Wildfires: A Symptom of Climate Change

This summer, wildfires swept across some 22 regions of Russia, blanketing the country with dense smoke and in some cases destroying entire villages. In the foothills of Boulder, Colo., this month, wildfires exacted a similar toll on a smaller scale.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of wildfires large and small are underway at any given time across the globe. Beyond the obvious immediate health effects, this "biomass" burning is part of the equation for global warming. In northern latitudes, wildfires actually are a symptom of the Earth's warming.

'We already see the initial signs of climate change, and fires are part of it," said Dr. Amber Soja, a biomass burning expert at the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) in Hampton, Va.

And research suggests that a hotter Earth resulting from global warming will lead to more frequent and larger fires.

The fires release "particulates" -- tiny particles that become airborne -- and greenhouse gases that warm the planet.

Human ignition
A common perception is that most wildfires are caused by acts of nature, such as lightning. The inverse is true, said Dr. Joel Levine, a biomass burning expert at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

"What we found is that 90 percent of biomass burning is human instigated," said Levine, who was the principal investigator for a NASA biomass burning program that ran from 1985 to 1999.

Levine and others in the Langley-led Biomass Burning Program travelled to wildfires in Canada, California, Russia, South African, Mexico and the wetlands of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Biomass burning accounts for the annual production of some 30 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a leading cause of global warming, Levine said.

Dr. Paul F. Crutzen, a pioneer of biomass burning, was the first to document the gases produced by wildfires in addition to carbon dioxide.

"Modern global estimates agree rather well with the initial values," said Crutzen, who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995 with Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland for their "work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone."


Northern exposure

Whether biomass burning is on the rise globally is not clear. But it definitely is increasing in far northern latitudes, in "boreal" forests comprised largely of coniferous trees and peatlands.

The reason is that, unlike the tropics, northern latitudes are warming, and experiencing less precipitation, making them more susceptible to fire. Coniferous trees shed needles, which are stored in deep organic layers over time, providing abundant fuel for fires, said Soja, whose work at the NIA supports NASA.

"That's one of the reasons northern latitudes are so important," she said, "and the smoldering peat causes horrible air quality that can affect human health and result in death."

Fires in different ecosystems burn at different temperatures due to the nature and structure of the biomass and its moisture content. Burning biomass varies from very thin, dry grasses in savannahs to the very dense and massive, moister trees of the boreal, temperate and tropical forests.

Fire combustion products vary over a range depending on the degree of combustion, said Levine, who authored a chapter on biomass burning for a book titled "Methane and Climate Change," published in August by Earthscan.

Flaming combustion like the kind in thin, small, dry grasses in savannahs results in near-complete combustion and produces mostly carbon dioxide. Smoldering combustion in moist, larger fuels like those in forest and peatlands results in incomplete combustion and dirtier emission products such as carbon monoxide.

Boreal fires burn the hottest and contribute more pollutants per unit area burned.


'Eerie experience'

Being near large wildfires is a unique experience, said Levine. "The smoke is so thick it looks like twilight. It blocks out the sun. It looks like another planet. It's a very eerie experience."

In Russia, the wildfires are believed caused by a warming climate that made the current summer the hottest on record. The hotter weather increases the incidence of lightning, the major cause of naturally occurring biomass burning.

Soja said she hopes the wildfires in Russia prompt the country to support efforts to mitigate climate change. In fact, Russia's president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, last month acknowledged the need to do something about it.

"What's happening with the planet's climate right now needs to be a wake-up call to all of us, meaning all heads of state, all heads of social organizations, in order to take a more energetic approach to countering the global changes to the climate," said Medvedev, in contrast to Russia's long-standing position that human-induced climate change is not occurring.

Scientists to present car for blind drivers next year

US Scientists and the National Federation of the Blind are developing a car for the blind and will present a prototype next year.

The vehicle will be fitted with technology that allows a blind person to drive independently, the NFB and Virginia Tech University said.

Non-visual aids include sensors indicating turns in the road via vibrating gloves.

Puffs of compressed air on the face will alert the driver to obstacles.

Other aids to be fitted include a vibrating vest to give feedback on speed and a steering wheel with audio cues and spoken commands indicating the car's direction.
Last year Virginia Tech turned a beach buggy into an experimental vehicle for blind drivers.

They used sensor lasers and cameras to act as the eyes of the buggy.

Continue reading the main story “
Start Quote
We're moving away from the theory that blindness ends the capacity of human beings to make contributions to society”
End Quote
Marc Maurer

NFB president
The model to be presented next year will be a modified Ford Escape sport utility vehicle, the NFB announced.

"We're exploring areas that have previously been regarded as unexplorable," said NFB president Marc Maurer.

He added that projects like this car was changing people's perception of the blind.

"We're moving away "from the theory that blindness ends the capacity of human beings to make contributions to society".

Mr Maurer said he started talking about a car for blind drivers ten years ago.

"Some people thought I was crazy," he said.

The prototype is expected be be publicly tested by a blind driver on the Daytona race track in Florida next January.

