Nepal Today

Friday, November 30, 2012


DR.SINGH CONTINUES DISCUSSIONS WITH LEADERS Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: Dr. Karan Singh, Indian government troubleshooter and close associate of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, continues his informal discussions with Nepal leaders of the second day of his Nepal visit. Saturday. Singh held discussions with top leaders, including former prime ministers over dinner at the residence of RPP Chairman Pashupati Shumshere JB Rana, his brother-in-law, Friday evening. Singh has come to Nepal at a time when government change has hit a roadblock that could affect constituent elections in April/May to draft a delayed constitution to institutionalize a declared republic. Nnnn YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF NEPAL CLOSED DOOR SESSION BEGINS Kathmandu, 1 Dec.; A closed door session of a national conference of Youth Association of Nepal—an affiliate of opposition UML—began Saturday morning to discuss amendment in the association’s statute. Five hundred delegated are participating in the meeting Chairman Mahesh Basnet will present political report, Vice-chairman Hari Bahadur Rai a proposed statte draft and another vice-chairman Dilu Pant a paper of current isuesss. The conference concludes Sunday aaaaahead of another national conference in December.. nnnn. THAI COURT GRANTS FORMER CROWN PRINCE BAIL Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: A Thai court Friday granted former Crown Prince Paras bail in Thailand, reports from Bangkok said. The then crown prince was held briefly23 October 23, on the charge of cannabis possession in Phuket. nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “Legal eagles, who have been backing the prime minister in vain, should go through the provisions of the Interim Constitution to know whether the President's move is unconstitutional. "Bhattarai is extending his stay in the government promising the leaders of fringe parties the prime ministerial post instead of holding talks with major parties,” (UML leader KP Sharma Oli, The Kathmandu, Post, 1 Dec.) Nnnn IFIC APPOINTS AUDITOR TO CONDUCT DILIGENCE AAAAAAAAAAAUDIT OF NBB Kathmandu, 1 Dec,: International Finance Investment and Commerce (IFIC) Bank, one of the Bangladeshi promoters of Nepal Bangladesh Bank ( NBB ), has appointed Dhaka-based chartered accountant firm Howladar Yunus and Co (HYC) to hold a due diligence audit (DDA) of NBB . IFIC has initiated the process of purchasing shares of Nepali promoters and another Bangladeshi promoter, Bank Asia, after the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) gave its green light for the proposed transaction some three weeks ago. IFIC will acquire 32.4 percent shares from its partners, which will increase its holding in NBB to 44.55 percent. Currently, IFIC holds 9.92 percent stake in the bank, while Nepali promoters own around 26 percent and Bank Asia has 14.88 percent. “A team of the Howladar Yunus and Company is arriving here on Sunday to undertake the job,” said NBB CEO Gyanendra Dhungana. “Nepali promoters may also appoint a separate firm for a separate DDA to determine the right value of NBB shares.” The central bank has given NBB a three-month period to complete the transaction. “We will do our bit to complete the transaction within the deadline,” said Dhungana. With IFIC becoming the single largest shareholder of NBB , the bank has appointed Mohammad Lutfar Rahaman, who represents IFIC, as chairman. Although the new development gives the IFIC more control over NBB , the Bangladesi bank falls short by 6 percent from a majority stake, as the family of Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha and his brother Jit Bahadur Shrestha will not sell their personal shares immediately. Laxmi Bahadur holds 3.5 percent, while Jit Bahadur has 3.30 percent. Nnnn IFC HEPLS SCALING UP PPP PROGRAMMES Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: International Finance Corporation ( IFC ), a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting the government in scaling up public-private partnership (PPP) programmes to implement projects that will help advance basic infrastructure and accelerate economic development in the country, The Kathmandu Post reports.. IFC will assist the government by helping it lead efforts in public-private partnership projects to develop airports, roads and tourism, a priority for Nepal. IFC will assist in identifying projects and setting transparent standardized bidding procedures in consultation with stakeholders. Additionally, the initiative aims to improve the enabling environment, developing a regulatory, institutional and policy framework for implementing public-private partnerships effectively. “ IFC ’s expertise will enable us to better structure private participation in the upcoming public infrastructure projects,” said Radhesh Pant, chief executive officer of the Nepal Investment Board. “We need to tap into such partnerships more proactively.” Most infrastructure projects in Nepal so far have been funded out of the national budget. Private sector participation in such projects can help address critical infrastructure gaps cost-effectively. According to a white paper by the National Planning Commission, the government has accepted public-private partnerships as an alternative source of building assets. “This initiative should help unlock the huge potential of public-private partnerships in Nepal,” said Val Bagatsing, IFC resident representative for Nepal. “ IFC ’s global expertise will help to overcome the challenges in doing this.” IFC offers advisory services to national and municipal governments on structuring public-private partnerships for basic amenities such as infrastructure, health and education. nnnn


MOTORCYCLUST KILLED IN SIRAHA Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: A motorcyclist was killed Friday in Dhangadi, Siraha. Kapil Dev Mahito died when a jeep hit him Nnnn CPN-MAOIST TELLS PESIDENT HIS AGREEMENT WITH BIG THREE, MADESH MORCHA UNACCEPTABLE Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: Expressing serious objection over President Ram Baran Yadav not including the CPN-Maoist in the meetings of major political parties, the breakaway Maoist party on Friday warned that it would not accept any decision that the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (UML) and United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) take without the involvement of the CPN-Maoist, Republica reports. The party also asked the president the reason for such omission and alleged that he was harboring suspicions against it. At a meeting with the president at Shital Niwas, the CPN-Maoist said they would protest if the president continued to overlook that party. President Yadav had not called the CPN-Maoist to the meeting at Shital Niwas on Thursday. He called the UCPN (Maoist), NC, UML and UDMF and extended by a week the deadline for picking a consensus prime minister. "We asked the president where was our space? Our party claims the post of prime minister. We had 91 lawmakers in the dissolved Constituent Assembly (CA). We clearly informed him that we would not accept any decision of the so-called major parties," Pampha Bhusal, party spokesperson, told Republica. "We expressed serious objection to the neglect of our party which is playing a decisive role with a clear political agenda," Vice-chairman CP Gajurel told media, emerging from the Shital Niwas meeting. "We said that at least the parties which were in the dissolved CA should have participated in the meeting," said Bhusal. The CPN-Maoist submitted to the president on Friday the list of its 91 lawmakers in the dissolved CA. There is no criteria except strength in the dissolved CA, and the president called in Madhesi parties with fewer than 30 CA seats, it was pointed out. CPN-Maoist leaders informed the president that they would go for protest in the streets if the president endorsed the decisions of just the three major parties in the name of political consensus. "We do not accept any agreement of the so-called three major parties. We will go for street protests," added Bhusal. According to her, the constitutional and political crisis is the result of failure on the part of the UCPN(Maoist), NC, UML and UDMF and there was no point extending the deadline for consensus. "The parties would not find a solution even if they had weeks more. If they object to the title of the all party round tabletable that we proposed, we can use some other name," said Bhusal. "A solution can materialize only through another agreement like the 12-point one," she said. The UCPN(Maoist) has flouted the proposal for a roundtable of all parties, stakeholders and regional and social forces. nnnn DONORS NOT TRANSPARENT Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: A newly published report has busted the myth that leading aid agencies working in the country are transparent about their activities and financial resource allocations, Republica reports.. The report titled ´A Pilot Study on Situation of Aid Transparency in Nepal´ published by Freedom Forum states that transparency level as claimed by donor agencies was not found in practice, although senior management team at those agencies had good knowledge of aid transparency and accountability. The survey conducted among seven donor agencies - the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Department for International Development (DfID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Norwegian Embassy, USAID and the UNDP - found that none of the agencies provided complete budgetary information, many kept beneficiaries in dark about project budget, many were reluctant about providing information on projects and at least one agency did not even have a designated officer to share information. “Yet all seven agencies consulted at the central level mentioned they did not have restriction on sharing project and program information with stakeholders and they do have organizational policy on the same,” says the report, which was prepared in coordination with Aid Info, a UK based NGO working on donor transparency. During the survey all agency responded saying they share documents on project agreement and policies with stakeholders. But none of them shared complete information on budget, the report says. USAID, for instance, provided information on total commitment amount for 2009, 2010 and 2011. But it failed to provide information on actual disbursement during those years, the report says. The DfID, another leading aid agency for Nepal, on the other hand, could not clarify whether the aid was grant or loan, budgetary or non-budgetary and monetary or non-monetary. The agency also could not provide yearly breakdown of commitment and disbursement of amount, the report states. The World Bank, which was the only donor agency that provided information on internal budget, also could not provide information on whether the aid was budgetary or non-budgetary and monetary or non-monetary. Surprisingly, the ADB did not provide any information on its budget, which the report says was “very unusual”. Others like JICA, UNDP and Norwegian Embassy also could not furnish complete information on budgetary allocations. The situation was even worse at the district level in terms of information dissemination on budget allocated for projects. During survey in Chitwan and Dolakha, only 30 percent of them were aware about the project budget, while 64 percent of project offices claimed they share information on project budget with beneficiaries. Similar discrepancy was also detected on sharing monitoring and evaluation reports. While 85 percent of project offices claimed they shared such reports with beneficiaries, only 20 percent of the beneficiaries said they had actually received such documents. The survey also found that not all donor agencies shared all the information. For instance, the UNDP said it does not share information with the people of the donor country, USAID said it does not share information with project implementers and Norwegian Embassy said it does share information with beneficiaries, civil society organizations and media, the report says. Concluding that there are lots of discrepancies on what the donor agencies say and practice, the report suggests that the agencies strictly follow the provisions on Right to Information Act and disclose information every three months, especially on the number of ongoing projects being implemented with the support of the government, different non-government organizations, the private sector and others. “Budget tracking could also be an area for further exploration,” the report suggests. Nnnn U.S. HOUSE VOTES END OF A POPULAR PROGRAMME IN NEPAL TO END VISA LOTTERY Kathmandu, 1 Dec : The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to make green cards accessible to foreign students graduating with advanced science and math degrees from U.S. universities, setting up what is expected to be a turbulent battle over immigration policy next year, AP reports from Washington. Even this limited step, strongly backed by the high-tech industry, is unlikely to go anywhere this session of Congress, indicating how difficult it will be to find lasting solutions to the nation´s much-criticized immigration system. For Republicans largely shunned by Hispanic voters in the November elections, the vote for the STEM Jobs Act was a way of showing they have softened their hardline immigration policies and are ready to work for more comprehensive legislation. A more sweeping bill presumably would deal not only with legal residents but also with the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally. In another gesture to Hispanics and other minority communities, lawmakers added a provision that will make it easier for those with green cards to be reunited with spouses and children now living overseas. But for many Democrats and the Obama administration, Friday´s first step was more of a misstep. Democrats, including members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, assailed the legislation for offsetting the 55,000 new permanent residency visas by eliminating a program that provided green cards to people with traditionally lower rates of immigration, particularly those from Africa. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A White House statement said it was encouraged that Congress "appears to be ready to begin serious debate on the need to fix our broken immigration system." But it said the administration does not support "narrowly tailored proposals" that do not meet long-term objectives of achieving comprehensive reform. That comprehensive approach includes dealing with the young people brought into the country illegally, establishing a solution for agriculture workers, creating an effective border enforcement system and worker verification program and deciding by what means those living in the country illegally can attain legal status. The Democratic-controlled Senate is seen as likely to ignore the House STEM bill in the waning days of the current congressional session. The idea of retaining foreign students with advanced degrees in the STEM fields enjoys wide bipartisan support and has long been sought by high-tech industries that have seen some of their brightest employee prospects forced to leave the U.S. and work for competitors abroad. "We should staple a green card to their diplomas," said Republican Rep. Jeff Flake, a proponent of overhauling immigration law. He cited a National Science Foundation study showing that foreign students receive nearly 60 per cent of U.S. engineering doctorates and more than 50 per cent of doctorates in mathematics and computer science. The STEM Act visas would be in addition to about 140,000 employment-based visas for those ranging from lower-skilled workers to college graduates and people in the arts, education and athletics. But the elimination of the Diversity Visa Lottery Program is a "slap in the face to the core value and the position of immigrants to the United States," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a leader on immigration policy with the Hispanic Caucus. "If you support this bill, then you are saying that one type of immigrant is better than the other." The Diversity Visa Lottery Program, created partly to increase visas for Ireland, has shifted over the years to focus on former Soviet states and now Africa. In 2010, almost 25,000 visas went to Africa; 9,000 to Asia and 16,000 to Europe. Applicants must have at least a high school education. Critics say the visa lottery program has outlived its purpose because Africans and East Europeans are already benefiting from family unification and skilled employment visas, and the lottery program is subject to fraud and infiltration by terrorists. The provision on reuniting families allows the spouses and children of permanent residents to come to the United States to wait for their own green card applications to be processed one year after applying. Currently, family members must wait more than two years before being reunited. Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/u-s-house-votes-end-visa-lottery-extend-residency-for-advanced-degree-graduates-nnnn Nnnn ________________________________________


