Nepal Today: December 2010

MRPs TO BE DISTIBUTED FROM THREE VALLEY DISTRICT HEADQUARTER OFFICES

Kathmandu, 1 Jan. Machine readable passports (MRPs) will be distributed Sunday from three district headquarter offices of the Valley, foreign ministry said.
Only persons will citizenship certificates will get such passports.
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KRISHNA PRASAD BHATTARAI

Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, the only surviving founder member of NC, celebrates his 87th birthday Saturday.
Bhattarai quit the party after NC abandoned its traditional support for constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy to go for a republic.
Bhattarai is a firm of Girija Prasad Koirala who pushed the republic line without debate with foreign support.
His autobiography ‘Mero Ma’ is being released Saturday.
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ENTRY FEES INTO BHAKTAPUR RAISED

Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Entry fees for tourists from non-SAARC countries and China has been raised from $10 to $15 effective 1 January 2011 to meet increasing development costs, the municipality of the medieval town east of the capital said.
The raise- the first in 10years- was approved by town’s 18th municipal council meeting.
The town is the best managed among four towns and cities in the Valley.
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NTB APPOINTS MORE GOODWILL AMBASSADORS

Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has appointed nine persons mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as goodwill ambassadors for Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011.
Pemba Dorje Sherpa, Rohit Timilshina, Mathura Shrestha and Temba Chhiri Sherpa.
Thaneshwor Guragain, Pratishtha Amatya Bista, Neema Gumba Sherpa, Mingma Tshering Sherpa and Nima Temba Sherpa have also been appointed goodwill ambassadors.
Nepal hopes to attract one million tourists in 2011.
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CAR SEIZED FROM MAOIST LAWMAKER ILLEGAL

Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: A car seized by police from former Maoist minister and lawmaker Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma was illegal.
This was confirmed by department of transport management.
Bishwakarma, who was released on assurance he would report to police Friday, didn’t comply with the assurance.
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SUGAT RATNA KANSAKAR CHALLENGES CIAA

Kathmandu, 1 Jan.: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Chief Sugat Ratna Kansakar and five other senior NAC executives Friday in writ petitions filed at the supreme court challenged charges they misappropriated Rs 57.3 million while placing orders for two Airbuses from the European manufacturer.
Cases were filed by CIAA for the recovery of the advance.
Kansakar said he had the authority to release the fund to acquire the aircraft for the ailing state airline which is also the country’s flag-carrier.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Bhattarai [Dr.Baburam] was victimized for similar reasons in the past as well. Party leadership is planning to take action against for speaking against party leadership. If that is done, we will have no alternative but to retaliate.’

(Maoist politburo member Debendra Paudel, Republica, 1 Jan.)

‘They won’t return to the jungle. That’s why they should enfold the peace process through change.’

(Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nagarik, 1 Jan.)
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GOVT. TELLS UN SECRETARIAT WILL TAKE ON RESPOSIBILITIES OF RETREATING UNMIN

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: In a written reply, government told the United Nations Friday a secretariat under the special committee headed by the prime minister for the supervision, resettlement and monitoring of 19,000 plus combatants will be responsible for supervision and monitoring of former Maoist fighters after UNMIN withdraws from Nepal 15January following a failed mission.
UN has been blaming Nepali actors for the failure although under Secretary General Kofi Annan it lobbied to enter Nepal even while negotiating with India-based Maoists declared terrorists by New Delhi, USA and Nepal.
Top UN diplomat Samuel Tamrat handled the negotiations for entry into Nepal to take on an almost impossible task.
The tough government response came in response to UN queries of the future of agreements between Maoists and governing parties and an agreement on UN involvement in monitoring of arms and armies,
Government told the UN there’s no need to keep Nepal Army to be kept under the UNMIN watch after completion the April 2008 elections of the constituent assembly (CA) swept by Maoists.
UN security council discusses Nepal probably for the last time 5 January 20011 before withdrawing.
UNMIN Chief Karin Landgren leaves for New York Saturday to
attend the meeting.
To the embarrassment of UN, Maoists said they duped the world
body to increase their military strength to 19,000 from a mere force of 7,000 to 8,000 combatants.
UNMIN presence represented a foreign presence even though they were invited by major Nepali political players.
Maoists, who oppose foreign presence, pushed for continued UN presence until the end of May 2011 without success.
EU member states sympathetic to Maoists, particularly three Nordic states, had been funding UNMIN activities in Nepal.
An irritated Prime MInister Madhav Kumar Nepal infrustration said Thursday Maoist combatants won;t be integrated even for another 40 years.
Certainly,Maoists aren;t only to blame.
His failur to gauge Maoists in an attempt bring the former rebels into the mainsyreat has barckfired.
He produly has claimed risks he took tobring the Maoists into the mainstream.
Can he explain to the Nepali people and suffering nation the logic for his adventurism? he has to answer to the people and nation.
A desparate outburst from a government chief won;t do any good.
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CAPITAL RECORDS DRIZZLE AND THEN SHOWER

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: The capital Friday evening recorded a drizzle and then a shower.
But it wasn’t the first winter rain.
The mercury will fall with the shower.
The afternoon was cloudy the whole day Friday as winter peaks.
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TMLP SPLITS

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Nine of 21 members of Terai Madesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) defected Friday and formed the TMLP-Nepal.
Mahendra Prasad Yadav led the revolt.
Yadav charged there was no democratic practice in the party.
Chairman Subash Nemwang was formally notified
The party was the second biggest from the terai.
NSP and MJF have already split and MJFL is also facing internal dissent.
The latest split comes as parliament is meeting for a normal winter session.
Election of Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is top on the agenda.
Nepal Friday completed six months in office as Maoists can’t from a government with consensus or a majority.
Nepal has been lobbying support for NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel as his designated successor as he picks up a duel in the UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal who is considered close to Maoists.
Nepal has publicly opposed a Maoist-led government.

BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR COMPROMISES

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Nepal’s peace process is at crossroads as UNMIN prepares to withdraw from Nepal 15 January 2011.
He called for compromises to overcome mistrust to complete the peace process ad constitution drafting.
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16 INJURED IN VEHICULAR ACCIDENT I SUKLAPHANTA

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Sixteen persons were injured, six seriously, when a vehicle overturned at the Suklaphanta National Park in
Kanchankpur Thursday.
The injured are undergoing treatment across th border in India.
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DENIAL AND DECEPTION

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Just as we thought Sri Lanka’s apology had settled that curious diplomatic fracas, Colombo strenuous denied ever having said sorry to us. So we are back to the old question. Did or didn’t President Ram Baran Yadav ask his Sri Lankan counterpart, Mahinda Rajapakse, to be a peace mediator in Nepal?, Maila Baje writes in Nepali Netbook.
Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris repeatedly told his country’s parliament that Yadav had done so during a meeting with Rajapakse in China in late October. Colombo’s latest stance bolsters that position. Peiris, of course, had a vested interest in extolling Rajapakse’s credentials as a peacemaker, especially as an alternative to the regional you know who. As his nation’s top diplomat, Peiris may have easily employed that time-tested tool of his profession in what he considered the pursuit of national interest.
Our own media had reported that Yadav had met Rajapakse in Shanghai, the only foreign counterpart he did so in China, saying they had discussed the peace process. From the local coverage, Yadav had made a bland request for Colombo’s support to the peace process. So when the Sri Lankan media reported Peiris’s far more definitive claim, our president’s press secretary issued a flat denial. Yet Peiris persisted.
When Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Neomal Perera arrived in Kathmandu for a regional conference, few Nepalis seemed to associate him with his boss’s assertions. During a courtesy call on Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, according to section of the Sri Lankan media, Perera offered an apology on behalf of Peiris. The idea ostensibly was to keep things quiet. Once word got out, Colombo issued a flat denial. Clearly, this is much more than a story of who lied.
To Maila Baje, the circumstances in which it gained traction remain far more complex and merit greater scrutiny. When Rajapakse suppressed the once seemingly invincible Tamil Tigers, he sparked easily audible voices of displeasure in India. Although the Tamil Tigers were responsible for the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, New Delhi did not seem too happy with the suppression of the group. Among other things, the overt backing of Beijing had made Colombo’s enterprise particularly galling for New Delhi.
Through that triumph, Colombo felt it had broken out of the sphere of India’s influence – psychologically if not physically – which New Delhi expected to have formalized even after its ill-fated military expedition two decades ago. Thus, as the Rajapakse government has discovered to its discomfiture, the storyline has now shifted to allegation of Sinhala war crimes against Sri Lankan minority Tamils.
President Yadav, for his part, had hosted Rajapakse as the first head of state to visit Nepal since it became a republic. Yadav thus went into the Shanghai meeting with a high comfort level. Our president, moreover, already had demonstrated his eagerness to gratify his Chinese hosts. In a republic as wobbly as ours, the presidency remains the most vulnerable institution. How far Beijing has reconciled itself to Nepal having become a republic – at least in its current form – remains open to question. Around the time of Yadav’s trip, Beijing had hosted Vice-President Parmananda Jha, Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and leading Maoist commanders. And as far as China is concerned, every visit has a remarkable degree of official halo.
So President Yadav tread familiar path on befriending China. He urged Beijing (through its top rep in Lhasa) to accelerate the extension of its railway network up to Nepalese border, sidestepping the abiding obsession of the Indians. Any fallout from the south would be manageable, in Yadav’s estimation, by the sheer orientation of the Nepalese government.
Once in Shanghai, Yadav could have been carried away by his ebullience. It would not be hard to see how he might have sought Rajapakse’s role in Nepal’s peace process as part of his northern charm offensive.
It is easy to be sidetracked by Yadav’s current public persona as ceremonial president. Scratch the veneer a bit and you can see his keenness for a new version of that much-maligned Article 127, notwithstanding his professed desire to return to his village as a farmer. Yadav essentially remains a Nepali Congress stalwart and his partisan role during the recent party convention has been amply chronicled by the aggrieved faction.
While Yadav would indeed emerge stronger in the arena of plausible deniability, why would the Sri Lankan foreign minister lie – if that were indeed what he did – and stand firm? Projecting the smaller South Asian nations’ ability to extricate themselves from their own problems is an objective Colombo shares with Beijing, an aspiration non-official Nepal would easily endorse.
Then there is the fact that Peiris’s claim came after Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna’s visit to Sri Lanka, ostensibly to open consulates in the southern and northernmost parts of the island nation. Krishna travelled to the southern town of Hambantota to open a consulate barely a week after the government launched the first stage of a 1.5-billion-dollar Chinese-funded port there. The other new Indian mission is in northern Jaffna, the former stronghold of the Tamil Tigers and ostensibly the most ideal venue to whip up the war crimes allegations against Colombo.
Who would benefit from a falling out of the two nations on northern and southern ends of South Asia, intent on redefining the region’s strategic balance? That’s where the heart of the matter lies, regardless of who may be lying around the edges.
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NOT SO NOBEL NOBEL PRIZE

