PRACHANDA, KOIRALA DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY Kathmandu, 8 Nov.: Discussions on a national budget are underway between Maoist Chairman Prachanda and NC President Sushil Koirala Thursday morning as government says it will bring details of income and expenditure for the remaining eight months of the current fiscal year amid opposition protests. The meeting comes hours before opposition write a letter to President Dr.Ram Baran Yadav not to promulgate a budget through ordinance suggested by government. Opposition is announcing anti-government protests Thursday as Prime Minister Baburam Bhattari ignores calls for his resignation to make way for a government of national consensus Nc has claimed leadership of a replacement government. Nnnn JAPANESE, US ARMY TEAMS ARRIVING Kathmandu, 8 Nov.: Japan’s Ground Self-Defence force team led by Maj. Gen. Masatoshi Kawase is arriving Thursday for a three-day visit. A US Near-East South Asia team led by Director James Larocco arrives Friday for a three-day visit. The Japanese and American teams will hold discussions with Acting Army Chief Lt.Gen.Nepal Bhusan Chand. The Japanese team will also inspect Staff College at Shivapiri. Bilateral Nepal, US army ties will also be reviewed. Nnnn NEPAL SLIPS IN FIFA RANKING Kathmandu, 8 Nov.: Nepal slipped four places to 169 in latest ranking of FIFA, world soccer governing body. Maldives tops the South Asian group ranked 160. Rankings are issued every month. nnnn AIRBUS HIKES PURCHARE PRICE FOR NEPAL Kathmandu, 8 Nov.:: Airbus will supply two narrow body aircraft by the end of 2014, if Nepal Airlines Corporation agrees ‘to pay increased factory expenses’ as the current price of the aircraft has gone up since 2009, when an MoU was signed between the two companies. Besides, the deal itself has undergone change, Eliza Manandhar writes in The Himalayan Times. Earlier the deal was for one wide body and one narrow body aircraft. Now NAC is seeking two narrow body aircraft “They are ready to supply two aircraft, but with changes in the price as manufacturing cost has increased, according to them,” said acting NAC managing director Raju Bahadur KC. “If the government agrees to the revised terms that include increased factory cost, Airbus will supply the aircraft by the end of 2014,” he added. Airbus had quoted $41.28 million for a narrow body aircraft and $92.84 million for a wide body aircraft in the 2009-deal. The talks team submitted its report to the NAC board today, but the board did not take any decision. “The board will approve the proposal and forward it to the ministry that will take it to the Cabinet for approval,” the source added. Earlier, the government had decided to buy eight aircraft, including two from Airbus and six from China’s AVIC Holdings. NAC had planned to purchase one A 330–200 wide body and one A– 320 single aisle aircraft for its international fleet and signed an MoU to this effect in 2009. A three-member sub-committee held talks with Airbus representatives yesterday and today. The corporation had been mulling which of the options would be best: to call a fresh global tender as per the direction of the Cabinet for two new aircraft or continue with the Airbus agreement. NAC has been witness to decline in its international passengers over the last decade as it has had to cut its flight frequency due to insufficient aircraft to manage passengers. Earlier, NAC enjoyed around 30 per cent of the total market share of international flights to Nepal. The only national flag carrier had to cut down its flights and frequency due to lack of aircraft and to manage operational costs. Nnnn PARTIES UNDIVIDED ON ASMEBLY AGENDA Kathmandu, 8 Nov.:: Although political parties are divided on who should lead the government that would hold the election, they are however one on safeguarding the agreed agendas of the Constituent Assembly and on seeking fresh mandate on unsettled issues of the constitution, particularly federalism, The Himalayan Times reports. Disagreement on issues of federalism such as the numbers of provinces and the basis of names — single or multiple identities — had derailed the CA. Nepali Congress Spokes-person Dilendra Prasad Badu said the parties had owned up the agreed agendas of the CA and would seek fresh mandate to resolve unsettled issues. “What we have agreed in the CA is the apex body’s property. The issues can be decided after elections,” Badu added. He further said safeguarding the agreed agendas could not be interpreted as infringement upon the new CA to be elected because what has been agreed in the previous CA was the apex body’s property and all parties had agreed to protect it. “But political consensus will be required for all this. That will happen after formation of a national consensus government,” he added. CPN-UML leader Shankar Pokhrel, Sadbhavana Party Co-chairman Laxman Lal Karna and Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic Spokesperson