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Friday,August 19, 2016 (03-o5-2073)
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 183 | 12+4 Pages
page 9
page 4
page 11
money
Swift donating $1m
for flood relief
Shortage of essential
medicines in Mugu
Messi leads Barca to Spanish
Super Cup romp
NAC resumes Dubai
flights after 4-yr gap
Life & style
Medals Tally
RankCountry G S BTotal
1USA
31 32 3194
2 Britain 21 21 1355
3 China 19 15 2054
4 Germany 138 1031
5 Russia 1214 1541
6 Japan 10 5 1833
7 France 8 11 1332
8Italy 8 9 623
9Netherlands8 4 3 15
10Australia 7 8 1025
* Standings as of 10:30pm (NST), Thursday
Mahar elected
NSU president
Kathmandu: In a much tighter
battle than expected, Nain
Singh Mahar beat Manoj
Mani Acharya on Thursday to
be elected the president of the
Nepal Students’ Union. The
panel close to the Nepali
Congress establishment side
swept all three top positions—
president
and
two
general secretaries, as the
11th General Convention
of the union concluded after
(Details on Pg3)
12 days. News
sports
Nepal, India work on PM’s visit
Final agenda of the tour to be set in course of consultations by the DPM who landed in New Delhi on Thursday
ANIL GIRI
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
Nepal and India are making
preparations
for
Prime
Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal’s state visit to New
Delhi possibly to begin on
September 15.
Final decisions about the
trip will be made during the
visit of
Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for
Home Affairs Bimalendra
Nidhi, who left for New Delhi
on Thursday as the special
representative of the government.
India, which has expressed
its interest to work with the
new government led by Dahal,
is preparing to provide assistance for some big-ticket projects proposed by Nepal.
Top officials told the Post
that some of the areas of
cooperation to be discussed
during the PM’s visit have
already been shared with the
Indian side while DPM Nidhi
will discuss them further in
New Delhi during his meetings with top Indian leaders
including Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
Among Nepal’s proposals
are setting up a state of the art
polytechnic institute in
Chitwan, which is the home
district of PM Dahal, with
Indian assistance, said sources. Dahal is said to be interested to visit Bangalore, the IT
hub of India, where he will
tour one of the polytechnic
institutes.
India will also gift a sophisticated chopper to the Nepal
Army for domestic use by the
PM. Another major agenda of
the visit is India’s assistance
for filling the financial gap in
aiding the earthquake survivors to rebuild their homes.
government
has
The
already decided to release
Rs200,000 for each homeless
family in three tranches.
Amid criticism that the
amount is inadequate to build
quake-resistant houses, the
government is considering
providing another Rs100,000
for the needy.
“To bridge the gap, the government may require around
Rs50 billion in cash. We are
going to request India to meet
the shortfall,” said an official
privy to the PM’s agenda. The
list of desired assistance also
included
developing
a
Buddhist circuit between
Nepal and India that links
key Buddhist sites. Besides,
India would also install a
sound and lighting system in
Lumbini to illuminate the
Buddha’s birthplace.
During the visit, India and
deals likely to be reached during dahal’s visit
n MoU for construction of
post report
3,600MW Pancheshwar Project
n Reconstruction of Pashupatinath
Temple
n Chopper for Army for use by
prime minister
n Aid to meet for funding gap for
earthquake survivors
n Agreement for building a Buddhist
circuit linking key sites in Nepal
and India
n Visas for Nepalis to visit India
from a third country
n MoU between NTV and
Doordarshan
n New deal for narcotic drugs
control
n MoU for setting up Nepal Police
Academy
n Polytechnic institute in Chitwan
Nepal will sign a memorandum of understanding for
developing the much delayed
Pancheshwar Hydropower
Project (3,600 megawatt),
agreeing on its detailed project report and sorting the
technical and administrative
problems faced in implementing the project.
On the Kathmandu-Tarai
Fast Track, PM Dahal has
requested the Indian side not
to raise the matter this time
around as he faces opposition
at home in allowing an Indian
firm to construct it.
Other proposals include
granting visas for Nepalis to
visit India from a third coun-
Nidhi says
his visit to
improve
bilateral
relations
NEW DELHI, AUG 18
try. India is also expected to
chip in more funds to reconstruct and upgrade the
Pashupatinath temple area.
The Nepal Police Academy
said to be set up with
India’s help, which has
been stalled due to some
administrative and technical
issues, will get through this
time, officials said.
Nepal and India will sign
an understanding on controlling drug trafficking. Two
semi-state-owned media outlets of Nepal and India—
Television
and
Nepal
Doordarshan—are slated to
sign an agreement mainly on
content sharing.
DPM Bimalendra Nidhi,
who arrived in New Delhi
as the special envoy of
Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal, said his
four-day visit would focus
on enhancing bilateral
ties and laying the
groundwork for high-level visits between the two
countries.
Speaking to the Post
soon after landing in the
Indian
capital
on
Thursday, Nidhi said he
would hand over the invitation from President
Bidhya Devi Bhandari to
Indian President Pranab
Mukherjee to visit Nepal.
Kathmandu wants to
ensure
Mukherjee’s
visit to Nepal on the first
anniversary of the promulgation of the constitution
in
September.
However, if the demands
of the Madhes-based
parties are not addressed,
Mukherjee is unlikely
to visit on the day,
sources said. (Details on Pg 3)
bond of faith
n A Hindu man gets a Janai (sacred thread) from a priest on the Pashupatinath temple premises in Kathmandu on the occasion of Janai
Purnima on Thursday. Post photo: Angad Dhakal
41 Madhes stir victims are martyrs
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
The
government
on
Thursday declared 41 protesters who died during
against
demonstrations
some provisions of the new
constitution as martyrs.
A Cabinet meeting held at
Singha Durbar also decided
to provide Rs1 million in
compensation for families
of each of the 52 victims,
including 11 security personnel, who lost lives during the
Madhes agitation.
Most of the concerned
families
have
already
received the compensation
as per the decision taken by
the erstwhile UML-led government.
“The meeting decided to
Government forms committee led by former
Justice Girish Chandra Lal to probe violent incidents
reported during the Madhes movement
provide compensation to 52
individuals, while 41 more
protesters who died during
the protest have been
declared martyrs,” said
Minister for Information
Ram Karki. The UML-led
government had previously
given martyr status to the 11
security personnel who died
in the line of duty.
Those included on the list
of martyrs had died in separate protests in Jumla,
Surkhet, Kailali and various
districts of the Tarai.
According to the Home
Ministry, the government
has so far provided Rs1 million in compensation to families of 41 people who died
during the protests, while
three other families were
provided Rs500,000 each.
However, the Cabinet did
not take any decision regarding the six more names recommended for martyrdom
by the Samyukta Lokatantrik
Madhesi Morcha earlier this
week. The government
appears unwilling to give
martyr status to the six protesters arguing that one was
an Indian national and others died during accidents.
During a meeting with
Morcha leaders earlier this
week,
Home
Minister
Bimlendra
Nidhi
had
pledged to forward the
names to the Cabinet after
verifying them.
“We are hopeful that the
government will also provide compensation to the
remaining protesters,” said
Sadbhawana Party Co-chair
Laxman Lal Karna.
The Cabinet has also
formed a committee under
former
Justice
Girish
Chandra Lal to probe various incidents during the
Madhes stir. Other members
of seven-member committee
will be decided by the Home
Ministry after coordination
with Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal.
C M Y K
Friday, August 19, 2016
news
thekathmandu post 02
JANAI PURNIMA CELEBRATION
1
2
3
4
1) Devotees throng the Kumbheshwor temple on the occasion of Janai Purnima festival in Lalitpur.
2) Young boys studying to become Hindu priests enjoy themselves at a communal shower as they prepare for the festival at their school in
Gaushala, Kathmandu.
3) A priest ties a protective sacred thread on the wrist of a child in Lalitpur.
