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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 173 | 12+4 Pages
page 9
page 5
Life & style
world
ost of Nepal’s first
animated feature released
At least 70 dead in Pak
hospital blast
Medals Tally
RankCountry G S BTotal
1USA 35 412
2China 3 2 3 8
3Australia 3 0 3 6
4Italy 2 3 2 7
5SKorea 2 2 1 5
6Hungary 2 0 0 2
7Russia 1 2 2 5
1
0 2
8 Great Britain 1
9Sweden 1 1 0 2
10Japan 1 0 6 7
* Standings as of 10:30 pm, Monday
Prez Xi’s
Nepal visit
will go
ahead: Dr Ji
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Aug 8
Chinese President Xi
Jinping’s visit to Nepal
will
go
ahead as
planned,
according to the
leader of
a visiting
delegation from
n Xi Jinping
China.
Addressing a gathering in the Capital on
Monday, Dr Ji Zhiye,
president of the China
Institutes
of
C o n t e m p o r a r y
International Relations
(CICIR), said the visit of
the Chinese president
would certainly go ahead
and that they were here
to look into the preparations for that.
Dr Ji arrived here on
Monday
with
his
five-member delegation
on a four-day visit at the
invitation of its counterpart China Study CenterNepal. He is scheduled to
meet Prime Minister
Pusha Kamal Dahal on
Tuesday. There has been
some confusion over
President Xi’s visit to
Nepal in light of government change in the country. But this visit by the
members of a think tank
under China’s State
Council has dispelled the
notion that the proposed
visit by the highest level
has been cancelled.
The visit aims for academic
and
policy
exchanges to deepen
understanding between
the two countries.
Tuesday,August 9, 2016 (25-o4-2073)
money
page 12
sports
Nepse suffers highest
single-day loss
US swimming legend
Michael Phelps wins
19th Olympic gold
MoFA asked to Baby among seven killed in
rescue Nepalis
Fishtail
Air
chopper
crash
from Saudi
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal Dahal has called for
immediate measures to rescue
Nepalis stranded in Saudi
Arabia and Sri Lanka.
PM Dahal, who is also looking after the Foreign Ministry
portfolio, on Monday instructed Foreign Secretary Shankar
Das Bairagi to create a conducive environment to ensure
that Nepalis stranded in Saudi
Arabia and Sri Lanka are rescued safely at the earliest.
According to the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MoFA),
more than 60 Nepali migrants
have lost jobs in the recent
layoffs and Nepali missions in
Riyadh and Jeddah are reportedly receiving wage-related
grievances from hundreds of
workers every week.
Nepalis are among the
thousands of workers from
different countries who have
been impacted by the recent
layoffs in Saudi Arabia which
has witnessed a slow growth
in the wake of falling oil
prices.
Saudi Arabia is the largest
work destination for Nepali
workers in terms of volume
of workers the country hired
in the last one year.
An estimated 600,000 Nepali
are believed to be working in
the oil rich kingdom.
“The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MoFA) has instructed
our embassy in Riyadh and
consulate office in Jeddah to
extend assistance to Nepalis
affected by layoff,” the ministry tweeted after PM’s instruction.
PM Dahal has also instructed MoFA to do the needful to
rescue 45 Nepalis stranded in
Sri Lanka. They are stranded
in the island country which is
of late being used by human
traffickers to smuggle people
to the Gulf nations. As many
as 18 women have been rescued from Sri Lanka so far by
the government. Another 50
Nepali women, who were rescued
from
Bangladesh,
returned home on Sunday.
PM Dahal has also asked
Foreign Secretary Bairagi to
coordinate with governments
of the respective countries
and Nepali missions there to
bring stranded Nepalis home
at the earliest, said press statement issued by MoFA.
SANGAM PRASAIN
Major helicopter accidents
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
A Fishtail Air helicopter
crashed into a cliff at Betini
of Madanpur-9 in Nuwakot
district on Monday afternoon,
killing all seven people,
including a baby, on board.
The chopper with call sign
9N-AKA, which had taken off
from Gorkha for Kathmandu,
had established last contact
with the air traffic controller
at 12:32pm, according to the
Tribhuvan
International
Airport.
The chopper was chartered
to fly the five-month-old baby
to Kathmandu for treatment.
Captain Ranjan Limbu,
Nisha Tamang, a nurse,
Laxmi Gurung, Kitman
Gurung, Aagyani Gurung,
Priti Gurung and her
five-day-old son were killed in
the tragedy.
The chopper had burst into
flames after a deadly impact
on the cliff, said Sanjiv
Gautam, director general of
the Civil Aviation Authority
of Nepal (Caan), citing field
reports. The wreckage of the
helicopter was found at Betini
at 5,300 feet, with all people
burnt to death.
Year
Operator
Place
Fatalities
1966PrivateJanakpur 2
VVIPLangtang
6
1979 1997
Karnali AirSolukhumbu
1
1998Asian Airlines
Mulkhark
3
2001
Fishtail AirRara Lake
4
2002Asian Airlines
Mt Makalu
10
2003Simrik AirEverest Base Camp 2
2003Nepal Army
Makwanpur
19
2005Air DynastyRamechhap
3
2006Shree AirlinesTaplejung
24
2008
UNMINRamechhap 10
2009
Manang Air
Humla
1
2010
Fishtail AirAma Dablam
2
2013
Fishtail Air
Humla
1
2015
Mountain HelicoptersSindhupalchok
4
2015
US Marine CorpsDolakha
13
(Sources: Aviation Safety Network and Caan)
n The kin of those killed in a Fishtail Air helicopter crash at TU
Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj on Monday. The Kathmandu-bound
chopper crashed at Betini of Nuwakot. post Photos: angad dhakal
Initial reports suggest the
chopper was forced to circle
over the Nuwakot skies for
many times. “It had entered
the cloud,” said Gautam. “The
captain might have lost situational awareness and lost control of the aircraft.”
Suresh Acharya, joint-secretary at the Tourism
Ministry, who heads the aviation safety division, said the
helicopter had established
contacts with the air traffic
controller from the same location which it had reported 10
minutes earlier.
“This suggests the chopper
had made a frequent rotation
over the Nuwakot skies for 10
minutes,” he said.
The Caan said the en-route
weather was “not fair enough
to fly”. It also created difficulties for the search and rescue
operations.
Monday’s crash, the fourth
in less than six months with
32 casualties, comes as yet
another blow to the country’s
safety record. This is 16th
fatal accident of helicopters
in Nepal since 1966 and the
third highest casualty recorded on the Nepali registered
civilian helicopters.
Workers urged to get in
touch with embassy
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
The Embassy of Nepal in
Saudi Arabia said on Monday
that it has been informed by
Saudi’s ministry of labour
about its plans to facilitate
stranded workers to return
home, if they wish so, after
providing their due salaries.
More than 60 Nepalis are
stranded in the Gulf nation
after massive layoffs with
slowed growth as the kingdom
suffers the effect of lower oil
prices.
The embassy has also asked
the workers to contact its officials, through phone or email,
if they have any wage-related
grievances. Workers have
been urged to contact Acting
According to Saudi media,
Saudi King Salman has
instructed authorities to
ensure that all the workers
are paid their salaries
Ambassador Anand Prasad
Gautam (0535821528, [email protected]), Counsellor
Ambika Prasad Adhikari
(0599393459, apadhikari49@
gmail.com), Acting Consul
General Rewati Raman Paudel
(0594989587, [email protected]) and Labour attaché
Bhoj Raj Ghimire (0504508181,
[email protected])
Meanwhile, Saudi King
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
has issued a directive, asking
the concerned authorities to
facilitate in providing pending salaries to foreign workers
stranded in the kingdom after
losing their jobs in the recent
lay-off.
According to Arab News,
the king has directed authorities to ensure that the workers
are paid their salaries. “The
king directed the minister of
labour and social development to take necessary measures, in coordination with the
ministry of finance, to oblige
contracting companies to pay
the salaries of their employees in accordance with the
government’s Wage Protection
Programme that ensures
workers’ salaries are fully
paid,” said the newspaper.
PM appoints three RPP, RPP-N unity
plan hits a snag
more ministers
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
n President Bidhya Devi Bhandari administers the oath of office to
Ministers Dipak Bohara, Bikram Pandey and Jaydev Joshi. Post Photo: dinesh shrestha
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
Prime
Minister
Pushpa
Kamal Dahal on Monday
inducted three more ministers--two from the Rastriya
Prajatantra Party (RPP) and
one from CPN (Samyukta)-into his Cabinet.
This is the first Cabinet
expansion
since
Prime
Minister Dahal assumed
office along with five ministers on Thursday.
The newly inducted ministers—Dipak Bohara and
Bikram Pandey of the RPP
and Jaydev Joshi of the CPN
(Samyukta)—were administered the oath of office and
secrecy by President Bidhya
Devi Bhandari at Sheetal
Niwas on Monday itself.
Bohara, who is the general
secretary of the RPP, was minister for labour and employment in the erstwhile KP
Sharma Oli-led government.
RPP’s Pandey is also the
party’s general secretary and
a contractor. With the induction of three more ministers,
Dahal’s Cabinet has now
reached nine, with two deputy
prime ministers, one each
from the CPN (Maoist Centre)
and the Nepali Congress.
The merger plan of the
Rastriya Prajatantra PartyNepal (RPP-N) and the
Rastriya Prajatantra Party
(RPP) has hit a snag at the last
moment. The right wing parties were scheduled to
announce their merger on
Tuesday.
The last-moment cancellation of merger was announced
by RPP Chairman Pashupati
Shumsher Rana. “The merger
is not possible for the time
being,” said Rana in a press
statement issued on Monday
evening.
Leaders from both the parties have said they are shocked
at the “unilateral decision” of
Rana. “Even I don’t know
what led our chairman to call
off the merger plan,” said
RPP
General
Secretary
Buddhi Man Tamang.
Issuing a statement, the
RPP-N also said Rana’s decision has startled the party.
What led Rana to take such
a decision is yet to be known,
but it is believed that the
RPP’s decision to join the government on Monday could
have resulted in the cancella-
tion of the two right wing
parties’ unification.
Earlier on Monday, the RPP
decided to send its two leaders
to the Pushpa Kamal Dahalled
government.
Dipak
Bohara and Bikram Pandey,
both general secretaries of
the RPP, were inducted into
the Cabinet on Monday. Both
were administered the oath of
office by the President on
Monday itself. The parties had
earlier agreed to wait for 15
days to decide on joining the
government. Rana was under
pressure to nominate Bohara
and Pandey as the ministers.
Bohara was minister in the
erstwhile KP Sharma Oli-led
government as well.
The RPP had voted for
Dahal while the RPP-N had
voted against during the
prime ministerial election in
Parliament on Wednesday.
After cancellation of merger plan, RPP-N Chairman
Kamal Thapa termed Rana’s
decision unfortunate.
“This morning I told
Pashupati
Shumsher
to
choose between party unity
and the government. His
choice has disappointed party
cadres who were for unity,”
Thapa tweeted.
C M Y K
news digest
2nd Higher
Education Fair
starts on Friday
KATHMANDU: The Second
Higher Education Fair,
being organised by
Education.com with the
support from Islington
College, will begin in the
Capital on Friday, the
organisers said on
Monday. The two-day
event will feature as
many as 40 academic
institutions affiliated
with Kathmandu,
Tribhuvan, Pokhara,
Purbanchal universities
and other foreign varsities. The event is expected to benefit prospective
students in helping them
make a decision in finding the right institution
for higher studies. (PR)
US committed to continued
partnership with Nepal: Envoy
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
n Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in a meeting with US Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz at the PM’s Residence in Baluwatar on
Monday. Post Photo: Nimesh Jang Rai
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
The United States has commended the peaceful transition of government under
the new constitution in
Nepal and expressed a continued partnership with
Nepal.
The US commends the
peaceful transition of government, said a press release
issued by the Embassy of the
United States in Kathmandu.
During a meeting with
Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal on Monday, US
Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz
said, “The United States is
committed to a continued
partnership with the people
and government of Nepal in
order to build a more democratic, prosperous and stable
nation.” She also noted
Nepal’s commitment to
democracy,
This was the first meeting
Teplitz with Dahal since the
NHRC bats for ILO 169 action plan
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
The National Human Rights
Commission has drawn the
government’s attention to the
need for approving and implementing the draft of the ILO
Convention 169 national
action plan. Nepal endorsed
the ILO Convention on
September 14, 2007.
In a statement on Monday,
Govt to celebrate
four decades of
conservation
POST REPORT
Deuba condemns
Pak attack
KATHMANDU: Nepali
Congress (NC) President
Sher Bahadur Deuba on
Monday condemned the
bombing at a government health facility
Pakistan in which at
least 70 people were
killed and scores were
left injured. A suicide
bomber on Monday
struck a crowd of some
200 people gathered at
the Civil Hospital in
Quetta, the provincial
capital of Balochistan.
More than 100 were
wounded in the attack.
“The Nepali Congress
condemns the terrorist
and criminal acts like
this,” reads a statement
issued by Deuba. (PR)
thekathmandu post 02
news
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
the NHRC said the protection
of indigenous people’s rights
had been ineffective due to the
government’s failure to
approve the action plan even
after a decade of endorsing
the convention.
The constitutional rights
body had drawn the government’s attention to amending
the laws in line with the convention to ensure the rights of
the indigenous people.
The NHRC organised a discussion on ‘Draft of ILO
169
C o nv e n t i o n
Implementation
National
Action Plan’ at its central
office in the Capital on
Monday, on the occasion of
the 22nd International Day of
the Indigenous People.
At
the
programme,
Commissioner Mohna Ansari
said the NHRC has been holding a debate on the issues of
indigenous
people
and
the programme was part
of evaluating how domestic
laws reflect the government’s
commitment
to
human
rights.
On the occasion, NHRC
Chairman Anup Raj Sharma
said it was sad that the draft
action plan was shelved after
it reached the Cabinet even
though some aspects of it
have been implemented.
latter’s election as the prime
minister on Wednesday
During
the
meeting,
Teplitz also encouraged the
new government to
continue with the important tasks of constitutional
implementation, reconstruction and economic development, added the statement.
Two doctors
held for fake
credentials
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
The Central Investigation
Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police
has arrested two doctors on
the charge of possessing fake
academic certificates of higher
secondary
level
in
Kathmandu.
The arrestees have been
identified as Farjana Sibaha
and Kishor Gurung.
Sibaha,
whose
Nepal
Medical Council (NMC) registration number is 9636, was
picked from Midat Hospital,
Lalitpur, while Gurung (NMC
registration number 7479) was
arrested from Shiva Puri
Dental Clinic, Maharajgunj,
on Sunday.
According to SP Debesh
Lohani, spokesperson for the
CIB, the duo was found to be
possessing fake credentials of
Bihar Intermediate Education
Council. They were remanded
in judicial custody by the
Kathmandu District Court.
The CIB has arrested 55 doctors on charge of possessing
fake academic credentials
since February this year. In
June, at least 36 such doctors
were arrested from various
parts of the country.
The government is celebrating the first community forestry day on Tuesday at the
national level to mark the contributions made by the local
communities in protecting
and managing forests for over
four decades.
Nepal’s community forestry programme, which now
covers all 75 districts with
18,960 community forest users
groups, is hailed as one of the
successful forest management
regimes both at the national
and global levels, transforming the once degraded and
deforested forestland, particularly in the mid-hills and
mountains, to green forest
cover since its inception in
early 1980s.
“People’s participation in
management and conservation of forests through the
community forestry approach
has been a success in improving the forest cover,” said
Ganesh Jha, acting director
general at the Department of
Forests.
The government initiated
the community-based forest
management approach in 1978
and implemented the first
community forestry project in
1980, covering 29 districts,
1st national Community Forestry Day
The government initiated community-based forest
management in 1978
n First national community forestry project in
1980 covering 29 districts.
n 18,960 community forestry users’ groups
covering all 75 districts in the country.
n 2,392,755 households benefitted
from the community forest as direct
users.
n 1,798,733 hectares out of total
5,962,438 hectares land covered
by forest in Nepal is under community forestry regime.
n
mostly in the mid-hills and
the mountains.
Speaking at a programme
at a programme on the eve of
the community forestry day,
Secretary at the Ministry of
Forest and Soil Conservation
Uday Chandra Thakur said
the community forestry
should contribute towards
improving the socio-economic
condition of local communities dependent on forest
resources for their day-to-day
life and other economic opportunities.
The ministry in association
with the Federation of
Community Forestry Users’
Nepal (Fecofun) and local
communities are organising
various programmes, including sapling plantation, rallies
and awareness campaigns
across the country to celebrate the event on Tuesday.
On Monday, Fecofun organised plantation programmes
in three dozen districts,
including Bhaktapur, Kaski,
Morang, Dhankuta, Palpa and
Jhapa.
“The government should
prioritise community forestry
as
national-pride
programme,”
said
Fecofun
Chairperson Ganesh Karki,
urging the government to
adopt policies and programmes and master plan to
address concerns of the community forestry.
No business: House
postponed by week
BINOD GHIMIRE
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
While more than a hundred
new Acts have to be formulated to implement the new
constitution,
the
Legislature-Parliament has
been without business,
prompting the Parliament
Secretariat to postpone the
meeting by a week.
The House meeting convened on Monday after a
week only had ‘zero hour’
and ‘special hour’. It is the
duty of the government to
provide
business
to
Parliament. The new government formed a week ago
is yet to decide on it.
The constitution mentions that provisions of
positive discrimination for
of
the
empowerment
marginalised communities,
some provisions of right
to justice, right to property,
free education up to
the secondary level and
special scholarships for students from marginalised
communities in higher edu-
‘In no hurry to join government’
KATHMANDU: Leaders of
the regional parties who
supported Dahal in the
PM election have said
they would not join the
government in haste.
Addressing Parliament
on Monday, leaders of
the Madhes-based parties
said they would think
of joining the Cabinet
only after implementation
of the three-point agree-
cation, among others, will
be implemented as per
new laws.
The new government of
Pushpa Kamal Dahal has yet
to decide whether to proceed
with the bills tabled by the
earlier government. “It’s
natural for the House to be
without business as it’s
hardly a week since the new
government was formed,”
said Bharat Raj Gautam,
spokesperson
for
the
Parliament Secretariat.
ment signed with the
ruling
parties
that
includes constitutional
amendment for redrawing
the boundaries of the federal states.
“We won’t trade our
agenda with ministerial
positions,” said Sarbendra
Nath Shukla, general
secretary of the Tarai
Madhes
Loktantrik
Party. (PR)
“We are still in the process of giving full shape to
the Cabinet,” said Ramesh
Malla, personal secretary to
the PM. “The House will
have ample business once it
resumes next week.”
The next meeting has
been scheduled for August
14. The government says
that implementation of the
Constitution of Nepal is its
primary agenda, which is
not possible without the new
laws.
Cloud of uncertainty hangs over
Nepal Students’ Union election
Sarin Ghimire
Kathmandu, Aug 8
The Nepal Students’ Union
election has once again been
shrouded in uncertainty after
the dispute regarding representatives in some districts
prevented a closed-door session of the union’s 11th
General Convention scheduled on Monday.
The student wing of the
Nepali Congress had to postpone the closed-door session
for Tuesday after the union
failed to reach a consensus in
selecting representatives from
the 11 disputed districts, NSU
spokesperson UP Lamichhane.
The NSU conclave began at
Bhrikutimandap
in
the
Capital on Sunday, almost
after a decade since the previous gathering. The NSU had
planned to announce official
panels on Monday evening
and hold elections on Tuesday.
Student leaders claimed
that the tendency to “shy
away from elections but hoping to get picked as the union’s
president through the leadership’s pocket” was the main
obstacle in resolving the dispute in some districts. “Deep
division that surfaced in the
mother party’s general con-
n Bhrikutimandap, which had over 3,000 representatives on the first
day of the NSU jamboree, wears a deserted look on Monday. Post photo
vention back in March has
had a trickle-down effect on
the party’s sister organisation,” said a student leader
aspiring to be an NSU office
bearer, requesting anonymity.
Similar to the run-up to the
NC’s conclave, the NSU also
has three distinct factions—
the establishment group, the
faction led by senior leader
Ram Chandra Poudel and a
third group from the Krishna
Prasad Sitaula camp. Nain
Singh Mahar and Jit Jung
Basnet are said to be the front
runners from the establishment side, Manoj Acharya
and Deepak Bhattarai appear
to be heading the charge from
the Poudel-led faction, while
Kundan Kafle is almost certain to stand from the third
faction. The establishment
and the Poudel groups are
said to be under immense
pressure to “pick their team
and show a united face” while
going for the elections.
Kafle’s aides have been on a
hunger strike since last week,
claiming that a majority of
the elected representatives
were not students. Before
attending the conclave on
Monday, NC President Sher
Bahadur Deuba had paid a
visit to Kafle’s aides and
“assured them of settling
their concerns before polls.”
During the inauguration,
Deuba had urged student leaders to settle their disputes by
themselves in consensus, saying: “A real leader is a leader
who can carry along everyone
together.”
Despite uncertainty, a member of the committee tasked to
hold the elections formed by
the mother party to oversee
successfully hold polls however claimed that they would
settle the dispute and go for
polls as soon as possible. “We
have been holding numerous
rounds of talks the whole day
in an attempt to come to consensus regarding the 11 disputed districts. We are optimistic over settling things by
Tuesday,” said the member.
CM
Y K
03
thekathmandu post
news
‘No pardon for war-era cases’
rebuilding heritage
DEWAN RAI
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
Workers reconstruct the main entrance to Bhaktapur Durbar Square, a Unesco World Heritage
Site, on Monday. The UN body has warned the government about the delayed rebuilding process
that drags on more than a year since the earthquakes. Post photo: Surbindra Kumar Pun
n
trafficking charge
Police seek original
documents from
Spanish embassy
KAMAL DEV BHATTARAI
NEW DELHI, AUG 8
Nepal Police has sought original documents from the
Spanish Embassy in New
Delhi to further investigate
the alleged involvement of
nine lawmakers of the CPN
(Maoist Centre) in human
trafficking.
The original documents
submitted by the lawmakers
are currently with the embassy. Nepal has informed the
embassy that the documents
submitted in the name of the
lawmakers’ “assistants” were
fraudulent as the Consular
Office in Kathmandu has not
issued such documents.
The Spanish Embassy has
said it will not issue visas to
the MPs as their papers were
being probed. Following its
request, Nepal Police is conducting the probe. For further
investigation, it has demanded the original documents
submitted to the embassy.
“We are in the process of
Govt tells embassy that
papers submitted in
the name of lawmakers’
‘assistants’ fraudulent
acquiring original documents
from the embassy,” said an
official at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs requesting
anonymity. The ministry in
Kathmandu has sent a letter
to the embassy asking for the
documents.
Maoist lawmakers Goma
Kunwar,
Dor
Prasad
Upadhaya, Sirjana Thamaru
Khatri, Santa Kumar Tharu,
Rupa Maharjan Shrestha,
Ram Maya Bogati, Dil Maya
Dhami and Dhana Pahari had
reportedly submitted fake
documents to the embassy.
The Maoist party had
formed a committee to look
into the matter but it has not
reported its findings. The lawmakers have defended that the
documents were not fake.
Rule bars
handing out
Rs150,000 in
one go, says
NRA CEO
Newly appointed Attorney
General
Raman
Kumar
Shrestha has ruled out general pardon in conflict-era
crimes.
Shrestha, who was sworn in
on Monday, said there was no
need to hype the issue of general amnesty in the transitional justice process.
“We should take national
laws, court verdicts, the
Comprehensive
Peace
Agreement as well as international laws into consideration,” he told the Post. “We
should also consider the
national need to resolve the
issue in a win-win situation.”
