Security and water resource experts of Nepal and India have agreed to let the Rapti river flow freely without any obstruction, reports said.

In a meeting between Indian and Nepalese officials in the border town of Nepalgunj on Wednesday, the Indian side assured that the Laxmanpur barrage would not be closed during inundation in the Rapti river so as to let the water flow naturally, Kantipur reported.

A technical team of India’s Sarju Canal and the security chiefs of bordering Baharaich district asked the Nepali side to give prior information about the inundation to the Indian officials. Chief District Officer of Banke including police chief and officials of Water Induced Calamity Division represented Nepal in the meeting.

In the meeting, the Nepali side also reiterated their stance of allowing the water of Sutaili and Gandhaili stream to flow naturally. The natural flow of these two streams have been obstructed by the embankment built unilaterally by India, causing some 10 VDC’s of Banke district to submerge under water every monsoon. However, the two sides didn’t reach any understanding regarding this.

Two Major Generals Kul Bahadur Khadka and Amar Pant of Nepali Army (NA) have been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Generals.

Photo Source : DPR

Photo Source : DPR
Likewise, five Colonels including Surendra Bahadur Karki, Pradip Bahadur Singh, Rajendra Bikram Shah, Bijaya Kumar Shahi and Sundar Pudasaini have been promoted to the rank of Brigadier Generals.

The cabinet had made the decision to promote them on June 21. Chief of Army Staff General Rookmangud Katawal formally awarded the insignia of their ranks at a special function held in army headquarters on Wednesday.

Among the two Lieutenant Generals, Lt. Gen Khadka has been appointed as Chief of Staff while Lt. Gen. Pant has been appointed as Chief of General Staff.

Home Minister Krishna Sitaula today said the government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring security for the November 22 election to constituent assembly.

Home Minister Krishna Sitaula

Home Minister Krishna Sitaula(File Photo)
Speaking at a programme organised by the Armed Police Force Wives Association in the capital, Situala said the government was prepared to address the security concerns raised by the Election Commission.

At a time when the army remains demobilised, Sitaula said, the APF would be looking after the security for the election. He also directed the APF ranks to stay prepared to maintain security.

Describing the current state as the most serious transitional phase in Nepal’s history, Situala said complete peace would return in the country after the CA polls.

The Home Minister’s statement comes at a time when various sides including some ruling parties and the Election Commission are expressing worry over growing insecurity. Situala has been criticised even by his own party’s leaders for not doing enough to control violent activities going around the country.

Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel this week said free and fair CA election would not be possible if the government failed to improve security.

The Office of the Controller of Examination (OCE) Sanothimi has said the result of this year’s School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations result by July 8 (Asadh 24).

OCE officials said that although they had initially planned to publish the results in the first week of Asadh (3rd week of June), but owing to two weeks long nationwide teachers’ strike they were compelled to push back the date.

Officer of the Controller of Examination Harka Prasad Shrestha said the staffs were working from 6 in the morning to 8 in the night in order to publish the results by the aforementioned date.

“We are finished with the checking of examination papers, now the marks secured by students from all the districts are being uploaded into the computer,” Shrestha said and added that it would take four more days to verify it.

The SLC results would be published between July 6 to 8, and like in previous years, this year’s results would be available online, via SMS and telephone.

A Nepali contractor and an American were killed in a suicide bombing carried out by Taliban insurgents in Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday.

The blast in eastern Kabul killed a Nepali contractor and an American in addition to the bomber, Associated Press said quoting Gen. Ali Shah Paktiawal, head of criminal investigations for Kabul police. Three other American contractors and two Afghans were wounded in the incident.

The blast destroyed one vehicle, which was flung to the side of the road.

Zabiullah Mujaheed, a purported Taliban spokesman, said the militant group was behind the blast, which was set off by a 27-year-old Afghan man named Faizullah from the city of Jalalabad.

“There were two foreigner vehicles that passed near my shop and a third private vehicle hit them, causing the explosion,” one Ahmad Shah, whose shop is close to the blast site, told AP. He said the attacker’s vehicle and two of the contractors’ vehicles caught fire after the explosion.

