MAOISTS FAIL TO SELECT GOVT. TEAM

1ST. MAOIST ROUND STANDING COMMITTEE MEET TO SELECT GOVT. TEAM INCONCLUSIVE (DEVELOPING STORY)

Kathmandu, 3 March: The first round of Maoist standing committee to select a team to join government was inconclusive Wednesday.
A second session will meet in the afternoon to assemble a 11-member team led by Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
MFJN Chairman Upendra Yadav Thursday held talks with Maoists on joining government.
Yadav said his party could join government if peace, constitution and Madesh demands are guaranteed.
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PM VISITS HOSPITAL TO FUND OUT BHATTARAI’S CONDITION (UPDATE)

Kathmandu, 3 March: Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal visited Norvic Hospital where former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad is in critical condition.
Bhattarai’s well-wishers have flocked there to keep a vigil and inquire on his condition.
His condition is described as serious.
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CRUCIAL NC CENTRAL COMMTTEE MEET THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 3 March: A crucial meet of NC central committee begins Thursday to discuss party strategy to counter an emerging communist-dominated government of UML and Maoists.
The centrist party has rejected invitation to join the government of Jhalanatah Khanal opting to stay in the opposition.
The committee will also discuss appointments of Ram Chandra Paudel and Krishna Prasad Shitaula as vice-president and general secretary by President Sushil Koirala.
The committee, almost equally divided between the Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba camps, hasn’t endorsed the appointments even after Koirala’s election as party chief three months ago for a four-year term.
Koirala appointed five more loyalists to the central committee, amid dissatisfaction in the Deuba camp, to strengthen hold in the committee.
Five more persons remain to be nominated.

DIAMOND SHUMSHERE RANA HOSPITALIZED

Kathmandu, 3 March: Diamond Shumshere Rana, 94,has been hospitalized at Norvic Hospital for treatment and heart and kidney conditions.
A stent was inserted and angioplasty performed two years ago at the hospital.
Rana is author of the best-selling novel Seto Bagh.
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MORE APPOINTMENTS OF PM KHANAL AIDES

Kathmandu, 3 March: Dipak Amatya has been appointed chief personal secretary of Prime Ministsr Jhalanath Khanal.
Rambabu Adhikari has been appointed personal secretary.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“The influence of Indian expansionism, Chinese capitalism and American imperialism together has put the country in peril. It is, therefore, necessary for all the parties to find common ground to protect the county’s sovereignty.”

(Maoist Vice-chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai, The Kathmandu Post, 3 March)


‘We’ve made another sacrifice. We abandoned our decision not to join government.”


(Chairman Prachanda in a Kantipur cartoon, 3 March)

“We don’t need allowances. Let the lawmakers keep it. Lawyers will draft a constitution if it can’t be drafted.”

(Nepal Bar Association Chairman Prem Bahadur Khadka, Kantipur, 3 March)


‘The character of the present political players and the naked fakirs who annually come to Pashupatinath is the same.
Fakirs are physically naked physically; leaders are naked because of their character. Naked character is more repulsive than physical nudity.”

(Uttam Pudasini, Nagarik, 3 March)
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FORMER CROWN PRINCE PARAS GOING TO CHITWAN THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 3 March: Former Crown Prince Paras is personally going to Chitwan Thursday to present himself at the district administration office, Naya Patrika reports.
He was implicated in a shooting incident at Tiger Tops in Chitwan.
He’s accompanied by lawyers.
Paras was charged for attempting to shoot Bangladesh national Rubel Chaudhary—son-in-law of former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala.
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MAOIST VOLUNTEER FORCE

Kathmandu, 3 March: ‘People’s Volunteers Mobilization Bureau’ is being created by Maoist central committee headquarters, Kantipur reports.
Netra Bikram Chand is coordinator.
Maoist central committee members, former office bearers of YCL and student union are members.
YCL In-charge and central member Ganesh Man Pun, Raju Khadka, Uma Bhujel, Dilip Majarjan, Suresh Singh, and politburo member Shakti Basmet are members.
Former student leaders Lekhnath Neupane, Yubaraj Cholagaian and others are also bureau members.
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SEVEN COUNTRIES PORPOSE EXTRADITION TREATIES WITH NEPAL

