MISSING ENGINEER FOUND UNCONCIOUS

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: Engineer Mahendra Chandal, 35, who went
Missing from the capital 3 September was found unconscious Thursday at Narayani bridge in Chandal, Narayanghat, police said.
Chandal is undergoing treatment at Bharatpur Hospital.
He worked at Rural Technology Center, Kumaripati, Lalitpur.
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CIAA ARRESTS OFFICER

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: Laxman Aryal, officer at Divisional Cooperative Office, was arrested Thursday while taking a Rs 30,000 bribe in the capital.
He was arrested by a CIAA team at Baneshwor.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Congress needs alternative leadership to dispel the impression that the party does not belong to Bahadurs and Prasads alone.”

(NC candidate for president Bhim Bahadur Tamang, The Himalayan Times, 10 Sept.)
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DEEP DIVISION IN UML

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: With the two major Madesh-based parties, Madeshi People’s Right Forum (MJPF) and MJPF-Democratic—deciding to cast their votes in the next round of voting, the third largest party --CPN-UML has finally felt the heat to change its neutral position, Republica reports.
Though the voices for changing the stance are getting stronger, the UML still remains deeply divided on the issue.
Party Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and leaders loyal to him are still for firmly standing in favour of the party’s stance to not vote any of the two candidates. But party heavyweight KP Sharma Oli and leaders close to him have said in public that the party must change its present stance.
Vice-chair Bidya Bhandari Thursday clearly said in public that the UML should break its neutrality and cast vote for Nepali Congress (NC) candidate Ram Chndra Paudel. UCPB(Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Paudel are currently n the prime ministerial race.
“UML can’t stay neutral any longer. We should vote for NC candidate,” Defence Minister Bhandari said,
Party secretary Yubaraj Geywali ruled out the possibility of UML changing its long-held stance. “UML is very close it its stance. It will neither make any changes in the decision nor will it vote for NC. It is simply impossible,: he said.
A central leader maintained that it is not only the staunch Oli supporters like Bhandari, but other leaders, who claim to be neutral, have also felt the the pressure to change the party’s stance.
Party spokesman Pradip Geywali thinks the time has come for the UML to seriously review its decision. He said through the concept paper put forth by UML was appreciated in general, the party may not stick to it as the proposal failed to yield any results.
“The political developments unfolding in recent days are leading the situation in favour of forming Maoist-led government. Therefore, the circumstances has pressed us to review our decision,” Spokesman Geywali said,
The NC and UML have been saying that they can’t accept the government led by Maoists unless the party detaches itself from arms and armies.
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Sujata Koirala refuses to withdraw candidacy

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: The panel of Sushil Koirala, candidate for president of Nepali at the 12th general convention, hasn’t been able to announce his panel even a week before the meet begins 17 September because of differences between candidates for general secretary, Kantipur reports
The establishment side Thursday convened a meeting of five candidates for general secretary An effort for understanding was inconclusive.
According to a source, Sijata Koirala refused to withdraw her candidacy.
Sujata told Acting President Sushil Koirala, Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel and other leaders, “ When did you support me and why should I leave?”
The other four contenders are: Prakash Man Singh, Ajun Narsingh KC, Ram Sharan, Mahat and Krishna Shitaula.
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UNSC will give a rollover: US< UK, French envoys
Kathmandu, 10 Sept.:-
Ambassadors representing the three permanent member countries of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have told the government and the Maoists that the UNSC would give a technical rollover to the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) if no political agreement is had before Sept. 15, the day UNMIN’s current term expires, The Kathmandu Post reports..

US Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi, British Ambassador John Anthony Tucknott and acting ambassador of the French Embassy Jean Romicianu conveyed a “common concern” during separate meetings with caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday, a source said.

The diplomatic parleys follow two separate letters dispatched by the government and the Maoists on UNMIN. “If there is no consensus among the two sides, the Security Council will give a month’s rollover of UNMIN’s current mandate with no changes to allow discussions to take place between parties to resolve this row,” a source told the Post, quoting the ambassadors.

The source said the envoys said that the international community does not want to take “any abrupt decision” on UNMIN’s termination.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s Foreign Relations Advisor Rajan Bhattarai said the UNSC cannot take a decision on the technical rollover of UNMIN’s mandate without the consent of the government.

“The envoys said it would be difficult for the Security Council to take a decision on two different requests forwarded from Nepal,” Bhattarai said. The envoys are said to have told the prime minister that the Security Council could write a letter to the government asking it to “further clarify” its request for mandate renewal.