MANISHA KOIRALA BEING OPERATED MONDAT AT US HOSPITAL FOR CANCER Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: Actress Manisha Koirala, who has been diagnosed with cancer, will be flown to the United States for further treatment, according to family sources, The Himalayan Times reports from New Delhi. Manisha’s father Prakash Koirala said she will be flown to New York on Saturday. She will be admitted to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre where she will be operated on Monday, he said. Manisha, who was admitted to Jaslok Hospital on November 28, has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She has returned home in Andheri, Mumbai now. “The cancer is in its preliminary stage, but we don’t want to take any chance and her friends also have suggested that she be taken to the US,” said her father. “Her health condition is normal now. She is taking rest,” he added. Nnnn FRENCH TOURIST COLLAPSES IN BAUDHA DIES AT HOSPITAL Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: : Heinz Christian Kollegger (61), a French tourist,, died while undergoing treatment at Nepal Medical College Friday, police said. The tourist collapsed at Baudha and died while undergoing treatment at hospital. Nnnn KRISHNA BAHADUR KHANAL APPOINTED PRINCIPAL OF BUDHANILKANTHA SCHOOL Kathmandu, 1 Dec.; Krishna Bahadur Khanal was appointed Friday executive chief of Budhanilkantha School replacing Narayan Prasad Sharma who has been charged for irregularities while managing the British-built school. Crown Prince Dipendra studied in the school which has seet aside seats for top students from various regions of the country. Khanal, appointed by the school management committee, is a graduate of the school. Nnnn PRESIDENT INAUGURATES AIDS CONFERENCE Kathmandu, 1 Dec. President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Saturday inaugurates the fourth National Aids Conference in Pokhara. An estimated 51,000 HIV-are and of them 19,000 have developed full-blown HIV through tests. About 8,000 people are taking retro viral drugs regularly. The Pokhara conference will review achievements and future strategic. A national AIDS conference is held once every twoyears. nnnn CAPITAL’S SATURDAY MORNING TEMPERATURE FIVE DEGREES CELSIUS Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: The capital’s temperature Saturday morning was five degrees Celsius. Temperature in expected to rise of 19 degrees Celsius on a clear day in the afternoon. Nnnn FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPINSHIP BEGINS SATURDAY Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: Martyrs Memorial A Division League champion resumes Saturday after a two-day rest. Manang Marshyangdhi Club (MMC) plays Bauddha Club in one match. Madhyapur plays Armed Police Force (APF) in another match. nnnn THREE HELD FOR FORGING DUCUMENTS Kathmandu, 1 Dec.: The Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police today rounded up three manpower agents for sending unemployed youth abroad illegally, The HImalayanTImes reports.. Of the arrestees Bungsang Dorje Lama (26) of Ramechhap, was an agent of the Mandikhatar-based Future International Service, whereas Adhikari and Pokharel were labour representatives for the Baneshwor-based Wise International Nepal and the Basundhara-based Glory Overseas. “Acting on information that the three had long been involved in trafficking youth abroad by counterfeiting official documents, seals and signatures, a CIB team nabbed them from separate places in Kathmandu to initiate legal action against them,” DSP Krishna Kumar Mahat said. According to investigators, Gulf countries had deported more than 200 people, who the three had sent for employment. DSP Mahat said Lama, Adhikari and Pokharel used to put fake labour stickers and seals of the Department of Foreign Employment on the documents of job-seekers, charging them hefty sums. The CIB has confiscated 46 passports, 28 fake labour stickers, stamp seals of the DoFE, Future International Service, Wise International Nepal, Wise International Nepal, Notary Public and Akriti Recruiting, and photocopies of five visas. The CIB said Lama, Adhikari and Pokharel would work in cahoots to counterfeit all documents that a foreign job-seeker requires. They would charge Rs 15,000 for a fake labour sticker. The law enforcement agency has charged the three under the Foreign Employment Act and sent them to the Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka, for further investigation and legal action. nnnn



