Please refresh your browser for the latest news update.

Crown Prince opens solo exhibition

Kathmandu, 13 March: Crown Prince Dipendra Tuesday inaugurated a solo exhibition of stone statues crafted by sculptor Dharma Raj Shakya. The exhibition was organized by Nepal Japan Friendship and Cultural Association and Friends Trust Nepal to mark the Nepal Japan Week 2000.
Sculptor Sakya presented the Crown Prince with a statue of the Buddha on the occasion.

President of the Nepal-Japan Friendship and Cultural Association Dr Yadav Prasad Pant said  the Association was encouraging young artists by holding such exhibitions.    Japanese Ambassador Mitsuaki Kojima said that the unique wood and stone carvings had enriched the great living cultural heritage of the country. Fifty sculptures of deities are on display at the four-day exhibition. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Two ministers resign

Kathmandu, 13 March: Two members of the present Council of Ministers headed by Girija Prasad Koirala submitted their resignations Tuesday. Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta and State Minister for Labour and Transport Management Surendra Hamal handed over their resignations citing differences with the Prime Minister.

Gupta is said to have told the premier that he was resigning because his successor at the Ministry of Information and Communication (MOIC) had failed to give continuity to a decision taken by Gupta when he headed MOIC. Gupta headed MOIC before the early-February reshuffle and had cancelled the license of a cable operator, which was renewed by his successor last week.

Surendra Hamal said he opted out because of the prime minister’s ways—to favour some and ignore others even in the cabinet. Hamal’s dissatisfaction over not being promoted as full minister in the February reshuffle was well known.  “I’ve not been at the ministry for 36 days and still the premier does not seem to care,” Hamal told a local radio on Monday evening. He blamed the government for being unable to get the parliament to convene and address other problems facing the country. “The only alternative that now remains is the resignation of Girija Prasad Koirala,” added Hamal.

Koirala’s opponents in the Congress party now have one more reason to celebrate. Both Hamal and Gupta were known to be staunch Koirala followers but have now turned against him. The rebel camp met on Monday to discuss a strategy to intensify their efforts to unseat the prime minister. Koirala’s opponents in his party want the prime minister to hand over the leadership of one of his top posts—as prime minister and party president—to a younger generation. Nepalnews.com/br/yl/at

Annan wraps up Nepal tour

Kathmandu, 13 March: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan ended his one day Nepal tour and encouraged the establishment of a regional UN peacekeeping centre in Nepal to train soldiers to maintain international peace. In a response to a question from reporters shortly before leaving for Bangladesh on the third leg of his South Asian tour Annan said the facility should also be made available to neighbours. The UN chief confirmed that the office of the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Development in Asia Pacific would be opened in Kathmandu soon. "Nepal has to make the facilities available. It's moving here," he said answering a question.

The Secretary General did not mention whether Nepal’s participation in peacekeeping activities in Sierra Leone and Congo figured during his separate talks with King Birendra, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola or Defence Minister Mahesh Acharya. He did say that a wide range of issues including economic and social, peace keeping and Nepal’s contribution and political developments in the region were discussed.

Annan arrived in Nepal on Monday evening from Pakistan and will now travel to Bangladesh and India to complete his tour. This is Annan’s first visit to South Asia after assuming office in 1997. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Police, student clashes continue

Kathmandu, 13 March: Leftist students demanding a 50 percent discount on public bus fares stoned and damaged at least six vehicles in the city in continued protests Tuesday. At least twelve students were injured in clashes with police in front of various campuses as police tried to stop the youth from taking out torch processions banned since last year. Rival student unions also clashed with one another at the Tri Chandra Campus with the leftists accusing those loyal to the ruling Nepali Congress party of siding with the police during the protests.

Students have been holding protests to press demands for concessions against presentation of identity cards but transport owners say the demands are impractical. Students plan to state a sit-in at the Singha Durbar Wednesday.  Nepalnews.com/br/at

Journalists demand Sen’s release

Kathmandu, 13 March: The Nepal Journalists’ Federation submitted a memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel on Monday demanding the immediate release of Krishna Sen, editor of the leftist paper Janadesh. Police claim that Sen was set free after a bench of the Supreme Court presided by Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhaya ordered his release Thursday but his whereabouts after his release from Rajbiraj Jail on Saturday are not known till date.

