By Salim Rizvi in New York
Until a few months ago, he was a butler in one of the more expensive residential buildings in Manhattan. But now, Nepal-born Indra Tamang is the owner of two multi-million dollar apartments in the same building.
The former owner - his former employer, Ruth Ford - died last year and left the apartments in the historic Dakota Building on the Upper West Side to Mr Tamang in her will, along with a valuable Russian surrealist art collection.
The estate is estimated to be worth nearly $10m (£6.8m).
Mr Tamang is happy but quickly points out that his good fortune did not come easily.
"I am happy and have been humbled by the generosity of the Ford family," he says. "I never expected that I will be given the ownership of these apartments.
"But I have been working for the family for the last 36 years, loyally, with honesty and dedication. So my hard work has been rewarded."
Relaxed masters
Mr Tamang was 21 when he was brought from Nepal as a domestic help by Charles Ford, a writer and a photographer.
Mr Ford died in 2002; his sister, actress Ruth Ford, then took charge and told Mr Tamang that he was like a brother to her after Charles's death.
"Charles was like my father," recalls Mr Tamang. "And Ruth has also been very kind to me and I took very good care of her. She used to lovingly call me 'Tamang darling'."
"They were very relaxed masters who treated me like a member of the family. I travelled with them all over the world."
Mrs Ford died aged 98. During the last five years of her life, she lost her eyesight and also developed speech problems. Mr Tamang looked after her most of the time and took care of her medicines and food.
He also worked with Charles Ford on various photography projects, which he now wants to keep as the photographer's legacy. He hopes to organise exhibitions of Mr Ford's photographs and compile a book of his works.
With the story of Mr Tamang's inheritance doing the rounds, the Dakota Building has seen an increase in visitor numbers. It also has links with the Beatles star John Lennon, who died there.
A doorman at the gate to the mansion block said he had been busy since morning, answering questions from visitors.
Mr Tamang plans to sell the bigger, three-bedroom apartment to pay the taxes he owes to the government on his inheritance.
He has not yet asked the co-operative board of the Dakota building for permission to live in his apartments.
But, he says: "The rules of the co-op might be a problem, as they require a minimum monthly income to qualify to live as owner of apartments."
For now, he plans to live in his modest home in Queens. "I have my small house here but I am happy with it," Mr Tamang says.
'Hard worker'
He first got news of the windfall last August, when the family's lawyers told him about the apartments left in his name.
However, the biological daughter of Ruth Ford challenged the will in court and the case was not settled until April this year.
The story made it into the press only this week. Since then, Mr Tamang has been interviewed by several TV channels from the US and abroad.
The former butler, now 57, insists that he has not changed at all following the unexpected turn in his life.
"I am the same Tamang as I have been before all this happened and I will remain like this in future too."
Friends have been coming from all over the city to congratulate him.
Friend and neighbour Narbada says: "Indra Tamang is a very honest and good person, always ready to help others. I am so happy for him, he deserves every bit of it. He worked very hard for many decades."
'Safety fears'
But one Nepali community activist, who did not want to give her name, said that many members of the community had not treated Mr Tamang well before the news of the multi-million dollar legacy started making the rounds.
Mr Tamang's wife, Radhika, is also not entirely happy with the turn of events.
She says that they have not received any money as yet - but they are still being projected as millionaires. She fears for the safety of the family. The couple have a 10-year-old daughter, Zina, who is also trying to figure out what has suddenly changed in their lives.
Mr Tamang says that he will get much less than the estimated $10m value of the legacy after taxes and fees.
But looking forward to receiving a sizeable sum, he says: "When I get some money from the sale of the apartment, I will try and pay the mortgage of my home in Queens. But I will keep my other apartment and use it for exhibitions etc."
Memoir plans
Mr Tamang was born in a small village called Fahil, in the Makanpur district of Nepal.
He says that his mother, two children from his first marriage and his brothers and sisters who still live in his village have no idea about his multi-million dollar inheritance thousands of miles away in New York.
He now plans to visit his family, whom he has not seen for many years.
He also encourages other Nepalis living in America to work hard and be honest in their work.
One day, he plans to write an autobiography, with some help from others. But for now, Mr Tamang plans to take it easy and relax for a while.
He has learnt his lesson from the life of his employers and plans to use his money with great caution.
"I think one should save money for old age. That's when you need it the most to get care," he says.
Showing posts with label nepali news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nepali news. Show all posts
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wikileaks release of embassy cables reveals US concerns
Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has released 250,000 secret messages sent by US embassies which give an insight into current American global concerns.
They include reports of some Arab leaders - including the Saudi king - urging the US to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons programme.
Other concerns include the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon.
The widespread use of hacking by the Chinese government is also reported.
The leaked US embassy cables also reportedly include accounts of:
* Corruption within the Afghan government, with concerns heightened when a senior official was found to be carrying more than $50m in cash on a foreign trip
* Bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp - including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner if they wanted to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama
* The extraordinarily close relationship between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi
* Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime
* American and South Korean officials' discussions about the prospects for a unified Korea should North Korea collapse as a viable state
* Sharply critical accounts of UK military operations in Afghanistan
The US government has condemned the release of state department documents.
"President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world, but this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal," a White House statement said.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information."
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, says the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
Earlier, Wikileaks said it had come under attack from a computer-hacking operation.
"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it reported on its Twitter feed.
No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Mr Assange's organisation.
Wikileaks argues that the site's previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They include reports of some Arab leaders - including the Saudi king - urging the US to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons programme.
Other concerns include the security of Pakistani nuclear material that could be used to make an atomic weapon.
The widespread use of hacking by the Chinese government is also reported.
The leaked US embassy cables also reportedly include accounts of:
* Corruption within the Afghan government, with concerns heightened when a senior official was found to be carrying more than $50m in cash on a foreign trip
* Bargaining to empty the Guantanamo Bay prison camp - including Slovenian diplomats being told to take in a freed prisoner if they wanted to secure a meeting with President Barack Obama
* The extraordinarily close relationship between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi
* Alleged links between the Russian government and organised crime
* American and South Korean officials' discussions about the prospects for a unified Korea should North Korea collapse as a viable state
* Sharply critical accounts of UK military operations in Afghanistan
The US government has condemned the release of state department documents.
"President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world, but this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal," a White House statement said.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information."
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, says the US authorities are afraid of being held to account.
Earlier, Wikileaks said it had come under attack from a computer-hacking operation.
"We are currently under a mass distributed denial of service attack," it reported on its Twitter feed.
No-one has been charged with passing the diplomatic files to the website but suspicion has fallen on US Army private Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst arrested in Iraq in June and charged over an earlier leak of classified US documents to Mr Assange's organisation.
Wikileaks argues that the site's previous releases shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Thirty-three whales die after becoming beached off Irish coast
Environmentalists are trying to establish what made them cast themselves onto the shore amid fears it could have been caused by Royal Navy sonar equipment.
The whales were found off Rutland Island near Burtonport in County Donegal on Saturday.
It's thought they were the same group spotted in the Inner Hebrides at the end of October.
Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said it was one of the biggest mass deaths of whales in Irish history.
He said: "Thirty or 40 pilot whales were spotted off the Inner Hebrides at South Uist last week.
"It looked like they were going to strand. It was bad weather. They were not seen again."
Dr Berrow told the BBC that the Royal Navy had been in the area off South Uist and had moved away.
Campaigners were concerned that the latest sonar equipment could affect the navigational skills of this species deep-diving whales.
But a spokeswoman from the Royal Navy said that when the whales were spotted near South Uist, the closest navy ship was 50 miles away.
At that distance, she said, there was no way that the sonar equipment could have affected them.
In the past, the navy has denied that sonar noise from their warships could cause whales to beach.
However, in America, the US Navy was ordered not to use mid-frequency sonar during training exercises from 2007 and 2009, after a judge found in favour of campaigners who argued the devices harmed marine mammals in the area.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology has travelled to the scene off Donegal to investigate.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology travelled to the scene off Donegal at the weekend to see if they could determine what had happened.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001
The whales were found off Rutland Island near Burtonport in County Donegal on Saturday.
It's thought they were the same group spotted in the Inner Hebrides at the end of October.
Dr Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said it was one of the biggest mass deaths of whales in Irish history.
He said: "Thirty or 40 pilot whales were spotted off the Inner Hebrides at South Uist last week.
"It looked like they were going to strand. It was bad weather. They were not seen again."
Dr Berrow told the BBC that the Royal Navy had been in the area off South Uist and had moved away.
Campaigners were concerned that the latest sonar equipment could affect the navigational skills of this species deep-diving whales.
But a spokeswoman from the Royal Navy said that when the whales were spotted near South Uist, the closest navy ship was 50 miles away.
At that distance, she said, there was no way that the sonar equipment could have affected them.
In the past, the navy has denied that sonar noise from their warships could cause whales to beach.
However, in America, the US Navy was ordered not to use mid-frequency sonar during training exercises from 2007 and 2009, after a judge found in favour of campaigners who argued the devices harmed marine mammals in the area.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology has travelled to the scene off Donegal to investigate.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001.
A team from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology travelled to the scene off Donegal at the weekend to see if they could determine what had happened.
Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Nepal police disrupt Tibetan elections in Kathmandu
By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, October 3: Nepal police in Kathmandu on Sunday disrupted Tibetan preliminary polls by confiscating ballot boxes already filled with thousands of ballots just an hour before the polls were due to be closed.
Several armed police arrived at different polling booths located in different parts of Kathmandu valley and confiscated ballot boxes filled with thousands of votes, a Tibetan voter from Boudha, a landmark Tibetan area in Kathmandu, told Phayul.
Hundreds and thousands of Tibetan exiles across the world on Sunday went to polls to cast their ballots to nominate candidates for the post of Prime Minister of the Tibet’s government in exile and members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile for the next year’s general elections.
The voting is to take place simultaneously from 9.am to 5.pm local time around the world.
Around 50 or 60 armed policemen arrived around 4.pm and confiscated all the ballot boxes and put them into police van, the Tibetan voter who identified himself as Wangdu, said.
According to Mr Tsering Dhondup, a local election officer in charge of Boudha-Jorpati area, police took away ballot boxes from at least three polling booths located in areas of Swayambu, Boudha and the main Kathmandu city circle.
“We have been told that the last-minute order was issued directly from the Home Ministry. Otherwise we have duly informed the concerned Nepali authorities well in advance about our poll schedules and at that time we have only been told to restrict our polls within the limit of the approved venues. Other than that there were no other objections from their side initially,” Dhondup added.
