OPPOSITION STUDENTS TO GHERAO SINGHA DURBAR FRIDAY Kathmandu, 10 Aug.: Students affiliated with opposition parties are continuing their protests Friday as well amid decision of parties to intensify their anti-government campaign. Students are gheraoing Singha Durbar Friday. nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “Parliamentary elections should be held and an elected Parliament would complete all the remaining works related to the constitution. It was unconstitutional on the part of the government to declare the date for fresh CA elections.” (UML leader Ishwor Pokharel, The Himalayan Times, 10 Aug.) “The recent moves to reform the party after pressure from their own cadres to probe into different allegations reflect that they needed to be put under scanner for their failure. If they realise their mistakes and vow to reform in true sense, unity is possible. However, they have to accept our leadership.” (CPN Maoist Secretary Netra Bikram Chand, The Himalayan Chand, 10Aug.) Nnnn URBAN PROVERTY SHOULD GET ATTENTION Kathmandu, 10 Aug.: The increasing urban poverty incidence has made Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) start focusing on the urban poor too, besides shifting its focus on socio-economic transformation from the current programmes that have been providing the poor ‘relief’ only, Kuvera Chalise writes in The Himalayan Times.. “Unlike earlier understanding, the urban poverty incidence has almost doubled compelling the poverty fund to work for the urban poor too,” said vice chair of the fund Janak Raj Joshi. According to the third Nepal Living Standard Survey, urban poverty has increased significantly from what was recorded in the second survey. The urban population living below the poverty line was 21.55 per cent in fiscal year 1995-96 — during the first Nepal Living Standard Survey — which fell to 9.55 per cent in fiscal year 2003-04 — in the second Nepal Living Standard Survey — but the figure rose to 15.46 per cent in the third survey in fiscal year 2009-10. Similarly, the urban poverty gap has also increased to 3.19 per cent in the third survey from 2.20 per cent in the second survey. “To address the problems of the rising urban poor, the fund is planning to add programmes in its third phase programme,” he said, adding that the fund has, however, already started the programme with 69 squatter households recently evacuated from the Bagmati river banks. The government agency is the largest community development programme targeting poor women, Dalits, Janjatis and other marginalised groups since its establishment in 2004. But the current programme — second phase — will come to an end in mid-2014 and the fund has now added socio-economic transformation programme shifting from the current programme that has helped them provide ‘relief’ only from economic troubles, said Joshi, adding that the target will be to train the poor on entrepreneurship skills so that they can contribute to capital formation. The donor — World Bank — has also given a green signal to the fund for the support of the third phase programme. “It’s time to begin thinking about how PAF III would look like,” World Bank has told the fund that has received $215 million in grants from the World Bank since 2004. The World Bank Nepal Office has also promised to offer technical support for providing poverty identity card for the poor and establishment of an oversight agency for poverty that the board will pass tomorrow. Poverty Alleviation Fund is planning to distribute three different cards for the poor based on their status — the lowest 10 quintile, 20 quintile and 30 quintile — to provide them preferential treatment on education, health, water and sanitation, and various other facilities that the government can afford to give. Nnnn LPG SHORTAGE AGAIN Kathmandu, 10Aug.: Consumers have been suffering from shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) — also known as cooking gas — as LPG companies started a strike three days back. However, the government and the companies are in mood to solve the issue, The Himalaya Times reports.. Strike in essential goods is illegal, so the government asked the Home Ministry to enforce the Essential Service Operation Act from Thursday, said director general of the Department of Commerce and Supply Management Narayan Prasad Bidari. “We have requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to enforce the law,” he said. Nepal LPG Industry Association stopped taking product delivery order and importing LPG from India two days back. “Our protest will continue despite obstacles,” said acting president of the association Shiva Prasad Ghimire. “Enforcement of Essential Service Operation Act is not a solution. It will further aggravate the situation.” He urged the government to fulfill their demands and end the strike. “If the government shows positive indications, we will call off our strike,” he said. The association had submitted a 16-point demand to Nepal Oil Corporation two weeks back which includes an increase in LPG quota and commission . According