Kathmandu, April 27: The 45th anniversary of Nepal Rastra Bank was observed here by organising various programmes.

On the occasion, NRB Governor Dr. Tilak Rawal said the NRB works effectively for promoting job opportunities and alleviating poverty while maintaining economic stability at the same time.

Stating that the NRB as a central bank has focussed its attention on reducing interest rates, Dr. Rawal noted that reduction of the spread rate has helped financial institutions working for poverty alleviation and other productive activities receiving priority to get capital in a simplified manner.

The balance of payment is now favourable, exchange rate is stable, inflation is under control and a balance has been maintained in foreign trade, the NRB Governor said, adding promoting investment for economic development of the country is the major challenge facing the NRB.

Various other speakers including deputy governor Bharat Krishna Sharma and NRB Employees Association Prem Prasad Pandey also expressed their views at the function.

On the occasion, Dr. Rawal presented gifts and certificates to 50 employees completing 25 years of service.

He also gave away certificates and cash prizes to winners of competitive literary writings.

Kathmandu, April 27: In a “strategically attractive” move, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) today announced it had agreed to sell its Grindlays businesses in the Middle East and South Asia, and associated Grindlays Private Banking business, to Standard Chartered PLC for 1.34 billion US dollars (2.28 billion euros or 2.2 Australian dollars) in cash.

In addition, ANZ has received dividends of US$ 0.5 billion from Grindlays retained earning, an ANZ news release today says.

The price, excluding dividends, represents a multiple of 2.3 times book value of US$ 590 million, and 14.3 times annualised first half 2,000 earnings.

ANZ also announced today a one billion Australian dollars on-market share buyback, one of the largest buybacks by an Australian company.

ANZ chief executive officer John McFarlane, said the transaction is strategically attractive for both buyer and seller.

“For ANZ, the sale generates immediate value for our shareholders. For Standard Chartered, it creates the leading international bank in the Middle East and South Asia and it will benefit from the growth and synergies the integrated platform will bring,” he said.

ANZ will countinue to provide international banking services to its customers in the Middle East and South Asia region through a new co-operation agreement with Standard Chartered. Yhis will give ANZ customers access to a deeper and much broader network in the region. Both companies will also co-operate on project finance and corporate advisory services in the Middle East and South Asia.

In May 1999, ANZ signalled its intention to simplify its international business and focus it on Asia-Pacific.

Following the sale, ANZ will accelerate the development of its banking, financial services and e-commerce businesses in its core markets of Australia, New Zealand and Asia-pacific. In addition, ANZ will develop its established international trade, global structured finance, foreign exchange and capital markets presence in Asia, London and New York.

Discussing the buyback, Mr McFarlane said: “ANZ is committeed to efficient capital management and we do not believe in carrying excess capital for possible acquisitions, but rather justifying them to shareholders at the time they occur. While we remain open to possibilities, acquisition is not our main focus”.

Mr McFarlane paid special tribute to Grindlays’ management and staff. “The outcome and the attractiveness of Grindlays to Standard Chartered both reflect the hard work and dedication of current and former staff in the region. The new, larger business will offer our local staff expanded career opportunities,” Mr McFarlane said.

Meanwhile, according to the AFP reports received from London, ANZ said that the combination would position it as “the leading international bank in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and second in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Sri Lanka, based on total assets.”

The total cost, to be established by an audit, was expected to be 1.34 billion dollars, including goodwill of 750 million dollars, Standard Chartered said.

Standard Chartered group chief executive Rana Talwar added: “This acquisition is completely in line with our stated strategy and is a significant step towards our objective of becoming the world’s leading emerging markets bank.

“It also emphasises our commitment to develop our business in the Middle East and South Asia.

“Good economic growth rates are forecast in India and across the region and we believe that this is the right time to invest … It will position us to take advantage as the region, with its rapidly growing middle class, opens up to e-commerce and new banking products.”

In an official statement, Standard Chartered said it expects the purchase to be earnings enhancing for its shareholders in the first full year after completion and after amortisation of goodwill.

Completion is expected in the third quarter of 2000, subject to regulatory approvals.

Kathmandu, Apr. 27: The second regular meeting of the Janamukti Party Nepal central committee was held here recently under the chairmanship of party chairman Kamal Chharahang.

The three-day meeting concluded that the political situation in the country is unstable and the government has not paid attention to the daily life of the people, relief measures for them and the like.

The meeting decided to implement a special economic program to mobilise the party’s internal organisation, and to present a memorandum to the prime minister on the burning issues of the country and various demands put forth by the party.

