APF BAITADI PLAY T20 CRIKET FINAL Kathmandu 29 Dec.:Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club and Region-VI (Baitadi) play in the final of Twenty20 National Cricket Tournament title Saturday at Kirtipur. APF Friday defeated Region VIII (Pokhara) by 95 runs Baitadi secure a one wicket win over Region-IV (Bhairahawa). Nnnn PRESIDENTAL DEADLINE WILL AGAIN BE MISSED, HEAD OF STATE TO CONTINUE EFFORT FOR NEW GOVT., ELECTION Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: President Ram Baran Yadav will continue prodding the political parties for forming a national unity government and holding elections upon his return from India, his aide said on Friday, The Kathmandu Post writes.. The statement comes ahead of the expiry of the fifth extended deadline on Saturday for the formation of a national unity government . The head of state is scheduled to return from a six-day official visit of India on Saturday afternoon. Talks between major political parties have slackened after President Yadav left for India on Monday afternoon. It is almost certain there will be no fresh talks among the parties before the President returns. President Yadav will continue the constitutional process that he initiated on November 23 calling on the parties to form a unity government as per Article 38 (1) of the Interim Constitution, President's Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal told the Post from New Delhi. Sheetal Niwas is lately weighing two options--giving an additional unspecified period of time to the parties or setting another deadline. Legal advisors to the President have cited past precedents and are stressing that he set up a limit while he extends the time in future. President Yadav will hold cross-party talks upon his return and decide whether the extension should be revised. Prior to his departure for Varanasi on Monday, President Yadav convened an all-party meeting and urged the leaders to come up with "constitutional, legal and political options" to end the impasse. The President had urged the parties to reach an agreement on a consensus prime ministerial candidate by the time he returns. Major party leaders had even urged the President to postpone his visit claiming that his presence could be instrumental in securing a cross-party deal. They are now waiting for the message the head of state will bring home from New Delhi, an NC negotiator claimed. Nnnn FOREIGN MONEY WON’T BE ACCEPTED FOR PMO Kathmandu, 29 Dec.: January, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) will not accept any direct foreign aid or project in its office. The PMO undertook several projects in the past through direct foreign funding in different sectors. The President's Office will also gradually not receive such aid, Anil Giri writesin The Kathmandu Post.. The idea, according to a senior official at the PMO, is to "keep away from direct influence and to send across the signal that we can at least fund the PMO and the President's Office on our own." "From January onwards, we have decided not to accept direct foreign aid due to the nature of the office. It is not an executing or implementing agency. The role of the PMO is to monitor government ministries and offices. If we need to run any project, we will seek help from the ministries concerned but not seek help from the donor community," a secretary at the PMO told the Post. The government is also preparing a list of government agencies that need foreign aid or project. Multiple sources at the PMO told the Post that it was decided in principle during the tenure of the then Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire in May that the PMO will not accept direct foreign aid or project. The UK's DFID had helped set up the government's complaint telephone line 'Hello Sarkar' initially, while through the Asia Foundation, the PMO had conducted a project 'Governance Reform and Administrative Restructuring.' The DFID had also supported the PMO through the Asia Foundation to set up a gender unit and undertake a project 'Gender-Based Violence (GBV).' Currently, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-related project is being run at the PMO with technical support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). "We had decided to readjust the project under the Ministry of Communications, but the ADB requested us not to do so as it is nearing completion. Apart from this, we do not have any foreign funded project at the PMO right now," the secretary said. While a majority of high-ranking officials at the PMO lauded the decision, some said it was not a good idea. "As we are a donor-dependent country, we must not discard foreign aid and projects," an official at the PMO said. nnnn