UPDATE LEADERS PRESENT AT DINNER FOR VISITIING INDIAN LEADER Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: : At a time when agitation and mutual discussion among the parties for ending protracted political impasse are taking place simultaneously, top leaders of major parties, former prime ministers and visiting Indian leader featured together in a banquet party on Friday evening, RSS reports. A gathering of the leaders was made in a dinner reception hosted by Chairperson of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Pashupati Shumsher Rana at Bijayabas at Maharajgunj. Visiting Indian leader Karan Singh was also present in the reception. The dinner party was attended by Unified CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairperson Jhalanath Khanal and former prime ministers including Sher Bahadur Deuba, Surya Bahadur Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Madhav Kumar Nepal, among other leaders . nnnn TWO KAVRE FARMERS SELECTED TO VISIT JAPAN Kathmandu, 30 Nov.:: Two farmers have been selected for a visit to Japan from Kavre district which is advance in vegetable and livestock farming, RSS reeeeports from Banepa.. The SR Camp Project has selected them from Bhimkhori VDC, said Agriculture Development Office, Kavre Chief, Sahadev Prasad Humagain. He said the project has brought a Banepa-Bardibas Master Plan and they were selected by the project by running livestock and agriculture programs as pilot programme in the VDC. The farmers selected are Prem Bahadur Kingring and Raj Kumar Kingring from livestock and agriculture. They will visit Japan for two weeks from January 6. nnnn RENEWED SETTLER DRIVE BY ISRAEL AFTER N PALESTINE VOTE Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Israel revealed plans on Friday to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank in response to the Palestinians´ historic success in being recognized as a non-member state at the United Nations, AFP reports from Jerusalem. During the landmark Thursday vote in New York, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution recognising Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member observer state. It was a major diplomatic coup for the Palestinians but a stinging slap in the face for Israel, which had lobbied hard to prevent it, arguing that it would cripple peace hopes. Reports of the decision to build the 3,000 housing units in response to the UN vote emerged on Friday afternoon, with an official source confirming it to AFP. "It´s true," he said, without specifying exactly where. Media reports said some of the construction would be in a highly contentious area of the West Bank known as E1, a corridor that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement. Palestinians bitterly oppose the E1 project, as it effectively cuts the occupied West Bank in two north to south and makes the creation of a viable Palestinian state highly problematic. The Palestinians want annexed east Jerusalem as capital of their promised, future state and vigorously oppose expansion plans for Maaleh Adumim, which lies five kilometres (three miles) from the city´s eastern edge. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the UN vote as "a meaningless decision that will not change anything on the ground," and said peace could only be found in "direct negotiations... and not in one-sided UN decisions." But he also warned that by going to the UN, the Palestinians had "violated" previous agreements with Israel, such as the 1993 Oslo Accords, and that his country would "act accordingly." A report on the Ynet news website said the decision to connect Maaleh Adumim with Jerusalem had been taken by Netanyahu´s inner circle, the Forum of Nine, on Thursday. Earlier on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom had mooted the idea of building in E1 as a response to the UN move, which he said was a violation of agreements the Palestinians had signed with Israel, such as the Oslo Accords. "The violation of these agreements... means Israel can also take unilateral initiatives such as applying Israeli sovereignty in the territories or connecting Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem," he told public radio. Linking the settlement and the city is an idea long espoused by hardliners within Netanyahu´s ruling rightwing Likud party but strongly opposed by Washington. Israel has long feared that if the Palestinians won the rank of a UN non-member state, they could pursue the Jewish state for war crimes at the International Criminal Court in The Hague -- particularly over its settlement building. Two days before the UN vote, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour warned that if Israel continued "to illegally build settlements -- which is a war crime from the point of view of the ICC and the Rome statute -- then we will consult with all of our friends, including the Europeans, to (ask) them what should we do next to bring Israel into compliance" with UN resolutions. With their newly acquired status, the Palestinians now have access to a range of UN agencies as well as to the ICC, but officials said they had no plans to immediately petition the tribunal. "If Israel refrains from settlement activities and so on... there´s no immediate pressing reason to do that. If Israel persists in its violations, then certainly it will have to face accountability," senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said on Wednesday. Friday´s decision to build more settler homes was roundly denounced by Peace Now, Israel´s settlement watchdog. "Instead of punishing the Palestinians, this government is punishing Israel by making peace harder to achieve and showing that Israel does not want peace," said Hagit Ofran. "That is very dangerous." Arab east Jerusalem was captured by Israel with the rest of the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in a move not recognised by the international community. Israel considers all of Jerusalem as its "eternal, indivisible" capital, and does not view construction in the eastern sector to be settlement activity. nnnn tion hosted by Chairperson of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Pashupati Shumsher Rana at Bijayabas at Maharajgunj. Visiting Indian leader Karan Singh was also present in the reception. The dinner party was attended by Unified CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairperson Jhalanath Khanal and former prime ministers including Sher Bahadur Deuba, Surya Bahadur Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Madhav Kumar Nepal, among other leaders . nnnn



NC GETS CONDITIONAL SUPPORT OF MJFN Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: NC President Sushil Koirala began consultations Friday and received conditional support of MJFN to form a consensus government. Chairman Upendra Yadav extended the conditional support to NC at his meeting with Koirala Yadav asked for a Madesh friendly attitude from the NC. NC began consultations after President Dr.. Ram Baranm Yadav Thursday extended by another one week to form a consensus government., CHINESE AMBASSADOR HOPES NEPAL WILL RESOLVE CURRENT CRISIS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yang Houlan Friday hoped Nepal will resolve its current crisis. “China’s sentiments over its southern neighbour deepen because of its own experience of 1970 and we will help Nepali citizens resolve the present political impasse”, said Yang told reporters Friday. Yang revelaed he regularly consults his Indian colleague Jayant Prasad on Nepal matters. nnnn JUMLA’S FIRST SNOWFALL THIS WINTER Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Normal life in Jumla district has been hard hit due to snowfall, which suddenly occurred on Thursday night, RSS reports. Hills have been covered with snow due to snowfall and minimum temperature of the district has come down to minus 10 degrees Celsius, according to Climate Field Office, Jumla. Mostly, the upper part settlements of Jumla, Dolpa and Mugu districts have been affected due to the snowfall. Computers, fax-machines and vehicles are non operational after diesel started to be frozen due to cold. According to the District Education Office, the snowfall has also affected the examinations started at government and community schools from November 29.However, the climate in the district is normal from 8:00 am today. Nnnn STUDENTS IN FAR-WEST DISSATISFIED Kathmandu, 30 Nov: The Far-Western University run in government grant has decided to admit the students in a limited numbers only. Majority of the students in the region are to be deprived of getting higher education in the university, RSS reports from Kanchanpur.. Five students' organizations close to various political parties have expressed their concern that the University tried to privatize the University by fixing quotas for various faculties and levels. The student organizations have expressed their dissatisfaction three days prior to the entrance examinations from which the entrance examinations are to be affected. "We had struggled to establish the University for the last 10 years but it has deprived the students from taking higher education by fixing the quotas in different levels and faculties, said Gyanendra Bhatta, local leader of ANNFSU. The University has fixed 200 students for humanities, 250 for education and 50 for Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA). According to Administrative Officer of the University, Santosh Bista, students have filled up the forms for all faculties except for the Computer Science. The university has fixed the annual fee at Rs. 22,000 for the BBA and around 150 students have filled forms for the subject. nnnn



UPENDRA YADAV, MOHAN BAIDHAYA HOLD SEPARATE DISCUSSIONS WITH PRESIDENT Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Chairman of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum(MJF)-Nepal, Upendra Yadav, met with President of the Nepali Congress, Sushil Koirala, at the latter´s residence in Maharajgunj on Friday, RSS reports.. During the meeting, they discussed about the current political situation in the country and its outlet. Talking to media persons after the meeting, Yadav expressed the view that emphasis should be given for the formation of a national consensus government as outlet of the political crisis would not be found from the government. Yadav said that Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai should pave way at the earliest for formation of a new government and added that the major political parties should be serious about constitution and major problems of the country. Similarly, Nepali Congress leader Deep Kumar Upadhyay said that NC is clear over the issue of Madhes and added that now Madhes-based parties will support the NC even if the UCPN-Maoist has tried to mislead. Nnnn ________________________________________ MOHAN BAIDHIAYA ALSO CONSULTS PRESIDENT Kathmandu, 3- Nov.: CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya held consultations with yjce president a swell Friday after Vice-chairman CP Gajurel protested president’ party talks on consensus government Thursday only with three parties and a front of ruling parties. Gajurel and party General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa, a ccandidate for prime minister, were present at the consultations. nnnn


NATIONAL COOPERATIVES POLICY IN OFFING Kathmandu, 30 Nov. : The government is to bring a national cooperatives policy soon to run cooperatives sector in policy wise manner, RSS reports from Lalitpur.. The government is going to bring the policy soon in the context that every sector has demanded the policy to make the cooperatives systematic and transparent in policy level. Inaugurating the 18th anniversary of the Lalitpur District Saving and Credit Cooperatives´ Association Limited, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayankaji Shrestha, said that the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation has prepared a national policy and added that the Council of Ministers will approve it soon. Minister Shrestha said the government was committed to making cooperatives sectors transparent and for the uplift of overall cooperatives through proper policies. On the occasion, Chairman of the Central Saving and Credit Limited, Minraj Kandel, said that cooperatives sector should be made systematic and transparent. Similarly, Hari Dahal, Lalitpur In-charge of the UCPN-Maoist and Lalitpur Chairman of the CPN-UML, Madhusudan Paudel discussed about the importance and utility of cooperatives. Nnnn ________________________________________ LAST INDIAN PM TO VISIT NEPAL DEAD Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: The last Indian prime minister to visit Nepal died Frdiay at in a hospital in New Delhi. Friday. IK Gujral, who headed a rickety coalition government in the late 1990s, died on Friday after a brief illness, PTI reports from New Delhi. The Indian news agency adds: . The agency adds: Gujral, 92, breathed his last at 3.27 pm in a private hospital after a multi-organ failure. He was admitted to the hospital on November 19 with a lung infection, family sources said. The former prime minister, who was ventilator support, had been unwell for sometime. He was on dialysis for over a year and suffered a serious chest infection some days ago. He will be cremated in nearby Delhi on Saturday. Gujral, who migrated from Pakistan after partition, rose to become the prime minister with a big slice of luck after he came up through the ranks - starting as vice president in NDMC in the ´50s to later become a union minister and then India´s Ambassador to the USSR. Gujral, an intellectual who propounded the ´Gujral Doctrine´ of five principles for maintaining good neighbourly relations, left the Congress to join the Janata Dal in the late-1980s. He became minister of external affairs in the VP Singh-led National Front government in 1989. As the External Affairs Minister he handled the fallout of the Kuwait crisis following Iraqi invasion that displaced thousands of Indians. Gujral had a second stint as external affairs minister in the United Front government under HD Deve Gowda, whom he later replaced as prime minister after the Congress withdrew support in the summer of 1997. He emerged as the consensus candidate after serious differences developed among the UF leaders including Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh and others as to who will become the Prime Minister. It was another matter that his government survived only for a few months as Congress again became restive in the wake of Jain Commission report on Rajiv Gandhi´s assassination. Nnnn TANKER DRIVER KILLED Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Tankr driver killed Uddav Katudal died en route to hospital for treatment following an accident at Kolbung on Mechi Highway Friday He hailed from Tanki Sinuwari, Morang, nnnn