According to Dhondup, although no arrests were made, in some cases police even resorted to mild lathi-charge before forcefully taking away the ballot boxes.
He said efforts are underway to talk to concerned higher authorities about the matter.
“We don’t know yet where they took away the ballot boxes and everyone here is looking confused and helpless. Some of the Tibetans at the election scene even decided to stage protests, but the Tibetan elections officials stopped them from doing so,” Wangdu said.
Nepal government has lately vowed to check "anti-China activities" to strengthen friendly ties with China, a major donor for the impoverished country.
The forced disruption of Tibetan polls on Sunday follows a visit by 21-member high-level Chinese delegation led by He Yong, Secretary of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to Nepal last month.
During the visit, the Chinese delegation reportedly expressed satisfaction over “Nepal’s ‘one China’ policy and the alertness adopted by the country over the Tibet issue”.
Prior to the Chinese delegation’s visit, the governments of the two countries had even agreed to set up a joint mechanism to help share intelligence on "anti-China activities" in Nepal.
Nepal, which is home to some 20,000 Tibetans, has accommodated Tibetan exiles for decades, but has come under increasing pressure from China to crack down on the political protests.
Under Beijing's influence and lack of stable government in the impoverished nation, rights groups say Tibetans refugees in Nepal are increasingly vulnerable and at risk of arrest and repatriation.
Dharamsala, October 3: Nepal police in Kathmandu on Sunday disrupted Tibetan preliminary polls by confiscating ballot boxes already filled with thousands of ballots just an hour before the polls were due to be closed.
Several armed police arrived at different polling booths located in different parts of Kathmandu valley and confiscated ballot boxes filled with thousands of votes, a Tibetan voter from Boudha, a landmark Tibetan area in Kathmandu, told Phayul.
Hundreds and thousands of Tibetan exiles across the world on Sunday went to polls to cast their ballots to nominate candidates for the post of Prime Minister of the Tibet’s government in exile and members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile for the next year’s general elections.
The voting is to take place simultaneously from 9.am to 5.pm local time around the world.
Around 50 or 60 armed policemen arrived around 4.pm and confiscated all the ballot boxes and put them into police van, the Tibetan voter who identified himself as Wangdu, said.
According to Mr Tsering Dhondup, a local election officer in charge of Boudha-Jorpati area, police took away ballot boxes from at least three polling booths located in areas of Swayambu, Boudha and the main Kathmandu city circle.
“We have been told that the last-minute order was issued directly from the Home Ministry. Otherwise we have duly informed the concerned Nepali authorities well in advance about our poll schedules and at that time we have only been told to restrict our polls within the limit of the approved venues. Other than that there were no other objections from their side initially,” Dhondup added.
According to Dhondup, although no arrests were made, in some cases police even resorted to mild lathi-charge before forcefully taking away the ballot boxes.
He said efforts are underway to talk to concerned higher authorities about the matter.
“We don’t know yet where they took away the ballot boxes and everyone here is looking confused and helpless. Some of the Tibetans at the election scene even decided to stage protests, but the Tibetan elections officials stopped them from doing so,” Wangdu said.
Nepal government has lately vowed to check "anti-China activities" to strengthen friendly ties with China, a major donor for the impoverished country.
The forced disruption of Tibetan polls on Sunday follows a visit by 21-member high-level Chinese delegation led by He Yong, Secretary of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to Nepal last month.
During the visit, the Chinese delegation reportedly expressed satisfaction over “Nepal’s ‘one China’ policy and the alertness adopted by the country over the Tibet issue”.
Prior to the Chinese delegation’s visit, the governments of the two countries had even agreed to set up a joint mechanism to help share intelligence on "anti-China activities" in Nepal.
Nepal, which is home to some 20,000 Tibetans, has accommodated Tibetan exiles for decades, but has come under increasing pressure from China to crack down on the political protests.
Under Beijing's influence and lack of stable government in the impoverished nation, rights groups say Tibetans refugees in Nepal are increasingly vulnerable and at risk of arrest and repatriation.
Strange Facebook Love Story Is Big Screen Hit
While the upcoming movie The Social Network is offering one view of Facebook, another big-screen release is taking a personal look at the power of internet site on a shoestring.
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Strange Facebook Love Story Is Big Screen Hit
While the upcoming movie The Social Network is offering one view of Facebook, another big-screen release is taking a personal look at the power of internet site on a shoestring.
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Low-budget documentary film Catfish has grossed £1m so far after being played at Sundance earlier this year and is predicted to take a whole lot more when it reaches cinemas.
Catfish tells the tale of Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer who develops a close online relationship with three members of a rural Michigan family.
It begins when the young daughter of the family, Abby, starts painting adaptations of some of the photographer's work.
Nev also starts an intense Facebook relationship with Abby's older sister, while conversing with the sisters' mother as well.
Schulman's filmmaker brother, Ari, and his business partner Henry Joost, frequently shot the dull day-to-day doings in the office shared by the three of them.
But when Nev started internet correspondence with an eight-year-old girl, an art prodigy, the filmmakers were intrigued, and began to fix their lenses on Nev's life.
Things soon got more intriguing when they begin to suspect not all was what this "Facebook family" was claiming.
With its story of the possibilities and pitfalls of personal connection through the internet, Catfish is said to play like a scrappy sequel to The Social Network.
"The Social Network is obviously an explanation as to the construction of that world, and into the mind of the man who invented it," Schulman said.
"But Catfish is really a story about where it has taken us, and the real-life implications of what that website has created.
"So, I think they are a terrific double feature. I recommend seeing The Social Network and then going to see Catfish. It is wonderful because it is more than anything the start of a conversation."
Monday, September 27, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, September 6, 2010
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
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
Monday, August 30, 2010
Nepali migrant worker dies in Dubai
A Nepali migrant worker, Govind BK of Saljhandi VDC of Kapilvastu district was found dead in the company's camp in Dubai on Friday, the RSS reported today.
However, the family of the deceased came to know about his death only on Sunday, according to Govind’s brother Ganesh BK.
Ganesh mentioned that his brother was learnt to have gone to sleep after attending duty on Thursday night, but didn't wake up till late morning the next day.
"When his friends tried to wake him up, they found him dead," RSS reported quoting Ganesh.
The family of the deceased have appealed to the authorities concerned to help them receive compensation from the Dubai-based company and bring home his dead body. BK is survived by wife, one son and two daughters
However, the family of the deceased came to know about his death only on Sunday, according to Govind’s brother Ganesh BK.
Ganesh mentioned that his brother was learnt to have gone to sleep after attending duty on Thursday night, but didn't wake up till late morning the next day.
"When his friends tried to wake him up, they found him dead," RSS reported quoting Ganesh.
The family of the deceased have appealed to the authorities concerned to help them receive compensation from the Dubai-based company and bring home his dead body. BK is survived by wife, one son and two daughters
Nepal media aggressively targets Indian Embassy, Kantipur takes the lead
Including several professional media organizations, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party and the leaders of various political parties have heavily come down against the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, under the dynamic leadership of Ambassador Rakesh Sood, for violating diplomatic norms and also blamed for blatant interference in Nepal’s media.
The media organizations, the main-opposition and leaders have been criticizing a press-release issued by the Indian mission which claimed referring to Indian Joint-Ventures in Nepal that certain print and television media houses (in Nepal) had approached them for release of advertisements.
The Indian embassy press release also claimed that the Indian JVs were threatened with negative publicity if requests for release of advertisements were not met with.
Money matters!
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and the Press Council-a statutory body constituted and controlled by Nepal government have collectively deplored the press-statement of the Indian Embassy.
Jolt in series. Bad days for India in Nepal. Poor India.
“The Indian Embassy in the past had threatened the media here in Nepal for publishing the news of blocking consignment of newsprints at the Kolkata port by India”, the joint statement made by FNJ-Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur district chapters read.
Friendship shattered! So sad.
“Such events have exposed Indian Interference in series”, the statement also adds insult to injury.
Narayan Sharma of Press-Council states that India has been ignoring diplomatic norms and that it has begun interfering in affairs exclusive to Nepali media.
Mr. Sharma was handpicked by the Maoist led government and made the Press Council Chairman.
Similarly, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party has also deplored the act of the Indian Embassy in making a statement against the Nepali media. The party has also demanded apology from Indian Embassy to the free media here.
Asking the absurd. Good joke indeed.
“Our central committee meeting has deplored the act of Interference of the Indian Embassy”, said vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The so-called democratic parties, the Nepali Congress and the UML are yet to criticize the event.
This has some meaning underneath.
Similarly, making exclusive comments to the Kantipur National Daily August 30, 2010, Chakra Prasad Bastola of the Nepali Congress, Pradip Nepal of UML, Devendra Poudel of Unified Maoists’ Party, Jay Prakash Gupta of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal and Sarita Giri of Sadvawana Party too have criticized the Indian Embassy for targeting the Nepali media.
Those who have made scathing comments against the Indian Embassy, mentioned above, were at one time in the not so distant past very very friendly to India.
But why they are distancing themselves? Naughty Nepali political animals.
Some may have, it could be presumed, talked against the Embassy with “heavy hearts”.
The Kantipur, Nepal’s largest circulating daily has penned an editorial in the issue.
The media organizations, the main-opposition and leaders have been criticizing a press-release issued by the Indian mission which claimed referring to Indian Joint-Ventures in Nepal that certain print and television media houses (in Nepal) had approached them for release of advertisements.
The Indian embassy press release also claimed that the Indian JVs were threatened with negative publicity if requests for release of advertisements were not met with.
Money matters!
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and the Press Council-a statutory body constituted and controlled by Nepal government have collectively deplored the press-statement of the Indian Embassy.
Jolt in series. Bad days for India in Nepal. Poor India.
“The Indian Embassy in the past had threatened the media here in Nepal for publishing the news of blocking consignment of newsprints at the Kolkata port by India”, the joint statement made by FNJ-Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur district chapters read.
Friendship shattered! So sad.
“Such events have exposed Indian Interference in series”, the statement also adds insult to injury.
Narayan Sharma of Press-Council states that India has been ignoring diplomatic norms and that it has begun interfering in affairs exclusive to Nepali media.
Mr. Sharma was handpicked by the Maoist led government and made the Press Council Chairman.
Similarly, Nepal’s main opposition Unified Maoists’ Party has also deplored the act of the Indian Embassy in making a statement against the Nepali media. The party has also demanded apology from Indian Embassy to the free media here.
Asking the absurd. Good joke indeed.
“Our central committee meeting has deplored the act of Interference of the Indian Embassy”, said vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
The so-called democratic parties, the Nepali Congress and the UML are yet to criticize the event.
