- Epaper

kathmandupost
Coldest: Jiri: 14.9°c Hottest: Jankapur: 34.6°c
Temperature: Max: 28.0°c Min: 20.6°c
the
capital edition
l
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
printed simultaneously in kathmandu, biratnagar, bharatpur and nepalgunj
Stand Price rs 5.00
N E PA L’ S L A R G E S T S E L L I N G E N G L I S H D A I LY
Vol XXIV No 175 | 12+4 Pages
page 8
page 5
page 12
money
‘Unilever trying to end
crisis amicably’
Life & style
world
sports
Garden Theatre’s Eklabya ko Antim
Tape tells the story of an existential
angst-ridden Nepali elderly
Trump criticised for offhand
gun rights slap at Clinton
Phelps still rules the pool as
the American swimmer
claims record 21st gold
transitional justice
Medals Tally
RankCountry G S BTotal
1USA
108 9 27
2China 8 3 617
3Hungary 4 1 1 6
4Australia 4 0 5 9
5Russia 3 7 313
6Italy 3 4 2 9
7SKorea 32 1 6
8 Japan 3 1 1014
9France 2 3 1 6
10Thailand 2 1 1 4
* Standings as of 10:30 pm, Wednesday
Thursday,August 11, 2016 (27-o4-2073)
TRC, CIEDP
have a lot on
their plate
Nepal in NatGeo’s list of 10 places
that deserve more travellers
Mosquito
traps laced
with human Have six months to look into over 60,000 complaints
Challenges
scent help
fight malaria
DEWAN RAI
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Agence France-Presse
THE HAGUE, AUG 10
Dutch and Kenyan scientists
have designed a unique mosquito trap which uses human
odour to attract the malaria-carrying insects, helping
cut the number of cases dramatically, researchers said on
Wednesday.
A three-year study in Kenya
found the special traps baited
with synthetic smell helped to
catch 70 percent of the local
malaria mosquito population,
and led to a 30 percent drop in
cases in households using the
devices.
Published on Wednesday in
The Lancet, the research was
carried out on the Kenyan
island of Rusinga with the
participation of all 25,000 residents. “The odour-baited trap
may also offer a solution to
diseases like dengue fever and
the Zika virus,” Wageningen
University
in
The
Netherlands, which led the
research, said in a statement.
Both dengue and Zika are
caused by parasites carried by
a different kind of mosquito
to the malaria-bearing one,
but which is also attracted by
human smell.
The trap also reduces the
need to rely on pesticides to
control mosquitoes, which are
becoming increasingly resistant to such chemicals. Using
pesticides is also dangerous to
agriculture. “Beating malaria
without using insecticides is
my ultimate dream,” said
Willem
Takken
from
Wageningen University in
The Netherlands.
The transitional justice bodies closed complaint registration on Wednesday, with over
60,000 cases collected in the
last four months.
The
Truth
and
Reconciliation Commission
(TRC) and the Commission of
Investigation on Enforced
Disappeared Persons (CIEDP)
now have six months in hand
to establish truth, investigate
into rights violations and
make recommendations for
action.
The commissions, however,
are yet to receive the complaints sent through snail
mail.
“We hope to receive all the
complaints sent through post
within the next few days,”
said TRC Chairman Surya
Kiran Gurung. “Then only
can we give the exact number
of complaints received.”
Though Gurung said the
TRC would like to complete its
task in six months, the government is yet to start the
process of entering into the
agendas of the transitional
justice process, except Prime
Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal, who assumed office
TRC and CIEDP have six
months to look into over
60,000 cases
n In the coming six months, the
transitional bodies have to
establish truth, investigate
into rights violations and
make recommendations for
action
n The government is yet to
amend the Enforced
Disappearances Enquiry,
Truth and Reconciliation
Commission Act as per the
Supreme Court order
n TRC and CIEDP are understaffed
n Both commissions are
working on a shoestring
n
last week, briefing senior
bureaucrats on the government’s position on the issue.
Amending the Enforced
Disappearances
Enquiry,
Truth and Reconciliation
Commission Act as per
the Supreme Court order
could be the starting point for
the government to give an
impetus to the transitional
justice process.
The transitional justice
bodies a year ago had forwarded draft amendments to the
government, but no action has
been taken so far. Both commissions are under-staffed
and have been working on a
shoestring, which could be
major obstacles for the commissions to finish their tasks
in six months.
“We hope the new government will pay heed to our concerns,”
said
Lokendra
Mallick, chairman of the
CIEDP, who believes the
remaining tasks of the peace
process can be completed only
after concluding the transitional justice process. “Since
we have the warring parties
of the conflict period leading
the government now, we
expect them to be more
responsible,” he added.
The transitional justice
bodies, which were envisaged
in the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement signed between
the government then rebel
Maoists, came into being after
nine long years in February
2015. But they started receiving complaints from the conflict victims in mid-April,
after 14 months they came
into being.
The commissions, which
were formed with a two-year
mandate, have to complete
their tasks by February
next year.
n
Trekkers cross a suspension bridge along the Annapurna Circuit in the Mustang region. POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Nepal has been included in
National
Geographic
Traveller magazine’s Ten
Places That Deserve More
Travellers in what could be a
major boost for the country’s
faltering tourism industry
following the devastating
earthquake last year.
The UK-based popular
travel publication has placed
Nepal in the third spot
among
10
locations.
“Although Kathmandu and
Nepal have long attracted
adventurous travellers, the
country’s April 2015 earthquake, which killed 8,000 and
wrought about $10 billion
(half of the country’s GDP)
in damage, decimated the
country’s tourism industry,”
said the magazine. “While
the earthquake has damaged
Nepal’s man-made structures, its mountain trails,
including the legendary
Annapurna Circuit through
the snow-capped shadow of
the Himalaya, remain accessible. Only two of Nepal’s 35
listed trails have been rerouted as a result of earthquake
damage, and as early as last
summer,
all
of
the
Annapurna trail’s bridges
were successfully tested for
safety.” The list has highlighted trekking activities in
the Himalayan wilderness
along with more spiritual
activities like learning art of
playing the Himalayan singing bowls, which are rung
before, during or after periods of Buddhist meditation.
It has also laid emphasis on
the safety of travellers and
Photo Courtesy: National Geographic
accessibility of travel locations after the quake. The
devastating earthquake on
April 25 last year had largely
destroyed tourism infrastructure, heritage sites and
trekking trails in the country. “Nepal’s economy, deeply
reliant on the tourism trade,
is more in need than ever of
visitors,” the magazine’s
website stated.
Last year, the UK-based
travel magazine on its “Cool
List” for 2016 had placed
Nepal in the sixth spot
among 16 locations.
PM asks authorities to release first tranche by mid-Sept
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal Dahal has instructed
concerned ministries and
agencies
working
on
post-earthquake reconstruction to increase their workforce to ensure the distribu-
tion of the first tranche of
private housing grant of Rs
200,000 before mid-September.
The
fresh
directive
follows PM Dahal’s pledge on
August 4, the day he assumed
office, to distribute the first
tranche of the housing aid
within 45 days.
“The prime minister has
drawn attention [of the all
concerned) to the delays in
reconstruction efforts in
quake-affected districts and
has called for necessary measures to ensure the distribution of the first installment of
the grant within the given
timeframe,”
said
Kedar
Bahadur Adhikari, spokesper-
housing aid distribution
son for the Office of the Prime
Minister and Council of
Ministers.
During a meeting with the
concerned ministries and the
National
Reconstruction
Authority (NRA) on Tuesday,
PM Dahal instructed the offi-
cials to hire human resources
on contract for three-four
months and release the aid to
the affected families at the
earliest, according to officials.
As per PM Dahal’s instructions, the Ministry of Federal
and
Local
Affairs
Development on Wednesday
directed local bodies in the 11
districts most affected by the
quake to expedite efforts to
provide the first tranche of
the grant to affected families
by mid-September. Village
Development Committee secretaries in the 11 districts
have been asked to stay in
their workplaces so that the
beneficiaries do not have to
face hassles while signing aid
agreements. Of the total of
317,693 households that have
signed aid agreements in 12
districts for private housing
rebuilding aid, a total of 42,882
have received the first installment until Wednesday.
C M Y K
thekathmandu post 02
news
Thursday, August 11, 2016
8-member committee
formed to revise fee
bilateral talks
Shiva Kumar Rai-led panel to make recommendation in two weeks
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
The government has formed a
panel under former member
of the National Planning
Commission Shiva Kumar Rai
to revise the fees for medical
education.
nursing programme.
The Mathema committee’s
recommendation was, however, left unimplemented as the
medical colleges failed to comply with the structure saying
the fees had been fixed without consulting with them. The
Rai-led committee is likely to
recommend the
fees within two
weeks. He said
that the fees will be determined after consulting with
all the stakeholders, including
student unions, association of
private medical colleges and
parents.
He said the cost of the medical colleges, inflation and the
profit for the colleges will be
the main basis for determining the fees. Another committee formed under Rai fouryears ago had fixed the fee of
Rs2.8 million for MBBS programme and Rs1.7 million for
BDS. But it was left
unimplemented.
medical education
n Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masashi Ogawa holds talks with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at Baluwatar. The duo discussed
bilateral relations and matters relating to mutual interests. PM Dahal thanked and praised the Japanese government for its assistance in
the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and contribution to overall development of Nepal. Post photo
Thai, Bolivian nationals nabbed
with cocaine worth Rs 60m
MANISH GAUTAM
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Police have arrested two foreign nationals and sized 4 kg
of cocaine worth Rs60 million.
Waranya Kaewpikul, a Thai
national was arrested from
Tribhuvan
International
Airport on Tuesday night
when she was about to board a
flight to Thailand. The drugs
was hidden inside a false bottom. A tip-off from Kaewpikul
led to the subsequent arrest of
Bolivian national Rossy
Gueddy Toledo Vallejos from
Naxal, Kathmandu.
According
to
police,
Kaewpikul arrived Nepal on
August 5 and Vallejos handed
over the drugs.
“The Bolivian national
handed over the drugs to
Kaewpikul on August 7 and
was asked to take it to
Thailand,”
said
Deputy
Inspector General of Police
Jaya Bahadur Chand, chief of
Narcotics Control Bureau
(NCB).
With the latest arrests,
police have seized 24 kilograms of cocaine and apprehended 16 smugglers in the
five years. In 2012, police had
for the first time seized 1kg of
cocaine from a Thai national,
Suparerat Mcintosh.
Police said Nigerians
remain the main honcho operating in various countries,
Brazil,
India,
including
Thailand, China and Nepal.
They lure people into being
drug mule after offering up to
$5,000.
In the case of Bolivian
national Vallejos, her travel
history shows she had been to
Brazil from Bolivia and then
flown to the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa. She then went
to New Delhi and flew in to
Nepal and was planning to go
to Dubai.
According to police, a
Nigerian named Remmy had
assured around $2,000 to
Kaewpikul for her services in
transporting the drugs.
On May 25, Nepal Police
had arrested members of an
international racket involved
in smuggling of cocaine into
European countries via
Nepal. The NDC had arrested
Nigerian, Venezuelan, Indian
and Nepali nationals with
2.6kg of cocaine.
Senior Superintendent of
Police (SSP) Ganesh KC of the
NCB said the smugglers have
been using Nepal after the
authorities in India stepped
up the security there. “Nepal
remains a transit destination
to hoodwink the security
agencies. There is no consumption of this expensive
drug in Nepal,” said SSP KC.
Apart from the air route,
smugglers have been using
land route to take drugs to
China via Tibet. The Kerung
border point has also been
used by smugglers, according
to sources at the NCB.
Cocaine is produced in
South American nations,
including Bolivia, Colombia
and Peru, and destined for the
markets in the US and Europe.
The Nepal route is mostly
used to ferry drugs that will
later end up in Europe.
The eight-member team
will recommend the government the fees for MBBS, BDS
and Nursing to maintain uniformity on the fee structure
among colleges for the various programmes. A committee led by former Vicechancellor of Tribhuvan
University Kedar Bhakta
Mathema in its report had
suggested fixing the fee for the
MBBS programme at Rs 3.5
million and BDS at Rs 2.2 million payable in two installments. The committee, however, has not fixed the fee for the
Implement agreement: Dr KC Alliance
KATHMANDU: The supporters of Dr Govinda KC, also
known as Solidarity for Dr
KC Alliance, have urged the
newly-formed government
under CPN (Maoist Centre)
to implement the agreements reached with the doctor.
Dr KC, who has been
demanding major reforms
in the country’s medical
education sector, ended his
eighth hunger strike on
July 25 after the previous
government, led by KP
Sharma Oli of CPN-UML,
issued a written commitment to address the doctor’s
demands.
The alliance issued a
statement on Wednesday,
reminding the new government under the premiership of Pushpa Kamal
Dahal to adhere to the commitment made by the previous government.
The statement has also
questioned the intention of
some senior political party
leaders, who despite evidences of wrongdoing and
interference
by
Commission
fo r
Investigation of Abuse of
Authority’s
Chief
Commissioner Lok Man
Singh Karki in the medical
education
sector,
are
defending him.
One of the demands of
Dr KC is impeaching Karki.
The alliance has also
urged the government to
immediately initiate the
process
to
acquire
Manmohan
Memorial
Institute
of
Health
Sciences, as agreed. (PR)
Subina Shrestha nominated for Emmy
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Journalist Subina Shrestha
has been nominated for 2016
International Emmy Awards,
becoming the first Nepali to
be nominated for the prestigious honour.
Shrestha,
Al
Jazeera
English’s Nepal-based correspondent, has been nominated
for the prestigious award for
her story on last year’s devastating earthquake and immediate consequences, the
International Academy of
Television Arts & Sciences
said in a statement on
Tuesday.
“Subina Shrestha, AJE’s
Nepal-based correspondent,
witnessed the earthquake and
its immediate consequences
first hand. She was on the air
within minutes, reporting on
associated with The
the devastation suffered, and the first
Kathmandu Post. She
the
reactions,”
then became a docuAcademy said.
mentary film maker.
Emmy is considered
Her films have received
several awards and
equivalent
to
the
have been screened at
Academy Award (for
festivals worldwide
film), the Tony Award n Shrestha
She has been associ(for theatre) and the
with
Al
Jazeera
Grammy Award (for music). ated
The International Emmy English since 2006 and has
Awards are presented annual- worked in several countries
ly since 1973 by the including India, Thailand and
International Academy of
Myanmar.
Television Arts & Sciences, to
She won the Concentra
television programmes that Award for Outstanding Video
have been produced and trans- Journalism (2009) for her covmitted outside the United erage of the aftermath of
States.
Cyclone Nargis that caused
Shrestha is one of the eight the worst natural disaster in
nominees under News and the recorded history of
Current Affairs category from Myanmar in May 2008. She
six countries spanning from was the first journalist to
three continents.
reach Myanmar’s worst-afShrestha began her career fected Irrawady Delta where
in newspapers and was earlier she spoke to survivors in vil-
lages. Her documentary on
“Kamlaris: Nepal’s Slave
Girls” won the Women’s
Empowerment Journalism
Award 2014.
Immediately after the
earthquake that struck Nepal
last year, Shrestha was on air
from Patan Durbar Square of
her hometown, recounting the
devastation as she reported
for Al Jazeera English.
Subina lives and works in
Nepal and focuses on social
issues as well as political
changes.
“Really excited to be nominated for the Emmys,”
Shrestha tweeted after the
Emmy nominations were
announced.
The winners of the Emmy
Awards will be announced in
New York on September 21, at
a Ceremony at Rose Hall, at
Lincoln Center.
C M Y K
03
thekathmandu post
news
Thursday, August 11, 2016
PM: Govt to get
full shape after
NSU conclave
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
n Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dhahal is seen with Nepal Congress senior leaders Ram Chandra Paudel, Prakash Man Singh and fellow Maoist Centre leaders during a meeting with officials of the Local Bodies
Restructuring Commission at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Post Photo: Shaligram Tiwari
‘Parties to find middle path in a week’
Anil Giri
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
The ruling parties on
Wednesday decided to seek a
broader political consensus
on the mandate, term and references of the Local Bodies
Restructuring Commission
within a week.
A joint meeting of the ruling alliance and the commission on Wednesday decided to
hold consultations with the
opposition and other fringe
parties in order to come up
with a final recommendation.
This decision comes amid
local bodies restructuring
A joint meeting of the ruling alliance and the commission
decides to hold consultations with opposition and fringe
parties in order to come up with a final recommendation
opposition to the commission’s proposal to drastically
reduce the number of local
bodies to 565 by the Nepali
Congress and the Madhesi
Morcha.
The then KP Oli-led government had formed a local level
restricting commission head-
ed by former secretary
Balananda Poudel in March
last
year.
The
report
and recommendation of the
commission is key to holding
the local level elections. The
Nepali Congress and the
CPN
(Maoist
Centre)
have decided to hold the elec-
tions of the local bodies by
next May.
“Restructuring of the local
bodies is a political matter so
we have to seek a broader
political consensus,” PMO
officials
quoted
Prime
Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal
was
as
saying
during the meeting. “We will
forge a political consensus
within a week and the commission will be instructed
accordingly.”
According to the Maoist
Vice-chairman Narayan Kaji
Shrestha, the meeting decided
to hold consultations with the
opposition parties and others
to build a political consensus
on the terms and mandate of
the commission. “The report
of the commission should
come at the earliest so that
we can meet April/May deadline to hold the local elections,” he said.
Commission’s Chair Poudal
briefed the PM and the coalition partners on the progress.
“Implementation of the
new constitution is the
primary task of the government so that we have to hold
elections of the local, federal
and provincial bodies by
another 18 months. We have
also decided to hold the local
level elections by April/May
to facilitate the commission in
carrying out its task,” PM
Dahal said.
During the meeting, some
leaders cautioned against
delay in submitting the
report, saying that it would
make holding the local elections by April/May difficult.
The Election Commission has
already communicated to the
government that it will need
at least 120 days to prepare for
the elections once all laws are
put in place.
migrant workers’ welfare fund
Visit of Prez Xi depends Probe panel to look into
on Nepal’s readiness: Ji alleged misuse of fund
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
A visiting professor of a
Chinese think tank has said
that the visit of Chinese
President Xi Jinping will
depend on the expectations
of Nepal government and
Nepali political parties.
Speaking with the media
after a programme in
Kathmandu on Wednesday,
President
of
China
Institutes of Contemporary
International
Relations
(CICIR), Ji Zhiye said.
“There is no problem from
Chinese government regarding Xi’s visit to Nepal. It
depends on the situation
here. The date and other procedure will be move ahead
accordingly.”
Noting that the change of
government in Nepal as its
n
Xi Jinping
internal affairs, Ji said,
“there will not be any problem about the visit as long as
there is consensus among
the political parties. China
wants to see stability and
development in Nepal. And
we are eager to cooperate
towards that end.”
He added that China only
observes the internal politics of Nepal but never interferes as it is a true friend of
China. “China never tells
any country to do this and
that. Political stability
should be maintained. China
always wishes that the parties work together for the
same,” Ji said after a oneday workshop on “ChinaNepal-India
Economic
Corridor: Feasibility and
Approaches” organised by
China Study Centre.
Ji declined to comment on
the recent political situation
and change in Nepal, Ji said,
“China wants to cooperate
with Nepal in its development. We want to see building of links with Nepal.”
Earlier at the programme,
Ji said the trilateral cooperation between China, Nepal
and India would help in
achieving economic prosperity in the entire region by
enhancing through ‘One
Belt and Road Initiative’ proposed by China.
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
The International Affairs and
Labour
Committee
of
Parliament on Wednesday
formed a probe panel to look
into alleged misuse of the
Migrant Workers’ Welfare
Fund (MWWF).
The five-member panel has
been tasked to investigate into
the possible misuse of
migrant workers’ fund and
provide recommendation on
the organisational reforms of
the Foreign Employment
Promotion Board (FEPB)--a
government body formed for
welfare of the migrant workers and their families.
Despite amassing around
Rs3 billion from migrant
workers, the FEPB has been
doing precious little for welfare and well being of
migrants and their families.
The board has been spending
millions as government
expense every year in violation of the government’s own
commitment to use the fund
only for workers’ welfare.
Annual audit report shows
that the board has allocated
more than Rs10 million to
Nepali missions in Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and South
Korea to buy luxury vehicles
for ambassadors.
Similarly, the board spends
millions to arrange administrative expenses of the embassies, the Department of
Foreign Employment and
empowerment of the recruiting agencies.
The Act and FEPB statute
state the fund will be used for
“to train migrant workers,
pay compensation to the
injured and kin of dead
migrants and arrange for
their evacuation during
crises. Other purposes of
the fund are to arrange
employment-oriented training for returnees, repatriate
bodies of deceased migrant
workers.
The formation of the panel
to look into transparency on
the use of the fund was one of
the initiatives taken by the
committee for promotion and
protection of workers’ rights,
according to committee
Chairman Prabhu Sah.
“It’s clear that the board
isn’t doing enough for protection and promotion of
migrants’ rights and welfare,”
he said Sah.
The five-member panel
includes Pushkar Acharya,
Binod
Shrestha,
Ashok
Kumar
Mandal,
Radha
Timilsina and Durga Poudel.
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal Dahal has said that it
will take another couple of
days to expand the Cabinet as
Nepali Congress leaders are
busy
in
the
General
Convention of their sister
organisation Nepal Student
Union.
“I will move ahead once I
get recommendation from the
Congress,” Dahal said during
an interaction organised by
Reporter’s Club at Baluwatar
on Wednesday.
“We do not have problem in
picking ministers from CPN
(Maoist Centre).”
The PM pledged to strengthen the national unity along
with the enforcement of the
new constitution and make
sincere efforts to address
the Madhes issues through a
consensus.
Underlining the need of
holding local, provincial and
federal elections on time to
safeguard the country’s
achievements, PM Dahal
hoped for support and cooperation from all sides.
Expressing his concern
over the delay in carrying out
the post-quake reconstruction
works, the PM said he had
already directed the government secretaries to provide
the relief assistance to the
earthquake survivors within
the next 45 days.
He expressed hope that
the government would get
a full shape soon and
new projects of economic
development
would
be
implemented.
He also vowed to control
black market and inflation,
while
giving
assurance
to implement minimums
wages recommended for the
working journalists.
11th general convention
Union likely to elect new
leadership on Saturday
Sarin Ghimire
Kathmandu, Aug 10
The Nepal Students’ Union,
student wing of the Nepali
Congress, is likely to elect
its new leadership on
Saturday, after reaching an
agreement on disputes
regarding representatives.
The deal has paved the way
to hold a closed-door session on Thursday, provided
that the Bhrikutimandap
hall is available.
In a major breakthrough,
the committee formed
under Nepali Congress
leader Prakash Sharan
Mahat reached an agreement to divide representatives of disputed districts
in consensus with the
agitating student leaders
close to Kundan Kafle,
who have been on a hunger
strike since last week.
The agitating students
ended the strike on
Wednesday.
“After hours and hours
of talks, we have finally
reached an agreement with
the disgruntled forces.
We should now be able to
continue with our convention,” said committee mem-
ber and NC leader Gururaj
Ghimire.
According
to
NSU
Spokesperson
UP
Lamichhane, the official
voters list will be published
on Thursday, panel-wise
candidacy registrations
will be made on Friday
and the elections will be
held on Saturday. “If the
hall is not available for
tomorrow, we will not hold
the closed-door session.
But the rest of the schedule
should go accordingly,”
he said.
The convention, which
began on Sunday, was supposed to conclude on
Tuesday but the dispute
over selection of representatives from 11 districts
caused the delay.
C M Y K
news digest
thekathmandu post 04
news
Thursday, August 11, 2016
waiting for customers
NHRC asks govt
to relocate
Khotang inmates
KHOTANG: The National
Human Rights
Commissions (NHRC)
has asked the government to immediately
relocate the inmates of
Khotang District Prison
after finding that the
prison building is at high
risk of landslide. The
NHRC sub-regional office
has apprised the
Ministry of Home
Affairs, Office of Prime
Minister, and Prison
Management
Department of the prison’s condition in a letter
that was sent two days
ago. A landslide on July
31 had damaged the prison fence. The NHRC has
said the landslide has
exposed the entire prison
facility to danger. There
are 113 prisoners,
including 14 women
and five children, in
the prison. (PR)
Two held with
animal parts
DOLAKHA: Police arrested
two persons in possession of leopard skins and
pangolin scale from
Tamakoshi Bazaar in
Dolakha on Wednesday.
Police said Lal Bahadur
Bishwokarma and Ram
Bahadur Tamang were
caught with two sets of
leopard hide and a pangolin scale. The duo was
later handed over to the
District Forest Office
with the confiscated animal parts. (PR)
Four hurt
in clash
BARA: Four persons,
including a police inspector, were injured in a
clash at Kabahigoth-8 in
Bara on Wednesday. The
clash occurred over a dispute concerning a local
school. Police fired three
rounds of bullets into the
air to contain the situation. The injured were
taken to a local health
post for treatment, said
police. (PR)
Court appoints
interpreters
Panchthar: The District
Court, Panchthar, has
appointed 14 interpreters
representing different
communities, bearing in
mind the inconvenience
faced by those who only
know their ethnic language. Interpreters from
Limbu, Rai, Magar and
Sherpa, among others,
language communities
have been appointed in
the court. The appointment was made targeting
the people who do not
speak and understand
Nepali language, a court
official said. (RSS)
n Nepali porters wait for customers at Jhulaghat, a small town in India that shares border with Julaghat village of Baitadi district. They have been earning a living by transporting goods across the border. On a good day, they say, a Jhulaghat porter can
make up to Rs 2,000. Post Photo:khagendra awasthi
‘Sindhu survivors to
get aid in a month’
POST REPORT
SINDHUPALCHOK, AUG 10
The National Reconstruction
Authority (NRA) has said that
it will distribute Rs 50,000 as
the first tranche of the housing reconstruction aid within
a month in Sindhupalchok
district.