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: There is a fairly large group that has made a career out of championing the cause and interests of neighboring India, known as a nation that rightly boasts of Mahatma Gandhi but contradicts the great man by intimidating and exploiting smaller neighbors. The “emerging economic superpower” has proxies in the land of Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath and Sagarmatha doing the dirty work, defending anything Delhi does. Some of the cleaners are in the “intellectual” community, some in the academic line; many are in the political sphere and quite a few in the news business. These pests can be seen springing into action as the so-called civil society as well.
Be they in the civil society or in the media, the so-called experts by and large do not have anything critical to comment on the many grievances large sections of Nepalis share regarding “unequal” treaties, Nepal’s water resources and such other issues. The long retired professor Lok Raj Baral, for instance, goes about saying that it is “useless” to blame others when we fail to keep our own house in order, Trikal Vastavik writes in People’s Review..
Over the decades, Baral has never found a fault with India, though he is careful not to criticize China. This is so mainly because there is very little to criticize China after the border issue was settled five decades ago. After all, spontaneous popular demonstrations against China are extremely rare whereas such protests against India are quite a few, at times creating a major law and order problem.
Pro-Indian groups try to deflect focus on their dubious activities by terming any public protest against their patrons as the handiwork of “regressive” elements of “radical communists”. Nepali Congress and regional groups choose to either remain silent or come out in open defense of the “aggrieved” southern neighbor. Anyone or group raising a banner of protest against what is perceived as Indian “hegemony” is maligned and patronized agents in various sectors follow suit.
Some India-friendly media describe outright pro-Indian individuals as experts on international affairs, even if he is known for his consistently jaundiced view. There are intellectuals who sing praises of economic progress in all but Chinese economy. They fear that they may be excluded from the network that aligns itself with a particular ideology, irrespective of the merit of the stance taken. However, the retired professor, who is known more for his pedestrian statements, than for his classes at the Tribhuvan University, has quite a few who accompany him in the ridiculous track.
Human rights groups and the so-called civil society “leaders” try to foment issues regarding Free Tibet movement. But they are silent over the gross human rights violations in Kashmir and several northeastern states in India, for instance. Some sections are for encouraging Free Tibet activities because the move suits the donor countries that they try to please. It is not that China is a great democracy matching the Western definitions of the philosophy. Although a one-party state, its political institutions and mechanism are in many respects better than the government structures, institutions and processes in the many authoritarian regimes whose repression of their own people is hardly discussed in the democracies that find the autocratic rulers loyal to their dictates. China made swift economic strides despite being basically a communist country.
The Nobel Peace Prize is increasingly being used as a political tool, sometimes embarrassing the recipient himself and at other times making a laughing stock for the intellectually discerning. US President Barack Obama received it in his very first year in office for simply pledging to work for a nuclear-free world. It is a certainty that the man under 50 years will not see in his lifetime a nuclear free world. Two decades ago, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize to Myanmar’s democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi after barely three years in detention. Had she been awarded the prize after more years of observation, it could have made the Nobel committee proud.
Nelson Mandela would perhaps have missed the prize had it not been the case of Mahatma Gandhi never having been awarded it. Gandhi’s disciple, however, received it, though he has done the award itself a great service by the very gesture of accepting it. The Nobel committee does not see or hear the sufferings of Tek Nath Rizal, the Bhutanese democracy movement leader who suffered hell in prison for ten years and has had to live in exile. Chained and shackled in isolation for long spells by the royal regime, Rizal is an unknown character for the not so noble committee.
Comparison might be odious to those who find an argument inconvenient but it cannot be avoided to furnish a powerful case. Obama was embarrassed for being named for the Nobel because he had done nothing of substance to merit it. If promises were adequate, there are numerous other leaders in the developing world who promise the heavens and yet preside over a hell. Nobel Laureate Obama celebrated his peace honor by ordering tens of thousands of extra troops into Afghanistan in war, ostensibly for raising the prospects of peace. If a national referendum were to be conducted in Afghanistan today, the people there would overwhelmingly support the idea of packing off all foreign troops from their soil. In fact, public opinions in most countries contributing troops to the US-led campaign want their boys back from Afghanistan.
India boasts of being the world’s “largest democracy”. Yet New Delhi honored Bhutan’s absolute monarch Jigme Singye Wangchuck as the chief guest at its Republic Day celebrations twice, while a democratic leader Rizal languished in jail. What would Mahatma Gandhi and even Nehru have said if they were to be witnesses to such practices?
Our own Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was a prisoner of conscience for 14 years but he never figured anywhere to receiving the Nobel award. For awarding such individuals do not serve the political interests of specific groups that pull the strings behind an award that has been exposed for prejudice when the Chinese put their foot down recently after someone jailed for offences was declared this year’s winner.
The charitable hearts did not melt in Brussels or Vienna or the Vatican. If they themselves had suffered such situation they would have termed it duplicity or double standards. Nobel Prize is rapidly losing its prestige.
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NC OBSERVING NATIONAL RECONCCILIATION DAY FRIDAY

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: NC and fraternal organizations are observing Friday as national reconciliation day nation-wide Friday.
President Sushil Koirala garlanded a statute of BP Koirala in Morang Friday to launch a three-month national awareness campaign as well.
Sushil is in Biratnagar accompanied by other top party leaders, including Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel.
Sher Bahadur Deuba is in Bharatpur, Chitwan, to observe the day.
Other central leaders have also been deputed to districts to address public meetings.
National reconciliation day marks the return home of 34 years ago of self-exiled NC leaders BP Koirala and Ganesh Man Singh after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi started a crackdown on exiled NC leaders in India.
The party abandoned armed conflict against the panchayat from bases in India started direct talks for restoration of banned political parties with King Birendra.
The party will push durable peace, promulgation of a democratic constitution and strengthening patriotism.
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HEAVY SNOWFALL DISRUPTS LIFE IN MUGU

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Heavy snowfall accompanied by rain overnight has disrupted normal life in Mugu district of Rara lake fame in the far-West.
People in villages have been restricted to homes with movement restricted.
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NEPALGUNJ SHUTDOWN

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Traders shutdown Nepalgunj in the far-West Friday.
They were protesting injuries of four persons in a bomb blast triggered by a rebel group in the terai.
Three customers and a hardware store owner were injured.
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INDIA’S NEW POLICY FREE FAIR ELECTION BY DISARMING MAOISTS

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: India will now push ‘free and fair polls’ parliamentary polls by disarming Maoists after its fingers were burnt by pushing constituent assembly (CA) elections in April 2008 while the former rebels were still armed.
New Delhi pushed such election swept by Maoists surprising parties and world capitals.
India and major western capitals pushed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to conduct CA polls; Koirala abandoned a party call for disbandment of YCL, return of seized assets disarmament of Maoists to conduct the polls.
“Top billing will be given to Nepal and Bangladesh, not Pakistan.
“With a new ambassador Jayant Prasad ready to drive Indian policy in Kathmandu, India will try to push for ‘free and fair’ elections in Nepal- where the Maoists contest elections after disarming, so that nobody has an unfair advantage. That has to be the crux of the political deal in Kathmandu, but it has to be done by Nepalese themselves.
“But the Indian message remains the same. The Maoists have to disarm following which there can be a political understanding,’ Times of India which reflects official thinking in New Delhi said I a report this week.
The newspaper said Foreign Minister SM Krishna will be visiting Nepal soon as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao arrives early 2011to lay the groundwork of the.
Meanwhile, India is resuming its ‘seminar diplomacy’ to discuss Nepal in India as the peace process and constitution drafting have hit roadblocks.
Top political party leaders, including Maoist Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, are attending a two-day seminar in the Indian capital from 6 January on “Nepal’s present developments and outlet” sponsored Bibekandananda International Foundation.
Indian Foreign Minister Krishna will lead the Indian team; Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala is also attending the seminar.
India has in the past assembled Nepali politicians and leaders of society to openly discuss Nepal abroad during crisis periods.
Nepalis shamelessly discuss national issues abroad in the presence of foreigners.
Leaders will not only air views in the seminar but also meet top Indian leaders to discuss Nepali issues with them.
NC General Secretary Prakash Man Singh is representing the party.
UML and other party leaders are also attending.
Firm and open Maoist critic retired Army Chief Gen. Rukmangud Katawal is a seminar invitee.
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ANOTHER COMMERCIAL BANK

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: In 2011, Nepalis will find yet another new commercial bank -- Century Bank -- wooing them. This might be good news, but the Nepali financial sector will also be looking at a slew of problems it has never encountered before, Milan Mani Sharma writes in Republica.

Mainly burst of asset bubble - an evil that the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) themselves created over the past half decade of low interest regime - will deal its first lethal blow to the financial institutions. Liquidity crunch will exacerbate the problem for banks, eating away their profitability and bloating non-banking assets.

Banks that managed to win Rs 620.60 billion in deposits on July 30, 2010 are reporting that their deposits still hover at Rs 620 billion at December end; meaning they have failed to lure the money from the market despite jacking up savings rate by at least 2 percentage point during the period.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) says money pumped out into the market is taking much longer than the anticipated period of some three weeks to come back into the system. Even worse, a significant chunk of those withdrawals are never finding way back to the banks.

