FORMER KING BATS FOR ELECTIONS Kathmandu, 19 June: Former King Gyanendra called for elections while of a religious tour of Gaur Tuesday. He offered puja at Bhagahawati and Shiba temples in the town before returning to Simara. :Election should be held. It should be fair. This is the desire of all,” he told reporters. :”Let the time come,” the former king said in reply to a question if monarchy will stage a comeback. Nnnn NEPAL ARMY MOVING PEOPLE TO SAFE SITES Kathmandu, 19 June:: Nepal Army personnel have shifted over 1000,000 kilograms of goods of flood victims from Khalanga VDC Ward No, 4 and 5 in Darchula to safer location. A squad of 81 army personnel has been relentlessly working to relocate the goods to the safer sites, RSS reports. The Nepal Army Public Relations Directorate said that the goods included utensils, refrigerators, foodstuffs, furniture and clothes. nnnn. GOVT. SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH TERAI OUTFIT Kathmandu, 19 June:The government and agitating armed group Jatiya Mukti Morcha have signed a five-point agreement, RSS reports from Banepa. With the signing of agreement on Tuesday, the Morcha shall submit arms in its possession, details of its leaders and cadres facing different allegations to the government as quickly as possible. Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Kumar Shrestha headed the government talks whereas and Singheshwor Mahara, the Morcha talks team coordinator, signed the agreement on behalf of the respective side during a meeting held in Dhulikhel. Similarly, the government agreed to provide full security to Morcha talks team members during the talks, address their due demands as per the law and give them political treatment. Likewise, the Morcha decided to renounce armed agitation and join peaceful politics. Ministry´s Secretary Dharanidhar Khatiwada , joint-secretaries Bharat Prasad Poudel and Laxmisharan Ghimire, under secretaries Benimadhav Gyawali and Devraj Dhakal were in the government talks team whereas Morcha members Gyan Bahadur Lama and Birkharaj Yonjan were with coordinator Mahara. Nnnn- WEDNESDAY MORNING’S CAPITAL TEMPERATURE 18 DEGREES CELSIUS Kathmandu, 19 June: Capital’s Wednesday morning temperature was 18 degrees Celsius. Mercury is expected to rise to 27 degrees Celsius. Tuesday’s rainfall in capital was 20.1mm. u GOVT., JEWELLERS TALKS INCONCLUSIVE Kathmandu, 19 June: The talks between the government officials and agitating bullion traders held on Tuesday ended without any conclusion after the officials made it clear that the government won´t withdraw action against jewelry traders found involved in cheating consumers, Kriti Bhuju reports in Republica.. Two federations of gold, silver, gem and diamond dealers have been staging protest since Wednesday, demanding that the government withdraw cases against dealers found involved in cheating consumers and draft market monitoring guidelines as per their suggestions. They have forced closure of jewelry outlets across the country. The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations (FNGSDA) and Federation of Nepal Gold, Silver, Gems and Jewelry Associations (FNGSGJA) have been piling pressure on the government to withdraw cases against jewelers found involved in anomalies. They have even stopped fixing rates of gold and silver and issuing recommendations for banks to sell gold. “The meeting held on Tuesday failed to reach a concrete decision regarding the monitoring guidelines,” Ramesh Maharjan, president of FNGSGJA, said. “Our protest will continue until the government incorporates our suggestions in the monitoring guidelines and withdraw cases against jewelers.” According to Maharjan, government officials have hinted that they are positive about incorporating suggestions of jewelry traders in the monitoring guidelines. Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general of Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DOCSM), said the government might incorporate suggestions of the jewelry traders if need be. “But this doesn´t mean that we will withdraw cases filed against the wrongdoers. We can take action against them under various acts,” added Bidari. “We won´t compromise even if jewelry outlets are closed for a year.” The next round of talks is scheduled to be held on Thursday. Mani Ratna Shakya, president of FNGSDA, said the traders won´t call off the protest unless the government agrees to draft the guidelines as per their suggestions. “The government can´t take action against the traders as the guideline is yet to be formulated. We cannot show flexibility on this issue,” he added. Meanwhile, bullion traders are organizing nationwide protest rally on Wednesday. The rally will see participation of gold and silver dealers from all 75 districts. The rally will culminate into a national gathering which will put pressure on the government to listen to their demands, according to Shakya. Nnnn