Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (October 12, 2019).

Chinese President Xi to sign at least a dozen agreements in Kathmandu

On Saturday, Kathmandu will roll out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is paying a two-day state visit to Nepal. During his 20-hour stay in Kathmandu, Xi will hold a whirlwind round of meetings with Nepali leaders and officials, including President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

All eyes, however, are on the pacts and understandings the two neighbours will sign and the political implications of a Chinese president’s visit to Nepal after 23 years. Xi will be overseeing the signing of at least a dozen agreements between Nepal and China.

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Parties agree on transitional justice officials but recommendation committee disagrees

The Dashain holidays are now over but there is still no sign of progress in the appointment of officials to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons.

The scheduled meeting of the recommendation committee, formed to select officials for the two commissions, was postponed until Dashain. There has been no update on when the committee will hold its meeting.

Officials familiar with the developments say that though the parties have agreed on 10 names for the commissions—two chairpersons and four members each—not all members of the recommendation committee are willing to accept the parties’ decision.

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Nepali spectators in massive numbers surprise hosts in Canberra

Despite mustering only one shot against Australia in the entirety of the match, that too off-target, the performance was not met with ravaging criticisms that Nepali football is familiar with after disappointing performances. Given the magnitude of the gap between the two sides in terms of FIFA rankings where Australia is 117 places ahead of Nepal, resentment was certainly not the sentiment among the supporters of Nepali football fans.

Every touch of the ball, clearance and the rare moves forward by their national players were met with loud cheers and patriotic songs, audible in the television screens of those watching back home in Nepal.

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Upper Tamakoshi project makes progress on penstock installation

The installation of penstock pipes in the lower vertical shaft of the Upper Tamakoshi hydro project is progressing faster after suffering multiple setbacks owing to equipment breakdown and technical mishaps.

The Rs73-billion scheme, which faced scrutiny by domestic lenders and Energy Ministry and power utility officials over the past months, reported 20 percent progress in penstock installation, four months after work started. Last month, progress was recorded at 10 percent.

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Former President Yadav urges government to amend constitution

Former President Ram Baran Yadav has called for an amendment to the constitution to address the grievances of different communities.

Inaugurating the first International Tamu Conference in the Capital on Friday, Yadav, the first head of state after the country became a federal republic, urged the government and the major parties to correct the mistakes in the main law of the land.

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