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Keeping in mind the inter
from June 16, 2020
KATHMANDU, JUN 15
(PTI): Nepal-India relationship should not deteriorate over the current border row as the landlocked country is dependent on its southern neighbour for the essential items and it would be unwise to consider China as an “alternative”, a leading Nepali economist said on Monday.
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Commenting on Nepal’s move to amend the Constitution for incorporating India’s territory of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, Dr Posh Raj Pandey, the executive chairman of the South Asia Watch on Trade Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), a consortium of South Asian NGOs, said that its economic impact will depend upon how India reacts.
“Nepal is not only a landlocked country, but also India locked as it is surrounded by India from the three sides. The situation will be vulnerable. If India retaliates, it will have a huge economic impact on the country,” said Pandey, who has been working on issues of international trade and economic development for over 20 years.
His remarks came as Nepal’s ruling and Opposition political parties on
Dr Posh Raj Pandey (File)
Saturday voted in unison to amend the Constitution to update the national emblem by incorporating the controversial map incorporating Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura in India’s Uttarakhand.
India has described Nepal’s move as “untenable.”
Pandey said that the “Nepal-India relations should not be allowed to damage and there is a need for early negotiations and a dialogue to resolve the issue at the earliest”.
Nepal is dependent on India for the supply of essential goods, said the economist, who was one of the negotiators for Nepal’s accession negotiation for the World Trade Organisation membership.
“Our imports from India account for two-third whereas that from China is just 14 per cent,” Pandey, a former member of the National Planning Commission, said, adding that China cannot be an alternative to India as far as the supply of essentials are concerned. “We have trading points from Mechi in the east to Mahakali in the west with India, but with the northern neighbour, we only have a few transit points and that also lack infrastructure,” he said. Pandey said that Nepal’s nearest access to sea from the north is 4,000 kms, which is three times more than the one it is having from the Indian side in Kolkata. “So, our third country trade is being conducted mainly through the southern route,” he said.
“As far as our exports are concerned, India receives 60 per cent of our total exports whereas China receives only two per cent.
“In remittances, we receive around 15 per cent of the total remittances from India and if we compare it with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it comes around 4-5 per cent,” Pandey said.
However, Nepal is also one of the largest sources of remittances for India, he said.
According to a 2016 World Bank report, Nepal is on the tenth position in the list of countries sending remittances to India, which is on par with the US and Canada, he said.
According to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the country’s central bank received a total of 304.97 billion Nepali rupees or USD 2.54 billion remittance in 2019.
India accounts for the 14.2 per cent remittances to Nepal, securing the second position after the Gulf countries.
Nepal has so far received 43.16 billion Nepali rupees (USD 356.69 million) remittance from India this year.
Reacting to Kathmandu’s move, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Saturday “this artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable. It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues.”
The India-Nepal bilateral ties came under fresh strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.
Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.
In 2015, India’s relations with Nepal came under severe strain following the economic blockade.
Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, had launched a six-month-long agitation during K P Sharma Oli’s premiership, from September 2015 to February last year, in which more than 50 people were killed.
The agitation crippled Nepal’s economy as supplies from India were blocked.
Representational image.
BEIJING, JUN 15 (PTI):
China has begun the mass testing of hundreds of people who had visited a Beijing wholesale market which sparked a fresh bout of coronavirus cases even as the country reported 67 new COVID-19 infections including 42 in the capital. In a bid to stem the spread of the contagion, the authorities in Beijing have conducted the nucleic acid test on 29,386 people who had visited the Xinfadi wholesale market since May 30, Gao Xiaojun, spokesman for the Beijing Health Commission, said on Monday. The market became a hotspot after it reported several new
COVID-19 cases. Out of all the samples, 12,973 came negative and the rest are awaiting results, Gao told the media.
The National Health Commission (NHC) in its daily report on Monday said that 49 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 18 asymptomatic cases were reported on Sunday.
As of Sunday, 112 people with asymptomatic symptoms were still under quarantine.
Asymptomatic cases, also known as silent spreaders, are the patients who have tested COVID19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.
WASHINGTON/SEOUL,
JUN 15 (IANS): The Pentagon has reaffirmed its commitment to keeping a “robust” combined defensive posture to respond to any situation involving North Korea, after Pyongyang hinted at military action against South Korea, it was reported on Monday.
On Saturday, Kim Yojong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jongun, threatened that Pyongyang will take “a next step” against the South and gave an instruction for the army to take necessary measures, reports Yonhap News Agency. Seoul urged the North to comply with past inter-Korean agreements. “We remain committed to maintaining a robust combined defensive posture,” John Supple, a Pentagon spokesperson said in response to a query by Yonhap News Agency. But he declined to comment on the recent statements by the North Korean government.