Speaking at a programme
in the district on Tuesday, the
NRA Chief Executive Officer,
Sushil Gyewali, said the
earthquake-affected families
will receive the first instalment of the aid within a
month. He also said that
donor agencies have assured
to provide Rs 410 billion to
post-quake
Reconstruction
speed up the reconstruction
work. Eighty percent of the
pledged money will be
released immediately, Gyewali
added.
The NRA has already
signed housing reconstruction aid agreements with
300,000 quake-affected families in 11 districts.
District Officer
Chief
Gokarnamani Duwadi said
NRA chief says donor
agencies have assured to
provide Rs 410 billion
to speed up
reconstruction work
the NRA sub-regional office
has so far signed housing aid
agreements with 58, 875
quake-affected families in 47
VDCs of Sindhupalchok.
Without land titles,
1,000 families denied aid
KAVRE: Around 1,000 families
in Bhumlutar and Phalante
VDCs of Kavre could not
receive housing reconstruction aid after they failed to
produce land ownership documents to claim the government-announced assistance
for the earthquake-affected
households. Around 400 families in Bhumlutar and nearly
600 in Phalante had been living without land titles for decades due to a dispute over land
survey, said Ramesh Prasad
Duwadi, the secretary of
Bhumlutar VDC. Though
these families were included
in the aid list, they were not
qualified to claim the aid as
they could not furnish land
ownership documents, he
added.
Uproar over bid
to free criminals
POST REPORT
BIRGUNJ, AUG 10
The demand for release and
exoneration
of
persons
involved in criminal offences
like murder and aggravated
assault during the Madhes
protest has caused an uproar
in Parsa.
After some local leaders,
who were involved in the then
Samyukta
Loktantrik
Madhesi Morcha, submitted a
name list of the jailed and
absconding party cadres to
the District Administration
Office demanding their freedom friends and families of
the victims have warned the
DAO against offering such
amnesty.
Dinesh Prasad Kushwaha,
whose brother was murdered
by the Morcha cadres in
Birgunj, said the leaders were
Leaders in Parsa demand
exoneration of persons
involved in serious crimes
during Madhes protest
trying to free dangerous criminals, not those arrested or
charged for political offence.
Dinesh’s
brother,
Rambinesh, was beaten to
death
by
the
Morcha
activists on charge of
“smuggling petrol” from
India when the border was
shut down.
The cold-blooded murder of
an innocent man is not a political offence, the DAO should
understand that, Dinesh said.
The victims’ families have
submitted a memorandum to
the DAO, urging not to free the
criminals.
Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito is ready for throne
But it’s no fairytale for his Harvard-educated partner Princess Masako, who has long struggled to adjust to royal life
Reuters
TOKYO, Aug 10
When Japanese Crown Prince
Naruhito proposed to a reluctant Masako Owada, he promised to protect her with all his
might, a vow that may get
tougher to keep if, as expected, his father Emperor
Akihito abdicates, and the
woman who has struggled to
adjust to royal life becomes
empress.
The 82-year-old Akihito,
who with Empress Michiko
has won hearts at home by
championing the disadvantaged and worked to heal the
wounds of World War II
abroad, hinted in a televised
address on Monday that he
could
give
up
the
Chrysanthemum Throne due
to advancing age.
While the earnest Naruhito,
56, is seen as ready for the
succession and has taken on
more official duties, Masako,
52, who turned down his first
two proposals during a long
courtship beginning nearly 30
years ago, has struggled as
Crown Princess.
Harvard-educated Masako,
who reluctantly abandoned a
diplomatic career to marry,
has for more than a decade
battled depression, as she
grappled with the prescriptions and proscriptions of palace life and pressure to produce a son.
Their daughter, 14-year-old
Aiko, cannot take the throne
under male-only inheritance
laws.
In 2012, Masako, who spent
large parts of her early life
overseas and speaks several
languages, acknowledged that
she had been battling a
stress-related illness for a long
time. Her public appearances
are still sporadic.
“Imperial popularity tends
to be earned through carrying
out public duties over the
course of the reign,” said
Kenneth Ruoff, a professor at
Portland State University and
author of “The People’s
Emperor.”
“If Naruhito does that,
there is no reason to think he
would be any less respected
than his father. The case of
Masako is more difficult to
foresee.”
Naruhito’s interests in
medieval transport and environmental causes seem safely
worthy, if dull, though royal
watchers say he has broken
new ground, like advocating
hands-on fathering, uncommon in a country where there
is still a strong gender-based
division of labour both at
work and home.
He is also unusual, for a
Japanese royal, in having
studied abroad, and describes
his two years at Oxford
University as some of the happiest days of his life.
Naruhito has made clear he
will carry on his father’s work
of reminding people about
the importance of peace,
even as Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe moves to recast
wartime history with a less
apologetic tone.
But he is best known for his
passionate defence of Masako,
who disappeared from public
view in 2003 with shingles and
what was later described as an
“adjustment disorder”.
In 2004 he set off an unusually public feud with the
Imperial Household, an agency responsible for organising
the activities of the royal family, by saying that Masako,
who had hoped to use her diplomatic experience as crown
princess, had “totally exhausted herself ” trying to adapt to
palace life.
“It is true there were moves
to negate Masako’s career and
her personality, which was
influenced by that career,” he
said.
Naruhito’s defence continued through the years, during
which tabloids occasionally
criticised his wife for slacking
off. In 2008 he pleaded for
understanding,
saying:
“Masako is continuing to
make utmost efforts with the
help of those around her.”
An
emperor’s
duties
include religious ceremonies
and opening parliament, but
social welfare work has taken
centre stage.
Images of Akihito and
Michiko, informally dressed
and kneeling to talk to disaster victims in evacuation centres are imprinted in public
memory, and they have also
visited centres for the disabled and elderly.
In rural areas and among
the
older
generation,
where support for the emper-
over 50 cases
of Scrub
typhus found
POST REPORT
BHARATPUR, AUG 10
More than 50 people cases of
Scrub typhus, a bacterial disease caused by intracellular
parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi, were reported in
Chitwan in the last four
months.
Dr Dayaram Lamsal at
Chitwan Medical College said
the disease—first identified in
the 1930s in Japan—was not
considered common in the
country until recently.
Scrub typhus transmits to
humans by some species of
mites and it could affect
lungs and brains if not
treated properly
The disease was found
among people from Chitwan,
Nawalparasi and other neighbouring districts.
The patients had reached
various health facilities with
the complaints of fever, headache and measles-like rash in
the neck region, Dr Lamsal
said.
Lab results of the samples
collected from 163 patients
showed that 53 had contracted
Scrub typhus.
The disease is transmitted
to humans and rodents by
some species of mites. If not
treated properly, it could affect
the patients’ lungs and brains.
The disease could be cured
if detected in time, Dr Lamsal
said, urging everyone to see a
doctor immediately if they
have been suffering from the
aforementioned symptoms.
weather watch
Forecast: Generally cloudy throughout
the country. Light to moderate rain likely
to occur at some places of the eastern.
Max MIN Rainfall
Places
Temp (0C)Temp (0C)(mm)
or
runs
highest,
the
presence of the royals as a
couple
is
especially
valued, said Midori Watanabe,
a journalist and visiting professor at Bunka Gakuen
University.
“What’s important is that
the two of them are together,”
Watanabe said.
“He (Naruhito) promised
he’d protect her all their
lives,” she added. “I think
she’ll make efforts for him.”
Miiko Kodama, professor
emeritus
at
Musashi
University, said Masako’s ultimate elevation to empress
could, however, prove a boon
to the unhappy princess, as it
did to her mother-in-law.
Dadeldhura22.5 17.1 27.5
Dipayal 32.023.413.8
Dhangadi 33.726.15.6
Birendranagar31.7 23.5 15.2
Nepalgunj 33.125.29.5
Jumla 23.6 16.026.5
Dang 29.423.55.0
Pokhara 30.023.02.4
Bhairahawa31.8 27.0 0.4
Simara 32.626.00.0
Kathmandu 28.0 20.6Traces
Okhaldhunga25.7 17.6 44.9
Taplejung 26.5 16.921.7
Dhankuta 28.720.41.0
Biratnagar33.026.50.0
Jomsom 22.5 17.610.5*
Dharan 33.5 25.23.7*
Source: Meteorological forecasting Division, Department of
Hydrology and Meteorology, Kathmandu
C M Y K
world
kathmandu post
the
PG 05 | Thursday,August11,2016
Assange appeals arrest warrant
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appealed a
Stockholm district court’s decision to maintain a
European arrest warrant against him over a 2010 rape allegation. The arrest warrant was issued to question Assange
about the rape allegation. He sought refuge in the Ecuadorian
embassy in London in June 2012 after exhausting all his
legal options in Britain against extradition to Sweden.
news digest
Bangladesh oppn
leader gets bail in
nine new cases
DHAKA: Embattled
Bangladesh opposition
leader Khaleda Zia was
granted bail on
Wednesday after she
appeared in court on a
string of new charges
over a deadly transport
blockade, a prosecutor
said. Hundreds of her
supporters gathered outside the metropolitan
sessions court in Dhaka
chanting anti-government slogans, as the
70-year-old arrived to
seek bail in the nine
cases. “We opposed the
bail saying that police
have found her involvement in the nine cases.
But the judge granted
her bail in all the cases,”
Dhaka’s chief prosecutor
Abdullah Abu told AFP.
“Although she was granted bail, the court has
taken cognisance of all
the charges against her,”
he added. (Agencies)
Teen probed over ‘attack plan’
SLanka to replace its fighter jets
A 16-year-old French girl has been placed
under investigation, accused of planning a
jihadist attack using the Telegram messaging
app, judicial officials say. The girl, who
has no criminal record, was detained at her
home on Thursday, after an anti-terror raid
near Paris.
Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced plans to
replace its ageing jet fighters to better defend
its maritime borders, seven years after the
island’s separatist war ended. Cabinet
approved President Maithripala Sirisena’s
proposal to call for expressions of interest
from global manufacturers.
Trump criticised for offhand
gun rights slap at Clinton
evacuation
Low-caste
Indians beaten
up over dead cow
HYDERABAD: An angry
mob in southern India
attacked two low-caste
cousins who they suspected of slaughtering a
cow, police said on
Wednesday, the latest
such attack by self-styled
protectors of the animals. Mokati Elisha and
Mokati Venkateshwar
Rao from India’s lowest
Dalit caste were tied to a
tree and beaten up on
Monday by a mob of
around 50 men when
they were skinning a
dead cow in a village in
Andhra Pradesh state.
“When a bunch of villagers saw Elisha and
Venkateshwar skinning
a cow, they assumed that
they had slaughtered a
live animal,” local deputy superintendent of
police Lanka Ankaiah
told AFP. “In the spur of
the moment, villagers
got carried away by emotions and they beat up
Elisha and Venkateshwar,” he said, adding police had detained
seven people so far. Cows
are considered sacred by
Hindus and killing them
is banned in most Indian
states, but the cousins
said they were hired to
skin the animal after it
died of electrocution.
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON, Aug 10
n People walk down a street as smoke rises from a wildfire at
Sao Roque in Madeira island on Wednesday. Several houses were
destroyed by multiple blazes in the region of Funchal and some
250 people were evacuated to spend the safe night in military
installations, said the head of the Civil Protection government
regional, Rubina Leal.
AFP
White House hopeful Donald
Trump, already deserted by
some fellow Republicans,
came under sharp scrutiny on
Tuesday over controversial
comments that some people
interpreted as a threat of violence against his rival Hillary
Clinton.
Trump’s intended message
was not immediately clear,
but lawmakers, former national security officials and other
critics expressed concern that
he had advocated, possibly in
jest, that Clinton or her
Supreme Court nominees
could be shot.
“Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second
Amendment,” Trump told a
rally in Wilmington, North
Carolina, referring to the US
Constitution’s clause that
enshrines the right to bear
arms.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,”
Trump said. “Although the
Second Amendment people—
maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Trump earlier appeared
more focused on delivering
his typical campaign stump
speech about Clinton, telling
supporters she would represent four more years of
President Barack Obama,
“but maybe worse,” and sparring with her over policy. But
then he drew attention away
from his message with his
“Second
Amendment”
remarks.
It was the latest in a long
string of Trump trip-ups—
ncluding his clash with
the parents of a Muslim
American soldier killed in
action—that have marred his
campaign since he officially
won the nomination last
month, and prompted several
Republicans to reject his candidacy.
Clinton’s campaign decried
Trump’s “dangerous” language and demanded in a
statement that presidential
hopefuls “not suggest violence
in any way.”
Orlando gunman’s father at Dem rally
MIAMI: The father of the
gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in
Orlando, Florida was spotted at a speech Democratic
candidate Hillary Clinton
gave to supporters in the
swing state.
Seddique Mateen was
caught on camera seated in
the
audience
behind
Clinton during her campaign appearance Monday
night in Kissimmee, a town
23 miles (37 kilometers)
south of Orlando.
Mateen’s son, Omar, proclaimed his allegiance to
the Islamic State group during the June 12 massacre at
the Pulse nightclub, which
ended after three hours
Trump’s team fired back to
say the 70-year-old Manhattan
billionaire simply meant that
gun rights advocates were a
powerful voting force.
“Second Amendment peo-
when police finally stormed
the venue and shot him to
death.
It was the deadliest mass
killing on US soil since the
September 11, 2001 attacks
on the United States.
Clinton, on a trip through
the crucial swing state,
opened her speech with a
tribute to the 49 people who
lost their lives in Orlando.
The rally was open to the
public and about 3,000 people attended.
“This individual wasn’t
invited as a guest, and the
campaign was unaware of
his attendance until after
the event,” the Clinton campaign said in an email sent
to reporters.
ple have amazing spirit and
are tremendously unified,
which gives them great political power,” senior Trump
advisor
communications
Jason Miller said.
Trump is struggling to transition from his strong grassroots primary performance to
a more mature head-to-head
battle with Clinton.
He suffers from sinking poll
numbers,
including
a
Quinnipiac University survey
released Tuesday that shows
him trailing Clinton in crucial battleground states Ohio
and Pennsylvania, and virtually tied in Florida.
Democratic
lawmakers
expressed
shock
about
Trump’s comments.
“In this clip, Trump’s either
calling for an armed revolt or
the assassination of his
opponent.
Despicable,”
Democratic
congressman
David Cicilline posted on
Twitter along with footage of
Trump’s remarks.
The Secret Service — which
is tasked with protecting both
Trump and Clinton — said it
“is aware of the comments,”
but did not say whether they
merited an investigation,
which some Democratic lawmakers have called for.
Nato says Turkey’s 12 premature babies killed
membership not in Baghdad hospital fire
in question
Reuters
BAGHDAD, Aug 10
Reuters
ISTANBUL, Aug 10
Nato said on Wednesday that
Turkey’s membership was not
in question and that Ankara
could count on its solidarity
and support after last month’s
failed coup, which has triggered deep purges in the alliance’s second largest armed
forces.
“Turkey is a valued ally,
making substantial contributions to Nato’s joint efforts ...
Turkey’s Nato membership is
not in question,” the military
alliance said in a written
statement.
The abortive coup on July
15, in which rogue soldiers
commandeered tanks, fighter
jets and helicopters in a bid to
seize power, has raised concern about the stability of
Turkey, a key member of the
US-led coalition fighting
Islamic State and battling an
Turkey is viewing the West
as more concerned about
the rights of the plotters
than the events themselves
insurgency at home by
Kurdish militants.
Turkey has been incensed
by the Western response to
the attempted coup, viewing
Europe as more concerned
about the rights of the plotters than the events themselves and the United States as
reluctant to extradite the U.S.based Turkish cleric it holds
responsible.
President Tayyip Erdogan
meanwhile met his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin
in St Petersburg on Tuesday
and said Putin’s rapid phone
call expressing solidarity
after the failed putsch had
been a “psychological boost”.
Twelve prematurely born
babies were killed in a fire
that broke out in the early
hours of Wednesday on a
maternity ward in a Baghdad
hospital and was probably
caused by an electrical fault,
Iraqi authorities said.
Eleven or twelve other
babies and 29 women were
rescued from the Yarmuk hospital’s maternity ward and
transferred to other hospitals,
Hani al-Okabi, an MP who
previouly managed a health
directorate in Baghdad, told
journalists after visiting the
hospital and talking to the
management.
Firefighters and hospital
staff took about three hours to
put out the blaze that engulfed
the ward, according to one
medic. Yarmuk is a main hospital on the western side of
the capital, with emergency
care facilities among others.
“My son’s birth was difficult,” Shaima Hussein, one of
Firefighters and hospital
staff took about three
hours to put out the blaze
that engulfed the ward
the babies’ mothers, told
Reuters TV at the gate of the
hospital. She said she was not
given a chance to rescue her
newborn.
“I came with milk powder
for him, and then this happened ... they shut the electricity and the doors,” she said.
Hassan Omar said he was
upset that the hospital would
not give him information
about his twins other than
that he may have to have DNA
checks to see if they were
among the dead.
“I went to the other hospital, they are not there, so
where are they?” he said.
The incident is likely to
intensify public accusations
of state corruption and mismanagement.
Pictures posted on social
media showed the hospital in
a state of neglect, with cockroaches crawling out from
between broken tiles, dustbins overflowing with rubbish, dirty toilets and patients
lying on stretchers in the
courtyard.
Thirteen years after the
US-led invasion that toppled
Saddam Hussein, the oil-rich
country still suffers a shortage of electricity, water,
schools and hospitals.
Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi has been trying for
more than two years to tackle
corruption in Iraq, which
ranks 161 out of 168 on
Transparency International’s
Corruption Index, but has
faced resistance from much of
the political elite.
Corruption has exacerbated the effects on the economy
of a sharp decline in oil revenue caused by falling crude
prices and the costs of fighting Islamic State, the hardline
group that has controlled
large parts of northern and
western Iraq since 2014.
R e d c r o s s o b s e r vat i o n
Asia must invest more in disaster risk reduction
Reuters
JAKARTA, Aug 10
From typhoons and earthquakes to floods, Asian
nations must step up investment in disaster risk reduction before it is “too late for
too many” in a region regularly battered by disasters,
the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC)
said.
Asia-Pacific is the world’s
most disaster-prone region
according to the United
Nations, accounting for over
half of the world’s 344 disasters last year, with more
than 16,000 deaths and 59
million people affected in the
region alone.
The region has made
improvements in tackling
disasters but Asia can do
more by boosting its investment in risk reduction, said
Elhadj As Sy, IFRC Secretary
General.
“If you compare with
what you used to have five
years ago, 10 years ago, the
countries are getting better
equipped and better prepared,” Sy told Reuters in an
interview during a recent
visit to Jakarta.
“Is it enough? Probably
not,” he added.
Citing successes in the
n A boy walks through a flooded street in Allahabad, India, on Wednesday.
REUTERS
Asia-Pacific is the world’s most disaster-prone region according to the United
Nations, accounting for over half of the world’s 344 disasters last year, with more
than 16,000 deaths and 59 million people affected in the region alone
Philippines, which is battered by typhoons every
year, Sy said investing in disaster risk reduction was key
to minimising the number
of casualties.
Typhoon Haiyan, which
hit the Philippines in 2013,
killed more than 6,300 people
and uprooted over four mil-
lion, but last year’s typhoon
season had only a minor
impact in the country.
“Invest in disaster reduction, invest in preparedness
... We know it is harder for
people to invest in something they do not see and
where they do not measure
the consequences.
“But if we wait until they
see and measure the consequences, it is too late for too
many,” Sy said.
International aid for disasters stood at $28 billion
from 2004 to 2013, but most
of this was aimed at emergency response and rehabilitation, rather than prevention, according to the 2015
UN Asia-Pacific Disaster
Report.
Asia-Pacific is particularly vulnerable to disasters
partly due to a rapidly growing population and a large
number of urban poor who
tend to live in hazard-prone
areas such as slums and riverbanks.
Currently, over 700 million
people in the region live in
areas deemed at “extreme”
or “high” disaster risk, and
the number could reach
one billion by 2030, according to the latest UN data,
in March.
“It is not enough just to
respond when the shock
arrives. What is most important is how can we work
together in the spirit of risk
reduction,” the head of
IFRC said.
C M Y K
thekathmandu post 06
editorial
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Not the fairest of them all
Since 1993
ED I T OR I A L
Oil shock
For all the expenses on reconstruction, an investment of a few million rupees more is worth the aesthetic value
Govt should urgently take up issues of
laid-off Nepali workers in Saudi Arabia
T
he decline in global oil prices is starting to have
significant effects on the economies of the Gulf
countries. Many firms and factories are shutting
down in Saudi Arabia, for example, and thousands
of foreign employees are losing their jobs there and
elsewhere.
This will have a major impact on countries like
Nepal that send large numbers of workers to the Gulf
states. If this leads to a decline in remittances, it could
have a detrimental effect on our economy.
The government needs to prepare contingency plans
for this. More immediately, it will be necessary to take
steps to ensure that Nepali workers in the Gulf countries are adequately protected.
To their credit, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Labour and Employment have started taking steps to
protect workers. The Nepal embassy in Riyadh has
stated that it is holding talks with the Saudi ministry of
labour to help Nepalis who have been laid off get work
permits for new jobs. The embassy is also helping to
facilitate travel to Nepal for workers who want to
return home. In addition, the embassy has asked the
Saudi authorities to help workers who have not been
paid to receive their due salaries.
However, these steps might not be enough. There are
over 600,000 Nepalis working in Saudi Arabia. If the
economic crisis there becomes even more severe, the
embassy may no longer have the resources to provide
adequate support to the Nepali citizens living there. A
higher profile effort may then be necessary, one that is
led and coordinated at the very top.
The Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Labour and
Employment therefore might have to take a much more
proactive role in helping to protect our workers in the
Gulf. And in fact, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal
has already directed the Foreign Ministry to take steps
towards this end. The Ministry of Labour has also stated
that it is closely following the situation in Saudi Arabia.
While planning for the future, the Nepal government
would do well to study the high-profile effort launched
by the Indian government to protect the rights of its
citizens in Saudi Arabia and facilitate the safe return
of those who were stranded. Earlier this month, Indian
state minister for Foreign Affairs VK Singh personally
visited Saudi Arabia to hold talks with the government.
After a few days of negotiation, the Saudi government agreed to help Indians who were out of work to
gain work permits for new jobs and also to establish a
credible process for unpaid workers to recover their
salaries. In addition, the Saudi government agreed to
pay for the travel of Indian workers back to their own
countries, as well as provide Indians in camps in Saudi
Arabia with free food.
There is no reason why the Nepal government should
not be able to extract similar concessions. But in order
for this to happen, a concerted effort from the highest
levels of government will be necessary.
AS I LIKE
DEEPAK THAPA
I
t was a pleasant surprise when smart-looking gazebos came up on Kathmandu street
crossings recently. While not begrudging
the fact that these structures do provide
some relief from the elements to the hardworked traffic police and keep their
personal effects safe, the surprise was more
in how well they had been designed. Unlike
the earlier tinny eyesores, these new additions to the Kathmandu landscape are quite
pleasing to the eye.
If only on occasion, aesthetics does seem
to have a place in Nepal’s public life after all.
We found out that there are aesthetes in the
government when the overhead bridge near
the Old Bus Park came up some years ago.
Whoever came up with its design deserves
more than just commendation for
introducing an element of beauty in the
cityscape (just as the one behind the design
of the monstrosity of the overhead bridge
near the New Bus Park deserves condemnation in equal measure).
The main reason for my enthusiasm harks
back to the atrocity committed by the government some years back. Despite protests
from Nepali architects not to play around
with the original design, the Ministry of
Health went ahead and converted its rooftop
into office space, and, almost as a further
snub, covered it with an ugly corrugated
iron roof. Gone were the shapely arches that
adorned the top of the building. That the
building had been designed by Louis Kahn,
one of the most iconic architects of the 20th
century, had no traction on the authorities’
decision to disfigure it. Fortunately, it is not
an irreversible change and some day we can
once again get to enjoy the building as Kahn
had meant it to look like.
Aesthetic sensibility is relative but recent
previews of the planned structures at
Teenkune, Dharahara and the Old Bus Park
were a disappointment. Whether it was the
colour combinations planned or the limitation of computer-generated images, all gave
the feel of a place in a north Indian town—
which, despite all our pretensions otherwise, is actually the impression some visitors have of Kathmandu. Consider any vista
provided along the outgrowth from the inner
cores, such as Putalisadak or Chabahil or
Kumaripati, and the comparison does begin
to sound apt. Perhaps it is only natural that
one copies what one is most familiar with.
Loathsome uniformity
There is an interesting parallel with build-
w orld v ie w
n
Artist’s impression of the courtyard and houses in Pilachhen, an old Jyapu settlements in Patan that lost most of its houses in last year’s earthquake
ing designs in Kathmandu. During a talk
years ago, Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, who teaches architecture at the Institute of
Engineering, bemoaned the uniformity in
the design of the new buildings that had
begun sprouting up all around the countryside without any regard for local climatic
conditions, or, more worryingly, for the
many factors that have influenced the evolution of a building design over the centuries
to reflect extant cultural and social
practices. Tiwari believed that the chief
culprit for this were the police stations all
over the country, which followed the same
matchbox design with a faux-pagoda turret,
whether it was high up in frigid Solukhumbu
or down in sweltering Nepalgunj. In many
parts of Nepal, these buildings were the first
modern structures in place, and hence provided the design template for locals to follow.
