Maoist central committee meet concludes

Kathmandu, 2 Sept.: Maoist President Prachanda and Vice-chairmen Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Baidya Kiran Thursday will furnish replies to points raised by nearly 100 central committee members to their proposals for party strategies to handle future strategy to guide political amid a political deadlock.
Prachanda’s proposal was challenged by Kiran and Bhattarai in the party where three clear concepts prevail.
The central committee’s decision won’t be the final.
The concepts will be discussed by the expanded central committee after discussions at lower party units.
Kiran has suggested a revolutionary concept to institutionalize communism while Bhattarai urges a soft approach.
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SPORTS

Binaya Raj Pandey ACC development committee member


Kathmandu, 2 Sept.: Cricket Association (CAN) President Binaya Raj Pandey has been appointed development committee member of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Wednesday by International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ACC regional committee.
Pandey is the first Nepali to get the appointment.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY
Oman Air to begin flights Thursday

Kathmandu, 2 Sept.: Oman Air is to begin direct four weekly flights between Muscat and Kathmandu from Thursday using a Boeing 737-700.
One way fare is Rs 26,756.
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MEDIA GOOGLE
“Does the US ambassador make a statement against Raamdev and his organizations when India’s Ramdeb Guru publicly declares Coca-Cola is a toilet cleanser?”
(Bhojendra Basnet, Kantipur, 2 Sept.)
‘Can’t term the president’s discussions with leaders of political parties for an outlet activism.)

(Vice-president Paramananda Jha, Annapurna Post, 2 Sept.)
“What’s published in Budhabar are their personal views not the party’s. That newspaper doesn’t belong to the party.”

(UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal’s view of party mouthpiece Budhabar weekly, Kantipur, 2 Sept.)
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VVIPs ripping govt. coffers
Kathmandu, 2 Sept.:, Here are two recent examples of how our VVIPs are milking the state coffers to finance foreign junkets for their near and dear ones. The proud records go to none other than the country’s head of the state President Ram Baran Yadav and head of the government Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, The KathmandduPost reports.

The visits take place in September and October, respectively. President Dr Yadav heads to China and Prime Minister Nepal to the United Nations, New York. Both entourages are loaded with relatives, unwelcome guests and aides—the numbers well over the benchmark set by the hosts.

Nepal usually gets just five seats in the United Nations General Assembly every year since the Panchyat system and that was strictly followed. However, the caretaker Prime Minister whose legitimacy is questioned whether he holds any right to make a political or policy commitment on the UN platform, is all set to visit with a horde of 30 members in UNGA, New York, beginning form Sept. 17.

“Two dozen names have been finalised for the junket. We are yet to get the names of lawmakers who are attending the GA,” an official privy to preparing the groundwork of the trip said. UN will reimburse the expenditure incurred by five dignitaries and the rest of the bill including two-way airfare, daily allowance, hotel accommodation will be footed by the Nepal Government, which claims it has launched an austerity drive.

Two security officials and three journalists are riding piggyback as well. There will be a separate list given by Foreign Minister Koirala which is yet to be finalised.

Former Ambassador Dr Lok Raj Baral questioned the credibility of the PM’s trip to New York. “As a caretaker PM, why does he have to go there?” said Baral. “In 1991, Interim PM Krishna Prasad Bhattrai instructed then Nepal’s envoy to UN Jaya Pratap Rana to participate in the UN meetings and segment saying that he country is devoted to the statut writing process and that he cannot lose a single minute. Moreover, since decades we have five quotas for UNGA and no need for jumbo delegations.”

The upcoming China visit of President Dr. Yadav during the closing ceremony of Shanghai expo (Oct. end) is also a case in point. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) will hand over to the Chinese side the list of guests.
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Report confirms rapid glacier melting

Kathmandu, 2 Sept.: The United States Geological Survey in its report — published in collaboration with 39 international scientists — says that glaciers throughout the Asia region — Russia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan — are retreating, The Himlayan Times reports.

However, the report says the time period for the retreat is different among the glaciers. “In Bhutan, 66 glaciers have decreased by 8.1 per cent over the last 30 years. Rapid changes in the Himalaya has been seen in India where Chhota Shigri Glacier has retreated by 12 per cent over the last 13 years and Gangotri Glacier — that is considered to have originated in 1780 – witnessed 12 per cent shrinkage in the main stem in the last 16 years,” adds the report.

The melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas ran into controversy after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — a scientific body under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to look into the issues of climate change — apologised for the mistake in its fourth assessment report in 2007 that stated ‘the Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035 due to the impact of climate change’.

“This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise,” states the USGS report.

As glaciers become smaller, water runoff decreases, which is especially important during the dry season when other water sources are limited. Climate change also increases temperature and earlier water runoff from glaciers, and this combined with spring and summer rains, can result in flood conditions.

“The overall glacier retreat and additional melt can increase the amount of water in the vicinity of a glacier, and the added pressure enhances likelihood of disastrous outburst flooding,” warns the report.

Tracing the history of glacier studies, the report has mentioned that glacier studies in each area started at different times depending on accessibility of the glaciers and scientific interest. According to USGS, the earliest description of glaciers in China has been traced back to 630 AD, while studies in the Caucasus area of Russia began in the mid 1800s and modern studies in Nepal started in the 1950s.

“Glaciers in the Himalayas are a major source of fresh water and they feed water to all of the rivers in northern India. Of particular interest is the Himalaya, where glacier behaviour impacts the quality of life of tens of millions of people,” said USGS scientist Jane Ferrigno.
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Agni Air black box, voice recorder damaged

Kathmandu, 2 Sept.: Members of a government committee constituted to probe the Agni Air 24 August reached the crash site by a Mountain Air chopper on Wednesday and brought the aircraft’s flight data reorder (FDR) or black box, cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and other recovered objects to Kathmandu, Republica reports.
The committee, in a statement, said FDR and other important parts of the Dronier aircraft found after excavating 18 feet under the crash site left by the impact of the crash were brought to the capital.
According to the committee, the CVR was found in a slightly deformed state, while the while the FDR is in total disarray.
Excavation has been officially stopped at the crash site following the recovery of the objects.
Some parts of crash victims’ bodies, also recovered from the site, were buried at the site itself.
Shree Bakiya Thakur Lower Secondary School located near the crash site was handed over Rs 25,000 on Wednesday out of Rs 50,000 that local political mechanism recommended for the school.
The school was the first to report the crash.
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Dismay in UK for Gurkha disbandment (Excerpts)

Kathmandu, 1 Sept.: Fears Gurkha soldiers could be facing the axe have been met with dismay by Dorset veterans of the legendary regiment, Daily Echo reports from Bradford.
The Queens Gurkha Signals enjoy the freedom of Bradford, as many members of the regiment spend time at Bradford Camp’s Royal School of Signals.
Staff Sergeant Gyan Tamang, a former Gurkha, now chairman of the Bradford Royal British Legion, said: “If the government makes this decision, it will erase 200 years of history. I believe the Gurkhas have done their bit to support the British people and the public will feel badly if that was to change.”
Former army officer turned Conservative MP Patrick Mercer has warned everything was ‘up for grabs’ as the Ministry of Defence attempts to balance the books adding: ”These rumours will have a negative on the morale of Gurkhs in Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, Asbahadur Gurung, who served with Gurkhas for 28 years, said it would be a ‘big mistake’ for sweeping defence cuts to spell the end of the regiment.
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Israeli team in Nepal to find Jewish tourist's remains
Kathmandu, 2 Sept.: Some volunteers from Israel's ZAKA rescue and recovery organisation have arrived in Nepal to assist in the recovery and identification of an American Jewish tourist who was killed in the Agni Air plane crash in Makawanpur district, The Himalayan Times reports.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the UN-recognised organisation sent the team after the Nepali authorities failed to recover and identify the badly charred remains of Irina Shekhets, 30.

The forensic experts could not identify the mortal remains of the victims collected from the crash site and brought to Kathmandu as none of the bodies was intact but severed and charred.

The ZAKA team is working in full cooperation with the Chabad House in Kathmandu, which is coordinating the recovery efforts with the local authorities, and the Foreign Ministry’s situation room, which assisted the team in obtaining the necessary visas, the daily reported on August 31.

The ZAKA volunteers have secured Shekhets’s dental records from the US for identification purposes.

It is expected that Israeli backpackers currently at the Kathmandu Chabad House will join the ZAKA volunteers in their search of the crash
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