Kathmandu, 3 March: According to Law and Justice Secretary Madhav Paudel, seven countries—Russia, France, Israel, USA, Pakistan, China and Thailand-have shown interest in signing extradition treaties with Nepal, Republica reports.
Russia, Israel, and France have already forwarded the drafts of treaties to Nepal, seeking latter’s opinion.
The rest of the countries have also shown interest in signing a treaty with Nepal.
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NOC TO TALK OIL PIPELINE WITH IOC

Kathmandu, 3 March: Nepal Oil Corporation is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Oil Corporation in Mumbai tomorrow [Thursday] on the proposed construction of 41-km pipeline from Raxaul in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.

The proposed 41-km pipeline project will have 39-km stretch in Nepal and two-km stretch, with pumping and equipment installations, in Indian territory, Ram Kumar Kamat writes in The Himalayan Times from New Delhi.

NOC Managing Director Digambar Jha, who was among the Nepali delegates during the Inter-Governmental Sub-Committee, today headed for Mumbai from New Delhi to hold talks with the oil giant in India. Jha will be accompanied by three other NOC officials.

The estimated cost of the project stands at INR 1 billion, according to a survey conducted in 2009. “Everything, including the project design, has been finalised,” said Jha. According to Jha, IOC had agreed to fully bear the expenses for the two-km stretch, which falls in Indian territory, and NOC would bear the cost for 39-km stretch.

“Though IOC will build the pipeline only for two kilometres, it will bear 60 per cent of the total expenditure because IOC will have to install pumping and other equipment,” said Jha. NOC will have to use the same materials that IOC uses to build the pipeline in order to ensure uniformity. If the bilateral talks tomorrow end on the previously agreed lines, IOC will hand over the project to NOC after five years when it fully recovers the investment. By then NOC expects to enhance its capability to operate and manage the pipeline.

IOC has agreed, in principle, to manage the two-km stretch of the pipeline even after the project is handed over to NOC.

Tomorrow’s talks are likely to focus on modalities of investment recovery. Jha said pipeline was the only viable option to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products to Nepal. “The demand of diesel and petrol has almost doubled in the last two years. Power deficit problem will persist for another 10 years. So, pipeline is a must,” said Jha, adding the new project will end the compulsion to ferry petroleum products through a long stretch of 600-km land route. Pipeline project, he said, would significantly reduce transportation cost and end leakage problem, enabling NOC to sell the petroleum products at cheaper rate.

“Once we complete the pipeline, there won’t be much difference in price in different regions as is the case now,” said Jha.
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NEPAL CONCESSION TO INDIA

Kathmandu, 3 March: Bowing to Indian pressure, Nepal has committed itself to gradually eliminating the Agricultural Reforms Fee (ARF) for Indian agro goods, a move which, if implemented, will make Indian agro-products more competitive in the Nepali market, Akankshya Shah and Prabhakar Ghimere report in Republica from New Delhi

During bilateral trade talks, which concluded late night Tuesday, India had pushed strongly for complete elimination of the ARF. It argued that the fee goes against the spirit of national treatment promised to Indian goods in Nepal.
"We agreed to gradually scrap it," said a member of the Nepali trade delegation that was bogged down in strong heat from the Indian side over the labor stir at Indian multinationals and problems at hydro-power projects.

On the concluding day, India pushed Nepal to speed up negotiations to finalize a bilateral investment protection agreement (BIPA), arguing that Indian multinationals like Dabur Nepal and United Telecom and Indian hydropower projects were being subjected to unfair labor stirs and other unrest.

The Nepali side managed to push the agenda off the table, but in the process it committed itself to raising the margin of preferences for Indian products compared to third-country goods. This will make third-country goods more expensive than Indian manufactures.

"Technically, this will not have any impact on local industries. Hence, we agreed," said the source, defending the team´s decision.

In response to these ´good gestures´, which will strengthen the position of Indian goods in the Nepali market, India has agreed to allow Nepal to carry out third-country trade via Vishakhapatnam Port through two customs routes.