It has been more than 30 years since I was
last in northern Rasuwa. But never have I
failed to identify the unique architecture of
buildings from that region in books and photographs. All of this is in danger of being
lost forever following the destruction caused
by the 2015 earthquake and the government
directive that all buildings now have to follow a mandatory seismic-resistant design.
The government has put out a catalogue of
building designs to be followed. The catalogue does acknowledge the need to encourage ‘vernacular architecture and building
practices’ and some of the designs (why not
all?) do mention that ‘climatic conditions
and social and cultural aspects have also
Having just walked out of a
traditional Thakali house that had a
courtyard in the middle to keep out the
wind while allowing the heat from the sun
to pour in, I realised how ill-suited building
plans made in Kathmandu can be
been factored into the design of the house.’
My bet is that the detailed construction
guidelines allow for little variation as people
begin reconstructing their homes, and more
and more houses will simply follow the
designs portrayed in the catalogue. A more
inclusive approach would have been to provide specific designs based on local practices
across the affected zones rather than leave it
to the people to adapt from a strict building
code that requires highly skilled people to
implement. The uniformity Professor Tiwari
so loathes is likely to become more of a reality now and much more widespread. For all
the money being spent on reconstruction,
surely an investment of a few million rupees
more is worth the aesthetic value.
Colour me beautiful
Our government has a history of such insensitivities. Take, for instance, the Guidelines
for Use of Paint on Public Buildings 2069
(yes, we have something like that). The
rationale for such a document is to maintain
a separate identity of such buildings and
The cross they bear
Let the Emperor retire
Those concerned about religious conversion in Nepal should analyse properly why it is happening
Emperor Akihito’s oblique appeal poses
a problem for Japanese politicians
I
t says a lot about Japan’s constitutional monarchy that Emperor Akihito, 82 and in failing
health, would be stepping out of bounds if he
were to say he wanted to retire. Under the
Constitution laid down by the victorious United
States after World War II, the emperor’s role is
strictly restricted to being the “symbol of the
state and of the unity of the people,” and since
the law says the monarch rules until he dies, to
utter words like “abdicate” or even “retire”
would be seen as a forbidden sortie into politics.
Yet in a televised address on Monday, the emperor was clear about what he couldn’t say. And if
it wasn’t clear, we’ll say it for him: He’d really,
really like to retire.
Why this is so difficult for him to say or do is
rooted in Japanese history and identity. More
curious is why such news would seem so intriguing. At least part of the explanation lies in the
endurance of monarchies. Perhaps that very
absence of political power contributes to the
allure of royalty. This disconnection allows
them to personify a nation’s history and identity without the divisive taint of politics, which is
something republican heads of state, even
largely ceremonial ones, cannot do.
Even in this rarefied strata of humanity,
Japanese emperors stand apart. Their monarchy is by far the oldest on the planet, stretching
2,600 years back into the foggy realm of legend.
The imperial family also ranks as the most
guarded and controlled of royal clans.
With so ancient a history in so insular a
nation, it should not be surprising that the
imperial family has remained so central to
Japan’s national identity. Any tampering with
the law governing the monarchy would be most
contentious, which is why Emperor Akihito’s
oblique appeal poses a problem for politicians.
But it really should not. The emperor has
visited 50 countries; he has consoled victims of
disasters; and he has paid tribute to victims of
Japan’s militarism. Last year alone he performed 270 official duties. Surely the Japanese
would not deny him a royally deserved rest.
Do
not
copy
A
help in their easy identification by the
public, not to mention the added advantage
of relieving the officials concerned about
deciding what colour the building should be
(very true) and the obvious benefit of saving
costs during repainting. The reason we have a
pink Supreme Court and a yellow National
Archive next door is precisely because of
these Guidelines. Interestingly, the Guidelines
also state that the colours chosen should
reflect the geographical, cultural, social and
economic condition of Nepal’s mountains,
hills and Tarai. And, then goes on to prescribe the one same colour for each category
of government buildings. Talk of lip service.
On the question of government buildings,
there is an image that has stuck with me
over the years. Walking out of Tukuche up
in the Thakkhola Valley in Mustang one
winter afternoon long past, I saw a government employee seated on a chair against the
wall of a government building. The famous
winds that rise up during the day through
the Kali Gandaki gorge were in full force. It
was while bracing against this strong and
bitingly cold wind, with a windcheater and
attached headgear as protection, that the poor
man was trying to sun himself. Having just
walked out of a traditional Thakali house that
had a courtyard in the middle to keep out the
wind while allowing the heat from the sun to
pour in, I realised how ill-suited building
plans made in Kathmandu can be.
I just hope I am wrong about my impressions of the post-earthquake house designs
but we never learn, do we?
UDDHAB PYAKUREL
A
lthough Nepal was the only officially
Hindu kingdom in the world until
recently, many religions were practised
in the country. According to the 2011
census, there are 10 different religions
in Nepal. The country has now been
declared secular, but voices in support of a
Hindu kingdom still remain strong. Some
even argue that secularism was the main
cause of Indian displeasure with Nepal’s
constitution promulgated last year. Those
who have been advocating for Nepal to
remain a Hindu state claim that religious
conversions have been on the rise since the
interim constitution of 2007 declared Nepal
to be secular. Religious conversion to
Christianity seems to be the main concern
for many.
Six censuses
However, the argument that religious conversions have been on the rise only after
Nepal was declared secular is flawed. To
prove this, we need to go through the data
on religion generated by the Nepal government in the past and compare the state of
religious conversion before and after Nepal
was declared a secular state.
Nepal first conducted a census in 1961,
according to which there were only 458
Christians in the country. Then, the number
of Christians increased significantly within
10 years and reached 2,546, according to the
1971 census, and 3,891 according to the 1981
census. The number of Christians in the
country according to the following three
censuses of 1991, 2001 and 2011 was 31,280,
101,976 and 375,699 respectively. The rate of
SRIJANA RAI
relative of mine living in the UK was
once astounded when his university
rejected his research proposal. The
proposal examiner said that some
paragraphs in his proposal had been
plagiarised. He had never been conversant with the term ‘plagiarism’ before.
Taking someone else’s ideas or words
and using them as if they were one’s
own are simply understood to be plagiarised. If you are doing research into any
sphere of life, it has to be noble, new,
creative, inventive and original. A question arises, “What is the point of rein-
growth of the number of Christians from
the first census to the second was 455 percent, followed by 53 percent (from the second to the third), 704 percent (from the third
to the fourth), 226 percent (from the fourth
to the fifth) and 268 percent (from the fifth
to the last one of 2011). Once we see the
increments in the number of Christians
during the Panchayat era—when Nepal was
officially a Hindu Kingdom—and after the
restoration of democracy in 1991, it is evident that in the 30-year period from 1960 to
1990, the annual increase in the number of
Christians was 224 percent—the number
increased by 67 times during the period.
However, the Christian population
increased just by 11 times—by 55 percent—
during the 20-year period after the end of
the Panchayat regime in 1990.
So it becomes clear that the number of
Christians increased significantly even
when Nepal was a Hindu state. In fact, it
can be seen that the Panchyat era was a
golden age for conversion to Christianity in
venting something that already exists?”
Plagiarism, in a layperson’s term, is a
violation of trust and breach of copyright. In other words, stealing others’
ideas or words without giving them credit is plagiarism. It is common among college students. Plagiarising may damage
one’s forged relationships with classmates, teachers and publishers. One is
bound to lose all credibility. This further
leads to humiliation. When such work is
published in newspapers, the publishers
are widely condemned. Furthermore,
the image of the publisher is likely to be
tarnished. Such students might be
labelled ‘intelligence thieves’.
Nepal. Thus the argument that the declaration of Nepal as a secular state encourages
religious conversion does not hold much
water: the official status of Nepal as a
Hindu state or a secular one does not have
much relation to religious conversion,
especially from Hinduism to Christianity.
Reasons for conversion
After the dawn of democracy in Nepal in
1951, people belonging to the so-called lower
castes became conscious of how Hindu religious practices discriminated against them.
Untouchability was one such discriminatory practice that was severely humiliating to
the Dalits—the then untouchable castes.
Such discrimination pushed many to convert to Christianity, which treated them as
equal human beings with respect to people
of other castes. The decrease in the number
of Hindus is also due to many Newar
groups asserting themselves as Buddhists.
My talk with Gauri Bahadur Sunuwar,
who also converted to Christianity, shed
Nowadays, copying others’ work without giving credit is the same as acting
against the law. Some university students
or researchers may buy someone’s work.
It sounds legitimate, but it is not. To get
rid of such tendencies, universities or
publishers in affluent
countries make the best
use of software to compare students’ writing
with materials available on the internet.
Due to easy accessibility of the internet,
today’s youths are prone to plagiarism.
Youths take plagiarism quite lightly, but
its ramifications can be very serious at
university and in one’s future career.
There have been incidences of publishers
reprinting books with an apology and
paying compensation. The position and
reputation of the ‘author’ is ruined after
the work is proved to be plagiarised. It is
crystal clear that no excuses are genuine
for criminal cases, nor
for copyright ones.
If one wants to exercise imagination, cultivate creativity and hone one’s writing
skills, one must totally give up plagiarism.
Good writing does not happen overnight.
It is a process. A few may have a flair for
writing, but others need to go through
rigorous practice and hard work. Asking a
postplatform
more light on why people convert. Sunuwar,
originally from Rasnalu in Ramechhap but
residing in Hattiban in Lalitpur since 1962,
told me that his youngest son used to fall
sick regularly. Some people told him that if
one goes to church regularly, one could get
rid of one’s illnesses. Strangely, after visiting a church regularly, his son did not have
that health problem. With the belief that
the visit to the church was the reason
behind the cure, Sunuwar converted to
Christianity from Hinduism in 1967.
There is no relation between better
health and conversion to Christianity.
Sunuwar’s reason is merely superstitious.
However, while talking about some of the
Hindu religious practices, I found
Sunuwar’s argument very interesting. He
said, “In the Hindu religion, if a member of
your family dies, you have to observe Kriya
(last rites) for at least 13 days without
having proper food. The relatives cannot go
to work to earn their bread and butter. How
can people from poor families solve the
problem of livelihood for all those 13 days? I
felt that such practices in the Hindu
religion were against poor people like us.”
This was a valid point. Some of the Hindu
religious practices can be very impractical,
not only for the poor but everyone.
There many underlying reasons that
push people to convert to another religion.
If some leaders are concerned about
religious conversion from Hinduism to
Christianity in Nepal, then they should
properly analyse why it is happening.
Maybe Hindu religious practices and belief
system need to be altered as per the need of
the time and its dehumanising practices corrected. Discrimination should end not only
on paper but also in practice. Otherwise,
simply lamenting about conversion to
Christianity will not help even if Nepal
reverts to Hinduism as its state religion.
Pyakurel teaches political sociology
at Kathmandu University
good writer to write something on one’s
behalf in exchange for payment is morally
and ethically wrong. The thing that has
emanated from your mind or body is
yours. Buying from an authentic source
does not reflect your originality. One may
buy a mother, and she may act upon one’s
instructions; but the mother, I strongly
believe, cannot deliver parental care to
him as selflessly as she does to her own
children. Thus, plagiarism is to be treated
as a serious case, as it stops students from
realising their potential, violates educational policies, weakens relationships
with others and digs a rift between students and their academic success.
C M Y K
07 thekathmandu post
ZAHID HUSSAIN
Reflecting on the carnage
T
errorists have struck again
amidst claims that militancy’s back has been broken.
As in most recent attacks,
they again chose a soft target—this time a crowded hospital to maximise casualties.
Quetta has bled many times
before, yet the suicide bombing at
the entrance to the Civil Hospital’s
emergency ward this week was
one of the most gruesome.
Lawyers, journalists, women and
children were among the victims.
The latest bloodbath is a grim
reminder of the continuing terrorist threat despite the success
of the military operations in the
tribal areas. However, one is not
sure how serious we are in dealing with this existentialist challenge. We have already lost the
national counterterrorism narrative that all political parties
across the spectrum briefly
agreed on after the 2014 Peshawar
school massacre.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) that has
pledged allegiance to the militant
Islamic State (IS) group, has
reportedly claimed responsibility
for the attack.
Indeed, the Quetta hospital suicide bombing bears the hallmark
of IS terrorist attacks—targeting
civilians in crowded places as
seen in the Middle East and other
countries. Such attacks are aimed
at creating mayhem.
Quetta has been drenched in
blood many times over in the past
10 years, leaving thousands of
people dead. Most of the previous
Thursday, August 11, 2016
The presence of all kinds of militant groups makes Balochistan’s terror maze more complex
terrorist attacks had targeted the
Hazara
Shia
community.
Although there has been a marked
decline in incidents of sectarian
violence in the city following a
crackdown on some extremist
groups, targeted killings and IED
attacks on security forces have
spiralled in recent months. Most
of these incidents are blamed on
Baloch separatist groups.
What makes Balochistan’s terror maze more complex is the
presence of all kinds of militant
groups, ranging from sectarian to
separatist. The footprints of al
Qaeda and IS have also emerged
here: these global terrorist networks have found natural allies
among local Sunni sectarian militant groups. In fact, the province
has become a major recruiting
ground for IS.
While there may not be a significant presence of Pakistani
Taliban groups in Balochistan,
the province has become a major
sanctuary for Afghan Taliban
insurgents fighting the US-backed
Kabul government. The city also
houses the Afghan Taliban leadership council known as the
Quetta Shura. More than 30pc of
Quetta’s population is said to
comprise Afghan refugees; some
neighbourhoods are actually out
n
Residents light candles for lawyers killed during the Monday blast at Civil Hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.
of bounds for Pakistani security
agencies. The Afghan Taliban
have close links with Sunni
extremist groups like the
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. All this has
made the province more vulnerable to terrorist violence.
Both civilian and military leaderships accuse foreign intelligence agencies of involvement in
the massacre in Quetta. They see
the attack as part of a conspiracy
to sabotage the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor project.
Surely given the new great game
being played in the region and the
history of proxy wars between
India and Pakistan, the involvement of external forces in terrorist attacks in the province cannot
be ruled out. Its geo-strategic
location has further added to
Balochistan’s woes.
However, foreign intelligence
agencies can only fish in troubled
waters. Political instability, weak
state authority unable to maintain control over its territory and
failure of the government to provide security to the people provide a favourable environment for
external involvement.
Despite some improvement in
the political atmosphere and containment of the separatist insurgency, the situation in Balochistan
is far from stable. External
involvement cannot be stopped if
the militant groups continue to
operate with impunity and foreign insurgent groups are allowed
sanctuaries. It is high time we
reset our national security policies. No longer is it enough to cry
hoarse over foreign conspiracies.
There is now a greater need than
ever to put our own house in
order and stop playing the victim.
That brings our attention back
to the National Action Plan. The
fact of the matter is that our
national leadership has never
been serious in implementing the
20-point agenda to counter militancy and religious extremism. It
has been more than 18 months
since the formulation of the
action plan but there is still no
sign of any reform measures
being carried out. Political expediency and lack of conviction are
the major reasons for our patchy
response to extremist violence.
The entire focus has been on the
use of military force.
For sure the military operation
in Fata, parti­
cularly in North
Waziristan, has driven the TTP
out of their sanctuaries and dismantled the militant network.
But combating militancy and religious extremism is not just about
eliminating the TTP. We still lack
a comprehensive and overarching
counterterrorism strategy.
As a result, incidents like
Monday’s hospital bombing in
Quetta and the murder of women
and children in a terrorist attack
on a Lahore park earlier this year
continue to happen. It may be
true that intelligence-based operations in the cities have been
effective in weakening extremist
networks. But those actions have
been selective. Many of the
banned outfits have been operating freely under new banners in
blatant violation of the law.
A combing operation in the
province has been ordered in the
aftermath of the Quetta attack.
Certainly such a crackdown is
necessary to hunt down the
attackers. But it does not offer
any long-term solution. Such incidents will keep happening if we
continue with a patchy response
to high-profile terrorist attacks.
Conscientious objector
Irom Chanu
Sharmila is
believed to be the
“world’s longest
hunger-striker”
Bhopinder Singh
T
he 44-year-old Irom Chanu
Sharmila, also known as the
“Iron Lady of Manipur”, has
decided to end her hunger-strike that started sixteen
years ago in November 2000.
Believed to be the “world’s longest hunger-striker”, she has been
the face of dissent and debate on
the repeal of the AFSPA (Armed
Forces Special Powers Act) in
Manipur. Force-fed through a
nasal tube in Imphal’s Jawaharlal
Nehru Hospital—which also
serves as her prison ward — the
civil rights activist has led a powerful satyagraha rooted in a restive state that has the dubious
distinction of the highest number
of terror groups in the country
(34 of the 65 terror groups active
in the country are said to be operating in Manipur).
The fractious “Seven Sister
States” of the North-East are precariously perched on the other
side of the narrow 23 km wide
“Siliguri Corridor”. The land of
thousand mutinies dates back to
independence. The Naga insurgency started in 1947. Apathetic
integration post-independence,
tribal turf wars, the conflict
between locals and “foreigners”,
and the overall lack of development have bred extensive disaffection amongst the people
against Delhi. These groups have
been clamouring for statehood,
regional autonomy, redrawing of
borders and also secession from
India. Easy availability of arms
and anti-India governments in
Bangladesh, Myanmar and China
have fueled the fire and exacerbated the bloody insurgencies. A
schizophrenic and inconsistent
approach by the Centre has fluctuated from the overtly military
to piece-meal development packages, peace overtures to insurgents, surrenders, rehabilitation
and economic doles. For all that,
peace has been elusive whenever
the military is deployed. It is
T
always the multi-dimensional
approach of involving civil societies, tribal and religious leadership, political integration, economic initiative—along with the
military—that worked in favour
of rapprochement and peace in
the restive state. Mizoram,
Assam, Tripura and Arunachal
Pradesh showcase the relative
success in curbing secessionist
tendencies and addressing the
dissenting voices by mainstreaming the popular disillusionment.
Tackling the 1966 Mizo secessionist uprising is a textbook case
of success. The multidimensional
approach was followed. From a
situation where the Indian Air
Force was called in to bomb
Aizwal (the only occasion when
the IAF conducted bombing oper-
n
the
stepping
down
of
Lalthanhawla from the office of
Chief Minister to Deputy Chief
Minister so as to accommodate
Laldenga as the interim CM.
Basically, the secessionist overtones of the movement were subsumed in the political rehabilitation and inclusion within the
framework of the Constitution.
Today, Manipur and Nagaland
remain the last two bastions of
active militancy, though there
were signs of normalcy with the
signing of the peace-agreement
with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah).
However, given the constant shadow of the gun and the perennial
insurgency-like situation in
Manipur (six soldiers of the
Assam Rifles were killed in the
attack in Chandel district in
Irom Chanu Sharmila, also known as the Iron Lady of Manipur.
ations within the country) to the
emergence of a Union Territory
called Mizoram in 1972, the journey entailed a measure of giveand-take that was not bereft of
the state’s military might. And
yet the authorities gave a patient
hearing to certain socio-economic
and societal concerns involving
the local people. The political
experiment and innovation continued thereafter, and it culminated in the unprecedented anointment of Laldenga as the first
Chief Minister of the “state” of
Mizoram in 1987. Laldenga was
once the leader of the Mizo
National Army (MNA) which had
led the bloody secessionist war
seeking independence from India.
He had also stayed in exile in both
Bangladesh and Pakistan.
This political rapprochement
was preceded by the Mizoram
Accord 1986, which had entailed
May), alternative means of
expressing dissent—in the manner of Irom Chanu Sharmila—
ought to be appreciated primarily
because she did not follow the
usual praxis of violence or terror.
A fast is inherently designed to
express vulnerability, compassion and empathy towards an
issue. This template of expressing dissent is powerful and contrary to the means deployed by
the insurgents. It mocks at the
futility of an armed struggle
against
the
Indian
state.
Irrespective of the merits of her
case against the AFSPA, her
method calls for reflection if only
to ensure a political settlement
towards normalcy in Manipur.
Ironically, Irom had been continuously alluding to a “normal” life.
Certain concessions such as
the vacating of Kangla fort by
Assam Rifles and the lifting of
AFSPA from certain areas of
Imphal had yielded political
space and opportunity to accommodate and reassure the people.
However, the little gains were frittered away amidst the overwhelming indifference and a unidimensional approach.
Chanu has called off her hunger-strike out of a sense of frustration over the government’s
failure to bring about a more
favourable situation. Her future
course of action offers yet another political opportunity of “mainstreaming” her voice, within the
ambit of the Constitution. Her
decision to contest the impending
Assembly
election
as
an
Independent should be welcomed
as an effort to arrive at a political
solution, as opposed to violence
and the intervention of the army.
She was awarded the Gwangju
Prize for Human Rights in 2007 as
“an outstanding person or group,
active in the promotion and advocacy of peace, democracy and
human rights”. It is the precise
denominator of peace, democracy
and human rights that is rarely
found in conflict zones, and one
that needs to be recognised, lauded and tapped with an inclusive
political approach to address the
phenomenon of dissent.
In terms of people’s unrest,
Jammu and Kashmir offers a parallel case-study. Of course, the
Valley lacks the voice of a local
stakeholder who is agreeable to a
political solution for normalcy,
without raking up secessionism,
violence or external influence. To
be impervious to local concerns is
not a solution as the history of
the North-East, J&K, Punjab
and the Maoist “Red Corridor”
illustrate. Boots on the ground
can yield diminishing returns,
and a misconception that
AFSPA is a “privilege” of the military sets in. AFSPA is only an
operational “enabler” that is
required to carry out functional
requirements. Therefore, any
opportunity to incorporate political, civic and economic imperatives and discourses in a conflict
zone along with a military role to
rein in subversive elements is the
only way forward. Political solutions to buttress the imperative of
rapprochement need to be harnessed and it is in this context
that the role of Irom Chanu
Sharmila as a conscientious
objector—either as a hunger-striker or as an aspiring politician—needs to be lauded.
musings
he following is a translation
of the Henshu Techo column
from The Yomiuri Shimbun’s
July 28 issue.
nnn
A television at my workplace
was airing a black-and-white
Japanese film. It was in the
afternoon only days ago. I was
vaguely watching the film, without strong interest in it, when a
young man on-screen said: “You
don’t need to die. If you live, you
can find small things—for exam-
ple, even urinating—joyful.”
It seemed like a scene in
which he dissuaded a person
who wanted to commit suicide
from doing so. I learned from the
TV schedule in the newspaper
that the film was “Nikudan”
(which literally means “the
human bullet”), directed by
Kihachi Okamoto in 1968. The
actor who played the young man
was Minori Terada.
The dialogue of the young
man reminded me of the poem
“Boku wa iu” (I say) by Shuntaro
Tanikawa: “Drinking water
when we feel thirsty / one of the
happiest things for humans”
and “Just being alive and
breathing / makes humans want
to smile.”
Drinking water, breathing,
urinating. The joy of living can
be found also in a small, ordinary life. Not long ago an incident occurred in which 19 people
were killed in brutal knife
attacks. No matter how much
they wanted to live, they could
not. Boys and girls on your summer vacations, please do not
waste your precious lives. I cannot refrain from saying so in a
preachy manner.
A haiku by Mantaro Kubota
goes: “Somato / Inochi o kakete
/ Mawarikeri” (A somato
[revolving lantern of shadow
pictures] goes round and round
as if its life depended on it.)
I think of the regrets of somatoes trampled on miserably.
Add war to climate change
T
OP RANA
hanks to the sluggish global
economy, rising terrorist
attacks and the refugee crisis in Europe, the world has
all but forgotten about the
effects of climate change. But a
new study shows it is precisely
for these reasons that we should
take seriously the deadly
impacts of climate change.
Heat waves, droughts, floods
and other natural disasters are
expected to increase because of
climate change, which not surprisingly are also pushing
countries and regions, especially those already split along ethnic, religious or sectarian lines,
toward conflicts, says a new
study by German scientists.
Climate scientists, including
those
in
the
UN
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, have already
warned that if temperatures
increase significantly, large
parts of the Earth could become
uninhabitable, forcing millions
of people to migrate to other
places in search of food and
livelihood, which will significantly increase the risk of conflicts breaking out. Now the
new study by German academics has established a “statistical
link” between the outbreak of
large-scale
violence
and
extreme weather conditions.
In 2007, some scientists and
academics said the conflict in
Darfur, then part of united
Sudan, was nothing but a “cli-
mate war”. UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon even
said: “The Darfur conflict
began as an ecological crisis
arising at least in part from climate change”. Although many
academics dismissed the contention claiming rainfall had
eased drought conditions before
the start of the civil war in
Sudan, the impact of climate
change on conflicts in African
and other countries is yet to be
fully analyzed.The linking of
conflicts to natural disasters
has been controversial, particularly because some studies comparing wars to temperature, for
example, did not yield the
desired results. But the German
researchers used data from
international reinsurance company Munich Re. They combined the figures with information on conflicts and used an
index to quantify how “ethnically fractionalized” countries
are. They then conducted a statistical analysis of armed conflicts and climate-related natural disasters between 1980 and
2010, and their conclusion that 1
in every 4 conflicts in ethnically divided countries coincided
with or followed natural calamities suggests that wars should
be added to the threats—which
include rising sea levels, crop
failures, droughts, water shortages and floods—posed by climate change.
