- Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Kathmandu, May 3: The 27th general convention of the Federation of the Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has kicked off here today.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ inaugurated the general convention. National council members of different chapters of FNJ across the country are attending the general convention.
Earlier, a morning procession was organised at the initiative of FNJ today itself on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day and FNJ general convention.
The morning rally set out from Ratnapark Shantibatika and concluded after reaching the National City Hall, the venue of the 27th general convention.
FNJ President Bipul Pokharel, office-bearers, former presidents, and journalists associated with different media had participated in the morning rally. Office-bearers and members of Nepal Press Union, Press Chautari Nepal, Press Centre Nepal, Socialist Press Organisation, had also participated in the morning rally.
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2568th Buddha Jayanti Main Celebration Committee formed
Kathmandu, May 3: The 2568th Buddha Jayanti Management Main Celebration Committee has been formed under the convenorship of BhikkhuDharma Murthi Mahasthaveer, Chairperson of the Swoyambhu Management and Conservation Committee.
The Committee will organize and regulate the cultural and religious celebration to be held on May 23 this year marking the Buddha Jayanti, the day Lord Buddha was born.
The Committee will facilitate the revelers and devotees attending the religious fair in and around Swoyambhu area, it was shared.
The Committee comprises representatives from the Department of Archeology, Kathmandu Metropolitan City ward no 15, Metropolitan Police Circle in Swoyambhu and local religious organizations among others bodies.
The Committee has estimated that over 200,000 devotees of Buddhist faith will visit Swoyambhu on that day for celebration.
Committee’s General-Secretary Ashok Buddhacharya shared that they have paid a special attention to security and convenience of devotees since another festival Sakadawa of Mahayani sect also falls on the same day this year.
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NEFEJ calls for controlling forest fires and prompt distribution of relief to the affected
Kathmandu, May 3: The Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) has urged the government to control the wild fires occurring in various places throughout the country and to immediately provide relief to the affected people.
NEFEJ has called for mobilizing the entire government apparatus for this and even to declare an emergency when necessary.
Incidences of fire and wildfires have intensified in recent days resulting in loss of life and property as well as destruction of forests. Moreover, people’s right to live in a healthy environment too has been restricted as the growing air pollution due to the forest fires has affected the people’s health, reads a press note issued by NEFEJ president Roshani Adhikari today.
The air pollution level has excessively increased in various places of the country, including in the federal capital, due to the raging forest fires. Children and the elderly people are facing respiratory issues due to this.
NEFEJ called on the government to also pay attention to the appropriate security of people mobilized in the fire control mechanisms.
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PM vows not to allow any curtailment and restriction on press freedom
Kathmandu, May 3: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has expressed his commitment that there will not be any kind of control or curtailment on press freedom.
Addressing a programme organized today on the occasion of the 27th General Convention of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), he said that rather than controlling the mass media, self-regulation should be done.
“My request to the press fraternity is to protect the freedom of the press and create an environment conducive for media consumption, along with stopping the deluge of false information,” Prime Minister Dahal said and urged the mass media to develop a self-regulation system for checking the publication and transmission of content that misleads the Nepali society due to dissemination of false, misleading and misinformation, develops a negative mentality, disrupts social harmony or attacks Nepali civilization and culture.
Stating that the FNJ has taken the press freedom as the primary issue, PM Dahal said press freedom is an inevitable aspect of political freedom as the latter was attained with the participation of the journalism sector.
“The strong basis for measuring if any system is pro-people and democratic is whether or not that system guarantees the freedom of the press and the rights of journalists,” he said, adding that unlike during the time of the monarchical rule the journalists do not have to go to jail, are not killed, have news content censored and the media is not forced to shut down these days.
Noting that since the Constitution of Nepal has institutionalized full press freedom by mentioning it in its very preamble, press freedom has become a part of the federal democratic republic, Prime Minister Dahal clarified that no one can now curtail press freedom.
“The Nepali journalism sector is the main stakeholder of the federal democratic republic that we have achieved. Without the involvement of the journalism sector it would not have been possible to achieve such a great political accomplishment in the country,” he said and called on the journalism sector to participate in protecting the achievements achieved and create a mission to constantly play the role of a watchdog and monitor the state.
Mentioning the government’s emphasis on the agenda of good governance, social justice and prosperity, the Prime Minister said that the present government wants to institutionalize the agenda of change and achieve rapid economic growth in the country by working hand in hand with the press world.
The government is preparing to make arrangement of sustenance allowance to senior journalists and disabled journalists, added PM Dahal.
