Police to file cases against Unity promoters

KATHMANDU: Nepal Police has decided to file cases of banking crime and fraud against promoters of Unity Life International, officials said. It has also prepared a report recommending action against them.

The banking crime charge invokes Bank and Financial Institution Act 2006 while the fraud case follows the Muluki Ain. An investigation panel formed under the Ministry of Finance had concluded that the company violated 12 different existing laws.

SP Bikram Thapa, chief of Metropolitan Police Range Lalitpur, said the police would lodge the charge sheet at the District Court Lalitpur on Friday.

Gold import crosses 14 tons

Country´s gold import crossed over 14.03 tons, which is about two-fold higher than the annual total demand, in mere first seven-and-a-half months of 2009/10 - thanks to cross-border duty difference and rising smuggling to India.

Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association (Negosida), which argues that the country´s total gold demand increased substantially this year with more people taking gold as alternate investment avenue, too estimates that the monthly national demand of yellow metal remains just at around 450 kg.

But statistics shows that import in each of the month from mid-July 2009 to February end 2010 well exceeded this figure -- highest one being 2,875 kg for the month ending mid-January (sixth month of the fiscal year).

Newsnp resumes blogging

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First of all thank you very much for being with newsnp. Our team had started blogging three years back but due to professional obligation we were not able to carry out regular work properly. But now, after a long gap we are again back to you with latest happeing in Nepal. Please do visit us at least once a day. Thank You

Dr. Yadav elected as the first president of republic Nepal

Defeating his contestant Ramraja Prasad Singh with 26 votes, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav has been elected as the first president of republican Nepal.

Constituent Assembly (CA) chairman K.B Gurung announced in the CA meeting Monday evening that Yadav had been elected president by winning a simple majority. Dr. Yadav has accumulated 308 votes against his contestant Singh’s 282 votes.

The CA had re-polled to elect the president as none of the candidates bagged clear majority in their support constitutionally required to become the winner. 298 votes were mandatory to win the race.

Dr. Yadav was proposed as a common presidential candidate by Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Madheshi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) after the CPN-Maoist, the largest party, proposed Ramraja Prasad Singh for presidential candidacy which was ‘a betrayal for UML’ in its term.

Though MPRF was in support to the Maoist-proposed candidate Ramraja Prasad Singh, it turned away accusing Maoist of neglecting MPRF while proposing name of vice president.

Maoist had proposed Shanta Shrestha for the candidacy of the vice president who has already been defeated by MPRF’s leader and coalition candidate Paramananda Jha through Saturday’s elections.

MFJ leader Jha had bagged 305 votes out of 578 limiting his closest contestant Shrestha of CPN-Maoist in 243 votes.

RPP, RJM, RJP, Chure Bhabar, Loktantrik Samajbadi Dal and 2 independents among other were in support of Dr. Yadav’s coalition while TMLP, Sadvawana, People’s Front among a few others had supported Singh’s coalition.