Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal met President Dr Ram Baran Yadav at Shital Niwas on Sunday to discuss the army chief issue.
During the meeting Prime Minister Dahal is said to have told President Yadav, who is the Supreme Commander of the Nepal Army, that the government is intent on taking action against Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal despite pressure from various quarters to forgo such a plan.
President Yadav on his part advised Dahal to reach consensus with political parties before taking any decision on the army chief.
PM Dahal’s meeting with the President comes a day after the Unified CPN (Maoist)’s central secretariat decided to seek political consensus for taking action against Katawal. Sources say the Maoist party is adamant on ousting the army chief even if this move forces it to quit the government.
Earlier, Maoist leaders had publicly criticised the President over the CoAS issue for “not acting as a ceremonial head and trying to play the executive role”.
However, the President’s office on Friday issued a press statement, refuting news reports that the President had in his letter to the PM had advised him not to take action against Katawal. nepalnews.com mk Apr 26 09
Nepal U-19 cricket team clinched a hard fought three wicket victory over Singapore Saturday to cruise to the semifinal of the ACC U-19 Elite Cup cricket tournament in Kuwait.
Singapore won the toss and made 171 runs losing all wickets. In reply, Nepal lost its wickets at frequent intervals but skipper Gyanendra Malla played a captain’s knock of 62 runs to win the match.
Rom Shrestha was the pick of the Nepali bowlers with 3-29 from 10 overs while Sagar Khadka took 2-24 from 10 overs. Amrit Bhattarai (1-30), Chandra Saud (1-28), Lal Bahadur Adhikari (1-35) and Prithu Banskota (1-9) also bagged one wicket apiece.
Earlier, Nepal had defeated Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Nepal collected six points from three matches to enter semifinal but still has one match left in hand.
Nepal will play their last Group ‘A’ match against Hong Kong at Hubara grounds on Monday. nepalnews.com bt Apr 26 09
Anura Rohana clinched the Surya Nepal Masters 2009 title with an eagle two on the final hole to win his maiden professional event. With a final round of three-under 69, he finished two shots ahead of his compatriot, Mithun Perera, who returned a card of even-par 72 to finish at ten-under 278 for the tournament. Anura became richer by RS 405,000.
Kunal Bhasin, who was in the mix of things until the leaders group made the turn, finished in sole third place, one clear of last year’s winner Shamim Khan who finished with a four-day total of six-under 282. Deepak Thapa Magar with a total of three-under 285 was the leading Nepali pro finishing tied for sixth place. Kunal walked away with a prize purse of RS 280,000 while Shamim Khan won RS 157,500 for his effort. Thapa Magar went home with RS 90,000.
In the international amateur country championship, Perera comfortably walked away with the title with Jamal Hossain Mollah finishing in second place and Nepal’s Rupak Acharya in third place.
In an elaborate prize presentation ceremony, the President of Nepal, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav felicitated the winners.
For Rohana, the four lakh prize purse (Nepali) was a just reward for four rounds of hard work. “For me more important than the eagle on the final hole was the par on the 15th. That is where I won the title,” he said.
The final scores were as follows:
276 Anura Rohana (SL) (73,65,69,69); 278 Mithun Perera (A) (SL) (68,70,68,72); 281 Kunal Bhasin (AUS) (71,72,69,69); 282 Shamim Khan (IND) (71,71,71,69); 283 Harinder Gupta (IND) (69,72,72,70); 285 Ashok Kumar (IND) (69,73,74,69), Deepak Thapa Magar (NEP) (74,71,69,71), Mandeo Pathania (IND) (74,73,66,72); 287 Siddikur Rahman (BD) (74,76,67,70); 288 Rafick Ali (IND) (74,74,70,70); 289 Chiragh Kumar (74,72,73,70); 290 Shiv Ram Shrestha (68,75,74,73); 291 Shankar Das (74,73,73,71); 292 Ram Thapa (75,73,68,76) nepalnews.com bt Apr 26 09
Experts on Saturday called for consolidating commercial relations between Nepal and Thailand by scouting new potentials of investment between the two countries.
They came up with this remark while speaking at a programme organised on the occasion of the eighth annual general meeting of Nepal-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industries (NTCCI).
Nepali traders also laid emphasis on the need to promote economic activities between the countries.
Nepal has been basically importing plastic materials, furniture, construction materials, electric tools, different raw materials and foodstuffs from Thailand. However, the country exports very little to Thailand.
Economic transactions between the two countries in last year stood at Rs 3.60 billion.
Adressing the assembly, Thailand’s acting ambassador to Nepal Asi Mamanee asked the Chamber to take initiations towards enhancing commercial relations between Nepal and Thailand by exploring new avenues of investment.
Ajay Kumar Mudwari, chairman, NICCI, said that the Chamber is working to expedite economic activities between the two countries. nepalnews.com Apr 26 09
Indian deputy ambassador to Nepal Alok Sinha said that his country has always contributed to enhance the economy of Nepal apart from cooperating in the peace process.
While speaking at an interaction at the “Excellence Acheivers Award 2009” programme held at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) he further said, “India alone contributes to 44 percent total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal. And, there are 240 projects worth Rs 13,000 million being executed in various sectors like hydropower, road construction and education, among others.”
He also made it a point to relate that both the countries share economic transparency in terms of trade.
During the programme, the winners of the first ‘Excellence Achievers Award 2009’ were awarded with tokens and certificates. nepalnews.com Apr 26 09
Tharu and other indigenous communities of the Terai who had launched a two-week agitation for their independent identity in the Terai last month have been divided into two factions.
