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SPOTLIGHT Family extends best wishesh to Nava Yuvraj Hridayendra Bir bikram Shah Dev on the occasion of his fifth birthday |
THE INDIAN FOREIGN SECRETARY Shyam Saran paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Sunday (July 23). Saran, who is currently in Kathmandu to attend the review meeting of Indian ambassadors posted in SAARC countries, held talks on various political issues such as peace talks, interim government, arms management and constituent assembly. Saran has also met with other political leaders including Nepali Congress (democratic) president Sher Bahadur Deuba, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) president Pashupati SJB Rana, and Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP) president Surya Bahadur Thapa.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS AGREED TO FORM a high level Freed Kamaiya Rehabilitation Commission to rehabilitate the freed Kamaiyas within a month. This decision was reached following the meeting between freed Kamaiya representatives and officials of Land Reforms Ministry led by Minister Prabhu Narayan Chaudhary on Sunday. The decision also includes providing proper land to them, revoking land bank scheme, and providing identity card and health service to them. Following the agreement, the agitating freed Kamaiyas have suspended their agitation in Kathmandu . They have said they would watch the implementation of the agreement and resort to stronger agitation if not satisfied.
POLICE HAVE ARRESTED NINE PERSONS from Kabilas VDC in Chitawan in related with the robbery at Continental Finance Private Limited in Tripureshwore. On Friday, robbers made away with Rs 2.2 million from the company. They were caught staging the robbery by CCTV installed in the company.
OUT OF OVER 100,000 BHUTANESE REFUGEES, 16 have been permitted to be resettled in third country. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the government would provide them with outward visa, reports Kantipur daily. The visiting Assistant High Commissioner at UNHCR Judy Cheng-Hopkins said that after sixteen years of the start of this problem, this was the first concrete step. She said that foreign minister KP Oli has agreed to allow helpless and needy 16 persons to be resettled in the first phase. They include mostly the rape victims. They would be resettled in Canada . She added that during her visit to refugee camps, many refugees requested her for their resettlement. Acting foreign secretary Bhagirath Basnet said the Home Ministry is investigating the authenticity of those to be provided with proper permission to be resettled in third country. The UNHCR is also planning to conduct census of the refugee camps in October. Meanwhile, refugee leader Tek Nath Rijal has stated that the decision to resettle ‘16’ out of 100,000 refugees was ‘shameful.’ He said Nepal would lose image if this decision is implemented. “Do only 16 refugees seem to be suffering and victimized in the eyes of UNHCR and the government?” he asked.
THE UNITED NATIONS IS SENDING a five-member high-level team in order to assess the needs of Nepal in peace process. The team is arriving in Kathmandu on July 27 in response to the letter sent by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for the latter’s assistance in arms management and monitoring of truce. “We received UN response a few days back notifying that a UN team is arriving on 27 July,” said Suresh Chalise, foreign affairs advisor to Koirala. He said the UN’s letter welcomed the government’s request and promised to help Nepal in all requested areas by sending its top officials.
FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF NEPAL , chiefs of constitutional organs and Nepalese Army took oath of office before the parliament. As per the House of Representatives declaration, Chief of Army Staff, General Pyara Jung Thapa took oath of office along with heads of constitutional bodies. Speaker of HoR Subas Nemwang administered the oath of office to General Thapa as well as chairman of Public Service Commission (PSC) Tirtha Man Shakya, chief of Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Surya Nath Upadhyaya, Accounting General Gehendra Nath Adhikari, and Attorney General Yagya Murti Banjade.
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN IS LIKELY to accept Nepal ’s proposal for promoting more than 22 exportable items to the Japanese market under Aid for Trade (AfT), reports The Himalayan Times daily. The new political development in Nepal seems to be working on behalf of Nepal , giving its economy a boost in terms of foreign trade. The Commerce Ministry has prepared the list and handed it to Finance Ministry, which is the lead agency for handling aid matters in the country. In recent days, the WTO has also started discussing ways to expedite implementation of AfT among all 32 Least Developed Countries who are members of WTO as per the decision of sixth ministerial held in Hong Kong in December 2005. The WTO meeting has decided to give aid to LDCs worth $10 billion to boost their weak economies under AfT. Japan has allocated $2 billion to be given to 32 LDCs in a bid to boost their economies. Some of the products that Nepal has put forth are honey, sweet orange (Junar), coffee, jute products, essential oil, medicinal herbs, rainbow trout and ginger to boost rural economy. However, Japan is interested to help in more than 22 exportable products under the one-village-one-product concept. Japan had started the concept in 1979. Nepal government has also introduced the concept in this year’s budget.
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