SUPREME COURT BENCH DIRECTS REGMI TO WORK ONLY AS GOVT. CHIEF Kathmandu, 18 March: A single bench of Justice Girish Chandra Lal Monday issued an interim order directing Khil Raj Regmi, who holds posts of government and chief justice, to work only as head of the executive. The order was issued in response to writs filed by Chandra Kanta Gyawali and OM Prakash Aryal who argued President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav’s move to remove obstacles to appoint Regmi was unconstitutional and against th spirit of the interim constitution. The court directed Regmi work as government until elections for a constituent assembly are held. The court verdict comes as demands have been made asking Regmi to relinquish one post. nnnn ACTOR ARJUN KARKI TO ATTEMPT EVEREST, LEVES FOR PEAK Kathmandu, 18 March : Nepali cine artiste Arjun Karki Monday set out for an expedition to the Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), the highest peak in the World, RSS reports.. Chairman of the Film Artistes Association of Nepal, Nawal Khadka, bade farewell to Karki, handing over Nepali flag and the association´s flag to him amidst a programme at the Pashupati temple premises today. Although many people have scaled the Mt Everest so far, no artiste has made such achievement, Mr Khadka said, adding that Karki´s journey would be historical one in the field of Nepali films. Karki will climb Mt. Everest with water from the holy Bagmati river, it is learnt. Over 50 people associated with the Nepali film line were present on the occasion. Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokhrel wished for the successful journey of Karki. Artiste Karki is expected to complete his journey to the Sagarmatha on foot. According to Karki, he has expected to complete his journey in 22 days and return to the capital within maximum of 75 days. Karki has acted in over 20 Nepali films including Didibhai and Bazaar. Nnnn 16:51:35 INDIAN COURT SAYS ITALIAN AMBASSADOR HAS NO DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY Kathmandu, 18 March:: India´s top judge said Monday that Italy´s ambassador had forfeited his diplomatic immunity over his role in securing the release of two marines who skipped bail while on trial for murder in New Delhim RSS reports from New Delhi.. Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said Daniele Mancini, who had negotiated the Italians´ release last month so they could vote in an election, had waived his immunity by giving an undertaking to a court that the pair would return. "A person who comes to court and gives an undertaking has no immunity," Kabir told a hearing, while ordering that the ambassador stay in India until the next hearing on April 2. Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who are accused of murdering two Indian fishermen last year, had been given permission to fly to Italy to cast their votes in the election on the understanding that they would return. But the Italian government announced last week that it would renege on its commitment to send the men back, prompting fury in New Delhi. The Indian government has warned of "consequences" and is reviewing its ties with Italy, while the legally complex case is being watched carefully by India´s allies because it could set precedents over the treatment of foreign diplomats. New Delhi has put its airports on alert to prevent Mancini from leaving the country and the Supreme Court issued instructions that "appropriate steps" should be taken to restrain him. Without legal protection he could be prosecuted for contempt of court. A lawyer for the Italian government argued that Mancini still enjoyed diplomatic immunity and freedom of movement under international rules contained in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. However Kabir, who was heading a three-judge bench, said: "We have lost all trust in the ambassador." Katherine Reece-Thomas, an international law expert at City University London, said that India risked being in breach of its Vienna Convention commitments. "The only sanction available to the host state (India) is to declare the diplomat to be persona non grata and demand that he leave," Reece-Thomas wrote in an email sent to AFP. "India cannot stop the ambassador leaving against his will and any suggestion that he somehow waived his rights under the Convention is unfounded." India´s foreign ministry has also argued that Mancini may have waived his immunity by willingly submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court by signing a personal affidavit guaranteeing the return of the marines. "We as officers of the government of India will abide by the directions of the court of India," foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told reporters on Monday. The marines face murder charges in India after shooting dead two fishermen off India´s southwestern coast in February last year, when a fishing boat sailed close to the Italian oil tanker they were guarding. They say they mistook the fishermen for pirates. Italy insists the marines should be prosecuted in their home country because the shootings involved an Italian-flagged vessel in international waters, but India says the killings took place in waters under its jurisdiction. Italy said Friday it would seek a "friendly agreement" with India to resolve the dispute. "The Italian government is working on a friendly agreement with India based on international law," Italian President Giorgio Napolitano´s office said in a statement. Relations between the two countries have also been soured by corruption allegations surrounding a $748 million deal for the purchase of 12 Italian helicopters which the Indian government is now threatening to scrap. The case of the marines caused more uproar in the local assembly of southwestern Kerala, the home state of the dead fishermen. The opposition Communist party walked out of the assembly after their demand for an urgent discussion on how the Italian marines had been allowed to return home was dismissed by the ruling party. "It´s a shame on India that this case was dealt with casually," senior Communist leader P.K. Gurudasan told AFP. nnnn