W O R L D

Khanal takes oath amid power-sharing row
Fails to ink deal with Maoists delaying Cabinet formation
Amidst a serious dispute with the coalition partner Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists over power sharing, CPN-UML chairman and newly elected Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal took the oath of office and secrecy from the President, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, on Sunday.

IN THE SADDLE: Nepal’s PM Jhalanath Khanal (right) being sworn in by President Ram Baran Yadav (left), as caretaker Prime Minister Madav Kumar Nepal looks on in Kathmandu on Sunday. — AFP

Transition of power in Egypt
Govt, opposition agree to create reform panel
Cairo, February 6
The campaign against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak took a decisive turn today as the regime and opposition groups, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, agreed to form a committee to study constitutional reform to chart a way towards a transition of power.

A Muslim holding the Koran (top left) and a Coptic Christian with a Cross at a rally of opposition supporters at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday. — Reuters

JuD leaders back N-war to settle Kashmir issue! Islamabad, February 6 Extremist leaders, including JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, have stepped up calls for jihad against India, even advocating the use of nuclear weapons if needed in the “war for Kashmir”. The vicious comments at a massive rally organised by Jamaat-ud-Dawah to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day, have come at a time when India and Pakistan are trying to find ways to revive the peace process. Jamaat-ud-Dawah activists shout slogans at the Kashmir Solidarity Day rally in Lahore on Saturday. — AFP

US may reinstate visas of Tri-Valley students
Washington, February 6
The US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) has indicated that it is ready to consider reinstating the immigration status of those Indian students, who have lost their student visas due to the closure of a California-based “sham” university.

Khanal takes oath amid power-sharing row
Fails to ink deal with Maoists delaying Cabinet formation
Bishnu Budhathoki in Kathmandu

Amidst a serious dispute with the coalition partner Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists over power sharing, CPN-UML chairman and newly elected Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal took the oath of office and secrecy from the President, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, on Sunday.

The President administered the oath of office and secrecy at a grand function in the presence of top Nepalese leaders, including Vice-President Parmananda Jha, caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Maoist chairman Prachanda, Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala and Parliament Speaker Subhas Chandra Nembang.

“I will remain committed and honest to the nation and its people to fulfill my duty,” said 60-year-old Khanal.

Even as it ended a seven-month leadership vacuum in the country, the Cabinet formation was postponed as the CPN-UML failed to finalise a power sharing deal with it main supporter UCPN-Maoist who are seeking their pound of flesh for having ensured Khanal’s victory, sources said.

The much-awaited Cabinet could not be formed on Sunday due to differences between the coalition partners over key portfolios. Now, Khanal is likely to form a small Cabinet on Monday.

The Maoist party, whose support was crucial in garnering a majority in the House vote on Thursday, is apparently demanding proportional representation in the Cabinet.

The UCPN-Maoist has 238 seats and the CPN-UML has 108 seats in the Constituent Assembly, which acts as the country’s interim Parliament.

The former rebels are pushing for key portfolios, including Home Ministry, which was rejected by Prime Minister Khanal, leading to the delay in Cabinet formation, according to a senior leader of CPN-UML.

CPN-UML sources said the party has finalised the names of Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Bishnu Poudyal and Ganga Lal Tuladhar for key portfolios of Finance, Home and Education. However, the UCPN-Maoist is yet to finalise its Cabinet members.

Two Terai based parties, Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum led by former Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav and Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum (Nepal) led by Mahendra Yadav are likely to join the government, sources said. The Nepali Congress, the second largest party with 114 members in the House, has decided to sit in the opposition.

There is growing anger in a section of the CPN-UML party and the Nepali Congress, which supported the Communist party-led government since 2009, over a secret deal with the Maoists during the voting in the parliament, sources said.

Khanal’s party, which is the third largest party in Parliament, got support from the main Opposition Maoist Party after Prachanda quit the race in a last minute decision.

As per the deal, the Maoists have been claiming for 40 per cent share in the Cabinet along with the Home, Finance, Defence and Foreign ministries, which are considered as lucrative ministries.

