29 prisoners freed

On the occasion of the auspicious birth of Her Royal Highness the Yubarajkumari, the remaining terms of 29 inmates of various prisons have been waived and they have been released in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, RSS said quoting the Department of Prison Management. nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Japanese grant for Dolpa

The Japanese Embassy offered a Rs.1.7m grant for the construction of a 22-meter steel truss bridge over Changchung khola at Chakra village in dolpa, the Embassy said.

The grant agreement was signed by Charge d' Affaires Kazumi Suzuki and Nar Bahadur Budhathoki, member of the Chakra bridge construction committee.

Ekai Kawaguchi, the first Japanese to visit Nepal in 1899, stopped in the area before setting off for Tibet. nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Everest Bank signs accord

Everest Bank Ltd. signed an agreement with Sita World Travel (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd. Monday for money transfer business under Western Money Union Money Transfer, an announcement said.

Money transfer facility will be immediately available from the Lazimpat office of the Bank and will be extended to all the 14 bank branches within 20 days. nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Record paddy production

Nepal will harvest a record 4.37 million tons of paddy this year-- a seven percent increase compared to last year.

"Our preliminary statistics clearly indicated towards a robust increment in paddy production this season," Shiva Sundar Shrestha, Director General of Department of Agriculture told Kathmandu Post.

"Even under the worst case, the production would be over five percent that of last year." Paddy production has jumped in all terai districts, except Sunsari, the newspaper said.  nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Stolen idol to be returned

Austria's Ambassador will return the stolen idol of Dipankar Buddha to the Department of Archaeology Friday, Spacetime said quoting Department Chief Sukrasagar Shrestha.

The stolen idol from Lalitpur is on display at a museum in Vienna. The idol is being flown in to Kathmandu from Vienna Thursday. nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Maoists throw three youth into Bheri river

Maoists threw three youth into Bheri river between Ghumkhare and Mehalkuna in Surkhet, Nepal Samacharpatra said.

The newspaper did not say when the incident occurred. Rebels captured and battered them before throwing them into the river. Their identities were also not known. nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Maoists attempt to murder another policeman

Maoists made an abortive bid to shoot dead another junior police official in the capital Tuesday morning, a radio report said.

Rebels attempted to shoot dead Ashok Pandey at Dilli Bazzar. Pandey has been admitted to Bir Hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds and is out of danger.

Security agencies overnight shot dead a rebel at a village in Khotang where one security man was injured, another radio report said. nepalnews.com br Oct.21

Koirala has 'answer' on Jeffrey's failure to meet King

British special envoy to Nepal Sir Jeffrey James could not meet the King as James had agreed with the five parties' demand to restore the dissolved House, Rajdhani daily said Tuesday, quoting Congress President GP Koirala.

"James, in a meeting with us, had said that he would ask the King to restore the House of Representatives. But he could not meet the King," Koirala said.

Talking to journalists at his own residence on Monday, he further said the five parties softened their movement following requests from Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions. "Since the King has not responded to our demands to date, there is no option except than continuing the anti-regressive movement," Koirala said. 

The five parties have been demanding an all-party national government and restoration of the Lower House dissolved one and half year ago. nepalnews.com Oct 21

Armed police team gang-rape two girls

A gang-rape incident by a group of seven armed police on September 27 of two girls in Banke has come to the fore, Nepal Samacharpatra and Rajdhani reported Tuesday.

The incident came into light when the Maheshwori Bahini (a division of armed police) decided to punish the culprits, the news reports said. "The crime took place when the night patrolling team of the armed police saw two labourer girls at the construction site of Maheshwori Bahini."

The two girls were from Tharu community and were 14 and 15-years-old. The patrolling team belonged to the Kohalpur area police station in Banke. "If you disclose the incident, we will kill you both saying you were Maoists," a raped girl quoted a police official, as saying, according to Samacharpatra.

Meanwhile, police have suspended all seven culprits taking them into control. "We will file cases against them at the court," said SP Shree Bahadur Ghale, Chief of District Police Office, Banke.

