Second meeting of Bilateral Consultations Mechanism between Nepal and Australia held
The second meeting of the Bilateral Consultations Mechanism (BCM) between Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia was held in Canberra on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Justin Hayhurst, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, led their respective delegations to the BCM meeting. The two sides reviewed the bilateral relations between Nepal and Australia and exchanged views on further strengthening the bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields including education, energy, investment, trade, tourism, technology transfer, migration, cooperation in climate action, and disaster risk reduction, among others, read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both sides agreed to prioritize the exchange of high-level visits, promote people to people contacts, and facilitate trade, investment and transfer of technology. They also discussed cooperation in multilateral forums, including the exchange of experiences in UN Peace keeping operations. While appreciating Australian cooperation to Nepal, Foreign Secretary Paudyal requested the Australian side to place Nepal as a priority country for Australian aid, support for post-COVID economic recovery, graduation from the LDC status, and realize the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and consider issuing visa services from the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Earlier, Nepal and Australia signed MOU on Cooperation on Water Resource Management yesterday under which Australia will provide support on capacity development and training technical assistance in water resource management among others. The Nepali delegation led by the Foreign Secretary comprised Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary, Water and Energy Commission, Kailash Raj Pokharel, Ambassador of Nepal to Australia, Lok Bahadur Thapa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sita Basnet, Under Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kul Bahadur Magar, Deputy Head of Mission of Embassy of Nepal. Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia was established on 14 July 2017 and its first meeting was held in Kathmandu on 16 August 2018.
Teej helps to erase discrimination: Speaker Sapkota
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has said Haritalika Teej is the festival to raise voices in a collective manner. It helps to foster family unity and social harmony, and erase discrimination, he added. Giving a message of best wishes on the occasion of the Teej festival today, Speaker Sapkota hoped that the Teej would help create the atmosphere conducive for women's freedom, security and dignified life. Speaker Sapkota also reminded the women to be aware of scientific value in lifestyle while celebrating the festival.
UML to continue development works: General Secretary Pokharel
CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel has said that his party was for continuing the development works and keeping up with people's aspiration. For this to happen, the party proposed Chairperson KP Sharma Oli as the next prime minister, he informed. During a press conference organized in the Capital on Monday, General Secretary Pokharel argued that once Chairperson Oli becomes Prime Minister, people's aspiration for development and prosperity would be fulfilled. According to Pokharel, the UML was planning to launch a campaign that every member of the party would engage in election preparation in a way it would increase votes to the party in coming provincial and federal elections.
UN agency to inspect Ukraine nuclear plant in urgent mission
A UN nuclear watchdog team set off on an urgent mission Monday to safeguard the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant at the heart of fighting in Ukraine, a long-awaited trip the world hopes will help avoid a radioactive catastrophe, Associated Press reported.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the International Atomic Energy Agency experts who will visit the plant in a country where the 1986 Chernobyl disaster spewed radiation throughout the region, shocking the world and intensifying a global push away from nuclear energy.
“Without an exaggeration, this mission will be the hardest in the history of IAEA,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Underscoring the urgency, Ukraine and Russia again accused each other of shelling the wider region around the nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which was briefly knocked offline last week. The dangers are so high that officials have begun handing out anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents.
“The day has come,” Grossi tweeted Monday, adding that the Vienna-based IAEA’s “Support and Assistance Mission ... is now on its way.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the team, which Grossi heads, was scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on Monday. In April, Grossi had headed an IAEA mission to Chernobyl, which Russian forces occupied earlier in the war.
The IAEA said that its team will “undertake urgent safeguards activities,” assess damage, determine the functionality of the plant’s safety and security systems and evaluate the control room staff’s working conditions.
Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency, Energoatom, warned Monday of Russian attempts to cover up their military use of the plant.
“The occupiers, preparing for the arrival of the IAEA mission, increased pressure on the personnel ... to prevent them from disclosing evidence of the occupiers’ crimes at the plant and its use as a military base,” Energoatom said, adding that four plant workers were wounded in Russian shelling of the city where they live.
Ukraine accused Russia of new rocket and artillery strikes at or near the plant, intensifying fears that the fighting could cause a massive radiation leak. So far, radiation levels at the facility, which has six reactors, have been reported to be normal, according to Associated Press.
Ukraine has alleged that Russia is essentially holding the plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the facility.
World leaders have called on the Russians to demilitarize the plant. Satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies on Monday showed armored personnel carriers on a road near the reactors, damage to a building’s roof also near the reactors, and brush fires burning nearby.
Ukraine reported more Russian shelling in Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the nuclear power plant, with one person killed and five wounded. Relentless shelling has hit the city for weeks. In Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the plant, the city’s Ukrainian mayor, Dmytro Orlov, blamed Russian shelling for wounding at least 10 residents, Associated Press reported.
