Save kidneys, protect your heart

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a grave public health concern, affecting a large section of the worldwide population. Good management of CKDs can slow the progression of renal dysfunction, prevent metabolic complications and reduce cardiovascular ailments. Physician’s awareness of such disease is critical for the implementation of evidence-based therapies and patient awareness is a major determinant of the adherence to those therapies.
In Nepal, individual awareness of CKD and its risk factors remains low. CKD awareness may be particularly important among persons who exhibit
clinical markers, possibly resulting from their renal dysfunction, as they would benefit from a lifestyle change and medical interventions.
The goal of a medical screening programme is to recognise a disease in its preclinical phase so that interventions can be done in earlier stages, leading to better outcomes. Screening programmes can also promote public awareness and education, encourage physician adherence to clinical practice guidelines and serve as medical outreach to underserved populations. Such programmes however, have risks and costs along with benefits. To establish how useful a screening programme is, health care providers need to answer three important questions: “Does early treatment improve prognosis?”; “How valid and reproducible is the screening test?” and “What is the yield of the screening service?”
However, a screening test is not intended to be diagnostic. Persons with positive or suspicious findings must be referred to specialists for diagnosis and necessary treatment.
Widespread screening programmes have led to a decline in the incidence of syphilis and a decrease in mortality as a result of uterine cancer. An evidence-based treatment regimen for patients with recognised CKD already exists and serves as a prerequisite for CKD screening programmes. Screening for CKD occurs in many contexts, including during routine care, within high-risk populations and in the general population. Population-based screenings must ensure follow-up and successful referral of test-positive individuals for appropriate diagnosis, treatment and counselling. Additionally, because screening in these different contexts entails different risks and benefits, informed patient choice is essential to a successful screening programme.

Ban welcomes appointment of interim electoral council in Nepal

Ban Ki-moon on Friday welcomed the appointment of an interim electoral council in Nepal, which he said could end the political stalemate that has stalled implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a civil war in 2007.
“He urges all actors to create a conducive environment for the next elections and to maintain the momentum to implement the outstanding commitments of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” according to a statement released by Ban’s spokesperson.
The Asian nation’s political leaders had reportedly failed to nominate since late 2012 a prime ministerial candidate who could lead a new government that would be responsible for holding Constituent Assembly elections.
The country has been plagued by political disputes since a civil war between Government forces and Maoists formally ended in 2007 and the monarchy was abolished.
There have been important achievements in the peace process to date, including the completion of the discharge and integration process of the ex-Maoist army, the successful and largely peaceful elections in 2008, the removal of all minefields, and a smooth transition to a Republic.

Editor's Pick 3-man Cabinet in, polls top priority

Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn in Chairman of the Interim Election Government at the President’s Office in Sheetal Niwas on Thursday. President Ram Baran Yadav administrated the oath of office to Regmi in the presence of top leaders of the major political parties, diplomats and senior government and security officials. If his post as head of the executive is to be considered prime minister, Chairman Regmi will be Nepal’s 36th PM.
Regmi later administered the oath of office to Madhav Prasad Ghimire as Home and Foreign Affairs Minister and Hari Prasad Neupane as Minister for Law and Justice and Minister for Labour and Transport Management. Ghimire is a former chief secretary, while Neupane served as Vice-chairman of the Law Reform Commission. While Regmi and Ghimire hail from Palpa district, Neupane comes from Gulmi.
After the oath, Regmi reached Singha Durbar and assumed office. He directed government secretaries to focus on elections as per the schedule and appealed to dissenting political parties to stop their agitation. According to one secretary, Chief Secretary Leela Mani Poudel advised Regmi to make appointments to the Election Commission at the earliest to bring the nation on the election campaign. “If we cannot fill positions in the EC within 15 days, the situation will not be favourable to timely elections,” Poudel reportedly said.