Drought and arid conditions
in Syria from 2006 to 2011—the
worst in recorded history in the
Levant where wheat and other
food crops were first cultivated—destroyed
agriculture,
causing many farmers and
their families to migrate to cities. Last year, Richard Seager, a
climate scientist at Columbia
University’s Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory who co-authored an earlier study, said the
drought and arid conditions
“added to all the other stressors” that could have led to the
civil war in Syria. And a
drought of that magnitude was
made possible “by the ongoing
human-driven drying of that
region”.
The new German research
report says: “Recent analyses
of the societal consequences of
droughts in Syria and Somalia
indicate that such climatological events may have already
contributed to armed conflict
outbreaks ... (and) the destabilization of Northern Africa and
the Levant may have widespread effects by triggering
migration flows to neighboring
countries and remote migrant
destinations such as the
European Union.”
Jonathan Donges, co-writer
of the German study, is surprised “by the extent that
results for ethnic fractionalized
countries stick out, compared
to other country features such
as conflict history, poverty or
inequality”.
“We think that ethnic divides
may serve as a predetermined
conflict line when additional
stressors like natural disasters
kick in, making multi-ethnic
countries particularly vulnerable to the effects of such disasters”, Donges said
Not surprisingly, many have
already rubbished the findings
of the two studies. But there is
not denying that despite the
denials, the need for international action on climate change
remains strong enough. And
the world can only ignore that
at its own peril.
C M Y K
life&style
kathmandu post
the
PG 08 | Thursday,August11,2016
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
The Chronicles of Narnia revival
BORN TODAY
The CS Lewis classic series The Chronicles of
Narnia is set to get a new life on screen. Sonybased TriStar Pictures is joining The Mark
Gordon Company, The CS Lewis Company, and
Entertainment One (eOne) to make another film
The Silver Chair—the second live action iteration
of the literary classic, reports a source.
Sri Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandez is 31
De Niro and Moore to team up
Oscar-winning actors Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore
are teaming up with writer and director David O Russell
for a TV show. Details of the plot have not been
revealed but The Wrap reports that the
American Hustle director has “already had
multiple offers for the project sight unseen”.
It is thought it will be a limited series run.
American actress Viola Davis is 51
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth is 33
American wrestler Hulk Hogan is 63
British actor Ian McDiarmid is 72
A headlong odyssey
Garden Theatre’s Eklabya ko Antim Tape tells the story of an existential angst-ridden Nepali elderly
Post Report
Kathmandu, Aug 10
G
arden Theatre’s rendition of
Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape
(adapted into Nepali as
Eklabya ko Antim Tape), currently on at the Theatre Mall
in the Capital, is an exasperating show. And it is also an irony:
while the titular, solo character has
been named after a character from
the Mahabharata, he announces
once during the show that the ‘God
is dead’. Directed by Shankar Rijal,
Beckett’s old Krapp has now grown
up to be a 59 year-old Eklabya, but
his demeanour is the same as that
of the old Krapp: he is shabby, he
has uneven patches of white hair, he
staggers and he rambles.
The story takes place one dusk in
Eklabya’s (played by Sudam CK)
den, where cigarette butts and beer
bottles are strewn all around, a
cycle lies upside down in one corner,
a book rack in another corner,
boasting books aplenty.
Enter Eklabya: clothed in a
checked pajama, a hunched figure,
untended beard and patches of
white hair. He plays his old tapes,
sitting on his wheelchair by the
table,
over
which
the
tape
is
placed, and
seems to be
recollecting
his memories
of bygone
days,
and is probably trying to examine
his life from the vantage of his 59
year-old self.
Eklabya’s presence is exasperating to behold, and that’s what
Beckett have probably thought how
life is, now cashed in by the shrewd
direction of Shankar Rijal.
Eklabya’s young voice, as we listen in to the tapes he plays, seethes
with irony. The irony of the events
he has witnesses: of the republic, of
the democracy, and of modernity.
The intermittent rhythm of a
Nepali classical tune does gives the
play a regional feel. The lights, however minimally used, do much to
capture the essence of shifting
themes. Rijal’s assessment of the
life of an ageing Nepali man ridden
with an existential angst is understandably exasperating to watch but
it is also rewarding—to witness a
dusk in the life of a dying animal.
Eklabya ko Antim Tape is currently on at the Theatre Mall in the
Capital, everyday at 5:30 pm, and
will run through August 16.
Larson to direct
debut feature film
Reuters
London, Aug 10
H
eirs of the composer for Marvin
Gaye’s Let’s Get It On sued
British musician Ed Sheeran on
Tuesday, claiming his hit song
Thinking Out Loud copies core
elements of the late soul
singer’s 1973 track.
The copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Ed
Townsend, who co-wrote the lyrics to
Let’s Get It On in 1973 and created its
musical composition, according to
the complaint filed in federal court in
the Southern District of New York.
Representatives for defendants
Sheeran,
Sony/ATV
Music
Publishing, and Atlantic Records did
not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
The lawsuit, which asks for damages to be assessed at a jury trial,
argues that the harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements central to Let’s Get It On
formed the structure of Sheeran’s
Thinking Out Loud.
“The Defendants copied the ‘heart’
of Let’s and repeated it continuously
throughout Thinking,” the lawsuit
said. “The melodic, harmonic, and
rhythmic compositions of Thinking
are substantially and/or strikingly
similar to the drum composition of
Let’s.” Grammy Award-winning
Sheeran has become one of
Britain’s top-selling artists in the
past two years, and has written
and co-written tracks for artists
such as One Direction, Taylor Swift
and Justin Bieber.
The lawsuit came two months after
California-based musicians sued
Sheeran for $20 million over his hit
song Photograph in an unrelated
case.
The actress will also produce and star in
the movie, which will begin in October
BBC
London, Aug 10
O
Finding Dory success
boosts Disney
BBC
London, Aug 10
T
he popularity of films such as
Finding Dory has helped Walt
Disney post better-than-expected
quarterly results.
The entertainment giant
reported a nine percent rise in revenue to $14.2bn (£10.9bn)—slightly
higher than Wall Street predictions.
Profit for the quarter to 2 July was
$120m higher at $2.6bn.
Disney also said it had bought a
33% stake in a video streaming company, BAMTech, for $1bn. Movies
including The Jungle Book and
Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War
helped propel revenues at its studio
divis Finding Dory had the most successful launch for an animated film
in US box office history when it
opened in June, making $136.2m in
its first weekend.
Disney’s parks and resorts division
reported a six percent rise in revenue
despite increased cost from the launch
of its first park in China and a slowdown in visitor numbers in France.
In June the company opened
Shanghai Disney and is already planning an expansion to handle more
visitors by 2021. Revenue at Disney’s
cable TV networks rose 1.4 percent
to $4.2bn in the quarter, with a mod-
est gain for sports network ESPN.
ESPN has been a weak point for
Disney in past quarters. As some
viewers shun expensive cable TV
subscriptions in favour of streaming
services, investors have worried
about the prospects of a network
that has traditionally been a cashcow for the company.
Streaming deal
The stake in BAMTech, which was
once part of Major League Baseball’s
media business, reflects Disney’s
attempt to reflect viewers’ changing
habits. It will develop a multi-sport
subscription streaming service with
BAMTech. However, Disney said that
content from ESPN’s cable networks
would not be carried by the new
streaming service. That reflects the
company’s attempt not to cannibalise
cable subscribers—and the lucrative
fees it earned from cable companies
in return for carrying ESPN.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger said
the firm would work with BAMTech to
“explore new ways to deliver the
unmatched content of the Walt
Disney Company across a variety
of platforms”. Disney will have
the option to buy a majority stake
in the future.
platforms
serve
BAMTech’s
nearly 7.5 million paid subscribers
for customers including HBO’s
streaming platform.
scar-winning actress Brie Larson
is to direct her first feature film,
a comedy called Unicorn Store.
The Room star will also produce and star in the movie, which
will begin filming in October, Variety
reports.
The film is about a woman called
Kit who moves back in with her parents and then receives a mysterious
invitation.
Larson previously co-wrote and
co-directed short film The Arm,
which won the jury prize at the
Sundance Film Festival in 2012.
Unicorn Store is based on an original screenplay by Samantha
McIntyre.
The project was originally to have
been directed by Miguel Arteta, with
Rebel Wilson set to star, but the timing didn’t work out, according to the
Hollywood Reporter.
Larson’s other upcoming acting
work includes Kong: Skull Island, the
Captain Marvel movie, coming-of-age
ED Sheeran
faces copyright
lawsuit
drama The Glass Castle and Ben
Wheatley crime thriller Free Fire.
She was awarded the Academy
Award for best actress earlier this
year for her portrayal of a young
mother held captive with her fiveyear-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay)
in Room.
When preparing for her role,
Larson decided to isolate herself
from the outside world.
“I stayed at home for a month,”
the US actress explained. “I was
excited to see what would come up
if I tuned out for a while.”
Did a lot of homework for Banjo: Riteish
Press Trust of India
players). He used to mail me. He
interviewed many banjo players and
used to show me their style. We tried
to work hard on it. “It was not about
visiting a certain place to build a
character. We interacted with a lot of
banjo players. We had meetings, practice sessions to get the vibe, how the
band plays,” he said.
Asked about comparisons with
Rockstar, Riteish said: “I’m a big
Ranbir Kapoor fan; I really like his
work. I think it will be unfair to compare the two films. When you’ll see
the film and the character, you’ll see
that both are different characters, so
there is no parallel that you can draw.
It is like Shah Rukh Khan in a romantic role and Ranbir Kapoor in a
romantic role.”
Banjo also stars Nargis Fakhri as a
DJ from New York, who comes to
Mumbai to find local talent. Banjo is
scheduled to open on September 23.
Mumbai, Aug 10
B
ollywood
actor
Riteish
Deshmukh says understanding
Banjo players was never an issue
but he had to do a lot of homework for the character. The
37-year-old actor will be seen playing
the instrument in his upcoming
musical-drama Banjo.
“A lot of my friends used to play
banjo. Whenever there used to be
Ganesh festival, we would play and
dance. Understanding and knowing
them was not an issue. But we did a
lot of homework,” he said while
speaking at the trailer launch of the
film last evening.
The movie has been directed by
Marathi filmmaker Ravi Jadhav.
Riteish said the director’s research
helped him to play the role. “Ravi had
shot many videos with them (Banjo
Led Zeppelin
lose fight to
recoup legal
fees from
Stairway trial
BBC
London, Aug 10
T
he judge overseeing Led
Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven
copyright trial has rejected the
group’s attempts to recoup almost
$800,000 (£620,000) in costs.
While the rock legends were found
not guilty of plagiarising Spirit’s
song Taurus in June, Judge R
Gary Klausner said the case was not
frivolous. He ruled there was no
evidence that the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe “harboured nefarious motives”.
For that reason, the estate was not
obliged to repay the band’s legal fees.
The trust for Wolfe, who was better
While the rock legends were
found not guilty of plagiarising
Spirit’s song Taurus in June, Judge
R Gary Klausner said the case was
not frivolous
known as Randy California, claimed
Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and
Robert Plant stole the opening riff for
1971’s Stairway to Heaven from Taurus,
a short instrumental released three
years earlier. But a jury found that
Taurus “Was not intrinsically similar” to Stairway’s opening.
Page and Plant, along with their
publishing
company
Warner/
Chappell, sought to recoup $793,000
following the verdict, arguing that
their insurance company would not
cover the legal fees because the copyright claim was so old. Their lawyers
argued that the case was an attempt
to “shake down” the group.
The judge acknowledged that the
band had succeeded at trial and had
shown a right to compensation—but
in the end it was up to his discretion,
and he sided with Wolfe’s trustee.
Wolfe died in 1997. Meanwhile, the
lawyer for his estate has promised to
appeal the original decision.
“The lawsuit was objectively reasonable, and we are confident that
any appeal will be successful,”
Francis Malofiy told Rolling Stone.
C M Y K
health&living
kathmandupost
the
PG 09 | Thursday,August11,2016
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
At arm’s length
Going green
While cell phones provide an efficient and easy
way to communicate, excessive use can take a toll
on your health. Cell phone users need to keep a
minimum distance of 20 centimetres from their
handset to significantly reduce radiation exposure. Adults and especially children can suffer the
long-term effects of radiation waves on the brain.
Green tea is the healthiest beverage on the planet. It is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients
that have powerful effects on the body. This
includes improved brain function, fat loss, a
lower risk of cancer. It contains bioactive compounds that improve health. It also increases fat
burning and improves physical performance.
Stretch in the information
Studying is one of the least physically
demanding activities and can become monotonous real fast. Which is why, stretching at
frequent intervals while studying can go a
long way. It helps increase blood flow, relax
your tense muscles and realign your focus
when you get distracted.
Beating stress
with positivity
Double
Jeopardy
Air pollution can plunge lung cancer patients to death earlier than expected
Denis Campbell
A
ir pollution may shorten the life
of people who are suffering
from lung cancer, researchers
have found.
The findings, which add to
growing evidence about the
health impact of airborne toxins,
show that those diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer are most at risk
of an early death. That applies in
particular to people with adenocarcinoma, the commonest form on nonsmall cell lung cancer, which
accounts for 80 percent of cases of
the disease.
The findings come from US medical research that examined the health
outcomes until late 2011 of 352,000
people in California who were diagnosed with lung cancer between 1988
and 2009.
Those with early stage lung cancer
survived for an average of 3.6 years,
but that fell to 2.4 years for those who
had been exposed to high levels of
particulate matter.
Overall, for patients with early-stage disease, the risk of death
from any cause was 30 percent greater for exposure to nitrogen dioxide,
26 percent for larger particulate matter and 38 percent higher for exposure to smaller particulate matter.
The chances of those diagnosed
early being alive five years later was
30 percent for those exposed to the
highest levels of air pollution compared with 50 percent among those
who had suffered the least exposure,
according to the findings, which are
reported on Friday in the medical
journal Thorax.
The team could not state conclusively that air pollution led to early
death in such patients, but said the
findings were clinically significant
and suggested that reducing exposure to air pollution could improve
someone’s chances of surviving the
disease.
Young people in good health are
unlikely to suffer health harm from
moderate air pollution, but that exposure to high levels or prolonged exposure can have more serious consequences, especially those with lung
or heart problems.
Professor Michael Peake, an expert
in respiratory medicine at Leicester
University, said the life-shortening
impact of air pollution the research
revealed could undermine the benefits of campaigns to increase public
awareness of lung cancer and promote earlier diagnosis.
“This work suggests that high
levels of air pollution are likely to
significantly reduce the impact of
such efforts on the numbers of people
who eventually die of lung cancer,
even if detected early,” Peake said. “It
adds significant weight to the urgent
need for more strenuous efforts to
reduce air pollution.”
Paul Pharoah, however, a professor
of cancer epidemiology at Cambridge
University, said the study had found
only a modest association between
the amount of exposure to nitrogen
dioxide, small particulate matter and
very small particulate matter and the
risk of lung cancer patients dying.
“The observed association is quite
clear, but association does not necessarily mean causation,” he said.
—©2016 The Guardian
Being overweight ‘ages people’s brains’
T
health dilemma by dr dillner
he brains of overweight people
look “10 years older” than those
of leaner peers, a study has
found.
Brains naturally lose white matter—the part of the brain that transmits information—as people age.
But a Cambridge University team
found that loss was exacerbated with
extra weight—so an overweight
50-year-old had a lean 60-year-old’s
brain. Researchers said it shows we
need to know relatively more about
how extra weight affects the brain.
The team, from the Cambridge
Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience,
looked at the brains of 473 people
aged between 20 and 87, dividing
them into lean and overweight
categories.
Their findings, published in the
journal Neurobiology of Aging,
found significant differences in the
volume of white matter in the brains
of overweight people compared with
leaner individuals. Those in the
overweight group had much less
white matter than their thinner
counterparts.
Middle-aged ‘vulnerable’
The difference was only evident
from middle-age onwards, suggesting that our brains may be particularly vulnerable during this period
of ageing. However there was no difference in how the groups fared in
tests of knowledge and understanding, so the researchers say more
work is needed to follow people and
see who develops conditions such as
dementia.
Dr Lisa Ronan, from the
Department of Psychiatry at the
University of Cambridge, who led
the study, said it was not clear if obe-
Should people
over 40 work a
three-day week?
Luisa Dillner
W
orking full-time after the age of
40 is not good for the brain.
Doing more than three days a
week once you reach this age can
damage your ability to think. A paper
from the Melbourne Institute of
Applied Economic and Social
Research says that, while working up
to 30 hours a week is good for the
brains of the over-40s, do any more
than that and it goes downhill. If you
were to work 60 hours a week, your
cognitive ability would be worse than
that of someone who didn’t work at
all. Still, on the plus side, you would
have more money than them.
The researchers used data from
more than 3,000 men and 3,500 women
who
completed
the
national
Household Income and Labour
Dynamics in Australia (Hilda) survey. The survey tested the ability to
read words aloud, recite lists of numbers and match letters and numbers
in a speed trial. Testing reading is a
measure of the “knowing” part of
ability, says lead author Prof Colin
McKenzie, while the other two tests
capture fluid intelligence—the
“thinking” part of ability that
includes memory, abstract reasoning
and executive reasoning. This lowering of scores in those aged over 40
who work full-time doesn’t fit with
the idea that working for longer helps
people stay mentally sharp, or with the
notion of “use it or lose it”. So, should
those who can afford to work less from
the age of 40 reduce their hours?
sity affected the brain, or vice versa.
She told the BBC: “Obesity is so
complex. We know an awful lot about
what it does to the body. “But what it
does to the brain and how it interacts with obesity—we’re at the
beginning of understanding that.”
Prof Sadal Farooqi, from the
Wellcome Trust Medical Research
Council Institute of Metabolic
Science at Cambridge University,
who also worked on the study, said
the work suggested the middle-aged
brain could be particularly vulnerable. “It will also be important to find
out whether these changes could be
reversible with weight loss, which
may well be the case.
“This must be a starting point for
us to explore in more depth the
effects of weight, diet and exercise
on the brain and memory.”
O
KATHRYN DOYLE
lder adults with a positive attitude about aging may be more
resilient to stress, according to
a new study.
“Previous research has generally found the same thing, a more
positive attitude is beneficial,” said
co-author Jennifer Bellingtier, of
North Carolina State University in
Raleigh. “People with positive
attitudes are less likely to be hospitalised and tend to live longer,” she
told Reuters Health.
The researchers had 43 adults,
ages 60 to 96, answer questions
about their experience with aging
in general, like feeling more or less
useful now than when they were
younger, or more or less happy.
Then, on a daily basis for eight
The researchers had 43 adults,
ages 60 to 96, answer questions
about their experience with aging
in general, like feeling more or
less useful now than when
people in their 20s or 30s, given their
real world life experience and time
to develop meaningful relationships. She and her co-authors tried
to account for personality in general as well, since people who are
generally positive may have more
positive attitudes about aging.
Becca Levy of the Yale School of
Public Health in New Haven,
Connecticut, has also studied this
question, although she wasn’t part
of this new study. She told Reuters
Health by email that negative age
stereotypes can exacerbate older
individuals’ stress experience,
while positive age stereotypes can
buffer their experience of stress.
“In a recent intervention study
with older individuals, we found
that it is possible to bolster positive
age stereotypes and reduce negative
age stereotypes,” Levy said.
—©2016 Reuters
days, participants completed questionnaires that asked about stressful events and negative emotions
like fear, irritability or distress.
As reported in The Journals of
Gerontology: Series B, people with
more positive attitudes about aging
generally tended to report consistent emotional states across the
eight-day period, regardless of
stressors. But among those with
more negative attitudes, emotions
fluctuated depending on their
stressors. For older adults, stress
often centres on relations with family or friends, while for younger
people it may more often be related
to work, Bellingtier said.
Almost all cardiovascular functions tend to be worse in people with
more negative reactions to stress,
she said. “The media presents a distorted view of aging, making jokes
about mental and physical incompetence,” Bellingtier said. “The more
you’re exposed to it the more you’re
picking up those stereotypes.”
In fact, she said, older adults are
often happier with their lives than
—©2016 BBC
The solution
Most of us have to keep working fulltime. But does it matter what sort of
job you do? Is your ability to think
preserved, as some research suggests,
if you have an intellectually demanding job? The Hilda survey doesn’t ask
questions about the quality of work,
and McKenzie says it’s hard to tell:
“It’s very difficult to identify the
causal effects of the type of work on
cognitive functions. People may be
selected into certain occupations
according to their cognitive abilities.”
It’s also not clear why working
more than 30 hours is not good for
your brain, while fewer hours is beneficial. McKenzie says that work can
be a double-edged sword. “While
work can stimulate brain activity,
long working hours can cause fatigue
and stress, which potentially damage
cognitive functions. Full-time work
(40 hours a week) is still better than
no work in terms of maintaining
cognitive functioning, but it is not
maximising the positive effects of
work,” he says.
Results may also vary between
countries, depending on how much
holiday people can take each year. It’s
hard to control for all the factors that
might bias a study such as this
(including choices around the hours
worked and the type of work), but it
makes the idea of working full-time
until the age of 67—which the government aims to bring in between
2026 and 2028—even less appealing.
Can doing fun
activities cure
depression?
G
oing out for dinner, learning to
tap dance or seeing friends are all
effective treatments for depression, according to recent research
published in the Lancet. These activities even have a therapeutic name
activation.
The
—behavioural
research says it works as well as
established treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
But how does it work?
The solution
Activities that reduce isolation and
are enjoyable are at the heart of
behavioural activation. This therapy—promoted by Neil S Jacobson at
the University of Washington in the
1990s—works on the premise that,
when people are depressed, they
avoid interacting with others,
which reinforces the depression.
“People with depression will
often think they feel down all
the time, but their mood will
go up and down, depending
on what they are doing,”
says Professor David Richards of
Exeter University, lead author of the
Lancet paper. “When we stop doing
things that make us human and we
close in on ourselves, that’s what
keeps depression going.”
Behavioural activation is an “outside-in” therapy, in which people
with depression are encouraged to
experience mood-enhancing activities and monitor how they feel. CBT
is “inside-out” and focuses on how
people think and challenges their
beliefs. The research reported in the
Lancet
randomly
allocated 440 people
with
depression to
either behavioural activation or
CBT. After
a
year,
there was
no differe n c e
between
the two
groups. Two-thirds of people in each
group reported a 50% reduction in
their symptoms of depression.
Richards says that behavioural activation works as well as antidepressants
and can be used for mild, moderate and
even severe depression. It is not suitable for people who are suicidal.
Behavioural activation is not a soft
option. “It is actually difficult,” says
Richards. “We are not minimising
the restrictive effect of depression.
We ask people to actively monitor
what they are doing and their connection with their mood. This helps
them to establish that how they act
influences how they feel.”
People often tell themselves
they will do an activity when
they “feel more like it”. In
depression, that can take a
long time. So behavioural
activation gets people to
schedule activities a week in
advance. They must then do
them, even in an unmotivated
way, and record their mood
afterwards. The Lancet findings
support a meta-analysis of the
effectiveness of behavioural activation published in PLOS one, a medical journal. This combined results of
26 randomised trials and concluded
that the therapy was effective.
Depression often needs more than
one therapeutic intervention—
behavioural activation may be a
tough but useful option.
—©2016 The Guardian
C M Y K
variety
Thursday, August 11, 2016
thekathmandu post
10
TODAY’SHOROSCOPE
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
****
Keep the motto ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ in mind today.
Because if you want to get the most out of your life right now, you
need to step out and do some riskier stuff. Nothing risky in terms
of your health or the law of course.
u
d
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
*****
Things are about to equalise in all aspects of your life, so get
ready to enjoy a healthier period that will give you a stronger
sense of security and confidence. You’re standing on a firm
foundation again, which means you can reach higher.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
**
Someone you thought you were starting to take a shine to is
going to disappoint you today. Something in their personality will
put you off—their arrogance is a very ugly accessory, and it’s not
doing much for your interest level.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
***
You can’t get so obsessed with starting something new that you
forget to finish up something you’ve been working on for a while!
Things are not going smoothly with this project, but that doesn’t
mean you should bail on it too soon.
LEO (July 23-August 22)
***
You know that having fun does not mean you have to turn off your
brain, but someone close to you might not. They are doing some
stupid things in the name of having a good time.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
******
This is a wonderful day. You’re going to be reminded just how
loved you are by your closest friends. There’s a lot of warmth
coming your way today, and it’s all coming from the people who
choose to walk the same path as you.
Yesterday’s Solution
s
o
k
u
c
r
o
WORD GAME
GRAFFITI
s
s
w
o
r
d
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
****
You’ve been flirting with someone a lot lately and they might be
interested in turning up the heat—get ready for an overture of
sorts to happen today. Think long and hard about whether or not
you want to get closer to them.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
*****
It’s true that patience is a virtue, but it’s also true that you can
control things and push them along if you wish to do so. You’ve
got to act now if you want to make the most of the opportunity
that is placed in front of you today.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
*****
It’s the perfect day to hang out with a blue friend and start
cheering them up! You are capable of giving them whatever
experience they need to get out of the doldrums—whether it’s
fun and laughter, physical activity or quiet conversation.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
*****
A few fresh ideas will not only add some pizzazz to your life
right now, they will increase your romantic potential! So if you are
in the mood to start a new romance, start exposing yourself to
new ways of thinking.
