Govt. to send high-level team to Arab countries

In what is seen as a damage control exercise, the Nepal government is to send a high-level team to Arab countries later this month.

Talking to reporters in Kathmandu Tuesday, Minister for Information and Communications, Dr. Mohammed Mohsin, said he would be leading a team to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to meet with government officials and apprise them about the latest situation in Nepal.

"We will urge them to ensure safety of Nepali workers in the Gulf countries and assure them that the government will take every step to maintain religious harmony in the country," said Dr. Mohsin. He said that the team would also call on officials of airlines from the region and assure them of full security while operating in Nepal.

The government's move comes after an angry mob targeted mosques, manpower agencies and some Gulf-based airlines in Kathmandu last Wednesday (Sep. 1).

The delegation will comprise Minister of State for Labour, Urba Dutta Panta, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat and  Royal Nepalese ambassadors in Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The team will leave for the Arab countries after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba returns from his Delhi visit, said Dr. Mohsin. Dr. Mohsin and Dr. Mahat are also accompanying the premier to the Indian capital. nepalnews.com by Sep 07 04

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Maoists attack PFN leaders in Dailekh

Some three dozen leaders and workers of People's Front Nepal (PFN) have been injured when a group of Maoists attacked during their mass meeting at Dullu in remote, western district of Dailekh on Tuesday.

According to latest reports, former MP and general secretary of PFN, Navaraj Subedi, former PFN legislator, Hari Acharya, vice chairman of PFN, Manoj Bhatta, and district committee chairman of PFN, Jagat Regmi, have been injured seriously in the Maoist attacks.

A pro-left party, the PFN had organised the mass meeting against 'regression' and to expose, what they say, atrocities by the Maoists. The injured personnel are being brought to district headquarters of Dailekh for treatment.

PFN is one of the four parties represented in the dissolved House of
Representatives that is launching protests against the royal move of October 2002.

In a separate incident, Maoist rebels have looted properties belonging to half a dozen political activists and teachers at Khairi Gairha VDC in the same district. They have also abducted a UML worker, according to Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), a Kathmandu-based human rights organisation that publishes Human Rights Year Book.  nepalnews.com by Sep 07 04

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Two Maoists killed in fresh violence

At least two Maoists were killed in a clash with security forces at Mechinagar Municipality in Jhapa Tuesday.

Reports said the militants were killed when they came face to face with the security forces at Srijanchowk in Mechinagar Municipality this afternoon. The killed Maoists have been identified as Jeevan Shrestha, a resident of Sanischare, Jhapa and Dilli Ram Gautam form Ilam.

Two revolvers and socket bombs were recovered from them, reports quoting the No.2 Brigade of the Royal Nepalese Army in Dhakuta said. nepalnews.com mbk Sept 07 04

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Govt’s turns probe committee into commission

Owing to complaints of lack of legal authority, the government Tuesday decided to convert the committee formed to probe Wednesday’s vandalism into a commission.

Information minister and government’s spokesperson Dr Mohammad Mohsin told reporters at a press conference today that the probe team has been given legal authority as per the Investigation Commission Act. The decision was taken by a cabinet meeting today.

Two civil society personalities, Hari Upreti and Prakash Raut, have also been included in the earlier five-member probe team headed by former Supreme Court Justice Top Bahadur Singh.

The team has been given a month to submit its findings on the incident. The team’s major responsibility will be to investigate the incident and the recommendation of action against those responsible behind the destruction and compensation to the individuals and the companies that suffered losses. nepalnews.com mbk Sept 07 04

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Explosion at Hotel Malla

Three bombs exploded at the main entrance of Hotel Malla in the capital, Kathmandu, Tuesday evening.

The windowpanes of the hotel were shattered when three of the four explosives planted by the suspected Maoists exploded, police said. Nobody was was injured by the blasts. 

Security forces had defused one of the four explosives planted, police added. 

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosion.  

The Maoist affiliated Federation of All Nepalese Trade Unions (ANFTU) has  called for closure of 35 more industries and enterprises including Hotel  Malla from Friday (Sep. 10).