Hectic lobbying for Cabinet posts

As a three-member Cabinet led by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn in on Thursday, there was hectic lobbying and widespread speculations over the possible line-up of members in the interim election government.
Informed sources said Regmi was given a free hand to choose former chief secretary Madhav Prasad Ghimire as the home and foreign affairs minister and former law secretary Hari Prasad Neupane as the law, labour and employment minister.
A political source claimed that there will be unofficial recommendations from the major parties for the remaining eight Cabinet members.
Retired bureaucrats are learnt to have reached out to the leadership of the major parties to secure berths in the Cabinet . Similarly, there are voices that the Cabinet , which so far consists of three male Brahmins, should be more inclusive with the representation of women and marginalised groups. “We expect that the chairman of the government will constitute an inclusive Cabinet ,” said Nepal Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato.
Former finance secretary Bidhyadhar Malik and former industry secretary Umakanta Jha are key contenders from the Madhesi community, while former Secretary at the PM’s Office Brinda Hada may represent women in the Cabinet . Former Finance Secretary Rameshwor Khanal, who served as economic advisor to former PM Baburam Bhattarai, was pitched as a contender for finance minister.
Sources claimed that Malik, who is now an advisor to President Ram Baran Yadav, has greater chances for the Finance Ministry. According to political and bureaucratic sources, some contenders for the post are former home secretaries Umesh Mainali and Govinda Kusum, former Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority secretary Bhagawati Kafle and former energy secretary Shankar Koirala. Mainali is considered close to the Nepali Congress, while Kusum, who is also affiliated to the Chaudhary Group, is close to CPN-UML General Secretary Ishwor Pokharel.
Former local development secretary Ram Kumar Shrestha, former physical development and works secretary Purna Prasad Kadariya are also being discussed as tentative candidates from the UCPN (Maoist). Former general secretary of the Parliament Secretariat Surya Kiran Gurung is also speculated to figure in the list.
Despite pressure to include retired security chiefs in the Cabinet , parties signed an agreement to only include retired special class officers from the civil service to avoid maneuvering and foul play, according to one leader. Former Armed Police Chief Sanat Kumar Basnet had reached out to leaders to secure a post, while the name of the retired Nepal Police Chief, Rabindra Pratap Shah, had also figured in discussions.
A senior government source said that the date for the second round of oath taking has yet to be set. "It is likely that all the remaining eight members will be sworn in together," said the official.

22 parties to announce further protest No banda today

22 political parties , including the CPN-Maoist and some fringe parties, are due to announce further protest programme against the formation of an election government led by sitting Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi .
According to the CPN-Maoist , the meeting to be held at party's central office in Buddhanagar this afternoon will finalise the protest programme.
The dissenting parties have been condemning the decision to form such a government, saying that it had breached the Interim Constitution 2007 and violated the fundamental values of democracy. They have termed the appointment of the chief justice as the election government chairman “dictatorship imposed by major forces under the guidance of foreign forces”.
Meanwhile, the party has decided not to call banda today. It has said that the protest programme to be announced later on today will not affect general public.

Apa selected for honorary doctorate

The US-based University of Utah has selected Nepali mountaineer Apa Sherpa , who has scaled Mt. Everest a record 21 times, to receive honorary doctorate degree, Deseret News reported on its website.
Apa Sherpa will receive a doctorate of humane letters. Apa climbed the Everest a world record 21 times as of May 2011.
Apa was born in Nepal and since 2006 has been residing in Utah with his wife, Yangjin, and their three children.
He created the Apa Sherpa Foundation, which is dedicated to providing educational opportunities for the children of his homeland to help strengthen its future.
He climbed the mountain twenty-one times as of May 2011.
Apa is among three people including Andrea Brantzeg Thomas and Thomas D. Rees to receive the honorary doctorate.

