South Korea condemns North over land mine blast, threatens retaliation

SEOUL, AUG 10 - South Korea's military threatened retaliation ag

A North Korean flag is seen on top of a tower near the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating North Korea from South Korea, about 55 km (34 miles) north of Seoul, September 25, 2013.Photographer: REUTERS/ Lee Jae-Won

ainst North Korea on Monday after it accused the North of planting land mines inside the Demilitarised Zone border that wounded two soldiers last week, calling it a cowardly act of provocation.

There was evidence to conclude that soldiers from the North crossed the Military Demarcation Line recently to plant the mines, and Pyongyang would be made to "pay a severe price", the South's military said at a news briefing.

"We strongly condemn this cowardly act, which would be unthinkable for a normal military," Major General Ku Hong-mo of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, calling it a violation of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The denunciation is likely to provoke an angry response from the North and further raise tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The United Nations Command, headed by the U.S. military and which oversees the armistice, also condemned what it called the North's violation of the truce. It said it would call for a meeting with North Korea's military.

The area where the blast happened last Tuesday had been swept for mines and the terrain made it impossible for mines planted elsewhere to have drifted due to rain or shifting soil, South Korea's military said.

Fragments from the exploded mines also had paint typically used by the North, it said.

Two soldiers who were part of a team conducting a routine search operation inside the heavily fortified DMZ near the town of Paju, about 50 km (30 miles) north of Seoul, were seriously wounded in the blast.

अफगानिस्तानमा ६.२ म्याग्निच्युडको भूकम्प

काबुल, श्रावण २५ - सोमबार अफगानिस्तानमा ६.२ म्याग्निच्युडको भूकम्प गएको छ । दिउसो ३.३० मा गएको भूकम्पको केन्द्र अ

फगानिस्तानको फैजावादभन्दा ८८ किलोमिटर टाढा रहेको बताइएको छ ।

भूकम्पको धक्का भारतका दिल्ली, कश्मिर र पञ्जाब तथा पाकिस्तानमा पनि महसुस गरिएको बताइएको । यसबाट भएको मानवीय क्षतिका बारे यकिन समाचार आइसकेको छैन ।

महानगरमा ठूला बस सञ्चालनको तयारी साझा यातायातसँग सम्झौता

काठमाडौ, श्रावण २६ - काठमाडौं महानगरपालिका र साझा यातायात सहकारी संस्थाले उपत्यकामा थप २५ वटा ठूला वस संचानल गर्ने सम्झौता गरेको छ ।  मंगलबार भएको सम्झौतामा उपत्यकाको अव्यवस्थित र अस्तव्यस्त सहरी यातायातलाई व्यवस्थित बनाउन वातावरणमैत्री बस चलाइनेछ ।  महानगरका कार्यकारी प्रमुख रुद्रसिंह तामाङले बस खरिदका लागि १० करोड रुपैयाँ विनियोजन गरेको बताए । ६ महिनाभित्र बस खरिद गरि महानगरले साझालाई हस्तातरण गर्ने उनले बताए ।

'बस साझा यातायातलाई उपलब्ध गराउँछौं' उनले भने,' स्वामित्व पनि साझालाई हस्तानान्तरण गछौं ।' सेवामुलक ढंगबाट संचालन गर्न लागिएको जानकारी दिंदै प्रमुख तामाङले आगामि दिन थप बस संचालनमा ल्याइने बताए । रात्री बसको रुपमा पनि बस संचालन गरिने उनले बताए । तर हाललाई त्यसबारे केही निर्णय नभएको उनको भनाई छ । बस हस्तानान्तरण गरेपछि साझाले महानगरलाई शेयरधनी प्रमाण दिने पनि उनले बताए ।

बसको संचालन, रेखदेख मर्मत संम्भार तथा वीमा गर्ने दायित्व साझाको हुने सम्झौतामा छ । बसको इजाजत लगायत समन्वय, सेवा अनुगमन तथा मूल्याङकन लागि दुबैपक्षबाट अधिकृतस्तरको कर्मचारी रहनेछ । यी दुई अधिकृतको  समन्वयमा सहरी वस परामर्श समिति पनि गठन गरिनेछ ।

साथै बसहरुको आयात गर्दा लाग्ने कर, भ्याट तथा भन्सार छुटका लागि सरकारसँग अनुरोध गरिने पनि उनले बताए । केही बस अपाङगमैत्री ल्याइने भन्दै उनले त्यसको लागि पनि छलफल भइरहेको बताए । 'सबै बस अपाङगमैत्री नहुन सक्छन, केही चाहिं हामी ल्याउँछौ' उनले भने, 'सकभर हामी ७० सिटको बस ल्याउँछौं ।'

