GROUPS PUSH DEMANDS AS TIME NEARS TO FINALIZE CONSTITUTION Kathmandu, 25 April: Leaders of indigenous community have staged a sit-in before the Constituent Assembly building this afternoon [Wednesday] by demanding to promulgate the federal constitution ensuring rights of the indigenous and nationalities communities, RSS reports. The leaders of the Federal Socialist Movement including Laxman Tharu, Indrahang Limbu, DK Tamang put forth a 24-point demand demanding to guarantee the Limbuwan, Khambuwan, Tamsaling, Tharuhut, Magarat, Khasan and Mithila autonomous states. Coordinator of the Movement, Sanjuhang Palungwa told journalists that the new constitution should guarantee the federal states with self-governed autonomous political units. He demanded the government to address their concerns and warned of stern protest if the government turned a deaf ear to their demands. Nnnn DISCUSSIONS TO MAKE PARLIAMENT’S SPECIAL HEARING COMMITTEE MORE EFFECTIVE Kathmandu, 25 April: The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee of the Legislature-Parliament has held discussions with experts of different sectors for committee's capacity building. The committee has also drafted some policies to make the committee 'attractive', RSS reports. A meeting of the committee held today approved the suggestion report prepared by a team of lawmakers under the coordination of Mangal Siddhi Manandhar, committee's president Kul Bahadur Gurung informed RSS. The meeting has decided to make its role effective for conducting hearing of the chief justice, ambassadors, office bearers of the constitutional bodies and others. Manandhar said that the committee has decided to hold seminars, interactions and discussions with experts for capacity building of the committee members. Decisions have been made for the establishment of a library and publishing different write ups and articles, and providing reading materials to the committee members, Manandhar said. Nnnn Rs. 3M DAMAGE BY FIRE IN SYANGJA. Kathmandu, 25April: Medicinal herbs and other properties worth Rs 3 million was destroyed after fires broke out in different public and community forests in Syangja district, RSS reports from Syangja. According to Chief at the District Forest Office, Jibnath Paudel, the fires gutted important medicinal herbs, timbers and wildlife despite no human casualty being reported so far. The fire destroyed Gamtam Community Forest, Putalibazaar, Swara Community Forest, Putalibazaar-11, Tallo Gahateri Community Forest and Dadrebhirali Community Forest, Pauwegaude. Similarly, fires have caught Kanchankhola Alaichibari Community Forest, Putalibazaar municipality-1, Bandre Community Forest Phedikhola-1 and Sallaghari Community Forest, Setidobhan-3, according to the office Nnnn ‘Deep Throat’ in Indian Arms Scandal Breaks Cover Kathmandu, 25 April: The whistleblower in one of India’s biggest corruption scandals in the 1980s which tarnished then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi broke cover Wednesday to explain why he leaked crucial documents to the Media, AP reports from New Delhi. Sten Lindstrom, head of the Swedish police when the Bofors scandal broke in 1987, handed evidence seized during his investigation to Indian newspapers, including to journalist Chitra Subramaniam-Duella. The case revolved around the sale of 410 artillery guns to India by Swedish arms group AB Bofors, which was subsequently accused of paying bribes of up to $1.3 billion, notably to a businessman with links to Gandhi. “I could not count on my government or Bofors or the government of India to get to the bottom this,” Lindstrom said in an interview with Subramaniam-Duella on The Hoot media website. “My only option was to leak the documents to someone we could trust,” said the “Swedish Deep Throat” as he was branded in India, a reference to the whistleblower who brought down US president Richard Nixon in 1970s. Lindstrom said that there was no evidence that Gandhi had received a bribe, but the leader “watched the massive cover up in India and Sweden and did nothing” which meant “innocent people were punished while the guilty got away”. In comments that raise more questions about the investigation into the scandal, Lindstrom added that there was “conclusive evidence” against Ottavio Quattrocchi, the Italian middleman linked to Gandhi. In March last year, Indian police definitively closed down their probe saying they did not have enough evidence to prosecute anyone and that further enquiries were a waste of taxpayers’ money. Rajiv Gandhi was voted out of office in 1989 largely over the Bofors deal. He was assassinated in 1991 by ethnic Tamil extremists. His Italian-born wife Sonia today heads the Congress party, which is again embroiled in a host of corruption scandals. Nnnn PAKISTAN FOLLOWS INDIA TO TEST NUCLEAR-CAPABLE INTERMEDIATE BALLISTIC MISSILE Kathmandu, 25 April: Pakistan successfully test fired a nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile on Wednesday, the military said, less than a week after India test launched a long range missile, AFP rports from Islamabad... The exact range of the missile was not revealed, but retired General Talat Masood, a defence analyst, told AFP intermediate range ballistic missiles could up to 2,500 to 3,000 kilometres (1,550 to 1,850 miles) away -- which would put almost all of arch-rival India within reach. On Thursday India test fired its long range Agni V missile, which can deliver a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in China. "Pakistan today successfully conducted the launch of the intermediate range ballistic missile Hatf IV Shaheen-1A weapon system," Pakistan's military said in a statement. India and Pakistan -- which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 -- have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998. Pakistan's most recent missile test came last month with the launch of the short-range nuclear-capable Abdali, while in April 2008 it tested the Shaheen II, or Hatf VI, missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres. Wednesday's missile, which landed in the sea, was a version of the Shaheen-1 with improvements in range and technical parameters, the military said, and can carry nuclear and conventional warheads. "This is part of Pakistan's programme to develop nuclear and missile deterrence. It has a series of missiles in its inventory. This is perhaps the longest range missile in its programme," retired general Masood told AFP. "The whole object is essentially India-centric while India's own programme is directed towards China. Pakistan is engaged in improving its missile system as India continues to increase its capability." Director General Strategic Plans Division Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai congratulated scientists and engineers on the successful launch, and the accuracy of the missile in reaching the target. He said the improved version of Shaheen 1A would further consolidate and strengthen Pakistan's deterrence abilities. Pakistan's arsenal includes short, medium and long range missiles named after Muslim conquerors. India's missile test last week brought a muted international response, with China downplaying its significance, insisting the countries were partners not rivals, and Washington calling for "restraint" among nuclear powers. This was in sharp contrast to the widespread fury and condemnation that greeted North Korea's unsuccessful test launch of a long-range rocket on April 13. India and Pakistan were on the brink of war in 2002 over the disputed territory of Kashmir, but a slow-moving peace dialogue resumed last March after a three-year suspension following the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. India and the United States blamed the attacks on Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamabad later admitted that the assault was at least partly planned in Pakistan. A study published on Tuesday claimed that more than a billion people worldwide could starve if India and Pakistan unleash nuclear weapons as even a limited nuclear war would cause major climate disruptions. nnnn