http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nepal/ en-us Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:46:48 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411549/posts KATHMANDU, Dec. 20 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Nepal's Maoists shut down businesses, schools, factories and transportation throughout Nepal on Sunday, the first day of a three- day nationwide general strike. In the strongest protest since their leader Prachanda resigned in May as prime minister, Maoist supporters took to the streets from 5 a.m. to enforce the strike, called to demand an apology from President Ram Baran Yadav for earlier this year countermanding Prachanda's order to sack the army chief. Maoist cadres lit up tires at the busiest road intersections in Kathmandu to prevent vehicles from plying the roads, forcing tens of thousands... Breitbart (AP) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411549/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:46:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393360/posts The world's biggest animal sacrifice got under way in Nepal today with the killing of the first of more than 250,000 animals as part of a Hindu festival in the village of Biriyapur, near the Indian border. * * * In the main event, 250 appointed locals with traditional kukri knives began their task of decapitating more than 10,000 buffalo in a dusty enclosure guarded by high walls and armed police. Frightened calves galloped around in vain as the men, wearing red bandanas and armbands, pursued them and chopped off their heads. Banned from entering the animal pen, hundreds of... The Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393360/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:29:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393487/posts More Than 200,000 Animals Slaughtered at Nepal Sacrifice Festival November 24, 2009 Nov. 24: A butcher prepares to slaughter a buffalo with his knife during a mass sacrifice ceremony at Gadhimai temple in Bariyapur, Nepal. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus gathered at a temple in southern Nepal on Tuesday for a ceremony involving the slaughter of more than 200,000 animals, a festival that has drawn the ire of animal-welfare protesters. A Nepalese minister said it was the largest sacrificial slaughter of animals in the world. Animal rights groups and activists including the actress Brigitte Bardot have condemned the event, which... FoxNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393487/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:07:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2393352/posts UP to a million Hindu devotees have gathered in a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism. Worshippers travelled long distances, many coming from India, to attend the two-day Gadhimai festival, which honours the Hindu goddess of power and takes place once every five years in southern Nepal. A huge cry of "Long Live Gadhimai!" went up after the village temple's head priest launched the event with the ritual sacrifice of two wild rats, two pigeons, a rooster, a lamb and a pig. The crowd... news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2393352/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:22:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336672/posts A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor.Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a  village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs.The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy. UK Daily Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336672/posts#comment Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:45:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2312752/posts About 200 women marched through the Nepali capital Monday to denounce a government scheme to pay cash incentives to men for marrying widows, witnesses said. Nepal's center-left coalition announced a plan last month to pay men the equivalent of $650 for marrying widows, angering the widows. Monday, women shouting slogans such as "You can't sell your mother," and "We don't want government dowries," marched toward a government complex that houses the prime minister's office. (snip) But Neupane said it would only add to their woes as men would marry widows for money and later abandon them. Widows, she said, should... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2312752/posts#comment Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:55:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294310/posts The interior of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Kathmandu Rome, Italy, Jul 16, 2009 / 12:37 pm (CNA).- Following the recent bomb attack on the Cathedral of the Assumption, which was attributed to the Hindu group Nepal Defense Army, extremists are now threatening priests and religious in Nepal with death if they do not leave the country “within one month.” The Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, Bishop Anthony Francis Sharma, said the threats were made to the associate vicar, Father Pius Perumana.  L’Osservatore Romano reported that the police have beefed up security at the diocesan chancery in Godavari, where Father... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294310/posts#comment Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:26:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2278020/posts A leading mountaineering official on Tuesday urged Nepal to reduce climbing fees for Mount Everest and other mountains during the peak climbing season, to lure climbers back from Tibet where mountaineering is cheaper. Tourists are returning to Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries with largely aid-and tourism-dependent economy, after the Himalayan republic emerged from a long civil war in 2006. Climbing is one of the most popular tourist pastimes but Ang Tshering Sherpa, chief of the Union of Asian Alpine Associations, an umbrella body of 26 alpine groups, said overcharging was driving climbers across the border to Tibet. "The... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2278020/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:57:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2264239/posts Note: The following text is a quote: YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: India Urgent Security Concerns CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS South / Central Asia - India 2 Jun 2009 U.S. Embassy New Delhi released the following warden Message on June 2: The United States Mission in India wishes to urgently remind all U.S. citizens resident in or traveling to India that there is a high threat from terrorism throughout India. As terror attacks are a serious and growing threat, U.S. citizens are urged to always practice good security, including maintaining a heightened... OSAC.GOV - Consular Affairs Bulletin - Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2264239/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:49:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256567/posts Kathmandu: After obstructing parliament for three weeks, Nepal's Maoist party finally allowed the house to convene Friday with caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda making an impassioned valedictory address, in which he blamed neighbour India, Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav, his allies and the army chief, Gen Rookmangud Katawal and warned of a catastrophe in the days to come. The address paves the way for an election Saturday when the 601-member house will choose a new prime minister to succeed Prachanda. Unless there is a major hitch, veteran communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, former chief of the Communist Party... samaylive.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256567/posts#comment Fri, 22 May 2009 21:37:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256387/posts KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Like many Nepalese guides, Apa Sherpa started trekking to the top of Mount Everest in the shadow of more famous climbers -- including the son of the late Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb to the top of the world's tallest peak. But the 49-year-old Nepali -- who now lives in the United States -- on Thursday morning became the only person in the world to summit Everest 19 times. Apa says his goals in climbing the 29,029-foot (8,848-meter) mountain have nothing to do with setting the world record for Everest summits, a title... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2256387/posts#comment Fri, 22 May 2009 16:53:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246527/posts India is walking a diplomatic tightrope as Nepal tries to form a new government, aware that excessive meddling in its traditional "backyard" could risk pushing the fragile Himalayan democracy closer to China. India has always seen Nepal as part of its strategic sphere of influence, but that has been challenged in the past year since the election of Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda, who before he resigned last week had edged closer to Beijing. Former guerrilla leader Prachanda quit on Monday after his dismissal of the army chief was blocked, sparking a political crisis and dealing a blow to Nepal's peace... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246527/posts#comment Thu, 7 May 2009 23:54:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246371/posts So the chairman of Nepal's Maoist radicals brags that he and his fellow-travellers tricked United Nations officials and admits that the 2006 peace deal was a sham - and gets caught on videotape doing it. The video of the recently resigned Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, was shot in January 2008 and just surfaced. Teh Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246371/posts#comment Thu, 7 May 2009 20:35:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2245299/posts KATHMANDU: Battling for the removal of the controversial army chief, Gen Rookmangud Katawal, and his defender, President Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal's Maoist party walked into an ambush when an embarrassing video tape showed Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda boasting his guerrilla troops' number had been five-fold inflated during a UN count. In the same video, aired by Nepal's gleeful public television stations on Tuesday night, he was also shown as making scathing remarks about "reactionary" India and the US, saying that if they scented the constituent assembly election would lead to a Maoist victory, they would never allow... The Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2245299/posts#comment Wed, 6 May 2009 13:46:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243343/posts The Maoist government of Nepal has collapsed after a failed attempt to remove the country's right-wing army chief. The cabinet bid to sack Gen Rookmangud Katawal prompted the second largest party, the centrist UML, to resign from the ruling coalition. The Himalayan country is emerging from a 10 year civil war which ended with a ceasefire in 2006. Last year the former Maoist rebels won national elections and formed a coalition government. But the peace process is now stuck on the issue that sparked the latest crisis – the integration of former Maoist fighters into the traditionally conservative national army.... telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2243343/posts#comment Sun, 3 May 2009 21:08:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2217656/posts Nepal has organized a program to mark its first person to scale the highest mountains in all the seven continents across the world. According to Sunday's The Rising Nepal, Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subash Chandra Nemwang said that the achievements of Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who scaled the highest mountains in all the seven continents across the world, were a matter of pride for all the Nepalese. Nemwang made this remark at a program here on Saturday organized to felicitate Sherpa's achievements. Lauding mountain guide and climber Sherpa for his feats, Nemwang said "The Sherpas have made significant contributions in... Xinhua http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2217656/posts#comment Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:38:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2204604/posts Kathmandu: A sort of political blizzard is likely to overwhelm Nepal soon. Destructive politics appear to have already taken a shape which awaits only its formalization in a week or so. The frenzied play that is being played in the dim corners of Kathmandu backed by some alien forces in the South will, if it does happen, apparently be very hard to be tackled by the ruling Maoists-the party in government. Exactly after a lapse of three years four months (minus 12 days to be more precise), such a destructive political play is being staged by forces that are visibly... telegraphnepal.