NINE JEEP PASSENGERS INJURED

NINE JEEP PASSENGERS INJURED
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.:.:Nine jeep passengers were injured in a crash with a
bus near Ghorai in Dang Tuesday
The hired jeep was heading for Rukum from the far-West district.
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MULTILATERL AID FOR FORESTRY PROJECT
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.:: Representatives of Nepal UK,
Switzerland and Finland signed a joint US$ 62 million funding agreement
Monday to implement the multi stakeholders’ forestry project.
for inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction and tackling climate change
The programme will continue until March 15, 2015.
Government of Finland has delegated the administration of its funds for
the programme to the Embassy of Switzerland.
The programme covers 23 districts across the country.
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BRITISH ENVOY, PAUDEL MEET
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.:Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel and Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Nepal, John Tucknott held a meeting this [Tuesday] morning, RSS reports.
At a meeting held at Poudel residence Baniyatar, matters related to the ongoing peace process and constitution-drafting were discussed.
On the occasion, Ambassador Tucknott enquired leader Poudel about the deadlock surfaced in course of peace and statute-drafting processes including the integration and management of Maoist ex-fighters.
In response, leader Poudel said the current political stagnation has emerged when Maoists do not show any seriousness in implementing the agreements signed by them.
However, political outlet will be explored through discussion, consensus and dialogue among the parties, Poudel added.
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WILD BOAR TERROR IN KAWASOTI
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.: Local residents dwelling in the Kawasoti area of Nawalparasi district have been living under terror with the wild boars emerging from the adjacent forests to hunt their feeds in the local villages, RSS reports fro Kawasoti..

The wild boars entering Amraut, Banjaria, and Sukrauli VDCs destroy the food crops during the night time, locals complained.

Sometimes, the wild beasts also arrive during the day from the Buddha Community Forest and destroy the food crops in the villages, said Anil Yadav, local resident of Ghinaha, Sukrauli VDC.

The villagers had chased away a crowd of beasts in Ghinaha village on Monday afternoon.

The villagers have already lodged complain to the police, said the villagers.
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RAJBIRAJ HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.:: A hunger strike organized by the Water Users Coordination Committee of Koshi Pump Canal Irrigation System putting forward four-point demand, is on its third day, RSS reports from Rajbraj

We were obliged to stage fast-unto-death when the sides concerned did not pay any heed to our demands, informed coordination committee chairperson Surendra Prasad Yadav.

Among the demands put forth by the Committee include reviewing decision over the renewal of the original documents submitted to Koshu Pump Chandra Canal Irrigation Management Division, arrangement of qualified technical human resource as per quota and budget allocation for broader scheme.

Among those staging hunger strike, the health condition of coordinator Jageswor Yadav and Kusum Lal Roy is said to be deteriorating.
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FATF WARNSNEPALOF BLACKLISTING
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.: Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — a global anti-money laundering agency — has warned Nepal to implement its commitments in fighting against the flow of dirty money or will be black listed, The Himalayan Times reports.

During a meeting of FATF/Asia-Pacific Regional Review group’s face-to-face meeting last week, the global body has threatened Nepal to black list, after the country failed to fulfil its past promises on deadline.

Nepal had promised to update the Acts and laws against the flow of dirty money and ratify remaining two UN conventions — Mutual Legal Assistance Bill and Extradition Bill that are still in the parliament — by the end of 2011, but could not walk the talk forcing the regional meeting to propose some two dozen reforms.

“The meeting proposed some 22 reforms, but we agreed on three reforms — legal reform, strengthening of Financial Information Unit (FIU) under the central bank and strengthening of banking reports — for the time being as the country is passing through a transition phase,” according a participants at the meeting that took place in Sydney, Australia.

Nepal — led by secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office Trilochan Uprety — has presented its progress report in the meeting. Central bank deputy governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, secretary at the Ministry of Law Bhesraj Sharma, three joint secretaries of the Finance Ministry and FIU’s deputy director Hari Prasad Nepal took part in the meeting. Out of the four conventions prescribed by the global anti-money laundering agency, the parliament has already ratified two UN Conventions — International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism-1999 and UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime — in June, 2011.