He assured that the government was always positive for the welfare of the journalists and it would move ahead accordingly in coming days.
“The government has adopted a policy of protecting and promoting to media by recognizing media as the national service-oriented industry for the professional and institutional development of media sector”, the Prime Minister shared, adding, “An arrangement is being made to distribute all government advertisement in a judicial manner.”
Stating that Nepal’s press sector is always stand in favour of change, he explained that it used to directly involve in some of the movements as well as express solidarity to some of the agendas.
PM Dahal recalled the significant contribution of Nepali press sector for the establishment of federal democratic republic, transformation of the society and to establish people’s rights.
Recalling that Nepali press had to face severe domination and harassment from rulers during autocratic regime, he mentioned that the press sector has always been standing strong in resistance against oppression.
“The Nepali press has significant contribution even in armed conflict period, not only in democratic movements of different era of history, establishment of republicanism. It also made positive contribution in course of peace process”, added the PM.
Sharing that the government is aware about the current situation of Nepali press, challenges and problems it has been facing, he opined that the Nepali media industry has become financially weak due to earthquake, blockade, COVID-19 and recent economic crisis.
Prime Minister Dahal expressed commitment to take a concrete step for capacity building of journalists, creating opportunity for career development and social security including health treatment, accepting that the problems of working journalists are not being addressed as they should be.
“Though some policy-level bases have been prepared for restructuring of the mass media sector, there is a need to make laws and structures”, he underscored, adding, “The government is serious on the issues of press freedom, freedom of expression and right to expression and is effortful to address them.”
He, however, shared that some of the issues of journalism sectors would be addressed through coming policy, programme and budget.
“The issues of establishing training academy for capacity development of journalists, bringing working journalists and staffs under the ambit of social security, advertisement, financial crisis facing any media industry will be forwarded keeping in priority,” explained PM Dahal.
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Parliament committed towards press-friendly laws
Kathmandu, May 3: Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR), Devraj Ghimire, asserted that the Nepal’s parliament was committed towards formulating press-friendly laws, ensuring professional security of journalists and discouraging the activities against freedom of expression.
Issuing a press statement on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day here today, Speaker Ghimire extended his best wishes that may the Day inspire one and all to face practical challenges by safeguarding constitutional rights.
“With the political movement coming to an end, the Nepali press should work towards encouraging and promoting good-governance, development and prosperity-oriented activities,” the Speaker said in the message, adding, “The government also should not backtrack from the responsibility of making press further stronger and able.”
He stated that the Constitution of Nepal had guaranteed freedom of press, right to information and press and publication rights.
The Speaker argued that in democracy the role of the press was not only limited to disseminate information, but it is also expected to promote democracy and good-governance. Hence, he viewed freedom of expression and access to information was necessary for the sake healthy democracy.
“It is the responsibility of media to protect people from ignorance and disinformation and disseminate factual information,” the statement read. It further read, “The main role of media sector is to play watchdog to government and people’s representatives and aware them o their responsibilities about the matters of public concerns. The press also plays a role to mediate between the government and the all aspects of the civil societies.”
Speaker Ghimire acknowledged Nepal’s press to be an important companion of democratic movement and crusade for freedom of press and thus, he observed, democracy and media sector were complimentary and supportive of each other.
He opined that development and promotion of communication sector was possible only in democracy.
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NHRC urges all to respect press freedom, freedom of expression
Kathmandu, May 3: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged all bodies concerned including the government for the media person’s safety and protection of press freedom.
A message issued today by Commission Spokesperson, Dr Tikaram Pokharel, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, requested all bodies concerned for media persons’ safety and for the protection of freedom, respecting press freedom and freedom of expression guaranteed by constitution as well as national and international laws.
“Press freedom, freedom of expression and human rights are interdependent with each other. The NHRC expresses concern over the situation where more media-related persons became victimized this year as compared to last year in Nepal”, reads the message.
According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists, 64 cases of violation of press freedom took place in last one year. Information has been received that media persons, who work round the clock for right to information are facing challenges in any difficult situation, are physically unsafe, freedom of expression has been curtailed, media persons are found arrested based on news coverage and misbehave on media persons in course of field reporting.
Media council bill designed to amend and integrate laws related to media council is still in the parliament.
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Government has carried out bold and pro-people works: PM Dahal
Kathmandu, May 3: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has said that the government has carried out historic works in favour of the country and the people.
Addressing a programme organized on the occasion of the 27th General Convention of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) here today, the PM reiterated that he has resolved to carry out only good deeds in favour of the country and people.
