Chief justice
The Constitutional Council has nominated the senior justice of the Supreme Court, Anup Raj Sharma, as the chief justice of Nepal. The main opposition party-Unified CPN (Maoist)-was absent from the meeting, but has given consent to the nomination. Known for making bold verdicts, Sharma was on the bench that took the decision to release political detainees during King Gyanendra's direct rule in 2005, and a decision to lift the ban on broadcasting news from FM radio stations during the same time. (Republica)
Land grabbing
Maoist-aligned organisations representing the landless have led thousands of people from the mid and far western Nepal to occupy a state-owned forest in Kailali. More than 10,000 squatters have gathered and built makeshift shelters in a forest in Kailai district in the last five days. They were told they would be given the land for free. (Kantipur)
Fuel crunch
Government-run fuel stations in Kathmandu saw long lines today, as Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Petroleum Workers Union pulled off their threat to shut down all privately-owned petrol pumps for an indefinite period. The union is demanding that all of its employees should be paid a minimum wage and provided overtime and live insurance cover. The union workers also picketed all nine Nepal Oil Corporation oil depots for the fifth consecutive day yesterday, stirring fears that the fuel crisis is going to spread outside the capital. (The Himalayan Times)
Donors' concerns
Government officials are indignant after major donor agencies asked for the presence of Maoist representatives at a meeting in the Finance Ministry on Monday. Citing unnamed sources, Rajdhani reports that representatives from a dozen donor agencies, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, DFID and JICA, said that they needed assurance from the Maoists in order to continue funding development projects. Donors also mentioned that they could also slash funds to Nepal because of the political instability saying it’s hampering their work. (Rajdhani)
Must read:
Scribes scramble for a flight seat, The Kathmandu Post