Norwegian help for energy

The Norwegian government Monday gave Nepal a grant of Rs.128.9m for rural electrification and micro hydro power development Monday, an official Nepali government announcement said. 

This is in addition to a Danish grant in 1999 invest in the electrification projects. Representatives of the two governments signed the aid agreement. Nepal is Norway's priority aid recipient. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

PM Thapa, Musharraf meet

Visiting Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and President Pervej Musharraf met in Islamabad Monday, Radio Nepal said. PM Thapa offered the greetings of the King and the people of Nepal to the Pakistani President, the Radio said. 

Thapa later met his counterpart and discussed bilateral, regional and SAARC issues with him, the Radio said. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

Nepal meets Bijukakchaya

CPN-UML General Secretary Madav Kumar Nepal continued discussions with other party colleagues by meeting with Narayanman Bijukakchaya Monday, UML party sources said. 

The two leaders of the communist parties discussed Nepal's meeting with Maoist leaders in Lucknow. Nepal has already briefed leaders of the NC, NC (Democratic), United Left Front and the Nepal Sadbavana Party (Debi) on the Lucknow meet. 

Maoist leader Dr, Baburam Bhattarai said the Lucknow meet was an effort to force a new understanding and working relationship with parliamentary parties against the government. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

PM Thapa in Pakistan

Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday on the last leg of a nine-day tour of four SAARC nations to consult on the 12th summit in January 2004 in Pakistan, radio reports said.

PM Thapa, current chairman of SAARC, returns home Tuesday. He will meet President Pervej Musharraf and his Pakistani counterpart before returning home. 

He will also visit Bangladesh and Maldives after he returns home. Dates are yet to be finalised. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

25 Maoists killed

Security forces killed 25 Maoists in security operations in 11 districts Monday and Sunday, the Defence Ministry said. The Ministry confirmed the encounters reported earlier Monday in Syangjha, Tanahu and Sindhupalchowk.

Security casualties were not mentioned. Three rebels were also killed in a gunbattle in Siraha Monday, the Ministry said. Government forces recovered guns, ammunition, Rs.10,000 in cash, mobile phones, plastic grenades, logistics support and detonators from the clash sites. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

Refugee verification starts

The Nepal, Bhutan Joint Verification team (JVT) Monday started work in Damak, Jhapa, to determine the status of 2,948 people of 87 families who fall into the non Bhutanese category, reports from east Nepal said.

They are among 12,000 refugees of the Khudnabari refugee camp in Jhapa whose status was determined for return home in February 2004.

The fresh move for verification comes after foreign ministers of Nepal and Bhutan agreed earlier this year to take up their cases.

There are 100,000 refugees living in seven camps in Jhapa and Morang. Exiled Bhutanese human rights groups in Nepal have agreed to encourage the refugees to return home after 12 years. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

Eight Maoists killed, other details

One soldier and eight Maoists were killed in encounters in different parts of the country Sunday, Radio Nepal said quoting local security sources.

Four Maoists were shot dead in return firing in Syangjha where government forces recovered bullets, guns, combat dresses and documents. 

Two insurgents, including a woman, were killed in a shoot-out in Tahanu where they tried to break a security cordon. A soldier was injured in the clash.

Two rebels were killed in two separate encounters in Sindhupalchowk where a soldier was killed in an ambush, the Radio said.

Maoists abducted 28 teenagers from Accham Friday and Saturday, Spacetime said quoting security sources. 12 teenagers were abducted from Ramaroshan Friday and 16 from Chaukhutte Saturday.
Teenagers are usually abducted for forcible conscription in the militia.

Security forces shot dead Gajendra Gurung, 28, for violating curfew orders in Narayanghad Saturday in central Nepal. 

Maoists shot dead an employee of the WFP in Dailekh, published reports said quoting a rebel announcement. Rebels accused Durga Rana of being an informer. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

Nepalnews founder honoured by Asian ICT body

Mr. Sanjib Raj Bhandari, CEO of Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. and founder of Nepalnews, was awarded the ASOCIO ICT Award of Excellence by Asian-Oceania Computing Industry Organization, ASOCIO, at a function held on 29 November at the Opera House, Hanoi, Vietnam, a press release by the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) said. 

ASOCIO recognized “the contribution made by Sanjib Raj Bhandari to the development of ICT in Nepal, for his pioneering work in the introduction of the IT and the Internet to Nepal”. ASOCIO also recognized him as the “founding pillar of the Nepali ICT sector and for blending business and development work in Nepal”. 

ASOCIO is the largest and the most prestigious ICT body in Asia which comprises of premier ICT organizations of most Asian countries and Australia.

In the function attended by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam along with dignitaries from 30 countries, seven other personalities including the Prime Minister of Myanmar and the IT Minister of Thailand, also received similar awards. The awards were presented by the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Phan Van Khai. 

The Nepali delegation was headed by Ms. Renu Kumari Yadav, State Minister of Science and Technology. Mr. Sharad Chandra Shaha, Vice Chairman of National Commission for Information Technology, Mr. Shiva Bhakta Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology and Lochan Lal Amatya, President CAN and Ms. Bhavana Rana, Executive Member CAN were also part of the Nepali delegation.

Sanjib Raj Bhandari is also the recipient of CAN’s “Personality of the Decade” award. nepalnews.com dr Dec 1

Dr. Lohani's comments draw ire

Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani's comments that the Constitutional Council acted properly in recommending three names to the King for appointment as Chief Election Commissioner has drawn the ire of former members.

"Recommendation for a post means suggestion of a single name," said former Chief Justice Mohan Prasad Sharma. Former Speaker Damannath Dhungana said: "The examples of the changes made during the leadership of elected prime ministers cannot be compared with the present context. Even if the any list was reviewed in the past, it was done after consensus among the members, not under King's
pressures." 

