malysian .....

Malaysian security forces gunned down 31 Filipino intruders in Borneo on Thursday, the highest number of casualties in a single day since nearly 200 members of a Philippine Muslim clan took over an entire village last month, police said.

However, representatives of the Filipino group denied their members had been killed.

The armed clansmen have wreaked political havoc for both Malaysia and the neighboring Philippines by trying to stake a long-dormant royal territorial claim to Malaysia's sprawling, resource-rich state of Sabah in Borneo.

Most of the Filipinos had eluded capture in a coastal Sabah district filled with palm oil plantations and forested hills after Malaysian forces attacked them with airstrikes and mortar fire on Tuesday.

Police and military forces tracking them waged a fierce gunbattle that ended in the deaths of 31 clansmen Thursday, national police chief Ismail Omar said, adding that no Malaysians were injured.

But Abraham Idjirani, a Philippine-based representative for the clansmen, said he spoke by telephone Thursday evening with the group's leader, who insisted all of them remained accounted for. He claimed Malaysian forces had instead killed dozens of civilian villagers, but none of them were the clansmen.

The conflicting claims could not immediately be explained.

Ismail said at least 52 Filipinos have now been killed in the past week since hostilities in the Sabah security crisis escalated. Eight policemen also were fatally shot by the Filipino clansmen and their allies last week in various parts of Sabah.

Less than two hours before the announcement of the casualties, Prime Minister Najib Razak rejected a cease-fire call by Philippine-based members of the clan led by Jamalul Kiram III, who claims to be the sultan, or hereditary ruler, of the southern, predominantly Muslim province of Sulu in the Philippines.

A brother of Kiram, the sultan who lives in Manila, is heading the group in Sabah. Kiram had ordered them to observe a unilateral cease-fire starting Thursday afternoon by holding their current position and taking a defensive posture.

Najib responded by saying Malaysia would accept only unconditional surrender by the clansmen, who slipped into Sabah by sea around Feb. 9.

"They have to surrender their arms. They have to do it as soon as possible," Najib said at a nationally televised news conference.

"Don't believe this offer of a cease-fire by Jamalul Kiram," Malaysian Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wrote on Twitter. "For the sake of the people of Sabah and Malaysia, eliminate all militants first."

Idjirani said a cease-fire would be in line with a statement of concern by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Wednesday.

Ban "urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation," according to the statement issued by Ban's representative.

Ban voiced concerns about how the crisis might affect civilians, including Filipino migrants in Sabah, and urged "all parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards," according to the statement.

Malaysia's government has insisted it made every effort to coax the Filipinos to leave and had to use force after the group fatally shot two policemen last week. Six other police officers were ambushed and killed by other Filipinos believed to be linked to the clansmen in another Sabah district.

The Filipinos say Sabah belonged to their royal sultanate for more than a century and should be handed back. Malaysia has dismissed their claim to the state, which has been part of Malaysia for five decades.

An estimated 800,000 Filipinos , mostly Muslims from insurgency-plagued southern provinces, have settled in Sabah over the years to seek work and stability.

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keyan

Kenyan authorities said the outcome of the country's presidential election would not be compromised by the failure of electronic vote counting technology that has delayed results for a third day.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, who is due to go on trial for crimes against humanity linked to the violent aftermatch of the last election in 2007, has led since results started trickling in after polls closed on Monday.

But some strongholds loyal to his rival Prime Minister Raila Odinga have yet to declare their results.

Kenyatta's lead appeared to have been eroded subsequently, but it was too early to predict the outcome. At 1.45 a.m. on Thursday (05.45 p.m. EST on Wednesday), Kenyatta had 1,119,761 votes to Odinga's 819,573 from a handful of constituencies.

Election officials had said turnout was more than 70 percent of the 14.3 million eligible voters.

If neither major candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, Kenyatta, 51, and Odinga, 68, would have to face each other in an April run-off, prolonging the uncertainty.

Ahmed Issack Hassan, chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries commission, said vote counting could be concluded at the earliest on Friday or drag on to Monday, the last day on which by law the results must be made public.

