SPECIAL COMMITTEE FOR INEGRATION OF MAOIST FIGHTERS MEETS THURSDAY

SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MAOIST INTEGRATION MEETS THURSDAY
Kathmandu, 22 March: Special committee for integration of and supervision of Maoist former combatants meets Thursday as opposition parties oppose a new proposal of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai for integration of former guerrillas under a semi-
autonomous directorate in Nepal Army (NA).
Maoists have also demanded rank of brigadier general for one former guerrilla in theody opposed by the parties.
Opposition has offered rank of major for Maoists in NA.
The Big Three this week hoped to come with a ‘unique solution; to end a prolonged stalemate.
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SIN-INS IN FRONT OF OFFICES OF BIG THREE DEMANDING
WHEREABOTS OF DISAPPEARED
Kathmandu, 22 March: Families of the disappeared. during a10-year Maoist
insurgency are staging a sit-in in front of the office of the NC Wednesday
demanding their whereabouts
A similar sit-in was staged Tuesday by an organization at the office of UCPN
(Maoist) Tuesday
Sit-in will be staged at the office of UML Friday.
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INDIAN NATIONAL ARRESTED WITH 150 GRAMS BROWN SUGAR
Kathmandu, 22 March: An Indian national has been detained by police for possessing the narcotic drug brown sugar in Hetauda on Thursday morning, RSS reports.
The arrestee has been identified as Budan Mahato,25, of Motihari district, India. He was found carrying 150 grams of the narcotics when police conducted a body search of passengers on a bus this morning.
The man was travelling by bus bound for Kathmandu from Birgunj.
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28 NSU ACTIVISTS APPOINTED TO AN AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR
UNION GENERALCONVENTION VOTE QUIT

Kathmandu, 22 March: Twenty-two members of the preparatory committee for general convention of Nepal Student Union ((NSU) , the student wing of NC, quit.
Wednesday.
They were nominated b the establishment faction of the main opposition party.
The unilateral formation of am ad hoc committee for the convention vote was illegal, the dissatisfied students said.
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GOVT.AUDITOR CHARGED FOR CORRUPTION INVOLVING RS 312 MILLION

Kathmandu, 22 March: CIAA Wednesday registered a case against auditor
Pitambar Prasad Pokhrel of Internal Revenue Department for corrupt practice
through conspiracy with relatives
Case was registered at the special court
• Pokhrel has been charged for irregularity totaling Rs.312.85 million; a 13-uear jail sentence has been sough
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NEPALI PADMAPANI IDOL FETCHES $2.49M
Kathmandu, 22 March: A 13th-century bronze figure from Nepal sold for around $2.49 million at a Christie’s auction in New York yesterday — seven times more than its expected sale price, agencies repot from New York.

The Padmapani was part of a private collection that went under the hammer yesterday. Christie’s expected it to sell for up to $350,000. It was bought by an anonymous buyer.

The statuette, which is around 45 cm high, is a representation of the Padmapani, one of the many guises of the Buddhist god of compassion, Avalokiteshvara. The Padmapani is typically portrayed with a lotus blossom, here shown on his right shoulder.

This figure stands out for its particularly fine details. It is wearing a tiara and an adorned dhoti, a loose fabric garment traditionally worn by men in South Asia. His right hand is held in a mudra, a ritual hand gesture typical of religious icons in the region.

Bronze representations of the Padmapani were common in the Kathmandu Valley, where it was historically one of the most popular deities.

Sales for the collection, which belonged to Doris Wiener, one of the best-known collectors of South Asian art, totalled close to $12.8 million.

Another highlight of the sale was an 11th-century bronze representation of the Somaskanda, a manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva with his wife, the goddess Parvati, and his son Skanda. The figure, which originates from south India, sold for around $1.8 million.

More works from the region will be going under the hammer in auctions in New York, which is currently hosting Asia Art week. Sotheby’s and Christie’s will be auctioning more works of classical South Asian art, mostly stone and bronze religious figures.

Several works of modern and contemporary art will also be up for grabs at Christie’s. Among them is a painting by the late Indian artist Tyeb Mehta, which is expected to sell for up to $2 million. Mehta’s works, which stand out for their stylised figures and layered colour blocking, have sold for record prices in recent years.

In June, one of his paintings, a depiction of a figure reclining on a rickshaw, sold for $3.24 million. That was the second-highest sum ever paid for an Indian painting at an auction, after Syed Haider Raza’s Saurashtra, which sold for $3.5 million in 2010.
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