4) A Hindu shaman performs a ritual at the Kumbheshwor temple. POST PHOTOS: SANJOG MANANDHAR & HEMANTA SHRESTHA
Housing aid has
reached 70,803
families: NRA
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
The distribution of the first
tranche of
the private
housing aid has gained
momentum since August 5, a
day after Prime Minister
Pushpa Kamal Dahal pledged
to distribute the aid to all
earthquake-affected families
within 45 days.
Of
the total 531,937
households identified as ‘true
beneficiaries’ from the 11
most-affected districts by last
ye a r ’s
d eva s t at i n g
ear thquakes,
70,803
households have received the
first instalment amounting to
Rs 50,000 as of Wednesday.
An additional 27,921 households have received the first
tranche of the aid since Prime
post-quake
Reconstruction
After assuming office,
Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal had vowed to
distribute first tranche of
aid to all quake-hit families
within 45 days
Minister Dahal assumed his
office, according to the data
released
by
the National Reconstruction
Authority
(NRA)
on
Wednesday.
“We are working to expedite the process of signing
agreements and distributing
the housing aid to the locals.
We are hopeful to meet the
target within the given time,”
said NRA Spokesperson Ram
Thapaliya.
The delayed in reconstruction works has drawn criticism from various stakeholders, especially the locals from
the affected districts.
The NRA had distributed
the first instalment of the aid
to only 42,882 households in
11-districts until August 5.
On August 15, the authority
launched
a
month-long
special reconstruction campaign that aims to provide the
first instalment of aid money
to all beneficiaries by
September 18.
NY-based
Ranjit wins
Grinnell Prize
Post Report
Kathmandu, Aug 18
Luna Ranjit, a woman of
Nepali origin based in New
York, has won the $100,000
Grinnell College Innovator for
Social Justice Prize.
Ranjit, the co-founder and
executive
director
of
Adhikaar, an organisation
working for social justice
movement for the Nepalispeaking community, will
receive half of the total cash
prize while the rest will go to
her organisation.
She founded Adhikaar in
2005 to promote human rights
and effective social justice
work in Nepali-speaking
communities in New York
City and the United States.
Ranjit graduated from
Grinnell with her bachelor of
arts in economics and global
development studies in 2000.
Grinnell Prize is presented
by Grinnel College in
recognition of achievements
in social justice. The prize is
scheduled to be awarded in
October.
UNHCR marks refugee spirit in Olympics
Post Report
Kathmandu, Aug 18
The United Nations Refugee
Agency (UNHCR) in Nepal
marked the first-ever participation of a refugee team in
the Rio Olympics by organising various sporting events
for refugees.
Olympian Deepak Bista
attended the event and
cheered on hundreds of refugees of diverse nationalities
and local youth, who compet-
Ten athletes from four countries are competing
as part of the Refugee Team under the
Olympic flag in Rio de Janiero
ed in football, athletics, badminton and table tennis, while
celebrating the spirit of
sportsmanship and diversity
in Kathmandu, the UN body
said in a statement.
“The Rio Olympics has sent
a strong message to the
world—that refugees are resil-
ient and ready to overcome
obstacles to achieve success,”
said Bista, who represented
Nepal in taekwondo in the
Beijing Olympics in 2008.
“The refugee team in the
Olympic Games is a story of
hope and inspiration for people all over the world,” added
Bista, the most decorated athlete in Nepal’s history with
four consecutive goal medals
in the South Asian Games and
two bronze medals in Asian
Games. Ten athletes from four
countries are competing as
part of the Refugee Team
under the Olympic flag in Rio
de Janiero. Among them are
two swimmers from Syria,
two judokas from the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo, and six runners from
Ethiopia and South Sudan.
C M Y K
03
thekathmandu post
news
Friday, August 19, 2016
Mahar lands NSU top post Four-day trip to focus
on improving ties,
after victory in tight race high-level visits: Nidhi
Establishment side’s Kundan Raj Kafle, Saroj Thapa also secure the post of gen secretary n Newly elected Nepal Students’ Union Nain Singh Mahar waves to his supporters at Sanepa in Lalitpur on Thursday. Mahar beat his closest rival
Manoj Acharya by 119 votes in the union election held at the Nepali Congress headquarters.
POST PHOTO: PRAKASH CHANDRA TIMILSENA
Sarin Ghimire
Kathmandu, Aug 18
In a much tighter battle than
expected, Nain Singh Mahar
beat Manoj Mani Acharya on
Thursday to be elected the
president of the Nepal
Students’ Union, a sister wing
affiliated to the Nepali
Congress.
The party’s establishment
side swept all top three positions--president and two general secretaries, as the 11th
General Convention of the
union concluded after 12 days.
Mahar, who was fielded by
the
establishment
side,
received 1,447 votes, while
Ram Chandra Poudel-led faction candidate Manoj Mani
Acharya got 1,328. In the race
for two general secretary positions, Kundan Kafle and Saroj
Thapa--both from the establishment side—emerged victorious with 1,794 and 1,290
votes respectively.
As the party’s election committee announced the results
of the top three posts, both the
presidential candidates were
seated right beside each other
inside the vote counting room
on the second floor of the NC’s
party headquarters in Sanepa.
In a rather light moment,
Mahar and Acharya congratulated each other with a hug
before stepping out to
announce the results. A message of unity was passed
when the both held hands
while talking to the media on
the office premises.
In his first public speech as
the new NSU president,
Mahar pledged to initiate
reforms in the educational
sector and also play a supporting role in implementing the
constitution. “Both the educational sector and the overall
politics of the country are in a
critical juncture. In a democratic country, we will have a
winner and a looser when we
go for elections. But, in the
end, this is an internal competition and we represent the
same organisation and will
also continue to work together
in future,” said Mahar.
Mahar, who hails from
Dadeldhura, began his political journey in 1990. He has
since been an instrumental
figure within the NSU and
Dadeldhura, which is also the
hometown of NC President
Sher Bahadur Deuba. His
political career reached a pinnacle when he was the elected
vice-president of the NSU
almost a decade ago.
Giving credit to the party
leadership for the successful
holding of the NSU election
after almost a decade, Acharya
said: “Everyone including the
cadres, the party leaders and
the general public really
wanted to see out the convention with elections. This clearly shows the message of unity
we have within our party,”
said Acharya, who hails from
Rukum. The voting process
that began on Wednesday
afternoon was only completed
around 10am on Thursday due
to some technical glitches.
Results of the three top posts
were announced by the party’s election committee at
around 3pm. Electronic voting
machines were largely used to
cast and count the ballots.
The elections have been
considered a major achievement for Deuba--in line with
something he had vowed to
conduct within six months of
being elected the NC president in March.
The committee formed by
the party under Prakash
Sharan Mahat to hold the
polls was also vital. “When no
one dared to attempt, we volunteered to sit in the committee and weather the challenges,” said Guru Raj Ghimire, a
member of the committee.
The 11th General Convention
of the NSU on August 4. All
other results will be published
in the party’s official website.
Indian officials to learn about priorities of new govt in Nepal
KAMAL DEV BHATTARAI
NEW DELHI, AUG 18
Deputy
Prime
Minister
Bimalendra Nidhi, who
arrived in New Delhi as the
special envoy of Prime
Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal, said his four-day visit
would focus on enhancing
bilateral ties and laying the
groundwork for high-level visits between the two countries.
Speaking to the Post soon
after landing in the Indian
capital on Thursday, Nidhi
said he would hand over the
invitation from President
Bidhya Devi Bhandari to
Indian President Pranab
Mukherjee to visit Nepal.
Kathmandu wants to ensure
Mukherjee’s visit to Nepal on
the first anniversary of the
promulgation of the constitution in September. However, if
the demands of the Madhesbased
parties
are
not
addressed, Mukherjee is
unlikely to visit on the day,
sources said.
Nidhi said he would make
DPM Nidhi said he would make preparations for the visit
of PM Dahal to India, which is likely to take
place on September 15-16
preparations for the visit of
PM Dahal to India, which is
likely to take place on
September 15-16. Nidhi will
also offer invitation to Indian
PM Narendra Modi to visit
Nepal.
