Thursday, August 26, 2010

Prachanda Thaiba murder accused in police net

KATHMANDU: Police on Thursday arrested Sujit BK, who has been charged with killing CPN-UML leader Prachanda Thaiba in Butwal, from a hotel in Sundhara.

KATHMANDU: Police on Thursday arrested Sujit BK, who has been charged with killing CPN-UML leader Prachanda Thaiba in Butwal, from a hotel in Sundhara.
BK is former Rupandehi in-charge of Young Communist League. 

Nepal Police had put BK in its most-wanted list of criminals. Following the murder of Thaiba on March 26 last year, Rupandehi District Court had issued an arrest warrant against him on charge of first-degree murder.

A police team today raided Hotel Palace Home in Sundhara at around 6:45pm and apprehended BK, who was living there incognito. “He had sneaked into India to evade police. He later returned to the capital in disguise. One month of non-stop arduous effort by police has come to fruition with his arrest,” said Superintendent of Police Ramesh Prasad Kharel. “BK had been taking refuge at his close associates’ rooms in Kathmandu posing as Arun Thakuri from Hetauda.” It was not immediately known who his close associates were. 

Though his original name is Kharindra BK (30), the UCPN-M had rechristened him Sujit BK and elevated him to the post of YCL Rupandehi in-charge. He hails from Khairenitar in Tanahun. 

Police have also recovered a fake citizenship certificate (1005/308) and a driving licence (06051510) both identifying him as Arun Thakuri. The UCPN-M had expelled BK from the party after mounting pressure from political parties, especially from the CPN-UML, and several others. 

UCPN-Maoist has drawn flak for protecting BK. At the time of killing, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was the PM. However, barely a month later Dahal resigned from the post of prime minister. It is believed the UML withdrew its support to the Maoist-led government alleging the party’s involvement in killing one of its local leaders. 

After the arrest, BK is learnt to have told investigating officials that he was betrayed by the party. “The party failed to save me,” investigating officials said requesting anonymity. BK, however, did not say whether the murder was plotted by the party. 

“He has been found involved in several criminal activities, including forging government documents. He had made enough money that would have lasted him long in the capital city,” said the officials. Police later this evening paraded BK at MPR. “I have been made a scapegoat,” said BK before he was asked not to talk to the media. MPR will hand BK over to the Rupandehi District Police tomorrow.

ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10 fixtures confirmed

Thu, Aug 26, 2010 

The International Cricket Council today announced a number of the remaining fixtures in its first-class tournament, the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10, with everything leading towards the final, which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

The next match to be played will start on Tuesday 31 August between Canada and Ireland in Toronto. 

The match between Zimbabwe XI and Ireland has now also been confirmed and will take place from 20 to 23 September in Harare. As part of this tour, there will also be three ODIs between the two teams, on 26, 28 and 30 September. 

Details of the Zimbabwe XI v Scotland match and the two finals will be confirmed in due course. 

ICC INTERCONTINENTAL CUP

31 Aug-3 Sep - Canada v Ireland, CSCC, Toronto
20-23 Sep - Zimbabwe XI v Ireland, Harare
Sep/Oct - Zimbabwe XI v Scotland (to be confirmed)
2-5 Oct - Kenya v Afghanistan, Nairobi Gymkhana, Nairobi
25-29 Nov - Final, Dubai, UAE (tbc) 

ICC INTERCONTINENTAL SHIELD

18-21 Sep - Uganda v Namibia, Windhoek
25-28 Nov - Final, Dubai, UAE (tbc)

