NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Gautam Appointed Dy ED Of UNICEF

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has, at the recommendation of the UNICEF Executive Director Ms Carol Bellamy, appointed Kul Chandra Gautam, currently the regional director of UNICEF for East Asia, as deputy executive director of UNICEF. Gautam has, thus, become the first Nepali to hold the post of Assistant Secretary General in the UN system. A student of international relations and economic development, Gautam, born in western district of Gulmi, had joined the UNICEF in 1973 as program officer. Compiled from reports.

Govt. Expels A Junior Pak Diplomat

After two-day long stand-off over the fate of a junior Pakistani official serving at the Pakistan embassy in Kathmandu, the Nepal government has asked assistant secretary Asim Saboor last Wednesday to leave the country within 72 hours. Spokesman at the Foreign Ministry, N. S. Thapa, said that the government had decided to expel the Pak embassy official as "he was found indulging in the activities not compatible to his position." Police had detained Saboor on Monday morning under suspicion of being involved in dealing of the counterfeit Indian currency. The Pakistan embassy, however, said that nothing illegal was found from the premises of Saboor during a police raid. Nepalese foreign ministry had asked the Pakistan government to lift diplomatic immunity being enjoyed by Saboor on Tuesday, which the latter denied. This led the Nepalese government to expel Saboor, officials said. In December 1997, the Nepal government had expelled a North Korean diplomat and his wife after they were found smuggling nearly 100 kg of gold at the Tribhuvan International Airport. Leading dailies report.

Ojha Prefers Pajero Over Party

The central leader of the splinter communist Marxist Leninist party Devi Prasad Ojha has shown his preference to his four-wheeler Pajero over the party. Ojha was recently ousted from the party after he refused to hand over the vehicle to the party. "The vehicle was given to me by the state. I cannot give it away to anybody else, -- that would be unethical," said Ojha. Ojha had obtained the vehicle as part of the decision by the Deuba government to provide duty free facilities to all lawmakers to import vehicles. The Marxist Leninist party, however, has come up with a set of ethics which include a provision that asks all its leaders to hand over the vehicles imported under duty free facilities to the party itself. Samakalin January 6.

Maoists Murder Nine Cops

Maoist guerrillas attacked and killed nine policemen at a police post in remote Jumla district on January 4. A large group of insurgents armed with hand grenades attacked the post located at Raralihi village development committee of the district. The police post was reduced to ruins after three hours of attack from the guerrillas that left nine cops dead and another ten injured. The rebel communists also looted police weapons before fleeing away. This incident is the first of its kind, since the guerrillas launched their people's war in February 1996, where a large number of policemen had been killed in a single attack. Budhabar January 5.

Ministers To Be Added

Poudel

Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai has shown signs of expanding the present cabinet to include some of the "dissatisfied" Congress MPs -- as part of the promise Bhattarai made a couple of weeks ago. Although it is not yet known who will be included in the list of new ministers, former Speaker Ram Chandra Poudel's name features top in the list, sources say. Meanwhile, Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala has left for a nationwide tour to promote the party's standing among the people. Bimarsha January 7.

Education Reform In The Offing

Ministry of Education has indicated that it is going to take several measures to reform the education sector. According to sources, the Ministry is planning to abolish School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams from 2003. Instead, the board examinations will be conducted at grade 12 level by the Higher Secondary Education Board from then on. The sources also reveal that the Ministry is engaged in an extensive homework to change the syllabus and text books as the present courses are not in keeping with the regional and international education standards. Ghatana Ra Bichar January 5.

Fire Of Discontent Rages In NC

The voices of Nepali Congress lawmakers expressing discontent over the governance of Bhattarai-government has been gaining momentum of late. After their President Girija Prasad Koirala asked Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai to step down, the dissatisfied Congress MPs have been making their views public. Analysts say the activities in the coming winter session of the parliament could be overshadowed by the warring factions of the NC. In that the coming session is going to prove a hard nut to crack for Bhattarai and his loyalists. Nepalipatra January 7.

Tourist Arrival By Air Declines In 1999

The total number of tourists visiting Nepal by air declined marginally last year, reports said. According to information made available by the Immigration office at the Tribhuwan International Airport, more than 345,000 tourists visited Nepal in 1999 by air as against more than 397,000 tourists visiting Nepal by air in 1998. This amounts to over 13 percent decline of the total tourist arrival by air. Nearly 85 percent of the total tourists visiting Nepal use air routes to come to Nepal. Compiled from reports January 3.

Illegal Trade Worth Billions

Traders say that along with the increase in legitimate trade volumes of the country, there has been an upsurge in the illegitimate ones too. They claim that the rise in smuggling has adversely affected the Nepalese economy. At a seminar recently organized by the Revenue Section of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) on the border trade, Nepalese traders pointed lack of commitment, breach of rules, complexities of VAT as responsible for the increase in smuggling. At the seminar it was revealed that annually illegal trade worth ten billion rupees are carried out along the porous Indo-Nepal border. Likewise, the volume of illegal trade across Nepal-China border has increased to six hundred million rupees. Himalaya Times January 10.

Flights Canceled Due To Fog

With the onset of cold waves and dense fogs, several flights to the eastern hilly districts have been forced to cancel. The RNAC's scheduled flights to Bhojpur and Taplejung districts could not take place in the last few days due to poor visibility. Likewise, many flights had to be canceled due to dense fog in Biratnagar as well as Simara airport. Compiled from reports January 10.

Govt. Expels A Junior Pak Diplomat

Adulterated Alcohol In The Capital

Due to lack of any government action against producers of adulterated alcohol, the traders dealing in this business are encouraged. Although many reports point the sales and distribution of such spurious alcohol in the hotels and restaurants in the capital, no action has yet been taken. Prompted by the inaction of the police and administration, the dealers of such alcohol have begun to expand their business. According to reports, the dealers mainly export and distribute fake Red Label whisky. They even smuggle adulterated liquid to India. Drishti January 11.

Drug Money Financing People's War?

After the police recently unearthed 5 quintals of hashish from the jungles of Tharkot in Salyan district, one of the Maoist stronghold, it is suspected that the underground rebels' people's war could have been financed with the drug money. The police had uncovered the huge quantity of drugs after the Maoists engaged in cross-fire with them in the jungle fled the site. The hashish produced in Maoist flashpoints like Rukum and Rolpa districts are said to be taken to India where it is sold at Rs 2000 (Indian currency) per kg. The money is then used to buy weapons which are used in the people's war. Punarjagran January 11.

UML Launches "No Dowry" Campaign

The main opposition party Unified Marxist Leninist has launched "No Dowry" campaign from Kathmandu. Stating that the system of giving gifts and dowry in weddings has invited social distortions -- with people demanding hefty amounts in dowry especially in Terai region -- the UML Kathmandu district office has called for ending the system. Rameshwor Phuyal, the secretary of UML Kathmandu district committee, said that their campaign to end dowry system will target both the givers and takers. Samacharpatra January 11.