Former speaker Ram Chandra Paudel said.: "The king had assented to the list that were recommended during my tenure as a member of the council. The recommended names have never been altered." 

The Prime Minister, Chief Justice and the Speaker are the present members of the Council. nepalnews.com br Dec.1

Nepali workers protest in Dubai

Nepalis were among some 150 South Asian construction workers who protested against non-payment of salaries between six and nine months in front of UAE's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs office in Dubai, published reports said Monday, quoting agencies.

The workers gathered at the main entrance of the ministry, demanding their rights after their attempt to get them on their own, failed, the Kathmandu Post said, quoting agency reports.

The workers belong to Nepali, Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationalities. They are fed up with the situation, which has stretched far too long and were determined not to resume work until they receive their due wages, the reports said.

The reports added that despite all efforts by the authorities, some companies delayed paying the salaries to their workers. nepalnews.com mr Dec 1

Maoist battalion head surrenders

A Maoist battalion commander, Man Bahadur Malla, has surrendered after being captured by the security forces. He says the ultimate aim of the Maoists is to put an end to multi-party democracy and establish their totalitarian state, the Rising Nepal said Monday.

Malla had joined the rebels five years ago as an artiste highly impressed by the "revolutionary" songs and plays put on by them, the daily said. 

After undergoing a handful of "military" training, he had taken part in a number of gruesome attacks on police and army posts, and subsequently made his way up as squad, platoon and finally as company commander, the daily said.

During the second round of talks between the Maoists and the Government, Malla was made battalion commander to expand its influence in the eastern region of the country where the Maoists had relatively weak presence, the daily said. 

The security forces captured Malla from Khotang while he and his "comrades" were attempting to loot a bank. nepalnews.com mr Dec 1

Dacoits burn five family members

A group of Indian dacoits burnt alive five members of a family including three children in Gherabari VDC-3 in Jhapa Saturday night, the Kathmandu Post reported Monday.

Upendra Saha, his wife Fulbati, daughters Neelam and Uma and son Ganesh were burnt alive when the dacoits set ablaze the house, the daily said. The village lies alongside the Nepal-India border.

Villagers heard the screaming of the Saha family but they could not come to their help due to the tight cordon of armed dacoits around the house. The dacoits fled to India after exploding two hand grenades, the villagers said. 

Saha was a goldsmith. He and his family were burnt alive for not surrendering to the dacoits, other news reports said. nepalnews.com mr Dec 1

Refugees may go to ICC: Rijal

Bhutanese human rights leader Teknath Rijal, in an interview to a daily on Monday, said, the refugees will be compelled to seek a role of the International Criminal Court (ICC), if the genuine Bhutanese are again categorised as the "non-Bhutanese."

"If the categorisation results repeat," Rijal told Rajdhani, "we will come to the streets. We, in a mass, will surround Nepali and Indian supreme courts."

Rijal's statement has come at a time when the Nepal-Bhutan Joint Verification Team (JVT) is beginning re-screening of some 3,000 refugees who were earlier categorised as the category-3 or "non-Bhutanese" people.

"It is natural that the refugees do not have the proof to verify them as the Bhutanese refugees," Rijal said. "It is because, either they were forcefully evicted, or they left their homeland in difficult circumstances."

It would be, therefore, unfair to term the refugees "non-Bhutanese", he said.

"The members of the JVT are the same," Rijal said, expressing doubt over the fair functioning the team. "We cannot be assured; the team has not included any international or refugee representatives."

It is already proved that all the people living in the camps are refugees, he said. His reason: The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided them all facilities only after confirming that they were the genuine Bhutanese people.

Rijal, who spent a "torturous" (as he claims) decade in Bhutanese jails, has been living in Nepal as a political refugee for the past few months. nepalnews.com mr Dec 1

Warrants will not obstruct talks, says Nepal

CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said Sunday the red corner notices against the Maoist leaders will not obstruct efforts to seek a political dialogue with the rebels.

"With the issuance of the red corner notice, the government has tried to create obstructions. The government decision is faulty," Nepal said, addressing a gathering of UML student activists in Kathmandu Sunday.

The UML leader, expressed his desire to meet His Majesty the King once. "I have not met the King since I received a mass audience (before the formation of Thapa government)."

Nepal, on the same occasion, thanked the Maoists for making public the recent Lucknow meet. "It is helpful in bridging gaps between two parties (UML and Maoists)," Nepal said. nepalnews.com mr Dec 1

Indian advice 'interference over Nepal's sovereignty': PM Thapa

Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa has dubbed Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's advice to form an all-party government in Nepal "an interference over Nepal's sovereignty", Nepal Samcharpatra reported Monday.

"External interference in the matter of forming a government is just indigestible," PM Thapa said Sunday, according to the daily. 

The PM was talking with his party men, ministers and government secretaries during a half-hour stay at the Tribhuvan International Airport before flying to Pakistan via Doha on Sunday, the daily said, quoting unnamed audiences.

In a statement from the Indian Foreign Ministry last week, Vajpayee suggested to form a national government in Nepal, urging both the parties and the king to be more flexible. The statement was issued immediately after PM Thapa left India for Sri Lanka.

PM Thapa, is in a routine visit to SAARC countries. Pakistan will be his fourth and final leg of the visit. Earlier, he visited Bhutan. In the second phase of his tour, PM Thapa will be visiting Bangladesh and Maldives. 

Officiating PM and Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, meanwhile, backed the PM, saying, the Indian statement is against the "independent sovereignty" of Nepal. 

"The Indian suggestion is an interference over Nepal's independent sovereignty," Dr. Lohani said in a brief chat with journalists gathered at the Police Headquarters, Naxal for a separate program on Sunday, the daily said. nepalnews.com mr Dec 1