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22 buried alive in Gorkha

At least 22 persons were buried alive Thursday morning by a landslide at Manakamana in Gorkha, the Home Ministry said. Casualties could be higher, the source said.

Search and rescue teams have reached the accident site and have started work. This is the biggest landslide of the current monsoon season. nepalnews.com br July 31

Blast kills security personnel

Security personnel Tek Bahadur Karki was killed in Okhaldhunga Tuesday, when a bomb he was carrying exploded, army sources said Thursday.

Queen Mother Ratna's birthday

A meeting held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa constituted Wednesday a 76-member main function committee under his chairmanship to celebrate the 76th auspicious birthday of Her Majesty Queen Mother Ratna and the 39th National Children's Day, in a grand manner, RSS reported Thursday.

The meeting decided a slogan for this year's Children's Day as "Children: The symbol of peace". nepalnews.com mr July 31

Gunla Dharma festival begins

The festival of "Gunla Dharma" celebrated every year by Buddhists for a month from the first day of the moon of Shrawan commenced from Wednesday, RSS said.

During the festival month, the faithful in the valley cities and townships get up early in the morning and circumambulate the shrine at Swayambhu to the playing of the traditional "Gunla Baja" instruments, and also offer worship at Mahachaityas and monasteries.

The month is also marked by a string of other individual festivals. nepalnews.com mr July 31

Thai Airways' tour package in Nepal

Thai Airways has launched its attractive tour package "Royal Orchid Holidays" in Nepal to cater services to Nepalis interested in travelling to different countries, The Rising Nepal reported Thursday.

"The package offers brief and extended tour itineraries throughout the vast areas of Asia and beyond," said the report. nepalnews.com mr July 31

Action against Shailaja Acharya

Nepali Congress General Secretary Sushil Koirala said Wednesday an internal process has been launched to take action against "outspoken" leader Shailaja Acharya, reports from Dhangadhi said Thursday.

"Party will take action against Acharya for her views opposing the five parties' movement," Koirala said speaking in an interaction on "Pragmatic aspect of the people's movement" in Dhandadhi.

"The process is going on," he said. He, however, did not elaborate much about the nature of the action.

Acharya has been expressing different views. According to her, the five parties' movement is irrelevant, NC should drive such a movement alone without UML and other parties' involvement, and the Premiership should not be awarded to UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal.

NC should once again form the cabinet under its leadership, according to Acharya. 
nepalnews.com mr July 31

Political vendetta in murder: Lama’s wife

Breaking her silence, wife of Madan Bhandari's driver Amar Lama has claimed that Lama was murdered due to political vendetta and not for any other reasons, published reports said Thursday.

“It is totally false to link Lama with love affairs and dispute in foreign employment business, among other reasons for his murder,” Goma, Lama’s wife said in a press statement Wednesday.

“The murder was made because of political vendetta,” she said.  She, however, did not elaborate what type of political vendetta it was, or who were behind the murder.

“Efforts are being made to hide real facts of the murder,” Goma said. “Four days have passed, but the police has not yet found the culprits. I am surprised and feel disheartened over it.” 

Meanwhile, a Paris-based international organisation of journalists, Reporters Without Border, has urged the government to speed up investigation. For the past few months, Lama was a columnist in a weekly tabloid, Taja Khabar. nepalnews.com mr July 31

Maoists positive on Govt. letter

Maoist response to be delivered to the Government letter dated July 29, will be positive, a published report said Thursday, quoting Maoist sources.

"The government letter sent on Tuesday is positive to create conducive environment for talks," Space Time daily reported Thursday quoting undisclosed Maoist sources.

"However, the letter is little bit unclear on guaranteeing security to Maoist talks negotiators and on other subjects." In particular, with the release of three Maoist leaders from various jails, talks possibility has swelled up, the Maoist sources said.

"The release shows that government has been respecting the agreements of the second round of peace talks, it is positive." The government Tuesday released Maoist leaders Rabindra Shrestha, Bamdev Chhetri and Mumaram Khanal, along with student leader Gyanendra Tripathi.

"Though the releases are positive, the main issue is the political agenda," Maoist talks-negotiator Dr Baburam Bhattarai told facilitator Padma Ratna Tuladhar in a telephonic conversation, according to the report. nepalnews.com mr July 31

Maoists attack security personnel in Sindhuli

Ahead of an expiry of a Maoist ultimatum Thursday, Maoists attacked security personnel in civilian uniform at a village in Sindhuli district Wednesday afternoon, a security source told Nepalnews. 

The security personnel were attacked while they were traveling in a vehicle, the security source said. Their fate was not immediately known. Reports are still skimpy. nepalnews.com br/dr July 30 

Tuladhar expects reply only Thursday

Peace talks facilitator Padma Ratna Tuladhar told Nepalnews Wednesday night he expects Maoists not break a cease-fire and a reply to a government invitation for talks should come only Thursday when a rebel ultimatum ends. 