Thursday, November 29, 2012


PROBE STARTS INTO SALE OF TWO MRPs TO CHINESE TIBETANS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: An ongoing probe has revealed the sale of two Machine Readable Passports to two Chinese-Tibetans and led to the confiscation of three MRPs from office assistant at the Division of Passport (DoP), Rajendra Acharya, who was plotting to sell them, too, Lekhnath Pandey writes in The Himalayan Times.. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the case seriously, surprised as to how the Chinese got the Nepali passports, though sources claimed Acharya changed names and details of passport forms dispatched from the Sindhupalchowk District Administration Office (DAO) to deliver them to the Chinese. According to sources, the story came to light after the two Chinese nationals, who had received Nepalis MRPs, got caught at the Tribhuvan International Airport last week while they were about to fly to the United States. Their identities are under wraps. This case of MRP misuse has shocked the MoFA and the DoP. In its wake, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha conducted a surprise check at the DoP yesterday. Shrestha also formed a five-member taskforce under the coordination of Chief of Protocol Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat for a full investigation of the case and detection of flaws in the MRPs printing and issuing process. DPM Shrestha said he conducted a surprise check after receiving informatin about the forgery and commissioned a panel to probe the case. “We are at the initial phase of an investigation,” he told this daily. “We can share the details only after reaching the crux of this forgery.” Another source said Acharya conceded to selling MRPs for Rs 22,000 each. He accepted he had three passports to sell to other Tibetans, which officials later seized. Surprisingly, Acharya has been ‘absconding’. The official said police are searching for him. Asked how it all happened, acting chief at DoP, Yadav Khanal, said he had heard about the case but expressed inability to share anything further, saying he is on leave. nnnn


FURTHER DETAILS ON PRESIDENTIAL DEADLINE EXTENSION Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: President Dr. Raam Baran Yadaaa, at the collective request of the Big Three and front of five Madeshbadi parties in government, extended failed Thursday’s deadline to assemble a consensus government with its head by another one week Friday night. Maoist Chairman Prachanda, NC President Sushil Koirala, UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and Health Minister Rajndra Mahoto in the absence of Chairman of the Front and Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachedhar made the collective request at a two-hour meet. President invoked article 38 (A) of the constitution in extending the Deadline for the second time. The parties have to forma consensus government by 6 December. “The leaders have assured the President that the political parties will reach a deal within a week,” said Khanal speaking on behalf of his colleagues nnnn FOREIGN HELP FOR ELECTIONS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: The European Commission , UNDP and other Development partners gave Nepal euro 19.978 million Thursday through the finance ministry to conduct national elections in April.May The money will be spent over a four-year period. Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Finance, the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other development partners to implement a new project—Electoral Support Project Phase II. Head of the European Union Delegation to Nepal Dr Alexander Spachis said, “The EU is committed to democracy around the world. It wants to see national and local elections taking place in Nepal. “ nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE "The opposition parties have been inciting the President to stage a coup like that of 2017 BS (1960).” (Finance minister Barsh Man Pun The Kathmandu, 30 Nov.), “We cannot hold elections without clearing legal hurdles [by 30 December] , forging consensus among parties and appointing commissioners at the EC." (EC Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav in The Kathmandu Post, 30 Nov.) nnnn SUPREME COURT JUSTICE BHARAT RAJ UPRETI RESIGNS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Supreme Court Justice Bharat Raj Upreti resigned on Thursday. His resignation comes just two weeks before the curtain falls on the term of temporary SC justices, Pranab Kharel writes in The Kathmandu Post. By mid-December the apex court would have only six justices, which will affect the justice delivery. As per the constitutional provision, a parliamentary hearing is a must for the appointment of justices at the SC. Upreti submitted his resignation, effective from Sunday, before the apex court administration. “I spent four years in the Supreme Court and now I feel like working in the private sector,” Upreti told the Post. He, one of the seven temporary justices who came to the apex court in January 2009, was set to retire on January 21. A petition is subjudice in the SC, arguing that the justices who have undergone parliamentary hearing once, could be retained. Asked what would he do if the court issues the petition, an irate Upreti remarked, “Do you think I would accept a post at the mercy of somebody?” But he went on to add that the process to make justices permanent had been delayed. Replying to a question that whether he felt let down by the judicial leadership for failing to expedite the appointment process, Upreti refused to comment. “How can I say that? You should ask this question to the chief justice.” Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, who also heads the Judicial Council—responsible for the appointment of justices and judges—said it was Upreti’s personal decision and did not want to comment further. “As far as the appointment of judges is concerned we are working on that,” said Regmi. But former justice of the apex court, Balram KC, said, “Upreti’s resignation is an unfortunate incident as judiciary would suffer if competent people resign.” “Bharat Upreti is an expert in corporate law. Judiciary needs people like him. All the temporary justices are competent and need to be retained,” said KC. Former Justice KC rued the day that CJ Regmi was well aware of the situation but remained “inactive”. “A large Bench led by the incumbent chief justice had put a term cap on the Constituent Assembly. Therefore, he was aware of the situation and should have ensured that the vacant posts are fulfilled and temporary justices are reappointed,” added KC. nnnn ABDUCTIONS UNCHECKED IN CENTRAL REGION Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Indralal Chaulagain, 55, and his neighbour Bhimlal Shrestha, 52, of Nijgadh in the district went to a nearby forest to collect fodder. But they did not return home. Some unidentified persons called the family members over telephone demanding ransom of Rs 1 million each for their release, :Axmi Sah writes in The Kathmandu from Bara.. The whereabouts of the abductees is still unknown for the past two months as the victims’ families failed to cough up the amount. This is just a case in point. Abduction cases are unchecked in Bara and its neighbouring districts. Five persons have been abducted in the past two months in Bara, Parsa and Rautahat. Their situation is still unknown. People complain that general life has been increasingly unsafe in the region due to the unchecked abduction. They blamed the government for not taking strong measures to bring abductors to book. “The general life has been insecure in the recent time due to unchecked abductions. Insecurity prevails in the region as the authorities concerned fail to control the organised network of abductors,” said Hasta Lama, a teacher at a local school. The abductees’ family members are restless. They have urged police to take initiative for the safe and immediate release of the victims but to no avail. “We are restless. We asked one and all for the release but we are unknown about his situation,” said Ramila, Chaulagain’s daughter. Likewise, the situation of 19-year-old Raju Prajapati of Birgunj in Parsa district is still unknown even after his family provided Rs 1 million to abductors. “We sold our land and coughed up the amount hoping his safe release. But his whereabouts is still unknown,” said Prajapati’s uncle Birendra. So is the fate of 45-year-old Dasharath Kankar of Ranighat, Birgunj, and 13-year-old schoolboy Sunil Baitha of Samanpur-9 in Rautahat district. The victims’ kin and family vented their ire on police for inaction. They claimed that they informed the police on time but the latter failed to take any initiatives for the victims’ release. “We have been working to release the victims as per the information provided by their families. I have directed police chiefs in the districts to work seriously to rescue the victims,” said DIG Yadav Adhikari at the Central Regional Police Office. nnnn





FOREIGN HELP FOR ELECTIONS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: The European Commission , UNDP and other Development partners gave Nepal euro 19.978 million Thursday through the finance ministry to conduct national elections in April.May The money will be spent over a four-year period. Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Finance, the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other development partners to implement a new project—Electoral Support Project Phase II. Head of the European Union Delegation to Nepal Dr Alexander Spachis said, “The EU is committed to democracy around the world. It wants to see national and local elections taking place in Nepal. “ nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE "The opposition parties have been inciting the President to stage a coup like that of 2017 BS (1960).” (Finance minister Barsh Man Pun The Kathmandu, 30 Nov.), “We cannot hold elections without clearing legal hurdles [by 30 December] , forging consensus among parties and appointing commissioners at the EC." (EC Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav in The Kathmandu Post, 30 Nov.) nnnn SUPREME COURT JUSTICE BHARAT RAJ UPRETI RESIGNS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Supreme Court Justice Bharat Raj Upreti resigned on Thursday. His resignation comes just two weeks before the curtain falls on the term of temporary SC justices, Pranab Kharel writes in The Kathmandu Post. By mid-December the apex court would have only six justices, which will affect the justice delivery. As per the constitutional provision, a parliamentary hearing is a must for the appointment of justices at the SC. Upreti submitted his resignation, effective from Sunday, before the apex court administration. “I spent four years in the Supreme Court and now I feel like working in the private sector,” Upreti told the Post. He, one of the seven temporary justices who came to the apex court in January 2009, was set to retire on January 21. A petition is subjudice in the SC, arguing that the justices who have undergone parliamentary hearing once, could be retained. Asked what would he do if the court issues the petition, an irate Upreti remarked, “Do you think I would accept a post at the mercy of somebody?” But he went on to add that the process to make justices permanent had been delayed. Replying to a question that whether he felt let down by the judicial leadership for failing to expedite the appointment process, Upreti refused to comment. “How can I say that? You should ask this question to the chief justice.” Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, who also heads the Judicial Council—responsible for the appointment of justices and judges—said it was Upreti’s personal decision and did not want to comment further. “As far as the appointment of judges is concerned we are working on that,” said Regmi. But former justice of the apex court, Balram KC, said, “Upreti’s resignation is an unfortunate incident as judiciary would suffer if competent people resign.” “Bharat Upreti is an expert in corporate law. Judiciary needs people like him. All the temporary justices are competent and need to be retained,” said KC. Former Justice KC rued the day that CJ Regmi was well aware of the situation but remained “inactive”. “A large Bench led by the incumbent chief justice had put a term cap on the Constituent Assembly. Therefore, he was aware of the situation and should have ensured that the vacant posts are fulfilled and temporary justices are reappointed,” added KC. nnnn ABDUCTIONS UNCHECKED IN CENTRAL REGION Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Indralal Chaulagain, 55, and his neighbour Bhimlal Shrestha, 52, of Nijgadh in the district went to a nearby forest to collect fodder. But they did not return home. Some unidentified persons called the family members over telephone demanding ransom of Rs 1 million each for their release, :Axmi Sah writes in The Kathmandu from Bara.. The whereabouts of the abductees is still unknown for the past two months as the victims’ families failed to cough up the amount. This is just a case in point. Abduction cases are unchecked in Bara and its neighbouring districts. Five persons have been abducted in the past two months in Bara, Parsa and Rautahat. Their situation is still unknown. People complain that general life has been increasingly unsafe in the region due to the unchecked abduction. They blamed the government for not taking strong measures to bring abductors to book. “The general life has been insecure in the recent time due to unchecked abductions. Insecurity prevails in the region as the authorities concerned fail to control the organised network of abductors,” said Hasta Lama, a teacher at a local school. The abductees’ family members are restless. They have urged police to take initiative for the safe and immediate release of the victims but to no avail. “We are restless. We asked one and all for the release but we are unknown about his situation,” said Ramila, Chaulagain’s daughter. Likewise, the situation of 19-year-old Raju Prajapati of Birgunj in Parsa district is still unknown even after his family provided Rs 1 million to abductors. “We sold our land and coughed up the amount hoping his safe release. But his whereabouts is still unknown,” said Prajapati’s uncle Birendra. So is the fate of 45-year-old Dasharath Kankar of Ranighat, Birgunj, and 13-year-old schoolboy Sunil Baitha of Samanpur-9 in Rautahat district. The victims’ kin and family vented their ire on police for inaction. They claimed that they informed the police on time but the latter failed to take any initiatives for the victims’ release. “We have been working to release the victims as per the information provided by their families. I have directed police chiefs in the districts to work seriously to rescue the victims,” said DIG Yadav Adhikari at the Central Regional Police Office. nnnn


