UPDATE NEPAL LOSES TO AFGHANISTAN IN ACC TWENTY20 CUP Kathmandu, 3 April: Afghanistan scored the required runs in 17.5 overs for the loss of three wickets. Gulbadin Naib was the highest scorer for Afghanistan and was declared man of the match. nnnn. DETAILS ON ELECTION COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION Kathmandu, 3 April: Seventeen small parties have submitted a memorandum to Chairman of Interim Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi on Wednesday expressing concern over the proposal made by the Election Commission to maintain a minimum threshold in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, RSS reports.. A delegation of the 17 parties´ coalition called on Chairman Regmi at the latter´s office in Singha Durbar today and warned of taking to the streets if the proposal to maintain a minimum threshold was approved in the Ordinance designed to make some arrangement relating to the CA elections. Talking to reporters following the meeting, Chairman of Samajbadi Janata Dal Prem Bahadur Singh said the CA elections should not have the provision of a minimum threshold as in parliamentary elections, and that it should be scrapped to ensure representation of all region, section and ethnic groups. In response, Chairman Regmi said a decision would be taken on the issue following deliberations with all the parties, according to Singh. The Election Commission has proposed a minimum threshold of one per cent of the total valid votes received by any particular party to be entitled to a seat under the Proportional Representation (PR) system of the elections. It was 1.5 per cent in the previous CA elections. Meanwhile, the National Youth Federation Nepal has also submitted a memorandum to Chairman Regmi urging him to help ensure voting rights to youths who have attained 16 years and above in the upcoming CA elections. The youth population between 16 and 17 years of age is around 1.7 million and they should be guaranteed their franchise after they acquire their citizenship certificate. We have also demanded that the Nepali citizens living abroad should also get an opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the CA elections and that the government should introduce a youth-oriented policy, and make diplomatic efforts to save Amar Bahadur Bam of Darchula, who has been given death sentence in the UAE, said President of the Federation Kabindra Burlakoti. Nnnn BIG FALL IN GOLD PRICE Kathmandu, 3 April:: Price of gold has decreased in Nepali market on Wednesday. The price of hallmark gold decreased by Rs. 795 per tola today as compared to Tuesday, according to the Nepal Gold Silver Dealers´ Association (NEGOSIDA). Hallmark gold is traded at Rs. 5,605 per tola in local markets today, said General secretary of NEGOSIDA, Manikratna Shakya.Similarly, price of silver decreased by Rs. 25 and reached to Rs. 1,000 per tola. The price of silver was Rs. 1,025 on Tuesday.Price of yellow metal decreased today due to impact of international markets, said gold dealer Tejratna Shakya. Nnnn GOVT. HAS NO RELEVANCE WITHOUT ELECTION SAYS KAMAL THAPA Kathmandu, 3 April: Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal (RPP- Nepal) Kamal Thapa, has said the constitutional and political existence of the government would end if it failed to declare the date and make necessary arrangements for holding the election by the third week of June, RSS reports from Sunsari. Talking to journalists in Itahari, today, he said the current government formed by the four-party syndicate would be toppled by themselves if it failed to hold election by June and opt for lingering the process until November. Thapa has arrived in Itahari to address the party´s Koshi Zonal level cadres´ gathering to be held from today. He interrogated the journalists expressing mild satire that how could this government hold election when it has even failed to protect the laptop given to the election officials. Chairman Thapa claimed that the four political parties have no agendas for the election, and that they, especially, the UCPN-Maoist did not prefer to go for elections, that is why, the process of declaring election was lingered. Nnnn