DRAGON AIR FLYING DAILY FROM 1 SEPTEMBER Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Dragon Air of Kong Kong is increasing its flights between Kathmandu and the island from 1 September. Frequency is being increased from three to seven a week. Nnnn SINGER RADHA MASKEY DEAD Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: Singer Radha Maskey died Wednesday after a long illness. She was 55. She is survived by her husband, and four sons. nnnn NEPAL MAY LOSE OWNERSHIP OF ITS LONDON EMBASSY Kathmandu, 9 Aug.: The Nepal government’s failure to pay 43,000 pounds sterling (NRs 59 million) on time as annual insurance premium for its United Kingdom-based mission and another 800,000 pounds (NRs 110 million) to maintain its building has raised fears that Nepal may lose ownership of the prime property in London, ANilGiriwrites in The Kathmandu Post. The Nepali Embassy building in London is considered the most expensive property that Nepal owns abroad. Nepal has not paid the annual premium for the building even as five months have passed since the deadline to do so, while the London insurance surveyor has refused to accept the money, citing the dilapidated condition of the building. As the property belongs to the British Royal family, it is known as Crown property. In recognition for the dedication shown by Gurkhas in the British Army, the British government had in 1938 handed over the building’s lease to Nepal. According to a bilateral agreement, Nepal would pay 100 pounds annually as lease amount for the first 25 years and 1,000 pounds for the next 25-50 years. A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) here said that Crown insurance surveyor had refused to certify the building and accept the premium money without a complete rewiring of the building which has not been replaced in 60 years. The current wiring system of the building requires 800,000 pounds, a Herculean task for both the finance and foreign ministries. Both ministries are in talks to release the money, but no solution has been offered so far, said the official. Lok Darshan Regmi, the Budget Division Chief at the Ministry of Finance, said a decision had been taken to release the money for the insurance some 19 days ago, but a source at the MoFA claimed that no correspondence has been made with the London-based mission to this effect. “If the decision was taken 19 days ago, why is it taking so long to release the funds?” asked an official privy to the affair. The MoFA official said the Nepali mission had been asked to come up with the funds on its own, but that it was impossible for a foreign mission to generate such a large sum of money. This is not the first time that the London-based building has hogged headlines. On May 25, the Public Accounts Committee had instructed the government to sell off the building after carrying out maintenance work. It had instructed the government to evaluate the property on an international standard and prepare for its sale at maximum value. Located in the most expensive street of London, the Kensington Palace Gardens, the five-story building, filled with ancient art and sculptures, will fetch 300 to 500 million pounds if sold through a competitive bidding process, according to MoFA officials. Only last year, the government had released Rs 10 million to partially repair the building. “If we really want to refurbish the building, we need about Rs 70 million to Rs 100 million” said a MoFA official. “We have to pay 1,500 pounds for 50-70 years and 2,000 pounds annually as lease fee for 75-99 years,” said the official. Nepal renewed the lease agreement for the first time in 1980 and will expire in 68 years. nnnn: MAOIST PROBE PANEL FLOODED WITH COMPLAINTS OF UNACOUNTED WEALTH OF MAOIST LEADERS Kathmandu, 9 Aug.:The commission formed by the UCPN (Maoist) to investigate alleged corruption in the party has received a flood of complaints against top party leaders. Sources said there were complaints against Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leaders such as Barsa Man Pun, Hisila Yami, Kamal Dev Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post. and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi accusing them of amassing property against party policy. Most of the complaints are about the top leaders’ alleged involvement in the financial misappropriation inside the party that began after the party joined mainstream politics in 2005. The commission, led by leader Amik Sherchan, was formed during the party’s seventh plenum after cadres obstructed the extended meeting demanding an investigation into corruption inside the party. “As now we have received the complaints and the property details of leaders, we will begin studying those documents in a couple of days,” said Lokendra Bista, another member of the commission. Leaders declined to divulge the exact number of complaints registered at party headquarters, only saying that the number was high, indicating rampant corruption inside the party. The commission has divided its task into three parts: receiving the complaints, investigating those complaints and the property details of party leaders and then preparing a final report to be submitted to the party leadership. “Almost all leaders, except a few who are outside Kathmandu for party-related tasks, have furnished their property details,” said commission member Navaraj Subedi. The commission has prepared a form for party leaders to list their property details. Among the three members of the commission, Sherchan and Bista are close to Chairman Dahal while Subedi is close to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. Meanwhile, another commission, formed under Post Bahadur Bogati to investigate complaints of corruption in the cantonments, has not yet begun investigations, citing the busy schedule of leaders who comprise this commission. The party has only just finalised the terms and conditions of the commission. According to member Dorprasad Upadhay, they have been instructed to visit the respective cantonments and investigate the property of the cantonments as well as the personal property of former combatants. Upadhaya said that the commission will begin its tasks from next week. During the UCPN (Maoist)’s seventh plenum, combatants had alleged that former commanders had misused the money allocated to them by the government. After the dispute, many commanders resigned from their positions. nnnn