Govt. expanded

Kathmandu, 25 March: PM Prachanda Wednesday evening expanded his six-month 22-member government by inducting a Dalit and Tharu from his party.
Mahendra Pashwan was appointed agriculture minister to replace Matrika Prasad Yadav.
Ram Chandra Chaudhary was appointed Land Reforms Minister; the ministry was allocated to CPN (ML) which never joined government.
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Former King Gyanendra returns home

Kathmandu, 25 March: Several hundred supporters Wednesday welcomed former King Gyanendra and Queen Komal when they returned home from India by a regular commercial flight from New Delhi after a three week visit.
Photographers and supporters clashed with police at the airport.
The then king didn’t talk to reporters.
In New Delhi, the then king held political discussions with Congress I President Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader LK Advani who will form a government if the main opposition is elected in parliamentary elections scheduled for April.
Gyanendra didn’t meet Pm Manmohan Singh as reported by a section of the Nepali media.
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Defence ministry seeks vacation on interim order; other details


By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 25 March; Eight brigadier generals retired by government despite formal suggestion By Nepal Army for the extension of their tenure by another three years joined service Wednesday.
The supreme court earlier issued an interim order to government to reinstate them.
The defence ministry asked the apex court Wednesday to reconsider the decision by a one-man bench.
Relations between the Maoist-led government and the state army have soured over the issue,
Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal first approved a cabinet proposal to extend their tenure.
But the file has gone missing after PM Prachanda asked for it from the office of the prime minister.
Maoist newspapers have accused the chief secretary, the secretary at the prime minister’s office and the defence secretary for leaking the information to the press, the Nepali Congress and foreign embassies.
Government Wednesday sent sacked defence secretary Baman Prasad Neupane and sent him to the reserve pool while acting secretary at the prime minister’s office Pratap Kumar Pathak has been transferred to theindustry ministry
Maoists Wednesday staged a demonstration Wednesday in the capital against the supreme court decision reminding residents of the protest by the supporters of CPN-UML when the court overturned a decision of a UML government before political change sin April 2006.
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Three dead in Birgunj shootings

Kathmandu, 26 March; Three persons were killed in shootings overnight and Thursday morning in Birgunj.
Two suspected extortionists were shot dead overnight in the town.
One student was shot dead Thursday morning.
The town has been shut down by protestors.
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Lightning kills two, 17 injured in Ramechap

Kathmandu, 26 March: A lightning Wednesday killed two persons in Ramechap and injured 17 others.
Five of the seriously injured were airlifted to the capital for treatment Thursday.
Rain and storms have broken out after a long dry spell.
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Party representatives names to special army integration committee

Kathmandu, 26 April: Four parties have nominated their representatives to the special army integration committee headed by PM Prachanda, Annapurna Post reports.
Maoists have nominated Indrajit Rai and Barsha Man Pun; Nepali Congress nominated Dr Sambhuram Simkhada and Balananda Sharma.
CPN-UML appointed Dipak Prakash Bhatta and Gopal Singh Bohara while MJF appointed Ramananda Mishra and Sunananda Kurmi.
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Girija complains of increasing activities by foreign diplomats

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 26 April: Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala Wednesday complained of increasing unwanted activities by foreign diplomats even as he returned from New Delhi after discussing Nepali affairs with Indian leaders.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi didn’t meet him.
Koirala is also the main who negotiated the 12-point agreement between seven parliamentary parties and Maoists in the Indian capital with Indian help.
Foreign diplomats and Indians of all ranks had free access to Baluwatar when he was prime minister; he tolerated and invited them to the official residence of the government chief.
“Activities of foreign activities are increasing.
This happens when a state fails. Their interest then increases. Nothing will remaining our hands. Everything will go to their court. There should be a struggle to stop this.
“Outsiders are taking a keen interest in the internal affairs of a country that is on the verge of turning into a failed state,” he told reporters in his hometown Biratnagar before returning home.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Girijababu hasn’t said the party will join government. He said the party can join government is pre-conditions are met.”

(Sher Bahadur Deuba, Annapurna Post, 26 March)

“An alternative government can be formed under CPN-UML.)

(Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi, Annapurna Post, 26 March)

“Congress can’t join government to validate the monopoly of Unified CPN (Maoist).”

(Arjun Narsingh KC, ,The Rising Nepal, 26 March)
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