APA SHERPA SCALES EVEREST IN RECORD 21ST ASCENT

APPA SHERPA SCALES EVEREST FOR RECORD 21ST ASCENT

Kathmandu, 11 May: Appa Sherpa broke his personal world record and set foot atop the 8848 meters high Mount Everest for the 21st time Wednesday morning.
He steped on the summit at 9.15 in the morning, Ang Tsherng Sherpa of Asian Trekking Ltd. said.
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CHINA SEEKS COMPENSATION FOR UNPURCHASED PLANES


Kathmandu, 11 May 11: China has sought compensation from Nepal for not buying planes ordered under a multi-million dollar deal, something the latter is unwilling to pay, Republica reports.
A government source told Republica that a Chinese delegation that was in Kathmandu last week to resolve the defunct six-year-old deal asked Nepal during a bilateral meeting to pay compensation for not purchasing two Chinese-made MA 60 aircraft.
The Chinese position led to the meeting ending inconclusively.

"China has sought nearly 50 percent of the total deal money as compensation," said the source in the know about the meeting, adding, "They said they dismantled the planes after Nepal refused to purchase them as per the deal and need to be compensated for that."

Nepal had ordered the MA-60 turboprop civilian aircraft from Chinese manufacturer Xi´an Aircraft Industry Group Co under the then royal regime in 2005. But Nepal refused to buy them following the ouster of the royal government in April 2006 though the twin-engine aircraft were already built as per the $27 million deal.

"The Chinese claim is not acceptable to us. We want to see China either give us the planes as per the six-year-old deal or return the deal money," said the source on condition of anonymity.

The aircraft, initially meant to be purchased for the Nepal Army under a buy two get one free scheme, is the original Soviet Antonov An-24 upgraded with Pratt & Whitney engines and Rockwell avionics. Although the MA-60 has been exported to Zimbabwe, Fiji, Eritrea and Congo, it does not have UK or US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) certification and has been decommissioned by China´s own Wuhan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.

The Chinese officials, during the meeting, said China could not supply the planes as per the terms and conditions of the deal, said another government source.

As both sides took their respective positions on the matter, the meeting ended inconclusively, the source added.

The Chinese delegation visited Nepal after the new government reopened the aircraft purchase deal in March in a fresh bid to end the deadlock.
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