Pentagon reaffirms defensive posture after N.Korea threats
Inter-Korean ties have chilled as the North has released a spate of strongly worded statements slamming the South for failing to stop North Korean defectors from sending antiPyongyang leaflets into the North. The North has also warned that it may scrap a 2018 inter-Korean military pact signed to reduce border tensions and destroy the joint liaison office. The US State Department expressed disappointment last week after the North vowed to cut off all inter-Korean communication lines and refused to answer the South’s phone calls via liaison and military hotlines.
The Beijing Municipal Health Commission on Monday said that the city reported 36 new confirmed domestically-transmitted COVID-19 cases and six new asymptomatic cases.
The official media on Sunday said that eight people tested positive in the capital. By Sunday, Beijing has reported 499 confirmed domestically-transmitted COVID-19 cases since January, including 411 who have been discharged from hospitals after recovery and nine deaths, the commission said.
There were still 79 patients receiving medical treatment and seven asymptomatic cases under medical observation, the state run-Xinhua news agency reported.
So far, 174 imported COVID-19 cases have been reported in the capital, with one still hospitalised.
The NHC said that three cases were reported in Hebei province on Sunday. It said that 3,852 close contacts were still under medical observation after 392 people were discharged from medical observation on Sunday.
Shops in England open after months in lockdown
Nike employees speak to people attempting to get them to maintain social distancing in London. (PTI)
LONDON, JUN 15 (PTI):
Non-essential shops across England opened their doors on Monday to welcome customers back after nearly three months of being in lockdown as part of a further easing up of the coronavirus stay at home restrictions.
The retailers are required to ensure COVID19-secure conditions within stores, including visible signs reminding people about hygiene and also ensuring a two-metre distance within the premises by limiting the numbers allowed indoors.
“People should shop, and shop with confidence,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the Monday morning reopening.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak also encouraged shoppers to support the high streets kick back into business, reassuring people that the COVID-19 infection rate was within a range that allows for the reopening. “People need to have the confidence that it’s safe... and I can give that assurance,” he said.
Although essential retailers such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, and banks have stayed open through the lockdown, much of the high street, from bookshops to clothes outlets, have been closed since March 23.
Under COVID-19- secure measures already in place among the essential shops, the non-essential retailers are required to introduce plastic screens at the tills and floor markings to keep shoppers two metres apart.
Other measures will include messages not to touch items unless customers intend to purchase them and decontaminating shopping baskets after each use.
LONDON, JUN 15 (PTI):
India enriched its nuclear arsenal by adding 10 more weapons to the stockpile over the last year, but the country possesses a fewer number of warheads than China and Pakistan, according to a report released by a leading Swedish think-tank on Monday.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) states in its report that both India and China increased their nuclear arsenals in 2019. While China has a total of 320 warheads in its arsenal, Pakistan and India are estimated to have 160 and 150 weapons, respectively.
“China is in the middle of a significant modernisation of its nuclear arsenal. It is developing a so-called nuclear triad for the first time, made up of new landand sea-based missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft,” the report warned.
“India and Pakistan are slowly increasing the size and diversity of their nuclear forces, while North Korea continues to prioritise its military nuclear programme as a central element of its national security strategy,” it said. In its 2019 report, SIPRI had said that China’s nuclear arsenal contained 290 warheads while India’s had 130-140. Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was calculated at 150-160, a number which remains the same in this year’s assessment.
According to the report, Russia tops the table with 6,375 warheads, followed by the US with 5,800, and the UK with 215 warheads. The figures have been updated till January 2020.
The nuclear arsenals of the other nuclear-armed states are considerably smaller but all these states are either developing or deploying new weapon systems or have
DREAM FOUNDATION OF NAGALAND FELICITATION
The Dream Foundation of Nagaland (DFoN)
takes immense pleasure in congratulating Dr. Hevito Shohe who is an advisor of DFoN on being promoted to the rank of Joint Director, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Govt. of Nagaland.
His dedication to his work has enabled him to achieve new heights in his career and DFoN is convinced that he will continue to render the best of his abilities in the service to the people. DFoN takes this opportunity to wish him good health and success for the days to come. Toluvi Ayemi Chairman, DFoN Joshua Wotsa Secretary, DFoN DP-2773
OFFICEOFTHE NOKPU GAZETTED OFFICERS’ UNION NAGALAND FELICITATION
The NGOU, as per the resolution had felicitated and cash awarded along with citation to the following successful individuals: 1)
2)
3) Miss Taliwala Imchen, D/o. Mr. Aomeren Imchen & Mrs.
Temsunungla Longchar for securing 8 th position in the
HSLC Exam, 2020 conducted by Nagaland Board of School
Education.
Dr. Shijongyangla Longchar, D/o. Er. J. Walter Longchar,
Rtd. Addl. Chief Engineer PHED & Ms. Alemla Walling for achieving the Post of Medical Officer under Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare through exam conducted by
UPSC.
Er. Aosanen Walling, S/o. Mr. A. Senti Walling & Mrs. B.