"I do not think they (Maoists) will break the current cease-fire. "I do not expect a reply to a government response until Thursday. "I have not spoken to Dr. Baburam Bhattarai after Tuesday night. "The ultimatum ends Thursday," he told Nepalnews over telephone. 

Suspense reigns supreme whether the rebels will break the cease-fire. A special meeting of the CPN-UML Wednesday appealed to the rebels not to break the cease-fire. 

A meeting of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa's RPP asked the rebels and the government to maintain peace.

"Tomorrow the ultimatum ends, a Maoist reply should come. I am almost certain the response will be positive. The cease fire will hold," Tuladhar reiterated at 10:20 to Nepalnews.

A government source told Nepalnews that until 10:10 PM, the government had not received any communication from Maoists through the facilitators. nepalnews.com br July 30

Landslide, truck accident kill seven

A landslide in Jalbire village of Chitwan and a truck accident in Palpa Wednesday morning killed altogether seven, police said. 

The landslide killed four. They were Krishna Bahadur Basnet, Januka Basnet, Hom Bahadur Gurung and Runche Gurung. The landslide also obstructed traffic flow in the highway. 

In another incident, a truck fell 200 metres down the road in Palpa near Tansen bazar killing three people on the spot. The dead were Nilam Pandey, Krishna Kunwar and driver Surya Bahadur Thapa Magar.  

Six were injured in the accident. They are undergoing treatment at Lumbini Hospital, Butwal, according to police. nepalnews.com mr July 30 

Prize money for victorious team

The National Sports Council (NSC) Wednesday announced a prize money of Rs.10,000 for each member of the victorious U-19 Asia Youth Cup 2003 team. The team returned home from Karachi Wednesday. 

Education Minister Hari Bahadur Basnet and senior sports officials received the team at the airport. Nepal lifted the Cup this week by defeating Malaysia in the finals. 

Nepal has qualified for the Youth World Cup to be held in Dhaka next year with test playing nations. nepalnews.com br July 30

Govt. confirms Everest speed ascent

The Government confirmed Lakpa Ghelu Sherpa set a world record by climbing Mount Everest in May this year in 10 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds, the Ministry of Tourism said Wednesday. 

Pemba Dorji contested the claim. Lakpa sliced off minutes from Pemba's record established a few days earlier. The Ministry of Tourism had withheld issuing a certificate to Lakpa for his feat after Pemba's complaint. nepalnews.com br July 30

Opposition boycotts government functions

Nepali Congress said Wednesday it will continue to boycott national functions organized with government participation. 

In the latest incident, former NC and UML legislators have withdrawn their names from the participants list to a conference on AIDS. The conference is being held in New Delhi, in which, Speaker Ranabhat had already confirmed his name.

Ranabhatt has earned his party's ire by not joining anti-King protests for perceived regressive measures; Ranabhatt has called some of the five party tactics like obstructing movement of government officials anti-democratic. 

Meanwhile, UML leader Jhalnath Khanal and NC representative Tej Bahadur Pant left a program when they saw communications minister Kamal Thapa attending the program. It was an interaction program organised at the SAP Nepal office to discuss the peace process.

In yet another incident, former NC parliamentarians Surendra Hamal, Shivraj Joshi and Ramhari Dhungel deserted a program organised by Nepal Children's Organisation, when PM Surya Bahadur Thapa appeared there. nepalnews.com br July 30

Army, Maoists exchange gunfire, other details

The Army Wednesday recovered one 303 rifle, a shotgun, ammunition and combat dresses from a scene of an overnight clash with Maoists at Ramghat in Surkhet, security sources said. There were no army casualties, he said.

The rebels fired on a patrol near a bridge with automatic weapons and 2-inch mortar the cross-firing lasted for nearly two hours, the source said. It was not known if there were rebel casualties, he said.
The clash erupted amid assurances that the Amry will fire only in self-defence as government awaits a fresh response for official talks from Maoists before August 15; six rounds of talks with the two-month-old government of Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa were held before rebels went underground charging the government for failure to give security to the negotiating team.

The letter asking the rebels for a response was delivered to a rebel representative in Kathmandu Tuesday night hours after government decided to act on a response to a rebel ultimatum before Thursday.

A statement from the King that the government is empowered to negotiate and implement peace accords is one of the five demands to be implemented before Thursday. The King has not issued such a statement demanded by the rebels who were told by the government it is an empowered body.

Rebel leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai told facilitator Padma Ratna Tuladhar over telephone the government invitation for talks does not address key political issues. Journalists and others waited tensely for a rebel response to the fresh government offer for talks. "Will the cease-fire hold?" they questioned.

The Maoists have called for an interim government, a roundtable conference and constituent assembly elections to frame a constitution to introduce sweeping reforms in society. Government said it will raise the issue during talks.

Government negotiator Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani asked rebels to abandon the "politics of letter exchanges" and sit down for talks to resolve issues. nepalnews.com br July 30