"I also want to emphasize that the fact that we are now abandoning the electronic voter transmission does not in any way mean that the integrity of the results which we are being announced are compromised," Hassan told a news conference.

Kenyans are waiting to see if politicians will respect the results this time. Five years ago some rejected the outcome unleashing weeks of ethnic killing.

KENYANS ANXIOUS

About 1,200 people were slaughtered in politically-fueled tribal violence when president Mwai Kibaki was declared the victor over Odinga amid charges of voting fraud.

With the memory of the fighting fresh in their minds, many Kenyans were anxious over the delays. "If you are waiting for something eagerly and you're not getting it, you will always be frustrated, but we have to control our tempers as we don't really know what's going on," said Modesty Maewida, 38, a hotel worker in Mombasa.

Computer servers used by the election commission to handle voting data were overwhelmed, Hassan said.

Despite technical glitches, European Union chief observer Alojz Peterle said the vote was credible and transparent so far.

The United States and other Western nations, big donors that view Kenya as vital in the regional battle with militant Islam, have already indicated that a victory by Kenyatta would complicate diplomatic relations.

Kenyatta, son of Kenya's founding president Jomo Kenyatta, and his running mate, William Ruto, both face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of unleashing death squads after the 2007 election . Both men deny the charges and have said they will go to the court to clear their names.

Some businesses remained closed out of fear of riots, which pushed up food prices in some places.

"Life is becoming difficult and unbearable here," said Milka Achieng, 42, a mother of five.

CURRENCY WEAKENS

The Kenyan shilling weakened 1 percent against the dollar on concerns that delays in announcing a winner would prompt rivals to challenge the election outcome.

Ruto's Jubilee coalition accused British High Commissioner Christian Turner of seeking to meddle in the vote. Turner said the accusations were "entirely false and misleading".

Odinga's camp has also questioned parts of the election process before, during and after the vote, hinting at the potential for legal challenges.

As in past election s in Kenya, much of the voting has been on ethnic lines, with Kenyatta enjoying strong support among his Kikuyu tribe, Kenya's largest, and Odinga backed by the Luo. Both candidates lead broader coalitions and are also relying on support from the tribes of their running mates.
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Nepal's women climbers break highest glass ceiling

KATHMANDU, MAR 05 - It's the world's highest glass ceiling. Of the 3,755 climbers who have scaled Mount Everest, more than half are Nepalese but only 21 of those locals are women.

Aiming to change the all-male image of mountaineering in their country, a group of Nepalese women have embarked on a mission to shatter that barrier by climbing the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents.

The women, aged between 21 and 32, have already climbed Everest in Asia, Kosciuszko in Australia and Elbrus in Europe. They are preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa to mark International Women's Day this week.

"The main goal of our mission is to encourage women in education, empowerment and environment," Shailee Basnet, the 29-year-old team leader, said before leaving for Africa.

Women in this Himalayan nation rarely got the chance to climb because they were confined to their homes while their husbands led expeditions or carried equipment for Western climbers , Basnet said.

It was only in 1993 that a Nepalese woman — Pasang Lhamu — first reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit of Everest. She died on the descent.

According to Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Nepalese women had traditionally expressed little attraction to mountaineering.

"It is only recently that women have shown interest," Tshering said.

Since they climbed Everest in 2008, the women have spoken in more than 100 schools across Nepal to tell students about their mission.

"We are hoping to attract more women to mountaineering, both as a profession and as a hobby," said Pema Dikki, 25, another member of the team.

Basnet said the response to the Everest climb encouraged them to push ahead.

"After Everest, we felt that we needed to go beyond the borders, so we decided to travel to all seven continents to climb the highest mountains there," Basnet said.

Basnet said the team members have spent their savings, taken out loans and sought sponsorships to finance their expensive gear, climbing permits and plane tickets.

The team plans to speak to students while in Africa to spread their theme, "You can climb your own Everest," to encourage girls to stay in school.

The team will be joined by two women from Tanzania and one from South Africa during the Kilimanjaro climb.

Nepal has eight of the 14 mountains that are more than 8,000 meters (26,240 feet) in height.


