Congress students close down Valley

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: Congress
students suddenly disrupted vehicular traffic and attacked YCL offices in the three districts Valley Wednesday morning protesting the abduction and deaths of two youth in Dhading by YCL one month ago.
Their bodies were dug out from a shallow grave Tuesday.
They had gone missing after the abduction.
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Congress to field woman candidate

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: Nepali Congress will field a woman candidate for the CA vice-chairmanship; election is being held later this month.
Congress Vice-President Ram Chandra Paudel declared the party’s candidacy.
Terai Madesh Loktanrik Party, the fifth largest party in CA and the second in terai, claimed it should get the post since Congress, MJF, CPN (Maoist) and CPN-UML candidates have respectively been elected president, vice-president, prime and CA chairman respectively.
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Chinese ambassador-designate arrives

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: Chinese ambassador-designate Qiu Guohong arrived Tuesday.
Deputy Chief of Protocol Dr Niranjan Man Singh received him at the airport.
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Girls marrying late

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: Girls now marry when they are 19.5 years, according to Kantipur quoting data released by Central Statistics Division.
In 1961, they married at 15.4 years.
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Reshuffle in NSP (D)

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: A 37-member national business committee in the NSP (D) under the chairmanship of Sarita Giri.
Ram Baran Yadav and Bhogendra Thakur have been appointed vice-chairman.
Yashwant Singh and M Kadam Rasul have been nominated general secretaries.
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10 expelled from CPN (ML)

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: CPN (ML) central committee Tuesday expelled 10 central leaders from ordinary membership, including Dibakar Sharma.
Sharma earlier announced expulsion of Chairman CP Mainali from the party.
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Another foreign ministry attempt to monitor embassy meetings; defiant US ambassador meets Maoist defence minister without prior information

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: The foreign ministry has again written to embassies in the capital Tuesday not to meet officials without informing the ministry, Annapurna Post reports.
The letter requests embassies to meet ministers and senior government officials only after fixing appointments through the ministry.
Foreign secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya said the letter was sent to clear any confusion.
US Ambassador Nancy J Powell Sunday met Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal without informing the foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry sent the first circular two weeks earlier.
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Bomb explodes near International Convention Center

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: A bomb exploded near the CA building in Baneshwor Tuesday night at 7.30, Nepal Samacharpatra reports.
No human casualty or other damage was reported.
Nobody has taken responsibility for the explosion.
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US defence official comes in announced, leaves

Kathmandu, 19Nov: UN Assistant Defence Assistant Secretary looking after South Asia Dr James Claude left for home Tuesday after a four-day Nepal visit, Rajdhani reports.
He met leaders of political parties, ministers and senior officials of Nepal Army, according to the US embassy.
“He came on an official visit and met leaders of political parties and senior officers of Nepal Army,” US embassy spokesman said.
He met Home Minister Bamdeb Gautam and Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal and discussed army integration.
He discussed constitution drafting and terai violence with Gautam.
He met collectively Monday with Maoists, Congress, CPN-UML and Forum leaders over breakfast.
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Govt. funds treatment of two party leaders; how much to spend?

Kathmandu, 19Nov: Government has spent nearly Rs 20 million for the medical treatment Shailja Acharya (Congress) and Jagat BahadurBogati (CPN-ML) and they haven’t yet recovered in Bangkok? Budhabar reports.
How much is the government going to spend?
[Note: Major parties in govt. and CA raised a hullabaloo when the royal government spent nearly that amount for the treatment of late HRH Helen Shah in London.Girija Government also spend nearly the same amount for the cancer treatment of Congress Vice-President Sushil Koirala in New York when ordinary people aren’t cared for even for minor ailments. The wife of your correspondent’s friend died without roper treatment for a kidney ailment when govt. didn’t respond to a request for financial assistance.]
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Madhav Kumar Nepal leaves for Brazil

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: Former CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal flies for San Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday to participate in a conference of world communist and workers’ parties, Budhabar reports.
More than 100 parties are participating in the three-day meet.
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No integration says army in internal circular; directive asks soldiers to take a stand

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 19 Nov: Nepal Army headquarters
has issued a circular to all 97,000 personnel saying Maoist combatants cannot be integrated en masse and directed to maintain the stance, Chudamani Bhattarai reports in Janaanstha.
The army headquarters is under Maoist hardliner Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal; the directive was issued 10 days ago.
The directive says no group or organization can be given entry into the army with no army objection to individual recruitment.
This is the first time army has issued such a directive in ‘ a very serous issue’ which says the state must maintain neutrality and professionalism.
The army has asked soldiers to give the issue a thought at a time when integration is a hot issue.
Nepal Army has presented former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala with army options.
An army report presented to Koirala calls Maoists an opponent of democracy.
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Social Welfare Council dissolved

Kathmandu, 19Nov: Social Welfare Council was dissolved by the cabinet Wednesday.
The government took the decision after controversial appointments by the Maosit-led government.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Seeing peaks in Nepal gives me happiness and inspires me to have greater vision to guide myself in the right direction.”

(Former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, The Himalayan Times, 19 Nov.)

“Suggestions to appoint a former rebel chief of army staff are provocative and will mar the peace process.”’’

(CPN-UML leader Pradip Geywali, Kantipur, 19 Nov.)

‘UNICEF is Nepal would like to thank you [The Kathmandu Post] for carrying the photo and caption about the working child…We take this situation very seriously indeed and our staff is already investigating the report…”

(UNICEF Representative Gillian Mellsop’s letter, The Kathmandu Post, 19 Nov.)


“Nobody has said my sisters, who have been appointed to different positions, incompetent. They are involved in the field of science as engineers, scientists and doctors.”

(Minister Hishila Yami defending appointments of her sisters, Janaastha, 19 Nov.)