Kathmandu, December 24
Life was paralysed in eastern and central Nepal today due to an indefinite blockade of highways by Maoists to protest the killing and detention of their cadres by government forces, leading to sharp increase in commodity prices and stockpiling of essential goods.

Vehicles moving to and from the capital came to a complete halt following the blockade in Makawanpur, Dhading and Sindhupalchowk districts bordering Kathmandu starting from yesterday. Major sections of the Prithvi Highway, Tribhuvan Highway and East-West Highway were specially affected.

No vehicles entered or left from the Thankot checkpoint, the only land route that connects Kathmandu with Raxaul of India and other Terai districts, the police said.

There were only a few vehicles on the road as compared to some 1900 that normally pass, a police official at the Thankot checkpost said.

Thousands of passengers were stranded at the bus stations and no trucks with essential goods including food grains could move on the highway due to the Maoist threat despite the government’s assurance to provide security.

But Home Ministry spokesman Gopendra Bahadur Pandey insisted that government had provided necessary security arrangements on the highways.

The rebels have blocked the highways by placing wood logs and other obstacles.

Traders have already started hiding essential commodities causing about 20 per cent increase in the market prices. Prices of vegetables, fruits and pulses, which come to Kathmandu mainly from Terai and India have already increased.

People have started stockpiling consumer goods including kerosene, coocking gass and other essential items.

On the eve of the blockade on Wednesday the Maoists burnt 18 trucks loaded with food-grains and other consumer items on a highway in Hetauda causing damage worth Rs 4 crore.

Earlier in August also the capital was hit by the Maoist blockade for more than a week.

Nepalese industries are passing through a serious crisis due to the economic blockade imposed by the Maoists, said Chandi Prasad Dhakal, vice chairman of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

“The government has not paid any attention to our problem, which is very serious,” he said yesterday.

“The government running on our money has failed to provide security to the industries, which are facing threats from the Maoists,” he said.

Meanwhile, at least 42 persons including 30 Maoists, seven security personnel and five civilians, were killed in two incidents in Nepal, according to local media reports.

According to the Himalayan Times, 22 Maoists and two security personnel were killed in Mathuradada of Arghakanchi district yesterday. The encounter which began at 10 a.m. local time continued for two hours.

In another incident five civilians, eight Maoists, including a Deputy Company Commander and five security personnel were killed in Baliya of Kailai district on Wednesday.

The clash started after the Maoists attacked the security personnel patroling the area, according to the Himalayan Times.

While three security personnel are missing, eight civilians and seven security personnel have been injured.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people queued up outside petrol stations in Kathmandu today fearing fuel shortages as a rebel ban on vehicles entering the city entered a second day.

Officials said Kathmandu had enough fuel supplies for about two weeks and food reserves for nearly a month, but residents said they did not want to take any chances.

Trucks and buses stayed off the major highway linking the mountain-ringed Nepali capital with the southern plains because of a threat by Maoist rebels to attack vehicles defying the ban, but there were no other signs of panic buying.

Transport operators said they were seeking compensation guarantees for vehicles if attacked and security for staff. — Agencies

United Nations, December 24
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate end to the deadly fighting in Nepal and expressed concern over reports of human rights abuses in the kingdom.

His statement came yesterday after 22 rebels were reportedly killed in new clashes with security forces in the poor mountain nation, where Maoist fighters have been battling to overthrow the monarchy since 1996.

"The Secretary General is deeply troubled by reports of an escalation of fighting in Nepal and of continued grave human rights violations," said Annan's spokesman Fred Eckhard.

"Reports that human rights defenders in Nepal face grave threats to their safety and security are very disturbing," he said. — AFP

Islamabad, December 24
The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on yesterday submitted another motion to the National Assembly Secretariat to raise the issue of police torture on the parliamentarians, journalists and ordinary people on December 21 when Asif Zardari was due to arrive at Islamabad Airport.

Earlier, on Wednesday, seven members of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), who had to face humiliation at the hand of Punjab police officers, submitted three privilege motions demanding action against the officials responsible.

On Thursday, 13 members of the ARD submitted an adjournment motion under Rule 92 of the Rules and Procedures for Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 1992.

Through the motion, the ARD members stated that "a heavy contingent of armed police, deployed at different entrance points of Islamabad Airport, not only mistreated the parliamentarians but also manhandled journalists and some of the passengers and resorted to a baton-charge several times to disperse them."

The ARD members stated that the journalists, belonging to the electronic and print media, were not allowed entry to the airport lounge to perform their official duties despite several requests.

They said the police did not even allow PPP MNAs Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Khalid Memon and Raja Pervez Ashraf, and MPA Farzana Raja to go to the main lounge of the airport despite having special VIP cards.

The police not only baton-charged the people but also used water cannon to disperse the crowd. Besides this, they said, due to blockade of roads leading to the airport a large number of passengers had to face hardships.

The ARD members demanded that the matter should be discussed on the floor of the House after adjourning normal proceedings. The Opposition is also planning to move some motions in this regard in the Senate. 

Kabul, December 24
Afghanistan's new Cabinet was sworn in today, sealing the ouster of some high-profile warlords from the government, and President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said it reflected the leader's will to have educated people running the country.

Defence Minister Mohammed Fahim, a major Tajik strongman and the head of the northern alliance that helped the United States oust the Taliban in 2001, was sacked in the Cabinet shuffle and replaced by his deputy, Abdul Rahim Wardak, as part of a crackdown on warlords in the government.

Southern warlord Gul Agha Sherzai was removed as public works minister. Also dropped from the Cabinet was Sayed Hussain Anwari, who controlled a private army in the north and had been agriculture minister.

The new ministers - 27 in all - were sworn in by Karzai during a closed ceremony at the presidential palace, said Khaleeq Ahmed, a spokesman at the presidency. The event was not covered live on Afghan television, but Karzai was expected to make a statement later in the day. — AP

Jerusalem, December 24
Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered the stone remains of the biblical Siloam Pool, where the Bible says Jesus restored a blind man's eyesight — underlining the link between the works of Jesus and ancient Jewish rituals.

Tucked away in what is now the Arab neighbourhood of Silwan, archaeologists are slowly digging out the pool, where water still runs in the channel that brought water from a nearby spring.

The Siloam Pool was used by Jews for ritual immersions for about 120 years until the year 70, when the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple.

Many of Jesus' acts are directly linked to Jewish rituals, and the miracle of the blind man is an example. Jesus put clay in the blind man's eyes and then told him to wash them out in the pure waters of the Siloam Pool, restoring his eyesight. (John 9: 1-7).

In the last four months, archaeologists have revealed the pool's 50-metre length and a channel that brought water from the Silwan Spring to the pool. In the past week, a section of stone road that led from the pool to the Jewish temple was uncovered.

"The moment that we revealed and discovered this four months ago, we were 100 per cent sure it was the Siloam Pool," said Eli Shukron, one of the archeologists on the dig. — AP

Ramallah, December 24
Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian militants in a refugee camp in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarm today, medics said.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has increased after a brief lull following Yasser Arafat's death last month when new hopes were raised for peace in the West Asia.

The Israeli army said troops opened fire on two gunmen in Tulkarm and saw that both were hit but did not know their condition.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant faction of the Palestinian mainstream Fatah movement, said three of its fighters died in an exchange of gunfire with Israeli soldiers in the town's refugee camp.

The Israeli army has frequently conducted raids against what it says are militant hideouts during a four-year Palestinian uprising that erupted after peace talks failed.

The shootings occurred hours before Christmas celebrations were to begin in another West Bank town, Bethlehem, site of Jesus' birth. — Reuters