Surya Bahadur Thapa visiting India

Kathmandu, 4 Oct: Former Prime Minister and Chairman of Rashtriya Janasakti Party Surya Bahadur Thapa is flying for New Delhi Sunday for political discussions, a political aide said.
Thapa is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Mamohan Singh and Congress-I Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Leaders frequently visit India for political discussions under cover of medical check-up and treatment.
India has been playing an interventionist role in Nepali politics after negotiating the 12-point New Delhi between seven parties and Maoists living in exile in India.
SD Muni, perceived to be a government of India operative in the guise of an academician, said recently India is looking for new ‘pawns’
in Nepal to push its interests after what he called ‘chessboard’ maneuvers has failed .
Insultingly calling the present major players New Delhi’s ‘pawns’ in Nepal, he revealed New Delhi is looking for new players to push Indian interests.
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Nepali dead in Rautahat after excesses of Indian border security personnel

Kathmandu, 4 Oct: Mikhal Ray Yadav died of excesses and abuses at the hands of Indian border security personnel at Rautahat Sunday morning,his family said.
Yadav was proceeding to India from the district.
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Maoists threaten movement

Kathmandu, 4 Oct; Maoist standing committee meeting concluded Sunday with determination to launch a popular movement after tihar if their demands aren’t met by the government.
Maoists said the government hasn’t seriously considered its demands.
:Talks are going on. Indications are an outlet won’t come easily. Programme for a movement will come after tihar. It’s not necessary to be confused,” Dr Bahburam Bhattarai told a public meeting in Rupandaehi Saturday.
Maoists are sending confusing signals; Congress and CPN_UML aren’t willing to meet Maoist demands to discuss a censure motion against the president in parliament.
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Economy will be paralyzed without an agreement in fortnight

Kathmandu, 4 Oct: If parliament doesn’t pass the annual budget in the next 13 days, the country will be engulfed by an economic crisis, Kantipur reports.
All development programmes will come to a halt; salaries of parliamentarians and government officials won’t be paid.
“The development works will come to a standstill. There will be no money to run government operations,” economist Dr Shanker Sharma said.
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Maldives pulls out of football tournament


Kathmandu, 4 Oct: Citing technical reasons, Maldives has pulled out of the AFC U-16 group B matches being hosted by Nepal.
Five teams will now play the matches from 5 to 13 October instead of 5 to 15 October in the capital, All Nepal Football Association said.
Teams from Iran and Bahrain have already in town while teams from Tajikstan and Lebanon are to land Sunday.
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TRADE, COMERCE, ECONOMY

Tourist arrival slips

Kathmandu, 4 Oct: Tourist arrivals slipped 2.2 percent in the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period the previous year.
But arrivals in September 2009 jumped 5.5 percent.
Altogether 34,281tourists visited Nepal in September 2009, Nepal Tourism Board said even as Indian arrivals declined. 24.1 percent
Arrivals from China, Japan, USA and UK jumped.
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Paddy production to fall by 150,000 metric tons

Kathmandu, 4 Oct: Low rainfall due to erratic monsoon this year is likely to create food deficit of total 150,000 metric tons in the current fiscal year, according to a ministry official, The Kathmandu Post reports.
The monsoon this year started more than two weeks later than the usual date and rainfall recorded during July—wettest month of the year, was far below the normal in most districts of the country.
Hari Dahal, spokesman oat the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, said, around 1,480,100 hectares of total land that equals to around 95 percent of the total paddy cultivable land across the country was planted during this monsoon. Nepal cultivates rice in 1,558,000 hectares.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Girija Prasad Koirala and Prachanda aren’t acceptable as prime minister replacing Madhav Kumar Nepal in the name of political understanding and cooperation.”

(Minister for General Administration Rabindra Shrestha, Annapurna Post, 4 Oct.)

“Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai never went to the jungle. Threats of popular revolt and capture of power are bargaining chips for the post of prime minister.”

(Minister Rabindra Shrestha, Annapurna Post, 4 Oct.)
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