Current Situation of Nepal

It is generally conceded that at the moment there are three main actors in Nepal and it is the conflict among the three groups that has produced instability and insecurity among the people and many think that the country is moving towards a "failed state" mode. While the situation should be cause for concern, it is not yet a failed state and there is still hope that Nepal could recover back to normalcy though it could be a long drawn process.

First is the monarchy, the security forces and the Kathmandu elite who generally favour the royalty and believe in an active role for the King to solve the current crisis in Nepal. Second are the political parties of all hues who by their mis-governance, infighting, corruption and ego clashes have reached a point when the common man or woman has contempt for them. Most of the leaders are stay put in the capital or in the district headquarters and have not moved out to visit their native places or their constituencies for fear of their lives. Third are the Maoists who since February 1996 by waging a people’s war have considerably strengthened themselves, by exploiting the fractured polity and the social and economic factors prevailing both in the country side and remote places and above all in the over- confidence displayed by the government and the security forces in the first four years of insurgency.

Since all the three actors are antagonistic to each other, there is a kind of equilibrium, with each trying to out do the other. Factors that would affect this equilibrium would be A. if any two of the three join hands to find a solution to the current situation and B. if one of the three actors gets weakened. Right now what is happening is that the political parties are in disarray with no possibility of uniting for the sake of democracy, leaving the field to the King and the army and the elite on one hand and the Maoists on the other. This needs to be corrected. The only solution would be for the political parties to give up their self-destructive course and the monarchy to give up its ambition of taking over and join hands together to uphold the 1990 constitution. This is doable only if both the actors in this drama give up their egos.

The Maoists:

The Maoists are all over the place, running a parallel government in many districts, collecting taxes, meting out punishments and settling disputes. It is no exaggeration that in many outlying areas (leaving the towns and the district headquarters) people generally go to the Maoist representatives and not the government representative or the police with their grievance for settlement and justice is done instantly and swiftly with no scope for appeal! This is also because of the fact that most of the VDCs are non functional and so are the police posts which have disappeared. The security forces do visit frequently but invariably the Maoists get forewarned and leave the scene only to come back as soon as the forces leave. Any informant or suspected informant is severely dealt with and punishment is harsh. Fear has gripped the villagers both from the security forces and the Maoists.

Most of the able-bodied youths have left the villages out of fear of either being harassed by the security forces or being recruited by the Maoists. Many from the western region have fled to India. Kathmandu’s population has dramatically increased and has crossed three million. Land prices have gone up. New boarding schools are coming up in Kathmandu mainly to cater to the children of the rich and non resident Nepalese, and many schools have become non functional in the rural areas.

The Maoist leadership is under the impression that they are winning and the balance of power is in their favour. They continue to maintain that elections to a constituent assembly and mediation by United Nations or similar agency as preconditions to agree for a cease-fire and talks. It is also believed that the military wing of the Maoists is insisting that they should have one or more major attacks on government posts or security posts before agreeing to talk.

But a study of the Maoists’ activities since February 1996 would indicate that they reached the peak sometime in end 2002 and from then there is a downward trend in the incidents both in terms of numbers and in casualties, civilian and the military. There will be many incidents in future also and this cannot be avoided as the security forces cannot be everywhere, but the initiative has been wrested from the Maoists.

Two recent incidents give an idea of the capability of the Maoists and their training. A video footage of the ambush at Krishna Bhir in Dhading on November 16 showed that the Maoists ( with many female cadres) were moving aimlessly soon after the incident which they cannot afford to do. It showed a lack of professionalism. On the other hand, the ambush near Banke on November 18 indicated that the Maoists had prior information about the movement of the patrol of the security forces which perhaps was obtained by interception.

The Maoists are also seen to have moved onto softer targets like the bombing of an empty building right in the heart of Sundara in Kathmandu on November 9. Kidnapping, extortion and destruction of infra structure may increase. Where the Maoists appear to have succeeded, is in causing panic and fear among the people. When a two-day hartal (strike) was declared by the Maoists in Dhading district soon after the ambush at Krishna Bhir there were long queues in petrol outlets in Kathmandu valley fearing a blockade. Surprisingly the government did nothing to assuage the fears of the public.

Security in the Indo Nepal border has also been tightened and the SSB on the Indian side are alert. Most of the top leaders have moved into their traditional stronghold in western Nepal.

Some analysts would like compare the position of the Maoists with that of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. This is not correct. The Maoists still do not have a secure base area like the LTTE and are not in a position to wage a conventional battle with the security forces.

The Security forces on the other hand make it a point not to allow the Maoists a base in western Nepal where they are strong and disturb the cells and units located in the valley and its surrounding districts of Kathmandu regularly.

The King:

The King is in a position similar to what his grand father Tribhuvan experienced soon after his return after the tripartite agreement between the King, the political parties and the Rana oligarchy in 1950. The problem for the present King is his credibility. No one believes him when he swears by the 1990 constitution and his determination to strengthen multi party democracy and constitutional monarchy. His actions since the sacking of Deuba government for incompetence on October 4, 2002, his choice of Prime ministers one after the other, reluctantly giving executive powers to the last prime minister Deuba and the behaviour of some ministers supposedly included on his recommendation give the impression that the King has not given up his ambitions to revert the country back to the Panchayat days.

