ROAD OBSTRUCTED DEMANDING COMPENSATION Kathmandu, 25 Dec.: Victim family members have brought the vehicular movement in Dhunge along the Pasang Lyamu road section on Tuesday, demanding compensation after a microbus knocked down an adolescent girl in Bidur on Monday, RSS reports from Trishuli.. The victim side resorted to disrupt traffic in Dhunge Bazaar since this morning demanding compensation of one million rupees after the Microbus operation governing body stick to provide the compensation in line with the rule. Vehicles to and from Rasuwa and Kathmandu have been blocked on the road with the traffic disruption. A microbus Ba 1 Ja (9342) en route to Trishuli from Kathmandu had knocked down Sunita Adhikari, 18 on Monday. Among the injured, one is being treated in Bansbari-based Neuro Hospital and two in TU Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj.. nnnn PUTIN IN DELHI, RUSSIS, INDA SIGN HUGE DEFENCE DEAL Kathmandu, 25 Dec.:: India agreed to buy dozens of Russian military helicopters and kits for the assembly of Sukhoi jets at a summit in New Delhi today, where the leaders of both countries reaffirmed their commitment to a strategic partnership, Reuters reports from New Delhi.. India, traditionally one of Moscow’s top arms clients, said the two sides would also set up a joint venture to manufacture Russian-model helicopters and a $2 billion fund to invest in trade and economic cooperation projects. “Russia is a key partner in our efforts to modernise our armed forces,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement, welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a valued friend and the original architect of the India-Russia strategic partnership”. Putin’s one-day trip, his first to India since he started a new Kremlin six-year term in May, underlines Russia’s interest in India, long a regional ally and now a partner in the BRICS group of emerging-market nations. Writing in the Indian daily the Hindu earlier, Putin stressed that “deepening friendship and cooperation with India is among the top priorities of our foreign policy”. “India and Russia show an example of responsible leadership and collective actions in the international arena,” he wrote, a veiled swipe at the West and in particular the United States, which Putin accuses of seeking to impose its will on the world. Russian defence industry sources had said the visit could produce deals on the sale of fighter jets and aircraft engines worth more than $7.5 billion. However, the main agreements appeared to fall short of that figure. Kremlin sources said Russia will sell India 71 MI-17 V-5 military helicopters worth $1.3 billion as well as technological kits worth $1.6 billion to assemble 42 Sukhoi SU-30MKI fighter jets. India’s foreign ministry said the original deal for these jets was agreed last year. Russia Helicopters and India’s Elcom Systems Private Ltd will also set up a joint venture to manufacture helicopters. Separately, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) — a sovereign wealth fund — and Indian lender State Bank of India will jointly invest up to $2 billion to boost trade and economic cooperation projects. nnnn MANDELA’S HOSPITAL STAY EXTENDED Kathamandu, 25 Dec.: A chipped street mural in South Africa´s Soweto township depicts stations in the life of Nelson Mandela, each matched by a portrait of the global icon as he advanced from robust youth to old age, AP reports from Johannsberg. . Now this infirm giant of history faces a struggle with mortality, its duration unknown but its outcome certain. There may be no living figure so revered around the world as a symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation, his legacy forged in the fight against apartheid, the system of white minority rule that imprisoned him for 27 years. As an idea, Mandela is monumental. As a 94-year-old man, he is frail and vulnerable, in hospital since Dec. 8, shielded from outside scrutiny by protective relatives and the South African government and military. "He´s sick. What can we do? He´s sick," said Beauty Sedunedi, a Soweto resident who described Mandela as a hero. "People are crying, ´Oh, he mustn´t die, he mustn´t...´ If God says ´come,´ he´ll come." The former president would probably agree with that down-to-earth sentiment, as a man who is said to have been uncomfortable with his iconic status. The narrative of what he endured and what he contributed in the name of all South Africans tends to eclipse any personal failings, or shortcomings as a president when he took office for a five-year term after the country´s first democratic elections in 1994. The country today struggles with poverty and inequality, but Mandela is widely credited with helping to avert race-driven chaos as South Africa emerged from apartheid. He was diagnosed with a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones after being admitted to a Pretoria hospital, and the South African presidency said Monday that Mandela would spend Christmas Day there. The physical decline of Mandela, who boxed in his youth and exercised regularly in prison, could be anyone´s story; an ordinary man would make this wistful journey