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Hearing on Citizenship Bill completes

Kathmandu, 15 March: The hearing on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill that began in the Special Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday completed Thursday. All lawyers including Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki, former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana, Moti Kaji Sthapith, Mukunda Regmi, Ganesh Raj Sharma, Krishna Prasad Pant, Bishwa Kant Mainali and Bipulendra Chakravarti presented their views on the Bill. Attorney General Karki, Chakravarti and Mukunda Regmi defended the Bill whereas Dhungana, Sharma, Pant and Mainali said that the Bill was in contravention with the spirit of the Constitution. 

Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhya decided to seek opinion of senior lawyers on the Citizenship
Bill after King Birendra sent the Bill to the Supreme Court seeking advice on whether the Bill was
compatible to the Constitution. The Supreme Court is to submit the advice to the King after
consultation with members of Special bench including Chief Justice Upadhyaya. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

Japan gives Rs 538.7 million for debt relief 

Kathmandu, 15 March: Japan, the largest aid donor to Nepal, gave a grant of Rs 538.7 million as debt relief in lieu of payment for principal and accrued interest on outstanding loans for the fiscal year 2000, Thursday, the Finance Ministry said. With this new grant the total grant given by Japan for debt relief for the year 200o will reach of Rs 1240.4. Representatives of the Nepal and Japan governments signed an agreement at the Finance Ministry Thursday. 

Switzerland also gave Nepal a grant of Rs 10.1 million on Thursday for road network planning and
upgrading the capability of the Department of Roads, the Finance Ministry said. Nepalnews.com/br/at

TIA modernisation project "complete"

Kathmandu, 15 March: A $4.53 million project to improve and modernise air traffic services system at the Tribhuvan International Airport has been completed, an announcement said Wednesday. The project was launched in 1993 with a Japanese government grant following two crashes in 1992. The crashes, involving crafts of Thai and Pakistan International Airlines, killed nearly 300 people.

The modernisation project included the installation of a radar system that became operational from 1998. A radar-training centre has also been set up at the airport. Almost 80 percent of the 400,000 annual tourist arrivals to Nepal pass through Tribhuvan International Airport. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Former Secretary Maskey passes away

Kathmandu, 15 March: Jitendra Lal Maskey, 72, former top-ranking bureaucrat, passed away Monday, an announcement said. Maskey joined the government service 45 years ago as an officer with the Nepal Rastra Bank and later served as Secretary of various ministries including the Ministry of Land Reforms. He was also General Manager of the Nepal Industrial Development Corporation. He is survived by a wife and five sons. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Sen in Jaleshwor jail

Kathmandu, 15 March: Editor of the Maoist mouthpiece Janadesh weekly Krishna Sen whose release was ordered by the Supreme Court last week has been re-arrested and jailed at a prison in Mohottari district under the Public Secutrity Act. Authorities earlier claimed that Sen had been freed. Talking to reporters from Jaleshwor jail, Sen said the prison authorities in Rajbiraj jail forced him to sign release papers before re-arresting and transferring him to Jaleshwor over the weekend. Colleagues have protested his re-arrest.

Sen was arrested two years ago after publishing graphic details of a Maoist attack on a police post at Bhattedanda south of the capital that killed several policemen. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta

King accepts resignations

Kathmandu, March 15: King Birendra accepted the resignations of Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta and Minister of State for Labour and Transport Surendra Hamal Thursday. 

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s attempt to persuade the two to withdraw their resignations and help him in the present crisis failed and both ministers submitted their letters on Tuesday.

Following the resignation of two staunch loyalists, Koirala's cabinet has fallen into more serious crisis, as opposition parties as well as opponents within Nepali Congress demand Koirala's resignation. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

Koirala calls mega meeting to discuss crisis

Kathmandu, 15 March: The ruling Nepali Congress called a mega meeting of present as well as former Central Working Committee members, party lawmakers in both the Houses of Parliament and chiefs of all 75 District Committees of the party to discuss the present political crisis and seek a solution to the problem. 

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala called the mega meeting on 18 March to seek way for defusing the crisis following the continued obstruction of parliamentary proceedings for more than one month by the opposition demanding Koirala’s resignation, and non-cooperation from some lawmakers and leaders of his own party. 

In a statement issued by Nepali Congress central office Wednesday, Koirala has asked all to be compulsorily present in the meeting. The meeting is to be held in Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar. According to sources close to Koirala, a strong step would be taken in order to defuse the crisis after the meeting. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

SC hearing on Citizenship Bill begins

Kathmandu, 14 March: Hearing began in the special bench of the Supreme Court on the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill Wednesday. The hearing began after King Birendra sent the Bill to the Supreme Court seeking advice on whether the Bill was compatible to the Constitution or not. The Bill was passed from House of Representatives, Lower House of Parliament, by majority in the form of Finance Bill despite objection from all opposition parties except Nepal Saadbhavana Party. The Bill was presented in the Lower House as Finance Bill when National Assembly, Upper House of parliament, rejected it. 