People continue to exhibit low confidence in the banking system -- thanks largely to the central bank’s weak money management that prevented people from getting hold of their own savings at their time of need before Dashain last year. Political instability; doubt over timely conclusion of the peace process and constitution drafting; and the overall confusion over the future State structure and economic policy are anticipated to drive away high-end savers. This will leave banks liquidity situation as vulnerable as ever in 2011.

In these circumstances, banks will find executing the two major NRB-pushed overhauls -- limiting real estate exposure to 10 percent from the existing 20 percent and doubling investment in productive sectors from the existing 10 percent -- a tough nut to crack.

Latest trend further reveals that the market has fast become interest sensitive. Development banks and finance companies, which are offering as much as a 3 percentage point higher returns than ‘Category A’ banks, have already taken away some Rs 4 billion of the commercial banks’ deposits over the last one month.

This will clearly mount pressure on the bank management to provide higher returns, ending the current ‘agreed’ cap of 12 percent. 2011, hence, will be heydays for depositors, but difficult for borrowers.

Mainly the country’s productive sectors, which reel under lack of innovation and competitiveness, are not expected to demand substantial credit. Fiscal and monetary policy, on the other hand, will continue to recoil consumption, forcing personal financing business to shrink.

Initial reports have made clear: demand for home loans -- one of the major retail business -- is down and will remain low in 2011, thanks to the realty market downturn and high interest rates, which is soon expected to touch 18 percent.

Auto loans and hire purchase too will drop further as the recent duty hike, which sent vehicle prices up substantially, and the rise in the interest rate to 17 percent, is already driving borrowers away.

This will force banks to revise their high growth strategy, which will be a correction of a sort from the ‘unnatural’ trend of the past. And the bursting of the asset bubble will give the industry quite a jolt early in 2011.

With realty slowdown and land prices sliding, more borrowers are likely to default on their loan repayments. This will expose over Rs 40 billion of banks and financial institutions loans in real estate (a great majority of which is suspected to be of the sub-prime kind) to grave risk.

This will mainly hit some half a dozen banks, over 20 finance companies and half a dozen development banks that have high exposure to real estate -- much above NRB’s prescription of 10 percent.

The cracks will mainly surface from finance companies, which are poorly monitored and supervised, and extend to other players, sending non-performing assets and non-banking assets soaring. Many will find their profitability seriously jeopardized, while some will turn sick.

These unprecedented challenges facing the financial sector clearly demands chief executives, board members and top managers to act more creatively and proactively. But the reality is -- rapid changes in policy, market dynamics and deepening problems have largely shattered CEOs confidence of late. NRB and the Ministry of Finance should take note of this fact while managing the sector in the New Year.

Good thing though, all these challenges will force BFIs management and promoters to go for merger and acquisition to consolidate their positions.

Financial sector reforms are also expected to get clear direction in 2011, although the government’s plan to ask Nepal Bank Limited and Rastriya Banijya Bank to sell their non-banking assets at this juncture to recapitalize them does not appear to be a prudent move.

In 2011, financial inclusion and people’s access to formal banking services too is anticipated to improve - thanks to central bank’s policy and incentives to lure BFIs to rural areas.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

NT PROMOTER OF TRISHULI THREE- B

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Nepal Telecom (NT) will be a promoter of Trishuli Three- B, Nagarik reports.
NT insisted it wouldn’t invest in Upper Tamakoshi without promoter allocation of promoter shares in Trishuli Three-B.
A warning was issued Tuesday by NT in talks with Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)
NEA then accepted NT proposal.
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NEW MANPOWER COMPANIES TO SEND WORKERS TO JAPAN

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Government has decided to open new manpower company to sent workers through Japan International Training Corporation (JITCO) to Japan, Nagarik reports.
The ministry of labour and transport management amended a directive top make the new arrangement.
Government gave permission one year ago to 171 manpower companies to send trainee workers to Japan.
There was dissatisfaction JITCO sent too many workers to Japan through manpower companies.
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SPORTS

AFC GROUP D MATCHES IN NEPAL

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) endorsed Nepal’s proposal to host group stage matches of the AFC Challenge Cup 2012, Republica reports
AFC recently endorsed the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) proposal to hosts Group D matches of the tournament.
Nepal are slated in the group along with North Korea, Sri Lanka. Playoff winners between Bhutan and Afghanistan will join the group.
..Group D matches will beheld at Dashrath Stadium and Armed Police Force Headquarters Ground in Kathmandu from March 21 to 25.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“I’m not the kind of leader to be a card of a party. It’s essential for Maoists to understand this.”

(Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nagarik, 31 Dec.)

“The CPA has guaranteed scrapping of all the accusations, claims, petitions and pending political cases against the peoples of both the parties and immediate release of prisoners. Reviving the cases of those days is not only immoral but also unconstitutional.”

(Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel, The Himalayan Times, 31 Dec.)
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FORMER KING IN SHIBAPURI, PARAS IN SINGAPORE

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Former King Gyanendra is in Shibapuri; former Crown Prince Paras is in Singapore, Naya Patika reports.
The 40th birthday of Paras was celebrated in Nirmal Niwas Thursday.
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MAOISTS WRITE TO UN TO EXTEND UNMIN TENURE

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: Maoists have sent a letter to United Nations to extend the tenure of UNMIN which ends 15 January 2011, Kantipur reports.
Chairman Prachanda has asked in the letter the tenure be extended until 27 May 2011.
The letter has been delivered to UNMIN Chief Karin Landgren.
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METRO GAS FROM 2 JAN.

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: - After a long wait, the city consumers will finally have the Metro Gas, a product of the Salt Trading Corporation (STC), in their kitchens from Sunday, 2 January 2011, Laxman Kafle writes in The Rising Nepal.
Pankaj Joshi, Division Chief of the Trade Department of the STC, said that after the trial production of the gas completed, STC was all set to supply the production from Sunday.
Till date only the private companies were supplying the cooking gas in Nepal.
The production and distribution of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) by a government owned corporation is expected to provide some relief to the consumers.
The corporation claimed that it would help rupture the monopolised market of the private sector and help smooth supply of the gas in the market.
He said that the consumers using the STC gas would have gas cylinders weighing actual quantity and completely free from any risk.
"They will be auto-filled cylinders," Joshi said.
Talking to The Rising Nepal, Joshi informed that the industry would supply around 12,000 cylinders from Sunday in the initial phase. He said that the industries would supply gas in Kathmandu Valley and Dhading district first.
"Later, we will supply the gas in other parts of the country," he said.
According to him, price of a gas-filled cylinder would cost Rs. 3,725.
STC planned to increase the number of cylinders to 80,000 in the future.
The STC has recruited 82 dealers for the distribution of gas in the Kathmandu valley in the first phase.
"There will be about 300 dealers in the valley after we start supplying gas in a full-fledged manner," he said.
Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) had been supplying around 108 metric tons of gas a month to the STC which was not sufficient; he said adding that NOC committed to increase the quota as per the increasing demand of gas in the days to come.
Joshi said that they asked the NOC to increase its quota to 324 tons monthly for smooth supply of its gas.
He assured that the STC branded gas had followed safety norms as per the NOC’s instruction.
He informed that Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology (NBSM) provided the standard certificate to the company after checking standard of gas cylinder and monitoring the company.
Joshi said that the STC gas would help control the monopoly of private gas companies which used to resort to strike and other means to create artificial shortage of gas and increase the price.
The company has set up its factory in Dhading district.
The new gas company would be formally inaugurated on Friday.
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FURTHER DETAILS OF PM NEPAL, ERIC SOLHEIM TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: It’s like regaling someone with tales of woe, The Himalayan Times writes.

When Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Development Eric Solheim today spoke to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal over phone, Nepal told him ‘the peace process won’t be completed even in 40 years if things keep on moving ahead the way they are now’.

Solheim rang PM Nepal up this afternoon to exchange New Year greetings and take stock of Nepal’s peace process. Solheim reportedly asked the prime minister why the peace process was stalled even as the parties had struck a deal to conclude the peace process before the departure of United Nations Mission in Nepal. The UN body is all set to leave Nepal on January 15.

“Going by the attitude of the UCPN-Maoist, it seems we won’t be able complete the peace process even in the next 40 years,” PM Nepal’s press adviser Bishnu Rijal quoted him as telling the Norwegian minister. Nepal reportedly shifted all the blame for stalled peace process on the Maoists.

“The UCPN-M has breached all the accords we had reached in the past. The government is fully committed to concluding the peace process at the earliest but the Maoists are not supportive enough,” PM Nepal told Solheim.

During the half-hour conversation, PM Nepal also told the Norwegian minister that the UCPN-M must transform into a civilian party to bail the country out of political stalemate and commit to concluding the peace and constitution-drafting processes.

With Nepal’s response, a bemused Solheim reportedly again asked him when and how the peace process would be completed. Solheim, nonetheless, reiterated that Norway will keep on providing continued support to Nepal to conclude the peace process and accomplish the task of constitution drafting.
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POLITICIANS MISUSE DEVELOPMENT FUNDS
POST REPORT-
Kathmandu, 31 Dec.:Taking advantage of absence of elected people’s representatives in local bodies, political parties have been accused of misusing development budget in various districts of the Mid-Western Region, The Kathmandu Post reports from Nepalgunj. .

Local parties forming consumer committees under their representation are gobbling up development budget, said a government officer requesting anonymity. “The UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML are on the top list of bringing development projects in their favour.”

The three parties selling three plots belonging to Bhalung Municipality Development Committee at Rs. 1.5 million and distributing among them last year is a case in point. However, they returned the money later after widespread pressure from locals.

“The local parties form committees and gobble up development budget be it small or big project,” said Mahesh Rijal, former chairman of Lalmatiya, an NGO.

