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Reinhold Messner asked political parties Tuesday to restore peace in Nepal whose Himalayan mountains he so dearly loves. “I appeal to political parties to bring back peace,” he told a gathering of climbers and journalists. “We want to come back with friends and friends and friends that have not benefited from the mountain.” Messner said peace and Nepal are no longer synonymous. “That myth is now gone,” he said. As the renowned climber and now a member of the European parliament appealed for peace at a hotel in the city outskirts, opposition party activists were burning tires and forcibly stopping the movement of government vehicles in the inner city in anti-King demonstrations. “In the last decade Nepal has changed and changed very quickly. The worst change is the coming of the Maoists,” he added. “All this has happened because of the out of balance situation and exploitation. Bring back peace and stop corruption,” he said in a frank tone. Messner, who has visited Nepal at least 45 times, said the country has slipped into deeper poverty in the last decade. The Italian climber was speaking during celebrations to mark the conquest of Everest 50 years ago by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary. The son of late Tenzing said he was happy celebrations were being held in Nepal. “We are proud to be in Nepal rather than somewhere else.’ Tenzing’s son, Jamling, said in obvious reference to Great Britain where golden celebrations to the mark the conquest of the world’s tallest peak are also being held this week. Jamaling was speaking on behalf of his family. nepalnews.com br May 27 A coloured south African climbed Mount Everest for the first time Monday, the Ministry of Tourism said. Sibusiso Emmanuel Vilane, 33, a nature guide from Mbabane, Swaziland, climbed the 8848 meters peak with the "2003 Jagged Glove Expedition" led by American Robert Anderson, 45. Two Americans including the leader, two Mexicans, a British, and five Sherpas climbed the peak with Vilane Monday. Four Americans, including expedition leader Robert Hoffman, 61, of the nine-member team, and seven sherpas of the "Everest 2003 American Commemorative Expedition " also scaled the peak Monday, the Ministry said. nepalnews.com br May 27 RNAC to resume Hong Kong flights Royal Nepal Airlines (RNAC) will resume suspended flights to Hong Kong from June 3, a senior reservation official told Nepalnews. The Airline will operate only bi-weekly flights Tuesdays and Thursdays because of lower seat demand; RNAC was operating thrice weekly flights between Kathmandu and Hong Kong before the state airline stopped flying to Hong Kong three weeks ago to stop the spread of SARS. RNAC would resume Singapore flights from June 16, the same source said. Shanghai is still out of bounds, the source said. Officials said no SARS case has been reported in the kingdom so far. nepalnews.com br May 27 Sugar factory closure challenged A group of Birgunj Sugar Factory employees have registered a case at the Supreme Court Monday challenging a government decision to close down the Chinese-aided state enterprise. The move comes after the apex court overturned a government decision to close down the Shaja Yatayat Sansthan. Employees, with their initiative, have re-launched partial transport service following the court decision. The present government has continued policies of predecessor governments to privatize or close down ailing state enterprises. nepalnews.com br May 27 Students obstruct traffic Students of the Tri-Chandra Campus burnt tires obstructing traffic Tuesday to protest violence during Monday's demonstrations by seven student unions affiliated with opposition parties, eyewitnesses said. The unions are pressing 68 demands including reduction of fees in educational institutions. Opposition parties condemned the violence Monday night in a statement immediately following student, police clashes. Students smashed at least 13 government vehicles and many students and police were injured during the clashes. Strikes and forcible closure of offices of educational institutions by students for more than a month have vitiated the atmosphere in educational establishments. nepalnews.com br May 27 In his first public appearance during week-long celebrations to commemorate his conquest of Mount Everest 50 years ago with Tenzing Norgay, Sir Edmund Hillary said Tuesday he was honoured by the felicitations of the citizens of Kathmandu.
"This is a
great honour. We are all great lovers of the Himalayas and the Himalayan
people and I speak on behalf of Reinhold Messner also. This is a celebration
of the warmth of the people of Nepal for the people who have climbed
Everest," he said. "This is a double blessing. Reinhold is the man I
admire most," he side and complimented Junko Tabei, who is the first
woman to climb Mount Everest. Hillary rode a two-horse carriage with his wife and Gyalzen Sherpa, 84, one of four sherpas with the successful 1953 British expedition along a one km. route from Tundihkel to Basantapur Square through New Road; Gyalzen is one of four surviving sherpas of the 1953 expedition.
