Higher secondary schools again closed

Kathmandu, 28 Dec: Teachers Sunday again forcibly closed down higher secondary schools nation-wide.
Teachers are demanding permanent job status and other perks.
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Army again says no to govt. pressure not to full in vacancies through fresh recruitment

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 28 Dec: Nepal Army will continue its recruitment drive to fill in 2,884 vacancies through fresh recruitment, Lilaraj Khanal reports in Rajdhani.
Army is preparing a formal letter after defence ministry directive to stop the fresh recruitment drive.
“The letter is being sent Sunday,” a senior military source told Rajdhani. “Vacancies are being filled in without creating new posts. This won’t affect the peace process.”
Prime Minister Prachanda and Chief of Army Staff Gen Rukmangud Katawal discussed the issue Friday.
Last week UNMIN Chief Ian Martin issued a statement saying the recruitment is against the spirit of the peace accord; a senior army official expressed dissatisfaction with the statement.
“Martin has been issuing statements to support Maoists,“ a meeting of senior army officials concluded Saturday. ‘UNMIN is active in inciting Maoists. UNMIN, ICRC and other foreign organizations are working not to resolve the conflict in Nepal but to encourage it.”
The meeting also concluded UNMIN should work monitor anarchic activities of Maoists instead of objecting to work of the Nepal Army conducted with government permission.
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Govt., journalists hold second round meeting

Kathmandu, 28 Dec: After an inconclusive first round meeting last week, representatives of government and protesting journalists began another round of dialogue Sunday to address conflicting demands.
Journalists under the banner of Alliance for Press Freedom are demanding an end of attacks of media houses and forced closure of publications including the Biratnagar editions of The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur.
The Alliance journalists have been holding daily protests for the last eight days demanding action against attackers and compensation.
But Maoist journalists are demanding reinstatement of dismissed workers in Himalmedia.
Government dialogue team is headed by Communication Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
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Breakthrough in effort to resolve political impasse


Kathmandu, 28 Dec: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will make a formal statement in the CA Sunday on implementing nine demands of main opposition Nepali Congress following a cabinet meeting to legally implement the demands.
The cabinet is meeting to implement demands, including the dissolution of the YCL and return of seized assets.
An agreement was reached Sunday morning in talks between Nepali Congress and Maoists, their leaders Dinanath Sharma and Laxman Ghimere said after the meeting.
Nepali Congress had planned to disrupt proceedings of the constituent assembly for the fifth time Sunday afternoon.
The main opposition has been demanding a formal statement from Prime Minister Prachanda on its demand the CPN (Maoist) meet nine demands including return of seized assets.
The breakthrough comes after a meeting between CPN-UML and Maoists to break a deadlock.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Final ultimatum to Maoists. CPN-UML central committee meeting prioritized consensus politics and issued a stern warning to the Maoist-led government to change its work style.”

(Report in CPN-UML mouthpiece Chalphal, 28 Dec.”