Maoist lawmaker received serious burns

Kathmandu, 13 Aug.: Maoist lawmaker Ram Kumari Yadav suffered 75 percent burns when a gas cylinder exploded at her home in Koteshwor Friday morning, police said.
Several other Maoist lawmakers sharing the apartment weren’t injured.
She is undergoing treatment at Bir Hospital.
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Former king, KV Rajan hold talks

Kathmandu, 13 Aug.: Former King Gyanendra held talks Thursday with former Indian Ambassador KV Rajan in the capital, Kantipur reports.
The meeting took place at Annapurna Hotel where Nischal Pandey, the son of former ministering the royal cabinet held a reception.
They met at a separate room where the former king arrived after Rajan. Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood was present.
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PMO to intervene in MRP
KATHMANDU, AUG 13:-
In the wake of Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala’s refusal to approve the proposed design of Machine Readable Passport (MRP), the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is all set to intervene in the matter. The issue may be taken up by the Friday’s Cabinet meeting, The Kathmandu Post reports.

Officials at the PMO have inquired into the matter following a report in The Kathmandu Post on Koirala’s refusal to approve the design and insignia of the proposed MRP, a senior PMO official told the Post.

Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai, who is currently in Manila, also conveyed his argument against Koirala’s “rigid position” through Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire prior to his departure to the Philippines.

If Koirala remains stubborn, the Cabinet should take a call and pave the way to sign the deal, Bhattarai is learnt to have told the Chief Secretary.

On Thursday, senior MoFA officials also tried to convince Koirala, but in vain.

Without the approval from the minister, the French company, Oberthur, which has bagged the MRP contract, will not be able to supply the passports within the stipulated time. After sealing the deal, Oberthur is to supply the first consignment within 70 days.

“The foreign secretary, as the administrative head of the ministry, can sign the contract, but he cannot do so without the prior approval of the design and insignia from the political level. As such, the Cabinet must intervene in the matter if Sujata Koirala refuses to approve the design,” a senior MoFA official said.

Friday’s Cabinet meeting is likely to sort out the issue. “The prime minister is also concerned about the delay in the MRP deal,” the official said.

Either the Cabinet can approve the design or the Prime Minister can take a risk and approve the same.

“The prime minister can also use his position to force Koirala to approve the deal,” the official said.
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Early reports of new NC district presidents emerge
KATHMANDU: The preliminary results of the elections for the district level conventions of the Nepali Congress (NC) for new leadership poured in from 54 districts across the nation on Thursday, The Himalayan Times reports..


According to the latest results, Sanjaya Gautam, Dhurba Wagle, Madan Bahadur Amtya, Bikash Koirala were elected as the new district heads for Bardia, Tanahun, Lalitpur, and Chitwan respectively.


In Dadeldhura, NC senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba’s aide Karna Bahadur Malla was elected to the post of district head.


In Surkhet, Tapta Bahadur Bista, the existing district president garnered another victory for the same post in the election.


However the elections in Sunsari, Ramechhap, Kaski, and Morang proved inconclusive and will be held for a second time as none of the candidates could accumulate the requisite 51 percentage votes in today’s poll.


Apart from a few stray incidents the conventions were largely peaceful, said the election committee of the party. The elections in Dolpa, Rasuwa and Bara were disrupted due to disputes among the party cadres.

The final results are yet to be declared as the vote count is underway in the most of the districts.
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