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Just saw on Anderson Cooper 360 - the topic was the insurance companies not paying for infertility drugs. Randy Kate(sp?) was interviewing the industry spokeswoman. This is what she asked,"I find it hard to believe that insurance ... cover things like Abortion, in other words the insurance will help get rid of the child, but won't help pay somebody to have a child. That surprises me." I thought that was interesting.

A leading human rights group has written to Nepal's government voicing concern over what it calls continuing police abuse of transsexuals. Human Rights Watch says there has been a pattern of arbitrary arrests and violence against "Metis", who identify themselves as women. The organisation has called for a full investigations of such abuse and appropriate punishments. Police in Nepal say they are taking the allegations very seriously. However, the head of a human rights cell in the police said many of the Metis were working as prostitutes and that as this was illegal in Nepal, raids on hotels were...

KARACHI: God’s People Fellowship of Pakistan, a Christian organization, urged the government of Pakistan on Thursday to recognise Israel so that 10 million Christians of the country could visit the Jewish state to perform their religious obligations. Speaking at a news conference here, Ashraf P. Butt, general-secretary God’s People Fellowship of Pakistan, said he was making the demand in the backdrop of President Perves Musharaf’s statement issued in June 2003 that the Pakistani nation should discuss the “Israel issue” with an open mind. He was flanked by Master Rafique Saeed, president, Yousuf Gill, vice-president, and Father Philips, moderator of the...

Maoist rebels in Nepal say they may reconsider their opposition to the monarchy if the king holds free elections for a constituent assembly. Senior rebel leader Prachanda told the BBC that the verdict of free and fair elections would be acceptable even if it meant the retention of the monarchy. Elections, he said, had to be supervised by foreign monitors. The Maoists have been fighting for the abolition of the monarchy and a communist republic. Some 12,000 people have died in Nepal's 10-year civil war. The rebels and a coalition of seven opposition parties have recently agreed on a programme...

Nepal's Maoist rebels entered a pact with opposition politicians yesterday in a move to isolate King Gyanendra, who seized full power nine months ago. Under the deal the communists, who control most rural areas, would lay down their arms under United Nations supervision while a new constitution is drafted. They say they will become a democratic party if the king is removed. More than 12,500 people have died in their near 10-year campaign to turn the Himalayan monarchy into a communist republic. The announcement came in statements from the Maoists and seven opposition parties, following recent talks in New Delhi....

KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoist rebels, spearheading a decade-old insurgency, have agreed to lay down arms under UN supervision and support the movement launched by an alliance of seven political parties to limit King Gyanendra's role as a titular head, highly placed sources said on Saturday. During the "secret" parleys with the alliance leaders in New Delhi, the rebels also indicated that they would extend the ceasefire period by a month, they said. The rebels had announced a three-month unilateral truce in September, which expires on December 3. Though there was no official confirmation of the talks either by the royal government...

India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Nepal's King Gyanendra to take concrete steps towards restoring multi-party democracy in his country. The two South Asian leaders held talks at the two-day summit of South Asian leaders in Dhaka. The king took control of the Himalayan kingdom in February, saying the government had not done enough to quell a Maoist insurgency. He has announced that parliamentary elections will be held by April 2007. Opposition parties say they plan to boycott any election called by the king, because they say his government is unconstitutional. The prime minister underlined to his majesty...

Rejecting allegations of having links with Maoists, Nepal's seven-party alliance agitating against King Gyanendra's direct rule has said it was instead trying to bring the rebels into the democratic fold. "We don't have any plans to forge an alliance with the Maoist rebels," Nepali Congress central member and former Foreign Minister Ramsharan Mahat said. "The purpose of all our efforts is to motivate them to come to multi-party democracy," Mahat told PTI. The minister was responding to the US government's statement issued yesterday warning pro-democracy political parties against any possible alliance with the Maoists waging insurgency for the past ten...

KATHMANDU, Oct 28 - US ambassador to Nepal James F Moriarty on Thursday said that US aid to Nepal would be dangerous, as it would weaken the mainstream political parties and empower the king, The Kathmandu Post daily reported Friday. Speaking during a programme at Tansen, Palpa yesterday Moriarty hinted that US aid to Nepal would be resumed only if the power is handed over to the parties and added, "US suspended aid to Nepal owing to the Feb 1 takeover that increased the gulf between the parties and the king." He also suggested the king to take one step...

A seven-member delegation of Indian leaders led by politburo member of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechuri arrived in Kathmandu Wednesday to assess the political situation in Nepal. The team comprises of Communist Party of India (CPI) D Raja, Nationalist Congress Party leader D.P Tripathy, Congress MP Chandrasekhar Sahoo and veteran socialist leader Surendra Mohan, among others. The Indian leaders are scheduled to meet top leaders of the agitating seven political parties including Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal. A group of protesters supporting the political establishment staged protest at the...