Nidhi said he would discuss
with Indian officials about
President Bhandari’s visit to
Delhi. Her visit, scheduled to
take place in May, was cancelled abruptly at the eleventh
hour much to the displeasure
of India.
Nidhi said another agenda
of his discussions in Delhi
was to improve bilateral ties
by addressing the mistrust
between the two countries
that was caused by differing
perceptions of the demands
of the Madhesi parties related
to the new constitution.
“There is the need for building good relations with our
neighbours to ensure stability
and development in Nepal,”
he said. India has been urging
the Nepali side to address the
demands raised by the
Madhes-based parties and the
Janajatis. “Obviously, there is
some internal dissatisfaction,
which should be addressed
through
constitutional
amendment,” said Nidhi.
Indian officials said Nidhi’s
visit would give them an
opportunity to know the priorities of the new government
in Nepal. Vikas Swarup,
spokesperson for the Ministry
of External Affairs, said India
highly regards its relations
with Nepal.
Bharatiya Janata Party
leader Tarun Vijaya, who is
considered close to PM Modi,
said the distrust that persisted
between the two countries had
been cleared.
UML leadership urged
to set sights on polls
sibling love
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
n A sister (right) ties a sacred thread around her brother’s wrist
on the occasion of the Raksha Bandhan festival in Gaur,
Rautahat, on Thursday. It is a day when siblings pray for each
other’s well-being and happiness.
Post Photo: pawan yadav
CPN
UML’s
Standing
Committee members on
Thursday told the party leadership to focus on elections to
emerge as the largest party.
Leaders also suggested that
the party should be alert
while drafting the laws related
to the elections for a timely
election.
Addressing a standing committee meeting on Thursday,
Deputy General Secretary
Ghanashyam Bhusal said the
UML-led government made
significant stride in Nepal’s
foreign relations “at the cost
of party’s internal unity”.
Chairman KP Sharma Oli did
some remarkable job in the
government at the cost of party’s unity, he said.
Since the start of the meet-
Party’s General Secretary
Ghanashyam Bhusal
says country’s foreign
relations improved at cost
of party’s internal unity
ing on Monday, several standing committee members
have been critical of the leadership for destroying the
organisational structure of
the party and promoting factional politics.
“They have urged the lead-
ership to make efforts for unifying the party,” a senior leader told the Post.
leaders
blamed
The
Chairman and former prime
minister Oli’s “superiority
complex” for failing to continue the left alliance.
The meeting dwelt on several issues including party’s
internal structure, performance of the UML-led government, upcoming elections
and roles of the party, among
others, said Secretary Yogesh
Bhattarai .
Apart Bhusal, Secretary
Prithvi Subba Gurung, Amrit
Kumar
Bohora,
Pushpa
Kandel, Keshav Badal, Kiran
Gurung and Satya Narayan
Mandal were the speakers at
Thursday. Chairman Oli is
expected to respond to the
comments and suggestions
made by the leaders on Friday.
n Deputy Prime Minister Bimalendra Nidhi (centre) speaks to reporters at the Tribhuvan International
Airport in Kathmandu before his departure to New Delhi, on Thursday. Nepali mission offers help to
stranded workers in Saudi
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
Nepali migrant workers who
have been left in the lurch following massive layoffs in
Saudi Arabia would be
allowed to return home or
seek new jobs based on their
personal preference. Nepal’s
embassy in Riyadh has said
that Saudi authorities have
agreed to facilitate both in
finding new sponsors to workers willing to stay in the
country and arrange travel
permit for those planning to
return home.
Earlier this month, the
Nepali embassy had requested the Saudi Ministry of
Labour to extend necessary
assistance to stranded Nepali
migrants.
Under the Kafala sponsorship system, it is mandatory
for migrant workers to find
new sponsors to change
jobs. Those willing to leave the
country need a permission
of their sponsor to get exist
visa.
Nepal’s
embassy
has
received wage-related grievances from around 400 Nepali
workers so far, according to
the Ministry of Labour and
Employment. The majority of
workers have expressed their
wish to change their sponsor.
According to the embassy,
the Saudi authorities have initiated the process to provide
necessary help to 41 Nepali
migrants who had been
employed by the Saudi Oger
Company.
The embassy has urged the
concerned Nepali migrants to
file complaints at the mission
clearly specifying the nature
of assistance they seek.
In a statement, the embassy
said it would help facilitate
workers who have lost jobs or
who have abandoned their
original employers to return
home. Govinda Mani Bhurtel,
spokesperson for the Ministry
of Labour and Employment,
said that the embassy
is receiving the growing number of complaints from undocumented workers.
The embassy has requested
the Saudi authorities to
exempt fine that the undocumented workers are required
to pay to leave the country,
according to him.
“The embassy is particularly finding it challenging to
assist the undocumented
workers as they cannot return
home without paying penalty,” said Bhurtel, adding
that the mission is coordinating with the Non Resident
Nepali Association to help the
needy workers.
Hundreds of companies
in Saudi Arabia have
closed down in recent months
due to slowed growth as the
kingdom suffers the effect of
lower oil prices. The Gulf
kingdom, which was the
largest work destination of
Nepali workers in the fiscal
year 2015-16, hosts an estimated 600,000 Nepalis.
C M Y K
RSS
thekathmandu post 04
news
Friday, August 19, 2016
Vehicles without permit
face travel prohibition
the allure of ayurveda
NAGENDRA ADHIKARI
KAVRE, AUG 18
n People wait outside a building of Gulmi District Ayurveda Health Centre for health check-ups in Upper Tamghas on Thursday. According to
the centre, a growing number of people in the district are choosing Ayurvedic treatment over conventional one in recent times.
POST PHOTO: GHANASHYAM GAUTAM
news digest
3 sentenced for
murder of CNP
game scout
BHARATPUR: The Chitwan
District Court has convicted three individuals
in the murder of
Sheschandra Chaudhary,
senior game scout of
Chitwan National Park
(CNP), and sentenced
them to 34 years in prison. A single bench of
Judge Basudev Paudel
pronounced the verdict
on Wednesday, pronouncing Jiban Praja,Girija
Praja and Man Bahadur
Praja guilty of murdering Chaudhary.
Chaudhary was shot
dead inside the park
almost two years ago. (PR)
Abducted girl
rescued in India
RAJBIRAJ: An
seven-yearold girl, who was abducted from Narghe VDC in
Saptari on Wednesday,
was rescued from India
on Thursday. Police said
the girl had been kidnapped by her neighbour
and taken to India. The
kidnapper, whose identity has been withheld by
police, is at large.
Superintendent of Police
Bhim Prasad Dhakal
said a team of civvies
deployed by the district
police rescued the girl
from Kariyaut Panchayat
of Madhaban district in
Bihar. The girl was handed over to her parents in
a press meet. SP Dhakal
said the girl had been
abducted over a minor
family dispute. (PR)
Soldier ‘commits
suicide’
DOTI: A Nepal Army
reportedly soldier committed suicide by shooting himself inside the
NA Far Western Infantry
Division in Dipayal on
Thursday. The NA has
not disclosed the
soldier’s name. Sources
said he shot himself
while on duty. Police is
investigating the soldier’s death. (PR)
Armed robbers
kill elderly man
DHADING: A 75-year-old
man was found murdered by a gang of robbers at Kiranchowk-4 in
Dhading. Police said
Harka Bahadur Tamang
was fatally attacked by
the robbers on
Wednesday night. His
wife, Thulimaya, was
seriously injured in the
incident. Police suspect
that the robbers struck
Tamang’s home after
learning that he
had recently withdrawn
Rs 50,000 as part of housing reconstruction aid
for earthquake
victims. (PR)
Shortage of essential
medicines in Mugu
RAJ BAHADUR SHAHI
MUGU, AUG 18
The District Hospital in Mugu
has been reeling under an
acute shortage of essential
medicines after the road
transport service was disrupted by floods and landslides
two months ago.