300 workers to land in Israel via govt channel

The government has started sending 300 workers as caregivers to Israel through government-to-government channel.
On the recommendation of Labour Secretary Suresh Man Shrestha, a Cabinet meeting on Monday had appointed director general of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) as government’s service officer to oversee the overall recruitment process.
The department is preparing to set up a separate section and develop a mechanism for free and fair recruitment.
Israel, which had stopped recruiting Nepali caregivers citing increasing cases of fraud, is reopening its labour market for Nepali workers after Nepal agreed to send job-seekers through state-to-state channel.
Israel had halted accepting Nepali workers after the recruiting agents based in Nepal and Israel reportedly charged exorbitant fees. Workers used to pay as high as Rs 1 million to go to the Middle East.
According to government officials, Israel is ready to accept over 1,000 Nepali caregivers a year if the new state-to-state mechanism works miracles.
Although Nepal has been sending workers to South Korea through state-to-state mechanism, this is the first time the same process is going to be replicated in Israel’s case.
Israel is considered to be one of the most sought-after labour destination for Nepali women due to worker-friendly laws, good wages and work security.

Deep Purple concert postponed

The Deep Purple concert earlier scheduled for March 15 has been postponed till April 26.
Earlier, the concert was scheduled to take place at Dasarath Stadium in the capital this Friday.
According to ODC Entertainment and its CEO Simant Gurung, the concert has been postponed citing frequent strikes, general strikes in Nepal.
"Ticket selling was satisfactory but very slow," Gurung said.
It has been learnt that the organisers telephoned Deep Purple to hold back the concert for Saturday, however, the band refused the proposal citing lack of time and its effect in their other concerts and agreed for the concert on April 26.
The tickets being sold will be used for the April 26 concert, ODC informed.
Deep Purple , an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968 is considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years.

Flow of new account openers slow despite simplified KYC

The flow of new account openers at banks is still slow even though Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has relaxed the know your customer (KYC) requirements. Extra paperwork imposed by the central bank had put off potential customers spreading concern among bankers.
Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) said that their existing depositors too had not provided additional documents as required by the central bank’s directive. NRB has extended the deadline for them to update their information till the end of this fiscal year.
The central bank issued stringent KYC requirements on October 12, 2012 as per the country’s international commitment against anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
Under the new rules, potential account openers had to provide photocopies of the citizenship certificates of their antecedents going back three generations.
BFIs had asked the central bank to simplify the requirements after the number of new account openers dropped drastically because of the complicated paperwork.
Last February, NRB changed the provision stating that it would be enough to provide only the number of the citizenship certificates. The central bank has told the BFIs that they have to pay a fine of Rs 500,000 as per the Anti-Money Laundering Act if they do not seek the details as per the directive.
However, bankers said that it had not made any significant difference to the downward trend.
“There has not been any significant difference after NRB simplified the provision,” said Sashin Joshi, chief executive officer of NIC Bank. He added that the new KYC rules had resulted in the number of new account openers dropping by half at his bank. “We used to see 1,000-1,500 new account openings daily which has now fallen by half,” he said. NIC Bank presently has around 170,000 deposit accounts.
Similarly, Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) said that new account openers stayed away in droves in the second quarter of this fiscal after the new KYC rules were issued.
“The number of new accounts decreased by 30-35 percent in the second quarter,” said CEO Jyoti Pandey. He added that things had improved after the central bank simplified the
procedures. “First, we have to develop the habit of submitting family
background details to open an account,” he said. The bank has 482,000 plus deposit accounts.
Pandey said that they had also been asking their old account holders to update their details by sending an sms or over the phone.
“There has been little progress at major branches like Putali Sadak and Durbar Marg, but a majority of the depositors at our new branches have updated their profiles,” he said.
Meanwhile, Commerz and Trust Bank Nepal said that the number of new account openers had plunged by half due to KYC. “New account opening has come down to 100 daily from over 200 in the past,” said CEO Anal Raj Bhattarai. “The situation has not changed much even after the KYC rules were simplified.”  Likewise, Civil Bank has reported a sharp decline in new customers. “Account opening has come down to five-six a day from 50-60 in the past,” said CEO Kishore Maharjan.

