NO AGREMENT ON SENDING LOGISTICS TO DARFUR

Kathmandu, 4 Jan. There was no agreement Tuesday morning at the cabinet on replenish logistics support to Nepal Police peacekeepers with the UN in Darfur, Sudan.
A meeting has been rescheduled for the evening Sunday.
The UN has threatened to send back the force in support isn’t sent by 9 January when the beleaguered goes for a referendum.
More than Rs 350 million was misappropriate in purchase of logistics support, including armed personnel carriers.
The lives of the Nepali peacekeepers have been threatened without the logistics support.
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MAOIST CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEET CONTINUES

Kathmandu, 4 Jan. A Maoist central committee meet continued Tuesday for the second consecutive day.










Chairman Prachanda presented a unified five-point political document for intra-party struggle at the central committee Monday.

"The chairman presented orally an improved political and organizational document which is a unified form of the document presented by the chairman himself and vice-chairman com. Kiran (Mohan Baidhya) in the sixth extended meeting of the party," party spokesperson Dina Nath Sharma said after the meeting.
The five-point proposal was unanimously adopted by the standing committee and presented for endorsement by the central committee meeting.
The central committee meets amid deep internal differences between Prachanda and Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai.
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PARTIES CONTINUE DISCUSSIONS ON CONSITUTION


Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: Twenty-eight parties Tuesday agreed on contentions issues on three themes earlier discussed by an empowered task force headed by Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
Twenty-eight parties took over responsibilities of narrowing down or eliminating differences on 230 contentious issues from the task force
Parties Tuesday discussed fundamental rights, directives principles of state policy, protection of national interests and social issues.
The parties will take up issues raised at the constitutional drafting committee Wednesday.
Differences remain on 83 of 230 contentious issues.
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POLICEMAN KILLED, ANOTHER INJURED

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: A policeman was killed and another was insured Tuesday in the capital.
A water taker slammed against a motorcycle killing a policeman and injuring another.
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COLD WAVE DEATH MOUNTS TO 3 IN SIRAHA

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: A cold wave killed one more person in Siraha taking the total death toll in the district to three.
Ram Paswan, 65, died in the mounting cold.
Earlier, Bimla Debi Yadav, 35, died.
Mainly children and elderly have fallen sick as cases of pneumonia, diarrhea and common cold swell.
A cold wave has hit the terai and the hills.
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NEPAL’S CONTRIBUTION TO PAKISTAN FLOOD VICTIMS DELIVERED

Kathmandu, 4 Jan. : A cheque of $137,475 was handed over to Pakistan as Nepal’s contribution for last year’s flood victims in Pakistan.
Pakistan suffered its worst flood in 2010.
AmbassadorBal Bahadur Kuwar handed over the cheque to the Pakistan government.
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RAM CHANDRA PAUDEL STILL NC CANDIATE

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: An informal meeting of the NC Monday decided not to withdraw the candidacy of Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel as sole candidate for prime minister to succeed Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Maoists and UML have decided to vote against Paudel who is also the leader of the NC parliamentary party.
Paudel will be defeated if the two parties vote against him this time,
The two parties had stayed neutral in previous rounds of voting in parliament.
Sixteen rounds of voting have been inconclusive.
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UML DENIAL

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: UML Monday denied it engineered the a slit in TMLP.
The denial came in a statement/
TMLP Chairman Mahanta Thakur made the charge.
Nine of 20 lawmakers split to from LMLP (Nepal) as parliament meets for a winter session.
Election of a prime minister is top on the agenda.
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BHUWAN KC JOINS UML

Kathmandu, 4 Jan. Top actor Bhuwan KC joined UML Monday.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal welcomed KC into the party
heading the present coalition.
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MORE DEMAND TO COMEMORATE PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH

Kathmandu, 4 Jan. The main committee celebrating the birthday of Prithvi Nayaran Shah the Great has submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal demanding 11 January be declared a day
of national unity.
Committee head Modhnath Prashit delivered the memorandum.
Prashit is a former UML minister and prolific writer.
He has lately been inactive in UML politics.
Prashit said the prime minister assured him discussions will be held top consider the demand.
RPP-Nepal has already demanded the birthday of unifier of modern Nepal and the Shah dynasty be declared a national holiday.
Ahead of unilaterally a republic by a self-appointed and un-elected legislature, a government headed Girija Prasad Koirala withdrew a
public holiday on Prithvi Jayanti.
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FORMER PRESS AIDE OF VICE-PRESIDENT CONVICTED

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: Rajesh Jha, a former press aide of Vice-president
Parmananda Jha was sentenced by a three-member special court
Monday for treason and fined Rs 300.
The editor Madeshvani Weekly advertised four months ago for recruitment in an armed group in the terai.
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NEW NORTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR

Kathmandu 4 Jan.: Kim Young Su, North Korea’s residential
Ambassador started official duties Monday.
He presented his credentials to President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav
Monday.
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HIDDED ARMS, AMMUNITION RECOVERED


Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: Police Monday recovered a huge cache of hidden arms and arms from a cave in Khotang Monday.
A sub-machine gun, 54 rounds bullets from 303 rifles were recovered.
The cache was hidden by an armed group, police suspect.
The arms and ammunition were seized from police.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

CANE PRICE FIXED, STRIKE WITHDRAWN

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: Purchase price of cane was fixed Monday at Rs 401 per quintal as farmers demanded Rs 421 per quintal.
Farmers withdrew protests with the agreement between administration and farmers.
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CHINA EASTERN RESUMING FLIGHTS

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: China Eastern is resuming thrice weekly direct flights between Kunming and Kathmandu on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11 January.
Flights were suspended 14 months ago.

TOURIST ARRIVALS JUMP 18.5% in 2011

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: Altogether 448,769 tourists visited Nepal in 2010—a 18.5 percent compared to 2009, Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), said.
Arrivals in December 2010 compared to the same month last year, increased by 15.7% to 36,323.
Visitor arrivals from India (19.5%), Bangladesh (42.4%), Pakistan (94.3%) and Sri Lanka (148.3%) have registered positive growth in December 2010. In aggregate the South Asia has registered a positive growth of 26.1% for the month of December and 24.7% between January to December.
In December 2010, there has been a robust growth of 24.4% in visitor arrivals from China.
Arrivals from Asia (other than South Asia) have recorded positive growth. Visitor arrivals from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea have registered a positive growth of 41%, 26.4%, 4.4%, and 22.3% respectively. However Japan has suffered a soft decline by 0.4%. In aggregate the Asian segment (other than South Asia) has registered a positive growth of 14.3% in the month of December and 17.7% in the year 2010.
The year saw a positive growth of 14.4% in aggregate (Jan-Dec) from the European market in 2010. In December 2010, the arrivals from the Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden and UK were up by 57.3%, 37.0%,26.0%, 17.4%, 75.0%,43.9%, 2.1%, 30.5% and 1.0% respectively whereas Belgium, France, Germany and Italy declined by 20.1%, 8.7%,13.4%, 0.2% respectively.
Tourist arrivals from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA have also registered positive growth of 8.5%, 57.9%, 1.2% and 14.4% respectively in December 2010.
A total of 44,019 foreign tourists departed from TIA in December 2010. The number of Nepalese arrivals stood at 57,661 while 77,230 Nepalese departed from TIA in December 2010.
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GOVT. SEEKS HANDOVE OF MAOIST WAPAONS FROM UNMIN


Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: Government has asked UNMIN to handover Maoist weapons in containers as the political wings of UN prepares to leave 15 January, Kantipur reports.
Government says UNMIN’s responsibilities will be taken over the special committee for integration, supervision and resettlement.
A letter from the prime minister’s office was sent Friday to UNMIN.
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LAND REFORM ACT BEING AMENDED

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: The Ministry of Land Reforms and Management (MoLRM) is preparing to table a bill for amendment to the Land Reforms Act in the coming session of the parliament, including a provision for disclosure of land details only by the people holding land more than the ceiling set by the government, Prabhakar Ghimere writes in Republica.