The Federation announced a week-long protest beginning Tuesday to secure the release of Krishna Sen. Protests including wearing black armbands at work and a sit-in in front of Singha Durbar.

Sen was arrested two years ago after publishing a graphic account of a rebel attack on a police post at Bhattedanda south of the capital in which several policemen were killed. Federation President Suresh Acharya accused the government of flouting the rule of law by taking Sen to an unknown destination even after the Supreme Court ordered his release. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Kathmandu, 13 March: A policeman was killed and two others injured in a shoot-out with Maoists at Mohanpur village in Siraha district Sunday night. According to police the gunfire started when insurgents attacked a police patrol. Some rebels may have also have been injured, police said. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Annan views Mt Everest

Kathmandu, 13 March: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife Nane flew around Mt Everest for a view of the world’s tallest peak Tuesday morning. Annan arrived in Nepal from Pakistan Monday night for a 24-hour visit and will later fly to Bangladesh on the third leg of a four nation South Asian tour that will also take him to India. Annan, the fourth UN chief to visit Nepal, will meet separately with King Birendra, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola and Defence Minister Mahesh Acharya and discuss issues, including an expanded role for Nepali soldiers in peacekeeping in Sierra Leone and Congo.

Seven sister organisations of the main opposition in parliament, Nepal Communist Party (Unified Marxist Leninist) Monday submitted a memorandum to the resident representative of the UN to draw the Secretary General’s attention to the desecration of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan urging him to stop the destruction. But the request may have come too late as reports indicate that the ruling Taliban has already destroyed most of the statues. Exiled Bhutanese refugee representatives also submitted a memorandum on Monday to the UN resident representative urging Annan to create an atmosphere for the earliest return home of 100000 Bhutanese refugees living in UNHCR administered camps in east Nepal. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Leftist students clash with police

Kathmandu, 12 March: Protesting students from the All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU), a pro CPN-ML organisation, clashed with police in different parts of Kathmandu today. The police were trying to prevent students demanding a 50 percent concession on all public transport from turning their protest violent. The ANNFSU has launched a nationwide campaign demanding a 50 percent concession for students in all public transportation.

Students blocked the traffic in different parts of Kathmandu today and even attacked some vehicles to press their demands. Police intervention led to the clash where several students and a few police sustained minor injuries. Police say some vehicles were damaged and some violent students have been taken into custody. ANNFSU has however alleged that hundreds of students have been arrested. Students have vowed to continue their struggle until their demands are met.

Meanwhile transporters have announced that the demand is impractical and that they will not be giving any concession. They have also demanded talks between the government and ANNFSU to resolve the issue which other student unions have not supported. Nepalnews.com/br/yl/at

Kofi Annan arrives

Kathmandu, 12 March: The Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan accompanied by his wife Sane Annan and other UN officials arrived at Kathmandu today on a day long visit to Nepal. Minister for Foreign Affairs Chakra Prasad Bastola received Secretary General Annan at the Tribhuvan International Airport. Annan expressed happiness at being able to visit Nepal and appreciated Nepal’s support and participation in UN peacekeeping operations in different parts of the world.

The Secretary General is scheduled to meet His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister and other leaders and officials and discuss UN cooperation with Nepal. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala invited Annan, the third UN Secretary General to visit Nepal. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

Minister Joshi files suit against CIAA

Kathmandu, 12 March: Minister for Local Development Govinda Raj Joshi filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a high level anti-corruption body, challenging its authority to recommend action against him. The CIAA has recently recommended the Prime Minister to take necessary action against Joshi for his alleged involvement in the irregularities in the result of a written test of 14000 teachers throughout the country five years ago when he was Education Minister.