Going by King Tribhuvan’s experience, besides handing over power to an able and decisive political leader who could be seen and known to be independent of the monarchy, the present King could be thinking of two other options- one, rule with an advisory council in place or take over direct administration for a limited period, set right the law and order problem and then go for the democratic process. The latter two have serious drawbacks and will not work in the current political and international environment and the likely result could be the end of monarchy itself.

Nepal needs monarchy which is the only unifying factor in the country that is multi ethnic, multi lingual with a majority of dissatisfied people belonging to non Chetri and non Brahmin communities like the Magars & Gurungs ( Janajathi) and the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. But the institution cannot survive if those representing the system do not understand their own limitations as Nepal has come a long way from the days of Prithvi Narayan Shah.

The Political Parties:

The saddest part of the whole situation in Nepal is that the political parties are disunited and they do not seem to realise that by their actions they are undermining democracy for which they fought and suffered so much before the 1990 revolution. The present prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba lost his youth in jail for nearly nine years and so were many others. The leading cadres of all the democratic groups seem to have forgotten their sacrifices and are more eager to seek offices under any circumstances and most of them if not all are corrupt.

The common man or woman in the streets has contempt for them. The leaders are unable to stir out of the valley or from district headquarters and the most they do is to regularly issue statements. Most of the cadres in the country side have no choice but to go along with the Maoists and many have been killed for not conforming to the dictates of the Maoists.

Every party is split and there are serious differences within all parties. Of the three major parties, the Nepali Congress is split vertically and the two sides do not seem to be getting closer. The UML (United Marxist Leninist) has too many leaders at the top each talking differently on every issue.

The RPP is also getting split with Surya Bahadur Thapa getting ready to start a new party due to his differences with the Pasupathi Samsher Rana and Lokendra Bahadur Chand.

The Nepal Sadhbhavana Party is split with one party in the government and the other faction joining the opposition coalition led by Nepali Congress of G.P.Koirala.

One senior political leader G.P.Koirala who has the stature, following and the ability to take strong and decisive steps has unfortunately driven himself to a corner. His one line remedy for all the evils Nepal is facing today is to restore the parliament that was dissolved by the King in late 2002. Once the parliament is restored, he has said that he would not disturb the present Prime Minister Sher Bhadur Deuba and the two factions of the Nepali Congress would automatically merge. But Deuba does not trust him. After all GP ditched Madhav Nepal of UML of prime ministership after openly agreeing to nominate him!

The Way Out:

The plan of the Maoists should be very clear to all. If election to the constituent assembly is accepted, there will have to be an interim administration and the Maoists will demand a dominant role. This they had already expressed forcefully. Then would come the demand for the merger of their "People’s liberation Army" with that of the security forces, then the "peoples’ demand" for the abolition of monarchy to the final stage where they could capture power in a weakened polity. If a ‘benefit analysis’ is made, it should be obvious as to who would gain most!

If the Maoists’ demands are not met, there are only two options left. Either restore the parliament or conduct the elections. Both have serious drawbacks but some move has to be made to get out of the constitutional limbo, the country is now in. The country cannot go on indefinitely hoping that the security forces in course of time will be able to get the better of the Maoists and establish peace and security in the country side. There could be no military solution and for a holistic approach, a stable political environment is necessary.

Legal authorities believe that the parliament could be restored not by recourse to Article 127 of the 1990 Constitution to which many political parties are opposed, but by invoking the "doctrine of necessity" as the late Zia ul Haq legitimised himself in Pakistan. The fear is that if the doctrine of necessity is invoked to reinstate the parliament and make it a precedent, the same doctrine could be invoked to do many other unconstitutional things that include snuffing out democracy itself.

Having restored the Parliament the political leaders do not seem to have a plan for the next steps to restore law and order. The main problem would continue to be "how to bring the Maoists to the table for a dialogue." Of the forty demands made by the Maoists before starting the peoples’ war in 1996, many of them are genuine grievances of the people and would need immediate attention. All that would happen is that the political leaders would revert to their old habits and not address the problems that created the insurgency!

The second option is to go for elections for whatever it is worth. In the present security scenario, elections will have to be done in stages with not more than five districts at a time. For 75 districts it would take 15 stages spread over many months and even then there is no guarantee that full security could be given to the candidates or to the polling booths. There will be many killings of candidates, political cadres of parties participating in the elections and supporters.

Many point out that if India could conduct elections in Kashmir with twenty percent polling, it can be done in Nepal also and that sixty percent of polling is assured. The government is perhaps taking in to account that most of the people in the Terai, Kathmandu and other big towns would come forward to vote. But the Maoists are in a position to disturb the elections even in the valley.

It is a difficult decision to make but there has to be a move forward either way and it is better than what we see today with an indecisive government, with ministers and political leaders pulling in different directions, with the threat of the King taking over or of Maoists over running Kathmandu eventually. Making no move is not a viable approach at all and the government will have to act and act fast.

A list of incidents relating to Maoist insurgency since the last list is given as an appendix.