District Public Health
Officer Saroj Adhikari said
the hospital service has been
hit because of medicine shortage. “The hospital has already
run out of medicine stock. A
drug consignment sent by the
regional medical store is
stuck on the way because of
road obstruction,” he said.
Health facilities outside the
district headquarters have
also been hit by the medicine
shortage.
Ratnabir Sunar, a health
worker at Ratipani Primary
Health Centre, said many peo-
UNFPA equips 16
districts with
EMERGENCY
health and
dignity kits
ple in the region were suffering from viral fever.
“The health centre does not
have the necessary medicines.
We cannot afford to airlift the
medicines,” he said.
Even local pharmacies in
the district are running out of
medicines.
Scarcity in Banke
BANKE:
Several
health
facilities in Banke are facing
medicine shortage as the
District Public Health Office
has bee unable to purchase
medicines due to lack of
budget. The DPHO storekeeper, Bedeshwor Gautam, said
there was a shortage of
Paracetamol, Jeewan Jal
(rehydration
solution),
Metronidazol and essential
antibiotics throughout the
district.
Once the centre has released
the necessary budget, it would
take at least three months to
replenish the supply of medicines, added Gautam.
In the wake of a terrible bus
accident that killed 27 people
in Kavre, police have heightened the scrutiny of buses
plying rural roads.
The local administration
has been inspecting route permits of the buses operating on
rural highways. The District
Administration Office said
vehicles that ply the roads
often get into accidents, denying passengers insurance pay
in case of casualties.
Suk Dev Khanal, chief of
the District Traffic Police,
said 62 vehicles plying the BP
Highway route were sent back
from Bhakunde on Thursday
after they failed to present the
route permits.
Some of the stranded
passengers found seats in private vehicles but many had to
return to Kathmandu. Many
of these vehicles are misusing
their permits issued for blacktopped roads to ply on
fair-weather
roads.
For
instance, Araniko Yatayat has
a route permit for up to
Chautara but its buses have
been traversing to various
rural parts of the Koshi zone.
Also, buses run by Himal
Tarai Yatayat that go up to
Okhaldhunga, Solukhumbu
and Udayapur districts have
their permits only up to
Bhakunde. For these vehicles,
the district administration
issues temporary permits
based on the demand from the
local communities.
The
local
authorities
heightened their inspection
after
Home
Minister
Bimalendra Nidhi on Tuesday
directed officials to take stringent measures against overloading in vehicles and the
anomalies related to the route
permit.
Transport entrepreneurs,
however, said barring vehicles
is not an effective solution.
“Vehicular movement in
rural areas will come to a
grinding halt if the authorities act this way,” said Rajesh
PM tells Sajha to make its service effective
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Kathmandu, Aug 18
Prime Minister Pushpa
Kamal Dahal has issued
directives for making the
services of the Sajha Yatayat
effective and convenient to
the commuters.
PM Dahal had called the
Sajha Yatayat office bearers,
including
its
Acting
Executive
Director
Mahendra Raj Pandey to
Baluwatar for discussion on
its preparations to add new
buses to its fleet. He urged
them to expand the Sajha
bus service taking into consideration the inconvenKumar Shrestha, chairman of
the Helambu Yatayat Sewa
Samiti.
“There is no route permit
for rural road networks.
Instead, the government
should upgrade roads and
issue permits,” he added.
ience faced by the commuters in the Kathmandu Valley.
“The people are facing
trouble traveling in the
Valley. It is necessary to give
a sense of relief to the people; take concrete decision
regarding adding the bus to
the Sajha’s existing fleet
considering the traffic jam
and the inconvenience the
commuters are facing in
Kathmandu,” PM’s deputy
personal
secretary
Manahari Timilsina quoted
him as telling the Sajha officials.
PM Dahal drew Sajha
Acting Director Pandey’s
attention to the need of addTransport officials also
took people off jam-packed
vehicles in Kavre.
Passengers of 84 vehicles
bore the brunt of the police
action as they could not reach
their destinations.
“The authorities should
ing at least 30 buses in its
fleet after holding discussion with all the stakeholders.
Pandey assured him that
they would reach a conclusion on the matter after thorough home work.
The Sajha Yatayat is preparing to operate 30 more
buses on different routes in
the Valley taking into
account the needs of the service-recipients.
Pandey said the new
buses will operate on the
Valley roads by fourth week
of September. Sajha currently operates 16 buses on three
routes in Kathmandu.
press transport entrepreneurs
to run more vehicles,” said
Ratna BK, who had to get off
the bus headed for Chautara.
“Authorities take action only
after big accidents and such
measure has never worked
so far.”
July was Earth’s hottest month India’s beloved
in modern times: US scientists tiger Machli dies
Post Report
Kathmandu, Aug 18
The
United
Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) has
prepositioned Reproductive
Health (RH) Kits and Dignity
Kits in 16 districts of Nepal in
order to be able to respond
rapidly to the needs of affected populations in case of an
emergency.
The RH Kits stored at the
Nepal Red Cross Society and
the UNFPA Country Office
can fulfill the needs of up to
270,000
affected
people
through health facilities,
according to a statement
issued by the UNFPA.
The UNFPA views that
prepositioning the RH Kits
and Dignity Kits are crucial to
Nepal due to the country’s
high vulnerability to natural
disasters. “Its geographical
features, including inaccessible areas and landlocked
nature, are impediment to a
prompt response in case of
disasters,” read the statement.
RH Kits are comprehensive
packages of medical equipment and supplies while
Dignity Kits are individual
packages containing clothes,
hygiene supplies, including
sanitary pads and a torch
given to women.
The kits also include clean
delivery articles to help pregnant women deliver their
babies in hygienic conditions,
oral and injectable contraceptives, birthing supplies, intrauterine devices and drugs for
miscarriage management.
n Nepal Army personnel carry a victim of the Kavre bus crash to an ambulance after she was airlifted to
Kathmandu for treatment on Tuesday. POST file PHOTO
n This file photo taken on August 12 shows a woman as she shades herself from the sun with an umbrella as
she walks on the National Mall during warm weather in Washington, DC. AFP
Agence France-Presse
MIAMI, Aug 18
Soaring temperatures worldwide made July the Earth’s
hottest month in modern
times,
setting
a
new
high mark for global heat
in 137 years of record-keeping, US government scientists
has said.
The report from the
National
Oceanic
and
Atmospheric Administration
came on Wednesday, just two
days after the US space agency
Nasa released its climate data,
which also found July was a
record-breaking month.
“July is typically the hottest month for the globe, and
last month didn’t disappoint,”
said a summary of the monthly report by NOAA.
“July 2016 was 1.57 degrees
Fahrenheit (0.87 degree
Celsius) above the 20th-century average, breaking last
year’s record for the warmest
July on record by 0.11
degrees.”
Scientists say the heating
trend is being driven by fossil-fuel burning, and is made
worse by the ocean warming
phenomenon known as El
Nino, which came to an end
last month. July’s global average of temperatures taken
over land and ocean surfaces
was the “highest for any
month in the NOAA global
temperature dataset record,
which dates back to 1880.”
July also marks the 15th
consecutive month of breaking monthly temperature
records, “the longest such
streak in the 137-year record,”
NOAA said. The report found
above-average warmth across
most of the Earth, with new
records observed in parts of
Indonesia, southern Asia, and
New Zealand.
Scorching temperatures
were seen in part of the Gulf
region, with several locations
across Kuwait experiencing
temperatures higher than 113
F during July.
“The highest maximum
temperature during July 2016
was recorded in Mitribah,
Kuwait when temperatures
soared to 126.5 F on July 22,” it
said. In Bahrain, the average
temperature of 96.8 F for the
month was the nation’s highest July temperature since
national records began in
1902.
New Zealand, Spain and
Hong Kong were also unusually warm.
Places that saw near-average or cooler-than-normal
temperatures last month
included the northwestern
United States, eastern Canada,
southern South America,
southwestern
Australia,
north
central
Russia,
Kazakhstan, and India.
