NEW DFID CHIEF TAKES OVER MONDAY

NEW DFID CHIEF

Kathmandu, 1 Aug.: Dominic O’Neill has been appointed head of Britain’s Department of International Development (DFID).
He assumes responsibilities Monday.
DFID has set 331 British pound sterling for Nepal.
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CABINET RESHUFFLE LIKELY MONDAY AMID GIVE AND TAKE IN UML ,MAOISTS

Kathmandu, 1 Aug After a week-long bickering over cabinet reshuffle, the prime minister´s positive response on the issue of inducting minister nominees from the largest coalition partner UCPN (Maoist) has finally brought a thaw the relations between the two major coalition partners, CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist), Republica reports.

Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal is likely to induct the minister nominees from the UCPN (Maoist) on Monday.

The prime minister agreed to reshuffle the cabinet after the Maoist leaders agreed to reduce the number of new ministers and to expedite the twin tasks of concluding the peace process and statute drafting in the remaining one-month of the Constituent Assembly (CA) term.

Khanal said he had not been able to reshuffle the cabinet earlier because the list of ministers was long and time inappropriate. “It was difficult to reshuffle the cabinet as the Maoists had submitted a long list of 24 minister-nominees and we were expected to move ahead on the basis of consensus,” the prime minister said at a press meet on Sunday.

Khanal informed that he would induct only 11 cabinet ministers. Maoists had suggested to the prime minister to accommodate 12 ministers and 12 state ministers in the cabinet. Though the Maoists have staked claim to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Khanal´s aides in Baluwatar said the issue is yet to be finalized as the portfolio was earlier allocated to another coalition partner Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF). This issue needs to be settled through consensus between Prime Minister Khanal, Dahal and the MPRF chairman.

The prime minister said the renewed commitment by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has turned the situation in his favor. “I learnt that the Maoist chairman a little while ago has promised that his party is ready to set the standards for the integration, fix the number of combatants to be integrated into the security agencies, settle the issue of rank harmonization and rehabilitation package, among other things,” Khanal told media persons. “He is also ready to categorize the Maoist combatants depending on whether they want to join security forces or opt for rehabilitation.”

Khanal informed that Dahal has also pledged to prepare the first integrated draft of the new constitution before the extended CA term expires on August 31.

“I further request the Maoists to create a situation favorable for cabinet reshuffle by withdrawing the resignation of incumbent Maoist ministers,” he said. On Saturday, Dahal handed over a joint resignation of all Maoist ministers to the prime minister for not inducting the new team into the cabinet. The Maoist leaders had also threatened to withdraw the party´s support to the government.

Asked about the probability of inducting new Maoist ministers in the cabinet on Monday, the prime minister´s press advisor Surya Thapa said the prime minister and the Maoist chairman are yet to sort out some issues.

Maoists express commitment to peace process

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal earlier in the afternoon said that his party is committed to the peace process and that the cabinet reshuffle would not hinder the process of forming a national consensus government.

“The process of categorizing the combatants could be completed by August 31 if the parties agree on rehabilitation packages,” said Dahal addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Paris Danda on Sunday.

Dahal reiterated that his party is also ready to strike a deal on all issues of integration and prepare a draft of the constitution, but added that other political parties should also share “equal responsibility” for the peace process to come to fruition.

Dahal argued that the cabinet reshuffle would not impede the formation of a national consensus government. “We are ready to take initiatives for the formation of a new government within 24 hours of cabinet reshuffle,” said Dahal.

He said his party decided to continue to support the government after being assured by the prime minister that the minister nominees from the party would be sworn in.

Maoists had set Sunday as the deadline for Khanal to administer oath of office and secrecy to the party´s minister nominees, saying that they would otherwise withdraw their support to the government.

Published on 2011-08-01 00:00:01
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NEPAL MEETS BANGLADESH IN U-16 OPENER
Kathmandu, 1 Aug.:Nepal will play its first SAFF U-16 Championship Football Tournament match against Bangladesh on Thursday at Dasharath Stadium, Republica reports.

Nepal has been placed in group B in the six-team contest, which has Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as other teams in the group, in the first edition of event scheduled to kick off on Monday at Dasharath Stadium. In other group match, home team will play against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
In curtain raiser, India will play against Pakistan in the group A match on Monday. Maldives is the other team in group A.

Top two among three teams from each group will qualify for the semifinal stage after round robin group matches. Only one match will be played on each day until group stage which ends on August 10. All matches will be placed at Dasharath Stadium.

Squad

Nepal has finalized the names of 23-member squad for the event under the captainship of Heman Gurung.

Goalkeepers: Birendra Chand, Brijesh Singh and Alan Neupane; Defenders: Sanjay Rajbahak, Aaditya Chaudhary, Bishwas Shrestha, Bibek Basnet, Anjan Lakhaju and Nabin Gurung; Midfielders: Heman Gurung, Rungri Hang Rai, Sagar Lama, Firon Magrati, Shikharmani Kafle, Umesh Thapa, Pramal Thapamagar and Yugal Pandey; Forwards: Rishi Thapamagar, Anil Gurung, Krishnaraj Lama, Suraj Hamal, Suman Lama and Suraj Kumar Rai.

Preparations complete

The organizers, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), on Monday said it has completed all the preparations for the SAFF U-16 Championship.

At a press conference in the capital on Monday, ANFA General Secretary Dhirendra Pradhan said the ticket price for each match is Rs 100 and Rs 300 for open and VIP stands respectively.

ANFA has banned taking any materials other than raincoat in the stadium due to security reasons. As host, ANFA will get $6,000 each from five participating teams. The expected cost of the event is Rs 3 million.

Tough time in getting Challenge Cup

Speaking at the same press meet, ANFA President Ganesh Thapa said that Nepal had a tough time securing the chance to host the final round of AFC Challenge Cup scheduled for April 2012. Along with Nepal, Maldives and Palestine, which boast of better infrastructure than Nepal, had also filed their bids to host the final round of tournament.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee meeting in Malaysia on Friday had decided to allow Nepal to host the final round. However, AFC had set some conditions for organizing the event in Nepal.

"AFC has asked us to upgrade the physical infrastructure and conditions of ground to host the final round," Thapa said. "But ANFA cannot do this single-handedly and we need support of all sides including the government, Ministry of Youth and Sports and National Sports Council."

Awards to be announced in a month

Thapa on the same occasion hinted of declaring the name of winner of Rupak Memorial Award and the Best Footballer of 2067 BS in a month. ANFA has announced to provide a flat to the Best Footballer of 2067 BS. But ANFA has yet to name the best player.

Similarly, ANFA has not announced the name of Rupak Memorial Award winners since 2064 BS though the award is supposed to be given every year.

"Awarding player is not a big deal. We were busy in bigger projects than awarding players. We will let you know about awards within a month. All the winners of Rupak Memorial will be announced at once," Thapa India meets Pakisatn Monday.
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