FIVE KILLLED, THREE INJURED

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: Five persons were killed Friday and three were injured when a jeep plunged into Marshyangdhi river at Kerabari on Siddhartha highway.
Five passengers died instantly when the vehicle plunged 200 feet off the road into the river.
The jeep was going to Butwal from Gulmi.
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200 UML STUDENT ACTIVISTS ARESED

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: Two hundred student activists of UML were arrested Friday morning during a Valley strike protesting what they called non-action against NC students who had assaulted then at Tri-Chandra Campus in the capital.
The partial strike was called off at noon.
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PRESIDENT PROROGUES SPECIAL SESSION

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav Thursday prorogued a special session of parliament from nine in the evening .
Maoists and five splinter parties called the session to elect a successor of Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal who continues in office even after resigning 30 June following Maoist pressure.
The special session was also convened to amend parliamentary procedure to adopt new procedures for electing a government chief.
Sixteen rounds of voting in parliament were inconclusive.
Maoist Chief Whip Post Bahadur Bogati said the Big Three before the special session Thursday and agreed to call a normal session of the legislature in one week to consider Maoist demands.
Maoists and smaller parties didn’t have a majority to push through their resolutions in parliament which was scheduled to vote Friday following two days of discussions.
The special session met Sunday and Thursday but was adjourned without taking up the agenda as parties agreed to come to a resolution through negotiations.
Speaker Subash Nemwang, before adjourning the session, reminded lawmakers they could no longer stay neutral in voting; UML and Maoists had adopted the tactic.
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HEARING ON RUBEL CHAUDHARY CASE FRIDAY.


Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: Hearing have been scheduled at the supreme court Friday on of writs filed one day earlier at the apex court against Rubel Chaudhary, Bangladeshi son-in-law of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala.
Chaudhary got into an altercation with Former crown Prince at Tiger Tops in Chitwan 11 December and filed a case against Shah three days later in the central district for attempting to murder him.
The case has backfired against the Bangladeshi as a government investigation cleared the former crown prince of the charge,
Paras has been charged under a draconian public offence act and Chitwan administration has asked the prince to appear before it 3 March.
Paras was summoned to Chitwan where the altercation occurred but Chaudhary’s statement was recorded by in his mother-in-law’s house in th capital demonstrating who are the new rulers of naya republican Nepal.
Advocate Daindra Bahadur Thakuri, in his writ accuses Chaudhary for misappropriating millions of rupees in a Rs 500 million scam awhile being awarded a government contract for supplying armed personnel carriers and logistics to police on a UN peacekeeping mission to Sudan.
He has also been accused for misusing family visa, illegally redirecting international calls, forging Nepali passports.
The prime minister, his office, Sujata Koirala, Home Minister Bhim Rawal, Nepal Police IGP and Chaudhary are defendants.
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MAOISTS DECIDE TO WRITE TO UN UNILATERALLY

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: A meeting of Maoist office bearers Thursday decided to write to the UN unilaterally to extend the tenure of UNMIN that ends 15 January 2011.
Ruling parties, NC and UML, aren’t positive on the Maoist move.
Maoists didn’t receive a positive response this week from envoys of five permanent members of the UN security council.
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APARTMENT OF DUTCH WOMAN RAIDED

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: Police recovered 27 kg hash worth millions of rupees in the international market during a search of an apartment in a housing complex in Budhanilakantha Thursday.
Dutch national Nathaliya Kellman, 50, rented the apartment.
The apartment was searched at the request of owners who complained drent hadn’t been settled for a long time.
The woman wasn’t present during the search.
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SECRETARIAT VISITING PLA CANTONMENT

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: A secretariat under a special committee on integration, resettlement and supervision of Maoist former fighters under the prime minister is visiting the PLA cantonment at Shaktikhor in Chitwan Sunday.
Altogether 19,000 plus combatants are lodged in 28 cantonments and camps under UNMIN watch.
“The programme aims to win the confidence of former PLA personnel,” coordinator of the secretariat Retired Gen. Balananda Sharma said.
All 12members of the secretariat with members of major parties are visiting Chitwaa.
Meanwhile, Tej Bahadur Oli, fourth division commander, has been appointed member of the secretariat.
Maoists are now fully represented in the committee with two members.
They didn’t get the position of joint coordinator was demanded by the party.
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NEPAL LOSE TO INDIA

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: Nepal lost to India 1-0 in the first woman final of the SAFF Women’s Football Championship in Bangladesh Thursday.
Sushmita Mallik scored the solitary goad for India.
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BOY ABDUCTED TO INDIA, KILLED

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: The family of a 12-year-old boy kidnapped nine months ago has been devastated after learning recently that that the boy was killed by his abductors four days after the abduction, Ramesh Khatiwada writes in Republica from Charikot.

Sanjaya Mahara, son of Jogiya from Fulkaha-4 in Mahottari who is a cobller in Charikot for 28 years, was abducted on April 18.

His body was found four days later in Sitamadhi, India but the family was oblivious of the fact till now. “I had a faint hope of seeing him alive. But he was murdered then only. What did you do to me God!” Jogiya, who himself reached India in search of his missing son, said showing a photograph of his son´s dead body.

