CABINET OKAYS PRESIDENT’S CHINA VISIT

Kathmandu, 21 Oct. The cabinet Wednesday approved the visit of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav to China from 26 October to 1 November.
The presidential team will consist of 17 members.
The president of attending the closing ceremony of the Shanghai Expo.
The visit will be the president’s second foreign tour after India.
Meanwhile, Vice-president Parmananda Jha leaves for Chengdu in south China Thursday to participate in an international trade fair.
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TWO FARMERS MURDERED

Kathmandu, 21 Oct: Two farmers were brutally murdered at a village in Kailali.
The farmers were identified as Khadga Chaudhari,50, and Chaula Chaudhari, 20.
Their bodies were founding in the far-West district Thursday morning abandoned in a field.
They throats were slit.
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CABINET PREPARES TO PRESENT FULL BUDGET

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Government Spokesman and Communication Minister Shanker Pokhrel said Wednesday government is preparing to present a full budget through political understanding.
He said this after the cabinet Wednesday discussed the presentation of the delayed annual budget that should have been presented mid-July at the beginning of the new fiscal year 2010/11.
He said the cabinet decided discussions political parties to present the budget after Speaker Subash Nemwang returns from Canada where a parliamentary team is studying that country’s federal structure.
Cabinet will seek time from the speaker for the budge presentation.
Finance ministry sources said government has only Rs 8 billion in the current to run the country’s daily administration and without a full budget the country is heading towards a financial crisis.
Maoists oppose the presentation of a budget by a caretaker government.
‘Presentation of the budget by a caretaker government will be a mockery of democracy,” Maoist Vice-Chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai said in Dhangadi Wednesday.
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FIRST NC CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: The first informal meeting of the newly elected office bearers and NC central committee members meets later Thursday.
The central committee members were elected by the 12th general convention.
Candidates defeated in the election have also been invited by Party President Sushil Koirala.
Koirala has yet to nominate 21 members to the central committee and she hasn’t appointed office bearers even more than one month after the election.
Koirala defeated three-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in the race for president while Prakash Man Singh and Chitralekha Yadav were elected general secretary and treasurer respectively.
The newly elected president said he won’t promote groupism in the second largest party by appointing Deuba supporters to important positions in the party.
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BRITISH GURKHAS NOT BEING DISBANDED

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: British Gurkhas aren’t being disbanded, according to the British embassy.
The embassy said this as the British government announced sweeping cuts this week in the British armed forces to balance the budget.
“The government has no plans to disband Gurkha units, the embassy said while announcing new British national security strategy and a strategic and security review.
Gurkhas have been recruited in British army since 1815; currently, 3,400 Gurkhas are serving in the British army.
They’ve been deployed din Afghanistan where five Gurkhas have been killed this year.
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COLONELS GET 2-YEAR EXTENSION

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Colonels Ram Krishna Adhikari, Rajib Basnet, Prabhu Ram Sharma and Gaurab Tandup Wednesday got a two-year extension.
The cabinet extended their tenure.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

NEPAL 4th LARGEST PRODUCER OF GINGER

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.” Nepal is the fourth largest producer of ginger after India, China and Indonesia.
The country produced 158,905 tons of the spice in 2007/08 worth Rs 9.2 billion exporting 99 percent of the produce to India, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
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NEPSE GAINS 1.19 POINTS

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Nepse gained 1.9 points on the first day of trading Wednesday after a long Dasain holiday and the index closed at 421.49 points.
Altogether 16, 837 shares worth Rs 4.43 million were traded in 466 transactions.
Share prices have risen for nine consecutive days.
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DINANATH SHARMA FILES TO INDIA FOR THYROID TREATMENT

Kathmandu, 21 Oct. Maoist Spokesman Dinanath Sharma flew for New Delhi Wednesday for treatment of thyroid, Nagarik quoted his son, Rajan, as saying.
He’ll return Monday if treatment proceeds as planned.
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11 MAOIST COMMANDERS IN CHINA

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Eleven Maoist military leaders, including three deputy commanders and four division commanders, are on a nine-day China visit, Nagarik reports.
Military In-charge Barsha Man Pun, Deputy Commander Janardhan Sharma, PLA Spokesman Chandra Praakash Khanal and Ansari Gharti Magar are in the team.
Pun and Sharma are members of a special committee headed by the prime minister for the integration, resettlement and supervision of the Maoist army while Khanal is a member of a technical committee under the special committee.
Other members of the team are: Commander Suk Bahadur Roka, Commander Yam BahadurAdhikari, Commander Tej Bahadur Oli and Commander Mahendra Bahadur Shahi.
Khagendra Neupane, Private Secretary of Sharma, Siddhi Raj Shahi and an unidentified translator left for China 14 October via Lhasa.
Party Chairman Prachanda and Krishna Bahadur Mahara are leaving for China Friday.
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LEADERS OF SINGLE CHAMBER IN PROVINCES
KATHMANDU, 21 Oct.:: A meeting of the leaders entrusted with the responsibility of assisting the high-level taskforce formed to settle disputes over the contents of the new constitution have agreed to form a unicameral parliament in the provinces, Republica reports..