Another source said members of all-party consumer committees formed by the three parties divided Rs. 3.2 million out of Rs. 7.4 millions allocated by District Development Committee, Banke, to gravel 12-kilometre Hapure-Ratamata road.

The committees were chaired by Om Bahadur Khadka of Congress, Ganga Ram Raskoti of the Maoists and Tek Bahadur Oli of UML.

“They divided money among each other ranging from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 50,000,” said a committee member preferring anonymity.

It is said that parties have also taken ahold of Chaurajahari drinking project worth around Rs. 20 million and Rs. 10 million Uba-Thabang road project in Rolpa district.

Likewise, the parties have been accusing of dividing construction of 30 buildings, 75 toilets and repair of 34 schools worth Rs. 50.1 million among them in Achham district.

Jaigad-Nandegada, Jaigagad-Majhathana and Malgansen-Baligaun roads have been constructed at Rs. 10 million under the initiation of parties. However, two of them have already been damaged.

In Baitadi, leaders have been charged of distributing even water pipes among them and selling them in market.

“There is a huge misappropriation of development budget by parties,” said a CPN-ML local leader.
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GOVT. PARTIALLY PRIVATIZING NT

Kathmandu, 31 Dec.: The government is mulling divesting 26-30 percent of its stake in Nepal Telecom to a strategic partner. The Privatisation Committee of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is now working to get political consensus to make NT’s divestment process smooth, transparent and non-controversial, Mukul Humagain writes in The Kathmandu Post.

Lawmaker Hari Rokka, who heads the Privatisation Study and Consultation Sub-Committee of the Privatisation Committee, said the committee was planning to convene a meeting with political parties in this regard in the next seven to 10 days.

“Divestment of shares of large public enterprises (PE) like NT is a sensitive issue,” said Rokka. “Hence, it requires broad political consensus.” NT’s divestment issue will be discussed at the parliamentary Economic and Labour Relation Committee, added Rokka.

The process of privatisation of the state-owned telecom giant has intensified from last May with the formation of the sub-committee headed by Rokka. Since then, three separate studies have been carried out regarding the divestment of NT -- one by the Ministry of Information and Communications and the other two by the Ministry of Finance. “A technical committee headed by Suresh Pradhan, formed to outline the condition of contracts and bid documents has recently presented its initial report,” said Tanka Mani Sharma, joint secretary at the MoF.

According to Sharma, once there is political consensus over the NT divestment, the MoF will seek assistance from international divestment experts to finalise the bid documents and condition of contracts. “The idea is to make the whole process transparent and have a single strategic partner,” said Sharma.

With increasing competition in the telecom sector, there has been growing demand of late to find strategic partners of NT. Lawmaker Rokka said that divestment of NT makes better sense given the aggressive expansion of private telecom operators. With private operator Ncell expanding its operations aggressively, there is growing concern whether NT, till now the best performing PE, would go the way of Nepal Airlines Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation.

NT itself, which has been contributing Rs 10 billion to the national coffers annually, is keen to have a strategic partner. As a state-owned telecom utility, it has to adhere to government rules and regulations when implementing new projects. This, according to top NT officials, makes the whole process lengthy and cumbersome in comparison to private telecom companies.

Interestingly, the report of the Commission to Review Government Budget Management and Expenditure System, headed by Maoist lawmaker Narayan Dahal, has, however, suggested that NT should be given more autonomy so as to make it more competitive instead of divesting its shares. “Shares of Nepal Telecom should be floated among the people,” it said.

If NT’s divestment is done as proposed, the government’s stake would be reduced to 62 percent from the existing 92 percent. The remaining 8 percent has already been divested to the general public.

The government has been able to speed up divestment of a few PEs, namely Small Farmers Development Bank and Agricultural Development Bank Limited (ADBL). While Small Farmers Development Bank’s shares have already been sold to small farmers cooperatives, the cabinet has already given approval to bring a strategic partner in ADBL. “ADBL’s 30 percent stake will be sold to strategic partners,” said Sharma.

The Asian Development Bank has provided financial support to hire international consultants to prepare tender documents to call for bids from potential strategic partners.

The government will fix the criteria for private partners as per the consultant’s report.
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MAOISTS DENY BIBEK SHAH CLAIM THEy WERE TRAINED BY INDIA

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: After India, Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel denied Thursday Maoists were trained by India at a facility constructed by USA in outskirt of Dehra Dun in India.
He denied the claim saying Maoists launched a tunnel war against India during the 10-year people’s war which was also launched from Indian safe havens across the open border.
Gajurel challenged the allegation be proved saying the claim was a ‘planned conspiracy’.
The senior Maoist official said,: ”Not all claims are false”.
Bibek Shah, sacked military secretary to two kings, made the allegation in a book released Wednesday,
Shah said India even pressed for his dismissal as palace official after New Delhi came to know he was aware of India training Nepali Maoists.
Shah claimed India trained Maoists and personnel separately in Dehra Dun’s outskirts.
He said India also trained Tibetan Khampas, Bangladeshis against Pakistan Army and Sri Lankan Tamils against the government.
Former Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, considered close to India and Chairman of Rashtriya Janaskakti Party, dismissed the contents of thebook generally as a story of ‘Akbar and Birbal’/
He said this while talking with representatives of Reporters’ Club at his residence Wednesday.
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MAOIST FIGHTERS WON’T COME UNDER SPECICAL COMMITTEE EVEN IN 40 YEARS

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Former Maoist fighters under watch of UNMIN, a
political wing of UN, won’t come under government’s special
committee headed by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal even in another 40 years, Nepal told Norway’s controversial environment minister Eric Solheim Thursday in a telephone conversation.
This was revealed by an aide and a television report.
Solheim is unwanted in Sri Lanka for siding with Tamil rebels; he attemped a peace deal between Maoists and the present government by ousting monarchy.
Nepal make the frank comment even as he attempted to bring former Maoists under government command and control this week as UMNMIN prepares to quit Nepal 15 January 2011 after a failed attempt to broker a peace.
Nepal had spoken proudly of his secret attempts with foreign help and coordination to bring Maoists into the political mainstream.
The prime minister was a frequent visitor to Norway and his party has close links with the Norwegian government.
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FIVE BURIED ALIVE BY SAND MINE

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Five persons, including two woman and a girl child, were buried alive by a sand mine in Baglung Thursday morning.
Those killed were three persons of a sarki community and two KCs.
Three inured of the sarki community were rescued alive.
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CASINO GENERAL MANAGER ARRESTED

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Manoj Pradesh Paudel; general manager Tara Casino at Hyatt Hotel was arrested from a hospital in the capital Thursday.
He’ll be presented before police Friday.
Police said he was on a ‘most wanted list’ for tax evasion and allowing Nepalis illegally into casinos.
“He was challenging the state by illegally permitting Nepalis into
casinos” a top police officer in the capital said.
Paudek said he was arrested without a warrant.
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INFLATION FALLS TO 8.1 PERCENT

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Inflation in the first four months of the current fiscal year 2010/11 ending mid-November fell 8.1 percent compared to the same period the previous year when price rise shot up 9.1 percent, Nepal Rashtra Bank said.
But food and beverage price indexes jumped 13.3 percent in the review period.
Current account deficit was Rs. 1.92 billion compared to Rs 14.78 billion the same period the previous year.
Remittances increased 13.6 percent to Rs. 76.88 billion in the review period.
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BHAI SHAB DEAD

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Prof. Dr. Shamba Bhakta Pant [Bhai Sahib] died 13 days ago, his family announced Thursday.
He was 84.
He was Campus Chief of Padma Kanya Multipurpose Campus, Bagh Bazzar.
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MAOIST LAWMAKER ARRESTED, RELEASED

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Former Maoist minister and lawmaker K. Bishwakarma was arrested Thursday from Chabahil and released one hour later conditionally.
He was arrested for riding a stolen vehicle.
Then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and his home minister
Krishna Prasad Shitaula legalized import on stolen vehicles from
India and Maoist possession of weapons.
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MOTORCYCLE RALLY FOR TOURISM

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Hundreds of motorcyclists roared off from Thankot Thursday on a clear and chilly morning and headed for Nagarkot through the capital’s city center to highlight Nepal Tourism Tear 2001 being launched officially at Dashrath Rangashala 14 January 2011.
Nepal is trying to attract one million tourists in the festival year.
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MAOIST CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETS 4 JANUARY

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Maoist central committee meets 4 January.
A rescheduled meet of the standing committee will be held Saturday.

MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Don’t’ say won’t accept Maoists and will not vote for NC either. UML should be directly supporting the NC now; but it’s putting obstacles.”

(NC President Sushsil Koirala, Nagarik, 30 Dec.)

‘The country is on the precipice of an explosion because of the interests of the three main political parties. Its form cannot be predicted.”

(Surya Bahadur Thapa, Annapurna Post, 30 Dec.)
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MAOISTS WILL STOP REGISTRATIONOF NEW BOARDING SCHOOLS

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: A teachers’ wing UCPN (Maoist) will prevent the registration of new boarding schools, Nagarik reports.
A meeting of the wing’s central committee on 25, 26 December decided the standard of public schools should be raised.
Chairman Gunaraj Lohini said registration of new boarding schools will be obstructed by pressurizing education ministry, education department, district education offices and higher secondary education council.
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RENT OF CA BUILDING RS 60.8 MILLION

Kathmandu, Dec.,: The rent of the constituent assembly (CA) building at Naya Baneshwor is Rs 60.81 million, Annapurna Post reports.
An agreement was signed Wednesday secretary for parliament Thakur Prasad Baral and Chief of International Convention center Chief Dr. Ganga Prasad Akela.
The agreement will be valid until the constitution in promulgated.
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IDs MUST FOR NEPALI FISHERMEN IN INDIA
-
Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: The Maharashtra government’s move to introduce compulsory biometric Identity Cards (IDs) to all fishermen and transponders along the state’s coastal area could spell trouble for more than 4,000 Nepali fishermen working there on fishing vessels, The Kathmandu Post reports. .

