Seven killed, 24 injured and over 14 missing as passenger bus plunges into river

At least seven people were killed and over 24 injured when a passenger bus en route to Hetauda from the capital, Kathmandu plunged into Trishuli  river in Chitwan Tuesday afternoon, reports said. 

According to radio reports, at least 45 passengers were traveling on the bus. The bus, which fell 100 meters into the fast-flowing river, has not yet been traced. 

Fourteen more passengers are missing, reports added.  One body has been identified and the injured have been rushed to Bharatpur hospital and Chitwan medical college.

In a separate incident,  at least 10 people were injured, four of them seriously, when a passenger bus collided with a truck in Adamghat of Dhading district Tuesday. The bus was en route to Kakarbhitta from Kathmandu. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

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Strong political will required to solve Bhutani refugee problem: Abraham

Abraham ABRAHAM, UNHCR representative to Nepal, speaking at a talk program in Kathmandu Tuesday, said strong political will is required to solve the 13-year-long Bhutanese refugee problem in Nepal.

Drawing attention to the bilateral negotiations reached by Nepal and Bhutan over solutions to the refugee problem to categorize refugees in four categories in 1993 Abraham said, “UNHCR was greatly worried about splitting of families as a result of categorization in different categories. We discussed these concerns with the Nepali government and were given assurances that a fair appeal opportunity would be given to refugees who would want to question their categorization.”

Abraham added that the bilaterally agreed appeals process did not comply with international legal standards.

Abraham ruled out rumors that UNHCR would gradually phase out its direct involvement in the camps. “UNHCR remains committed to assist Nepal and Bhutan governments to find permanent solutions to the crisis,” he said.

He further added that UNHCR was not abdicating its mandated protection role for the Bhutanese refuges in Nepal. “We intend to concentrate our efforts and expertise in protecting refugees and assisting in the search and identification of suitable and durable solutions for each of them,” he said. 

Abraham ABRAHAM was speaking in a talk program on “challenges and prospects for the resolution of the Bhutanese refugee situation” organized by the Nepal Council of World Affairs. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

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FNJ, rights activists condemn 'killing' of journalist Thapa

Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) and a group of human rights organisations have condemned the reported killing of journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa by Maoist rebels in west Nepal last week.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, they have called upon the CPN (Maoist) to beg public apology for the killing, offer compensation to the family of the victim and make public commitment saying that such activities would not repeat in the future.

They have also asked the Maoists to make its views public towards press freedom and fundamental rights of the people.  They said they would launch a nationwide protest programme against such behaviour. They have also called upon the government to take special measures to provide security to the journalists under risk.

The statement was jointly issued by ten different organisations including FNJ, Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON), Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES), South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES).  

According to reports, the rebels have admitted that they had 'executed' Thapa, a local reporter of the state-run Radio Nepal, last week after detaining him for nearly six weeks on charge of working as an informer. A team led by FNJ vice president, Bipul Pokhrel, has already left for Dailekh district to find out fact regarding the reported killing of journalist Thapa.

According to FNJ, 16 journalists have been killed, seven more remain 'missing' and more than two dozen journalists have been displaced during the nine year old armed conflict. Hundreds of journalists were detained by the state during the state of emergency in 2001-02. nepalnews.com by Aug 17 04

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Court upholds govt.'s directive to introduce 'lottery system'

The Supreme Court  has upheld the government's directive to introduce 'lottery system' to select candidates to work overseas.

In its verdict, a division bench comprising Justices Ram Nagina Singh and Anup Raj Sharma issued orders to Lumbini Overseas Concern Pvt. Ltd. to select the trainee workers to South Korea as per the government's directive.

Earlier, the apex court had issued an interim order against the government's decision. The bench delivered its verdict Tuesday after hearing a petition by Minister for Labour and Transport, Raghuji Pant and other senior officials of his Ministry.

In his petition, Mr. Pant had argued that the decision (to introduce the
lottery system) had been taken in order to avoid irregularities while
selecting workers to work overseas. He had also urged the court to vacate its earlier interim order.

