Children from six months to five years of age across the country are being administered vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets on Sunday.

Some 3.7 million children of this age group are given Vitamin A tablets every six months under the ‘National Vitamin A Programme’ launched by the health ministry.

The ministry has said those who miss the programme can take the capsules on Monday.

Experts say, about 15,000 untimely deaths have been averted in the recent years due to the health supplement. nepalnews.com Apr 19 07

Two children have been killed in a forest of Gulmi when a stray bomb went off Saturday afternoon.

Hom Bahadur BK and Bam Bahadur BK both eleven-year-olds, who had gone to a forest to herd cattle, died when a bomb left in the forest exploded. The children were playing with the bomb taking it as a toy, reports say.

Although the accident occurred Saturday afternoon, the villagers came to know of the incident only in the evening.

The place is almost a days walk from the district headquarter of Gulmi. nepalnews.com Apr 19 09

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has said that production of skilled human resources is one of the pre-requisites of attracting foreign investment in the country.

While speaking at an inaugural ceremony of the newly constructed Vocational Training Center (VTC) building at Birendranagar, Kush Kumar Joshi, president, FNCCI, said that generation of skilled manpower is also vital to ensure growth of trade and industry.

The VTC was established under the financial support of Rs 2.6 million from FNCCI with an aim to provide self-employment training to youths.

According to Joshi, the eight VTCs established in various parts of the country, with the joint efforts of the government, FNCCI and local chambers of Commerce and Industries would be the prime centers to impart skill-developing trainings under the youth self-employment programme.

The VTC in Surkhet, established with the theme “Self-employment and employment”, has provided 35 different vocational trainings in 20 areas to 400 people so far.

The youth self-employment programme was introduced by the government to provide training and loans to youths to help them start their own ventures.

However, the lack of coordination between the various government ministries on providing training to aspiring youths has raised question over the efficacy of the programme. nepalnews.com Apr 19 09

The government is planning to discourage those Nepalese who aspire to go to Iraq for jobs.

According to media reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affair (MoFA) is carrying out necessary homework to issue passports that would prohibit Nepali blue-collar job seekers to fly to Iraq in search for employment.

Foreign employment agencies and Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) have also been clamouring for such arrangement in order to combat illegal migration to Iraq.

Iraq is a banned destination for Nepali migrant workers after 12 Nepali people were killed on September 1 four years back by a militant group called Ansaral-Sunnah.

Foreign employment experts also have been asking the government to trace illegal channels used to enter Iraq in order to discourage Nepali migrants from going to the country.

Various networks of human traffickers are said to be engaged in sending Nepalis to Iraq via illicit channels.

Currently, more than 200,000 Nepalis are working as labourers, drivers, guards, cleaners, cooks and domestic helpers in Iraq in spite of the government’s restriction. nepalnews.com Apr 19 09

A government panel has interviewed seven eligible police officers for promotion to the post of Additional Inspector General of Police (AIG).

The three-member panel-formed under home secretary Dr Govind Kusum with law secretary Madhav Paudel and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ramesh Chand Thakuri to make recommendations on promotions in Nepal Police- interviewed Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG)s Naresh Gurung, Madan Khadka, Kalyan Timilsina, Kiran Gautam, Bharat GC, Sharada Bhakta Ranjit and Prakash Kunwar on Saturday.

This is the first time police officers have been interviewed for a promotion. Traditionally officers used to be promoted on the basis of seniority. The government has started the new practice with a policy to promote police officers based on calibre, instead of mere seniority.

The DIGs interviewed Saturday delivered power-point presentations and answered questions on how they would lead Nepal Police if promoted and their opinions on reforms required in Nepal Police.

Five AIG positions have remained vacant for last two months after erstwhile AIGs Shyam Singh Thapa, Dipendra Bista, Ramesh Kumar Shrestha and Krishna Shrestha retired and Ramesh Chand Thakuri got promoted to IGP in February.

The Human Resources, Operations, Crime Investigation and Administration Departments, and Office of the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police and National Police Academy of Nepal Police are headed by AIGs. Due to the vacancy of AIGs, acting chiefs are heading all departments but the academy.