Messner, Tabei, Jamling, Tashi and Nepal's Pemba Doma, a two-time woman Everest climber, followed Hillary in two other carriages drawn by white horses. "I am feeling strong," Hillary told a gorup of journalists from his carriage; Hillary arrived in a wheelchair last week from Bangkok to participate in the celebrations. "They climbed Everest as ordinary people and returned down the mountain as heroes," Jamling said. "Two better people could not have climbed the mountain. My father was a Sherpa and Hillary was a beekeeper," Jamling said as he assembled in Tundikhel to participate in the third day's celebrations of the first conquest of Everest. "My father was a Nepali when he climbed the mountain. He loved to climb," Jamaling said. nepalnews.com br May 27 Three more RPP central members resign Three more central members of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party resigned Monday claiming that the appointments to the posts of regional coordinators made recently by party president Pashupati Shumsher Rana was unconstitutional. Those resigning from their posts were Balaram Gharti Magar, Buddhiman Tamang and Bhoj Raj Ghimire. The three leaders have demanded that the meeting of the central committee be called immediately to sort out the differences. nepalnews.com am May 27 Deuba led NC
to boycott meeting of dissolved House A press release issued by the party said members of the dissolved House from the NC-Democratic have been directed not to take part in the meeting. The NC-D has stated that the party upholds the Supreme Court verdict, which ruled that the dissolution of the House on recommendation of the then Prime Minister was carried out as per the Constitutional provisions. Reviving a parliament that has already been dissolved hence is against the Constitution, the party has stated in the press release. nepalnews.com am May 27 17 out of 21 corruption cases filed at CIAA found valid The special tribunal, Kathmandu has stated that 17 of the 21 cases concerning corruption filed by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) against various persons have been found to be valid, RSS reported. In three of the cases, judgment has been delivered in favour of the respondents and they have been acquitted while in one case, the respondent has died and the case had to be dismissed. According to the judgments, Fatte Bahadur Katuwal hailing from Bange Marade VDC of Pyuthan district working as under secretary at the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management has been fined Rs 4,000. Likewise Rambhajan Yadav, a permanent resident of Dhanusha district Andpattri Kattaret-8 working as assistant record keeper at Nepal Rastra Bank Janakpur has been fined Rs. 2,000. Savitri Sharma, working Gyawali of Lalitpur Satdobato working as head assistant at the Patan Samyukta Campus has been fined Rs. 2,500 while Shashi Rai, an air hostess of Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, has been fined Rs. 5,000. Likewise, the special tribunal has imposed a fine of Rs. 2,500 on Hari Gyawali who hails from Gulmi district Bangha Bahadi village and is working as senior assistant at the Krishnanagar branch of Nepal Water Supply Corporation. Rajman Kebat hailing from Devgaon village of Nabalparasi district working as accountant cum administrative assistant at Jagannath High School at Bhumarhi has been fined Rs. 5,000. Raju Lamichhaney of Kathmandu Jhor Mahakal and working as operator at the Nepal Telecommunications Corporation has been fined two thousand rupees. Jhul Bahadur Rana of Butwal Municipality Dipnangar working as civil supervisor at the Dhangadi branch of Nepal Water Supply Corporation has been fined Rs. 2,000. The special tribunal has imposed a fine of Rs. 2,500 on Prabhuram Basnet hailing from Thecho of Lalitpur district working as typist at the Nepal Bank Limited. Likewise a decision has been taken to recover Rs. 46,000 from Kebal Prasad Mardaniya, a ex-chairman of Kolhuva VDC of Nawalparasi district and impose a fine of the same amount for indulging in corruption. Similarly, a fine of Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 4,500 has been imposed on Somprasad Bhattarai, a junior accountant working at the Land Survey Office at Dhading. Decision has been taken to fine Rs. 9,000 and Rs. 4,500 on writer Narayan Shrestha of Dhading Nilkantha. A fine of Rs. 5,000 has been imposed on teacher Harigopal Adhikari of Sarswoti High School, Majuwa and Rs. 4,500 on peon Hari Bahadur Hamal of Salyantar helath-post of Dhading district. Ex-chairman of Morang district Hasandaha VDC Madhav Prasad Khatiwada has been fined Rs. 47,471 and another sum of the same amount to be recovered from him. Rs. 53,024 is to be recovered ex-chairman of Jaleshwar Municipality ward no: 10 Shyam Kishor thakuri and a fine of a sum of the same amount is to be imposed on him. A fine of Rs. 201,000 has been imposed on the director of Nepal Project and Equipment Sales Private Limited miss Rambha Chitrakar and another sum of equivalent amount is to be recovered from her, according to CIAA. nepalnews.com am May 27 Nepal elected to WHO executive body Nepal has been elected to the executive body of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the coming year, Minister for Health Dr. Upendra