NEPAL CRICKET TEAM LEAVING FOR JAIPUR FOR PRACTICE, TRAINING SESSIONS Kathmandu, 13 April: Fourteen players and three officials are leaving for India Saturday for practice matches and training sessions to prepare for the OCC World Cricket :eague Division 3 in Bermuda from 28 April to 5 May. The team I proceeding for Jaipur and will return 20 April to leave for Bermuda 23 April. nnnn NEPAL, PAPUA NEW GUINEA ESTABLISH DILOMATIC TIES Kathmandu, 13 April: Nepal and Papua New Guinea Friday established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. An agreement establishing formal di0lomatic ties was signed in Canberra by Nepali Ambassador to Australia Rudra Kumar Nepal and Charles W Lepani, High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea to Australia. nnnn GOVT, GO-AHEAD FOR ARMY TO IMPORT WEAPONS AFTER SEVEN YEARS Kathmandu, 13 April: The government Friday gave a go-ahead to Nepalese Army (NA) to procure essential logistics, including lethal weapons. A meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Interim Election Council (IEC) this morning took the decision to this effect. The NA has been barred from buying required weapons and explosives from abroad due to the Comprehensive Peace Accords (CPA) signed between the then seven party-led government and the Maoists on November 21, 2006. The agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA) signed on December 8, 2006, had confined the Army to the barracks and prevented it from recruiting additional troops and transporting arms and ammunitions. “The government approved the NA's request to purchase the military hardware and all other required logistics,” said Minister for Information and Communications and government spokesperson Madhav Poudel. The cabinet cleared the hurdles of NA to buy required weapons after the Special Committee for the Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist combatants had on March 15 removed the restriction on it. Similarly, a two-day joint-consultative group meeting between Nepal and India, which concluded in Bangalore Thursday, started the process to buy weapons. NA’s high ranking officers and government officials held joint meeting with their Indian counterparts. It agreed to provide Nepal necessary military logistics -- lethal and non-lethal. Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Joint-Secretary Kali Prasad Pokharel headed the Nepali delegation while Indian Foreign Ministry joint-secretary Akhilesh Mishra led the Indian team. nnnn AAKASH BHAIRAV JATRA FROM 14 APRIL Kathmandu, 14 April: The month-long Aakash Bhairav Jatra, the festival of mask dance, which is held every 12 year, will start on the Nepali New Year day on April 14 from Halchowk of Shwoyambhu, The Rising Nepal reports.. A total of 13 persons from the Putuwar caste of Newar community will perform the traditional ritual dance wearing traditional dresses and masks of different gods and goddesses like Chandi, Kumar, Aakash Bhairav, Parbati, Ganga, Mahadev, Aakash Devi, Barahi, Dakshinkali and Mahakali, said Nuperndra Lal Shrestha, coordinator of festival management under the Halchowk Akash Bhairav Guthi. The persons who take part in the festival are called Devgans. They are required to be bachelors. It is compulsory that all the dancers should visit various localities like Hanumandhoka, Machindrabahal, Maru Dabali, Lazimpat, Jasidewal, Tangal, Kilagal and Ashon to perform the old-age ritual dance, he informed. Earlier, the ritual of Khadga Siddhi was carried out between the then king of the nation and Bhairav. The ritual is held with a belief that the exchange of swords would shift power on the King from the God Bhairav. After the nation was declared a republic, this ritual has not take place. The festival was started from the time of the Mallas’ era from the time of late king Guna Kam Dev Malla. The mask festival is being held consecutively for last 500 years at the mid-valley’s areas. At each festival of the Kathmandu Valley, the mask dance has become an integral par. But the mask dance of this Akash Bhairav festival time has a special meaning. Aakash Devi dance is the main attraction of this festival. Aakash Devi is a performing dance in which dancers use props like bows and arrows and point them towards the sky. It is believed that the person will be killed vomiting blood if he or she makes an eye contact with the Aakash Devi. No on is allowed to watch the jatra or dances from windows or roof tops. The Guthi manages all necessary expenses to hold the dance programmes. It needs more than Rs. 600,000 to organize the festival. The Guthi has demanded with the government Rs. 600,000 but the government had provided only Rs 400,000 to organise the festival. The remaining amount will be collected through donation from the locals. According to sources, Rs.150, 000 has already been collected through donation, he added Nnnn NO POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS IN CHINA, INDIA SAYS MAOIST CHIEF Kathmandu, 13 April: - UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that he would not talk about politics during his upcoming visit to the neighbouring countries—China and India. He said that his visit to India and China this time would focus on the overall development of Nepal, The Kathmandu Post writes.. Dahal is scheduled to leave for China on April 24 and visit India after returning from China. He said Nepal still needs to take assistance from India and China for a couple more years given the current situation. "This time the India and China visit s would focus on economic development rather than political," said Dahal inaugurating the fifth Khairenitar Mahatsov on Friday. "The visit would be centred on what else the big countries like China and India can do for Nepal." He opined that the development of electricity, road, railway and tourism are indispensable for the nation's development. He expressed his worry about the increasing trend of youth going abroad due to lack of investment friendly environment even though there is a huge development potential in the nation. "Our country needs assistance from countries like China and India that are making rapid progress in terms of development," said Dahal. "The nation could be revamped if the assistance from the developed countries could be utilised for the national interests." Dahal claimed that the government under his leadership had given top priority to railway line and extensive road network. nnnn