FORMER KATHMANDU MAYOR KESHAV STHAPITH APPOINTED COMMISSIONER OF KVDA Kathmandu, 27 April: Former Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolis, Keshav Sthapith elected on a UML tcket laws Friday appointed Commissioner of Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA). The body is new an has been formed at a time when the government of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has launched a sweeping drive tearing down structures to expand roads amid little effective resistance. Sthapith took initiatives when he was mayor to improve the capital’s environment. nnnni JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO NEPALPERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO SAARS HEADQUARTERED IN THE NEPALI CAPITAL Kathmandu, 27 April: The Government of Japan has designated Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, Kunio Takahashi the Permanent Representative to SAARC, RSS reports. Ambassador Takahashi submitted his Letter of Credence to this effect to Secretary-General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Ahmed Saleem on Friday, according to a press release issued by the Embassy of Japan here today. Japan has been engaged in building friendly relationship with SAARC through various mechanisms including the SAARC-Japan Special Fund (SJSF), which was established in September, 1993. To date, Japan has extended a total sum of 4.73 million US dollars to SJSF, which is being utilized to promote regional cooperation, in particular, in the field of energy, disaster management, environment and gender. nnnn