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Talks may be delayed: Minister Thapa Minster Thapa, after confirming the Government received the letter from the Maoists said there is no possibility of immediate talks with the Maoists and the talks "may delay". "It is because Maoist conditions for talks are very tough," he said. He did not wish to confirm the timeframe to begin talks. "We will now discuss the letter thoroughly and take the decision only after that." nepalnews.com br/mr July 23 Maoist reaction to talks delivered to Govt. Facilitators delivered a letter to Government Spokesman Kamal Thapa at six in the evening on Maoist reaction inviting rebels for the first round of talks with the Government of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, facilitator Padma Ratna Tuladhar told Nepalnews. The contents of the letter were not immediately known. The letter written by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai was delivered to Thapa as he reiterated government's commitment to peace negotiations Wednesday at a public function in the capital. nepalnews.com br July 23 PM Thapa condemns Kashmir attack Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa wrote to his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee Wednesday saying Nepal will support any action New Delhi takes against terrorists who killed two Nepalis pilgrims on targeting a temple in Kashmir this week, the Foreign Ministry said. Thapa condemned the attacks and wished speedy recovery of the injured. Thapa condemned the attack killing two Nepalis from Morang. nepalnews.com br July 23 Landslide kills three in Taplejung A landslide killed three members of a Sherpa family in Taplejung Tuesday at four in the morning, police said. A landslide triggered by heavy rain buried alive a son, daughter and grandchild of Mahila Sherpa of Khangjung village, police said. Landslides, floods and lightning have killed more than 70 persons in 30 districts since June 15 causing more than Rs.25 million in damage. nepalnews.com br July 23 161 children victims of insurgency Seven children in the last six months of ceasefire and at least 161 children in the past eight years have died in the bloody government-Maoist conflict, stated a report unveiled Wednesday. The half-yearly report on children prepared by an NGO, CWIN, said children’s situation in Nepal is not satisfactory and needs a lot of effort to upgrade their condition. The number of street children in Nepal is 5,000 with major concentration in the capital and other urban areas. In Kathmandu, their number is increasing by 300 to 400 per year. In the last six months from January 1 to June 30, around 460 rural children came to cities and remain stranded. During the same period, of the 122 rape cases, 73 people (around 60 percent) were minors below 16. 10 percent of children are involved in sex trade in cabin restaurants, bars and discotheques, the report added. Of the 98 cases of human trafficking recorded in the period, altogether 42 people (43 percent) were children. Child marriage cases of 18 girls and 7 boys were also recorded. On HIV positive cases, the situation is worse with 9.9 percent HIV positive patients in Nepal being below 19 years. Of the total child population in Nepal, 80 percent enroll in school but only 51 percent complete the primary education unto class five. Other problems of children include domestic violence, sex abuse, severe punishment in schools, child labor and hatred, according to the report. nepalnews.com mr July 23 Elizabeth Hawley has been awarded the first "Sagarmatha Rashtriya Purashkar" that carries a prize money of Rs.100,000, the Ministry of Tourism said. Hawley, an American national, has been selected for the award established two years ago by the Government for her contribution to mountaineering reporting for four decades. She reports on mountaineering for Reuters. nepalnews.com br July 23 Foreign Seretary Madhu Raman Acharya met with Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman Tuesday and discussed bilateral, regional and international issues, the Foreign Ministry said. The two sides also discussed current political situation in Nepal, Nepal's accession to WTO and the proposed duty-free quota-free access to Nepli garments in the US market, the Ministry said. Earklier, Achayra visited the Office of Congressman Pete Sessions and dicussed a proposed bill for duty-free and quota-free acess to Nepalese garments. President of the Garment Association of Nepal Kiran Saakha was also present. nepalnews.com br July 23 Seven
Maoists quit Foreign
assets up New
colour for Safa tempos BP Koirala, Pushpa Lal remembered People Tuesday remembered two visionary leaders BP Koirala and Pushpa Lal Shrestha organising various programs on their 22nd and 25th death anniversaries. BP Koirala was the first elected prime minister of Nepal. He introduced the concept of democratic socialism in Nepal. Pushpa Lal was the founding secretary general of Nepal's first communist party. He introduced the concept of communism in Nepal. In their memories, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and other party activists planted saplings in "BP-Pushpa Lal Batika" of Triyuga municipality in Udaypur and in Ramechhap, Sri Nagar of Palpa and Sitapaila of Kathmandu, among others. Symposiums were held at Chutara of Sindhupalchowk, Rupandehi and other places. Meanwhile, UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, issuing a press statement, said Pushpa Lal would always remain in the people's memory. Nepal said Pushpa Lal was the founder of "Joint people's movement policy". "His policy is more relevant at a time when parties have been engaged in joint agitation," he said. nepalnews.com mr July 23 Unidentified gangs Monday night abducted two businessmen from different places in Kathmandu, police said. The kidnapped were Bishnu Prasad Khanal, proprietor of Mercantile Education Pvt. Ltd. and foreign employment agent Bhirav Bahadur Basnet. Khanal and Basnet were kidnapped from Baneshwor and Chabahil respectively. nepalnews.com mr July 23 Blaming the government of ignoring party issues, a meeting of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Tuesday demanded inclusion of party leaders in the cabinet, party sources said. "We repeated our demand to include party men in the cabinet," said a central level leader. "PM Surya Bahadur Thapa and party President Pashupati SJB Rana have been holding talks on it." Party sources further said PM Thapa has already rejected Rana's proposal to include party men in the cabinet. "PM Thapa will include party men only if his efforts to convince five agitating parties fail." After his appointment, PM Thapa first tried to make an all-party government. Receiving negative response from Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and other parliamentarian parties, Thapa unilaterally inducted RPP leaders in the cabinet. nepalnews.com mr July 23 Court notice on 'Rs.20 for each vote' On the 'Rs.20 for each vote' case, the Supreme Court Tuesday issued show cause notice to the government and political parties, court officials said. A single member bench of Justice Dilip Kumar Poudel issued the notice seeking explanation from the defendants within 15 days. Two advocates Baburam Khatri and Mohan Bahadur Gurung filed the petitions Monday. They claim the new budgetary plan to provide Rs.20 for each vote political parties receive in elections is against the law. nepalnews.com mr July 23 Police have confiscated some 200 sacks of chemical fertilisers being smuggled into Nepal via Mainapokha and Laukahi of India, RSS report from Gularia said Tuesday. The truck carrying fertilizer has also been seized and handed over to the customs office. The fertilizer is valued at Rs.200,000 at the local market. The case is under investigation. nepalnews.com mr July 23 |
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