“Nobody gave the news of his death nor did anyone show interest for his search,” rued Jogiya, who finally knew of the death a few days ago in Sitamadhi after traveling across Nepal in search of his son. “My wife Jagatarun Devi has not eaten anything for the past few days after learning about the death,” Jogiya revealed.

Ram Kishor Raya of Siwan, India, who dealt with scraps in Charikot, Noor Alam Siddhiqui of Sitamadhi who sold clothes in Dolakaha, and Zubair Mansoor of Lakshmipur-6, Siraha who made quilts and mattresses in Charikot, are currently in judicial custody at Charikot jail on the charge of kidnapping and murder.

They had demanded ransom of Rs 1 million from Jogiya.

“Police had found his body in a gutter near Siddiqi´s house in Marpha, Sitamadhi and they apparently buried him after conducting post mortem,” Jogiya said.

Jogiya had gone to Sitamadhi with some locals after someone from Sitamadhi told him that a body of unknown boy was found there nine months ago when Jogiya had gone to his native home in Mahottari a couple of weeks ago.

He knew about the death of his son, a second grader at the Mount Valley Boarding School in Charikot, from local Indian police after staying there for 11 days. He returned to Dolakha Thursday with the photograph of his son´s body and the post mortem report. He has demanded sternest punishment for the murderers of his youngest son.

Dolakha Police said Alam had taken the boy to Khadichaur in Sindhupalchowk on April 18 promising to give him Rs 5,000 and a cell phone set and handed him over to a third person from there. Police had arrested mastermind Raya and accomplice Mansoor on April 21 and nabbed Alam and Siddiqui on April 27.

DSP Dhiraj Pratap Singh said the abductors will be tried on murder charge and the case would be made in co-ordination with Indian police.

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MEDIA GOOGLE

“The issue has defamed me, If Rubel [Sujata’s son-in-law] is proven guilty, legal action against him is mandatory.”

(Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, The Kathmandu Post, 24 Dec.)
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US SEEKS MRP QUALITY GUARANTEE

Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: Spurred by reports of misuse of Nepali passports, the US Embassy in Kathmandu has cautioned the government that the passports could get into the hands of terrorists, The Kathmandu Post reports.

The embassy’s Political and Economic Officer Dustin Degrande and Security Specialist Chris P. Whitcraft visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( MoFA) on Thursday and discussed the security features of Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) with senior officials of the Central Passport Office (CPO).

“We described the security features of the MRPs and measures to be taken to ensure security concerns,” a CPO official said. “We explained that documents will be thoroughly verified while issuing passports. For this, a separate cell of Nepal Police’s forensic unit has been established at MoFA.” CPO officials told the US embassy officials that earlier there were loopholes for criminals to forge manual passports. “Now, the security features of MRPs are unique and hard to copy,” the official said.

MoFA has already forwarded specimens of MRPs to all foreign missions in Kathmandu, its missions abroad and to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Recently, 34 Indians and Bangladeshis were arrested in Kuwait for holding fake Nepali passports.
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FIVE CASNOS OWE GOVT. RS 193 MILLION
Kathmandu, 24 Dec.: The government still has to recover Rs 193.59 million from five casinos, The Himalayan Times reports.

Finance minister Surendra Pandey at the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) today informed that the government still has to recover revenue from Casino Anna‚ Casino Royal‚ Casino Shangrilla‚ Casino Nepal and Casino Fulbari.

“The government has been able to recover Rs 77.36 million from the casinos recently‚” Pandey informed‚ adding that the government is in the process to recover the remaining sum.

“If the casnos don’t pay‚ the hotels are laible to pay tax as the casino license is issued to the hotels only‚” he added.

Nepal’s casino industry is considered the oldest in South Asia but lately it has been in news for all the wrong reasons like tax evasion and entertaining Nepalis.

When Casino Nepal — the first casino in Asia — was started in 1968‚ it was open only to foreigners but the casinos lately are blamed of entertaining the Nepalis against the law.

The country has currently 10 casinos. Casino Royale (Hotel & Yeti) is run by Raj Bahadur Singh‚ and Casino Venus (Hotel Malla) and Casino Rad (Hotel Radisson) are run by Valley Links Pvt that also owns a third outside Kathmandu‚ Pokhara Grande.

The Fulbari Casino is in Hotel Fulbari in Pokhara‚ whereas Nepal Recreation Centre (NRC) runs five casinos — Casino Nepal‚ Casino Anna‚ Casino Everest‚ Casino Tara and Casino Shangrila.

However‚ Kathmandu District Administration Office has already instructed to vacate Shangrila Casino from its existing premises at Hotel Shangrila after the hotelier Shyam Bahadur Pandey formally lodged an application at the DAO‚ requesting Shangrila Casino to remove. Pandey requested the DAO as NRC had not been paying the rent due to the hotel.

“After listening from the finance ministry officials‚ we has decided to invite Sarat Singh Bhandari‚ minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation tomorrow for further clarifition on the issue of Casinos as the ministry issues the licences for the casinos‚” said Som Bahadur Thapa‚ secretary at the PAC.
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