After the former rebel party
CPN (Maoist Centre) formed
a government with the
Nepali Congress by withdrawing support to its own government led by CPN-UML
Chairman KP Sharma Oli,
speculations are rife that both
the parties want to whitewash
conflict-era crimes.
Transitional justice has
always been a major concern
of the former rebels and the
parties that led the government during the Maoist insurgency. Although they have
been assuring conflict victims
of justice, rights defenders
argue that the warring parties
want to circumvent the due
transitional justice process.
The government’s reluctance to amend the Enforced
Enquiry,
Disappearances
Truth and Reconciliation
Commission Act as per the
Supreme Court order further
reinforces the mistrust of the
Newly appointed attorney
general says there
should be no double
standard for dealing with
insurgency-era cases
conflict victims towards a
credible transitional justice
process.
Shrestha said that the
amendment bill prepared by
his predecessor would be
reviewed as required. Former
AG Hari Phuyal had prepared
the draft bill, which incorporated provisions to accommodate the concerns of the former rebel party--bringing the
cases and complaints registered in the court under the
transitional justice mechanism and setting up a special
n
Raman Kumar Shrestha
court to carry out recommendations made by the transitional justice commissions.
Shrestha is also of the opinion that conflict-era cases
should not be treated separately. “There should be no
double standard for dealing
with conflict-era cases,” he
said. “You cannot file a
charge-sheet in regular court
and demand reparation under
the
transitional
justice
regime.” The government has
not decided whether it should
set up a separate Special
Court to deal with the cases or
a bench in the existing court.
POST REPORT
KAVRE, AUG 8
Chief Executive Officer of
National
Reconstruction
Authority Sushil Gyewali said
the
working
guidelines
restrict them from distributing Rs150,000 as the first
tranche of the housing reconstruction aid.
Speaking at a programme
in Kavre on Monday, Gyewali
said they cannot distribute
Rs150,000 to the earthquake-affected families without a
revision to the guidelines.
The donors were concerned
about the planned change
in the fund distribution process, he said.
Following the government’s
announcement to provide the
reconstruction grants within
45 days, Gyewali directed his
staff to distribute the cash to
the affected families soon. He
added that other concerns of
the quake survivors would be
addressed soon.
C M Y K
news
Palpa-Nawalparasi
road heavily damaged
offerings to shiva
Ramechhap
parched
in monsoon
TIKA PRASAD BHATTA
RAMECHHAP, AUG 8
n
A car packed with passengers drives past a road damaged by landslides. MADHAV ARYAL
PALPA, AUG 8
The Palpa-Nawalparasi road
along the Kaligandaki river is
obstructed due to the landslides for the last one month.
The 166 km stretch between
Argali in Palpa and Gaidakot
in Nawalparasi is strewn with
debris left behind by landslides. Only 35 km of the road
has been opened for one-way
traffic in the last 15 days,
according to Palpa police.
Agraj Bhandari, a resident
of Hungi village, said massive
landslides have occurred in
places like Pipaldanda, Hungi,
Gejha, and Rampur.
Only small vehicles can
travel through the road that
was reopened after landslides,
he added.
Maheshwor Aryal, secretary of Bakamalang VDC,
said the road has been completely shut, causing hardship
for travellers.
In Nawalparasi, landslides
have occurred in places like
Bulingtar, Dedgaun, Machedi.
Ram Prasad Subedi, of
news digest
Student critical
after teacher
‘thrashed’ her
BAJHANG: A student at
Bhairabnath Higher
Secondary School in
Jhota-8, Bajhang, is critical after her teacher
allegedly hit her in the
head. Deepa Parki has
been admitted to a hospital in Dhangadhi after
the incident. The girl’s
brother, Indra, claimed
his sister was beaten by
teacher Dhurba Shahi.
The school, however,
denied the charge and
said she had collapsed
while playing with her
friends. (PR)
Dhunche-Syaphru
road obstructed
RASUWA: A landslide
between Sanubharkhu
and Thulobharkhu
stretch of the Pasang
Lhamu Highway has
obstructed the vehicular
movement from Dhunche
to Shyaphrubesi in
Rasuwa district. The
landslide has left behind
giant boulders in the
road, stopping traffic. (PR)
POST PHOTO
Thousands of families at
flood, landslide risk
GIRU PRASAD BHANDARI
PYUTHAN, AUG 8
Thousands of families in
Bagdula, Bijuwar, Bahane,
Macchi, Baraula and Jumri
villages of Pyuthan are at
high risk of floods and
landslides.
Heavy rainfall in the district this year has already
caused several landslides
and floods, killing at least
50 people. And it seems that
the disaster is not over yet,
as large cracks have developed above many settlements perched on hillside.
Karki,
of
Govinda
Pyuthan Municpality-4,
Kaligandaki Corridor Project,
said the road expansion work
of this year had made the
region all the more vulnerable
to landslides.
Meanwhile,
continuous
rainfall is hampering the
said massive landslides
could occur in case there is
a heavy rainfall.
In some places, he said,
there is a high possibility
of landslides blocking rivers and streams, which
could cause floods.
People living in vulnerable areas are praying that
this monsoon does not
bring more rain.
Lal Bahadur Oli, of
District Soil Conservation
Office, said construction of
roads in hilly terrain without proper study and planning has led to the dangers
of landslides and floods in
many parts of the district.
effort to clear the landslides.
Subedi said the road will be
reopened for two-way traffic
only after the monsoon is over.
For now, he said, they were
planning to reopen the road
for one-way traffic.
There is a drinking water
scarcity in several parts
of Ramechhap due to low
rainfall in the district
this monsoon.
Water sources have
dried up in many villages
which has forced people
to walk a long distance
every day to fetch just a
potful of water, said
Ramdas
Waiba,
of
Rampur VDC.
He added that a majority of water sources in
Rampur and neighbouring VDCs had dried up
after the devastating
earthquake of April 2015.
The villagers were
expecting that this year’s
monsoon would fill the
water sources, but the
district did not get
enough rain this year.
“We had never faced
such situation before,”
said Uddhav Prasad
Ghimire, of Ramechhap
Municipality.
The water scarcity has
also hit Bhaluwajor,
Bhirpani,
Pakarbas,
Majhuwa, Rakathum,
Sukajor,
Sunarpani,
Manthali, Bhatauli, Gelu
and Khaniyapani.
Parshuram Khatri, of
Bhirpani, said they could
not water their farm
because of low rainfall
this year. “Local streams
are almost dry. Our crops
could die without water,”
he said.
Lok
Bahadur
Chaulagain at Drinking
Water and Sanitation
Division Office, said they
were planning to pump
out
water
from
Tamakoshi River and distribute it to the villages.
Tibetan argali sighted
in Upper Dolpo
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
A group of researchers has
reported the sighting last
month of a young male
Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon
hodgsoni) in Upper Dolpo, for
the first time in more than
four decades.
The animal locally known
as Nayan is the largest of all
the wild sheep in the world
and was captured on camera
on July 19 in Dingarsa of
Charka VDC in Upper Dolpo,
at an elevation of 4,796 metres
above sea level.
“This is good news for
Nepal. Previous studies have
shown the presence of skulls
of these species in Dolpo
about four decades ago, but
this is the first time a live animal was photographed in the
region,” said Naresh Kushi,
wildlife conservation officer
with Friends of Nature, who
along with his team members
captured the animal in Dolpo.
A research paper on the distribution and status of
Tibetan argali in Nepal, published in 2002 by Karan
Bahadur Shah, a wildlife
expert, had mentioned that
the Tibetan argali was not
found in any locality other
than the upper Mustang area
in Nepal. It used to be found in
Mugu,
Dolpa,
Sankhuwasabha, Gorkha and
Rasuwa about three-four decades ago.
“Hunting for meat and trophy, and heavy winter snows
are prime factors that drove
the Tibetan argalis to extinction in Dolpo in the past,” says
Kushi, adding that the recent
sighting indicates that some
of the animals are drifting
over from Tibet and are settling in Dolpo.
People of Charka told the
researchers about the pres-
n Hindu women offer water to lord Shiva to mark the second last Monday in Nepali month of Srawan at Bagmati River in Sundarijal.
Srawan is considered an auspicious month for praying to Shiva. So many Hindu women as well as men observe a fast and pray to Shiva on
this day. The month-long festival of Bol Bom is also observed in Srawan, where devotees make pilgrimage to various Shiva shrines on foot.
post Photo: Hemanta Shrestha
Nepali social leader honoured
for his humanitarian efforts
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Aug 8
Dr Mahendra Lohani, senior
vice-president
of
International Programs at
Heifer International, has been
honoured with Ascend’s inaugural Humanitarian Award in
recognition of his service in
social amenity.
The Humanitarian Award
recognises a Pan-Asian executive who epitomizes the values of Ascend and promotes
to
social
responsibility
improve the welfare of millions of people worldwide.
Ascend is a nonprofit PanAsian membership organisation for business professionals in North America. It offers
leadership development pro-
grammes designed to cultivate Pan-Asian talent.
Thomas Phelps IV, president of Ascend Los Angeles
Metro and vice-president of
Laserfiche, presented the
award to Mahendra at the
annual Ascend National
Convention in Anaheim,
California on August 1.
“Mahendra’s story-where he
personally
experienced
extreme hunger and poverty
growing up in Nepal while
living in a small hut that provided shelter for his 11 siblings-has inspired all of us,”
Phelps said. “Since those
early years, his leadership has
empowered others. His keen
desire to provide positive
change has impacted the global community we all live
in-lifting countless families
out of poverty.”
Dr Lohani, who joined
Heifer as a volunteer in Nepal
in 1993, now leads the Asia,
Europe and Africa programmes with projects in
about 30 countries. “We educate and train smallholder
farmers in both technical and
non-technical skills,” Dr
Lohani said. “With the support we provide, our farmers
are able to unleash their
potential to achieve sustainable socio-economic transformation. Despite obstacles,
these farmers are strong and
resilient.”
“I am incredibly fortunate
to be part of such a great mission at Heifer,” Dr. Lohani
continued.
Two missing in Phewa
boat capsize
ence of a pair of Tibetan argalis in the area in the last four
years.
“However, a pair of two
individuals is not a viable resident population and is very
fragile,” said Geraldine
Werhahn, a member of the
research team associated with
the Wildlife Conservation and
Research Unit at Oxford
University.
This species is on the
endangered list and is legally
protected from killing under
the National Parks and
Wildlife Conservation Act. It
is listed under Appendix I of
the
Convention
on
International
Trade
in
Endangered Species that outlaws its trade. Tibetan argalis
are found also in India,
Bhutan and China.
MORANG, AUG 8
A five-year-old girl, who was
abducted from her hometown
in Bihar state of India, was
rescued from Pathari in
Morang district on Monday.
Police also arrested one of the
abductors, a Nepali man.
The girl was kidnapped
from her hometown in
Kureshi district of Bihar
while returning home
after school
POST REPORT
POKHARA, AUG 8
A Tibetan Argali caputred in Upper Dolpo. Abducted
5-year-old
from Bihar
rescued in
Morang
POST REPORT
n A Nepal Police rescue boat sets off to search for two holidaymakers missing after their boat
capsized at Phewa Lake in Pokhara on Monday. n
“The joy I have felt over the
years goes far beyond my contributions. The greatest
reward is being able to see
thousands of women, men
and children in communities
around the world enjoy better
lives. When I return home to
Nepal, I always find them with
open arms, joyful hearts and
smiling faces. They have so
few physical possessions, yet
so much love to share. They
feel empowered to change
their world. In turn, I feel
inspired to continue the cycle
of creating positive change.”
In the 23 years since Dr
Lohani started working with
Heifer International Nepal,
the programme has grown to
support more than 228,000
families in Nepal.
Two persons have gone missing in a boat capsize at
Phewa Lake in Pokhara on
Monday.
Out of eight people on the
boat, six were rescued while
two others are missing,
police said in the afternoon,
as the search was underway.
All eight of them were
holidaymakers
from
Kathmandu. None of them
were wearing life-jackets at
the time of accident, police
said.
In another incident, a
woman was swept away by
POST PHOTO
the rain-swollen Rangun
river in Dadeldhura on
Monday. The woman was
carried away by the currents
while crossing the river.
Police and locals were
searching for the missing
woman until late afternoon.
Two other women were rescued in the same incident.
photo courtesy: Naresh Kushi
Deputy Inspector General
Nawaraj Silwal, of Central
Investigation Bureau, said the
girl was abducted from
Katihari in Kurshela district
of Bihar while she was returning home after school.
The kidnappers had first
kept the girl in a hotel in
Bhedetar before bringing her
to Pathari. She was being held
hostage in a house owned by
one Rita Sah.
DIG Silwal said they have
arrested one Dinesh Gupta in
connection to the kidnapping.
Police are after Mithun
Paswan, the main suspect and
a former driver at the girl’s
house. DIG Keshari Raj
Ghimire, the chief of Eastern
Regional Police Office, said
they had followed Gupta for
over 18 hours before capturing
him.
Facebook denies Germany’s charge
Reuters
BERLIN, Aug 8
Facebook rejected on Monday
claims made by Germany’s
state authorities that it was
reluctant to co-operate with
them on criminal investigations, saying many of the
requests it received for user
data were incorrectly formulated.
Several regional interior
ministers have complained
that the social media group is
hesitant to respond to requests
for data and have called on the
Federal Justice Ministry to
introduce new laws.
But Facebook said it had
provided “round the clock
assistance” to the authorities
in Bavaria following a spate
of violent attacks in Munich,
Wuerzburg and Ansbach last
month.
A spokeswoman for the
Justice Ministry said it was
examining whether there was
a need to change the law or
whether there was a problem
with its implementation.
Recent attacks in Germany
have highlighted the importance security agencies give to
working with social networks.
C M Y K
world
kathmandu post
the
PG 05 | Tuesday,August9,2016
Ex-Philippine leader Ramos to rekindle ties with China
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos on Monday departed on a five-day trip to Hong
Kong to meet “old friends” and rekindle ties with China soured by a maritime dispute in
the South China Sea. In July, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no
historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights
with various actions there, infuriating Beijing, which dismissed the case. Ramos, 88,
who described his role as “an icebreaker”, accepted an offer from Duterte to be special
envoy to China after the Hague court’s ruling on July 12.
no EU migrant
deal if Turkey’s
demands not
met: Erdogan
At least 70 dead in
Pak hospital blast
Reuters
paris, Aug 8
Turkey’s migration agreement with the European
Union may collapse if the EU
does not keep its side of the
deal on visa waivers, Turkish
President Tayyip Erdogan
told France’s Le Monde newspaper.
Erdogan’s comments reflect
a shift in stance at a time
when he is rebuking Western
leaders for their response to
the July 15 coup bid. Erdogan
vowed to keep Turkey’s promises on the migrant deal as
recently as July 26.
“The European Union is
not behaving in a sincere
manner
with
Turkey,”
Erdogan said in comments
published by Le Monde on
Monday, noting that the visa
waiver for Turkish citizens
was supposed to kick in on
June 1.
“If our demands are not
satisfied then the readmissions will no longer be possible,” Erdogan said.
Ankara agreed in March to
stop migrants from crossing
into Greece in exchange for
financial aid being revived,
the promise of visa-free travel
to much of the EU and accelerated membership talks.
However, the reciprocal
visa-free access has been
delayed due to a dispute over
Turkish anti-terrorism legislation and concern in the West
about the scale of Ankara’s
crackdown following a failed
coup.
Criticising the response of
Washington and European
leaders to the attempted
putsch, Erdogan said the
Turkish people had been
abandonned by the West.
“The whole world reacted to
the attack against Charlie
Hebdo. Our prime minister
joined a rally in the streets of
Paris,” Erdogan said. “I would
have hoped that the leaders of
the Western world would have
reacted (to the coup attempt)
in the same way and not have
contented themselves with a
few cliches.”
n Pakistani lawyers and local media personnel carry a bed to move the body of a news cameraman after a
bomb explosion at a government hospital premises in Quetta on Monday. Agence France-Presse
QUETTA (Pakistan), Aug 8
A suicide bomb packed with
ball bearings tore through a
Pakistani hospital on Monday
and killed at least 70 people, as
witnesses described tearful
staff rushing towards the
smoking blast site to help the
wounded.
The bomber struck a crowd
of some 200 people gathered at
the Civil Hospital in the
Balochistan provincial capital
Quetta after the fatal shooting
of a senior local lawyer earlier in the day. More than 100
were wounded, officials said.
Video footage showed bodies strewn on the ground,
some still smoking, among
pools of blood and shattered
glass as shocked survivors
cried and comforted one
another.
Many of the victims were
clad in the black suits and ties
traditionally
worn
by
Pakistani lawyers.
Nurses and lawyers wept as
medics from inside the hospital rushed out to help dozens
of injured, he said.
“People were beating their
heads, crying and mourning.
They were in shock and grief.”
Pervez Masi, who was
injured by pieces of flying
glass, said the blast was so
powerful that “we didn’t know
what had happened”.
“So many friends were martyred,” he said. “Whoever is
doing this is not human, he is
a beast and has no humanity.”
Police confirmed the attack
was a suicide blast. “The
bomber had strapped some
eight kilograms (18 pounds)
of explosives packed with ball
bearings and shrapnel on his
body,” bomb disposal unit
chief Abdul Razzaq told AFP.
There was no immediate
claim of responsibility for
either the blast or the shooting of the lawyer. But militant
groups in the province routinely target security forces
and government installations.
Balochistan, which borders
Iran and Afghanistan, has
major oil and gas resources
but is afflicted by Islamist militancy, sectarian violence
AFP/rss
between Sunni and Shiite
Muslims and a separatist
insurgency.
“The death toll has risen to
70 and there are 112 injured,”
the head of the provincial
health
department,
Dr
Masood Nausherwani, told
reporters.
Officials said mobile phone
jammers had been activated
around hospitals in the area -a regular precaution after an
attack -- making it hard to
contact officers on the ground
to get updated information.
The crowd, mainly lawyers
and journalists, had gone to
the hospital after the death of
the
president
of
the
Balochistan Bar Association
in a shooting earlier Monday,
said provincial home secretary Akbar Harifal.
Bilal Anwar Kasi was targeted by two unidentified gunmen as he left his home for
work.
The blast is the second
deadliest in Pakistan so far
this year, after a bombing in a
crowded park in Lahore over
Easter killed 75.
Trump to focus on Clinton, economy
Reuters
WASHINGTON, Aug 8
US Republican presidential
nominee Donald Trump will
outline proposals for trade,
taxes and regulation on
Monday as he seeks to move
beyond a week of discord and
contrast his ideas for economic growth with those of
Democratic rival Hillary
Clinton.
Senior aides and supporters said on Sunday the businessman, making his first run
at public office, wanted to put
behind him his disputes with
Republican Party leaders and
the parents of a Muslim
American soldier killed in
Iraq.“He is very focused. He
knows what he needs to do. I
am confident that he’s going
to start doing it,” Paul
Manafort, Trump’s campaign
manager, told Fox News.
Professor Peter Navarro of
the University of California,
Irvine, business school, said
an economic advisory council
announced on Friday was
scheduled to have its first allhands discussion with the
candidate on Sunday.
Investor Wilbur Ross, who
is on the advisory council,
n Donald Trump
said on Sunday it was a combination of “academics and people who work in the real economy and focus on economic
issues every day.”
None of those appointed to
the new economic advisory
group are women and many
come from hedge funds and
investment banking, a makeup at odds somewhat with
Trump’s populist message.
The speech, which Trump
will deliver to business leaders of the Detroit Economic
Club, will build on trade comments Trump made in
in
June,
Pennsylvania
Navarro said. He said it was
being fact-checked on Sunday.
“The idea is to illustrate
how tax policy, trade policy,
immigration policy, regulatory policy all fit into the mission,” Navarro, who is also on
the advisory council, said on
Sunday. He described the mission as creating jobs and economic growth.
Clinton’s campaign said she
would speak in Michigan on
Thursday to lay out a plan to
make the “biggest investment
in good-paying jobs since
World War Two.” The campaign said additional details
would be released later.
A new Washington PostABC News opinion poll on
Sunday showed Trump trailing Clinton by 8 percentage
points after her party’s convention in Philadelphia. A
Reuters/Ipsos poll out on
Friday showed the race closer
three months ahead of the
Nov. 8 presidential election.
Leaders
of
Trump’s
Republican Party last week
distanced themselves from his
spat with Khizr and Ghazala
Khan, the American Muslim
Gold Star parents who criticized Trump at last month’s
Democratic
National
Convention.
Republicans were incensed
when he initially refused to
endorse
US
House
of
Representatives Speaker Paul
Ryan and two US senators in
their re-election bids. Late on
Friday, he said he supported
all three.
Former US House of
Representatives Speaker Newt
Gingrich, who had been on
Trump’s short list of potential
vice presidential running
mates, said last week in a Fox
Business Network interview
that some of Trump’s recent
actions had been “just very
self-destructive” and that the
candidate was “not yet performing at the level that you
need to.”
But in a Fox News interview on Sunday, Gingrich
said that while Trump had
made mistakes, he thought
Clinton’s errors around a private email server she used
while President Barack
Obama’s secretary of state
were worse.
On Friday, Clinton said she
had “short-circuited” when
she
characterized
FBI
Director James Comey as having said she had been truthful
about her email server.
Aleppo battle intensifies
BEIRUT:
Syrian
regime
forces and rebel factions
sent hundreds of reinforcements to Aleppo on Monday
opposition
fighters
as
announced an all-out offensive to take the country’s second city.
The battle for Syria’s former economic powerhouse is
intensifying after an opposition advance at the weekend
broke through a three-week
government siege of the city’s
rebel-held east, dealing a
major setback to regime
troops.
Rebel
forces
on
Sunday announced a bid to
capture all of Aleppo city,
which if successful would
mark the biggest opposition
victory yet in Syria’s five-year
civil war. (afp)
C M Y K
editorial
Disturbing divergence
Since 1993
ED I T OR I A L
Unequal citizens
Nepal’s daunting economic laggardness vis-a-vis its neighbours is a key barrier to a matured relationship with them
Nepal’s policy focus
should shift from its historical
quest for Chinese and Indian
grants to making inroads into their
markets and attracting their
capital and ideas
The focus on numbers is creating a
generation of frustrated graduates
E
very year there is news of how much progress Nepal
has made in its social sector, particularly health and
education. Numbers do tell an impressive story of
the strides Nepal has made in education in the last
25 years. But beneath them lies a story of the failure
of the country’s public education system.
Since 1990, school enrolment rate in the primary
level has moved up from 64 percent to over 96 percent as
of 2015. The ratio of boys to girls in both the primary
and secondary levels has exceeded parity level—meaning more girls are enrolled in both levels than boys. But
that is where the good news ends.
The percentage of students who pass the School
Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam is less than 50 percent,
and this includes students from private schools. In 2015,
the pass percentage was 47.43. In 2016, because a letter-grading system was introduced, a higher percentage of students got through.
Nepal’s present education system, introduced in the
1950s and modelled after the Indian system, has hardly
evolved in over six decades. After years of wrangling,
Parliament finally approved a bill in June designed to
overhaul the education system, phasing out SLC. This
year, the letter-grading system was also introduced in
response to criticism of the examination system. But it
was at best a tokenistic measure that did not go far
enough to change the learning techniques in class. In
many rural schools, hardly any teaching or learning
takes place. And students are assessed on the basis of
one final examination every year. Those who can memorise easily tend to do well. There is little room for
critical thinking. Most students who appear in the SLC
exam take help of tailor-made guidebooks or ‘guess
papers’ that compile questions from previous years and
provide answers to them. Most of the questions are
repeated or are slight variations of previous years’.
