Theft in City

KATHMANDU: Cash and articles worth Rs one lakh were stolen from a room of the Kathmandu Guest House at Thamel on Thursday night, police said. The police said that two Hong Kong nationals rented the room. Unidentified persons sneaked into the room from a window and took away Hong Kong dollar seven thousand, $500, a digital camera and two mobile sets, police said. — HNS

Bhanu Bhakta prize

KATHMANDU: The Nepal Education Council (NEC) has decided to give away this year’s ‘Aadi Kabi Bhanu Bhakta Puraskar’ to critic Bhanu Bhakta Pokharel. A meeting held under the chairmanship of poet laureate Madhav Prasad Ghimire decided to give away the award to Pokharel for his contribution to Nepali literature, the NEC said in a press release on Friday. The meeting also decided to honour Bhadra Kumari Ghale with ‘Gopal Pande Asim Puraskar’ for her contribution to Nepali literature. According to the release, both the awards will be given on July 16, the anniversary of the NEC. — HNS

PM’s message

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has congratulated Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland on his assumption of the high office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. In a message sent on Friday, the PM expressed his best wishes for the continued progress and prosperity of the people of the United Kingdom under his able leadership. — RSS

Minister’s departure

Kathmandu: Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Narendra Bikram Nembang left here on Friday for Cape Town, South Africa, in order to take part in the 46th convention of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation to be organised in Cape Town, South Africa, from July 2 to 6. — RSS

Plea for son’s release

KATHMANDU: Mukbuniya Devi Shah, mother of an abductee, Jitendra, on Friday appealed to journalists and rights activists to take initiatives for the release of her son from the clutches of the kidnappers. She issued the appeal at the Sambad Club. A group of unidentified persons had abducted Jitendra from Koteshwor 16 days ago. Jitendra was running a pharmacy in Koteshwor. — RSS

South Asian forum

KATHMANDU: The ‘Imagine A New South Asia’ (INSA) has been conceptualised to advance a shared sense of South Asian vision and mission to promote more policy convergence on key issues, more regional cooperation and joint initiative at the government as well as civil society level. The participants said the INSA has opted for a collective vision for plural, federated, and a vibrant South Asia. — RSS