INDRA JATRA BEING CELEBRATED SUNDAY

INDRA JATRA BEING CELEBRATED

Kathmandu, 11 Sept.: Rain God Indra is being worshipped Sunday.
The chariots of Living Goddess Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairab will be towed through the capital’s streets later in the afternoon.
The jatra Sunday also marks the beginning of the festive season.
Top political and government leadership will have a darshan of the Goddess on her chariot as she is towed through the streets from her official government residence at Kumari Ghar in Basantapur Square.
The eight-day festival strated with the erection of Indrawaja at Hanumah Dhoka Friday.
Sunday was declared a public holiday im the Valley.
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PM. BHATTARAI TO MEET PARTY WORKERS EVERY SATURDAY

Kathmandu, 11 Sept.: Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai will meet party workers every Saturday at party office.
Aide Gambir Shrestha said this in an announcement Sunday.
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NEPSE INDEX SLIPS

Kathmandu, 11 Sept.: Nepse index slipped
9.41 points at the end of five-day trading to close at 329.63 points when trading closed Thursday.
But trade volume increased 81.38percent compared to the previous week.
Shares worth Rs. 99.3 million of Class A companies, 60.26 percent of total weekly trade, were bought and sold.
Commercial bank share prices slumped 16.23 percent.
Shares of 127 companies were traded.
Altogether 639,153 shares worth Rs.150.897 million were traded in 6,434 transactions.
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ADVANCE BOOKINGS
FOR BUS TICKETS

Kathmandu, 11 Sept. Advance bookings for tickets on
mid and long routes on outbound buses from the capital started Saturday
Transport entrepreneurs said nearly 3,000 buses will be pressed into service to meet increased demand for seats during the festive season.
Nearly half the city’s population go home for dasain and tihar almost emptying the city.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Maoists are now accustomed to luxuries. They’ll now neve return to the jungle.”

(Sushil Koirala, Nagarik,11 Sept.”-
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SPORTS

NEPAL PLAYS SYRIA IN SOCCER OPENER

Kathmandu, 11 Sept. Nepal will play Syria Monday in the opener of the Group D qualifying match after Lebanon pulled of the AFC U-16 Championship Group D Qualifier in Kathmandu
Oman and Saudi Arabia are also in the grouping.
The runner-up will qualify for the final in 2012.
Syrian and Oman teams arrived in the capital Saturday.
Hosts will play Oman Wednesday and Saudi Arabia Friday.
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NEPAL TROUNCED IN BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Kathmandu, 11 Sept : Nepal was trounced in the first 3x3 Youth World Championship in Rimini, Italy, losing all matches.
Nepal was defeated by Germany and New Zealand Saturday.
Germany defeated Nepal 21-12 and lost to New Zealand 21-5.
On the opening Friday, Nepal to Canada, England, Latvia, Turkey, Romania and Japan.
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PRACHANDA’S ACTIVITUES IN EAST A MYSTERY
Kathmandu, 11 Sept 11: Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has a penchant for clandestine trips. Be it within the country or abroad, he has made many secret trips, generating curiosity and controversy, Kiran Pun writes in Republica.
His sudden trip Friday evening to the eastern part of the country (still not known where exactly) has stirred fresh speculation, rumors-and even conspiracy theories.
First, let´s start with what is known for certain: Chairman Dahal landed at Biratnagar airport Friday evening, accompanied by his wife Sita and son Prakash. He was received by his confidant Haribol Gajurel, a Maoist politburo member.
Security officials in the eastern region informed Republica that they were told by party sources Dahal was coming on a private visit and they were asked not to arrange for his security or to follow him. "All that we know is he went northward from Biratnagar," said an official. Dahal´s son Prakash in his facebook status posted Saturday afternoon had written "near Itahari", but it was deleted soon after.
A Maoist party leader close to Gajurel claimed that Dahal is in Bhedetar, a small hilly town between Dharan and Dhankuta, where he will rest for a few days. A scenic, breezy hilltop, Bhedetar often draws crowds from the eastern part of the country for picnics.
According to another source, Dahal has gone to Tarahara Agricultural Farm located between Dharan and Itahari.
Dahal has often taken refuge in resorts on the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley with his family, during tense moments in his party or to prepare political reports to be presented in party committees.
But this is the first time that he has traveled this far to take "rest" and that is what has raised suspicions and set the rumor mills churning.
Rumor number one: Dahal has crossed the Nepal-India border and reached Siliguri to settle a long running dispute between his youngest daughter Ganga and son-in-law Narayan Bikram Pradhan, an Indian national residing in that city. Ganga and Narayan have been living separately for the last several years (Ganga now lives in Kathmandu) and they are said to be on the brink of divorce.
So the visit could be either to finalize the divorce or to initiate a patch up. Pradhan, the son of a local Indian leader and sympathizer with the Maoist party, was arrested by Indian police along with Maoist Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya and jailed for some time.
Rumor number two: Dahal is in Siliguri to negotiate with Indian intelligence officials. Many Baidya faction leaders, who claim that Dahal met RAW chief Alok Joshi and his deputy during his last visit to Malaysia and finalized a deal that paved the way for the election of Baburam Bhattarai as prime minister, believe this speculation.
The fact that Maoist Chairman Dahal held several clandestine meetings with Indian intelligence officials in London, Hong Kong and Singapore in the past also has made the Baidya faction leaders very suspicious.
Rumor number three: Dahal went to Sunsari to meet and negotiate the peace process with NC President Sushil Koirala, who is in Inaruwa to address a party function commemorating the birth anniversary of the late legendary NC leader B P Koirala. But many NC leaders who have reached Biratnagar to attend the function dismissed any such meeting between Dahal and Koirala.
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NEW DISCLOSURE IN MAINALI MURDER CASE IN JAPAN SUSPICIOUS

