OPPOSITION PARTIES NC, UML OPPOSE MASS RECRUITMENT OF MADESHI YOUTH IN NA

NC, UML OPPOSE MASS RECRUITMENT OF MADESHIS IN NA

Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: NC and UML held consultations and
objected Wednesday one day after government agreed to mass recruitment of 3,000 Madeshi youth in Nepal Army (NA) by filling in
vacancies.
The government isn’t prioritizing implementation of a four-point
agreement and other agreements to complete the peace process
and constitution drafting, the parties said.
Mass integration ignoring national understanding this is
regrettable, the two parties concluded Wednesday evening.
Government decision on mass recruitment Tuesday was an
obstacle to national understanding, the two arties concluded.
The NC and UML urged completion of the peace process and
implementation of agreement to integrate 6,500 former Maoist
combatants in the state army—nothing more or nothing less,
according to NC Spokesman Arjun Narsingh KC.
They asked a meeting of the Big Three and Madeshbadi parties
be convened by Friday to review implementation of agreements thahaven;t been implemented reminding an agreement was concluded for a weekly review meeting.
Such a meeting hasn’t been held the parties said.
NC President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal attended the meeting of the two parties.
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NC PARLIAMENTARY PARTY MEETS BRIEFLY

Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: NC parliamentary party met Wednesday and was adjourned until 26 December.
The main opposition is finalizing a late official party position on themes like a state structure and other themes to be incorporated in a
Constitution,including a state structure.
First preliminary discussion was held this month at Nagarkot.
Members are still presenting their views, parliamentary party spokesman Nabindra Raj Joshi said.
The meeting was held without the presence of parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel who’s mourning his mother’s death.
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DSP ARRESTED WITH SMUGGLED GOODS FROM TIBET
Kathmandu, 21 Dec.: Armed Police Force DSP Harka Raj Panta was arrested Wednesday at Dolalghat by a team of Revenue
Investigation Department.
Panta was arrested along with a contingent of security personnel adnd drivers.
Smuggled items, including mobile telephones, from across the
border in Tibet were recovered.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Without capturing the state there will be no change in the
country so our party is going underground to ensure change
though revolution.”

(CPN-Unified General Secretary Sita Ram Tamang, The Himalayan Times, 21 Dec.:
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APA SHERPA OF EVEREST FAME TO LEAD A SUPER TREK FROM EAST TO FAR-WEST NEPAL
Katjmandu, 21 Dec.: Apa Sherpa, the Nepalese climber who has conquered Mount Everest a record 21 times, announced Wednesday plans to embark on a gruelling 1,700 kilometre (1,060-mile) trek across the Himalayas, AFP reports from the Nepalese capital..

The 51-year-old father of three, dubbed "Super Sherpa", will set off in January on the 120-day walk with climber Dawa Steven Sherpa in a bid to raise awareness of climate change.

The expedition, the first official hike along the length of Nepal's Great Himalayan Trail since it opened in September, will take in some of the world's most rugged landscapes and see the duo ascending beyond 6,000 metres (19,600 feet).

"The Great Himalaya Trail is possibly the world's best long-distance walking trail," Apa Sherpa said, describing the adventure as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

The route extends along the length of the Himalayas in Nepal, passing in the shadow of eight of the world's 10 highest mountains.

The expedition has been dubbed the Climate Smart Celebrity Trek and the duo said they hoped to be accompanied along parts of their journey by Hollywood and Bollywood stars, although organisers admitted none had yet signed up.

Apa Sherpa, who was born in Nepal but now lives in the United States, first scaled 8,848-metre Everest in 1990.

He has spoken of the dramatic changes to Everest in the past two decades, and after an expedition last year said rising temperatures were making the mountain increasingly dangerous for climbers.

The climber has dedicated his last four ascents to efforts to preserve Everest, which the Sherpa people consider sacred, and this year climbed with a team removing tonnes of rubbish left behind by earlier climbers.

Last year, he set up a foundation dedicated to improving education in the remote Himalayan region where he grew up.
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