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| NEWS FLASH 2000- LAST UPDATED : Wednesday, November 29, 2000 09:44 AM + 5:45 GMT | |
Nepal
Federation of Industries Registered
Kathmandu, Nov.29: Nepal Federation of Industries bringing together industries at various industrial estates has been registered at the Kathmandu District Administration. The Federation aims to identify problems of industries to collectively resolve them. Basanta Lal Shrestha is the Federation's Chairman. nepalnews.com br Danish Tourist Dead in Mustang Kathmandu, Nov.29: A Danish tourist Tuesday morning was found dead in his hotel room in Jomsom, the headquarters of Mustang district, police said. Police identified him as Joring Hard Thrutilo. His friend found him dead in the popular tourist destination town after arriving a day earlier from Muktinath. His body will be airlifted to Kathmandu today to be handed over to the Danish Embassy. nepalnews.com br Supreme Court to Hear Petition Today Kathmandu, Nov.29: The Supreme Court Wednesday will hear a writ petition demanding the cancellation of deal between Royal Nepal Airlines and Lauda Air to lease a Boeing 767 to maintain its international network. Gopal Shibakoti Chintan filed a writ petition in the Court asking it to cancel the deal which he claimed was faulty. Employees of three unions of Nepal's flag carrier Tuesday gheraoed the RNAC headquarters demanding the scrapping of the deal. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has also objected to the contract. But the Airline's management says it needs a fourth aircraft to maintain its international flights. Meanwhile, associations like the Hotel Association of Nepal, Nepal Travel Agents Association and the Nepal Trekking Agents Association in advertisements placed in newspapers supported the RNAC Lauda deal but demanded action against any official if shortcomings are found in the contract. RNAC is losing credibility because of frequent flight cancellations while losing money heavily by paying compensation to customers as arrivals are also affected. nepalnews.com br Koirala ahead but Deuba gives stiff challenge Kathmandu, Nov 28: As the tenth national convention of the ruling Nepali Congress party appraoches, Prime Minister and party president Girija Prasad Koirala faces stiff challenge to his leadership from second generation leaders. Among the formidable younger leaders to challenge Koirala’s leadership is central leader of the party and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who once served as Home Minister in Koirala’s cabinet. Results from different constituencies and districts have indicated two clear faction within the Nepali Congress-- Koirala and Deuba camps. Both the camps challenged one another in each and every unit of the party. The election for the representatives for national convention, who are to vote for the party president, was complete in most of the districts and constituencies. The results have indicated that Koirala is almost set to be elected party president once again in the forthcoming national convention of the Nepali Congress. Koirala camp has won slightly over 60 per cent. Koirala camp won overwhelming majority in the Eastern Nepal whereas Deuba faction put up strong show in the western part of the country. Koirala has already announced his candidacy. Deuba has announced to challenge Koirala for the party president in the tenth national convention of the party. It is the first time that Koirala has faced such a formidable challenge to his leadership from younger leader. Deuba has maintained that party leadership should be handed over to younger generation to steer the party further. According to Deuba, Koirala is too old to lead the party. Koirala is 76. However, Koirala camp claims that younger leaders are not mature enough to lead the party and the party needs Koirala at least for one term. Former party president and former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai has support for Deuba. Deuba, now, has clearly emerged as the most formidable leader in the Nepali Congress after Koirala. Deuba had also challenged Koirala for the leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party. Deuba secured 43 votes of the total 113. Koirala was elected parliamentary party who later automatically became Prime minister. Nepalnews.com yl Kathmandu, Nov 29: British Princess Anne concluded her week-long visit and returned home Tuesday. British Princess Anne was seen off by His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah at the Tribhuvan International Airport. During her stay in Nepal, Princess Anne visited several areas of Nepal and acquired information about different aspects of Nepal. nepalnews.com yl King Mahendra Trust Disappointed
Kathmandu, Nov. 28: The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (
KMTNC ) said
The KMTNC hoped that physical manifestation of global warming in recent years and the
dangers The Nepali NGO did not identify nations obstructing the Hague conference. " The KMTNC hopes the meeting will recognize the urgency of the issue and endorse the Kyoto protocol on climate change prepared with great effort and care," a statement said.