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Syrian rebels seize U.N. peacekeepers near Golan Heights

syrian rebels have seize d a convoy of U.N. peacekeepers near theGolan Heights and say they will hold them captive until President Bashar al-Assad's forces pull back from a rebel-held village which has seen heavy recent fighting.

The capture was announced in rebel videos posted on the Internet and confirmed on Wednesday by the United Nations, which said about 20 peacekeepers had been detained.

The seizure is the most direct threat to U.N. personnel in the nearly two-year-old uprising against Assad, and Human Rights Watch said it was investigating the same brigade for past executions.

It came on the day Britain said it would increase aid to the opposition forces and the Arab League gave a green light to member states to arm the rebels.

The Arab League also invited the opposition Syrian coalition to take Syria's seat at a meeting of the regional body in Doha later this month. Syria was suspended in November 2011 in response to its crackdown on protests which has since spiraled into civil war.

In the latest attack by the Syrian military, warplanes bombarded the northeastern provincial capital of Raqqa for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people, opposition activists said. Video footage showed fighters putting dismembered bodies in an ambulance.

The peacekeepers of the UNDOF mission have been monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, captured by the Jewish state in a 1967 war, for nearly four decades.

Israel has warned that it will not "stand idle" as Syria's civil war spills over into the Golan region.

The United Nations in New York said its peacekeepers had been detained by around 30 fighters in the Golan Heights. The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the seizure of U.N. observers and demanded their immediate release.

"The U.N. observers were on a regular supply mission and were stopped near Observation Post 58, which had sustained damage and was evacuated this past weekend following heavy combat in close proximity at Al Jamla," the United Nations said, referring to a village which saw fierce clashes on Sunday.

It did not mention the nationality of the observers, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which is in contact with the rebel brigade, said they were Filipino.

In one rebel video, a young man saying he was from the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade stood surrounded by several rebel fighters with assault rifles in front of two white armored vehicles and a truck with "UN" markings.

"The command of the Martyrs of Yarmouk ... is holding forces of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force until the withdrawal of forces of the regime of Bashar al-Assad from the outskirts of the village of Jamla," said the man, who was wearing civilian clothes.

At least five people could be seen sitting in the vehicles wearing light blue U.N. helmets and bulletproof vests.

"If no withdrawal is made within 24 hours we will treat them as prisoners," the man said, accusing them of collaborating with Assad's forces to push the rebels out of Jamla.

Nearly two years after the uprising started, rebels are distrustful of the United Nations, which they say has failed to support their cause.

MILITARY AID

Earlier on Wednesday, the United Nations said the number of refugees who have fled Syria had reached 1 million, part of an accelerating exodus from a conflict which is approaching its second anniversary with no prospect of an end to the bloodshed.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, pledging support for Assad's opponents, said the civil war had reached catastrophic proportions and that international efforts to stem the violence had been an abject failure.

Senior U.S. and Russian diplomats will discuss the conflict at a meeting in London on Thursday, Russia said, the latest in a series of meetings aimed at seeking an end to the fighting.

But Hague said the chances of getting an immediate political solution to the crisis were slim and that diplomacy was taking too long.

"If a political solution to the crisis in Syria is not found and the conflict continues, we and the rest of the European Union will have to be ready to move further, and we should not rule out any option for saving lives," he said.

However, Hague played down the prospect of direct Western military intervention.

While Moscow has been one of Assad's main protectors, members of an Islamist insurgency involved in daily clashes in Russia's predominantly Muslim North Caucasus and their compatriots have trickled into Syria to fight on the rebels' side.

A Syrian rebel leader sought to persuade European governments to lift an arms embargo for the rebels, saying any weapons provided would be accounted for and possibly returned.

"The weapons are registered on lists with numbers on each weapon. We distribute those weapons. And we know precisely who has received them," Brigadier Selim Idris told a news conference in Brussels.

ONE MILLION REFUGEES

At a registration center for Syrians in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a 19-year-old mother of two registered on Wednesday as the millionth refugee to flee her country.

"The situation is very bad for us. We can't find work," said the teenage mother, wearing a green headscarf and holding her daughter as she spoke to reporters.

"I live with 20 people in one room. We can't find any other house as it is too expensive. We want to return to Syria. We wish for the crisis to be resolved."