The Indian government has decided to adopt electronic ID cards citing security reasons following the Mumbai attack on Nov. 26, 2008. Biometric identity cards for more than 400,000 fishermen along the Indian coast and transponders on all Indian fishing vessels are a must.

“Among 400,000 fishermen, more than 4,000 Nepalis are working in Maharashtra alone. Other Indian states with coastlines have been told to follow suit,” said an Indian embassy source.

“Indian agencies are clueless about the modalities of the ID cards to be given to Nepali fishermen,” sources said. “If they fail to prove their Nepali origin and home address, they will lose their jobs.”

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has asked its brother agency—Ministry of External Affairs—to fix the modalities and take up the issue with the Government of Nepal how to settle the document verification system of Nepali nationals.

As part of first-think, the hiring company could be assigned to seek all related documents of the Nepali employee for documentation and registration. After the employer compiles the information, the Government of India will seek help from Nepali authorities to establish the fishermen’s home address in Nepal. “We will provide the details to Nepal Government and it will give us the crosscheck on the verification,” the official said
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MAOIST INTRA-PARTY DIFFERENCES

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: The Maoist Standing Committee meeting was supposed to work out the party´s action plan for the peace process and settle the reshuffling of responsibilities among party leaders, but it did neither, Post Bahadur Basnet writes in Republica..

The meeting that began Sunday ended abruptly Wednesday after holding a debate on whether the party should take action against Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai for his recent interview to a vernacular daily.

In the interview, Bhattarai had stated that it is still possible to conclude the peace process and constitution drafting and the party should genuinely push for these, adding that Puspa Kamal Dahal and Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya no longer had faith in the current political process and wanted to break it off completely.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has argued that the party´s tactical line of “people´s revolt” is likely to fail as Bhattarai spilled the beans in the media, and that the party must take disciplinary action against him.

Party insiders say Chairman Dahal ended the meeting and called a Central Committee (CC) meeting when his bid to take action Bhattarai failed as some influential party hardliners including Netra Bikram Chand had thrown their weight behind Bhattarai.

“After the alliance between Baidya and Dahal was forged, the chairman hoped he would get our support to take action against Bhattarai. But we were never for that,” says a leader close to the Baidya faction.

On December 18, the party Central Committee (CC) had referred the contentious organizational and tactical issues to the Standing Committee, but Dahal again called the CC meeting without having deliberated those issues.

“His design is to take action against Bhattarai after garnering enough support from party leaders, but we will foil his design,” says a senior Maoist leader close to Bhattarai.

Relations between Bhattarai and Dahal soured after the Khanna garment episode in which Dahal told cadres during a closed-door meeting that Bhattarai was the person chosen by India for the post of prime minister.

And after Bhattarai presented a separate political document at the CC held prior to the recent Palungtar plenum and at the plenum itself, relations between the two became further strained. On December 18, Dahal got his document endorsed with the backing of Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya, and this meant further isolation for Bhattarai. With the chairman seeking disciplinary action against Bhattarai, the acrimonious relations between the two leaders seem to have reached a tipping point.

How is one to explain these growing differences between the two leaders? It seems Dahal feels his leadership has been challenged by Bhattarai, but he is more comfortable with Baidya, who is more interested in Marxist philosophy than party leadership. And after adopting Baidya´s line of “people´s revolt”, Dahal now seems more confused than ever. If he doesn´t launch a people´s revolt he will be questioned by Baidya, and if he does launch one, the revolt is not likely to succeed, which will lead to the popularity of Bhattarai´s line among the party rank and file.

The Bhattarai camp is busy forging its strategy to counter Dahal. “What we want is to defeat the chairman politically and we will then naturally have a hold on the organization,” says a leader close to Bhattarai.

According to party leaders, Dahal´s strategy is to not let Bhattarai hold any debate on ideological issues, and Bhattarai vehemently opposes that. The chairman doesn´t want to project himself as a hardliner, which will seriously undermine his prospects of becoming prime minister. And public debate on party lines launched by the Bhattarai camp will do just that.

The last CC had decided that Bhattarai would be allowed to launch such debates only through a magazine called Bichardhara, but Bhattarai has argued that he would obey the decision only after the party launches the publication. Now Dahal wants clarifications from Bhattarai for his interview and to “bring him down to his real size”.

"The chairman wants to stifle our voice, but we will not let that happen,” says a leader close to Bhattarai. With the support of influential hardliners including Chand, CP Gajurel and Khadga Bahadur Viswokarma, among others, Bhattarai seems confident that Dahal will not be able to take action against him. “If he does take action, it will only backfire,” says the leader without elaborating. Whether or not Dahal succeeds in taking action against Bhattarai, he is likely to give it a try at the upcoming CC meeting.

Instead of charting out an immediate policy on the post-UNMIN peace process, constitution drafting and integration and rehabilitation of combatants, the Maoist party has been referring these issues back and forth -- from the Central Committee (CC) to the plenum, from the plenum to back to the CC, from CC to Standing Committee, and from Standing Committee to CC again. This means the party has reached a stage of indecisiveness due to intra-party differences and clash of personalities.
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BRYANS ADAMS PERFORMING IN DASHRATH STADIUM

Kathmandu, 30 Jan. Its official. Bryan Adams is coming to town, Republica reports.
Sunil Hamal of JPR Events confirmed that Adams’ gig is scheduled for February 19, 2011 at the Dashrath Stadium
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GURUNGS CELEBRATE NEW YEAR

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Gurungs celebrated Tamur Loshar or their new year Thursday.
Government announced a public holiday.
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PM DIRECTS BELEAGURED NEPALI PEACEKEEPERS IN SUDAAB BE SUPPLIED

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Sunday
directed logistic support be sent immediately to beleaguered Nepal Police peacekeepers with the UN in Darfur, Sudan.
The premier issued the directive in discussions with members of the public accounts committee of parliament, concerned and police officers.
Nepal directed money be released for purchase of logistics, including armed personnel carriers, by the home ministry and Nepal Police Welfare Trust.
The public accounts committee had earlier directed CIAA and government to initiate action against persons misappropriating more than Rs.300 million while supplying Nepali peacekeepers in Sudan.
Rebel Chaudhary, Bangladeshi son-in-law of Deputy Prime Minister lSujata Koirala, has bee dragged into the controversy.
The PM’s intervention comes at a time when reports said UN may be sending back the peacekeepers.
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FOUR INJURED IN NEPALGUNJ BLAST

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Four persons were injured Wednesday in a blast in front of hardware shop in Nepalgunj.
The shop owner and three customers were injured in the bomb blast.
Two injured have been rushed to the capital for treatment.
Violence continues in the terai unabated.
Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha claimed responsibility.
Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of MJFL Bijaya Kumar
Gachedhar Wednesday urged in Rajbiraj violence in terai should stop immediately.
He was speaking at a funeral service of a retired government official and brother of a top MJFL party official.
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MAOSIT STANDING COMMITTEE MEETS SATURDAY

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: A rescheduled Maoist standing committee meets Saturday, standing committee member Top Bahadur Rayamajhi said.
The meeting was scheduled Wednesday.
It was rescheduled for homework for Saturday’s meet.
The main opposition has been discussing preparations for anti-government protests, distribution of organizational responsibilities, preparations for a political training camp that was scheduled to begin Friday and other issues.
Deep differences have surfaced inside the party after the just concluded inconclusive Gorkha plenum.
A central committee empowered to settle differences didn’t succeed in
resolving differences.
Chairman Prachanda is pushing a renewed people’s war while Vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai is advocating completion of the peace process and constitution drafting.
Prachanda has also demanded disciplinary action against Bhattarai for spilling out beans in public on intra-party differences.
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UML GENERAL SECRETAY ISHWAR POKHREL JAPAN BOUND

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokhrel left for a week-long visit of Japan Wednesday.
He will interact with political party leaders, government officials and the Nepali community there, the party said.
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INDIA DENIES TRAINING MAOISTS

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Indian foreign ministry Bishnu Prakash Wednesday denied a claim India trained Maoists at a facility in Dehra Dun.
‘The reports are baseless and unfounded. We have seen some media reports regarding training Maoists in India’” he said according to reports from New Delhi.
The denial came as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao prepares to visit Nepal after UNMIN quits from Nepal 15 January 2011 after a failed three-year mission.
Retired ADC and Military Secretary Bibek Shah made the claim in a book released Wednesday on the 67th birthday of King Birendra.
Shah says India pressurized Narayanhiti Royal Place to sack him
after New Delhi came to know the secretary had detailed knowledge on India training Maoists.
Shah recounts in detail in the 599 page book events in the royal place, including the Narayanhiti Palace Royal Massacre in which the entire
family of Birendra was assassinated by son Crown Prince Dipendra
who pulled the trigger on himself.
The book will be a bestseller.
The military aide of both Kings Birendra and Gyanendra claimed India trained Nepal’s Maoists, as it did Tibetan Khampas fighting for an independent Tibet, Sri Lankan Tamils and rebels who fought Pakistan Army to launch Bangladesh.
The denial comes even as Chairman Prachanda said he spent eight of the 10-year insurgency not in the jungles of Nepal but in India.
India’s nurturing of Nepal’s Maoists in across the border in India is well-documented.
Nepali political party leaders have said on record they couldn’t have met exiled Maoists, including Chairman, in Noida, New Delhi’s outskirts, without Indian approval.
Home Minister Kamal Thapa of the ousted royal regime even
charged Maoist insurgents were being armed with arms
manufactured from Indian government ordinance factories.
Shah’s revelations have come at a time when the peace process and constitution drafting have hit roadblocks and New Delhi’s
previously warm relations with Maoists have now soured.
The military aide sacked by King Gyanendra said India trained
Maoists and Nepal’s Armed Police Force personnel separately at athe same training facility USA helped India construct.
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SECRETARY SHANKER KOIRALA TRANSFERRED

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: After a protracted struggle with Energy Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, Energy Secretary Shanker Koirala was
transferred Sunday to the Nepal Trust by the cabinet.
Nepal Trust oversees the seized assets of King Birendra and his
family.
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ADDITIONAL EXPULSION IN MJFL