Appendix

Incidents

October 2004

12. Three Maoists were killed in a security action at Sukkhad area of Kailali district

14. Five Maoist militants were gunned down in Chitrebhanjyang, a bordering area between Syangja and Tanahun districts.

15. Five militants were killed at Mulkharka of Okhaldhunga district in an encounter with security forces.

Maoist militants torched two passenger buses in Malka of Kailali district.

16. Nine Maoist militants were killed in clashes with security personnel in western region of the country.

In Siraha, three Maoist militants were killed at Mainawati Khola. The incident occurred when six arrested militants were being transferred to an army post.

17. Two militants were killed in security action at Peterhwa VDC of Dhanusha district.

Maoist militants attacked a rally organised by pro-left Jana Morcha Nepal in western district of Baglung (People's Front Nepal-PFN) and abducted 52 PFN activists.

18. Maoists killed two youths at Okhre, Dhankuta district. The militants accused them of spying.

21. Maoists exploded a bomb at Chun Danda of Liku VDC in Dolpa district. Nobody was injured in the incident.

29. The Maoists abducted 12 youths from Hapure, Dang district, after a mass meeting in the area.

In Saptari, a group of armed Maoists abducted two civilians, one from Pipra area and another from Baitawa VDC.

30. A local Maoist commander was killed in an offensive of the security forces at a Dadeldhura village, far-western Nepal.

31. The Maoist militants shot dead a civilian named Chhotlal Prasad Yadav in Parsa district. The militants abducted Yadav, a resident of Chhat Pipara VDC-1, accusing him of being involved in different incidents of robbery and kidnapping in Bara and Parsa districts and spying against the party.

At least three Maoist militants were killed in separate encounters with the security forces in Dailekh and Taplejung district.

Maoists attacked Mugu district headquarters. They reportedly detonated bombs and set over a dozen government offices and private houses on fire in the district headquarters and they also damaged the District Education Office.

November 2004

3. At least three security personnel were injured during a clash with Maoist militants in the western district of Palpa.

Five civilians were injured when the Maoist detonated a powerful bomb in front of a hotel at Gothalopani Bazaar in the district headquarters of Baitadi.

4. Two security men were injured when a patrolling team fell prey to Maoist laid ambush at Maidika Danda of Palung Mainali VDC-5 along Palpa-Tansen road.

At least six Maoist militants were killed in separate clashes with the security forces in Rolpa, Kalikot and Gorkha districts.

5. Maoist militants set fire on a Mid-Marsyangdi vehicle in the western district of Lamjung. Three armed militants sprayed diesel on the vehicle at Khahare khola in Udipur VDC when it was parked there for cleaning. They also exploded four bombs within the bus and damaged two other vehicles belonging to the project.

6. A 12-year-old boy was killed in Kalideu of Rukum district , when a Maoist-planted bomb exploded in the premises of Laxmi Lower secondary School.

Two suspected Maoist militants were killed in latest security action in Bardiya district.

At least two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Palpa district.

Armed Maoists abducted two persons in Rautahat district. Pradeep Shah, former chairman of Piprapokharia VDC and his brother, Pratap, were abducted from their home. The militants accused them of spying.

7. At least five Maoists were killed in separate security actions in Gorkha and Doti districts.

Three Maoists including an area commander were killed in a ‘retaliatory action’ of security forces at Rupasdanda section of the Dadeldhura-Dhangadi highway.

8. Maoist militants abducted ten minors from Bindhyabasini VDC of the mid western district of Dailekh recently.

9. Suspected Maoists detonated a powerful bomb within the premises of the state-owned newly constructed Karmachari Sanchay Kosh (Employees’ Provident Fund) building at Sundhara in the capital, leaving 38 people injured.

Suspected Maoists exploded a bomb at the Internal Revenue Office in Bhaktapur, injuring two people, one serious.

CPN-UML district committee member and area incharge Bhojraj Bhattarai was shot dead by the Maoists nearby his house at Tapumath Lakuribot.

10. The Maoist gunmen indiscriminately opened fire on a group of four local youths at Ward No. 8 of Birendranagar Municipality, killing three on the spot It is yet not known why the ultras killed them. Fourth person was seriously injured in the incident.

In Khalanga of Jumla district, an eight-year-old child was killed when a bomb laid by the Maoists went off at the premises of a bordering school.

13. Maoist militants shot dead a police constable in Dang.

Maoist militants fired indiscriminately and shot five youths at Malakheti VDC in far-western district of Kailali.

The militants killed Lacchu Sah Sonar, a resident of Gaira Phetpur VDC in southern district of Mahottari, accusing him of being involved in a number of robbery and murder cases in the district.

14. Maoists militants exploded improvised bombs at the district office of the state-owned Nepal Food Corporation at Dhading besi in Dhading district, adjoining Kathmandu.

Maoists militants caused explosions at the building under-construction of Prithvi Narayan municipality in western district of Gorkha. Nobody was injured in the explosions.

15. Maoists killed police constable Gajendra Bahadur Sahi at Musariya along East-West Highway after taking him out of a passenger’s bus heading for Dhangadi from Sukhad.