DILBERT
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT
AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)
*****
Could an attraction could be growing between you and someone
you have never considered your intellectual equal? Could it
be that there is more to someone’s attractiveness? You should
look at this person with different eyes starting today.
PISCES (February 19-March 20)
****
A strong flirtatious energy is going to be all around you today,
and it could spice up one or two of your relationships! Before you
get all excited about your romantic prospects, remember that
flirting is just flirting.
L
A
U
G
H
O
U
T
L
O
U
D
K
A
N
T
I
P
U
R
T
V
K
A
N
T
I
P
U
R
F
M
Bob left work one Friday evening. But it was payday, so instead of going
home, he stayed out the entire weekend partying with his mates and
spending his entire wages. When he finally appeared at home on Sunday
night, he was confronted by his angry wife and was barraged for nearly
two hours with a tirade befitting his actions. Finally his wife stopped the
nagging and said to him, “How would you like it if you didn’t see me for
two or three days?” He replied, “That would be fine with me.” Monday
went by and he didn’t see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and
went with the same results. But on Thursday, the swelling went down just
enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.
nnn
My friend thinks he is smart. He told me an onion is the only food that
makes you cry, so I threw a coconut at his face.
Bhaktisur/ Amrit
Bani
6:00 Jeevan Bigyan/
Jyotish Manthan
6:40 Sky Shop
7:00 Kantipur Samachar
8:00 Kantipur News
8:30 Rise N Shine
9:00 Headline News
9:05 Marga Darshan
10:00 Kantipur Samachar
10:30 Market Updates
11:00 Headline News
11:05 Music Summit
11:30Uddhyam
12:00 Kantipur Samachar
12:30MNS
1:00 Headline News
1:05 Kilo Tango Mike
1:30 Ukali Orali
2:00 Kantipur Samachar
2:30 Rise N Shine
3:00 Headline News
3:05Sarokar
4:00 Kantipur Samachar
4:30 New Entry
5:00 Headline News
5:05 Call Kantipur
Reloaded
6:00 Kantipur News
6:30 Cinema Fest
7:00 Kantipur Samachar
7:30
8:00
9:00
9:30
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:30
00:00 Non-stop songs
01:00 Non-stop Hindi
songs
02:00 Non-stop Nepali
Pop/Adhunik songs
04:00 Non-stop Bhajan
05:00 Bhakti Anusthan
06:30 Kantipur Diary
07:00 The Headliners
07:30 Sangeet Sagar
08:00 Kantipur Diary
08:05 Jump Start
09:00 Kantipur Diary
09:10 Traffic Update
09:30 Good News
10:00
10:05
11:00
11:05
Afnai Geet
17:00 Kantipur Diary
17:05 Radio Active
18:00 Radio Active
18:30 Kantipur Diary
18:55Khoj
19:00 Hip-hop Hustle
20:00 Kantipur Diary
20:05 Yo Maya Bhanne
Chij Yestai Ho
21:00 Kantipur Diary
21:30Indreni
22:00 Kantipur Sangeet
Dabali
23:00Ghazal
5:00
12:00
12:10
13:00
13:05
14:00
14:05
15:00
15:15
16:00
16:05
Kantipur Diary
Talent Unwrapped
Kantipur Diary
Fair & Lovely
Femina
Kantipur Diary
Kasto Lagyo
Kantipur Diary
Ke Chha Nepal
Kantipur Diary
Ke Chha Nepal
Kantipur Diary
Jeevan ko Goreto
Kantipur Diary
Afno Bhaka
Market Updates
Kantipur Samachar
Harke Haldar
Tough Talk
Kantipur News
Kantipur Samachar
Market Updates
Call Kantipur
Kantipur News
Harke Haldar
Kantipur Samachar
Cinema Fest
Kantipur Samachar
Tough Talk
Harke Haldar
Savour the cardamom and saffron spice,
slow-cooked kebabs and kormas at Indian
restaurant serving Awadhi cuisine.
contact: 427399, at Soaltee Crowne Plaza
E
V
E
N
T
O
G
R
A
P
H
S PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
T
R
I
P
S
GARFIELD
SUCIDE SQUAD
F
I
L
QFX LABIM Mall: 09:00/11:30/12:00/15:00/18:0
0/19:15
QFX Kumari: 08:15/11:15/14:15/19:30
QFX Civil Mall: 09:00/12:15/15:30/18:45
QFX Jai Nepal: 15:15
QFX Civil Mall: 16:15
DISHOOM
QFX Civil Mall: 12:30/15:15/18:30
QFX LABIM Mall: 13:30/16:30
QFX Jai Nepal: 12:00
QFX Kumari: 15:00
LIGHTS OUT
M
QFX LABIM Mall: 11:15/14:45/19:30
QFX Civil Mall: 12:00/14:15/19:15
QFX Kumari: 12:30/17:15
S
SUNTALI LAI BHAGAI
LAGYO JILKELEY
QFX Kumari: 18:00
ICE AGE: COLLISION
COURSE 3D
QFX LABIM Mall: 16:45
Dip yourself at probably the best pool in the
town at Park Village Resort. Rate: Rs. 1500
for adults & 1300 for children and includes
french fries, free Wi-Fi & 20% discount on
Food & Beverage. Contact: 9801033114
Weekends brunch @ Hyatt Regency—treat
yourself with a lavish buffet lunch, splash by
the swimming pool or laze around outdoor,
Jacuzzi, all for just Rs 2300 plus taxes per
person. Contact: 4491234
Sandwich and Crepes: Taste the sandwiches and crepes at The Lounge from 11 am to 6
pm everyday. For further details call Hyatt
Regency at 4491234.
Enjoy live DJ nights, on every Sunday chill out/
ambient, Wednesday tech/ funk house & Friday
psy/ proggy/ full on from 6:00 pm to 10 pm at
garden and 7:00 pm onwards at club at Funky
Buddha Resturant & Bar, contact: 4700091
Krishnarpan—a specialty Nepali Restaurant
at Dwarika’s, 6 courses to 22 courses Nepali
meal served. Opening Time: 6 pm-11 pm. Prior
reservations required, contact: 4479448
China Garden offers delectable dishes from
across Asia, including Japanese, Korean,
Vietnamese and Chinese. Timings: Lunch:
1230-1445 hrs, Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs,
contact: 427399 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza
Relax and Unwind this summer at
Waterfront Resort, Sedi Height, Pokhara @
Rs. 6000 Nett per night on Bed & Breakfast
basis. Contact: 9801133378 / 9849143552
We serve nothing but the finest Arabica
coffees at great value prices at Barista
Lavazza Coffee Restaurant, Lazimpat,
Contact: 4005123/4005124
Rosemary Kitchen and Coffee shop,
Thamel, opening hours: 7:00 am to 10:00
pm offers an International cuisine in reasonable prices. Contact 01-4267554
Enjoy snacks and drinks from 4:00 pm to
11:00 pm every day and nightly live music
from “The Corner Band” except Tuesday and
Saturday from 7 pm to 11:00 pm at Corner
Bar, Radisson Hotel. Contact: 4411818
Set within the historic Garden of Dreams, the
Kaiser Cafe Restaurant and Bar, Thamel, offers
a continental menu and serves as an atmospheric
venue for anything from a quiet coffee or intimate
meal. Contact: 442534
Jasmine Fitness Club and Spa, Fully
equipped gym and spa; Zumba, aerobics and
cardio classes; therapeutic massage; beauty
parlour and men’s salon. Tripureshwor;
Contact: 4117120
The Italian restaurant serves authentic
Italian cuisines in an elegant ambience for
both lunch and dinner. Timings: Lunch:
1230-1445 hrs, Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs,
Contact: 427399, at Soaltee Crowne Plaza
Garden Terrace offers an authentic world
cuisine, providing diners with the unique
experience of observing their selected dishes being prepared by chefs. Contact:
427399 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza
Mako’s offers traditional Japanese food
served. Don’t miss out on Mako’s special
Tempuras, and green tea ice cream, Time: 11:
30-14:30 & 19:00-22:00, contact: 4479448
Bourbon Room, Lal Durbar Marg is open for
lunch from 12 noon. Enjoy affordable and delicious meals starting from Rs 99! We are currently offering Indian & chinese combos along
with momos. Call: 4441703
Out-of-Africa Lunch amid rural splendor:
Sat & Sun from 1130 to 1630 hours at The
Watering Hole, Indrawati River Valley.
For prior reservation contact: indrawatiresort@gmail.com
Every Friday BBQ from 7:00 pm at Fusion
Bar & Pool side at Dwarika’s Hotel with live
band “Dinesh Rai and Sound of Mind”. Price Rs
1600/ includes BBQ dinner and a can of beer
or a soft drink. Contact: 4479448
Trisara offers food and drinks along
with good music and great times. Sunday- Live
Music by Barbeque Night, Monday, Wednesdayby Positive vibes, Tuesday, Saturday-By Jyovan
Bhuju, Friday-Live Music by Dexterous
Ayurveda Health Home has been providing
ayurvedic treatments/ massages,
sirodhara & counseling for stress, detox &
rehabilitation. Dhapasi, Kathmandu:
01-4358761, Lakeside Pokhara 061-463205
Every Friday evening enjoy Starry Night
BBQ from 7 pm onwards at Shambala
Garden Café at Hotel Shangri La with live
musical performance by Ciney Gurung.
Contact: 4412999
Kaiser Cafe Restaurant & Bar at The
Garden of Dreams, opening time: 9 am till 9
pm, offers an international cafe menu serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, specialty tea’s,
coffees and pastries, contact: 4425341
Manny’s Eatery and bar introduces a special lunch package that is affordable, tasty,
nutritious and quick enough to fit your lunch
break, Jawalakhel, Shaligram complex,
5536919
Enjoy a Barbecue Buffet at the Radisson
Hotel, wide selection of mixed fresh grills and
vegetables together with a choice of salads and
a delicious dessert buffet at a rate of Rs. 1,350
plus taxes per person. Contact: 4411818
Make your weekend more exciting with
family and friends with sumptuous Satey,
Dimsums, Mangolian Barbecue and Pasta at
The Cafe from 12:30 noon to 4:00 pm. Call:
Hyatt Regency, at 4491234
Hotel Narayani Complex, Pulchowk, Lalitpur
presents Shabnam & Cannabiz Band every
Wednesday and Rashmi & Kitcha Band every
Friday, 7:30 PM onwards @ Absolute bar P Ltd;
Contact: 5521408
Enjoy Bubbly Brunch every Saturday from 11
am to 3 pm at Shambala Gardena and Club
Sundhara. Contact: 4412999
Embers Bar, Pulchowk, in all its sophistication and glory is happy to announce
Happy Hours every 6-7pm. It will be
hosting a Barbeque night every Friday from
6:30-9:30pm
The Toran, an ideal location for all day lounging and informal dining offers multi-cuisines.
Contact: Dwarika’s Hotel, 4479488
Latin—Gypsy Jazz at The Corner Bar,
Radisson Hotel, Kathmandu with Hari
Maharjan feat Monsif Mzibiri, 7 pm onwards,
Wednesdays & Fridays. Contact: 4411818
The most delightfully awesome chicken
momos & yummy rich chocolate cake on this
part of the planet @ Just Baked Bakery &
Cafe, Battisputali, offering much more specialties at affordable price.
Starry Night BBQ—every Friday Evening from
7:00 pm at Shambala Garden Café, Hotel,
Shangri~La only @ Rs 1799 net per person
and live performance by Ciney Gurung.
Contact: 4412999
Revolution Cafe, AmritMarg, Thamel, away
from busy crowed street, offers great
music, fast wi-fi and wide menu with reasonable prices. Operation hours: 7 am to 10
pm, contact: 4433630
Learn cardio, gym, aerobics, zumba, spa,
boxing, kick-boxing, b-boying, bollywood
dance at Oyster Spa and Fitness Club,
Sinamangal. Time: Sunday to Friday from 5
am to 8 pm. Contact: 4110554
Experience The Last Resort, the perfect
place for family fun adventure and relaxation.
Special packages for residents. Contact:
4700525/ 4701247 or mail us at
info@thelastresort.com.np
Asia World Travel Pvt Ltd presents fascinating luxury escapades to amazing destinations:
Prague, Ladakh, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Mount Kailash and Panchpokhari in
North East Nepal. Contact: 6222604
Jungle Safari Lodge, Sauraha Chitwan
offers 2 Nights 3 Days package only for Rs
6500 per person. Suman 9851008399
Much needed getaway—1 night/2 day package
@ Hyatt Regency. Enjoy luxury stay of a five
star hotel for a couple with breakfast and
access to spa facilities for just Rs 9999 plus
taxes per person only. Contact: 4491234
Experience the Gyakok @ Shambala
Garden, Hotel Shangri~la only @ Nrs.1700
Nett per person and Nrs.3000 Nett for couple. For more details and reservation:
4412999
Enjoy Gourmet Saturday Brunch with
your family and friends at the Sunrise
Restaurant , Hotel Yak & Yeti from 12-7 pm
every Saturday. Contact: 4248999
Escape, relax and get in shape @ Hyatt
Regency. Embark on a personal well-being at
Club Oasis. Remember us for Tennis, sauna,
Jacuzzi, swimming, fitness centre and Beauty
Salon. Contact: 4491234
Yoga detox and Ayurveda treatments and
retreats every day at Himalayan Peace &
Wellness Centre, Park Village Hotel. Get 10%
discount on all Ayurvedic treatments.
Contact: 980106661
C M Y K
sports
kathmandu post
the
PG 11 | THURSDAY,AUGUST11,2016
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Ranieri to remain in Leicester until 2020 with new contract
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has signed a new four-year deal that is set to keep him at
the Premier League champions until June 2020, the club announced on Wednesday. The
64-year-old Italian joined the Thai-owned Midlands side just prior to the start of last season
after former manager Nigel Pearson was sacked. He led the Foxes to their first English top-flight
title as they stunned the Premier League’s established elite. “Leicester City Football Club is
delighted to announce that its first-team manager, Claudio Ranieri, has signed a new contract
with the Premier League champions,” the club statement said.
Real survive thriller
Carvajal’s last gasp strike gives Spanish giants 3-2 victory over Sevilla
n Real Madrid players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Sevilla 3-2 in the final of the Uefa Super
Cup at the Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim, Norway, on Tuesday. Agence France-Presse
Trondheim, Aug 10
Real Madrid beat Sevilla 3-2 in
the European Supercup final
in rainy Trondheim on
Tuesday thanks to a brilliant
individual last minute of
extra-time clincher from Dani
Carvajal.
Sevilla had been on the
verge of victory leading 2-1
deep into added time, before
Sergio Ramos equalised in the
93rd minute with the last kick
of normal time, leaving the
losers to taste a double dose of
pain when Carvajal grabbed
the late, late winner. Marco
Asensio had given Madrid the
lead with a brilliant strike
before Franco Vazquez equal-
uefa supercup
ised shortly before half-time.
Ramos had loked set to be
the villain of the piece when
he conceded a penalty that
Yevhen Konoplyanka’s slickly
converted in the 72nd-minute,
which looked set to win it for
Europa League champions
Sevilla. The Andalucians
could have little to complain
about over Carvajal’s winner,
as he flew into the box and
clipped the ball past two
defenders and the ‘keeper
with a lovely flick from the
outside of his right boot.
Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid
were not at full strength, with
neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor
Gareth Bale, nor Toni Kroos,
indoor cricket
UIC Cup from Aug 18
POST REPORT
Kathmandu, Aug 10
Ultimate Indoor Cricket is
organising the M&M Remit
UIC Cup—Corporate 2016
Indoor Cricket Tournament
from August 18.
The league-cum-knockout
tournament will include 24
teams who will battle out for
the championship at the
organisers’ indoor facility in
Koteshwor. Century Bank,
WWF,
Nepal
Sports
Journalists Forum, Citizens
Bank,
Siddhartha
Development
Bank,
Annapurna Post, Youwe
Home, M&M Remit, Mega
Bank, Subisu Cablenet, Point
Click Care, Kasthmandam
Development Bank and Fly
Dubai are few of the participating teams.
The participating teams are
divided into eight groups with
the winners and runners-up
from each pool making it to
the round of 16. The 10-day
event, which is into its third
edition, is sponsored by M&M
Remit. Man-of-the-series will
win a return ticket to the
United Arab Emirates from
Fly Dubai.
M&M Remit Senior General
Manager Devesh Bhattarai
said tie-up with the organisers was their effort to contribute in cricket. “We have been
trying to get into partnership
with cricketing events and
this is just a start from us. We
are looking forward to continuing this partnership,” said
Bhattarai.
Century Bank had won the
inaugural edition of the tournament before Huwaei won
the second. The 12-over indoor
cricket is a six-players-a-side
event and has its own rules
and regulations.
AFP/rss
involved and both Luka
Modric and Karim Benzema
coming off the bench in the
second half at the Lerkendal
Stadion. “We were trailing for
all of the second half, but
Madrid never give up and a
goal in 90 minutes allowed us
to
become
champions,”
Carvajal said.
Having just sold Jese
Rodriguez to Paris SaintGermain, Madrid started with
Alvaro Morata in attack, back
at the club from Juventus. The
20-year-old Spain international Asensio, back from loan at
Espanyol, was also included
from the off and he put Real
ahead midway through the
first half with a tremendous
left-foot strike that swerved
into the top-left corner from 25
yards.
However,
Sevilla
responded well and Daniel
Carrico forced a good save
from Casilla — standing in for
Keylor Navas — before the
equaliser arrived.
Vitolo controlled a Luciano
Vietto cross, and while he
could not get the shot away,
Vazquez did, sticking out his
left boot to volley low into the
bottom-right
cor ner.
Argentine playmaker Vazquez
was signed from Palermo during a close season of much
change at Sevilla, who lost
coach Unai Emery — the mastermind of their three consecutive Europa League triumphs — to PSG.
Grzegorz Krychowiak, Ever
Banega and Kevin Gameiro
have all moved on to PSG,
Inter Milan and Atletico
Madrid respectively, while
captain Coke has signed for
Schalke. Vazquez was one of
three new faces to start for
Sevilla, the others being
Japanese
international
Hiroshi Kiyotake and Vietto,
brought in from Atletico.
After an Isco effort was
deflected narrowly wide early
in the second half, Vietto
made way for Konoplyanka
and he scored from 12 yards to
put Sevilla in front after
Ramos had penalised for
bringing down Vitolo in the
box. That looked set to be the
winner until Ramos appeared
unmarked six yards out in the
third minute of added time to
head home a Lucas Vazquez
cross with goalkeeper Sergio
Rico, blocked by one of his
team-mates, unable to get
across to block.
Jadeja fined $300
for lion selfies
Agence France-Presse
father-in-law
Hardevsinh
Solanki gave a written statement on his behalf and paid
Indian cricketer Ravindra the fine of INR 20,000 ($300),”
Jadeja has been fined $300 for he said.
clicking selfies with endanIn one of the photos on
gered Asiatic lions in the Instagram, the all-rounder is
country’s west despite a ban seen smiling and pointing at a
on such photos, a
pride of big cats resting
senior forest offibehind him with a capcial
said
on
tion “family photo, havWednesday.
ing good time in Sasan
Officials
had
(Gir)”. Another is a selfie of Jadeja and his wife
ordered an investigation in June after
as a lion looks on in the
photos of Jadeja
background.
The
posing in front of a
27-year-old is currently
n Jadeja
pride of lions during
on tour with the Indian
a safari in Gir forest went team in the West Indies. The
viral on social media. “We had photos were taken just days
instituted a probe and called after the Gujarat forestry
Jadeja for a statement,” AP department advised tourists
Singh, chief forest conserva- and locals against taking selftor in Gujarat state, said. “But ies with lions, following a
since he was not available, his spate of attacks.
Ahmedabad, Aug 10
new zealand-zimbabwe tests
Part-timers spin Kiwis to victory
Reuters
Bulawayo, Aug 10
Part-time spinners Ish Sodhi
and Martin Guptill bagged
three wickets each as
Zimbabwe folded on the final
day of the second test to hand
New Zealand a comprehensive
254-run victory on Wednesday.
New Zealand won the twomatch series 2-0 after bowling
Zimbabwe out for 132 in their
second innings, though the
home side were hampered by
poor umpiring decisions.
Sodhi took 3-19 and Guptill
career-best figures of 3-11 as
they tore through the
Zimbabwe batting line-up
after lunch having set the
home side an imposing victory target of 387.
“It was a great effort, we
knew it was going to be tough
to take 20 wickets on this surface,” New Zealand captain
Kane Williamson said at the
post-match presentation.
Zimbabwe resumed on 58-3
in the morning session and
Ashwin, Saha dig in to halt Windies
Agence France-Presse
Gros-Islet, Aug 10
Dour
defiance
from
Ravichandran Ashwin and
Wriddhiman Saha through
a long final session inched
India towards a measure of
before tea with West Indies’
second Test hero Roston
Chase and debutant fast
bowler Alzarri Joseph taking two wickets each to vindicate their captain’s decision to bowl first. Both
Ashwin and Saha had their
india-west indies series
respectability at 234-5 when
stumps were drawn on the
opening day of the third
Test at the Darren Sammy
National
Stadium
on
Tuesday.
Their
unbeaten
sixth-wicket partnership of
108 occupied almost 41
overs and rescued the tourists from the considerable
discomfort of 126-5 just
batted for 22 overs without
losing a wicket, before the
first of a number of bad decisions against the home side.
moments of good fortune
after tea, the off-spinning
all-rounder being caught
off a Shannon Gabriel
no-ball while the wicketkeeper-batsman was missed
off Chase at short-leg.
They will resume on the
second morning with
Ashwin on 75, in pursuit of
his second century of the
series, and Saha on 46.
Nightwatchman
Donald
Tiripano (22) had used up 96
deliveries before he was
adjudged lbw by Australian
umpire Paul Reiffel off the
bowling of Mitchell Santner,
even though the ball appeared
to be missing the leg stump.
With no umpire review system being used in the series,
the home side were unable to
challenge. First-innings centurion Craig Ervine (27) was
on the end of another dubious
call from Reiffel when he was
incorrectly given out caught
by wicketkeeper BJ Watling
off Guptill. It proved a turning-point as the home side lost
their remaining five wickets
for 20 runs.
Sean Williams (11) was
Guptill’s second victim as he
smashed a drive to Williamson
at short cover, before debutant
Peter Moor (one) was plumb
lbw to Sodhi. Graeme Cremer
(1) got an inside edge on to the
pad off Guptill but was given
out lbw by Reiffel, before
umpire
Michael
Gough
adjudged Prince Masvaure
(11) had been caught by Ross
Taylor at slip off Sodhi the
ball came off his pad only.
C M Y K
Thursday, August 11, 2016
(C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053
thekathmandu post
Phelps still rules the pool
n Becomes oldest Olympian to win a gold in swimming n American gymnast Biles in sight of record fifth title
Agence France-Presse
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10
In an unforgettable display of
Olympic power, Michael
Phelps won two more finals to
take his historic all-time
record load to 21 golds and
cement his legendary status.
His majestic display came
on a day that Hungary’s ‘Iron
Lady’ Katinka Hosszu took
her third gold of the week
while American gymnast
Simone Biles made a flying
start to her bid for a record
five Rio Olympic golds. But
tennis star Serena Williams
crashed out of what could be
her final Games. Phelps beat
Japan’s Masato Sakai by just
four hundredths of a second
to take the 200m butterfly and
later anchored the US 4x200m
freestyle relay team to victory.
At 31—the oldest individual
Olympic swimming gold
medalist ever—Phelps is still
the master of the pool. After
claiming his 20th title in five
Olympics—beating old rival
Chad le Clos in the process—
Phelps stood in the water
striking a pose like a Roman
emperor, soaking up the
acclaim. The 200m butterfly
was his first world record in
2001 and he was determined to
win back the Olympic title he
lost to South Africa’s Chad Le
Clos in 2012. But Phelps said
that was also the last time he
would race it.
“That event is kind of like
my bread and butter,” Phelps
said. “There wasn’t a shot in
hell I was losing that race,” he
added. “And if I did, I was
leaving everything in the
pool.” Phelps returns for the
heats and semi-finals of the
200m individual medley. But
nothing could beat on Tuesday
night’s dramatic action in the
pool, with Hosszu completing
the individual medley double
by winning the 200m final in
an Olympic best 2:06.58.
Katie Ledecky, leading the
new generation of American
swimming stars, captured her
second gold of the Games by
holding off a brave charge
RIO OFFBEAT
The curse of All
Blacks’ Richie
All Blacks legend Richie
McCaw wondered whether
he might be bringing
bad luck after he watched
New Zealand’s shock 14-12
rugby loss to Japan,
in which star man Sonny
Bill Williams suffered
a tournament-ending injury. McCaw was also
present
when
New
Zealand’s women’s hockey
team, which features his
girlfriend, lost 2-1 to
Germany. “Perhaps I am,”
he said, when asked by
TVNZ whether he was a
bad-luck charm. “I might
have to leave!”
