LAWMAKERS WHO MISUSED PASSPORTS BEING PRODUCED IN COURT

TWO LAWMAKERS BEING PRESENTED AT SPECIAL COURT

Kathmandu, 8 May: Lawmakers B.P. Yadav and Gayatri Debi are being produced at the special court Sunday for extension of their remand by CIAA.
The anti-graft body arrested them Friday following their release on bail by police.
CIAA is charging them for corruption for misuse of their diplomatic passports.
They couldn’t be produced before court Saturday on a public holiday.
Two persons traveling on their passports were sent by immigration officials from Abu Dhabi as they were destined for Australia.
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FORMER LAWMAKERS START INDEFINITE HUNGER STRIKE

Kathmandu, 8 May: Former lawmakers launched an indefinite hunger strike in front of the constituent assembly in Baneshwor Sunday morning.
They’re demanding a promulgation of a constitution within the 28 May deadline.
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INDIA ASKS NEPAL TO STOP CROSS-BORDER SMUGGLING OF FAKE INDIACURENCY NOTES


Kathmandu, 8 May: India has formally asked Nepal to take initiatives to prevent smuggling of fake Indian currency notes across the border, Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) said in notifications in media outlets .
The central bank said traders along the Nepal-India border are dealing in banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 Indian currency denomination notes.
NRB warned action will be taken against persons dealing in such currency notes banned in Nepal since 2051/4.30 or nearly 17 years ago, the notification said
The announcement and reminder to the public come among increasing cases of arrests, mainly Pakistanis, for smuggling such fake currencies; a Thai national coming in from a Bangkok was also arrested with fake Indian currency notes.
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ACCOUNTS OF YOGENDRA PRASAD SHRESTHA AND FAMLY FROZEN

Kathmandu, 8 May: Accounts and lockers of former Chairman Yogendra Prasad Shrestha and promoters Sita Shrestha and Shaurav Shrestha in banks and financial institutions have been frozen, Nepal Share Markets Finance Ltd. (NSM) said in an announcement.
Sita and Shaurav are Yugendra’s wife and son,
NSM asked clients not to panic as there was a rush to withdraw deposits last week when news broke the chief of the financial company irregularly withdrew nearly two billion rupees for improper investments.
Shrestha’s resignation Wednesday 4 May to help investigation was accepted and Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) has been notified of the fixed assets he presented to be frozen in the name of the company, NSM said.
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AVIATION FUEL PRICE INCREASED

Kathmandu, 8 May: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Saturday increased the price of aviation fuel even as normal supply of POL products hasn’t been normalized.
Supply has been disrupted without timely settlement of import bills with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
International carriers will now have to pay $1,215 per kiloliter instead of $1,075 per kiloliter.
New price for such fuel for internal flights has been fixed at Rs 100 per liter—a Rs 10 hike; fuel price for flights to the Himalayan regions haven’t been increased.
But hikes fuel price for popular trekking destinations like Lukla and Mustang has been raised.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Transitional politics should not have any bearing on the development projects. National politics is in a fix over constitution drafting and other issues.”

(Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, The Himalayan Times, 8 May)
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PM's OFFICE TGHTENS MINISTERS’ DOMESTIC TRAVEL PLANS
Kathmandu, 8 May The Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has asked all government ministers to compulsorily take prior written consent from the prime minister before making any domestic trip, Bimal Gautam reports in Republica.

Issuing revised instructions in this connection, OPMCM has urged ministers not to stay more than two days in a given district and to use state-run guest houses rather than private hotels during their visits.

“Our objective behind issuing the instructions is to maintain financial discipline among ministers in view of ministers´ poor record in the past,” the OPMCM source told Republica.

As per the instructions, ministers including state and assistant ministers are prohibited from including more than three members in their travel party. Ministers can include one office secretary from the ministry concerned, one personal secretary and one personal security officer.

The revised instructions restrict ministers from making more than two trips in the same district within a month.

“Ministers are also required to inform the home ministry two days before their departure about the place and duration of visit,” reads the directive.

Ministers are asked to compulsorily furnish visit reports to the prime minister within seven days of completing a trip. Such reports have to be signed by the ministers concerned.

They are also asked to furnish OPMCM with bills for a visit within 35 days. “The date of departure should match the date mentioned in plane tickets. OPMCM will not accept bills for road vehicle fare if the ministers travelled by air,” the instructions further state.

OPMCM has informed ministers that it would not reimburse expenses from state coffers if trips are found to have been made for personal or political objectives.

OPMCM had instructed all ministers in the Madhav Kumar Nepal-led government also to furnish evidence of domestic travel to claim reimbursement of expenses.

According to the source, that directive is still in existence. As per the directive, ministers are required to furnish information on where, when and why they travelled.
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NEMWANG TO ATTEMPT TO RESUME COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Kathmandu, 8 May: With no end in sight to obstruction of the Constituent Assembly even after one month, preparations of the draft of the constitution has been hindered at the Constitutional Committee even as only 20 days remain before the CA term expires, The Himalayan Times reports.

Four CA members — Bishwendra Paswan of of Dalit Janajati Party, Rukmini Tharu of Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch, Buddha Ratna Manandhar of Newa Rastriya Party and independent CA member Sadrul Miyan Hak — have, with their sloganeering impeded discussions on national issues and important Bills in the 601-member parliament.

Although, there have been rounds of meetings between the four and Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, CA chairman Subas Nembang, CC chairman Nilambar Acharya and three major political parties, there has been no progress in clearing the hindrance with the four refusing to end their protest until the major parties come up with a written commitment on fulfiling their demands.