Those who fail make several attempts to get through
and eventually give up. Even those who pass, especially
from public schools, have academic skills and knowledge base that leave much to be desired. This has created a sharp divide among students by impeding the
social mobility of public school graduates and limiting
opportunities for them.
The government is largely responsible for condemning generations of students from public schools to a life
with fewer opportunities. This is so despite the government spending an outsize budget on education. In fact,
the budget allocated to education is the largest under a
particular heading each year. This year Rs116 billion or
11 percent of the total national budget was earmarked
for education.
The government has a stark choice: either revamp
the public sector education or create a voucher system
where students from poorer households get an equal
opportunity to study in private schools. An education
voucher is a certificate of government funding that
allows students to study in a school of their choice. A
welfare state, or any state for that matter, cannot
continue to preside over a system that creates two
unequal classes of citizens.
RAM C ACHARYA
[email protected]
I
n 1975, an average Nepali, Chinese, and
Indian had the same income. Since then,
during the course of the last 40 years,
what happened in these three countries is
incredible. The income of a Nepali has
slightly more than doubled, while that of
an Indian has doubled twice and that of a
Chinese has doubled five times. Today, an
average Nepali has an annual income of $735
($2 a day). An Indian has an income of more
than two Nepalis and a Chinese has an
income of 10 Nepalis.
At the pace of annual per capita income
growth of 2.2 percent over the last 40 years, a
Nepali would achieve the income of today’s
Indian in 30 years, and that of a Chinese in
105 years. This is a disturbing divergence in
living standards between Nepalis and its
neighbours.
Because of this uneven performance,
Nepal, already a tiny economy vis-à-vis its
neighbours, is shrinking rapidly in relative
terms. Measured by total income generated
in the country, Nepal is now 1 percent of
India and 0.2 percent (yes, one-fifth of one
percent) of China, a fall from 1.2 percent of
each in 1975. A country’s relative size
impacts its status and negotiating power.
Growth diagnostics
This has been the story so far: on the one
hand, our two neighbours—two great civilisations, with vastly different cultures, history and institutions—continue to thrive, taking up larger global economic space, while
on the other hand, Nepal, which has always
been a historical link between them, is painfully falling behind. Although we must celebrate our neighbours’ success, the current
scenario is regrettable for us. The onus is on
Nepal to establish itself as a vibrant, mature,
respectful, and articulate nation.
Economic growth of China and India did
not happen overnight and it certainly did
not happen due to foreign grants. It was
made possible through political dedication
to better public policies that focused on creating jobs and developing a market to
encourage the private sector to engage in
foreign trade and investment.
Except for being landlocked (which matters for growth) and relatively small in size
(which may or may not, the jury is still out),
other growth factors were not very different
Building partnership
A paradigm shift in Nepal’s economic diplomacy is essential to induce China and India
to play a positive role in Nepal’s growth.
Nepal’s policy focus should shift from its
historical quest for Chinese and Indian
grants to making inroads into their markets
and attracting their capital, technology and
ideas. A lot hinges on whether Nepal can
gradually make this courageous switch.
Who needs money when you have a conscience
SHREYA PAUDEL
W
hat happened last September is hard
to forget. The Madhesi people were in
the streets of Birgunj and Janakpur
and India had imposed a blockade on
Nepal. The priorities of the nation at
that time were clear: persuade India to lift
the illegal and “unofficial” blockade and
address the demands of the agitating
Madhesi parties. Although the blockade
was lifted, the Madhesi demands are yet to
be addressed.
Since then, many political scenes have
played out in the country. Without any
chronological order, the President and the
Speaker of Parliament were elected.
Likewise, Sushil Koirala lost his claim to
the government to KP Oli. India eventually
lifted the blockade. The Maoists have made
it clear that the conclusion of the peace process is of utmost importance for them, due
to which they recently broke their coalition
with the Oli-led government. Meanwhile,
the Madheshi protests have become silent
in the Tarai-Madhes but Upendra Yadav
played an ideological masterstroke by forming an alliance with the Adivasi-Janajati
organisations, which represent other marginalised communities. This step has proven that he is a better political player than
his counterparts of Madheshi Morcha.
There were also endless rounds of talks
between the Madhesi parties and the Oli
government, but none came to fruition.
Therefore, the end result till now for what
ought to be one of the most important priorities of the country—placating the
Madhesi parties and implementing the constitution—is that there is no end result.
Change in perception
This is really tragic because one cannot be
assured that Madhesi youths, who have protested for three major rounds since 2006,
will not protest again. More importantly,
many if not most people from the Madhes
and the Adivasi-Janajati cluster have historic grievances with the state. Opponents
of this ethnic grievance theory might not
acknowledge it. However, in mass politics, it
does not matter whether or not the Madhes
is really more developed than parts of the
hills. What matters is the perception of a
rickshaw puller in Janakpur and a tea stall
owner in Birgunj. In many interviews and
news reports from the last Madhes movement, it clear that the Madhesis feel the
state has discriminated against them. It is
also objectively true, with many scholars
referring to the Madhes as the internal colony of Kathmandu since the days of Ranas,
but objectivity matters less in mass movements. So what needs to be done now is that
the lay people from Birgunj, Janakpur and
Madhesi villages are made to feel that the
government is doing its bit in addressing the
demands of their movement. Their perception has to be changed for a peaceful Nepal.
This may raise a question: who needs to
be persuaded to persuade the Madhesi people? Some may not agree with it but right
now, it is the same old Madheshi Morcha
and Sanghiya Gathabandan that hold the
issues of marginalised communities. They
are the ones asking for institutionalising
federalism with a tinge of recognition of
the marginalised identities to correct the
mistakes of the past. Therefore, the political representatives of the Madhesis for now
are the parties and leaders who stood by
their side when about 50 people were shot
by the police.
Stability now
Admittedly, the Oli government laudably
gave Nepal a new way forward in its foreign
policy by strengthening ties with China
Voice Of The People
Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd., Kantipur Complex, Subidhanagar P. B. No. 8559, Kathmandu; Nepal
Phone: 5135000, Fax: 977-1-5135057, e-mail: [email protected]
BEYONCE AND JAY Z
We have been crying hoarse that the
country is open for visitors for the
last one year following the April 15
quake and the great Indian blockade,
but the tourists are simply not listening (‘Myanmar eyes 7.5m tourists
a year’, August 3, Money II). Did
we fail to woo them in a proper way?
Was our marketing strategy infallible? In the meanwhile, Myanmar,
The tendency to ask for handouts is convenient. But the experience of Nepal and the
world has taught us a valuable lesson that
unless it is rebuilding war ravaged or disaster-hit communities and infrastructure, no
country can achieve prosperity through
foreign cheques.
The path of wining markets and attracting foreign capital is a long and arduous one,
requiring sweeping structural and policy
reforms. But it is the only way to foster sustained growth in the long run and, in turn,
avoid being marginalised and earning
respect in the neighbourhood. Good diplomacy and foreign policy help, but they can
never be a substitute for economic strength.
If Nepal can put its act together, it has
enormous opportunities right on its doorsteps. If Nepal can supply only 0.5 percent of
Chinese and Indian imports, it would require
two-thirds of Nepal’s total production.
Imagine the job creation and economic
growth this success would bring about.
Given the present state of its economy, it is
hard to even imagine that Nepal can increase
its exports from $2.4 billion to $13 billion.
But if the achievements of China and India
are any testimony, it is not beyond reach.
In the grand scheme of things, policymakers have to work with one constraint.
Between China and India there is a danger
Acharya is an economist
Ordinary Madhesis should be made to feel that the government is doing its bit in addressing their demands
Opening ceremony
C
for Nepal compared to China and India. All
the three countries were endowed equally
with natural wealth and industrious people.
Save some drag on growth because of geography, it was variation in public policies that has
made all the difference in the last 40 years.
Thus, only Nepal holds the key to its development—introducing the right set of public
policies. But its growth potential very much
depends on what type of economic relation it
develops with China and India. The availability of Chinese and Indian markets can help
accelerate Nepal’s growth in the same way
international markets have helped the growth
of the two. But if Nepal fails to take both its
neighbours into confidence, even the growth
potential that Nepal’s domestic market provides will be impeded. Therefore, China and
India should hold a prominent place in
Nepal’s economic growth policies.
Responsible nationalism
Nepali rulers have time and again tried to
hide their weakness by blaming its neighbours—a reflexive nationalism. It was a
rallying mantra in the Panchayat era and
political parties exhibit this syndrome even
today. Nepal is occasionally treated unfairly
and it must of course protect its national
interest. But the sustainable and right way
to adhere to national interest is through
responsible nationalism that focuses on
raising the living standards of Nepalis,
empowering its citizens and maintaining
social cohesion.
So Nepalis want a humble government
that moves forward strategically with longterm goals in mind. They do not need policies that are born out of hatred for neighbouring countries, but rather out of a fair
sense of economic competition. All political
parties should ask themselves how they can
match their actions with people’s aspirations.
Moving forward, they should develop a set
of concrete guidelines: Nepal’s institutions
should be as strong as those of its neighbours, Nepal’s companies should be as competitive and innovative as theirs and Nepal
must be as good as them in ease of doing
business. Furthermore, a Nepali student
should be able to receive as good an education as a Chinese or an Indian, Nepal’s
labour market should be as skilled as theirs
and the opportunity for Nepal’s poor and
downtrodden should not be less than theirs.
Achieving these milestones will help
Nepal turn the tide. Otherwise, very soon,
Nepalis will ask this question: why is their
living standard so low compared to their
neighbours? And Nepali policymakers
would have no one to blame but themselves.
One hopes that the day of reckoning will not
come when people question the value of
being Nepalis if it means having far lower
living standards than their neighbours’.
Political priority
w orld v ie w
ongratulations, and many thanks to Rio de
Janeiro, for the innovatively choreographed
and beautifully executed opening ceremony
for the Olympic Games, which was mesmerizing, inspiring, and thoroughly entertaining.
What amazed us even more is the way Rio has
achieved it, and in such a graceful manner,
when so many thought it was impossible.
The Rio Games could not have come at a
worse time for Brazil, under the triple pressures
of an economic recession, the like of which the
country has not seen in decades, a domestic
political crisis and the Zika threat.
With Beijing and London setting a high bar for
opening ceremony few had anticipated
anything this impressive from Rio. After all, opening ceremonies are increasingly costly these days.
Riohad a budget that was reportedly 12 times less
than London’s and 20 times less than Beijing’s.
But the show they presented was nothing short
of spectacular.
Money does matter when it comes to hosting
an international sporting event like the Olympic
Games. But Rio offered a loud reminder that
money is not everything, and conscience and
creativity can go a long way. Besides visuals that
were hardly less fabulous than what we saw in
Beijing and London, and the strong message
about climate change, this aspect of the opening
ceremony challenges future hosts and the
Olympic community to rethink the way the
world’s largest sporting gala is handled.
We admire the organizers’ idea that it was
unnecessary to spend large sums of money on
the opening ceremony. Like the “Avatar-like allegiance” to the environment demonstrated in the
opening ceremony, this is a poignant Brazilian
statement on conscience and social responsibility we sincerely wish will reach the hearts of all
future Olympic hosts. Including those in
Beijing, who are preparing for the upcoming
2022 Winter Olympics.
of Nepal’s genuine attempt to integrate economically with one country being regarded
as a loss by the other. Therefore, a successful
policy is the one that accelerates economic
growth but, at the same time, treats both
neighbours equally, wins both their support
and treats their concerns sincerely.
which opened up only in 2011, is
poised to welcome 5.5 million tourists
this year even as Nepal, a tourism
powerhouse, languishes in anguish at
around 500,000 visitors in 70 years. It
is clear that we need to change the
way we do business and learn from
our infant Asian neighbour the
secret to their dizzying success.
Beyonce and Jay Z are reportedly
helping Myanmar ‘to popularise the
message that the country is open for
visitors’. Perhaps the time has come
for us to emulate Myanmar and
despite great pressure from India. However,
it did fail miserably to reach an amicable
solution with the Madhesi Morcha and the
federalists. But the Nepali Congress and the
Maoists that have now formed the ruling
coalition also failed Madhesis and Janajatis.
Prachanda failed them by bulldozing
through the constitution while the Madhesh
burned, and Deuba failed them by siding
with his Akhanda merry men and sidelining Tharus in the far west.
Therefore, Alzheimer’s seems to have set
in, among the ardent supporters of both
men, who now have suddenly become the
new messiahs of the marginalised communities. But it is also understandable to a
point because there is no other option left.
These are the men who will now lead the
government and the country but they surely need to rise above the historic beating
around the bush, and hit the nail right on
its head. Solving the Madhes crisis and
implementing the constitution should be
employ international stars for tourism promotion. All our traditional
approaches seem to have lost traction. It would be worthwhile for the
Nepali tourism industry to adopt a
fresh approach for promoting and
branding business. Nepali traders
must also attend more of the branding extravaganza that is currently on
in Kathmandu to hone their multifarious skills. Listening to international
professional speakers on branding,
they will realise that they still have a
long way to go after their local business and philosophy degrees. Nepali
tourism must attract the best and the
brightest as it once did if it wants to
regain the lost tourism glory. But
first we need a Beyonce and a Jay Z
to send the message that we are open
for visitors.
Manohar Shrestha, via email
ON THE BLACKLIST
I was shocked to see an article of
mine that was published in the
Rising Nepal on May 19 being published in your paper under someone
else’s name (‘Teach moral science’,
August 5, Postplatform). How can
someone plagiarise so shamelessly?
Such writers should be put on the
blacklist.
Saroj Wagle, Dumarwana, Bara
their sole purpose. Likewise, the ball is also
in the court of the Madhesi parties. Now
they cannot shy away from negotiations
with the next government for which they
demolished the Oli government.
However, the constitutional amendments
will not happen without the UML’s consent.
Hence, it is again upon the new captain of
the ship, Prachanda, to persuade the UML
and KP Oli, whom he had denounced with
his characteristically communist accusations
at Parliament. God only knows how
Prachanda will alter his relationship with the
UML now, but he has to. The country needs
stability now, which can only be achieved by
resolving all its crises. That will start only by
convincing the marginalised communities
and their political representatives to own the
constitution and move forward.
Paudel is pursuing an MSc in Conflict
Studies at the London School of Economics
and Political Science
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C M Y K
07 thekathmandu post
op-ed
Do your friends actually like you?
Himalayan hazards
It’s worth identifying
who among the many
people you encounter
in your life are truly
friends
KATE MURPHY
T
Imja Tsho is considered to be one of the
21 most dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal
rocks. Even though our research
team felt that Imja would be safe
from ice avalanches from nearby
peaks for at least another 15 to 20
years, a devastating GLOF could
still be triggered by an earthquake, landslide or moraine collapse, which is why Imja remains
in the ‘dangerous’ category.
BIDHYA SHARMA
T
he district where the ‘top of
the world’ lies is divided into
two parts—lower Solu and
upper Khumbu. The larger
river that descends through
Khumbu is the Dudh Koshi
which originates at Gokyo Lake.
The Dudh Koshi meets the Imja
Khola, which begins at a glacial
lake named Imja Tsho, near
Phortse. The Imja Tsho, situated at
an elevation of 5,100m, is formed by
the waters of the Lhotse Shar, Imja
and Amphu glaciers. Other glacier-fed rivers from the Lhotse Nup
and Lhotse glaciers meet the Imja
Khola near Dingboche. Similarly,
the Bhote Koshi that comes from
Tibet meets the Dudh Koshi below
Namche Bazaar. In this way, there
are three major river valleys in
Khumbu.
Last month, I was part of a
research project titled ScienceBased,
Community-Driven
Approach to Reducing Glacier
Lake Outburst Flood Risks in the
Nepal Himalaya. Team members
in the project, which was funded
by
the
National
Science
Foundation, included engineers,
geographers,
anthropologists
and graduate students from the
US and Nepal. The project is
committed to better understanding both the human and physical
dimensions of glacial lakes, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF),
impacts
on
downstream
communities and risk reduction
strategies.
In 1985, the Bhote Koshi experienced a GLOF from Dig Tsho Lake
that washed away a nearly completed hydropower plant, took the
lives of four people and destroyed
many homes and agricultural
fields. The scars of the Langmoche
flash flood are still visible in the
villages of Thame and Thame
Tenga and in the memories of
local people. Imja Tsho is considered to be one of the 21 most dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal. It is
filled with 75 million cubic metres
of water that is held in by a fragile, unconsolidated terminal
moraine of loose boulders and
Climate change denier
It was an astounding trip for our
team, as not only were we studying GLOFs and ways to help communities reduce their risk, but we
actually saw and filmed one of
them from the Lhotse glacier! The
flood that we saw is different from
a GLOF and is called an ‘englacial
conduit flood’, where the hundreds of caves and tunnels within
the glacier become filled with
water that is suddenly released
when the right trigger occurs, in
this case, the melting of the ice
and sudden release of cave water
into other conduits and surficial
lakes downstream.
A similar flood occurred in May
It was a hard fact for me to
believe that four decades ago,
Imja was still a glacier with a
couple of small melt water
ponds on its surface
2015 and spread panic throughout
Khumbu when people started calling their friends and saying that
Imja Tsho had burst! The village
of Chukung barely escaped then,
and it was only saved this year by
gabion walls that had been constructed through the initiative of
a local NGO, the Khumbu Alpine
Conservation Committee. Though
the minor flood in the Lhotse
Glacier was of concern only to
Chukung, the fear of Imja Tsho
extends all the way down. One of
my colleagues Sonam Phuti Sherpa
said that during the Lhotse flood
last year, a lodge owner at
Dingboche refused to flee saying
that if the flood washed away his
lodge, he would not be able to
repay the loan he took to build it,
so there was no sense in running
and saving himself.
Even though there have been
times when I was sceptical about
the existence of climate change, it
was at this point, when we could
hear the rubble falling as the glacier kept melting, and after we
had witnessed an actual glacier
flood, that I realised how wrong I
had been the whole time. It was a
hard fact for me to believe that
four decades ago, Imja was
still a glacier with a couple of
small melt water ponds on its surface. Now, it is 1km long,
0.5km wide and 150m deep, and
contains millions of cubic metres
of water. How can one be a climate change denier in the face
of this?
Commendable work
On this same trip, I was lucky to
witness and learn about the project that is currently lowering the
water level at Imja Tsho. For
someone who had not seen a
motor vehicle for two months, it
was an astonishing moment to see
an excavator working at the terminal moraine outlet of Imja
Tsho. The project, which is funded
by the UNDP and the Department
of Hydrology and Meteorology
and implemented by the Nepal
Army and Himalayan Research
Expeditions, aims to lower the
depth of the lake by 3 metres.
However, a glaciologist in our
team Dr David Rounce said that
the lake needed to be lowered by
at least 20 metres to reduce the
hazards of GLOF significantly. Dr
Alton C Byers, who has been
working in Khumbu for more
than 30 years, said, “reducing the
lake by 3 metres may not reduce
the hazard significantly, but it will
definitely develop the capacity of
a Nepali workforce that is capable
of working at such high altitudes
and difficult terrain and climate.”
Likewise, anthropologist Dr
Milan Shrestha said, “Villagers
living downstream face a lot of
uncertainties and they are fearful
of potential GLOF hazards.
Although a community-based participatory approach would be
more ideal, the villagers are somewhat relieved by the fact that the
Army is lowering Imja Tsho by 3
metres.” Though the work initiated and carried out by the UNDP
and the Department of Hydrology
and Meteorology is commendable,
similar work should be extended
to other lakes that have been classified as dangerous for GLOF hazards, especially those above highly populated regions and hydropower plants that are being built
or are already in existence.
Sharma is a recent
graduate from Institute of
Forestry, Pokhara
hink of all the people with whom you
interact during the course of a day,
week, month and year. The many souls
with whom you might exchange a greeting or give a warm embrace; engage in
chitchat or have a deeper conversation. All
those who, by some accident of fate, inhabit
your world. And then ask yourself who
among them are your friends—your true
friends. Recent research indicates that only
about half of perceived friendships are
mutual. That is, someone you think is your
friend might not be so keen on you. Or, vice
versa, as when someone you feel you hardly
know claims you as a bestie.
It’s a startling finding that has prompted
much discussion among psychologists, neuroscientists, organizational behavior
experts, sociologists and philosophers.
Some blame human beings’ basic optimism,
if not egocentrism, for the disconnect
between perceived and actual friendships.
Others point to a misunderstanding of the
very notion of friendship in an age when
“friend” is used as a verb, and social inclusion and exclusion are as easy as a swipe or
a tap on a smartphone screen. It’s a concern
because the authenticity of one’s relationships has an enormous impact on one’s
health and well-being.
“People don’t like to hear that the people
they think of as friends don’t name them as
friends,” said Alex Pentland, a computational social science researcher at M.I.T.
and co-author of a recent study published
in the journal PLOS One titled “Are You
Your Friends’ Friend? Poor Perception of
Friendship Ties Limits the Ability to
Promote Behavioral Change.”
The study analyzed friendship ties among
84 subjects (ages 23 to 38) in a business management class by asking them to rank one
another on a five-point continuum of closeness from “I don’t know this person” to
“One of my best friends.” The feelings were
mutual 53 percent of the time while the
expectation of reciprocity was pegged at 94
percent. This is consistent with data from
several other friendship studies conducted
over the past decade, encompassing more
than 92,000 subjects, in which the reciprocity
rates ranged from 34 percent to 53 percent.
Mr. Pentland said it could be that “the
possibility of nonreciprocal friendship challenges one’s self-image.” But the problem may
have more to do with confusion over what
friendship is. Ask people to define friendship—even researchers like Mr. Pentland
who study it—and you’ll get an uncomfortable silence followed by “er” or “um.”
“Friendship is difficult to describe,” said
Alexander Nehamas, a professor of philosophy at Princeton, who in his latest book,
“On Friendship,” spends almost 300 pages
trying to do just that. “It’s easier to say what
friendship is not and, foremost, it is not
instrumental.”
It is not a means to obtain higher status,
wangle an invitation to someone’s vacation
home or simply escape your own boredom.
Rather, Mr. Nehamas said, friendship is
more like beauty or art, which kindles
something deep within us and is “appreciated for its own sake.”
Yet one of the most recognized treatises
on friendship is Dale Carnegie’s decidedly
instrumental “How to Win Friends and
Influence People.” Pop stars like Taylor
Swift and Drake are admired for their strategic, if not propagandist, friendships. And,
of course, social media sites are platforms
for showcasing friendships to enhance personal image.
“Treating friends like investments or
commodities is anathema to the whole idea
of friendship,” said Ronald Sharp, a professor of English at Vassar College, who teaches a course on the literature of friendship.
“It’s not about what someone can do for you, it’s
who and what the two of you become in each
other’s presence.”
He recalled the many hours
he spent in engrossing conversation with his
friend Eudora Welty,
who was known
not only for her
Pulitzer Prizewinning fiction but also
for her capacity for friends h i p .
Together
they edited
“The Norton
Book
of
Friendship,”
an anthology
of works on the
topic.
“The
notion of doing
nothing but spending time in each other’s company has, in a
way, become a lost art,”
replaced by volleys of texts and
tweets, Mr. Sharp said. “People are so eager to
maximize efficiency of relationships that
they have lost touch with what it is to be a
friend.”
By his definition, friends are people you
take the time to understand and allow to
understand you.