Twelve major industries including Hotel Soaltee, a leading five-star hotel in the country, remain closed for the last three weeks after the rebels exploded bombs at the backyard of Hotel Soaltee last month. Nepalnews.com by Sep 07 04

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Maoists abduct over 250 students, teachers in Myagdi

Maoists have abducted over 250 students and teachers from two high schools in Myagdi district.

According to reports, the Maoists had abducted the students and the teachers from Sishu Siksha Secondary School at Arman VDC and Ramja Secondary School at Ramja VDC on Sunday afternoon. The condition of the captives remains unknown until Tuesday afternoon while no initiative has been taken from the government side to free them.

Quoting eyewitnesses, reports said the rebels abducted the students and teachers to involve them in basic military training.

Meanwhile, the Maoists detonated a pressure cooker bomb at the office of the District Drinking Water Office at Parasi Bazar in Nawalparasi on Monday might. The damage caused by the blast is estimated at half a million rupees. nepalnews.com mbk Sept 07 04

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PM Deuba to leave for India on Wednesday

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is to leave for New Delhi for a five-day official visit on Wednesday afternoon, the Foreign Ministry Tuesday said.

According to the schedule, Deuba will meet Indian president APJ Adbul Kalam on September 9 and his Indian counterpart Dr Man Mohan Singh later that day. On September 10, the prime minister will hold discussions with Indian foreign minister K Natwar Singh, defense minister Pranab Mukarjee and home minister Shiv Raj Patil.

He will hold an interaction with the Indian business community on September 11. On the same day, he will meet Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling Congress party. Deuba has programs to meet former Indian prime ministers and the leaders of major opposition parties.

It was informed at a press conference organized by the Foreign Ministry this afternoon that security, extradition treaty, water resources, inundation issue and join investment will be the major agendas of the prime minister's Indian tour. "The two governments will extensively interact on the interest of bilateral concern," state minister for foreign affairs Dr Prakash Saran Mahat told reporters, ruling out the possibility of major agreements with India that would create controversies back home.

Information minister Dr Mohammad Mohsin, forest minister Badri Prasad Mandal, commerce minister Ishwor Pokhrel, state minister for foreign minister Dr Prakash Saran Mahat, state minister for water resources Thakur Prasad Sharma and businessmen will accompany Deuba to Delhi. A bevy of journalists has also been included in the prime minister’s convoy.

Deuba will return to the country on September 12.

As per provisions, government was required to made public the prime minister’s visit schedule and the agendas a week before the visit but was unable due to the turmoil in the country following the killing of 12 Nepali hostages in Iraq, officials said. nepalnews.com mbk Sept 07 04

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Govt's position towards talks remains unchanged: DPM Adhikari

Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari has said the government's position towards holding peace talks with the Maoists remains unchanged despite the latter saying that they would not hold negotiations with the present government.

Addressing a function of his party's student wing, ANNFSU, in the capital Tuesday, Adhikari said it would be in the interests of the Maoists too to sit for negotiations. He said sooner than later they will be compelled to re-open the peace process. He also warned that Nepal's nationality could also be jeoprasdised if the Maoists did not agree for peace negotiations. He did not elaborate.

Adhikari's comments have come nearly a week after a Maoist statement that they will not hold peace negotiations with the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government. In the statement, the Maoist supremo, Prachanda, however, said his party was ready to hold direct negotiations with HM King Gyanendra. 

Earlier, the rebels had said they were ready to sit for peace negotiations with the government in the presence and with support of the United Nations. nepalnews.com by Sep 07 04

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Spanish film festival in capital

The Spanish Film festival will begin in Kathmandu from Wednesday for five days.

According to Ambika Shrestha, honorary consul general of Spain, some of the famous films depicting the arts, culture and lifestyle of Spain will be screened at the Russian Cultural Center, Kamalpokhari.

She further informed that provisions were made for free entry. nepalnews.com pd sep0704

Policemen hurt in explosion

Four policemen were injured, two of them severely, when a Maoist-laid pressure cooker bomb exploded in a police post by Rapti river near Hetaunda Municipality of Makwanpur district Tuesday morning. 

According to reports, the two severely injured policemen – Lal Bahadur Shrestha and Padam Shrestha – have been airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment while the other two have been taken to hospital in Hetaunda. 

A search operation has been intensified in the area to track down the rebels, the reports added. nepalnews.com pd Sep 07 04

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