Tourists stranded by dense fog in Nepalese mountains

   Kathmandu (dpa)- More than 2,500 tourists were still awaiting rescue in the Everest region Sunday, as bad weather and dense fog disrupted flights in different parts of Nepal.

   Civil aviation authorities said 170 tourists had been rescued from the Solukhubu district, home to Mount Everest, using private  helicopters.

   No flights have operated to or from the Phaplu and Lukla airports in the Everest region for a week, leaving hundreds stranded because if bad weather, officials said.

   Some tourists were living in tents after all the hotels in Lukla were full. The Solukhumbu district was also facing food shortages.

   Fights to and from the tourist destination of Pokhara have also been grounded for past three days due to bad weather. Flights to the mountainous district of Mustang have been halted for four days.
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Tourists stranded in Everest region as bad weather grounds flights

   Kathmandu (dpa) - More than a thousand tourists were left stranded in the Everest region after flights were cancelled for several days due to bad weather, local media reported Thursday.

   Lukla and Phaplu airports in the Solukhumbu region had been closed for the past four days, as flights were grounded due to poor visibility.

   Some of the tourists missed their international flights due to the delays, while other said they had started running out of cash as they were stranded in the remote region, Kantipur Television reported.

   Hotels in the region are packed, leading to accommodation problems for tourists.

   Flights to the Everest region are often disrupted because of the difficult terrain. Nepal's skies are infamous for accidents due to low visibility, and flights are often cancelled to avoid flying in bad weather.
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Two New Zealanders killed in Nepal bike accident

  Kathmandu(dpa)- Two New Zealanders died in a motor cycle accident in Nepal late Thursday, police said.

   The deceased were identified as Christopher Mark and Caro Louis.

   Police said the accident was caused by speeding.

   The incident took place in Rani Bhanjyang in the district of Makwanpur, 75 kilometres south-west of the capital Kathmandu.
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Nepal to hold first snow leopard census

   Kathmandu (dpa) - Nepal has launched the first census of its snow leopards, local media reported, in a bid to raise awareness of the endangered species.

   Closed circuit television cameras have been installed around the northern district of Mustang, at an altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 metres, and are planned to count the district's leopards within two months.

   “The census aims to find the exact population of snow leopards and conserve them,” Som Ale, one of the conservationists involved in the project, was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.

   “We believe it will help bring awareness about conservation of leopards among people.”

   The project is being carried out jointly by the National Trust for Nature Conservation, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project and other partners.

   Nepal's snow leopards live in the Mugu, Mustang, Dolpa and Humla districts in the northern belt, at an altitude of around 5,000 metres.

   Conservationists say their number is rapidly declining and put the current figure at 300 to 500.

   “Major threats for snow leopards come from the human and wildlife conflict,” World Wide Fund for Nature official Kamal Thapa told dpa.

   “Villagers kill the animals for attacking their livestock.”

   The conservationist group is running insurance programmes to discourage people from attacking the endangered species to defend their cattle.
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Nepal deal to integrate former rebels "humiliating," hardliners say

   Kathmandu (dpa)- Hardliners in Nepal's Maoist party said Wednesday that a deal to integrate former rebel combatants into the military did not give the fighters the respect they deserved.

   The agreement, signed between the country's main parties on Tuesday, assigns the former Maoist rebels to military units responsible for development, forest security, industry and disaster management.

   The general secretary of the Maoist party, Ram Bahadur Thapa, said at a press conference that such tasks were "humilitating" for the former rebel troops.

   The reintegration deal was inked Tuesday by party chairman Pshpa Kamal Dahal, who heads the establishment movement within the Maoists, together with the leaders of the other parties.

   It provides for 6,500 of the 19,000 former Maoist rebels to be moved into their new roles under a newly-formed directorate.

   Mohan Vaidhya, one of the three vice chairmen of the Maoists, also objected to the move. “The People Liberation Army [Maoist troops] had an important role in establishing democracy,” he said, and should be integrated en masse into the existing military establishment.

   The other political parties have repeatedly said it was not safe to incorporate a politically indoctrinated army into the normal army ranks.

   The hardline Maoists have also called for all former rebel fighters to keep their previous rank in the army.

   The Maoists joined mainstream politics after their decade-long insurgency ended with the signing of a peace deal in 2006.

   Their fighters have been held in detention camps around the country ever since.

   The Maoist hardliners on Wednesday warned of another "revolution" if their demands were not heeded. The party was to organize torch rallies across the country late Wednesday to demonstrate against the deal.
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Nepal police detain dozens of Tibetan refugees at prayer service

November 1, 2011
   Kathmandu (dpa) - Nepal police detained more than 60 Tibetan refugees early Tuesday as they were praying for the monks who immolated themselves recently in Tibet, a refugee official said.

   Police said they arrested those who were chanting slogans for a free Tibet at the service organized by the Tibetan refugee camp in the central city of Jawlakhel.

   “It was a peaceful non-violent mass gathering, where we were praying to show solidarity,” Tsewang Dolma, head of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, said.

   “Police arrested 60 refugees, including two monks,” said Dolma, who was also being held at the Jawlakhel Police station.

   The refugees had gathered at the camp for a 24-hour fast and prayer. Around 300 people continued praying after the arrests.

   Nepal officially follows the one-China policy, and has come under increasing pressure from Beijing to clamp down on anti-China or pro-Tibet activities.

   Nepal is home to 20,000 recorded Tibetan refugees, and many more undocumented migrants from the region.
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Nepal reaches deal on integrating former Maoist rebels into army =

November 1, 2011

   Kathmandu (dpa)- Nepal's four main political parties agreed on Tuesday to integrate 6,500 former Maoist fighters into the national army, a moved aimed at bolstering a precarious peace process that started in 2006 after a decade-long insurgency.

   Under the deal, the government will pay former Maoist fighters between 400,000 rupees (5,333 dollars) to 800,000 rupees in rehabilitation money depending on their rank in the former rebel force.
 
   A decade-long Maoist insurgency ended in Nepal in 2006, after the Maoists signed a peace deal with the government. The Maoists joined a coalition government in March.

   Since the war eneded, some 19,000 Maoist fighters have been living in seven different encampments scattered across the country.

   “Regrouping will begin in the next seven days,” Bhim Rawal, head of the Communist Party of Nepal, told a press conference.
 
   However, some hardline Maoists said they were opposed the deal and vowed to stage protests.
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