16. At least six security personnel were killed when a fresh clash between security forces and Maoists erupted in Kailali district. Two Maoist militants were also killed in the incident.

A policeman and a civilian were killed when Maoist gunmen stormed a police post at Mahendranagar of Dhanusha district.

Maoists abducted at least 53 people of Bajhang district who were heading towards India to resume their work.

17. At least eight security personnel including an inspector of the Armed Police Force were killed in a clash with the Maoists at Khairi Khola area of Banke district.

18. At least four Maoists were killed in fresh encounters with the security forces in different parts of the country.

A Maoist militia commander named Raj Kumar was killed at Balapakhar area of Dhanusha district during a search operation.

19. At least two Maoists were killed in security actions during a search operation in Kailali district.

Maoists killed assistant exam controller Indra Bahadur Acharya, 52, nearby his residence at Baidam in Pokhara.

20. At least two soldiers were killed and another wounded in a Maoist planted landmine explosion in Surkhet.

Maoists shot dead a soldier at Ratnanagar in Chitwan district.

Suspected Maoist detonated a bomb at Triyuga Printing Press situated at Baidhakhana Road, Anamnagar in Kathmandu.

Maoist militants brutally killed three people including an eight-year old child in Dailekh district.

The militants abducted six people including 14-year old child from various VDCs in the district.

At least three Maoist militants were killed while trying to detonate a bomb at Sisuwa Chowk of Lekhnath Municipality-8, in the Pokhara valley

At least 10 security personnel and over 16 Maoist rebels were killed in a clash at Pandaun area of Kailali

22. An Armed Police Force inspector was killed in a Maoist laid ambush at the jungles of Kakani in Nuwakot district Two other APF personal were injured in the incident.

27. At least three children were severely injured while playing with a socket bomb reportedly left behind by the Maoists at Hajaria in Sarlahi.

A policeman and two Maoists were killed in separate clashes in Bardiya and Tehrathum districts.

Two women militants were killed in a security action at Paothi area of Tehrathum district. Security authorities claimed that some Maoist documents and logistics were recovered form the incident site.

Maoists killed three civilians in Sindhuli and Dailekh. In Sindhuli, militants killed Krishna Basnet of Nipane VDC charging him of spying against them.

28. Maoists abducted over 1,500 civilians in 8 different VDCs of the far western district of Bajura. Maoists ordered the villagers to compulsorily provide them (Maoists) at least a member from each family as their fulltime worker, which has led villagers to exodus.

29. At least five Maoist militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in the far western Kailali district.

On the eve of the second International Buddhist Conference in south-western district of Rupandehi, Maoist militants caused a series of bomb explosions, but there are no reports of casualties.

Six Maoists, including two women, were killed in clashes with the security forces in Kalikot and Banke districts.

Kamal Chaudhari, Maoist chief of Banke district was killed in security action. No casualties on the security side were reported. .

30. In Dailekh, Maoists killed Lal Bahadur khadka and Mahendra Subedi. Subedi and Khada were abducted on November 19 on charges of making plans to resist Maoists atrocities in the area.

A civilian was killed when a group of Maoists randomly opened fire at the security personnel guarding the District Administration Office (DAO) of Sindhupalchowk in Chautara. Three other local residents and two policemen were injured in the incident.

Dec 2004

1. Three civilians killed Indra Bahadur Karki alias Debre, Maoist area commander of Nepaldanda of Bhojpur district in east Nepal

2. Suspected Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at the house of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sujata Koirala at Mandikhatar of Kathamndu. Nobody was injured in the incident.

Suspected Maoists exploded a powerful bomb at the premises of the office of the election commission at Sichahiti of Lalitpur district. Main gate of the office building has been destroyed by the blast. No casualties or injuries have been reported.

At least five militants were killed during clashes with security forces in western district of Syangja. The clash had taken place when the militants were laying landmines targeting the security personnel.

3. Maoists militants abducted judge Tanka Bahadur Moktan from his hometown at Jirmale Village Development Committee in Ilam district

Suspected Maoists abducted Dr. Chet Bahadur Kunwar, principal private secretary to late King Birendra, from Madauliya of Rupendehi district.

4. At least six security personnel were killed and two others injured in skirmishes with Maoist militants in Kapilvastu.

The Maoist militants abducted over 150 dalits from ten VDCs of Chauki area in Doti district

5. At least one army man was killed in a gun battle with the Maoists at Chainabar area along the Mahendra Highway in Bardiya district. One security person was injured in the incident.

At least two passengers were killed and over a dozen injured in an indiscriminate firing by a group of Maoists at a bus in Sainawar of the western district of Bardia along the east-west Mahendra Highway.

7. At least four civilians and six militants were killed in a clash between security forces and Maoists in Bangeshal, a bordering area between Pyuthan and Arghakhanchi district

At least one civilian has been killed and over a dozen more injured when a group of armed Maoist militants hurled socket bombs at a peaceful 'resistance' rally organised by local people in the mid-western district of Dailekh.

8. A Maoist captive was killed when Maoist prisoners clashed in the Kanchanpur district prison. Eight other prisoners and nine policemen were injured in the incident.

