Issue 212 Newsletter
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GURKHA INTERNATIONAL GROUP April 2015 Issue 212 Newsletter Contents • Shipping Companies & Ships, Important Notice ................................1 • PEME, GI (HK) Business World Security: Economics, Nuclear, Europe ...................................2 • The Arab World, Afghanistan & Pakistan, Palestine, Asia, Thiland, malaysia and the Malacca Straits, Somalia ...................3 • Africa, Myanmar, The Americas ....4 • Nepal News .....................................5 - 7 • Hong Kong News ..................... 7 - 10 • Conclusion .........................................11 We publish this month a photograph of the Superstar Libra of Star Cruises . If you have pictures or postcards of your ship, please send them in to us for future Newsletters. SHIPPING COMPANIES AND SHIPS LINKED TO US We Welcome We are working with 21 shipping companies, and have 768 men and 153 women on ships, a total of 921 crew and staff under management. Star Cruises Resham Gurung IMPORTANT NOTICE: REPORTING TO Umesh KC Saroj Khatiwada OUR OFFICES WHEN YOU REACH HOME Bijay Lama Last month we published our regular notice about reporting to our office Chhewang Lama when you get back to home country. We now need to remind you again, Binod Roka Magar because we have received a series of complaints about our crew not returning Prabin Raut Subash Thapa to work on time. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is because we are too late starting to process visas and medicals for some of our crew Norwegian Cruise Lines who don’t report to our office on return. If you think about it, it’s easy to see Yamuna Gurung why. Some leave periods are about 30 days or less. It takes us 15 days to get one visa, 30 days to get 2. Now we are sending our Nepalese crew to New Carnival UK Delhi for medical examinations, that adds another 7 days. Add in the usual Anju Jaiswal and unusual holidays, emergencies like weather, landslides, planes that block Sinuara Subba runways, etc etc, and you can see that we have a problem here. It has caused Weennie Thapa so much anxiety and inconvenience to one of our client companies that they Sakun Tamang have threatened to recruit crew from another country. That would mean some of you losing your jobs. So, we have to do something about it. Gurkha International Group Newslatter 1 World Security In future, if you have not been in contact with our office 4 days af- ter return, we will inform our client companies and nominate a re- placement. That will mean that you may have to wait for another va- cancy. It may mean serving on a different ship. It may mean losing your job altogether. That would be a disaster which no one wants. The solu- tion is in your hands. Please report in immediately you get back. PRE-EMPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS (PEME) GI (HK) Business Since our medical examiner, Dr Shrestha, died recently, we have been working to have our chosen replacement, Dr Shakya of the Subba Clinic, We are providing security ser- authorized to examine our crew in his place. The process is a lengthy one vices for 32 Hong Kong Clients involving the Norwegian Embassy and the Norwegian Maritime Author- and have 100 security staff em- ity in Oslo. While this is underway, we regret that we have to ask you all ployed. to have the examinations done in New Delhi en route to ship. This takes time and expense, we know. We shall have our new medical examiner au- Our employment agency place- thorised as soon as we can so that we can resume the old system using the ment service found 0 Bodyguard/ Subba Clinic as soon as possible Driver post position over the last month. World Security Economics The problems in Greece rumble on and remain a threat to the Eurozone. The Chinese economy has slowed, and doubts have re-emerged about the US economy. World growth seems to have stalled. Nuclear The negotiations between the joint powers and Iran over its nuclear pro- gramme came to a successful but only provisional agreement. Much op- position to the deal remains, both in Iran and the US, but detailed talks will resume in June. Until those are successfully completed, sanctions remain in force on Iran. There is no news of the North Korean nuclear programme. Europe The ceasefire agreed between Russia and the Ukraine at Minsk is beseems to beginning to fray again and some fighting has resumed in eastern Ukraine. The situation remains highly dangerous. Re- lations between Rus- Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addresses military sia and the west re- commanders in Tehran on April 19. (Office of the Iranian Supreme main poisonous. Leader) 2 World Security The Arab World Iraqi armed forces, supported in the air by the American led coalition, and on the ground by the Kurds and by Iranian forc- es, continue to push back the Islamic State (ISIS). The civil war in Syria continues with- out let up. The country has been largely de- stroyed. The conflict in Yemen has widened into an international one, as the Sunni Mus- lim