साझा यातायात सहकारी संस्था लिमिटेडका अध्यक्ष कनकमणि दिक्षितले 'चौडा सडकमा ठूला बस' अवधारणा अन्तर्गत थप बस संचालन गरिने बताए । 'साझा यातायातले राम्रो र भरपर्दो सेवा दिन थालेपछि, यात्रुको साझाप्रति विश्वास बढेको छ, महानगरले हामीसँग हातेमालो गरेपछि  झन उत्साह बढेको छ' उनले भने, 'सेवामूलक हिसावले नै हामीले बस संचालन गरेका हौं ।'

नयाँ  बस संचालनको रुटबारेमा भने महानगर र साझा यातायातका प्रतिनिधिले अझै अन्यौलमा छ्न ।महानगरले बस हस्तातरणगरेपछिमात्र नयाँ रुटको पहिचान गरिने दीक्षितले बताए ।

साझाले हाल १६ वटा बस उपत्यकामा संचालन गर्दै आएको छ । अध्यक्ष दिक्षितले  महानगरबाहेक अन्य नगरपालिकासँग सम्झौता गरि थप साझा यातायात संचालन गरिने बताए । 'जनताको माग बढेमा अन्य नगरपालिकासँग साझा यातायात चलाउने सम्झौता  गछौं' उनले भने, ' सेवा विस्तार गर्छौ ।' करिव दुई वर्ष अघि साझाले उपत्यकामा ठूला बस संचालनमा ल्याएको हो ।

People have responded to the draft constitution, now leaders' turn to reciprocate

 July 25: This week, the country witnessed yet another democratic exercise in the constitution-writing process after the second Constituent Assembly election of 19 November 2013, as the CA sent the preliminary draft of the constitution to all the 240 electoral constituencies for public feedback. 

In response, thousands of people put forward their opinion and suggestions on diverse aspects of the constitution. People also had the option to feed in their suggestions to the Constituent Assembly by phone, fax, e-mail and post. 

And as data suggest, there was overwhelming response from the people to the draft constitution in the public consultations held in the districts. According to the CA Secretariat, it received 26,581 suggestions including 17,395 on its website, 5560 through e-mail, 973 via fax, 2,415 on the toll-free phone and 153 directly submitted to the CA Committee on Citizen Relations and Public Opinion Collection. Apart from these, 85 different organisations made their submission on the draft constitution directly to CA Chair Subas Chandra Nembang. 

The public consultations on the draft constitution went ahead smoothly except for some sporadic instances of obstructions caused by a few parties and groups unhappy with the draft constitution. Now, that the task of collecting people's feedback on the draft constitution is over, how these loads of suggestions from the people are to be assimilated into the constitution has become the moot question. 

While the types of comments that were put forward by the people cannot easily be generalised, there were some common tendencies that were evident. The people of the Madhesi, Janajati and marginalized groups said that the names and demarcation of the boundaries of federal provinces should be determined before the constitution is promulgated whereas a majority of the people from the hill high caste groups, who made their submissions, wanted the provision of secularism in the draft of the constitution to be scrapped and replaced with Nepal as a Hindu state or at least a State with religious freedom. 

There was also a majority suggestion from the people on such key topics as citizenship provisions, federalism, state restructuring, electoral system, the form of government and fixing threshold for parties, among others. 

Through their suggestions, people have put forth their opinions in no uncertain terms on the need of amending certain provisions related to these issues mentioned in the draft constitution. This should be taken in positive light as it will make the new constitution more acceptable. 

In a democracy, the voice of the people is taken to be the voice of the nation. In this light, the opinions and suggestions from the people on the draft constitution hold significance. The Constituent Assembly and the political parties represented there should take heed to the people's say. This would go a long way in making the new constitution a widely-accepted document. 

Although it would be hard to reconcile the parties' differing ideological lines in terms of their stance on certain issues, they should rise above partisan interest and work towards delivering a constitution that ensures freedom, justice and prosperity for all. This exercise of collecting people's feedback has shown that the people are far more pragmatic and progressive on the issue of constitution than the party leaders are. 

After this massive exercise of collecting public opinion on the draft constitution, now the ball is in the court of the political parties and the Constituent Assembly. This is also the time for the major parties to take the disgruntled parties into confidence. They should reach out to them, hold dialogue and consultations, and address their concerns. This might require more time. But the parties should not make the mistake of rushing through the constitution-making process. 

Even though the feedback process may yield some insight, the drafters of the constitution should think with open mind and invite leaders of the indigenous nationalities communities, Madhesi parties and other fringe parties for discussion and welcome their feedback to prevent large-scale unrest in the country in future. They should try to accommodate all sides as far as possible so that all will have a feeling of ownership over the new constitution. 

The country is passing through a political transition for long. There is the need to end this transition and take the country on the path of economic development. This would be possible only if we have a workable constitution. People have waited for eight years now for a constitution to be written by their elected representatives. This is a dream that the people had for the last 60 years. Materialization of this dream seems so close at hand now with the first draft of the constitution having gone through the process of public consultations. 

