THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT HAS ENDORSED Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) agreement with Nepal . News reports from India have quoted Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting S. Jaipal Reddy as saying that the meeting of India ’s cabinet led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh endorsed it on Thursday (August 4). The Secretaries at the Home Ministry of the two countries had finalized the agreement a few months ago. The agreement is aimed at mutual assistance to control criminal activities. India is said to have signed such agreement with countries like the United Kingdom , the United States , Canada , Russia , Switzerland , Turkey , France , Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan .
FINANCE MINISTER MADHUKAR SJB RANA has taken strong exception against the activities of NGOs and have charged them of working in opaque manner. He questioned the result of NGO activities, which he said were obtaining around Rs 16 billion assistance annually. Minister Rana, addressing the launching ceremony of European Economic Chamber of Trade, Commerce and Industry – Nepal , also came out strongly against advocates of notion of failed state. He also stated that a referendum could be held to test the popularity of monarchists and republicans if the Maoists laid down arms. Earlier, delivering a key note speech on the occasion, British Ambassador Keith George Bloomfield had raised questions over the success of the February 1 royal step in achieving its twin goals of restoring peace and strengthening democracy. The Chamber had been instituted to establish better and closer business relations between Nepal and European member countries. “We want to work to further the business relations between Nepal and the European union member states,” Dibya Mani Rajbhandari, president of the chamber said. He added that the chamber would also provide whatever help it can in resolving the conflict situation in the country. On the occasion, the chamber honored various business leaders with different awards.
THE ARRIVAL OF TOURISTS BY AIR increased by four percent in the month of July compared to the number of tourists who arrived in the same month in 2004. This increase follows one percent growth recorded in the month of June, which was preceded by continuous fall in earlier months. According to data compiled by Immigration Department and made available by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), 19505 tourists arrived to Nepal in July. The month also witnessed the growth of 23 percent in the arrival of Indian tourists. The tourist arrival from other SAARC countries and the United States also increased by 23 and 86 percent in July whereas those coming from Asian, European and Oceania countries dropped by 20, 7 and 11 percent respectively.
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Nepal office Abraham Abraham has termed the attempts made by a group of Bhutanese refugees to return to their home as ‘unfortunate.’ He said that such attempts made before conductive atmosphere is created (for repatriation) would not be fruitful. On Tuesday, Indian police had used force to stop the group of refugees from entering into India . Abraham said that the attempts made under the leadership of the Bhutan Gorkha National Liberation Front (BGNLF) had put the refugees at unnecessary risk. He said it is unfortunate that politically-motivated individuals feel they can take the lives of refugees in their own hands by giving them false hopes. “While we can understand the increasing frustration of Bhutanese refugees about lack of progress on repatriation, this attempt to return was bound to fail,” he said, in a press statement. “It would be in the best interest of the refugees to return to the camps where the UNHCR can continue to provide them with assistance.”
FOLLOWING NEW PROVISIONS in the custom valuation, traders have launched strike in Tatopani – the only functioning trade and transit point between Nepal and China – resulting in the stoppage of imports from China . In the new budget, the government had introduced provisions to slash the 4 percent of custom waiver that the goods imported from China were enjoying. Now they need to pay full custom duty. Likewise, the budget has also introduced provisions following which any product in which tag indicate country of origin other than China , the custom will be valued as per the rules for that particular country. Traders are enraged with the imposition of this provision even though the officials recognize the widespread practice of putting tags of different countries in Chinese products. “Every official from custom officer to director general knows about this practice. Therefore, this new provision indicates that they intentionally want to stop imports from China ,” said Bishnu Bahadur Khatri, acting president of Nepal Trans-Himalaya Traders Association. He warned that the traders will continue with the strike until and unless the officials withdraw new provisions. According to him, around 200 cargo trucks are stranded in Tatopani following the strike. Goods worth Rs 25 million used to be imported from this route every day.
ACCUSING IT OF DISOBEYING THE government orders of not airing news-related materials, the Ministry of Information and Communication has written a letter to Nepal FM threatening to shut it down. The Ministry has asked the FM to clarify why the government should not shut it down. The government has accused the FM of airing news in the name of ‘Rajdhani Khabar (Capital News).’ However, Bishnu Hari Dhakal, managing director of Nepal FM, has said that they only aired development-related news. Meanwhile, Save Independent Radio Campaign and Independent Radio Journalists Agitation Committee have issued separate statements deploring the government for threatening to close down the radio station. They have asked the government to withdraw the letter immediately.
THE HIMALAYA BANK LTD has handed over 20 computers to Himachal Higher Secondary School located at Myagdi district. Chairman of the bank Mr. Manoj Bahadur Shrestha handed them over so that the school will use them to expand the telecommunications network under the wireless networking project undertaken by it. The community school wants to develop such a network in 14 rural areas of Kaski, Parbat and Myagdi districts through Wi-Fi technology. The school is also involved in direct tele-teaching among various schools. As one of the pioneer private-sector banks of the country, Himalayan Bank Limited has been fulfilling its social responsibilities by involving in such contribution to the development of rural areas of the country.