Syrians started trickling out of the country 23 months ago when Assad's forces shot at pro-democracy protests inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.

The uprising has since turned into an increasingly sectarian struggle between armed rebels and government soldiers and militias. An estimated 70,000 people have been killed.

Around half the refugees are children, most of them aged under 11, and the numbers leaving are mounting every week, the United Nations refugee agency said in statement.

"With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally, and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiraling towards full-scale disaster," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in a statement.

Posted on: 2013-03-07 09:42 
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Political path lost

There is a tendency in Nepali politics to resort to general strikes, aka bandas, whenever there seems to be progress in negotiations between the major political parties. Marginalised political groups stage strikes in order to assert themselves and influence the negotiations. The last time there were widespread bandas across the country was towards the end of May 2012, when the parties were engaged in tough negotiations over the constitution. At the time, many of the groups that staged bandas stood either in support of or against identity-based federalism. Things have been quiet since. There was a stalemate between the parties, and the smaller groups felt they couldn’t push for their demands in any way. Now that there has been some progress in negotiations to form a new government and hold elections, it seems almost certain that there will be an increase in bandas.

The Nepal Federal People’s Republic Front, an organisation of breakaway Maoist factions including the CPN-Maoist, set the stage with their strike yesterday. There is, however, a major difference between this organisation and the many others that may be expected to hold strikes in the coming days. Madhesi and Janajati political groups that enforce bandas do so in order to influence the negotiations between parties. They are not opposed to the broad political process; they simply want their voices to be recognised. The breakaway Maoist factions, on the other hand, do not only want to influence the process; they want to derail it altogether. During the current strike, these Maoist factions have said that their demand is for an all-party government that will hold elections. In private conversations, however, their leaders express other motivations, claiming that their objective is to ensure that elections do not take place at all.

Consumed by rage and frustration, the members of the breakaway Maoist factions claim that the goal is to complete their revolution for the sake of the oppressed and marginalised. But they cannot go back to war. Nor do they have a viable political strategy. Their actions, therefore, are confined only to politics of retaliation. Unsurprisingly, the breakaway Maoists have not been able to provide any constructive agenda and what they have resorted to instead has had damaging effects on Nepal’s politics and society. If they continue in this vein, it is certain that they will only alienate the sections of the population that they wish to attract into their fold. It is time for leaders of the CPN-Maoist to introspect their place and position in Nepali society. A politics based solely on resentment and rage can only take a party so far in an open society. Such a politics is damaging not only to a broader society but is also self-destructive.

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Here i come in the world

A few days before my 18th birthday, there was nothing I wouldn’t have done to remain 17. I dreadfully wished that the earth and the moon would stop revolving, I wished time would freeze so that I could remain 17 forever. I felt my own life was racing in front of me, escaping from my hands, and with my futile efforts of chasing it, I felt like a lost battalion. I most certainly did not want to turn 18. It felt far too scary, a step closer to the end of my teenage years. It felt so mature and so old, so much so that I felt incapable of holding its burden.

I chuckle when I recall how it has always been the same story for a few years. When I was 15, I wanted to remain that age forever. It seemed just the right age and 16 seemed far too aged and strange. As my 16th birthday approached, I continuously fretted about turning a year older. But I grew to love the age and became accustomed to it. Fifteen suddenly appeared too childish. I was glad that I was now a 16-year-old lady and no longer a 15-year-old child.

But again as my 17th birthday drew close, I did not want to let go of 16. Nonetheless as I turned 17, I realised I was fine with it. But again, ironically, I did not want to turn 18. I still don’t

know why I hold a grudge against growing up. I am sure of something though. No matter how much I fret and complain about growing up in the beginning, I feel happy and satisfied to have grown up ultimately.

I’ve turned 18 for a couple of days now. I look back at the past 17 years and reflect upon my achievements. I did pretty well at school and college, participated in some extracurricular activities and won a few certificates. Turning 18 has made me realise that indeed the time has come to change track, get out of my comfort zone and set out for opportunities, become independent and explore life, set new goals and follow my passion. It has filled me with courage and determination and prepared me for changes. It has brought with it a feel of optimism and hope for the future, filled me with zeal and enthusiasm, made me stronger. It has instilled in me a divine feeling, a feeling that come what may, I will be able to handle myself and move on.