to him, the government should refrain from enforcing the Essential Service Operation Act and sit for talks. “Talks will help solve the problem but it depends on the government,” he said, adding that the demands made by Nepal LPG Industry Association are genuine. However, retailers have refused to support the strike. “Gas dealers and retailers are not supporting the strike because the demands made by Nepal LPG Industry Association are not genuine,” said general secretary of Gas Dealers’ Association Nepal Maheshwor Shrestha. Meanwhile, the government has formed a committee under the leadership of director general of Department of Commerce and Supply Management Narayan Prasad Bidari to hold talks with the agitating party. The team has representatives from Nepal Oil Corporation and Home Ministry. nnnn TRIAL BEGINS OF DISGRACED POWERFUL CHINESE POLITICIAN’S WIFE Kathmandu, 10Aug.: The wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai lured a British businessman to a hotel in the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing, where she got him drunk and poisoned him, testimony revealed today in one of China’s highest-profile murder trials, AP reports from Hefei. The secretive trial of Gu Kailai and a household aide, who are accused of murdering Bo family associate Neil Heywood, ended in less than a day at the Intermediate People’s Court in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei. The defendants did not contest the murder charges; a guilty verdict is all but assured and could carry a death sentence. The tightly orchestrated court proceeding marks a step toward resolving the messiest scandal the Communist leadership has faced in two decades. Bo was one of China’s most powerful and charismatic politicians until he was ousted in the spring as the scandal surrounding Heywood’s death unfolded. Observers say the party’s main objective is to keep the focus tightly on the murder case and not on larger allegations of corruption that could further taint the regime. International media were barred from the courtroom, so details of the case against Gu were provided afterward by Tang Yigan, the court’s deputy director. He said prosecutors told the court that Gu sent her aide, Zhang Xiaojun, to meet and accompany Heywood from Beijing to Chongqing, where Bo was the Communist Party boss. Gu and Heywood were business associates but had had a dispute over economic interests, according to Tang, whose account matched details from the indictment reported in official media several weeks ago. Gu thought Heywood was a threat to her son, 24-year-old Bo Guagua, and decided to have him killed, said Tang, who did not specify what sort of threat Heywood posed. On the night of November 13, Gu went to Heywood’s hotel and drank alcohol and tea with him. “When Heywood was drunk and vomited and wanted to drink water, she then took pre-prepared poison that she had asked Zhang Xiaojun to carry, and poured it into Heywood’s mouth, killing him,” Tang said. Heywood’s friends and family have said he was never a heavy drinker, and they rejected investigators’ initial conclusion that he drank himself to death. His body was cremated and no autopsy was performed. Tang said the prosecutors believed the facts of the crime were clear and the evidence sufficient, and that “Gu Kailai is the main culprit and Zhang is the accomplice.” Before today, the 53-year-old Gu had not been seen in months and has never publicly offered her side of the story. Video of the trial shown by state broadcaster CCTV showed a calm-looking Gu being led into court wearing a white button-down shirt and dark suit with a sheaf of papers in one hand. She was not handcuffed. Zhang wore a white polo shirt and also was not handcuffed. Chinese officials agreed to let two British diplomats attend court, but the British Embassy in Beijing said it would offer no statement on the proceedings. The quick trial contrasts with often-lengthy high-profile murder cases around the world. But it’s common in China, where even the verdict can be delivered the same day in death penalty cases. “It’s very unusual for criminal trials (in China) to extend beyond a day,” said Joshua Rosenzweig, a human rights researcher based in Hong Kong who said trials are short in part because witness testimony is usually written, instead of delivered in person. “It’s very rare to see what you see in other countries, where a trial starts on one day and extents through many, many days,” he said. “The process is very structured. A Chinese criminal trial is not a free-flowing process.” In Gu’s trial, Tang said material evidence, written evidence, witness statements and other materials were presented. He said Gu’s lawyer told the court that Heywood bore some responsibility for the cause of the crime, although he did not say why. The attorney also said Gu had ‘less than normal’ control of her actions at the time of Heywood’s death, according to Tang, and that she had informed on the crimes of others. Tang did not say what those crimes were or how she might have been impaired. nnnn