This has some meaning underneath.
Similarly, making exclusive comments to the Kantipur National Daily August 30, 2010, Chakra Prasad Bastola of the Nepali Congress, Pradip Nepal of UML, Devendra Poudel of Unified Maoists’ Party, Jay Prakash Gupta of Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal and Sarita Giri of Sadvawana Party too have criticized the Indian Embassy for targeting the Nepali media.
Those who have made scathing comments against the Indian Embassy, mentioned above, were at one time in the not so distant past very very friendly to India.
But why they are distancing themselves? Naughty Nepali political animals.
Some may have, it could be presumed, talked against the Embassy with “heavy hearts”.
The Kantipur, Nepal’s largest circulating daily has penned an editorial in the issue.
Stand aside, the behe-moths of the insect world have arrived
With their stunning colours and 12in wingspan they're not the sort of insect you could ignore.
And now not just one but nine of the world's largest moths have hatched at a butterfly sanctuary in Gloucestershire.
The giant Atlas moths emerged from their chrysalises at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House
Atlas moths are named after the intricate, colourful map-like patterns on their wings It is the first time the moths have successfully bred and hatched offspring in two years.
The moths, which do not have fully-formed mouths and survive off fat they built up as caterpillars, only live for a maximum of two weeks.
They are unsteady fliers and they do not stray far. Their sole purpose of life as a moth is to breed. Atlas moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of South-East Asia and are common across the Malay archipelago.
And now not just one but nine of the world's largest moths have hatched at a butterfly sanctuary in Gloucestershire.
The giant Atlas moths emerged from their chrysalises at Berkeley Castle Butterfly House
Atlas moths are named after the intricate, colourful map-like patterns on their wings It is the first time the moths have successfully bred and hatched offspring in two years.
The moths, which do not have fully-formed mouths and survive off fat they built up as caterpillars, only live for a maximum of two weeks.
They are unsteady fliers and they do not stray far. Their sole purpose of life as a moth is to breed. Atlas moths are found in the tropical and subtropical forests of South-East Asia and are common across the Malay archipelago.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Millions of rural poor in Nepal could face more hunger as a result of climate change; situation “deeply worrying”
Poor crop yields, water shortages and more extreme temperatures are pushing rural villagers closer to the brink as climate change grips Nepal, according to a new report launched by the international aid agency Oxfam.
In the report, “Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal”, farmers told Oxfam that changing weather patterns had dramatically affected crop production, leaving them unable to properly feed themselves and getting into debt. Oxfam called the situation “deeply worrying.”
“Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years. Some said that while they used to grow enough food for three to six months of the year, last year many could only grow enough for one month’s consumption,” said Oxfam’s Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. ”Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family.”
Currently, more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year’s winter drought - one of the worst in the country’s history. Higher food prices have also reduced people’s ability to purchase food. Although single drought events cannot be attributed to climate change, climate models predict less winter rain, indicating how the current situation could get worse.
Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons. The melting of the Himalayan glaciers will also be felt well beyond Nepal’s borders. Scientists warn that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear – with some predicting this could happen within 30 years – the impact would be felt by more than one billion people across Asia.
Some of the heaviest burdens have fallen on women who are on the frontline of climate change. They have to travel further distances to fetch water and take on the responsibility for feeding the family as men in many poor households migrate seasonally to seek work.
“The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards”, said the report.
“Poor and marginalized communities tend to be those most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope with weather-related disasters because of lack of access to information and resources to reduce their risk.”
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 31% of its 28 million population living below the poverty line. Most of Nepal’s poor live in rural areas that are most at risk to disasters such as floods and landslides.
Oxfam says more work needs to be done in Nepal by the government and international organisations to create greater awareness about climate change and its likely impacts, to prioritize and institutionalize actions at national level; and help communities to play a greater role themselves in initiatives to reduce their vulnerability.
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change; yet has one of the lowest emissions in the world – just 0.025% of total global greenhouse gas emissions
In the report, “Even the Himalayas Have Stopped Smiling: Climate Change, Poverty and Adaptation in Nepal”, farmers told Oxfam that changing weather patterns had dramatically affected crop production, leaving them unable to properly feed themselves and getting into debt. Oxfam called the situation “deeply worrying.”
“Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years. Some said that while they used to grow enough food for three to six months of the year, last year many could only grow enough for one month’s consumption,” said Oxfam’s Nepal country director, Wayne Gum. ”Poor farmers rely on rainfall. They farm small areas of land which, at the best of times, can barely produce enough food for the family.”
Currently, more than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, due to a combination of natural disasters, including last year’s winter drought - one of the worst in the country’s history. Higher food prices have also reduced people’s ability to purchase food. Although single drought events cannot be attributed to climate change, climate models predict less winter rain, indicating how the current situation could get worse.
Among recent changes in weather patterns in Nepal are an increase in temperature extremes, more intense rainfall and increased unpredictability in weather patterns, including drier winters and delays in the summer monsoons. The melting of the Himalayan glaciers will also be felt well beyond Nepal’s borders. Scientists warn that if the Himalayan glaciers disappear – with some predicting this could happen within 30 years – the impact would be felt by more than one billion people across Asia.
Some of the heaviest burdens have fallen on women who are on the frontline of climate change. They have to travel further distances to fetch water and take on the responsibility for feeding the family as men in many poor households migrate seasonally to seek work.
“The predicted impacts of climate change will heighten existing vulnerabilities, inequalities and exposure to hazards”, said the report.
“Poor and marginalized communities tend to be those most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope with weather-related disasters because of lack of access to information and resources to reduce their risk.”
Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, with 31% of its 28 million population living below the poverty line. Most of Nepal’s poor live in rural areas that are most at risk to disasters such as floods and landslides.
Oxfam says more work needs to be done in Nepal by the government and international organisations to create greater awareness about climate change and its likely impacts, to prioritize and institutionalize actions at national level; and help communities to play a greater role themselves in initiatives to reduce their vulnerability.
Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change; yet has one of the lowest emissions in the world – just 0.025% of total global greenhouse gas emissions
Gurkha rifleman killed in Afghanistan is named
Musa Qala The first Nepalese Gurkha soldier to be killed in Afghanistan has been named as Yubraj Rai, 28, of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. He died on Tuesday in Musa Qala, southern Afghanistan, when a joint patrol with the Afghan National Security Forces was attacked. Rifleman Rai, from the Khotang district of eastern Nepal, had joined the Army in 1999. His commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Darby, said: “He was an extraordinary character and a hard professional soldier with a proven operational record.”
List of UFO sightings
List of UFO sightings
Before 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
1886-08-12 José Bonilla Observation Zacatecas Observatory Mexico While observing sun spots, Director Bonilla of Zacatecas Observatory counted at least 283 objects crossing the disc of the sun. He was not able to maintain his count as so many objects appeared simultaneously. Some photographs were taken, however, and are said to be the oldest photographs of UFOs in the world. 0 [1]
1886-10-24 Maracaibo Incidence Maracaibo Venezuela In a letter printed in the December 18, 1886 issue of Scientific American, page 389, the US consul of Venezuela in Maracaibo reported the sighting of a UFO. A bright object, accompanied with a humming noise, appeared during thunderstorm over a hut near Maracaibo. Afterward, the people in the hut displayed symptoms similar to radiation poisoning. Nine days later the trees surrounding the hut withered and died. 2 [2][3][4]
1897-04-19 Aurora Texas UFO Incident Aurora, Texas United States There were reports of an alleged UFO crash and a burial of its alien pilot in the local cemetery. 3 [5][6]
1908-06-30 Tunguska event Podkamennaya Tunguska River Russian Empire A massive explosion, conjectured to be from a comet or meteoroid. But it is also believed by UFO conspiracy theorists to be an exploding UFO. 2 [7][8]
1917-08-13, 09-13, 10-13 The Miracle of the Sun Fatima Portugal Thousands of people witnessed what looked like the sun gyrate and descend. This was later reinterpreted by Jacques Vallée, Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d'Armada as a possible UFO sighting, but not recognized as such due to cultural differences. 1 [9][10][11]
1926 Sightings by Nicholas Roerich Unknown, possibly Nepal (the Himalayas) Nicholas Roerich's travel diary mentions that his travelling party encountered a metallic silver disc hovering above the Himalayas. They observed the disc through binoculars for some time until it disappeared behind the peaks. 1 [12]
1940s Foo fighter Small metallic spheres and colorful balls of light repeatedly spotted and occasionally photographed by bomber crews all over the world during World War II. 1 [13][14]
1942 Hopeh Incident Hopeh China A UFO was spotted and photographed. 1 [15]
1942-02-24 Battle of Los Angeles Los Angeles, California United States Unidentified aerial objects trigger the firing of thousands of anti-aircraft rounds and raise the wartime alert status. 1 [16][17]
1946 Ghost rockets Scandinavia Objects were sighted repeatedly over Scandinavia; Swedish Defense Staff expressed concern. 1 [18]
1946-05-18 UFO-Memorial Ängelholm Ängelholm Municipality Sweden Gösta Karlsson reports seeing a UFO and its alien passengers. A model of a flying saucer is now erected at the site. 3 [19]
1947-06-21 Maury Island incident Washington United States Harold A. Dahl reported that his dog was killed and his son was injured by encounters with UFOs. He also claimed that a witness was threatened by the Men in Black. 2 [20]
1947-06-24 Kenneth Arnold Unidentified Flying Object Sighting Washington United States The UFO sighting that sparked the name flying saucers. 2 [21]
1947-07-08 Roswell UFO incident Roswell, New Mexico United States United States Army Air Forces allegedly captures a flying saucer. 3 [22]
1948 Green fireballs United States Objects reported over several United States military bases; an official investigation followed. 1 [23]
1948-01-07 Mantell UFO Incident Kentucky United States US Air Force sent a fighter pilot to investigate a UFO sighting over Fort Knox, Kentucky; the pilot was killed while pursuing the UFO. 2 [24]
1948-10-01 Gorman Dogfight North Dakota United States A US Air Force pilot sighted and pursued a UFO for 27 minutes over Fargo, North Dakota. 1 [25][26]
1950 Mariana UFO Incident Great Falls, Montana United States The manager of Great Falls' pro baseball team took color film of two UFOs flying over Great Falls. The film was extensively analyzed by the US Air Force and independent investigators. 1 [27]
