PRESIDENT URGES RESOLUTION BY SATURDAY

PRESIDENT ASKS THREE PARTY LEADERS TO FIND RESOLUTION BY SATURDAY UPDATE

Kathmandu, 26 May: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Thursday asked leaders of the Big Three to find a resolution to a continuing political deadlock by Saturday, press aide Rajendra Dahal said.
The president invited Maoist Chairman Prachanda, NC President Sushil Koirala and Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal for a collective dialogue.
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NO MINISTERIAL REPRESENTATION AT NAM MEETING

Kathmandu, 26 May: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav wasn’t present in Bali, Indonesia, where the two-day 16th conference and commemorative meeting of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of non-aligned movement (NAM) started Wednesday.
Nepal’s participation in major international conferences has been affected by an internal political strife
Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal cut short his visit to Istanbul, Turkey, where he was leading a Nepali team to a conference of least developed countries this month.
Khanal came under heavy criticism for leaving the country in the midst of a a political crisis at home anyway.
Nepal is represented instead in Bali by a three-member administrative delegation led by Foreign Secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai
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PUBLIC ROW IN TWO RULING COMMUNIST PARTIES ON GOVT. CONTINUITY





Kathmandu,26 May: The leaders from ruling parties have been split over whether Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal should resign before May 28 to forge consensus, The Rising Nepal reports.
Speaking at the face-to-face programme, UCPN-Maoist politburo member Devendra Poudel said that PM Khanal should resign before May 28 so that the Constituent Assembly’s term should be extended on the basis of consensus.
However, Energy Ministry Gokarna Bista said that the PM Khanal would not resign at any cost until a clear alternative was created for the same.
"The PM will not step down in vacuum," said Bista.
Maoist leader Poudel became irate with Bista when the latter vowed to punish the miscreants involved in damaging of Upper Karnali Hydro project no matter which party they belonged to. The Maoists had reported attacked the project.
"Don’t talk about taking action on them since you will be in power just for two days," said Poudel.
Bista retorted, "I will spare no any violators even if I will be in the government just for one hour."
Bista said that the CA’s term would be extended because Nepali Congress would not bear discredit of dissolving the people’s elected body.
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CHINESE OFFICIAL CALLS FOR NEPAL TOURISM PROMOTION IN CHINA





Kathmandu, 26 May:- A senior government official of the People’s Republic of China has appealed to tourism entrepreneurs and media persons in China to help make Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a success, The Rising Nepal reports from Beijing.
Executive Director of the Tourism Administration Office of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Dr Sonping Wang has requested travel and tour operators of Tibet to run group and special Nepal tour package programs for Chinese tourists coming to Lhasa.
Speaking at the tourism promotion program organized by the Nepal Consulate at Lhasa of Tibet, he also expressed the confidence that the opening of the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung transit between Nepal and China would help increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting Nepal.
At the program, Consul General of Nepal to Tibet, Ngaindra Prasad Upadhyaya also requested the government bodies, tour operators, travel agencies and the media in Lhasa to encourage Chinese tourists to visit Nepal.
Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office in Tibet, Yang Zian Kun said the tourism sector can plan an important role in the expansion and development of bilateral relations enjoyed by China and Nepal.
At the program, a video documentary on Nepal in Chinese and English languages was screened while promotional materials including CD, brochure and posters were distributed.
As part of the goal of the NTY 2011, the Government has targeted to bring in at least 100,000 Chinese tourists to Nepal

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ATM CARD DUPLICATION RACKET BUSTED
Kathmandu, 26 May: Police have nabbed the mastermind behind the ATM card duplication racket who was also involved in robberies from Bouddha, The Himalayan Times reports.

The arrestee has been identified as Kedar KC (34) of Imadole- 8, Lalitpur. DSP Himalaya Shrestha said KC had been operating the racket for five years. He was nabbed on Saturday.

“Police came to know of KC’s criminal history from statements of three robbers, Ram Kumar Nagarkoti of Makwanpur, Raju Khadka of Sindhupalchowk and Dipesh Rai of Sunsari, who were arrested on April 6 with a revolver, Rs 180,000 and currency notes of various countries,” informed Shrestha.

