nepal news

राजदूत डा. चालिसेद्वारा ओहदाको प्रमाणपत्र प्रस्तुत
-२३ जनवरी. ०८ । अमेरिकाका लागि नवनियुक्त नेपाली राजदूत डा. सुरेशचन्द्र चालिसेले अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति जर्ज बुशसमक्ष मंगलबार ह्वाईट हाउसमा एक समारोहकाबीच आफ्नो ओहदाको प्रमाणपत्र बुझाउनु भयो । सो अवसरमा राष्ट्रपति बुशले राजदूतमार्फत नेपालमा नेकपा माओबादीसंग मिलेर संबिधान सभाको निर्बाचन सम्पन्न गर्न सल्लाह दिएका थिए भने प्रत्युक्तरमा राजदूत चालिसेले त्यसरी नै तयारी भईरहेको जानकारी दिएका थिए । उक्त अवसरमा गृहराज्य टेक्सास भएका राष्ट्रपति बुशले टेक्सास सिटीजन नामक सदस्यता लिएका राजदूत चालिसेलाई तपाई पनि त टेक्सास नागरिक हुनुहुन्छ हैन र ? भनेर ठट्टासमेत गरेका थिए । स्मरण रहोस, शाही शासनकालमा राजा ज्ञानेन्द्रले न्यूयोर्कमा भएको संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघको साधारण सभामा भाग लिएर राष्ट्रपति बुशलाई भेट्ने योजना बनाएका थिए तर बुशसंग भेट्न नपाउने भएपछि अमेरिकाको भ्रमण नै रद्द गर्नुपरेको थियो । ओहदाको प्रमाणपत्र बुझाएपछि राजदूत चालिसेले मंगलबार साँझनै राजदूताबासमा एक रात्रीभोजको आयोजना गरेका थिए ।

asia

India's car for the common man

By Karishma Vaswani

Necessity is the mother of invention - and for 35-year-old Vijay Pawar that means turning his two-seater motorbike into a ride for the whole family.
Manoeuvring his machine around the mean streets of Mumbai is no easy task - the city's relentless traffic makes the daily school run a dangerous journey for his two kids Roshan and Sakshi. But he does not have much of a choice - he cannot afford much else. "Let's face it - I don't make that much money. I can afford this motorbike, but I am worried about the safety of my family," he says "All four of us have to get on this motorbike and this is how we drop our kids off to school - it's just not right." But this week at the Delhi car show - the answer to his prayers.
A revolution in the small car market - the Tata Group's People's Car. A tiny, jelly bean-shaped automobile, retailing at around $2,500. Tata's promise This an ultra cheap, ultra small car, created for the common man in India - and it is an attempt to give millions of Indians the chance to participate in the benefits of India's strong economic growth.
It was a promise the chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata, said he had made to the Indian public - and to the world - and one he was not going to break. Don't expect them to make any money from this car for another two or three years Darius Lam,Autocar International
"Since we made the decision to build the one lakh (100,000 rupees) car the price of lots of raw materials like steel, has gone up," he tells a jam-packed room of journalists, onlookers and Tata fans in Delhi. "But the dealer price of this car - the Nano - will be 100,000 rupees. Because a promise is a promise - and we know how to keep ours." Keeping that promise meant making a car that has the bare minimum in add ons or perks. You won't find any air conditioning in Tata's Nano, or power steering or power windows.
Instead, what you will get is a four-door, five-seater car with an engine of 625 cubic centimetres.
To keep costs low, the company has said that if you want any of the extra add ons you're more than welcome to buy the deluxe versions - but the basic model will sell at the original price of one hundred thousand rupees. That is half the cost of the world's cheapest car on the market.
ChallengeBut many are now wondering that if you shave off all the bits of a car and sell it at such a low cost - how are you supposed to make any money from it? Analysts say it will be challenging - initially. India is fast becoming a major market for the world's carmakers
"It will be very difficult for them," Darius Lam of Autocar International tells me at the Auto Show. "They will have to ramp up production of their Nanos, and they will have to sell lots of these before they make any money from it," he says. "But it's a good thing for their reputation, their image - and it's likely that's one of the reasons they've done this. "But don't expect them to make any money from this car for another two or three years." But for millions of Indians that is an insignificant consideration. This car will give India's masses a chance to be part of the great Indian dream and an opportunity to finally participate in the benefits of economic growth.
Indian streets may never be the same again