The seven culprits have been identified as sub inspector of police Juddha Bahadur Shahi, head constable Dipendra Khadka and constables Ram Kumar Nepali, Bhim Bahadur Chand, Ram Bahadur Khatri, Bhakta Bahadur Nepali and Manjit Wali, the reports said. nepalnews.com mr Oct 21 

Former minister Yadav freed

Maoists have freed a former state minister Mahendra Roy Yadav after 11 days of abduction on Monday, Space Time said Tuesday. Congress leader Yadav was abducted from his own residence in Mahottari. nepalnews.com mr Oct 21

Special UN envoy Samuel in Nepal

Mr. T. Samuel, a high-ranking United Nations official and special representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is in Nepal since last week, Space Time daily revealed Tuesday.

"During his one-week long stay in Nepal, Samuel is set to meet political party leaders, foreign diplomats, senior army officials and high-level government officials," the daily said.

The daily, quoting unnamed UN sources in Kathmandu, said UN General-Secretary Annan sent Samuel to Nepal to acquire first-hand information about the deteriorating political condition of Nepal.

Annan has been expressing grave concern over the problems Nepal is undergoing now. He has been stressing for a peaceful solution to the present conflict.

"At a time when the UN has been expressing willingness to mediate the peace process, if needed, diplomatic experts have considered Samuel's visit to Nepal meaningful," the newspaper said. nepalnews.com mr Oct 21

300-year-old idol stolen

An idol of Gauri Matrika around 300 years old, was stolen from Chikmangal, Kathmandu Sunday night, The Himalayan Times said Tuesday, quoting police.

An intensive search operation is on to nab the culprits, the newspaper said. The temple of Matrika, from where the idol was lifted is adjacent to the Kathmandu Durbar Square, a world heritage site.

Meanwhile, three idols of Lord Shiva, Ganesh and Parvati have been discovered in Nuwakot, the newspaper said. "Dhan Bahadur Lama of Tupche VDC dreamt of a holy man with rudraksha informing him of emergence of Lord Shiva in Trishuli river," the daily said as to how the idols were found. nepalnews.com mr Oct 21

Mandal asks PM to quit

Three members of the Chand government including former deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandal have asked Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa to step down saying, "the government has lost its significance," a report said Tuesday.

"Talking about elections, the PM is only trying to extend his tenure," The Himalayan Times quoted Mandal, as saying. "How long can he fool the people when the situation is not favorable for elections?" Mandal queried.

Mandal maintained the King is open and positive on the role of the political parties. "Parties, however, failed to come to a consensus when it comes to prime ministerial slot.

Apart from Mandal, former ministers Devi Prasad Ojha and Gore Bahadur Khapangi also criticised the government and asked the PM to resign, the daily added. nepalnews.com mr Oct 21

Abducted British official a Brigadier General

A British official abducted by the Maoists from Baglung on Monday was a senior official named John Paul, a Brigadier General of the British army, published reports said Tuesday.

The Kathmandu-based British embassy Monday confirmed the abduction of the official on Monday.

Along with Paul, four more officials have gone missing. Of them, three were British Gurkha officials. They have been identified as Nar Bahadur Thapa, Balkrishna Gurung and Karna Bahadur Kaucha. The name of the fifth abducted official was not known.

The actual place where the abduction took place was Lekhani village in Baglung, the reports said. 

This is the first time that a foreign national has been abducted by the Maoist rebels since they began "people's war" eights years ago. The Defense Ministry has not confirmed or denied the abductions, so far.

"A small team of the British Gurkhas who were recruiting have been out of touch from 8 in the evening on Sunday," a duty officer at the British Embassy had told Nepalnews on Monday. Brigadier General Paul was observing the recruitment. nepanews.com mr Oct 21

Plea against nomination to municipalities quashed

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition, which sought the apex court's intervention on the recent nomination of mayors and deputy mayors in 57 municipalities, court officials said.

The petition filed by an advocate Punya Prasad Gautam claimed that the government appointments to the municipalities were against provisions of the Local Self-Governance Act. The plea further said the vacant local bodies' posts were to be filled through elections. "On this basis the nominations are illegal," the petition had claimed.

Justice Krishna Kumar Barma delivered the order. Barma said the court did not see any necessity to intervene in the matter.

In three phases, the government has appointed mayors and deputies in 57 municipalities, including Kathmandu metropolitan city and four sub-metropolitan cities. nepalnews.com mr Oct 21