Business Flow of new account openers slow despite simplified KYC

The flow of new account openers at banks is still slow even though Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has relaxed the know your customer (KYC) requirements. Extra paperwork imposed by the central bank had put off potential customers spreading concern among bankers.
Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) said that their existing depositors too had not provided additional documents as required by the central bank’s directive. NRB has extended the deadline for them to update their information till the end of this fiscal year.
The central bank issued stringent KYC requirements on October 12, 2012 as per the country’s international commitment against anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
Under the new rules, potential account openers had to provide photocopies of the citizenship certificates of their antecedents going back three generations.
BFIs had asked the central bank to simplify the requirements after the number of new account openers dropped drastically because of the complicated paperwork.
Last February, NRB changed the provision stating that it would be enough to provide only the number of the citizenship certificates. The central bank has told the BFIs that they have to pay a fine of Rs 500,000 as per the Anti-Money Laundering Act if they do not seek the details as per the directive.
However, bankers said that it had not made any significant difference to the downward trend.
“There has not been any significant difference after NRB simplified the provision,” said Sashin Joshi, chief executive officer of NIC Bank. He added that the new KYC rules had resulted in the number of new account openers dropping by half at his bank. “We used to see 1,000-1,500 new account openings daily which has now fallen by half,” he said. NIC Bank presently has around 170,000 deposit accounts.
Similarly, Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) said that new account openers stayed away in droves in the second quarter of this fiscal after the new KYC rules were issued.
“The number of new accounts decreased by 30-35 percent in the second quarter,” said CEO Jyoti Pandey. He added that things had improved after the central bank simplified the
procedures. “First, we have to develop the habit of submitting family
background details to open an account,” he said. The bank has 482,000 plus deposit accounts.

45 Nepali migrant workers left high and dry in Qatar

Forty-five Nepali migrant workers have not been given their salaries or their papers preventing them from returning home. The workers who were employed at three companies based in Sanaiya, Bakra and Mataraqdim complained that they had not been provided identity cards to stay in Qatar , and that they had not been allowed to return home either.
The 35 Nepali workers employed at RTC Company said that they had not been paid for the last four months. “The company gives us a month’s salary after working for four months,” said Hem Shankar Pashawan who hails from Siraha district. “It has been difficult for us to repay our loans and interest back home.”
He added that the company had also not issued identity cards for the Nepali workers which is necessary to live in Qatar . This has made them anxious because they could be arrested at any time by the local police for not having the necessary papers.
The workers said that even though the companies had promised to let them return to Nepal, they had not been allowed to leave. “It has already been four months that we have been waiting to return to Nepal, but there is still no sign of it,” said Sanjiv Shah who is from Mahottari. Shah, who suffers from a nerve-related disease, said that his condition had been deteriorating as the company had not managed his health inspection. “I am having difficulty to stand on my feet due to the lack of health check-up,” he said.
Meanwhile, a local hotel has sacked five Nepalis. Kishan Rijal of Parbat, Kalamdin Nau of Kapilvastu, Gopal Pandey of Butwal, Medhnath Sharma of Baglung and Dhana Bahadur Magar of Gaighat who lost their jobs said that the employer exploited their labour and manhandled them. The hotel in Bakra had not even provided them accommodation. They eventually found shelter at the Nepal Embassy after spending two days in a mosque.
Rijal said that the Jordani owner of the hotel used to make them work at the hotel during the day and at his home during the night. “We had to work at the hotel from 8 am to 12 midnight,” he said. “Then we would be taken to his home to do more work.” He added that they used to be beaten if they refused to work.
The workers gave up their jobs due to the exploitation. “All our stuffs are at the hotel,” said Gopal Pandey of Butwal. “We were not allowed to take our stuffs with us.” Meanwhile, Medhnath Sharma of Baglung who had arrived just two months ago had paid Rs 115,000 to an agent. “I had come here with the hope of getting a job at a good hotel,” he said. “But the hotel was really terrible.”
These five Nepalis are now living in a shelter provided by the Nepal Embassy. They also have filed a case against the owner of the hotel.

