PRACHANDA ASSAILANT SENT TO JUDICIAL CUSTODY Kathmandu, 18 Nov.:: Padam Kunwar to seven-day judicial demand Sunday to prepare charges against him for slapping Maoist Chairman Prachanda in public in the capital Friday. Kunwar was discharged from the police hospital in Maharajgunj where he underwent treatment for bruises received in a deadly attack after the slapping incident. The assailant was produced before the Kathmandu District Administration Office Meanwhile,Mohan Bharati, Kuwar’s brother-in-law, has been arrested. NC leader Shr Bahadur Deuba said in Dhangadi Sunday the slap wasn’t a demonstration of public resentment but an act of an isolated incident. Deuba said NC President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman Jhalanah Khanal had earlier been assaulted by party workers. Nnnn ________________________________________ NC CONDUCTING ORIENTATION COURSE Kathmandu, 18 Nov.:: The Nepali Congress has decided to conduct orientation for the party presidents of all the 240 constituencies of the country throughout November/December, RSS reports. A meeting of the central policy and orientation foundation of the party presided by party´s Vice-President Ram Chandra Poudel took this decision on Sunday. During the orientation, the participants would be taught about party´s principles, history, organization, current political agenda, role of opposition, according to Vice-President Poudel Nnnn NTB CELEBRATES 17TH ANNIVERSARY Kathmandu, Nov.18:: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) marked its 14th anniversary on Sunday, RSS reports.. Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Posta Bahadur Bogati attended the NTB anniversary celebrations. On the occasion, he stressed that the NTB´s activities should be focused on poverty alleviation and income-generation of the rural people. The Tourism Minister said that home-stay tourism could boost the country´s tourism business. Expressing concern over the non-constitution of the sub-committee for the selection of the Board´s executive director, he said the delay in forming the sub-committee was intended at forcing the minister to interfere in the internal issues of an autonomous body and politicize it. The NTB was established in 1999 AD with a view to promoting the country´s tourism business under the public-private partnership ( PPP) model. On the occasion, Minister Bogati honoured non-resident Nepali Dhruba KC in recognition of his long contribution to the promotion of tourism sector in Nepal. Besides, a souvenir published on the occasion of the NTB 14th establishment day was unveiled. According to information made available by Board Chairman and Secretary at Tourism Ministry Yagya Prasad Gautam during the programme, the Board has planned to organize ´tourism mart´ in Lumbini, Pokhara and Kathmandu with the support from India. NTB Officiating Executive Chief Subash Niroula said although the Board has the sources amounting to Rs. 500 million it has not been able to come up with effective programmes for development of the tourism sector. Board Trade Union President Pradeep Basnet and feted personality KC underlined the need of cooperation between the public and private sector to develop Nepal into a safe and reliable tourist destination. Nnnn OBAMA BEGINS THREE-NATION SOUTH-EAST ASIAN TOUR Kathmandu, 18 Nov : President Barack Obama on Sunday launched a three-day Southeast Asia tour, hailing alliances with countries such as Thailand as cornerstones of the administration´s deeper commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, AP reports from Bangkok. While in Asia, however, Obama will be dividing his attention by monitoring the escalating conflict between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Obama has been in regular contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as with Egyptian and Turkish leaders who might hold sway with the Hamas leadership. Obama landed in Bangkok Sunday afternoon, greeted by 40 saluting military guards who flanked both sides of a red carpet. His schedule is packed with sightseeing, a royal audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a private meeting with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a joint press conference and an official dinner. On a steamy day, Obama began with a visit to the Wat Pho Royal Monastery, a cultural must-see in Bangkok. In stocking feet, the president and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked around a golden statue of a sitting Buddha. The complex is a sprawling display of buildings with colorful spires, gardens and waterfalls. Obama is also visiting Myanmar and Cambodia in his first trip abroad since winning a second term. The visit to Thailand, less than 18 hours long, is a gesture of friendship to a long-standing partner and major non-NATO ally. Still, the two countries have faced strains, most recently after the 2006 military coup that deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and Obama´s visit offers an opportunity to restate and broaden the relationship. "It was very important for us to send a signal to the region that allies are going to continue to be the foundation of our approach" to establishing a more prominent presence in Asia, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president aboard Air Force One. Obama is also seeking to open new markets for U.S. businesses; the United States is Thailand´s third biggest trading partner, behind China and Japan. Becoming a counterweight to China in the region is a keystone of Obama´s so-called pivot to the Asia-Pacific region. Obama´s trip comes on the heels of meetings in Thailand between Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his Thai counterparts on security and military cooperation on issues ranging from fighting weapons proliferation to disaster relief to countering piracy. Alluding to the 2006 coup, Obama´s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, said in a speech ahead of the trip last week that Obama would build on Panetta´s outreach to reinforce the relationship and "support the continued peaceful restoration of democratic order after a turbulent period." After his time at the temple, Obama paid a courtesy call to the ailing, 84-year-old U.S.-born King Bhumibol Adulyadej in his hospital quarters. The king, the longest serving living monarch, was born in Cambridge, Mass., and studied in Europe. The centerpiece of the Asia trip comes Monday when Obama travels to Myanmar, the once reclusive and autocratic state that has begun instituting democratic measures. Obama has eased sanction on the country, also known as Burma, and his visit will be the first there by a sitting U.S. president. Obama aides see Myanmar as not only a success story but also as a signal to other countries that the U.S. will reward democratic behavior. "If Burma can continue to succeed in a democratic transition, then that can potentially send a powerful message regionally and around the world...that if countries do take the right decisions, we have to be there with incentives," Rhodes said. nnnn ________________________________________