Assembly would be from the Maoist Center and the Vice-Chairperson of the CPN-UML.