THREE STAR CLUB PLAYS BSF IN FINAL OF GOVRNOR’S CUP IN SIKKIM SUNDAY Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Three Star Club plays Border Security Force (BSF) team Jullandhar Sunday in the final of the 33rd Governor’s Cup in Sikkim. BSF qualified for the final Saturday beating Mohan Bagan 1-0. nnnn DEPUTY PREMIER SHRESTHA ATTEMPTS A CONCILIATORY ROLE BETWEEN GOVT., PRESIDENT, GOVT. Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha said on Saturday that the government did not want any political confrontation with the President, The Kathmandu, Post writes . “I don’t see confrontation with the president’s office at the moment,” Shrestha told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport upon his arrival from Bali, Indonesia, after attending the Fifth Democracy Forum. “It does not matter if the President expresses his concern over the political stand-off. I do not think he was inviting confrontation with the government .” Shrestha advised the President to refrain from airing his worries and concerns. “Only national consensus among the parties and leaders can end the stand-off, not the President ,” he said. However, the DPM warned that if the political deadlock remained, confrontation between the president’s office and the prime minister was likely. “We do not want to stay long in the government and it was never our ultimate destination, but we do not see any reason why the President should not endorse the budget,” said Shrestha. “We are ready to leave the government at any time,” he added. In response to Nepali Congress’s move to topple the government through protests, DPM Shrestha said, “The time is ripe for consensus, not agitation.” At the Democracy Forum in Bali, Shrestha stressed collective efforts to promote democracy, as it is critical to ensure respect for sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence of states and their equal participation in all settings and frameworks of global governance. “Domination, exploitation and interference in any pretext must not constitute the rule of the game in interstate relationships if genuine democracy is to be achieved at the global level on the basis of sovereign equality of all the countries for the collective benefit of the international community,” Shrestha said at the forum. “Without democracy and development, there cannot be lasting peace. Without lasting peace, development cannot foster.” nnnn TEENAGE GIRL MISSING, FORMER MAOIST LAWMAKER CHARGED FOR EXPLOITING HER Kathmandu, 11 Nov.: A 14-year old girl, who had allegedly been sexually exploited by former lawmaker Safik Miya, has gone missing, Lal Prasah Sharma writes in The Kathmandu Post from Pokhara . The girl’s mother said that an unidentified group abducted the victim from a room rented by the girl’s sister at Lekhnath Municipality-11, Kaski, on Thursday night. “I came to know that a group took her outside, claiming that they had to talk to her. Thereafter, they took her away in a taxi,” said the mother. She said that her daughter had revealed her abduction by telephone on Friday, claiming that a woman and two men had taken her away. The mother has filed a complaint with the police. Police suspect Miya or his wife Jubida’s involvement in the abduction. The UCPN (Maoist) had suspended Miya for his alleged involvement in the sexual exploitation of the teenager and various other illegal activities. Advocate Ram Prasad Ghimire opined that the incident may affect investigations into the sexual exploitation of the girl. nnnn