alone, or within the cocoon of family intimacy. In the case of a man-turned-myth, however, the media, the government and the nation are passengers on what has become an awkward ride, defined by tension between the right to medical privacy and the public´s interest. "They were very secretive about his health," Sebastian Moloi, another resident of the Johannesburg township of Soweto, said of the government´s initial, sometimes contradictory pronouncements about Mandela´s condition. "They shouldn´t keep it away from the public." Moloi spoke outside Regina Mundi, a Catholic church that was a center of protests and funeral services for activists during the apartheid years. He said Mandela was the "godfather" of South Africa, but objected to extreme discretion about Mandela´s hospital stay, saying: "He gets enough privacy in his home." Officials have reported that Mandela has steadily improved, but warn the situation is inherently uncertain because of his age. The media has urged the government to provide regular updates or briefings with doctors. Dire rumors have swirled on social media, angering Mac Maharaj, the presidency´s spokesman. "Why are there no voices raised in our society against the human depravity manifested in such rumors?" Eyewitness News, a South African media outlet, quoted Maharaj as saying. "It has become a matter of concern. Is it not time for all of us to look at ourselves in the mirror?" In fact, Mandela´s public image has been closely managed for a long time. He has not been seen on a major stage since South Africa hosted the World Cup football tournament in 2010, and his meetings have become increasingly rare. In August, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Mandela at his home in the village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province. An Associated Press photographer who accompanied Clinton said the former leader appeared "fragile although also happy," and seemed pleased to see his visitor. "After some deliberation, at the last moment, I was allowed inside to photograph them together. While I was in the room I never heard him say a word or hardly even move," photographer Jacquelyn Martin wrote in an email. She described how aides encouraged Mandela to smile for the camera and remarked fondly to him on what a beautiful smile he had. They called him "Madiba," which is Mandela´s clan name, a term of affection. "He scarcely moved and was a whisper of the legend," Martin wrote. She said Mandela was seated in a corner with a blanket over his legs and a newspaper in his lap. His wife, Graca Machel, was also there. In 2009, British journalist David James Smith met the Nobel laureate while working on "Young Mandela," a book that sought, in part, to humanize the man by examining reports about his often conflicted family life. In an email, Smith said he was required to sign a document promising he would not ask "direct questions," take photos or ask Mandela to endorse any products. "He was sitting in his huge office behind a massive desk and seemed slightly shrivelled and sparrow-like in comparison with the sharp-suited giant of the 1950s I had come to know so well from my research," Smith wrote. "He apologized for not getting up to greet me. ´My knees will not allow it.´ I struggled to get a conversation going for a few minutes until I told him I had been to Qunu and met his ´brother´ Sitsheketshe, who had been brought up with Mandela as his brother after his own parents had died." Smith recounted: "´Ah, Sitsheketshe!´ he boomed. ´Do you know the story of how he came to live with my family?´ I did but said I didn´t and off he went ... He seemed mortal and ordinary and that I think is one of the reasons why, though not a saint, he is a very great human being." Sitsheketshe Morris Mandela, Nelson´s cousin, died this year at the age of 80. History offers rough parallels for Mandela and the movement to safeguard his legacy as he approaches the end of his life. Men of his stature — American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and Indian independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi — were assassinated while actively engaged in their callings. Tragedy elevated their reputations. The Soweto mural marks Mandela´s birth in 1918; the Rivonia trial that led to his conviction for sabotage in 1964; the 1990 release from prison; the 1993 awarding of the Nobel peace prize to Mandela and the last white ruler, F.W. de Klerk; Mandela´s 1994 election as South Africa´s first black president; and his 90th birthday in 2008. Truly, a momentous life. Yet Mandela, whose image adorns South African banknotes and statues and whose name was bestowed on buildings and squares, found ambiguity in it. In a passage described as part of an unpublished sequel to his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," he wrote: "One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image that I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint. I never was one, even on the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying." Reflecting on his 2009 meeting, Smith said in an interview that Mandela still retained his spark of charisma, "the