16th century treasure discovered in Nepalese palace

Kathmandu (dpa)- Workers renovating a former royal palace in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu have uncovered a trove of gold and silver ornaments dating back to the 16th century, officials said Tuesday.

Government authorities said there was some 300 kilos in the chests, according to their initial estimate.

The treasure was found in a store room in the Hanuman Dhoka palace, dating back to the 16th century, which is also listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is now a museum.

Nepal was ruled by Hindu kings until 2008, when the erstwhile king Gyanendra was forced to step down after a popular people‘s movement, ending 240 years of monarchy.

Nepal faces fuel crunch over delayed payment to India

Kathmandu (dpa) - Kathmandu was facing a fuel crunch Tuesday as the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) reduced supplies to Nepal due to delayed payment.

Several fuel stations in the capital shut down over the weekend as stocks ran out.

"We owe the IOC about 650 million Indian rupees (14.4 million dollars) as of June 15," said Digambar Jha, general manager of national distributer Nepal Oil Corporation.

"The IOC has cut down the supply by 60 per cent due to the delay in payment."

Supplies were also affected by a strike launched by two groups of tanker drivers, as they compete for the government‘s allocation of routes to and from India.

Officials said the Indian firm had responded positively Tuesday to a request to resume supplies, which were expected to return to normal within a few days.

"The IOC has agreed to give us fuel on credit for now," Jha said. "We will seek loans from financial institutions for the month of July to normalise supply."

Nepal ratifies international anti-terrorism conventions

Kathmandu (dpa)- Nepal‘s parliament on Friday endorsed two
international anti-terrorism conventions in a bid to thwart efforts
by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to blacklist the Asian
country.

   The International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing
of Terrorism and the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organised Crime were both ratified by the House.

   Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari on Thursday warned that
failure to ratify the conventions could lead to a suspension of the
country‘s financial transactions with the international community.

   Failure to ratify the conventions would have also placed foreign
aid, on which Nepal depends heavily, at risk.

Nepalese police arrest Free Tibet activists

Kathmandu (dpa)- Nepalese police detained a dozen Free Tibet
activists during a crackdown, local media reported Friday.

The Himalayan Times online wrote that police had broken up a
meeting of Tibetan exiles expressing condolences for and protesting
"Chinese excesses" on Thursday night and arrested about a dozen
activists for violations of public offence acts.

The candlelight condolence was being observed for a Buddhist monk
who had immolated himself in eastern Tibet in March to protest the
"Chinese occupation of Tibet."

About 20,000 Tibetan refugees live in Nepal, according to
government statistics. Thousands more are there as undocumented
migrants.

Nepal has repeatedly said it will not allow anti-China activities
on its soil, saying it observes a "one-China policy," which holds
that Tibet is part of China.

China has stepped up pressure on the Nepalese government to curb
"anti-China" activities in Nepal since 2008, when Tibetan refugees
living there staged protests against China in the run-up to the
Beijing Olympic Games.

Runway at Nepal‘s international airport collapses; flights delayed

Kathmandu (dpa) - Flights at Nepal‘s only international airport were disrupted Tuesday after a section of its runway collapsed because of heavy rains, civil aviation officials said.

Flights were delayed for more than three hours when Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was closed for repairs to its sole runway.

Six international and more than 70 domestic flights were affected. Operations resumed after the repair work.

Nepal is preparing to build a second international airport, projected for completion by 2015. It is planned in Nijgadh on the plains of south-central Nepal, about 150 kilometres south of Kathmandu.

Nepal Hindu temple hosts country‘s first lesbian wedding

Kathmandu (dpa) - Nepal hosted its first lesbian wedding Monday, as two American citizens tied the knot at a Hindu temple in a public ceremony.

The pair, Sarah Welton, 48, and Courtney Mitchell, 41, were married at the temple of Dakshinkali, on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

"I like Nepal, so I chose this as the destination for our wedding," said Mitchell, who worked for seven years in Nepal in the past, as a US Peace Corp Volunteer.

"And I have also heard that Hindu mythology has stories about same-sex marriage."

The couple met five years ago. They plan to register their wedding in the state of Iowa, in the US, where same-sex marriage is legal.

The wedding took place in the Nepalese tradition, joined by a local gay rights group, the Blue Diamond Society. The society organized a wedding ceremony for a male homosexual couple last year.

Although laws are being drafted in Nepal to guarantee the rights of the homosexuals, same sex marriage is still not legal.

Nepal recently started recognizing rights of the homosexuals and process is underway to enshrine the rights in the constitution. Last week, the Himalayan nation started its 11th national census, which
for the first time, includes an option for people to register themselves as a "third gender."

Nepal formally declared landmine-free

   Kathmandu (dpa) - Nepal was formally declared a landmine-free
nation Tuesday, as the government announced it had cleared all
landmines planted by the army during the Maoist insurgency.

   Clearing the landmines was one of the commitments in the peace
deal signed in 2006.

   The last remaining landmine planted by the Nepalese army - in
Fulchowki, on the outskirts of Kathmandu - was cleared on Tuesday as
a symbolic gesture. Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal declared the
country free of landmines and said the achievement was an important
part of the peace process.

