KATHMANDU — After weeks of infighting in the ruling Nepal Communist Party, Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli on Dec. 20 suddenly called on the president to dissolve the House of Representatives. The president then announced that new elections would be held on April 30 and May 10, 2021, a year ahead of schedule. Seven ministers also resigned, leaving Oli with only six ministers and 12 standing committee members. Opposition members joined some members of Oli’s NCP against the move, which some analysts say is not legal. “Prime Minister Oli’s actions against the constitution are illegal,” Kathmandu-based advocate Om Prakash…
Author: zenger.news
TAMIL Nadu — India’s pharma pricing regulator is fighting to get companies to pay millions of dollars in fines for overcharging on drugs. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has imposed fines of INR 6,423 crore ($800 million) on pharmaceutical companies since 1997. But as of Aug. 31 this year, it has been recovered just INR 977.2 crore ($100 million). Fines to the tune of INR 4,081.93 crore ($500 million) are tied up in litigation. The NPPA has issued 2,000 notices to Indian firms, as well as to some foreign companies, including Pfizer and Abbott Healthcare. About 300 of these cases,…
MUMBAI — A 73-year-old woman in Mumbai helped save the life of her 4-year-old great-granddaughter by donating her kidney in something of a medical miracle. “In my 40 years of practice, I have carried out more than 600 kidney transplants, but this is the first one with such a high age difference,” said Dr. Sharad Sheth, the nephrologist in charge of the transplant at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. “The success rate of transplants reduces if the organ is older. But in this case, the transplant went extremely well, and the kidney is functioning perfectly in the recipient.” Six…
BEITBRIDGE, Zimbabwe — Faced with a deepening economic crisis where runaway inflation and weekly price hikes have long been ordinary, many Zimbabwean women risk their safety and arrest to cross into South Africa by “unofficial” routes — just for necessities like food and clothing. Beitbridge is the only border crossing post between the two countries on land, and it’s busy even under normal circumstances. But passage has been restricted to essential services, mostly cargo trucks, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Melody Chengetai braces the murky waters of the crocodile-infested Limpopo River instead. The widowed single mother of four crosses this…
Cada 8 de diciembre, según el calendario litúrgico de la Iglesia Católica, se festeja el “Día de la Inmaculada Concepción de la Santísima Virgen María”, una de las celebraciones más importantes para los feligreses españoles. Es un motivo para vestirse de gala, agradecer, asistir a la iglesia y entregarse en cuerpo y alma. La historia data de 1854, año en que se promulgó el dogma de sus fieles creyentes, pues de corazón comparten con el mundo que “La Virgen María” fue la única persona en todo el planeta que fue concebida sin pecado original. ¿Cuál es la historia? Todo comenzó…
BOUIRA, Algeria — After a spike in child abductions this year, Algeria’s government is taking steps to reintroduce the death penalty, which was suspended 25 years ago. The National People’s Assembly (lower house of parliament) last month approved a bill that allows the death penalty for child abductors. The bill now goes to the Council of the Nation house) before it becomes law. “This project included tougher sentences ranging from life to capital punishment,” Justice Minister Belkacem Zeghmati said during a session of the Legal Affairs Committee in November. Twelve children in Algeria were abducted between January and September, according…
ISLAMABAD — In a rare goodwill gesture in the tense disputed region of Kashmir, Indian Army officers on Dec. 5 allowed two teenage sisters who had inadvertently crossed the border from the Pakistan-administered side to return home within a day. The repatriation of 17-year-old Laiba Zubair and her 13-year-old sister Sana Zubair was a peaceful event during months of heavy exchange of fire between India and Pakistan over the territory. Pakistan controls the northwest portion, while India controls the central and southern portions. China controls another part. The sisters immediately told the armed Indian Army officers that they had crossed…
COLOMBO — The Maldives has offered to bury Sri Lankan Muslims who died due to Covid-19, amid outrage among Sri Lanka’s Muslim community over forced cremations of Muslim victims of the infection. The Sri Lankan government introduced a mandatory cremation policy in March prohibiting the burial of those who died from Covid-19. The reason for the policy is a belief that the virus could contaminate groundwater. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka dismissed a challenge to the mandatory cremations. Despite the offer from the Maldives, political leaders in Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community are opposed to it.…
VIENNA — The delicate process of introducing two young female orangutans to liven up the old ape group in Vienna Zoo has been a big success. The Orangutan, which means “man of the forest” in Malay language, tends to live a solitary existence in the wild. When 7-year old Surya and 12-year old Sani from zoos in Germany and Ireland, respectively, arrived in Austria two months ago, the primary objective was to kick-start new dynamics. The old male, Vladimir, and the female, Mota, both over 50, had grown slow and complacent. They needed fresh blood to liven things up. If all…
AZAMGARH — A big fat Indian wedding crashed in the northern city of Mau in Uttar Pradesh state last week when the groom and his family roamed around the streets for the entire night looking for the house of the bride. They had come for the wedding on Dec. 10 from Kotwali, Azamgarh, about 42 km (26 miles) away. But the address they had for the bride’s home was incorrect. They never found the house and went back home. The marriage was arranged through a mediator, who is also a distant relative of the groom. Annoyed at the turn of…