ADB PROPOSES NEW 65 MILLION INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION SECTOR

CHINESE AMBASSADOR HOLDS DISCUSSIONS WITH PM KHANAL
Kathmandu, 21 June: Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan held discussions with Prime Minister Jhananath Khanal Tuesday after assuming formal responsibility by presenting his credentials Monday to President Dr Ram Baran Yadav.
Yang is a security specialist who has also served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
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UPDATE OF UML PARLIAMENTARY PARTY MEET
Kathmandu, 21 June: A parliamentary party meeting of the UML Tuesday asked the majority communist government to present a complete budget for the next fiscal year with understanding of parties and asked the Jhalanath Khanal government to hold consultations with other parties for such an effort.
Pre-budget discussions begin in parliament begin Wednesday.
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ADB PROPOSES $65 MILLION INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION SECTOR
Kathmandu, 21 June: Visit of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director General for South Asia Sultan Hafeez Rahaman held discussions with Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal on Nepal-Bank cooperation, including further investment in the education sector.
The bank plans further $65 new investment in the sector, Milan Tuladhar, foreign advisor of the premier said after the meeting Tuesday.
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SLC MARKSHEET AND PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATE WITHIN 15 DAYS
Kathmandu, 21 June: Students who cleared this year’s SLC examination can for the first time collect their mark sheet with provisional certificate within 15 days amid preparations to send results to districts, education officials said.
Provisional certificates in the past were available only after six months.
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U-19 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS IN IRELAND THE LAST
Kathmandu, 21 June: The U-19 World Cup qualifiers in Ireland from 28 July to 8 August in Ireland from Ireland will be the last.
Nepal, Ireland, Scotland, USA, Canada, Afghanistan Kenya,Namibia, Vanuata, and Papua New Guinea are competing for six slots for the World Cup
International Cricket Council (ICC) Development Committee for austerity reasons decided to reinstate the old system to one position for each region.
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MADESH POLITICS POLARIZATION A SECURITY CHALLENGE

Kathmandu, 21 June: The government has listed the recent polarisation of Madhes-based parties and the conflict among major parties on the interpretation of the five-point agreement signed ahead of last month’s Constituent Assembly term extension as potential security challenges of the country, Phanindra Dahal reports in The Kathmandu Post.
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara made this assessment while briefing the State Affairs Committee (SAC) on the law and order situation, security challenges and remedies.

Mahara said the current political trend, unification of armed outfits and the activities of ethnic and religious groups were current security challenges.

“The tendency to interpret the pact signed by the parties on their own, the competition between them to achieve political benefits, the activities of armed groups operating in the Tarai and eastern Hills, the polarisation of Madhesi forces, the ethnic, regional and religious activities have affected the law and order situation,” Mahara said. He also briefed the lawmakers on political consequences that could result from the failure to meet the Aug 31 CA deadline.

In his presentation, the home minister claimed that the Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha led by Jay Krishna Goit has been trying to unify armed outfits in the Tarai and is instigating Madhes-based parties to launch a stir against the government. He argued that the ethnic and Madhesi outfits could disrupt normal life if the parties fail to meet the deadline.

Ram Janam Chaudhary of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Lokatantrik) said Mahara’s claim was baseless. “He has tried to blame the Morcha for the deteriorating and law and order situation. We will register our serious objection to the allegation in the next meeting.”

The deliberations was postponed until Friday afternoon after Chaudhary demanded “sufficient time” to discuss “sensitive remarks” made by the home minister. In the written report, Mahara also detailed the political consequences that could result from the failure to implement last month’s three-party agreement.

The Home Ministry has said the alliance of different indigenous, Janajati, Madhesi, Dalit and republican fronts and the Tharuhat Autonomous State Council have announced they would not pay taxes if the constitution is not promulgated within the stipulated time. Such groups have said they would declare their own governments, if the deadline is missed.

“Ethnic groups have declared their own governments in the Eastern region and they tend to treat us like foreign citizens when we visit those places,” Mahara said. Maoist lawmaker Hareraj Limbu, who hails from Dhankuta, objected to the claim.

“We aspire for a Limbuwan province in the east but the people have not so far taken the law in their hands,” he said.

Mahara said underground outfits—Samyukta Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (Pawan, Bhagat, Rajanpratap) groups—had recently formed the Jantantrik Madhesi Mukti Morcha. He said the Janatantrik Tarai Madhes Mukti Party led by Bhagat Singh has been targeting local political leaders and civil servants in the southern plains. The report included potential risk of arson, bomb blasts, extortion and other illicit activities of the Samyukta Jatiya Mukti Morcha and attempts that can be made by Hindu fundamentalists to disrupt religious harmony. People belonging to major caste groups—Chhetri and Brahmin—could also hold organised protests for the sake of their ethnic and communal rights, Mahara added.

He also claimed that outfits operating in the Eastern Hills and Tarai armed groups were trying to carry out armed activities with support from the CPN (Maoist) led by Matrika Yadav. All such groups, according to the Home Ministry’s assessment, can donate bombs at government offices and public places.

Other security risks Mahara talked about include murder of civil servants, obstruction of highways, maneuverings of former royalists, the agitation of parties and formation of military wings by armed Madhes groups. The supply and misuse of small arms, cross border crimes, negative impact of strikes and activities of organised criminal groups are other challenges, according to the government.

Political protection to those involved in illegal activities and the failure to upgrade the police force have hindered the government’s efforts to contain criminal activities, Mahara told the parliamentary committee.
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IOC CUTS OIL SUPPLY 75 PERCENT



Kathmandu, 21 June : Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Monday cut petroleum supplies to Nepal by 75 percent, attributing its action to the failure of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to make payment for the import it made over the past week, Republica reports.

IOC, referring to its own loss, had been pushing NOC to timely submit demand projection and strictly adhere to the payment schedule. Recently, it had even warned of slashing supply if the state-owned petroleum monopolist did not comply with the payment schedule.

However, amid uncertainty of fund, cash-strapped NOC had neither submitted the demand projection nor made a categorical payment commitment this month.
“We received just 552 kiloliters of petroleum products from Raxaul depot, the largest import point, on Monday,” said NOC Spokesperson Mukunda Dhungel.

The supply made on the day was just one-fourth of the regular daily import that NOC used to receive from Raxaul. Supplies from other IOC depots and Barauni refinery too remained low.

NOC, however, said the sudden decline in import will not affect the supply in the market. Dhungel said NOC has well over 25,500 KL of petroleum products in stock, which is enough to meet demand for about a week.

NOC Chief Digambhar Jha said the corporation has already initiated talks with the Indian supplier, requesting it to withdraw its step, to ensure normal imports immediately. Jha mainly informed the Indian supplier that NOC has already requested the government to arrange it a fresh loan to finance normal imports. He also told IOC that he was hopeful of getting positive response soon.

“We hope IOC will consider our request seriously,” Jha said and also pressed the government to arrange it Rs 1.50 billion instantly to avert looming fuel shortage.
As the government has consistently refrained from adjusting domestic prices in line with the international trend, Jha said NOC has suffered well over Rs 6 billion in loss over the first 10 months of this fiscal year alone.

While it seriously distorted its fund flow, NOC over the past six months has relied solely on loans to finance imports. It has already taken loans of about Rs 5 billion from the government and financial institutions to finance imports during the period.

This has raised NOC´s total outstanding loans liability, including those that it took in 2008 and 2009, to Rs 17.39 billion. It includes Rs 3.90 billion taken from Employees Provident Fund and another Rs 1.13 billion taken from Citizens Investment Trust.







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