Ocean temperatures were
also at a record high, amid
concerns
that
warming
waters are contributing to the
spread of coral bleaching
worldwide.
NOAA said the 13 highest
monthly global ocean temperature departures have all
occurred in the past 13
months. Heat records were
broken even though El Nino
has ended, and neither the
warming trend of El Nino or
the cooler La Nina prevailed
across the tropical Pacific
Ocean during July 2016.
La Nina is “slightly favored
to develop during AugustOctober 2016, with about 55-60
percent chance of La Nina
during the northern hemisphere fall and winter
2016/17,” NOAA said.
But even a break in El Nino,
which contributed to the surging global temperatures this
year, is not likely to sway 2016
from its track toward becoming the hottest year in the
contemporary era for global
heat.
NOAA said the first seven
months of the year are the
“warmest such period on
record at 1.85 F above the 20th
century average.”
n Machli had been the star attraction of Ranthambore National Park
for years because of her seemingly calm nature and penchant
afp
for posing for cameras.
Agence France-Presse
NEW DELHI, Aug 18
India’s most famous tiger,
photographed by thousands
of tourists over the years at a
popular northern wildlife
park, died on Thursday, days
after the ageing animal
stopped eating.
Machli had been the star
attraction of Ranthambore
National Park for years
because of her seemingly
calm nature and penchant for
posing for cameras, and she
even had her own Facebook
page. But Machli, the longest-surviving tigress in the
park at the age of 20, had been
slowing down in recent years
and had lost her teeth.
She was found starving and
laying on her side this week
near the park’s boundary in
Rajasthan state, sparking constant care by vets and park
staff. “We were trying to provide her treatment but she
died. It was a natural death
linked
to
her
age,”
Ranthambore tiger project
director Yogesh Kumar Sahu
told AFP. Endangered Royal
Bengal tigers live on average
for 10 to 15 years.
Her death made national
headlines in India, while saddened fans took to social
media to pay their respects to
the “lady of the lake” and the
“queen of Ranthambore”.
Featured in wildlife documentaries, she was once
filmed successfully battling a
four-metre (14-foot) long crocodile, according to the park’s
website. Machli, the Hindi
word for fish because of
shaped markings on her face,
also had 11 cubs over the years
whose offspring make up
almost half the park’s tiger
population.
Her death comes as a massive search continues for
another much-loved tiger in
the
western
state
of
Maharashtra who disappeared from a wildlife sanctuary in April. India is home to
more than half of the world’s
tiger population with some
2,226 of them roaming its
reserves, according to the last
count in 2014.
Yogi, 120, says ‘no sex or spices’ key to longevity
Agence France-Presse
KOLKATA, Aug 18
Looking remarkably unlined
for his claimed 120 years, an
Indian monk who says he is
the oldest man to have ever
lived puts his longevity down
to no sex or spices, and daily
yoga.
Hindu
monk
Swami
Sivananda was born on
August 8, 1896, according to
his passport. If true, his life
would have spanned three
centuries, but despite his
apparent age he remains
strong enough to perform
yoga for hours at a time.
He is now applying to
Guinness World Records to
verify his claim. It currently
lists
Japan’s
Jiroemon
Kimura, who died in June
2013 aged 116 years and 54
days, as the oldest man to have
ever lived.
India’s passport authorities
confirmed Sivananda’s age
from a temple register, the
only record many Indians
even decades younger have of
their date of birth.
However it would be
extremely difficult to independently verify his age.
Sivananda was featured by
local media earlier this summer, with the Times of India
noting he looked 50 years
younger than his apparent age
but taking his claims at face
value.
Sivananda, from the holy
city of Varanasi, grew up in
extreme poverty and chose to
become a monk, saying he
owed his age to “yoga, discipline, and celibacy”.
“I lead a simple and disciplined life. I eat very simply—
only boiled food without oil or
spices, rice and boiled daal
(lentil stew) with a couple of
green chillies,” he told AFP.
C M Y K
05
thekathmandu post
Friday, August 19, 2016
C M Y K
thekathmandu post 06
editorial
Friday, August 19, 2016
Between the lines
Since 1993
ED I T OR I A L
Geo-political realities and Nepal’s overdependence on India make their ties complex
Beating cheating
Stringent laws and effective implementation
are required to protect consumer rights
O
n Wednesday, the Department of Food Technology
and Quality Control (DFTQC) sealed seven outlets—
dealing in food items, petroleum products and
healthcare—for selling substandard products and
using defective weighing machines. One of the outlets
happens to be the Dairy Development Corporation
(DDC). DDC, whose dairy products are widely consumed all over the country, was found using expired
sugar and milk powder without any labels. Given that
DDC is a state-owned enterprise speaks volume on food
safety violations around the country.
If anything, food safety scandals have become all
too common in the country. Whether it was the Gudpak
outrage in 2011, when it was revealed that the
sweets were being made with inedible ingredients and
animal fats, or earlier this year when over 500kg of
rotten meat was seized from “fresh houses” around
the Capital.
According to the government statistics, essential
items like drinking water, cooking oil, vegetable ghee
and processed milk are the most commonly adulterated
products in the market. Out of 2,120 food samples taken
during a month-long inspection in the last fiscal year, 10
percent of them were found substandard by the DFTQC.
The authorities have found oil laced with peroxide, a
cleaning agent, to milk and water contaminated with
coliform bacteria found in animal and human wastes to
expired goods from reputed departmental stores. But
given that the DFTQ only has 40 inspectors for the
entire country, many involved in foul practices are not
brought to justice.
Moreover, it is not only food but other essential items
such as fuel and medicines that too have been found
adulterated.
The Food Act 1966 and the Consumer Rights
Protection Act 1998 are in place to protect consumer
rights and restrict unfair trade practices in the country.
While the Food Act is considered too lenient with Rs
10,000 as maximum fine and sentence of two to three
years in prison, the Consumer Act which is more stricter with sentence to 14 years, or fine up to Rs500,000 or
both, is hardly implemented. Thus, the government
needs to either tighten the Food Act or implement the
stricter Consumer Protection Act more often even in
cases related to food.
Although the government has made market monitoring more regular, the crackdowns do not seem to be
effective. The government needs to further strengthen
its vigilance hiring more inspection staff and providing adequate resources to the monitoring department.
The rights of the consumer need to be taken more
seriously creating both stringent laws and effective
implementation and redressal mechanism that actually
penalise perpetrators. In India for instance there are
Consumer Courts that adjudicate matters relating to
violation of consumer rights.
But as a start the government needs to make sure
that its enterprises are upholding the standards.
LOK RAJ BARAL
I
nterviews of politicians and role incumbents should be read between the lines.
Former deputy prime minister and foreign
minister Kamal Thapa has disclosed some
things which had remained only as
assumptions of some critics. Thapa has, in
the course of an interview with Saptahik
Nepal on August 21, revealed that India was
not happy with the unreliable tongues of
Nepali leaders who say one thing in Delhi
and another in Kathmandu. At a meeting of
senior party leaders, Sher Bahadur Deuba
and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prachanda disclosed that India was against making Nepal
a secular state, and that they had assured the
Indians that they would make efforts to
remove it or reframe the word ‘secularism’
in the constitution. However, it can be confidently stated that these points could not be
the only sources of misunderstanding
between the two countries. Kamal Thapa
also said that during his frequent trips to
India, no Indian leader had ever raised the
issue of a secular agenda.
Indian concerns
This admission suggests that there are other
areas of divergence between Nepal and
India, like the Madhesi demand for an inclusive constitution, the federalisation agenda
which is perceived as being problematic by
Nepal’s immediate neighbours, and chances
of political instability if the constitution
was not amended. Yet, the Indian leadership
or diplomatic functionaries have never spoken against federalism while China seems to
be weighing possible dangers to its security.
Surprisingly, Nepali political leaders themselves have created a mess out of some of the
contentious agenda requiring immediate
resolution. Since such domestic issues have
their linkages with external relations, any
failure to convince stakeholders will create
perennial conflicts.The Nepali state’s declining capacity, fractured politics and kleptocracy cannot manage crises.