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Vice-chairman Keshab Jha of MJFL was expelled from ordinary membership of the ruling party Wednesday, an announcement said.
He was expelled for working against party interest, according to the party.
The move follows the dismissal of a minister of state who launched a splinter group.
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SAARC TO HAVE FIRST WOMAN SG

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Maldives’ former attorney general Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed is likely to be appointed general secretary of SAARC from 1
March after the three-year term of incumbent Sheel Kant Sharma
Expires Feb.28, 2011, Republica reports.
She will be the first woman chief of the regional grouping in its 26 years existence.
She is former parliamentarian and attorney general in her 30s, will alsobe the youngest chief of the regional block.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

BOP DEFICIT NARROWS

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Balance of payment (BoP) deficit drastically fell to
Rs. 5.03 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year
2010/11 compared to the same period the previous year when the deficit was Rs. 15.78 billion, Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) said.
Merchandise exports increased 8.3 percent to Rs. 21.64 billion
in the review period, according to a current microeconomic report released by the central bank.
Exports increased from Rs. 19.97 billion during the same period the previous year.
Exports to India increased in the review period 10.7 percent after falling 18.9 percent in the previous year quarter while export to other
Countries jumped to 4.6 percent after declining 28.5 percent in the
quarter the previous year.
Overseas exports rose with increased demands for woolen carpets, readymade garments tanned hides, leather goods and other products.
Merchandise imports increased 2 percent to Rs. 121.35 billion.
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NEPSE INDEX DECLINES MARGINALLY

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: Nepse index fell marginally 0.12 points
Wednesday on the last day of weekly trading and closed at 404.06 points.
There’ll be no trading Thursday because of a public holiday.
The index slipped 3.54 points Tuesday.
Altogether 55, 025 shares were traded in 2,118 transactions for
Rs.30.9 million.
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INDIA RESTRICTS GARLIC EXPORTS FROM NEPAL

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: India has restricted the exports of garlic from Nepal, Nagarik reports.
‘Indian customs officials have restricted exports for seven days
saying Chinese garlic was being exported,” exporter Tej Prasad
Kandel of Hariom Enterprises said.
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PREDENTIAL HIV/AIDS RELIEF FUND

Kathmandu, Dec 29 - The government is all set to introduce the concept of Presidential Funds with a view to addressing the plight of innocent children, single women and women living with HIV/AIDS, Gita Sapkota writes in The Rising Nepal.
The concept is expected to alleviate the woes of the children and women who mostly receive HIV/AIDS transmission with no fault of theirs.
Umakanta Chaudhari, Minister for Health and Population, developed the idea of creating such a fund.
In the initial stage, it will be an emergency relief fund for HIV infected children, the Health Ministry sources said.
Several donor agencies as well as the private sector have shown willingness to support the HIV/AIDS sector. Various funds have already been mobilized in the sector but several programmes lack sustainability.
The target groups, especially, children and single women, could not benefit as desired. The presidential fund will pool all support for the sustainability of the social security programme, Dr. Shyam Sundar Mishra, vice chairman of HIV/AIDS and STI Control Board said.
Presently, different donor agencies, private sectors, NGOs and INGOs are working for HIV infected and affected people. However, they work with a certain target and duration. After the end of their

support, HIV infected people become powerless. The presidential fund (PF) will address all these challenges, Dr. Mishra added.
The concept of presidential fund for HIV infected people has been implemented in the US now, Dr. Mishra added.
After developing modalities of the PF, an interaction will be held with President Ram Baran Yadav, Dr. K.K Rai, chairman of National Centre of AIDS and STD Control, said. The proposal should be passed by the cabinet, he added.
At first, the government will set aside certain money for the fund. Businesses and interested people and organizations will be included in the fund later, Dr. Rai said.
Some four months ago, the Supreme Court had ordered the government to present a formal response about the current status of HIV infected children, single and other women.
Similarly, the National Planning Commission has also formed a task force to recommend to the government what type of programme is needed to address the HIV infected children and women.
Amidst these steps on social security, the Ministry of Health and Population has come up with PF, Rajeev Kafle, chairman of National Association for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nepal said.
HIV-infected children are among the most victimized. Although, they are innocent about the transmission of disease and they are victimized, Kafle said, adding the government should be protecting them.
Kafle has been working for infected kids for a long time.
The NAPN last year proposed 3,000 rupees allowances for infected kids, single women and other women. The government rejected the proposal saying that it would create a high burden.
The 10th round Global Fund has approved 1,500 rupees as allowance for every child. The government should add 1,500 rupees more, he said.
According to a UNICEF estimate, around 21,000 children are HIV affected. Of them, 1,100 have tested positive.

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NEW ARRANGEMENT FOR PRIVATE ZOOS

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: - Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Dipak Bohara has said that the government was working to introduce a new law to systematize the practice of running a zoo individually, RSS reports.
Speaking at the 15th anniversary programme of National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) here on Wednesday, Minister Bohara stressed on the need for a legal provision to stop poaching of animals as the demand for animals could rise if individuals were to tame the animals.
He said construction of the zoo in 300 hectars of land at Suryabinayak of Bhaktapur district was underway to ease congestion at the Central Zoo. The NTNC should take responsibility of that too and manage it, he added.
Minister Bohara also said that the government was thinking to amend the Community Forest Act, not for curtailing the rights of the consumers rather to systematize it.
Director General of the Department of National Park and Wildlife Reserve, Krishna Prasad Acharya said the zoo administration should expedite the awareness raising programme on wildlife conservation.
On the occasion, winners of the short story competition on bio-diversity and school-level drawing competition were honoured with prizes. Likewise, different organizations providing financial assistance to the zoo were also honored.

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SOME PROGRESS IN CONSTITUTION DRAFTING

Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: - A meeting of the 27 parties represented in the Constituent Assembly (CA) Wednesday endorsed the progress made by the High Level Taskforce regarding the report of the CA thematic committees on Determination of the form of the Government and Determination of the form of the Legislative Organs, The Rising Nepal reports.
The 27-party meeting held under the chair of the CA chairperson Subash Nembang approved the decision of the Taskforce to make the independent and accountable judiciary and appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court by an independent body.
Jay Prakash Gupta, a leader of Madheshi Janaadhikar Forum, said that approval was a part of the process to endorse all the 127 points that the Taskforce had agreed.
He said that the process to endorse the decisions made by the Taskforce will go hand in hand with the efforts to narrow down differences on the remaining contended issues related to the new constitution.
"Today’s meeting upheld the decision on the forms of the government and legislative bodies made by the Taskforce without any changes," UCPN-Maoist vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said after the meeting.
CA member Sarita Giri said that there was still a question related to judiciary. "We have yet to decide regarding to whom the judiciary will be responsible, to the parliament or any others."
Another CA member Pari Thapa said that he decisions made by the Taskforce were not as unanimous as claimed. "There are certain issues which need to be agreed upon again."
The 27-party mechanism to approve the already decided points and resolve other remaining 83 contentious issues related to new constitution was formed the other day following the expiry of the tenure of the Taskforce a couple of weeks back.
The next meeting of the mechanism is schedule for January 2.
Meanwhile, Speaker Subash Chandra Nembang Wednesday said that the

mechanism of the 27 political parties in the Constituent Assembly started the process to settle the contentious issues pertaining to the constitution drafting process.
Speaker Nembang made this remark while releasing a book ‘Constitution: The Document of Rights’ published by INHURED International here.
He expressed hope that the political mechanism would resolve the remaining 83 issues and send the documents to Constitutional Committee with suggestions.
"Now the constitution drafting process will move ahead continuously and the mechanism will settle the differences," he said.
Saying that the constitution drafting process through the CA was comparatively expensive, he said that there was no alternative to CA to drafting the new constitution.
The 122-page book contains the chronological development of human rights, international practice, criteria, fundamental rights, directive principles of state and some other topics.
On the occasion, CA members said that the new constitution would end discrimination and ensure human rights.
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ACTION IN ARMY FOR ATTEMPTED LOBBYING
Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: The Nepali Army Headquarters today asked Brig Gen Kiran Bajracharya to furnish a written explanation for ‘lobbying against his senior Maj Gen Naresh Basnet’, Lekhnath Pandey writes in the Himalayan Times.

Brig Gen Bajracharya has been charged with trying to influence high government officials and politicians, including the prime minister, ministers and leaders the UCPN-Maoist.

NA in its history has for the first time initiated such a disciplinary action against any general. NA in the past though had court-martialled a few officers, including one brigadier general, the national army never had come across a case in which one of its officials was involved in ‘political lobbying’.

Maj Gen Basnet, a two-star general, has been entrusted with the task of handling NA’s Directorate General of Development and Construction Wing while Brig Gen Bajracharya, a one-star general, who holds a degree in engineering, is one of the directors of the wing.

A military source confirmed that the NA Headquarters sought a ‘quick explanation’ from Bajracharya on the grounds of ‘violation of military discipline’ after it found him lobbying the politicians of major parties and high-profile officials, including Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Defence Minister Bidhya Devi Bhandari, for stalling the term extension of Maj Gen Basnet.

“The Nepali Army asked him (Brig Gen Bajracharya) to furnish a quick explanation,” the source told The Himalayan Times on condition of anonymity. Brig Gen Bajracharya has been asked to furnish explanation within 24 hours. “If he had any grievances against Maj Gen Basnet, he should have consulted senior officials, not someone out of the army,” he added.

If found guilty, Brig Gen Bajracharya could face a court martial.

It may be mentioned that Sunday’s Cabinet meeting had decided to extend Maj Gen Basnet’s term.
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GRAVES BEING DUG UP IN
PASHUPATI
Kathmandu, 30 Dec.: In a bid to clean up and conserve the Hindu religious site in the vicinity of Pashupatinath, the Pashupati Area Development Trust has decided to remove remains and tombstones of non-Hindus from the Pashupati and surrounding areas, Bishnu Prasad Aryal reports in The Himalayan Times.