The existing Act makes it mandatory for every landholder to disclose details of land under their ownership.

The MoLRM´s came up with the amendment bill after the government failed to allocate budget for collecting landholding details across the country as proposed by the ministry.

“It is not possible to collect land details across the country given the limited human resources and financial resources at the ministry. That is why we are preparing for the amendment to the Land Reform Act to pave the way for collection of details of only the people holding land more than the government-set ceiling,” Madhav Regmi, joint secretary at the MoLRM, told Republica on Monday.

Regmi, who is also the spokesperson of the MoLRM, said the ministry has already demanded Rs 660 million from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to collect details of about six million landholders across the country if the amendment bill is not endorsed in the winter session.

A committee led by MoLRM Secretary Chhabiraj Pant had worked out the estimated budget for administrative cost, cost for data processing and salary of staffers.

Earlier, the ministry had demanded Rs 660 million from the Finance Ministry to collect details of landholding across the country. However, the plan has faced a setback as the government did not allocate the budget in the current fiscal year.

The MoLRM three months ago had started implementation of the Land Reform Act (Fifth Amendment)-2001 -- that bars people from owning land in excess of the ceiling -- by issuing a 35-day notification. The MoLRM had even proposed to distribute land in excess of the ceiling to underprivileged and landless people.

Responding to a writ petition seeking immediate implementation of the Land Reforms Act, the Supreme Court a few months ago had ordered the government to implement the law enacted in 2001 that envisages bringing landmark changes in the country´s land reforms. In response to the apex court ruling, the MoLRM had issued a 35-day notice urging people across the country to disclose their landholding details at the Land Reform Office or the Land Revenue Office in their respective districts. As per the notice, people having landholding below the allowed limits could furnish details to concerned village development committees of municipalities.

As per the Land Reforms Act (Fifth Amendment), a person can own 20 ropanis of land in Kathmandu Valley, 10 bighas in Tarai districts and 70 ropanis in hilly districts. Likewise, a person can own five ropanis in Kathmandu Valley and hilly districts and one bigha in Tarai districts for homestead purpose.
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INDIA BEHIND UNMIN EXIT: MAHARA

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: UCPN (Maoist) leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara on Monday alleged that the government decided not to extend the term of the UNMIN under pressure from India, Gajendra Bohara writes in Republica from Dang.

Speaking at a press conference organized by Revolutionary Journalists´ Association in Dang, Mahara, who is the UCPN (Maoist) Foreign Relations Department chief, argued that the Maoists had not agreed in September to make the four-month extension the last.

Mahara alleged that the government was preparing to send off UNMIN without Maoist consent. He argued that though they had discussed other issues in detail, they never agreed that the term extension would be the last.

UNMIN´s term is expiring January 15.

"There is Indian hand behind the government decision to not extend UNMIN´s term," he said. "The government decided not to extend the term of UNMIN following pressure from India."

Mahara argued that since the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies, reached between the government and the Maoists after the peace process began, has been made part of the Interim Constitution, UNMIN´s term should be extended till the constitution promulgation deadline. He added that failure to extend UNMIN´s term would mean inviting constitutional crisis.

Mahara said that the departure of UNMIN has almost been confirmed now. "We have requested for keeping some form of its unit even after its departure. Monitoring [of arms and armies] will be done by that unit," he added.