Because time is limited, so, too, is the
number of friends you can have, according
to the work of the British evolutionary psychologist Robin I.M. Dunbar. He describes
layers of friendship, where the topmost
layer consists of only one or two people, say
a spouse and best friend with whom you are
most intimate and interact daily. The next
layer can accommodate at most four people
for whom you have great affinity, affection
and concern and who require weekly attention to maintain. Out from there, the tiers
contain more casual friends with whom you
invest less time and tend to have a less profound and more tenuous connection.
Without consistent contact, they easily fall
into the realm of acquaintance. You may be
friendly with them but they aren’t friends.
“There is a limited amount of time and
emotional capital we can distribute, so we
only have five slots for the most intense type
of relationship,” Mr. Dunbar said. “People
may say they have more than five but you
can be pretty sure they are not high-quality
friendships.”
Such boasting implies they have soul
mates to spare in a culture where we are
taught that leaning on someone is a sign of
weakness and power is not letting others
affect you. But friendship requires the vulnerability of caring as well as revealing
things about yourself that don’t match the
polished image in your Facebook profile or
Instagram feed, said Mr. Nehamas at
Princeton. Trusting that your bond will
continue, and might even be strengthened,
despite your shortcomings and inevitable
misfortunes, he said, is a risk many aren’t
willing to take.
According to medical experts, playing it
safe by engaging in shallow, unfulfilling or
nonreciprocal relationships has physical
repercussions. Not only do the resulting
feelings of loneliness and isolation increase
the risk of death as much as smoking, alcoholism and obesity; you may also lose tone,
or function, in the so-called smart vagus
nerve, which brain researchers
think allows us to be in intimate, supportive and
reciprocal relationships in the first
place.
“It’s huge to
have good vagal
tone, because
it modulates
our instinctive
fight,
flight or freeze
response,”
said
Amy
Banks, a psychiatrist at the
Wellesley
Centers
for
Women who specializes in the
growing field of
interpersonal neurobiology and is the author of
“Wired to Connect: The
Surprising Link Between Brain
Science and Strong, Healthy Relationships.”
In the presence of a true friend, Dr.
Banks said, the smart or modulating aspect
of the vagus nerve is what makes us feel at
ease rather than on guard as when we are
with a stranger or someone judgmental. It’s
what enables us to feel O.K. about exposing
the soft underbelly of our psyche and helps
us stay engaged and present in times of
conflict. Lacking authentic friendships, the
smart vagus nerve is not exercised. It loses
tone and one’s anxiety remains high, making abiding, deep connections difficult.
So it’s worth identifying who among the
many people you encounter in your life are
truly friends. Who makes time for you?
Whose company enlivens, enriches
and maybe even humbles you? Whom
would you miss? Who would miss you?
While there is no easy or agreed upon definition, what friendships have in common is
that they shape us and create other dimensions through which to see the world. This
can be for better or worse depending on
whom we choose as friends. As the saying
goes, “Show me your friends and I will
show you who you are.”
—©2016The New YOrk TImes
2,000 days under house arrest
Megha Mohan
T
hree leading figures in Iran’s reformist
movement reached an unenviable milestone this week. Former prime minister
Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra
Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi, a senior
cleric, have now spent more than 2,000 days
under house arrest without charge.
The 2,000-day anniversary was reached
on 30 June and was marked on social
media by thousands using the Farsi hashtag #ÏæåÒÇÑÑæÒÍÕÑ which means “2,000
days since house arrest”. Mr Mousavi and
Mr Karroubi have been detained since
February 2011 because of their part in
mass protests over the disputed result of
the 2009 election which saw Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad re-elected as president.
The two men were candidates in that
election and also leaders of the nationwide
opposition Green Movement. At the time
they were detained there were calls by
some MPs for them to be executed.
Although they have been out of the public eye for several years they remain
important symbols to those opposed to
Iran’s conservative establishment.
Some of those who posted the 2,000 days
hashtag used the colour green to show solidarity with the three people under house
arrest. Earlier this year 70 scholars had
urged the current President Hassan
Rouhani to release the three. In an open
letter published in the Guardian they
acknowledged President Rouhani’s limited
ability to intervene in judiciary, which acts
independently of his government, the academics said the president should speak out
to protest what they called a “grave miscarriage of justice”. And some using the 2,000
day hashtag noted that this appeal had
been met by silence. However many were
critical of the effectiveness of the 2,000
days trend and activism-by-hashtag.
“There was supposed to be pandemonium
when Mousavi was arrested, but nothing
happened, so use the hashtag 2,000 days.”
2,000 days,” mocked one tweeter.
Not all users of the hashtag were supportive of the three. Some reminded their
followers that Mousavi, as as former Prime
Minister, was in office during the secret
1988 mass execution in prisons and of his
alliance to Ayatollah Khomeini, who
ordered mass executions. One tweeter
mocked up an execution warrant addressed
from Khomeini to Mousavi.
President Rouhani, who was runner-up
TIME magazine’s 2015 Person of the Year,
echoed his 2013 campaign pledge of reform,
and said earlier this year, that the country
needed more freedom of expression and government critics should not be imprisoned.
—©2016BBC trending
A fresh start
This is probably Prachanda’s last opportunity to redefine his leadership and lead Nepal to prosperity
PRATYUSH NATH UPRETI
[email protected]
I
n an informal event a few years
ago, I happened to meet
Bhutan’s members of parliament, who spoke highly of
Pushpa
Kamal
Dahal,
Prachanda. They argued that
Prachanda was a visionary leader
who was highly trusted by the
international community to bring
about political stability in Nepal.
I was surprised by their views.
Nonetheless, this conversation
took place a long time ago when
Prachanda had just become
Nepal’s prime minister for the
first time, and his journey from
the people’s war to mainstream
politics had made the international community hopeful that he
and his party would usher in sta-
bility into the country. But now, I
do not think that the international community maintains that
faith. Moreover, his first tenure as
prime minister did not turn out to
be productive.
amendments. Prima facie, the issue
is complicated, but Prachanda’s
ability to bargain and accommodate the demands of the disgruntled parties in a balanced way will
be the key to his success.
Oli’s legacy
No doubt the Oli government
failed to address the demands of
the Madhesis. Further, Oli’s
untimely and unwanted political
comments against the Madhesis
created a trust deficit between the
Madhesi leaders and the Oli government. Still, Oli did succeed in
using the ‘blockade’ card against
India to rouse patriotic and
nationalistic sentiments. His bold
decision to cancel the President’s
visit to India and his successful
visit to China did make him popular among the people. And his
constant emphasis on development did raise people’s hope, no
matter how preposterous his
plans sounded. With his departure, the major challenge for
Prachanda will be to advance
development projects and balance
Raising the bar
It is often argued that politicians
are performers and Nepali politicians are highly capable of award
winning performances. Among
many
Nepali
politicians,
Prachanda has his own sheen and
set of acting skills that have
impressed many. In recent years,
several political episodes have
given a wrong impression of
Prachanda within the political
circle and among the general public. Perhaps Prachanda should
learn from his past and realise
that his comments on a public
forum—comparing himself with
a historian or issuing the threat
of another revolution—do not
benefit him. People have already
digested his popular propaganda
since the first Constituent
Assembly election, when he tried
n
Newly elected Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prachanda among his supporters
Nepal’s relationship with both its
neighbours. Moreover, as Prachanda initiated the no-confidence
motion in a bid to form a new government, the onus now lies on him
to bring all the parties on board
and implement the constitution.
If Prachanda wants to be suc-
cessful in his second inning as
prime minister, he needs to learn
from his mistakes and tackle head
on the challenges facing the country. His first challenge is to conclude the peace process through
the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC). Prachanda
will face immense pressure from
his party to settle the war-era
cases by making sure none of the
party members get arrested. This
is where things can get tricky. The
second challenge is to address the
demands of the Madhesis and
Janajatis through constitutional
to present himself as the country’s first president. So blame
games and threats to quit the government must be his lowest priority, as they will only tarnish his
image. Well, it is high time that
the Maoist party and its chairman questioned themselves and
reflected on what they have
achieved in last eight years. The
party has disintegrated into several groups; his long-time confidant Baburam Bhattarai has left
him and formed a new party.
After considering all the episodes in Prachanda’s political
life, his recent appointment as the
prime minister is probably his
last opportunity to redefine his
leadership and take the country
towards economic prosperity by taking into confident diverse groups. I
am not a big fan of Prachanda or of
his political ideology, but I still
believe that he has the charisma to
take the country ahead. Time will
tell whether ‘Prachandapath’ will
lead Nepal to prosperity.
Upreti is an advocate
C M Y K
et cetera
kathmandu post
the
Scrum meetup at Moksh
Agile Nepal has set up a third Scrum Meetup
at Moksh, Jhamiskhel on August 12. The
theme for this event is Fixed Date, Fixed
Scope Projects in Scrum. Ajay Kabra, a
director of Agile Transformation from Xebia,
India will be speaking at the event. The
event will begin at 4:30 pm.
Talk on scholarships
Poetry and song
USEF Nepal is hosting a Scholarship-101 programme
at its premises in Gyaneshwor on August 24, 3 pm
onwards. The programme will allow participants to
learn about different types of scholarships and
financial aid at the graduate level, its criteria, and
ways to reduce your cost of attendance and avoid
scholarship scams. Pre-registration is required.
Rooster Season with Word Warrior is slated to
bring a collaborative performance featuring poet
Sanket Shrestha and musician GK Sangat. The
programme will be held at Base Camp in Arun
Thapa Chowk, Jhamsikhel from 7 pm onwards on
August 20. The tickets are priced at Rs 100 and
will be available at the venue.
keep the temperature inside your
computer case cool, because most of
the problems that you’ve mentioned
in your question could be because of
bad air regulation inside the case.
Just make sure that all of your new
components are supported by your
motherboard if not, your upgrade
costs might increase if you need a
newer motherboard to support your
components.
I have two gaming problems
annoying me at the moment. The
first is that the copy of Fifa 15
Ultimate Team that I downloaded
from the Windows store on my
laptop crashes every time I try to
run it. And the second problem is
that the copy of Fifa 16 that I have
installed asks me for a serial key.
But when I try to hunt down the
serial key on the internet, the
website prompts me with a message that says, “No offers are
available in your region at this
time.” What would be the solution
to this?
—Shrish Regmi
technopolis q&a
Prajesh Sjb Rana
My computer, for the last three
months, has been giving me blue
screen errors that I managed to fix
with better management. But
recently, the computer has also
started entering sleep mode during
boots
and
shuts
down
automatically while running games.
I am pretty frustrated with the computer now and I am thinking of
upgrading the computer. I want a
computer that can run all games
on which I can code and program
as
well,
keeping
these
requirements in mind what specifications do you suggest? I’m
thinking of upgrading to an Intel i3
processor paired with 4GB of
RAM. Do you think this
configuration would be enough to
meet my requirements?
—RK Raj
forming processor. Even
the 4GB of RAM is basic
today. With the specifications that you’ve mentioned, you might be able
to play older games but
recent games like GTA V
and The Witcher 3 would
outright not work on this
system. If you pair a powerful graphics card with
specifications,
your
newer games might work
but that too is not a guarantee. If you’re thinking
of upgrading to a decent
gaming machine: consider an i5 processor at the
least. Pair this
mid-ranged
If your technological devices
are giving you a
hard time or if
you’re just
curious about
certain technological questions,
please drop us an
email at technopolis.tkp@gmail.
com and we’ll try
to answer your
questions as best
as we can.
processor with at least
8GB of RAM and invest
in a decent graphics
card, because newer
games will definitely
not work on the integrated graphics processors of your motherboard. The older GTX
500 series would work
okay for modern games
but if you really want
to invest in a graphics
card that will stay relevant in the near future,
you might want to
invest in at least the
GTX 600 series from
Nvidia. Also invest in a
couple of case fans to
Dear RK,
Since you’re experiencing a lot of
problems with your computer, I think
upgrading would be the best option at
this point. The specifications you
mentioned would work well for your
programming needs since programming does not require a lot of compute performance since all you’re
doing is working with letters while
programming. Gaming, on the other
hand, is a completely different ballgame. Gaming will demand immense
compute performance from your
hardware and by today’s standards,
an Intel i3 is one of the lowest per-
Dear Shrish,
Regarding your first problem, the
game is probably not working
because it’s a Windows Store copy. No
matter what Microsoft says, their
modern apps are still buggy and rudimentary. For games from Windows
Store to work without any hiccups,
further developments on the platform is required. So, if you want to
play Fifa 15 on your computer, I
would suggest installing a traditional
x32 or x64 format game, that could
actually fix your first problem. For
your second problem, you might
want to download a key generator
from torrent sites. Most of these sites
that provide serial keys are click
baits that help their owners make
money off of their websites. This is
why the website is asking you to complete some deals from their advertisers. And since Nepal is a country that
is supported by these deals, the website tells you that their deals are not
available in your region. The best
way to get past this would be download serial keys or key generators
from torrent sites but keep in mind
that many of these crack and keygen
software come riddled with viruses
and you might accidentally infect
your entire computer with malicious
software. So make sure to skim
through the comments sections of the
sites that provide links to these files for
user feedback. Also, if you don’t want
to go through all of this hassle, just
take a trip to Mahaboudha and find a
copy of Fifa 16 that actually works.
These DVDs usually have keygens and
cracks pre-installed which should
ensure that games work right out of
the box, and if it doesn’t, you can
always go back for a refund.
Harbingers of love
Abhaya and the Steam Injuns recently released their fourth studio album, titled Looking for Love. With Abhaya Subba Weise
leading the line-up, along with Nikesh Karki, Nabin Thapa Magar, Sonam Lama Bhutiya and Rajiv Rinchen Palzar, the band has played
their way into the heart of Nepali music-lovers everywhere. In this interview with Kripa Shrestha, the band talk about their latest
presentation, the process behind creating it and their hope for the future. Excerpts:
off the track
Tell us about your new venture.
at our hands. All because of momos!
Would you like to comment on the
music scene in Nepal?
This is our fourth album—it’s called
Looking for Love. Oftentimes, when
people talk about love, they think it to
be romantic love where boy meets
girl, when love is really so many layers. We think that love is people wanting to be accepted. When you look at
pictures of conflict areas and see war
breaking out and infecting the world
that you realise we are living in the
post-apocalyptic world theorised so
often in fiction. And despite the grim
that accompanies such a world, we
are still looking for love because love
is the only way we can regain all that
we have lost. So that’s where our
album gets its name from.
This year is great for music lovers, I
think, because there are a lot of good
bands who are launching their
albums. There’s Bipul Chhetri with
his new album Maya, there’s Cobweb
and 1974 AD and ourselves who are
coming up with new music so there’s
a lot of exciting stuff to anticipate this
year. The Nepali music industry continues to evolve and wow listeners.
Any advice for aspiring musicians?
How long have you been working
on this project?
Very long, actually. We’ve been working on our album for at least two
years now, mastering and perfecting
everything to our liking until we
were satisfied with our work.
What inspired you to create
this album?
Our songs are based on day-to-day life
and how it ebbs into the greater journey of life, and the losses that we deal
with along the way, personal losses
that everybody must suffer through
eventually, such as the death of a
loved one or the death of our own self
someday. Our whole album is quite
versatile since we can’t really afford
to have any one theme or thread to
define our music in this day and
age—that’s too old school! We have to
move with the times, we have to be
one with the millennials, and we have
to make sure that every song of ours
is heard because we put a lot of effort
and love into its making.
Tell us about an experience that
comes to mind when you were
working on this album.
When we were in Delhi, we met Bipul
Chhetri and were having dinner at
Bipul’s place and this is where it gets
interesting. So we wanted to make
momos and Aninda Bose, the guy
who is mixing all of our stuff, was
also there and he’s a really nice guy.
We were looking for a sound engineer
to mix our songs at the time and it so
turned out that Aninda happened to
be that guy! It was just funny that we
met him at Bipul’s place, at a dinner
party, and we’re so lucky that we
have such a great sound engineer
I can’t very well predict where the
music scene in Nepal is heading in
the next five or ten years. But in the
meantime, if you’re a new musician,
don’t expect music to support you
because it’s not going to happen. You
need to be working, and you need to
have that extra something, and then
you need to support your music
because there needs to be people
who realise this need and who are
determined to keep doing it, to
support music. We cannot give up;
we cannot lose faith in what music is
all about. Just because you’re not
making
money
isn’t
reason
enough to quit. Yet there are so many
people who quit and it means that
you don’t believe in your talent
at all. This is why we need people who
are determined to rise above this
crisis, people who believe in their
music and are willing to support
music because they love it until one
day, music might eventually support
them back.
hard truths
agonyaunt
Gaming
blues
Dear Aunt,
I am a 17-year-old girl. I have
always been popular as the
free-spirited and bubbly girl. I
grew up in a nice family and
everyone has always been very
supportive. However, I am not
really close to my father.
He was not always there during my childhood because of his
work. It’s not that he is a bad
father or doesn’t take care of us,
it’s just we are not close. On the
other hand, am really close with
my mother and share everything
with her. But I have been keeping
this one secret from them. I have
a boyfriend and we have been
dating for over a year now. He is
not from my school so my parents don’t know about him.
I am really happy with him. I
want to continue my relationship
but I feel like I am betraying my
parents. Even though I want to
tell them, I am afraid of their
reaction. I don’t think they will
like the idea of me dating, especially my dad. I think he will be
disappointed in me once he
knows.
—Don’t want to disappoint
Dear Don’t want to disappoint,
You are not alone in your
problem. There are thousands of
teenagers around the world who
are going through the same troubles. Being a teenager can be a
tricky phase, you begin to develop love interests, but feel you are
not old enough to move out of
your parents’ shadows quite yet.
The Aunt would recommend you
to take it slow, but remember
whenever in a situation like this,
honesty is always the best policy.
If you have trouble conveying the
truth to both your parents, why
don’t you start with your mother? If you are close, like you say,
it will be a lot easier beginning
with her.
But that being said, you should
also work towards mending fences with your father. He might
have been travelling a lot while
you were growing up, but now
that you understand things a little better, you should start taking
small steps to mend your relationship. Maybe by taking small
steps you can arrive at a place
where you no longer are afraid to
disappoint him and no longer
forced to keep secrets.
drawing the line
Dear Aunt,
I have a problem. I am a 21-yearold guy and I am in love with a
15-year-old girl. We met each
other at a family gathering. Our
families have been friends for
generations. I am currently
pursuing my undergrads in
the US and I am in
Kathmandu for a break
now. My best
friend calls me stupid for getting
involved with an underage girl
and no one believes that I am
head-over-heels in love with her.
The girl is very mature for her
age. I have been seeing her for a
year now and it’s more like I am
dating someone of my age. We
are so compatible together and
the best part is her family too is
moving to the same place where I
study in three months. Our families have no clue about us and I
am scared of our clandestine
affair coming out. What am I to
do, Aunt? I am confused, please
help me!
—Prabhu
Dear Prabhu,
You need to pause for a second
and understand that getting
involved with a minor is punishable by law. Particularly, if both
of you are moving to the US, you
need to clearly understand that
their laws regarding the matter
are very strict and you don’t
want to be on its wrong side (you
are talking about more than a
decade in prison!). There is just
no way around it. Even if she is
very mature for her age, it is a
strict no-no in the Aunt’s book.
This doesn’t mean that you have
to be ashamed because you have
feelings for her, love sometime
works in funny ways. But if you
are truly committed to the relationship, as you say,
you’ll wait until your
girlfriend comes of
age before taking
the relationship
any further.
C M Y K
life&style
kathmandu post
the
Ranbir’s Jagga Jasoos delayed again
BORN TODAY
Filmmaker Anurag Basu’s upcoming film Jagga Jasoos has
been locked for release on April 7 next year. “Disney’s Jagga
Jasoos releases on April 7, 2017! Directed by Anurag Basu,
starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, music by Pritam,”
read a post from Disney Films India’s Twitter handle.
The banner is co-producing the film, which is the
debut venture of Ranbir’s production house.
American fashion designer Michael Kors is 57
American actress Anna Kendrick is 31
American actress Jessica Capshaw is 40
British actor Kevin McKidd is 43
Indian actress Hansika Motwani is 25
Turner to star in Huntsville
Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner is joining
Dylan McDermott and Jack Kilmer in the independent drama Huntsville. The project is based
on a 2014 Black List script by Anthony
Ragnone about a solitary man in a Florida
town who develops a questionable relationship with a high school student.
Suicide Squad
smashes records
Reuters
Los Angeles, Aug 8
S
ost of Nepal’s first
animated feature released
Samikshya Bhattarai
Kathmandu, Aug 8
T
he music launch of the Nepal’s
first animated feature film, The
Legend
of
Shankhadhar
(Shankhadhar Ye Bakhaa), took
place amid a function in Capital
on Sunday. The movie, based on
the life of the historic figure
Shankhadhar Sakhwa—the founder
of the Nepal Sambhat calendar—slated for release in 2018.
In what was an unique event, the
music video was launched simultaneously in Nepal, the UK, the US and
Australia through a video chat
with the creator of the feature
Sanyukta Shrestha.
“We
heard
the
story
of
Shankhadhar Sakhwa as children. I
just tried to give life to the folklore
that we have known for a long time,”
said the animator and producer of
the movie, Shrestha. He further
added that the introduction of the
animation features in the Nepali
movie industry will provide it with
new opportunities and open doors for
the creation of more animated
movies in the future.
The movie, based on the life of
the historic figure Shankhadhar
Sakhwa—the founder of the
Nepal Sambhat calendar—slated
for release in 2018
Speaking at the release, eminent
historian Satya Mohan Joshi lauded
the efforts by YantraKala, the group
behind the project. “Sakhwa is an
important historical figure for Nepal.
This movie will help make his contributions relevant to the up and com-
ing generations,” he said.
The movie will trace the life of
Sakhwa who is believed to have paid
off the debts of the people in the
Kathmandu Valley after he stumbled
upon an accidental fortune.
According to legends, the Nepal
Sambat began to commemorate the
saint-like gesture, with historical
documents referring to the subsequent years as “the year after all
debts were paid.”
The
bilingual
movie
will
be released in both Nepal Bhasa
and Nepali, along with English
subtitles. It was also revealed that
artist Suraj Bajracharya will be
voicing the lead character Sakhwa in
the animation. The soundtrack of the
movie has been provided by UK-based
Nepali musicians Bishwo Shahi
and Ganga Thapa. Nisha Desar lent
her voice for the released song, Dyo
Hey Kha.
uicide Squad smashed records,
scoring a colossal USD 135.1
million debut despite suffering
some of the worst reviews of
the year.
That sets a new high-water
mark for an August launch, lapping
Guardians of the Galaxy’s USD 94.3
million bow. It also ranks as a new
personal best for star Will Smith,
trumping I Am Legend’s USD 77.2
million debut in 2007. The action
spectacle is also resonating with foreign crowds. Suicide Squad earned
USD 132 million overseas from 57
territories, bringing its global total to
more than USD 267 million.
“It bested anything that we could
have expected,” said Jeff Goldstein,
Warner Bros distribution executive
vice president. “The marketing campaign was brilliant and the
performances by the cast, starting
with Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and
Jared Leto were just extraordinary.
They’re fun and wicked and
fans enjoy it.”
Suicide Squad has been
one of the most hotly
anticipated films of
the summer. Buzz
on the film has
built
steadily
since
Warner
Bros released a
teaser trailer at
last
year’s
Comic-Con that
highlighted
Jared
Leto’s
grill-sporting
Joker and
M a r g o t
Robbie
looking
demented in pigtails as Harley
Quinn. However, the studio was
caught off guard by the fusillade of
withering reviews and there were
concerns that the poor reception
would dampen the opening numbers.
