News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Landslide Buries A Bus, Fifteen Killed

Rescue workers of the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) helped recover five more bodies that were trapped inside the bus that was buried under a huge boulder. The RNA men blasted a part of the boulder to free the bus and recover the bodies on Sunday (October 10). A passenger bus en route from Gulmi to Kathmandu and a cargo truck en route from Bhairahawa to Pokhara were swept away by a huge landslide near Siddhababa of Butwal-Palpa border on Friday midnight (October 8). Bodies of ten passengers had already been taken out from the site on Saturday. Leading dailies report.

Three More Companies Get License To Operate Domestic Airlines

The government has given license to three more companies to operate domestic airlines. According to the Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministry, Base Air, Agni Air and Nepal Airlines were granted the license as per the existing legal provisions and after evaluating their financial and technical proposals. The three companies now need to obtain the Air Operation Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) within the next six months. At present, 32 companies have obtained AOC from the CAAN but only 17 of them actually came into operation. Because of poor road infrastructures and insecurity, the air traveling has increased in recent years. Compared to the previous year, the travel by air increased by 10.84 percent in 2003. Nearly a million passengers traveled by air (domestic sector) in 2003. Kantipur daily reports.

APF Inspector Shot To Death

An inspector of the Armed Police Force (APF) was shot to death on Friday (October 8) by the Maoists near Nayabazar in Kathmandu. Armed Maoists pumped bullets into his stomach just as Bishnu Bikram Adhikary was about to go to his office after dropping his wife at the gate of Dipshikha secondary school where his wife is a teacher. He was rushed to Bir Hospital where he breathed his last. Leading dailies report.

Govt. Unveils New Plans To Help Victims Of Conflict

The government has introduced a new set of plans to provide relief to the victims of conflict. At a press meet organized on Friday, PM Sher Bahadur Deuba said that although the assistance was inadequate, the government wanted to help the victims in anyway it could. The government’s relief package covers education, health, employment opportunities and rehabilitation. A women member of the family of a dead or disabled would be provided with skill-oriented and income generating training. Orphans would be raised in children homes. The displaced persons would also be taught skills and provided with opportunity of income generation. Their kids will be provided free education up to secondary level and given monthly scholarship of Rs 1000. Those whose properties have been destroyed during the conflict would be provided with compensation within three months. Patients who have to be hospitalized (in government hospital) for more than 6 months would be provided financial assistance of Rs 25,000. Compiled from reports.

HRW Concerned Over Rights Situation

An investigator of the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) Peter Bouckaert has warned that abusers of human rights in Nepal could face war crime charges in future just like the military generals of Peru and Argentina. “We are looking into whom to take action against after the conflict ends. We are documenting the situation,” he said. He was particularly concerned about the over 1000 cases of ‘disappearances.’ He said the army was unable to protect human rights and asked the international community to stop security assistance. He said while the US and India were silent on rights abuses by the government forces, the EU was alert about this. He also came down hard against the Maoists who he charged of failing to fulfill the international humanitarian laws by abducting civilians and using children in conflict. The HRW has prepared a 102-page long report about the rights situation in Nepal titled "Between A Rock And A Hard Place". Kantipur daily reports.

Home Minister Visits 18 Security Camps In Western Region

Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka visited 18 security camps located in different parts of the western development region on Wednesday (October 6). Khadka addressed security personnel posted in the region and praised them for their tireless duties to protect nation, people and democracy. He had made an unannounced visit in the region. “Only in unannounced visit can we gauge the real difficulties faced by our forces,” said Khadka. He said the problems faced by the forces would be discussed in the cabinet soon. Leading dailies report.

PWG and MCC To Support Maoists

A meeting of the Indian extremists – People’s War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Center (MCC) – have decided to provide both moral and material support to the Nepalese Maoists. The two Indian outfits have also decided to narrow down differences among themselves. The PWG is currently engaged in talks with the state government of Andhra Pradesh in India. The PWG have influence in Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. The MCC have influence in Bihar and West Bengal. Kantipur daily reports.

NOC’s Loss Soars By Rs 70 Million

Nepal Oil Corporation’s (NOC) loss, following the rise in the prices of crude oil products in the international market to over US$ 50 per barrel by October 4, has gone up by Rs 70 million, totaling to a monthly loss at Rs 535.6 million for NOC from its earlier loss of Rs 460 million. According to NOC, even after the hike in petrol products in the global market, the current petrol price in Nepal per liter costs Rs 51.25, diesel Rs 44.20, kerosene Rs 36.56 (quota) and Rs 36.59 (open). But petrol’s per liter selling price carries Rs 4.75 profit while in other products, there is a total loss, said NOC. It continues to bear a loss in diesel, kerosene (quota), kerosene (open) by Rs 9.20, Rs 12.56 and Rs 8.59 respectively. After the hike in the price of cooking gas recently, NOC is still at a loss of Rs 222.9 per cylinder which was only Rs 159.45 earlier. The NOC management is bent on taking loans from the government through collateral of the corporations’ assets to pay back the outstanding dues to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) – which has already crossed Rs 3 billion. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Mahara Says The Government Answers Are Meaningless

Krishna Bahadur Mahara, spokesperson of the Maoists, has said that the government answers to their six questions were abstract and meaningless. In an interview he gave to Maoist mouthpiece Janadesh weekly, he trashed the claims made by UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal that the royal audience has allayed all confusions regarding who was in charge. Meanwhile, Mahara refuted the statement that attributed Maoist chairman Prachanda as stating that the Maoists had appointed Dr. Baburam Bhattarai to carry forward peace process and that they were seriously considering to announce ceasefire. Mahara said the statement were false and smacked of conspiracy. The statement attributed to Prachanda had triggered intense speculations among media as well as government officials on Tuesday. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Garment Exports To US Decline By 32 PC

The exports of readymade apparels to the United States declined by 32 percent in the first nine months of 2004 compared to the same period the last year. According to Garment Association of Nepal (GAN), apparels worth US$ 71.4 million were exported. In the September month alone, the exports came down by 30 percent. Due to the customs and duty free facilities provided to countries of Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, the apparels from Nepal are expensive in US market. As per the Multi Fiber Agreement of the WTO, countries like Nepal will be pressed harder beginning 2005. Meanwhile, the apparels exports to the European Union countries in the same period jumped by 23 percent compared to last year. Likewise, the exports to Canada, too, witnessed a handsome growth. But exports to both these regions have received a beating in September. In any case, more than 80 percent of the exports are destined for US market. The garment sector employs 100,000 people in the country – half of them women. Its export generates 40 percent of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings. Kantipur daily reports.