ICYMI: Top stories from Sunday, February 23

These are some of the best stories from The Kathmandu Post (February 23, 2020). ICYMI: Top stories from Sunday, February 23

Passengers walk past a thermal scanner installed at the Tribhuvan International Airport following the global coronavirus outbreak. Kiran Panday/TKP

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Post Report

Published at : February 23, 2020

Updated at : February 23, 2020 16:27

Kathmandu

Some of the main stories from today's The Kathmandu Post.

House panel’s letter to police reflects lawmakers’ low understanding of law and court rulings

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on Thursday wrote to the Cyber Crime Bureau of Nepal Police to book Bijay Prakash Mishra and Prabhat Kishor Upadhyay for cybercrime, for defaming the members of the committee.

According to the House committee, Mishra and Upadhyay had posted materials on social media and talked to different media people, which amounted to character assassination of the committee members. They were referring to an audiotape in which Mishra, an agent for a Swiss company, was caught discussing a Rs 700 million “commission” for setting up a security printing press with Gokul Prasad Baskota, who resigned as minister for communication and information technology on Thursday after the tape was leaked.

If proven guilty, along with Baskota, Mishra too will face punishment for offering a bribe.

All-male panels are on their way out, but women’s representation remains tokenistic

The Nepal Investment Summit, held in March last year, had 92 speakers talking about a range of economic and business issues. The summit, organised by the Investment Board, was aimed at bringing in foreign investments to Nepal. But from the very beginning, there was a palpable sense that something was missing. Out of the 92 speakers, only 11 were women.

The only panel with a majority of women was the ‘Women in Business’ panel with five women and three men in conversation.

Divisions in the ruling party over the MCC put Oli government in a bind

With a report by a three-member taskforce formed by the ruling Nepal Communist Party suggesting the Millenium Challenge Corporation Nepal Compact cannot get parliamentary nod without amendments, the Oli administration is in a kind of fix.

Even though party Chair Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has for long reiterated that the $500 million US programme would be ratified by the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the plan is set to hit a roadblock.

India to screen passengers flying from Kathmandu for coronavirus

Indian officials will screen passengers flying to India from Kathmandu for coronavirus in their bid to minimise the risk of an outbreak, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday.

India recently started screening passengers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Japan at 21 designated airports for possible exposure to the coronavirus. The meeting on Saturday also advised Indian citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Singapore.