1951-08-25 Lubbock Lights Lubbock, Texas United States Lights were repeatedly spotted flying over the city. Witnesses included professors from Texas Tech University and photographed by a Texas Tech student. 1 [28]
1952-07-13 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident Washington, D.C. United States A series of sightings in July 1952 accompanied radar contacts at three separate airports in the Washington area. The sightings made front page headlines around the nation, and ultimately lead to the formation of the Robertson Panel by the CIA. 1 [29]
1952-07-24 Carson Sink UFO incident Nevada United States Two pilots saw three unusual Delta-wing aircraft flying in a V-formation over Carson Sink. 1 [30]
1952-09-12 Flatwoods monster Flatwoods, West Virginia United States 6 local boys and a woman report seeing a UFO land and a bizarre-looking creature near the landing site. 3 [31][32][33]
June, 1953 Otis AFB Falmouth, Massachusetts United States A U.S Air Force radar operator and pilot bailed out over Otis Air Force Base because of engine failure. They were chasing a UFO. Plane and operator never seen again. Pilot lives and the canopy is the only thing recovered. 1 [34]
1953-08-12 Ellsworth UFO Case Bismarck, North Dakota United States A UFO appearing as a red glowing light is witnessed by 45 people. The sighting takes place over a two night period. 1 [35]
1953-11-23 Felix Moncla Lake Superior United States - Canada U.S Air Force Pilot disappears while pursuing a UFO. 1 [36]
1955-08-21 Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter Kentucky United States A group of strange, goblin-like creatures are reported to have attacked a family. The family shot at them several times with little or no effect. 3 [37]
1957 Antonio Villas Boas São Francisco de Sales Brazil Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted and examined by aliens. He also claimed to have had sex with an alien woman while aboard the UFO. 4 [38]
1957-05-20 Milton Torres 1957 UFO Encounter East Anglia United Kingdom US Air Force fighter pilot Milton Torres reports that he was ordered to interecept and fire on a UFO displaying "very unusual flight patterns" over East Anglia. Ground radar operators had tracked the object for some time before Torres' plane was scrambled to intercept. 1 [39]
1957-11-02 Levelland UFO Case Levelland, Texas United States Numerous motorists reported seeing a glowing, egg-shaped object which caused their vehicle's engines to shut down. When the object flew away, their vehicles restarted without a problem. 2 [40]
1959 Dyatlov Pass incident Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Mysterious deaths of experienced skiers in the Urals is believed to have been caused by "unidentified orange spheres" and an "unknown compelling force". 2 [41]
1961-09-19 Betty and Barney Hill abduction New Hampshire United States A widely publicized alien abduction experience. 4 [42]
1964-04-24 Lonnie Zamora Socorro, New Mexico United States Police officer Zamora reports a close encounter. 3 [43]
1965 Exeter incident Exeter, New Hampshire United States UFO observed by a teenager and two police officers. 1 [44]
1965-12-01 Adhara Observatory UFO Lunar Transit San Miguel Argentina At 8.30 pm the Adhara Observatory received several calls concerning strange objects visible on the moon. The staff of the observatory photographed the moon in fixed intervals, which revealed disk shaped objects flying in front of the moon. A few minutes later, three strange luminous objects flew over La Plata. 0 [45]
1965-12-09 Kecksburg UFO incident Kecksburg, Pennsylvania United States Mass sighting of a falling UFO, followed by a cordoning-off of the crash site. 1 [46]
1966 The Mothman Prophecies Point Pleasant, West Virginia United States A wave of sightings of a winged humanoid is reported to be connected to other mysterious events including sightings of UFOs. 1 [47]
1966-01-11 Wanaque Reservoir UFO Wanaque Reservoir, Wanaque, New Jersey United States UFO in the form of a bright light seen in the vicinity of Wanaque Reservoir, led to traffic jams and overloaded police communications networks. The UFO shifted color on a continuing basis. It shot a beam of light down towards the ice near the dam, maintained its position for another half hour and flew off to the southeast. Another UFO, sighted the next night near Wanaque, was observed flying in zigzag pattern. The mayor, Warren Hagstrom, as well as Chief of Police Floyd Elston and captain Joe Sisco watched the craft for some time.Two reserve officers, Sgt.Ben Thompson and patolman Edward Wester, also witnessed the craft along with a number of other observers. 1 [48]
1966-04-06 Westall UFO Clayton South, Victoria Australia A sighting by hundreds of people. Witnesses of "The Clayton Incident" still gather for reunions. 1 [49]
1966-04-17 Portage County UFO chase Ohio United States Several police officers pursue a UFO for 30 minutes. 1 [50]
1966-10-11 The Grinning Man Elizabeth, New Jersey United States A Tall man with no nose or ears is sighted in a neighborhood shortly after UFO sighting. 2
1967-03-05 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO appears to hover over area, strike teams are called in to confront the vessel. 1 [51]
1967-03-?? Malmstrom AFB Incident Malmstrom A.F.B. United States 1 [51]
1967-05-20 Falcon Lake Incident Falcon Lake, Manitoba Canada A UFO's exhaust allegedly burns a man. 2 [52]
1967-08-29 Close encounter of Cussac Cussac, Cantal France A young brother and sister claim to have witnessed a UFO and its occupants. 3 [53]
1967-10-04 Shag Harbour incident Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada A UFO was seen crashing into Shag Harbor. A Canadian naval search followed, and the incident is officially referred to as a UFO crash. 2 [54][55]
1967-12-03 Schirmer Abduction Ashland, Nebraska United States Sergeant Herbert Schirmer claimed he was abducted. 4 [56]
1967 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States Air Force claims unidentifiable craft "attacks" air base, specifically the missile silos. (the "attack" was two beams of light, one of which appeared to be an offensive weapon. One of numerous cases involving the base, which is home to a nuclear weapon launch silos and stockpiles.) 1 [51]
1968-6-6 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO hovers over a silo, then leaves. After the UFO leaves, personnel discover that the missile was armed and in launch mode, and the nuclear warhead was armed. 2 [51]
1968-10-25 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States 1 [51][57][58]
1969-01-01 Prince George sightings Prince George, British Columbia Canada Three unrelated witnesses reported a strange, round object in the late afternoon sky. The sphere radiated a yellow-orange light and appeared to ascend from 2,000 feet (610 m) to 10,000 feet (3,000 m). 1 [59]
1969 Jimmy Carter UFO incident Leary, Georgia United States Jimmy Carter's sighting. 1 [60]
1970s Barry DeLong UFO incident Somerset County, Maine United States Sheriff Barry A. DeLong witnessed a UFO: "They were hovering about 15 feet (4.6 m) from my cruiser, late at night. It had fixed, spinning lights. The craft was a huge oval shape. I knew it wasn't a jet fighter. It slowly started backing off toward Sugarloaf, and then at a terrific speed." 1 [61]
1970-04-24 Border incident between Russia and China 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator Mongolia In the border area between Russia and China, air traffic controllers from both nations observe multiple unidentified flying objects. The Russians believed they were Chinese and vice versa. On April 24, 1970, a Russian bomber disappeared during a flight from Moscow to Vladivostok. On the same day many of these objects were observed, with attempts to shoot them down a failure. Using triangulation it was calculated that the UFOs came from an area 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator. The area was bombed by a hundred Russian planes, allegedly destroying a secret tunnel system. There were also rumours that nuclear weapons were used in the attack. This was officially referred to as a spring maneuver and a small border conflict. 2 [62][63]
1971-09-04 Lake Cote UFO Arenal, Alajuela Costa Rica An UFO was photographed during a mapping mission from an airborne camera over Lake Cote, Costa Rica. No crew member saw the object at the time, but the image was captured on film. 1 [64][65]
1973-10-11 Pascagoula Abduction Mississippi United States Alien abduction occurs while the victims were fishing on the Pascagoula River. 4 [66]
1974-01-23 Berwyn Mountain UFO incident Llandrillo, Merionethshire, North Wales United Kingdom An alleged UFO crash involving lights in the sky being observed moments before a large impact shock. The cause of the incident was soon revealed as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. 1 [67][68]
1975-01-12 North Hudson Park UFO sightings North Bergen, New Jersey United States Considered a close encounter of the second and third kind, the case introduced Budd Hopkins to UFO research, a key figure in future alien abduction research. Researcher Jerome Clark cites the incident as one of the best-documented, since the story was corroborated by numerous independent witnesses. 2 [69]
1975-11-05 Travis Walton Arizona United States Logger Travis Walton reports being abducted by aliens for five days. Walton's six workmates claimed to have witnessed the UFO at the start of his abduction. Walton described the event and its aftermath in The Walton Experience, which was dramatized in the film Fire in the Sky. 4 [66]
1976-06-22 1976 Canary Isles sightings Canary Islands Spain Several lights and a spherical transparent blue craft, piloted by two beings was reported. 1 [70]
1976-08-20 Allagash Abductions Maine United States Four campers claimed to have been abducted by alien beings in the Allagash wilderness. 4 [71]
1976-09-19 1976 Tehran UFO incident Tehran Iran A UFO disabled the electronic equipment of two F-4 interceptor aircraft, along with ground control equipment. The event is well documented in the U.S. DIA report. The Iranian generals involved in the incident stated object was extraterrestrial. 2 [72]
1977 Colares UFO flap Colares Brazil A bewildering account of an island attacked by UFOs shooting harmful beam sof radioactive light at the residents. 2 [73]
1978-05-10 Emilcin Abduction Emilcin Poland A man in Emilcin, Poland is said to have been abducted by "grays." There is now a memorial at the site. 4 [74]
1978-10-21 Valentich Disappearance Victoria Australia Contacting air traffic control, an Australian pilot reported sighting a UFO before his aircraft vanished. 1 [75][76]
1978-12-21 Kaikoura lights South Island New Zealand A series of sightings by a Safe Air freight plane; the airplane was escorted by strange lights that changed color and size. 1 [77]
1979-08-27 Val Johnson Incident Marshall County, Minnesota United States A deputy sheriff spotted a bright light which appeared to have collided with his patrol car and damaged it. The deputy also suffered temporary retinal damage from the "light". 2 [78][79]
1979-11-09 Robert Taylor incident Livingston United Kingdom A forester, Bob Taylor, was pulled by two spiked globes towards a UFO, which stood on a clearing. He lost consciousness and afterwards had trouble walking and speaking. He also was constantly thirsty for several days. 4 [80]
1979-11-11 Manises UFO Incident Valencia Spain Three large UFOs forced a commercial flight to make an emergency landing at Manises airport. 1 [81]
1980s Hudson Valley UFO sightings Hudson Valley United States A UFO flap during the eighties and early nineties, involving thousands of reports of similarly-shaped UFOs. They were first observed by a retired policeman in Kent, New York, late on New Year's Eve, 1981. The 1984 "Incident at Indian Point" was one of these sightings. 1 [82]
1980-12-28 Rendlesham Forest Incident Suffolk, England United Kingdom A sighting which was first thought to be a downed aircraft. 2 [83]
1980-12-29 Cash-Landrum incident Dayton, Texas United States A huge diamond-shaped UFO irradiates three witnesses, who all needed treatment for radiation poisoning. The UFO was escorted by military helicopters. The victims have since sued the US Government. 2 [84]
1986-11-17 Japan Air Lines flight 1628 incident Alaska United States A group of UFOs flew alongside Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 for 50 minutes above Northeastern Alaska. One of the objects trailing behind the Boeing 747 was detected by military radar. 1 [85]
1990-03-30 Belgian UFO wave Ans, Wallonia Belgium Mass sighting of large, silent, low-flying black triangles, which were tracked by multiple NATO radar and jet interceptors, and investigated by Belgium's military. Photographic evidence exists. 1 [86]
[87]
1990-11-07 1990 Montreal UFO Montreal, Quebec Canada More than 40 witnesses, including police, observed a UFO above Place Bonaventure for more than 3 hours. 1 [88]