NEPAL-CHINA AIRCRAFT PURCHASE DEAL Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: An agreement was signed Thursday between government representatives and China to purchase one MA 60 and three Y12E aircraft against a soft loan provided by Azim Bank of China. Chinese government will provide a MA 60 and Y12E aircraft each on grant. Culture and Tourism Ministry Joint Secretary Ranjan Krishna Aryal and Acting General Manager of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Raju Bahadur KC and Asia Director of Avic International Yang Kun Bang and General Representative and Programme Manager Song Siyao Nong signed the agreement. The aircraft delivery will begin early next year. The puchase agreement was signed as Airbus renewed negotiations with NAC tompurchs two aircraft to the Nepali national carrier. An earlier deal fell through amid now dismissed charges of corruption in the purchase Nnnn UML MEETSGETS UNDERWAY FRIDAY Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: UML leader KP Sharma Oli, back from India after pneumonia treatment, is inaugurating a two-day statute national convention of its yoith wing in the capital to amend a body’s statute. Five hundred plus delegates are participating. A closed door session begins Saturday. Nnnn SECURITY MEET OF MID AND FAR-WEST CONCLUDES FRIDAY Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: A two-day meet of senior home ministry and police officials to review security in the mid and far-West concludes in Nepalgunj Friday. The regular regional exercise reviewed the security in the region with its complexities. nnnn


CABINET APPOINTMENTS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Rajendra Khatri and Puskar Chapagain jave been promoted in the National Investigation Department to DIGs by the cabinet Thusday. Narcotic Drug Control and Law Enforcement Unit has been renamed the Narcotic Drug Control Bureau. Anil Kumar Jha was appointed General Manager of Janak Educational Materials Centre (JEMC).and Manoj Kandel Managing Director of the Central Child Welfare Committee. nnnn DISQUALIFIED FORMER MAOIST FIGHTERS SEIZE UCPN PARTY HEADQUARTERS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: : Hundreds of ‘disqualified’ PLA fighters have been laying siege to Unified CPN-Maoist headquarters in Paris Danda, Koteshwor, since yesterday, demanding that the party address their concerns at the earliest. Security personnel in huge numbers have been deployed to avert any confrontation and damage to the party office, The Himalayan Times reports.. The ‘disqualified’ fighters, who prefer to call themselves ‘unverified’, today claimed that they have taken the party headquarters under their control. Lenin Bista, who is leading the ‘disqualified’ fighters, said the combatants were ‘not verified in a proper way’ and that they were forced to leave cantonments with only bus fares in their pockets. The move is the latest one in their series of protests the disqualified fighters have organised in the past. They said the party turned a blind eye to their plight and concerns despite their pressure campaigns several times. UCPN-M Vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai-led government, after several rounds of talks with them, had decided to allocate Rs 600 million in order to give Rs 2 lakh to each of the disqualified fighters. The move was challenged in the Supreme Court and the court in the first week of November issued a stay order, forcing the government to hold back. Bista claimed that as many as 200 former combatants have been staying put outside the party headquarters while some 150 are on the office premises (inside the gate). The fighters had yesterday padlocked the party office but unlocked it at 3:00pm today following a mutual understanding with party leadership. “We have pitched tents outside the headquarters and surviving on beaten rice and dalmoth (a ready made snack made of golden gram or red lentils). This is the survival technique the party taught us during the time of war,” said Bista. UCPN-M Spokesperson Agni Sapkota said the party has taken the disqualified fighters’ concerns seriously and that the leadership has told them to maintain calm. But the fighters said they didn’t believe their leaders’ words anymore. “We want their words to be translated into action. We will not leave the party headquarters until the leadership expresses its commitment in writing,” said Bista and added that they would launch stern protests in the Valley and throughout the country if the government kept on dilly-dallying. He warned that former fighters will otherwise make the leaders and ministers’ life difficult and that they would not mind vandalising government vehicles. According to party sources, party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Bhattarai will hold a meeting with disqualified fighters tomorrow in a bid to get their concerns addressed. Who are ‘unverified’ combatants Following a peace deal in 2006, the then CPN-M came overground and as per the agreement, its PLA fighters, then said to be around 30,000 plus, were settled in cantonments across the country. A UN mission then conducted a verification in 2007 during which around 4,008 fighters were considered ‘ineligible’ on several grounds (some were found to be minors), and they were discharged from cantonments as ‘disqualified’. These disqualified fighters then left for home but later came up with several demands, including scrapping of the ‘disqualified’ tag put on their heads. In addition, they are demanding that either they be settled in government services or be given lump sum amount equal to what the fighters opting for voluntary retirement received, which amounts to around half a million rupees. Nnnn NRB TO LOOK FOR ALTERNATVES TO BONDS KATHMANDU: The washed out performance of government debt instruments among the general public, despite attractive yields and low risk, has compelled the central bank to look for alternatives. In the last four fiscal years, only about one-tenth of the total issue of public oriented bonds were subscribed. From fiscal year 2008-09 till 2011-12, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has issued Citizens Saving Bonds and Foreign Employment Bonds worth Rs 19.6 billion, of which bonds worth only Rs 2.75 million were subscribed. “Since most people are unaware about the benefits of buying bonds, they are not inclined towards purchasing government securities as a form of investment, that is why the bond market in Nepal is almost non-existent,” said director of Public Debt Management Department of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr Gopal Bhatta. “Only a small group of investors buy these bonds. Those that have realised the value of bonds are repeat purchasers and hold on to it,” Bhatta added. Bonds are fixed income securities that are considered relatively risk free as people are lending to the government that rarely goes bankrupt. When banks have reduced the deposit interest rate to six per cent, bonds are still being offered at higher than nine per cent coupon rate for a tenure of four years or more. Bonds worth only Rs 126.6 million were subscribed of the latest batch of Citizens Savings Bond worth Rs 1.41 billion issued this May. Likewise, another bond meant solely for the public — Foreign Employment Bond — also got scantily subscribed in the last three years. This year too, of the issues worth Rs one billion, only Rs 8.6 million worth of bonds were subscribed. Nepal Rastra Bank had even allowed Non Resident Nepalis to purchase the bonds with the hope of expanding participation which was in vain. Such a pathetic subscription rate has made Nepal Rastra Bank consider about introducing a Primary Dealership System for the bonds that it issues. In primary dealership, government securities are directly sold to entities known as primary dealers that buy bonds directly from the central bank to resell them, thus acting as a market maker of government securities. These primary dealers bid for government bonds competitively and then redistribute them to their clients, creating the initial market in the process. Nepal Rastra Bank is conducting a study regarding eligible institutions, their roles and responsibilities and privileges they will get. “The primary dealership system is supposed to stimulate the bonds market and entry of more players in dealing with bonds will increase the participation of general investors in government securities,” pointed out Dr Bhatta. “Bond yield calculation is slightly more complex than that of equities, hence bonds seem to be complicated for investors, but brokers can come to the aid of the investors on the matter,” said Dr Bhatta. According to the president of Stock Brokers Association of Nepal (SBAN) Anjan Raj Paudyal, there are no takers for bonds in the secondary market. There are 16 different development bonds worth Rs 22.4 billion listed at Nepal Stock Exchange which has never been traded. “Though government securities provide good returns on investment, the general public has not shown an interest in the bonds due to the lack of awareness regarding the issuance of bonds,” Paudyal said. Nnnn PALESTINE GETS IMPLICIT UN RECOGNITION Kathmandu, 30 Nov.::The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate.", Reuters reports from United Nations. The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined by only a handful of countries in voting against the move to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity," like the Vatican. Britain called on the United States to use its influence to help break the long impasse in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Washington also called for a revival of direct negotiations. There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. Three countries did not take part in the vote, held on the 65th anniversary of the adoption of U.N. resolution 181 that partitioned Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. Thousands of flag-waving Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip set off fireworks and danced in the streets to celebrate the vote. The assembly approved the upgrade despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinians by withholding funds for the West Bank government. U.N. envoys said Israel might not retaliate harshly against the Palestinians over the vote as long as they do not seek to join the International Criminal Court. If the Palestinians were to join the ICC, they could file complaints with the court accusing Israel of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious crimes. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote "unfortunate and counterproductive," while the Vatican praised the move and called for an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem, something bound to irritate Israel. The much-anticipated vote came after Abbas denounced Israel for its "aggressive policies and the perpetration of war crimes" from the U.N. podium, remarks that elicited a furious response from the Jewish state. "Sixty-five years ago on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, which partitioned the land of historic Palestine into two states and became the birth certificate for Israel," Abbas told the assembly after receiving a standing ovation. "The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded quickly, condemning Abbas' critique of Israel as "hostile and poisonous," and full of "false propaganda. "These are not the words of a man who wants peace," Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office. He reiterated Israeli calls for direct talks with the Palestinians, dismissing Thursday's resolution as "meaningless." ICC THREAT Granting Palestinians the title of "non-member observer state" falls short of full U.N. membership - something the Palestinians failed to achieve last year. But it would allow them access to the ICC and other international bodies, should they choose to join them. Abbas did not mention the ICC in his speech. But Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told reporters after the vote that if Israel continued to build illegal settlements, the Palestinians might pursue the ICC route. "As long as the Israelis are not committing atrocities, are not building settlements, are not violating international law, then we don't see any reason to go anywhere," he said. "If the Israelis continue with such policy - aggression, settlements, assassinations, attacks, confiscations, building walls - violating international law, then we have no other remedy but really to knock those to other places," Maliki said. In Washington, a group of four Republican and Democratic senators announced legislation that would close the Palestinian office in Washington unless the Palestinians enter "meaningful negotiations" with Israel, and eliminate all U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority if it turns to the ICC. "I fear the Palestinian Authority will now be able to use the United Nations as a political club against Israel," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the sponsors. Abbas led the campaign to win support for the resolution, which followed an eight-day conflict this month between Israel and Islamists in the Gaza Strip, who are pledged to Israel's destruction and oppose a negotiated peace. At least 17 European nations voted in favor of the Palestinian resolution, including Austria, France, Italy, Norway and Spain. Abbas had focused his lobbying efforts on Europe, which supplies much of the aid the Palestinian Authority relies on. Britain, Germany and others chose to abstain. The Czech Republic was unique in Europe, joining the United States, Israel, Canada, Panama and tiny Pacific Island states likes Nauru, Palau and Micronesia in voting against the move. PALESTINIANS RALLY Peace talks have been stalled for two years, mainly over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which have expanded despite being deemed illegal by most of the world. There are 4.3 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. After the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice called for the immediate resumption of peace talks. "The Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded," she said. She added that both parties should "avoid any further provocative actions in the region, in New York or elsewhere." Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he hoped all sides would use the vote to push for new breakthroughs in the peace process. "I hope there will be no punitive measures," Fayyad told Reuters in Washington, where he was attending a conference. "I hope that some reason will prevail and the opportunity will be taken to take advantage of what happened today in favor of getting a political process moving," he said. Britain's U.N. ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, told reporters it was time for recently re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama to make a new push for peace. "We believe the window for the two-state solution is closing," he said. "That is why we are encouraging the United States and other key international actors to grasp this opportunity and use the next 12 months as a way to really break through this impasse." nnnn