The leaders reached the agreement during a discussion on the preliminary draft report prepared by the Constituent Assembly (CA) committee on determining form of the legislative body at Singhdurbar on Wednesday.

However, they failed to suggest whether there should be a bicameral or unicameral parliament at the central level, which is one of the thorniest issues.

“We decided to discuss the issue of federal parliament at a meeting of the top leaders on Thursday,” Maoist leader Dev Gurung told reporters after the meeting.

Maoist leader Gurung, Nepali Congress (NC) leader Ramesh Lekhak and CPN-UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari, among others, attended the meeting on Wednesday.

Determining the form of legislature in provinces, however, wasn´t a complex issue as the parties while preparing the committee´s thematic report had already agreed to have a unicameral parliament in the provinces. But the question was added only after some lawmakers, during deliberations on the thematic report at the CA meeting, demanded that new statute ensure bicameral parliament in provinces as well.

Leaders at the meeting decided to deal with other disputes in the thematic report later as they can be determined only after finalizing the model of parliament at the central level.

The preliminary draft proposal submitted by the thematic committee envisions a bicameral legislature at the center and unicameral legislature in the provinces. However, the UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum had registered notes of dissent against the proposal. Maoists have proposed a unicameral legislature at the center. Similarly, the MPRF has proposed that the national assembly should incorporate representatives from the provinces.

The meeting on Wednesday failed to suggest the minimim age for citizens to be eligible for exercising voting rights. Maoists are for determining the 16 year as the minimim age while NC and UML, among other parties, are for setting 18 as the minimin age for citizens to be able to exercise their voting rights.

The meeting of the taskforce headed by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled for Thursday. NC Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Paudel, UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal, MPRF Chairman Upendra Yadav, Nepal Workers and Peasants´ Party Chairman Narayanman Bijukchhe and lawmakers Prem Bahadur Singh and Rukmini Chaudhary are members of the high-level taskforce.

On Tuesday, the high-level taskforce had sorted out nine of the 11 disputes in the preliminary report prepared by the CA thematic committee on determining the system of governance. The taskforce, however, couldn´t determine the system of governance -- executive presidential or prime ministerial -- and electoral system to be adopted in the new constitution.

The taskforce has a list of around 220 disputes to resolve in eight of the 11 thematic reports. It has an October 24 deadline to submit a report to the meeting of 27 political parties after settling or narrowing down differences. The preliminary reports will then be forwarded to the Constitutional Committee (CC), which is entrusted with preparing an integrated draft of the statute incorporating all the 11 thematic reports.

The parties are yet to forward eight of the 11 thematic reports to the CC. The CC has demanded at least a month´s time to prepare the integrated draft.
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NEPAL, BANGLADESH CLIMBERS SCALE VIRGIN PEAK

Kathmandu, 21 Oct. A group of Nepali and Bangladeshi mountaineers have scaled a previously unconquered Himalayan peak and named it after the two South Asian nations, AFP reports from Dhaka.
A 10-member joint team climbed the summit of the 6,257 meter mountain—known locally as Chekigo—on Monday, two weeks after the expedition began. Dhaka’s foreign ministry said in a statement today [Wednesday].
“Now the peak will be named as the Bangladesh-Nepal Friendship Peak,” it said.
The mountain, which is on the Nepal-Tibet border northeast of Kathmandu, in Dolakha district, had not been formally named before, Bangladeshi expedition chief M A Muhit said last month.
Five previous attempts had been made by European trekkers, the latest in 2009 by a Norwegian team, but all failed due to technical difficulties,.
The Nepal government recognizes 120 unclimbed peaks in its portion of the Himalayans, but mountaineers say there may be up to 400 more.
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NEPAL AT HIGH RISK
Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: -
South Asia is the world’s most climate-vulnerable region, its fast-growing populations badly exposed to flood, drought, storms and sea-level rise, according to a survey of 170 nations published on Wednesday, AFP reports from Paris..