9. Suspected Maoists exploded a ‘pressure cooker’ bomb at the office of the Agriculture Inputs Company and National Seed Centre at Kuleshwor, Kathmandu.

Suspected Maoist militants shot at police constable Tek Bahadur KC and Jawan Bishnu Chaudhari, who were on duty at a temporary police post near the famous Bindhyabasini temple in Pokhara. The condition of Chaudhari, is reported to be critical.

STUDENT HAVE BEEN FRAUDED IN THE NAME OF JOB

Ktm, Nepal there are some organization who are doing fraudulent with many student in the name of Job.  Unemployment is the main arising problem among the people of Nepal. Government aren't thinking of solving these problem by themselves. Government hasn't any policy as well as any program to settle these problem by themselves. So taking the benefit of these , some organization they are frauding the innocent people of country.  One of these organization is Real Solution Pvt Ltd. who does as human recruitment in the name of merojob.com. The student named Rajiv parsai, Raman Bhattarai, Sangeeta lama along with their friends says that Real solution took money in the name of job. When they first went to know about the course of Banking training, they had been told that they will provide the job along with the course of Banking training so they took Rs8000 in the name of Job. They said that they were all happy to hear that by them but after finishing the course they aren't getting what they have been told by them. So they are very angry with Real solutions' people. Angrily they said that if they aren't going to do according to the word why to fraud the student,  who to control these things from us, where to say and what to do to takeout the money. They are very disappointed by the organization as well as by the government who donot care about their people in appropriate way.  If government will  do check and balance of such things they will fraud others too in the name of job which is the main arousing problem of Nepal.

British man killed in Nepal plane crash was determined to travel to Mount Everest

Jeremy Taylor was one of six foreign tourists travelling to Mount Everest base camp in Nepal when their plane crashed in bad weather. There were no survivors.

A local travel agent who booked his tour said it had been Mr Taylor's dream to visit Mount Everest base camp, and that he had booked a 14 day trekking tour and was travelling with a Nepali mountain guide.
His trip had been cancelled on three consecutive days due to bad weather and he had extended his visit so he could "realise his dream," a spokesmen for Himal Reisen Tours said.

His flight finally took off early this morning but was forced to turn back as the weather deteriorated. It crashed into hills close to the village of Shikharpur, 50 miles from the capital Kathmandu.

Officials said there were no survivors and confirmed three crew and eleven tourists were killed in the crash. Four Americans and a nineteen year Japanese man were among the dead.

A spokeswoman for the airline Angi Air Planet said the company was investigating unconfirmed reports that engine problems may have caused the crash.

Mr Taylor had travelled to Nepal from his home in Cape Town, South Africa, and had already spent a month in the country when he headed for Lukla, the main airport for Everest base camp. He had completed a 14 day trekking tour of the Annapurna mountain circuit but was determined not to leave without seeing Everest, a spokesman for Himal Reisen Tours said

World's shortest teenager tours New York

Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal, who is expected to take over as the world's shortest man when he turns 18 on October 14, visited New York on a tour organised by 'Ripley's Believe It or Not'.

He was particularly taken with Mandy Stadtmiller, a reporter for the New York Post, his translator later explaining: "He likes tall girls. He is fascinated with blondes, because there are virtually no blond people in Nepal."
Khagendra, who suffered from primordial dwarfism, a rare condition that only about 100 people in the world are believed to suffer from, is due to take over from Edward Nino Hernandez, a 24-year-old Colombian, who measures just 27ins.

Mr Hernandez weighs just 22lbs and has just been officially certified as the world's shortest living man by Guinness World Records.

"He hasn't grown since he was two years old," his mother, Noemi Hernandez, said of the oldest of her five living children.

The previous title-holder was He Pingping of China, who was 1.5 ins (4cm) taller and died March 13. The Guinness people discovered Nino afterward.

First Earth-Like Planet Spotted Outside Solar System Likely a Volcanic Wasteland

When scientists confirmed in October that they had detected the first rocky planet outside our solar system, it advanced the longtime quest to find an Earth-like planet hospitable to life.
Rocky planets -- Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars -- make up half the planets in our solar system. Rocky planets are considered better environments to support life than planets that are mainly gaseous, like the other half of the planets in our system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The rocky planet CoRoT-7 b was discovered circling a star some 480 light years from Earth. It is, however, a forbidding place and unlikely to harbor life. That's because it is so close to its star that temperatures might be above 4,000 degrees F (2,200 C) on the surface lit by its star and as low as minus 350 F (minus 210 C) on its dark side.

Now scientists led by a University of Washington astronomer say that if CoRoT-7 b's orbit is not almost perfectly circular, then the planet might also be undergoing fierce volcanic eruptions. It could be even more volcanically active than Jupiter's moon Io, which has more than 400 volcanoes and is the most geologically active object in our solar system.

"If conditions are what we speculate, then CoRoT-7 b could have multiple volcanoes going off continuously and magma flowing all over the surface," says Rory Barnes, a UW postdoctoral researcher of astronomy and astrobiology. Any planet where the surface is being remade at such a rate is a place nearly impossible for life to get a foothold, he says.

