MJFL FORMS TEAM TO TALK WITH OTHER MADESH PARTIES FOR MERGER Kathmandu, 1 Oct.: Ruling MJFL Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sunday a five-member team to hold talks with other Madhesi parties on merger. A party political committee day formed a tea, with Vice chairman Rameshwor Yadav, party leaders Jitendra Narayan Dev, Ram Janam Chaudhari, Rabindra Thakur and Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav as members. The party also formed a three- member talks team headed by Chairman Gachhadar to hold talks with major political parties to give outlet to current political problems. nnnn APF IN QUARTERFINAL OF NCELL CUP FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP Kathmandu, 1 Oct.: Armed Police Force (APF) Sunday secured a quarterfinal berth in the Ncell Cup Football Championship It secured a place in the next round of the richest tournament eve after drawing even after playing a 1-1 draw against Three Star Club nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “…but food crisis would hit Nepal in the upcoming Dashain-Tihar and prices would be hiked. In the world of internet and globalisation any Hindi movie cannot be banned. “If we have any issues with other countries then we should take them up at diplomatic levels. We cannot just carry out our wishes as per our wishes. Once our relations with India are affected then it would Nepal’s loss. People here would suffer more than that of India.” (Dr, Ram Sharan Mahat of NC on ban on entry of Indian registered vehicles and Indian movies, The Himalayan Times, 1 Oct.) ‘Congress and UML are trying to provoke the president to overthrow the government. “They just want to get hold power through the president, so they are using various power centers to achieve this.’ (Maoist Spokesman Agni Sapkota, Republica, 1 Oct.) nnnn BO0DY PARTS OF FIVE NEPALIS KILLED IN SITA AIR CRASH HANDED OVER; INVESTIGATION OF CRASH BEGINS AIDED BY TWO BRITISH Kathmandu, 1 Oct.: The kin of five Nepali passengers who died in Friday´s Sita Air crash received their dead bodies on Sunday. The bodies were identified on the basis of dental data and personal belongings of the dead, Kamal Pariyar writes in Republica.. According to Dr Harihar Wasti, head of Forensic Department at Tribuvan University Teaching Hospital, the bodies of crew members, Captain Bijaya Tandukar, co-Pilot Takeshi Thapa, airhostess Ruja Shakya, and passengers, Dipen Rai and Madan Kumari Tamang, were handed to their kin. Wu Hui, who was earlier thought be a Chinese citizen, has now been identified as a US citizen and his family members are arriving in Kathmandu to receive the body, according to the department. Dr Wasti said, "The remaining bodies couldn´t be identified till Sunday because of the lack of equipment and sufficient information." Meanwhile, the problem of keeping dead bodies at mortuary has been solved temporarily. According to the department, four bodies have been kept at the mortuary of US embassy and five have been accommodated at the mortuary of German embassy. The remaining five bodies are at Teaching Hospital. Seven Nepalis, including three crew members, seven Briton, four Chinese and a US citizen were killed in the crash. Sales and Marketing Manager of Sita Air, Dipendra Shahi, said that the samples have been sent for DNA test to identify other bodies and would take some time to get the reports. Shahi said that the bodies of the foreigners would be handed over only after DNA report arrives. A probe team that comprises of experts from the UK has started the investigation Two aviation experts from the UK have joined the five-member probe team instituted by Nepal government for investigating the crash and the team has started working from Friday. The panel headed by former tourism secretary Nagendra Prasad Ghimire visited the crash site along with the UK experts, according to Suresh Acharya, joint-secretary of MoCTCA and member secretary of the accident probe team. "Today we surveyed the position of the damaged aircraft and took photographs," he said. Aided by National Bird Control Committee, the team also inspected the runway where the bird reportedly hit the elevator of the aircraft Nnnn ________________________________________ PRESIDENT ASKS PARTIESTO DETERMINE HIS ROLE Kathmandu, 1 Oct.: With the country caught in a protracted political and constitutional deadlock, President Ram Baran Yadav turned the tables on political parties, asking them what exactly he should do, Prakash Acarya/ Tika R.Padhan write in .The Himalayan Times. Noting that the parties have already recognised fresh elections as an alternative, he pointed that the parties will either build a consensus or fail to build it. “In either of the cases, the parties should advise me what I should do and when. The parties should take full responsibility for their advice,” a statement from the President’s Office quoted the President as telling leaders of major political parties. The President was basically asking the parties to spell out the role he should play if they fail to reach a consensus, according to former speaker and constitution expert Daman Nath Dhungana. “The President wants the parties to begin immediate discussions on his role if they fail to arrive at a consensus,” Dhungana said. After the meeting, four major parties – Unified CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the United Democratic Madhesi Front – once again vowed to build a consensus on key issues by mid-October – Interim Constitution amendment, date for Constituent Assembly polls, strength of the CA and the formation of a national consensus government. The meeting of the four parties, held at the President’s Office after their meeting with the President, made this understanding, according to UCPN-M chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who attended the meeting with the President, together with CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal, Rastriya Janashakti Party Chair Surya Bahadur Thapa, former PM Madhav Kumar Nepal, NC President Sushil Koirala, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party President Mahantha Thakur, CPN-M Chairman Mohan Baidhya, Vice-president Paramananda Jha