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2204604/posts#comment Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:46:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2198575/posts KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A former Maoist rebel commander said on Tuesday the group plans to recruit thousands of fighters, a move seen as a blow to peace that underlined serious tensions between Nepal's army and the Maoists. Nanda Kishore Pun, chief of the Maoist fighters, told Reuters it was the ex-rebel group's turn to fill vacancies in their ranks after Nepal's national army recruited 2,800 personnel last year. The move could endanger a 2006 peace pact that ended a decades-long civil war and saw the Maoists joining the political process, winning an election last year, analysts said. "It is a... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2198575/posts#comment Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:51:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2183508/posts Kathmandu, Feb 11 (PTI) Nepal's ruling Maoists, who joined the mainstream politics over two years ago after giving up arms, may be taken off a terrorism blacklist of the US, top American diplomat Richard Boucher told Premier Prachanda here today. Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs who is here on a two-day visit, assured Prachanda of continued US support to the Maoist-led government during a meeting between them. He discussed with Prachanda issues relating to political situation in Nepal, the peace process, army integration, Constitution drafting and economic cooperation, according to Prime Minister's... ptinews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2183508/posts#comment Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:45:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167845/posts Nepal government is taking all the possible steps to save other regions of Nepal from falling prey to deadly bird flu. Mechinagar has been declared emergency region where birds were found affected with deadly H5N1 virus. Districts close to the affected areas, including Morang and Chitawan have been issued notices regarding risk of spread of bird flu. Prabhakar Pathak, chief of the department of livestock services in Kathmandu informed that about 13,000 poultry would be culled in five days to control the virus within a 3 km radius of the town, and the government would pay up to $5 for... TopNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2167845/posts#comment Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:23:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163007/posts A female journalist who reported on women's rights and spoke out against the dowry system in southern Nepal was killed by a group of attackers, an official said Monday. AP via YNETNEWS.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163007/posts#comment Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:06:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2156265/posts KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoists Prime Minister Prachanda faced public ire when a group of students greeted him with black flags and pelted stones on his convoy as he was on his way to Tribhvuan University to attend a function. The students got agitated when security personnel stopped them from handing over a memorandum to the Prime Minister and they indulge in stone throwing. Prachanda escaped unhurt, security officials said. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, Nepal's opposition party's youth wing yesterday organised an anti-Maoist rally in 16 districts, across the country to oppose the ruling party's totalitarian policy and attacks on media... Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2156265/posts#comment Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:57:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142439/posts Nepal's first Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” is expected to visit Beijing early next year, marking an unprecedented bonhomie in Nepal-China ties. It would be his second visit to the communist republic within six months of assuming visit, a diplomatic feat unparalleled by any of his predecessors. The invitation came on Wednesday from visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who along with a 10-member delegation held talks with Prachanda and Nepal’s Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav. Soon after he leaves Kathmandu for Myanmar Thursday, a military delegation from China will arrive Saturday, the second such delegation within a fortnight.... indiatimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142439/posts#comment Thu, 4 Dec 2008 00:34:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132270/posts The former rebels plan to put all children in public schools by 2010, saying it will even the playing field. Kathmandu, Nepal - The massive election win last April by Nepal's former rebel Maoists put them in the position to set the government agenda, and bring about drastic changes they promised during their campaign. But their initial proposals on education – to end private investment in schools and distribute academic certificates to Maoist fighters – have left many Nepalese worried. They're concerned that their new government will take the country in too radical a direction that favors its former fighters... cs monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132270/posts#comment Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:18:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130791/posts RATANPUR, Nepal — The teenage boy revered as a reincarnation of Buddha sat silently in the jungle as he blessed his devotees Wednesday with a light tap on the head, which they consider the touch of the divine. The followers of Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005, when believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree. Where is your Obama now ... FoxNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130791/posts#comment Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:45:21 GMT