China seeks two pairs of one-horned rhino

Kathmandu, January 17
Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Agni Sapkota today said China had sought two pairs of one-horned rhinoceros from Nepal.

Addressing a press meet to reveal details about his five-day China visit today, Minister Sapkota said since one-horned rhino had gone extinct in China, the Chinese government wished to conserve rhinoceros.

Listed in Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the endangered one-horned rhinoceros is found only in Nepal and India.

According to former Director General of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Shyam Bajimaya, Nepal had gifted one-horned rhinoceros to Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, USA and Germany in the past.

He said Nepal had also sent a pair of rhino calves to Germany. He said the last pair of rhinos that Nepal gifted to another country was in 2006 when the then crown prince Paras took the pair to Vienna.

DNPWC spokesperson Maheswor Dhakal said there was no legal hurdle in presenting the endangered one-horned rhinoceros to other countries if the Nepal government decided to do so.

He said the government could gift rhinos for scientific and research purposes, as there are several examples of sharing endangered fauna for scientific research.

Minister Sapkota added that as a Forest and Soil Conservation Minister he could not give word to China and told the Chinese authorities that he would take the initiative to gift two pairs of rhinoceros to China after consulting Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Spokesperson Dhakal said currently Nepal had 645 one-horned rhinos.

Minister said during his visit the two countries decided to take initiative to develop green economic corridors at two check-points on the Nepal-China border Tatopani-Gangmu and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung to conserve the wildlife in the border areas and control illegal trade of forest resources and wildlife.
He said China had agreed to extend financial and technical support for establishing forensic science laboratory for wildlife research and also for establishing a wildlife sanctuary near Kathmandu.
The minister added International Network for Bamboo and Rattan was keen to extend support to Nepal for developing shelters for earthquake victims using bamboo.

Minister Sapkota had visited China on the invitation of the Chinese Minister for State Forestry Administration.

Source: The Himlayan Times

FIFA’s Blatter is still being paid his salary despite ban from world soccer

MIAMI: FIFA’s Sepp Blatter may have been banned for eight years from the game but he is still receiving his president’s salary from world soccer’s governing body, a spokesman for FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee told Reuters on Monday.
Blatter was suspended for 90 days by FIFA on Oct 8 and then banned from the game for eight years last month for ethics violations over a $2 million payment FIFA made to European soccer boss Michel Platini with Blatter’s approval in 2011.

But Blatter, a Swiss national who has been president of FIFA since 1998, will continue to be paid until a new president is elected on Feb 26, the spokesman Andreas Bantel said. That would mean Blatter would have been paid for nearly five months during which time he was unable to carry out his duties, and a period in which FIFA has appointed an acting president, African soccer head Issa Hayatou.
The compensation sub-committee of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee recently ruled that it could stop Blatter’s bonuses but not, according to his contract, his salary.
“Until the election of a new president on February 26, Mr Blatter is the elected president and therefore – according to his contract – is entitled to receive his remuneration,” Bantel said.
Blatter’s US lawyer and his Switzerland-based spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
FIFA is facing the worst corruption crisis in it history as a total of 41 individuals and entities, including many former FIFA officials, have been charged with corruption-related offences in the United States. The U.S. investigation is far from over and FIFA also faces a parallel Swiss probe.
Blatter’s bonuses have been stopped because he was not carrying out his duties of supervising the organization, including its general secretary.
Only last week, FIFA announced that Jerome Valcke was fired from his position as general secretary. It gave no reason but an investigation had followed allegations of corruption related to World Cup ticket sales.

COMPENSATION A SECRET
“The duty of supervision is listed explicitly in the target agreements for the payment of bonuses. The compensation committee has therefore decided, at its last meeting, not to make any further bonus payments to Mr Blatter,” said Bantel.

The size of Blatter’s compensation from FIFA has remained secret although reforms to be voted on at the organization’s February Congress call for the disclosure of individual compensation for the president and top executives.

It is also unclear what Hayatou is getting paid to be acting president.

FIFA’s finances may have taken a blow in the past year because of the costs and distractions of the corruption scandal. According to a report from the UK’s Press Association late last year, the organization suffered its first loss last year since 2001.

Bantel declined to discuss what proportion of Blatter’s payments came from his bonuses.
The FIFA Ethics Committee said the payment to Platini, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked transparency and presented conflicts of interest, though both men denied any wrongdoing. Platini has also been banned from soccer for eight years.
Both Blatter and Platini have said they will appeal against their bans.

Source: The Himalayan Times

Indian tourists throng Mustang

MUSTANG: The number of Indian nationals visiting Mustang district has gradually increased, according to a record.
The record maintained by Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) states that Indian tourists made the highest number among the foreign tourists visiting the district.

The arrival of Indian tourists is on the rise as Hindu shrines including Muktinath, Kagbeni and Damodarkunda are in Mustang, the ACAP said.
But, the number of Indians has gone down after the ‘Gorkha Earthquake’ and India’s unofficial blockade on Nepal.
In 2015, a total of 8,459 Indian tourists visited Mustang while the number was 18,000 plus in the previous year. However, the locals said that the Indian tourists’ stay in the district is shorter compared to other countries’ visitors.
According to ACAP, 14,000 tourists have visited the district from the third countries, mostly from Australia, France, Germany, Sweden and others



Source: The Himalayan Times