The media talks about the horror of Hurricane Rita possibly hitting New Orleans "again". Rightly so, but it has to hit somewhere(due to the shape of Gulf of Mexico). So, wouldn't it be less worse if it hits already devestated New Orleans(where virtually nobody is left) rather than Galveston or Houston or other totally functioning cities and towns with millions of people? It isn't like if Rita hits New Orleans again, it should be any more worse than hitting any other non-damaged cities. It is already been destroyed, so no matter if Rita hits or not, it has to go...

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Maoist rebels have appealed to the United Nations for help to maintain peace, saying a ceasefire they announced last week was at risk because the government was trying to sabotage the truce. Maoist chief Prachanda last week announced a unilateral truce for three months in a move to win the support of the kingdom’s mainstream parties opposed to King Gyanendra, who sacked the government and assumed absolute power in February. “We appeal to the United Nations and the international community to raise a stronger voice for a democratic solution and for the aspiration of the Nepali people for...

Maoist rebels in Nepal, who have been fighting for a communist republic for the past 10 years, have admitted to a rift in their ranks. Rebel leader Prachanda has said that he had serious differences with Baburam Bhattarai, the second most powerful person in the rebel movement. Nepal's state-owned media had reported recently that Mr Bhattarai and his wife, Hisila Yami, had been expelled. The rebels have denied the reports, and ruled out a split in the party. But in an e-mail statement, Prachanda has listed a number of serious differences with Mr Bhattarai. He also appeared to confirm that...

KATHMANDU (AFP) - The bodies of 113 Maoist rebels have been recovered following a major battle with government forces in western Nepal late last week, an army official said. Thursday's clash was believed to be the largest since King Gyanendra sacked the government on February 1 for failing to stem the Maoist rebellion that has claimed more than 11,000 lives since 1996. "As the search is going on, we expect to recover some more bodies of the rebels," said the army official, who declined to be named. Three security force personnel were also killed in the fighting, he said on...

Source: Yahoo News Photos A young member of the Maoist 'People's Army' studies a book on army tactics at Nuwagaon village in central Nepal March 20, 2005. This is the Maoist heartland of the desperately poor Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, the foothills where the rebels draw their recruits to fight a nine-year insurgency that has cost 11,000 lives and brought the country to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Picture taken March 20, 2005. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar

[World News]: Kathmandu, Mar 5 : Waving portraits of King Gyanendra and chanting pro-monarchy slogans, hundreds of Buddhist monks today hit the streets of Kathmandu in support of the royal seizure of power. Wearing long saffron robes, more than 1,200 monks marched through the streets of Kathmandu appealing for "peace and stability", a day after police arrested a dozen activists of Nepal Communist Party-UML for challenging the power grab. "Long live the King,", "We want peace", "Our King and our country are dearer than life" read banners and placards carried by them. Dozens of riot police escorted the demonstration, which...

A senior US official has reiterated his government’s views that India has a major role to play in resolving the present stalemate in the Himalayan Kingdom. "India, in our view, plays an absolutely critical role. As far as Nepal is concerned India is a major power. The United States is far away. India is right next door," said Donald Camp, principal deputy assistant secretary for South Asian affairs of the US government. “New Delhi has the "most to lose if things go bad". The US has consulted the Government of India and we have tried to work with them as...

In what is seen as a major success for Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) troops in counter insurgency operations in the mid western Bardiya district, bodies of nearly 50 Maoists have been recovered from the battle site, latest reports said. According to the DPR at the Royal Nepalese Army Headquarters, security forces recovered 48 Maoist bodies from the battle site Tuesday afternoon. Four security men -two soldiers and police each- were killed in the battle. Seventeen including five civilians were injured in the incident on Monday, reports said. Security forces also recovered several sophisticated arms and ammunitions from the Maoist insurgents...

Kathmandu, Feb 20 (IANS) Nearly 20 days after King Gyanendra took control of Nepal and clamped emergency, media reports Sunday said Maoists had set ablaze at least 13 trucks carrying supplies, including two that were carrying buffaloes. The incident occurred in Dhading district, northwest of Kathmandu, on Thursday, the Kathmandu Post daily reported Sunday. Two of the trucks were carrying 58 buffaloes that were burnt alive, the Post said. The owner of the livestock, Mansoor Alam Ansari, said the trucks were going to Kathmandu from Bara in southern Nepal near the Indian border when the rebels stopped them on the...

[World News]: Kathmandu, Feb 6 : Nepal's army said it would go after the Maoist insurgents in full force, pressuring them to resume peace negotiations with the new government or face the consequences. The army's mandate is to "disarm the Maoists and bring them to the mainstream", said Brigadier-General Dipak Gurung, Royal Nepalese Army spokesman. "If they don't do it willingly, we have to do it by force," Gurung told IANS. The Royal Nepalese Army, constitutionally under the control of a security council consisting of the prime minister, defence minister and army chief, had its curbs removed Tuesday when King...