Minister Joshi challenged that the CIAA does not have the authority to probe into the case. He claimed that everything he did were in line with rules and regulation. CIAA has said that Minister Joshi used his influence to get the Education Regulation changed to suit his interest and misused the authority in the process of selection of teachers.

The government had advertised for 14000 teachers in the country but 85000 candidates were selected for interview from the written test. As per the Public Service Commission Rules, only 20 per cent additional candidates can be selected for interview. Minister Joshi had the Education Regulation amended from the cabinet with the provision of allowing selection of all candidates, who scored at least 35 per cent marks in the written test, for interview. CIAA has claimed that this is an abuse of authority and has demanded action
against Joshi. However, Joshi has maintained that it was approved by the cabinet and if it is illegal, the whole cabinet including the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is guilty. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

Diseases claim 24 in Humla

Kathmandu, 12 March: Local health officials said diseases like influenza, gastro-enteritis and pneumonia have claimed 24 lives, mainly children, in Simikot and four other remote villages in the mountain district of Humla in far west Nepal in the last one month. Another 351 persons are undergoing treatment.

The National News Agency quoting chief district health officer Dr Madav Prasad Lamsal said health workers have been sent to the affected areas to contain the spread of the diseases. Four children died of measles at a village in Dang district and affected 248 others. Four children also died of measles in Gularia in Bardiya district. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Army given customs surveillance duty

Kathmandu, 12 March: Military personnel have been deployed for customs surveillance duty at two entry points on the Nepal-Tibet and Nepal-India borders as an interim measure beginning Monday. "This is an interim measure until we create our own permanent revenue surveillance force which will take eight to nine months," Finance Secretary Dr Bimal Koirala told Nepalnews.

The army has been given charge at Tatopani on the Nepal-Tibet border and Birgunj along the Nepal-India border. "The military is being deployed because of the failure of revenue teams under the police to curb leakage," a newspaper quoted joint secretary Lokman Singh Karki of the Finance Ministry as saying. The government loses millions of rupees every year due to leakage.
Karki said the military would be deployed at six more customs points along the Nepal-India border within a fortnight. Over 500 soldiers will work under the orders of the chief customs officials at the entry points, newspaper and radio reports quoting Finance Ministry officials said. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Eight policemen injured

Kathmandu, 12 March: Eight policemen were injured, two of them seriously, when a truck hit the jeep in which they were travelling near Itahari Sunday on the Biratnagar-Dharan highway, police said. Police are on the lookout for the truck driver who fled the scene of the accident. The police team was returning to base after investigating a suicide case near Itahari. The injured are being treated at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Another NC activist killed

Kathmandu, 12 March: Maoists have killed another activist of the ruling Nepali Congress party. Dhan Bahadur Rana a local activist from Naya Gaon village in Gulmi district was attacked by a group of 10 masked men and hacked to death with a khukuri just as he was going to bed. The rebels accused Rana of being a police informer. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Annan arrives this evening

Kathmandu, 12 March: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrives here Monday evening from Pakistan for a 24-hour visit on the second leg of a four nation South Asian tour that will also take him to Bangladesh and India. Diplomatic sources say Annan, who will be the fourth UN chief to visit Nepal, included the kingdom in his itinerary at the last moment. Annan will discuss the deployment of Nepali peacekeepers in the West African state of Sierra Leone and possibly the despatching of Nepali soldiers to Congo where the UN is negotiating a withdrawal of invading forces from neighbouring countries to restore peace in the republic, sources said. Nepal currently has 1300 peacekeepers from the Royal Nepal Army in Lebanon and East Timor and 124 police personnel in Kosovo, East Timor and Bosnia.

In a continuing effort to solicit international support, Nepal will seek Annan’s support to create a UN peacekeeping regional training centre at Paanchkhal, Kavre district. Nepal will also seek more UNDP funding for development projects and press for UNHCR involvement in talks with Bhutan to identify the nationality of 100,000 Bhutanese refugees for repatriation. Annan who is accompanied by wife Nane Annan, will meet separately with the King, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and Defence Minister during this his first visit. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Conference says Gurkha veterans discriminated

Kathmandu, 11 March: A three-day international conference in the capital that ended Sunday said London has violated the fundamental human rights of ex-British army Gurkha veterans and their families by treating them unequally since 1815. The meeting asked Great Britain to give compensation to `British Gurkha prisoners of war` equal to that given to their British counterparts. A senior British official earlier said Gurkha prisoners of war were not entitled to compensation from the Japanese like their British counterparts.

