BAMDEV HO[ES ELECTIONS WILL BE FREE, FAIR Kathmandu, 16 March: : CPN-UML Vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam has said the UML was forced to accept the Interim Election Council under the leadership of the Chief Justice (CJ) as election was a foundation of democracy, RSS reports from Lalitpur.. At a programme organised by the Press Chautari Nepal Lalitpur Chapter to welcome the newly elected team of the Press Chautari here today, Gautam said the parties agreed on the CJ-headed Election Council to prevent the country from being a failed state despite their unwillingness. He even ruled the chances of political influence in the current government adding that the government was formed by forging consensus for a free and fair election. He also urged the some parties to come for elections instead of taking to the streets against the election announcement. Gautam also said that professional journalism was inevitable to make the fresh election a success. Nnnn SEVEN HOUSES DESTROYED IN DHANKUTA FIRE Kathmandu, 16 March: Seven houses were destroyed by fire at Mulghat Bazaar in Dhankuta district, at around 10:30 pm on Friday night,, RSS reports from Dhankuta.. The fire was spread from Bal Bahadur Shrestha's house. The fire destroyed his two houses and the houses of neighbors Rekha Poudel, Yagya Bahadur Thapa, Tilak Khatri, Ram Kumar Rai and Khem Bahadur Thapa. Four retail shops, three hotels and a medical shop were destroyed by fire , said Padam Bahadur Khadka, Chief of Armed Police Force, Mulghat. The police have estimated that the fire gutted property worth around Rs. 11.1 million. The fire was controlled only at 7:00 am this morning through the joint efforts of the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Nepal Army and the locals. The cause of the fire is yet to be investigated. nnnn WANG YI CHINA’S FOREIGN MINISTER Kathmandu, 16 March : China´s parliament on Saturday approved Wang Yi, a former ambassador to Japan and currently in charge of Taiwan affairs, to be the country´s new foreign minister. AFP reports from Beijing.. Wang replaces Yang Jiechi, who has served since 2007. The National People´s Congress (NPC) also approved Yang to become a member of the State Council, Wang Shengjun, NPC vice chairman, announced. The changes are part of a broad revamp of personnel as China concludes a once-a-decade leadership transition that saw Communist party chief Xi Jinping elected president on Thursday. The change at the top of the foreign ministry comes at a time of heightened tensions with Japan over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, claimed by both countries. Wang, 59, served as ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007 and was also a diplomat in China´s embassy in Tokyo from 1989 to 1994. He reportedly speaks Japanese. He has been in charge of Taiwan affairs on the State Council since 2008. Nnnn