Transition of power in Egypt
Govt, opposition agree to create reform panel

Cairo, February 6
The campaign against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak took a decisive turn today as the regime and opposition groups, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, agreed to form a committee to study constitutional reform to chart a way towards a transition of power.

Egypt's opposition groups and the ruling regime entered into landmark negotiations today that came after 13 days of unrelenting street protests by Egyptians seeking an end to Mubarak's 30-year rule and a move towards a representative government.

The first day of talks resulted in an agreement over a the setting up of a committee comprising political and judicial figures to study possible constitutional amendments on putting term limits for the presidential tenures and defining rules for who can run for the presidency, according to the state media.

However, there is so far no confirmation on this from the opposition camp.

This is the first time that Egypt's ruling regime has entered into any kind of negotiations with the Brotherhood, which has a vast organisational network in the country and is widely expected to fill the political space in a post-Mubarak democratic Egypt.

The committee has been asked to finish its task by the first week of March following which the future course of action will be decided.

However, so far there appears to be no indication that Mubarak would step down immediately as demanded by the thousands of protesters who have been camping at Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The opposition groups met Vice-President Omar Suleiman to press for their "legitimate demands", even as central Cairo remained flooded with demonstrators who observed a 'Day of Martyrs' to honour those killed in the anti-government unrest.

The landmark talks aimed at bringing a peaceful end to the mass uprising came a day after the top leadership of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party resigned en masse.

According to the Brotherhood's website, group's senior leaders began the talks, demanding an immediate elimination of Emergency Law and guarantees for peaceful protests.

"We are starting a round of talks to know how serious they are about responding to the demands of the people," said Brotherhood spokesman Gamal Abul Nasser. — PTI

JuD leaders back N-war to settle Kashmir issue!

US may reinstate visas of Tri-Valley students

Washington, February 6
The US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) has indicated that it is ready to consider reinstating the immigration status of those Indian students, who have lost their student visas due to the closure of a California-based “sham” university.

“We received a message from the ICE today, in which they indicated that they would consider the possibility of reinstatement of their (students) visa status through I-539,” Susmita Gongulee Thomas, Consul General, Indian Consulate San Francisco, told PTI.

I-539 is the form used by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for visa extension and change of immigration status. When one is out of the visa status for one reason or the other under a particular law of the US and the individual is not in criminal violation, USCIS may agree to give the reinstatement of his or her status under this form.

However, no immediate detail of ICE's one-liner to Indian Consulate in San Francisco was available. Thomas hoped that more details and clarification on this would be available from ICE early next week. She said all indications are that this is not going to be a general amnesty and ICE would consider the request for status change or visa extension on a case by case basis.

“It seems quite positive that they are willing to consider at least the possibility of reinstating of some of the students,” Thomas said.

“I think it will be case by case basis, because earlier we had clarified that there is nothing like the general amnesty. It would be case by case, because they feel that there might be some students who are in criminal violation of the immigration,” she added.

Duped by authorities of the Tri-Valley University, which has now been shut down, hundreds of Indian students, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, faced the threat of being deported back home after having lost their student visa status.

Meanwhile, nearly 150 Tri-Valley students turned up for the free legal aid camp organised by the Indian Consulate in San Francisco in association with the South Asian Bar Association (SABA). — PTI

Sensitive to students’ issues: Roemer Delhi has expressed serious concern over radio-taging of Tri-Valley students New Delhi: Amid uproar over treatment meted out to Indians duped by a “sham” American university, US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said on Sunday that the US was “very sensitive” to the issue of Indian students and will be attentive to problems of students from the country. “The US is very sensitive and attentive to this (matter),” Roemer told reporters on the sidelines of a cancer awareness event here. The envoy said his country is proud that there are 1.03 lakh Indian students in US schools. “We want more students to come to America. We want our doors to be open for education. We will be attentive to the problems of the Indian students ,” he said. — PTI