Of the 16 countries listed as being at “extreme” risk from climate change over the next 30 years, five are from South Asia, with Bangladesh and India in first and second places, Nepal in fourth, Afghanistan in eighth and Pakistan at 16th. The Climate Change Vulnerability Index, compiled by a British-based global risks advisory firm, Maplecroft, is intended as a guide for strategic investment and policymaking.

The barometer is based on 42 social, economic and environmental factors, including the responsiveness of government, to assess the risk to population, ecosystems and business from climate change.

South Asia is especially vulnerable because of changes in weather patterns that result in natural disasters, Maplecroft said.

“There is growing evidence climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of climatic events,” the firm’s environmental analyst, Anna Moss, said.

“Very minor changes to temperature can have major impacts on the human environment, including changes to water availability and crop productivity, the loss of land due to sea-level rise, and the spread of disease.” Bangladesh is rated No.1 because of a double whammy. It has the highest risk of drought and the highest risk of famine.

Maplecroft published a climate vulnerability index in 2009 that placed 28 nations at “extreme risk”, headed by Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Burundi.
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KMC VEHICLES STALLED WITHOUT CLEARANCE


Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Pollution Clearance Letter (PCL) Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is unable to use 108 vehicles and 4,000 containers donated by China to collect and dispose of the capital’s waste, Ishwar Rauniyar reports in The Kathmandu Post..

On Wednesday, the Environment Management Department (EMD) sent a letter to the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) requesting that temporary vehicle numbers be issued, as the letter would soon be granted.

Although the Chinese Embassy sent an official letter granting approval to a request made through the Ministry of Local Development, the provision of vehicles was delayed due to technical reasons. The containers and vehicles arrived in mid-July and Chinese officials handed over the garbage handling equipment on August 27. Yet, two months later they are still not in operation.

The 108 vehicles comprise six large garbage trucks, 50 hermetic self-discharging garbage trucks, five compression refuse collectors, 30 self-discharging and loading garbage trucks along with 4,000 waste collecting bins each with a capacity of 240 litres.

According to Rabin Man Shrestha, Divisional Chief of the EMD, “We didn’t know that the DoTM needed PCL to allow the plying of the vehicles.” He said the letter would reach Kathmandu “within a few days” and added that the delay was due to the Chinese official responsible being on leave.

At present, KMC has 100 vehicles for garbage management and these are required to make at least three trips each day to collect the city’s garbage. Shrestha said the new vehicles are urgently needed, “We are in dire need of new vehicles as the population of Kathmandu is increasing by the day and so is the garbage.”

According to Shrestha, the new vehicles will allow all garbage to be transported concurrently.

He added that the new vehicles would replace the vehicles that have been running for the past 20 years and will also help keep the environment clean. The older vehicles will be donated to municipalities outside Kathmandu.

Under-Secretary of the Bagmati Zone Transportation Manaagement Office Kapil Dangol said, “The Transport Act forbids granting permission to ply the vehicles before submitting the clearance letter.” He added that the DoTM has to send a letter to his office to register the vehicles after receiving all the documents.

With regard to temporarily registering the vehicles, Dangol said that only the Cabinet can take a decision to this effect.
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AFTER MRPs IT’S TIME FOR SMART VISAS

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: The Machine Readable Passport (MRP) issue is over with the signing of the agreement with France’s Oberthur Technologies in August, but what about planning for Machine Readable Visa (MRV)?, The Himalayan Times reports.

Created and read by customized software, MRV enhances security features and accelerates visa processing at ports of entry, making immigration clearance less cumbersome. Like the MRP, the machine-readable visa is a standard format consisting of a visual inspection zone and a machine-readable zone.

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has earmarked 2012 as the year for all member states to issue digital visa. Immigration officials said that the screening of the visa would become five times faster with MRV.

Nepal has been humiliated at international venues after its failure to issue MRP from 1 April 2010, a deadline set by ICAO some ten years ago. “We will again face the same situation if we don’t pay attention to issuing MRV on time,” an official referring anonymity said.

Nepal has been issuing hand-written visa on passports of foreign nationals. As the country starts issuing MRP, continuing with the hand-written visa would indeed be very unusual, though it is not a compulsion, said Mukti Nath Bhatta, Chief of Protocol.

Bhatta said that issuing MRV is the job of the Department of Immigration (DoI), which has been issuing visas to all foreign nationals who arrive in the country.

Abdul Kalam, director of DoI, accepted that visa issuance is the job of his department, but said nothing had been done in this regard.

“We know that issuing a hand-written visa on a digital passport does not seem sound, but we can’t take any initiative in this regard because we don’t have any fund and programme right now.”
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