Now I feel proud to have turned 18, proud to have stepped into what is officially tagged as maturity. I feel sure of myself and ready to set out afresh. I see the world waiting, waiting for me to prove my worth.

Posted on: 2013-03-07 09:05 

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journalist and lawyers

The Nepal Bar Association’s opposition to Chief Justice Regmi assuming the post of the electoral prime minister has emerged as the strongest among the oppositional voices.  One can say that what Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) was to the Dekendra episode a month or so ago, the NBA is to the CJ choice as PM to find a way out of the impasse. Journalists and lawyers, as a Nepali Dalit intellectual reminded me recently, have their ears tuned to power.  And whenever social and state power seems to slip from their grip, they are the first ones to know, well before the general public. The Dalit intellectual was referring to the kicking and screaming of journalists and lawyers in recent years over change in Nepal. If one takes solely Nepal’s example, this may be more or less true — lawyers filing one writ after another in support of the status quo whether in matters of citizenship, the CA, various alliances forged by the Maoists with the marginalised forces or the more recent episode of the CJ. Members of the Nepal Journalist Federation and NBA have stood at various times in support of the status quo in the guise of human rights, nationalism, separation of power, or rule of law and democracy.

One can certainly dismiss both the NBA and the FNJ as regressive forces comprised of people overwhelmingly of one group trying their best to keep the old covenant alive so that power remains in the grip of the traditional elite in Nepal. But this easy way overlooks numerous counter examples of journalists and lawyers where they became torch bearers against colonialism, oppression and dominance. Gandhi and Mandela, both lawyers, encountered injustice at different periods in South Africa and took up the cause of the oppressed and the marginalised. The former eventually undid the might of the British Empire and the latter became an icon of humanity in opposing the injustice of apartheid. Abraham Lincoln and Thurgood Marshall, coming from two periods and racial groups, were both lawyers. While Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, fought the Civil War and lost his life while doing so as President of the United States, Thurgood Marshall successfully opposed Jim Crow laws in the courts of the United States.

The examples of journalists digging up cases of injustice from national and international obscure corners for public knowledge and justice are too numerous to count. The roster of journalists getting nominated and winning various prizes, including the Pulitzer in the US, tells the story of exemplary journalism devoted to the cause of justice, reining in unbridled exercise of wealth and power.

In Nepal’s case, the situation has been complex. Can the courts and the people associated with them be said to be fighting for justice or legality? By professional code of conduct and ethics, the courts must be independent from bias but have they been so? What is the relationship between law and justice? Is the legal always just or the just always legal? I’m sure those who have become lawyers and judges have encountered this conundrum as far back as their law school but these questions remain as valid in their careers even now.

If Gandhi, Mandela, Lincoln and Marshall stand on one side, then there are the Pakistani lawyers who showered the assassin of Salman Taseer, the Governor of Pakistani Punjab, with rose petals in 2011 as the assassin was being taken to court. Taseer had opposed the death sentence against a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, accused of blaspheming Islam. Is it time, then, our lawyers, especially the NBA, did some soul-searching and answer some questions? Are they for justice or for legalese? Are courts just a means to conserve class or group power and oppose progressive change or a means to provide justice, fairness and equality to people? Is the Supreme Court a means to facilitate Nepal’s dynamic march into the future or obstruct it?

But, then, all this brouhaha over the Chief Justice assuming the executive post is ultimately for the good of Nepal’s democratic exercise even though it appears regressive and obstructionist right now. The opposition by the NBA is partisan and may very well be driven by all kinds of ulterior motives. For sooner the election, the faster will be the pace of change and sooner the demise of old Nepal. Nevertheless, the NBA’s opposition can be taken as part of the vetting process.

It offers another chance for parties to re-examine their decisions, sharpen their tools of persuasion, and reflect once more on the consequences of CJ assuming the post even of the electoral prime minister. It also tests the resolve of those who desperately want a way out of this present impasse so that the country can move on. If their resolve remains firm despite the opposition, if they still believe in their decision after reflection and re-examination, then their sound decision will have a better chance of success.

