IN BED

ELECTION WITHIN DEADLINE

Kathmandu, 7 July: Central member of the UCPN (Maoist) and former minister, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, has said that election to the Constituent Assembly (CA) would be held on as per schedule on November 19, RSS reports from Argkakhanchi... Addressing a programme organized to welcome new entrants to the party at Sandhikharka today, Rayamajhi said that the CA election would be held in the stipulated time as there was no alternative to it. Stating that the strength of anti-election elements, which are trying to obstruct the election, is very weak, he said the incumbent government will hold the election on time. Rayamajhi said that resignation of Vice-Chairman of the party, Baburam Bhattarai was for promoting the notion that there is no need of posts to contribute to party and nothing relating to internal dispute inside the party. He also claimed that all problems would be resolved from the extended meeting of the party scheduled for July 19.
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WESTERN STATES ‘IN BED’ WITH NSA ACCISES SNOWDEN

Kathmandu, 7 July:: Fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden said the US National Security Agency operates broad secret spying partnerships with other Western governments now complaining about its programmes, in an interview published Sundaym AFP reports from Berlin..

Snowden said in comments made before his exposure of US espionage practices came to light last month and printed in German news weekly Der Spiegel that NSA spies are "in bed together with the Germans and most other Western states".

In remarks published in German, Snowden said an NSA department known as the Foreign Affairs Directorate coordinated work with foreign secret services.

The partnerships are organised so that authorities in other countries can "insulate their political leaders from the backlash" if it becomes public "how grievously they're violating global privacy," he said.

The interview was conducted by US cryptography expert Jacob Appelbaum and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras using "encrypted emails shortly before Snowden became known globally for his whistleblowing", Spiegel said.

On cooperation with Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency, Snowden said the NSA provides "analysis tools" for data passing through Germany from regions such as the Middle East.

The US government has revoked the passport of Snowden, a former NSA contractor who is seeking to evade US justice for leaking details about a vast US electronic surveillance programme to collect phone and Internet data.He has been stranded at a Moscow airport for two weeks but three Latin American countries have now offered him asylum.

His claims about widespread US spying on Western partners have sparked uproar among European allies in particular and threatened to derail talks on the world's largest free-trade zone due to start Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with US President Barack Obama Wednesday and agreed to a "high-level meeting" between US and German security officials in the coming days to address intelligence matters.

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