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Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand is scheduled to attend the 13th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit being held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur from February 20 to 24. The concept of NAM was floated by Tito, the then President of Yugoslavia in 1961. The whole idea behind its inception was to ward off the threat of a probable war. The first summit of NAM was held in the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade. The rationale behind the inception of NAM is being questioned ever since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the end of cold war and the rise of USA as the lone super power in the world. NAM leaders have been reiterating that there needs to be a thorough policy review regarding its objectives and priorities in the changed global context. nepalnews.com am Feb 5 NSP leaders
withdraw support to govt. The leaders who claimed to have majority in the party's 31-member central committee dictated deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandal to step down within three days. The leaders claim to have the support of nineteen members in the central committee. Speaking at a programme organised by the Reporters' Club Tuesday, party leader Rajendra Mahato said that majority of the members had rendered invalid the recent reconstitution of the central committee by Mandal and had given continuity to the old central committee. Mandal during the first reconstitution of the party's central committee dropped the name of general secretary Hridayesh Tripathi from the committee. He again recently called Tripathi back to the party. Mandal while reconstituting the party for the second time ousted general secretary Rajendra Mahato and inducted five new members into the party. The group of dissidents in the deputy Prime Minister's party include Rajendra Mahato, Hridayesh Tripathi, Bharat Kumar Bimal and Laxman Lal Karna. nepalnews.com am Feb 5 UML decides
to amend party statute, slot of party president scrapped The decision to give continuity to the general secretarial system and scrap the slot of president in the party's organizational structure is likely to pave the way for the election of Madhav Kumar Nepal to the post of General Secretary, media reports said. Senior party leader K.P. Sharma Oli had been lobbying support to retain the twelve year -old presidential system in the party. The post had remained vacant following the demise of senior party leader Manmohan Adhikari three years back. Oli decided to withdraw his proposal for the presidential system after acknowledging that Nepal had the majority in the general convention. The general convention has decided to keep all options open to address the present political crisis in the country. The closed-door session Wednesday will elect the central committee members. nepalnews.com am Feb 5 SAARC nations adopt Kathmandu call to fight HIV/AIDS After two days of discussions, seven nations of South Asia and Afghanistan Tuesday adopted the Kathmandu Call Against HIV/AIDS to fight and curb the killer disease before it assumes epidemic proportions. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka adopted: The Kathmandu Call Against HIV/AIDS in South Asia: Accelerating Actions and Results. They called on the regional countries to strengthen the prevention of the spread of the HIV/AIDS across borders while calling on international agencies to facilitate bilateral and regional cooperation. They noted the low prevalence of the disease in the region but said: "The epidemic can grow quickly--all countries are at risk. Strong leadership and overcoming stigma and discrimination are key elements for controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Asia." The region could overtake sub-Saharan Africa as the worst-affected part of the world if timely measures are not taken, experts warned. The three-page document called for the mobilization and allocation of adequate resources from government, private sector, donors and international agencies, to be used effectively and in a coordinated manner to ensure that the epidemic is halted and reversed at an accelerated pace. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Nepali government and UN agencies. The participants called for setting up effective national monitoring and reporting mechanisms for timely follow-up, on progress towards the goals and targets committed to by the governments of South Asia. nepalnews.com br Feb.4 SA may overtake sub-Saharan Africa as worst affected HIV/AIDS region A senior UN official predicted Tuesday South Asia may overtake sub-Saharan Africa as the worst HIV/AIDS's affected region in the world if immediate preventive and remedial measures are not adopted. "It will happen today. It does not need to happen. It depends on what is done today," Nafis Sadiq, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General on HIV/AIDS told reporters in reply to a question whether South Asia was about to overtake South Africa where 29 million HIV/AIDS cases have been reported. South Asia, one of the most populous regions of the world, has four million confirmed AIDS cases so far. "But the velocity in South Asia is double of South Africa," she warned Tuesday. The infection and disease has tipped in South Asia, UN officials said. "Leadership is needed to combat the disease. It's not only in the health sector. Society has to be mobilized and action has to be taken with the full participation of young people to stop the pandemic," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said. "Infection rate in South Asia is sill very low with high concentrations in pockets.The region has an excellent opportunity to stop the spread," said Peter Poit, Executive Director of UNAIDS. There is a high concentration of the killer disease in Kathmandu. "AIDS problem is worse than terrorism. Governments in the region should set aside the maximum budget to fight the disease in the region,' said S. Pokhrel, speaking on behalf of the youth of South Asia. A two-day regional conference that ends later Tuesday will adopt a Kathmandu Declaration outlining strageties to fight the disease in the area. nepalnews.com br Feb.4 Sri Lanka, Australia welcome ceasefire
Sri Lanka welcomed a ceasefire and proposed peace talks to end a seven
year communist insurgency that claimed more than 7,000 lives. Sri Lanka
has "noted with satisfaction the recent positive development towards
the
establishment of peace in Nepal including the announcement of a ceasefire "Sri Lanka expresses its solidarity with the government and people of Nepal as they continue to work towards the establishment of durable peace through dialogue," the release said.
