ROLPA, June 24 - A woman was killed in an explosion in the landmine area surrounding the premises of the Nepal Army's Gorakh Battalion at Khumel VDC ward-5 in Rolpa district Tuesday morning.
Bhunti Gharti Magar of ward-5 had gone inside the mine area to cut grass when the fatal incident occurred at 8:45 am, police said. Police inspector Pawan Kumar Bhattarai said that the body was blasted away below the knees. She died on the spot.
The incident site is about an hour's walk from district headquarters Liwang.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Deaths climb in Mexico's drug war
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- The fight against narcotraffickers is showing good results, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, a day after authorities linked 38 deaths nationwide to the drug war."We are truly hitting crime's operative structure," he said on Tuesday. "This is making it so that the gangs are fighting among themselves and that is causing the deaths that are occurring in the country. For example, of all the violent deaths that we have seen, 65 percent have been in two states -- in Chihuahua and Sinaloa."
On Monday, 21 people were killed in Chihuahua, apparently by drug traffickers. The dead included 18 found in the frontier town of Juarez alone. There is plenty at stake. Mexico has sized more cocaine and money from drug cartels than anywhere else in the world. In addition, authorities have recently seized some 16,000 arms, including more than 1,000 grenades.
On Monday, 21 people were killed in Chihuahua, apparently by drug traffickers. The dead included 18 found in the frontier town of Juarez alone. There is plenty at stake. Mexico has sized more cocaine and money from drug cartels than anywhere else in the world. In addition, authorities have recently seized some 16,000 arms, including more than 1,000 grenades.
Transport operators, govt reach agreement
KATHMANDU, June 24 - After 14 hours of marathon dialogue, the government and transporters agreed on Tuesday to increase transportation fares by 28 percent for long haul routes.A source present at the discussion said agitating transporters are all set to call off the indefinite nationwide transport strike following fresh understanding with the government.
According to the source, both sides agreed to set the fare at Rs 12 for up to 5 km for short haul buses and microbuses to be increased by Rs 1 for every additional kilometer."We have tentatively agreed to increase fares by 7.5 percent for Kathmandu Valley over the rate set by the government, while 3.5 percent will be raised for long and medium route fares set by the government previously," the source added.
However, the source said the government and transporters are yet to reach understanding on how to implement the student concession provided by the government.
They have also agreed to increase current taxi fare to Rs 23 to Rs 24. At present, the fare is Rs 20 per kilometer with the flag down rate.Both sides also agreed to create an effective mechanism to set new fare rates through scientific system within two months. They also have reached understanding on taking measures to discourage misuse of student concession.Transporters have been staging strike from Sunday demanding a 35 percent rise in transport fares, 10 percent more than the rate set by the government. The Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) last week decided to increase the fares on public transport by flat 25 percent, taking the two-year-old rate as the base.
According to the source, both sides agreed to set the fare at Rs 12 for up to 5 km for short haul buses and microbuses to be increased by Rs 1 for every additional kilometer."We have tentatively agreed to increase fares by 7.5 percent for Kathmandu Valley over the rate set by the government, while 3.5 percent will be raised for long and medium route fares set by the government previously," the source added.
However, the source said the government and transporters are yet to reach understanding on how to implement the student concession provided by the government.
They have also agreed to increase current taxi fare to Rs 23 to Rs 24. At present, the fare is Rs 20 per kilometer with the flag down rate.Both sides also agreed to create an effective mechanism to set new fare rates through scientific system within two months. They also have reached understanding on taking measures to discourage misuse of student concession.Transporters have been staging strike from Sunday demanding a 35 percent rise in transport fares, 10 percent more than the rate set by the government. The Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) last week decided to increase the fares on public transport by flat 25 percent, taking the two-year-old rate as the base.
Parties strike deal
The leaders of the ruling Seven-Party Alliance (SPA) on Tuesday agreed to elect the prime minister, the president and vice-president through a simple majority of the Constituent Assembly. They agreed to enforce all past agreements and pacts on peace within 15 days and manage the Maoist weapons and combatants within six months but decided to leave the task of new power-sharing in the hands of the newly elected CA.
$6 billion in aid to Pakistan poorly tracked
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has not accurately tracked about $6 billion it gave to help the Pakistani government fight terrorism since 2001, according to a report released Tuesday.
Pakistan is the largest recipient of payments from the Coalition Support Funds, which gives money to 27 partner countries to help combat terrorism. The country, which the Department of Defense considers a key ally in the war on terrorism because of its proximity to large swaths of ungoverned tribal land, has received $5.56 billion of $6.88 billion given out since September 11, 2001.
But a report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said the Coalition Support Funds cannot prove that the money went to projects or operations specifically fighting terrorists.While calling the program critical to the war on terrorism, the GAO found numerous concerns about the accuracy of the Pakistani accounting. "As a result, we conclude that Defense cannot accurately determine how much of the $5.56 billion in costs reimbursed to Pakistan since 2001 were actually incurred," the report said.
The report drew ire from Congress, as some members said Pakistan is bilking the United States to "boost its conventional warfare capability," committee Chairman Howard L. Berman said.
The Department of Defense responded to the report by saying Pakistan has contributed significantly to the war on terrorism but acknowledged some problems tracking the money.
Pakistan is the largest recipient of payments from the Coalition Support Funds, which gives money to 27 partner countries to help combat terrorism. The country, which the Department of Defense considers a key ally in the war on terrorism because of its proximity to large swaths of ungoverned tribal land, has received $5.56 billion of $6.88 billion given out since September 11, 2001.
But a report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs said the Coalition Support Funds cannot prove that the money went to projects or operations specifically fighting terrorists.While calling the program critical to the war on terrorism, the GAO found numerous concerns about the accuracy of the Pakistani accounting. "As a result, we conclude that Defense cannot accurately determine how much of the $5.56 billion in costs reimbursed to Pakistan since 2001 were actually incurred," the report said.
The report drew ire from Congress, as some members said Pakistan is bilking the United States to "boost its conventional warfare capability," committee Chairman Howard L. Berman said.
The Department of Defense responded to the report by saying Pakistan has contributed significantly to the war on terrorism but acknowledged some problems tracking the money.
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