When politicians who rely on manufactured nationalism or xenophobia to remain
popular fail to avoid problems, they tend to
be rigid in reaching a solution. The divide
between nationalists and others have not
only vitiated the political environment with
polarisation but also helped to precipitate
problems. Then what would be the strategic
narrative of Nepal, India and China in the
changing context of a power disequilibrium? What perspectives have these neighbours developed to put relations on a positive track of cooperation?
The post-constitution developments in
Nepal and the defiance shown by the
Madhesi parties against the statute have
dragged India into Nepal’s domestic problems. India’s facilitation, involvement or
benign interference through what is called
‘micro-management’ in political circles is a
reality in Nepali political history.
Nevertheless, India’s temptation to be cognisant of developments might have become
‘overbearing’ to some, though it has not put
pressure on Nepal to adopt a particular
regime despite being sympathetic to its democratic struggle.
It seems that India is guided by two main
considerations in its Nepal policy: continuity of traditional relations with some struc-
tural guarantees and taking in good stride
Nepal’s active role in the international
arena. Yet, Nepal’s sense of historical identity and aspiration to be fully independent in
conducting its relations with others sometimes clash with India’s own aspiration of a
regional, and eventually, world power. Geopolitical realities along with Nepal’s overdependence on India make their relations complex, and this is reflected from time to time
in their divergent perceptions and actions.
The China factor
China has always figured prominently in
Nepal-India relations ever since its coming
to Tibet. Nepal’s establishment of formal
diplomatic relation with the northern neighbour in 1955 had created a psychological
wave towards diversification of foreign policy. Taking it further, the then prime minister
BP Koirala took steps to establish relations
with Israel and Pakistan, about which India
might have been unhappy without showing
it. Yet, BP’s problems with India were both
perceptual and personal. His association
with Nehru’s opponents (socialists) and his
youthfulness and dynamism did not go well
The country should rethink and revise its strategies to prepare for and deal with disasters
world humanitarian day
Kashmir dialogue
Pakistan’s call for talks makes eminent sense
D
My
beast
friend
F
Baral is a professor and former
ambassador of Nepal to India
Humanitarian responses
w orld v ie w
espite the toxic atmosphere currently poisoning Pak-India relations, it is welcome that
Islamabad has reached out to New Delhi to
discuss the Kashmir problem. On Monday,
the foreign secretary gave the Indian high
commissioner in Islamabad a letter intended for
his counterpart in New Delhi, inviting him to
discuss the issue. Instead of indulging in a
blame game, this is the mature way to handle
the situation.
For over a month now, India-held Kashmir
has witnessed severe unrest. It is quite clear
that the uprising is indigenous in nature, fuelled
by New Delhi’s repressive methods in the held
territory. Moreover, Narendra Modi’s remarks,
repeated during his Red Fort speech on Aug 15,
unnecessarily dragging Balochistan, GilgitBaltistan and Azad Kashmir into the debate,
have not helped matters on the bilateral front,
or in addressing the unrest. Hence, in the midst
of all this, Pakistan’s call for dialogue makes
eminent sense—in fact, this can be an opportunity to revive the Pak-India dialogue process.
India should realise its strategy in the held
territory has not borne fruit; militarising
Kashmir has only increased the locals’ resentment against New Delhi, which has tried to
paint the uprising as a mere law-and-order
issue. The current unrest has roots in the history of the region, and political stalemate.
Internally, the Indian government, through its
ruling allies in Srinagar must reach out to the
disaffected populace and work to calm the situation. As Kashmir’s recent history has shown,
brutal state repression will only further alienate the Kashmiris, and cause disenchanted
youth to pick up the gun. India cannot deny
that, despite the passage of several decades
since the dispute emerged, Kashmir remains
the flashpoint in the subcontinent and the prime
reason for the absence of normal ties with
Pakistan. That is why the Indian foreign secretary should respond positively to Pakistan’s
invitation; both sides need to frankly and sincerely discuss Kashmir—and all other issues.
Grandstanding and indulging in cross-border
verbal duels will only make matters worse.
with Nehru’s cautious approach to handling
foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the escalating Sino-Indian
border problem put much pressure on the
Koirala government to maintain a balance
between the two belligerents. Nevertheless,
Koirala was conscious of the southern
neighbour’s sensitivity, and some fresh proposals from the Chinese side to open the
northern border were avoided. This idea was
revived after the 1960 coup with king
Mahendra and China agreeing to connect
Kathmandu and Kodari on the Nepal-China
border. Nehru’sdisapproval of Mahendra’s
coup and the hit-and-run activities of the
Nepali Congress carried from across the
Nepal-India border also prompted the king
to be closer to China. It is interesting to note
that despite such bonhomie with China,
Mahendra always respected Indian sensitivities and reversed many decisions that could
have favoured China.
Today, Nepal’s strategic importance has
been further increased by a new kind of
geo-political activism in South Asia. Yet,
relations between China and India, to date,
are both competitive and cooperative, though
both are obsessed with each other’s strategic
moves. It does not mean that they are likely
to be involved in a war. It is not a Cold Warlike relationship either, but rather it what
Noah Fieldman calls a “cool war, which is a
little warmer than cold” war.
It is also significant that both powers want
to avoid war or extreme bitterness as was
observed in the early 1960s. Their larger
interests will not be served by generating
conflicts on one pretext or the other, and
hence, peace and a stable border have
become their priorities. If the Sino-Indian
border becomes a ‘dominant conflict’, their
strategic dissonance will be evident in the
formation of regional and global alliances
with long-term perspectives of emerging
scenarios in international politics. And
China is on the radar of the big powers that
want to check its threats, perceived or real,
in the Asia-Pacific region. But China is still
a lone power of near superpower status having limited formal strategic alliances at the
global level. Now it is up to Nepali political
leaders to modulate the cooperative and
competitive dimensions of its two neighbourly powers and turn triangular relations
into its favour.
PRABIN MAN SINGH &
MIN BAHADUR SHAHI
A
s Nepal is one of the most disaster prone
countries in the world, it is confronted
with a number of natural and man-made
disasters every year resulting in the loss
of lives and properties. The country sits
above active fault lines that can trigger
earthquakes of great intensity anytime. The
earthquake on April 25, 2015 and its aftershocks were a testimony of that fact. Koshi
floods of 2008 made more than 50,000 people
homeless. Flash floods in mid-western Nepal
in 2014 caused 150 deaths and displaced nearly 30,000 people.
Globally, 218 million people each year are
affected by disasters, and the annual cost to
the global economy now exceeds $300 billion.
Collective action and shared responsibility
are needed to save lives and enable people to
live with dignity. A report from the United
Nations,
‘One
Humanity:
Shared
Responsibility 2016’ emphasises humanitarian actions must respect dignity, safety and
resilience of survivors and reaffirms universal application of core humanitarian principles—humanity, neutrality, impartiality and
independence.
The disasters
Immediately after the earthquake in 2015,
many humanitarian aid agencies supported
Nepal in rescue and relief efforts. The
government of Nepal did an assessment
to carry forward the post-earthquake
reconstruction
process
titled
Post
Disaster Needs Assessment, which estimated that the earthquake had increased Nepal’s
poverty level by 3 percent. The world
came together to support Nepal, with
donations pouring in from everywhere.
However, political instability and frequent
changes in government have delayed reconstruction works.
Earthquake survivors have lived in temporary shelters made of iron sheets for two
monsoons in a row. They are still unclear
PRAKASH BHATTARAI
riendship is a vital part of every person’s life. People can have friends in
the neighbourhood, school, college,
office and other places where they
meet others. People make many hi-hello
friends and some intimate friends too.
Intimate friends play an important role
in different paths of life. In fact, it would
be near impossible to find a person without at least one intimate friend because
humans are social living beings. The
word friendship has a very vast territory.
