Nepali Congress maintains firm stance against govt.; other details

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 2 Dec; Main opposition Nepali Congress joined talks with three major ruling and continued to maintained its firm anti-government stance on non-cooperation.
Congress refused to sit in a special integration committee with three major ruling coalition parties and demanded two seats in the committee par with Maoists.
CPN-UML and MJF also have one member each in the committee.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda requested the Nepali Congress to join the committee to start the integration process of PLA with Nepal Army.
Congress Vice-President Ram Chandra Paudel led the Nepali delegation at the four-party meeting in Baluwatar.
Paudel said Maoists didn’t agree to two seats for the Congress although he said there was agreement between four parties on terms of reference for the special committee.
The special committee was formed five weeks ago.
Congress also asked ruling parties to implement a nine-point demand that includes implementation of past accords and return of seized assets during the 11-year people’s war.
Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala said this week he’ll never agree to integration of armies and demanded dissolution of YCL as a pre-condition.
Meanwhile, three smaller parties in the ruling six-party coalition Tuesday also demanded two seats in a government coordination committee to direct the government affairs.
Three major collation parties had apportioned two seats each to themselves at a meeting Monday.
Three parties agreed to the demand of the smaller parties in the committee which will now have 12 members.
The expanded coordination committee will now meet Wednesday.
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Load-shedding increased to 45 hours

Kathmandu, 2 Dec: Load-shedding will be increased to 45 hours per week in the midst of winter from Wednesday, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said.
Power cuts will enforced six days a week for seven hours and three hours the remaining one day.
NEA said load-shedding can be increased further as winter progresses with water level of rivers receding.
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Chinese foreign minister arrives

Kathmandu, 2 Dec: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jichi arrived Tuesday night for a three-day official visit—the first by a Chinese foreign minister in four years.
He will begin substantive part of his visit Wednesday by holding discussions with his Nepali counterpart Upendra Yadav.
Yang is also laying the groundwork for the China visits by Yadav and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda in 2009.
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Terrorism has no boundaries: Former King Gyanendra

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 2 Dec: Former King Gyanendra told a Nepali journalist “terrorism has no boundaries’ following deadly attacks in Mumbai last week, weekly newspaper Dhristi reports.
“Everybody should understand there’s no alternative to nationalist and democracy,’ the former king reportedly told Deb Prakash Tripathi, editor of Ghatana ra Bichar, according to Dhristi.
“I will have a positive role for the nation, patriotism and the interest of the Nepali people,” the ousted king said.
About the situation in Nepal, the former king reportedly said,” Can’t play a role expect to express concern.
“There were protests when I thought I would do good. Now, it’s good, I suppose.”
The former king hoped a constitution will be drafted in the deadline, according to Dhristi.
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