UCPN (Maoist), Madhesi Alliance not sincere to statute, Gagan says

Dhangadhi, Jan 1: Nepali Congress Central Committee Member Gagan Kumar Thapa has said that there was no possibility of promulgating the new constitution on January 22 as the time has elapsed.

At a news conference organised by the Nepal Press Union here Thursday, Thapa argued that the new constitution could not be promulgated on stipulated time even by putting the disputed issues of new constitution on vote.

Lawmaker Thapa accused the UCPN (Maoist) and the Madhesi Alliance for conspiring against the new constitution promulgate on set time by sidelining their own promises for bringing new constitution even through the voting process if consensus was not forged within a year. RSS

Egypt court hears jailed Jazeera reporters' appeal

CAIRO, Jan 1 : (AFP) -- Egypt's top court began hearing an appeal Thursday by three jailed journalists of Al-Jazeera television as hopes for their release grew amid thawing relations between Cairo and Qatar, where it is based.

Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed of the broadcaster's English service were jailed last December in a case that triggered global outrage.

Journalists waiting in the courthouse were not immediately allowed into the hearing but court officials said the session was under way.

The Al-Jazeera reporters, who authorities say lacked proper accreditation, were jailed in June on charges of spreading false information aiding the Muslim Brotherhood after the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The Brotherhood, which saw electoral success after the ouster of longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011, has since been declared a "terrorist organisation" in Egypt.

Fahmy's lawyer Negad al-Borai said ahead of Thursday's session that all options were open to the court.

"The Court of Cassation could order a retrial, issue a new verdict or acquit the defendants," he said, adding that the appeal could even be dismissed.

The three, who on Monday completed a year in prison, could also be released on bail if a retrial is ordered, he said.

Fahmy's fiancee, Marwa Omara, told AFP: "We hope they are freed on bail, that would be a positive step."

Greste's parents told Australia's ABC they had "confidence in the integrity of the Egyptian appeals system" and that the journalists would soon be released.

'Settling political scores'

The reporters were arrested when Egypt and Qatar were at loggerheads after Morsi was removed by then army chief, now president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass protests against his one-year rule.

Ties worsened when Qatar, a key backer of the Muslim Brotherhood, repeatedly denounced Morsi's overthrow, prompting Cairo to accuse Al-Jazeera of biased coverage.

At least 1,400 people died in the army's crackdown on Islamist supporters, mostly in August last year when police broke up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo.

"Their arrest was a settling of political scores between Egypt and Qatar," Borai said of the three journalists.

The bitter row now appears to be ending following mediation by Gulf heavyweight Saudi Arabia, a key Sisi backer.

On December 20, Cairo told a Qatari envoy it was ready for a "new era" in relations with Doha, as the emirate offered its "full support" to Sisi.

Two days later, Al-Jazeera announced the surprise closure of its Egyptian channel, which had consistently criticised Cairo since Morsi's ouster.

"It is quite likely the final result will be the release of the journalists. How and when that happens is another issue," H.A. Hellyer of the Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington told AFP.

Sisi himself has said he would have preferred the journalists to have been deported rather than tried.

In November, he issued a decree allowing him to deport foreigners sentenced to prison or on trial.

"We have filed a request to the prosecution to deport Mohamed to Canada in case a retrial is ordered," Fahmy's fiancee said.

The court will also examine the appeals of four Egyptian codefendants in the case, who were jailed for seven years on charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation and for "damaging the image of Egypt".

Eleven other defendants, tried in absentia, including one Dutch and two British journalists, were given 10-year sentences.

30 civilians killed as mortar barrage hits village in S. Afghanistan

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Jan  1 : (Xinhua) -- About 30 civilians were killed and scores wounded after a mortar barrage hit a village in Sangin District of southern Afghan province of Helmand overnight, sources said early Thursday.

"At least 30 civilians, including several women and children were killed, and dozens others wounded after several rounds of mortar struck houses in Mayyan Dazu Village late Wednesday night," a provincial official told Xinhua anonymously.

Majority of the victims were from a house where a wedding party was underway, he said, adding "the incident took place during a fighting between security forces and Taliban insurgents,"

Local sources said more than 40 people sustained injuries and the wounded were shifted to hospitals in provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

 "The number of the casualties may go up as many injured remained in critical condition," the source said.