   Last week, Nepal‘s army announced it had completed destruction of
landmines at 53 different locations across the country with the help
of United National Mine Action Team.

   The army began clearing the mines in October 2007. According to
the peace deal, the mines should have been cleared within 60 days of
signing the agreement.

   The Maoists said they did not lay any mines during the conflict.

   According to figures released by the Informal Sector Service
Centre (INSEC), four people were killed and 19 injured between
January 2006 and June 2011 in landmine explosions.

   The Maoists waged a decade-long insurgency that claimed more than
16,700 lives.

   The Maoists, now the biggest party in the parliament, joined
mainstream politics after the 2008 Constituent Assembly election.

Women can‘t rape men, Nepalese court rules

   Kathmandu (dpa) - A woman cannot rape a man, Nepal‘s highest court
has ruled, local media reported Tuesday.

   The Nagarik news portal reported the verdict, a response to a writ
filed by a lawyer who had argued the contrary.

   "We cannot form laws on the basis of exceptional cases," the
Supreme Court said in its ruling.

   Three years ago, a writ had been filed by lawyer Shyam Krishna
Maskey, saying women could also rape men and a law to that effect
should be formed. He cited cases in two Nepalese districts of rape on
men to prove his argument.

   Nepal‘s legal system defines rape only as a violation that can be
committed against women by men.

Nepal court summons police charged in UN embezzlement scam

Kathmandu - Thirty four high-ranking police officers were Wednesday ordered to appear before a special court in Nepal to face charges in a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scam.

Nepal's corruption watchdog, the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA), has accused the policemen of misappropriating 300 million rupees (4.2 million dollars) during the procurement process for military equipment for Nepalese police deployed in Sudan under the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

The CIAA filed charges Wednesday against the police officers, in one of Nepal's largest corruption cases. The accused were ordered to appear in court within 15 days.

Also implicated in the scandal are former home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, former inspector general of police Om Bikram Rana and former home secretary Umesh Mainali.

Last year, Nepalese troops in Darfur were threatened with a shut-down of their mission because of a lack of military hardware following the procurement scandal.

The UN-African Union mission in Darfur planned to repatriate the Nepalese peacekeepers if the government failed to provide the required armed personnel carriers (APCs) and other logistics.

About 150 Nepalese police officers are posted in Darfur.

Nepal government says land mines cleared

Kathmandu - Nepal's government said Monday that it has cleared all land mines planted by the army during the Maoist insurgency.

Clearing the land mines was one of the commitments in the peace deal signed in 2006.

Army spokesman Ramindra Chhetri said 10,941 land mines from 53 different locations were removed, while 1,078 bombs were cleared with the help of United National Mine Action Team.

The army began clearing the mines in October 2007.

According to the peace deal, the mines should have been cleared within 60 days of signing it.

The Maoists said they did not lay any mines during the conflict.

The rebels waged a decade-long insurgency that claimed more than 16,700 lives.

The Maoists, now the biggest party in the parliament, joined mainstream politics through the 2008 Constituent Assembly election.

Nepal‘s first GPS-collared wild tiger poisoned by poachers

Kathmandu (dpa)- Nepal‘s first wild tiger to be fitted with global positioning system (GPS) collar was poisoned by poachers in Nepal, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) confirmed Friday.

The tiger had been missing for two weeks.

Authorities said the tiger, named Namo Buddha, died after consuming poisoned beef left by poachers. Three suspects were arrested.

"Namo Buddha‘s unfortunate end underscores the fact that efforts to protect Nepal‘s tigers are a serious challenge and such efforts now need to be further strengthened and consolidated," said World
Wildlife Fund officer, Anil Manandhar.

It was the first wild tiger fitted with a GPS collar.

The male wild tiger had been relocated to Bardiya National Park from Chitwan‘s National Park last year. In September 2010, it was injured and had strayed into the nearby tourist resort from Nepal‘s
Chitwan National Park, located some 200 kilometres southwest of the capital Kathmandu.

By WWF statistics there are just 121 adult tigers in Nepal. Nepal aims to double the number of wild tiger numbers by 2022.

Record 8 tons of trash removed from Everest

Kathmandu (dpa) - The largest amount of trash collected from Mount Everest - 8,110 kilograms - was brought down by yak and porter this week from the world‘s highest peak, local media reported Friday.

A team of 29 Nepali mountaineers worked six weeks in April and May on the annual clean-up campaign, lugging items such as oxygen cylinders, tents, climbing equipment and helicopter parts from the slopes of the 8,848-metre mountain.

"Nineteen of us worked above the Everest Base Camp for seven hours or more to bring down waste every day," said Pasang Sherpa, the team leader. "Each one of us carried down a minimum of 30 kilograms of waste."

The climbers collected the garbage at the camp before 75 yaks and 65 porters transported it to Namche Bazaar.

Experts said another 50 tons of waste remained on Everest although yearly clean-up campaigns began in 2008.

Bodies of climbers have also been left on the summit. Since 1953, 250 deaths have been reported on the mountain. More than 5,000 people have ascended it.