TERAI REBEL LEADER KILLED IN ENCOUNTER

NC MEETING IN JHAPA

Kathmandu, 30 April: Main opposition NC is holding a district assembly in Jhapa to push peace and constitution drafting.
President Sushil Koirala, Sher Bahadur Deuba and other central leaders are addressing the rally.
The meeting comes after the Koirala and Deuba factions agreed this month to take the party ahead unitedly after month of internal bickering.
The party is attempting to spread the message of unity as it has decided to stay in the opposition.
The meeting is the second after a show of unity.
The first was held in Pokhara.
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TERAI REBEL LEADER KILLED IN ENCOUNTER

Kathmandu, 30 April: Anil Chamar, was killed in police action along Rohati khola along Nawalparasi/ Rupandheahi border Thursday.
Chamar died in retaliatory firing of a patrol team,
He was western regional district chief of Madeshi Mukti Tigers.
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SOUTH ASIAN FORUM TO MEET IN SEPTEMBER

Kathmandu, 30 April: The first meeting of South Asia Forum will be held in New Delhi in the first week of September.
A steering committee meeting of the Forum took the decision in the Indian capital.
Foreign ministry Joint Secretary Hari Kumar Shrestha represented Nepal.
SAARC launched the Forum one year ago.
Prasad.
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NRB’S ONE MILLION DOLLARS RETRUNED

Kathmandu, 30 April: One million dollars of Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) deposited with Standard Chartered Bank in New York has been returned, central bank, Spokesman Bhaskar Mani Geywali said.
The money was transferred to the account of Tarala International without NRB authorization following a US court order; NRB challenged the decision in court.
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VARIED OPINIONS ON OPTIONS AFTER 28 MAY

Kathmandu, 30 April: Former prime minister and UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal in an apparent changes of his former stance said Friday the tenure of the constituent assembly could be extended after 28 May when the second deadline to promulgate a basic law won’t be met.
“If there’s an agreement between all parties for fighter integration and a constitution draft, the tenure of the constituent assembly was be extended for a complete constitution,” he said in Dhangadi putting pre-conditions.
NC President Sushil Koirala said Maoists are main hurdles in completing the peace process and constitution drafting.
Maoists, he said, should create conditions and environment by implementing past agreements.
The constituent assembly (CA) tenure won’t be extended after 28 May and the main opposition won’t go into government, he said in Jhapa Friday.
Obviously referring to Chairman Prachanda’s proposal to temporarily suspend a people’s war for peace and constitution, Koirala added recent developments in the party were position but can’t be believed without decision implementation.
Foreign and national regressive elements are obstructing constitution writing process, Maoist Vice-chairman Dr. Bahuram Bhattarai charged in Gorkha Friday.
Meanwhile, NSP Chairman Rajendra Mahoto warned Friday in Janakpur Friday terai legislators my resign en masse without timely proclamation of a constitution.
“If a constitution isn’t promulgated in time, front lawmakers could resign en masse and go to the people,” he said.
The front consists of MJFL, TMLP and NSP.
Opinions are varied on options available after28 May; parties haven’t adopted formal positions yet.
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BABURAM BHATTARAI, US AMBASSADOR MEET

Kathmandu, 30 April: Maoist Vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Friday held discussions with US Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi Friday.
Discussions centered around the peace process and constitution drafting.
Bhattarai asked the ambassador to take Maoists off the US terrorist list.
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BoP DEFICIT FALLS; VEGETABLE PRICES JUMP 73.1 PERCENT

Kathmandu, 30 April: Balance of payments (BoP) deficit fell to Rs 11.30 billion in mid-March, Nepal Rashtra Bank said.
Exports increased 6.6 percent and reached Rs.52.83 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year; exports to India jumped 10.8 percent.
Imports increased only 1.4 percent ro Rs.253.49 billion.
Import from third countries fell 27 percent with fall in gold, readymade garments, machinery and parts imports.
Trade deficit widened 0.4 percent to Rs.210.66 billion.
Remittances increased 12.3 percent to Rs.161.62 billion in the review period.
Gross foreign exchange reserve fell 4.4 percent to Rs.257.05 billion.
Consumer price inflation jumped 107 percent as vegetable prices jumped 73.1 percent.
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5TH NRN CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER

Kathmandu, 30 April: The fifth conference of Non-Resident Nepal (NRN) Global Conference will be held in the capital 12 to 14 October.
The conference is held once every two years.
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RAGHUBIR MAHASETH ELECTED

Kathmandu, 30 April: Raghubir Mahaseth was unanimously elected chairman of Loktantrik Madeshi Sanghatan launched by ruling UML in Janakpur.
The convention was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal this week.
A 56-member working committee was also elected Saturday in Janakpur.
Gopal Thakur was elected general secretary.
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FAMED SWISS CLIMBER ERHARD LORETAN KILLED IN SWISS ALPS