Leaders of major parties say that it is impossible to fulfil their demands as they are impractical and unfeasible. A case in point is the demand for 90 per cent reservation for Dalits, indigenous and backward groups in government and non government services.

“I, the PM and leaders of major parties held rounds of meetings with the four members. However, they refuse to stop their obstruction,” said CA Chairman Subas Nembang. He said he would meet the party chief whips tomorrow afternoon to discuss how to clear the obstruction.

Political parties should think seriously about this as there is very little time for parties to find a solution to national problems before the CA term expires on May 28, Nembang said.

“Burning issues have been sidelined due to the obstruction, so government partners should take the initiative to ensure that the House runs smoothly,” said Nepali Congress chief whip Laxman Ghimire.

UML chief whip Bhim Prasad Acharya said his party would support any move to be taken by the CA chairman to end the obstruction. Leaders of the three parties, who discussed with the four lawmakers, say they seem to be guided by unseen political forces intending to impede the CA and parliamentary proceedings and the there is no option but to take action against them. However, the four, say that the parties are not serious about their “genuine” demands and they will not stop the obstruction until their demands are met.
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ESTRANGED HUSBAND MURDERED WIFE

Kathmandu, 8 May:: Four days after Menuka Khatri’s murder, police have implicated her estranged husband and a fellow soldier, The Himalayan Times reports.

Menuka (25) of Thumi-7 was found with her head severed in the forested area of Balaju Park near her rented room, where she lived with her six-year old son Aayush.

SP Kedar Rijal, Kathmandu police chief said they had found solid evidences that Bharat Khatri (Menuka’s husband) and his friend Sangharsha Gaunle Khatri of Mauwa- 7, Panchthar had murdered her.

Bharat (26) and Sangharsha (24), soldiers of Nepali Army Cavalry Battalion in Singha Durbar, have confessed to the crime.

Bharat told investigators that he had murdered her ‘to relieve himself of the financial burden of maintaining two wives’. Menuka was his first wife, and his second wife lives in his home district.

“We had a rift over her adulterous relationship with several men. She was also a domineering woman who pressurised me to provide half my salary to her. All these led me to finish her off,” an excerpt of his recorded statement read. It has been revealed that Bharat paid Sangharsha Rs 19,500 for the murder.

DSP Dibesh Lohani said Bharat had ganged up with Sangharsha to plot the murder. “But the police brought them to justice with the help of mobile phone call details and further investigations,” he informed.

According to DSP Lohani, the estranged husband telephoned Menuka and called her out of the room ‘to collect some goods sent from abroad’ in the evening, sweet-talked her into going to a nearby forest and killed her at around 8:00 pm.

“Sangharsha hit Menuka with a hammer on the head from behind and when she collapsed, Bharat held her feet tightly while Sangharsha severed her throat with a cleaver,” said the investigation report.

Sangharsha had brought the weapons, which they later dumped into the Bishnumati River in Balaju. Police have not yet recovered the weapons.

The two are in police custody. SP Rijal said they will be produced before the court tomorrow.
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FURTHER DETAILS OF AGNI SAPKOTA DENIAL IN RIGHTS ABUSES





Kathmandu, 8 May: Minister for Information and Communications Agni Sapkota has made it clear that he was not involved in any activities that violate human rights, The Rising Nepal reports.
Speaking at an interaction organized by Reporters Club on Saturday, he said that the accusation made by the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) against him about rights violations was false.
The accusation affects the credibility of the UN agency, he said.
Sapkota said that the United Nations was interfering in the Nepalese politics in the name of human rights.
He said that he and his party would never accept external interfere in Nepalese political affairs. "This accusation against me is politically motivated," he said.
Minister Sapkota clarified that he had no hand in the death of Arjun Lama as has been blamed and said that Lama’s killing is an incident that took place during the people’s war.
Sapkota said that the tenure of the Constituent Assembly (CA) should be extended so that peace process could be concluded and the constitution written.
Sapkota expressed the hope that the preliminary draft of the constitution would be readied and the process of combatant regrouping would complete within May 28.
Minister Sapkota positively took Nepal army’s proposal on combatant integration and expressed his hope that it would help to conclude the peace process. "This proposal has created trust between the army and the Maoists," he said
Sapkota ruled out the prevalence of dispute and factionalism within the Maoist party.
He said that he had placed high priority to protect press freedom and pledged to initiate steps to ensure security of the journalists.




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NEPAL-INDIA SECURITY TALKS MID-MAY

Kathmandu, 8 May: The recent appointment of the home minister has paved the way for resuming the long-stalled Nepal-India talks in New Delhi, Anil Gri reports in The Kathmandu Post.
The secretary-level meeting, which is scheduled for May 18-19, is expected to take up bilateral security concerns including cross-border crime.
Nepal is likely to seek Indian help in controlling activities of various armed outfits in the Tarai region and for networking, upgradation and modernisation of the Tribhuvan International Airport.
According to officials privy to this development, the Nepali side will also take up the issue of the construction of an India-funded police academy in Panauti, Kavre district.
“The Indian side has been lobbying for appointing its own security consultants for five years once the academy comes into operation which we have been opposing since the idea was mooted. In the last meeting, we considered hiring such consultants for six months,” said a senior home ministry official. Officials say Nepal can now consider hiring Indian consultants for a maximum period of one year. Home Secretary Govinda Kusum and his Indian counterpart G K Pillai will lead the respective teams in the meeting.
India is likely to raise the issues of fake Indian currency, sky marshal in Indian flights and signing of the extradition treaty, among others, said the Nepali officials.
The meeting may also dwell on development of infrastructure along the border. India is building two integrated check posts at Birgunj-Raxaul and Biratnagar-Jogbani borders to regulate people’s flow.
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