The Council of Ministers will decide on the promotions based on the recommendations made by the panel. nepalnews.com Apr 19 09

Transportation along Arniko Highway has been disrupted on Saturday for the fifth day in a row due protests against an accident that claimed two lives earlier this week.

Locals of Panchkhal have been obstructing the highway demanding compensation to the bereaved family of Badri Subedi and Murari Adhikari – who died in the accident at Chehere of Sindhupalchok district.

Talks held between the Bus committee and the relatives on Friday had ended inconclusively.

On the contrary, transport entrepreneurs have been demanding action against those involved in the torching of the bus after the accident.

Thousands of passengers from Kavre, Dolakha, Ramechhap, and Sindhupalchowk, among other places have been affected due to the obstruction. nepalnews.com Apr 18 09

The Sunsari District Administration Office has imposed prohibitory orders along the east-west highway from Inaruwa to Koshi barrage to avert untoward incidents during the protest programme called by the agitating Koshi flood victims.

The flood victims have been obstructing traffic along the highway since past nine days with various demands including their rehabilitation.

The local administration has banned all assemblies, gatherings, sit-in protests and rallies in the area effective from 7 pm Saturday in order to facilitate smooth passage of the stranded passengers.

The prohibitory orders were issued after talks held between the administration and the agitators ended inconclusively, Saturday afternoon. nepalnews.com Apr 18 09

Rastriya Janamorcha Nepal has staged demonstrations against federalism in Kathmandu saying such system would divide the country.

The party organised a mass meeting in Khula Manch following rallies from various parts of the capital Saturday.

Addressing the mass gathering, party chairman Chitra Bahadur KC urged political parties to rethink on federalism before it invites conflict based on caste and region. Federalism is not a system that suits the situation of Nepal, he argued.

Rastriya Janamorcha is the only political party in the Constituent Assembly advocating against federalism. Earlier too, it had staged demonstrations against federalism in Kathmandu saying such a system would divide the country.

On Friday, the party announced various protest programmes against federalism from April 18 to 28. It plans to submit memos to the President and the Prime Minister and organise rallies and mass assemblies in various parts of the capital.

The party launched its first agitation against federalism in September, last year. nepalnews.com tm Apr 18 09

China has agreed to increase its annual assistance to Nepal by 50 percent.

Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav who returned to the capital on Saturday after a visit to China, said the Chinese government agreed to provide 150 Yuan (Rs 1.74 billion) annually. Chinese aid stands at 100 million Yuan at present.

Speaking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Yadav also informed that China is positive about giving duty-free access to as many as 497 different Nepali export items.

China has also pledged help for developing Rampur Agriculture Campus in Chitwan into an agriculture university, he said, adding that the northern neighbour has shown readiness to help Nepal in infrastructure projects, science and technology and tourism.

The Foreign Minister maintained that if Nepal is able to sustain peace more foreign assistance will be available.

Apart from Beijing, FM Yadav visited Hong Kong and Macao, holding high-level parleys with senior officials there on issues concerning Nepali migrant workers. Hong Kong has been asked to grant transit and working visa for Nepalis, he informed.

Yadav also visited Indonesia where he participated in an international conference on human trafficking. nepalnews.com mk Apr 18 09

Constitutional Committee (CC), the main body under the Constituent Assembly, has decided to assign its members to study the suggestions CA teams received during their recent visits to the districts.

A meeting of the committee on Saturday decided to hand out some 500 answer sheets to each member for analysis. The CC headed by Madhav Kumar Nepal comprises top leaders of all major parties including Prime Minister and Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal.

CC member Sapana Pradhan Malla said each member would study and summerise the suggestions. This, according to her, is being done in order to identify the aspirations of the people and chart them in the new constitution.

Next CC meeting on April 24 will decide on the study procedures.

Currently, different CA committees are studying the suggestions related to their respective areas.

Few weeks earlier, CA teams had toured around the country with questionnaires on the new constitution. The CA had printed 400,000 questionnaires, but the CA teams were able to have only a fraction of them filled during their trips. nepalnews.com mk Apr 18 09