INDIAN TROUBLESHOOTER DR.KARN SINGH ARRIVES FRIDAY Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: India’s trouble shooter Dr. Karan Singh who looks after foreign affairs in the Congress-I leading the federal government, arrives for political consultations Friday. He’s close to Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Dr. Singh will hold consultations with political party leaders immediately after arrival. The former Kashmir chief minister, was India’s troubleshooter in talks between the palace and parties six years ago when a dissolved parliament was restored by embattled King Gyanendra who was asked by parties and foreign governments, to take an illegal’ political decision’ leading to the current political situation. Dr. Singh arrives at a time when there’s no consensus on a government to to lead a team to conduct constituent ssembly (CA) elections sometime in April/May. Nnnn BLIND CRICKETERS LEAVE FOR INDIA TO PARTICIPATE IN T20 WORLD CUP Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Blind cricketers are flying for Bangalore, India, Friday to participate in the T20 World Cup The matches are being played from 2 to 13 December Nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE :The president is the symbol of republic, Only the president symbolizes the republic. If he (Bhattarai) really wants to resign, he must do so immediately. I resigned from the prime ministerial post without asking anybody." (UML leader Madha Kumar Nepal Republic, 30 Nov.) Nnnn TOP CPN MAOIST LEDER CHAND IN CHINA FOLLOWING LEADERSHIP CHANGE Kathmandu, 30 Nov : As political parties are engaged in parleys for the formation of a new government in Kathmandu, CPN-Maoist leader Netra Bikram Chand ´Biplab´ is once again on a China visit,, Purna Basnet writes in Republica from Hong Kong. . This is Chand´s third China visit in the last seven months. According to sources, Chand, accompanied by CPN-Maoist politburo member Hitman Shakya and former vice commander of the now-dissolved People´s Liberation Army (PLA) Bibek, on November 23 left for China and is scheduled to return to Kathmandu on December 1. The latest China visit by Chand, who proposed CPN-Maoist General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa as the prime ministerial candidate, has been kept a secret. Chand is believed to have met Chinese political leaders while in Beijing. Chand´s visit, arranged shortly after the Communist Party of China (CPC)´s national congress that picked Xi Jinping as China´s next president, is being viewed as a move to garner support for Thapa´s candidacy. Chand´s China visit is meaningful also because he was on the forefront of CPN-Maoist´s anti-India agitation last month, in which vehicles bearing Indian number plates had been prevented from entering Nepal and Hindi movies were banned. Within CPN-Maoist, Chand is known as a leader who strongly advocates for another armed struggle against the state. CPN-Maoist sources also inform that plans are afoot to militarize CPN-Maoist´s youth wing led by Chand. Chand had played a key role in forming CPN-Maoist by splitting away from the UCPN (Maoist) some time ago. Chanda had labelled the Baburam Bhattarai-led government as anti-nationalist while forming the new party. Four months ago, Chand had made an abrupt China visit when his party´s central committee meeting was underway in Kathmandu. Before that, just weeks before CPN-Maoist was formed, Chand had reached Beijing. Prof Wang Hong-wei, of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, whom Chand had met during his first China visit, says that Chinese political leaders and thinkers give suggestions to Nepali politicians but they never intend to be involved in Nepali affairs. “As a friend and good neighbor, we would urge Nepali politicians to be united and maintain political stability,” said Prof Wang. “I had also given some suggestions to him (Chand). But, the results were not as expected.” Nnnn ________________________________________ GOVT. PAYMENTS GRIND TO HALT Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Disbursements by government offices across the country have come to a halt since last week as the announcement of the budget without following long-standing practices has left the Ministry of Finance (MoF) unable to issue due authority to the ministries to spend the budgets allotted to them, Milan Mani Sharma .writes in Republica. The problem surfaced mainly because the government, in course of its struggles over the new budget, announced the budget amount without working out the spending programs for all the ministries. Rather, it allotted a lump-sum budget for each ministry and asked them to identify their programs and allocate the spendings themselves. “Ministries have not yet forwarded their programs and spending plans. So, we are still unaware how much they (ministries) are spending and for which purposes. In such a situation, how can we authorize the financial comptrollers to issue checks for payments?” said a source at MoF. Till last year, the government used to make public its Estimates of Expenditure, also termed the Red Book, simultaneously with the budget announcement. As this document contains all the details of allocations for each and every program that the government is implementing, the ministries and agencies under them would easily know how much budget has been allocated for which program, what the priority of a given program is, from where the budget is being sourced and how much has been allocated for recurrent and development expenditures, among other things. “But owing to the unique situation this time, we could not carry out these steps, and allotted a lump sum budget for each ministry,” said Lok Darshan Regmi, chief of Budget Division at MoF. He said MoF has already written to the ministries to work out how much they are to spend for their respective programs and forward the expenditure breakdowns (under heads such as salary, procurement of stationery, fuel and other daily requirements) as soon as possible. Unless the ministries completed this task speedily, officials said government offices might not be able to carry out regulation functions and pay salaries to staff. “The earlier the ministries forward their programs and spending breakdowns the earlier will the impediment end. Everything rests on how fast they complete this task,” Joint Financial Comptroller Suresh Pradhan told Republica. However, officials said the ministries are in a mess because they are not used to such work and have trouble performing it. Moreover, the mess has been compounded because the government, regardless of what it said while announcing the budget, has not even allotted to the ministries amounts equal to what they actually spent last year. “The budget allotted to the ministries is less than last year´s actual spending by 12 to 28 percent. This has created difficulties for us in continuing even the programs iniated last year,” said a senior accountant at a ministry, requesting anonymity. Regmi denies such a situation, but sources involved in budget-making confirmed what the senior accountant said. Citing an example, they said the government has allocated Rs 30 billion to the Ministry of Local Development for 2012/13, whereas it had received Rs 45 billion in 2011/12 and actually spent Rs 34 billion. “Such cuts have happened for all the ministries because we had to set aside Rs 3 billion for fresh elections and another 3 billion for army integration, among other things,” said the source. “A bulky amount has also been set aside for implementation of the load-shedding reduction program,” the source elaborated. Worse still, such a situation has created a lacuna whereby ministries can now reshuffle priorities and make imprudent allocations. “This is certain to hit genuine development projects,” said the MoF source. Nnnn


EXLEPHANT KILLS TWO MORE WOMEN IN BARA Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: An elephant killed two men at Jugawada on the edge of a national forest in Bara overnight. Four persons have been killed in four days, ,including two women, who were trampled nnnn MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 5 DEGRES CELSIUS FRIDAY Kathmandu, 30 Nov.; Friday morning’s temperature in the capital was 5 degrees Celsius. Mercury is expected to rise to 20 degrees Celsius in the afternoon on a cloudy day. Nnnn PM TO ADDRESS QUERIES OF RADIO NEPAL LISTENERS Kathmandu, 30 Nov.:Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai will interact with people over state radio Radio Nepal at 8.10 in the evening Friday. The premier answers direct queries of the people over radio evry month. Nnnn HESITANT PREMIER REFUSES TO RECEIVE GARLAND AFTR PRACHANDA SLAP Kathmandu, 30 Nov.: Following a facial slap on Maoist Chairman Prachanda this month in the capital, it appears, ruling class has become catutious while keeping in touch with people. Television footage showed a hesitant Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai Wednesday hesitated to receive a garland from people assembled at a hospital in Baglung. The premier received the marigold garland in his hands. Officials are reviewing security arrangements for VVIPs after the Prachanda slap. nnnn





ANOTHER WEEK FOR PARTIES TO FORM GOVT, UPDATE Kathmandu, 29 Nov. The president gave parties another week to form a census government on request o the Big Three d Madesh Morcha after Thursday’s first deadline expired This was stated in a Shital Niwas statement following a joint meting of leaders with the president nnnn.