Posted on: 2013-03-07 09:04
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A lot of Hungr ymouth

Over the decades, issues of malnutrition and food insecurity have been increasingly receiving high priority for sustainable socio-economic development in most of the developing countries. This is primarily because the number of hungry people in the world remains unacceptably high. As a result, this will have potentially profound impacts on the health and nutrition status of individuals, families and communities.

According to a new report on the state of food insecurity, almost 870 million people have been chronically undernourished from 2010 to 2012. More importantly, a vast majority of them live in developing countries, where about 850 million people, or slightly fewer than 15 percent of the population, are estimated to be undernourished.

The emerging issues of malnutrition and food insecurity are closely linked. There is increasing awareness on the importance of nutrition as a means to a healthy and productive life besides being a route to breaking inter-generational poverty. In a country like ours where poverty, illiteracy and poor health systems are still major challenges in most of the remote districts of the Mid- and Far West regions, severe malnutrition among women and children in particular has been a growing concern in recent years.

Going back to the first International Conference on Nutrition which was held in Rome in 1992, a world declaration and plan of action were strategically adopted. More importantly, this plan of action primarily underlined the need to eliminate, or reduce substantially, widespread chronic hunger and famine and under-nutrition, especially among children, women and the aged.

Despite some progress in reducing malnutrition, there are still challenges to improve the nutritional status of children in the country. According to the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey of 2011, 41 percent of the children were stunted in 2011 compared to 49 percent in 2006. However, there are increasing disparities by wealth quintiles and geographic areas. It is interesting to note that most of the reduction occurred in the richest quintile. In case of the poorest quintile, stunting is still on the rise. Furthermore, 11 percent were still wasted in 2011 compared to 13 percent in 2006. Considering the geographical variations and complexities, 67 percent of the children from the Mid- and Far West regions including the mountains are most affected by chronic malnutrition while 20 percent of the children from the western and central Tarai are most affected by acute malnutrition.

The evidence also implies that about half of the cases of chronic under-nutrition among children occurs before birth due to the mother’s nutrition status during pregnancy, and the remaining half occurs between the child’s birth and up to two years of age. The effects of nutritional deprivation during this early life period are undoubtedly irreversible and, most importantly, are mostly likely to have creeping impacts on child morbidity and mortality. Moreover, under-nutrition is responsible for more than one-third of the incidences of child mortality.

Apart from poor nutrient intake and infections as immediate causes affecting both maternal and infant nutrition, the underlying causes largely include household food insecurity, poor maternal and child caring practices, limited access to health and other social and environmental services. The health sector’s response is primarily to scale up essential

nutrition services while other sectors such as agriculture, education, water and sanitation would have important roles for planning and implementation of nutrition sensitive interventions at all levels. Thus, a multi-sectoral approach is envisaged for scaling up nutrition and food security actions.

In September last year, the National Planning Commission launched a Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan (2013-17). On the occasion, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai appreciated the landmark plan and expressed the government’s commitment to support effective implementation in partnership with a range of external development partners and civil society organisations at all levels. Over the next five years, the plan aims to improve maternal and child nutrition by engaging a wide range of stakeholders across the country.

In this context, the role of the National Planning Commission in coordinating and facilitating the multi-sectoral efforts through the Nutrition and Food Security Secretariat (NFSS) is clearly important to ensure that the plans and resource commitments from different sectors are translated into action, and policy directives are in place to decentralise the scaling up of nutrition at the district and community levels. Therefore, one of the key outcomes of the multi-sector nutrition plan is improving nutrition and food security related policies, plans and multi-sector coordination at the national and local levels.

A wide range of capacity gaps and opportunities will have to be realistically experienced in the process of implementation of this ambitious plan as there are still limited trained human resources for public health nutrition across the country. Since the issues of nutrition and food security are closely linked, there is a need to integrate and harmonise the ongoing efforts to improve nutrition and food security in a pragmatic manner.