The NGO charged "the insular attitude of some member countries at the Hague meeting
could
Western countires, mainly the United States, have been accused for obstructing the
progress of Nepal-China non-govt. forum meets Kathmandu, Nov 28: The fourth meeting of Nepal-China Non-governmental Cooperation Forum began in Wuxi of People’s Republic of China Tuesday, according to Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries(FNCCI). The meeting would continue until November 30. President of FNCCI Pradip Kumar Shrestha is leading the Nepalese delegation, which is expected to discuss possibilities of Nepal-China joint venture, bilateral trade and Chinese cooperation and investment in the filed of Nepal’s hydropower, agro-based industries, information technology, textile and garment sector, and tourism industry. The bilateral non-governmental forum was created in 1996 in order to increase cooperation and trade between private sectors of both the countries. nepalnews.com yl CPN-UML to launch nationwide debate on Constitutional amendment Kathmandu, Nov 28: Main opposition party CPN-UML is to launch a nationwide debate on amendment to present constitution. The meeting of the CPN-UML central standing committee decided to hold talks with other parties more specifically on the issue concerning amendment in the present constitution and organise nationwide interaction for the same. CPN-UML has already floated the idea of amendment in the present constitution based on the experiences in the past ten years in order to solve several political problems. Other opposition parties have supported this idea with caution and the ruling party has rejected this idea. However, CPN-UML has maintained that the ten year experience has shown that some provisions in the constitution need to be amended. But it has not come up specifically which provisions needed to be changed. The central body of the CPN-UML that met today also demanded that the support price of rice and sugar cane be raised, farmers’ rice be procured by the state, milk holiday cancelled and import of powder milk banned. In a statement issued in Kathmandu Tuesday, the main opposition party has also demanded more incentives to the farmers in order to increase production and productivity. nepalnews.com yl Sailaja not to contest for party president Kathmandu, Nov 28: Central leader of the Nepali Congress Sailaja Acharya announced that she would not contest for the post of party president in the forthcoming tenth national convention of the party. Acharya, who had earlier announced her candidacy for the post of party president, said that she withdrew her decision as Prime Minister and party president Girija Prasad Koirala decided to contest for the same in the forthcoming tenth national convention of the party in Pokhara. In a statement issued in Kathmandu Tuesday, NC central leader and former deputy prime minister Acharya said that she would support Prime Minister Koirala for the party president. In the election for the party president, another central leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has already announced to challenge Koirala. Although Koirala is set to be elected party president, Deuba would give stiff competition to him. It is the first time Koirala has faced such a tough competition from rival in the party. Nepalnews.com yl Indian Company to Enter Life
Insurance Business Kathmandu, Nov28: The Life Insurance Corporation of India ( LIC ) joined hands with a Nepali company Tuesday to start life insurance services in the kingdom. The LIC signed a memorandum of understanding with Vishal Group Ltd. ( VGL) to start operations in February- March 2001, an announcement said The MOU was signed by G. N. Bajpai for LIC and Ashok Agrawal , Chairman of VGL. The two companies will promote a Nrs.250 million joint venture company- Life Insurance Corporation ( Nepal )- with 55 percent majority share of LIC to enter the business. The VGL will have a 25 percent stake in the company and the remaining 20 percent shares will be sold to the public. This is the first time that a foreign company will be entering the life insurance business in the kingdom after the government's adoption of a liberal economic policy. LIC is a state-owned insurance company; the VGL is involved in manufacturing, trading and banking activities. nepalnews.com br Princess Visits Human Rights Commission Kathmandu, Nov.28: Britain's Princess Anne Tuesday morning visited the newly established National Human Rights Commission and talked with Commissioners on the rights situation in Nepal. Analysts view the visit as London's keen interest in the promotion and protection of human rights in the kingdom Nayan Bahadur Khatri, Chairperson of the Commission welcomed her at the Commission headquarters. The Commission is a statutory autonomous body established by an act of Parliament to ensure effective enforcement, protection and promotion of human rights. The Princess later opened a new school extention of the British School in Kathmandu. She also inspected the British headquarters administering an annual 16 million pounds sterling aid programme in Nepal. The daughter of Queen Elizabeth will tour the Changunarayan temple complex placed on the world heritage list before flying home at the end of a five-day official visit. nepalnews.com br Maoists Talk to Develop United Front Kathmandu, Nov.28: Underground Maoists strongman Comrade Prachanda and General Secretary of Unity Centre Comrade Prakash recently held a meeting at an undisclosed place to develop an united front to intensify a five-year insurgency to establish a communist state in the Himalayan kingdom, reports said. " The talks were serious and cordial. There were similarity of views on many issues facing the nation," Janadesh, a mouthpiece of the Maoists said in its Tuesday editions. Meetings had been held in the past between the two communist parties, the weekly newspaper said quoting unidentified sources in the party. Maoists are also negotiating with other unnamed communist factions to spread the insurgency to urban centres in the coming months, the newspaper said. More than 1500 persons have already been killed in the insurgency in the last five years. The rebels are mainly based in the hills of west Nepal, but they have demonstrated their reach by attacking industries and schools in urban areas including Kathmandu where they regularly hold sporadic though small demonstrations. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Mahesh Acharya said Monday the government has left the door open for talks with Maoists to end the insurgency. Schools reopened in the capital Monday after a five- day protest by teachers demanding protection from Maoist attacks. Maoists are demanding refund of fees paid by primary school students, end to Sanskrit education and singing of the national anthem in educational establishments. nepalnews.com br Teachers return to work from Tuesday Kathmandu, Nov 28:Teachers in public schools of Kathmandu valley, who had been in strike for the last one week, have returned to work from Tuesday. A meeting of the different organisations of teachers decided to reopen the schools and resume works from Tuesday as, according to them, the strike was called without preparation and homework. They have also decided to continue their pressure on the government to meet their demands. Teachers in public schools went on strike demanding security from the government against threat of Maoist insurgents and provide additional budget to the schools. Supporters of underground Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) asked the teachers to return the fees taken from the students under different heads. The government has declared free education up to secondary level. However, schools charge the students fees under different heads, which Maoist students demanded to be withdrawn. Maoist students had even warned to take action if the fees of the students were not returned. Following the threat of Maoist, teachers went on strike demanding security and compensation from the government. Tuesday’s meeting of the teachers decided to return to work and launch another phase of protest programme with more homework and in a planned way. Nepalnews.com yl Nepal-Bhutan talks likely in December last Kathmandu, Nov 28:Nepal-Bhutan tenth round of bilateral talks on refugee issue is likely to be held in the third or fourth week of December. Bhutan has written to His Majesty’s Government to hold next round of talks in December this year in Kathmandu, a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. As ninth round of Nepal-Bhutan talks on refugees ended without progress, there were little hope of resolving the refugee issue in the near future because of Bhutan’s negative attitude. Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola also informed the journalists in Jhapa Monday that the latest move of Bhutan might have been because of the pressure from some western donors country to solve the refugee problem as early as possible. Recently, a group of donors that met in Thimpu asked the Bhutanese government to take measures to solve the refugee problem. They had also warned to stop aid to Bhutan unless it takes initiatives to solve the refugee issue. Although Bhutan has proposed the next round of talks on December 22-24, the dates are yet to be finalised because a high level delegation from China is coming to Nepal around that time, said a foreign ministry official. There are more than 1,00,000 Bhutanese refugees in different camps of eastern Nepal of Jhapa and Morang, who were forcibly evicted from their homes by Bhutanese security personnel. Nepal has demanded that these refugees need to be repatriated to their country. However, Bhutan is reluctant to take them back. As a result, the refugee issue has remained as a burden to Nepal for the last ten years. Nepalnews.com.yl King Birendra Inaugurates First Private Power Project Kathmandu, Nov.27: King Birendra Monday inaugurated the 60 MW Khimti I which is Nepal's first hydro power plant in the private sector after the government privatized the power generation sector previously monopolized by the state owned Nepal Electricity Authority. Four other such projects are under construction in the
private sector as other foreign companies show interest in investing in the hydro
power sector in Nepal which has a 83,000MW capacity. The NEA buys and distributes the power purchased from the $140 million power project owned by the Himal Power Limited with 73 percent shares of Statkraft, 15 percent Butwal Power Company and six percent each of Alstom Power and GE Energy. The power purchase agreement between NEA and promoters has
recently come under criticism. The power plant located east of the capital will revert to the NEA in 30 years. nepalnews.com br Princess Anne Inspects Bhutanese Refugee Camps Kathmandu, Nov.27: Britain's Princess Anne Monday inspected the UNHCR administered Bhutanese refugee camps where nearly 100,000 displaced persons of Nepali ethnicity have been languishing for a decade after failed negotiations with Bhutan to repatriate them. The royal visit is timed with Nepal's attempts to internationalize the refugee issue to gain support as Bhutan stalls efforts to identify the refugees; Bhutan has yet to respond to Nepal's call to meet for the ninth time at ministerial level to resolve the issue. The Princess toured the Beldangi II camp and talked with the refugees, managers and health workers for nearly two hours months after flying to east Nepal from Pokhara. She also visited a youth centre funded by the Save the Children UK of which the Princess is President. The UNHCR has accepted the refugee status of the displaced persons who say they were forcibly evicted from their homes in southern Bhutan; Thimpu says the refugees are illegal immigrants. The daughter of Britain's Queen Elizabeth inspected a hospice for HIV/AIDS suffers rescued from brothels in India where thousands of Nepali girls work willingly or unwillingly in the sex industry. The Princess went to the border town of Kakarvitta and talked with women volunteers who work to intercept traffickers carrying children to India. The Princess, who is on a five-day official visit to Nepal, returns to the capital later Monday. nepalnews.com br Student Injured in Clashes with Police |
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