In fact, a friend is a friend in need. In real
and pure friendship, a friend should help
about what ‘building back better’ is and
whether they will be able to build houses
that can be called earthquake resistant.
There should be mechanisms in place to help
people so that they do not have to live in
makeshift shelters for an extended period,
which would have long-term consequences,
not just on the mental and physical well-being of survivors but also at social and economic levels. Survivors of 2014 floods in
mid-western Nepal are still living in temporary shelters.
A report Life after Devastation
recently produced by Humanitarian
Accountability Monitoring Initiative
(HAMI) and Oxfam, Nepal portrays the
ground realities of survivors living in temporary shelters without access to basic facilities like electricity, water supply, sanitation,
health and education even after several
years of the disaster. The report has stories
of disaster survivors of the Koshi floods in
2008, mid-western floods in Surkhet and
his or her friend in trouble from the
heart. The help should be mutual. In an
ideal friendship, dedication, courteousness, love and honesty are vital. In our
society, many people have reached the
summit of success through the help, suggestions and counseling of friends. Many
friends are making their friend’s life
great. Many successful leaders, professionals and businessmen are in that position due to their friend’s help. Real
friends have boundless love for their
friends. They feel their friend’s grief and
sorrows as their own.
But the bitter truth is that all friends
are not good and faithful. Some friends
Banke in 2014, Jure landslide in 2014 and the
Gorkha earthquake in 2015.
Survivor stories
A case in point is Bimala Devi Yadav of
Sunsari, a survivor of the 2008 Koshi floods,
who narrates how her once fertile land
turned into a river bank. She cannot grow
paddy anymore as her land got silted and has
become unproductive. She can produce only
water melon and parwal (pointed gourd).
Saha Bahadur Khadka, 68, survived the 2014
floods by staying on the branches of a tree
for two days and later found out that he had
five ribs broken. Two years since the floods,
he is still living in Girighar temporary camp,
Surkhet with seven family members in the
middle of a jungle with no basic amenities.
Similarly, a family of Ram Kaji Shrestha,
72, and Ganesh Maya Shrestha, 63, of
Barhabhise, Sindhupalchowk survived three
major disasters—a landslide, an earthquake
and a flood—in a span of two years. They
put obstacles in someone’s life. Some
betray and pull the legs of their friends.
Some harm the trust of their friends. In
our society, we can see people who have
been severely harmed by their so-called
friends. The damage done by friends is
more severe than that
done
by
enemies
because friends also
know one’s tiniest
weaknesses. Money, power, position and
love are the common factors over which
many people are betrayed by their own
friends whom they have trusted. These
factors bring jealousy and sin due to
which many people are harmed by those
people whom they feel as their own.
In our locality, schools, colleges and
workplaces, we can see many people
engaged in consuming alcohol, tobacco,
cigarette and even drugs due to their
friend’s influence or insistence.
Gambling is also a
great problem. Friends
trust their friends and
imitate them thinking
that they are their well-wishers. Due to
bad friends, many people become
engaged in gang fights, robberies, bribery and other criminal acts. Many senseless friends give verbal anxieties also.
Backbiting is common. In fact, an ideal
postplatform
lost their only son in the earthquake last
year. To make matters worse, the Bhotekoshi
flood this year swept away their land, and
their newly constructed house, which they
had built after the earthquake, was
destroyed. They are now living in rented
rooms and waiting for government support.
These stories speak for thousands of families living under unsafe and uncertain conditions after various disasters. A dignified
rehabilitation of disaster survivors requires
adequate support to help them revive their
livelihoods. Loss of arable lands and businesses after a disaster leaves many families
struggling to regain their livelihoods. Many
end up taking up menial work such as crushing stones to earn some extra income to feed
their family. They are also likely to become
vulnerable to other forms of exploitation.
Humanitarian operations cannot bring a
permanent end to the sufferings of the survivors. The rescue, relief and recovery initiatives get intertwined with complex political
influence, low community participation and
dissatisfaction among the population. All
these undermine the rights of survivors.
After the earthquake, there were also reports
of irregularities, creating disharmony in
society and discrimination in aid agencies’
work.
Although there have been a few initiatives
to relocate the flood affected families, they
lack systematic planning and participation
of the communities. Whatever politics or
complexities lie behind, it is the duty of the
government to ensure a dignified life for
those affected by the disaster.
As the world celebrates the World
Humanitarian Day today, Nepal should
rethink and revise its strategies to prepare
for and deal with disasters so that, in the
case of emergencies, humanitarian works
are effectively carried out and people do not
have to suffer for a long time. Affected communities have to be helped to become resilient and return to normal life as early as
possible. Nepal must enact the Disaster
Management bill that protects the rights of
disaster survivors, and ensure proper recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Singh works as policy and research
coordinator at Oxfam, Nepal; Shahi is a
convener of HAMI and national chairperson
of Human Rights Alliance
enemy is much better than a wicked and
mean friend. An ideal enemy harms up
to a limit and doesn’t torture one for no
reason. Good friends can make a person’s life very happy while bad friends
make life hell. In fact, having wicked
friends is like keeping a venomous snake
in the home and feeding it milk. No one
can tell when it will bite. As society is
very complex, everyone should judge
with a cool mind before making friends
or trusting others. One should use one’s
conscience. Friendship is a holy thing.
No one should underestimate, misuse
and harm it’s glory. It should be respected from the depth of the heart and soul.
C M Y K
07 thekathmandu post
op-ed
Woes in the wild
Animals would have so much to say about sufferings
from climate change, if only they could
london
calling
NAVIN SINGH KHADKA
[email protected]
L
ogistically, the annual UN climate conferences
are organised quite meticulously. The event
venue, usually quite spacious, becomes a self-sustained “town” where thousands of people from
across the globe assemble to decide the fate of
the planet. And yet, something was missing big
time at the meeting venues over the years—until the
Paris summit last November. The conference site in
the French capital finally had on show what previous hosts of the climate meets seemed to have forgotten: the animals of the planet.
Plastics, glasses and cardboards were cut out into
different shapes of animals, mainly flagship species. Although mute, they seemed to be claiming
their stakes in the earth’s climate systems. And
they kept on reminding the participants that they
were suffering equally, if not more, from the impacts
of climate change. The lifeless shapes of the animals were enough to press the point that they had to
suffer because of the misdeeds by their co-inhabitants, the humans.
Feeding milk to rhinos
If all this sounds like fiction and imagination,
fast-forward to the present and see what is happening to animals because of extreme weather events
in our own region. Nearly 250 wild animals died in
the Kaziranga National Park in India’s Assam state
this month because of floods. Nearly 20 rhinos, most
of them calves, 185 hog deer, some wild buffaloes
and boars, among others, were killed by flood
waters. Pictures on social media showed that many
of these animals from the Unesco natural heritage
site came out to highways and human settlements to
escape the disaster.
Conservationists were worried that poachers
would now easily get what they were looking for,
including rhino horns and body parts of tigers. It
was indeed a very worrying situation. Floods from
the swelled Bramhaputra river had submerged
nearly 90 percent of the Kaziranga National Park.
No wonder the animals were desperate to get out. In
the aftermath, pictures showing people feeding
milk to rhino calves went viral. There were reports
that communities were willing to adopt many of the
orphaned pachyderms.
The floods may have receded now but that is not
the end of the miseries for the animals. A huge
quantity of sand has been dumped in many areas of
the state. Media have reported that the worst hit
places now look like deserts. The wild animals in
the Kaziranga National Park must have been left
perplexed how the green vegetation had all of a
sudden turned barren.
A wild elephant from the region was not as lucky
to get to see its habitat again. Strong river currents
swept it more than 1,000 miles downstream. When it
regained some balance to stand up on its own, it had
reached a different country—Bangladesh.
According to media reports, it wanted to climb
ashore but was driven back to water by villagers at
many locations. After weeks of struggle, it
finally received some medical help from veterinary
personnel, but it was too late. The nine-foot, fourtonne male finally fell in a muddy field before taking his last breath.
