President consults Chairman Nemwang

Kathmandu, 16March: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav held discussions Monday with parliament and constituent assembly chairman (CA) Subash Nemwang expressing concern with uncertainties in adopting a constitution by the 28 May deadline.
“The president shared deep concern with the speaker regarding the uncertainties to constitution drafting. He also asked about the measures to be adopted for timely promulgation of the statute,” the president’s press advisor Rajendra Dahal told The Kathmandu Post.

‘The president said it’ll be best if the constitution is announced by 28 May,” Nemwang said.
The chairman held hour-long consultations with Nemwang asking whether the constitution would be promulgated within the deadline.
Dr Yadav earlier held discussions earlier with Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and chief of the main constitution drafting committee Nilambar Acharya.
Nnnn

PM to hold collective meeting with party leaders

Kathmandu, 16 March: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal
is holding a collective meeting with 25 political party leaders Tuesday amid uncertainty whether a constitution will be promulgated y 28 May.
The possibility of convening a winter session is also being discussed.
Nnnn


UN official stays back for talks after withdrawal threat

Kathmandu, 16 March: Amid a threat last week by visiting UN Under-secretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pescoe the security council may not extend a UNMIN mandate after 15 May, another senior official has stayed back for consultations with Nepali officials and leaders.
Samuel Tamrat, who was deputy to Ian Martin, Nepal’s Special Representative of the UN secretary general, accompanied Pescoe but has stayed back for consultations.
He held discussions with Chairman Subash Nemwang Monday discussing the peace process and constitution drafting.
Tamrat held collective discussion one day earlier with representatives of Nepali Congress, Maoists and UML following Pescoe’s threat.
Government UN relations have been soured after the threat.
Pascoe charged Nepal’s failure to push the peace process was being shunted.
Government termed the angry outburst of the visiting official undiplomatic.
nnnn

Prachanda invited for Shanghai Expo.

Kathmandu, 16 March: Maoist Chairman Prachanda is among 100 persons invited for the Shanghai Expo, Kantipur reports.
“The interaction of Chairman Prachanda at the Expo is not only the pride and happiness for the party but also for the nation,” Foreign Department Chief Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.
A Chinese embassy source one of three top Chinese leaders will visit Nepal in June, Kantipur said quoting a Chinese embassy source.
China’s top three leaders are the president, prime minister and foreign minister.
Nnnn

Army officers meet

Kathmandu, 16 March: Top army officers meet Tuesday at army headquarters.
Chief of all five divisions and departmental heads are participating.
The meeting will discuss a policy to be adopted if a constitution is declared, Janabhawana said.
The meeting will also discuss how to handle the dissatisfaction if a constitution isn’t promulgated within the deadline.
Nnnn

NMKP rejects govt. vehicle offer

Kathmandu, 16 March: Nepal Majdoor Kishan Party (NMKP), a splinter communist party lending outside support to the government, has rejected a government offer of a vehicle of all 25 political parties in parliament.
Narayanman Bijukakchaya is the leader of the party in parliament.
The Bhaktapur-based party took the decision Monday.
The government effort was to buy support for the government.
Nnnn


Pakistani arrested with fake Indian currency notes

Kathmandu, 16 March: Mariyam, a Pakistani woman smuggling in Rs 300,000 fake Indian currency onboard a Pakistan International Airlines fight from Karachi was arrested by police at Tribhuvan International Airport Monday.
The money in 1,000 and 500 currency notes was concealed in a paper box with a false bottom.
nnnn.


Former king attends Naradebi jatra; president not invited

Kathmandu, 16 March: Former King Gyanendra overnight paid homage at the Shwetkali temple in Naradevi during the 12-year festival.
The festival this year was observed only after30 years.
The Debi was ushered into the Guthi Ghar after the darshan by the former king.
As the head of state, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav wasn’t invited.
In the past the festival ended on Ghode Jatrajatra after a darshan by the king, Rajdhani reports.
The festival ended this year with the former king’s darshan.
The management this year discussed whether to invite the president or the former king.
A member of the management committee said he former king was invited after most former devis said Gyanendra should be invited.
nnnn

TU Teaching Hospital

Kathmandu, 16 April: All services, except emergency, have been halted at TU Teaching Hospital.
Doctors, nurses, and students at the hospital are on protest following leaked examination papers of doctors.
nnnn


Massive foreign funding to influence security policy; PM’s aide recipient of foreign donation

Kathmandu, 16 March: Disclosure that an NGO headed by a key aide of the prime minister has received massive funding from international donors to influence the security sector reform (SSR) may land the prime minister in hot-soup, newsfront reports.
Department of Foreign Investment of the British government has channeled a huge sum of grant to National Institute of Policy Strategy (NIPS) along with other donors to influence the model of security sector, something the defence ministry and Nepal Army has been fiercely resisting.
NIPS is headed by Rajan Bhattarai, Foreign Affairs advisor to the prime minister, who enjoys the status of a minister of state foe foreign affairs.
The grant- its amount not yet specified- comes much against the instruction of the Defence Minister Bidya Bhandari that not a single penny of the foreigners should be accepted by the government agencies to discuss the necessary reforms in the Nepal army.
The SSR is something that the UCPN (Maoist) ad some DFID and other donors funded agencies are pursuing. NIPS said Bhattari was associated with the institute purely on a voluntary basis and that its receiving fund from donors should not linked with his occupying a kep position in the government.
Samacharpatra, a Nepali daily broke the story, implying that the issue was a clear case of corruption and donors influencing the security sector related policy change in Nepal.
In fact, some senior leaders of UML, are now saying that the prime minister was perhaps banking more on NIPS than on the Defence Ministry and Nepal Army on the issue of integration of the Maoist combatants in Nepal army, something Army Chief Chatraman Singh Gurung opposed.
nnnn

SPORTS

Nepal plays Singapore in the ACC U-16 finals

Kathmandu, 16 March: Nepal meets Singapore in the finals of the ACC U-16 Elite Cup Tuesday.
The match will be played at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground.
Nepal qualified for the final beating Malaysia.
Malaysia was placed third in the tournament.
nnnn

MEDIA GOOGLE

“A complete constitution is not possible within the remaining time; the constitution must be promulgated within the deadline. So a partial draft must be promulgated with the remaining issues to be dealt later”

(Minister for Law and Justice Prem Bahadur Singh, The Himalayan Times, 16 March)

“It’s not for us to say something about Nepal’s constitution but aall concerned should consider how appropriate la federal structure is for a small country like Nepal.”

(Japanese Ambassador Tashubo Mijuno, Annapurna Post, 16 March)