Australia has also welcomed the ceasefire and proposed peace talks.
Australia hoped the ceasefire will lead to permanent peace. "The
ceasefire
is an important first step towards what we hope can be a permanent peace
in Nepal. "The ceasefire gives cause for new optimism that peace can be The ceasefire announced seven days ago is holding although peace talks are yet to begin. Maoists have announced a five member team coordinated by No.2 man in the underground communist hierarchy Dr. Baburam Bhattarai to lead the negotiations while Minister for Physical Planning Col. Narayan Singh Pun is the government coordinator; government is expected to expand the official negotiating team. The government in Colombo and Tamil rebels previously fighting for a separate homeland in the northeast of the island are negotiating a peace after a 17 year civil war; rebels gave up their demand for a separate state. nepalnews.com br Feb.4 Following a ceasefire between the government and Maoists to end a seven year bloody communist insurgency, the NEPSE index gained an unprecedented 9.76 points Monday on the first day of trading after the weekend, analysts said. The stock market first gained four plus points at the end of four day trading last week following the announcement of a ceasefire last Wednesday indicating a positive impact on trade and business by the suspension of hostilities. The cessation of hostilities has positively impacted the stock market. The index on the closing day Friday stood at 203.54 points and shot up to 213.30 points Monday. Analysts said the market will gain further if the ceasefire holds. nepalanews.com br Feb.4 Curfew relaxed but still in place Curfews in many places still are in place despite an announcement of a ceasefire between the government and rebels last week. Curfew in the industrial town of Hetauda was reduced by two hours although it will still be in force for six hours from 10 PM to 4 AM, local administration said. Curfew hours have been adjusted in other cities and villages on the kingdom after the ceasefire. Curfew was never slapped in the Valley after the November 23 attack on an army barrack in Ghorai, Dang, heightening the level of the insurgency. nepalnews.com br Feb.4 A fire destroyed property worth more than Rs.5 million at a factory manufacturing a popular brand of sneakers and slippers Monday night in the capital, police and management said Tuesday.
Soldiers and firefighters took more than four hours to extinguish the
blaze. The factory is located in Dhumbarai. nepalnews.com br Feb.4 A special Kathmandu court Monday remanded Joint Secretary Keshar Jung Khadka of the Revenue Administration of the Finance Ministry to another 15 days remand at the request of the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA), court sources said. The CIAA is preparing corruption charges against Khadka who is among 22 officials of the Department against whom the investigating body is pursuing charges of amassing unaccounted fortunes by misusing official authority. The CIAA has registered cases against 15 of 22 officials at the court so far. nepalnews.com br Feb.4 UML convention ratifies Nepal's political, organizational report
The seventh general convention of the Communist Party of Nepal (United
Marxist Leninist) Monday unanimously passed the political and organizational
report tabled by outgoing General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal.
The report was passed with recommendations for improvement following two The convention also reiterated the need to keep all options open to bring about national consensus and address the prevalent political crisis in the country. The report has also left the option of constituent assembly open. It has not however stated whether the acceptance of constituent assembly needs to be given final approval by the general convention.