Business Suzuki Hayate to make Nepal debut

he entry-level two-wheeler segment will soon see a new member with Japanese auto major Suzuki planning to roll out the Suzuki Hayate by April. According to Ganesh International, the sole authorised distributor of Suzuki in Nepal, the coming motorcycle is stylish and will cater to the demand of people looking for an entry-level commuter bike
with style. The machine to be sold in Nepal will be imported from Suzuki India.
The aggressive promotional strategy of Suzuki India for this new motorcycle has made it a big success in the Indian market. It has also helped the company to earn loyal fans in Nepal who have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of the Hayate.
“We had planned to launch the Suzuki Hayate in January. However, due to its high demand in the Indian market, Suzuki India does not have adequate stock for export to foreign markets including Nepal,” said Upendra Sigdel, marketing manager at Ganesh International. “ Suzuki India has pledged to make the two-wheeler available in Nepal by April.”
The entry of the Suzuki Hayate will increase the competition in the domestic two-wheeler market, which is already teeming with models like the Bajaj Discover, Yamaha YBR, Hero Passion Pro, Hero Splendor and the Honda Dream Yuga. Commuter segment motorcycles have a significant market share in the country’s two-wheeler market as they are considered to be the most efficient and easy mode of mobility.
In terms of looks, the new two-wheeler is identical to its preceding model the Suzuki Slingshot. The bike’s front mudguard and headlight look aerodynamic, and it uses an all-black theme with major components like the silencer, engine, alloy wheel and side panels featuring black colour. The Hayate’s tail light and grab rail is quite identical to the Honda Shine.
The new offering from Suzuki has a mono-cylinder, air-cooled, 112.8 cc SOHC engine. The machine’s four-stroke engine has a capability to generate a peak power of 8.3 bhp at 7,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 8.4 nm at 5,500 rpm. The Hayate’s engine has been mated with a four-speed manual transmission system with all gears in a down-shift pattern.
Suzuki India has claimed that the motorcycle delivers a mileage of 65 kmpl. For the comfort of riders, the bike has telescopic, coil spring front suspension with five-step adjustable rear shock swing arm suspension. The bike has 130 mm front and 110 mm rear brakes.

ktm-tarai fast track : Chalnakhel-Nijgadh track opening completes

The Kathmandu-Tarai Frast Track Road’s track opening work from Chalnakhel (Lalitpur) to Nijgadh (Bara) has finally completed. The project completed the last remaining job—cutting through the cliffs along Ipa VDC-2—on Saturday.
The entire track opening of this national pride project will be completed once the row over land acquisition in Khokana, Lalitpur, settles.
Nepal Army (NA) personnel were deployed round the clock with a target to complete the track opening by March 10 (the Nepal Army Day or Maha Shivaratri). The Directorate of Development and Military Engineering Service of the NA had also directed the NA personnel to complete the work on the prescribed date. “Now, there is access to a direct road network from Chalnakhel to Nijgadh,”
said Bhagawan Karki, Battalion Commander of Bikash Nirmaan Karyadal 1.
The NA, after getting the authority for the track opening from the government, completed the job (Chalnakhel-Nijgadh section) in 39 months. According to an NA official, construction was delayed due to problems related to land confiscation and compensation issues. A total of 700 NA personal had been deployed for carrying out the job, setting up camps in 10 locations between Sisneri and Nijgadh, where the road ends. Locations where the work was left included Ipa VDC-2 (around 200m in Ipaveer), Gadhi VDC-1 (100m in Badar Khola), Chhatiwan VDC-4 (700m in Adheri and Aapdamar). All the locations fall in Makawanpur district.
With the track opening,
light vehicles can now be operated along the road. About a month ago, travelers had to get off the vehicles at two locations along the road due to the cliffs. “There is no need to walk along the Chalnakhel-Nigjadh segment now,” said a senior NA official. The track opening of the 76-km road was commenced by the NA in November 2009. For the purpose, the government disbursed Rs 250 million in the first year, Rs 270 million in the second year and Rs 160 million in the last fiscal year. Similarly, Rs 140 million has been allocated for the current fiscal year.
An official at the Ministry of Physical Planning, Works and Transport Management said they were also doing final preparation to start work on acquiring land on the Khokhana section. “After we issue a public notice on land acquisition and provide compensation, track opening in Khokhana can be completed within a week,” said the official.