The International Human Rights Conference on Discriminatory Treatment against British Army
Gurkhas called for a review of the 1947 Tripartite Agreement between Nepal, Great Britain and India
to test its compliance with Britain`s discrimination- related laws and its international human rights
obligations. The meeting called for an end to what it called interference with the independent trade
union activities of Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen's Organization (GAESO) by British Embassy
officials in Nepal. Further the meeting also asked London to provide information about employment,
deployment of Gurkhas during World War I and II and data on the number of wounded, killed or
missing in action. The four-point demand by GAESO included an end to discriminatory treatment
against British Gurkhas vis-ŕ-vis their British counterparts.

The meeting formed an 11 member GAESO International Committee for Justice to press the
demands. The Committee comprises of Indian Rajya Sabha Member Kuldip Nayar, former
Bangladeshi Supreme Court Justice KM Subbhan, vice chairman of World Federation of Democratic
youth (WFDY) Geneva Abdul Bagi, Canadian historian Dr Mary Chene, and seven Nepalis, including
Member of Parliament Pari Thapa. The meeting also formalized strategies to implement an action
plan to end the perceived discrimination including appeals at British and European courts and at the
United Nations. The Nepal government has also been asked to end the current practice of sending
ex-Gurkhas to Brunei without consultation with London and Kathmandu. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Student stone vehicles 

Kathmandu, 11 March: Two students were injured when police tried to stop a student union protest demanding a 50 percent concession on public bus fares. The student union close to the Nepal Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) tried to stop traffic near Bhaktapur stoning several vehicles including one owned by a Member of Parliament Sunday. 

The students said they will continue to disrupt traffic at various points in Kathmandu Valley Monday
to press their demand. The have been demanding concessions for all students upon presentation of
identification papers since several months. Transport workers have so far rejected the demand as
impractical. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Natikaji receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Kathmandu, 10 March: Veteran music composer and singer Natikaji Shrestha was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Hits FM Music Awards sponsored by Close Up at the Birendra International Convention Centre Saturday evening.

Singer Deep Shrestha made a clean sweep, winning three of the most coveted awards, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Male Vocal Performance. Shrestha, who’d been on a ten-year sabbatical, made a comeback last year with a new album, Dristi. The Record of the Year went to Haar Raat a song from the same album written by Biplov Pratik.

Navin Bhattarai, who bagged the Best Pop Vocal Performance—Male award, is the only artist to have won at least one award in the four years of the Awards. Kunti Moktan walked away with the Best Pop Vocal Performance—Female. Moktan was also in the running for the Best Female Vocal Performance, but was beaten to the prize by Reema Gurung.

The Best Vocal Collaboration award went to Manko Bandhalai sung by the husband and wife team of Uday and Manila Sotang. The Sontang couple’s Katha also received nominations for the Record of the Year, the Album of the Year, and the Best Male Vocal Performance.

The pop band Madhyanha won the Best Performance by a Group or Duo with Vocals award. Eli Sherpa won the Best New Artist awards. Veteran music composer Ranjeet Gajmer’s Lahanale Jurayoki from the hit film Darpan Chhaya was the predictable winner of the Best Song Originally Recorded for a Motion Picture Soundtrack.

In its fourth year, the Hits FM Music Awards, sponsored this year by Close Up, has 11 categories with five nominees each. The show this year had musical interludes, with one performer from each category presenting their nominated song. The gala was hosted by Deepesh Shrestha, a Hits FM radio jockey. The awards were presented by Nepali music and film industry celebrities like Basundhara Bhusal, Harihar Sharma, Robin Sharma, and Yogeshor Amatya, among others. Nepalnews.com/ds