The manpower agencies had, however, protested the government's decision saying that it was against the law.  nepalnews.com by Aug 17

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Election Commission ready to hold elections: EC chief 

Chief Election Commissioner, Keshav Raj Rajbhandari has said that the Election Commission (EC) was ready to hold elections in the country if the government guarantees safety of the polls, reports said. 

Commissioner Rajbhandari said this in a meeting with leaders of 20 different parties registered in the commission at the EC’s office Monday, according to reports.

Parties are learnt to have expressed doubts with the commissioner over free and fair elections in the present security situation in the country. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

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VDC secretaries resign en masse in Rautahat

Eighty-nine secretaries of the ninety-six VDCs of Rautahat district resigned en masse citing security reasons, reports said Tuesday. The Maoists, accusing them of mishandling the VDC budgets, warned them to resign.

According to reports, the secretaries collectively gave their resignation to the DDC chairman Sunday. The remaining secretaries would also resign soon, the report added.

Rautahat district is situated in central terai. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

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Opposition youth organizations protest POL price hike

Youth organizations of the four major opposition parties Tuesday morning took out protests rallies in the main streets of Kathmandu against the recent price hike in the petroleum (POL) products. Traffic was disrupted for half-an-hour in nine different places in the Valley.

According to a youth leader of the agitating Nepali congress, police used force against the peaceful protests against the price hike in Kalimati. The youth organizations, flaying the latest hike in the POL products, have demanded withdrawal of the price hike.

The government raised the prices of petrol and kerosene last week citing increase in price of petroleum products in the international market. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

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Shrestha fails to break national record

Nepali shooter Tika Ram Shrestha who earned a wildcard-entry in the 10 meters air rifle shooting event in the Athens 2004 Olympics finished 46th out of 47 shooters with 576 points. 

Shrestha, who went to Athens from Germany where he had been in training, had an earlier personal record of 570 points in the Asian Games in Busan, Korea. Shrestha was unable to break Chanas Rai’s national record of 586 points. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

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Chinese assistance for four projects  in Nepal

Agreements for the implementation of four projects in Nepal were signed Monday between Nepal and China in the presence of Crown Prince Paras and Deputy Prime Minister Huang Ju of China at the Great Hall of the People. 

According to the RSS, the signed agreements include continuing of economic and technical cooperation given by China to Nepal, a project for laying optical fibre from Kathmandu to Khasa, Tibet, setting up an aurvedic drugs research center and construction of another ring road in Kathmandu valley.

The agreements have also made budgetary provisions for Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadi road, hospital for civil servants and setting up a polytechnic institute in Banepa, the national news agency added.

China will provide a sum of Rs 450 million to Nepal this year for continuity of the ongoing projects and starting new ones, it is reported.  According to the report, change has been made to the sum of Rs 720 million provided by China to Nepal annually and provision has been made of grants on the basis of the number and cost of projects from this year.

Nepal’s Ambassador to China Narendra Raj Pandey and the Vice Minister at the Ministry of Commerce An Min signed the accord. nepalnews.com pd Aug 17 04

Bombs explode in the backyard of Soaltee hotel

On the eve of call for indefinite closure of leading hotels and industrial enterprises in the country, four bombs have exploded in the backyard of Soaltee hotel, a leading five star hotel,  in Kathmandu Monday evening.

Nobody has been injured and there has been minor damage due to the explosion, police said. The explosion took place after a man on a bicycle threw the explosives in the backyard of the hotel, reports said.

Police suspect the Maoists to be responsible for the incident. All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), affiliated to the Maoists, has called for closure of some one dozen establishments in the country including leading joint venture companies.

They have warned these companies of exploiting their workers and supporting the government. The companies targeted by the Maoists include Surya Tobacco, Bottlers Nepal and Makalu Yatayat. Some of the companies have said they will close down their operations due to security reasons.

Earlier in the day, Minister for Information and Communications Dr. Mohammed Mohasin, had assured that the government would make provision for adequate security to these establishments. nepalnews.com by Aug 16 04

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