Audiences appeared to like the
film better than critics, handing the
film a B+ CinemaScore. Younger consumers appear to like the film better
than older moviegoers, with audiences under the age of 18 giving it an A
rating. There are signs the hostile
reviews are already hobbling Suicide
Squad. The film dropped sharply on
Saturday, falling 41 percent from its
Friday numbers, although it should
be said that those grosses include
Thursday pre-show results.
The studio has a lot riding on
Suicide Squad. It spent USD 175 million making the picture, including
tens of millions on reshoots. But the
cost isn’t the only concern. DC is
struggling to generate the same level
of excitement for its stable of
Batman, Superman, and other
Justice League fixtures that Marvel
has managed to stoke for its movies about costumed avengers. It needs more of its
films to be beloved as
well as financially
successful.
Ghimire’s
Maunata slated
for release
Bimal Khatiwada
Chitwan, Aug 8
A
uthor Suman Ghimire’s second book, the novel Maunata,
is slated for release on
Saturday, in the Capital.
During a press meet in
Bharatpur, the author talked about
the motifs of the book and his
excitement over the forthcoming
release. Ghimire has already
authored an anthology of poetry,
Mero Bainsha ko Calendar.
“Maunata is a reflection of the
manifold issues of our society—
the book is based on issues of
sexual violence and the impacts
of
migration
for
foreign
employment,” the author said.
He added that although the book
deals with issues of sexuality, it
has been presented with simple
and apt language.
“The book deals with these very
issues: for one, it deals with
love-how love is devotion; second,
the foreign employment-and its
impacts in Nepali society,”
Ghimire said at the meet.
Speaking about the book during
the event, litterateur Dhan Raj
Giri said, “I have gotten a
chance to take a peek at the
novel from the manuscript. I
think there is a certain quality
in the novel that makes the
reader keep on turning pages.”
The book has
been published
by
Gorkha
Publications.
The event in
Chitwan
was organised
by
Soong ava
B o o k
House.
nepali words, pakistani sound
Exciting time
to be singing,
says lucky
Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, Aug 8
S
n Panelists listen in to the newly-released song, Timro Khabar Aayena Khai, at an event held in
the Capital. The song is the first single from Madan Gopal’s forthcoming album, Timro Khabar.
The song has been composed by the Paksitani composer Imaad Rahman.
Masterpiece
found at a flea A
market
BBC
Stuttgart, Aug 8
German art gallery says a print by
Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer
that was donated by a man who
found it at a flea market is in very
good condition.
The print, entitled Mary Crowned
by an Angel, was bought for a few
euros in the eastern French town of
Sarrebourg.
The buyer saw the stamp of
Stuttgart’s Staatsgalerie on its
back, and decided to donate it
a few days ago.
The man came “personally with
his wife” to return the engraving, a
museum spokesperson said.
The copperplate print, which
had been missing since World
War Two, appeared to have been
wrapped up for a long time, keeping it
in
good
condition,
Anette
Frankenberger added.
She said the museum had not
decided how to put it on display. “We
have to find the right setting to present it in,” she said.
Durer, born in 1471, was a major
painter and printmaker who introduced Renaissance art to Germany
and northern Europe.
inger Lucky Ali says the
popularity of live concerts and flourishing of a
variety of genres are
proof of the changes in the
country’s music scene.
“This is the best and most
exciting time to be part of the
Indian music industry. The
rising culture of music festivals and concerts, coming
together of various music
genres, and boldly experimental music artists, are
challenging what was erstwhile considered mainstream music in India,” the O
Sanam singer said. “We have
indeed come a long way from
the Indipop songs and music
videos of the 1990s. I’m glad
that I was a part of that era,
and I’m equally happy about
being part of the present day
music scene in India,” he
added.
Lucky has sung memorable songs like Aabhijaa and
Ek Pal Ka Jeena for Hindi
films.
Martin’s Wild Cards coming to TV
Due to Martin’s
exclusive agreement
with HBO, the author
will not be working
on the project
Indo-Asian News Service
Los Angeles, Aug 8
G
ame of Thrones author
George RR Martin might soon
launch another sprawling
fantasy world on television.
U n ive r s a l
C abl e
Productions has acquired the
rights to develop Martin’s anthology series Wild Cards after the
author announced the deal on his
personal blog.
Due to Martin’s exclusive
development agreement with
HBO, the author will not be working on the project.
According to Martin, the shared
world of the Wild Cards diverged
from our own on September 15,
1946, when an alien virus was
released in the skies over
Manhattan,
and
spread
across an unsuspecting Earth.
Of those infected, 90 per cent died
horribly, drawing the black queen,
nine per cent were twisted and
deformed into jokers, while a
lucky one per cent became
blessed with extraordinary
and unpredictable powers and
became aces.
Martin describes the project
as “A series of interlocking
books, graphic novels, games…
but most of all it is a universe,
as large and diverse and
exciting as the comic book
universes of Marvel and DC
(though somewhat grittier, and
considerably more realistic and
more consistent), with an enormous cast of characters both
major and minor”.
The first volume in the series
was published in 1986, with 22
volumes released to date.
Martin expressed hope that the
series would make it to screens
“In the next year or two.”
Martin’s Game of Thrones
received 23 Emmy nominations
for its sixth season this year. The
premiere of the seventh season is
slated for summer of 2017.
C M Y K
variety
thekathmandu post
10
TODAY’SHOROSCOPE
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
***
Your perfectionism can be a mixed blessing in your life. Often, it
enables you to excel. You beat out the competition and win the
best reward. But sometimes, like today, it can slow you down and
keep you from seeing the bigger picture.
u
d
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
***
It’s time to stop putting off that conversation you’ve been dreading. If you feel like sharing your thoughts about someone with
someone, then do it honestly. The critical things you have to say
are just as valuable as the positive ones (if not more so).
GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
***
Whether or not your realize it, your actions affect the world
around you. The patterns of your behaviour cause ripples around
you, and influence how other people behave—especially today,
when you are with people who can be very, very easily influenced.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
***
You have a vested interest in someone else’s decision today—if
they go one way, you’ll have sunny skies and a lot of hope.
But if they go another way, things could get really cloudy for you
really fast.
LEO (July 23-August 22)
****
Your life could use a little bit more structure to it—flying by the
seat of your pants might be exciting, but it usually causes quite a
bit of chaos with your friends and wastes quite a bit of everyone’s
time. So take some time to get things more organised today.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
****
You’re especially skilled at seeing the subtext of what people are
really saying right now, which will help you sense when the tension is running high between two people—and that’s your cue to
get the heck out of there! Step away and be by yourself.
Yesterday’s Solution
s
o
k
u
c
r
o
WORD GAME
GRAFFITI
s
s
w
o
r
d
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
****
Sometimes, following the rules is not the best way to get by. It’s
not that you should go around breaking the rules on purpose
today, but you shouldn’t be afraid to work outside the norm.
Make your own guideline.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
***
If you’re trying to keep a few secrets right now, you’d better
lock yourself up and throw away the key! There is no way that
you will be able to resist the urge to spill your guts now.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
***
Someone you work with or see every day is going through some
heavy issues in their personal life and its start to affect their
demeanour. Their dramas are causing them to get distracted,
which is understandable, but it’s also creating more stress.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
****
Today you will start to move into a more inward time, where
reflecting on your life will feel valuable and even a little bit fun. You
should be more deliberate about figuring out where you want to
go, what you want to do, and who you want to do it with.
DILBERT
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT
AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)
****
You have done a good job of surrounding yourself with people
who are more grounded than you are, and this will help you
immensely when you are faced with challenges today. Turn to
these people and let them take the lead in reacting.
PISCES (February 19-March 20)
***
Achieving effective communication could be a problem for you
today—the people you’ll be dealing with are not patient enough to
listen with any great concentration, and they aren’t smart enough
to hide their distraction.
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
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F
M
Man to his wife: “Do you know what our six year old son wants to be once
he’s big?”
Wife: “No.” Man: “A garbage man. And you know why?” Wife: “No, why?”
Man: “Because he thinks they only work on Tuesdays.”
nnn
The magical golden fish agreed to grant three men a wish each. The first
man wished for a room full of gold. The second man wished for a room full
of diamonds. The third man wished for keys to those rooms.
nnn
Father buys a lie detector that makes a loud beep whenever somebody
lies around it. The son comes home in the afternoon. Father asks him, “So,
you were at school today, right?” Son: “Yeah.” Detector: “Beep. “ Son: “OK,
OK, I was in a cinema.” Detector: “Beep.” Son: “Alright, I went for a beer
with my friends.” Father: “What?! At your age, I wouldn’t touch alcohol! “
Detector: “Beep.” Mother laughs: “Ha ha ha, well, he really is your son!”
Detector: “Beep.”
5:00Bhaktisur/
AmritBani
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JyotishManthan
6:40Skyshop
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12:00 Call Kantipur
1:00 Kantipur News
1:30Uddhyam
2:30Feature
3:00Kantipur
Samachar
3:30Sarokar
4:30Uddhyam
00:00 Non-stop Hindi
songs
01:00 Non -stop Nepali
Pop/Adhunik songs
02:00 Non- stop Bhajan
05:00 Bhakti Anusthan
06:30 Kantipur Diary
07:00 The Headliners
07:30 Kanuni Bahas ra
Paramarsha
08:05 Jump Start
09:15 Traffic Update
09:20
10:00
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16:05 Kantipur All Qure
17:05Sangalo
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18:55Khoj
19:00 Loud (X-treme
Show)
20:05 Show Time
21:30 Kaljayi Geet Sangeet
23:00 Global Connection
Glamour N Guff
Kantipur Diary
Music & More
Kamtipur Diary
Filmi Parade
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Jeevan Sathi
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Ke Chha Nepal
Kantipur Diary
Ke Chha Nepal
Kantipur Diary
Shrejana Ka
Samjhana Haru
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 3D
QFX LABIM Mall: 09:00/11:30/12:00/15:00/18:00/19:15
QFX Kumari: 08:15/11:15/14:15/19:30
QFX Civil Mall: 09:00: 12:15/15:30/18:45
F
I
L
M
S
SUCIDE SQUAD
QFX Jai Nepal: 15:15
QFX Civil Mall: 16:15
DISHOOM
QFX Civil Mall: 12:15/15:15/18:30
QFX Jai Nepal: 12:00/18:15
QFX LABIM Mall: 13:30/16:30
QFX Kumari: 15:00
LIGHTS OUT
QFX LABIM Mall: 11:15/14:45/19:30
QFX Kumari: 12:00/17:15
QFX Civil Mall: 14:15/19:15
SUNTALI LAI BHAGAI
LAGYO JHILKELEY
QFX Civil Mall: 11:15
QFX Kumari: 18:15
ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE
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: [email protected]
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
[email protected]
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
sports digest
CSA bans four
over match fixing
JOHANNESBURG: Cricket
South Africa said on
Monday it had banned
four players for involvement in match fixing
practices during 2015.
The banned players were
named as Jean Symes,
Pumelela Matshikwe,
Ethy Mbhalati and
Thami Tsolekile, the former South African Test
wicketkeeper. Tsolekile,
who received a 12-yearban, is said to have failed
to disclose to the authorities “details of an
approach to engage in
corrupt conduct in the
2015 RAM slam.
Matshikwe were both
banned for 10 years,
while Symes got seven
years. (AFP)
Tuesday,August9,2016
O’Keefe fined for hotel incident
Head gets call-up for one dayers
Australian Test spinner Stephen O’Keefe has been
fined under Cricket Australia’s code of behaviour after
he was involved in an incident at a hotel over the
weekend, CA said on Monday. O’Keefe, who returned
early from Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka with a hamstring injury, allegedly abused police, security staff
and managers at The Steyne Hotel while intoxicated.
Left-handed batsman Travis Head was Monday added
to the Australia one-day squad for the five-match
series in Sri Lanka starting August 21. The 22-year-old,
who is currently playing for Yorkshire in England’s
county championship, will join the Test team in the Sri
Lankan capital Colombo on Tuesday ahead of the third
and final game.
Wall ends long wait for title
England’s Anthony Wall beat Alex Noren of
Sweden to win his second European Tour
title at the Paul Lawrie Match Play on
Sunday. Wall overcame a slow start and eventually secured a one-up win over Noren. The
Swede had quickly gone two up but Wall came
back to level the contest at the long sixth.
Ibra lands first title for Man Utd
Where would
Pogba fit in?
Agence France-Presse
London, Aug 8
West Ham sign
Masuaku
LONDON: West Ham
United have signed leftback Arthur Masuaku
from Olympiakos
Piraeus on a four-year
contract, the Premier
League side confirmed
on Monday. The 22-yearold won the Greek
Superleague last season,
his second successive
title since moving to
Olympiakos from
Valenciennes in 2014.
The Lille-born defender,
who moves for an undisclosed fee, has represented France at youth level
and described moving to
West Ham as an “honour”. “For me, the
Premier League is the
biggest league in the
world,” Masuaku told the
club website. (REUTERS)
Cole late goal
rescues Galaxy
LOS ANGELES: Ashley
Cole scored in the 89th
minute to give the Los
Angeles Galaxy a 2-2
draw with the New York
Red Bulls on Sunday.
Gonzalo Veron put the
Red Bulls ahead in the
68th minute and Sean
Davis looked to have
sealed the win six minutes later when he put
the visitors 2-0 up.
However, Steven Gerrard
set up Mike Magee in the
80th minute to give the
Galaxy hope before Cole
snatched the late equaliser as Los Angles extended their unbeaten run to
eight matches. (REUTERS)
n Manchester United players celebrate after winning the Community Shield at the Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday.
Reuters
London, Aug 8
Manchester United’s new
striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s
struck late to ensure Jose
Mourinho’s reign got off to a
winning start as the FA Cup
holders beat champions
Leicester City 2-1 in the
Community
Shield
at
Wembley on Sunday.
Ibrahimovic leapt above
Foxes captain Wes Morgan in
the 83rd minute to head
Antonio Valencia’s cross
beyond goalkeeper Kasper
Schmeichel, the Swede marking his official debut with a
decisive contribution and
securing United a record 21st
Shield. Leicester’s England
Gabriel hurt in
win over City
GOTHENBURG: Arsenal
face an anxious wait
over the fitness of
Gabriel after the defender was stretchered off in
Sunday’s 3-2 victory over
Manchester City in a
pre-season friendly in
Sweden. Sergio Aguero
gave City a first-half lead
in Gothenburg, but
Arsenal struck back with
goals from Alex Iwobi,
Theo Walcott and Chuba
Akpom before Kelechi
Iheanacho netted a late
consolation. However, an
injury to Gabriel in the
closing stages could see
the Brazilian ruled out
of the start of the new
Premier League season
along with long-term
absentee Per
Mertesacker. (AFP)
community shield
with the club, started brightly,
with Wayne Rooney and
Ibrahimovic forming a lively
forward pairing. “It feels
good,” Ibrahimovic said. “The
first official game, we play for
a trophy and we win. I’m
super happy,” added the former Juventus, Inter Milan,
Barcelona and PSG striker.
“Hopefully I can win much
more than this.”
Another of United’s new
signings, Eric Bailly, made an
encouraging start, although
he was regularly tested by
Vardy. Leicester threatened
on the break, and Vardy’s fine
interplay with Shinji Okazaki
saw the latter send a lofted
shot just wide of David De
Gea’s goal in the 18th minute.
Okazaki was then denied by
the crossbar a minute later
when
he
met
Marc
Albrighton’s corner with a
powerful header as the
Premier League champions
threatend United’s goal.
However, it was Lingard,
whose sublime volley settled
the FA Cup final against
Crystal Palace in May, who
opened the scoring when he
slalomed past a quartet of
attempted challenges before
firing a low shot beyond
Schmeichel. The pace and
movement of Leicester’s halftime substitute Ahmed Musa
unsettled United and Vardy
soon equalised, latching on to
a blind back pass from Fellaini
before rounding De Gea and
finishing into an empty net.
Schmeichel was forced out
of his area to snuff out a pair
of
United
attacks
as
Mourinho’s side pushed for a
winner, while Musa missed
the chance to become an
instant hero at his new club
when he sent an effort onto
the roof of the net. Ultimately,
it was former Sweden striker
Ibrahimovic who made the
difference. Having vowed to
win a trophy in his first match
with United, he duly did so by
rising to meet Valencia’s cross
and deliver the first silverware of the Mourinho era.
Klopp explains Sun boycott Knox wins, Furyk makes history
Berlin, Aug 8
Vermaelen goes
Roma for medical
BARCELONA: Barcelona
defender Thomas
Vermaelen has travelled
to Italy to undergo a
medical with AS Roma,
the Spanish champions
confirmed on Sunday.
The Belgium international, who featured for
the national side as they
reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, joined
Barcelona from Arsenal
in 2014. The 30-year-old
centre back’s time in
Spain has been beset by
injuries but he still featured in Barcelona’s
title-winning campaigns
of 2015 and 2016. (REUTERS)
forward Jamie Vardy had
equalised early in the second
half after capitalising on a
hideous lapse from Marouane
Fellaini following Jesse
Lingard’s superb solo opener
for United just past the halfhour mark.
“It’s an important victory
but we have lots of work to
do,” Mourinho said after the
traditional curtain-raiser to
English season. “I wouldn’t be
ambitious if I said it was a
fantastic performance. It
wasn’t. It’s always important
to start with a trophy.”
United, who confirmed in
an official statement before
the match that Juventus have
given midfielder Paul Pogba
permission to have a medical
AP
With Paul Pogba poised to
complete his record-breaking return to Manchester
United, manager Jose
Mourinho must figure out
how best to fit the France
midfielder
into
his
star-studded starting XI.
Pogba
excelled
at
Juventus on the left-hand
side of midfield in a 4-3-3
formation, but Mourinho
appears set to adopt a 4-2-3-1
system in his first season at
Old Trafford. It would
oblige Pogba to adopt a
deeper position, which
could
compromise
Mourinho’s ability to get
the very best out of him.
“Used in the right way in
this United team, Pogba’s
long-range shooting and
ability to get into the box
will make him a massive
threat,”
says
former
Liverpool midfielder Danny
Murphy, now a BBC pundit.
“He could be the difference between United winning the title or not.” Pogba
is closing in on a reported
£89 million ($116.4 million)
return to the club he left in
2012. The 23-year-old wore
the coveted no 10 shirt in
his final season at Juventus,
but he will have to earn the
right to be considered the
chief creative talent at
United. Wayne Rooney is
due to start the season in
the no 10 role. New signing
Henrikh Mkhitaryan can
also play as a central playmaker and Mourinho has
further options in the shape
of Spanish midfielders
Juan Mata and Ander
Herrera.
In any case, as Oualid
Tanazefti, the man who
brought Pogba to his first
club, Le Havre, told French
sports daily L’Equipe during Euro 2016: “Number 10
is really not his position.”
Were Mourinho to make
putting Pogba in his optimum position a priority, by
reverting to a 4-3-3 system,
it would create dilemmas
elsewhere in the team.
Mourinho has already
vowed Rooney will not play
in midfield, as he has for
England, so a move to 4-3-3
would leave the United
skipper vying with Zlatan
Ibrahimovic for the lone
striker’s role.
Pogba’s
principal
strengths — dribbling, passing and long-range shooting
— depend on him having
the freedom to get forward.
He provided a league-leading 12 assists in Serie A last
season, but France coach
Didier Deschamps struggled to find the right role
for him during Euro 2016.
Pogba’s
coach
at
Juventus, Massimiliano
Allegri, believes that he
will end up playing as a
holding midfielder, but not
for a few years yet. When
Pogba left United four years
ago, it was because his path
to the first team was barred
by players like Michael
Carrick, Paul Scholes, Ryan
Giggs and Park Ji-Sung.
Now it is he who will be
putting squad-mates in the
shade.
n Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp
says he will no longer speak to
reporters from The Sun after
the British tabloid carried an
article about the private life
of defender Dejan Lovren.
The tabloid published a
detailed article about how
Croatia international Lovren
missed June’s European
championships in an attempt
to save his marriage. Klopp
says he will no longer answer
any questions directly from
The Sun reporters, for an
indefinite period, as Liverpool
prepare to start their Premier
League season at Arsenal this
Sunday. “I think that in life —
no matter how much of a public figure the person is — there
are things which should
remain private,” said Klopp
after Liverpool were trashed
4-0 at Mainz in a friendly.
“Sometimes things must
have consequences. I thought
to myself, there are eight million newspapers, so what if I
don’t speak to some...” Klopp’s
stance against The Sun first
came to light on Saturday
after Liverpool beat Barcelona
4-0 at Wembley when he
refused to answer a reporter’s
question. “I don’t talk with
The Sun anymore,” Klopp,
who took charge of Liverpool
last October, told the reporter
in a press conference at
Wembley.
“It’s not personal. You’re
still working for The Sun,
right? That’s it. You can listen
and you can write what you
want.” Klopp’s stance will go
down well with Reds fans in
Liverpool, where the tabloid
remains unpopular because
of it’s coverage of the
Hillsborough disaster.
travellers championship
REUTERS/AFP
Los Angeles, Aug 8
Scotland’s Russell Knox sank
a 12-foot par putt at the final
hole to beat Jerry Kelly by one
stroke and win the Travelers
Championship in Connecticut
on Sunday.
Knox carded a closing 68 to
finish at 14-under-par 266 at
River Highlands in Cromwell.
The
31-year-old
from
Inverness got up-and-down
from a greenside bunker at
the final hole to edge
American veteran Kelly (64),
who watched on from a television in the scoring trailer. It is
the second PGA Tour victory
for Knox, who broke through
by winning the WGC-HSBC
Champions tournament in
Shanghai in November.
Knox’s victory came a few
hours after American Jim
Furyk had shot a record
n Russell Knox
12-under 58, the lowest round
in PGA Tour history. The performance vaulted Furyk into
a tie for fifth at 11-under, three
shots behind Knox. The former US Open winner Furyk
bettered the previous record
of 59 which had been shot six
times, including by Furyk
himself.
“There are a lot of rounds
by a lot of great players ahead
of me that have never reached
58. So to hold it on the PGA
Tour is phenomenal,” Furyk
said. Furyk two-putted on the
18th green after setting the
nine-hole record with an
eight-under 27. He shot a 31 on
the back nine in his closing
round. Furyk also shot the
most recent 59 on the Tour at
the 2013 BMW Championship.
Furyk, who finished tied for
fifth, described his closing
round as a grinding, mental
struggle. Furyk made six birdies and an eagle through his
first nine holes of this historic round. He added birdies at
the 10th, 11th and 12th. A birdie at the 12th hole was his
seventh straight and he finished with a two-foot par putt
on 18.
e n g l a n d - pa k i s ta n t e s t s
Cook’s boys have ‘further to go’ after crucial win over Pak
Birmingham, Aug 8
England captain Alastair Cook
insisted his side had “further to
go” after a win over Pakistan at
Edgbaston gave them a chance to
top the world Test rankings before
the end of their home season.
The hosts had it all to do after
conceding a first-innings lead of
103 runs at Midlands county
Warwickshire’s headquarters.
However, showing admirable resilience, England recovered to win
the third Test by 141 runs on
Sunday to go 2-1 up with one to
play ahead of the series finale at
The Oval starting on Thursday.
Victory in south London will see
England back on top of the
International Cricket Council’s
Test rankings for the first time
since 2012 provided India do not
win the last two Tests of their
n England players celebrate a Pakistani wicket during the fifth day of their third Test in Birmingham on Sunday.
ongoing series in the West Indies.
Not that Cook was getting carried away by the prospect. “If we
do win at The Oval, I wouldn’t say
we are anywhere near our potential,” he said. “If we become number one there, that’s fantastic —
but it will be a bit of an irrelevance, because this side has still
got much further to go. I thought
that might come in a couple of
years’ time.”