nepalies student died in USA

सडक दुर्घटनामा नेपाली छात्राको मृत्यु
बुधबार विहान अमेरिकाको ओहायो राज्यमा अध्ययनरत नेपाल झापाकी अप्सना गिरी वर्ष २६ को भ्यान दूर्घटनामा मृत्यु भएको छ ।ओहायो राज्यमा रहेको बोलिड० ग्रीन स्टेट युनिभरसिटीका अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विद्यार्थीहरु लिएर नयाँ वर्षको छुटि्ट मनाएर सिकागोबाट फर्कदै गर्दा सो कलेजभन्दा १५ माइल पर भ्यान हिमपात भएको सडक दूर्घटनामा परी गिरी र भारत कलत्ताकी स्वीटी मजुमदार वर्ष २५, को मृत्यु हुन गएको र अन्य पाँच जना विद्यार्थीहरु घाइते बन्न पुगेको कुरा सोही कलेजका प्रवक्ताले जानकारी दिएका छन् ।भ्यान दुर्घटना २ तारिख राती स्थानीय समय १२ बजेर २० मिनेट जाँदा हुन पुगेको थाहा हुन आएको छ ।गिरी वाइलोजिकल साइन्सकी मास्टर ड्रि्रीमा अध्ययनरत थिइन् ।मृतक विद्यार्थी गिरीको घर झापा हो । उनी बाबाआमाकी एक छोरी हुन् र उनका दाजु काठमाडौं सानेपामा रहँदै आएका छन् ।

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संविधानसभा निर्वाचन तैयारीका लागि भेटघाट

निर्वाचन आयोगका आयुक्तहरुले प्रधानमन्त्री गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइरालालाई भेटी संविधानसभाको निर्वाचन सम्पन्न गराउन आयोग तयार रहेको बताएका छन्। पोखरेलले शान्तिसुरक्षाको स्थिति देशका केही भागहरुमा झन् जटिल भएको बताएका छन् ; आयुक्तहरुले चैतमा चुनाव गराउने भए सातदलीय गठबन्धन सरकार त्यसको सम्पूर्ण तयारीमा जुट्नु पर्ने बताए। दुई पटक संविधानसभाको चुनाव स्थगित भएपछि पुरा तयारी र गृहकार्यका साथ चुनावको अपरिवर्तनीय मिति घोषणा गर्नुपर्ने सार्वजनिक अभिब्यक्ति आयोगका अधिकारीहरुले दिंदै आएका छन्।
प्रधानमन्त्रीसंगको भेटपछि प्रमुख निर्वाचन आयुक्त भोजराज पोखरेलले बीबीसीसंग भने, “चुनाव गराउन दलहरु पनि तातेको र हामी पनि तातेको अवस्थामा अब संविधानसभाको चुनाव सम्पन्न गर्न सबैजना मिलेर लाग्नु पर्छ भन्यौ।” शान्तिसुरक्षाआयुक्तहरुले चुनाव जति टाढा सर्‍यो त्यति नै गाह्रो हुने बताउँदै आएका छन्। प्रधानमन्त्रीसंगको भेटमा पनि शान्तिसुरक्षाको कुरा उठेको पोखरेलले बताए।
उनले भने, “हामीले भन्दै आएका छौं, मंसिरमा भन्दा अहिले शान्तिसुरक्षाको स्थिति देशका केही भागहरुमा झन् जटिल भएको छ।” पहिलेको स्थितिमा आयोगले तयारीका लागि ११० दिन मागेको भएपनि मंगलबारको भेटमा आयुक्तहरुले तयारीकालागि नब्बे दिनको समय माग गरेको बताइएको छ।
आयोगले चुनावलाई पहिलो प्राथमिकतामा राख्दै सबै दलहरुलाई चुनावको तयारीमा जुट्न र आवश्यक संयन्त्रहरु बनाउन पनि सुझाव दिएको छ। निर्वाचन कानुन अन्तरिम संसदमा छलफलका लागि पेश गरिएका निर्वाचनका लागि आवश्यक कानुनहरु छिट्टै संशोधन हुने आशा आयुक्तहरुले गरेका छन्।
मंसिरमा हुने भनिएको चुनाव माओवादी दबाबका कारण अचानक स्थगित हुनपुगे पछि अन्तरिम संविधान संगसंगै पहिले बनेका निर्वाचन कानुनहरुसमेत काम नलाग्ने हुन पुगेका थिए।
केही दिनअघि अन्तरिम संविधान संशोधन भएर अब संसदले पारित गर्नु पर्ने विधेयकहरुमा निर्वाचन आयोग विधेयक, मतदाता नामावली सम्बन्धी विधेयक र संविधानसभा सदस्य निर्वाचन विधेयक रहेका छन्। ती विधेयकहरु पारित भएपछि निर्वाचनको मिति तोक्न सजिलो हुने राय अधिकारीहरुको छ।

Obama widens lead over Clinton in Iowa

Obama widens lead over Clinton in Iowa
Race remains fluid, final Iowa Poll before caucuses shows
Presidential contenders rang in the new year with near-constant campaigning on Monday as a poll showed Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee leading their rivals with three days remaining before the Iowa caucuses. Anonymous phone calls and a negative campaign commercial that vanished into thin air also spiced the race, and not even New Year's Eve was off-limits to campaigning.

