LINGO PULLED TO BHOTAHITI FROM NALA IN KAVRE Kathmandu, 20 Sept. A lingo was pulled by resident of Bhaktpur to Bhotahati Wednesday from Nala forest from Kavre. It will be towed again from Bhotahity toHanuman Dhoka Thursday. The conifer was selected and cut at the forest amid special puja The log will be erected at Basantapur square in front of Kumari Ghar Wednesday three days before Indrajata Saturday marking the beginning of the festive season that will end with Tihar. nnnn WOMEN OBSERVE RISHI ANCHAMI Kathmandu, 20 Sept.: Women who observed teej for the well-being of their husbands or prayed for a suitable groom observed Rishi Panchami Thursday. Devotees thronged Shiva temples nation-wide for puja and bathed along rivers. The teej festival ends with Rishi Panchami. nnnn OPPOSITION PROTEST IN INDIA AGAINST PRICE HIKE Kathmandu, 20 Sept.: Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies, AP reports from New Delhi.. Protesters carrying party flags blocked railroad tracks Thursday in several cities and towns, including Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna. They're demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reverse the fuel hike and the decision on foreign retailers. The strike is expected to shut down schools, businesses and public transportation. It was called by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, its allies and communist groups. Some of the government's allies also are involved. Last week, the government announced it will allow foreign investment in retail and aviation and the sale of minority stakes in four state-run companies. Nnnn ANTI-ISLAM FILMMAKER ABUSED FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION SAYS UN CHIEF U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday the maker of an anti-Islam film that triggered violent protests across the Muslim world abused his right to freedom of expression by making the movie, which he called a "disgraceful and shameful act.", Reuters reports from United Nations. The film, posted on the Internet under several titles including "Innocence of Muslims," mocked the Prophet Mohammad and portrayed him as a womanizer and a fool. It sparked days of deadly anti-American violence in many Muslim countries, including an assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in Libya in which the U.S. ambassador died. "Freedoms of expression should be and must be guaranteed and protected, when they are used for common justice, common purpose," Ban told a news conference. "When some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others' values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected in such a way." "My position is that freedom of expression, while it is a fundamental right and privilege, should not be abused by such people, by such a disgraceful and shameful act," he said. A California man convicted of bank fraud was taken in for questioning on Saturday by U.S. authorities investigating possible probation violations stemming from the making of the video. He has denied involvement in the film and has now gone into hiding. nnnn