Ajungla Imchen for clearing the Combined Technical Services
Examination 2018, conducted by NPSC and achieving the
Post of Jr. Engineer under Power Department and Jr. Engineer under Central Railway simultaneously.
The NGOU further exalts their recognition and prays that our Almighty God continue to guide them with His wisdom of justice and truth in the service of humanity.
M. Lima Imchen President I. Wapang Imchen Secretary DP-2771 announced their intention to do so, the report said. “The nine nuclear-armed states — the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — together possessed an estimated 13,400 nuclear weapons at the start of 2020. This marked a decrease from the 13,865 nuclear weapons that SIPRI estimated these states possessed at the beginning of 2019,” the report
said. “The decrease in the overall number of nuclear weapons in the world in 2019 was largely due to the dismantlement of retired nuclear weapons by Russia and the USA — which together still possess over 90 per cent of global nuclear weapons,” it said.
The SIPRI Yearbook, which assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security, said that despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads, nuclear powers continue to modernise their arsenals, warning that tensions were rising and the outlook for arms control was “bleak”.
About China, the report said Beijing now publicly displays its nuclear forces more frequently than in the past but releases little information about force numbers or future development plans.
“The governments of India and Pakistan make statements about some of their missile tests but provide no information about the status or size of their arsenals,” it said.
“Russia and the USA have extensive and expensive programmes underway to replace and modernise their nuclear warheads, missile and aircraft delivery systems, and nuclear weapon production facilities,
“Both countries have also given new or expanded roles to nuclear weapons in their military plans and doctrines, which marks a significant reversal of the post-cold war trend towards the gradual marginalisation of nuclear weapons,” it added. The availability of reliable information on the status of the nuclear arsenals and capabilities of the nuclear-armed states varies considerably, the report said. “The USA has disclosed important information about its stockpile and nuclear capabilities but in 2019 the US administration ended the practice of publicly disclosing the size of the US stockpile,” said Hans M Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation Programme and Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
The UK and France have also declared some information. Russia does not make publicly available a detailed breakdown of its forces counted under New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), even though it shares this information with the USA, the report said.
The New Foundation School Pughoboto
Congratulates all its successful HSLC students. Enrolled-10, Appeared-9, Qualified-9. Special mention goes to:
Shri Ito P. Sheqi S/o Pioto Sheqi S.Sc-95, Alt.Eng-86, E.E-86 Shri. Susho Kinimi
S/o Late Kheghoto Kinimi S.Sc-85
DP-2762
OFFICE OF THE
LONGKHUM STUDENTS’ UNION FELICITATION
The Union would like to convey our heartiest congratulations to all the successful HSLC & HSSLC candidates for bringing honour and laurels to the village. The Union also wishes them all the best for their future educational endeavours.
DP-2759
Information and Public Relation LONGKHUM STUDENTS’ UNION
FELICITATION
We, the Molungkimong Senso Bedanglir Telongjem would like to extend our heartiest congratulation to the following members for their success and achievements: 1) Miss Rachel Tzudir, D/o Mr & Mrs Tiayanger Tzudir for securing 7 th Position (Art Stream) in HSSLC
Examination 2020. 2) Smti. Martula on her promotion to Deputy Director under Directorate of Health & Family Welfare
Department . 3) Smti. Moasangla Nokdir on her promotion on Asst.
Superintendent at C.M.O Mon under Health & Family
Welfare Department.
Giving all glory to God, the union extends the best wishes in all their Future Endeavours. Sd/- President General Secretary K -1090
Aosanen Tzudir Tsukjemmenba Longchar FELICITATION
We, the Sumi Community Bamunpukhuri-1, Dimapur extend our heartiest congratulations to Dr. Hevito Shohe on his promotion to Joint Director, Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry.
The Sumi community further wishes the best in all your future endeavours. Sd/-
Paul Achumi
Chairman Sd/-
Atokhu
Secretary
GHOKIMI UNION KOHIMA
FELICITATION
With immense pride and honour, we the Ghokimi Union Kohima (GUK) convey heartiest congratulations to all the successful students who have cleared the recently declared HSLC & HSSLC examination results 2020.
The Union prays and wishes them all glorious career ahead. May you all bring more laurels and pride to our society.
H. KHULU ACHUMI Chairman (GUK)
ARON WOTSA Gen. Secretary (GUK)
OFFICE OF THE
CHANGKI SENSO TELONGJEM CHÜMOUKEDIMA FELICITATION
The president and all members of Changki Senso Telongjem, Chümoukedima heartily congratulates Miss Yangerjungla Pongener, D/o Mr. Lanusüngküm Pongener and Mrs Tialemla of Changki village for securing Top-6 (Science stream) position in the recently declared HSSLC examination 2020.
Her achievement has brought immeasurable laurels to the village, and the Union takes immense pride in her accomplishment, and further wishes her success in all her endeavors. Sd/-