“Hundreds of bodies have been buried in the Shleshmantak forest area, and concrete structures are causing deforestation in the area. In addition, bodies of non-Hindus are not allowed to be interred in and around the holy site,” said PADT member secretary Sushil Nahata.

There are around 200 Christian graves in the Sleshmantak forest area.

Non-Hindus started burying bodies in the Pashupatinath forest area after 2006 — the year the country was declared a secular state. However, besides Christians, non-Hindu groups like Kiratis too claim the Pashupati area as their heritage site, and they too started burying the dead in the area about a decade ago. PADT earlier demolished about 67 gravestones.

The government in association with the Department of Archaeology had reached an agreement with Rai-Kiratis about a decade ago in relation to performing final rites of the dead in the area. According to PADT Norms- 2050, non-Hindu activities are restricted in the Pashupati area.

Hindus from Giri, Puri and Dashanami societies and children of Hindus only can be buried in the area. However, there is a restriction on constructing structures on the burial site of any sort. KB Rokaya, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Nepal, said the community didn’t have any other option but to bury the dead in the area as the government failed to allocate land for them for burial. “The government should provide land for the Christians here,” said Rokaya.

However, Nahata informed that today’s [Wednesday’s] meeting of the PADT Council has decided to form a three-member committee to look into the issue.

The committee headed by Nahata includes Kathmandu Chief District Officer and chief of DoA. “The Committee after studying the situation will find a solution,” said PADT Director Bhola Prasad Sitaula.

Culture Minister Minendra Rijal, who is also the Chairman of PADT, said the government will take up the issue seriously considering the gravity of the situation. Concern raised by non-Hindus, especially the Christians, will be discussed to do the needful to address the problem.
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27 PARTIES BEGIN FINAL WORK ON DRAFTING A CONSTITUTION

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Chief whips of 27 political parties begin a challenging task Wednesday of narrowing differences on contentious issues on 11 subjects for inclusion in a delayed constitution that has to be proclaimed in less than five months 28 May 2011 to institutionalize a declared republic. The task was handed over the parties by an empowered task force coordinated by Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
The body said it agreed on nearly 100 of 230 contentious issues but deep differences persist on major issues like state structure.
The 601-member constituent assembly (CA) couldn’t promulgate a constitution in the two-year deadline.
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ONE KILLED, 11 INJURED

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: One person died and 11 were injured in a bus accident on the Butwal Tansen sector of Siddhartha highway overnight.
A 40-year-old terai woman died.
The bus was heading for Palpa from Pokhara.
Five of the 11 injured are serious.
Injured are being treated at two hospitals in the area.
Fatal vehicular accidents are routine.
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MAOIST STANDING COMMITTEE MEET CONTINUES WEDNESDAY

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Maoist standing committee meeting is continuing for the second consecutive day Wednesday to discuss schedule for anti-government opposition, organizational matters and preparations for a political training camp.
The camp is scheduled to start Friday.
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BROTHER OF TOP MJFL LEADER SHOT DEAD

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Hari Narayan Dev, brother of a top ruling party
MJFL leader and retired government engineer, was shot dead
overnight at his house in Boriya VDC3, Saptari.
Saptari is emerging as one of the most lawless terai districts.
His body has been kept at a Rajbiraj hospital for postmortem.
The party of Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar began
meeting in emergency session Wednesday morning.
Gachedhar was in the district Tuesday; he was greeted with black flags by supporters of sacked Minister of State for Physical Planning Sanjay Kumar Sah who launched a splinter group after splitting from the party.
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RPP-NEPAL DEMANDS RESTORATION OF PUBLIC HOLIDAY IN MEMORY OF PRITHVINARAYAAN SHAH

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: RPP-Chairman Kamal Thapa Tuesday handed over written memorandum to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal asking government to declare the birthday of Prithvi Narayan Shah on 11 January a public holiday and a day of national unity.
The founder of the deposed Shah dynasty founded and unified modern Nepal.
Demands have been increasing to restore the public holiday abolished by the current rulers after toppling monarchy.
The memorandum was handed over by Thapa at Singha Durbar.
There was no immediate government response to the demand.
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NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY APPROVED

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: A national climate change policy was approved by the climate change council Tuesday.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
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BOY GAINS FREEDOM IN PARASI

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Gopal Kunwar, 13, who was taken by an unidentified persons from Sunuwal of Nawalparasi some six days ago was released Tuesday, RSS reports from Parasi
According to the area police, an unidentified group on Wednesday abducted him while heading to school in Sunuwal.
The group detained him at a hotel in Nepalgunj but he managed to flee from the hotel ad came into contact with the local police.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Nepse lost 3.54 points Tuesday on the third day of five-day weekly trading and closed at 404.18 points.
Sensitive index that gauges performance of A companies dropped 1 point to close at 99.47 points.
Sub-indices of banking, finance and other groups lost 4.87, 1.27 and 5.88 points respectively closing at 368.45, 341.16 points and 522.85 points respectively.
But sub-indices of development banks, hydropower and insurance groups gained 1.2, 5.5 and 0.71 points to close at 378.34, 688.84 and 477.54 points respectively.
The market slipped after two days of gains Sunday, Monday.
Altogether 92,148 shares were traded for Rs. 22.77 million in 1,517 transactions.
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SPORTS

SQUAD FOR U-19 ANNOUNCED

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: A 23-member preliminary team for the ACC U-19 Elite Cup to be hosted by Bangkok from 1 February has been announced by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).
Subash Khakurel, Amit Shrestha, Sharad Khadka, Shiba Kumar Tandukar, Faizuruf Rahman Khan, Chandan Jha, Naresh Budhayer, Sagar Pun, Mohammad Hasim, Rupesh Sharma, Imauddin Halwai, Rahul Kumar BK, Nischal Pandey, Bivek Chaudhary, Bivek Dali, Rajesh Pulami, Prabhu Baskota, Bhuwan Karki, Avinash Karn, Rahuk Pratap Singh, Krishna Karki, Sameer Nepal and Pradeep Airee have been selected for a closed camp.
Nepal is in Group B along with UAE, Oman, Afghanistan and Thailand.
Hong Kong, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore and Bahrain are in Group A.
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PRACHANDA DEMANDS ACTION AGAINST BABURAM

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Maoist Chairman Pachanda has recommended disciplinary action against Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai for statements against party decision and system, Kiran Pun reports in Nagarik.
The proposal was presented at a standing committee meeting Sunday in Paris Danda.
‘A proposal has come,” a standing committee member said.
Leaders of Baidya and Bhattarai groups have raised objections.
“It’s his mistake to air views publicly. That’s one side. But is she the only one making statements in the media,” standing committee member Netra Bikram Chand said.
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PM NEPAL, PRACHANDA UNITE ON TELECOM ILLEGAL FACILITY FOR PRIVATE OPERATOR

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Although Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal don’t agree on an agenda for resolution of a political problem, they’re united on the interest of private telecom operator, Ram Chandra Bhatta writes in Nagarik.
They’re pressurizing officials of ministry of communications and Nepal Telecom (NT) to give import license to Nepal Satellite Telecom (Hallo Mobile) to bring in international gateway (ILD) equipment.
The company hasn’t met terms of conditions with NT.
It’s illegal to import equipment without meeting conditions.
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ENERGY MINISTRY BILLS NEA FOR CHOPPER RIDE

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Energy Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has billed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for his chopper rides across eight districts in the name of inspecting the Chimele hydropower plant under construction, Naya Patrika reports.
His flight for Darchula landed in Pokhara. He went to Darchula only after visiting Surkhet and Doti as well.
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SAC DIRECTS CIAA TO INVESTIGATE

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: The State Affairs Committee (SAC) of Legislature-Parliament Tuesday directed the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to investigate the alleged irregularities in the purchase of logistics for UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan and bring the guilty to book, The Rising Nepal reports.
The SAC asked the anti-graft watchdog to punish the alleged before May 28, 2011, the extended deadline to issue the new statute.
The committee handed over a report on the irregularities in the mission to the CIAA nine months ago to initiate action on the culprits.
The committee arrived at a conclusion that Rs. 350 million had been embezzled while purchasing Aromoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) for Nepal Police peacekeepers in the UN Mission in Sudan.
A SAC team visited Sudan to find out facts.
The report claimed that other logistics sent to Darfur for the peacekeepers were sub-standard.
In today’s meeting, CIAA secretary Bhagwati Prasad Kafle was summoned to share the findings of the report.
Kafle informed the committee members that the Commission had proceeded with actions against those involved in the scam.
The parliamentary team asked concerned stakeholders to dispatch the necessary logistics as early as possible nine months ago. It said that the Nepal Police personnel deployed in Sudan were facing serious security threat owing to the shortage of the logistics.
It also instructed

to send them soon at any cost and warned them to face action
if they failed to implement the instructions.
Home Minister Bhim Rawal said the logistics could not be delivered as the Finance Ministry did not provide the budget.
But, Pradeep Gyawali, the committee member and coordinator of the sub-committee formed to look into the APC fraud, pointed out the need of sending the needed logistics at the earliest because those dispatched earlier were out of use.

