GRADE XI RESULTS ANNOUNCED Kathmandu, 11 Dec.: Altogether 40.39 students passed the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB), according to a Tuesday announcement of results of 2069 for Grade XI exams in science, management, education, and humanities streams In the regular category, 282,359 students appeared in the exam and 114,019 students passed, an announcement said. The results were announced by the, Office of the Controller of Examinations (OCE) In the partial category, 51,525 students passed out of 158,689 students who appeared for the tests--.a percentage of 32.47. The pass percentage last year was 39. Results are also available through sms and various websites such as www.hseb.edu.np, http://www.slc.ntc.net.np among others. For SMS----- Type HSEB SYMBOL NO. and send it to 2722. Nnnn UCPN MAOISTS TO BE FLEXIBLE Kathmandu, 11 Dec.: UCPN (Maoist) office bearers at meting Tuesday decided to adopt maximum flexibility to forge a consensus among the parties as Wednesday’s third presidential deadline in 20 days ends to. appoint a successor of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and form a consensus government The purpose is to hold national elections for a constituent assembly. Former standing committee of the dissolved body ahead ofa general convention took the decision. The meeting concluded elections must be held April/May. Parties haven’t succeeded in breaking a deadlock. Nnnn Nnnn NO CONNECTIVITY OF BUDDHIST CENTERS IN NEPAL, INDIA Kathmandu, 11:Dec.: The Visit Lumbini Year ( VLY-2012) has failed to connect well known Buddhist Circuits around Lumbini though the government had announced 2012 as a national campaign with an aim to attracting a million tourists and collecting the funds for the development of Lumbini, RSS reports from Butwal.. Around a dozen of Buddhist circuits in Kapilbastu, Rupandehi, and Nawalparasi districts related to Buddha´s life have fallen under shadow when the Lumbini Development Trust could not bring any program for the dissemination and development of the places. The places see the zero-effect of the VLY-2012 due to lack of promotional activities, inadequate infrastructure, and the government’s apathy. The VLY could not even touch the Tilaurakot of Kapilbastu, where Gautam Buddha was born and spent his childhood days though various activities for the promotion of the Lumbini area after the declaration of VLY. Lord Buddha spent his first 29 springs in Tilaurakot. It is fully covered with big trees and tall grass that the tourists reach there could not even have guest house and books that provide information about the Buddhist circuits here in detail, said a local Umesh Bhandari. Pilgrims arrive here from all over the world would equally express despair when they see chaos as they get excitement from being in the birth place of the lord Buddha. The important places including Kudan, Gotihawa, Nigalikot and Bodhishattwa of 77,000 Shakyas could not take as per their expectation. It is reported that as many as 100 such places of archeological importance have been shadowed not only from government´s indifference they also faces crisis for their existence due to human encroachment. Similarly, Gotihawa and Niglihawa where the then Indian emperor, Ashok, erected pillars have turned into a pastureland. Budget was not allocated for the implementation of VLY from the center and district level programmes were not set up for the promotion of the Buddhists centers, said Madhav Acharya, Chief of Branch Office of the Lumbini Development Trust. However, an entry to border of Nepal-India, Chakarchauraha, has been built at the initiative of District Development Committee, he added. Besides these, Devdaha, Ramgram, Ashok Pillar among others have been ignored although though the country has been marking the VLY. Nnnn MANDELA, 94, HAS LUNG INFECTION Kathmandu, 11 Dec : South Africa´s former President Nelson Mandela is suffering from a recurring lung infection and is responding to medical treatments, the nation´s presidency said Tuesday, AP reports from Johannesburg. The ailing Mandela, 94, has been hospitalized since Saturday for medical tests at 1 Military Hospital near South Africa´s capital, Pretoria. The announcement ended speculation about what was troubling the ailing anti-apartheid icon. Government officials had declined repeatedly to say what caused the nation´s military, responsible for Mandela´s care, to hospitalize the leader over the last few days. That caused growing concern in South Africa, a nation of 50 million people that largely reveres Mandela for being the nation´s first democratically elected president who sought to bring the country together after centuries of racial division. The tests Mandela underwent at the hospital detected the lung infection, said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj in a statement. "Madiba is receiving appropriate treatment and he is responding to the treatment," Maharaj said, referring to Mandela by his clan name as many do in South Africa in a sign of affection. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. The chaos that followed Mandela´s stay at that public hospital, with journalists and the curious surrounding it and entering wards, saw the South African military take charge of his care and the government control the information about his health. In recent days many in the press and public have complained about the lack of concrete details that the government has released about Mandela´s condition. Mandela has had a series of health problems in his life. He contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison and had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. In 2001, Mandela underwent seven weeks of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, ultimately beating the disease. In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. Mandela was a leader in the struggle against racist white rule in South Africa and for preaching reconciliation once he emerged from prison in 1990 after 27 years behind bars. He won South Africa´s first truly democratic elections in 1994, serving one five-year term. The Nobel laureate later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. Mandela disengaged himself with the country´s politics fairly successfully over the last decade and has grown increasing frail in recent years. Nnnn