KATHMANDU: Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations in New York, was unanimously elected Chairman of the Administration and Budgetary Committee for the 70th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA-70) on Monday. Bhattarai will serve in this capacity from the beginning of the UNGA-70 from September 15, 2015 till its closure in September 2016, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Nepal in the United Nations in New York, USA. One of the six main committees, the Administration and Budgetary Committee (also known as the fifth committee) is responsible for the entire administration and budgetary matters of the UN. Based on its reports, the General Assembly approves the budget of the organisation. It also recommends to the UNGA the financial and budgetary arrangements with specialised agencies.

JAR meeting

KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Education has begun Joint Annual Review meeting with the development partners in Sanothimi, Bhaktapur, from Monday. According to MoE, the partners are going to review the annual progress in the education sector with the focus on Post Disaster Need Assessment. UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, ADB, JICA, Finland and Norway are some of the development partners providing financial support for the development of the education sector in Nepal. The meeting will conclude on Wednesday.

Monks build shelters

KATHMANDU: A group of monks from Australia is busy providing assistance to the people rendered homeless by the April 25 earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks. The team under the command of monk Ven Thich Vien Chon is involved in helping the earthquake survivors build temporary shelters using corrugated zinc sheets in Sidhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Gorkha, Dolakha, Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts. “We are assisting to construct houses for 2,000 families,” said Bhante Sobhana, a member of the group. The team of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda arrived in Nepal on May 9.

Cop held for graft

KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority arrested Inspector Padam Raj Joshi of the Metropolitan Police Circle, Swoyambhu, for receiving bribe from a service seeker with a promise to ‘settle an assault case’ involving the person. According to the anti-graft watchdog, Inspector Joshi had received a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the service seeker and was arrested from Bajra Hotel in Bijeshwori.