The poll by the Des Moines Register showed Obama, an Illinois senator, with the support of 32 percent of those surveyed, compared to 25 percent for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and 24 percent for former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. Among Republicans, Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, had the backing of 32 percent of those surveyed, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 26 percent. Other polls have shown far closer races in recent days within both parties, and the leading candidates are engaged in a virtual nonstop round of personal appearances across the state that provides the first test of the race for the White House. "I'm taking a risk, I know I am," said Huckabee, who previewed an ad sharply critical of rival Mitt Romney during the day after first assuring reporters he would not air it on TV.

The three top Democratic rivals campaigned in far more traditional fashion, and Obama, Edwards and Clinton combined for more than a dozen appearances before time ran out on 2007. Clinton got the distinction for the last event of the year -- in downtown Des Moines with her husband, the former president. "We want our government back, we want our democracy back," Edwards told an audience in Storm Lake. Locked in a three-way race, the former North Carolina senator claimed late momentum for a campaign built around his pledge to fight special interests in Washington. Clinton, a former first lady bidding to become the first female president, seemed primed to counter. "I submit to you there isn't anybody running who's taken on more special interests and taken on more incoming fire and survived them than I have," she told a crowd in Keokuk. Without mentioning Edwards by name, she appeared to gently mock the fired-up speaking style he uses to deliver his populist pledge. "It's not something you have to do by yelling and screaming," she said. "Save your energy." Obama stuck doggedly to the campaign pitch that has made him the most serious black presidential candidate in history. "You can't afford to settle for the same old politics," he told a crowd in Perry. The poll said Obama was benefiting handsomely from an influx of first-time caucus-goers. If so, that meant his finish in the state would hinge to an extraordinary degree on the ability of his organization to turn out supporters.

In yet another sign of uncertainty, nearly a third of those polled said they could still change their minds. In a gesture that reflected the hand-to-hand nature of the political struggle, his campaign arranged to have a former Clinton supporter, Marlin Eineke, introduce Obama to the crowd. The political convert said he was attracted to Obama's positive campaign. Obama's aides took steps to stress their man's strength in the states that vote after Iowa, and against Republicans in the fall campaign. But like everything else in the race for the White House, all of that remains to be recalculated after Iowa's precinct caucuses on Thursday. New Hampshire holds its first-in-the-nation primary five days after Iowa's caucuses, and if history is a guide the roster of candidates will be far slimmer by then. Already, Democrats Chris Dodd and Joseph Biden have spoken about dropping out if they fail to meet their expectations in Iowa. With three days remaining until the caucuses, several Democratic voters reported receiving anonymous telephone calls from self-proclaimed pollsters spreading unflattering information. Some calls said Obama's health plan would leave millions uninsured. Others said Edwards' plans for a troop withdrawal from Iraq were dangerous or that Clinton would lead the party to defeat in the fall. One Democrat, Michael Hancock of Coralville, said he had received an automated call reminding him that an important college football game would be televised Thursday night at the same time the caucuses were held. He said he promptly hung up his phone before concluding it was a "transparent attempt to depress turnout from some people." Neighboring Kansas plays in the Orange Bowl Thursday night. No group has taken responsibility for any of the calls. While Democrats were in a tight three-way race in Iowa, the Republican contest came down to a two-way struggle between Huckabee and Romney. Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, used his personal wealth to jump out to a sizable early lead in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Huckabee's support among evangelical Christians allowed him to overtake Romney in surveys in recent weeks, although he has more lately fallen back under the weight of criticism of his record as governor of Arkansas as well as his own campaign missteps. Stepping before more than a dozen television cameras, Huckabee first swore off negative ads in the Iowa race, then previewed a commercial in which he was seen saying of his rival: "If a man's dishonest to obtain a job, he'll be dishonest on the job. Iowans deserve better." He acknowledged the risk to his campaign of allowing Romney's critical commercials to go unanswered, but said of his own supporters: "If they abandon us now because we are not going negative I would be surprised." "If you gain the whole world and lose your soul, what have you profited?" asked the Baptist preacher-politician. Huckabee is trying to outflank Romney in their race for primacy in Iowa -- and in the national polls." He told reporters one of the reasons he originally intended to launch a negative commercial was because Romney had assailed a third candidate, Sen. John McCain. McCain has made a relatively modest effort in Iowa, and Huckabee could benefit in the campaign's final few days if he could peel away some Republicans who had been leaning toward the Arizona senator. Huckabee also suggested a two-way debate in the final two days that would allow Romney and him to share a stage. Romney had no immediate response to that as he made his final campaign rounds of 2007. He launched an upbeat new commercial that said it was "time to turn around Washington." At the same time, he was freshly critical of Huckabee's record as governor, saying voters would be put off by his rival's position on immigration and the pardons he had granted while governor. McCain had New Hampshire to himself, and he defended himself against Romney's ad that points out he opposed President Bush's tax cut in 2001. "There was no restraint in spending" to accompany the cuts, he said.