glint of mischief that he had that people were so charmed by, presidents and paupers." But he added: "You can imagine that must be almost gone now." Nnnn PROTESTS AGAINST GANG RAPE SNOWBALLS IN INDIA Kathmandu, 25 Dec.: Indian authorities throttled movement in the heart of the capital on Monday, shutting roads and railway stations in a bid to restore law and order after police fought pitched battles with protesters enraged by the gang rape of a young Woman, Reuters reports from New Delhi. In an unusual televised address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for calm following the weekend clashes in New Delhi and vowed to punish the rapists for their "monstrous" crime. Singh's government, often accused by critics of being out of touch with the aspirations of many India ns, has been caught off-guard by the depth of the popular outrage as protests have snowballed and spread to other cities. India is seen as one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman. Instead of channeling the outrage, the government has found itself on the defensive over the use of force against the protesters and complaints that it has done little in its eight years in power to create a safer environment for women. The protests have been the biggest in the capital since 2011 demonstrations against corruption that rocked the government. "People are not reacting to just one rape case. They are reacting to the general malaise, the frustration with the leadership. There is a feeling that the leadership is completely disconnected," said political analyst Neerja Chowdhury. Police barricaded roads leading to India Gate, an imposing Arc de Triomphe-style war memorial in the center of the city, that has become a hub of the protests by mostly college students. Many metro rail stations in fog-shrouded Delhi were also closed, crippling movement around the city of 16 million. The protests overshadowed an official visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin and disrupted his schedule. The 23-year-old victim of the December 16 attack, who was beaten, raped for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was still in a critical condition on respiratory support, doctors said. In the weekend spasm of violent protests, police use batons, teargas and water cannon against demonstrators around the capital. Protests and candle-light vigils have also taken place in other India n cities but they have been more peaceful. "I appeal to all concerned citizens to maintain peace and calm. I assure you we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women in this country," Singh said in his televised address to the nation. Singh has been under fire for remaining largely silent since the rape. He issued a statement for the first time on Sunday, a week after the crime. Sonia Gandhi, chief of the ruling Congress Party, has met some of the protesters to hear their demands. Comments by political commentators, sociologists and protesters suggest the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many India ns have over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues. "There is a huge amount of anger. People are deeply upset that despite so many incidents there has not been much response from the state and the government," said social activist Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research in Delhi. SOCIAL MEDIA SITES DRIVE PROTESTS New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India 's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. A global poll by Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place in the world to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery. Since last week's rape, the authorities have promised better police patrolling to ensure safety for women returning from work and entertainment districts, more buses at night, and fast-track courts for swift verdicts on cases of rape and sexual assaults. But protesters view those measures as inadequate and are looking for the government to take a firmer stand on sexual assaults countrywide, most of which go unreported. Reported rape cases in India have increased by 9.2 percent to 24,206 cases in 2011 from 22,172 the previous year, according to the latest figures from the National Crime Record Bureau, "This is not about that one rape," said aspiring fashion designer Shruti Sharma, 24, at a protest in Delhi on Monday. "This is about how crime is rampant in our cities. We are angry at the government for not ensuring the safety of its citizens. The judiciary is slow. Cases take too long." Opposition political parties, normally quick to exploit the government's vulnerabilities, have largely been sidelined in the protests, which have mostly been organized through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The protesters come from all walks of life but many are young and middle class. Political commentators see their involvement as evidence of growing frustration with the government's focus on poor and rural voters and a failure to pass on the benefits of a decade of rapid economic growth. So far, however, the protesters' focus has been on the rape case rather than on other grievances. nnnn