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The visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon meets with PM Koirala
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THE 15 TH ASIAN GAMES STARTED IN Qatari capital Doha on Friday (Dec 1) amid a huge fanfare. A mixture of technological innovation and traditional culture, the ceremony was inaugurated by Qatari Emir at the Khalifa stadium. In what is seen as the largest game show after summer Olympics, the Asian Games is held every four years. This year, 50 Nepalese sportspersons are taking part in 14 events. Gold medalist in weight-lifting at the Tenth South Asian Games Kamal Bahadur Adhikari hoisted Nepali flag at the march-past ceremony. Nepalese sports authorities have expected medals in events like judo, taekwondo, wushu and karate. Over 10,000 athletes from 45 countries of Asia will be competing in 39 sports events in the Doha Asiad.
THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM (WFP) is providing emergency food relief to drought-hit lower regions of Humla district. Due to three years of drought, the lower region of Humla is suffering from acute food shortage. The WFP has started its emergency relief to 9 VDCs of the district. Similar relief program has been initiated for Mugu, Dolpa and Jumla districts as well. The villagers have been surviving on roots of nettle for some time now. However, even nettle plants are now finished. “There was no crops due to drought. We don’t have a single food grain to eat,” said Raj Bahadur Shahi of Maila VDC. A WFP official from Geneva who visited the region said the situation was worse than in many African drought-hit countries as people were facing both lack of food and warm clothes to survive the winter. The official, however, expressed satisfaction saying that the people had ways to resolve this problem – something which is lacking in African countries.
THE NEPAL ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY (NEA) is preparing to start load shedding in the current winter season from Monday. The NEA will impose two and a half hours of load shedding every week for the time being. The NEA authorities claim that due to the onset of winter dry spell, it will lose around 80 MW of production capacity. According to NEA, in the Kathmandu valley, every household will face two and a half hours of load shedding once a week between 5 pm till 7:30 pm . The load shedding time in rest of the country has been fixed as 5:30 pm till 8 pm . The NEA will change the time schedule and load shedding duration in the coming weeks based on the volume of demand and supply.
WITH THE AIM OF REPLACING THE CURRENT national anthem – which is considered as a eulogy to the royal family - the National Anthem Selection Taskforce has proposed a new national anthem and submitted its recommendation to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The taskforce led by eminent culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi has chosen a poem titled “Saya thunga phulko eutai mala hami Nepali ……(one hundred flowers woven into one garland of Nepali)” written by Pradeep Kumar Rai (who uses the pen name of Byakul Maila) from among 1272 poems and songs sent by people from across the country. The taskforce was formed to propose new national anthem after the May 18 declaration of the House of Representatives called for a new national anthem. “The new anthem has been chosen on the basis of set criteria such as expressing natural beauty, geographic diversity, cultural and national identity and feeling of the people,” according to Joshi. The lucky writer Rai hails from Okhaldhunga. He said he felt “proud and happy.” The selected national anthem will now be presented at the cabinet for final endorsement. And after it is endorsed, the poem will be decorated with appropriate music composition.
A WRIT PETITION HAS BEEN FILED AT THE Supreme Court challenging the legality of the Citizenship Act endorsed this week by the parliament. Advocate Amita Shrestha has filed the writ petition stating that the act is against the 1990 Constitution. The advocate has argued in her writ that the Act does not have the power to rescind Article 8, 9 and 10 of the Constitution. The petitioner has asked the apex court to revoke the Citizenship Act 2006 claiming that it has been introduced with malafide intention.
EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER CONTINUED donation drive and intimidation by the Maoists even after the signing of Comprehensive Peace Accord, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R Nicholas Burns has called on Maoists to immediately stop such activities. Delivering his speech on the US policy for South Asia at the Asia Society in New York Monday night, Burns said, “The United States does not oppose the Maoists participating in Nepalese politics as a legitimate, peaceful political party, but it is crucial for the long-term well-being of Nepal that the Maoists give up their arms and end their extortion. That has not yet happened. We intend to hold the Maoists to that standard.” Stating that the US will be watching the Maoist’s activities, he further said that violence and intimidation by the Maoists must end. Stating that the US welcomed the Comprehensive Peace Accord between the government and the Maoists, Burns said, “We hope this step will place Nepal on the path of lasting peace and democracy. We truly want the peace process to work and we pledge our full support. We support an agreement that safeguards the aspirations of the Nepali people. This means violence, intimidation, and criminal acts by the Maoists must end.” Burns also urged the political parties to remain united. “It is incumbent on the political parties to show a united front.”
A NEPAL CHAPTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) has been formed. The Chapter headed by Bandana Rana was formed following the two-day National Conference last week on “Role of Women in Media.” Rana is also an elected member of the seven-member international board of the IAWRT. “The objective of the national chapter is to provide a sharing of forum for women involved in radio and television and develop a strong link,” said Rana, a well-known women rights activist.
THE GREEN NEPAL PARTY HAS SERIOUS OBJECTIONS to the newly enacted Citizenship Act 2006. It has facilitated granting of citizenship to all foreigners. The reconvened parliament has deleted clauses 8,9 and 10 of the 1990 Constitution, which had provided ample safeguard. In the long-run, foreingers acquiring new citizenship will sideline genuine citizens in grabbing all lucrative opportunities. The GNP demands that this act be presented to the new itnerim parliament (which will be formed soon) under the new interim constitution so that CPN (maoists) too may also participate in its enactment. GReen Nepal Party has welcomed the weapons and army management agreement between the Nepal government and the Maoists under the supervision of the UN. The party hopes that the agreement will help to bring lasting peace and the process of purifying and strengthening multiparty democracy in Nepal .
