Here are some of the stories from The Kathmandu Post ( January 3, 2020)
Acute shortage of environment inspectors hampers monitoring
The country is acutely understaffed in terms of keeping in check the environmental pollution and in ensuring strict compliance of environmental laws as only a few environment inspectors have been assigned for the countrywide job, government officials say.
The Department of Environment currently has just 16 environment inspectors, whose jobs involve minimising pollution and enforcing compliance with the laws made for the protection of the environment. To make things worse, five of the inspectors are currently abroad on study leave.
After failing to establish charges, government to deport all arrested Chinese nationals
After failing to establish charges, the government is preparing to deport all 122 Chinese nationals who were arrested on December 23 from various parts of Kathmandu for their involvement in some suspicious activities.
Immediately after the arrest, Nepal Police officials had said the Chinese were suspected to be involved in online gambling, financial fraud, cybercrime and violating visa norms.
Tourists want public toilets, garbage bins and a hassle-free airport—not a week-long tourism extravaganza
As the government on Wednesday inaugurated the Visit Nepal 2020, Kathmandu Metropolitan City announced its own efforts to support the national tourism campaign. The city has allocated Rs 2 million for a week-long campaign of cultural shows, concerts and food festivals, according to Ishwor Man Dangol, spokesperson for metropolis.
Locals, however, questioned the rationale behind conducting tourism awareness programmes in the city, instead of abroad, while tourists were more concerned about basic urban amenities—public toilets, garbage cans and proper public transport.
Diplomats take to social media to promote Visit Nepal 2020, and beyond
A day before the government rang in the new year and inaugurated Visit Nepal 2020 with an ostentatious display of fireworks and marching bands, Twitter was already abuzz with Visit Nepal posts, courtesy of the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal.
Analysts say diplomats using social media to push diplomacy is fine as long as it doesn’t affect Nepal’s domestic policies.
British Council owes millions in taxes, a complaint filed in Parliament says
At least two government agencies and a parliamentary committee are investigating the British Council’s alleged tax evasion on the money it has been raising from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), a mandatory test for Nepali students who want to pursue higher education in many English-speaking countries.
9.7°C Kathmandu