Woman kills 2 sons, self

A 22-year-old woman murdered two of her sons before committing suicide in Satbariya VDC-6 here on Saturday.
Police Inspector Babu Kaji Giri at Area Police Office, Lamahi, said Sita Kumari Chaudhary consumed poison after she force-fed her Subham (6) and Aryan (3) with poison-laced food. The motive behind the act was, however, not immediately clear.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that Sita killed herself by consuming poison after she murdered her children,” Giri said. Chaudhary’s husband, Banarasi, was out to fetch bricks for their under-construction house when the incident occurred. Banarasi said everything was ‘fine’ at home that day. “She urged me to go to the forest to collect firewood in the morning. She got angry when I refused, for I had to arrange the bricks,” he said.
Relatives and neighbours said the couple shared a “very good” relationship.

Integration deepened national unity: CoAS

Chief of Army Staff Gen Gaurav SJB Rana on Sunday said the integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army (NA) has strengthened national unity and given momentum to the process of national development.
In a message to the rank and file on the occasion of Army Day, Gen Rana said the integration process has been completed in a manner that will not jeopardise the professionalism and apolitical character of the NA. He further said the process has eliminated the armed conflict and given the much-needed impetus to the country’s political process. The Army chief’s statement follows preparations to set up a General Directorate with a strength of 4,171 personnel to integrate over 1,400 former Maoist fighters into the Army. His positive observations on the integration process comes at a time when ranks to be offered to the ex-combatants in the NA have become a contentious issue in cross-party talks.
“The Nepal Army has played a responsible role in line with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in army integration, a challenging and complex task of the peace process,” the message said.
It said the formation of the General Directorate for National Development and Security would help restructure the Army organisation. The NA said it has started the process of deploying 65 percent of its human resource, apart from the ex-combatants required for the General Directorate.
The General Directorate will include three directorates, each of which will be responsible for infrastructure development, forest and environment security and disaster response.
In a cross-party deal signed in November 2011, major parties had also agreed to deploy the General Directorate for industrial security. In Sunday’s address, Gen Rana said that field ambulance, signal, combat and combat support units of the engineering and transport unit would be included in the new directorate.
The NA recruited 1,460 ex-combatants last year, bringing an end to the two army set-up in existence since the beginning of the peace process in 2006. The NA, under the leadership of Gen Rookmangud Katawal, had stood firmly against integration. However, in the three-year tenure of former CoAS Gen Chhatra Man Singh Gurung, which started from September 2009, it adopted a more flexible stance.
In his address, Gen Rana also announced the new policies and programmes that the NA plans to execute under him. He committed to work towards ensuring a definite percent of the annual budget for defence from the government, revising and formulating the defence doctrine, increasing participation and capacity in UN peacekeeping operations and adopting long-term restructuring policies with a 10-year vision plan.
The Army chief also lauded the newly introduced Army Service Regulation, saying that it encourages promotion on the basis of merit. Some officers have expressed reservations over the new regulation, arguing that it bypasses seniority and has opened up space for promotions based on favouritism and nepotism.
Gen Rana, however, said that the new rule has made the promotion system more competitive and ensures that only capable officers receive promotions to command positions. The Regulation also includes provisions to listen to the complaints of dissatisfied soldiers.
The Army chief also announced
some populist plans, including providing subsidised loans for the purchase of four wheelers, motorcycles and cycles for serving soldiers. He noted that a directive on women soldiers, which pledges to create female friendly infrastructure in the Army, has
been forwarded for approval to the Ministry of Defence.
Preparations are also underway to formulate criteria to make selections in UN peacekeeping, conferring awards and
various appointments to the Army more transparent, he said. Rana further pledged to revise the NA’s welfare schemes and increase elderly allowances for ex-servicemen above the age of 70 from the current Rs 400 to Rs 1,000 per month. He also outlined plans to set up an Ex-Servicemen Trust and a vocational training institute for pensioners and their families.

