NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Eight People, Including Four Policemen, Killed

A total of eight persons, including four policemen, were killed in three different incidents last week. According to Police, four policemen were killed and three others injured seriously in an ambush laid down by suspected Maoist rebels at Dhuwakot in Dhading district, adjoining capital Kathmandu, on Friday morning. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Madhav Thapa, who was leading a team of 20 policemen, escaped unhurt. The injured policemen have already been airlifted to the capital for treatment, the report said. In a separate incident, three suspected Maoist rebels were killed in an encounter with Police at Syalpakha village development committee in mid-western district of Rukum on Thursday afternoon, reports said. A police patrol team of about 30 recovered the three dead bodies after a nearly two-hour-long gun battle with the rebels. The rebels fled the area after the encounter. The reports of police-Maoist encounter in different parts of the country are pouring in almost daily after the G. P. Koirala-led government said it will intensify operations against the rebels. Nearly 1300 people have already lost their lives in the four-year-old Maoist 'people's war' launched by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), an ultra-left outfit. In yet another incident, Maoist rebels attacked a passenger bus in Surkhet district killing a local woman last Wednesday. In a shoot-out that followed, two rebels were killed and three policemen got injured. Leading dailies report April 29.

Budget Session To Convene On May 15

King Birendra has summoned the 18th session of the Parliament on May 15, the Parliament Secretariat said on Friday. This is the first time in the last one decade that the monsoon session of the Parliament, also known as the budget session, has been called nearly two months earlier. Officials said the session has been pre-poned to facilitate the government to present annual budget estimates for the year 2000/2001 within the month of May. Earlier, the annual budget used to be presented in the second week of July. The Ministry of Finance officials say as the discussions on the appropriation bill will end by mid-July this year the government will be in a position to release expenditure budgets immediately thereby facilitating the smooth implementation of development projects. Compiled from reports April 29.

An Army Personnel Kills His Superior

An army personnel mistakenly shot his superior dead in the premises of Regional Transmission Center of Radio Nepal at Surkhet in mid-western Nepal on last Thursday night. According to chief district officer of Surkhet, Dhruva Prasad Sharma, an army guard on duty fired four rounds of bullet at a person who approached him in the dark suspecting him to be a Maoist rebel trying to snatch his weapon. The dead person was later identified as Maniram Panthi, his superior who was visiting the site to see whether the guard was on duty. Nearly one year back, suspected Maoist rebels had snatched a gun from the police on duty at the Radio Center. The Center has since then hired army personnel to guard its premises. Kantipur April 29.

US State Dept. Withdraws Furey's Nomination

The US has withdrawn its ambassador-designate to Nepal, Thomas Furey, following an `adoption controversy,' KANTIPUR daily reported today. In its letter to Shital Niwas, the State Department said the US government had full faith upon Furey's integrity. However, it indicated that the decision was taken in the wake of "malicious" press reports. Two leading Nepali dailies had carried stories early this month alleging Furey of abandoning a Nepali child they had adopted in the eighties "due to his dark skin color." Both Furey and US embassy in Kathmandu have vehemently denied the allegations. Compiled from reports April 28.

Japanese Embassy Asks For Clarification

Gongabu bus park

The Japanese embassy in Kathmandu has asked the government to withhold the process of transferring the management of Kathmandu Bus Terminal to the private sector "until its justification becomes clear." In a letter written to Finance Secretary Ram Binod Bhattarai on April 10, Japanese ambassador Mitsuaki Kojima had asked the government to stop the process until the Kathmandu Municipal Corporation (KMC) clarifies regarding the justification of leasing out the Bus terminal. The ambassador said that as per Overseas Assistance Development (ODA) regulations of the Japanese government, any facility developed through its assistance could not be handed over to other parties for commercial purposes. The Ministry of Local Development has already asked the KMC to clarify its position. When contacted, Mayor of KMC, Keshav Sthapit, said they (the embassy) had not talked with him. "This is a matter related to the (Nepal) government," he added. The KMC has already prepared a final draft of agreement to lease out the management of the Bus Terminal to Lhotse Multipurpose Company, a private sector undertaking, for a period of 45 years. The Terminal, constructed at a cost of Rs 260 million, has remained in operation for the last seven years. Kantipur April 28.

PAC Expresses Reservation Over The Govt's Decision

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has expressed reservations over the recent decision of the Council of Ministers to allow leasing of a Boeing 757 aircraft without calling global tender. Members of the Committee alleged that the government has adopted `double standard' by forming a probe committee to investigate into the state-owned Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC)'s decision to extend the lease of a China South West Airlines' Boeing 757 plane for a period of three months but allowing the leasing for a period of three weeks. Responding to the members' queries, Joint Secretary at the Ministry, Yagya Prasad Gautam, said the latest decision was taken looking at the "compulsive situation" that the Corporation is in. The RNAC's own jet is flying out shortly for a routine check. Compiled from reports April 28.

Activists Appeal For Release Of Subedi Duo

Human rights activists belonging to nine different human rights organizations have condemned the abduction of a former Minister and his son by suspected Maoist rebels and have demanded their "immediate release." In a statement, the activists have said abduction of people who are not involved in armed conflict is in violation of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Convention, too, doesn't allow keeping hostages, they said. The rebels had abducted former Assistant Minister Reg Bahadur Subedi and his 24-year-old son from their house at Gajul in Maoist-hit district of Rolpa on April 14. The whereabouts of Subedi duo have not been known since then. Sources close to Subedi family said the rebels have demanded a huge sum as ransom for the release of the Subedi duo. Compiled from reports April 25.

ML Seeks Revenge

Gautam

Angered by the UML leaders' allegation against its leaders, the Marxist Leninist party is reportedly working overtime to seek tit for tat. The party is going to use its student wing -- All Nepal National Students Union (ANNFSU) -- to hit at the corrupt UML leaders. It will mobilize its student activists to gather information about the corruption committed by UML leaders. The student wing has been entrusted with the dual duty of exposing the present financial state of top UML leaders and giving clean chit to its own leaders who have been smeared by the UML. The UML had a couple of weeks ago alleged ML leaders Bamdev Gautam, Yamlal Kandel and Keshav Sthapit of indulging in corruption. Gautam, subsequently, filed a case of defamation at Kathmandu district court against UML leaders. Bimarsha April 28.

Nine Leftists To Picket Singhdurbar

To further their programs to press the government to accept 34-point demand, the nine leftist have announced their plan to picket the Singhdurbar - the official complex housing central secretariats, on May 1st. To make their program successful, the nine leftist parties have began to mobilize their workers from other districts, too. Their latest plan (to picket Singhdurbar) comes after their humiliating show so far. Although the leftist parties have been pressing the government to fulfill their demands for a long time, they have been shamefully ignored by the government. Nepalipatra April 28.

Jumla People Suffer From Asthma

Forty-five percent of the people of Jumla district suffer from asthma and other respiratory diseases. Although there is no external air pollution in this district, the congested houses with few windows and the practice of living in smoke-filled rooms coupled with widespread smoking habit has resulted in such a huge prevalence of the disease. According to a survey conducted by Mrigendra Memorial Medical Trust, 81 percent of Jumli adults (above the age of 20) are habituated to smoking cigarettes. Likewise, 32.7 percent of adolescents ( 31.1 percent boys and 34.7 percent girls) from 10 to 19 years of age in the district smoke. Himalaya Times April 27.