RAT ONBOARD STATE CARRIER RNA BOEING IN HONG KONG

WOMAN JAILED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING

Kathmandu, 7Aug.:Shanti Tamang, has been hailed for one year jail term by a special court bench
She was arrested in Thankot with Rs.2.7 million for which she couldn’t account.
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ANOTHER RAT ABOARD RNA FLIGHT IN HONG KONG

Kathmandu, 7 Aug.: In yet another revelation, the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) aircraft is found sheltering more mice, The Kathmandu Post reports.
This was disclosed by Yubaraj Kumar Bhattarai, the pilot-in-command, of NAC's Boeing 757 9N-ACB that flew to Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon after its arrival from Malaysia at 11:00 am.
Though NAC officials confirmed the mouse that boarded the Bangkok-bound flight on Monday was trapped at 10:30 pm, the same flight bound to Hong Kong on Tuesday is suspected of harboring more mice.
Immediately after the pilot logbook at Hong Kong recorded more mice in the plane, the aircraft was grounded. "We have received confirmation that Boeing 757 9N-ACB has more mice," said NAC spokesperson Raju Bahadur KC. "As a result, flights to Kathmandu from Hong Kong have been cancelled."
KC said that HECO, the Hong Kong-based maintenance company of NAC, was entrusted with the job of searching the mouse.
Shankar Thapa, NAC's engineer at the Tribhuvan International Airport said on Monday that he had released the aircraft after the mouse was trapped late evening. "I had even taken photographs of the trapped mouse with my cell phone," Thapa said.
Some NAC officials say that the issue has become sensitive. "There must be something wrong. ... "I smell a rat," said a senior NAC official. "Like other issues of irregularities such as the appointment of fake staff and theft of fly-away kits, this issue has been politicized," the source said on condition of anonymity.
NAC officials had discovered a mouse nest in a worn-out in-flight catering box on Monday.
On Monday, passengers in the Bangkok-bound NAC flight were in for a shock when their flight was cancelled in the morning after a mouse that was sighted on food tray played spoilsport. The aircraft was then grounded for the search mission.
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MORE LEAKS OF NEPAL US EMBASSY CABLES TO STATE DEPT.

Kathmandu, 7Sept.: In a bid to gain legitimacy to his February 2005 takeover, then King Gyanendra Shah had requested China to invite him for a visit, which, however, was not accepted, partly because welcoming Gyanendra to Beijing would have sent a wrong message that China backed the royal takeover, reveals a Wikileaks release. Informed of the request, the US had urged Beijing not to invite Gyanendra at least until the political crisis in Kathmandu was resolved, Phanindra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post.
According to a diplomatic cable sent by Deputy Political Chief of the US Embassy in Beijing Robert Griffiths, Shah had requested for a visit to China in May 2006.
Then US Ambassador to Nepal James F Moriarty, who visited Beijing in March 2006, had stressed the need of putting pressure on the king for reconciling with parties during his meeting with Luo Zhaohui, the Asia Department Deputy Director General at China’s Foreign Ministry.
“Luo said that China has “taken note” of the king’s request but has not accepted it yet,” states the confidential cable. Moriarty is quoted as warning the Chinese diplomat that the Nepali government would try to spin such an invitation into Chinese support for the king’s policies.
The US ambassador had predicted that the month of April would be a “very crucial month” for Nepal and had suggested Chinese official to wait until it become clearer whether the king was genuinely interested in reconciliation with the parties. Luo had suggested that the ambassadors of China and the US in Nepal take the lead in hosting talks between the three major political parties and the government.
Unfortunately, Gyanendra’s desire didn’t materalise after the 2006 uprising stripped him off power. Gyanendra has visited India after the declaration of republic.
US felt UNMIN ineffective
The US had felt that Unmin’s political role in Nepal’s peace process was not useful and recommended minimising its political activities and appointment of a ‘neutral’ representative to ensure the credibility of the UN political mission, revealed a communiqué from the US embassy in Kathmandu released by Wikileaks last week.
Such a recommendation was made in December 2009 when progress in the peace process was largely stagnated, domestic actors were deeply divided over the role of Unmin and countries like the UK were in favour of entrusting ‘an explicit political mandate in Unmin’s extension.” The Madhav Kumar Nepal-led government, which regarded Unmin as pro-Maoist, was reluctant to request for more than a four-month extension beyond January 23, 2010 while the Maoists were stressing the need to expand the political role of Unmin.
The diplomatic cable sent by Charge d’ Affaires Randy W Berry on December 2, 2009 observed that Unmin had not restricted its activities to the UNSC mandate but instead played a very active role in larger political issues such as integration and rehabilitation of PLA combatants, creation of a high-level political mechanism and constitution drafting.
“Even if the UN is given or continues to play a political role, Landgren might not be the right person for the job,” read the cable.
The cable argued that Unmin cannot effectively influence the peace process without the support of the Indian government and maintained that US diplomats in the UN, Delhi and the State Department to consult with Indian officials to solicit their views on Unmin’s extension. “New Delhi has never warned UNMIN and it is unlikely that they would support wider political mandate,” read the cable. “British Ambassador to Nepal Andrew Hall, for example, reported that Indian envoy to Nepal Rakesh Sood, ‘laughed at him’ when Hall raised the idea of broader political mandate for Unmin.”
The US diplomats, then favoured a six-month extension to carry Unmin through the sensitive period of May 28, 2010 deadline of the CA. The UN Security Council gave a four-month term extension to Unmin on January 21, 2010 following Nepal government’s request.
Concern over mission’s role
Then Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee had expressed serious dissatisfaction over Ian Martin’s public offer to help the Nepal government in holding talks with Madhesi outfits in 2007. According to the cable dated September 4, 2007, India saw Martin’s offer as ‘interference’ and beyond the mandate of Unmin.
Mukherjee had complained to then UNDP Resident Representative Matthew Kahane about the recent visit of WFP staff to Bihar to hold talks with militant Madhesi groups, including the Jwala Singh faction, to ensure security for flood relief deliveries, adds the cable. The staff members had applied for Indian visas to visit Delhi but had not informed the Indian government of their intention to visit Bihar or meet Madhesi factions, according to Mukherjee.
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