 |
||
|
||
BRIEFS |
|
||
|
||
BRIEFS |
IN VIEW OF GROWING VIOLENT ACTIVITIES along the border, the Indian government has decided to set up the battalion headquarters of SSB (Special Service Bureau) force in Pithoragadh. According to SSB officer T.N. Tyagi, the headquarters will be set up by December this year. SSB is assigned the task of providing security along the Indo-Nepal border. At present there are around 40,000 SSB personnel along the border. India plans to raise their number to 70,000. CHINESE POLICE HAVE ARRESTED 12 Nepalese along with arms from the jungles along the border between Dolakha district and Khasa of China. The identities of the Nepalese are not yet known. Last year, the Chinese police had arrested four Maoists with guns from Khasa market. One of them has already been sentenced to death by Shigatse court. NEPAL OIL CORPORATION (NOC) has submitted a proposal to the government requesting hike in the price of petroleum products and decrease in its customs duty to assuage its financial trouble. The proposal was submitted after the Indian Oil Corporation sent a new price structure. The new price structure would increase the monthly loss of NOC from present level of Rs 450 million to Rs 700 million, the officials claim. The NOC’s proposal states that it will distribute the load of increasing price to all the three actors – the government, the NOC and the consumers. AMID THE DEADLOCK IN THE ONGOING talks with India on the issue of amending the Extradition Treaty, the cabinet has passed a proposal to present an alternative to Indian proposal of including third-country nationals in the extradition. Nepal has been rejecting the Indian proposal. But now with the intention to break the deadlock, the cabinet has passed the proposal which states that while the third country nationals charged of committing crime against India would not be extradited, a case would be initiated against the person in Nepal and Indian lawyers would be allowed to plead against him in Nepali court. This alternative proposal will be officially put forth by Nepal during the Home Secretary-level talks to take place in New Delhi on the third week of November. INFORMATION MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT spokesperson Dr. Mohamad Mohsin who raked up a controversy by stating that the alternative to the present government would be an authoritarian regime, has corrected his statement saying that he meant the Maoist authoritarianism. “Can’t you see the Maoist authoritarian regime is already creeping in through the back door? What kind of system do you find in the villages that are said to be under their control? People are not allowed to move or speak freely; they have to donate money and men regularly. Isn’t that authoritarian regime?” Mohsin told a group of journalists who had gone to his residence to celebrate Deusi. “What I meant to say was that if the government fails then the Maoist authoritarianism will find the opportunity to expand.” COMPUTER ASSOCIATION OF NEPAL (CAN) is holding its Tenth CAN InfoTech Show on January 22-28, 2005 at the Birendra International Convention Center. The annual technology show will also feature IT conference on relevant topics like information security, electronic transaction etc. A number of foreign companies will also participate in the show. NEPAL BRITAIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
and Industry (NBCCI) has entered in its tenth year of incorporation on 6th day of
Mangsir 2061. The chamber is primarily working for increasing trade, commerce,
investment and serving thereby towards the socio-economic development of Nepal and
bi-lateral relationship between Nepal and the UK. Its activities includes providing
information, consultation, promotional and representatives services to business and the
government section & is organizing seminars / workshops, conferences etc. in this
direction. The chamber has been able to take leadership at times of crisis in business
sector in the country as shown by its fruitful initiatives to form the Industrial Security
Group and so on. NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR EARTHQUAKE
TECHNOLOGY (NSET) has bagged the Microsoft Educations Award. The award was given
to the Society for developing Shake Table, which has been useful in raising people's
awareness in order to minimize the earthquake-related risks. "This award reflects a
high appreciation to our efforts in simplifying science and technology and ensuring
people's access to such technologies," said Amod Mani Dixit, executive director of
the NSET. The Society was able to bag the award defeating 580 competitors from 80
countries. Shake Table has been put up in exhibition in countries like India, Iran,
Afghanistan, Japan and Tajikistan. Now this has also been put up in Tech Museum in the
United States for exhibition. THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB)
and the Government of Nepal have concluded discussion on a proposed Gender
Equality and Empowerment of Women Project that would promote economic, social, legal, and
political empowerment of poor rural women, including ethnic and low-caste women. The
Project aims to improve the socioeconomic conditions of poor rural women through a process
of economic, social, legal, and political empowerment. It will strengthen their individual
capabilities to improve their access to and control over assets; build group support for
individual and collective action to influence and hold institutions accountable; and
strengthen Government institutions and processes to become more gender-responsive and
include previously marginalized women into development opportunities. The project
components comprise economic empowerment, legal empowerment, social empowerment, and
institutional strengthening and project management. The components are mutually supporting
to promote a virtuous circle of empowerment and socioeconomic improvement among poor rural
women. Likewise, the ADB also recently held a one-day consultation workshop with
government and non government representatives as part of the review of the implementation
of its governance and anticorruption policies. The review is looking at the extent to
which the implementation of the policies has improved the institutional environment in
ADB’s developing member countries. It aims to increase ADB’s operational
effectiveness as it works toward an Asia and Pacific region free from poverty. THE UNITED NATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, in collaboration with the North-South Institute (Canada) and the Third World Network (Malaysia), is organizing a conference on "Trade: Contributing to Growth, Human Development and Poverty Reduction in Asia" to be held in Malaysia on 22-24 November 2004. Rajendra Khetan from the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Prachanda Man Shrestha from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Brinda Hada, Director general of Department of Commerce and Ratnakar Adhikary from SAWTEE will be representing Nepal in this conference. The Broad aim of the conference is to identify whether and how increased trade and greater integration into the global trading system by Asian and Pacific countries can contribute positively to their poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals. More than 100 delegates from 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region will be participating in this important conference. This conference comes just ahead of the 6th minis trial conference of WTO to be held in Dec. 2005 in Hong Kong. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spot@mail.com.np |