Tiger Woods says divorce a sad time in his life


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Tiger Woods waits in the rain to play on the 17th hole during the Pro-Am round at The Barclays golf tournament,
PARAMUS, AUG 26 -
For the first time all summer, Tiger Woods showed up at a PGA Tour event knowing that his day would not include phone calls from a lawyer or divorce documents to approve.
He is only married to his golf now.
"This is my job," Woods said Wednesday. "This is what I do."
Even so, Woods slowly shook his head when asked if he felt relief that his divorce became official two days ago.
"I don't think that's the word," he said. "I think it's just more sadness. Because I don't think you ever go into a marriage looking to get divorced. That's the thing. That's why it is sad."
Woods still could not avoid talk about the end of his nearly six years of marriage to Elin Nordegren, brought on my numerous extramarital affairs that were exposed last Thanksgiving.
As he was teeing off in the rain during the pro-am, People magazine released an interview with his ex-wife in which she spoke openly about how her world fell apart and that she has "been through hell."
Before he completed the first hole, his agent and spokesman were outside the rope, each talking on a cell phone.
Then, after Woods hit his approach to the green, a tabloid columnist walked out into the fairway with notepad and pen to ask him questions. She had never been to a golf tournament and was not aware that reporters are to stay by the ropes.
It took five questions on his game before Woods was asked about his divorce and his ex-wife's interview, although Woods handled both questions with the same, measured tones, not revealing much.
"I wish her the best in everything," he said. "You know, it's a sad time in our lives. And we're looking forward in our lives and how we can help our kids the best way we possibly can. And that's the most important thing."
They have two children, 3-year-old daughter Sam and 18-month-old son Charlie. The divorce allowed for "shared parenting," and Woods completed a four-hour program on family stability the day before he left for the British Open.
The process of getting a divorce consumed most of his summer, not only on the golf course, but during his weeks at home when he was practicing and preparing for the majors. Ten majors now have passed without Woods winning, matching the longest drought of his career.
Asked to describe how the details of divorce affected his practice, Woods said, "It was a lot more difficult than I was letting on."
"My actions certainly led us to this decision," he said. "And I've certainly made a lot of errors in my life. That's something I'm going to have to live with."
As for the job? That's not going so well, either.
Despite a tie for fourth in the Masters in his return from a five-month hiatus, and a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open, Woods has played so poorly that he comes to The Barclays at No. 112 in the FedEx Cup standings, with no guarantee he will make it to the next playoff event.
For starters, he has to make the cut at Ridgewood Country Club, a course he saw for the first time Wednesday. Then, he likely has to finish somewhere around the middle of the pack to move into the top 100 and qualify for next week's playoff event outside Boston at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which benefits his foundation.
Woods asked coach Sean Foley to look at his swing during the PGA Championship two weeks ago, and he met with Foley twice in Orlando, Fla., last week. On several holes during the pro-am, Woods tucked a golf glove under his right armpit during a full swing, a technique aimed to keep his arms connected.
Whether he hires Foley as his next coach has not been decided. Woods is not sure he wants to revamp his swing again, knowing how much time it will take and how much time he has lost already.
"It's an undertaking that I have to wrap my head around, because it's going to take some time," he said.
He drove the ball great at the AT&T National and British Open and couldn't make a putt. He hit the ball all over Wisconsin during the PGA Championship and kept in the game by making putts. And then there were weeks like Firestone, where he did nothing right and shot the worse score of his career, an 18-over 298.
For the ninth time this year, Woods can lose his No. 1 ranking to Phil Mickelson. His solution for staying at the top and getting a tee time next week on the TPC Boston is the same. "Winning takes care of everything," he said.
"I'm trying to get my game in order — work on some new things, working with Sean," Woods said. "And I'm trying to put that together and hopefully play well for the rest of the year. As of right now, I need to play well to make it to next week. So that's kind of the focus right now."
Even now, though, the focus is not entirely on golf.
"As far as my game and practicing, that's been secondary," he said. "We're trying to get our kids situation to our new living conditions and how that's going to be. That's where our focus is going to be right now."

JMCC meeting put off


KATHMANDU, AUG 26 -
A meeting of Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC) previously scheduled for Thursday has been put off after the Nepal Army (NA) decided to boycott today's session.
The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) that has been coordinating the JMCC informed the UCPN (Maoist) about the postponement of the meeting following the NA decision.
The NA has said that it made the decision to boycott the session after the UN rejected its request not to table the agenda concerning Army recruitment in today’s meeting.
The nine-member mechanism led by the UNMIN serves as the dispute resolution body regarding implementation of the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of the Arms and Armies (AMMAA). The mechanism comprises three representatives from each of the Army, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the UNMIN.
After the NA and the PLA announced fresh recruitment early this month, the UNMIN had objected the moves, saying recruitment by either side constitutes a breach of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the AMMAA. It suggested that the proposed recruitment should be referred to JMCC for approval.

Tech-Tonic: Price is the key

KATHMANDU, AUG 25 - 

At a time when laptops are getting bigger, better, and pricier, China has yet again surprised one and all with its Rs. 6,500 laptop targeted at the masses. This netbook, roughly the size of a diary, was the highlight at the ICT Trade Fair last month and has already found a solid place in the market. It may not be the best of choice for the more-serious user who wants much more than basic functionality, but it has no doubt made portable computers accessible to many inside Nepal.
Sagar InfoSys and Inktech are distributing these unbranded netbooks in Nepal and both have christened the netbook with their own names: Baleyo and Inktech respectively.  However, what’s inside remains the same on both the laptops: a Windows CE OS running on an ARM VT8505 processor, 128 MB RAM and a 2GB SSD hard drive. For basic functions such as light web-browsing and word processing, this wouldn’t be any problem, but it would be disappointing for those who were planning to get it for anything more. With storage of just 2GB, you can only carry around minimal data and programs, especially with Office taking up almost a quarter of your space. The keyboard and the track pad are small and tricky, so typing and navigation isn’t all too pleasing. Furthermore, with Windows CE as the operating system, you cannot expect XP programs to run perfectly in CE. The battery life isn’t too impressive either at less than two hours and bound to get lesser.  

Limitations aside, it does seem to be a very good bargain. For Rs. 6,500, one gets a netbook with a 7-inch screen, a card reader, 3 USB ports, and Wi-Fi support. For those needing a bit more space, you might need a dedicated memory card. For those wanting even more, Sagar InfoSys is offering an upgraded version with 512MB RAM and 4GB storage for about Rs. 10,000. 

