ARMY CHIEF BEGINS INDIA VISIT UPDATE Kathmandu, 6 Jan.: Army Chief Gen. Gaurab SJB Rana flew for New Delhi Sunday to begin his first India visit after assuming office last year. He returns15 January. Nnnn SATUDAY’S ;OWESST TEMPERATURE 0.7 DEGREES CELSIUS Kathmandu, 6 Jan.: Saturday’s minimum temperature in the capital was 0.7 degrees Celsius s the cold intensifies, according to meteorologist Rajedndra Shrestha nnnn UPDATE ON JUMLA FIRE Kathmandu, 6 Jan.: Two children have been burnt to death after a fire caught Kudodhara Community Forest at Guthichaur VDC in Jumla district, RSS reports from Jumla.. The deceased are Mun Prasad Bohara, 11, of Guthichaur VDC-7 and Bikash Adi, 10, of the Ward No. 8 of the same VDC. Police said that the children could have died by being crushed by the burnt logs while the boys in the forests. The bodies have been brought to the Karnali Zonal Hospital, Jumla, for postmortem. It is estimated that the fire destroyed as high as 12,000 trees. Cause of the fire has not been ascertained as yet. Nnnn ONE PICNICER DEAD IND JHAPA Kathamandu, 6 Jan.: At least one person died and other 11 were injured when a Tata Van they were travelling overturned while returning from picnic spot in watershed region of Jamunakhadi in Surunga, Jhapa, RSS reports from Bhadrapur.. The deceased is Lakki Yadav, 30, who is residing in Jahada, Biratnagar, confirmed the Area Police Office, Damak. He breathed his last on Saturday night while undergoing treatment at Neuro Hospital in Biratnagar. The accident took place when a van (Ba 5 Cha 5032) overturned at Tarabari of Damak The critically injured were treated at Life Line Hospital in Damak and were later taken to Biratnagar for further treatment. Three of the injured are in critical condition. They are the employees serving different industries in Biratnagar. Nnnn MAOIST CHIEF CONDEMNS BRITISH ARREST OF NEPALI COLONEL 3 Kathmandu, 6 Jan: Major political parties in Nepal have protested the arrest of Nepal Army Colonel Kumar Lama in the UK on suspicion of his involvement in torturing a detainee back in 2005 when Maoist insurgency was at its peak in Nepal, Republica reports. Stating that they are committed to forming a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) with a broader mandate to address cases of conflict-era human rights violation, the parties have also asked the UK government to immediately release him and allow him to join duty at UN Peacekeeping mission in Sudan. “The incident that happened in the UK and the way our army official was arrested is a serious case against a sovereign nation. This is a big blow to Nepalis. This has also put question over our age-old relations with the UK,” said UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Chairman Dahal said such a move from a friendly country at a time when political parties in Nepal are holding consultation to form TRC could hamper the ongoing peace process. “UK must be aware that parties are in the process to form a TRC to address the cases of human rights violations. The arrest of army officer that came without prior information has saddened our party,” he said. • MoFA Summons UK Envoy Over Arrest Of Col Lama • NA colonel held in UK on torture suspicion Talking to a group of journalists at his residence Saturday afternoon, Chairman Dahal also said that the move could seriously jeopardize the ongoing peace process in the country. “This incident has indicative of more serious things to come,” he further said. On Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) summoned UK Ambassador to Nepal, John Anthony Tucknott, and handed over a “protest note” to the UK government demanding Lama´s immediate release. nnnn