Jitendra Dev have similar views. Karna said if parties ignored the agreed agendas and opened fresh debate on all issues of the constitution, that could invite fresh controversy. On federalism, the Unified CPN-Maoist and United Democratic Madhesi Front coalition has been pressing for the 10-pradesh model proposed by the State Restructuring Commission and the 14 -Pradesh model proposed by the thematic committee of the dissolved CA. The NC and the UML, however, support the six-pradesh model suggested by minority members of both the SRC and the thematic committee. Karna said it was yet not clear whether the NC would agree on mixed model of government because when the Madhesi parties disowned the 11-pradesh model agreed between the NC, UML and the UCPN-M a few days before the CA was dissolved, the NC said it might not agree on the mixed model. Nnnn PATAN HOSPITAL DOCTORS INTEEENFIFY PROTESTS Kathmandu, 9 Nov.:Agitating doctors and staff at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) have unveiled new protest programmes likely to come into effect from Thursday. The programmes include padlocking the Vice-Chancellor’s (VC) office while continuing their hour-long sit-in protest and shutting down Out Patient Department (OPD) services. Protesters have been demanding the resignation of VC Dr Sangita Bhandari and Rector Dr Soumya Bhattacharya. Since November 1, doctors and staff have resorted to an hour-long closure of the OPD and sit-in protests against Dr Bhandari’s “unilateral” decision to appoint Dr Bhattacharya as the new rector of the PAHS. In response to the protests, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai assigned Krishna Hari Baskota, the Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), on Monday, with the responsibility of resolving the situation. However, the irate hospital faculty have said they will halt protests only after the VC and the Rector step down. For her part, Dr Bhandari has asked for additional security at the hospital and claims that she will do her best to not allow protestors to padlock her office. Meanwhile, the National Counsellor Board of the PAHS expressed concern over the ongoing protests. A statement issued by the Board rued political interference in an institution with an “unblemished record and a stellar history of over five decades.” It said Dr Bhandari did not consult the board members, as she had claimed with the media, on the appointment of Dr Bhattacharya. The board urged the authorities concerned to address the agitating doctors’ demands as soon as possible. It added that politicisation of the Patan Hospital would lead it down the same path traversed by many other public hospitals in the country. The Board consists of Prof Kedar Bhakta Mathema as Chairperson and Dr Hikmat Bista, Dr Krishna Kumar Pande, Dr Bhagwan Koirala and Dr KB Rokaya as members. Nnnn COUNTERBALANCE FUND PROPOSED FOR NOC Kathmandu, 8 Nov.: The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies has requested the Ministry of Finance to arrange Rs 3.60 billion as a counterbalance fund for the loss-making Nepal Oil Corporation ( NOC ) through a government budgetary allocation. According to ministry spokesperson Deepak Subedi, the proposed fund will enable NOC to maintain regular supply of fuel and end the need for it to ask for cash from the government every time oil prices rise in the international market. The ministry has proposed earmarking Rs 18 billion for NOC including Rs 10 billion for the price stabilization fund (PSF) in the upcoming budget. The government is planning to unveil the budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 in mid-November. The high-level petroleum sector reform committee had also recommended to the government to set up the PSF. The basic idea of the fund is to stabilize domestic market prices when world prices fluctuate. “Profits will be deposited in the fund, and whenever NOC incurs losses, it can use the fund to offset losses so that the market will not panic over sudden and dramatic price hikes,” Subedi added. NOC can also use the interest earned on the PSF to compensate its losses. As petroleum has been a political commodity, every time the government hikes fuel prices, it receives massive criticism from all sections of society. The perennially broke NOC currently owes Rs 27.60 billion in loans. Interest dues amount to Rs 160 million annually. The loan burden is ultimately passed on to consumers. Presently, consumers are paying an extra Rs 1.67 on a litre of oil. The monthly projected loss of NOC currently stands at Rs 314 million. Of the total loss, LPG accounts for Rs 610 million. NOC has been enjoying a profit on the sale of petrol, kerosene and aviation fuel. The corporation has also proposed to the government to write off its loans. It has borrowed Rs 12.64 billion from the government. Petroleum is Nepal’s largest import. It was valued at Rs 96.38 billion in 2011-12, up 27.2 percent from the previous year. nnnn