If the submissions made by the people on the draft constitution are not properly entertained and addressed, then, these agendas would be highjacked by religious and regional parties. There will be a surge of such communal parties in the country and the major political parties' power will wane. The rise of communal forces will not be good for the country and the people in the long run.

Nepali missions solicit views

 JUL 21 - Nepal’s missions in the Gulf and Malaysia have urged Nepalis working there to provide feedback on the draft constitution. Nepali embassies in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are also holding various consultations besides facilitating the feedback collection process.

The government had directed its missions in the major labour receiving countries to hold public consultations to incorporate the voice of migrant population into the new constitution. An estimated 3.5 million Nepalis, mostly youth, work in the Gulf countries and Malaysia.

“The missions are organising various consultation programmes to collect feedback on the draft. Many migrant workers are themselves providing suggestions via email,” said Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey.

Around 30 percent of the total feedback received via email came from Nepalis living abroad, according to

the Constituent Assembly Secretariat.

Concerned officials, however, say the inflow of feedback is not encouraging compared to people living there. “The feedback so far from overseas is not as encouraging as in Nepal as people are occupied with their work. But many people are participating in the consultation progress and providing feedback on their own,” said an official at Nepali embassy in Malaysia.

Besides email, the embassies are also receiving feedback through fax and telephone.

Nepalis living abroad can submit their feedback , suggestions and recommendations on the draft until Tuesday.

A majority of Nepali migrants who attended the consultation at the Nepali embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Monday suggested the government replace the word “secularism” with “religious freedom” and adopt a directly-elected presidential system.

Many speakers, including Nepal’s Ambassador to Malaysia Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat, spoke in favour of referendum. They also asked the government to replace the cow with the one-horned rhino as a national animal, make military training mandatory for all citizens above 18 years old and change the national flag. “Though

secularism is good, it would be best to decide through

religious freedom,” said Ambassador Basnyat.

Most of the speakers asked the CA to heed public suggestions instead of confining the consultation process as routine work.  Meanwhile, many overseas indigenous organisations and international wings of Madhesi and Janajati

parties have burned and tore the copies of draft, claiming that the draft attempts to

curtail the rights of historically marginalised groups and communities.

Car bomb in Somalia's capital kills 11

SOMALIA, OCT 13 - A car bombexploded outside a popular cafe in Somalia's capital on Sunday, killing 11 people and wounding eight others, a senior police official said.

The blast struck the Aroma cafe in Mogadishu and the bomb was believed to have been detonated by remote control, senior police official Mohammed Hussein said. Most of those who died were sitting outside the cafe, he said.

Somali soldiers sent to the scene fired in the air to disperse a growing crowd that gathered amid shattered coffee glasses, and broken tables and chairs. Medical workers transported the wounded into waiting ambulances.

"What crime have these innocents committed?" said Liban Abdi, who survived the attack, which killed his friend.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion has fallen on the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants who have vowed to avenge the death of their leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was killed in early September in a U.S. airstrike. Godane has been replaced by Ahmed Omar, also known as Abu Ubeid.

Al-Shabab has continued to carry out attacks on Somalia's capital despite being pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union forces supporting Somalia's weak U.N.-backed government in August 2011. The Somali government troops backed by AU forces are making progress in capturing the remaining al-Shabab strongholds. Recently, they captured the port town of Barawe.

Earlier Sunday, gunmen shot and seriously wounded a Somali television reporter, officials said. The African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM, condemned the attack on the reporter, who was shot three times while fleeing from the gunmen.

The Somali government said the attack on Abdirizak Jama, the director of Somali Channel TV in Mogadishu, was an attempt to silence the media.

The attack was the third targeting journalists in Somalia this year, AMISOM said. Somalia remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Last year, 18 journalists were killed in Somalia.

Car bomb kills at least 22 in southern Syria

AUG 16 - A car bomb exploded outside a mosque in an opposition-held town in southernSyria on Friday, killing at least 22 people, activists said.

The Britain-based Syria n Observatory for Human Rights said the blast took place around the time of Friday prayers in the town of Namar in Daraa province.

It said at least two children and several rebels were among those killed, while at least 30 people were wounded.

Observatory director Rami Abdurrahman said it is not clear who was behind the bombing. The monitoring group relies on a network of activists inside Syria .

In northern Syria , fighters from the Islamic State group seized control Friday of the village of Beden in Aleppo province, the Observatory reported.

The capture of Beden comes two days after the extremist group captured two towns and several villages near Syria 's border with Turkey. The group has overrun much of northern and western Iraq as well, and has declared the establishment of a self-styled Islamic state.

The Islamic State group's advances in Aleppo province have squeezed Syria 's mainstream rebel factions, who are fighting both the extremist group as well as forces loyal to Syria n President Bashar Assad.

Posted on: 2014-08-16 09:32