DETAILS OF NEPAL, MALAYSIA CRICKET MATCH Kathmandu, 24 June: Nepal bowled out Malaysia for 140 runs in 43 over. Nepal elected to bat after winning the toss. Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma took five wickets and was declared player of the match. nnnn. GACHCHHADAR CLAIMS ELECTION CALLED TO AVOID CONSTITUTIONAL VOID Kathmandu, 24, June: Deputy Prime Minister, Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar has said that the government declared fresh elections to the Constituent Assembly (CA) so that there would be no constitutional avoid in the country after it was sure that the CA would be dissolved, RSS reports from Nepalgunj. Addressing the district level Muslim gathering organized by the Madhesi Muslim Forum Nepal (Loktantrik) here today [Sunday], Gachchhadar said that the government declared the elections for fresh mandate to stop encounters in the country as it was possible if the government did not declare the new elections. He further said that there was no any alternative to all the political parties other than to agree on a constitution based on ethnic identity as it could only establish rights of the backward communities including ethnic Muslims, Madhesis, Dalits, Tharu and indigenous nationalities. Stressing on the need of political consensus, Gachchhadar, also the Chairman of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF)-Loktantrik said it cannot be possible on status quo. Participating Muslim leaders demanded that the government should form Muslim Commission, Madrassa Board, making Hajj committee formation process independent and permanent, construction of Muslim girls' hostel in Nepalgunj, among others. Nnnn ELECTION CHIEF ALSO SUGGESTS 13 APRIL AS ANOTHER ELECTION DATE Kathmandu, 24 June:: Acting Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission Neelkantha Upreti has said that elections to the Constituent Assembly will be held within April 13 next year if not possible on November 22 this year, RSS reports from Parbat. During his meeting with the employees of Parbat District Development Committee on Sunday, the Acting Election Commissioner stressed the need of holding the CA elections by April 13 next year at any cost. It would be very difficult to hold the elections in the slated time if the parties did not agree on the election programmes, he added. He said the government was already informed about the provisions related to the election process and the EC was waiting for the government's decision. The Interim Constitution of Nepal has not mentioned about the CA re-elections, said the Acting Election Commissioner adding, however, the elections could be held on November 22 if laws were formulated. He also stressed the need of holding the local bodies' elections by October if the parties do not agree on the national elections. Mr. Upreti said the development projects have been affected due to lack of people's representatives there for the past 14 years. The failure to elect the people's representatives even after the beginning of the peace process is a mockery of democracy, he claimed. According to information given by the Acting Election Commissioner, around Rs. eight billion is estimated to cost to hold the CA elections. Similarly, the government has been requested to fulfill the vacant posts in all the bodies. Nnnn NO IMPACT OF EASTERN REGION BANDH Kathmandu, 24 June: No any impact of general strike called by Nepal Communist Party (radical) under Nepal bandh has been seen in Eastern region including in Biratnagar on Sunday, RSS reports of Biratnagar. Issuing a press release, the party had announced to shut down educational institutions, factories, industries, transport services and markets. According to the District Police Office, Morang, different districts of the region including Sunsari, Jhapa, Siraha, Saptari, among others, are open and no untoward incident has occurred. The press release signed by chairman of the party, Manishwor Gautam and General Secretary, Bidrohi Bishal had called the bandh. Likewise, jewelry entrepreneurs in Biratnagar have called Biratnagar Bazaar banda today. It is said that jewelry entrepreneurs shut down Biratnagar town today for their security after a clash took place between District Chairman of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF)-Nepal Umesh Yadav and jewelry entrepreneur, Arun Rathi groups. According to the District Police Office, Morang, Yadav’s hand was fractured in a scuffle that took place on Saturday night between Yadav and Rathi at Paradise Restaurant in a minor dispute. The entrepreneurs said that they called Biratnagar Bazaar bandh demanding their security and being afraid of whether the cadres of MJF- Nepal would thrash them. nnnn TWO WOMEN BURIED BY MUD MOUND IN BANKE Kathmandu, 24 June: Two women died after they were buried with the clay mound at Chisapani of Banke district on Saturday, RSS reports from Banke. Karala Basnet (45) of Chyama, Chisapani VDC-2 in the district and Nagati Kathayat (32) temporary resident of Narayan Municipality-4 of Dailekh district died on the spot as the clay mound fell upon them while they were digging soil. Nnnn FIRST DOCKING OF CHNESE SPACECRAFT WITH ORBITING MODULE Kathmandu, 24 June : A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts docked manually with an orbiting module on Sunday, a first for the country as it strives to match American and Russian exploits in space, AP reports from Beijing.. The Shenzhou 9 capsule´s maneuver with the Tiangong 1 module was shown live on national television. It follows a docking last week that was carried out by remote control from a ground base in China. The Chinese astronauts have been living and working in the module for the past week as part of preparations for manning a permanent space station. They returned to the Shenzhou 9 capsule early Sunday and disconnected in preparation for the manual reconnection. Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China´s manned space program, told reporters in Beijing that hand levers were used to control Shenzhou 9 and position it to dock with the orbiting module. The maneuver was "precise and perfect" and the three astronauts carried it out "calmly and skillfully," Wu said. "This success in manual docking represents a major breakthrough in our space rendezvous and docking technologies," Wu said. China´s next goals include another manned mission to the module later this year and replacing Tiangong 1, which was launched last year, with a permanent space station around 2020. Possible future missions could also include sending a man to the moon. China´s permanent space station is to weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA´s Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth the size of the 16-nation International Space Station. The Shenzhou 9 crew includes 33-year-old Liu Yang, an air force pilot and China´s first female space traveler. Liu is joined by mission commander and veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng, 45, and crew mate Liu Wang, 43. Their mission, which is expected to last at least 10 days, is China´s fourth manned mission. Shenzhou 9 launched June 16 from the Jiuquan center on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China. Wu said the astronauts will spend three to four more days in the module before returning to the capsule and manually separating from Tiangong 1. Once back in Shenzhou 9, they will return to Earth within a day, she said. China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit. It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their own. Wu said China spent 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) on its space program between 1992 and 2005. By the time the next Shenzhou mission is completed, Beijing will have spent an additional 19 billion yuan (US$3 billion), she said. nnnn ________________________________________