The letter sent by the government on Tuesday says the government would like to see UNMIN focus on the monitoring of Maoist combatants and their weapons. The Maoists have “objected” to the request saying that it remained silent on UNMIN’s monitoring of Nepal Army. After the meeting with Dahal, DeLisi told reporters that the international community is now concentrating on providing better assistance to the peace process.
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GOVT MAY SEND NEW LETTER TO UN

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: Amidst mounting diplomatic pressure on the government an Maoists to reach a consensus on UNMIN’s fresh mandate, talks between the two sides on Thursday headed in a ‘positive direction’, raising hopes of a resolution of the controversy, Republica reports.
Following the move by the main opposition [by writing a separate letter to UN saying the tenure should be extended by six months without change], the government and the UCPN-M held rapprochement talks at Singha Durbar to find an amicable solution to the problem complicated by the sending of two competing requests to the UN secretary-general.
“The talks are headed in a positive direction,” UCPN-M Vice-chairman Narayan Kazi Shrestha told Republica.” We have agreed to hold further talks to bridge differences.”
Shrestha and another Maoist leader Barsha Man Pun had held
a meeting with Home Minister Bhim Bahadur Rawal and Minister for Culture and Constituent Assembly Affairs Dr Minendra Rijal. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was present at the meeting but later left , authorizing the two ministers to continue talks with the Maoist leaders.
Minister Rijal said the government has sought written commitment from the Maoists on addressing the problems of the national army and on he management of Maoist combatants, including bringing the former rebel fighters under the command and control of the special committee.
“The government can be flexible and send a new letter to the UN through consensus if the Maoists commit themselves in writing on those issues,” Rizal said.
Meantime, the government has taken the Maoist letter seriously and Prime Minister Nepal held a meeting with foreign ministry officials and his advisors at his office Thursday afternoon to discuss the complications arising from the Maoist move.
According to a participant, the government has taken a position to send yet another letter to the UN secretary-general clarifying its earlier letter to him, if the Maoist party agree in writing to address the problem faced by the national army due to monitoring by UNMIN.
Such a clarification letter will propose a mandate for UNMIN to monitor the national army as well and ask Ban to consider it part of the earlier letter sent on Thursday.
The earlier letter proposed a mandate for UNMIN focusing on monitoring Maoist combatants and arms. It is silent on monitoring of the national army by the UN political mission.
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Nepal at bottom on competitiveness scale

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: In what seems to be a fresh case of leading from behind for Nepal, the World Competitiveness Report for 2010-11 has placed Nepal’s business competitiveness figures in bottom 10 among 139 economies that were surveyed by the World Economic Forum, The Himalayan Times reports.

“Nepal ranks 130th due to political instability, corruption, policy ambiguity, inefficient bureaucracy and inadequate supply of infrastructure,” said Bharat Pokharel, executive director of the Centre of Economic Development and Administration, Tribhuvan University, at a programme to launch the report for 2010-2011, here today.

Nepal scored 3.34 — the highest among the 10 countries placed at bottom — in the annual list that had put Nepal 125th in 2009-10’s report among 133 economies.

Nepal was ranked 126th in 2008-09 among 134 economies. “The report shows that there have been no positive changes in Nepal in the last three years,” said Pokharel, adding, the survey was conducted in Nepal in March-April among 102 small and large enterprises. “This is an executive opinion survey of the enterprises that employ more than 50 people,” said Prof Ramesh Chitrakar, national coordinator of the World Competitiveness Report. Nepal is also at the bottom in South Asia, where India ranks 51st, Sri Lanka 62nd, Bangladesh 107th and Pakistan 123rd.

WEF began publishing the Global Competitiveness Report in 2005 and Nepal has figured in the report since 2006, said Chitrakar, adding, the report is

based on 12 key indicators under which there are 112 variables to measure a country’s competitiveness.

Switzerland tops the overall ranking, whereas the United States has fallen by two ranks to be at fourth position, overtaken by Sweden and Singapore that are on the second and third positions, respectively.

The northern neigbhour, People’s Republic of China, continues to maintain the lead among the large developing economies, improving by two more places this year to position itself at 30.

Other Asian countries that have come strongly in terms of performance are Japan (sixth) and Hong Kong (11th).
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Army announces Training Year 2

Kathmandu, 10 Sept.: Army Chief Gen Chatraman Singh Gurung has announced his second year in office as ‘Training Year 2” as well for the first time in the national army, Annapurna Post reports.
Gurung, known as ‘training guru’ in the army, announced his first year ‘training year’ as well.
“The programme is being continued in the second year as the results of the first year were fruitful and positive,” Army Spokesman Rimendra Chetri said.
Gurung completed the first year of his here years Thursday.
Spokesman Chetri said preparations are afoot to include foreign cadets for the two-year basis course for cadets at the Nepal Army Academy at Kharipati.
An integrated training center is being constructed at Saljhandi in Rupendhaehi. India has assured a Rs two billion assistance for the project.
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