Delhi rape accused found dead in prison

A suspect in the abduction, rape and murder of a student in the Indian capital, Delhi, has been found dead in prison, his lawyer has confirmed.

Senior police officers told news agencies that Ram Singh had hanged himself in Tihar jail, Delhi.

Ram Singh was one of five men being held in the case. They all deny the charges.

The brutal attack on the student in December outraged India and triggered a debate about the treatment of women.

A sixth suspect is being tried by a juvenile court.

Ram Singh's lawyer, VK Anand, told the BBC he was informed about his client's death by police.

The website of Indian news channel NDTV, quoting jail officials, said Ram Singh had hanged himself at around 05:00 local time on Monday (23:30 GMT Sunday).
Ram Singh and the four other adult defendants - his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur - have been on trial in a fast-track court.

They face 13 charges, including murder, gang- rape , kidnapping and destruction of evidence. If found guilty they face the death sentence.

The maximum sentence the juvenile would face if convicted would be three years in a reform facility.

The 23-year-old rape victim, who was not named for legal reasons, was with a male friend when she was attacked on a bus and thrown from the vehicle.

She died in a Singapore hospital on 29 December from massive internal injuries.

Ram Singh was accused of being the driver of the bus.

Tihar prison, which authorities claim is the largest in Asia, is India's most high-security prison.

The 55-year-old jail houses more than 12,000 inmates although it has an official capacity of about 6,000.

The complex includes nine separate prison facilities.

Election under incumbent govt: Poudel

Prime Minister's Chief Political Advisor Devendra Poudel said that conducting election by transforming the current government into a consensus one was the best alternative at the present context.

Given that the current government was politically and constitutionally valid, Poudel claimed that it would be best suited to go for election after agreeing on ministerial portfolios among the political parties. He said that important ministries like Home Ministry, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry and Ministry of General Administration should be divided on consensus among the political parties.

Poudel said that the current government will not resign and hand over the leadership to the chief justice despite the formation of election council under the chief justice . He also clarified that the formation of government under the sitting chief justice was the second best option.

"Parties should agree on the first option. Proposing the name of chief justice as the premier, our party has respected the judiciary by showing our faith in it," said Poudel. He blamed the opposition parties of being afraid of election despite the fact that there was no second democratic alternative to election .

Poudel was speaking at a press meet organised by Revolutionary Journalists Association in Baglung on Monday.

World Egypt protesters torch buildings, target Suez Canal

Egyptian protesters torched buildings in Cairo and tried unsuccessfully to disrupt international shipping on the Suez Canal, as a court ruling on a deadly soccer riot stoked rage in a country beset by worsening security.

The ruling enraged residents of Port Said, at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal, by confirming the death sentences imposed on 21 local soccer fans for their role in the riot last year, when more than 70 people were killed.

But the court also angered rival fans in Cairo by acquitting a further 28 defendants whom they wanted punished, including seven members of the police force, reviled across society for its brutality under deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Security sources said two people, a man in his 30s and a young boy, had died in Cairo from the effects of tear gas and rubber bullets. A total of 65 people were injured.

Saturday's protests and violence underlined how Islamist President Mohamed Mursi is struggling - two years after Mubarak's overthrow - to maintain law and order at a time of economic and political crisis.

Islamist groups and parties backing Mursi warned against a looming security breakdown and called on their followers to form popular protection committees to guard the streets and public property should police fail to do so.

The presidency said in a statement that the protests had not been peaceful and condemned violence against property. The cabinet issued a similar statement and called on Egyptians to unite and respect court rulings.

On Thursday, Egypt's election committee scrapped a timetable under which voting for the lower house of parliament should have begun next month, following a court ruling that threw the entire polling process into confusion.