He also said that a new government would be formed only after settling the issue of UNMIN´s term.
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UPDATE A NEW MUSCLE FOR EXTRADITION

Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: A Cabinet panel on Monday approved the updated Extradition Act (2067) and

its legal framework—Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA)—facelifting the 22-year old Act. Now, extradition treaties can be inked with desired countries. The proposed Act has been referred to the parliament for final approval. Earlier, India, China, Pakistan and France had proposed that Nepal sign an extradition treaty with them, Anil Giri writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

The updated extradition treaty between Nepal and India was agreed upon at the Home Secretary level in 2005. However, it needs to be signed by the Home Ministers of both countries to come into force.

Minister for Law and Justice Prem Bahadur Singh, who also heads the Cabinet’s Bill Committee, told the Post that if any foreign country makes a request to Nepal to extradite or punish an accused or offender, it can if it deems it necessary, ask the court to enquire into such matters.

“The updated Act has more teeth. If any foreign or third country national is to be extradited, the security agency will file a case against the accused or offender. The extradition will happen or not happen according to the court’s verdict,” Minister Singh said. The new MLA Act will augment the Extradition Act which mainly deals with arrest, deportation and filing of cases against the accused or offenders.

“The extradition of a third country national will depend on the terms and references signed with a particular country. However, no extradition will be allowed without the court’s ruling,” Singh said. “Based on the new Act, we will sign bilateral agreements with desired countries.

However, the nature of the agreements will be diverse with each country,” he said. The Act is a reflection of Nepal’s international obligation and also reflects its commitment to international treaties.

“Notwithstanding anything written elsewhere in this Act, the offenses enumerated in the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and other international treaties and obligations shall not be considered as political offences or an offence motivated with the political objectives for the purpose of extradition. Money laundering, plane hijacking, corruption, genocide will not be considered political crimes,” he said.
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POKHARA STRIKE A SETBACK
Kathmandu, 4 Jan.: An online message regarding Nepal this morning came as an utter surprise to Simon Wong (24), a student in the UK. The message detailed the strikes and curfew in Nepal, at a time when the stage is all set for national tourism campaign, The Himalayan Times reports.

“Those incidents were beyond my imagination,” he said in an online reply.

Parts of the country, including a major tourist destination, today observed strikes and curfew though the stakeholders had pledged a strike-free year to make Nepal Tourism Year-2011 a success.

Normal life was paralysed in Pokhara, one of the major tourist hubs in the country, following a transport strike enforced by agitating transport entrepreneurs.

In the east, thousands of passengers were stranded after the district administration office clamped a day-long curfew in Malangawa.

“I believe a strike is never a good thing, especially for tourism. The government will need to respond promptly to avoid any potential long-term damage to the tourism sector,” said Simon, a student at the Exeter University, UK. Simon visited Nepal a few months ago and strongly believes that frequent strikes were badly tarnishing Nepal’s image. “Tourists look for a place where they can have a nice time. Negative publicity about the government as well as strikes don’t bode well for the tourism sector; it will only discourage tourists from visiting Nepal,” he added.

Sue Lovelace of Idaho, USA, said tourists are a worried lot over people becoming violent. If tourists’ travel plans are affected by such strikes, they need to do a rethink before visiting Nepal and wait until the things settle down, she said. Sue too has visited Nepal twice — in 1988 and 2010, and is planning a third trip sometime in April. “To make NTY 2011 a success, Nepal must publicise something that attracts tourists. Why should someone visit Nepal in 2011 and not wait until 2012?” asked Sue, adding she was yet to hear of something that would really entice her into visiting Nepal this year in particular.

NTY’s working committee member Suman Pande appealed to all to support the campaign by shunning strike and bandh culture. “I regret the incidents in Pokhara and Sarlahi and appeal to all to make our country strike-free,” said Pande.

According to first Vice Chairman of Nepal Mountaineering Association Nima Nuru Sherpa, entrepreneurs are facing a tough time convincing the tourists about their simple queries: What about national flag carrier?; has the airport infrastructure been improved?; what about law and order situation; and how is nightlife in Thamel?
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