NC’S SITAULA SAYS CONSENSUS GOVT. COMPULSORY CONDITION Kathmandu, 8 Sept.: Nepali Congress General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula said national consensus government was the first and the compulsory condition for a way out to the political and constitutional transition in the country, RSS reports from Birgunj. Speaking at a press conference organized by the Nepal Press Union, Parsa Chapter, here on Saturday, he said, "The new national consensus government should be formed before reinstating the Constituent Assembly (CA) or going for the fresh elections." The incumbent government has tried to invite new conflict, violence and clashes in the country by dissolving the CA that was the basis for bringing political stability, peace, prosperity and federal democratic constitution, said Sitaula. Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai should be toppled to end the lack of environment of trust among the political parties, he said adding with the change of the incumbent government it will be easier for forging consensus in the process. NC leader Sitaula said institutionalizing people´s sovereignty and state power was only possible if a constitution was promulgated through the CA. The best alternative to this was the election and it should be held before mid-April 2013, said Sitaula presenting his party´s views. The constitution writing process could be forwarded forging consensus among the political parties on the disputed issues appearing during the constitution writing process in the CA and reinstating the CA is possible for a short period to pass the disputed issues of constitution in which the parties make consensus. Nnnn RUSSIA CHINA SOUND ALARM ON STATE OF WORLD ECONOMY Kathmandu, 8 Sept.: China and Russia sounded the alarm about the state of the global economy and urged Asian-Pacific countries at a summit on Saturday to protect themselves by forging deeper regional economic ties, Reuters reports from Vladivostok.. Chinese President Hu Jintao said Beijing would do all it could to strengthen the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) by rebalancing its economy, Asia's biggest, to improve the chances of a global economic recovery. Russian President Vladimir Putin said trade barriers must be smashed down as he opened the APEC summit which he is hosting on a small island linked to the Pacific port of Vladivostok by a spectacular new bridge that symbolizes Moscow's pivotal turn to Asia away from debt-stricken Europe. "It's important to build bridges, not walls. We must continue striving for greater integration," Putin told the APEC leaders, seated at a round table in a room with a view of the $1 billion cable-stayed bridge, the largest of its kind. "The global economic recovery is faltering. We can overcome the negative trends only by increasing the volume of trade in goods and services and enhancing the flow of capital." Hu told business leaders before the summit the world economy was being hampered by "destabilizing factors and uncertainties" and the crisis that hit in 2008-09 was far from over. China would play its role, he said, in strengthening the recovery. "We will work to maintain the balance between keeping steady and robust growth, adjusting the economic structure and managing inflation expectations. We will boost domestic demand and maintain steady and robust growth as well as basic price stability," he said. Hu spelled out plans for China, whose economic growth has slowed as Europe's debt crisis worsened, to pump $157 billion into infrastructure investment in agriculture, energy, railways and roads. Hu steps down as China's leader in the autumn after a Communist Party congress, but he promised continuity and stability for the economy. Putin, who has just begun a new six-year term as president, said on Friday Russia would be a stable energy supplier and a gateway to Europe for Asian countries, and also pledged to develop his country's transport network. RUSSIA LOOKS EAST The relative strength of China's economy, by far the largest in Asia and second in the world to the United States, is key to Russia's decision to look eastwards as it seeks to develop its economy and Europe battles economic problems. APEC, which includes the United States, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Canada, groups countries around the Pacific Rim which account for 40 percent of the world's population, 54 percent of its economic output and 44 percent of trade. APEC members are broadly showing relatively strong growth, but boosting trade and growth is vital for the group as it tries to remove the trade barriers that hinder investment. The European Union has been at odds with both China and Russia over trade practices it regards as limiting free competition. Cooperation in APEC is also hindered by territorial and other disputes among some of the members. Putin, 59, limped slightly as he greeted leaders at the summit. Aides said he had merely pulled a muscle. Underlining Putin's good health, a spokesman said he had a "very active lifestyle." Discussions at the two-day meeting will focus on food security and trade liberalization. An agreement was reached before the summit to slash import duties on technologies that can promote economic growth without endangering the environment. Breakthroughs are not expected on other trade issues at the meeting, which U.S. President Barack Obama is missing. He has been attending the Democratic Party convention and Washington is being represented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. U.S. officials say Clinton's trip is partly intended to assess Russia's push to expand engagement in Asia, which parallels Washington's own turn towards the Asia-Pacific region. Also missing the summit was Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Putin said she had dropped out because her father had died. nnnn