However, there are complaints. These range from poor battery performance to manufacturing defects. The dealers do offer a one-year limited service warranty and about a month’s warranty for the battery. In any case, spare parts are quite cheap. The battery is priced at about Rs. 1,500, and the most-expensive component is the LCD, priced at Rs. 2,000. 

All in all, this netbook isn’t for you if you need to replace your current laptop. The functions are too limited and the machine itself not reliable enough to be put to tasks your previous laptop could perform. Nevertheless, if you wish to buy a secondary portable, then this may just be the right thing for you. 

Bad logistics cost so many lives

KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
The overcast morning on Tuesday, amidst pouring monsoon with hills around the Valley covered up from top to toe, made me feel that it was perhaps a bad day for flying. It was on a similar sort of day that the RA Dakota (9N-AAH) went missing on Aug. 1, 1962, and later two horrendous crashes — of TG-311 and PK-268 — took place in 1992. The latter are two worst crashes in Nepal’s aviation history. Tuesday morning was that kind of a day, a true Sawaney jhari with incessant rains.     

It was after about 7.30 a.m. that I got a text message from another aviation buff who informed me that “Hotel Echo” (9N-AHE) had gone missing! Even he spoke of getting the same kind of eerie feeling (that I had that morning). We right away deduced that it was only a question of time before the crash would be confirmed. In next few minutes he texted the unbelievable news that the Dornier was, in fact, heading towards Kathmandu! Both of us were elated for being wrong. But the mood suddenly swung to the other extreme on hearing live FM coverage from Makwanpur that an aircraft had just crashed there! Wednesday’s papers are awash with the crash news as was the BBC Nepali programme last night.

As usual, an investigation team has been formed and it will present its report in due course of time. And as usual, it will all be forgotten in due course of time. And the cycle will invariably follow. It is my firm belief that such investigations are inherently incomplete not for any other reason but for the absence of the “first party,” who are killed in these crashes.

The crash of a Twin Otter at Lukla last year was miraculous in the sense that the only survivor was the Captain of the flight himself! But did the investigation produce any new findings? We do not know as it is not in CAAN’s tradition to make the full findings public save for a condensed one-page summary with very general sort of recommendations.

I had suggested a few months ago that “the report could have earned a landmark status by making private airlines operate more responsively if it had exposed such (nefarious) alliances” (TKP 05/04/2010).

Most news reports have blamed the weather for yesterday’s crash but the most crucial factor is this: The Captain had informed the tower that he had lost the generator. It looks rather strange that both the generators had failed simultaneously. Having lost all cockpit-based navigation, the aircraft was flying in the blind. On a clear day, he could have still made it down safely to Simra, the nearest airport. As the crash site picture shows a crater, it  implies the vertical impact was huge and the aircraft debris was not recognisable. It appears even the engines gave way in the end. It points to a serious maintenance related issue.

It is obvious that private airlines are cutting corners, at the cost of safety. The aviation regulating agency is not incapable but perhaps unwilling to stop the “common rot” that has set in there as well. After all, why should it be any different from any other institutions in the country? Sadly, the “rot” has engulfed all strata right from the political level to the lowest rung of bureaucracy and even the private business. A common saying in the aviation circle is “A Good Pilot is a Dead Pilot.” One can’t  be optimistic in such a beak scenario, can we?

(Arjyal, a  Post columnist, has written extensively on aviation)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Air crash victims hard to identify


KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
The bodies of the three crew members—Captain Laxman Prakash Shah, Co-Pilot Sophia Singh and flight attendant Sarah Sherpa—who were killed in the Makwanpur plane crash, were handed over to their relatives on Wednesday.

Doctors handed over the bodies to the relatives after identification following the examination of their remains. “The rest of the bodies are yet to be identified,” said Dr. Pramod Shrestha, of TU Teaching Hospital.

According to Shrestha, doctors involved in the bodies’ examination are facing difficulty in identifying the dead persons as the bodies have shattered into more than 150 fragments.

“In a discussion with doctors  relatives of the deceased could not decide whether the dismembered bodies should be taken abroad for DNA testing,” Dr. Shrestha added.  The doctors have also appealed to the police to fetch foreign specialists for the identification process as they failed to complete the task due to lack of forensic technology in the country. According to Pramod Pandey, Marketing Manager of Agni Air, their aircraft took the family members of the deceased to the crash site on Wednesday. “An internal investigation panel is being formed by Agni Air to probe the incident,” said Shrestha.

Meanwhile, officials have said that the official investigation hasn’t started yet. “The investigation will hopefully be start from Thursday,”  said Laxman Prasad Sharma, Spokesperson and Joint Secretary of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

CAAN formed an investigation committee headed by aviation expert Kumar Prasad Upadhyaya on Tuesday. The members of the committee are Rajan Pokhrel, Rajendra Man Shakya, Suresh Acharya, and Sarada Bhakta Rajbhandari.

Meanwhile, a security team  has stepped up search of the remaining parts of the crashed plane. “The team is drying up water in the site and searching for the remaining parts of the plane,” said SP Ram Prasad Shrestha.

Fourteen persons, including three crew members, were killed in the Agni Air plane crash in Makwanpur on Tuesday.

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