Kathmandu, 30 April: Swiss mountaineer Erhard Loretan, widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest ever mountaineers, plunged to his death during a birthday outing in the Alps, police in Switzerland said on Friday, AFP reports from Geneva.
Loretan was only the third climber — after Italian legend Reinhold Messner and Polish hero Jerzy Kukuczka — to scale the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres
He completed the feat by the age of 36.
The 52-year-old mountain guide was with a client on the 3,800 metre Gruenegghorn in southern Switzerland on Thursday, his birthday, when they fell 200 metres.
“The party formed by mountain guide Erhard Loretan and a client fell while scaling a ridge. Erhard Loretan died on the spot,” police in the Swiss canton of Valais said in a statement.
A search and rescue party rushed Loretan’s 38-year-old Swiss climbing companion to hospital in a serious condition after other climbers in the area came across traces of the accident, police said.
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MEDIA GOOGLE
“Time crunch is not the factor that has been obstructing CA. Instead, some external forces have been hindering CA from completing its task. Given that the CA term is extended under the circumstance, drafting of a new constitution won’t materialize even in the next 100 years.”

(RPP-Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa, The Kathmandu Post, 30 April)
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ASSURED RISK THROWS ACCUSATION BACK AT POLICE
Kathmandu, 30 April: Assured Risks Pvt Ltd that suppled APCs and other logistics to Nepali peacekeepers deployed in Darfur, Sudan has blamed Nepal Police for turning the armored personnel carriers (APCs) non-functional, Bimal Gautam reports writes in Republica. .

The company, in its reply furnished to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), on Friday has claimed that the APCs were in good condition when they were supplied but became non-functional as Nepal Police failed to ensure proper maintenance and servicing of the vehicles as outlined in the contract agreement,

“The problems in Sudan have occurred because the vehicles have been left unattended and decaying beside the salted waters of Port of Sudan and in extreme temperatures for a long time without daily, weekly and monthly services as required by APCs,” states a three-page document acquired by Republica late Friday. Once the vehicles were supplied to the Nepal Police Forces “they alone are responsible for their vehicles, not Assured Risks Ltd.”

The company has claimed that in an agreement signed with Nepal Police Head Quarters on September 27, 2007 for supplying 8 APCs for Nepal Police, it is mentioned that Nepal Police HQ would take the responsibility of transportating the vehicles. “The Nepal Police, instead of inspecting the vehicles and logistics, instructed Assured Risks to ship them immediately through letters, emails and phone calls,” states the letter furnished to the CIAA.

The company said it was not happy to find that no one had come to the Czech Republic to inspect the vehicles and receive full training on maintenance and operations which was fully paid for by Assured Risks Ltd. To prevent any misunderstanding in future, the company hired a third party to conduct the survey.

Following an approval from the survey company, the vehicles and logistics were shipped on August 12, 2008 and delivered on September 4 2008 at the Sudan Sea Port as requested by Nepal Police. The goods were delivered in good condition and almost five months after the delivery, the UN Section of Police Head Quarters had sent a letter of thanks on January 1, 2009 to Assured Risks, according to the company.

The CIAA had sought clarification from Assured Risks regarding the condition of APCs when they were supplied and the process through which the London-based company was paid.

Two investigation teams -- one led by lawmaker Pradeep Gyawali and another by home ministry officials -- had concluded that around Rs 300 million was embezzled while procuring the APCs and other logistics for Nepali peacekeepers. The source at CIAA said they will conclude the investigation shortly.
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GOVT. PANEL STARTS BURIAL GROUND STUDY

Kathmandu, 30 April: The government panel formed 22 days ago to study the burial ground row has started looking into the issue seriously, The Himalayan Times reports..

The Ministry of Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture (MoFACAPAC) had formed a five-member panel on April 7 to study Christians’ demand for public land for graveyard. The Christians started a relay hunger strike on the issue at Ratnapark from March 23.

The panel headed by MoFACAPAC under-secretary Rishi Kesh Niraula comprises cultural expert Safalya Amatya, representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management, and cultural expert Dr Prem Khatry. The committee was told to submit the report within 45 days.

The panel is to recommend appropriate action

after studying national and international norms on the issue. “We held the first meeting yesterday and decided to write to India seeking information about the norms. We are preparing to hand over an official letter through the Embassy of India,” said Niraula.

“We are also writing to Nepali Embassy in New Delhi and the Department of Archaeology in Kathmandu to furnish necessary information,” Niraula said.

The Christians started protests demanding government land for graveyard after the Pashupati Area Development Trust restricted non-Hindus on December 29 from burying their dead at Shleshmantak forest.

The PADT is enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Christians used to bury their dead at Shleshmantak forest for some years.

A talk between the government and Christians was held on April 18 at the MoFACAPAC, and decided for another round of talks in political level within three days. But it is yet to take place.

The Christian Advisory Committee for New Constitution (CACNC) formed a mediating committee including human rights activists and political leaders to hold talks between the government and Christians on April 15.

Dr Sundar Thapa, coordinator of the struggle committee, said they were waiting for an official invitation from the ministry to hold another round of talks.

The Nepali government has not provided any public land to any of its seven dozen communities. The government has claimed that it would create problem and disharmony if Christians are provided with government land for graveyard.

“But they should buy the land themselves for burial ground as per international tradition,” the government officials said.

While 80 per cent of Nepal’s 30 million people are Hindus, Christians account for approximately 0.5 per cent of the population, according to Christian Freedom International in 2011.
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