While one out of the five organisations which signed a joint agreement with the government last month has been stirring again since last week, other organisations have accused it of acting under the directives of feudal elements.
Tharuhat Swayatya Rajya Parishad led by Laxman Tharu has been agitating in 22 districts of the Terai saying the government had mentioned ‘Terai-Madhesh’ in one of the bills tabled in the parliament. Tharu’s argument is there is no ‘Madhesh’ in Terai.
Tharuhat is launching the agitation despite government’s commitment towards fulfilling the agreements. It is unfortunate that some organisations are resorting one agitation after another at a time when the House is not able to proceed, said peace minister Janardan Sharma.
However, other organisations are not with Tharuhat Swayatya Rajya Parishad. General secretary of Tharu Kalyankarini Sabha Raj Kumar Lekhi said the Tharuhat started the agitation without consulting any other organisations. Likewise, Taj Mohammad Miya, coordinator of Muslim Rastriya Sangharsha Samiti, expressed confidence that the government would implement the agreements.
Indrajeet Tharu of Tharu Rastriya Mukti Morcha accused the Tharuhat of launching the agitation with funds from feudal forces as per their direction. They are trying to create instability in the country by taking advantage of the current political situation, he added.
Meanwhile, life in Terai districts has become further difficult as the transportation has been obstructed for the fifth day. The shortage of essentials like food, medicine and fuels has hit the Terai and hilly districts alike.
Local administrations in various districts have started imposing night curfews in various places to transport the essentials since Friday. nepalnews.com Apr 26 09
The fourth International Hydro Power Convention has kicked off in Kathmandu Saturday.
Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Poudel inaugurated the convention participated by independent power producers, government officials and energy experts from Nepal and India.
The participants will discuss the policies, procedures, perceptions and practices of hydro power development in Nepal during the two-day convention.
Addressing the function, minister Poudel said the contribution of private sector is critical for the realisation of the government’s vision to produce 10,000 MW hydel in 10 years. The two bills on electricity will help create an even platform for the national and international power producers, Poudel added.
Dr Sandip Shah, president of Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal said the government needs to come up with concrete plans, policies, programmes and implementation strategies to realise it vision of developing 10,000 megawatts of hydel in 10 years. nepalnews.com Apr 26 09
Loktantra Diwas is being celebrated across the country to mark the third anniversary of the reinstatement of the democracy in the country Friday.
Three years ago to this day King Gyanendra’s autocratic regime was brought to its knees following a nationwide mass uprising – called the People’s Movement II — in which more than two-dozen pro-democracy fighters had lost their lives and thousands others were injured.
The government had since last year announced a public holiday to mark the day.
To mark the Loktantra Diwas, political parties, their sister organizations including the civil society are organizing various programmes in the capital city and in different parts of the country.
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, constitutional heads including top government officials, security chiefs and various dignitaries attended a special function organized by the Nepal Army at Tundikhel in Kathmandu Friday on the occasion of Loktantra Diwas.
The Loktantra Diwas Main Organising Committee formed by the government under the chairmanship of PM Dahal is also organizing various functions throughout the country to celebrate the event.
Meanwhile, the President, Prime Minister including senior leaders of various political parties issued congratulatory messages in the name of people. nepalnews.com Apr 24 09
Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA) is holding Fashion Extravaganza 2009, a creative platform for aspiring newcomers to showcase their modeling aptitude.
According to the organizers, the selected models will walk the ramp during ANA Convention 2009 in San Francisco, California and dazzle the audience in the glory of outfits by a Nepali designer. East shall meet the West during this gala evening with “Fusion” as the theme for the show.
An eminent panel of online judges will decide fate of the ANA Model Hunt 2009. Short-listed candidates will be called for phone auditions.
The final selected Top 8 Male and Top 8 Female Models will participate in the Fashion Extravaganza during the ANA convention on July 4th, 2009. They will be trained to steal the show with their looks and their walks.
Another sterling panel of onsite judges will then decide the winner of the following titles:
Mr. Vogue ANA and Ms. Vogue ANA
Mr. ANA Taswir-Priya and Ms. ANA Taswir-Priya
Mr. ANA Muskaan and Ms. ANA Muskaan
ANA Saathi
Further details are available at fashionfornepal.com. nepalnews.com Apr 24 09
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reiterated the government’s ‘sincere’ commitments for cooperation and consensus among all political forces to address all important national issues.
Addressing a function at Tundikhel organised on the occasion of third Loktantra Day, PM Dahal, hinting at the growing rift among political parties, called for consensus leaving behind the competition that parties had during the constituent assembly elections.
He said growing hostilities would derail the peace process, constitution making process and path to accelerated economic development and that the country may again plunge into conflict. He blamed the former royalists and reactionary forces for creating such hostilities and mistrust among the parties.
If we fail to ensure social justice, human rights and inclusive democracy, future generations will not read our history in golden pages rather we could be the figures of instability and unsuccessful leadership, he said.
PM Dahal added state must ensure (through new constitution) periodic election, fundamental human rights, independent judiciary, rule of law, inclusion and press freedom.
Remembering 12-point agreement signed between the then underground CPN (Maoist) and the seven parties fighting against the direct rule of King Gyanendra, PM Dahal appreciated the vital role the top leaders of the seven parties played during the movement to topple monarchy in Nepal. nepalnews.com ia Apr 24 09