The Sangin district, which is located in northern part of Lashkar Gah, has been the scene of fierce fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces over the past couple of months after the NATO-led forces withdrew from the district.

Helmand is notorious for poppy growing and is a known Taliban hotbed.

The U.S. and NATO-led troops will switch from combat to support role later on Thursday, which will focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces, and nearly 13,000 foreign forces will be involved in the mission.

The day also marks the transition of full security charges from foreign forces to Afghan security forces.

More than 3,180 civilians were killed and nearly 6,430 others wounded in conflicts and Taliban-led attacks from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 2014, according to official figures released by UN mission in the country.

The officials blamed the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups for vast majority of the civilian deaths and injuries.

Deadly attacks rock northern Nigeria

KANO, Nigeria, Jan  1 : (AFP) -- Strife-torn northern Nigeria was hit by two deadly attacks on Wednesday, when a female suicide bomber was killed as she tried to enter a military barracks and seven died in a bus explosion.

Soldiers opened fire on the woman when she refused to be searched as she approached the barracks in Bolari, in Gombe state, detonating the explosives belt she was wearing, according to eyewitness accounts.

The woman, who was wearing a hijab, was killed instantly, witnesses said.

"The woman refused to stop and continued to advance towards the military guards at the gates despite repeated orders from them to stop at a distance," said Shuaibu Nasir, who lives near the gates of the barracks.

"The soldiers opened fire on the woman who quickened her pace towards them and as they fired shots at her she exploded with a loud sound that shook our buildings," Nasir said.

Nigeria's northeastern Gombe state has been the scene of several attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haram in recent months, and the same barracks were targeted in July.

Wednesday's blast prompted policemen to fire warning shots in the air, causing panic among residents, Nasir said.

Another resident, Ahmed Baballe, said the would-be bomber was "blown to pieces" by the impact of the explosion.

"The soldiers didn't take chances with the woman and opened fire when she showed no sign of stopping to be searched," Baballe said.

Northeast Nigeria has been continually rocked by attacks mounted by Boko Haram militants, increasingly using female suicide bombers.

The extremist group, whose name roughly means "Western education is forbidden", have killed thousands since it began a deadly insurgency in northern Nigeria in 2009.

Experts have cast doubt on Nigeria's ability to hold planned national elections in February, because of rising unrest in parts of the northeast.

Hours earlier on Wednesday, witnesses said that seven people were killed when a bus exploded in a village close to Potiskum, the commercial capital of northern Yobe state.

"The bus went up in flames from multiple blasts that killed all seven men inside," said Hambali Baidu, a resident of Maiduwa village, which lies some 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the city.

No official confirmation of the death toll has been given.

"We heard a series of explosions from the bus which went flying into the air in flames," said Usman Haruna, another resident.

"They were no doubt Boko Haram militants on their way to carry out attacks."

Shanghai New Year stampede kills 35

SHANGHAI, Jan 1 : (Xinhua) -- At least 35 revelers were killed and 42 others injured in a stampede at New Year celebrations late Wednesday in Shanghai, local authorities confirmed.

The tragedy happened on a crowded square of Shanghai's gleaming Bund area at around 11:35 p.m. There are 25 female among the deceased whose ages range from 16 to 36, said the authorities of Shanghai, a metropolis home to a population of over 23 million.

Most of the injured are youths at around 20 years old with a majority of them being female. There are also college students and children, medical sources told Xinhua.

Police are investigating the cause of the stampede.

The Bund, a stretch of riverbank on the west side of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, is a popular destination for New Year celebrations, as historical architecture and skyscrapers along the river show dazzling lights at night.

    

     HELLISH SCENE

    

Survivors described the stampede as "horrific and hellish."

    

Some said they were standing on the steps adjoining the major road and the sightseeing platform when the deadly incident happened.

"The steps leading to the platform were full of people. Some wanted to get down and some wanted to go up," said a witness who gave her surname as Yin. "We were caught in the middle and saw some girls falling while screaming. Then people started to fall down, row by row."

The woman said she covered two kids in front of her with arms in the chaos. Her own son followed her.