TALKS ON PATAN HOSPITAL DIFFERENCES INCONCLUSIVE Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: The talks held between the government representatives and agitating sides of the Patan Hospital ended inconclusively on Thursday, RSS reports. The talks failed after the agitating doctors as well as the Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences remained stuck to their agendas. During the talks, Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office Krishna Hari Baskota, Vice-Chancellor of Patan Academy of Health Sciences Dr Sangita Bhandari, Rector Prof Dr Saumya Bhattacharya and six representatives from the agitating doctors were present. The agitating doctors had urged Secretary Baskota either to ask resignation of Vice-Chancellor and Rector or to accept the agitating doctors' resignation. In response, Secretary Baskota assured the solution of knotty problems by Sunday by holding talks with the Prime Minister as the issue was serious, according to Chairman of All Nepal People's Health Worker Chattur Narayan Chaudhary. Baskota said consensus eluded even though intensive discussions were held on the problems. He said, "Problems in the hospital have grown acute. The problems could not be solved because none of the parties is ready to budge from its stance." Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai had directed the officials concerned to resolve the problem by issuing a three-day ultimatum. Nnnn BEFORE GOING PUBLIC, CIVIL BANK REPORTS RS.2.27 BILLION NET PROFIT Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Civil Bank Limited made Rs. 2.27 billion net profit in the first four months of the current fiscal year 2069-70 BS, RSS reports from Birgunj. The bank has raised 10.34 billion deposits while it has made Rs. 9.15 billion loan disbursement during the same period. The bank has claimed that it has zero unproductive loans. The bank organized an interaction on initial public offering at a time when it is preparing to float shares for the public, Chief Executive Officer, Sarbendra Mishra said and informed that the bank has separated the initial public offering of Rs. 808 million after December 25. He claimed it was possibly the largest size of share in the banking sector's share market in the country. nnnn


UML’S YOUTH ASSOCIATIN MEET FROM FRIDAY Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: The national convention of opposition UML´s Youth Association Nepal (YAN) to amend the association’s statute is being held in the capital from Friday. The venue was shifted from the far-West Altogether 513 delegated are participating. nnnn PISTOLS THROWN AS GARBAGE RECOVERED Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Three pistols dumped as garbage were recovered by police Thursday from under Ratopul in the capital. Four rounds of bullets were also recovered. Nnnn NC STUDENTS CONTINUE ANTI-GOVT. PROTESTS IN FRONT OF CAMPUSES Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Students affiliated with main opposition contined anti-government and anti-protests Thursday. They protested in front of campuses in the Valley demanding ouster of the government of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. nnnn OPINION Katthmandu, 29 Nov.;President Ram Baran Yadav’s call on political parties to name a unanimous candidate for the premiership by November 29 has triggered an interesting variety of responses, Maila Baje writes in Nepali Netbook. The opposition Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist have been thrilled enough to withdraw their anti-government protests. (A great excuse to end what had become a tepid enterprise anyway.) From the other end, the Maoist-led ruling alliance has denounced the president’s move as anti-constitutional. Within the ruling faction of the former Maoist rebels, party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai seem to share opposite views. The Maoist chairman does not seem to be in a mood to immediately question President Yadav’s motives, although Maila Baje feels he has characteristically provided enough room for skullduggery as events unfold. The prime minister – at least in the voices of two leading surrogates – foresees doom. Devendra Poudel, a top Bhattarai aide, calls the presidential appeal ‘unconstitutional’ and even a precursor to a full-blown coup. Finance Minister Barsa Man Pun – another key Bhattarai loyalist – believes Yadav’s activism is ultimately aimed at restoring the 1990 statute, complete with the monarchy and official Hindu statehood, perhaps even with the connivance of the rival Maoist faction led by Mohan Baidya. As the principal putative target of the president’s activism, it is natural for Dr. Bhattarai and his loyalists to sound the loudest alarm. The prime minister must have been rankled also by the fact that the president’s call came merely a day after he had, in a televised address to the nation, asserted that he was ready to step down if a broader national consensus could be forged. Still, let us assume for a moment that the magic consensus premier does happen to emerge in some form. In the implausible event that Dr. Bhattarai succeeds in transforming himself into a premier supported by all the parties, would he be able to overcome the bad blood his very existence in the high office has generated thus far? Mahant Thakur of the Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party, the man many consider likely to emerge as the consensus premier, is a respected former Nepali Congress member. He was the unlikeliest of the politicians to go regional amid the post-2006 realignment. Yet what situation might a line-up of a Madhesi president, vice-president and prime minister create at a time when grievances – real and manufactured – show no sign of abating? A technocrat, a former Supreme Court chief justice or a civil society luminary might represent as a welcome departure from professional politicians taking turns. But where will such a personality turn for the organizational backbone to press ahead on what promises to be an even more tumultuous road ahead? Responding to a virtual government censure of his call, President Yadav insists that he would abide by the (interim) constitution in all his actions. Missing from the entire debate are the people. No anecdotal evidence based on public participation, private confabs or social-media activism can substantiate what they really desire. Having gained full sovereignty, they are justified in their discontent. Yet, truth be told, they are equally entitled to doing nothing. This is the great imponderable, indeed, that drives and derides us all. Nnnn NEPAL FACES CHRONIC TEMPESTS IN TEAPOT Kathmandu, 20 Nov.:First it was Jhala Nath Khanal (“JN”), president of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marixst-Leninist), who bore the burnt of the wrath of a party worker who slapped him in the face at a function in Sunsari district. Next to be the target of a similar anger was Nepali Congress chief Sushil “Da” Koirala, also at a party program, in Kathmandu, Trikal Vastavik wrotes in People’s Review.. On November 16, it was none other than Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal who prefers to be known as “Prachanda,” or the “Feared One,” who suffered a stinging slap from a former Maoist troop trying to score the point that Dahal no longer inspires the awesome fear he generated when his armed troops rampaged and hacked their way through the villages and towns during their decade-long insurgency. Padam Kunwar, a former Maoist armed trooper whose family members had joined the rebel group, slapped the boss at the party’s reception hosted in the capital by the dominant party in the ruling coalition to mark the “combined celebrations” of at least four festivals. In all the three episodes, violence was involved and the perpetrators belonged to the respective parties of their victims. The attackers, who all wanted to draw attention to their deep disenchantment with their leaders, were roughed by their fellow party members. Khanal and Koirala reacted with relative restraint, but not so Dahal’s lieutenants who say a “big conspiracy” from those who were agianst the “gains of Jana-Andolan.” This has left Nepalis wondering what harmony and stability have the so-called “gains” brought about. Last year Maoist parliamentarian Jhakku Prasad was slapped by a tea stall owner at Koteshwar, within a sling-shot from his party headquarters. The red-faced, helpless MP, who had defeated UML’s Madhav Kumar Nepal in the 2008 elections, did not have enough support at that time to see any “conspiracy” in the attack and had to trot home, perhaps afflicted by flashbacks of the “People’s Liberation” days when innocent villagers lived under constant intimidation and fear. Ignoring their fast eroding public support, the Maoists are trying to equate any attack against them as a “plot by anti-people” elements. They do not seem to realize that the general masses are not moved an inch by such outrageous claims. Violence is always to be condemned but it has equal meaning for all, big or small. So the cycle has come a full circle. The poison-filled seeds sown seven years ago have begun bearing their fruits with a familiar regularity. Nepal’s “top-most” leaders are haunted by their false promises and worse performances. People have suffered them for too long. But not everyone is prepared to take things lying down. Win or lose, some people in a mood to risk the worst if they see a fighting chance to assert their viewpoints, whatever the means employed, the end to them seems to justify it. Disturbingly, intimidation and violence are methods embraced and employed by a number of sections under the banner of political activism. The so-called “Big Three” political parties have a history of resorting to violence in their “struggle” for betterment of the lot of the Nepali people. The Nepali Congress was the first to fall into the pit not once but several times. The CPN (UML) tried similar tactics before joining the national political mainstream and civilized life. The Maoists were the most violent with their armed “struggle” against the state for ten years, although some of its top leaders operated from India for at least eight of these years and causing the deaths of 16,000 people while trillions of rupees evaporated from the rubble created through destruction. Their violence spared neither private citizens nor state personnel and public property. Foreign sharks angling with their agendas and camped across Nepal in not so indistinguishable garbs and incarnations were, as a result, able to run amok. If they had any pretences of the “Good Samaritan” before the confusion filled changes in 2006, they make no such efforts now. Their protégés fronting as civil society leaders, human rights activists, political activists, NGOs members and such other disguises have developed the habit of disposing of what their benefactors propose. No sane mind would condone violence of any kind. But the irony of violence does not get lost against those at one time or the other had themselves fuelled the vehicle of violence and become victims of similar tactics, notably when employed by their one-time party members. The past catches up with the present and the present will keep on repeating itself in the future, that is if folks fail to learn lessons and make the necessary notes in thought, word and deed. This author’s reaction to the spate of attacks against political leaders of the “Big Three” who have not seen Ground Earth for some years now, is exactly the same harbored for the leaders of other “small parties.” The cadres of the large parties who have been exercising absolute power without accountability for six years have been routinely reported to attack one another. The attackers are protected by organizational units if the victims belong to some other group or are ordinary people without the backing of any “major party.” Should there be cases of arrest, a hail of protest against the “false cases” gets loose the quickly the cases pale out of action. If members of a smaller party were to attack someone from a “Big Party,” all hell is let loose. Many arrests are made even if only one or two culprits are actually involved. From April 2006 to the eve of the 2008 elections for the “Legislature-Constituent Assembly,” the three parties of the former panchas (RPP, RPP-N and RJP) found their members unable to freely move about their constituencies. Threats and brutal attacks in addition to smearing of their faces with soot severely restricted their movements. The partisan approach of “civil society’s” uncivil silence made things worse. Human rights champions seemed to be lost in Champaign campaigns instead of being laboured by the “incidents affecting the rightist forces.” INGOs and foreign missions pretended not to notice the nefarious developments. Low voices of concern over the intimidation of opponents by the “Big” parties were treated as unearthly and therefore to be completed ignored. A semi-farce was the result which the posterity is bound to condemn in the strongest terms. Self-centered and power-centric leaders never work for society. Their personal interests take precedence over those of the general public. At the slightest prospect of a threat to their interests, they trade a heap of charges against the rivals within or outside the party. Inter-party accusation, too, are made in similar manner. An analysis of the serious charges they level against one another shows how inimical they can become. Either the accusers are addicted toying shamelessly or they, for once, are speaking the truth in the heat of moment, only to regret it later nonetheless. One therefore comes to the conclusion that the prevailing political perfidy has compelled the general public to become indifferent and dismiss incidents involving a party or its leaders as a mere tempest in a teacup but by no means precluding the gathering storm within hearing distance from quarters other than the “Big” ones. nnnn