1991-04-21 Achille Zaghetti London, England United Kingdom Alitalia pilot Achille Zaghetti reports a cigar-shaped UFO flying past his plane at high speed during his descent to Heathrow Airport on a flight from Milan to London. Immediately following the near-miss, Zaghetti contacted the radar control center, which confirmed an unidentified target was observed 10 nautical miles behind the plane. British defence officials ruled out a missile, but offered no explanation for the sighting. 1 [89][90]
1991 STS-48 incident Orbit, Space Discovery, STS-48 Video apparently taken during missionSTS-48, appears to show objects flying in an artificial fashion. NASA explained the objects as ice particles reacting to engine jets. Philip C. Plait discussed it in Bad Astronomy, agreeing with NASA. A Florida Today article in 2000 quoted Dr. Jack Kasher stating that he found the footage to actually depict independently operated spacecraft, see "Journal for UFO Studies". 1 [91]
1993 Kelly Cahill Victoria Australia East of Melbourne's Dandenong foothills Kelly Cahill and five others observed a flying saucer that appeared shortly after midnight. They were also confronted by tall, slim, black aliens with glowing red eyes. 5 [92]
1994-06 Meng Zhaoguo Incident Wuchang China Meng claimed to have been abducted and forced to have sexual intercourse with a 10 feet (3.0 m), six fingered, female alien with braided leg fur. 4 [93]
1996-01-20 Varginha UFO incident Varginha, Minas Gerais Brazil Multiple sightings and an allegedly captured alien by the Brazilian military. 3 [94]
1997-08-06 Mexico City skyline UFO Mexico City Mexico An amateur with a digital camera captured footage of a UFO passing behind and above several buildings. Air traffic was restricted that day except for two helicopters. 1 [95]
2000-01-05 Southern Illinois UFO St. Clair County, Illinois United States Between 4:00 and 7:00 am, six people, including police officers, observed a large, triangular object a few hundred feet over St. Clair County. The object glided silently and slowly to the southwest over several villages before vanishing near the town of Dupo. The object, studded with several bright lights, was as tall as a two-story house and as long as a football field. 1 [96]
[edit] After 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
2002-01-14 Paintsville UFO/Train Collision Paintsville, Kentucky United States A train struck a UFO that was hovering over the tracks. The train was heavily damaged, along with two other railroad cars. 1 [97]
2004-03-05 2004 Mexican UFO Incident Mexico A drug-smuggling air patrol recorded on infrared camera what some claimed to be UFOs. The footage was released by Jaime Maussan. Others suggest the objects are oil platform burn-off flares. 1 [98]
2004-10-31 The Tinley Park Lights Tinley Park, Illinois United States A sequence of five mass UFO sightings, first on August 21, 2004, two months later on October 31, 2004, again on October 1 of 2005, and once again on October 31, 2006, in Tinley Park and Oak Park, Chicago. 1 [99][100][101]
2005-04-27 Washington, D.C. United States The White House was evacuated when a UFO entered restricted air space, then disappeared. It was explained as: "probably a cloud or several birds". 1 [102]
2006-11-07 Chicago O'Hare UFO sighting 2006 Chicago, Illinois United States United Airlines employees and pilots claimed sightings of a saucer-shaped, unlit craft hovering over a Chicago O'Hare Airport terminal, before shooting up vertically. The FAA initially denied having received reports, but information gained by means of the Freedom of Information Act revealed otherwise. 1 [103]
2007-02-02 Islington, London, England United Kingdom Ten to fifteen UFOs are spotted. 1 [104]
2007-02-16 Kaliningrad Russian Federation A student records a UFO on his video camera. 1 [105]
2007-03-03 New Delhi India A green fireball was seen over Delhi by ten pilots. 1 [106]
2007-03-07 New Delhi India Two UFOs were detected near the prime minister's residence. 1 [107]
2007-03-10 Cleveland, Ohio United States UFO seen over a peace rally. 1 [108]
2007-04-23 Channel Islands Two airline pilots on separate flights spot UFOs off the coast of Alderney. 1 [109]
2007-05-02 Sutton, England United Kingdom John Gregory spotted a UFO after 10 pm. As he was observing the sky he noticed a very bright object, which at first he considered to be a star. Later he began to doubt this, and was very surprised by the very unusual and clear phenomenon, which was visible for miles around. The image, which seemed to be shaped like a face, nose and mouth, remained for about 20 minutes and then just vanished. 1 [110]
2007-05-11 Massillon, Ohio United States At 10:40 pm, Rosemary Lyons and a co-worker were taking a smoke break outside the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge, located at 2935 Lincoln Way West, when they witnessed a UFO. They estimated its size as 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. Lyons: "The first thing I said was 'Oh my gosh. Look at that,' We saw it for 20 to 25 seconds. It was round and luminous underneath. It wasn't a plane, it wasn't a helicopter, it wasn’t a blimp and it wasn't a balloon. It made absolutely no sound. It was flying over just carefree – like it was no one's business." 1 [111]
2007-05-12 Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland United Kingdom Orange colored UFOs were spotted during the evening. Clifford Rossbottom said, "There were three orange globes, nearly in a straight line, ... an absolutely fascinating sight. I watched them for five minutes, and then very slowly, they just disappeared. The only thing I thought it could have been was three high-flying aircraft. If that is not the case, then I have no idea, and the only other thing I can think of is in fact that they were UFOs." Belfast International Airport's air traffic control received calls from people (including the Coastguard) who spotted the objects, but the airport reported no aircraft in the area during the time of the sightings. A company called UFO Balloons later claimed their product was responsible for the events. One month later two similar aircraft were sighted over Buela, Colorado.[112] 1 [113]
2007-05-27 Chilliwack, British Columbia Canada Dave Francis and Kelly McDonald witnessed a UFO over UCFV campus. Francis said, "I really think it was a UFO. I don’t really care if anybody else believes me ... it was the craziest thing I ever saw. Whatever it was, they were moving from place to place as a unit [and then] just faded away." McDonald said, "I know that I saw something that wasn’t from here. I’ve never seen anything move that way. It wasn’t birds. [As the UFO approached] it broke apart into 20 or more of these little spheres ... birds don’t dive-bomb in at each other. " 1 [114]
2007-05-28 Bangalore India Afzal Khan told CNN IBN that he photographed a UFO, "Today (Monday) at around 9 pm (IST), I and my brothers saw a bright, slow-moving object which looked like a group of lights moving in a triangular formation in the sky towards west/north-west direction. This object was definitely not an aeroplane as it was moving very slowly. We observed the object from around 9 pm until 9.30 pm before it disappeared into the distance. During this time we managed to take some pictures with my camera. The astronomical/space/science departments of any activity in the sky during the above time can be confirmed. We live in Jayanagar area of Bangalore. Another thing that we noticed during this time was an aircraft that took-off from Bangalore Airport was flying very close to this object. It is possible that the pilot of that aircraft could have spotted this object as well." 1 [115]
2007-07-23 Warwickshire, England United Kingdom Crowd of 100 persons saw a formation of strange lights in the sky for 30 minutes. 1 [116]
2007-09-25 Kodiak Island UFO, 2007 Kodiak, Alaska United States On September 25, 2007, around 6:45am, a bright red light was flying fast over Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Within seconds, it travelled to Kodiak Island air space, over 300 miles away. Many claimed to have seen it descend behind a mountain. Local troopers and Coast Guard personnel were unable to find traces. 1 [117]
2007-10-30 Kolkata India Many people claimed to see a UFO near Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Calcutta. It was also recorded by an amateur videographer. It was like a ball of light which some time hovered, sometimes moved very fast and changed shape and size. The video was broadcasted on local news channels. 1 [118][119]
2007-11-08 Larnaca Cyprus UFO reported to have come from the coast inland near a village called Catalkoy in small and rapid zigzags, then stopped and hovered for approximately 30 seconds before making a smooth ascent at 45 degrees east. 1 [120]
2008-01-01 San Diego, California United States Nine separate lights were spotted moving in an arc formation across the sky at around half past midnight on New Years Day. Around the globe, many people are said to have reported the same exact lights in the sky. A later Fox News San Diego report by anchor Jim Patten showed these lights to be Chinese New Year floating Lanterns. On February 16, 2008, two individuals reported seeing a large, pulsing orb of light hovering in place above Miramar Air Base. 1 [121]
2008-01-08 to 2008-02-09 Stephenville, Texas UFO sightings Stephenville, Texas, Dublin, Texas, Crawford, Texas United States UFOs were, and still are, sometimes reported in this area. One was an object that was described as 1 mile (1.6 km) by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in size, spotted over Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas. The Air Force has identified the objects as training fighter jets that went unreported due to a "communications problem". 1 [122]
May–Sept, 2008 2008 Turkey UFO Sightings Istanbul Turkey Over a four month span in 2008, a night guard at the Yeni Kent Compound videotaped one or more UFOs over Turkey at nighttime. Many witnesses confirmed the two and a half hours' worth of video, leading the Sirius UFO Space Science Research Center to dub it the "most important images of a UFO ever filmed". 1 [123]
2008-05-14 Needles, California United States A flaming object crashed near the Colorado river. Several witnesses claim to have seen five helicopters picking up the strange object after 17 minutes and heading into direction of Las Vegas. 1 [124]
2008-06-20 Wales UFO sightings Different cities, Wales United Kingdom After media reports of a police helicopter that was almost hit by a UFO, before it tried to pursue it, hundreds of people reported to have witnessed a UFO on the same or preceding days, from different areas of Wales. 1 [125]
2008-06-21 Moscow UFO sightings Moscow Russian Federation Different people and media (including state-owned) reported sightings of 11 orange UFOs. Further confirmation came from Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. On June 25 a similar report, now with 13 objects, was claimed in the UK. 1 [126][127][128]
2008-06-29 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset United Kingdom Royal Navy aircraft engineer Michael Madden watched a UFO hover above the M5 motorway near Weston-super-Mare for around three minutes before it disappeared at high speed. Madden described the UFO as looking "like alien aircraft in the films". 1 [129][130]
2008-12-10 Zagreb Croatia Bright lights were seen over an insurance building in Zagreb. They were filmed and put on the news. The UFO was actually a misidentified media stunt. [131]
2009-01-05 Morristown UFO Morristown, New Jersey United States A confirmed hoax in Morristown, New Jersey, perpetrated by Chris Russo & Joe Rudy who sent up different sets of helium balloons with attached flares. [132][133][134]
2009-03-18 London, England United Kingdom A group of UFOs appear on a photo, even though they were invisible to the naked eye. 1 [135]
2009-05-31 Kolkata India UFOs detected by Kolkata ATC 1 [136]
June, 2009 Wisconsin, Texas, Nevada, Mexico City, Tijuana United States, Mexico Scattered reports of UFO sightings all over the United States from June 3 to 22, 2009. 1, 2 [137]
2009-08-05 Northern England United Kingdom UFO captured on BBC camera. 1 [138]
2009-08-16 Ural Russia Alleged disappearance of an 11 year old girl in a UFO sighting 1 [139]
2009-10-20 Florida United States Report of a nearly 200-foot-long triangle-shaped craft spotted flying at 100 feet altitude. 1 [140]
2010-06-05 New South Wales, Queensland Australia Scores of people across Australia's east coast say they saw bizarre yellow-green light zooming across the sky "like a lollipop swirl" between 5.45am and 6am. 1 [141]
2010-07-09 Zhejiang China According to the Xinhua news agency, after the unidentified flying object was spotted, airport authorities stopped passengers from boarding planes, and outgoing flights were grounded for an hour in Hangzhou, the capital city of China's Zhejiang province. When officials closed the airport, incoming flights were rerouted to other airports. So far, no explanation has been offered to explain the UFO. However, several hours before the airport incident, many Hangzhou residents described seeing a large, brightly lit, elongated object in the sky.