Aussie presenter’s
slip of the tongue
phelps’ feats
2004 (Athens)
400 Individual Medley (Gold)
100 Butterfly (Gold)
200 Butterfly (Gold)
200 Individual Medley (Gold)
4X100 Medley Relay (Gold)
4X200 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
200 Freestyle (Bronze)
4X100 Freestyle Relay (Bronze)
n (From left) American gymnast celebrates in the podium after helping her team win the artistic gymnastics. US swimmer Michael Phelps reacts
following his 200m butterfly final victory in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. AFP/rss
Taiwan’s top lifter suspended for doping
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s former
weightlifting world record
holder Lin Tzu-chi was suspended from competing on
Tuesday in the Rio Olympics
after failing a dope test, the
island’s delegation confirmed on Wednesday. After
from Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom
to take the women’s 200m freestyle final in 1:53.73. The
United States is also looking
Lin’s withdrawal, Chinese
weightlifter Deng Wei took
gold in the women’s 63kg category, breaking Lin’s combined world record with a
total of 262kg.
The
Chinese
Taipei
Olympic Committee said in
forward to a new era of gymnastics domination with Biles
helping the USA women’s
team to victory by eight points
a statement that a routine
dope test of Lin “detected
abnormal reaction.” They
suspended Lin from competing “to ensure spirit of fair
competition of the sport”
according to World AntiDoping Agency rules. (AFP)
over Russia. She is aiming for
five titles this week.
In diving, competitors were
perplexed to find the water
had turned from light blue to
green overnight, although
organizers insisted it was
safe. China’s Chen Ruolin
shrugged
off
the
colour-change to claim a
record-equaling fifth gold
medal in the women’s synchronized 10m platform, with
partner Liu Huixia.
New Zealand’s rugby hopes
took a blow when superstar
Sonny Bill Williams suffered a
tournament-ending injury in
their shock 14-12 opening
defeat to Japan.
2008 (Beijing)
200 Freestyle (Gold)
4X100 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
4X200 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
200 Butterfly (Gold)
200 Individual Medley (Gold)
400 Individual Medley (Gold)
4X100 Medley Relay (Gold)
100 Butterfly (Gold)
2012 (London)
100 Butterfly (Gold)
200 Individual Medley (Gold)
4X100 Medley Relay (Gold)
4X200 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
4X100 Freestyle Relay (Silver)
200 Butterfly (Silver)
2016 (Rio De Janeiro)
200 Butterfly (Gold)
4X100 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
4X200 Freestyle Relay (Gold)
12
An Australian presenter
was left red-faced when she
inadvertently described
swimmer Sun Yang as
“one of (China’s) cheats”
on live TV. The unfortunate
slip by the Seven network’s
Amanda Abate followed
a row over Australian
swimmer Mack Horton’s
comment that Sun was a
“drugs
cheat”,
which
drew a furious response
from China. Introducing
a report on the subject,
Abate said: “Big names
are lining up to support
Aussie gold-medallist Mack
Horton with mounting
backlash
from
China
for calling one of its
cheats—sorry, one of its
stars—a drug cheat.” She
quickly added: “I definitely
didn’t mean that.”
Mother of
intervention
British
diver
Daniel
Goodfellow’s mum has
roasted the UK press for
snubbing her son on front
pages in favour of heartthrob diving partner Tom
Daley after the duo won
bronze together in the
Rio Games 10m synchronised event. The Times
and The Daily Telegraph
featured Daley giving
the
thumbs-up
with
Goodfellow nowhere to be
seen, while the backpages
of other papers did likewise. Sharon Goodfellow
told the BBC’s website
she was “very surprised”
by the snub and tweeted:
“Just done my first bit
of media bashing. How
insensitive!” Subsequent
editions of some papers
were tweaked to give
more equal treatment.
Her nonplussed son told
BBC Radio he might “tell
my mum to stay off
Twitter.”
Phone falls at piste
as Lefort loses
Mobile phones are an ubiquitous part of modern life
but they shouldn’t really
be needed in Olympic
competition.
However,
France’s
Enzo
Lefort
brought his phone onto
the piste for his fencing
match against Germany’s
Peter Joppich—and was
embarrassed when it fell
out of his back pocket midbout. As the phone slid
across the floor and Lefort
bent down to pick it up,
boos rang out from the
crowd, a report said.
Perhaps the incident unsettled Lefort, who went on to
lose the individual foil
match 15-13.
Gary seeks boxing
glory for all Gary
Like many fighters, the
American Gary Russell
comes from a family of
boxers—and they are all
called Gary. The 20-year-old
light welterweight has five
brothers also called Gary.
Their father is also Gary.
Gary Russell Sr—who
reportedly envisaged a
dynasty of Olympic boxers
all in his name—trained
the boys to box. The younger Russell will attempt to
finish what one of his
brothers did not quite start
when he steps into the ring
for his Olympic bow on
Wednesday. The brother
was a 2008 Olympic boxer
but he failed to compete
after collapsing on the day
of the Beijing opening ceremony. Russell will take on
Haiti’s
Richardson
Hitchins, who is even
younger at just 18, on
Wednesday. It was not
immediately clear if dad
Gary and brothers Gary,
Gary, Gary, Gary and Gary
would be there to see it.
Shi inspired by Shi Focus back on
Agence France-Presse
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10
Chinese weightlifter Shi
Zhiyong, who won gold in the
men’s 69kg competition on
Tuesday, said he had been
inspired to Olympic glory by...
Chinese weightlifter Shi
Zhiyong.
Shi, 22, triumphed at Rio 12
years after his namesake won
gold in the men’s 62kg category at the Athens Games,
equalising the world record at
the time. The younger Shi,
who is often confused for the
elder lifter, despite being 13
years his junior, said Shi, 36,
had warned him not to let the
name down. “We first met several years ago. The older Shi
Zhiyong has encouraged me
and supported me. He’s had a
great influence on me,” the
lifter told reporters.
“In 2012 he told me to live
up to the name Shi Zhiyong.
weightlifting
n Shi Zhiyong
That encouraged me to do my
best and never give up,” Shi
added. The younger Shi
grabbed China’s second
weightlifting gold of the day
and third of the Games so far
to propel his country above
Thailand at the top of the
weightlifting medals table. He
lifted a combined total of
352kg, just 1kg ahead of silver
medallist Daniyar Ismayilov
of Turkey.
Shi hauled 162kg in the
snatch and 190 in the clean
and jerk after Deng Wei had
earlier won Olympic gold in
the women’s 63kg in controversial circumstances when
Taiwanese rival Lin Tzu-chi
pulled out amid reports of a
failed dope test. China’s three
golds puts them ahead of
Thailand’s two golds, a silver
and a bronze in the weightlifting charts.
Ismayilov, who represented
Turkmenistan four years ago
before switching allegiance,
said he had been motivated by
Turkish protestors who
opposed the recent coup. “I
had sympathy for the fighting
on the streets. They have
fought much more than me.
The way they were fighting
with the army in Turkey, that
motivated me more than all.”
headguards
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10
boxing
A victorious Algerian boxer
says he fears getting headbutted in his next bout after
he sustained a nasty cut in a
bloody showdown with an
equally wounded Russian at
the Rio Olympics on Tuesday.
The angry-looking cuts to
lightweights Reda Benbaziz
and the vanquished Adlan
Abdurashidov will shine a
harsh spotlight on a decision
by amateur boxing’s governing body to ditch headguards
for men for the first time since
the 1984 Games.
The Aiba says dumping the
headwear will result in fewer
concussions, and while many
boxers are happier without
them, some said in the lead-up
to Rio that it could mean more
cuts and more intentional
headbutts.
And with so many fights
crammed into a fortnight, it
gives precious little time for
those wounds to heal between
bouts. Benbaziz, 22, who won
on unanimous points, is back
in action in three days in the
quarter-finals and fears his
Mongolian foe could intentionally target his messed-up
right eye, after the two fighters clashed heads on Tuesday.
The fight was stopped twice
in the second round for a tournament doctor to treat each
bloodied man. The Algerian,
who blamed the clash on the
Russian, said as he headed off
to see a doctor: “My next fight
will hopefully be less physical.
I wish I could wear headgear.”
Agence France-Presse
Svitolina ends Serena’s five-gold dream
tennis
Agence France-Presse
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 10
Serena Williams’ hopes of a
fifth Olympic gold medal were
crushed by Ukraine’s Elina
Svitolina on Tuesday as the
battle for the women’s title in
Rio was blown wide open.
Top seed and defending
champion Williams was clearly struggling with a right
shoulder injury as she was
stunned 6-4, 6-3 by Svitolina,
13 years her junior. “The better player won,” said Williams,
who served up eight double
faults, including five in one
game in the second set. She
also hit 37 unforced errors. “It
was a great opportunity. It
didn’t work out the way I
n Elina Svitolina reacts after defeating Serena Williams during their
third round match in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
wanted it to, but at least I was
able to make it to Rio. That
was one of my goals.”
AFP/rss
Defeat for the 34-year-old
means that the Rio tournament has lost both its No 1
players before the quarter-finals after Novak Djokovic
went out in the first round.
Only three of the top 10 seeds
have made it to the last-eight
of the women’s draw. The Rio
Games is now over for Serena
after she and sister Venus
were deposed as doubles
champions in the first round.
Williams was joined at the
exit on Tuesday by third seed
and French Open champion
Garbine Muguruza who lost
to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.
However, there were no such
problems for defending men’s
champion Andy Murray and
2008 winner Rafael Nadal who
coasted into the third round
in straight sets.
Muguruza’s post-French
Open slump continued when
she slipped to a worrying 6-1,
6-1 loss to Puig, the world No
34. Second seed Murray raced
into the last 16, blitzing Juan
Monaco of Argentina 6-3, 6-1.
Nadal, the third seed, was
equally ruthless, claiming a
seventh win in eight clashes
against Italy’s Andreas Seppi
6-3, 6-3. Murray will face Fabio
Fognini of Italy for a quarter-final spot.
Fognini saved two match
points to defeat Benoit Paire
4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). Minutes later,
French team officials said
that Paire was being expelled
from the Games for “flouting
rules”.
Published and Printed by Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd., Central Business Park, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal, P. B. No. 8559, Phone: 5135000, Fax: 977-1-5135057, e-mail: kpost@kmg.com.np, Regd. No. 32/048/049, Chairman & Managing Director : Kailash Sirohiya, Director : Swastika Sirohiya, Editor-in-Chief : Akhilesh Upadhyay
money
kathmandupost
the
INR 66.636074.5320 0.6595 87.2040 68.2700 51.1602 51.5790
GBP0.7650 0.8549 0.0076
JPY 101.0700113.1100
EUR0.8942
USD
How India’s landmark
GST deal was done
It took him more than two years, but
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
finally discovered the art of the deal.
Realising that a frontal assault wasn’t
securing the votes needed for India’s
biggest-ever tax reform, Modi and
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
changed tack this spring, government
and ruling party sources have told
Reuters. First, they sought to build a
coalition among the nation’s 29 state
governments to isolate the Congress
party, which despite losing heavily to
Modi in 2014 had blocked a new Goods
and Services Tax in Rajya Sabha. Pg: II
Essentials dearer due to
higher import costs
Prices of daily essentials, particularly
sugar and pulses, have shot up over
the last one month. Traders have
attributed the jump to shortages and a
hike in import and factory gate prices. According to retailers, prices of
essentials have spiked 12.5 percent to
50 percent over the past month. Sugar
has jumped to Rs90 per kg.
Pg: IV
PARSA, AUG 10
Last year’s prolonged Tarai
unrest and the Indian trade
embargo that followed it
had a devastating effect on
Birgunj’s economy, the country’s major trade point
between Nepal and India.
According
to
Birgunj
Customs, trade through the
border city plunged by half
during the last fiscal year ending mid-July. Imports fell 42.41
percent to Rs186 billion and
exports dived 54.28 percent to
Rs9.06 billion during the
review period.
The top 10 imports are jeep,
car, van, motorcycle, auto
0.6244
0.7829 0.5873 0.5917 0.0115 0.0072
131.5789 103.5400 77.6700 78.2500 1.5163 0.0947
0.0088 1.1697 0.9149 0.6871 0.6918 0.0134 0.0084
1.1183 0.0099 1.3072 1.0248 0.7690 0.7738 0.0150 0.0093
The chart shows the rates of nine world currencies. Move across the table to find rates of exchange between any two
currencies. One unit of the currency mentioned vertically is worth that amount in the currency mentioned horizontally.
Pound Sterling
139.79
Japanese Yen
10.56
Chinese Yuan
16.13
Qatari Riyal
29.40
Australian Dollar
82.66
Malaysian Ringit
26.82
Saudi Arab Riyal
28.55
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
Page III A record budget of Rs1.12 billion has been approved for the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) for fiscal 2016-17 to allow it to rev up promotional
activities and revive the country’s tourism industry which was knocked to the ground by last year’s twin disasters.
‘Unilever trying to PPMO set to amend
Public
Procurement
end crisis amicably’
PRITHVI MAN SHRESTHA &PRATAP BISTA
KATHMANDU/ HETAUDA, AUG 10
A top official of Unilever Nepal
Limited (UNL) has said the company
is making efforts to resolve the current disruption at its Hetauda plant,
creating a win-win for both the management and the workers.
UNL Chairman Pradeep Banerjee
told the Post by telephone from India
that the company would try to
resolve all the issues amicably. He,
however, said he could not confirm
at this stage when the factory
would resume its operations.
The multinational company on
August 7 declared a lockout, a temporary work stoppage, due to the strike
called by the workers since July 10.
After the company announced on
Tuesday that the lockout would continue—even after a reported three-
point agreement reached between
the two sides on Sunday—the
workers are alarmed whether
the company would exit Nepal. But
Banarjee assured UNL has no
plans to exit Nepal.
The company, however, refuted
reports that the management has
signed an agreement with the workers. “In fact, the company’s representative had signed the attendance
register,” said a senior UNL official.
The workers have said they expect
the management to end the lockout
after the company’s board of directors meeting on Wednesday. But the
UNL official said how could an
industry operate amid strikes and
under constant pressure from workers. “If Unilever closes down, it is the
workers who will incur the biggest
loss, not the company,” he said.
Unilever Nepal is multinational
company dealing in fast moving consumer goods. The factory, established
in 1993, employs 208 workers. Last
fiscal year, its transactions stood at
Rs4.87 billion and earned a net profit
of Rs900 million.
Bhairahawa luring business away from Birgunj
SHANKAR ACHARYA
107.06
Euro119.61
How to read the table
THURSDAY,AUGUST 11, 2016 (27-04-2073) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Inside
US Dollar
USDEUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR
NR 107.0600119.6100 10.5600 139.7900 109.5600 82.1000 82.6600 1.6015
finance&economy
NTB passes Rs1.12b budget
F ORE X
cross currency
spare parts, diesel, petrol,
cement clinker, mini bus, LPG,
truck and soya bean oil.
Likewise, juice manufactured
by Dabur Nepal, jam, toothpaste, iron pipe, carpet and
readymade garment are the
top exports.
According to the customs
office, its revenue collection
also dropped 38.46 percent to
Rs56 billion in the last fiscal
year. “All the trade activities
through Birgunj slowed in the
past year,” said Lok Raj
Panta, information officer of
Birgunj Customs. “This is an
impact of the six-month-long
Tarai unrest and the border
blockade.”
Oil accounted for 40 percent
Trade through Birgunj
plunged by half during
the last fiscal year
ending mid-July
of the customs revenue collected from imports. Everyone
from workers to industrialists
suffered during the Tarai
unrest.
The Department of Customs
had to revise its revenue collection target for Birgunj
Customs downward to Rs71
billion from the original target
of Rs103 billion due to the
unrest. In the previous fiscal
year, the office had collected
Rs91 billion in import-export
revenue.
Although, revenue collection improved immediately
after the end of the Tarai
unrest in February, it has not
been good, he said.
Bhairahawa, another key
trade point located further
west on the Nepal-India border, was widely used during
the Tarai unrest and Indian
trade embargo due to the less
stringent restrictions here.
Other trade points were tightly closed with Birgunj bearing
the brunt of the blockade.
Bhairahawa was considered
to be one of the safest routes
for trade with the southern
neighbour. Due to this reason,
it became the first choice for
traders rerouting their shipments of imported goods
stuck in the Birgunj-Raxaul
area.
With many traders using it
as a permanent route for the
transportation
of
their
imports and exports even after
the end of the embargo,
Bhairahawa has been turning
into one of the country’s main
transit points. Most of the
trading companies have rented land around Bhairahawa
and constructed warehouses.
Major auto importers like
Sipradi
Trading,
Laxmi
Hyundai and the Chaudhary
Group are not concentrated in
Bhairahawa.
Regulation 2007
BIBEK SUBEDI
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
The Public Procurement
Monitoring Office (PPMO) is
all set to amend the Public
Procurement Regulation 2007,
making it mandatory for bidders to qualify on both technical and financial fronts to bag
government contracts.
Once the new provision
comes into effect, the bidders
(individuals/firms) have to
submit two envelops—the first
one mentioning their technical capacity to undertake a
particular contract, and the
second one stating the cost.
“The government agency
calling for the bid has to
first open the first envelope
and access the technical
capacity of the bidders and
prepare a list of those meeting
the technical criteria,” said
Ramesh Kumar Sharma, secretary at the PPMO, adding it
will then open the second
envelopes of only those making it to the list.
The new provision is being
introduced amid complaints
about poor performance in
government projects, in which
contractors generally bag the
contracts on the basis of quoting low prices—sometimes
less than the actual cost—and
do not complete the projects in
time. Under the existing system, both technical and financial proposals are submitted
in a single envelope. This,
according to government officials, allows even those failing
to meet the technical criteria
to secure contracts just by
New regulation will make it
mandatory for bidders to
submit separate technical
and financial proposals
quoting low prices. This has
resulted in poor performance
of contractors in government-funded projects.
Sharma told the Post that
his office has already completed the draft amendment and it
plans to forward it to the
Cabinet for approval. “We will
send the draft to the Cabinet
within a week,” he said. “Once
the Cabinet approves the
draft, the provision will come
into effect.”
There is a growing trend of
contractors receiving advance
payment and not carrying up
the job. Shoddy construction
by unscrupulous contractors,
who usually bid for projects
that are beyond their own
financial and technical capacities, rip off the treasury and
force the government to con-
tinue such projects for a number of years.
Some government agencies
are also planning to introduce
a similar provision while
awarding contracts. The
Energy Ministry, through the
Energy Crisis Reduction Bill,
will rolling out the provision.
As per the bill, contractors
bidding for hydropower projects have to submit two separate envelopes and qualify on
both technical and financial
fronts.
Ministry officials said the
provision is being introduced
so as to ensure the contract is
awarded to companies/ individuals that are willing and
have the ability to develop a
particular project.
The Energy Ministry has
forwarded the bill to the
Finance and Law ministry for
approval. After the approval,
it will be presented before the
Cabinet’s bill committee.
Once okayed by the bill
committee, the bill will be sent
to the Parliament for final
endorsement.
Gold demand in Asia to fall
‘15-20pc’ in 2016 on price rise
luring tourists
REUTERS
MUMBAI, AUG 10
n Tourists
visit the scenic area of the Longmen Grottoes in central China’s Henan Province, on Wednesday. The sonic spot has received
about 376,000 trips since July. Xinhua
Gold consumption in China
and India, the world’s top two
buyers, is set to drop 15 to 20
percent in 2016 after lower
investment demand and jewellery sales, an official at a leading importing bank said.
Lower demand from the two
countries, which account for
more than half of the global
market, could limit a rally in
global prices which are trading near a two-year high.
“Indian demand would be 15
to 20 percent lower in 2016
than the previous year. Higher
prices, weak investment
demand contributed in reducing consumption,” Sunil
Kashyap, managing director,
Global Banking and Markets
at Scotiabank, told Reuters on
Wednesday. “India is not unusual. This is a general trend
across Asia, even in China.”
Gold prices have jumped
nearly 28 percent so far in 2016
to $1,352 per ounce, deterring
traditional jewellery buyers.
“Unless the price comes below
$1,300 per ounce we do not
expect demand to pick up,”
Kashyap said.
Chinese demand for gold
totalled 981.5 tonnes last year,
followed by India on 864.3
tonnes, according to data compiled by the World Gold
Council.
In India, local gold prices
jumped to 32,455 rupees
($487.21) per 10 grams in July,
the highest in nearly three
years, prompting consumers
to sell their old jewellery.
As a result, total scrap
supplies in India could
jump to 120 tonnes to 180
tonnes in 2016, Kashyap
said, with 10 to 15 tonnes coming onto the market each
month. In 2015 scrap supplies
totalled 80.2 tonnes, according
to the WGC data.
Weak demand and scrap
supplies are helping India in
reducing imports, which in
July fell by 79.3 percent from a
year ago to 20 tonnes, the lowest level since March, GFMS
data showed.
future hangs in balance
‘Self-driving’ in spotlight again as China sees first Tesla autopilot crash
REUTERS
BEIJING, AUG 10
Tesla said on Wednesday that
one of its cars had crashed in
Beijing while in ‘autopilot’
mode, with the driver contending
sales staff sold the function as
‘self-driving’, overplaying its
actual capabilities.
Tesla said it had reviewed data
to confirm the car was in autopilot mode, a system that takes control of steering and braking in
certain conditions. The company,
which is investigating the crash
in China’s capital last week, also
said it was the driver’s responsibility to maintain control of the
vehicle. In this case, it said, the
driver’s hands were not detected
on the steering wheel.
The crash, Tesla’s first known
such incident in China, comes
months after a fatal accident in
Florida, which turned up pressure on auto industry executives
and regulators to tighten rules on
automated driving technology.
A 33-year-old programmer at a
tech firm, Luo Zhen was driving
to work and engaged the autopilot function as he often does on
Beijing’s highways, he told
Reuters in his first interview
with international media.
Luo, who filmed the incident
with a dashboard camera, said
his car hit a vehicle parked half
off the road. The accident
sheered off the parked vehicle’s
side mirror and scraped both
cars, but caused no injuries.
“The driver of the Tesla, whose
hands were not detected on the
steering wheel, did not steer to
avoid the parked car and instead
scraped against its side,” a Tesla
spokeswoman said in an emailed
response to Reuters.
“As clearly communicated
to the driver in the vehicle,
autosteer is an assist feature
that requires the driver to keep
his hands on the steering wheel
at all times, to always maintain
control and responsibility for the
vehicle, and to be prepared to
take over at any time.”
Luo, however, blamed the crash
on a fault in the autopilot system
and said Tesla’s sales staff
strongly promoted the system as
‘self-driving’. “The impression
they give everyone is that this is
self-driving, this isn’t assisted
driving,” he said.
Interviews with four other
unconnected Tesla drivers in
Beijing, Shanghai and
Guangzhou also indicated the
message conveyed by front-line
sales staff did not match up with
Tesla’s more clear cut statements
that the system is not “self-driv-
ing” but an advance driver assistance system (ADAS).
These Tesla owners all said
salespeople described the cars’
function in Chinese as “self-driv-
ing”, a term the company generally avoids using in English, and
took their hands off the wheel
while demonstrating it. “They all
described it as being able to drive
itself,” said Shanghai resident
Mao Mao, who bought a Tesla
Model S last year.
The term “zidong jiashi”
appears several times on Tesla’s
Chinese portal, which is most literally translated to mean
“self-driving”.
It is also the term for airplane
autopilot, leaving room for confusion among consumers. “We have
never described autopilot as an
autonomous technology or a
‘self-driving car,’ and any
third-party descriptions to this
effect are not accurate,” the Tesla
spokeswoman said.
Tesla does not regularly
announce its sales data for China,
where it has faced tough local
competition, and it is not clear
how many cars in the country
have autopilot, an add-on feature
that costs more than 27,000 yuan
($4,000) extra. The company
struggled to sell its high-tech
electric cars in China at first due
to distribution issues and widespread concerns about charging
vehicles.
There is no clear regulation on
self-driving cars in China as the
country is in the midst of drafting its policy toward the technology. Under current Chinese law,
drivers must keep two hands on
the wheel at all times.
China’s Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology did
not respond to faxed questions
asking about the legality of
self-driving cars, including
Tesla’s autopilot function.
The Ministry of
Transportation did not reply to a
request for comment.
Unsatisfied with Tesla’s initial
response to his crash, Luo posted
pictures and a video of the crash
on Chinese social media platform
Weibo describing the incident
and criticizing the company. The
pictures show damages to his
blue Tesla Model S and a parked
Volkswagen, while the dashboard
camera video captures the lead
up to the crash and the car subsequently stopping.
Luo, who said he had used
autopilot for more than a month,
said he was looking at his phone
or the in-car navigation at the
time of the accident, only looking
up every several seconds—but
blamed Tesla’s hard sell.
“They use this immature technology as a sales and promotion
tactic...but they don’t take responsibility for the safety of the function,” he said.
C M Y K
news digest
Court convicts
US energy firm
WASHINGTON: A federal
jury has found US energy giant Pacific Gas and
Electric Company
(PG&E) guilty on six
criminal counts, following the deadly explosion
of one of its pipelines.
