FIRST FAST BOWLING CAMP Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: The country’s first hast bowling camp has been launched by: Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) It is being conducted at Tribhuvan University Ground byAsian Cricket Council (ACC) Development officer and former Sri Lankan fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake and will conclude Monday. Samson Jung Thapa, Manjur Alam Khan, who are coaches, and national team captain Paras Khadka and former captain Binod Das arel assisting Ratnayake Seventeen bowlers, including national team members Chandra Saud and Krishna Karki, national women´s team captain Rubina Chhetri, are participating in the camp. Nnnn ________________________________________ SILVER COIN TO MARK NEPAL SAMBAT 1133 Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: A 15 gram silver coin worth Rs. 1,800 a piece has been minted by the Bhintuna Guthi to mark Nepal Sambat Year 1133 New Year, The coin has a n impression of Prem Bahadddir Kasa. Nnnn REFUGEE CARDS FOR CENSUS ABSENTEE BHUTANESE Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: The home ministry has decided to issue refugee cards to 1,800 Bhutanese, who missed out on official recognition of refugee status provided after a census held some five years ago, Kosh Raj Koirala writes inRepublica.. The decision to provide them the refugee cards was made as per the recommendations of a three-member taskforce formed to study the demands of those who could not get enlisted as refugees during the earlier census. Those granted refugee cards now include census absentees, asylum seekers and family members of those already receiving the refugee ID cards. Earlier in June, the ministry had formed the taskforce led by Under Secretary Shambhu Prasad Ghimire to probe whether those who claimed to be missing during the census conducted in 2006 were genuine. Ghimire said the taskforce comprising of assistant Chief District Officers (CDOs) of Jhapa Yogendra Dulal and Morang Gopal Parajuli had invited applications from those seeking refugee status from various camps in Jhapa and Morang districts. "We received applications from 2,106 persons seeking refugee status. While 132 did not turn up for the interview, 174 others were found not genuine," he said. The taskforce in its report submitted to the ministry on October 16 had made the recommendation of providing refugee cards to 1,800, out of the total 2,106 applicants, following a series of cross verifications. Those missing from the refugee camps during the last census had long been demanding that Nepal government officially recognize them as refugees so that they could be eligible for third-country resettlement. Officials at Home Ministry said some 72,000, of the original 108,000-plus refugees, have already started living in various eight western countries as part of the resettlement program overseen by the UNHCR. Though the third country resettlement was provided to the refugees as an option, Nepal government has consistently been advocating that repatriation is the only durable solution to the Bhutanese refugee problem. Nnnn GOVT. TO RELAX VISA PROCESSING FOR FOREIGN WORKERS Kathmandu, 3 Nov : The government is soon simplifying the process of obtaining work permit for foreign workers as complaints over delays in processing of visa applications continue to rise, Republica reports. If things go according to plan, the new system dubbed ´integrated standard´, will be put into place in a few weeks time. "Basically, different ministries have to work in coordination for that to happen," Bishnu Dhakal, under secretary at the Ministry of Industry (MoI), said. "The Industrial Promotion Division (IPD) at the ministry is taking the lead in making this happen." The government´s latest move is expected to assist foreign workers joining Nepal-based multinational and joint venture companies, who are said to be facing problems acquiring work permits due to lack of one-window system. As of now, the IPD, entrusted with the task of encouraging and facilitating domestic and foreign investors bringing in investment to the country, has started consultations with other concerned ministries in a bid to develop an ´integrated standard´ for visa process. "Once the system is in place foreign workers will be able to obtain and renew visa in short period of time," Dhakal said. Currently, foreign workers have to get approval from the Labor Department and the Ministry of Home (MoH) to be eligible to work in Nepal. Although the MoI and the Department of Industry (DoI) coordinates with the MoH and the labor department to expedite the application process of workers, these foreigners still have to wait for at least two weeks to get a work permit. In some cases, foreign workers have even waited for months to obtain the permit. "We are trying to shorten this period so that foreign workers do not have to face hassles while trying to acquire work visa," Dhakal said. The latest attempt stems from the government´s endeavor to lure foreign direct investment (FDI) by improving all the possible areas. "There are instances when officials doubt the motive of applicants which create delays," Dhakal said. "But the innocents should not be punished for the acts of fruadsters.” Despite the government´s multiple tasks, the FDI inflow has come down by 30 percent during the fiscal year 2011/12 compared to a year earlier and reached Rs 7.14 billion, as per the statistics compiled at the DoI. Nnnn ________________________________________ 18 KILLED IN PAKISTAN BUS ATTACK Kathmandu, 3 Nov : Gunmen riding on two motorcycles opened fire on a bus at a small fuel station in southwest Pakistan on Friday, igniting a massive blaze and leaving 18 dead, a Pakistani official said, .AP reports from Quetta, Pakistan. Abdul Mansoor Kakar said all 16 people on the bus, including eight women and three children, were killed and the bodies badly burned. The vehicle had been parked next to fuel drums that ignited during the attack, starting a fire that engulfed the bus and killed two in a nearby car. The attack took place in the town of Khuzdar in the province of Baluchistan. No one claimed responsibility and the motive of the attack was unclear, Kakar said, adding that the incident was under investigation but no arrests were made. Khuzdar is located 300 kilometers (180 miles) south of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. The region has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who demand greater autonomy and a larger share of the province´s natural resources. The province is also thought to be home to many Afghan Taliban militants. Nnnn ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ISRAEL ADMITS KILLING FATAH FOUNDER Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: Israel has acknowledged it killed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s deputy in a 1988 raid in Tunisia, lifting a nearly 25-year veil of secrecy and allowing a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of its secret operations, AP reports from Jerusalem.. One of the commandos was disguised as a woman on a romantic vacation, and one of the weapons was hidden in a box of chocolates. Khalil al-Wazir, who was better known by his nom de guerre Abu Jihad, founded Fatah, the dominant faction in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, with Arafat and was blamed for a series of deadly attacks against Israelis. Two of those involved in the operation that killed al-Wazir now hold high political office in Israel — Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon. At the time, Barak was deputy military chief, and Yaalon was head of the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal. Their precise roles in the operation were not divulged, and both men’s offices declined comment. Israel has long been suspected of assassinating al-Wazir. But only now has the country’s military censor cleared the Yediot Ahronot daily to publish the information, including an interview with the commando who killed him, at least 12 years after the newspaper obtained the information. “I shot him with a long burst of fire. I was careful not to hurt his wife, who had showed up there. He died,” commando Nahum Lev told Yediot prior to his death in a motorcycle accident in 2000. “Abu Jihad was involved in horrible acts against civilians. He was a dead man walking. I shot him without hesitation.” Dozens of similar operations have been attributed to Israel over the decades. But Israel rarely takes responsibility and typically does not comment about covert operations. Nnnn