Inspector Bhisma Humagain said KC and his associates robbed individuals of their ATM cards, got their pin number and other details by placing them in an engraving machine. Police have seized an ATM card engraving machine, a laptop, a VISA card printer, ATM cards, four mobile sets, stamp seals, a motorcycle, documents related to ATM fraud, and sale slips of various banks in Kathmandu.

Officials said they were waiting for complaints of theft of cash deposit through duplicate ATM cards. “We will seek the banks’ help for lodging complaint,” said DSP Shrestha.

KC had served nine years in Nakkhu Jail for murdering his wife Saraswati. He had stabbed his wife to death on October 18, 1996.

“After KC completed his time in jail, he started operating the ATM card duplication racket and robberies. Our investigation shows his ties with national and international criminal racketeers made him a master of con tricks,” said DSP Shrestha.

Inspector Humagain informed, KC and his associates had raided seven houses in Kathmandu between 2001 to 2010 robbing cash and properties worth over Rs five million. KC ran K&K Travels and Tours at Chhetrapati and Genius Handicraft at Bouddha as a cover for his criminal racket.
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REVENUE COLLECTION BELOW TARGET
Kathmandu, 26 May: Unless revenue collection surges dramatically in remaining two months of the current fiscal year, the Department of Customs (DoC), one of the major components of the country’s revenue administration, is almost certain to miss its annual target of Rs 98 billion. The Department of Customs (DoC) has collected Rs 74 billion in revenue against its target of Rs 78 billion during the first 10 months of the fiscal year, The Kathmandu Post reports..
Earlier, the department’s collection used to exceed target significantly. It had collected Rs 83.46 billion against the target of Rs 74.66 billion in 2009-10, a surplus of 11 percent.
The decline in collection has forced an alarmed DoC to introduce measures to try to close the gap between target and collection. It increased the customs valuation of 3,000 items in the last week of April and followed it by strict enforcement of simplified declaration forms (SDF) for cross-border shoppers.
Top DoC officials have admitted that meeting this year’s target would be a Herculean task. They said that a slowdown in imports had hit customs revenue besides a rise in smuggling across the border. “It looks like meeting this year’s target would be extremely difficult,” said Tanka Mani Sharma, director general of the department.
The department has increased product valuation by 10-100 percent for local imports—import of goods from India and China without opening a letter of credit (LC)—and 10-60 percent for goods imported from third countries for which payment is made by LC. “Had we increased the valuation earlier, we wouldn’t be struggling to meet the target,” said Sharma.
According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), imports have increase 1.4 percent against last year’s growth of 41.8 percent. Compared to last year, import growth from both India and third countries has slowed in this fiscal year. A decline in imports from third countries has hit customs revenue the most.
According to the department, imports from third countries generate the most revenue. This year, the department is witnessing a huge decline in such imports. According to NRB’s statistics, third country imports dropped 27 percent. The DoC data shows decline in imports of main revenue earners such as automobile, machinery parts, MS billets, iron rod and crude soybean oil slowed down the department’s revenue collection growth. Revenue collection from automobile imports fell Rs 410 million during the period mid-April to mid-May alone.
Sharma said revenue collection can be termed satisfactory considering the rate of expansion of trade. “In the first 10 months of the last fiscal year, imports increased 38 percent and revenue collection 39 percent,” said Sharma. “This year, imports have gone up only 2.1 percent while the growth in revenue collection stands at 11 percent.” The DoC top officials say this year’s target was too high. “Revenue collection hasn’t dropped but the set target was too high,” said one senior official.
If the department is to achieve its revenue target, revenue collection from Birgunj Customs has to improve substantially. However, Birgunj Customs, the largest revenue collector among custom offices in the country, is in a sorry state. It has achieved only 89.54 percent of its target in the first 10 months. Worried by falling revenue, Birgunj Customs even organised a Rudri Puja to seek divine blessing.
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