The stadium riot took place last year at the end of a match in Port Said between the local side Al-Masry and Cairo's Al-Ahly team. Spectators were crushed when panicked crowds tried to escape from the stadium after a pitch invasion by Al-Masry supporters. Others fell or were thrown from terraces.

DEATH BY HANGING

Judge Sobhy Abdel Maguid, listing the names of the 21 Al-Masry fans, said the Cairo court had confirmed "the death penalty by hanging". He also sentenced five more people to life imprisonment while others out of a total of 73 defendants received shorter terms.

In Cairo, local Al-Ahly fans vented their rage at the acquittals, setting fire to a police social club, the nearby offices of the Egyptian soccer federation and a branch of a fast food chain, sending smoke rising over the capital.

A military helicopter scooped up water from the nearby Nile and dropped it on the burning buildings.

"Ultra" fans, the section of Al-Ahly supporters responsible for much of the violence, said they expected retribution for those who had planned the Port Said "massacre".

"What is happening today in Cairo is the beginning of the anger. Wait for more if the remaining elements embroiled in this massacre are not revealed," the Ultras said in a statement.

In Port Said, where the army took over security in the city center from the police on Friday, about 2,000 residents who want the local fans spared execution blockaded ferries crossing the Suez Canal. Witnesses said youths also untied moored speedboats used to supply shipping on the waterway, hoping the boats would drift into the path of passing vessels.

Military police recovered five speedboats and brought them back to shore, but two were still drifting, one witness said.

Authorities controlling the Canal, an artery for global trade and major income source for the Egyptian government, said through traffic had not been affected. "The canal ... is safe and open to all ships passing through it," Suez Canal Authority spokesman Tarek Hassanein told the MENA news agency.

China unveils government restructuring plans

China unveiled details of a government restructuring plan on Sunday, which will see the number of cabinet-level entities reduced by two, including the dissolving of the powerful Railways Ministry.

The government will also merge the Family Planning Commission with the Health Ministry, and strengthen the powers of the food and drug regulators, it said in a statement released during the on-going annual meeting of parliament.

The reforms mark the biggest government restructuring since 1998, as China 's leaders look to larger but fewer ministries to boost efficiency and address popular concerns about how the bureaucracy works.

The Railways Ministry and Family Planning Commission have been particularly unpopular.

As Venezuelans mourn Chavez, election set for mid-April

Venezuela will hold a presidential election on April 14, officials said on Saturday, as acting President Nicolas Maduro tries to benefit from an emotional outpouring for his late mentor, Hugo Chavez, and win his own term in office.

Maduro, a physically imposing former union leader who served as foreign minister and vice president under Chavez, has vowed to keep Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution alive.

He will likely face off against Henrique Capriles, 40, the centrist governor of Miranda state. Capriles, who lost to Chavez in a vote last October, thanked Venezuela 's opposition coalition on Saturday for backing him as its candidate, but stopped short of explicitly accepting the nomination.

Opinion polls have shown Maduro as the likely winner, but Chavez's opponents said they wanted a chance to end "Chavismo" at the voting booth.

"We want change. We are tired of the Chavez era. It's been 14 years," said Yesenia Herrera, 33, a cook at a Chinese restaurant in an affluent quarter of Caracas.

Maduro was sworn in as acting president in Congress on Friday and handed the red, yellow and blue presidential sash.

"I asked (the election authority) to comply with legal and constitutional obligations and immediately call elections," Maduro, 50, told Congress as he cemented his position as heir-in-waiting.

Chavez was immensely popular among the poor and they have vowed to back Maduro. Millions have filed past his casket to pay their last respects and were still visiting him on Saturday.

The Supreme Court has ruled Maduro does not need to step down in order to campaign, but the move was denounced by opponents as a violation of the constitution and a "fraud."

As Maduro spoke in Congress, residents of some wealthy neighborhoods of Caracas banged pots and pans in a traditional form of protest. At one building in a wealthy corner of Caracas, people drank wine and whisky around a swimming pool, rejoicing at Chavez's demise. They toasted each other, "Happy goodbye, Chavez, we will not miss you!"