Before 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
1886-08-12 José Bonilla Observation Zacatecas Observatory Mexico While observing sun spots, Director Bonilla of Zacatecas Observatory counted at least 283 objects crossing the disc of the sun. He was not able to maintain his count as so many objects appeared simultaneously. Some photographs were taken, however, and are said to be the oldest photographs of UFOs in the world. 0 [1]
1886-10-24 Maracaibo Incidence Maracaibo Venezuela In a letter printed in the December 18, 1886 issue of Scientific American, page 389, the US consul of Venezuela in Maracaibo reported the sighting of a UFO. A bright object, accompanied with a humming noise, appeared during thunderstorm over a hut near Maracaibo. Afterward, the people in the hut displayed symptoms similar to radiation poisoning. Nine days later the trees surrounding the hut withered and died. 2 [2][3][4]
1897-04-19 Aurora Texas UFO Incident Aurora, Texas United States There were reports of an alleged UFO crash and a burial of its alien pilot in the local cemetery. 3 [5][6]
1908-06-30 Tunguska event Podkamennaya Tunguska River Russian Empire A massive explosion, conjectured to be from a comet or meteoroid. But it is also believed by UFO conspiracy theorists to be an exploding UFO. 2 [7][8]
1917-08-13, 09-13, 10-13 The Miracle of the Sun Fatima Portugal Thousands of people witnessed what looked like the sun gyrate and descend. This was later reinterpreted by Jacques Vallée, Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d'Armada as a possible UFO sighting, but not recognized as such due to cultural differences. 1 [9][10][11]
1926 Sightings by Nicholas Roerich Unknown, possibly Nepal (the Himalayas) Nicholas Roerich's travel diary mentions that his travelling party encountered a metallic silver disc hovering above the Himalayas. They observed the disc through binoculars for some time until it disappeared behind the peaks. 1 [12]
1940s Foo fighter Small metallic spheres and colorful balls of light repeatedly spotted and occasionally photographed by bomber crews all over the world during World War II. 1 [13][14]
1942 Hopeh Incident Hopeh China A UFO was spotted and photographed. 1 [15]
1942-02-24 Battle of Los Angeles Los Angeles, California United States Unidentified aerial objects trigger the firing of thousands of anti-aircraft rounds and raise the wartime alert status. 1 [16][17]
1946 Ghost rockets Scandinavia Objects were sighted repeatedly over Scandinavia; Swedish Defense Staff expressed concern. 1 [18]
1946-05-18 UFO-Memorial Ängelholm Ängelholm Municipality Sweden Gösta Karlsson reports seeing a UFO and its alien passengers. A model of a flying saucer is now erected at the site. 3 [19]
1947-06-21 Maury Island incident Washington United States Harold A. Dahl reported that his dog was killed and his son was injured by encounters with UFOs. He also claimed that a witness was threatened by the Men in Black. 2 [20]
1947-06-24 Kenneth Arnold Unidentified Flying Object Sighting Washington United States The UFO sighting that sparked the name flying saucers. 2 [21]
1947-07-08 Roswell UFO incident Roswell, New Mexico United States United States Army Air Forces allegedly captures a flying saucer. 3 [22]
1948 Green fireballs United States Objects reported over several United States military bases; an official investigation followed. 1 [23]
1948-01-07 Mantell UFO Incident Kentucky United States US Air Force sent a fighter pilot to investigate a UFO sighting over Fort Knox, Kentucky; the pilot was killed while pursuing the UFO. 2 [24]
1948-10-01 Gorman Dogfight North Dakota United States A US Air Force pilot sighted and pursued a UFO for 27 minutes over Fargo, North Dakota. 1 [25][26]
1950 Mariana UFO Incident Great Falls, Montana United States The manager of Great Falls' pro baseball team took color film of two UFOs flying over Great Falls. The film was extensively analyzed by the US Air Force and independent investigators. 1 [27]
1951-08-25 Lubbock Lights Lubbock, Texas United States Lights were repeatedly spotted flying over the city. Witnesses included professors from Texas Tech University and photographed by a Texas Tech student. 1 [28]
1952-07-13 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident Washington, D.C. United States A series of sightings in July 1952 accompanied radar contacts at three separate airports in the Washington area. The sightings made front page headlines around the nation, and ultimately lead to the formation of the Robertson Panel by the CIA. 1 [29]
1952-07-24 Carson Sink UFO incident Nevada United States Two pilots saw three unusual Delta-wing aircraft flying in a V-formation over Carson Sink. 1 [30]
1952-09-12 Flatwoods monster Flatwoods, West Virginia United States 6 local boys and a woman report seeing a UFO land and a bizarre-looking creature near the landing site. 3 [31][32][33]
June, 1953 Otis AFB Falmouth, Massachusetts United States A U.S Air Force radar operator and pilot bailed out over Otis Air Force Base because of engine failure. They were chasing a UFO. Plane and operator never seen again. Pilot lives and the canopy is the only thing recovered. 1 [34]
1953-08-12 Ellsworth UFO Case Bismarck, North Dakota United States A UFO appearing as a red glowing light is witnessed by 45 people. The sighting takes place over a two night period. 1 [35]
1953-11-23 Felix Moncla Lake Superior United States - Canada U.S Air Force Pilot disappears while pursuing a UFO. 1 [36]
1955-08-21 Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter Kentucky United States A group of strange, goblin-like creatures are reported to have attacked a family. The family shot at them several times with little or no effect. 3 [37]
1957 Antonio Villas Boas São Francisco de Sales Brazil Antonio Villas Boas claimed to have been abducted and examined by aliens. He also claimed to have had sex with an alien woman while aboard the UFO. 4 [38]
1957-05-20 Milton Torres 1957 UFO Encounter East Anglia United Kingdom US Air Force fighter pilot Milton Torres reports that he was ordered to interecept and fire on a UFO displaying "very unusual flight patterns" over East Anglia. Ground radar operators had tracked the object for some time before Torres' plane was scrambled to intercept. 1 [39]
1957-11-02 Levelland UFO Case Levelland, Texas United States Numerous motorists reported seeing a glowing, egg-shaped object which caused their vehicle's engines to shut down. When the object flew away, their vehicles restarted without a problem. 2 [40]
1959 Dyatlov Pass incident Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Mysterious deaths of experienced skiers in the Urals is believed to have been caused by "unidentified orange spheres" and an "unknown compelling force". 2 [41]
1961-09-19 Betty and Barney Hill abduction New Hampshire United States A widely publicized alien abduction experience. 4 [42]
1964-04-24 Lonnie Zamora Socorro, New Mexico United States Police officer Zamora reports a close encounter. 3 [43]
1965 Exeter incident Exeter, New Hampshire United States UFO observed by a teenager and two police officers. 1 [44]
1965-12-01 Adhara Observatory UFO Lunar Transit San Miguel Argentina At 8.30 pm the Adhara Observatory received several calls concerning strange objects visible on the moon. The staff of the observatory photographed the moon in fixed intervals, which revealed disk shaped objects flying in front of the moon. A few minutes later, three strange luminous objects flew over La Plata. 0 [45]
1965-12-09 Kecksburg UFO incident Kecksburg, Pennsylvania United States Mass sighting of a falling UFO, followed by a cordoning-off of the crash site. 1 [46]
1966 The Mothman Prophecies Point Pleasant, West Virginia United States A wave of sightings of a winged humanoid is reported to be connected to other mysterious events including sightings of UFOs. 1 [47]
1966-01-11 Wanaque Reservoir UFO Wanaque Reservoir, Wanaque, New Jersey United States UFO in the form of a bright light seen in the vicinity of Wanaque Reservoir, led to traffic jams and overloaded police communications networks. The UFO shifted color on a continuing basis. It shot a beam of light down towards the ice near the dam, maintained its position for another half hour and flew off to the southeast. Another UFO, sighted the next night near Wanaque, was observed flying in zigzag pattern. The mayor, Warren Hagstrom, as well as Chief of Police Floyd Elston and captain Joe Sisco watched the craft for some time.Two reserve officers, Sgt.Ben Thompson and patolman Edward Wester, also witnessed the craft along with a number of other observers. 1 [48]
1966-04-06 Westall UFO Clayton South, Victoria Australia A sighting by hundreds of people. Witnesses of "The Clayton Incident" still gather for reunions. 1 [49]
1966-04-17 Portage County UFO chase Ohio United States Several police officers pursue a UFO for 30 minutes. 1 [50]
1966-10-11 The Grinning Man Elizabeth, New Jersey United States A Tall man with no nose or ears is sighted in a neighborhood shortly after UFO sighting. 2
1967-03-05 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO appears to hover over area, strike teams are called in to confront the vessel. 1 [51]
1967-03-?? Malmstrom AFB Incident Malmstrom A.F.B. United States 1 [51]
1967-05-20 Falcon Lake Incident Falcon Lake, Manitoba Canada A UFO's exhaust allegedly burns a man. 2 [52]
1967-08-29 Close encounter of Cussac Cussac, Cantal France A young brother and sister claim to have witnessed a UFO and its occupants. 3 [53]
1967-10-04 Shag Harbour incident Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada A UFO was seen crashing into Shag Harbor. A Canadian naval search followed, and the incident is officially referred to as a UFO crash. 2 [54][55]
1967-12-03 Schirmer Abduction Ashland, Nebraska United States Sergeant Herbert Schirmer claimed he was abducted. 4 [56]
1967 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States Air Force claims unidentifiable craft "attacks" air base, specifically the missile silos. (the "attack" was two beams of light, one of which appeared to be an offensive weapon. One of numerous cases involving the base, which is home to a nuclear weapon launch silos and stockpiles.) 1 [51]
1968-6-6 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States UFO hovers over a silo, then leaves. After the UFO leaves, personnel discover that the missile was armed and in launch mode, and the nuclear warhead was armed. 2 [51]
1968-10-25 Minot Air Force Base UFO Incidents Minot/Minot A.F.B., North Dakota United States 1 [51][57][58]
1969-01-01 Prince George sightings Prince George, British Columbia Canada Three unrelated witnesses reported a strange, round object in the late afternoon sky. The sphere radiated a yellow-orange light and appeared to ascend from 2,000 feet (610 m) to 10,000 feet (3,000 m). 1 [59]
