PM Deuba in Sheetal Niwas to hold discussion on Citizenship Bill with President Bhandari
Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba along with his office bearers have reached Sheetal Niwas to discuss the Citizenship Bill. Earlier, President Bhandari had returned the Citizenship Bill to the Parliament with a 15-point message for reconsideration. But, the House of Representatives endorsed the bill without any change. The bill is in the National Assembly. On Sunday, the upper house sent the bill to the Legislation Management Committee of the Parliament for clause-wise discussion. The ruling coalition is in favor of endorsing the bill at the earliest while the main opposition CPN-UML is against the same. Of late, President Bhandari has intensified discussions after knowing that the bill would come to her for certification without any change.
Bill on Truth and Reconciliation Commission tabled in Parliament
A bill related to Truth and Reconciliation has been tabled in the Parliament on Monday. During the Parliament meeting held on Monday, Law Minister Govinda Prasad Sharma presented a proposal to consider the bill on Enforced Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Third Amendment), 2079. The discussion has started on the bill.
Speaker Sapkota directs government to resolve problems of Tribhuvan University
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has directed the government to resolve the problems of Tribhuvan University, the oldest university of Nepal. Sapkota issued the directive to resolve the problems at the earliest after the main opposition CPN-UML demanded a ruling to sort out the issues. Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, UML lawmaker Pradeep Gyawali said that the ruling parties have been attacking the university time and again. He accused the government of being a mute spectator instead of taking action against those who are trying to destroy the university. “The university is on the verge of collapse. Thousands of students have left the country,” he said, adding, “The case filed against the attackers of the professor has been withdrawn. The main opposition cannot be a mute spectator.” It has already been three months that the student unions have padlocked the university.
EU faces 'awful' winters without gas cap - minister
Belgium's energy minister has warned that EU countries will face "five to ten" "terrible" winters if nothing is done to reduce natural gas prices, BBC reported.
Calls are mounting for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and its decoupling from the price of electricity.
EU states have been struggling with huge energy price hikes since key gas supplier Russia invaded Ukraine in February, triggering sanctions.
But Germany says it is replenishing its gas stores faster than expected.
Western countries backing Ukraine are trying to cut the amount of Russian gas and oil they import. Russia, which supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year, has in turn restricted supplies.
Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten wrote on Twitter that gas prices in Europe needed to be frozen urgently, adding that the link between gas and electricity prices was artificial and needed to be reformed.
In Germany, the year-ahead contract for electricity reached €995 (£844; $991) per megawatt hour on Friday while in France, it rose to €1,130. This represents a more than tenfold increase in both countries from last year, AFP news agency notes, according to BBC.
"We have to stop this madness that is happening right now on energy markets," Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
Electricity prices must go down, he said, calling on the EU to decouple electricity and gas prices.
"We cannot let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin determine the European electricity price every day," he added.
Germany - the largest importer of Russian gas in 2020 - has been racing to bolster its gas reserves before winter despite Russia cutting deliveries.
Its aim is to fill its gas capacity to 85% by October. It has implemented energy-saving measures to do so.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said such measures - along with buying gas from alternative suppliers - had enabled Germany to fulfil its goal sooner than anticipated, BBC reported.
He estimated that the 85% target could be reached by the start of September.