Nepal has in the report stated that all options like constituent assembly,
holding of referendum and the steps towards amending the Constitution have
been left open. But when going for the options the achievements of the
popular movement must be protected and the sovereignty of the people needs Meanwhile senior leader of the party K. P. Sharma Oli has not still given up his stand to present the proposal of running party under the presidential system. He has claimed that the closed session on Tuesday would pass the statute on the presidential system in the party. Oli has been quoted by the media as saying that he was highly hopeful of getting his proposal passed in the wake of the new political awakening in the UML. nepalnews.com am Feb 4 PM Chand indicates no compromise on monarchy, multi-party democracy Six days after a ceasefire between the government and Maoists to end a
seven year communist insurgency, Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand in a radio and televised address to the nation indicated Monday the
government will not compromise on monarchy and multi-party democracy in
"Monarchical culture and multi-party democracy should be focal point and our guiding principles," said Chand who completed 100 days in office last month. Chand called on all to "forget the past" and concentrate on the greater and long-term needs of the nation in the 10 minute address. Chand said he was not interested in continuing in office and was keen
to hand over government to elected representatives earliest. Chand said the King appointed him in October last year after his He did not say when local or national elections will be held. The national vote was scheduled for November 13. The King charged Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of "incompetence" and appointed Chand with a directive to hold promised elections on October 4 last year. "There is no doubt that multi-party democracy in the best system of government" but added "the expectations of the people could not be met in the last 12 years" in an implied criticism of successive governments that ruled after the overthrow of the party less Panchayat system in 1990; the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML ruled briefly most of the 12 years. Chand did not give details of the circumstances leading to an agreement between the government and rebels to end hostilities and negotiate a peace deal. Chand did not reveal anything substantive in the much hyped prime time speech. Two facilitators between the government and rebels said a roundtable conference will discuss the demands of the Maoists who waged a bloody insurgency for a republic and sweeping social and economic changes. nepalnews.com br Feb.3 Dr. Gobinda Prasad Sharma new TU VC King Gyanendra and Chancellor of Tribhuvan University Monday appointed Dr. Gobinda Prasad Sharma Vice-Chancellor of Nepal's oldest University, a Royal Palace announcement said. A committee headed by Education Minister Debi Prasad Ojha recommended Dr. Sharma. Dr. Sharma succeeds Nabin Jung Shah, a Nepali Congress appointee, who completed his fixed tenure. Minister Ojha earlier said TU appointments had been politicized by past governments. nepalnews.com br Feb.3 Bellamy calls on South Asia to act against HIV/AIDS Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy Monday called on South Asian leaders to act against "The millions of children and young people affected by HIV/AIDS are living proof of the world's She called for investments in education to control the pandemic. "Increased investments in education, as well as improvements in its quality, will be of immense benefit to the children of South Asia, especially for girls, who are among those most vulnerable to the AIDS virus," she said in an opening remark. She urged open discussion, increased enrolment of children in schools and access to information "While expanded action is required to halt trafficking and sexual exploitation and drug use among Dr. Nafis Sadik, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General for HIV/AIDS in Asia
said:" Because of the "Even the thought of the potential
socio-economic devastation the disease would bring to us and our Ms. Deluckshi Navaretnam,
representing the young in the region said:" We need to have access to PM Chand opens HIV/AIDS conference Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand Monday morning opened a two-day conference on HIV/AIDS to fight the killer disease in South Asia. The theme of the high level conference is: Accelerating the Momentum in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS in South Asia. In addition to ministerial delegations from South Asia and Afghanistan, leading experts on HIV/AIDS prevention from Kampuchea, Thailand and Uganda will share their experiences in fighting the killer disease in their countries; these countries have managed to contain the epidemic and reduce new infections. Dr. Nafis Sadik, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General for AIDS in Asia, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy and UNAIDS Executive Director Dr.Peter Piot also addressed the opening session. In South Asia, HIV/AIDS prevalence rates are low except in certain states in India and in selected areas of Nepal. "The potential for a major epidemic in the region cannot be underestimated. Certain areas in some countries are already experiencing rapid infection rates. "India, Pakistan and Bangladesh also have huge populations where even low prevalence can translate into large numbers of people living with the virus," the UNICEF says. An estimate says four million people are living with AIDS in South Asia. nepalnews.com br Feb.3 |
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