RATO MACHINDRANATH FESTIVAL BEGINS FRIDAY Kathmandu, 10 May: The Rato Mahindranath festival begins Friday. The idol of the Rain God will be installed in a chariot prepared at Pulchown to mark the beginning of the country’s longest festival. The festival to invoke rain for a good harvest ends at Jawalakhel after the chariot is pulled through the streets of Patan. nnnn NEPAL SENDS UAE IN TO BAT IN ACC ELITE CUP CRICKET Kathmandu, 10 May: Nepal Friday morning is playing UAE in the semifinal of the ACC -19 Elite Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Nepal won the toss and sent UAE in to bak. UAE had scored 114 runs for the loss of three wickets when last reports came in from the Malaysian capital. MORE ONE MOTORCYCLIST KILLED, ANOTHER INJURED Kathmandu, 10 May: One motorcyclist was killed when his two-wheeler crashed into a tree on a highway overnight n Sunsari. The pillion rider was injured. nnnn. PROTESTS AGAINST LOKMAN SINGH KARK CONTINUING Kathmandu, 10 May: Protests are continuing Friday against the appoint of former Chief Secretary Lokman Singh Karki as CIAA chairman. Thirty-three parties are burning effigies of Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi and President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav in the capital Friday. Students are coming out on the streets blowing whistles while ‘civil society’ representatives are holding a dharna of a party office. Four major parties and coalition recommended Karki’s appointed and NC and UML later withdrew their support. nnnn UML CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEET CONTNUES Kathmandu, 10 May: UML central committee continues its meet Friday. A political report of Chairman Jhalanath Khanal is being discussed., The party chief has come under fire at the meeting for agreeing to the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as CIAA chief demanding self-criticism. nnnn ADD ALL-PARTY MEET Kathmandu, 10 May: All parties in the dissolved parliament have been invited to the all-party meet by government Friday. Parties not represented in the old party have also been invited. Nnnn THREE CTAR CLUB ON TOP OF GROUP IN AFC PRESIDENT’;S CUP Kathmandu, 10 May: Three Star Club of Nepal beat Mongolia’s Rchim FC 2-0 Thursday night in the Group A AFC President’s Cup in the Nepalese capital. With a draw and a win, Nepal is on top of the group with four points.. African players Leonce Dodoz and Adewumi Femi scored for the Nepali club. A Taiwanese and Bagladeshi club are also playing in the tournament, nnnn MULTIPLE IDENTITY FEDERAL STRUCTURE PROPOSED BY UML’S KHANAL Unveiling its position on key constitutional issues on Thursday, the CPN-UML proposed to go for multiple identity-based federalism and a directly-elected prime minister in the planned Constituent Assembly elections, Bhadra Sharma writes in The Kathmandu Post.. In a meeting of the party’s Central Committee, chairman Jhala Nath Khanal presented a political document, where he stressed on the need for multiple identity-based federalism and directly-elected PM. “Our party is firm in its commitment of ending political instability and authoritarian rule in the country,” the document says. Party Spokesperson Pradeep Gyawali said multiple identity-based federalism and a directly-elected prime ministerial system will promote democratic culture in the country. He said the UML was forced to go for the two systems as the other parties backtracked on their Hattiban agreement. In April last year in Hattiban Resort, major political forces—UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, UML and Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha—had agreed to go for a mixed model of governance where power is shared between the directly-elected executive president and a PM elected by a parliament.With the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the NC had publicly stated that it would go for a parliamentary system. The party has urged the government and the Election Commission to continue with the one percent threshold for proportional representation, not to allow convicts to contest the polls and to stick to the number of constituencies the parties have agreed upon. The EC-formulated CA Member Act-2012 has a provision that says parties failing to secure one percent of the total votes will not be eligible for the proportional electoral system. The Act also allows convicts to contest elections six years after his/her jail term. The four political forces had also agreed to fix 491 seats (240 first-past-the-post, 240 proportional and 11 nominations). Party boss regrets Karki name nod The Central leadership of the CPN-UML has regretted recommending the controversial Lokman Singh Karki as the chief of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority. “I want to apologise for recommending Karki as the chief of the anti-graft body through the High-level Political Committee (HLPC),” UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal reportedly told party leaders in his address in the ongoing Central Committee meeting. The party said it’s last ditch effort to have Karki’s appointment reviewed failed after “unseen forces” influenced the UCPN (Maoist) and Madhes-based parties. Protesting Karki’s appointment, civil society leaders picketed the UML headquarters in Balkhu on Thursday. “You appointed the wrong man at the CIAA. Be sure, you have to again take shelter in the people’s house, but we will not be in a position to keep you safe there,” said civil society member Renu Rajbhandari. Nnnn MAOIST CHIEF FIRMLY BEHIND KARKI Kathmandu, 10 May: Once again throwing his weight behind the controversial appointment of Lokman Singh Karki to the top CIAA post, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday said the ongoing street protests cannot overturn the appointment, The Kathmandu Post reports.. As senior civil society representatives, student unions of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML and 33 smaller parties led by the CPN-Maoist hit the streets against Karki’s elevation as the chief commissioner of the Commission fof Investigation of Asbuse of Authority, the President on Wednesday approved the appointment. Karki, the chief secretary in the former royal regime, has been accused of suppress-ing the April 2006 people’s movement. Addressing a programme here, Dahal said only a court or the to-be-formed parliament now has the authority to speak on the matter. The Interim Constitution says that the CIAA chief will leave office only if he resigns. “We discussed several names, but we failed to strike agreement. However, all the major parties unanimously agreed to Karki’s name,” Dahal said. “I request all the concerned to not protest the appointment,” he added. nnnn