Similarly, the meeting concluded that the government and the Maoists should tackle their problem at a politcal level and to that end initiate talks immediately and activate the task force constituted for that purpose.

Kathmandu, Apr. 27: The team leader of the “Serenading Trio” the legendary Emiliano D Cruz who is also known as the musical Ambassador of Goa is in Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu as part of the Goan Zatras Festival in the hotel.

Emiliano is one of the most prominent musicians from Goa and has travelled the around the world as an ambassador of Goa’s Vibrant culture and history.

Emiliano started playing music at the tender age of eight during the Portuguese rule of Goa and his basic musical orientation is based on the Portuguese style with violin and mandolin.

Emiliano’s music is based on Goan Konkani culture and his troupe is known as the Serenading Trio with support from rhythm guitarist and another mandolin and has already recorded several albums.

Kathmandu, Apr. 27: A Nepali feature film Mukundo will be screened thrice at the San Francisco international Film Festival.

The festival began on April 21 and will come to close on May 4, said the press release of Mila Production Pvt. Ltd.

The film is the feature directorial debut of Tsering Rhitar Sherpa, whose documentary, “The Spirit doesn’t Come Anymore,” won the top prize at the South Asia documentary Film Festival, organized by Himal Magazine in 1997.

The San Francisco International film Festival has selected Mukundo as an entry in its competitive award category. the festival has therefore especially invited the director, Tsering Rhitar Sherpa, to present the film. The festival, rated among the top three in the US, is credited with introducing the works of great filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa, Andrezej Wajda, Satyajit Ray, Michelangelo Antonioni and Luchino Visconti, it states.

Dhangadhi, Apr. 27: Landless Settlers of Hasuliya and Ratnapur VDCs and Basanta area in Kailali district Monday picketed the district Landless Settlers Problem Resolution committee office throughout the day demanding that land should be provided to them as they are genuine landless settlers.

The landless settlers numbering about 200 demanded that land which they are already using be distributed to them.

It is said that only about 24 percent of those who have encroached upon land in Ratanpur and Hasuliya VDCs and Basanta area are genuine landless settlers.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the commission held recently has formed a genuine landless settlers identification committee in every VDC under the chairmanship of the VDC chairman with representatives from the political parties recognised as national parties.

Land will be distributed progressively following notification from such committees to the commission about the genuine landless settlers identified, district convenor of the commission Deergharaj Bhat said.

A recommendation has been made to the concerned bodies for the termination of land owner certificates as the previous commission has been found to have engaged in irregular distribution of some 46 biga of land. The number of landless settlers in the district is expected to be about 10,000.

Kathmandu, Apr. 27: The number of smokers is reported to have decreased by 20 percent in Jumla district thanks to the launching of an anti-smoking drive.

Smokers constitute 94 percent of the population in the mountain and remote villages of the district. Tobacco (Sulfa) smokers constitute the bulk of the smokers in those areas, say the Mrigendra Samjhana Medical Trust at a seminar here Wendesday, putting the number of those giving up smoking at 1,117. The Medical Trust is going ahead with an 18-month smoking control experimental programme as well as control of Pneumonia in children under 5′ in the district with the financial co-operation of the Health Ministry’s Health Promotion Fund Board of directors and the assistance of the local people. The seminar was held to shed light on the progress of the experimental programme.

The assessment report prepared by its team lead by Hari Bhakta Pradhan after a year of the public awareness experimental programme says Dalits and Kshatris in great number have given up smoking habit while among the youths, male exceed females in giving up smoking.

In some villages, more than fifty percent of the smokers have given up the habit and several villagers threw tobacco into rivers or parted with their hubble-bubble, while others are no longer cultivating tabacco leave, the report says. At the seminar special secretary at the Health Ministry Dr Somnath Aryal expressed concern at considerable increase of ads on smoking through other media after its ban on electronic media. Founder of the Trust Dr Mrigendra Raj Pandey stressed the need to continue anti-smoking drive in view of its effective in reducing smokers in Jumla.

Chairman of the Trust Dr Krishna Jung Rana called for continued assistance from the government in anti-smoking campaign.

Pokhara, Apr. 27: A national report will be prepared in line with the topics adopted by the world women conference held in Beijing five years ago by covering the activities performed, problems encountered, ways of resolving the problems, future commitments, etc in Nepal.

The national report is to be prepared with the objective of presenting it at the UN special general assembly to be held in New York in June to assess the activities after the world women conference in Beijing.