The September 2010 blast
killed eight people and
destroyed dozens of
homes in San Francisco,
making it one of the
deadliest disasters ever
involving an American
utility company. The jury
on Tuesday found PG&E
guilty of six of 12 charges it faced in the case,
including obstruction of
justice and violation of
the federal Natural Gas
Pipeline Safety Act. The
verdict followed a nearly
six-week-long trial in San
Francisco. The court
imposed a fine of up to
$500,000 for each count in
the case, which means
the company may have to
pay up to $3 million. (AFP)
France reports
output drop
PARIS: French industrial
production dropped for a
second straight month in
June, statistics bureau
Insee said Wednesday,
alarming analysts who
had been looking for a
modest increase. Output
fell 0.8 percent in June,
after dropping 0.5 percent in May, with oil
refining posting the largest single decline after
strikes in France’s oil
industry. Connor
Campbell, an analyst at
Spreadex, called the latest French reading
“alarming” and “far
worse” than the May
drop and the 0.3 percent
increase that economists
had been expecting for
June. Manufacturing
output alone fell 1.2 percent in June after a
revised 0.1 percent
increase the previous
month. “A stronger than
expected fall in June
industrial production
ends the second quarter
with another bad surprise for the French economic outlook,” said
Olivier Vigna, an economist at HSBC. (AFP)
First isolate, then negotiate:
How India’s GST deal was done
REUTERS
How events unfolded
NEW DELHI, AUG 10
It took him more than two
years, but Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has finally discovered the art of the deal.
Realising that a frontal
assault wasn’t securing the
votes needed for India’s biggest-ever tax reform, Modi and
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
changed tack this spring, government and ruling party
sources have told Reuters.
First, they sought to build a
coalition among the nation’s
29 state governments to isolate
the Congress party, which
despite losing heavily to Modi
in 2014 had blocked a new
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
in the Rajya Sabha.
Then, Jaitley held a series
of meetings with Congress
leaders whose outcome was
uncertain right up to the last
minute, sources close to the
finance minister said. He
yielded to their demands—
accepting, verbatim, a clause
they proposed for the constitutional amendment needed to
make the GST happen, according to a member of the
Congress team that included
former Finance Minister P
Chidambaram.
“Negotiations take place
only if both sides are willing
to be flexible,” senior Congress
leader Jairam Ramesh told
Reuters. “Both sides were
pragmatic.”
An aide to Jaitley said
Congress’s growing isolation
proved decisive in making a
compromise possible. “They
had got themselves into a corner,” said the finance ministry
official, who was privy to the
n A file
photo shows vendors and customers at a wholesale vegetable market in New Delhi. talks. “They had two options:
Strike a deal and come out
with your reputation intact, or
lose your credibility.”
Last week’s unanimous
upper-house vote to pass the
122nd amendment to the constitution brings the wheel full
circle—the GST was proposed
by Chidambaram a decade
ago, but was stalled by political rivalry.
Introducing a unified sales
tax across India’s market of
1.3 billion people would mark
a bold act of integration at a
time of disintegration elsewhere, as Britain exits the
European Union and a protectionist, Donald Trump, runs
for the US presidency.
The GST vote also addresses
how India, as a federation, can
implement a one-size-fits-all
sales tax—something the
United States and EU have
been unable to do—by creating
a GST Council that brings the
centre and the states together.
Tough bargaining on the
rate and scope of the tax lies
ahead, yet at least the atmosphere has improved, with
Chidambaram
praising
Jaitley’s “friendly and conciliatory tone”. That could revive
projects that foundered early
in Modi’s rule, including land
and labour reforms.
Despite winning India’s biggest mandate in 30 years, Modi
has struggled to advance his
agenda. Congress, though
reduced to a rump opposition,
has resisted.
As the largest party in the
Rajya Sabha that represents
the states, it had blocked
the
GST
and
derailed
Modi’s land acquisition bill
which critics branded as
being “anti-farmer”.
While that tactic proved
effective, it wasn’t winning
public support. Congress took
hits in state elections and in
June lost the Rajya Sabha
votes it needed to be sure of
n May 19: Congress, which suffered its worst-ever election
defeat at the hands of Modi in 2014, is punished by voters in a round of regional elections.
n June 11: Further losses in elections to the upper house
mean that Congress and its fellow holdout, Tamil
Nadu’s ruling party, would struggle to muster the onethird of votes needed to stop a constitutional amendment to enable the GST.
nJune 15-16: Jaitley wins the full support of West Bengal,
a key swing state. Congress’s anti-GST front is crumbling.
nJuly 15: Jaitley holds formal talks on the GST with
Congress party negotiators for the first time in nine
months.
nJuly 17: At an all-party meeting, Modi urges opposition
parties to put national interests above all else and back
the GST bill.
nJuly 19: Jaitley holds a second round of talks with
Congress. He also meets Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar, who rules in an alliance with Congress. Kumar
is placated by a government offer to delay a controversial piece of legislation and his party publicly backs the
GST the next day.
nJuly 26: Jaitley offers to compensate states for five years
for all revenue losses arising from the GST. The states
are fully on board.
nJuly 27: Congress proposes tweaks to the GST amendment. They are approved by Modi’s cabinet that evening.
nJuly 28: Two more meetings are held but Jaitley resists
a Congress demand to anchor the GST rate at 18 percent.
nAug 1: Congress tells Jaitley it will back the bill.
REUTERS
stopping the GST. This was the
cue for Jaitley to court the
states, with key swing state
West Bengal soon declaring its
support. In July, he targeted
Bihar, while at the same time
re-engaging with Congress
after nine months of radio
silence.
Jaitley’s promise to the
states to compensate revenue
losses for five years, made at
talks in New Delhi on July 26,
won them over, West Bengal’s
finance minister Amit Mitra
told Reuters.
Congress moved to cut a
deal, while Modi and Jaitley
were ready to offer concessions—including scrapping
a levy of 1 percent on
the movement of goods
between states—that experts
say would actually make the
GST a better tax.
On the morning of July, 27
Congress submitted a written
proposal, with new wording
on resolving GST disputes
nAug 3: The constitutional amendment bill passes the
upper house, with 203 votes in favour and none against,
after lawmakers from Tamil Nadu walk out.
nAug 8: The lower house unanimously approves the
amendment.
between the centre and the
states.
Modi’s
cabinet
approved identical tweaks that
same evening.
When it came to the Aug. 3
vote, there were 203 votes in
favour, and none against. The
amendment passed the lower
house on Monday, also unanimously. It was a first for Modi,
who called the GST a “Great
Step towards Transformation”.
II
Oil down on
concerns over
oversupply
Agence France-Presse
SINGAPORE, Aug 10
Oil prices extended losses in
Asia on Wednesday after
industry data showed a rise in
US crude stockpiles, supporting oversupply concerns.
The American Petroleum
Institute said overnight
Tuesday that crude supply
had increased by around 2.1
million barrels last week.
Investors are now waiting for
official data on US commercial crude stockpiles for the
week ending August 5 due
later Wednesday, which will
give further indication of
demand in the world’s top oil
consumer.
“The API figures have
added pressure on prices,
which are likely to continue to
fluctuate until we see official
figures
from
the
US
Department of Energy later
tonight,” said IG Markets
strategist Bernard Aw.
At about 0630 GMT, US
benchmark
West
Texas
Intermediate for September
was down 13 cents to $42.64
while Brent crude for October
was down eight cents to $44.90
a barrel. Oil prices have been
fluctuating since entering a
“bear” market last week, falling more than 20 percent and
closing below $40 a barrel for
the first time since April.
They rebounded after the
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries said
Monday that it would hold
talks on the sidelines of the
International Energy Forum
in Algeria from September 26
to 28, ahead of a planned
meeting due at the end of
November. The announcement was seen as a hint Opec
could take action to stabilise
the crude market, amid
rumours it may freeze output.
World stock markets post new
1-year peak on weak US data
mega structure
REUTERS
LONDON, AUG 10
Gazprom net
profit down
MOSCOW: Russian gas
giant Gazprom on
Wednesday announced a
five percent fall in net
profits in the first quarter of this year, as lower
gas prices meant it failed
to cover growing expenses. From January to
March the state-run
behemoth registered a
drop in profits to 362 billion rubles ($5.6 billion, 5
billion euros) from 382
billion rubles in the
same period last year, a
statement said. The
world’s largest gas company—which supplies
around a third of
Europe’s gas—has been
hit by a drop in gas prices linked in part to the
falling price of oil. The
drop in profits comes
despite a rise in overall
revenues to 1.74 trillion
rubles, up just over 5 percent from 1.65 trillion
rubles for the first quarter of 2015. The overall
volume of gas sold
increased 9 percent to
144 billion cubic metres
of gas. The volume
shipped to the key markets of Europe and
Turkey rose by 49 percent. (AFP)
money
world
Thursday, August 11, 2016 | thekathmandupost
n A general
view of a construction site of the Padma Bridge on the Padma River on the outskirts of
Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday. First made-in-China span for Bangladesh’s largest bridge has reached
the project site. In June 2014, the Bangladesh government awarded China Major Bridge Engineering
Company Limited a $ 1.55-billion contract to build the core structure of the project, which is to be
completed in four years. The bridge will be 25-meter-wide and 10-km-long. About 6.15 km of the
bridge is being built over the river, while the remaining part on both banks. Xinhua
World stocks posted a new
one-year high and the dollar
sagged on Wednesday after
weak US productivity data
was seen reducing the prospect of a rare interest rate
hike among global central
banks.
As the light dimmed in one
of the few bright spots in the
world economy, the United
States, demand for bonds
firmed—a factor highlighted
by the Bank of England’s failure on Tuesday to prise
enough debt from investors to
meet its bond-buying target
under plans to stimulate
Britain’s economy..
With sub-par global growth
and inflation keeping the onus
on looser central bank policy,
New Zealand, one of the 55
monetary authorities to ease
policy since the start of 2015,
was broadly expected to cut
rates further on Thursday.
“Central
banks
look
increasingly accommodative
and no one seems to be going
against that trend ... which
supports all asset prices,”
said Anton Heese, head of
European rates strategy
at Morgan Stanley in
London. “The growth prospects for the US economy are
probably weaker than many
anticipate.”
MSCI’s world stock index
covering 46 markets advanced
to its highest level seen in a
year at 419.77, trumping a
China COSCO Director of the Board, President and Deputy Party Secretary Wan Min rings a bell during an
opening bell ceremony at the stock exchange in Athens, Greece, on Wednesday. REUTERS
n
level hit on Tuesday. MSCI’s
broadest index of Asia-Pacific
shares excluding Japan rose
0.3 percent to the highest level
since August 2015.
European shares, meanwhile, edged down on weak
earnings but have recovered
nearly all the losses seen since
Britain’s shock vote in a June
23 referendum to leave the
European Union, which delivered a fresh blow to the bloc’s
growth outlook.
The top share index in
Germany, Europe’s biggest
economy, which hit a 2016
high on Tuesday after a series
of strong company earnings
results, was dragged down by
a slump in its largest utility
E.ON after the firm reported
more than 3 billion euros of
losses for the first half of the
year.
The dollar index, which
tracks the US currency
against a basket of six peers,
retreated 0.4 percent to 95.782,
while US bond yields also fell
on signs of worse-than-expected US productivity data that
could signal low growth and
inflation in the long term. The
euro rose 0.3 percent to
$1.1150, extending its recovery
from Friday’s one-week low of
$1.1046. “Low US productivity
growth could suggest the
third- quarter growth can’t be
fantastic. That in turn would
mean the Fed will not need to
raise rates,” said Masahiro
Ichikawa, senior strategist at
Sumitomo Mitsui Asset
Management.
Additionally, the Bank of
England’s reverse bond auction failed to meet its target
on Tuesday, highlighting the
scarcity of investors willing
to sell from a dwindling pool
of long-term bonds with positive yields.
The 10-year UK gilt yield
sank to a record low of 0.54
percent after the BoE fell 52
million pounds ($68 million)
short of its target to buy more
than 1 billion pounds of
long-dated UK government
debt. That was the first
time it failed to find enough
sellers since it started its
quantitative easing programme in 2009.
D e va l u at i o n
Down but not out: Fears ease over China’s weaker yuan
Agence France-Presse
SHANGHAI, Aug 10
A year ago on Thursday Chinese
authorities stunned global markets by devaluing their yuan currency, raising fears the world’s
second-largest economy was
worse off than thought—but
investors are now more sanguine
about a weaker “redback”.
The normally stable unit was
guided down by nearly five percent over a week last August, and
has declined steadily since then.
It closed at 6.6430 to the US dollar
on Wednesday, not far from its
weakest level for almost six years
and approaching the rate where
authorities held it rock steady
between 2008 and 2010, in a bid to
escape the turmoil of the global
financial crisis. But unlike the
deliberate government policy of
the past, financial markets see
economic fundamentals as driving the recent decline in the
yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB). A rise in US interest
rates, Britain’s vote to exit the
European Union and the failed
coup in Turkey have all sparked
flight to the dollar.
Even so traders and China’s
business partners still want
Beijing to pursue deeper reforms
and greater transparency of its
currency regime. “A year on,
investors appear slightly more
relaxed about movements in the
renminbi but we suspect that
they remain as wary as ever
about trusting Chinese policymakers to keep their word,”
Capital Economics said in a
research report.
Beijing keeps a tight grip on its
currency as part of Communist
authorities’ control mechanisms,
as well as worries that sudden
inflows or outflows of capital
could damage the economy. The
government only allows the yuan
to rise or fall two percent on either side of a daily fix on the national foreign exchange market.
Chinese officials have pledged
to keep the unit stable, but at the
same time gradually move
towards making it freely convertible as they seek to secure a
greater role in the world financial
system. After years of lobbying,
the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) late last year finally agreed
to include the yuan in its “special
drawing rights” reserve currency
basket. “Concerns over the renminbi have eased in recent
months and outflows have
returned to a more manageable
level,” Capital Economics said.
Billions of dollars have flooded
out of China in the last year,
although the torrent has slowed
dramatically, with Chinese banks
selling $49.0 billion more in foreign exchange than they received
in the April-June period, sharply
down on the $124.8 billion of the
previous three months.
China’s foreign exchange
reserves fell to $3.2 trillion in
July, according to the latest figures, but remain by far the
world’s largest.
The yuan is expected to go
lower this year, given the continuing impact of Brexit. “Global
uncertainties are gradually taking a toll,” Citic Bank
International chief economist
Liao Qun said. “And how much
longer yuan is going to fall
depends on when the euro and
pound will bounce back again.”
For years Washington criticised China over what officials
have said is a grossly undervalued currency, but it has remained
relaxed over the yuan’s current
weakness. “China has committed
to moving in an orderly way to a
more market-oriented exchange
rate,” a senior US Treasury official said on the sidelines of a G20
meeting in July. “The test will
come when there is upward pressure on the RMB and whether
China will allow the RMB to
appreciate,” he told journalists.
Chinese growth is slowing,
with gross domestic product
expanding 6.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, the same
as the previous three months but
down from 6.9 percent in 2015. A
weaker currency can help boost
exports, and the central rate was
fixed at 6.6530 on Wednesday,
down almost nine percent on a
year previously. “China’s economy is facing a downturn. An
undervalued RMB will support
China’s export performance in
the short term,” Qin Huanmei,
an associate professor at Shanghai Finance University, said.
C M Y K
III
money
news digest
Record profits for
Commonwealth
SYDNEY: Australia’s biggest lender Commonwealth Bank sounded a
cautious note about the
country’s economic outlook Wednesday even as
it posted a record
Aus$9.23 billion (US$7.08
billion) in annual profit.
The Commonwealth
Bank’s performance is
closely watched for guidance on the health of the
Australian economy in
the current low interest-rate environment.
CBA chief executive Ian
Narev said the company
remained positive about
Australia’s economic
prospects but warned
that the nation’s nominal
growth, which is not
adjusted for inflation,
needed to strengthen.
Reflecting softness on the
income side of the economy, Australia’s nominal
GDP grew by 0.5 percent
in January-March for an
annual reading of 2.1
percent. It was far below
real GDP of 1.1 percent
in the quarter for a
year-on-year figure of
3.1 percent. (AFP)
Fairfax Media
books loss
SYDNEY: Australian publisher Fairfax Media
reported a loss of close
to Aus$900 million
(US$692 million)
Wednesday but remained
upbeat on signs that its
digital and non-print
businesses were performing strongly. Fairfax—
which owns The Sydney
Morning Herald, The
Age and The Australian
Financial Review—
booked a net loss after
tax of Aus$893.5 million
for the year to June 30.
This compared to a net
profit of more than
Aus$80 million in the
previous corresponding
period. The media giant,
like its international
peers, has for years been
battling declining advertising and revenues, particularly in traditional
print divisions. Chief
executive Greg Hywood
struck a positive note
despite the loss, saying
his company’s push
towards digital was succeeding, with star performer the real estate-focused Domain Group
reporting a 33 percent
jump in revenue. (AFP)
EON burned
with big H1 loss
FRANKFURT: German
energy giant EON on
Wednesday reported 3
billion euros ($3.34 billion) in losses over the
first half of 2016 as it
wrote down the value of
traditional power infrastructure. EON subsidiary Uniper, which brings
together the firm’s
non-renewable power
operations, booked provisions and impairment
charges on its power
plants and gas storage
facilities totalling 3.8 billion euros. That weighed
on the group as a whole,
which reported underlying profit as measured by
EBITDA of 2.9 billion
euros—down 12 percent
on the same period in
2016—on revenues of
20.25 billion. But the
firm insisted it was
on course to meet its
profit targets for the
year as a whole. “EON
delivered solid
first-half results in a
persistently difficult
environment.” (AFP)
economy
thekathmandupost | Thursday, August 11, 2016
NTB passes Rs1.12b budget
to revive crippled tourism
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
A record budget of Rs1.12 billion has been approved for the
Nepal Tourism Board (NTB)
for fiscal 2016-17 to allow it to
rev up promotional activities
and revive the country’s tourism industry which was
knocked to the ground by last
year’s twin disasters.
A meeting of its board of
directors chaired by Tourism
Secretary Prem Rai okayed
the massive financial plan last
Thursday. NTB officials said
the budget had been approved
in a timely manner this year
after eight years of haphazard
planning.
The NTB said that of the
total amount, Rs275 million
had been set aside for international publicity and Rs230 million for domestic tourism promotion. Likewise, Rs223 million has been earmarked for
tourism marketing, Rs30 million for the promotion of
tourism in Pokhara and
Rs20 million for research and
planning.
“This year, our key focus
will be new markets like
Australia, New Zealand,
Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia
and a few Gulf countries,”
said CEO Deepak Raj Joshi.
“We will target these markets
through business-to-business
marketing,” he said.
For business-to-consumer
marketing, the NTB has allocated around Rs130 million.
According to Joshi, Rs90 million will be spent on consumer publicity programmes
through the popular global
media outlet BBC World.
Likewise, the NTB has
decided to partner with
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, which has 350
million unique monthly visi-
tors. “We will be spending
Rs250 million to promote
Nepal through the site,” he
said. The board has also decided to partner with international news agency Reuters to
promote Nepal. It has allocated a budget of Rs8 million for
the purpose. Meanwhile, the
NTB plans to spend Rs18 million on digital marketing.
In order to promote Nepal
in the key tourism markets of
China and India, the board
has allocated a budget of
Chandragiri Cable
Car service opens
BOJ likely to
defend massive
stimulus scheme
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Chandragiri Hills on Monday
officially
opened
the
Chandragiri Cable Car service
to the general public amid a
Vedic ceremony.
Locals of
Chandragiri
Municipality in Kathmandu
and Chitlang and Fakhel
VDCs
in
Makwanpur
were among the invitees to
the ceremony conducted
by the company’s directors
and promoters.
A total of 10,641 visitors
from Chandragiri, Chitlang
and Fakhel and other
guests enjoyed the free ride on
the
Chandragiri
Cable
Car and visited the temple on
the hilltop.
A two-way trip on the cable
Rs125 million. “For consumer
publicity, we will be investing
Rs50 million in China and
India,” said Joshi, adding that
another Rs75 million had
been allocated to conduct
travel fairs and sales missions
in the northern and southern
neighbours.
Investing in these promotional campaigns is aimed at
recovering the country’s tourism by 2017 and preparing for
the national Visit Nepal Year
campaign in 2018. The gov-
ernment has announced plans
to mark 2018 as Visit Nepal
Year. The NTB’s revenue
comes
from
Tribhuvan
International Airport (TIA)
and the Trekkers’ Information
Management System (TIMS).
It collects a tourism service
fee from each foreign traveller
departing from TIA. In 2014,
the government allowed it
to double the fee to Rs1,130
from Rs565.
The NTB earns Rs650 million from the tourism service
fee annually. It collects another Rs180 million from TIMS
with which all trekkers have
to register by paying a fee of
up to Rs2,000 each.
The NTB also has around
Rs200 million in unspent
budgets from the last fiscal
year. The money remained
because
of
multiple
problems like the earthquakes
and Tarai protests which
severely crippled the tourism
industry last year.
Tourist arrivals to Nepal
plunged to a six-year low of
538,970 in 2015 as the April 25
earthquake and subsequent
anti-constitution agitation in
the Tarai kept visitors
away. Nepal received 251,148
less tourists last year,
representing a sharp drop of
31.78 percent compared to the
2014 figure.
REUTERS
TOKYO, AUG 10
car from Thankot to the top of
Chandragiri Hill costs Rs700.
More than 10,000 passengers rode the cable car on
inauguration day, Chandragiri
Hills said in a statement,
adding that the company
expected to carry 10,000
passengers daily in the
days to come.
street business
Street vendors display their products in front of a jewellery store in New Road, Kathmandu, on
Wednesday. Post Photo: Surbindra Kumar Pun
n
The Bank of Japan has
already prepared a preliminary outline of a “comprehensive” review of its policies due
next month that will maintain
a pledge to hit its 2 percent
inflation target as soon as possible, sources familiar with its
thinking said.
In the draft, the BOJ identifies sharp falls in oil prices, a
prolonged hit to growth from a
sales tax hike in 2014 and
Japan’s inability to shake off
its deflationary mindset as
hampering achievement of its
inflation target, sources said.
By
blaming
external
factors for keeping inflation
subdued, the BOJ could use
the review to defend its policy
framework from rising criticism that three years of heavy
money printing had failed
to achieve its price target,
they added.
“The outcome will probably
show that QQE (quantitative
and qualitative easing) and an
expansion of it in 2014 have
been successful,” said one of
the sources, on condition of
anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The BOJ’s announcement
last month of the review triggered the worst sell-off in government bonds in more than
three years, as some traders
speculated that the central
bank feared it was being left
with a dwindling policy tool
kit and so might begin tapering asset purchases.
Other market players bet
the assessment could prompt
the BOJ to shift to a more radical policy like “helicopter
money,” under which it monetises government debt by
accepting perpetual bonds.
For such investors, an assessment defending the existing
policy could be a disappointment, unless it is accompanied by an expansion of QQE
or a deepening of negative
interest rates. The preliminary outline appears to make
no direct recommendations on
the future direction of monetary policy, though the general
tone would suggest that a
tapering of the BOJ’s massive
stimulus
programme
is
unlikely, the sources said.
Several issues have yet to be
finalised due to disagreements
in the board, such as whether
January’s decision to adopt
negative rates would help
boost inflation, they added.
According to the sources,
the review would also look at
why negative rates have
pushed down yields so much
for as long as 20- and 30-year
bonds, and how damaging the
subsequent flattening of the
yield curve could be on financial institutions’ profits.
The draft is subject to
change depending on debate
by the nine-member board. A
BOJ spokesman declined to
comment. Officials had been
drafting the outline weeks
before the July announcement, the sources said, suggesting that the review would
be more a defence of the status quo rather.
E m b r a c in g t e c h
Britain counting on fintech for banking revolution
REUTERS
LONDON, Aug 10
British banks will from 2018 have to
share customers’ data with third
parties who can then show how
much could be saved by using other
lenders, the competition watchdog
said on Tuesday.
Customers currently are
paying more than they should for
banking and are not benefiting
from new services, the Competition
and Markets Authority (CMA) said
in its final report after a three-year
review of consumer and small business banking.
Third-party companies have
already begun to build “apps” for
managing finances on a phone or
other devices, and the CMA believes
that setting a 2018 deadline will also
boost the “fintech” sector. The government wants to see fintech grow, a
sector European Union countries
like Germany want to lure from
London after Britain voted to leave
the bloc.
“This is a real opportunity for the
UK to take the lead. We are going to
make it happen and give it a push to
get it across the line,” Adam Land, a
senior director at the CMA, said.
“There is no question that fintech
companies are champing at the bit.”
High street banking in Britain is
dominated by the “big four” lenders—Lloyds Banking Group, Royal
Bank of Scotland, Barclays and
HSBC—who control more than three
quarters of current
accounts and provide nine out
of 10 business loans.
Only 3 percent of consumers and
4 percent of business customers
change banks in any year. The CMA
hopes its proposed measures, which
differ little from draft measures outlined in May, will make it easier for
personal and small business custom-
The government wants to see
fintech grow, a sector European
Union countries like Germany
want to lure from London after
Britain voted to leave the bloc
ers to switch lenders, but some
smaller banks and consumer groups
said the new measures were not radical enough.
Under the new rules, banks will
have to share a customer’s data with
third parties, providing the customer agrees. Aldermore, one of the
new “challenger” banks the government hopes will eat into “big four”
dominance, said the CMA has
missed a huge opportunity to provide a real, positive economic
impact.
The CMA could have gone further
by recommending that small banks
have more proportionate capital
requirements, it said. Challenger
banks have called for lower capital
requirements than big banks, arguing they pose less risk to the financial system than bigger rivals.
The CMA will also require lenders to publish their maximum fee
for unarranged overdrafts, which
earn banks 1.2 billion pounds ($1.6
billion) a year. Consumer group
Which?, however, said that measure
did not go far enough as banks
would still set the maximum rate
and so would be able to continue to
charge “exorbitant fees”.
Land said the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA), which capped payday loans’ interest rates, will review
the overdraft measures and obstacles to new entrants to see if they
improve, but Rishi Khosla, co-founder and CEO of OakNorth Bank, said
this “passing of the buck” to other
market watchdogs could put many
fledgling companies at risk.