The FATF Plenary and Working Group Meetings on October 24-28, 2011 in Paris, France had broadly discussed on July, 2011’s 14th annual meeting of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering report and forwarded the progress report to the FATF plenary for further discussions.
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AMERICAN HELD WTH HASH
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.:: Narco police in coordination with US authorities arrested Kristian Peter Stiegler (45), an American national, from his rented room in Swoyambhu with 1,140 gramme of hashish last week, The Himalayan Times reorts.

DIG Yadav Raj Adhikari, chief of the Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit, said Stiegler and his sister in New Orleans had been involved in the international drug trade for the past two years.

‘’Stiegler used to send hashish to the woman via airmail in the form of parcels and the woman used to distribute the drug in black market for a hefty sum,’’ DIG Adhikari informed.

This came to the fore after two investigators from the US Drug Enforcement Administration arrived in Kathmandu to cooperate with the NDCLEU to bust the racket.

SSP Nawa Raj Silwal said they busted the international drug racket after authorities in Dubai intercepted two separate parcels containing the hashish that Stiegler had sent in the name of his sister.

Steigler has admitted to his involvement in hashish smuggling to the US and Europe via courier service.

“It shows that international drug operators are active in Nepal in different garbs. We have intensified vigil on suspects shuttling between Nepal and other countries,’’ SSP Silwal further said.

Stiegler has been charged under the Narcotic Drug (Control and Punishment) Act.
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SRC FACES HURDLE
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.: - The State Restructuring Commission (SRC), which was supposed to present its report on Tuesday, remains sharply divided over political priority rights for dominant communities in each state, The Katahmandu Post reports.
In a meeting on Monday, SRC members also decided to leave the naming of the states to the states themselves.
On priority rights, two Maoist nominees in the commission, along with two Madhesi Morcha nominees, voted for granting priority rights to dominant groups in each state, while NC and UML nominees remained opposed--leaving the SRC divided.
The members are also equally divided on the issue of residual power, which arbitrates disputes between states. While nominees from the NC and the UML want a committee at the centre with the power to resolve the disputes, Maoist and Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha nominees want the states themselves to take a call on it. On both these issues, the vote of the commission's Chairman Madan Pariyar will be decisive.
The SRC has voted for granting special rights to women reprensenting ethnic, indigenous, Dalit, Muslim and Madhesi communities.
Members also remain divided on the political priority rights. Maoist and Morcha nominees have pitched for the rights, while those from the NC and the UML are against it.
NC and UML nominees have registered a note of dissent and proposed special rights to Bahun and Chettri women below poverty, alongside Dalits, Muslims and Madhesis.
Political parties have decided to extend the SRC's tenure by a week, after members requested Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to extend the term.
Bhattarai will hold talks with Speaker Subas Nembang on the extension, PM's personal aide Bishwodeep Pandey said.
The Commission is yet to resolve a number of issues, and sources say a revision is likely to take place on some issues, which have already been approved through a majority vote. After a long-drawn-out debate, the major parties had finally formed the eight-member SRC on November 23 to recommend to the Constituent Assembly the best possible federation model for the country. As for the number of provinces, 11 states have been endorsed by a majority vote.
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IRD GETS TOGH WITH FIRMS
Kathmandu, 24 Jan.: The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has suspended bank accounts, businesses and fixed assets of more than 100 firms for not paying taxes as part of its crackdown on tax delinquency, The Kathamandu Post reports.
The IRD started its recovery drive on Jan 15 after outstanding tax dues began piling up for a long time and reached more than Rs 24 billion. According to the IRD, outstanding income tax and excise duty amount to Rs 20 billion and the rest consists of VAT and TDS (tax deduction at source).
The IRD said it seized fixed assets including land and buildings of 20 firms. “As these firms owe around Rs 130 million in VAT and income tax, we seized their properties,” said Tulasi Sedai, director at the IRD. Some of the firms whose assets have been confiscated are Ashok Textile and its subsidiaries Nepal Business Company, Mayur Biscuit and Food Industry, and Biratnagar Jute Mills.
Sedai said that these firms had tax dues going back three years. “If they continue to refuse to pay taxes, we will auction off their properties.”
The Inland Revenue Office, Area No 1 of Kathmandu has suspended the bank accounts of 10 firms in Kathmandu for not paying income tax and VAT.
The department has also suspended the bank accounts of two firms listed at the Big Taxpayers’ Office (BTO). They owe the government Rs 250 million, according to an IRD official.
“We have given seven days’ notice to eight other firms listed at the BTO to clear their dues,” said the IRD official, “Each of these companies owes the government at least Rs 10 million in VAT.”
IRD Director General Tankamani Sharma added that the department would focus on taxpayers listed at the BTO as Rs 8 billion remains to be collected from them under several headings, including Rs 4 billion in income tax.
The official also said that the Inland Revenue Office, Lalitpur had suspended the bank accounts of six firms as they had not paid Rs 35 million in taxes to the government. The IRO, Lalitpur has written to different government agencies not to pay what they owe to six other firms as they have not paid their taxes.
The Kathmandu Inland Revenue Office, Area No. 3 has frozen the bank accounts of another 17 firms. These firms collectively owe Rs 5 million in income tax and Rs 19 million in VAT.
The Kathmandu Inland Revenue Office 2 has also suspended the bank accounts of seven firms for their outstanding tax payments amounting to Rs 7 million. The Bhaktapur IRO has directed 20 firms to clear their liabilities within a week, warning them that it would suspend their bank accounts if they continue to defy its directions. All of them have tax liabilities worth more than Rs 10 million each. According to Sedai, a firm paid Rs 64 million in back taxes after the Bhaktapur IRO suspended its bank accounts.
Sharma said that until the delinquent firms clear their tax dues, the penalty charged against them will be continued. “We showed patience for many years, but it won’t happen now,” added Sharma. IRD officials said that since the start of the campaign, some 20 firms which had been delaying clearing their taxes paid up this week.
According to IRD officials, firms in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Hetauda, Biratnagar, Simara and Pokhara, among others, have been punished during the tax recovery campaign.
Sharma said that there were more than 1,000 taxpayers who owe in excess of Rs 1 million each in income tax and excise duty. The number of taxpayers who have not paid TDS and VAT is greater, according to Sharma.
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127 NEPALIS BEING DEPORTED FROM QATAR

