MADAN KUMAR BHATTARAI CONFIRMED AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN

MADAN KUMAR BHATTARAI CONFIRMED AMBASSADOR TO NEPAL

Kathmandu, 1 Sept.: Madan Kumar Bhattarai was confirmed ambassador to Japan Thursday by a parliamentary hearing
committee.
Bhattarai was appointed by the outgoing government of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal after retiring as foreign secretary.
He’s a former ambassador to Germany.
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US WELCOMES MAOIST HANDOVER OF KEYS UPDATE

Kathmandu, 1 Sept.: US embassy Thursday welcomed a Maoist decision to handover keys of its arms in containers to a special committee headed by the prime minister.”
“We welcome the decision by the Maoist party to hand over the keys to the arms containers to the Special Committee today[Thursday]
“This is a promising step and we hope it signals the commitment of the UCPN-M to continue moving forward to complete the peace process.
“Doing so, however, will require that the UML, the Nepali Congress, and all other political actors respond with similar flexibility and constructive commitment to finally bring the Nepali people the peace and prosperity they seek and deserve,” a US embassy statement said.
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BRITISH ARMY ANNOUNCES CUTS IN GURKHA FORCE

Kathmandu, 1 Sept.: British Army announced Thursday measures to reduce its strength by 7000 to 93000 by 2015. This will include over 5000 redundancies from across the whole Army, the British embassy said..

“In the first of four tranches, some 140 Gurkhas have been told today [Thursday] that they have been selected for redundancy,” the embassy said.
All redundees will be given 12 months notice and a period of resettlement into civilian life.
The Brigade of Gurkhas continues to recruit new soldiers in Nepal, the embassy said.
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