The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare held a western regional consultative meeting here recently in the context of collecting necessary suggestions for preparing an outstanding report.

One hundred persons including political figures, women leaders, employees concerned with the development of region and districts, employees of the NGOs and INGOs, people’s representatives, women development officer, girl students, journalists, professors and intellectuals attended the meeting.

Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Mrs Kamala Pant, inaugurating the consultative meeting, said that the present constitution of Nepal can be considered to be a progressive document in favour of the womenfolk.

Traditional originality and structure should be improved and not demolished, Mrs Pant said, adding that as the problem of Nepal is different from the 181 countries that attended the conference, the regional meeting had been organised expecting specific suggestions.

Shedding light on the programmes of women awareness and income generation, she said that the government was making effort to set up juvenile court and formulate laws for checking violence against women.

MP Shukra Raj Sharma said that all should be alert to work for the dignity of women.

DDC chairman Punya Prasad Paudel, Dr. Balgopal Baidya, Dr. Prabha Basnet, Mrs Ishwari Bhattarai, Bandana Rana and a host of other speakers expressed their views at the meeting chaired by Pokhara Mayor Krishna Thapa.

Kathmandu, Apr 27: Minister for Information and Communication Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta felicitated senior journalist and social worker S. L. Sharma at a programme organised by the editors society Nepal here other day.

Sharma was honoured for his contribution to journalism, literature and social service since 2004 B.S.

Speaking on the occasion Minister Gupta noted that the press should reach a conclusion whether it is right to make the freedom of the press a tool to justify the killing of the innocent people. Minister Gupta called on the journalists to concentrate on moving ahead journalism in an professional manner.

Felicitated personality S.L. Sharma said the journalists should have the inherent capacity to write by giving the nation and nationalism paramount place.

Chairman of the Press Council Harihar Birahi said the journalists should be devoted to make the democratic system stronger.

From the chair, president of the Editors Society Govinda Biyogi said the new generation will be encouraged by the honour of the forerunners.

Ex MP Hiranya Lal Shrestha said the contribution made by S.L. Sharma to nation building through media in the past 50 years is very significant.

President of the Nepal Press Union Kulchandra Wagle and president of the Press Chautari Bijaya Chalise also expressed their views.

Kathmandu, Apr. 27: The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) in collaboration with King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) has begun the census of the Greater one horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in and around Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) with financial support of WWF Nepal Program and (GEF/UNDP from tomorrow, this is stated in a press release issued by DNPWC, today, National Park.

A Central Coordination Committee consisting of the representatives of WWF Nepal Programme, KMTNC and DNPWC has been formed for the census under the chairmanship of Dr. Tirtha Man Maskey, Director General, DNPWC. The field-level task force headed by Gopal P Upadhyay, Chief Warden, RCNP, consists of Narayan Poudel, Senior Ecologist (DNPWC), Conservation Officer Mahendra K. Shrestha (DNPWC), Ecologist Narendra B. Pradhan (DNPWC), Dr. Shanta R Jnawali (Director, BCP/KMTNC), Dr. Mukesh K Chalise (Research Officer, RTCPA/DNPWC) Office-in-Charge Top B. Khatri (NCRTC), Dr. Kamal Gaire (DNPWC), Bal Krishna Giri (DNPWC), and Senior Program Officer Anil Manandhar of WWF Nepal Programme, the press release further stated.

The task force is supported by wardens, rangers and technicians of DNPWC and KMTNC. In addition, 20 domesticated elephants are being used with the help of 60 elephant staff for the operation. “The census is being carried out to find out th estatus of rhino population for better management of the endangered species in future” says. Narayan Poudel about the initiation. He also adds that the count would indicate habitat condition, age groups and sex ratio of this wildlife in Chitwan. Ukesh Raj Bhuju, Conservation Program Director of WWF Nepal programme opines: “Greater one-horned rhinoceros is an indicator species of the area. The outcome of the census will enable us to plan about future translocation programs.”

The Count is expected to continue for the next 4-5 weeks. Established in 1973, RCNP (932 sq.km.) consists of a diversity of ecosystems, and is the prime habitat for the second largest rhino population in the world. Rhinoceros also occur in the community and buffer zone forests, as well as the adjoining forest areas. The “Rhino Count ’94” jointly conducted by DNPWC, WWF and Resources Nepal estimated 446-466 with an annual growth rate of 3.7 per cent. The recently concluded rhino count in Royal Bardia National Park has estimated 67 individuals in the park.