Kathmandu,11 Sept : An advocacy group formed by Japanese citizens and members of the Non-Resident Nepali Association Japan to ensure a fair retrial for Govinda Prasad Mainali objected on Saturday to the intention of Tokyo High Public Prosecutor´s Office (THPPO) to conduct further tests on over three dozen previously unknown pieces of evidence before deciding on Mainali´s appeal for a retrial, Bikash Sangraula writes in Republica.
The Justice for Govinda-Innocence Advocacy Group, in a statement, said THPPO “should not do anything further to prolong the current proceedings but allow for an immediate decision on retrial.”
Mainali, 44, has already spent 14 years behind bars since his arrest in March 1997 for the murder of a 39-year-old Japanese woman in Tokyo.
Mainali has consistently pleaded not guilty and has sought a retrial since 2005.
Evidence that emerged in late July this year and last week bolstered Mainali´s claim and put pressure on THPPO. In July, a DNA analysis at Osaka Medical University concluded that a semen sample collected in 1997 from the woman´s body was not Mainali´s, but matched male body hair found in the room where her body was found.
This evidence and last week´s disclosure that prosecutors had hidden a blood group test report on saliva found on the woman´s breast strongly contradict Tokyo High Court´s December 2000 verdict against Mainali which said, “It is inconceivable that a third party entered the room with the victim.”
Instead of deciding in favor of an immediate retrial following disclosure of such evidence,THPPO said last week that it would conduct tests on an additional 40 previously undisclosed items.
Referring to the disclosure that many pieces of evidence had been hidden so far and that prosecutors had also hidden the saliva test report for 14 years, the advocacy group, which has stood for Mainali right from the beginning, said, “We strongly object to the prosecutor´s unfair play. The commencement of a retrial should not be delayed any further and Govinda should be immediately released.”
The group also questioned the intent behind disclosure of the hitherto unknown 40 items on which THPPO now wishes to conduct further DNA analysis, when recent evidence has already proved wrong the grounds on which Tokyo High Court sentenced Mainali for life.
“The DNA analysis report prepared by Professor Suzuki of Osaka Medical University and disclosed to the defense on July 25th establishes that someone other than Govinda had sexual intercourse with the victim. This contradicts the conclusion reached by the court, and which resulted in Mainali´s conviction,” it said.
The group added that as soon as it became clear the report favors Mainali, “the prosecutor suddenly disclosed the existence of 40 or so items which had never been disclosed". "We are very much shocked and enraged by this,” it said.
Mainali, who is from Ilam district, left for Japan in 1994. He worked as a waiter in Tokyo until Japanese police arrested him in March 1997, initially on the charge of overstaying his visa. He was later charged for robbing and murdering 39-year-old Yasuko Watanabe, who worked at Tokyo Electric Power Co and also moonlighted as a prostitute.

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