It is encouraging to note that a global movement on nutrition, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN), has been instrumental in accelerating the momentum of nutrition interventions. The movement has been stimulated and reinforced by political interest in nutrition among leaders of national governments and development partners alike. Efforts of external development partners and civil society organisations have been important in facilitating country-led processes to scale up nutrition and food security issues at all levels.

Bhandari is with the Nutrition and Food Security Secretariat, National Planning Commission

Posted on: 2013-03-07 09:04

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Venezuela's Chavez makes surprise return from Cuba

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a surprise return from Cuba on Monday, more than two months after surgery for cancer that has jeopardized his 14-year rule of the South American OPEC nation.

The middle-of-the-night homecoming implies some medical improvement - at least enough to handle a flight of several hours - and will again fire up supporters with hope that the socialist leader could return to active rule.

Yet there was no new information on Chavez's health nor images of his arrival, and aides say the 58-year-old's condition remains "complex."

Chavez could be returning to govern behind the scenes, or may be hoping to ease political tensions in Venezuela and smooth a transition to Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

Chavez has urged voters to back Maduro should he have to stand down and a new presidential election be held.

"We have returned to the Venezuelan fatherland. Thank you, my God! Thank you, my beloved people! We will continue the treatment here," Chavez said on Twitter after flying in.

Maduro said Chavez arrived at about 2:30 a.m. (0700 GMT) from Havana and was taken to a military hospital in Caracas.

Until photos were published of him on Friday, the president had not been seen by the public since a six-hour operation in Cuba on December 11.

"I remain attached to Christ and trusting in my nurses and doctors," Chavez also tweeted. "Onwards to victory forever! We will live and we will conquer!"

The messages were his first direct communication with the outside world since he went to Cuba in December.

His return thrilled supporters in the country of 29 million people, where his common touch and heavy spending on welfare policies have made him an idol to many of the poor.

"It's fabulous news, the best thing possible," Chavez's cousin, Guillermo Frias, told Reuters from the president's rural birthplace in Barinas state. "Venezuela was waiting for him, everyone wants to see him. Welcome home! Thank God he's back!"

FIREWORKS MARK RETURN

Fireworks were launched in some Caracas neighborhoods as loyal "Chavistas" celebrated. Top government officials were jubilant, with the information minister singing "He's back, he's back!" live on state TV.

Chavez's latest surgery was his fourth in just 18 months since the disease was detected in mid-2011. He also has undergone weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, and the government has emphasized that his condition remains delicate.

"It's a complex, difficult situation, but Chavez is fighting for his life," Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said at the weekend.

A euphoric crowd gathered outside the hospital where Chavez was taken, chanting slogans and dancing. Officials urged them to respect the peace of patients at the facility, where a huge banner of Chavez's face gazes out over a hillside shanty town.

Congressional leader Diosdado Cabello said the president was comfortable at the hospital. "We're fixing all the details there so he lacks absolutely nothing," he said.

In the first images since his latest surgery, officials published photos on Friday showing a smiling Chavez lying in a hospital bed, reading a newspaper and flanked by his daughters.

The government said he was breathing through a tracheal tube and struggling to speak.

One woman, who told state TV she was a nurse, said he had arrived walking and without a wheelchair or visible tubes.

After winning re-election in October - and wrongly declaring himself cured - Chavez was too ill to attend his inauguration ceremony in January. Enraging his foes, the Supreme Court ruled that he remained president and could be sworn in later.

That could take place soon at the military hospital.

"Now the president is back, there can be no doubt about the democratic institutions working in Venezuela," said Information Minister Ernesto Villegas.

"There were some who dreamed of unseating Chavez and the revolution, but here we always said Chavez is the president elected and re-elected by the will of the Venezuelan people."

Chavez's condition means there is a little chance he could quickly return to his old routine of thundering oratory, hours-long talk shows and casual chats in the street with supporters.

"Should he not be able to execute the duties of office, the Venezuelan Constitution requires an election to select a new president," said U.S. State Department spokesman William Ostick.

CUBA 'BREATHING EASIER'

Chavez's pre-dawn return was a typical surprise move for the former soldier whose rule has combined constant political theatrics with radical anti-U.S. speeches, tough treatment of opponents and lavish spending of oil revenue on the poor.

