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RSS, SURKHET: After the establishment of Labour and Employment Office in Karnali Province, 2,615 people have reapplied for their work permits to go abroad. The Office was established a year ago.

The Office only renews the permit. With this, those aspiring for foreign jobs need not go to Kathmandu to seek work permit. Information officer at the Office, Shyam Krishna Acharya, informed that most of those reapplying for work permit for second or more times are headed to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Malaysia and UAE for employment.

Meanwhile, very few companies have been registered as ’employment providing companies’ under the contribution-based social security fund in Karnali Province. Only 121 companies were registered under the scheme despite the passage of two years since the launch of the scheme.

Similarly, the number of workers registered under the contribution-based social security scheme stands at 172 in the province. The scheme was introduced two years ago.

Dhaka — Foreign Minister AK Momen has urged the global community to put special focus on the South Asian region while allocating funds and taking up programmes for the region’s extreme vulnerability to climate change, The Daily star writes.

He also stressed the need for technology transfer, recognising local solution and innovation and public awareness for combating the menace of climate change.

The call was made when Momen attended the board meeting of Global Center on Adaptation held in Paris on Thursday, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, ministers from the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, and mayors from Paris, Rotterdam and Miami were present. China, the Philippines and Bangladesh were invited to be board members from Asia at the meeting.

Global leaders praised Bangladesh for its commitment and measures to fight the adverse impacts of climate change.

Momen gave an account of the activities Bangladesh has undertaken to adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change. These include developing flood, drought and salinity-resistant seeds; harvesting rainwater; rooftop gardening; introducing boat-schools; floating agriculture, setting up a self-funded Climate Change Trust Fund etc.

RSS, Chautara — Chairman of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has clarified that the MCC could be passed only after amending some provision.

In a press meet organized by the Press Organization Nepal, Chairman Dahal shared that the US and Nepal were enjoying age-old friendship but the pact could not be accepted without amending some provisions. Prachanda said “The agreement won’t be approved compromising national interest.”

He further added that the MCC would be approved from the parliament following the recommendation of study task force formed by the party.

The NCP had formed a three-member study team led by former Prime Minister and senior leader Jhalanath Khanal. The team has also submitted its report to party Chair duo Dahal and KP Sharma Oli recommending amendments in some provisions.

On a different note, he clarified that the party Vice Chair Bamdev Gautam would be recommended to the National Assembly Member. Chairman Dahal arrived here yesterday to inaugurate Sukute tourism festival.

KATHMANDU, Xinhua — A few hundreds of Nepali people from different walks of life including school students on Sunday expressed solidarity with China in its fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

A special public event was organized here at the Basantapur Durbar Square, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, to express love, support and best wishes to the Chinese people to contain the epidemic.

The event jointly organized by the Nepal-China Friendship Society and the Foundation for Transhimalayan Research and Studies collected the signatures and best wishes from the public and lighted candles in the form of text “Pray for China” as solidarity.

Addressing the ceremony, former Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Head of Foundation for Transhimalayan Research and Studies Ananda Prasad Pokharel said that the novel coronoavirus is not just the problem of China, but of the entire world.

“China is not alone in this struggle. As a close friend and neighbor, we are with China at this difficult hour. Through this program, the Nepali people are sending their love and wishes to China to fight the outbreak,” Pokharel told Xinhua on the spot.

Recalling the assistance provided by China to Nepal in the difficult times like during the devastating earthquake of 2015, Pokharel expressed confidence that the Chinese government will soon win this battle.

Prabin Khatiwada, a former engineering student at Wuhan, was among the participants who said “I feel sad to learn about Wuhan, from where I received my Masters degree last year. I am here to express solidarity with China and the Chinese people.”

“Long Live the Nepal-China Friendship, its our bond of relationship,” a banner with the slogan was carried by some two dozen students from Laligurans Batika Secondary School, who shared that they were attending the event to send encouragement to the Chinese people.

“Blessings from Norway to China,” a female Norwegian tourist wrote in the signature spot.

London — The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the coronavirus outbreak has not reached the level of a pandemic but warned countries to step up preparations to deal with such a scenario, as new deaths and infections were reported in the Middle East and Europe, Aljazeera reported.

While the global health agency is very concerned about the spread of the virus within countries such as South Korea, Iran and Italy, its chief said on Monday the infections in China – the country where it originated late last year – have been declining since early February, which proved that the virus can be contained.

“For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this coronavirus, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

He added, however, that countries should be “doing everything we can to prepare for a potential pandemic.

“What we see are epidemics in different parts of the world affecting countries in different ways and requiring a tailored response.”

The WHO chief’s comments came as officials in Europe and the Middle East scramble to limit the spread of the outbreak and stock markets dipped on fears of a global slowdown due to the spread of the viral infection, officially known as COVID-19.

In Italy, where there have been more than 200 infections and seven deaths, authorities have set up roadblocks, called off football matches, sealed off the worst-affected towns and banned public gatherings across a wide area.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from central Milan in northern Italy, said there appeared to be a sense of alarm but not panic.

“People are taking precautions … but they are still out and about,” he said. “All that being said though, people are concerned because there were just a handful of cases last week and in the past few days they have spiked.”

In Iran, the government said 12 people had died nationwide, while five neighbouring countries – Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Afghanistan – reported their first cases of the virus, with those infected all having links to Iran. A WHO team is due to arrive in Iran on Tuesday.

South Korea, meanwhile, reported 231 new cases, taking its total to 833. Many are in its fourth-largest city, Daegu, which became more isolated with Asiana Airlines and Korean Air suspending flights there until next month. Mongolia earlier announced it would not allow flights from South Korea to land.

 

Seoul — South Korea reported the fourth death from the new coronavirus and 123 new cases on Sunday morning, bringing the total number of infections here to 556., The Korea Herald reports. 

The fourth victim of COVID-19 was a 57-year-old man who had been hospitalized at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province. The third casualty from the virus was reported Saturday — a 41-year-old man who tested positive in a posthumous examination.

Virus cases have skyrocketed here in the past few days, seeing a tenfold increase from 51 on Wednesday to 556 as of 9 a.m. Sunday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Out of the 556 infections, 306 cases were traced to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and 111 cases were linked to the Daenam hospital in Cheongdo.

Of 123 new cases confirmed Sunday morning, 75 cases were tied to the church, with 63 of them being Daegu residents. Seven people are from North Gyeongsang Province, two from Gyeonggi Province, and one each from Busan, Gwangju and South Gyeongsang Province.

Health authorities are checking the health status of 9,336 members of the religious group, with the members being placed in self-isolation. More than 1,200 people reportedly said they had suspicious symptoms.

Though most of those infected with the virus, or 465 people, were from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in nearly every part of the country over the weekend, including Busan, Ulsan, Jeju Island and Gangwon Province.

Daegu and Cheongdo were designated as “special care zones” Friday.

Some 6,039 people are awaiting test results and, 18 people have been released after making full recoveries.

In a rare public message on Saturday night, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun apologized for the recent spike in infections and reassured people that the virus could be contained if the public cooperates with the government’s instructions.

Chung asked people to refrain from attending mass gatherings, including rallies and religious services, to prevent the spread of the virus.

Despite the surge in the number of infections here, the government said it would not raise the four-tier virus alert level from the current “orange level” to the most serious “red level,” as the virus is spreading only in restricted areas.