The Nepali senior cricket team left for India yesterday for a three-day practice match against Jharkhand Cricket Association.
The match will be played from February 17 to 19. The tour is organized as a preparation for the upcoming InterContinental Cup play-off match against Namibia scheduled for March 23-26 in Windhoek.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Development Officer Rumesh Ratnayake is arriving in Nepal on February 27 to help the team prepare for the important tie, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said in a press release. CAN has also stated that before leaving for Namibia, the Nepali team will face another Indian side in New Delhi.
The team is as follows: Binod Das, Shakti Gauchan, Paresh Lohani, Raju Basnet, Raj Kumar Pradhan, Sanjam Regmi, Mehboob Alam, Dhirendra Chand, Manjit Shrestha, Manoj Vaishya, Manoj Katuwal, Puspa Thapa, Antim Thapa, Akash Gupta, Suresh Pandey (coach), Sri Niwas Rana (manager) and Udaya Shah (official).
The garrison of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) in Dhangadi, which is responsible for distribution of food in the far western region, has been exhausted leading to shortage of food supply in the region.
Employees at the garrison were quoted to have said that the stock has been exhausted because the purchasing committee quoted the price of rice lower than the market price. The committee headed by Chief District Officer (CDO) has fixed the price of the rice at Rs 1,425 per quintal which is less by Rs 75 per quintal in the market, resulting in the suppliers refusing to sell at the price.
A report by Annapurna Post daily says that the godown of Dhangadi, having storage capacity of 20 thousand quintals and that of Mohanpur of 40 thousand quintals have been empty for the past few weeks. After the exhaustion of the stock, the government has transported 66 quintals of rice from Mahendranagar, which it said was for the prison department.
The report quoted the regional head of the corporation as saying that there was demand of over 4,000 quintals of additional rice from Bajura district. The corporation has already sent 5,049 quintals to the district. The government’s quota for the district is 5,000 quintals. Demands from other district would arrive soon.
The officers say that the demand of rice from the region has increased due to decrease in production of paddy by some 15 percent. Agriculture Development Officer Khyal Sharma Poudel said that Kailali district produced only 145,026 metric tones of rice this year, 15 percent less than last year.
Hilly regions of mid-west and far west face critical shortage of rice before summer due to small scale production of rice. Large numbers of villagers leave for work in India in this season to avoid food shortage.
One day after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered to scrap the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control, prominent legal experts on Tuesday called on the King to immediately dissolve the government under his chairmanship taking in view the Monday’s verdict of the SC.
Speaking at an interaction, senior advocate Radheshyam Adhikari said, “Now the King should link the verdict to his morality and dissolved the royal government as the Supreme Court has said the monarch has no authority to claim the state authority.”
He also added that the King should realise that he has no special authority and no one is above the Constitution and he should respect the verdict. “If he agrees to work under the Constitution, it will pave the way out for the political impasse as well,” he added.
Adhikari also said the verdict clearly stated that Singha Durbar should exercise power, not the royal palace.
President of the Nepal Bar Association, Sambhu Thapa, asked the King to immediately act to reinstate the dissolved House of Representatives. “Now there is an urgent need to reinstate the Lower House to exercise the people’s sovereignty as wished by the Supreme Court verdict,” he said.
Former minister and senior advocate Basudev Dhungana said the King and the royalists who have been provoking the King should rethink. “This verdict has reminded the people that they are not slaves but a sovereign power,” he added.
Former Attorney General Sarvagya Ratna Tuladhar and senior advocate Sindhu Nath Pyakurel also said the verdict has reassured the people that they are sovereign and the King cannot exercise any power beyond the Constitution.
RCCC lawyer, Kunja Bihari Prasad Singh, however, said the verdict has curtailed the power of the King without giving a chance to explain why the monarch needed to take the step.
The SC has scrapped the controversial RCCC formed by the King under Article 127 of the constitution immediately after the February 1 royal takeover of last year saying the formation of the anti-graft body was unconstitutional as it contradicted with Articles 83 (3), 84, 85, 88 (3), 89, 105 (7) and 127 of the Constitution of the Kingdom (1990).
The 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nepal-France Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NFCCI) concluded in the capital on Sunday electing a new executive committee.
A press release issued by the NFCCI said Shyam Mohan Shrestha was elected to the post of president, while Ramesh Khetan the vice-president.
Kailash Bahadur Shrestha and Rajan Amatya were elected for the posts of general secretary and treasurer respectively.
NFCCI is a body of Nepalese businessmen and industrialists having some business links or have business plans with France.
The statement further said, “NFCCI has been working continuously in the past with the aim of achieving larger exchange of trade and industry between France and Nepal.”
Nepal has trade deficit with France but gradually the deficit has been narrowing in last few years.
The export from Nepal to France has been mostly carpets, readymade garments and handicraft including substantial amount of Nepali paper. The import from France to Nepal has been in large number electrical, mechanical equipment and aircraft spare parts.
Meanwhile, a reception was hosted by French Ambassador to Nepal Michel Jolivet in honor of the new executive committee at his residence in the evening.
Newly elected president Shyam Mohan Shrestha (File Photo)
Newly elected president Shyam Mohan Shrestha (File Photo)
During the reception, newly elected president Shyam Mohan Shrestha talked about the trade between France and Nepal. He said though political instability for the last 6/7 years has affected the economy of the country, the exports to France have increased the last three years while the trade deficit has narrowed.
He cited a 5 crore deficit on exports worth 61.7 crore to France and imports worth 66.8 from France for the year 04/05.