Critics have decried the secrecy over his health, and some want a formal declaration that he is no longer fit to rule. That would trigger a new election within 30 days, probably pitting Maduro against opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

Chavez's lengthy stay in Cuba had fuelled a long-held opposition accusation that Venezuela's government was being manipulated and directed from Havana. Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is a political mentor and father figure to Chavez, and the older man visited him regularly in the hospital.

"I'm pleased you have been able to return to the piece of ... soil you love so much and the fraternal people who give you so much support," he wrote to Chavez in a letter published by Cuba's government on Monday.

"You have learned a lot about life, Hugo, in those tough days of suffering and sacrifice," Castro said, urging continued discretion over the president's condition to thwart "fascists" intent on toppling him.

A senior diplomatic source in the region said Cuban officials would be breathing more easily after Chavez's departure, partly because the political costs to Cuba were starting to mount as many wondered who was running Venezuela.

Maduro also was being hurt ahead of any new election, the source said, as Capriles increasingly accused the vice president and other officials of lying about their boss's condition.

Maduro, 50, a former bus driver, is Chavez's heir apparent and would be favorite to win a close vote if he stepped down.

Chavez's return eclipses debate over a recent devaluation of the local bolivar currency. It has been highly unpopular with Venezuelans and opposition politicians have sought to present it as evidence of economic incompetence by the government.

Capriles welcomed Chavez back but pointedly said he hoped it would mean a return to order in the government and attention to the daily problems of Venezuelans.

Posted on: 2013-02-19 09:26

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela early

CARACAS, FEB 18 -

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery.

Chavez announced his return in a series of message on his Twitter account, saying "we will continue our treatment here."

They were the first messages to appear on Chavez's Twitter account since Nov. 1.

"I'm clinging to Christ and trusting in my doctors and nurses," Chavez said in another tweet. "Onward toward victory always!! We will live and we will triumph!!"

Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Chavez at arrived at 2:30 a.m. and was at a military hospital in Caracas.

Chavez also thanked Fidel and Raul Castro, who have overseen his treatment in Cuba, and thanked his country's people "for so much love."

Chavez's return to Caracas came less than three days after the government released the first photos of the president in more than two months, showing images of him smiling alongside his daughters.

The 58-year-old president hasn't spoken publicly since he left for Cuba on Dec. 10. He underwent his fourth cancer-related surgery on Dec. 11, and the government says he is now breathing through a tracheal tube that makes talking difficult.

Chavez is also undergoing other treatments that have not been specified.

He has been receiving cancer treatment in Cuba on-and-off since June 2011. He has said he has had tumors removed from his pelvic region and has undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Throughout the treatments, Chavez has not revealed the type of cancer or the exact location of the tumors.

Posted on: 2013-02-18 04:47

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The newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Wu Chuntai , arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday

KATHMANDU, MAR 07 - The newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Wu Chuntai , arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday to take up his first ambassadorial assignment.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Chinese embassy received Wu, 50, at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Wu will present his Letters of Credence to President Ram Baran Yadav on Monday.

Wu previously served as Deputy Director General of the Department of External Security Affairs at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.

According to the website of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the newly-appointed ambassador said in a meeting with Vice-Chairman Li Lu that Nepal is of great strategic significance to China despite its small size and that top Chinese leaders accord great importance to it.

Outgoing Ambassador Yang Houlan has already left for Beijing to take up his new assignment as Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar.

Posted on: 2013-03-07 11:59

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Sudden change in weather in Nepl

The sudden change in the weather witnessed since Wednesday is to continue for a few more days.

The weakening of the pressure of the westerly winds has affected the weather, leading to partial rainfall along with thunderclouds, meteorologist Rajendra Shrestha said.

He said, "The hilly region of the country including Kathmandu valley has experienced a change in the weather, and this will continue for few more days". Partial rainfall is likely later in the evening, he added.

The weather would remain clean in other areas except the hilly region, Shrestha said.

The minimum and maximum temperature of Kathmandu valley today was recorded at 11 and 27 degree Celsius respectively. RSS

Posted on: 2013-03-07 08:48 

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