Calculations about CoRoT-7 b's orbit and probable volcanism were presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., during a session Jan. 5 and as part of a press briefing Jan. 6. CoRoT-7 b was discovered by a French-led team using the CoRoT -- Convection, Rotation and Planetary Transits -- satellite.

The next step to finding a planet that harbors life may have to wait until astronomers are better able to detect rocky planets that are farther from their stars, Barnes says. "Because it is easier to detect planets that orbit close to their host stars, a significant fraction of the first wave of rocky planets being found outside our solar system may be more Io-like than Earth-like."

Barnes and his colleagues suspect CoRoT-7 b is subject to extreme volcanism partly because it is so close to its sun, the distance between the two being about 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers). That's about 60 times closer than the Earth is to the sun.

Volcanism is then triggered by even a tiny deviation from a circular orbit. How tiny of a deviation? About 155 miles (250 kilometers), according to calculations done by Barnes based on how bodies in our solar system influence each other's orbits. That's about the distance from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia. That amount of deviation, or more, could be caused by the gravitational pull of the next planet out from CoRoT-7 b.

Deviations in its orbit would set tidal forces in motion that flex and distort the whole shape of CoRoT-7 b. This is different from what happens on Earth, where oceans absorb the energy of tidal forces.

"CoRoT-7 b most certainly has no oceans. A planet on a non-circular orbit experiences different amounts of gravitational force at different points along the orbit, feeling the strongest gravitational pull when it is closest to the star and the weakest when it is most distant. As the planet moves between these two points, it stretches and relaxes. This flexing produces friction that heats the interior of the planet resulting in volcanism on the surface," Barnes says.

"This scenario is exactly what is occurring on Jupiter's moon Io. For planets like CoRoT-7 b, however, the heating may be much, much stronger than on Io."

The work was funded by NASA's Virtual Planetary Laboratory. Co-presenters at the American Astronomical Society are Sean Raymond, University of Colorado, Boulder; Richard Greenberg, University of Arizona; Nathan Kaib, a NASA postdoctoral program fellow at the UW; and Brian Jackson, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

In Nepal crisis, India believes Centrists are key

Even a sixth round of voting for a new prime minister is unable to produce a majority consensus on anyone.

Nepal remained mired in a political deadlock that verges on a constitutional breakdown, as its 601 lawmakers were unable to elect a prime minister by simple majority in the sixth round of voting that was held in Kathmandu this afternoon
Amidst rising concern and frustration in Delhi and in several other key world capitals over Nepal’s inability to come to terms with its political future, Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal, commonly known as Prachanda, won 240 votes, while his Nepali Congress opponent, Ram Chandra Poudel, managed to secure only 122 votes.

Three Madhesi parties who belong to the Terai region adjoining India stayed neutral, as did the left-of-centre Communist party led by caretaker prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, the CPN-UML. A fourth Madhesi party, led by Upendra Kumar Yadav, had split from the united Madhesi alliance on the eve of the sixth round of voting, sparking rumours that he would support Prachanda in the secret ballot.

But it was a leaked audio tape three days ago about a conversation allegedly between Maoist ideologue and Krishna Bahadur Mahara and another person, said to be Chinese, in which Mahara is said to have asked the Chinese government for Nepali Rs 50 crore to buy lawmakers, that has rocked the young Himalayan republic.

As the political temperature rose in Kathmandu all week, India’s ambassador, Rakesh Sood, met CPN-UML chairman, Jhalanath Khanal, reinforcing speculation that Delhi was again seeking to broker an anti-Maoist political alliance.

On the face of it, Indian officials vehemently denied any suggestion of interfering in the Nepali political process, with Sood telling Business Standard that “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would never allow it, he doesn’t like this kind of thing at all”.

However, Indian officials privately admitted that when Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary and a former ambassador to Nepal, travelled to Kathmandu as the PM’s special envoy last month, alongside his desire to understand the emerging political dynamics, his mandate also included the need to see whether India should “engage in any course correction”.

Saran, in fact, in his conversations with the Madhesi parties is believed to have advised them to “stay united,” leading some observers to believe that India did not want the Madhesis to “cross the floor” and vote for Prachanda to become PM, as some had done during the third round of voting.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources in Kathmandu and New Delhi agreed that India, as the major country in the region, “continued to play a very important role in Nepal; in fact, there can be no government in Nepal without Indian support.”

Significantly, the Indian sources agreed that New Delhi had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the Maoists in recent months, a far cry from April 2006, when Shyam Saran brokered a deal with former King Gyanendra and persuaded him to abdicate in favour of a republican government led by the Maoists.

“The Maoist refusal to transform themselves from an insurgent outfit to a political party since 2006 has meant that Delhi is increasingly uncomfortable with them,” said an Indian political source.

He pointed out that when Prachanda came to India as prime minister in 2008, he was given the full red carpet treatment. At the time, the Indian source said, the only thing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told Prachanda was “that the matter of the Nepal army was a sensitive one and that it was in the Maoist interest to create a political consensus before he made any moves regarding the integration of the Maoist cadres into the Army”.

