Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (October 22, 2019).

Prime Minister Oli will seek to reiterate Nepal’s commitment to non-alignment in Baku

When Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli addresses the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement on October 26 in Baku, he will once again attempt to assuage the international community that Nepal is committed to the principles of non-alignment, at a time when there is much speculation about Nepal’s foreign policy tilting towards certain powers.

Oli will be addressing the general debate of the summit, which is taking place on October 25 and 26 in the Azerbaijani capital, on the theme of “Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world”.

Read the full story here.

Unearthing of the grisly mass murder in Alam case has Nepalis pointing fingers at a failed system

Amid a spate of arrests of lawmakers over the past few weeks, one case that has drawn national attention is an explosion and a subsequent mass murder 12 years ago in Rautahat. Mohammad Aftab Alam, a Member of Parliament from the Nepali Congress, is currently in custody, facing charges of orchestrating the explosion and the murder of the survivors.

Ever since Alam’s arrest on October 13 as per a Supreme Court ruling issued in May 2012, new information regarding the blast, the murder and its victims are filtering in. The politician’s detention has also opened the floodgates of claims and counterclaims and lost in this din is one crucial question: why did it take 12 years for authorities to arrest a person accused of such a heinous crime?

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Pradeep Gyawali: A ‘strategic partnership’ is for achieving development and prosperity.

The Chinese President, Xi Jinping, made a historic visit two-day to Nepal from October 12-13. Xi is the first sitting Chinese leader to visit the South Asian nation in more than two decades. During the visit, leaders of the two countries signed and exchanged 20 agreements to boost connectivity, trade, economic assistance, and security relations. With the Oli-led government in place, Nepal is trying to redefine and consolidate its foreign policy vis-à-vis its immediate neighbours as well as the world, as it strives to achieve economic development. The Post’s Avasna Pandey met with Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali right before he flew to Myanmar with President Bidya Devi Bhandari who is going for a five-day state visit to talk about what made the visit possible and what does following a long-term vision of a ‘strategic partnership’ with China exactly mean.

Read the full interview here.

Killing of Chand party cadre Kumar Paudel was extrajudicial, human rights commission says

Kumar Paudel, Sarlahi district in-charge of the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal, was “killed after he was taken into custody”, the National Human Rights Commission has said.

Paudel was killed on June 20 in Lalbandi, Sarlahi district, in what police had claimed was “police action”. Security personnel had opened fire in retaliation after a group of four motorcycle-borne persons fired upon a police patrol, Superintendent of Police Gopal Chandra Bhattarai had said. Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had reiterated Bhattarai’s claims before the House of Representatives and Parliamentary State Affairs Committee that Paudel was killed after police opened fire in self-defence.

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Oli inaugurates construction work of Nagdhunga tunnel

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday laid the foundation stone for the Rs22 billion Nagdhunga Tunnel Project.

Japanese company Hazama-Ando Corporation will build the tunnel that will pass under the western rim of the Kathmandu Valley, allowing motorists to avoid the winding mountain highway.

The inauguration of the construction comes three months after the donor agency Japan International Cooperation Agency gave the green signal to the implementing agency, Department of Roads, to appoint the Japanese contractor.

Read the full story here.