Devkota told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport Monday after returning from the 56th General Convention of WHO held in Geneva. "The general convention has passed proposals to control the production and use of tobacco products," Dr. Devkota said. He said the convention held serious discussion on various health-related issues including promotion of primary health services in the developing countries. Dr. Devkota informed that he had met the Health Ministers of India and China separately in Switzerland and had discussion on common health problems of the area. nepalnews.com am May 27 Opposition to meet at Academy building The two-day meeting of members of the dissolved parliament called by five opposition parties will be held at the Royal Nepal Academy (RNA) from Wednesday, opposition party sources. The Academy, an autonomous body, owns the building. Parliament is located inside Singha Durbar which is heavily guarded. The Nepali Congress has asked members to be present in Kathmandu and contact the party office within four in the afternoon Tuesday to attend the meeting which is part of anti-King protests that enters its third week Wednesday. Nepali Congress National Assembly members, parliament's permanent upper chamber, have also been invited. nepalnews.com br May 26
As celebrations continued for the second day Monday to commemorate the historic ascent of Mount Everest 50 years ago, opposition students stoned and torched 13 cars and motorcycles in the capital around Kamal Pokhari, Gyaneshwor, Bag Bazzar and Putali Sadak, police said. In Gyaneshwor, a government official, obviously returning home, fled after abandoning a motorcycle which was torched at seven in the evening in front of a primary school, an eyewitness said. Police said four students and police were injured in clashes although students say the injury figures are higher.
The seven unions are spearheading independent protests as Maoists students reached an agreement with private schools Friday to implement uniform fees nation-wide from June 15; the communist students removed padlocks from the offices of principals of more than 30 schools following the agreement. Students of the seven unions presented 68 demands to educational authorities Monday, they said. The students clashed with police as they were announcing week-long protests to press their demands. nepalnews.com br May 26 Kathmandu fetes Everest climbers After Lalitpur, Kathmandu Monday honoured about 40 climbers who scaled Mount Everest on the second day of week-long festivities to commemorate the 50th year of the ascent of the world's tallest peak by Tenzing Sherpa and Edmund Hillary. Junko Tabei, the first woman to scale Everest in 1975, attended celebrations at the Basantapur Durbar Square where the Kathmandu Municipality held a cultural programme in their honour. The visitors keenly watched a special exhibition of Nepal's traditional musical instruments on display at the Square. nepalnews.com br May 26 The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) summoned three more ex-ministers to the Agency Monday and handed them questionnaires to be submitted in one week with property details, court sources said. The former ministers of the undivided Nepali Congress who presented themselves before the CIAA Monday were Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar, Devendra Kandel and Yagya Raj Neupane. During the second phase of the probe, politicians, civil servants and senior police officials Monday presented themselves before the Agency that had asked them to present detailed property inventories in one week last week. Some of those present among nine called by the CIAA were top leaders of the undivided Nepali Congress Bal Bahadur K.C., Arjun Narsingh K.C., former IGP Motilal Bohra and senior police officer Achut Raj Chalise. Bal Bahadur K.C. did not submit details of his assets, he said. nepalnews.com br May 26
After resigning from the Nepali Congress (Democratic), general secretary Khum Bahadur Khadka called for unity in the divided party Monday. "I am for unity," the former minister told a news conference. "I support the movement of the five parties,' he said in answer to a query. Khadha said he resigned following differences. "I was in a quandary," he said. Khadka said he will come out with further details Wednesday. Khadka resigned one day after President of the Nepali Congress Girija Prasad Koirala asked rebels to join the mainstream; the party split last year. Khadka has not resigned from the party as yet. "I will decide later,' he said in answer to a question whether he will join the Koirala Congress. Khadka charged the party for failure to give programmes against what he called the regressive actions of the King. The Deuba Congress issued directives to its members of the dissolved party not to attend Wednesday's meeting of the dissolved parliament, party spokesman Hom Nath Dahal said. CPN-UML had invited the party to attend the meeting, he told Nepalnews. Altogether 76 out of 113
Nepali Congress parliament members rebelled and joined Deuba last year.
"Let us see what happens," a senior Deuba party functionary said
on the impact of Khadka's resignation. nepalnews.com br May 26 |
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