festuvak

PRESIDNT INAUGURATES MUSIC DRAMA FESTIVAL

Kathmandu, 14 July: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, has inaugurated the National Music and Drama Festival 2070 B. S. amidst a function at Nepal Academy on Sunday, RSS reports.

.During the two-day-long festival, various genres of art and culture from quite ancient to modern from all the development regions would be presented.

Speaking at the inaugural programme, Coordinator and Chancellor of the Music and Drama Academy, Ambar Gurung, said the festival was organized for the first time with a view to popularising different songs, music and dramas.

The artists from mid and far-west had presented lively Chhaliya, holi dances of Far-Western Development Region and hymns that are popular in Mid-Western Development Region.

Vice-chancellor of the Academy Prachanda Malla said the programme was organised with an objective of giving information to Nepali youths about the music and drama from the ancient to modern times.

The programme coordinator Academician Yagyaraj Upadhyay, and Mithila Sharma said the classical and modern songs, music and dramas including Ullar, Amar Singha Ko Khojima, Hetchhakuppa, Lakhe Kwa Thaigu, Sunkeshari, and Junge Pillar as well as eastern Gandharva songs, among others, would be presented during the festival.

Nnnn

TOBGAY LIKELY TO BE NEW BHUTAN PM EXCERPTS

Kathmandu, 14 July:: Bhutan’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections on Saturday and will take over power in the tiny Himalayan nationm AP reports from Gauhati, India..

The PDP won 32 seats in the 47-member National Assembly, according to results posted on the official website of Bhutan’s Election Commission. The ruling Peace and Prosperity Party won only 15 seats.

Chief Election Commissioner Kunzang Wangdi said official results would be formally announced Sunday.

The PDP has criticized the government for a recent deterioration of ties with neighbor and close ally India and had campaigned heavily on the issue. The party had also sought greater devolution of power to the people, a slogan that proved popular in rural areas.

PDP leader Tshering Tobgay is likely to be named prime minister of the new government. Tobgay was the leader of the opposition in the outgoing parliament.

Nnnn

.

SNOWDEM HAS NOT REVEALED MOST DAMAGING DATA

Kathmandu, 14 July: Edward Snowden possesses data that could prove far more “damaging” to the US government but the fugitive leaker has chosen not to release them, said a journalist who first broke the story,AFP repors from Moscow..

Glenn Greenwald told Argentina's La Nacion paper that Snowden, who is currently stranded in Moscow, had only sought to alert people that information they thought was private was being exploited by US intelligence agencies.

“Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the US government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States,” he told the paper in an interview published on Saturday.

“But that's not his goal,” said Greenwald, who published a series of stories in Britain's Guardian newspaper based on top-secret documents about sweeping US surveillance programmes that were leaked by Snowden.

His comments came as Russia waited Sunday for a promised request for asylum from Snowden.

The United States wants the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor returned to them to face trial over the leaks. Moscow has so far rejected that demand.

Snowden, 30, has been stranded in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, after the US withdrew his passport on his arrival from Hong Kong three weeks ago.

Snowden on Friday dramatically summoned Russian activists to his temporary base, to say he wanted to claim asylum in Russia until he could safely travel to Latin America for a permanent sanctuary.

He withdrew an initial request earlier this month after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would have to stop releasing information embarrassing to Washington if he wanted to stay.

After Snowden made his statement Amnesty International reiterated its support for him and denounced what it described as US government persecution of him.

Human Rights Watch accused Washington of trying to block Snowden's attempts to claim asylum and said that was in violation of his rights under international law.

Representatives from both organisations attended Snowden's presentation.

But on Saturday, officials in Moscow said they were still waiting for Snowden's request.

Mercosur defends asylum rights

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Snowden would have to submit his application to the Federal Migration Service (FMS), Russian news agencies reported.

The head of Russia's Federal Migration Service (FMS) Konstantin Romodanovsky said Saturday they had received nothing. If they did, he added, it would examined according to the usual procedures.

Washington has reacted sharply to the possibility that Moscow might offer Snowden a safe harbour.

“We would urge the Russian government to afford human rights organisations the ability to do their work in Russia throughout Russia, not just at the Moscow transit lounge,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

nnnn