"When we brought him out of the crowd, his forehead bruising, two deep-creased scars on his neck, and his mouth and nose all bleeding," said the teary mother.

Dirty shoe prints were all over the clothes of her son when the 12-year-old boy came to safety.

"The crowds were in panic. We stood in the crowd, feeling squeezed almost out of breath," another witness surnamed Yu said. "Some yelled for help but the noise was too loud."

 Other survivors said police rushed the scene and tried to pull out people stuck in but generally failed.

"The whole chaos lasted a dozen minutes, then some injured were seen being carried out of the crowd," Yu said.

"MONEY THROWING"

Some survivors said the stampede was triggered when some started threw coupons that look like "U.S. dollar banknotes" to revelers outside a bar in the windy night.

 Witness Wu Tao said some coupons were being thrown from a building's third-floor window near the Bund and people standing along the river bank started to scramble for those coupons.

The coupon looks like a 100 U.S. dollar banknote with "M18" printed in the middle, a reference to the bar of the same name on the Bund.

Phone calls to the bar were immediately hung up after getting through.

Some said on social networking websites that they found pictures on the bar owner showing off those coupons before the incident.

But the blogger, who called herself Chaojidadadashabao_MissShen" on the Sina Weibo, denied she threw away any coupons in the incident.

Stampedes occurred in China mainly due to safety loopholes. In September 2014, six school student were killed in a stampede at a primary school in Yunnan Province after a stairway was blocked.

In January 2014, a mosque stampede killed 14 people and injured another 10 in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In 2004, a stampede on a bridge in suburban Beijing killed 37 during a local lantern festival.  

Myanmar committed to hold free, fair election in 2015: president

 YANGON, Jan 1 : (Xinhua) -- Myanmar President U Thein Sein reiterated the country's  pledge in his written new year message Thursday, the first day of 2015, to hold free and fair general election in the year, calling for cooperation and support not only from the administration but also from security forces, political parties, civil society and the general public as a whole.

"We will hold the 2015 general election in the coming year which will serve as one of the most critical steps in our democratic transition process," U Thein Sein said in his monthly radio speech to the nation Thursday.

 He noted that the 2015 election will mark the first time since independence in which all the political stakeholders will contest freely and fairly.

"In this way 2015 will be a remarkable year in Myanmar politics as it will be shaped by the election and by the efforts of all political stakeholders to find the right solution through the electoral process."

The president said that it is critical and imperative to merge the political development with the national reconciliation process.

"The day we can do this is the day we can begin to build a new nation based on the ideals of a federal union and finally fulfill the need of our nation and society at large," he said.

"A successful 2015 election in conjunction with the initiation of the political dialogue process based on and grounded in nationwide ceasefire agreements marks a critical juncture in Myanmar politics."  

The 2015 general election is roughly scheduled for the end of October or the start of November, according to the Union Election Commission.

 Speaking of Myanmar's economy status, U Thein Sein said the country was able to establish an investor friendly environment, leading to an increase in foreign investment by 6.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2014.

He revealed that Myanmar is planning to launch the Yangon Stock Exchange in 2015 , gradually introducing a public investment market.

The Central Bank of Myanmar will sell government bonds through tender offer in January 2015, the president said.  

9,949 tourists enter via eastern checkpoint in 2014

Surunga (Jhapa), Jan 1: Nepal has received 9,949 domestic and foreign tourists via eastern checkpoint, Kakadbhitta, in the year 2014, which is an increase of 4,298 from that of last year.

According to the information provided by Immigration Office Jhapa Chief Ram Prasad Phyyal, the tourists entered Nepal via Kakadbhitta from January 1 to December 31, 2014.

Last year 5,651 tourists had come to visit Nepal via the same checkpoint, Phuyal added. The score of tourists coming to Nepal through this point during the period include 3,234, he further informed.

The Bangladeshi tourists share the highest number and Sri Lankan the lowest. Total 5,556 Bangladeshi tourists entered Nepal whereas only three Sri Lankan came through this route.

Meanwhile, total 9,432 tourists had departed through this checkpoint in the year 2014. Likewise, the score of Nepali moving to different third countries has reached 3,222.

The eastern checkpoint has witnessed gradual increase in the arrival of tourists, Phuyal said. RSS