Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani offering prayers to Goddess Saraswoti at Mahendra Bhawan H.S. Boarding School.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FAVORABLE weather condition, six dozen climbers have ascended the summit of Mount Everest in the last two days. According to the tourism industry section at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, 72 climbers including 37 Sherpas climbed atop the summit on May 15 and 16. The major attraction this season was the successful filming and ascent by a team of climbers associated with the Discovery Channel. As a part of this team, chief cameraman Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa made it to the summit for 11th time. The team ascended the summit filming the whole event. The documentary of the Everest ascent will be shown worldwide through the Discover Channel after four months. The airing of the ascent is expected to boost the attraction of Nepalese Himalayas in the world.

THE NEPAL TELECOM HAS SLASHED THE TARIFF of International Subscriber Dialing (ISD) effective from May 17. According to the new decision, a customer can talk for 2.4 seconds for Re 1. Earlier, the company used to charge tariff of one minute for even a second of a call. Likewise, as per the new provision one can talk in a phone anywhere in the world for Rs 25 per minute charge. To avail of this service one has to dial the number 1445 or 1425 instead of the international code 00. This service has been named budget call. The company has announced these new provisions after its ISD revenues were being affected due to increasing use of internet telephony. The company has also substantially brought down the charges of ISD for India and SAARC countries.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HAS CONDEMNED MOUNTING attacks on civilians by the Maoists and called on the rebels to respect human rights and abide by the international humanitarian standards. The AI has received reports of at least 14 civilians killed by the Maoists since the beginning of May. This figure includes seven passengers who were killed on May 9 – along with seven Royal Nepal Army (RNA) soldiers and one Armed Police Force (APF) official. The Maoists had opened fire at a public bus in Dolakha. “There has also been an increase in the bombing and ambushing of civilian targets by the (Maoists),” a statement issued from London said. The AI has stated that it is also seriously concerned over the recent alleged mass abductions by the Maoists of teachers and students for forced ‘education’ sessions. Since May 1, it has been reported that more than 350 students have been abducted from villages in the far west, 36 teachers have been abducted from schools in Sindhuli and 221 teachers and students have been abducted in East Lamjung. There are also unconfirmed reports that up to 1500 teachers and students were abducted from Rukum district. “These grave abuses violate fundamental human rights, liberty and security,” said AI. It also expressed concern at reports of threats by the Maoists on aid organizations. Referring to the May 10 announcement that the international donors are suspending work in six districts of mid-western Nepal because of ‘serious demands and threats’ by Maoists, Amnesty International commented that, “by obstructing the delivery of aid and services to some of Nepal’s poorest communities, the Maoists are endangering the basic economic and social rights of the estimated 55,000 recipients of that aid.”

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE HAS RELEASED ONE BILLION rupees for carrying out development activities at local level. The fund would be distributed to the Village Development Committees (VDCs). In the current fiscal year’s budget, the government had set aside Rs 1.95 billion for 3912 VDCs across the country. There is a provision of providing a lump sum of Rs 500,000 to each VDC to carry out local development efforts. The total promised amount could not be released because in many VDCs, there are no government secretaries. Due to conflict situation, the government would not be able to spend all of its development budget. The government has set aside Rs 42 billion as development expenditure for the current fiscal year. However, ten months into the fiscal year, the government has hardly been able to spend one-third of the development expenditure.

FOLLOWING A BITTER CLASH BETWEEN THE security forces and the Maoists in Jhyaupokhari area of Deurali VDC of Bhojpur district on Wednesday (May 12) afternoon, at least 15 Maoists have been killed. According to security sources, two personnel of the Armed Police Force (APF) were also killed in the incident. The attack occurred after around 600 armed Maoists opened fire and hurled bombs at a group of 60 APF personnel who were patrolling the area. The attack continued for six hours and the Maoists fled after an army chopper arrived at the scene. Meanwhile, the toll of the Maoist attack in Jawangkhola of Dhading district on Tuesday has increased. According to security sources, they have discovered dead bodies of 16 Maoists from the scene. Seven security personnel had been killed in that incident.

NEPAL GOVERNMENT HAS ASKED THE DONOR countries for technical assistance in order to implement the treaties and agreements signed by it as per the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. The government had submitted proposals seeking for such assistance to European community, Australia and the United States of America. “We have been receiving positive replies from them,” said Prachanda Man Shrestha, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Among them, teams from Australia and the European Union are expected to visit Nepal next month. Shrestha said that details about the technical assistance will be worked out after such visits. Nepal has asked for technical assistance primarily in implementing provisions like Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT) and custom evaluation.