1969 Jimmy Carter UFO incident Leary, Georgia United States Jimmy Carter's sighting. 1 [60]
1970s Barry DeLong UFO incident Somerset County, Maine United States Sheriff Barry A. DeLong witnessed a UFO: "They were hovering about 15 feet (4.6 m) from my cruiser, late at night. It had fixed, spinning lights. The craft was a huge oval shape. I knew it wasn't a jet fighter. It slowly started backing off toward Sugarloaf, and then at a terrific speed." 1 [61]
1970-04-24 Border incident between Russia and China 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator Mongolia In the border area between Russia and China, air traffic controllers from both nations observe multiple unidentified flying objects. The Russians believed they were Chinese and vice versa. On April 24, 1970, a Russian bomber disappeared during a flight from Moscow to Vladivostok. On the same day many of these objects were observed, with attempts to shoot them down a failure. Using triangulation it was calculated that the UFOs came from an area 1000 kilometres north-east of Ulan Bator. The area was bombed by a hundred Russian planes, allegedly destroying a secret tunnel system. There were also rumours that nuclear weapons were used in the attack. This was officially referred to as a spring maneuver and a small border conflict. 2 [62][63]
1971-09-04 Lake Cote UFO Arenal, Alajuela Costa Rica An UFO was photographed during a mapping mission from an airborne camera over Lake Cote, Costa Rica. No crew member saw the object at the time, but the image was captured on film. 1 [64][65]
1973-10-11 Pascagoula Abduction Mississippi United States Alien abduction occurs while the victims were fishing on the Pascagoula River. 4 [66]
1974-01-23 Berwyn Mountain UFO incident Llandrillo, Merionethshire, North Wales United Kingdom An alleged UFO crash involving lights in the sky being observed moments before a large impact shock. The cause of the incident was soon revealed as a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. 1 [67][68]
1975-01-12 North Hudson Park UFO sightings North Bergen, New Jersey United States Considered a close encounter of the second and third kind, the case introduced Budd Hopkins to UFO research, a key figure in future alien abduction research. Researcher Jerome Clark cites the incident as one of the best-documented, since the story was corroborated by numerous independent witnesses. 2 [69]
1975-11-05 Travis Walton Arizona United States Logger Travis Walton reports being abducted by aliens for five days. Walton's six workmates claimed to have witnessed the UFO at the start of his abduction. Walton described the event and its aftermath in The Walton Experience, which was dramatized in the film Fire in the Sky. 4 [66]
1976-06-22 1976 Canary Isles sightings Canary Islands Spain Several lights and a spherical transparent blue craft, piloted by two beings was reported. 1 [70]
1976-08-20 Allagash Abductions Maine United States Four campers claimed to have been abducted by alien beings in the Allagash wilderness. 4 [71]
1976-09-19 1976 Tehran UFO incident Tehran Iran A UFO disabled the electronic equipment of two F-4 interceptor aircraft, along with ground control equipment. The event is well documented in the U.S. DIA report. The Iranian generals involved in the incident stated object was extraterrestrial. 2 [72]
1977 Colares UFO flap Colares Brazil A bewildering account of an island attacked by UFOs shooting harmful beam sof radioactive light at the residents. 2 [73]
1978-05-10 Emilcin Abduction Emilcin Poland A man in Emilcin, Poland is said to have been abducted by "grays." There is now a memorial at the site. 4 [74]
1978-10-21 Valentich Disappearance Victoria Australia Contacting air traffic control, an Australian pilot reported sighting a UFO before his aircraft vanished. 1 [75][76]
1978-12-21 Kaikoura lights South Island New Zealand A series of sightings by a Safe Air freight plane; the airplane was escorted by strange lights that changed color and size. 1 [77]
1979-08-27 Val Johnson Incident Marshall County, Minnesota United States A deputy sheriff spotted a bright light which appeared to have collided with his patrol car and damaged it. The deputy also suffered temporary retinal damage from the "light". 2 [78][79]
1979-11-09 Robert Taylor incident Livingston United Kingdom A forester, Bob Taylor, was pulled by two spiked globes towards a UFO, which stood on a clearing. He lost consciousness and afterwards had trouble walking and speaking. He also was constantly thirsty for several days. 4 [80]
1979-11-11 Manises UFO Incident Valencia Spain Three large UFOs forced a commercial flight to make an emergency landing at Manises airport. 1 [81]
1980s Hudson Valley UFO sightings Hudson Valley United States A UFO flap during the eighties and early nineties, involving thousands of reports of similarly-shaped UFOs. They were first observed by a retired policeman in Kent, New York, late on New Year's Eve, 1981. The 1984 "Incident at Indian Point" was one of these sightings. 1 [82]
1980-12-28 Rendlesham Forest Incident Suffolk, England United Kingdom A sighting which was first thought to be a downed aircraft. 2 [83]
1980-12-29 Cash-Landrum incident Dayton, Texas United States A huge diamond-shaped UFO irradiates three witnesses, who all needed treatment for radiation poisoning. The UFO was escorted by military helicopters. The victims have since sued the US Government. 2 [84]
1986-11-17 Japan Air Lines flight 1628 incident Alaska United States A group of UFOs flew alongside Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 for 50 minutes above Northeastern Alaska. One of the objects trailing behind the Boeing 747 was detected by military radar. 1 [85]
1990-03-30 Belgian UFO wave Ans, Wallonia Belgium Mass sighting of large, silent, low-flying black triangles, which were tracked by multiple NATO radar and jet interceptors, and investigated by Belgium's military. Photographic evidence exists. 1 [86]
[87]
1990-11-07 1990 Montreal UFO Montreal, Quebec Canada More than 40 witnesses, including police, observed a UFO above Place Bonaventure for more than 3 hours. 1 [88]
1991-04-21 Achille Zaghetti London, England United Kingdom Alitalia pilot Achille Zaghetti reports a cigar-shaped UFO flying past his plane at high speed during his descent to Heathrow Airport on a flight from Milan to London. Immediately following the near-miss, Zaghetti contacted the radar control center, which confirmed an unidentified target was observed 10 nautical miles behind the plane. British defence officials ruled out a missile, but offered no explanation for the sighting. 1 [89][90]
1991 STS-48 incident Orbit, Space Discovery, STS-48 Video apparently taken during missionSTS-48, appears to show objects flying in an artificial fashion. NASA explained the objects as ice particles reacting to engine jets. Philip C. Plait discussed it in Bad Astronomy, agreeing with NASA. A Florida Today article in 2000 quoted Dr. Jack Kasher stating that he found the footage to actually depict independently operated spacecraft, see "Journal for UFO Studies". 1 [91]
1993 Kelly Cahill Victoria Australia East of Melbourne's Dandenong foothills Kelly Cahill and five others observed a flying saucer that appeared shortly after midnight. They were also confronted by tall, slim, black aliens with glowing red eyes. 5 [92]
1994-06 Meng Zhaoguo Incident Wuchang China Meng claimed to have been abducted and forced to have sexual intercourse with a 10 feet (3.0 m), six fingered, female alien with braided leg fur. 4 [93]
1996-01-20 Varginha UFO incident Varginha, Minas Gerais Brazil Multiple sightings and an allegedly captured alien by the Brazilian military. 3 [94]
1997-08-06 Mexico City skyline UFO Mexico City Mexico An amateur with a digital camera captured footage of a UFO passing behind and above several buildings. Air traffic was restricted that day except for two helicopters. 1 [95]
2000-01-05 Southern Illinois UFO St. Clair County, Illinois United States Between 4:00 and 7:00 am, six people, including police officers, observed a large, triangular object a few hundred feet over St. Clair County. The object glided silently and slowly to the southwest over several villages before vanishing near the town of Dupo. The object, studded with several bright lights, was as tall as a two-story house and as long as a football field. 1 [96]
[edit] After 2000
Date Name City, State Country Description Kind of Close Encounter Sources
2002-01-14 Paintsville UFO/Train Collision Paintsville, Kentucky United States A train struck a UFO that was hovering over the tracks. The train was heavily damaged, along with two other railroad cars. 1 [97]
2004-03-05 2004 Mexican UFO Incident Mexico A drug-smuggling air patrol recorded on infrared camera what some claimed to be UFOs. The footage was released by Jaime Maussan. Others suggest the objects are oil platform burn-off flares. 1 [98]
2004-10-31 The Tinley Park Lights Tinley Park, Illinois United States A sequence of five mass UFO sightings, first on August 21, 2004, two months later on October 31, 2004, again on October 1 of 2005, and once again on October 31, 2006, in Tinley Park and Oak Park, Chicago. 1 [99][100][101]
2005-04-27 Washington, D.C. United States The White House was evacuated when a UFO entered restricted air space, then disappeared. It was explained as: "probably a cloud or several birds". 1 [102]
2006-11-07 Chicago O'Hare UFO sighting 2006 Chicago, Illinois United States United Airlines employees and pilots claimed sightings of a saucer-shaped, unlit craft hovering over a Chicago O'Hare Airport terminal, before shooting up vertically. The FAA initially denied having received reports, but information gained by means of the Freedom of Information Act revealed otherwise. 1 [103]
2007-02-02 Islington, London, England United Kingdom Ten to fifteen UFOs are spotted. 1 [104]
2007-02-16 Kaliningrad Russian Federation A student records a UFO on his video camera. 1 [105]
2007-03-03 New Delhi India A green fireball was seen over Delhi by ten pilots. 1 [106]
2007-03-07 New Delhi India Two UFOs were detected near the prime minister's residence. 1 [107]
2007-03-10 Cleveland, Ohio United States UFO seen over a peace rally. 1 [108]
2007-04-23 Channel Islands Two airline pilots on separate flights spot UFOs off the coast of Alderney. 1 [109]
2007-05-02 Sutton, England United Kingdom John Gregory spotted a UFO after 10 pm. As he was observing the sky he noticed a very bright object, which at first he considered to be a star. Later he began to doubt this, and was very surprised by the very unusual and clear phenomenon, which was visible for miles around. The image, which seemed to be shaped like a face, nose and mouth, remained for about 20 minutes and then just vanished. 1 [110]