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HOUSE SUMMONED WITH CONSENSUS: PM

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: - Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Tuesday said that the government had called the regular parliamentary session with consensus among the political parties, The Rising Nepal reports.
Talking to the media persons at a reception organised by Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) on the occasion of the party’s third anniversary, he said that the parties had not reached any consensus except for calling the regular house session.
He said that the parties would find consensus to end the political deadlock and added that the government had completed its duties towards forging consensus.
He said, "Without giving the priority to the peace process, the new consensus would not be reached."
Prime Minister Nepal further said that all crises would be resolved by the upcoming regular house session.
Similarly, top leaders of CPN-UML and Nepali Congress Tuesday said that they were ready to reach a political consensus.
NC president Sushil Koirala said that the existing political deadlock would be resolved by political unity and consensus and said that his party was ready to come to the table with flexibility to resolve the existing crisis.
He said that his party was not ready to withdraw its prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel and added that it was the turn of NC to lead the government.
He said, "The peace and constitution drafting processes would not be finalised without consensus."
He said that all parties would give the chance to NC to lead the government and added that without NC-led government the ongoing peace and constitution drafting processes would not be completed.
CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said that if parties reached a consensus for UML to lead the government, his party was ready to lead the government.
He said that without political consensus, national problems would not be resolved. The UML was ready to forge consensus among the parties, he added.
He said that the nation would not move ahead in existing situation and all parties should come forward with seriousness to address the national problems.
He said that if consensus developed, the existing prime minister would be continued.
He claimed that the government would be formed at the regular House session.
Parliamentary Party Leader of NC Ram Chandra Poudel said that his prime ministerial candidacy was in process and hoped that he would get the majority votes in the upcoming regular House session.
He said that he was not ready to withdraw his candidacy without high level political consensus.
Chairman of TMLP Mahanta Thakur stressed that the unity among the political parties was necessary to end the current political crisis and said that the new prime minister would be selected at the upcoming regular House session.
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VERIFICATION BY HOME DISTRICT FOR MRP
Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), which is under pressure to check possible fraud by people acquiring passports, is introducing a new regulation that will require passport seekers to get their passport application forms verified from the district administration offices that issue their citizenship certificates, Kiran Chapagain writes in Republica..

The ministry on Wednesday decided to introduce the regulation from January 15, hoping that citizenship certificates that applicants are required to produce to get their passports will be verified more reliably by the district administrations than by the ministry, said a senior official at MoFA.
At present citizenship certificates are verified by officials at MoFA while accepting the passport applications. But the practice is under question as officials from the prime minister´s office have alleged that thousands of passports might have been issued in the last six months without proper verification of citizenships.

Once the regulation comes into effect, passport seekers will be required to be present in person before the district administration offices where they obtained their citizenship certificates, to get their passport applications authenticated.

The decision to this effect was taken as recommended by a taskforce formed to suggest short-term, mid-term and long-term plans to decentralize MRP distribution and to check any fraud related to passport issuance. The panel headed by MoFA Joint Secretary Bharat Poudel, who is also head of the Central Passport Office, submitted its short-term plan to Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire on Wednesday.

MoFA was under pressure from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) to take some immediate steps to check possible fraud while applying for passports from the ministry.

The new measure followed a move by the ministry

Last week MoFA set up a separate unit of forensic experts from the Nepal Police to verify suspicious citizenship certificates produced by passport applicants.

Meanwhile, as recommended by the taskforce, the ministry is starting to issue MRPs from district administration offices inside Kathmandu Valley.

´The district administration offices in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are starting collection of MRP application forms from Sunday,” MoFA officials told Republica, adding that this is meant only for those who took their citizenship certificates from those district administration offices.
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PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH STATUE RAISES CONTROVERSY

Kathmandu, 29Dec.: Did Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal, really look like as he is portrayed in the statues and paintings these days? Locals of Hanuman Dhoka area claim that his face was different from what his statues and paintings depict. This question apart, the cauldron of a clash between the government and the locals of Hanuman Dhoka is slowly reaching a boil over the issue of shifting the statue. The government wants to take it to Nuwakot, but livid locals say they won’t let it adding they are prepared to do or die, Ankit Adhikari writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

Locals say that the newly found statue of the courageous and level-headed king of Nepal (1723-1775) has his actual face. The statue was recently unveiled at the mul-chowk of Hanuman Dhoka palace. Shah’s face sports a pencil thin moustache but looks different from the one in his other statues. The crown on

his head also seems different than the one in popular paintings and statues of him. The face does look similar in several aspects to those in paintings, but the bone structure is smaller.

Also, unlike the typical stance of standing boldly with raised right hand index finger as if to signify the “importance of unity”—in this statue Shah seems to be folding his hands as if to worship deities or greet someone with a namaste, on his knees. While cleaning a section of palace roof during Dashain festival in Oct-Nov, workers chanced upon the statue made of some “unidentified” metal. Buried beneath layers of wooden materials and staircases, it was littered with dust and scratched all over.

After the discovery, the issue of its placing and maintenance has led to a situation where a fight is brewing between the government and locals of Hanuman Dhoka. The latter are apoplectic with rage at the idea of moving the statue to Nuwakot Durbar built by Shah in Nuwakot district.

The enraged Newars of Hanuman Dhoka have openly challenged the government’s decision of Dec.21, stating that they will not let anyone move the statue from the place where it was found. “We don’t trust the government,” said Rajan Maharjan, Chairman of the Tarini Makkhan Yuva Club and also a successor of Newar authorities involved in the protection and management of Hanuman Dhoka from ancient times. “It can’t do whatever it likes. Hanuman Dhoka does not belong to the government. We will go to any extent if it uses force to take away the statue.”

However, according to Shyam Sundar Rajbanshi, head of the Hanuman Dhoka Herchaha Adda, the government’s intention to move the statue is justified in relation to the plan to establish a Shah museum in the Nuwakot palace. “The statue would get more value if it is kept in a palace which Shah built with love after defeating Nuwakot in his third attempt,” said Rajbanshi. “It doesn’t matter where the statue is kept as long as it is safe.”

“It is no big deal either if the statue is kept right here,” countered Maharjan. “This also is a palace built by Shah. As the statue belongs to our Newa State, we won’t let anyone take our property anywhere.”

The locals’ fury also seems to be deep-seated over the two-year old incident when the government had opened the “confidential” Samaroha Prabandha Phant of Hanuman Dhoka Palace, pledging to keep all valuable findings there itself. “It kept the big and superficial things like old thrones and statues but the small and valuable things like deities’ masks and one-facade rudraksha have vanished,” Maharjan said. “This makes us suspect the government’s motives. What if it sells the original idol and replaces it with a copy?”
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• UNMIN RETURN WILL CREATE PROBLEMS: MAOISTS

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: The UCPN (Maoist) said on Tuesday that the government’s plan not to extend the tenure of UNMIN would create constitutional and legal complications. Meanwhile, confusion reigns among all the parties as to what kind of dispute-settlement mechanism will work in the wake of UNMIN’s departure, Kamaldeb Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

The UCPN(M) said the Interim Constitution and other components of the peace process, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) do not imagine a scenario where the UN arms monitor leaves before its job is completed. The Maoists’ Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday decided to consult other parties on the seriousness of the issue and implications of the decision on the overall peace process. “It would be appropriate to extend the tenure of UNMIN till May 28, or else we will end up inviting another constitutional crisis,” said Maoist Vice Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha said. UNMIN’S tenure is expiring on Jan. 15 but the parties are still divided on its extension and the possible alternative mechanisms to take over the role of UNMIN.

The Maoists argue that as per the Article 147 of the Interim Constitution, the CPA and the Agreement on Monitoring of Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA) both are part of the constitution and that if UNMIN is to be replaced by any other mechanism such as the Special Committee, the constitution should

be amended. Any amendment to the constitution requires the support of

a two-thirds majority in the Parliament.

Article 147 of the interim constitution says, “Other arrangements regarding the management and monitoring of arms and army shall be carried out in accordance with the [CPA], concluded between the government and CPN-Maoist on 5 Mangshir 2063 and [AMMAA] reached on 22 Mangsir 2063.”

However, CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gywali argued that UNMIN’s departure would not create any constitutional complications. “If UNMIN is replaced by the Special Committee, there will not be any legal or constitutional problem,” said Gyawali.

All the parties agree that there is serious confusion over the nature of the mechanism that would settle the disputes related to the peace process

in the post-UNMIN period. Currently, the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC) comprised of members from UNMIN, the government and Nepal Army is functioning as the dispute settlement mechanism. “The issue of the dispute settlement mechanism will become a serious matter after UNMIN leaves,” said UML leader Gyawali.
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GOLD DEALERS COMPLAIN

Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: Gold dealers are not happy with the new central bank provisions regarding import and sale of gold. The ban on gold import was formally lifted on Monday after Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) issued guidelines for import and sale of gold. Nevertheless, with NRB guidelines in place, the country can expect fresh supply of bullion, The Himalayan Times reports.

The central bank has authorised commercial banks as the sole importer of gold. The commercial banks can import gold on the recommendation of Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA). However, the cumulative import of gold by the commercial banks should not exceed 15 kg a day.

“The daily quota of 15 kg is not sufficient to meet the daily demand that is around 35 kg. This will definitely lead to illegal trafficking of gold from India,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, president of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association (Negosida).

However, NRB opened up silver import without any restriction as per the traders’ suggestion. Gold dealers said the guidelines will work against smalltime traders.

Buying gold from commercial banks will be difficult for smalltime traders who do not have ability to buy gold in bulk, he added.

The central bank had revised some provisions, following a discussion with traders. Gold dealers’ associations such as Nepal Gems and Jewellers Association (NGJA), Gold and Silver Artists Association (GSAA) and Federation of Handicraft Associations Nepal (FHAN) have to recommend names of individual traders to commercial banks for the purchase of gold.

NRB has determined 500 gram a day as the ceiling for recommendation. Earlier plan had determined 100 gram a day as the upper-limit of the recommendation.

Likewise, NRB has also determined that individual trader have to present evidence that 50 per cent of the past purchase of gold has been sold. The direction of price will depend on the profit-margin determined by banks.

However, from the looks of things, it can be expected that banks will not be generous, Shakya said.

The distribution system as planned by NRB has not been revised. As per the directive, of the total amount of gold 60 per cent has been allocated for Bagmati Zone and Negosida has been allotted 50 per cent of it, followed by NGJA at 30 per cent and remaining will go to GSAA and FHAN at 10 per cent each.

As a measure to tackle escalating Balance of Payments (BoP) deficit caused by gold import, government increased the customs duty in March to match with that of India through an ordinance.

The ordinance expired in September, stopping bullion imports altogether. In the budget this year, the government fixed new customs rate for gold at Rs 1,000 for 10 gram and Rs 2,400 for a kg of silver.
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