“The fact that the CMA is simply
going to pass the buck to the
Treasury who won’t look to launch
their own investigation until two
years from now is extremely disappointing,” Khosla said. “There are
millions of SMEs (small to medium
enterprises) that are struggling to
secure growth capital who may now
need to wait up to four years for the
situation to improve.”
Land said that allowing banks to
set their own cap gives them flexibility to compete with each other on
offering the lowest overdraft fee, but
consumer advice bodies were
unconvinced. “The FCA should be
prepared to step in with an industry-wide cap if they (the banks) do
not significantly reduce the charges
being paid by people who fall into
difficulty,” said Money Advice
Trust, a charity that helps people
deal with debt.
shares
Nepse
1,779.57pts
1.09%
highest gainers
JBNL TDBL SEWA YETI JEFLHAMRO
9.94% 9.91% 9.88%9.85% 9.82% 9.63%
moderate gainers
FBBL MFIL SETIGDBL MDB HAMA
9.62% 9.16% 8.64%8.45% 8.40% 8.18%
moderate losers
BARUNSICLPO TBBL SLBBL CHCL
LFC
-1.96%-1.97% -1.97% -2% -2.42%-2.42%
highest losers
SHL FMDBL RBCLPONGBBL EIC SLBBLP
-2.87%-3.00% -3.20%-4.95% -7.71% -9.09%
Nepal Stock Exchange
Singhadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu
August 10, 2016
Trading Information
Trading Price
SN CompanyMaxMinClosingNo Shares
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
Agriculture Development Bank Ltd
1020
Alpine Development Bank Ltd
475
Api Power Company Ltd
830
Araniko Development Bank Ltd
444
Arun Valley Hydropower Development Co. Ltd
453
Asian Life Insurance Co. Ltd
1836
Barun Hydropower Co. Ltd
520
Bhargav Bikash Bank Ltd
590
Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Ltd
6292
Butwal Power Company Ltd
940
Century Commercial Bank Ltd
462
Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd
2142
Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd
1363
Citizen Bank International Ltd
750
Citizen Investment Trust
5026
Deprosc Development Bank Ltd
3105
Dev Bikas Bank Ltd
420
Everest Bank Ltd
3315
Everest Insurance Co. Ltd
2008
Excel Development Bank Ltd
793
Fewa Bikas Bank Ltd
674
First Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd
1905
Gandaki Bikas Bank Ltd
507
Global IME Bank Ltd
566
Global IME Samunnat Scheme-1
13
Goodwill Finance Co. Ltd
500
Guheshowori Merchant Bank & Finance Co. Ltd
425
Gurans Life Insurance Company Ltd
905
Hama Merchant & Finance Ltd
370
Hamro Bikas Bank Ltd
273
Himalayan Bank Ltd
1575
Himalayan General Insurance Co. Ltd
1486
ICFC Finance Ltd
418
ILFCO Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
1254
Jalabidyut Lagani tatha Bikas Co. Ltd
402
Janaki Finance Ltd
421
Janata Bank Nepal Ltd
564
Janata Bank Nepal Ltd Promoter Share
250
Jebils Finance Ltd
313
Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd
810
Kailash Bikas Bank Ltd
743
Kalika Microcredit Development Bank Ltd
2076
Kanchan Development Bank Ltd
645
Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd
635
Karnali Development Bank Ltd
336
Kasthamandap Development Bank Ltd
563
Kisan Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
3029
Lalitpur Finance Ltd
299
Laxmi Bank Ltd
896
Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
2970
Laxmi Value Fund-1
17.34
Life Insurance Co. Nepal
3365
Lumbini Finance Ltd
440
Lumbini General Insurance Co. Ltd
1458
Machhapuchhre Bank Ltd
895
Mahila Sahayatra Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1435
Manaslu Bikas Bank Ltd
419
Manjushree Financial Institution Ltd
432
Mega Bank Nepal Ltd
535
Mirmire Microfinance Development Bank Ltd
2700
Mission Development Bank Ltd
794
Miteri Development Bank Ltd
1162
Mithila LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd
1804
Mount Makalu Development Bank Ltd
987
Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd
1512
Nabil Balance Fund 1
24.40
Nabil Bank Ltd
2420
NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share
1795
NagBeli LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd
4218
National Hydro Power Company Ltd
195
National Life Insurance Co. Ltd
3366
Neco Insurance Co. Ltd
2198
Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd
1060
Nepal Bank Ltd
590
Nepal Doorsanchar Comapany Ltd
680
Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank Ltd
910
Nepal Insurance Co. Ltd
1200
Nepal Investment Bank Ltd
1076
Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Promoter Share
911
Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd
3905
Nepal SBI Bank Ltd
1960
Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd
2288
NIBL Samriddhi Fund 1
15.05
NIC Asia Bank Ltd
881
NIDC Capital Markets Ltd
723
Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd
2163
NLG Insurance Company Ltd
2040
NMB Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
4200
NMB Bank Ltd
893
NMB Sulav Investment Fund-1
16.42
Om Development Bank Ltd
698
Oriental Hotels Ltd
585
Pokhara Finance Ltd
414
Prabhu Insurance Ltd
1578
Premier Insurance Co. Ltd
2468
Prime Commercial Bank Ltd
710
Prime Life Insurance Company Ltd
2205
ProgressiveFinance Ltd
270
Prudential Insurance Co. Ltd
1549
Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd
504
Raptibheri Bikas Bank Ltd
397
Rastriya Beema Company Ltd
9059
Rastriya Beema Company Ltd Promoter Share 14783
Reliable Development Bank Ltd
600
Reliance Lotus Finance Ltd
371
Ridi Hydropower Development Company Ltd
380
Rural Microfinance Development Centre Ltd
1164
Sagarmatha Finance Ltd
593
Sagarmatha Insurance Co. Ltd
2259
Sajha Bikas Bank Ltd
348
Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd
2109
Sanima Bank Ltd
825
Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd
1025
Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd
599
Seti Finance Ltd
496
Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd
678
Shangrila Development Bank Ltd
505
Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd
3460
Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd Promoter
1740
Siddhartha Bank Ltd
1330
Siddhartha Equity Orineted Scheme
16.01
Siddhartha Insurance Ltd
2395
Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme-1
29.57
Sindhu Bikash Bank Ltd
425
Soaltee Hotel Ltd
433
Standard Chartered Bank Ltd
3635
Summit Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd
2660
Sunrise Bank Ltd
862
Surya Life Insurance Company Ltd
920
Swabalamban Bikas Bank Ltd
2635
Swarojgar Laghu Bitta Bikas Bank Ltd
2652
Swarojgar Laghu Bitta Bikas Bank Ltd Promoter Share1078
Synergy Finance Ltd
204
Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd
283
Tinau Development Bank Ltd
642
Tourism Development Bank Ltd
543
Tourism Development Bank Ltd Prmoter Share
161
Triveni Bikas Bank Ltd
517
Uniliver Nepal Ltd
33780
Union Finance Co. Ltd
217
United Finance Ltd
472
United Insurance Co. (Nepal) Ltd
1198
Vijaya laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
1445
Western Development Bank Ltd
599
Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
2437
Yeti Development Bank Ltd
390
Total Amount Rs.
Total Quantity
Total No of Transactions
2,033,315,899
3,585,860
9,870
Index Current Pts Change%Change
NEPSE 1,779.57
19.15
1.09
Sensitive 383.83
4.39
1.16
Float132.23 1.35 1.03
936
1010 53909
455
471
1431
785
801
18833
430
440
7161
414
436
65755
1696
1760
8352
500
500
1031
560
571
550
6049
6292
40
900
922
15496
435
449 38047
2050
2087
4248
1325
1330
5908
706
730 48952
4900
4950
1049
2912 3000
1300
384
405 45039
3176
3225
14898
1890
1890
2590
763
770
1574
625
672
13247
1758
1777
7815
470
500
4532
530
543
76391
12.80
12.81 28466
481
499
7606
417
421
2260
870
870
5435
348
370
485
253
273
50
1502
1574
12653
1405
1409
2510
397
405
12139
1216
1221
1975
385
392
45740
405
410
6662
523
564
78373
250
250
15150
285
313
2519
775
810
1099
680
690
33731
2076
2076
100
615
645
2720
635
635
106
330
336
820
512
542
49419
2850
3029
580
282
282
4079
851
888
25172
2900
2950
757
16.30 16.80 602364
3260 3300
5147
424
440
666
1377
1419
7879
820
854
57398
1344
1400
879
419
419
35
400
432
13838
490
514
31915
2690
2700
20
780
780
151
1092
1161
6056
1804
1804
20
968
970
582
1441
1500
14845
23.50 24.40 632908
2290
2350
11058
1735
1795
3802
4150
4150
134
186
190 90070
3215
3309
11468
2040
2129
17332
1016
1040 146109
536
560 155781
660
680
5570
850
863
3520
1154
1200
3216
985
1047
61287
865
887
11125
3721
3905
12676
1872
1955
13238
2130
2210
1773
14.99 15.05 20500
810
850
43751
683
723
5411
2100
2140
3381
1942 2040
14816
4067
4105
292
820
853
71202
16.10 16.30 24000
660
682
9238
563
585
1615
397
397
10459
1470
1499
15808
2320
2460 20450
651
671 32609
2103
2149
6099
255
270
2068
1495
1500
4433
490
500
2707
385
394
718
9059
9059
10
14400 14600
283
550
576 30240
340
362
8607
362
378
934
1112
1120
4055
550
565
6343
2210
2250
1102
319
348
3084
1956 2050
4652
750
784 58506
990
1007
11136
550
596
1847
460
490
2077
629
678
9224
485
496
8009
3283 3440
19121
1740
1740 20000
1250
1295
86015
15.45
15.45 39500
2204
2395
11178
28.99
29
9000
417
422
3292
405
405
16962
3430
3565
8208
2544
2544
855
790
832
66714
885
885
6044
2550
2620
8850
2548
2548
210
1000
1000
5838
190
196
13310
277
283
750
614
635
1877
499
543 44805
161
161
21064
481
497 25988
33780 33780
20
205
217
5707
472
472
100
1150
1165
1853
1420
1422
700
571
590
1741
2299
2310
832
362
390 24044
Sub-Indices Current Pts Change%Change
Banking
1,678.57
14.93
0.9
Hotels
2,166.58
36.17
1.64
Development Bank1,844.07 32.09
1.77
HydroPower 2,586.24
28.91
1.11
Finance
860.39
12.17
1.43
Insurance 8,654.64180.47 2.13
Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100
C M Y K
bizline
Lucent installs water filter systems
KATHMANDU: Lucent Drop Nepal, a water treatment and
filtration company, has set up water purification and filter systems at three schools -- Mary Ward, Jhamsikhel;
Viswa Vidya Mandir, Harisiddhi; and Institute of
Engineering, Pulchowk. The company said in a statement it aims at making available purified water free of
cost. The company has been providing filtration solution
to large corporate houses and private residential homes
for the past 15 years. Through the solution, students can
get all the minerals which help them in being healthy, the
company said. (PR)
MAW holds workshop on road safety
KATHMANDU: MAW Enterprises, the sole distributor of
Yamaha motorbikes in Nepal, conducted a workshop on
road safety at Universal College, Maitidevi on Tuesday. It
has been organising such programmes in colleges and
public places as part of corporate social responsibility, it
said in a press release. Due to the recklessness of youth,
college students are most vulnerable to road accidents.
Keeping this fact in mind, MAW’s Yamaha wing has been
conducting awareness initiatives targeting youngsters,
according to MAW. At Tuesday’s workshop, more than
100 students were taught about the causes of accident,
ways to avoid them, precautions to be taken while riding,
scientific evaluation of critical traffic conditions, proper
riding posture and tips on braking, and most importantly, the significance of traffic rules. An orientation was
conducted for beginners too. Similarly, 42 students participated in test rides. (PR)
Customer service meet starts Friday
KATHMANDU: Kantipur Management is organising the
First National Customer Service Conference in the capital on Friday. Its theme is ‘Art of Customer Satisfaction’.
The one-day conference will bring together over 150 professionals from various sectors, the company said in a
press release. According to the organiser, the meet will
present speakers who have diverse experiences in the
customer service arena. “The speakers will speak about
their experiences from national and international markets, global trends in customer service and ways to further improve customer service in an organization,” the
company said. (PR)
Sagarmatha Cement dealers meet
KATHMANDU: Sagarmatha Cement, a product of Ghorahi
Cement, organised a dealers’ meet on Friday and
Saturday in Pokhara. The conference saw more than 350
dealers from across the country. Ghorahi Cement produces 2,000 tonnes of Sagarmatha brand cement annually.
The cement is produced using German technology called
KHD HUMBOLDT, it said in a press release. (PR)
Janata Bank names issue manager
KATHMANDU: Janata Bank Nepal on Tuesday appointed
NCM Merchant Banking as its issue manager for the
rights issue of 50 percent of its total paid-up capital.
Currently, the paid-up capital of the bank stands at
Rs2.06 billion. The bank will make a rights issue of
Rs1.03 billion. Janata Bank CEO Kumar Lamsal and
NCM Managing Director Bijay Lal Shrestha signed a
memorandum of understanding on behalf of their
respective organisations. (PR)
Intel buys artificial intelligence startup
SAN FRANCISCO: US-based Intel on Tuesday announced a
deal to buy an artificial intelligence startup as the computer chip colossus looks to broaden its role in data
centers and the expanding internet of things. Intel did
not disclose how much it is paying for Nervana Systems,
but US media reports put the price at more than $350 million. “With this acquisition, Intel is formally committing
to pushing the forefront of AI (artificial intelligence)
technologies,” Nervana co-founder and chief executive
Naveen Rao said in a blog post. “We can now
shatter the old paradigm and move into a new
regime of computing.” (AFP)
US approves $1.15b arms sale to Saudi
WASHINGTON: The United States has approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of up to 153 tanks, hundreds of
machine guns and other military gear in a deal worth
$1.15 billion, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The announcement coincided with news that Saudi-led coalition warplanes had resumed air strikes on Yemen’s capital for the
first time in three months, killing 14 people and shutting
the airport after UN-brokered talks were suspended.
State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said
she was “very concerned” by Tuesday’s casualty reports,
but did not directly comment when asked if the State
Department worried US weapons being sent to Saudi
Arabia could be used against civilians. (AFP)
Disney invests $1b in MLB streaming biz
NEW YORK: Disney said Tuesday that it has invested $1
billion in the BAMTech video streaming service, Major
League Baseball’s direct-to-consumer broadcast company,
as it positions itself in the fast-changing media industry.
Disney will acquire a 33 percent stake in BAMTech, with
the option in the coming years to take a majority stake.
BAMTech will be separated from MLB under the transaction. The transaction comes as broadcasters and content
producers respond to a surge in streaming video, with
more consumers using Netflix and similar services
instead of conventional cable offerings. (AFP)
Court deals blow to Berlin Airbnb ban
BERLIN: An attempt by Berlin to clamp down on properties being rented out as holiday homes on internet platforms like Airbnb suffered a setback on Tuesday as a
court ruled in landlords’ favour. The administrative
court backed the claims of three homeowners, who had
sued for the right to rent out their second homes in the
German capital to tourists when they weren’t themselves
staying there. (AFP)
money IV
bazaar
Thursday, August 11, 2016 | thekathmandupost
Essentials dearer due
to higher import costs
RAJESH KHANAL
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Prices of daily essentials, particularly sugar and pulses, have shot
up over the last one month.
Traders have attributed the jump
to shortages and a hike in import
and factory gate prices.
According to retailers, prices
of essentials have spiked 12.5 percent to 50 percent over the past
month. Sugar has jumped to Rs90
per kg from Rs70 per kg a month
ago. Likewise, black gram now
costs Rs180 per kg compared to
Rs120 last month.
Ghanashyam Shrestha, a retailer at Ratopool, said essential
goods had become dearer in
recent days. “Wholesalers said
that they had to raise prices after
import costs went up,” he said.
Nepal imports pulses from
India, Canada and Myanmar,
among other countries, according
to traders.
Meanwhile, the Indian media
has reported a drop in the production of pulses and sugar in India.
“Pulses production is estimated to
be down to 17.06 million tonnes
through July 2015-June 2016 from
17.15 million tonnes in the previous year,” said the Economic
Times.
Likewise, India’s sugar output
has been estimated to have
dropped to a seven-year-low due to
drought. “As a result, domestic
refined sugar prices surged 70
percent last year,” Indian media
Taiwan tries to
drive Pokemon
Go off road
RETAIL PRICE
VegetablesUnit Price (Rs)
Red Potato
Kg
Rs55
White Potato
Kg
Rs45
Onion (Indian)
Kg
Rs35
Tomato Small
Kg
Rs85
Carrot
Kg Rs115
Tomato Big
Kg
Rs65
SquashKg Rs45
CabbageKg Rs45
Brinjal Long
kg Rs65
Cow Pea
Kg
Rs65
Fruits Unit
Price (Rs)
Apple Kg
Rs110
PomegranateKg
Rs215
Mango kgRs175
Pineapple1Pc Rs110
n
A file photo shows customers at a grocery store in Basantapur, Kathmandu. Prices Compared
Product Aug 10
Sugar
Rs90/kg
Rs270/kg
Black lentil
Black gram (sano chana)
Rs180/kg
White chickpea (kabuli chana) Rs210/kg
Peanut Rs210/kg
reported. “Due to the reason, the
Indian government has recently
levied a 20 percent duty on sugar
exports to prevent further gains
in local prices.”
According to Nepal Rastra
Bank’s statistics for the first 11
Price
Last month
Rs70/kg
Rs240/kg
Rs120/kg
Rs140/kg
Rs150/kg
Hike
29pc
12.5pc
50pc
50pc
40pc
months of the last fiscal year, the
consumer price index of pulses
increased 35.3 percent in the 11th
month. Similarly, the price index
of sugar rose 12 percent.
Pavitra Bajracharya, president
of
the
Nepal
Retailers’
Post Photo
Association, also attributed the
rise in pulses price in India as the
main reason behind soaring prices in the domestic market. “As
most agro products are imported
from India, a short supply there
has directly hit domestic prices,”
he said.
Bajracharya blamed a drop in
supply by state-owned Salt
Trading Corporation for soaring
sugar prices. The company has a
stock of 5,000 tonnes of sugar
against the country’s annual
requirement of 220,000 tonnes.
“Besides, possible cartelling by
big traders has also created a
shortage that has affected prices,”
he said.
indian cruiser
Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI, Aug 10
Taiwan has demanded the
developers of Pokemon Go
make its highways off limits
for the augmented reality
game after more than 1,200
people were caught playing
while driving.
Authorities are grappling
with the explosive popularity
of the gaming app, which has
caused accidents as users
hunt virtual cartoon characters in real-world locations.
The National Freeway
Bureau said Wednesday it has
asked game creator Niantic
not to use the island’s motorways and rest stops. “We have
asked them not to place any
Pokemon treasures in areas
surrounding highways,” Chen
Ting-tsai, a spokesman at the
bureau told AFP.
While no Pokemon are currently found on motorways, a
monument dedicated to
Taiwan freedom fighter
Chiang Wei-shui located at a
tunnel exit has become a safety hazard.
“We have asked the highways police to increase patrols
here and discourage drivers
from halting suddenly or
decelerating,” Chen said.
Some 1,210 drivers have
been caught violating traffic
rules by playing the game
while at the wheel since
Pokemon Go launched in
Taiwan on Saturday, according to the National Police
Agency.
Drivers face fines of
Tw$3,000 if caught using their
phones, while motorcyclist
have to hand over Tw$1,000.
Taiwan Railways Administration also banned Pokemon
Go and said it will contact
Niantic to remove stations
and trains from its game.
market watch
CucumberKg
Rs55
PapayaKg Rs73
BananaDoz Rs85
Lime
100 Pcs
Rs475
daily commodities
Commodities Unit
Price (Rs)
Pokhreli Rice
Kg
Rs70
Jeera Masino Rice
Kg
Rs70
Indian Basmati Rice Kg
Rs100
Mansuli Rice
Kg
Rs55
Sona Rice
Kg
Rs50
Beaten Rice (Taichin) Kg
Rs125
Beaten Rice
Kg
Rs60
Big Mas
Kg
Rs270
Small Mas
Kg
Rs250
Big Mung
Kg
Rs180
Musuro (No 1)
Kg
Rs170
Musuro (No 2)
Kg
Rs150
Rahar KgRs250
Chana (Big)
Kg
Rs210
Chana (Small)
Kg
Rs180
Chilli Powder
Kg
Rs400
gasoline watch
bullion
Price Per tola
Hallmark Gold
Country Head and Managing Director of Polaris India Private Limited Pankaj Dubey (left) and President and CEO of
Exquisite Moto LLP Anil Shankar pose with the new ‘Indian Scout Sixty’ motorcycle during its launch in Bangalore,
India, on Wednesday. The motorcycle will retail for IRs1.19 million. AFP/RSS
n
Rs59,200
Tejabi Gold
Rs58,950
Silver
Rs900
Source: FENEGOSIDA
p o pu l a r m ov e m e n t
Beyond wheatgrass: Vegan junk food is all the rage
Agence France-Presse
LOS ANGELES, Aug 10
Vegan diets are considered by
most as healthy and environmentally responsible, with
celebrity poster children touting
benefits like weight loss, clear
skin and increased energy.
But even vegans—who
eschew all animal products like
meat, eggs and dairy—crave
junk food. As the movement
becomes more and more popular, temptations including
donuts, pizza and mock hamburgers allow vegans to eat just
as badly as everybody else.
“There are a lot of unhealthy
options. It’s hard to resist at
first,” Jessica McCully, 28, said
at a vegan food festival in the
Los Angeles area, a fake chicken
taco in her hand. McCully is a
new convert to “mock meat”
thanks to her girlfriend, and
says that in just two months of
adopting a vegan diet, she feels
happier and “more energetic”.
According to a Harris
Interactive study, between seven
and eight million Americans
identify as vegan, especially in
the US epicenter of clean eating, California. Today’s animal
product-free diet goes beyond
the stereotypical lentils and
granola, with restaurants offering gourmet vegan dishes like
watermelon salad with almond
cheese and toasted pistachios,
or zucchini flowers stuffed with
macadamia ricotta.
Of course, the diet is not all
haute cuisine—there are also
plenty of restaurants serving
“comfort” vegan food, including
tofu or mock meat that has been
breaded and fried. Los Angeles
even holds an annual “Vegan
Oktoberfest”—allowing vegans
to imbibe while sampling from
n A file photo shows a man preparing vegan nachos in the Plant Food For
People vegan taco trailer in Los Angeles, California. AFP/RSS
an assortment of indulgent
snacks.
At the vegan food fair in
Anaheim, a suburb of LA, bowls
of quinoa are hard to find. Lori
Whitaker, a long-limbed blonde
with a golden complexion, stood
in line at one stand to buy a
pizza. “I like my junk food; I
won’t lie,” the 54-year-old said.
Today, she said, “you can get a
vegan pizza, a vegan taco—I
think this is great because a lot
of people think vegans eat only
celery and carrots.”
In LA’s hipster Silver Lake
neighborhood, Donut Farm sells
sugary, fried confections just
like every other donut shop—
but their treats in trendy flavors
like green tea and salted caramel are vegan. “I think a vegan
option is still going to be a bit
more healthier,” said sales person Chris Boss, who said the
bakery’s recipes call for organic
flours and sugar, and ingredients like coconut milk.
The treats do have less cholesterol and no trans-fats, he
added. But at the end of the day,
“it’s a ball of fried dough with
lots of calories,” Boss said.
Many converts to veganism
cite health reasons, but support
for animal rights remains a key
motivation. “Usually it’s with
horror at how our factory farm-
ing works,” said Annie Jubb, a
vegan lifestyle consultant. “It’s
motivated by horror and compassion.”
But Jubb admits that not all
vegans are healthy. “They could
be eating chips and fried food,”
she said. “Eating soy burgers,
soy bacon three times a day...
soy is not a health food.”
The orthodox vegan, who
counts Oscar-winning actor
Leonardo DiCaprio as one of
her past clients, allows herself
the occasional indulgence,
ordering in a comfort food staple—vegan mashed potatoes
with mushroom gravy.
“We’re in this business to provide people healthy, nourishing
food,” said Ryland Engelhart,
co-owner of Cafe Gratitude, a
California chain of “plantbased” restaurants serving dishes like faux chorizo sandwiches
and chocolate-pollen smoothies.
Int’l market
EnergyPrice (US$)%Change
Brent Crude Futr (Bbl)
Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt)
Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal)
Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu)
45
390.75
135.42
2.65
0.04
3.30
0.59
1.19
AgriculturePrice (US$)%Change
Cocoa Future (Mt)
Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb)
Corn Future (Bu)
Cotton No. 2 Futr (Lb)
Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt)
Soybean Future (Bu)
Soybean Meal Futr (T)
Soybean Oil Futr (Lb)
Sugar #11 (World) (Lb)
Wheat Future (Cbt) (Bu)
Industrial Metals
Copper Future (Lb)
2,966.00
140.6
333.75
72.16
9.65
992.75
333.6
32.1
20.86
418.5
0.44
-0.35
0.38
-1.22
-0.57
0.48
0.09
1.42
2.51
0.36
Price (US$)%Change
219.85
2.26
Precious Metals
Price (US$)%Change
Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz)
Silver Future (T Oz)
1,362.70
20.47
1.19
3.12
C M Y K