2007-05-11 Massillon, Ohio United States At 10:40 pm, Rosemary Lyons and a co-worker were taking a smoke break outside the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge, located at 2935 Lincoln Way West, when they witnessed a UFO. They estimated its size as 60 feet (18 m) in diameter. Lyons: "The first thing I said was 'Oh my gosh. Look at that,' We saw it for 20 to 25 seconds. It was round and luminous underneath. It wasn't a plane, it wasn't a helicopter, it wasn’t a blimp and it wasn't a balloon. It made absolutely no sound. It was flying over just carefree – like it was no one's business." 1 [111]
2007-05-12 Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland United Kingdom Orange colored UFOs were spotted during the evening. Clifford Rossbottom said, "There were three orange globes, nearly in a straight line, ... an absolutely fascinating sight. I watched them for five minutes, and then very slowly, they just disappeared. The only thing I thought it could have been was three high-flying aircraft. If that is not the case, then I have no idea, and the only other thing I can think of is in fact that they were UFOs." Belfast International Airport's air traffic control received calls from people (including the Coastguard) who spotted the objects, but the airport reported no aircraft in the area during the time of the sightings. A company called UFO Balloons later claimed their product was responsible for the events. One month later two similar aircraft were sighted over Buela, Colorado.[112] 1 [113]
2007-05-27 Chilliwack, British Columbia Canada Dave Francis and Kelly McDonald witnessed a UFO over UCFV campus. Francis said, "I really think it was a UFO. I don’t really care if anybody else believes me ... it was the craziest thing I ever saw. Whatever it was, they were moving from place to place as a unit [and then] just faded away." McDonald said, "I know that I saw something that wasn’t from here. I’ve never seen anything move that way. It wasn’t birds. [As the UFO approached] it broke apart into 20 or more of these little spheres ... birds don’t dive-bomb in at each other. " 1 [114]
2007-05-28 Bangalore India Afzal Khan told CNN IBN that he photographed a UFO, "Today (Monday) at around 9 pm (IST), I and my brothers saw a bright, slow-moving object which looked like a group of lights moving in a triangular formation in the sky towards west/north-west direction. This object was definitely not an aeroplane as it was moving very slowly. We observed the object from around 9 pm until 9.30 pm before it disappeared into the distance. During this time we managed to take some pictures with my camera. The astronomical/space/science departments of any activity in the sky during the above time can be confirmed. We live in Jayanagar area of Bangalore. Another thing that we noticed during this time was an aircraft that took-off from Bangalore Airport was flying very close to this object. It is possible that the pilot of that aircraft could have spotted this object as well." 1 [115]
2007-07-23 Warwickshire, England United Kingdom Crowd of 100 persons saw a formation of strange lights in the sky for 30 minutes. 1 [116]
2007-09-25 Kodiak Island UFO, 2007 Kodiak, Alaska United States On September 25, 2007, around 6:45am, a bright red light was flying fast over Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. Within seconds, it travelled to Kodiak Island air space, over 300 miles away. Many claimed to have seen it descend behind a mountain. Local troopers and Coast Guard personnel were unable to find traces. 1 [117]
2007-10-30 Kolkata India Many people claimed to see a UFO near Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Calcutta. It was also recorded by an amateur videographer. It was like a ball of light which some time hovered, sometimes moved very fast and changed shape and size. The video was broadcasted on local news channels. 1 [118][119]
2007-11-08 Larnaca Cyprus UFO reported to have come from the coast inland near a village called Catalkoy in small and rapid zigzags, then stopped and hovered for approximately 30 seconds before making a smooth ascent at 45 degrees east. 1 [120]
2008-01-01 San Diego, California United States Nine separate lights were spotted moving in an arc formation across the sky at around half past midnight on New Years Day. Around the globe, many people are said to have reported the same exact lights in the sky. A later Fox News San Diego report by anchor Jim Patten showed these lights to be Chinese New Year floating Lanterns. On February 16, 2008, two individuals reported seeing a large, pulsing orb of light hovering in place above Miramar Air Base. 1 [121]
2008-01-08 to 2008-02-09 Stephenville, Texas UFO sightings Stephenville, Texas, Dublin, Texas, Crawford, Texas United States UFOs were, and still are, sometimes reported in this area. One was an object that was described as 1 mile (1.6 km) by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in size, spotted over Bush Ranch in Crawford, Texas. The Air Force has identified the objects as training fighter jets that went unreported due to a "communications problem". 1 [122]
May–Sept, 2008 2008 Turkey UFO Sightings Istanbul Turkey Over a four month span in 2008, a night guard at the Yeni Kent Compound videotaped one or more UFOs over Turkey at nighttime. Many witnesses confirmed the two and a half hours' worth of video, leading the Sirius UFO Space Science Research Center to dub it the "most important images of a UFO ever filmed". 1 [123]
2008-05-14 Needles, California United States A flaming object crashed near the Colorado river. Several witnesses claim to have seen five helicopters picking up the strange object after 17 minutes and heading into direction of Las Vegas. 1 [124]
2008-06-20 Wales UFO sightings Different cities, Wales United Kingdom After media reports of a police helicopter that was almost hit by a UFO, before it tried to pursue it, hundreds of people reported to have witnessed a UFO on the same or preceding days, from different areas of Wales. 1 [125]
2008-06-21 Moscow UFO sightings Moscow Russian Federation Different people and media (including state-owned) reported sightings of 11 orange UFOs. Further confirmation came from Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. On June 25 a similar report, now with 13 objects, was claimed in the UK. 1 [126][127][128]
2008-06-29 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset United Kingdom Royal Navy aircraft engineer Michael Madden watched a UFO hover above the M5 motorway near Weston-super-Mare for around three minutes before it disappeared at high speed. Madden described the UFO as looking "like alien aircraft in the films". 1 [129][130]
2008-12-10 Zagreb Croatia Bright lights were seen over an insurance building in Zagreb. They were filmed and put on the news. The UFO was actually a misidentified media stunt. [131]
2009-01-05 Morristown UFO Morristown, New Jersey United States A confirmed hoax in Morristown, New Jersey, perpetrated by Chris Russo & Joe Rudy who sent up different sets of helium balloons with attached flares. [132][133][134]
2009-03-18 London, England United Kingdom A group of UFOs appear on a photo, even though they were invisible to the naked eye. 1 [135]
2009-05-31 Kolkata India UFOs detected by Kolkata ATC 1 [136]
June, 2009 Wisconsin, Texas, Nevada, Mexico City, Tijuana United States, Mexico Scattered reports of UFO sightings all over the United States from June 3 to 22, 2009. 1, 2 [137]
2009-08-05 Northern England United Kingdom UFO captured on BBC camera. 1 [138]
2009-08-16 Ural Russia Alleged disappearance of an 11 year old girl in a UFO sighting 1 [139]
2009-10-20 Florida United States Report of a nearly 200-foot-long triangle-shaped craft spotted flying at 100 feet altitude. 1 [140]
2010-06-05 New South Wales, Queensland Australia Scores of people across Australia's east coast say they saw bizarre yellow-green light zooming across the sky "like a lollipop swirl" between 5.45am and 6am. 1 [141]
2010-07-09 Zhejiang China According to the Xinhua news agency, after the unidentified flying object was spotted, airport authorities stopped passengers from boarding planes, and outgoing flights were grounded for an hour in Hangzhou, the capital city of China's Zhejiang province. When officials closed the airport, incoming flights were rerouted to other airports. So far, no explanation has been offered to explain the UFO. However, several hours before the airport incident, many Hangzhou residents described seeing a large, brightly lit, elongated object in the sky.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
condition of nepalese student in London
condition of nepalese student in London
this video is copied from youtube.com composed by bikram shrestha under the heading
dream turning into nightmare for all nepali students in abroad
this video is copied from youtube.com composed by bikram shrestha under the heading
dream turning into nightmare for all nepali students in abroad
Monday, August 9, 2010
Poor in Nepal face growing hardships
International aid agency Oxfam today warned that the poor people in Nepal are facing growing hardships.
"Economic growth is slowing down to two per cent, inflation is approaching double digits, and public services are not effectively functioning," said Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's Program Manager for South Asia.
Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Now, on top of a decade of conflict, life has become even more difficult, as poor people are facing physical insecurity, shortages, rising costs of basic goods, difficulties in making a living, and reduced access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
Oxfam is urging the international community to facilitate a rapid resolution to the current crisis.
"Overcoming poverty in Nepal is dependent upon peace, and peace is dependent on an inclusive process through which Nepalis determine their own future and where everyone's social, economic and human rights are respected," said Ireland.
"Economic growth is slowing down to two per cent, inflation is approaching double digits, and public services are not effectively functioning," said Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's Program Manager for South Asia.
Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Now, on top of a decade of conflict, life has become even more difficult, as poor people are facing physical insecurity, shortages, rising costs of basic goods, difficulties in making a living, and reduced access to health, education, clean water and sanitation.
Oxfam is urging the international community to facilitate a rapid resolution to the current crisis.
"Overcoming poverty in Nepal is dependent upon peace, and peace is dependent on an inclusive process through which Nepalis determine their own future and where everyone's social, economic and human rights are respected," said Ireland.
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