Country will be pushed into conflict if MCC is endorsed in its existing form: Lingden
Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden said that Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is not just a matter of financial assistance.
Speaking at a Parliament held on Sunday, Chairman Lingden demanded that the MCC should be deferred immediately and should be taken ahead with national consensus.
“MCC is not just a matter of financial assistance. Lingden urged the government to suspend the MCC immediately and further said that the compact should be taken ahead by forging national consensus,” he said, adding, “The country will be pushed into conflict if the compact is endorsed in the existing form.”
Chairman Lingen said that the MCC should not be ratified in a haste.
MCC is nothing more than an aid project: Bhattarai
Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Federal Council Chairman Baburam Bhattarai said that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement is nothing more than an aid project between Nepal and the United States.
Speaking at a Parliament meeting held on Sunday, Bhattarai claimed that there is nothing that should be protested in the MCC.
“MCC was a general grant. But, we made a mountain out of a molehill,” Bhattarai said, adding, “This is nothing but an aid project.”
He also apologised for violating the sovereign rights of the people.
“The sovereign power of the people is expressed through the Parliament. I am sad to say that we have been holding the House of Representatives hostage for the last six months. This has violated the sovereign rights of the people,” Bhattarai said.
Russia suspends cooperation with Europe on space launches from French Guiana
Russia’s space agency Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with Europe on space launches from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana in response to Western sanctions over Ukraine, Roskosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
“In response to EU sanctions against our companies, Roskosmos is suspending cooperation with European partners on space launches from Kourou, and is withdrawing its technical staff… from French Guiana,” Rogozin said in a post on his Telegram channel.
Galileo is Europe’s global navigation satellite system which provides positioning and timing information used in mobile phones, cars, railways and aviation. Copernicus delivers earth observation data, documenting climate change, for example.
“We will take all necessary decisions in time to work on the development of the second generation of these two sovereign spacial infrastructures,” EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for space issues in the bloc’s executive Commission, said on Twitter.
“We are also prepared to act determinedly together with the member states to protect these critical infrastructures in case of an attack, and to continue the development of Ariane 6 and VegaC to guarantee the strategic autonomy with regard to carrier rockets.”
Ukraine rejects Russian offer of talks in Belarus
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected a Russian offer of talks in Belarus on Sunday, saying Minsk itself was complicit in the Russian invasion, but leaving the door open to negotiations in other locations, Reuters reported.
The Kremlin said on Sunday its delegation was ready to meet Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian city of Gomel.
