BRITISH ARMY CHIEF CONSULTS PRIME MINISTER BHATTARAI Kathmandu, 18 Nov.: Visiting British Army Chief Gen. Sir Peter Wall held discussions Sunday with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai who also holds the defence portfolio. They discussed modernization of Nepal Army, education and training at Singha Durbar. The visiting army chief later held discussions with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav. Before returning home Wednesday, the visitor will inspect NA’s training Centre and visit several places, including Pokhara.. The visitor held discussions with host and Nepali counterpart Gen. Gaurav Shumshere Rana who has just assumed office. .A small contingent of Gurkhas serve in the British Army and a group is currently deployed in Afghanistan. A larger Gurkha contingent serves in the Indian Army. Gen. Sir Wall returns home Wednesday. Nnnn US DIPLOMAT,PM DISCUSSION Kathmanu, 18 Nov.:: U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero called on Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai at the latter´s office at Singha Durbar, today [ Sunday], RSS reports.. During the meeting, Otero, who arrived here on Saturday night in connection with her three-day official visit to Nepal, expressed concern on Nepal´s current political situation, election to the Constituent Assembly (CA) and initiative made with political parties to forge consensus. Prime Minister Dr. Bhattarai informed Otero that the government is making efforts to declare the date for new election by forging consensus with opposition parties immediately and to take the peace process to conclusion, PM´s chief personal secretary, Ganga Narayan Shrestha told RSS. Otero also expressed concern about Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees and the Prime Minister reiterated the government´s determination to resolve all problems related to refugees, said Shrestha. The USA has already resettled 63,000 Bhutanese refugees in its country as per the Third Country Resettlement Programme.Present on the occasion were US Ambassador to Nepal, Peter W. Bodde, senior officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and US Embassy Nnnn GORKHA MEMORIAL PILLAR BEING CONSTRUCTED Kathmandu, 18 Nov.: :The Gorkha Ex-servicemen's Organisation (GESO) is to start constructing 'Gorkha Memorial Pillar' at Salmedanda in Syangja district from November 27, RSS reports.. The memorial will represent around 60,000 Nepalis who lost their lives while fighting bravely in the First and Second World Wars, claimed the organisation. GESO Chairman Padma Bahadur Gurung said the memorial pillar is going to be constructed in the memory and honour of the brave warriors who sacrificed their lives in the wars to maintain global peace. The memorial would include the museum of items that represent the identity of Nepal and the Nepali people, cultural village of various ethnic groups, view tower, cemetery, among others. The memorial is estimated to cost Rs 3 billion within the next five years. nnnn