SEVEN SOLDIERS OF NEPALESE ARMY (NA) who had been abducted by the rebel militia in Congo have been released. They were captured a week ago during the patrolling by the UN peacekeepers in the Ituri region of the troubled African republic. During the battle that ensued between the UN peacekeepers and militia a week ago, one NA soldier had been killed, three injured and seven captured.
NEPALESE ARMY (NA) HAS STOPPED all the procedure of recruitment of soldiers and procurement of arms. With this decision the procedure of recruiting 3000 soldiers and procurement of two aircraft from China and two MI 17 choppers for which LC had already been opened have all been suspended. Even the regular vacant positions would not be filled for the time being. Defense Ministry spokesperson Bhupendra Poudel said that as per the decision of the government, the ministry has sent a letter instructing the army to do so. NA spokesperson Brigadier General Nepal Bhusan Chand also said that the army had stopped all its new recruitment and arms procurement procedure. Earlier, the government had changed the name of the army from Royal Nepalese Army to Nepalese Army. Poudel added that as per the House declaration, the ministry is working to amend four major acts including Military Act 2016 to make them compatible with the spirit of the declaration.
AT A TIME WHEN THE PROCESS OF REPATRIATION of Bhutanese refugees has reached a deadlock, the UN agency on refugees has proposed to relocate them to third countries. Issuing a press release on Saturday (June 3), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has urged for early completion of repatriation process. It has proposed that if there would be delay in immediate repatriation, the refugees could be relocated to third countries.
THE TRADITIONAL BHOTO JATRA FESTIVAL of Rato Machhindranath took place on Friday (June 2) in Jawalakhel. This festival marks the end of longest-running chariot festival that is held annually in Lalitpur. King Gyanendra and Queen Komal attended the Bhoto Jatra ceremony. This was the first formal ceremony the King attended after the political change.
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL of the Directorate-General for External Relations of the European Commission (EC), Herve Jouanjean arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday and met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. According to the PM’s foreign affairs advisor, Suresh Chalise, the EU has expressed its desire to keep a special rapporteur in Nepal . After talks with Koirala at his residence at Baluwatar, the visiting official said, “We just conveyed to the prime minister the European Union’s full support to Nepal in areas of development.” He said the purpose of his two-day visit was to assess the current political situation in the country and provide assistance.
EDUCATION MINISTER DR. MANGAL Siddhi Manandhar has said that the Ministry is preparing to revise school-level curriculum. He said that a committee headed by director general of Curriculum Development Center has been formed for the purpose. “The committee would study and find out items that need to be replaced and items that need to be added,” he said. Dr. Manandhar informed that the Ministry has already instructed to remove the pages bearing pictures of the royal family members from textbooks that would be printed from now onwards.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has expressed deep concern over the growing incidents of thefts, looting, robberies and extortion. It has asked the government to provide adequate security. The federation has also appealed to the government and the Maoists to take necessary actions to bring such incidents to end. Otherwise, it has decided, the federation would be compelled to come up with stringent programs. The federation has also urged the parliamentarians to raise the economic issues during their debate in the House. Meanwhile, British ambassador to Nepal Keith George Bloomfield, speaking at a program in the capital, urged the government to take effective steps to curb extortion. He said that extortion s a crime that must be controlled. The British envoy also expressed concern that even though the Maoists come to peace process, the easy method of earning money might not come to stop.
THE LOW GROWTH OF AGRICULTURE SECTOR has dragged down the total economic growth estimates for the current fiscal year. According to fresh estimates by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), this year the GDP growth rate would be limited to 2.3 percent. This is the lowest rate in last three years. This rate is equal to the population growth rate. The per capita income has, however, improved slightly from $ 297 last year to $ 311 this year. The agriculture sector is expected to grow by 1.69 percent and non-agriculture sector by 2.82 percent. The low agro output is caused by decline in the production of staple crops like paddy, wheat and barley. The output of cash crops, however, is estimated to increase by 8.85 percent.