The two Nepali workers abducted in Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday have come into contact, reports said.
The Rising Nepal quoted Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Pakistan, Pushkarman Singh Rajbhandari, as saying the kidnappers allowed Chet Narayan Pun and Thaman Singh Rana to call the company they work for, the Armour Group, at the Kabul-based Department for International Development, UK.
He quoted the officials at the Armour Group as saying that the two abducted Nepalis told them over the phone that they were in good health.
Ambassador Rajbhandari added that the demand of the abductors were not clear and that the Afghan government and the employer company were making efforts for securing their release.
The Association of Families of Disappeared people (by the State) have started a signature collection campaign to pressurize the government to publicize whereabouts of people who are missing.
As per the information given by the Association, they are collecting signatures from Putalisadak, Naya Baneshwore and some areas of the Lalitpur and Bhaktapur from today.
These collected signatures will be submitted in the upcoming Geneva Convention to create pressure on the government to publicize whereabouts of the disappeared people.
A statement issued by the Association has claimed that the government is yet to publicize the whereabouts of more than 1500 people.
Talking to Nepalnews, Shanta Bhandari, coordinator of Association of Families of Disappeared people (by the State), said that they were compelled to take such a step as the government time and again neglected their calls to publicize the whereabouts of disappeared people.
She informed that they are expecting to collect 700 thousand signatures till the 22nd of February. She also informed that they were not allowed to collect signatures in Ratna Park area.
She warned of more protests if the government did not address their demands this time as well.
The Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) organised a programme in the capital on Tuesday to mark the golden jubilee of the establishment of Nepal-Russia diplomatic relations.
FM Ramesh Nath Pandey launching a book amidst a function organised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Russia, in Kathmandu, Tuesday. The Russian ambassador to Nepal, Andrey Leonidovich Trofimov is standing to the left of the FM. Photo source: Ramesh Chhetri/TRN
FM Ramesh Nath Pandey launching a book amidst a function organised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Russia, in Kathmandu, Tuesday. The Russian ambassador to Nepal, Andrey Leonidovich Trofimov is standing to the left of the FM. Photo source: Ramesh Chhetri/TRN
The diplomatic relations between Nepal-Russia was established in 1956
Speaking at the programme, Foreign Minister (FM) Ramesh Nath Pandey said that the level of understanding between Nepal and Russia has increased in recent days.
Pandey said that the two countries’ traditional relations have been enhanced in the context of the new world order.
Nepal-Russia relations have been deepening ever since they took shape formally in 1956, and the ties between the two countries can be taken as an example of durable and hassle free relations between any two friendly nations, he said.
He further said that Russian leaders have understood that world peace can be won only by protecting the interests of smaller countries like Nepal.
Russian ambassador to Nepal, Andrey Leonidovich Trofimov, said his country could be a new market for Nepal’s handicraft products, organically produced tea, strawberries and flowers.
Lila Prasad Sharma, former ambassador to Russia, suggested the government to make Russia as a dependable source for Nepal’s security needs.
Also speaking at the programme, Professor Dr Mohan Prasad Lohani said economic ties between the two countries were increasing.
Speaking at the same programme, noted industrialist Rajendra Kumar Khetan said that there are many potential areas for Nepalese products like orthodox tea and coffee, carpets, pashmina and other fine woolens, handicrafts, herbal products etc.
He said that Russia on the other hand can assist Nepal on tapping its vast hydropower resources by providing construction and hydro-electrical mechanicals along with transmission lines apart from industrial and agricultural machinery.
“This relationship should be developed in closer cultural ties, exchange of students etc. resulting into more traffic of people,” Khetan added.
Three army men were killed during a clash between security forces and the Maoists at Dhurkot area, the border of Nawalparasi and the Palpa district on Tuesday night.
Officials at the Directorate of the Public Relations (DPR) of Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) said that the clash that erupted at around 12 Tuesday night continued till early morning on Wednesday.
He informed that the security forces launched a massive search operation in the area.
Security forces suspect heavy casualties on the rebel side.
The Maoists fled when a night vision helicopter of the RNA arrived, the DPR added.
A group of armed Maoists have shut down two separate drinking water supply projects in Narayan municipality in Dailekh district, completely disrupting the drinking water supply in the region, a report said.
This is the sixth time that the Maoists have disrupted drinking water supply in the region, the Rajdhani daily reported.
The Maoists exploded powerful bombs in the reservoir tanks of Belaspur Drinking Water Project in Kharigoura VDC-8 and in Dailekh Bazaar Drinking Water Project in Bhavani VDC- 9. The Maoists also damaged the water supply pipelines of this project, the paper adds.
Likewise, eyewitnesses said the Maoists have disrupted the water supply after releasing a written statement demanding the release of the Maoists who were under detention.
These two drinking water projects were supplying drinking water to more than 20,000 people in Dailekh Bazaar, Thalu Danda, Bhawani Tole, Purano Bazaar, Nayabazaar and other places of Narayan municipality.
Maoists had disrupted water supply for two months in 2004 but resumed it after pressure from the civic society.
Dailekh Bazaar Drinking Water Project was the first drinking water project of the district and was constructed in 1975 and has been supplying drinking water to the people of the district.
His Majesty King Gyanendra is scheduled to leave for Pokhara on Friday on a three-week long visit of the western region.
Her Majesty Queen Komal is to leave for Pokhara today. Crown Prince Paras is scheduled to join Their Majesties on Sunday, reports said.