powers, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, have attacked the Shia Muslim Houthi forces which have taken over much of the country and are conducting an aerial bombing cam- paign. Iran supports the Houthi side and has sent naval ships to the coast near Aden. Lib- ya remains in a state of civil war and ISIS is A member of the Iraqi forces checks the horizon during a recent patrol west of Bagh- now operating there. dad. U.S. officials are considering training Iraqi troops to act as ground controllers for airstrikes. Afghanistan and Pakistan Afghanistan and Pakistani remain open to violence and suicide bombings. Palestine There are no developments this month. Asia There is no news of the conflicting mari- time claims of China and its neighbours this month. Occasional terrorist acts continue to occur in Muslim areas of western China’s Xinjiang province and in the southern Philippines. Thailand, Malaysia and the Malacca Straits Several bombing attacks occurred in Thai- land during the Songkran New Year fes- Deputy Defence Minister and army chief Udomdej Sitabutr denies the government tival. The Government has blamed exiled played any role in the Samui bombing, saying it would not stoop low as to discredit or banned opposition groups, although it itself by such action. is possible that Muslim terrorists were in- volved. There are occasional reports of piracy attacks aimed at small tankers and cargo vessels in the Malacca straits. Somalia There are no new reports of piracy at present. Fighting continues in the country between the government and its foreign allies (Ethiopia, Kenya and others) and Islamic militant al-Shabaab fighters, who have been linked with ISIS, members of which were shown on video murdering Ethiopian Christians on a beach. 5 Al-Shabaab terrorists carried out a shooting attack at Garissa University College in north east Kenya which killed 148 stu- dents, staff and security forces. Gurkha International Group Newslatter 3 World Security Africa Nigerian forces continue their offensive to retake the north of the country from Islamic militants Boko Haram. The security situations in Chad, Cameroon, Burkino Fasu, the Central African Republic, Mali and South Sudan remain disturbed. The outbreak of Ebola Virus in West Africa is steadily being brought under control. Myanmar Fighting with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on the Myanmar border with China continued near the town of Kokang on during the month, leading to many casualties. India There is little news of a security note this month. The Americas There is little news of a security note this month. The US and Cuba have commenced re-opening relations that have been frozen since the Castro revolution. Nigerian soldiers hold up a Boko Haram flag that they had seized in the recently retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria, March 18, 2015 4 Gurkha International Group Newslatter Nepal News Final rites of former Prime Minister and CA member Surya Bahadur Thapa is being performed at Pashupati Aryaghat, Kathmandu on Friday Nepal News Lawmakers demand more money Former PM Thapa cremated Mahendra chose Thapa as Prime Minister. 16 Apr - The Constituent Assembly (CA) 17 Apr, AVALANCHE - Former Prime Minister Thapa remained at the center of Nepal’s members belonging to the four major Surya Bahadur Thapa was cremated with politics ever since then and was active till political parties are pressuring Prime state honours at Pashupati Aryaghat on the end as a decisive political payer. Minister Sushil Koirala and Finance Minister Friday. After 1990, he formed Rashtriya Prajatanra Ram Sharan Mahat to increase the amount Thapa’s son Sunil Bahadur Thapa, who is Party and embraced multi-party that they get to spend in development Minister of Commerce and Supplies, lit his democracy. After 2006, he chaired some works of their respective constituencies. father’s funeral pyre on the Bagmati river sessions of Constituent Assembly (CA) that The government provides Rs 10 million to bank. was primarily formed to turn Nepal into a each CA member under the Constituency Thapa’s dead body was kept at his Maligaun federal republic democracy. Development Program but the CA members residence and Dasharath stadium for last want the government to increase this tributes. Leaders of various political parties Nepal marks anniversary of Everest’s amount to Rs 50 million in the upcoming had reached Maligaun to pay their last deadliest avalanche fiscal year. respect to Thapa. 18 Apr, AVALANCHE - Nepal has marked According to Prakash Jwala, chairman of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala had wrapped the anniversary of Mount Everest’s the Finance Committee of the parliament, Thapa’s dead body with a national flag. deadliest avalanche with a memorial and a the committee is planning to direct the Talking to journalists, Koirala praised Thapa government announcement that it will set government to increase the amount as for supporting democracy during any up a welfare fund for mountaineering and soon as the process to prepare the next political movement.