England were behind in the
game until Cook (66) and Alex
AP
Hales (54) wiped out the first-innings deficit with their first century stand as a Test-match opening
pair. Joe Root (62) helped consolidate England’s recovery before
Jonny Bairstow (83) and Moeen
Ali (86 not out) took the match
away from Pakistan in Saturday’s
last session. Their sixth-wicket
partnership of 152 eventually
ended shortly before Cook
declared early in Sunday’s play
with England 445 for six.
“Everyone responded, and I
think this side might have just
toughened up a little bit,” said
Cook. Pakistan were left needing
an unlikely 343 to win but a draw
was a distinct possibility when
they reached lunch on 69 for one.
But their hopes of saving the
game were all but ended shortly
before tea by the loss of their last
four recognised batsmen for just
one run in 23 balls as England’s
pacemen made the most of the
slight reverse swing on offer.
“We were never leading it — but
then, when we got our chance yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, Mo
and ‘Bluey’ (Bairstow) put the
pressure on them,” said Cook.
What pleased Cook most, however, was seeing his side win from
an unpromising position. “This is
the first one in a while we’ve been
behind and fought back.”
Meanwhile Pakistan captain
Misbah-ul-Haq, one of the quartet
of batsmen who succumbed in the
pre-tea collapse, said: “Until lunch
it was easy, nothing happening.
But after lunch they got it reversing, and we were not having any
clue.” However, he added: “The
good thing is this match is gone.
We have one game left - we can
win it and square the series —
that’s what we have to think.”
This was Pakistan’s second
heavy defeat in as many matches
following their 330-run reverse in
the second Test at Old Trafford
and again demonstrated how an
attack featuring just four frontline
bowlers can tire badly in the latter
stages.
C M Y K
(C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053
thekathmandu post
Phelps grabs more glory
n US swimming legend wins 19th Olympic gold n Argentine Del Potro knocks out world No 1 Novak Djokovic
12
Kelmendi makes
history with first
gold for Kosovo
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 8
US swimming legend Michael
Phelps earned adulation on
Sunday when he extended his
record gold medal tally on a
day of Olympic drama that
saw world records, a first title
for Kosovo and a heart-stopping crash.
Phelps, the most decorated
Olympian of all time, inspired
the United States to victory in
the 4x100m freestyle relay
before he starts his personal
campaign. For two-time doping offender Yulia Efimova of
Russia, the situation could
hardly be more different. She
was jeered in the heats and
will be going for medal honours in the 100m women’s
breaststroke with more verbal
abuse likely to accompany her
efforts.
Tempers frayed at the Rio
Olympic swimming competition as athletes tore into the
24-year-old Efimova after she
won her breaststroke semi-final. The Russian, who was
cleared to compete in Rio after
a convoluted drugs case, triggered a chorus of boos when
she was introduced and after
the race as rival swimmers
made their feelings known in
no uncertain terms. But it was
a day of unadulterated delight
for Phelps, the 31-year-old who
has now won 19 gold medals
after the relay win ahead of
defending champions France
in silver, with Australia third.
Phelps, who came out of
retirement for one last crack
at the Olympics, will be in the
The younger guys started
crying, I started crying.
My last 400 free relay ever,
it feels damn
good to get a win
– Michael Phelps
n (From left) Swimmer Michael Phelps kisses gold medal after helping US win the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina
celebrates after winning his match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at Olympic Tennis Centre. Djokovic is left into tears following his early exit in Rio de Janeiro.
200m butterfly heats next having seen the relay display cap
a superb night of swimming
with three world records broken. Katie Ledecky obliterated her own world best in the
400m freestyle on her way to
gold. The 19-year-old touched
the wall in 3min 56.46sec, taking nearly two seconds off her
previous record.
Ledecky is bidding to
become the first Olympian
since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to
win the 200m, 400m and 800m
free in the same Games.
Britain’s Adam Peaty took
more than 1.5sec off the men’s
100m breaststroke world
record after Sweden’s Sarah
Sjostrom also broke the record
in the women’s race. “It’s surreal. It was crazy. It’s amazing
and I probably won’t be able to
sleep tonight,” Peaty said.
The spellbinding action in
the pool brought the curtain
down on an intense day of
sport with 14 gold medals
shared out. Among the most
popular winners was the
hard-as-nails judoka Majlinda
Kelmendi from Kosovo, taking
part in its first Games after
only gaining Olympic status
in 2014.
The day began with strong
winds wreaking havoc at several Olympic venues. The
entire day of rowing was
called off and strong winds
also delayed the tennis, which
saw a slew of upsets when
action resumed. The biggest
casualty was world No 1
Novak Djokovic, bounced out
7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) in the opening round of the men’s singles
by Argentina’s Juan Martin
del Potro. It was an unexpected win for del Potro, who has
struggled with wrist injuries
in recent years.
“It was an amazing match
for me. I didn’t expect to win
tonight as I know the situation with my wrist,” he said.
In the women’s doubles, Venus
and Serena Williams’ long
reign as champions came
PHOTOS: AFP/REUTERS
to an end when they lost to
Czech duo Lucie Safarova
and Barbora Strycova in the
first round.
The women’s cycling road
race was won by Anna van der
Breggen, who overcame the
shock of seeing team-mate
Annemiek van Vleuten lying
stricken on the road after a
horrific crash to win gold on
Copacabana beach. Van
Vleuten was taken to intensive care with cracked vertebrae.
Majlinda Kelmendi made history at the Rio Games on
Sunday as she took gold in
judo to become the first athlete from Kosovo to win an
Olympic medal, a feeling she
said she would not trade for
any amount of money in the
world.
Rio marks the first
Olympics at which athletes
are competing under the flag
of Kosovo, which proclaimed
independence from Serbia in
2008. Many competitors from
the small Balkan country,
which was accepted as a member of the International
Olympic Committee in 2014,
had previously participated
under another country’s flag
including Kelmendi herself.
The twice world champion,
who was Kosovo’s flag bearer
at Friday’s opening ceremony
and was competing in the
-52kg category, represented
Albania at the London Games
in 2012 but went home without
a medal that time.
“I have lived four years for
this day, for this moment, and
I felt so happy there at the
podium when I saw my flag
and when I heard my anthem,”
she told reporters. Kelmendi
refused many offers to compete for other countries.
“There is no money in the
world, no millions in the
world which can make me feel
how I feel today,” she said.
Kelmendi described her
semi-final match with third
n Kelmendi
seed Misato Nakamura, which
she won on a single penalty, as
her toughest of the day, calling her Japanese opponent a
legend who she had always
wanted to fight.
But to claim gold she also
had to overcome 10th seed
Odette Giuffrida from Italy in
a tense duel, winning on a
point from a yuko that was
initially judged to be a more
valuable waza-ari. Nakamura
and
Russia’s
Natalia
Kuziutina
won
bronze.
Tensions persist between
Kosovo and Serbia, which has
not recognised Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
Serbia has reportedly
advised its athletes in Rio to
withdraw from any medal ceremonies if they have to share
the podium with athletes from
Kosovo, although there were
no Serbian judokas participating on Sunday. Kosovo won
further sporting recognition
in May when it was accepted
as a member of soccer’s world
governing body Fifa.
RIO OFFBEAT
Snorts of derision
Brazilian football fans at the Olympic
stadium took the chance to poke fun at
eternal rivals Argentina, evoking their
age-old debate over who’s the best player, Pele or Maradona. A chant of “Pele
scored more than 1,000 goals...
Maradona just snorted cocaine,” rang
around the stadium as supporters
entertained
themselves
during
Portugal’s 2-1 win over Honduras.
Three-time World Cup winner Pele had
been the favourite to light the Olympic
flame at Friday’s opening ceremony
before having to rule himself out to due
health issues.
Life at the sharp end
South Korea’s ace archer Ki Bo-Bae
gave an insight into her dedication
when she revealed that her sport was
the last thing she thought of at night.
Ki, who is aiming to become the first
archer to retain an individual Olympic
title, said she thought such devotion
was necessary to stay at the top of her
sport. “When it’s time for me to sleep, I
always think about archery,” she said.
“That is why I can stay on top.” In South
Korea, competition is intense in the
archery world, and Ki was the only competitor to retain her place in the team
from 2012.
Friendly confidence
Daria Gavrilova thanked her friend,
Australian boxer Shelly Watts, for a
rare vote of confidence before she faced
Serena Williams. “We were joking
around. She’s like ‘who do you play’ and
I said ‘Serena’ and she’s like ‘that’s awesome, you’re gonna beat her’. I said that
you’re the first one to say that. Everyone
else was saying ‘oh, I’m so sorry’. I was
getting so annoyed.” Watts’ confidence
was misplaced, as Williams beat the
naturalised Aussie 6-4, 6-2.
‘Man bun’ is top notch
British gymnast Louis Smith is not
horsing around as he bids for Olympic
gold in Rio. The 27-year-old won bronze
at Beijing 2008 and silver at London 2012
on the pommel horse, his speciality, and
will be hoping to complete his set of
Olympic medals in Rio. One significant
talking point, however, has been his
hair. “People are calling it a man bun. I
don’t call it anything, I just tie it up,”
said Smith, a 2012 winner of television
show Strictly Come Dancing, of his
hair style. “I was growing it and I hadn’t
put any hair spray in it for training so it
was flopping around everywhere. I went
to one of the girls and asked for a hairband and I just tied it up. I caught
myself in a mirror and though, ‘it looks
all right’ so I’ve just been doing this
every day as it’s so convenient. You get
out of the shower, tie it up and it’s done.
Before I had to condition it, had to
straighten it, had to hair spray it back.”
Brazil on brink of more home
humiliation after Iraq draw
Results
Brazil face another embarrassing exit from a tournament on home soil after
Neymar slumbered through a
second 0-0 draw of Rio 2016
against Iraq.
The Olympic hosts need to
beat group leaders Denmark
on Wednesday to win to avoid
a stunning exit, just two years
after their devastating 7-1
World Cup defeat by Germany.
Neymar was expected to ease
Brazilian football’s wounded
pride by delivering a first ever
Olympic gold. However, the
Barcelona star was eclipsed.
And just as in their opening
stalemate against South
Africa, Brazil were booed
from the field in Brasilia on
Sunday as they paid for their
profligacy in front of goal.
“We didn’t manage to play our
football,” said Brazil coach
Rogerio Micale, who apologised to the expectant
Brazilian public.
“Today we had a lot of support and only at the end were
there boos. We apologise to
the fans, to the people of
Brasilia who filled the stadium to support the team, but
we didn’t manage to give
n Brazil’s Neymar heads the ball during their Group A match against
Iraq at the Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia on Sunday.
them a response.”
Portugal and Nigeria were
the first sides to seal their
places in the quarter-finals
with victories over Honduras
and Sweden respectively.
There were also wins for
Argentina, Denmark and
Mexico. In contrast to his display against South Africa
when he was labelled
“greedy”, Neymar was a
peripheral figure against Iraq
and lost his cool when he fired
the ball at Sherko Kareem in
the second-half as the Iraqi
prevented him from taking a
quick free-kick.
Atletico Madrid’s Angel
Correa scored and set up
Group A
Denmark
Brazil
Group B
Sweden
Japan
Group C
Fiji
Germany
Group D
Honduras
Argentina
1-0 South Africa
0-0Iraq
0-1Nigeria
2-2Colombia
1-5Mexico
3-3 South Korea
1-2Portugal
2-1Algeria
AFP/rss
Jonathan Calleri’s winner as
10-man Argentina got their
challenge for a third Olympic
gold back on track with a 2-1
win over Algeria in Rio.
Argentina
coach
Julio
Olarticoechea was put in
charge for the Games just
weeks before their opening 2-0
defeat
to
Portugal.
Olarticoechea took over from
Gerardo Martino who quit
after a second Copa America
final defeat to Chile in as
many years.
It was Calleri who bundled
home the winner 20 minutes
from time. Argentina still
need to beat Honduras in their
final Group D game on
Wednesday to qualify for the
quarter-finals. Portugal are
assured of their place in the
last eight after beating
Honduras 2-1.
World champions Germany
also dug themselves out of
trouble as a stoppage-time
equaliser from Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry salvaged a
thrilling 3-3 draw against
South Korea in Salvador.
Germany lie in third place in
Group C, two points behind
Mexico and South Korea.
Defending champions Mexico
needed a second-half fightback to stave off one of the
biggest shocks in Olympic
football history to beat Fiji 5-1.
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: [email protected], Regd. No. 32/048/049, Chairman & Managing Director : Kailash Sirohiya, Director : Swastika Sirohiya, Editor-in-Chief : Akhilesh Upadhyay
money
kathmandupost
the
F ORE X
cross currency
US Dollar
USDEUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR
INR 66.823074.0670 0.6524 87.2230 68.0470 50.7478 51.0240
GBP0.7666 0.8493 0.0075
JPY 102.4400113.5700
EUR0.9022
USD
finance&economy
0.6244
0.7794 0.5829 0.5845 0.0115 0.0072
133.3333 104.2800 77.6800
78.2000 1.5328 0.0956
0.0088 1.1774 0.9185 0.6851 0.6883 0.0135 0.0084
1.1084 0.0098 1.3045 1.0191
107.68
Euro118.79
NR 107.1800118.900010.4600 139.7800 109.2600 81.4400 81.7900 1.6015
0.7608 0.7634 0.0150 0.0093
How to read the table
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
141.72
Japanese Yen
109.35
Chinese Yuan
80.57
Qatari Riyal
29.43
Australian Dollar
81.79
Malaysian Ringit
26.54
Saudi Arab Riyal
28.58
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
TUESDAY,AUGUST 9, 2016 (25-04-2073) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
P’pine bank used in B’desh heist wins shareholder help
Page III A Philippine bank used by cyber criminals to channel $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh
central bank won support from a top shareholder on Monday after being penalised by its regulator.
Nepse suffers highest single-day loss
Inside
NRB lifts controls on
five more currencies
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has allowed
banks and financial institutions
(BFIs) to sell the Swedish kroner,
Danish kroner, Hong Kong dollar,
Kuwaiti dinar and Bahrain dinar
from Monday. Previously, they could
only buy these currencies but not sell
them. The central bank moved to
eliminate controls on these currencies in line with the new monetary
policy. It has been fixing the buying
rates of these currencies only. “As we
have been witnessing a shortage of
US dollar bills for the last few years,
we decided to allow sales of these currencies too to reduce the demand
pressure on the greenback,” said
Bhisma Raj Dhungana. Pg: II
Worse-than-expected July
trade disappoints China
China’s economy, the world’s second
largest, struggled in July with a
worse-than-expected trade performance as imports plunged 12.5 percent year-on-year, Customs said
Monday. Imports fell to $132.4 billion,
data showed, as weaker global commodity prices and lacklustre domestic
demand weighed on purchases. The
drop in imports was significantly
larger than expectations for a 7pc fall,
the median forecast in a survey of
economists by Bloomberg News. Pg: III
German exporters
say yet to see big
payday from
Iran trade
n Amid panic selling, investors lose Rs98 billion on the day n Nepse imposes the circuit breaker two hours into trading
PRAHLAD RIJAL
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
As panic selling gripped the investors,
the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index
fell by whopping 88.81 points--the highest
single day loss--on Monday. With the
market reeling under a strong selling
pressure, investors lost Rs98 billion on
the day.
With the market on a free-fall, Nepse
was forced to impose the circuit breaker,
just two hours into the trading. The circuit breaker system is applicable in
three stages of the index movement
either way at 3 percent, 4 percent and 5
percent. With more than five percent
fluctuation in the Nepse index, the trading was suspended for the rest of the day
It was a black Monday at Nepse as all
the trading groups, except the manufacturing, saw a steep decline. The insurance sector was the worst hit losing
537.84 points, followed by the finance
companies, the commercial banks and
others. Nepse index that opened at
1764.74 points on Monday closed at
1675.91 points.
Stock analysts point to multiple factors for the current situation. According
to them, influx of new investors looking
for high returns, profit booking by big
players, rumours of capital increment of
insurance companies and micro-finance
institutions (MFIs), overpricing of
stocks along with regulator’s move
to probe black money in stock market influenced the market.
The proposed capital increment plan
of the financial institutions and insurance companies was one of the reasons
for the bullish run at Nepse. Stocks of
the insurance companies and the MFIs
surged dramatically over the past year,
with the investors going on a buying
spree. However, they suffered a jolt when
the central bank did not make any
announcement regarding the capital
increment for the MFIs in the new monetary policy. This led to a steep fall in the
prices of MFIs stocks.
“The market is currently in a panic
mode and many of the new investors are
losing confidence as the index continues
to fall,” said Atma Ram Ghimire, president of Investors’ Forum.
Some of the analysts define the bearish run in the last eight trading days as
market correction. “Many of the stocks
were overpriced and a correction was
i n e v i t a - ble,” said Prakash Tiwari,
financial analyst at Hathway
Nepal, an investment
company.
According to Tiwari,
the market is currently
ending its bull cycle as
the dividend payout
capacity and the effects
of right and bonus
share allocation have
started to fizzle.
The influx of new investors, according to stock analyst Rabindra Bhattarai,
was the reason why Nepse surged by
over 600 points in a relative short period.
“The market lost 10 percent in the last
two weeks because of these new investors who panicked when the stock prices
started to slide,” said Bhattarai.
Recent comments from the Securities
Kathmandu: Amid accusations that it
has been repeatedly influencing investors, Sebon on Thursday requested
investors for calm and not to lose confidence.
“Keeping in mind the publication of
financial statements by listed companies and fair profit posted, investors
are requested to conduct fundamental
and technical analyses and take
rational investment decisions,” Sebon
said in a statement.
It, however, downplayed the accusations regarding influencing the securities market, saying that the board has
always performed its duties while letting the market philosophy guide the
market.
“The board has always suggested
the investors to base their decisions
after undergoing a study of market
condition, reforms and various
aspects of the listed companies,” the
statement added. (PR)
Board of Nepal (Sebon) also stoked fear
and dented investors’ confidence, say
some analysts.
Amid bullish run, Sebon has been
consistently warning the investors
to exercise caution while making
investments.
It also formed a committee to probe
alleged inflow of illicit money into the
capital market.
“Regulatory authorities should not
pass statements that influence the market trajectory. While they have right to
guide the market, they should stop
micro-managing it,” an analyst added.
Nepse in last two weeks
Date
July 27
July 28
July 31
Aug 1
Aug 2
Aug 3
Aug 4
Aug 7
Aug 8
Nepse Index
1881.45
1877.93
1862.76
1845.41
1826.47
1813.72
1768.6
1764.72
1675.91
Movement (Pts)
+14.95 (all time high)
-3.52
-15.17
-17.35
-18.94
-12.75
-45.12
-3.88
-88.81
‘Allow importing smaller
units of gold to banks’
earthquake-resistant chimney
RAJESH KHANAL
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BERLIN, AUG 8
A hoped-for export bonanza has failed to
materialise a year after a deal to lift international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, a German industry association told AFP Monday.
“Despite increased foreign trade, there is
a certain disillusionment,” Volker Treier,
chief economist at the German Chambers
of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), said.
German exports to Iran had increased 11
percent in the first four months of 2016 to
890 million euros ($985 million), and likely
stood at over one billion euros in the first six
months, Treier said. That leaves a lot of
ground to make up if firms are to match
DIHK forecasts of 5.0 billion euros of
exports annually within three years of the
deal, mounting to 10 billion euros within
five years. “There is definitely headroom for
expansion,” Treier acknowledged, although
he rejected any suggestion that German
firms might be disappointed with performance so far. Growth could be even more
vigorous in the second half of the year, he
went on. In the long-negotiated deal struck
last July, the United States, Britain, France,
Germany, Russia and China agreed to lift
some economic sanctions against Iran in
exchange for the Islamic republic curbing
its nuclear programme.
German carmakers and machine-tool
builders were among the firms most avid to
leap into the new market, where their products had been sought-after rarities until the
deal came into force in January.
“Of course the expectations were high
that trade with Iran would return to where
it was in the old days,” Treier said, but
“we’re far removed from that”.
Sebon calls for calm
n A newly
built chimney at a brick kiln in Bhaktapur. After last year’s earthquake, brick kilns have started building
quake-resistant chimneys. POST PHOTO: SURBINDRA KUMAR PUN
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has
asked the Commerce Ministry
to allow banks to import
smaller units of gold as they
have been left with a huge
quantity of unsold stock.
Banks have been importing
1-kilo gold bars, but bullion
traders want smaller units as
they can’t buy 1 kg of gold at
one time. A 1-kilo gold bar cost
Rs5.05 million in Kathmandu’s
bullion market on Monday.
According to traders, this is
one of the reasons why banks
have been left with piles of
unsold bullion, although
cheaper smuggled gold has
largely been blamed for this
situation.
Nepali banks currently
have nearly 400 kg of unsold
gold in their vaults, said the
central bank. NRB has issued
permits to 12 commercial
banks to import up to 15 kg of
gold daily.
NRB Executive Director
Bhisma Raj Dhungana said
they wrote to the Commerce
Ministry two months ago to
allow banks to import gold in
smaller units. “As banks are
left with a huge quantity of
unsold stock, making gold
available in small units is
expected to encourage small
gold traders to buy gold from
them,” he said.
Dhungana said banks now
have 371 kg of gold in stock.
According to him, they have
been left with this massive
stock as traders weren’t interested in buying large units of
bullion. Despite the central
bank’s claim, Commerce
Ministry officials said they
were not aware of the situation. In 2009, NRB introduced
a quota system for bullion following a balance of payments
crisis due to money flowing
out of the country to pay for
gold imports. Traders have
been asking the government
to scrap the quota system.
Tej Ratna Shakya, former
president of the Federation of
Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’
Associations, said they had
also been pleading with the
government to permit banks
to import small units of gold.
According to him, they want
100 gm gold bars.
“If
the provision is
enforced, it will allow mainly
Nepali banks currently have
nearly 400 kg of unsold
gold in their vaults, says
the central bank
small traders to buy gold individually,” said Shakya. He
added that traders had been
forming groups to buy gold
jointly from banks because a
1-kilo unit is too large for
them individually.
According to traders,
demand for the yellow metal
has dropped in recent days.
Soaring bullion prices, investors switching to stocks and
the start of reconstruction
work have been cited for the
fall in demand.
“Due to these reasons,
many people have been selling
their jewellery to bullion traders,” Shakya said.
Th r e at e n i n g p o o r e s t p e o p l e
Laos’ thirst for Mekong River dams imperils fishing, farming
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHIANG KHONG, THAILAND, AUG 8
Dismissing its neighbors’ pleas,
impoverished Laos is rapidly
building a Mekong River dam
that threatens fisheries crucial to
millions of Southeast Asia’s
poorest people.
The site of the Don Sahong
dam, less than 2 kilometers (1
mile) from the Lao-Cambodian
border, is in an area famous for
spectacular waterfalls and deep
pools that is among the few habitats of the endangered Irrawaddy
dolphin. A “coffer dam” blocks
one of the Mekong’s main channels to allow construction of
the hydropower project, which
will suck in as much as half of
the river’s water during the
dry season.
Landlocked Laos is Southeast
Asia’s poorest state, and all its
neighbors far exceed its population of 7 million. But by virtue of
geography and burgeoning
Chinese influence, its secretive
authoritarian leaders wield huge,
unaccountable power over a
4,800-kilometer-long (3,000-milelong) river that begins in Tibet
and winds through six countries
before emptying into the South
China Sea.
China has built six dams on its
stretch of the Mekong since the
mid-1990s, and Laos plans nine.
