The Committee on State Restructuring and Distribution of State Power is making the final touches to its concept paper and preliminary draft. The committee was one of a few that had not submitted its draft. The Himalayan Times reports:

A sub-committee headed by CA member UCPN-Maoist, Hitman Shakya, is working on the names, boundaries and the number of federal units to be incorporated in the new constitution.

[According to the draft] the communites shall have the right to preserve their language, culture, religion; engage in politics and commerce and trade, as well as manage lands in their given federal units.

The committee has conceived the idea of giving special rights to women and Dalits until their living standards improve.

The government has stepped up efforts to contain the H1N1 flu, which has claimed two lives so far. With funding from the World Bank, it will set up three advanced laboratories across the country within the next two months and distribute 550,000 vials of the H1N1 flu vaccine. Kathmandu Post reports:

The government has decided to set up one laboratory each in Kathmandu and B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (Dharan) and the next either in Dhangadi or Nepalgunj.

The World Bank is providing financial assistance to set up these laboratories, according Dr. Shayam Sundar Misra, Coordinator of Avian Influenza Control Project, under the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Mishra said the government has already signed an agreement with the World Bank to this effect.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal says he has received several death threats since he called for direct talks with India on 22 December. Dahal blames “foreign imperialists” and the government has told security agencies to be vigilant. Republica reports:

“Yes, he told the prime minister that he was receiving death threats after he addressed a rally in Baneshwar on Dec 22, but the government has not so far received any information about such threats,” said Prime Minister Nepal´s press advisor Bishnu Rijal. “It could just have been his feeling.”

However, Rijal added that the home ministry had warned Dahal against participating in the rally at Singha Durbar on November 1. “There are Maoist splinter groups, and there was a threat on Dahal from them. So he was asked to be cautious,” Rijal said.

In happier news, there is a new tigress in the central zoo. Her name is Narayani and she is five-years old. We’ll post pictures if we find any.