“I had said while taking charge of office that I will only do good things for the benefit of the country and the people and I will direct the government machinery to do only good things. If we look at the works done by the government during this period, there have been many bold and pro-people works that will be remembered in history,” said the Prime Minister.
Stating that there has been a good improvement in the economy which was in crisis, he said the narrative that Nepal is heading towards an economic crash like that of Sri Lanka has been torn apart, and the economy has been brought on recovery track.
“There has been an improvement in the balance of payments, foreign exchange reserves, remittance income and revenue collection,” Prime Minister Dahal said, adding, “The indicators of the economy are moving in a positive direction. An investment-friendly environment has been created by bringing consistency in fiscal policy and monetary policy.”
Highlighting that the interest rate of banks has decreased recently, initiatives have been taken to solve the problems of microfinance and cooperatives, and there has been improvement in the management of public institutions, PM Dahal said the tourism sector has been encouraged with a significant increase in tourist arrivals.
Mentioning about the works carried out by the government in the good governance sector, he referred to the ‘fair’ investigations launched into the various scandals as the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, the Lalita Niwas public land grab scam, and gold smuggling scam in which the wrongdoers have been brought to justice.
He also reiterated that significant works have also been carried out in the social justice sector as well. More than 5.5 million school children throughout the country have the textbooks in their hands before the start of the new school calendar, fertilizers have been provided to farmers on time, 2900 free beds have been managed in hospitals for treating underprivileged and indigent citizens.
Similarly, citizenship certificates with economic, social and cultural rights have been provided to the Non-Resident Nepalis.
Prime Minister Dahal said that the signing of a long-term electricity trade agreement between Nepal and India to export 10,000 megawatts of electricity in 10 years, the agreement of electricity sales with Bangladesh and the emphasis on electricity production within the country clearly indicate that the economic future of the country is bright.
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International Buddhist Seminar in Lumbini from May 4
Lumbini, May 3: A two-day international seminar is going to take place at Lumbini Buddhist University in Lumbini starting tomorrow.
The seminar themed ‘Exploring the Relevance of Buddhist Education in Addressing Global Challenges: Perspective from Lumbini, the Birthplace of Buddha’ seeks to address pressing questions concerning the role of Buddhist education in dealing with contemporary global challenges.
Scholars, educators, researchers and practitioners of Buddhist faith from around the world will attend the seminar for offering insights and expertise along with experience sharing and deliberating on the theme, said Dr Manik Ratna Shakya, Dean of Faculty of Buddhist Studies in the University.
Participants from home and abroad such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Taiwan, Portugal and France among other countries will present working paper in the event, it was shared.
Dean Dr Shakya further shared that while the people around the world were suffering from challenges such as environment crisis, global warming, ecological imbalance and physical and psychological issues, there is a need to seek relevance of the teachings of the Buddha from the place he was born.
Against this background, the event will debate and deliberate on importance of Buddhist education, conservation of Lumbini and other Buddhist shrines and academic programmes in the Lumbini Buddhist University among others.
Participants will discuss on Buddhist philosophy and yoga in the event, said the organizer.
Furthermore, attempts will be made to explore key themes and questions pertaining to the forms of Buddhist education essential in addressing contemporary global challenges and contribution of the University in disseminating such education.
Participants will also seek to find out people’s expectation regarding the types of courses to study in the University, according to the organizer.
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Chief Minister Adhikari seeking vote of confidence on May 5
Gandaki, May 3: Chief Minister of Gandaki Province, Khagaraj Adhikari is seeking a vote of confidence from the Gandaki Province Assembly on May 5.
Gandaki Province Chief Dilli Raj Bhatta on April 7 appointed Adhikari to the post of Chief Minister in accordance with the Article 168 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. Chief Minister Adhikari is taking a vote of confidence in the Province Assembly in accordance with Article 168 (4) of the Constitution.
Province Assembly Secretary Hariraj Pokhrel said Chief Minister Adhikari has today registered in the Gandaki Province Assembly Secretariat a notice that he would be presenting a proposal related to the vote of confidence in the Province Assembly at 3.00pm on May 5.
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Foreign Minister of Japan Yoko paying official visit to Nepal on May 5
Kathmandu, May 3: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ms Kamikawa Yoko is paying an official visit to Nepal on 5 May 2024. She is visiting Nepal at the cordial invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release today.
During her visit, she will pay courtesy calls on President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
The Japanese Minister will meet and hold bilateral talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shrestha on 5 May 2024.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan will depart from Kathmandu the same day.
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