Many dams have been built on
Mekong tributaries as well, and
dozens more are planned. Experts
say they are already damaging
the world’s largest inland fisheries and degrading a rice bowl
delta that helps feed Cambodia
and Vietnam, the two countries
farthest downstream. Even building a few dams on the lower
Mekong will dramatically compound the damage to a river
basin that 60 million people rely
on, according to scientific models
of dam impacts.
The Don Sahong dam “is like a
one-ton bomb above us,” said
n A file
photo shows a Laos tourist bout driver Kham Chieng waiting for
customers at tourist site in Lao territory to see the fresh Irrawaddy dolphins
near a controversial Don Sahong dam on the Mekong river, along
Cambodia-Laos borders. AP
Phoy Vanna, a tourist boat owner
and father of 10 who has joined
hundreds of other Cambodian
villagers in protests. “I cannot
predict the future of my chil-
dren,” he said. “Now we have a
job and we can survive because
tourists come to visit.”
The rest of Southeast Asia is
powerless to stop Laos. Under an
international agreement on protecting the Mekong, the country
is obliged only to consult its
neighbors through the Mekong
River Commission. Its neighbors’
positions are also complicated by
commercial ties. Thai, Chinese
and Malaysian companies are
building dams in Laos and power
companies in Thailand and
Vietnam plan to buy the electricity.
Early last year, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam all
requested that Don Sahong be
delayed to give more time to
study its possible effects. That
flurry of official communications
was already in vain. A day after
Bangkok sent its letter stamped
“urgent,” Laos informed its
neighbors through the commission that it was “pleased” to
bring consultations with them to
a close.
Don Sahong could be especially
damaging because it blocks the
major route for fish migrations
crucial to replenishing the
region’s interconnected fisheries.
The Mekong has many channels
in the area but the others are
largely blocked to upstream
migrations by rapids and waterfalls.
For all that danger, the dam
will have only a small power
capacity: 256 megawatts. Laos has
said the power will help fuel
development in the south of the
country. Overall, its plans for
nine hydro dams call for exporting most of the electricity to
Thailand and Vietnam, providing
12 percent of Thailand’s future
power and about 4 percent of
Vietnam’s.
“The government has told us
that to build this dam is to develop the country,” said Sith Mok,
an 18-year-old Lao woman who
sells soft drinks and snacks to
Western tourists. “Nobody could
dare to challenge the government
about building this project.”
Laos says new routes for fish to
swim upriver have been created
by deepening an inlet and blasting rapids. In an environmental
impact study that did not consider effects on neighboring countries, Laos says the mitigation
measures will protect fisheries.
Malaysia’s Mega First, which is
overseeing construction of the
dam but has no experience in
hydropower, has repeated those
assertions.
The company is conducting a
10-year study on the effectiveness
of mitigation measures, but final
results won’t be available until
long after the dam is built. It has
contracted China’s SinoHydro
Corp. to build the dam for $320
million.
A Mega First spokeswoman
declined to provide any data. The
office of the Lao prime minister,
the natural resources ministry
and the Lao members of the
Mekong River Commission did
not respond to requests for
comment.
C M Y K
news digest
GST will end tax
terrorism: Modi
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
said on Monday that the
Goods and Services Tax
Bill was “a very big and
important step” towards
getting the country rid
of “tax terrorism”.
Participating in the
debate in the Lok Sabha
on the amendments to
the GST Bill, Modi said
that passage of the legislation will send the message that “consumer is
the king”. Modi started
his speech by paying
tributes to freedom fighters on the eve of the
anniversary of the Quit
India movement. “As we
remember them (the
freedom fighters), the
two houses of parliament, the parliamentarians collectively are taking a very big and important step towards getting
rid of tax terrorism,”
Modi said. The Rajya
Sabha last week
unanimously passed
the Constitution
amendment bill to
pave the way for the
introduction of a pan-India Goods and Services
Tax regime. (IANS)
UK bosses win
10pc pay rises
LONDON: British company bosses won pay hikes
of ten percent last year,
creating a growing
wages gap as workers
faced restraint, a study
showed Monday. The
average pay package of a
FTSE 100 chief executive
rose to £5.48 million
($7.12 million, 6.46 million euros) in 2015, from
£4.96 million in 2014,
according to research
from the High Pay
Centre. The think-tank,
which analysed the
annual reports of
Britain’s top 100 companies, added that chief
executives were paid 140
times more than their
employees on average.
“There is apparently no
end yet in sight to the
rise and rise of FTSE 100
CEO pay packages,” said
Stefan Stern, director of
the High Pay Centre. (AFP)
money
economy
Tuesday, August 9, 2016 | thekathmandupost
NRB lifts controls on
five more currencies
shares
Nepse
moderate losers
NMB API ARDBLKBBL ICFC WOMI
-8.62%-8.62% -8.25%-8.16% -7.97% -7.96%
moderate losers
GDBL YETI SBLAHPC PCBL MFIL
-7.8% -7.79% -7.67%-7.64% -7.57% -7.52%
highest gainers
The central bank moved to eliminate controls on these
currencies in line with the new monetary policy. It has
been fixing the buying rates of these currencies only
Dhungana, executive director
of NRB.
“Now travellers
going to Sweden, Denmark,
Hong Kong, Kuwait and
Bahrain can get the currencies of these countries from
banks.”
According to central bank
officials, the provision has
been created to make life easier for the Nepali migrant population as international travel
has increased substantially.
In the past, returnee
migrants remained in the
country so there was no need
to allow banks to sell diverse
foreign currencies. “The
dynamics have now changed,
and we are liberalizing the
foreign exchange regime,”
said Basu Dev Adhikari,
director of the central bank.
In recent years, Nepali outbound has become a common
phenomenon for different
purposes, largely for foreign
employment.
According to bankers, they
cannot open nostro accounts
in currencies whose selling
rates have not been fixed. A
nostro account is an account
held by a bank in a foreign
currency in another bank.
The provision for trading
the US dollar, Euro, British
pound, Swiss franc, Australian
dollar,
Canadian
dollar,
Singapore dollar and Japanese
yen has existed for a long
time. The Chinese yuan,
Qatari rial, Thai baht,
Saudi Arabian riyal, UAE dirham, Malaysian ringgit and
South Korean won were
allowed to be traded freely
recently.
Planning Commission ‘HDFC, NTPC to
VC Khatiwada quits facilitate market’
INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
Singapore/Mumbai, Aug 8
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
n Yubaraj
Khatiwada
a new administration takes
over.
During
his
tenure,
Khatiwada said the government, in coordination with
the NPC, introduced polices to
increase the country’s self-re-
liance in food and energy,
unveiled a new budget based
on the approach paper of the
14th plan, prepared a document on sustainable development goals (SDGs) for Nepal
and held an international conference on them.
Khatiwada is considered to
be the key architect behind
the budget for the current fiscal year. Under his leadership,
the NPC had also operated as
the de facto reconstruction
authority before it was formed
to conduct the reconstruction
programme.
According to a senior NPC
official, Khatiwada had taken
a leave of absence from the
NPC on Friday.
The recent issuance of the
first offshore masala bonds by
two Indian companies recently should pave the way for a
broader opening of the market as the inaugural issuance
is likely to mitigate initial
concerns about liquidity, a
global rating agency has said.
“The masala bond market
is in its infancy, but the two
recent issues should mitigate
initial market concerns about
liquidity. That India’s first
corporate masala bonds were
issued by better-quality firms
probably helped support
investor demand and with
their relatively attractive pricing,” Fitch Ratings said in a
statement here. The inaugural
offshore masala bonds issued
by HDFC on July 14 and NTPC
on August 4 mark the first
time the Indian firms issued
rupee-denominated debt overseas. HDFC raised Rs 3,000
crore ($449 million) through
its three-year bonds, while
National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) raised Rs
2,000 crore by selling five-year
‘green’ bonds, which Fitch
rated ‘BBB-(emr)’, to support
renewable power projects.
“This will be positive for
the better-quality issuers that
are able to take advantage of
offshore capital markets to
diversify
their
funding
sources without assuming
currency risk,” the statement
said on Sunday.
Oil rises on
fresh calls
for OUTPUT
freeze
strike effects
Strike disrupts
London trains
LONDON: Rail workers
started a five-day strike
Monday on services
across southeast
England, including commuter trains into
London, causing major
disruption on what
could become the country’s longest rail walkout since 1968. The RMT
union called the
strike to protest plans to
downgrade the role of
the conductor on
Southern Trains,
causing cancellations
across the network.
Southern, which is
owned by Govia
Thameslink Railway,
said it will run 60 percent of services. RMT
general secretary
Mick Cash said there
was “rock solid”
support on the first
morning of the strike,
which, if completed,
would be the longest
industrial action on the
railways since 1968,
according to the BBC.
Currently Southern
trains require two members of staff to operate—a driver, and a conductor who checks the
doors are properly closed
at each station. (AFP)
REUTERS
LONDON , AUG 8
n
Passengers disembark a Southern train at Victoria Station in London, Britain on Monday.
REUTERS
Oil rose more on Monday,
after a report of renewed calls
by some OPEC members to
restrain output, but analysts
warned the bearish fundamentals that brought prices to
four-month lows last week
still lurked.
International benchmark
Brent futures LCOc1 were
trading at $44.87 per barrel at
1115 GMT, up 60 cents, or 1.36
percent, from their last close.
U.S.
West
Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures CLc1 were at $42.40
per barrel, up 60 cents, or 1.44
percent.
The rise came on the back
of a Wall Street Journal
report late last week about
fresh calls by some members
of the Organization of the
Petroleum
Exporting
Countries to freeze production levels in a bid to rein in
output that has consistently
outpaced demand.
Qatar’s energy minister
also said on Monday that the
oil market is on a path to
rebalancing. Still, Russia, the
world’s top oil producer and a
non-OPEC member, was quick
to dismiss calls for a freeze.
UPS AND DOWNS
Egypt wineries struggle to revive derided industry
EGYPT, AUG 8
Men and women harvest Merlot
grapes under the scorching sun in
one of Egypt’s up-and-coming vineyards, as the Muslim-majority
desert country strives to win over
international wine connoisseurs.
“It’s a great story, what we’ve
done with Egyptian wine,” said a
proud Labib Kallas, as he inspected
vines planted in reclaimed desert
land north of Cairo on a hot day in
July. For decades a single Egyptian
company produced wine that was
derided by locals and expatriates
alike, but today aficionados say the
North African country offers a variety of good white wines.
The vineyard that Kallas is visiting—which spans around 170 hectares (420 acres) some 50 kilometres
(30 miles) north of the capital—is
just one of several providing grapes
-5.03%
highest losers
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
N at i o n a l
Planning
Commission Vice-Chairman
Yubaraj
Khatiwada
has
resigned following the change
in government. The erstwhile
KP Sharma Oli administration had appointed the
former central bank governor
as the vice-chairman of the
central planning body on
Nov 4, 2015.
“I sent the resignation letter on Sunday to be effective
Monday,”
said
from
Khatiwada. “I resigned after
the change in government.”
There is a tradition of the
vice-chairman quitting when
1,675.91pts
PIC GFCL NLICFBBL SETI NBL
-9.98%-9.90% -9.47% -9.18% -8.88% -8.76%
POST REPORT
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has
allowed banks and financial
institutions (BFIs) to sell the
Swedish kroner, Danish kroner, Hong Kong dollar, Kuwaiti
dinar and Bahrain dinar from
Monday. Previously, they
could only buy these currencies but not sell them.
The central bank moved to
eliminate controls on these
currencies in line with the
new monetary policy. It has
been fixing the buying rates
of these currencies only.
“As we have been witnessing a shortage of US dollar
bills for the last few years, we
decided to allow sales of these
currencies too to reduce the
demand pressure on the
greenback,” said Bhisma Raj
II
to two companies now making wine
in Egypt.
Since the early 2000s, Kouroum of
the Nile—where Kallas heads production—and Domaine de Gianaclis
have launched an ambitious quest:
to revive the country’s wine production by importing grape varieties
from France, Italy and also Spain—
Merlot, Syrah, Viognier and
Vermentino.
Cairo’s upscale restaurants and
bars usually stock only Egyptian
wine. In a somewhat conservative
society that mostly views alcohol
negatively, authorities impose a prohibitive custom tax of 3,000 percent
on imported wine.
Originally practised in Egypt
under the pharaohs, large-scale winemaking was resurrected under
British colonialism, before the
industry started declining after the
army took over the country in a 1952
coup. Today a dozen wine varieties
With few tourists coming to Egypt
over the past six years amid
jihadist attacks, wine industry is
struggling to absorb shocks
of reds, whites and roses are available on the market.
“We’ve planted a lot of vines. We
pay a lot of attention to quality,”
said Sebastien Boudry, a French
winemaker at Domaine de
Gianaclis, near Abu al-Matamir, a
village in the Nile Delta 170 kilometres northwest of Cairo.
In 2002 the Heineken Group
acquired Gianaclis, which had been
nationalised in the 1960s.
The climate in Egypt is a challenge to winemakers.
They must account for scorching
temperatures and compensate for
the almost total absence of rain
using sophisticated irrigation systems.
“When it’s over 50 degrees, the
vines cannot do much beyond surviving—let alone produce sugars or
aromatic substances,” said Boudry,
who handles 230 hectares of vineyards. The efforts appear to have
been fruitful, with some local wines
grabbing international awards.
They are “qualitatively good, nice
and fresh,” said Jean-Baptiste
Ancelot, founder of Wine Explorers,
the world’s first inventory of
wine-producing countries.
“Not necessarily great wines, but
wines of immediate pleasure,” said
Ancelot, who visited Gianaclis in
2014.
“The whites are the most successful. You can find wines that are both
fresh and very fruity—of the exotic
fruit type: peach, pineapple, and a
little passion fruit,” said the expert.
At Kouroum of the Nile—who say
their grapes and wine are organic—
the pride of the house is the white
Beausoleil. It is the only variety
made 100 percent from Egyptian
grapes known as Banati, which in
2016 won a silver medal at the international wine contest in Brussels.
The company produces more than
two million litres annually: between
700,000 and 800,000 bottles for individuals, with the rest—more than
two thirds—distributed in bags-inboxes to Cairo hotels.
But with few tourists coming to
Egypt over the past six years amid
the bloody crackdown and jihadist
attacks that followed the 2011 uprising, the wine industry is struggling
to absorb these shocks.
“Tourism accounts for more than
70 percent of production. If the
tourists do not return, we will have
to look into exporting,” said Shaker
Nawal, marketing director at
Kouroum of the Nile.
UNL HAMRO JSLBBMMDBL
1.99%4.62%7.00% 10%
Nepal Stock Exchange
Singhadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu
August 08, 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
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76
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91
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100
101
102
103
104
105
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109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
Agriculture Development Bank Ltd
965
Alpine Development Bank Ltd
475
Api Power Company Ltd
844
Araniko Development Bank Ltd
444
Arun Valley Hydropower Development Co. Ltd
440
Asian Life Insurance Co. Ltd
1726
Barun Hydropower Co. Ltd
520
Bhargav Bikash Bank Ltd
551
Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Ltd
6200
Butwal Power Company Ltd
915
Century Commercial Bank Ltd
440
Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd
2070
Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd
1315
Citizen Bank International Ltd
715
Citizen Investment Trust
4930
Deprosc Development Bank Ltd
2900
Dev Bikas Bank Ltd
395
Everest Bank Ltd
3339
Everest Insurance Co. Ltd
2012
Excel Development Bank Ltd
749
Fewa Bikas Bank Ltd
662
First Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd
1896
Gandaki Bikas Bank Ltd
494
Global IME Bank Ltd
550
Goodwill Finance Co. Ltd
495
Guheshowori Merchant Bank & Finance Co. Ltd
410
Gurans Life Insurance Company Ltd
890
Hamro Bikas Bank Ltd
249
Himalayan Bank Ltd
1500
Himalayan General Insurance Co. Ltd
1353
ICFC Finance Ltd
411
ILFCO Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
1225
Jalabidyut Lagani tatha Bikas Co. Ltd
387
Janaki Finance Ltd
410
Janata Bank Nepal Ltd
517
Janata Bank Nepal Ltd Promoter Share
250
Janautthan Samudayic Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1008
Jebils Finance Ltd
301
Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd
790
Kailash Bikas Bank Ltd
725
Kanchan Development Bank Ltd
620
Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd
660
Karnali Development Bank Ltd
330
Kasthamandap Development Bank Ltd
491
Kisan Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
2930
Lalitpur Finance Ltd
299
Laxmi Bank Ltd
870
Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
2925
Laxmi Value Fund-1
16
Life Insurance Co. Nepal
3340
Lumbini Finance Ltd
440
Lumbini General Insurance Co. Ltd
1380
Machhapuchhre Bank Ltd
848
Mahila Sahayatra Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1480
Manjushree Financial Institution Ltd
421
Mega Bank Nepal Ltd
496
Miteri Development Bank Ltd
1085
Mount Makalu Development Bank Ltd
968
Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd
1450
Nabil Balance Fund 1
24.10
Nabil Bank Ltd
2316
NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share
1770
NagBeli LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd
4135
National Hydro Power Company Ltd
190
National Life Insurance Co. Ltd
3210
Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd
1537
Neco Insurance Co. Ltd
2062
Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd
1020
Nepal Bank Ltd
550
Nepal Doorsanchar Comapany Ltd
682
Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank Ltd
878
Nepal Insurance Co. Ltd
1127
Nepal Investment Bank Ltd
1040
Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Promoter Share
880
Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd
3730
Nepal SBI Bank Ltd
1900
Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd
2145
NIBL Samriddhi Fund 1
15.20
NIC Asia Bank Ltd
835
NIDC Capital Markets Ltd
695
Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd
2120
NLG Insurance Company Ltd
1951
NMB Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
4161
NMB Bank Ltd
820
Om Development Bank Ltd
665
Oriental Hotels Ltd
574
Pokhara Finance Ltd
404
Prabhu Insurance Ltd
1500
Premier Insurance Co. Ltd
2460
Prime Commercial Bank Ltd
656
Prime Life Insurance Company Ltd
2149
ProgressiveFinance Ltd
250
Prudential Insurance Co. Ltd
1520
Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd
510
Raptibheri Bikas Bank Ltd
385
Rastriya Beema Company Ltd Promoter Share 15400
Reliable Development Bank Ltd
572
Reliance Lotus Finance Ltd
356
Ridi Hydropower Development Company Ltd
370
Rural Microfinance Development Centre Ltd
1128
Sagarmatha Finance Ltd
556
Sagarmatha Insurance Co. Ltd
2170
Sajha Bikas Bank Ltd
342
Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd
2015
Sanima Bank Ltd
766
Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd
1007
Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd
575
Seti Finance Ltd
490
Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd
655
Shangrila Development Bank Ltd
490
Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd
3310
Siddhartha Bank Ltd
1285
Siddhartha Insurance Ltd
2250
Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme-1
29
Soaltee Hotel Ltd
406
Standard Chartered Bank Ltd
3500
Summit Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd 2597
Sunrise Bank Ltd
810
Surya Life Insurance Company Ltd
907
Swabalamban Bikas Bank Ltd
2475
Synergy Finance Ltd
193
Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd
278
Tinau Development Bank Ltd
644
Tourism Development Bank Ltd
495
Triveni Bikas Bank Ltd
490
Uniliver Nepal Ltd
33119
Vijaya laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
1450
Western Development Bank Ltd
555
Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
2401
Yeti Development Bank Ltd
385
Total Amount Rs.
Total Quantity
Total No of Transactions
879,381,811
1,162,571
4,816
Index Current Pts Change%Change
NEPSE 1,675.91
88.81
5.03
Sensitive 360.74
19.45
5.12
Float124.03 6.91 5.28
901
456
740
394
403
1665
510
550
5931
870
413
1996
1286
680
4832
2855
368
3125
1862
749
613
1730
461
515
455
400
848
249
1393
1300
381
1225
369
394
503
250
989
285
760
675
615
645
324
466
2790
284
819
2860
16
3165
424
1340
800
1407
393
462
1050
897
1380
23.05
2240
1690
4055
185
3100
1537
1950
970
510
671
841
1087
983
860
3440
1807
2028
14.70
790
657
2080
1841
4100
752
634
574
383
1432
2246
610
1966
250
1490
481
385
14900
552
338
355
1051
530
2127
330
1950
721
970
542
451
617
476
3050
1191
2100
28.42
385
3332
2496
760
889
2402
187
273
620
475
464
33119
1393
555
2254
354
905 16460
456
576
742
3971
400
6447
411 40204
1665
3979
510
130
550
300
5931
200
870
3283
413
8778
1996
1655
1286
6257
680 23537
4832
712
2855
947
368 10429
3125
9279
1862
990
749
50
613
1443
1762
3120
461
4355
516
55501
455
3800
400
2150
848
2583
249
10
1393
4736
1300
1570
381
7009
1225
87
369 29440
394
1200
503 22208
250
16738
1008
20
285
1520
760
167
675
7896
615
200
647
610
324
300
466
6189
2845
150
284
1402
835
11382
2860
410
16 100000
3165
3353
424
550
1340
5094
800 22293
1407
120
393
2171
462
19782
1050
1703
968
170
1390
6113
23.05
31857
2240
5806
1690
4102
4055
37
185
17600
3100
9933
1537
10
1951
7468
971 102469
510 104640
672
300
841
1200
1087
1750
1000
27481
860
7196
3440
3805
1807
6030
2028
495
14.70
16270
791 19988
657
1500
2080
300
1841
1823
4100
443
752 47205
634
3378
574
50
383
7116
1432
3964
2246
8153
610
18592
1966
747
250
100
1490
320
481
1022
385
45
15090
280
552
16822
338
3253
355
151
1051
3328
530
4388
2127
224
330
80
1950
1938
725
31621
970
1530
542
240
451
1696
617
1893
476
2153
3050
7832
1191 42709
2100
2288
28.42 12000
387 13040
3332
4810
2496
300
770
21737
889
200
2402
837
187
900
273
50
620
120
476 24705
473
2015
33119
50
1393
160
555
200
2254
129
355
9968
Sub-Indices Current Pts Change%Change
Banking
1,567.61
92.38
5.57
Hotels
2,083.68
62.96
2.93
Dev Bank
1,767.88
69.61
3.79
HydroPower 2,477.09
117.35
4.52
Finance
835.53
30.38
3.51
Insurance 7,962.78537.846.33
Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100
C M Y K
III
money
news digest
China’s Midea
grabs 95pc stake
in German firm
FRANKFURT: Chinese
appliance giant Midea
said on Monday it had
secured almost 95 percent of German robotics
firm Kuka, in the face of
European fears over losing control over the hightech company. The company already held 13.51
percent of Kuka—a
world-leading manufacturer of industrial
robots—before its June
offer of 115 euros per
share, which valued the
firm at 4.6 billion euros
($5.1 billion). Midea said
in its Monday statement
that 81.04 percent of
shares were tendered by
the end of an extended
acceptance period at
midnight on August 3,
bringing its total to 94.55
percent. (AFP)
world
thekathmandupost | Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Worse-than-expected July
trade disappoints China
Opec calls
informal Sept
meeting
VIENNA: Opec said on
Monday it has called an
informal meeting of
member countries for
next month in Algeria to
help stabilise the oil market. The Vienna-based
Organisation of the
Petroleum Exporting
Countries said in a statement that the meeting
would take place on the
sidelines of the
International Energy
Forum in Algeria from
September 26 to 28.
