King inaugurates Golden Jubilee function

His Majesty King Gyanendra inaugurated the Golden Jubilee function of Gandhi Adarsha Secondary School at Monaharagram VDC-5, Gothatar on Wednesday, various reports said. Her Majesty Queen Komal also graced the occasion.

On the occasion, The King gave a ‘Maranoparatna’, a posthumous letter of appreciation to the founder of the school, late Tulshimehar Shrestha, for his outstanding contribution to the school. The King also gave other letters of appreciation to officials of the school for their contribution.

Their Majesties also observed the Kawaz (skill) and dance performed by the scout and inspected hand-made textiles woven by women living at the 'Mahila Ashram' in Gothatar.

King Tribhuvan had placed the foundation stone of the school in BS
2010. At present, the school has over nine hundred students enrolled.
nepalnews.com rs Feb 05 04

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US names Nepal eligible for aid

The first board meeting of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) held Monday in the United States, has selected Nepal as one of its 63 countries eligible to compete for funds, said a press communiqué released Wednesday by the United State Department of State.

The fund will be provided in a bid to reward developing nations which commit to democratic and free market reforms, the release said adding  the 'Countries’ commitment will be evaluated.

The announcement was made following a meeting of the board of directors of the MCC Monday which was chaired by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"The plight of the world's poor presents all of us with a profound moral challenge," Powell said at the group's first meeting Monday. "Alleviating their suffering also holds profound implications for freedom and security across the globe," he added.

Noteworthy, all SAARC countries except Maldives are included in the MCC’s list of 63 countries eligible to compete for funds. nepalnews.com pd Feb 05 04

34 policemen injured in truck accident

Thirty four armed police were injured when their truck met with an accident while avoiding an attempted Maoist ambush at Baliya, Kailali on Wednesday afternoon, Space Time reported.

The truck plated Ba 1 Ga 1679 was heading towards Nepalgunj from
Kailali. The report quoted police personnel Baidhyanath Attriya as saying the truck slammed into soil amassed by the road in an attempt to escape the electric ambush detonated by the Maoists. 

Among the injured forces, 28 police were taken to a hospital in
Nepalgunj by helicopter while 6 of them are undergoing treatment at
Medical College at Kholapur. nepalnews.com rs Feb 05 04

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Transporters oppose Nepal-India direct bus-link

Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs has demanded immediate dismissal of the government's decision to allow direct bus services from different parts of India, reports said Thursday.

"We want the government to repulse the 'unfair and unnecessary' decision within 15 days after we hand over the memorandum to the government on Thursday," published reports quoted Bishnu Siwakoti, president of the Federation, as saying in a press meet.

The government unilaterally took the decision without consulting us, the entrepreneurs said. "We came to know about this through the newspapers," senior vice president of the Federation, Punya Lal Pradhan said.

The Federation has also threatened to organise nationwide "chakka jam" (vehicular strike) if the government fails to withdraw its decision, reported the Himalayan Times.

The direct bus service will deprive thousands of Nepali transporters from earning their living, they said in the press meet.

The decision is also against the security of Nepal, they added. "We wonder whose 'interest' this government is serving by taking such a decision which is not favourable to the country," they said.

According to published reports, a Cabinet meeting on Monday took a decision to open 14 routes to allow operation of bus services linking home cities with the Indian ones. nepalnews.com mr Feb 05 04

Maoists deny involvement in ex-MP's murder

Maoists have dismissed allegations that they murdered a former member of parliament (MP), Hem Narayan Yadav in Siraha Tuesday, a radio report said Wednesday. 

According to Kantipur FM, Maoists' central committee member Matrika Prasad Yadav telephoned the radio station from an unknown location and denied the accusations.

"Even the Maoist documents placed near the dead body of the MP were fake," the radio report further quoted Matrika Prasad Yadav, as saying.

CPN-UML, with whom the MP was affiliated with, has already demanded an independent judicial investigation into the matter.

UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, addressing a gathering in Bhaktapur Wednesday, further urged all human rights activists to raise the issue seriously and facilitate the probe.

Ex-MP Yadav was found dead in suspicious conditions at a canal near Polihama area of the district on Tuesday. nepalnews.com mr Feb 04 04

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Government going Maoists way: Nepal

UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal today said that the government’s actions to clamp down on peaceful protests of students and political parties were akin to Maoists’.

 “The government has resorted to violence and intimidation to disrupt peaceful protests. Its actions are similar to that of Maoist ultras,” Nepal said, speaking at a program in Bhakpatur. 

Citing the incident of police action at the premises of Bir Hospital on Monday, Nepal maintained that such actions indicated that the government was on terror spree. 

Making a roundabout comment on the recent interview of the King that appeared in TIME magazine, Nepal claimed that the street protests of the parties were anything but pressure tactics. 

“People want regression to end once and for all. There is no pressure tactics involved,” Nepal said. 

The UML leader also made it a point to reiterate the demand of an all-party government, saying it was the only way out to give an outlet to the existing crisis. nepalnews.com mbk 04 04

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Maoists say they are ready for UN mediation

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Wednesday said it is ready to accept UN mediation “towards making an environment for a peaceful process to get people’s mandate”. 

