MALAYSIA’S AIR ASIA BEGINS DIRECT NEPAL, MALAYSIA FLIGHTS TUESDAY Kathmandu, 3 July: Malaysia’s budget airlines Air Asia Tuesday begins twice weekly flights between Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), plagued with logistic and other problems, had a monopoly on the sector. nnnn 66,351 BHUTANESE REFGEES RESETTLED IN 8 COUNTRIES Kathmandu, 3 July: Altogether 66,351 Bhutanese at camps in Morang and Jhapa have been resettled in eight countries, mainly the USA, UNHCR said. They account for two-third of the refugees in the camps. nnnn INTEGRATION OF FORMER MAOIST COMBATANTS TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY Kathmandu, 3 July: The government will resume the integration process of former Maoist combatants willing to serve in the Nepal Army (NA) on Wednesday, Phanindra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post. A selection board, headed by Acting Chief of the Public Service Commission Kayo Devi Yami and comprising representatives from the NA and the Ministry of Defence, on Monday decided to kick start the process by checking the former combatants’ eligibility. The NA will begin bearing tests (an examination in which a candidate’s height, chest, weight and health are measured and checked) on the former fighters at their respective cantonment sites from Wednesday according to Dwarika Prasad Acharya, the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and a member of the selection board formed by the prime minister-led Special Committee. “The test for combatants aspiring for junior ranks as well as officers will be conducted together,” Acharya said. NA Spokesperson Ramindra Chhetri said preparations are underway to begin the process. “We are ready,” he said. Acharya said the Public Service Commission will be involved only in the written examination and interviews. “The written examination will be held after the bearing test. We will soon fix the date for the exams,” he said. The government has already dispatched questionnaires to the NA barracks-turned cantonment sites. Many of the 3,123 combatants willing to join the Army are likely to switch over to voluntary retirement after the selection process begins, a commander of the PLA’s Second Division camp in Sindhuli said. “The uncertainty and the humiliation triggered by administrative procedures has discouraged us from joining the Army,” said Commander Suk Bahadur Rokka Magar. While the UCPN (Maoist) is in favour of referring combatants for integration, some commanders have recommended that the party send them for voluntary retirement en masse. “Retirement is a far better choice than the humiliating integration,” said Magar. “I think less than 1,000 former combatants will join the Army under the current selection process.” Opposition parties have accused PM Baburam Bhattarai of keeping them in the dark about preparations being made by the selection board. “There will not be any problem if the selection board executes its work as per the decisions taken by the Special Committee,” said Minendra Rijal, the Nepali Congress (NC) representative at the Special Committee. “But the prime minister did not consult us before starting the selection process. This has generated a sense of doubt about his intent.” • Army to begin process by checking former combatants’ eligibility • Bearing tests begin on Wednesday; written exam to follow • Many ex-fighters likely to switch interest to voluntary retirement nnnni PRESIDENT TELLS PM ONLY CONSENUS BUDGET ACCEPTABLE Kathmandu, 3 July::President Ram Baran Yadav on Monday told Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai not to bring a full-fledged budget without forging consensus among political parties, Kamal Dev Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post.. During a one-and-a-half-hour meeting with the PM at his residence in Sheetal Niwas, President Yadav suggested bringing a one-third budget to authorise the government to collect revenue and make essential expenditures. The President’s remarks come amid the government’s preparations for announcing a full-fledged budget through an ordinance. Yadav also asked Bhattarai to reach out to other political parties for consensus on budget, new CA election and formation of a national consensus government. According to a source, the President urged the prime minister to continue with the policies and programmes of the fiscal year 2011-2012, reminding him that his government was both caretaker and one for the purpose of holding an election. President’s Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal said Yadav and Bhattarai had discussed current affairs. He, however, did not divulge details of the talks between the head of the state and the head of the government. Bhattarai refused to talk to the media about the meeting. President Yadav has expedited political and legal consultations on a timely budget at a time when the government is adamant on its stance of brining a full budget and the Opposition protesting the idea. Earlier in the day, Yadav discussed about the budget and the political deadlock with Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala. In the meeting, Koirala advised the President not to approve the budget ordinance if the government forwarded it unilaterally. After the meeting, Koirala said the NC would protest if the budget was announced without consensus. The President also met Nepal Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato to discuss the budget and the political stalemate. “The President advised presenting a budget by forging national consensus,” said Mahato. On Sunday, President Yadav told Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to lead efforts to break the political deadlock. nnnn