Nepal had requested to be allowed to trade via that port through four customs routes. "However, India suggested to us to first start trade through two customs. If needed, it has agreed to expand the routes to other customs as well," Kedar Adhikari, economic councilor at the Nepali embassy in New Delhi, told Republica.

During the Inter-governmental Sub-committee (IGSC) -- the joint-secretary level bi-lateral talks -- India also agreed to provide a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage facility to Nepal at Haldiya port, so that Nepal could import LPG from third countries.

"India is also positive towards opening the Rohanpur-Singhabad rail route in order to boost bilateral trade between Nepal and Bangladesh," Adhikari added.

The two sides also agreed to annul through immediate notification the existing Duty Refund Procedure (DRP), a system put in place to refund Indian excise duty to Nepal.

However, no headway was made on critical issues like accreditation of quality certification, simplification of quarantine operations and elimination of countervailing duty, which have been affecting Nepal´s export to India.



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HONG KONG NEPALIS TO GET HK$ 6,000 ALLOWANCE

Kathmandu, 3 March: Thousands of Nepalis are likely to benefit from the recent announcement of the Hong Kong government to provide a 6,000 Hong Kong dollar allowance to its permanent residents above 18 years, Purna Basnet reports from Hong Kong in Republica.

Announcing the scheme, under the 2011-12 budget, following a meeting with some legislators on Wednesday, Tsang, the finance secretary, said that people can choose to draw the full Hong Kong $ 6,000 through designated platforms depending on their needs.

There are an estimated 20,000 Nepalis holding Hong Kong identity cards with around 15,000 having permanent residence identity cards. Only those who are born in Hong Kong or those who have been living legally in Hong Kong for at least seven years are eligible for permanent residence identity cards.

Even those Nepalis who are residing in the UK but have Hong Kong identity cards are entitled to the allowance. “The existing laws allow dual citizenships for Hong Kong permanent residents. So all Nepalis holding Hong Kong´s permanent residence but staying in a different country are eligible under the scheme,” said Ek Narayan Sharma, a Hong Kong-based Nepali lawyer.

The new measure will replace the original proposal in the budget that suggested injecting $6,000 into Mandatory Provident Fund accounts, according to news posted on the website of Hong Kong´s Information Service Department.

“This measure should be able to benefit most people in Hong Kong, including civil servants, housewives and retirees,” the news quoted Tsang as saying about the scheme.

For those who will not benefit from this new measure, he said, other arrangements will be made.
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INTERNAL RIFT IN NCC SISTER WINGS

Kathmandu, 3 March: The prolonged internal conflict within four sister organisations of the Nepali Congress (NC) is likely to take a toll on their central committees, The Kathmandu Post reports.

Factions of Tarun Dal, Nepal Students Union (NSU), Nepal Trade Union Congress and Nepal Women Union merged after NC and NC Democratic united in 2004, but all four wings are still a divided house with two statutes.

With intense differences persisting among leaders of the two different camps in the factions close to the party establishment and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, the four sister organisations have failed to deliver for more than three years.

In a bid to seal cracks, Congress in January formed a committee comprising General Secretary Prakash Man Singh and Central Working Committee (CWC) member Bal Bahadur KC to settle the continuing confrontation. The committee submitted its report to NC President Sushil Koirala on Wednesday, a day before the scheduled meeting of the party’s CWC. The committee has not disclosed the details yet.

NC youth leaders close to the establishment camp have been lobbying for the dissolution of Tarun Dal’s central committee, while those close to Deuba are batting for holding a General Convention (GC).

Tarun Dal is trapped in a tussle between two factions—one led by Chairman Mahendra Yadav, who is close to the Deuba camp and the other led by Co-chairman Binod Kayastha, who is aligned to the Sushil Koirala faction. Both factions, which had maintained parallel structures during NC’s break-up, merged after the party unification in 2007. However, the merged Tarun Dal has not been able to hold its election and full central committee meeting for the past three years.

Similar is the case in the other sister wings. Jit Jung Basnet, who represents the Deuba faction in NSU, said the party establishment is trying to bring the leaders close to it in power.
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