Bills regarding finance need not to be sent to the Upper House and can be sent to His Majesty the King for approval. The ruling Nepali Congress does not have a majority in the Upper House and opposition parties have vehemently opposed the Bill, which they allege, allows non-Nepalese to obtain the citizenship. Several civic bodies have also dubbed the Bill against the spirit of the Constitution. As opposition came from different quarters against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, King Birendra sent for the Supreme Court seeking its advice.

In the hearing, Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki defended the Bill and said it was not against the spirit of the Constitution. However, other lawyers opined that the Bill was against the Constitution and needs to be declared null and void. Hearing is to continue Thursday, as well. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

Hotel Strike Again Looms Large

Kathmandu, March 14: A strike by hotel workers pressing for a compulsory 10 percent service charge again loomed large Wednesday as a two man bench of the Patan Appellate Court said it was not necessary to issue an interim order banning strikes at hotels.

A group of hotels has asked the Court to issue an interim order banning strikes at establishments by declaring the hotel industry an essential service under the Essential Service Act which bans strikes at hospitals and establishments offering telecommunication services.

Hotel workers had a threatened to go on a strike from Thursday to press their demands for the second time in more than four months. Hoteliers argue the tax will be counterproductive while workers say they are exploited and the additional tax will increase government revenue and encourage transparency.

The government also did not acquiesce to demands of hoteliers to declare strikes illegal by workers.
Hotel owners have accused the government and opposition parties of inciting workers to kill the lucrative hotel industry in Nepal-- a mainstay of the economy. 

In a related development, Minister of Tourism Omkar Shrestha issued a statement Wednesday asking both warring sides to be "cautious" as the government was still trying to negotiate a deal to stave off the threatened strike. The workers earlier rejected a proposal by the government appointed
committee headed by Vice chairman of the National Planning Commission Prithvi Raj Ligal to slap voluntary tips on bills to be shared by workers and management.

Insiders said some hotels will not close down establishments heralding a split in the Hotel Association of Nepal ( HAN) which had previously remained united to close down all establishments instead of acquiescing to demands of workers.

Threatened strikes and other developments have plagued the tourism industry as arrivals fell to 400,000 last year. Nepalnews.com/br

Police absconds after shooting dead two colleagues

Kathmandu, 14 March:Chandramani Rana, a policeman guarding a hotel in Nepalgunj where helicopter pilots ferrying food and goods to Maoist affected areas were spending the night fled after shooting dead two colleagues on duty at the hotel in the west Nepal town Wednesday night, police said. "We do not know the motive for the murders so far but we are on the look out for him. The three were on security duty," an official said over the telephone from the Nepal Police Headquarters in Naxal, Kathmandu. Rana absconded after shooting dead Meghraj Paudel and Rabin Shah at 12.30am Wednesday. Nepalnews.com/br/at

RPP withdraws from street protests

Kathmandu, 14 March: The Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) said it will not join the street protests that four left parties, including the main opposition in Parliament, were planning to press Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to resign. The opposition has been claiming that Koirala is involved in the flawed deal to lease an aircraft for Royal Nepal Airlines. "We will continue to join hands with the other parties to disrupt house proceedings but will not take part in the street protests," said Dr Prakash Chandra Lohini, vice chairman of the third largest party in parliament.

The five parties have been disrupting parliamentary proceedings for more than a month demanding the premier’s resignation for a perceived inflated deal with Austria’s Lauda Air that has been costing the national carrier losses in millions of rupees. The main opposition in Parliament, Nepal Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist), Nepal Majdoor Kisaan Party, Rashtriya Janamorcha and Samyukta Janamorcha said they will organise streets protests against the beleaguered prime minister. The protest programmes have not been made public yet. The main opposition formed a 23-member central movement management under the chairmanship of deputy leadership of KP Oli to spearhead the protests. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Kathmandu, 14 March: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Tuesday released what has been described as the first Nepali dictionary of its kind, containing more than 125,000 root words with their etymology and derivatives. Lexicographer Basanta Kumar Sharma took 14 years to compile the dictionary entitled Nepali Sabda Sagar. Sharma, a recipient of the Gunaraj Award, has 19 literary works and some translations to his credit. Academician Gyan Mani Nepal described the publication as a milestone in Nepali language history. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Viral influenza claims 10 in Rasuwa

Kathmandu, 14 March: Viral influenza has claimed 10 lives in Yarsa village of Rasuwa district until Tuesday and more than 200 persons have been have been affected by the disease, a health worker said. Health assistant Birendra Prasad Shah of Rasuwa District Health Office said the death toll could rise. Yarsa village is 30 miles north of the district headquarters Dhunche. A health team despatched to the village a week ago has so far treated 208 patients. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Eight secretaries retire

Kathmandu, 14 March: Eight government secretaries took voluntary or compulsory retirement on Tuesday. Those taking voluntary retirement are: Dan Bahadur Shahi, Mohan Dev Pant, Hiranya Lal Regmi, Damaru Ballav Bhattarai, Khagendra Basnet and Karna Bahadur Chand. Padma Prasad Pohkrel and Bishwanath Sapkota had reached their retirement age. Nepalnews.com/yl/br/at