Prachanda had conceded, the Indian source added, “that this was a sensitive issue and that as the largest political party, it was their responsibility to take the initiative to build political consensus”.

But the Maoists had not only refused to disband the Youth Communist League, return all the property they had seized during their war against the state from 1996-2006 (“they can’t return the seized lands,” said another analyst, “they have distributed it amongst the people, who are already cultivating it”), they had even refused compromise deals to variously integrate the 19,600 cadres into the Army or paramilitary forces or send the women and children cadres back home with honourable compensation.

The China factor began to make a comeback. As Maoist ideologue Mohan Vaidya began to follow an openly anti-India line, Delhi’s insecurities against its northern neighbour returned. The Nepali army, whose chief had been sacked by Prachanda — and reinstated by President Ram Baran Yadav — began to move centre-stage in the political chaos.

A former Indian diplomat who has served in Nepal said India had made several proposals to integrate the Maoist cadres in various ways and even help with economic and political compensation during Prachanda’s tenure in power, but none of these had come to fruition.

He pointed out that the Nepal Army remained a “brother army” with the Indian army, as well as a custodian of the 1950 guarantee that Nepal would first look at India to satisfy its defence requirements, only later at the rest of the world.

Moreover, considering the nature of the open border, “Nepal needed to recognise that India’s security and stability was directly related to a peaceful and tranquil border”.

But as the Maoists gradually lost confidence in New Delhi, India moved to support Madhav Nepal as PM, persuade the Madhesis to remain united — despite which Upendra Yadav broke away. Whether or not UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal or Nepali Congress leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba or K P Oli now emerge as consensus PMs, Nepali sources said, India has already cast its vote against the Maoists.

“In Nepal,” the Indian political source said, “the Centre must hold.”

The Indian diplomat agreed the current political impasse was a function of the insecurities between all sides. “The Maoists are afraid that an effort at political consensus-making will mean the other political parties will gang up against them. The other political parties fear that if they allow the Maoists to take power again, they will not abide by their promises to return seized properties or integrate their cadres in a seemly fashion.”

Even Sitaram Yechury, whose CPI(M) had helped broker the 12-point understanding between the Maoists and Nepal’s other political parties in 2005, enabling them to come overground, expressed frustration with the political deadlock emerging from today’s sixth round of voting.

“When we played a role in bringing the Maoists and the political parties together, we told them all very clearly that the interim government could only be a transitional arrangement until the Constitution was adopted. Once that happened, elections could take place so that a new government assumed political power,” Yechury told Business Standard.

But as Yechury pointed out, the Constitution-making deadline expired on May 29, when all sides gave themselves another six months till November 29 to complete the Constitution-writing process. However, nearly three months had elapsed and none of the parties had even been able to agree on a PM.

In an effort to break this deadlock, Saran had gone to Nepal last month. But as an Indian diplomat with intimate knowledge of Saran’s visit said, “all the political parties Saran met had one request, please help us to become Prime Minister of Nepal”.

Global warming to boost economic power of cities in the 'New North' which can unlock natural resources

By Niall Firth

Global warming will make cities in northern countries like Canada and Scandinavia the next big global economic powers, a senior academic has predicted.
Rising temperatures will mean that previously frozen natural resources like gas, oil and water will be unlocked just as the rest of the world is facing dramatic shortages.
Professor Laurence Smith, a UCLA professor of geography and of earth and space sciences, claims that sparsely populated parts of world like the northern US, Greenland and Russia will become 'migration magnets' as people flock to the new centres of global power
‘In many ways, the New North is well positioned for the coming century even as its unique ecosystem is threatened by the linked forces of hydrocarbon development and amplified climate change,’ writes Professor Smith in a new book about the effects of climate change.

Pakistanis Flee As Floods Swamp More Towns

Pakistanis are still fleeing towns and villages due to rising flood waters - five weeks after heavy rains swamped large parts of the country. With an area the size of England now underwater, Sky News visited Khairpur Nathan Shah - a town in Sindh Province - which is the latest to be flooded.

According to early estimates by the United Nations and Pakistan's government, nine million acres of crops have been destroyed and 7.2 million livestock and poultry killed.

Sky News' Alex Crawford, in Khairpur Nathan Shah, said: "This hasn't got the speed of a tsunami, but the waters continue to destroy and claim fresh villages and towns.
"There's no sign of any organised help for these people. Here, it's each man and woman for themselves."

As he fled the town, one man said: "There are a number of people still trapped but there is no help."

Meanwhile, the public image of the Pakistani army is rising as fast as faith in the government is falling.

There is a growing suspicion that rich parliamentarians are diverting the waters away from their land by creating breaches in the dams to relieve pressure
But the military has taken the lead in providing relief, with about 60,000 soldiers involved in the effort.

The army chief has ordered each soldier to sacrifice a day's pay for donation to the flood victims.

One man told Sky News: "No one's helping us but the army."

:: The public can donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee by calling the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visiting www.dec.org.uk, donating over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or sending a cheque, or by texting the word GIVE to 70707