INDIA’SSB PATROLLING SUSTA Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: SSB jawans of Indian security force have been patrolling in Susta of Nawalparasi district in Nepal with arms openly, RSS reports from Nawalparasi. As per security policy, security force of one country can not enter another country with weapons. But the SSB have been entering in Susta with arms. Although encroachment of Nepali territory by Indian side has been in 14,000 hectares in Susta so far, no special initiative has been taken to return it to Susta people. Nepali administration is silent despite the entry of Indian SSB with arms openly. On this, when CDO of Nawalparasi Parashuram Aryal was asked, he said he was unaware of it and added one can not enter another country with arms, and if found so, he will take initiative to take action on the Indian security forces as per the law. Susta has a population of 2,500 in 267 households. In the past, Susta was different VDC but it is now in Tribeni Susta VDC Ward No. 4 because of Indian encroachment. The Indian SSB has shown its strong presence by establishing three camps in the boarder near Susta. On this, the APF SP of Nawalparasi, Chitra Bahadur Khatri said he was unaware and added Indian security forces can not enter Nepali territory with arms as per the law. Nawalparasi SP Kamal Bahadur GT said the state should make strong presence in Susta and there should be no right to the Indian security force to patrol with weapons. RSS nnnn COLD CLAIMS A LIFE IN MOHOTTARI Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: A pilgrim, who had gone to observe the 'Ghost Fair' at Kamala river bank on the border of Dhanusha and Sarlahi districts, died of cold on Wednesday night, RSS reports from Mohottari. The deceased has been identified as Ramsebak Mahato of Hariharpur Harinmani VDC Ward No. 2 of Mahottari district, according to District Police Office, Mahottari. Mahato was returning home from the fair site on Wednesday evening after attending the fair, and died on the way in a bus due to bitter cold air inside, said Police. The body has been sent to Janakpur Zonal Hospital, for post-mortem. Nnnn


UPDATE PESIDENT, LEADERS BEGIN MEET Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Leaders of the Big Three and Madesh Morcha began a meeting with President Dr..Ram Baran Yadav Thursday. UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal also met separately with the president and discussed current issues.. nnnn OVER DOZEN INJURED IN RAUTAHAT CLASH Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Over one dozen persons were injured in a clash that took place between two sides at Hardiya Paltuwa VDC in Rautahat district on Wednesday night with the issue of holding meeting of village council secretly by the VDC secretary, RSS reports reports from Rautahat. The injured are Shivaji Yadav, Dinesh Yadav, Shiva Mangal Yadav et al. The injured are undergoing treatment at Primary Health Center, Samanpur, said the police. Sub-Inspector at the Office, Kamal Rai, said that Ram Kalyan Yadav has been arrested on the charge of his involvement in the clash. Locals blamed that the VDC Secretary Amirilal Das Tharu and Bharat Kumar Mishra, Chief of the Sub-Health Post, Hardiya Paltuwa, had sold a pond owned by the school which earned Rs 1 million annually, by holding meeting of the village council secretly a few days ago. A chakkajam was also organised at Dhamaura Chowk along the Gaur-Chandranigahapur road section on the issue of the council meeting and pond. nnnn


MANISHA KOIRALA HOSPITALIZED WITH CANCER Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala has reportedly been diagnosed with cancer, according to the website of the Times of India. The actress is currently admitted to Jaslok hospital, Mumbai, where she was brought in three days ago. She will undergo treatment there, said a source, agencies report from Mumbai. Manisha was in Kathmandu from the beginning of November because she was doing up her new home in Nepal. A few days ago she took ill. She mentioned being down with a bout of food poisoning on a social networking platform. Post this, she fell unconscious and that's when an alarm bell is said to have gone off. And, she was immediately flown to Mumbai for further tests. Manisha's mother Sushma is by her bedside. Her father Prakash and brother Siddharth were expected to arrive in Mumbai late last night. A close friend says that the actress has taken the news of her ill-health very bravely and she is positive she will fight it out. nnnn



CORPSE FOUND IN SACK Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Police here has found a dead body inside a sack at Amarpatti VDC-based Tiyar rivulet in Bara district on Thursday morning, RSS reports from Bara.. The identity of the deceased is yet to be asserted. Locals informed police as they saw the body inside the sack, whose hands and legs were tied up with rope. The body has been brought to the District Hospital, Kalaiya for postmortem, said police. Nnnn AISTRALIA’S CAPTAIN POINTING ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM TEST CRICKET Kathmandu, 29 Nov : Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting called time on his 17-year Test career, announcing that this week’s clash against South Africa in Perth will be his last, AFP reports from Perth. “This Test will be my last,” he said at a hastily-called press conference on Thursday, adding that he will continue to play for Tasmania in the domestic competition this summer. Ponting, who turns 38 next month, has failed in three innings against the Proteas during draws in Brisbane and Adelaide and pressure has been building on the veteran ahead of Friday’s series decider in Perth. Perth will be a fitting conclusion to a remarkable career. It is where he debuted against Sri Lanka in 1995 and by playing Friday he will equal Steve Waugh’s mark of 168 Test matches — the most in the history of Australian cricket. After being made Australian captain in 2004, the right-hander went onto become one of the country’s greatest cricketers. The Tasmanian, who has 13,366 Test runs to his name — including 41 centuries with only Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar scoring more — said he knew it was time to call it a day. “Over the last couple of weeks my level of performance hasn’t been good enough,” said Ponting, who had already been dumped from the one-day and Twenty20 international squads. “My passion and love for the game hasn’t changed but at the end of the day (the decision) was based on my results. “In this series so far they have not been up to the level required of batsmen and players in the Australian team. “I’m glad I have got the opportunity to finish on my terms.” An emotional Michael Clarke, the current captain, said Ponting would be sorely missed and his announcement took him by surprise. “I didn’t have a feeling it was coming,” he said of his friend and mentor. “Ricky spoke to me after Adelaide and obviously made his decision over the last few days. “Over the last couple of weeks my level of performance hasn’t been good enough,” said Ponting, who had already been dumped from the one-day and Twenty20 international squads. “My passion and love for the game hasn’t changed but at the end of the day (the decision) was based on my results. “In this series so far they have not been up to the level required of batsmen and players in the Australian team. “I’m glad I have got the opportunity to finish on my terms.” An emotional Michael Clarke, the current captain, said Ponting would be sorely missed and his announcement took him by surprise. “I didn’t have a feeling it was coming,” he said of his friend and mentor. “Ricky spoke to me after Adelaide and obviously made his decision over the last few days. Nnnn


SHARE PRICES CONTINUE TO FALL Kathmandu, 29 Nov. Share prices slipped on the last day of five-day weekly trading Thursday. Nepse closed at 488.98 points after prices fell 3.85 percent. The number of transactions also fell. Altogether 107,550 shares were traded for Rs.39.068 points in 629 transactions. nnnn


MADAN KHAREL APPPOINTED NAC GM Kathmandu, 29 Nov 29: Five DIGs were promoted by the cabinet Thursday. to the post of Additional IG (AIG). DIGs Ganga Pandey, Ramesh Bikram Shah, Dinkar Shamsher Rana, Puskar Nath Regmi ad Binod Singh were promoted. Madan Kharel as the General Manager of the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) and Anil Kumar Jha as the Director of Janak Education Material Centre Ltd. nnn GOLD PRICE SLIPS RS.700 PER TOLA Kathmandu, 29 Nov.: Gold price slipped Rs 700 per tola in the local bullion market Thursday. The yellow metal was traded for Rs,61.500 per tola Wednesday. nnnn.

http://www2.clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=http://www.ranabhola.blogspot.com