Kathmandu, 24 Jan.: More than 100 Nepali workers are being deported from Qatar for calling a strike against low pay, Om Astha Rai writes in Reopublica.

Immigration Department of Qatar has recently held a total of 127 Nepali workers for refusing to work.

Strike by workers is considered a serious offence in Qatar. Foreign workers deported from Qatar for going on strike by halting work are generally deprived of gratuity and other facilities.

The arrested Nepali workers have been kept at a deportation centre since January 18. The Immigration Department of Qatar is arranging air tickets for deporting all the arrested workers to Nepal, according to the Nepali embassy in Qatar.

"We have been kept inside a jail-like house for almost one week now. We are not allowed to go anywhere else," Madhav Pokharel, one of the workers kept at the deportation centre, told Republica over phone. "Two Qatari policemen are always keeping an eye on us."

Pokharel, who hails from Simara-8 of Bara district, reached Qatar in a group of 11 Nepali workers on January 14.

"Once in Qatar, we were told that our basic salaries would not be as much as promised by the manpower agency in Nepal," Pokharel said. "We, therefore, collectively refused to work for almost 200 Qatari riyals less than the promised salary."

A supplier company, which hired Pokharel and other 10 Nepali workers, had already had 116 migrants from Nepal. Some of them had been working for that company for as many as five years.

"When we refused to work for low pay, other Nepali workers who were already there also joined us," Pokharel said. "However, instead of listening to our concerns, the company threw us into this house."

Pokharel said they had reached Qatar to work as construction workers through Adventure Manpower Company of Sitapaila in Kathmandu.

According to Surya Nath Mishra, Nepal´s ambassador to Qatar, the embassy immediately after the workers stopped work had asked them to sort out problems through talks instead of going on strike. "But they did not listen to our suggestions," Mishra told Republica.

"Had they at least approached the embassy before going on strike, we could have helped them. They would not have to face deportation. We cannot do much at this point as going on strike is a serious offence under Qatari laws," added Mishra.
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