A high-level Chinese delegation led by a Vice Minister of the Communist Party of China met senior Nepal Communist Party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and discussed the political situation in the country, amid intensified efforts by Beijing to patch up differences between the two warring factions of the party.
Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Guo Yezhou, who arrived in Nepal in what is believed to be China's desperate attempt to avert a vertical split in the NCP, met Prachanda, who claims control over the ruling party after removing Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli from the posts of the party's parliamentary leader and chair.
New US Act Message of Hope
Tibetans in exile have welcomed the US President Donald Trump signing the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) into law.
This legislation sends a powerful message of hope and justice to the Tibetans inside Tibet and bolsters US support for the protection of Tibetan people's religious freedom, human rights, environmental rights and exile Tibetan democracy like never before.
The move strengthens US policy on Tibet and reaffirms its government's steadfast support for the Dalai Lama and the CTA.
Interestingly, the Bill called upon the US Secretary of State not to authorise any new Chinese consulate till a US Consulate is established in Lhasa. The signing came after days of delay though the US Congress had approved the omnibus spending bill, which had the TPSA attached earlier this month.
Economic Aggression of CCP Fails Miserably
In a new development, China is suffering from one of the worst blackouts in the past few decades. Though the Chinese economy is currently trying to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but it appears that its attempts have come to a grinding halt. Power generation in China during the wintertime has not been able to keep up with demand. There are several factors why China is currently facing shortages in energy supply. One of the major factors is the fact that China has decided to ban coal imports from Australia after they asked for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
Australian coal was not the only thing that Beijing decided to ban. Back in May, China imposed an 80% tariff on Australian barley and added restrictions on the import of Australian beef.
Despite the crippling energy shortages, the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have not lifted the ban on Australian coal.
Dec 28, 2020
Brexit Trade Deal Published
Britain published the text of its narrow trade agreement with the European Union just five days before it exits one of the world's biggest trading blocs in its most momentous global shift since the loss of empire.
The text includes a 1,246-page trade document, as well as accords on nuclear energy, exchanging classified information, civil nuclear energy and a series of joint declarations.
The "Draft EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement" means that from 2300 GMT on December 31, when Britain finally leaves the European Union's single market and customs union, there will be no tariffs or quotas on the movement of goods originating in either place between the United Kingdom and the EU.
Trump Signs Relief and Spending Package into Law
US President Donald Trump has signed into law a coronavirus relief and spending package bill, averting a partial government shutdown.
Mr. Trump had initially refused to sign the bill, saying he wanted to give people bigger one-off payments.
The delay meant that millions of Americans temporarily lost unemployment benefits.
The relief package worth $900bn (£665bn) was approved by Congress after months of negotiation.
It is part of a $2.3tn spending package that includes $1.4tn for normal federal government spending.
Had Mr. Trump not signed the bill into law by midnight on Monday, a partial government shutdown would have begun unless legislators passed a stopgap bill.
About 14 million Americans faced a lapse in unemployment benefit payments and new stimulus cheques. Unemployment benefits will now be restored.
Dec 27, 2020
Nepal SC Notice to Oli Govt. over Parliament Dissolution
Nepal's Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice to the KP Sharma Oli-led government, asking it to submit a written clarification over its decision to abruptly dissolve parliament.
The notice was issued after a preliminary hearing at the five-member Constitutional Bench, headed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, on the writ petitions filed against the government's decision to dissolve the 275-member House of Representatives. The Bench sought the written clarification from the office of the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers and the President as they are made defendants in all writ petitions.
The court has also asked the government to submit an original copy of the recommendations made by the government to dissolve the House and the decision made by President Bidya Devi Bhandari to authenticate the government's recommendations within 10 days.
Dec 26, 2020
UK clinch Narrow Brexit Accord from European Union
Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union, just seven days before it exits one of the world`s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.
The deal, agreed more than four years after Britain voted by a slim margin to leave the bloc, offers a way out of a chaotic finale to a divorce that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two.
It will preserve Britain`s zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc`s single market of 450 million consumers, but will not prevent economic pain and disruption for the United Kingdom or for EU member states.
Dec 25, 2020
The UK and EU Ready to Unveil Brexit Trade Accord
Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and right into Christmas Eve to put an end to the historic Brexit Trade Accord, which is expected to be announced very soon.
After resolving the remaining fair completion and almost all fisheries issues, negotiators combed through hundreds of pages of legal text that should become the blueprint for post-Brexit relationship.
The agreement, which will formally complete Britain's separation from the bloc four-and-a-half years after the 2016 referendum, will allow for tariff and quota-free trade in goods and cooperation in areas from security to aviation.
The outline of the deal was agreed, and an announcement is expected very soon. Meanwhile in Brussels, chief negotiators were still working to nail down the exact wording of the final treaty in the European Commission's headquarters.
Alex Padilla to Replace Kamala Harris in US Senate
Alex Padilla has been named to replace Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris in the US Senate by California Governor Gavin Newsom, filling the remainder of her term in the Upper House.
He is the first Latino to represent California in the house and a close ally of Mr. Newsom.
The son of Mexican immigrants, he became California's first Latino secretary of state in 2015.
He is due to hold the Senate seat until 2022 when Ms. Harris's term ends.
Prachanda-led Faction Elects Him as New Parliamentary Leader
Nepal Communist Party's executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was elected as the ruling party's new parliamentary leader, replacing Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli.
The 66-year-old leader's nomination was proposed by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was earlier named as one of the two chairmen of the party, at a parliamentary party meeting of the Prachanda-led faction at the Parliament Building in New Baneshwar.