The identity of the Nepali killed in the bombing is yet to be confirmed.

The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee on Thursday refused to start hearing on the nomination of 14 ambassadors and asked the government to come of with a new list of nominees.

A meeting of the committee decided not to start hearing on the nominations as they were made by the previous seven-party government. The committee also asked the Foreign Ministry to produce a new list of nominees within a week.

The Maoists have opposed the nominations demanding their share in ambassadorial posts.

As per constitutional provisions, the government had sent the list of ambassadorial nominees, which was finalised seven months earlier, to the committee for hearing.

14 ambassadorial posts remain vacant for over a year.

Bamdev Gautam (File Photo)

Bamdev Gautam (File Photo)
A senior leader of Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) has said that his party should unite with Maoists ahead of Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.

Bamdev Gautam, a standing committee member, said that the UML should be united with the Maoists to ensure republic in the country.

Speaking at the 15th central committee meeting of the UML, on Tuesday, Gautam said other parties including the Nepali Congress (NC) were regressive and wanted some kind of monarchy.

Gautam said he was continuing efforts to unite with the Maoists.

Meanwhile, at the central committee meeting, general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal presented his political report in which he has blamed both NC and Maoists for the troubles in the country. He has termed NC as status-quoist while he said Maoists were extreme leftists.

Compared to the previous fiscal year, the number of people leaving Nepal for employment purposes recorded a slight growth this year. In the past one month alone, some 21,175 Nepalese citizens left Nepal in search of greener pastures abroad.

The number of people going for foreign employment has increased by 6.9 percent in the first 11 months of current fiscal year (July 16, 2006 to July 15, 2007), according to the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion.

During this period, 176,115 persons left the country for 14 different labor destinations around the world, the department said. Last year some 164,742 persons had left the country for foreign employment. Lack of employment opportunities in the country is said to be the main reason why increasing number of Nepalese youths are heading abroad.

As per recent figures, Malaysia remains the most preferred destination among people going for foreign employment. However, number of workers leaving for Malaysia decreased by 13 percent to 65,455 this year from last years 75,758. But in aggregate, around 50 percent of the total outgoing workers left for Malaysia this fiscal year, followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

However, according to manpower companies, increasing number of Nepalese workers are now heading to Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arab for foreign employment.

Oppressive labor acts, unsafe working environment and harassments are said to be some of the reasons that are putting off Nepalese workers from Malaysia.

Continuing their targeted killings, cadres of Jwala Singh-led Janatantrik Mukti Morcha (JTMM) have murdered a villager in Bara district.

One Laxman Ram Chamar of Sukhipathara VDC-6, Bara, was shot dead at around 11:00 Tuesday night, reports said.

Claiming responsibility for the killing, local leaders of JTMM-Jwala said Chamar was killed for involving in robbery.

In recent weeks, the two factions of JTMM have intensified targeted killings, abduction and extortion in Terai districts.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Sahana Pradhan has said that the rights of children will be fully guaranteed after the election to constituent assembly.

Sahana Pradhan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, inaugurates National Child Participatory Consultation on Child Labour at Rastriya Sabha Griha, Kathmandu Wed Jun 27 07

Sahana Pradhan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, inaugurates National Child Participatory…
Inaugurating the National Child Participatory Consultation on Child Labour organised by Concern Nepal at Rastriya Sabha Griha in the capital Wednesday, Minister Pradhan also assured that an environment where children would be able to study in a fearless environment would be created after the CA elections.

She also stressed the need for the government to come up with new programmes for children who were previously involved in risky labour and make arrangements to properly rehabilitate them.

Rights activists Dr Mathura Shrestha, Gopal Krishna Siwakoti and others also spoke on the occasion stressing the need for everybody to be serious in ensuring the rights of the children.

On the occasion Concern Nepal also made public the findings of its latest report on child labour. According to the report, there are altogether 3.6 million child laborers in Nepal and more than 80 percent in it are involved in very high-risk jobs posing a grave threat to their health conditions. The report also states that some 60,000 children work in brick kilns under appalling conditions.