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KING GYANENDRA WILL LEAD A DELEGATION to the Second South Summit to be held in Doha, Qatar on June 15-16. Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the King is scheduled to leave on June 13, while Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey will leave on June 12 to attend the ministerial meeting. The officials, however, refused to disclose if the King was scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the heads of friendly countries on the sidelines of the Summit. Heads of States and Governments from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean will take part in the Summit to review the development challenges facing their nations and to craft a united position with regard to proposals for the strengthening of the United Nations at the core of the 60th session of the UN General Assembly. As most of Nepal’s SAARC neighbors including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and northern neighbor China are attending the meeting of the Group of 77 (G-77), “bilateral talks may take place on the sidelines,” officials said. The issue on the agenda of the Summit of G-77 bloc includes putting in place a general system of trade preference among developing countries by 2006.
THE RESIDENTS OF INARUWA municipality of Sunsari district have felicitated Crown Prince Paras and Crown Princess Himani. They were felicitated at a special program organized at the Eastern Regional Educational Training Center in Inaruwa-7. Former Home Minister Dil Bahadur Shrestha read out the letter of felicitations on behalf of the people. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess also inaugurated Bhagwati temple in Babiya-1 of Inaruwa and offered their prayers.
CROWN PRINCE PARAS INAUGURATED the special function, on Wednesday (May 25), to mark the golden jubilee celebration of the first successful ascent of Mt. Kanchanjunga. Nepalese as well as foreign mountaineers who had climbed the third highest peak were felicitated on the occasion. Also present on the occasion was George Band – the British mountaineer who climbed the peak on May 25, 1955. The government has decided to celebrate the golden jubilee of successful ascent of all mountains above 8000 meters. Likewise, the Kanchanjunga summiteers were given civic felicitation by the municipalities of five cities of the Kathmandu valley.
THE SEVEN-MONTH-LONG PRICE WAR that led to sharp drop in fares to important sectors seems to have come to an end with the three leading private airlines announcing rise in the fare to Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj. The three airlines – Cosmic Air, Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines – have also announced that their new fare will be effective from May 29. The meeting of the representatives of three airlines had decided to raise the airfare. The price war had intensified after Cosmic introduced 100-seater Fokker aircraft in the domestic sector. “Since operating the service in the current fare was not going to be sustainable, new fares had to be fixed,” said Birendra Basnet, managing director of Buddha Air. The airlines have claimed that they did not engage in ‘carteling’ to reduce airfare. Upendra Karki, marketing director of Cosmic Air, said that they had first fixed minimum airfare to enter into the market. “Now customers are well aware about our service and hence the need to return to the old airfare,” he added. In the three sectors, Cosmic and Buddha have fixed similar airfare whereas that of Yeti is Rs 200 lesser per ticket. From the current airfare of less than Rs 1700 (for Biratnagar), the airlines have increased it to Rs 2585.
MAOISTS HAVE SHOT TO DEATH a policewoman and her four-year-old son in Dhangadhi on Saturday (May 28). According to police, constable Kaushila Majhi and her son Kiran were shot at their house as they prepared to sleep after having dinner. Majhi was shot in her chest, head and neck whereas her son was shot at his head. Earlier, indiscriminate firing by the Maoists claimed three security personnel and one Maoist at the local Buddha chowk of Bhairahawa on May 27 morning. During the firing, Sunita Yadav, 25, a resident of Rupandehi’s Pokharbhindi VDC was shot at in the rear and the foetus in her womb was killed, it is informed. She, however, is out of danger.
ALONG WITH THE ONSET OF DRY SEASON, the Kathmandu Valley is suffering from acute water shortage. The demand of the Kathmandu Valley residents is 214 Million Liters Daily (MLD) whereas the authorities are able to supply just 100 MLD. In many parts of the valley, water comes to the taps only once in four or five days. The quantities of water in reservoirs like Bode, Sundarijal, Balaju and Mahargunj have severely dropped – by as much as two-third quantity. According to the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC), although the normal capacity of Bode reservoir is 12 million liters, it is only holding 3 million liters at present. Sundarijal reservoir – which meets half the demand of the valley – has also decreased by one half, said NWSC general manager Dharma Kumar Bajimaya.
CHINA HAS ASSURED NEPAL OF HER support in Nepal’s bid to earn a non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the year 2007/08. “We have a positive attitude and will give due consideration (on Nepal’s candidature),” said visiting Chinese special envoy Zhou Gang, after a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Ramesh Nath Pandey on Friday (May 27). Pandey said that they discussed about strengthening the bilateral economic relations and UN reforms issue. The Chinese special envoy also held separate talks with vice chairmen duo of Council of Ministers Dr. Tulsi Giri and Kirtinidhi Bista on Saturday (May 28). He returned back on Saturday after completing three-day visit.
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