“Opec continues to monitor developments closely,
and is in constant deliberations with all member
states on ways and
means to help restore
stability and order to the
oil market,” it said. Opec
President Mohammed
Bin Saleh Al-Sada reiterated the organisation’s
view
that oil demand will
pick up in the third and
fourth quarters of this
year. (AFP)
European stocks
mostly climb in
global rally
LONDON: European equities mainly rose Monday
as bright US jobs data
mostly eclipsed the
impact of poor Chinese
trade numbers, dealers
said. Frankfurt and Paris
advanced in early afternoon deals, while
London was essentially
flat after losing initial
gains in hesitant trade.
“Equities opened the
week in positive territory, continuing the theme
seen in Asia and on Wall
Street with little in the
way of corporate news to
excite traders,” said
Russ Mould, investment
director at brokerage AJ
Bell. However, Airbus
Group shares fell 0.63
percent to 50.58 euros in
Paris after Britain’s
Serious Fraud Office
revealed on Sunday it
had opened a criminal
probe into Airbus
Group, investigating
allegations of fraud,
bribery and corruption.
Airbus said it was aware
of the probe and the aviation firm was working
with investigators.
“Equity investors
appeared comfortable
with the idea of a
tightening in the
United States’ monetary
conditions,” said analyst
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at
trading firm London
Capital Group. (AFP)
n A group
of women walks past a poster outside a mall in Beijing on Monday. China’s economy, the world’s second largest, struggled in July with
a worse-than-expected trade performance as imports plunged 12.5 percent year-on-year, Customs said on Monday. AFP/rss
BEIJING, AUG 8
China’s economy, the world’s
second largest, struggled in
July with a worse-than-expected trade performance as
imports plunged 12.5 percent
year-on-year, Customs said
Monday.
Imports fell to $132.4 billion, data showed, as weaker
global commodity prices and
lacklustre domestic demand
weighed on purchases.
The drop in imports was
significantly larger than
expectations for a 7.0 percent
fall, the median forecast in a
survey of economists by
Bloomberg News.
Exports also fell in US dollar terms, dropping 4.4 per-
cent to $184.7 billion—compared with expectations of a
3.5 percent decline.
As the world’s biggest trader in goods, China is crucial to
the global economy and its
performance affects partners
from Australia to Zambia,
which have been battered by
its slowing growth—while it
faces headwinds itself in key
developed markets.
July was the fourth month
in a row that exports declined
in dollar terms, and analysts
described the figures as disappointing.
“Signs of stronger manufacturing activity among
many of China’s key trading
partners has so far failed to
lift export growth,” China
economist
for
Capital
Economics, Julian EvansPritchard, said in a research
note. “At the same time, the
renewed fall in global commodity prices is dragging
down import growth,” he said.
China’s imports have been
shrinking since late 2014 with
global raw material costs
hammered as the country’s
once blistering expansion lost
steam, hurt by manufacturing
overcapacity, a slowing property market and mounting
debt.
July saw imports fall by the
most since February, when
they lost 13.8 percent.
“China’s trade data was
unimpressive in July,” ANZ
Banking Group said in a
research note, which added
the outlook for the second
P’pine bank used in B’desh
heist wins shareholder help
REUTERS
MANILA/TAIPEI, AUG 8
A Philippine bank used by
cyber criminals to channel $81
million stolen from the
Bangladesh central bank
won support from a top
shareholder on Monday
after being penalised by its
regulator.
Rizal Commercial Banking
Corp (RCBC) was fined a
record one billion pesos ($21
million) by the Philippine central bank on Friday after
hackers who tried to steal
nearly $1 billion from
Bangladesh Bank’s account at
the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York in February succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at RCBC
in Manila.
Only about $18 million of
the missing money has been
recovered.
RCBC, which said the penalty would not affect its operations, won strong backing
from Cathay Life Insurance
Co Ltd, a unit of Taiwan’s
Cathay Financial Holding Co
half of the year was “challenging”.
“Over H2 2016, sluggish
growth in Europe and Japan
is likely to drag on China’s
exports. Brexit will further
weigh on exports to the EU,” it
said, referring to Britain’s
vote to leave the European
Union.
In the first seven months of
the year, total trade volume
with the EU—China’s biggest
trading partner—rose 1.8 percent, Customs said in a statement.
Trade with Japan was up
just 0.8 percent, but it fell 4.8
percent with the United
States, data showed.
China is embroiled in rows
over steel exports—it produces around half the world’s out-
put of the metal—with the EU
and US accusing it of dumping. It exported 10.3 million
tonnes of steel in July,
Customs said, up 5.86 percent
year-on-year but down 5.85
percent on June.
But stock investors ignored
the weak trade performance,
with the benchmark Shanghai
Composite index closing up
nearly one percent on Monday.
July’s fall in exports came
despite weakness in China’s
yuan currency—also known
as the renminbi (RMB)—
which has helped overseas
sales by making Chinese
goods cheaper.
“Yuan depreciation has
helped China’s exports to
some degree,” Citic Bank
International chief economist
Liao Qun told AFP.
Chinese officials deny the
government is deliberately
allowing the yuan to slide to
boost exports, arguing economic fundamentals are
responsible. China’s foreign
exchange reserves, already
the world’s largest, stood at
$3.2 trillion in July, down by
just $4.1 billion from June,
official
figures
showed
Sunday. The world’s number
two economy grew 6.7 percent
in the second quarter of this
year, the same as the first
quarter, slowing from all of
last year.
The economy expanded 6.9
percent in 2015—its weakest
in a quarter of a century—
and the government has targeted growth in a range of
6.5-7.0 percent for this year.
Analysts said China will
need to further ease monetary
policy, such as cutting the
amount of funds banks must
hold in reserve, to keep
growth on track.
“Trade data, especially
weak import growth, are further evidence of slowing
domestic momentum in July,”
Nomura’s chief China economist Zhao Yang said in a
research note.
“We maintain our view of a
growth slowdown and accommodative policy bias, given
weak domestic demand and
still-low albeit stabilising
external demand.”
Delta resume
flights after
computer crash
REUTERS
BERLIN, AUG 8
Delta Air Lines Inc’s flights
gradually began taking off
again on Monday after computer systems crashed, causing planes to be grounded and
leaving passengers of one of
the world’s largest carriers
stranded at airports around
the globe.
The US airline said the
problems resulted from a
power outage in Atlanta overnight and that customers
should expect “large-scale”
cancellations.
Delta said in an update at
8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 GMT) that
a halt on departures had been
lifted and some flights were
resuming.
“Customers heading to the
airport should expect delays
and cancellations,” it added.
Website
Flightradar24
showed a flight from Phoenix
to Atlanta had taken off, while
three planes had departed
from Amsterdam to US destinations. The problems also
meant flight information was
not showing correctly on
Delta’s website or on airport
information boards, and this
could also take time to resolve,
the carrier said in the latest
update.
Delta operates 5,000 departures a day and is a member
of the SkyTeam alliance
alongside airlines including
Air France-KLM.
It also partners for transat-
lantic flights with Virgin
Atlantic [VA.UL], which said
its flights were operating normally but cautioned that passengers should check tickets
in case their flight was due to
be operated by Delta as part of
a code-share agreement.
Delta said the computer
outage began at about 2:30
a.m. EDT (0630 GMT).
Its shares were down 1.1
percent at $37.25 in premarket
trading.
In airports across the
world, passengers stuck in
check-in queues or on planes
waiting to depart took to
Twitter to share photos and
frustration at the delays.
“1
hr.+
lines
@
HeathrowAirport for @Delta
due to system outage,” tweeted user @MITJAKE with a
picture of passengers waiting
to check in. The glitch follows
several high-profile computer
problems faced by US airlines
in the past year.
Budget carrier Southwest
Airlines Co had to halt departures last month after a technical outage, while American
Airlines had to suspend flights
from three of its hubs last
September after technical
problems.
Industry consultants say
airlines face an increasing
risk from computer disruptions as they automate more
of their operations, distribute
boarding passes on smartphones and fit their planes
with Wi-Fi.
making use of good weather
Authorities in the Philippines are still working on the case,
though most of the money that was laundered through
Manila casinos remains missing
Ltd. Cathay Life is RCBC’s
biggest shareholder after
majority owner Yuchengco
Group.
“What’s happening to RCBC
is unfortunate,” Cathay
Financial spokesman Daniel
Teng told Reuters. “We will do
our best to support RCBC’s
management team to meet
requests from the BSP (central bank) or even beyond its
expectations.”
The
World
Bank’s
Inter national
Finance
Corporation (IFC), which
owned around 8 percent of
RCBC as of April, said it was
aware of the sanctions
imposed by the central
bank of the Philippines
and remained “fully committed to cooperating with
authorities”.
IFC declined to comment on
whether it would reconsider
its stake in the bank.
In April, Cathay Life and
the Yuchengco family’s holding group, Pan Malayan
Management and Investment
Corp,
announced
that
they had raised their holding
in RCBC even as its shares
fell amid an investigation over
the heist.
Bangladesh Bank has held
RCBC responsible for letting
the stolen money leave its systems despite red flags, but the
Manila bank has said the
money transfers were done
based on authenticated transfer instructions over international payments network
SWIFT.
Authorities
in
the
Philippines are still working
on the case, though most of
the money that was laundered
through Manila casinos
remains missing.
People of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps air tomatoes in Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest
China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. People here were taking advantage of good weather to air tomatoes. n
Xinhua
suspected irregularities
UK to probe Airbus’ use of third-party agents to sell planes
REUTERS
PARIS, AUG 8
Airbus Group faces a lengthy and
potentially disruptive investigation over its commercial jet sales
after Britain said it would examine suspected irregularities in
the use of third-party agents to
win contracts.
Europe’s largest aerospace
company said late on Sunday it
had been notified that the UK’s
Serious Fraud Office had opened
a formal criminal probe after
being alerted by the country’s
export credit agency to discrepancies relating to the disclosure
of the work of local agents.
The probe raises a sensitive
issue for the industry because the
agency, UK Export Finance, has
for years locked horns with aerospace firms about the need for
more transparency, even though
it does not object outright to the
use of intermediaries.
Airbus Group said the SFO
was looking into possible “fraud,
bribery and corruption” and that
the company continued to co-operate with the investigating agency, having itself tipped off UKEF
about internal findings under a
recent compliance drive.
“It will take years,” a person
familiar with the matter said of
the SFO investigation, adding it
was too early to predict any outcome or consequences for the
company or the industry.
Airbus virtually eliminated the
gap with US rival Boeing in their
intense battle for airliner orders
in July after booking about half
of the 197 firm sales unveiled at
the Farnborough Airshow.
Airbus Group is already the
subject of a four-year-old SFO
investigation into a $3.3 billion
communications deal with Saudi
Arabia, while the SFO is conducting a corruption probe into
engine maker Rolls-Royce which
it launched in 2013.
The latest case involves discrepancies over the amount of
agents’ fees disclosed in applica-
tions for export support, or missing names of third parties, in
some cases dating back years,
people familiar with the matter
have told Reuters.
In April, UKEF halted export
funding over the reported discrepancies and was swiftly followed by France and Germany.
Under rules dating back to
July 2006, companies applying for
export support in Britain must
identify any intermediaries
involved in sales negotiations and
list the sums paid. The rules followed a series of policy U-turns
and a fierce debate between
UKEF and aerospace companies
including Airbus, which had lobbied against the tougher disclosure rules on the grounds that
such data was commercially sensitive and that their own codes of
conduct and due diligence meth-
ods were sufficient.
Airbus Group shares fell 1.5
percent on Monday. The longerterm impact may depend on how
widely the investigation spreads
and the level of managers who
signed off on payments that can
be worth millions of dollars, as
well as the declarations to export
agencies about them, analysts
said. A spokesman declined to
comment on any details of the
investigation beyond Sunday’s
brief statement.
Separately, Airbus is trying to
restore export funding from
UKEF under a revised compliance scheme.
The company said last month
it had agreed a process for this
and expected export credits to
resume in the fourth quarter.
But several people familiar
with the case say it has deeply
soured relations between Airbus
and export agencies, notably
UKEF, and that much work
remains to be done to restore
trust. As for the operational
impact of the funding hiatus,
analysts say this is limited for
now because liquid markets
mean there is little demand for
export credit. Just 5 percent of
Airbus deliveries were supported
by export credits last year.
One person familiar with the
case told Reuters the onus was on
Airbus to prove it had a robust
system for preventing abuse.
One move being floated to win
back confidence is a voluntary
ban within Airbus on the use of
percentage commissions to
third-party sales agents and more
careful vetting of any other form
of payment, people familiar with
the matter said.
C M Y K
bizline
CG Mobiles launches Eon Blaze Gold
KATHMANDU: CG
Mobiles has
launched a new
smartphone the
Eon Blaze Gold in
the domestic market. It is CG’s most
awaited model, the
company said.
Earlier, it had
launched the CG
EON Blaze which,
according to the
company, was a big
hit among customers. The price of
the new mobile has
been fixed at
Rs8,888 for a limited
time period as an introductory offer, the company said in
a press release. “The set comes with a back case absolutely free of cost.” The CG EON Blaze Gold has a 5-inch,
2.5D IPS display for an effective touch experience. The
2.5D curved IPS display is a step forward and enhances
readability, makes for a slimmer design and provides better battery consumption for the best viewing value of
any smartphone, the company said. Running on Android
Marshmallow 6.0 OS, the EON Blaze Gold is powered by
a 1.3 Quad Core Processor for impressive fast performance. It has a storage capacity of 16 GB which can be
expanded up to 32 GB. (PR)
money IV
bazaar
Tuesday, August 9, 2016 | thekathmandupost
Punto Pure slated to
roll out by mid-Sept
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 8
Competition in the popular hatchback segment in the Nepali market is set to move to the next level
with the upcoming launch of the
Punto Pure from Italian carmaker
Fiat.
Life Automobile, the authorised distributor of Fiat in Nepal,
has planned to roll out a petrol
variant of the Punto Pure by
mid-September.
According to international
media reports, the auto will
compete with well-received hatchbacks
like the Maruti
Suzuki Baleno,
Hyundai Creta and Volkswagen
Polo, among others.
The carmaker has aimed to
gain a foothold in the segment by
providing an affordable option to
tap the growing market for hatchbacks in Nepal. In recent years,
the hatchback segment has
gained popularity because of the
low cost of ownership compared
to SUVs and sedans. Moreover,
hatchbacks have become an ideal
option in the Kathmandu
Valley with its shortfall
of space in core city areas.
The upcoming Punto Pure is
powered by Fiat’s signature 1.2
litre 8V FIRE engine. The power
plant churns out 96 nm of torque
at 2500 rpm. The city mileage is
around 12.3 km per litre while on
the highway the car offers a mileage of 15.7 km per litre.
“Fiat has been well received by
the Nepali market and has experienced fair growth,” said Bikash
Bajagain, assistant marketing
manager at the company, “The
Avventura model has been
popular
in
Nepal,
and
Shangrila Dev Bank organises training
market watch
RETAIL PRICE
VegetablesUnit Price (Rs)
the upcoming Punto Pure will
help to consolidate our market
presence.”
According to Bajagain, the distributor has opened pre-booking
and has been entertaining queries. “The brand equity of Fiat is
high because of the superior
engine built by the Italian company,” he added.
The Punto Pure is equipped
with a 5-speed manual transmission, disc brakes at the front and
rear, MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear
suspension. The car lacks an antilock braking system and airbags.
The Punto Pure has five seats,
power steering and a fuel tank
with a capacity of 45 litres. Priced
at IRs407,000 in Delhi, the car
has been called an affordable version of the Punto
brand.
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
CucumberKg
Rs55
PapayaKg Rs73
BananaDoz Rs85
Lime
100 Pcs
Rs475
daily commodities
KATHMANDU: Shangrila Development Bank organised a
two-day training programme for its 31 regional and
branch office chiefs on Thursday and Friday in
Kathmandu. Chief Executive Officer Rajendra Prasad
Pandey explained the development bank’s progress
report of the last fiscal year 2015-16 and its action plan
and strategy for the upcoming years, Shangrila said in a
press release. Nepal Rastra Bank Deputy Director
Nirmal Kumar Karki explained the central bank’s various directives. (PR)
Gorkha Eco Panel outlet at Bijuli Bazaar
KATHMANDU: Gorkha Eco Panel has set up a new showroom at Bijuli Bazaar. Gorkha Eco Panel is an earthquake-resistant, light-weight interlocking prefabricated
sandwich panel. It is made of non-asbestos calcium silicate board, cement, water, sand and expandable polystyrene. Gorkha Eco Panels are available in different types
and thicknesses, namely 60 mm, 75 mm, 90 mm, 120 mm,
150 mm, 180 mm and 210 mm, the company said in a
press release. International Green Developers Nepal
manufactures the products. (PR)
SCBN wins Best Employer Brand Awards
Xiaomi to unveil
air-purifier in India
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
KOLKATA, AUG 8
Chinese tech and smartphone
company, Xiaomi, plans to
launch their air-purifiers in
Indian market soon.Xiaomi
“Now, we can say we will
launch air-purifiers in India,”
Xiaomi India head Manu Jain
said when asked about products the company was planning to introduce beside
mobiles this year.
He, however, did not mention any specific date for the
launch or pricing details.
Jain also declined to comment about the launch of Mi
TV in 2016. The compact Mi
air-purifier was first showcased in China in November
2015 when it was touted to be
priced at around Rs 7,000
based on Chinese pricing.
Air purifiers will be one of
the major products beside
mobiles and some accessories
and Mi Band.
Asked about the target for
2016, Jain said, “we never had
targets in Xiaomi.”
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
Wal-Mart to buy US
online retailer Jet.com
Beaten Rice
Kg
Rs60
Big Mas
Kg
Rs270
Small Mas
Kg
Rs250
Big Mung
Kg
Rs180
Musuro (No 1)
Kg
Rs170
Agencies Frances-Presse
Musuro (No 2)
Kg
Rs150
NEW YORK, Aug 8
Wal-Mart Stores announced Monday
that it will acquire e-commerce company Jet.com for $3.3 billion as it
beefs up its online retail operations in
response to Amazon and other companies. Wal-Mart is paying $3 billion in
cash for the online retailer.
Shareholders of Jet.com, which was
launched in July 2015, will also
receive $300 million in Wal-Mart
shares, Wal-Mart said.
Wal-Mart said the shares would be
paid to Jet.com “over time,” along
with a portion of the cash.
“We’re looking for ways to lower
prices, broaden our assortment and
offer the simplest, easiest shopping
experience because that’s what our
customers want,” said Wal-Mart chief
executive Doug McMillon.
Wal-Mart praised Jet.com’s leaders,
including chief executive Marc Lore,
whose previous company owned the
e-commerce
site
Diapers.com.,
which was sold to Amazon in 2010.
Wal-Mart plans to keep Jet.com as a
distinct brand.
Rahar KgRs250
Chana (Big)
Kg
Rs220
Chana (Small)
Kg
Rs210
Chilli Powder
Kg
Rs400
gasoline watch
mushroom competition
KATHMANDU: Standard Chartered Bank Nepal (SCBN) has
won the Asia Best Employer Brand Awards 2016, it said
in a press release on Monday. The seventh edition of the
awards, hosted by the Employer Branding Institute (EBI),
World Human Resource Development Congress and other
strategic partners and endorsed by the Asian
Confederation of Businesses, was held in Singapore on
Aug 4. Bina Rana, head of the bank’s human resources
department, received the award on its behalf. The
Research on Best Employer Brand in each country was
done by a team of independent Asian professionals consisting of post graduates in history and management
with over seven years of research experience. It was
judged by senior leaders, researchers and academicians,
according to the bank. The winners were selected on the
basis of their exemplary learning and development initiatives, communicating distinctiveness in employee hiring; training and retention practices and continuous
innovation. (PR)
Panasonic Partner Meet 2016 concludes
bullion
Price Per tola
Hallmark Gold
Rs58,950
Tejabi Gold
Rs58,650
Silver
Rs890
Source: FENEGOSIDA
KATHMANDU: Allied Trade Link International, the authorized distributor of Panasonic for Nepal, has concluded
Panasonic Partner Meet 2016. The conference was held as
per the annual plan of Panasonic. During the meet, Binit
Sharma from Panasonic India explained the plans and
strategies of the brand in Nepal in the days to come. (PR)
Int’l market
n People weigh wild mushrooms during a mushroom competition in Nanhua County in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan
Province, on Monday.
EnergyPrice (US$)%Change
Xinhua
B i g g e s t- e v e r a u c t i o n
India’s largest spectrum auction to start from Sept 29
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, AUG 8
Bidding rounds for the country’s biggest-ever spectrum auction will begin from September
29, in which mobile airwaves
worth Rs 5.63 lakh crore at the
base price value will be put up
for sale.
“Large chunk of spectrum is
being put for auction which
address issue of fragmentation,
improve quality of service
and rules have been made bidder friendly,” Telecom Secretary
J S Deepak said while releasing
Notice Inviting Application
(NIA).
The government will put a
total of 2,354.55 megahertz of
mobile airwaves frequencies for
auction all band - 700 Mhz, 800
Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100
Mhz and 2300 Mhz. All the
airwaves being put for auction
can be used for high speed 4G
services.
The total quantum of spectrum being put for auction
includes about 197 Mhz of frequencies in 1800 Mhz band and
37.5 Mhz in 800 Mhz band
(CDMA band).The government
Telecom companies winning spectrum in 700, 800 and 900
Mhz band will have to pay at least 25 per cent of the bid
amount initially. Rest of the payment will have to be paid in 10
annual instalments after two years of moratorium
expects to raise at least Rs 64,000
crore from the auction of about
2,354.55 Mhz of spectrum and Rs
98,995 crore from various levies
and services in the telecom sector this financial year.
The government for the first
time has promised to assign
spectrum within 30 days of
making upfront payment by successful bidders.
Telecom companies winning
spectrum in 700, 800 and 900
Mhz band will have to pay at
least 25 per cent of the bid
amount initially within 10 days
the auction ends. Rest of the
payment will have to be paid in
10 annual instalments after two
years of moratorium.
For rest of the bands, at least
50 per cent of payment will have
to made. The government has
also reduced interest on instalments to 9.3 per cent from about
10 per cent earlier. “With auction size of this magnitude and
bidder friendly rule there is
going to be immense interest
from bidders. The amount of
spectrum being put to auction is
more than any previous auction. It will give them opportunity to bid and acquire chunk of
spectrum which would enable to
them to provide international
quality services,” Deepak said.
This is the first time airwaves
in 700 Mhz band will be put up
for auction. The airwaves in
this band are considered premium among all, as cost of providing service in it is one-third cost
of 3G service in 2100 Mhz band.
The 700 Mhz band alone has
potential to fetch bids worth Rs
4 lakh crore if all spectrum in it
gets sold at the base price.
The Department of
Telecom will hold pre-bid conference on clarification over
NIA on August 13.
Brent Crude Futr (Bbl)
Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt)
Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal)
Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu)
44.92
390.75
138.93
2.75
1.47
3.30
0.94
-0.94
AgriculturePrice (US$)%Change
Cocoa Future (Mt)
Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb)
Corn Future (Bu)
Cotton No. 2 Futr (Lb)
Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt)
Soybean Future (Bu)
Soybean Meal Futr (T)
Soybean Oil Futr (Lb)
Sugar #11 (World) (Lb)
Wheat Future (Cbt) (Bu)
Industrial Metals
Copper Future (Lb)
2,990.00
143.2
335.75
76.74
9.39
984.25
334.9
31.18
20.86
420.25
0.10
0.49
0.45
1.20
0.86
1.00
1.06
0.55
2.51
1.02
Price (US$)%Change
217.4
0.93
Precious Metals
Price (US$)%Change
Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz)
Silver Future (T Oz)
1,341.30
19.81
-0.23
-0.04
C M Y K

- Epaper

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