Maoist govt. appoints ambassadors to US, UK and Germany
Kathmandu, 11 Feb: The government Wednesday appointed retired IMF official Sukhheb Shah Nepal’s ambassador to USA.
Career diplomat Suresh Pradhan has been appointed ambassador to Germany.
Ram Soraya Raya, a political appointee, has been appointed ambassador to Great Britain.
The Maoist government had recalled appointees of the previous Koirala administration.
The appointments have to be approved by a parliamentary committee.

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Boucher holds talks with PM Prachanda

By Bhola B Rana
Kathmandu, 11 Feb: Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher said he discussed the peace process and drafting a constitution with Maoist PM Prachanda Wednesday.
Defence Minister ram Bahadur Thapa Badal was present.
Boucher arrived Wednesday from Bangladesh for a two-day visit.
He flies to Bhutan from Nepal.
He is the first official of the Obama administration to visit Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
Richard Halbrook, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is visiting India.
Boucher postponed a routine trip to Nepal in December so that he could travel with then Secretary of State Rice to India.
US embassy said Boucher will discuss Nepal’s transition to democracy with in Nepal. U.S. Ambassador Nancy Powell has been in Washington DC for routine meetings at the Department of State and is not here in Nepal during Assistant Secretary Boucher’s visit, the embassy said.
Boucher also held discussions with CPN-UML General Secretary Jhalanath Khanal.
Boucher held discussions with ministers even as Washington puts Maoists on its terrorist list.
Prachanda asked Boucher for help to resettle 4,000 Maoist disqualified mainly child combatants in UN camps.


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Matrika Prasad Yadav defects from Maoists amid serious accusations
Kathmandu, 11 Feb: Defecting from Unified CPN (Maoist), Matrika Prasad Yadav Wednesday charged Maoists had ‘no principle’ and they ‘betrayed the revolution’.
The charge was leveled at a news conference in the capital after he launched a new political party.
“I don’t have confidence with you. Consider I have resigned,” Yadav said he told PM Prachanda.
He accused the party of financial indiscipline.

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One person shot, injured in capital
Kathmandu, 11 Feb: One person was shot and injured in Kapurdhara in the capital Wednesday evening.
Rs 1.1 million was looted from him.
The incident occurred hours after Home Minister Bamdeb Gautam claimed security had improve under his command.
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Voluntary tax disclosure scheme extended one month

Kathmandu, 11 Feb: Government Wednesday extended a scheme to voluntarily declare income tax by another one month.
Prospective taxpayers held discussions with PM Prachanda and Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, who returned from Japan Wednesday.
Dr Bhattarai said one billion rupees had been collected so far under the tax declaration scheme.
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