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Seven Maoists killed in Kalikot

Kathmandu, 12 January: Seven Maoists, including a local commander Pushparaj Neupane and a woman, were killed in an exchange of gunfire at Purkot village, 35 km west of Kalikot district headquarters, 400 km north-west of Kathmandu on Thursday, police said. The rebels had earlier declared the area a "liberated zone" and no policemen had been allowed to enter the area.

Locals informed the police after the declaration was made following which 25 armed policemen reached the spot where they exchanged fire for about two hours. One policeman was also injured, an official said. Police recovered a large cache of arms from the rebels.

In a separate incident in Bijayapur five policemen were injured Thursday when they were ambushed by insurgents. The injured policemen are undergoing treatment at the police hospital in Nepalgunj.
Nepalnews.com/br/yl/at

Suwal appointed Chief Editor of Spacetime

Kathmandu, 12 January: Ramesh Suwal has been appointed Chief Editor of Spacetime English daily to be launched in the capital sometime February, the newspaper management announced here on Friday. The newspaper will be published by Spacetime Cable Network will be the city's third English daily.

Suwal is a veteran journalist in Nepal with 20 years of experience. He has earlier worked with The
Rising Nepal and The Kathmandu Post. Nepalnews.com/br/at

UK grants £19.5 million

Kathmandu, 12 January: The British government on Thursday granted £19.5 million to the Nepal government for reform programmes to be implemented in the country in the next eight years, according to an official announcement. The money will be channelled through the Department for International Development (DFID).

Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office Rameswor Shah and Charge d' Affairs Andrew Mitchell signed an agreement for the grant in the presence of Premier Girija Prasad Koirala.
Nepalnews.com/br/at

Everest heroes honoured

Kathmandu, 11 January: Tourism Minister Tarini Datta Chataut made presentations on behalf of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) Thursday, to honour four Nepalis including two women, all of who conquered Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, in spring 2000.

Babu Chhiri Sherpa received a commendation letter for climbing the 8848 metre high peak in a record 16 hours 56 minutes from base camp to the summit without the aid of bottled oxygen. He has established a trust of Rs 136121 under his name with the prize money to help worthy causes and has also asked others to contribute. 

Appa Sherpa was presented a commendation letter and a cash prize of Rs 75,001 for climbing the mountain for a record 11th time.
  
Lakpa Sherpa, the second Nepali woman to climb Mount Everest after late Pasang Lhamu, received a cash prize of Rs 75,001 and a commendation letter.
  
Pemba Doma Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to climb the peak from Tibet, also received a cash prize of Rs 75 001 and a commendation letter.
    
King Birendra also conferred the four climbers with the Gorkha Dakshin Bahu on his 56th birthday last month. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Bangladesh visit a milestone: Bastola

Kathmandu, 11 January: Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola returned to Kathmandu, Thursday concluding his four-day official visit to Bangladesh and said that his visit has proved
to be a milestone in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Talking to journalists in the Tribhuvan International Airport, Bastola said that Bangladesh has agreed to provide additional facilities for Nepal's export of agricultural products there as well as to other third
countries. 

Bastola also said that agreement has been reached to provide special incentives like lowering duties on Nepalis goods, especially food items and agro-products being imported to Bangladesh. The use of Mangla Port in Bangladseh, as a transit point for Nepal's trade has also been agreed with special railways being constructed to facilitate it. An understanding was also reached to allow Nepalese private airlines to operate Nepal Bangladesh flights.

A joint statement issued by Nepal and Bangladesh today contains several provisions for the increased relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Nepal has not benefited much from the Phulbari-Banglabandh road due to various reasons.
However, Bangladesh has now agreed to make arrangements to facilitate Nepal's trade with third
countries through this road. 

Foreign Minister Bastola met with his Bangladeshi counterpart and other Bangladeshi leaders and
officials in which talks were held on bilateral relations, regional issues, SAARC activates and
Nepal-Bangladesh trade and cooperation during his visit. Nepalnews.com/yl/at

Kathmandu, 11 January: Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) president Tashi
Jangbu Sherpa and Director of the Eoole Nationale Ski et d' Alpinism (ENSA) Jean Bernard Paillisser signed an accord Wednesday, in the presence of French Ambassador Claude Ambrosini to continue the training program being provided since 1982 by French instructors to Nepalis guides for another five years. 

The Chamois based ENSA will also provide a yearly scholarship to one aspirant Nepalis guide to train in France.

One French instructor, accompanied by a doctor, will conduct a 15-day adventure-training course in Nepal every year, an official of the NMA said. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Tumours weighing 21.5 Kg removed

Kathmandu, 11 January: Two uterine tumours weighing 20 kg and 1.5 kg were removed from a 35-year-old woman at Bhaktapur, Tuesday, the National News Agency said. Dr. Achala Vaidya performed the surgery on Birma K.C. who is now recovering at the post-operative department of the
hospital. It was not known if the tumours were malignant. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Two Maoists killed

Kathmandu, 11 January : Two Maoist insurgents were killed in an exchange of gunfire with police
at a jungle in Accham district Tuesday night, police said. The dead however could not be recovered as the rebels fled with the bodies of their fallen comrades although the police managed to recover some arms that the rebels left behind.

Insurgents also abducted four persons from Doruwa in Dang district recently while a branch of the Agriculture Development Bank at Lakhanpur village in Ramechap district was robbed of Rs 32,000 in cash and the building set ablaze, police said. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Shri Achayra appointed Gorkhapatra Editor

Kathmandu, 10 January: The board of directors of Gorkhapatra, the country's oldest Nepali language daily has appointed former editor of Spacetime Dainik Shri Acharya to the same post here, Wednesday with effect from Thursday. Acharya replaces Ramesh Tiwari who will now work as executive editor of Gorkhapatra.

Acharya was earlier unceremoniously sacked from the post of editor of Spacetime Dainik, launched by the Spacetime Network, a cable television operating company in Kathmandu, and replaced by Yogesh Upadhaya of Kantipur daily.

Spacetime Network is coming out with an English language newspaper next month. Nepalnews.com/br/at

General managers appointed 

Kathmandu, 10 January: The Council of Ministers this week appointed Rajendra Bahadur Tuladhar and Ratna Bahadur Pandey as general managers of Royal Drugs Ltd and Janakpur Cigarette Factory respectively for a two-year term, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies said. Nepalnews.com/br/at

Mechi-Mahakali peace march begins

Kathmandu, 10 January: Central leaders and parliamentarians of the main opposition party CPN-UML party started their Mechi-Mahakali peace march today from Jhapa in the east and Mahendranagar in the west with the objective of promoting goodwill and communal harmony among different ethnic communities in the country. The decision to organise the march was taken by the party following the violence in the capital and other parts of the country.

The marchers from both sides will converge in Rautahat and hold a mass meeting there. “We will appeal to the people to maintain social and communal harmony as it is the bedrock of Nepal’s nationalism,” said Bhim Acharya, central leader of the CPN-UML. Reports received from Jhapa and Mahendranagar state that peace marchers have already started the march with placards appealing for peace and social harmony in society. Nepalnews.com/yl/at