and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. The four major parties decided to meet at 3 pm tomorrow to discuss the key issues and call an all-party meeting at the International Convention Centre in Baneshwor on Tuesday to solicit suggestions from all the parties represented in the dissolved CA, according to Dahal. “The President expressed serious concern about the parties’ inability to resolve the national crisis and urged the latter to arrive at a consensus at the earliest. On their part, the parties pledged to reach consensus by mid-October,” Dahal said. As the parties have tentatively agreed to go for fresh CA polls already, they will agree on the issues, including the interim constitution amendment, date for elections, strength of the CA and a national unity government, he said. NC Vice-president Ramchandra Paudel said the parties agreed to reach a consensus on crisis resolution at the earliest. “The President expressed serious concern about our inability to build consensus, though he did not set any deadline for the same,” he said. According to CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidhya, the President told the parties to suggest him ways to end the deadlock. “We suggested that the incumbent government should quit first and a national unity government formed. Then the parties should thrash out national issues through a round-table meeting,” Baidhya said. RPP-Nepal leader Chandra Bahadur Gurung said consensus was impossible, as parties were unwilling to soften their stances. Meeting ground • Parties to meet today [Monday] to discuss key issues • All-party meeting to solicit suggestions on Tuesday • Consensus on key issues by mid-October Nnnn GOVT. PROBE TEAM SUBMITTING REPORT WITHOUT IDENTIFYING KILLER OF JUSTRICE BAM Kathmandu, 1 Oct.: The inquiry commission formed to investigate the May 31 murder of former Supreme Court Justice Rana Bahadur Bam will submit its report to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai though it has failed to identify culprits. “Though we could not name any criminal involved in the murder, we are going to submit the report to the PM very soon,” Prem Sharma, former justice of the SC who heads the inquiry commission told THT. The commission, however, suggested that the government tighten security for judges and courts as Bam’s murder indicated threat to the judiciary. Another member of the inquiry commission, however, said that even Nepal Police, which has been investigating the crime is clueless. In its report submitted to the Inquiry Commission, the Police did not provide any convincing evidence. “It is the job of the police to investigate criminals. We have only analysed the facts and gathered information,” the member said adding, “Since the police could not provide any clue, we did not feel it necessary to continue the investigation any further,” he added. Justice Bam was killed on May 31 at Shankhamul. Unidentified gunmen shot at him when he was heading towards the Supreme Court from Bangalamukhi temple. Nnnn CHINA PROPOSES HELP IN FARM RESEARCH, DEELOPMENT Kathmandu, 1 Oct.: In a bid to speed up farm commercialization in the country, China has proposed to support Nepal in applying modern technology in livestock farming, fisheries and hill agriculture development, among others, Prabhakar Ghimere writes in Republica. The Chinese proposal comes ahead of the agriculture secretary level meeting between the countries scheduled to be held in Kathmandu on Monday. Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) Dr Ganesh Raj Joshi and Niu Dun, Chinese Vice-minister for Agriculture, are leading their respective countries in the bi-lateral talks. A source at the MoAD told Republica that Chinese officials have already proposed to Nepal in promoting animal husbandry to boost production of animal products such as milk, meat and wool in Nepal. Nepal has been spending millions of rupees a year to import those products. Similarly, the Chinese side is also interested in supporting Nepal to expanding fish farming, which is still not widely commercialized despite having huge potentiality. “The northern neighbor is also eager to support us to promote horticulture, cultivation of cereal crops and other farm activities in hilly areas. Besides, Chinese officials are also ready to support us in other potential areas of agriculture,” the source said. The source said Nepal will request Chinese officials to help ease quarantine process at customs points while exporting Nepali agro-products. “As visiting Chinese officials are not dealing with quarantine issues, we will informally request them for their support in simplifying quarantine process,” the source said. Nepali traders are frequently facing problems in supplying meat products due to strict rule imposed at customs points by the Chinese side. During the day-long meeting, Nepali officials will also seek Chinese cooperation for strengthening Nepal´s capacity in food quality testing, production of livestock vaccines and increasing mechanization in farming. Human resource development in agriculture sector is also among the agenda to be discussed during the meeting. The Nepali side will also seek Chinese investment in a 100MW hydropower project to run the proposed chemical fertilizers factory in Nepal. Though MoAD and Ministry of Entergy have already signed an agreement to execute a 100MW project to power the proposed chemical fertilizer plant in Nepal, it is not clear from where investment for the project will come. “We are also floating options to Chinese official to invest in small hydropower projects that can be utilized to run small scale fertilizers here,” the source added. Given the lengthy process to procure chemical fertilizers from overseas market, Nepal will also seek Chinese firms to supply chemical fertilizers to Nepal for immediate purpose. During the meeting, the Nepali side will also seek Chinese support to expand hybrid seeds production technology by helping Nepal build necessary infrastructure. The Chinese delegation is scheduled to visit Nepal Agriculture Research Council in Khumaltar to discuss about possible technical assistance in farm research. nnnn ________________________________________