BAIDHYA SAYS HIS PARTY NOT OPPOSED TO ELECTIONS UPDATE Kathmandu, 23 June:: CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidhya has said that his party would not boycott the Constituent Assembly (CA) election, as they had sacrificed blood for the same, RSS reports.. At an interaction organized by the 33 agitating political parties in the capital on Sunday, Baidhya, however, said that they would not participate in the CA election under the current situation though they were in favour of CA election. "New government from among the parties should be formed by scrapping the March 15 agreement and CA election should be conducted by forging consensus in contents of the new constitution," he said. Likewise, CPN-UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokhrel said that CA election under current situation is not possible if the demands of the agitating parties were not addressed. All parties should be flexible to bring the agitating parties in the election as CA election was something different from the general election. Also speaking at the programme, Nepali Congress leader Dip Kumar Upadhyay said there was no alternative but to bring the disgruntled parties on board, the election. Similarly, Vice-chairman of Federal Socialist Party Bijay Subba and General Secretary of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal, Ram Saha Yadav said an all-party conference should be conducted by scrapping the March 15 agreement for holding new election. Likewise, political scientists Prof Krishna Khanal and Prof Dr Surendra KC said the new CA would be able to draft the new constitution if the earlier mistakes were corrected by reviewing the causes of failure of the erstwhile CA. Nnnn DRUGS HIDDEN IN COCUNUT SMUGGLED KAathmandu, 23 June:: Police have arrested a person on charge of smuggling banned narcotics by hiding it inside a coconut and transporting it through a courier servicems RSS reports.. Krishna Prasad Shrestha, a resident of Gulmi and currently residing in Sitapaila, Kathmandu was arrested by police on charge of smuggling Hashish to Hong Kong. Shrestha had registered a consignment including coconuts to be sent to Hong Kong at the Air Supreme Courier in Sudhara, Kathmandu. Upon finding it suspicious, staff at the Courier service informed the police about it. Police recovered 714 grams of hashish found hidden in the coconuts. After the arrest, police also found two kilograms of hashish, 200 grams of hemp and 16 coconuts from his rented quarters, according to DIGP Kedar Saud. Another accomplice in the crime, Sunil Tamang of Bhalukharka, Kavre has also been arrested. Meanwhile, police have arrested a seasoned drug dealer Gambhirman Shrestha along with his two daughters in possession of banned drugs. Shrestha has already served jail sentences for drug peddling, police said. Nnnn KERRY IN INDIA Kathmandu, 23 June:: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will urge fast-growing India on Sunday to curb emissions that contribute to global warming and ease barriers to U.S. business and investment in the world's largest democracy that is viewed as a counterweight to China, AP reports from New Delhi. New Delhi is the second stop on Kerry's two-week visit to seven countries in the Mideast and Asia. During his stay, the top U.S. diplomat also is expected to discuss a myriad of other topics, including enhancing security in the region and prospects for finding a political resolution to the war in Afghanistan. Kerry has traveled to India before, but his two-day visit is his first to the country as secretary of state. He is to deliver a speech that will focus on climate change along with other bilateral issues. India has installed about 1,000 megawatts of solar power in the past 2 1/2 years — about one fifth with American financing. Education also will figure prominently in their discussions. India is facing the challenge of educating about 500 million young people during the next decade or so and there is an opportunity for U.S. schools to help meet the demand. Discussions also will include India's relationship with its archenemy, Pakistan, and the hope that Pakistan's new president, Nawaz Sharif, will try to improve relations, thus reducing the chance of a fourth major war between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Kerry is talking about climate change just two days before President Barack Obama is to unveil his long-awaited national plan on the issue. People consulting with White House officials on Obama's plan say they expect the president to put forth regulations on heat-trapping gases emitted by coal-fired power plants that are already running. Environmental groups have been pleading with Obama to take that step, but the administration has said it's focused first on controls on new power plants. More than half of India's power comes from coal and while the U.S. has emission issues of its own, it wants to see India and other nations in the region rely less on old, coal generation facilities. The U.S. is backing a Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline that would bring energy to a power-starved region. nnnn