Issuing a press communiqué today, Maoist supremo Prachanda said his party was ready to go for an UN-mediated settlement of the crisis.

“Our party is serious over the concerns expressed by the United Nations, the European Union and international human rights groups. We welcome these concerns,” Prachanda said, adding that UN mediation or monitoring will be acceptable to the Maoists. 

The Maoist supremo also insisted that his party has never gone against a negotiated settlement and charged that it was the deceptive nature of the ‘old regime’ that posed hurdles in the way to peaceful solution. 

In customary rhetoric, Prachanda charged the ‘old regime’ saying: ’“Giving high priority to the will of the people for peace and prosperity, we opted for dialogue but the old regime used the peace process to bolster the existing feudalistic system and its military power.”

The Maoist top gun, at the same time, lauded the ongoing anti-regression movement of the five political parties. He reasoned that it was natural that all the political quarters have gone up in arms against what he called ‘middle-age feudalistic tyranny’.

“There is no better way out than to revolt to fight the autocrats who have attempted to crush the achievements of the popular movement of 1990,” read the Maoist statement. nepalnews.com mbk 04 04

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Ten Maoists shot dead: RNA

At least 10 Maoists were gunned down in different skirmishes with security forces on Tuesday and Wednesday, a statement by the Royal Nepali Army (RNA) said. 

According to the statement, two Maoists were shot dead in Malu area of Dolakha district on Wednesday. Similarly, two Maoists were killed in Sonigama area of Dhanusha and Syamara area of Gorkha on Tuesday.  

One more Maoist in Bisrampur area of Rautahat and three in Bajeri Danda area of Kailali were killed on the same day, the statement said. The security forces recovered various arms and ammunition from the incident sites, it added. 

In course of search operations, the security forces also diffused bombs planted by the Maoists in Manma area of Kalikot and Lalpur area of Sunsari district, the statement said. 

Meanwhile, seven more Maoists have surrendered to the administration in different districts recently, the statement said. 

Those, who surrendered, were Puja Bista and Mohan Singh Dhami (Baitadi), Dambar Bahadur Paudel and Birendra Kumar Bista (Taplejung), Nabin Kumar Mahato and Binod Kumar Mahato (Mahottari) and Anil Phagami (Myagdi), the statement added.  nepalnews.com mr Feb 04 04 

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Nepal extremely beautiful: Microlight aviators

South Africans Ricky de Agrela and Alan Honeyborne who arrived in Nepal on Tuesday in an 18-month quest to go around the world in a microlight marked Nepal as one of the best destinations they have visited.

“Nepal is extremely beautiful. It has a lot to offer the tourists,” they said adding “we had dramatic experiences while flying over the majestic mountains”. 

The first aviators going around the globe in a microlight said this during a welcome program jointly organized by Nepal Tourism Board, Civil Aviation Authorities of Nepal (CAAN) and Avia Club Nepal (ACN) in Kathmandu Wednesday.

Underlying their mission, team leader Ricky de Agrela said, “ Our objectives are to celebrate the first decade of democratic South Africa, 100 years of flight since the Wright Brothers first took to the air and to support the children’s Red Cross Society in South Africa.” 

According to Agrela, they set out from Cape Town to orbit the globe, flying over 87,000 kilometers, visiting 52 countries and crossing all continents. “We have just finished 15,000 kilometers till now,” he said.

Replying to a question from Nepalnews regarding the approximate cost for the expedition,  Alan Honeyborne, said, “The costs have not been calculated as it’s a difficult task, however, the total cost till Pakistan was almost US$ 12,000.” 

The expeditors are also attempting to set three world records: the circumnavigation of the earth in the smallest aircraft, the longest microlight flight and becoming the first Africans to fly around the world.

The expeditors are leaving for Pokhara Wednesday and are scheduled to leave Nepal on February 9th.

Tek Bahadur Dangi, Mohan Adhikari and Deepti Gurung from the NTB, CAAN and ACN  respectively highlighted the expedition and welcomed Agrela and Honeyborn in the country. nepalnews.com pd 04 04 

Bird Flu scare in Malaysia may render Nepali workers jobless 

Tens of thousands of Nepalese employees working in poultry farms in Malaysia are likely to loose their jobs as the result of outbreak of Bird Flu. 

Out of over 140 thousand Nepalese workers in Malaysia, an estimated 40 percent are employed in poultry farms, foreign employment agencies in Kathmandu have said. If the disease does not come under control at the earliest, they said, almost all poultry farms might get closed down, leading to an exodus of tens of thousands of workers from Malaysia.

Asked for comment, officials at the Foreign Employment Agents’ Association told Nepalnews that such a situation is very likely. “If it happens, it will be a matter of worries for us. Yet, thousands of youths who have already invested hefty amounts will be rendered jobless,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

As thousands of Nepali citizens are working in poultry farms, it is also feared that they may come under the grip of the deadly disease. 

Bird Flue case was traced in Malaysia only a couple of days ago. nepalnews.com mbk Feb04 04

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