It is not only about floods creating life and death
situation for wild animals. Temperature rise too has
caused problems for wildlife. A few weeks ago,
Indian media reported that a Royal Bengal tiger was
spotted at an altitude of 12,000 feet in Uttarakhand.
This is the height where you normally find snow
leopards while tigers roam at places between 3,000
and 4,000 feet above sea level. “It’s not healthy
news,” New Delhi Times quoted DP Dobhal of
Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan
Geology. “The animal found it warm at an elevation
of 12,000 feet. Now, more animals may scale up
and that will pose threats to other animals of
upper Himalayas.”
Further north in Kashmir, there have been
reports of increasing incidents of conflict between
Asian black bears and humans. Scientists and officials say warmer winters have led to a decreased
hibernation period for the bears and, as a result, the
animals come in contact with people more frequently. Wildlife department figures show that 40 people
were killed and 562 injured by black bears in
Kashmir between 2011 and 2012.
No follow-up study
If this is what climate change-induced extreme
weather has done to the wildlife in our neighbourhood, the story with those in Nepali territory is
certainly not going to be different. And you may be
wondering why this write-up chose to talk about
Indian wildlife then. The trouble is climatic impacts
on Nepali wildlife have hardly been studied and
documented. When wildfire engulfed the Bardiya
national park in 2012, government officials estimated that 40 percent of small mammals, 60 percent of
insects and a significant number of birds had been
lost. I reported that for the BBC then. But there was
no follow-up study after the event.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
the UN climate science body, has warned of increasing pressures on wildlife because of climatic changes. “Laboratory and field studies have demonstrated
that climate plays a strong role in limiting species’
ranges,” it said in its assessment.
True that people’s sufferings because of extreme
weather events overshadow the impacts on wildlife.
But wild animals are inextricably linked to the
natural ecosystem we depend on. If they are disturbed, that will have a knock-on effect on us. For
instance, if elephants’ habitats are hit by extreme
weather events, they will come out and that may
cause severe damages to human settlements and
farmlands.
That is exactly why climate plans these days
include programmes to help wildlife and their habitats. One of the five components of the World
Bank’s Strategic Programme on Climate Resilience
is “Enhancing climate resilience of endangered
species” and it was launched for a genuine cause.
How far has it moved ahead, if at all, is a different
matter altogether.
As Nepal continues to be lashed at by heavy
rainfall, do remember that it is not just us who
suffer. There is a wild world out there that gets
wet too.
Khadka is a BBC journalist based in London
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]
SHORTCUTS REMEDY
In a recent op-ed piece, the author
avers that ‘eradicating the scourge of
corruption from the country will only
be possible through small individual
changes’ (‘Stop that virus’, August
16, Page 6). It is difficult to believe
that small individual efforts will be
able to eliminate corruption that has
pervaded all parts of public life. Some
of us who are lucky to live through
both sides of the political spectrum—
monarchy and democracy—will agree
that public corruption has worsened
in the last 25 years than in the past
2,500 years. Judging by the flourishing
corruption in the country today,
small individual changes will take
another 2,500 years to cure this
cancer from the face of the Himalayan
highlands.
We need effective hypersonic short-
cuts, like the US bombing of IS strongholds, to free the country from the evil
of dreaded corruption. One way of
doing it would be by introducing ‘draconian primal punishments’ in the
amended constitution.
The government servants and the
politicians should bear in mind that
public service domains are not for
making money. If they want to make
money, they can invest billions of
their own money or migrate to greener pastures as many of their kins are
already doing.
While travelling on a crowded bus
on a hot day, it is not a good feeling
when fellow passengers—politicians at
the grassroots of party pyramids—
start telling you that this supermarket
belongs to this Maoist woman, those
are owned by proxy by such and such
Maoist men, or these schools belong to
this Congress woman or those hospi-
Friday, August 19, 2016
Is god transgender?
Scientists now tell us
that gender identity, like
sexual orientation, exists
on a spectrum
MARK SAMETH
I
n the 1970s a cousin of mine, Paula
Grossman, became one of the first people
in America to undergo sex-reassignment
surgery. As Paul Monroe Grossman, Cousin
Paula had been a beloved music teacher in
New Jersey. She was fired after her surgery,
and she subsequently lost her lawsuit for
wrongful termination based on sex discrimination (though a court did rule that she
could receive a disability pension). The story
was all over the news back then; I’d like to
think it would have ended differently today.
Forty years after the Supreme Court
refused to hear Paula’s appeal in 1976, the
transgender story is still unfolding. This
month, a transgender high school student in
Virginia lost the right to use the restroom of
his choice when the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s order. Still, for
the first time it is possible to imagine a ruling from a fully seated Supreme Court to
comprehensively outlaw discrimination
against transgender people. There is real
reason to be hopeful, even if social prejudices don’t disappear overnight.
I’m a rabbi, and so I’m particularly saddened whenever religious arguments are
brought in to defend social prejudices—as
they often are in the discussion about transgender rights. In fact, the Hebrew Bible,
when read in its original language, offers a
highly elastic view of gender. And I do mean
highly elastic: In Genesis 3:12, Eve is referred
to as “he.” In Genesis 9:21, after the flood,
Noah repairs to “her” tent. Genesis 24:16
refers to Rebecca as a “young man.” And
Genesis 1:27 refers to Adam as “them.”
Surprising, I know. And there are many
other, even more vivid examples: In Esther
2:7, Mordecai is pictured as nursing his niece
Esther. In a similar way, in Isaiah 49:23, the
future kings of Israel are prophesied to be
“nursing kings.”
Why would the Bible do this? These aren’t
typos. In the ancient world, well-expressed
gender fluidity was the mark of a civilized
person. Such a person was considered more
“godlike.” In Ancient Mesopotamia and
Egypt, the gods were thought of as gender-fluid, and human beings were considered
reflections of the gods. The Israelite ideal of
the “nursing king” seems to have been based
on a real person: a woman by the name of
Hatshepsut who, after the death of her husband, Thutmose II, donned a false beard and
ascended the throne to become one of Egypt’s
greatest pharaohs.
The Israelites took the transgender trope
from their surrounding cultures and wove it
into their own sacred scripture. The four-Hebrew-letter name of God, which scholars
refer to as the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, was
probably not pronounced “Jehovah” or
“Yahweh,” as some have guessed. The
Israelite priests would have read the letters
in reverse as Hu/Hi—in other words, the
hidden name of God was Hebrew for “He/
She.” Counter to everything we grew up
believing, the God of Israel—the God of the
three monotheistic, Abrahamic religions to
which fully half the people on the planet
today belong—was understood by its earliest
worshipers to be a dual-gendered deity.
Scientists now tell us that gender identity,
like sexual orientation, exists on a spectrum.
Some of us are in greater or lesser alignment
with the gender assigned to us at birth. Some
of us are in alignment with both, or with
neither. For others of us, alignment requires
more of a process.
It may come as a surprise that scientists
view gender as anything other than a simple
binary. But thousands of years ago, as a
review of ancient literature makes clear, that
truth was known. In court challenges,
administrative directives and popular culture, the issue is playing out in real time,
before our eyes. But behind the unfolding
legal drama lies the reality of human nature:
the fact that gender is not, nor has it ever
been, a matter of “either/or.”
Gender, as Cousin Paula might have
put it, is more like music: Each of us has a
key and a range with which we are
most comfortable. Attuned to ourselves and
to one another, we can find happiness and
harmony.
— © 2016 The New York Times
Racial patronage
The pull of white identity politics can be overcome, but only with great effort
Ross Douthat
T
hink of a Donald Trump voter, the kind
that various studies have identified as his
archetypal backer: a white man without a
college education living in a region experiencing economic distress.
What do you see? A new “forgotten man,”
ignored by elites in both parties, suffering
through socioeconomic dislocations, and
turning to Trump because he seems willing
to put the working class first? Or a resentful
white bigot, lashing back against the transformation of America by rallying around a
candidate who promises to make America
safe for racism once again?
You’re allowed to answer “both, depending.” But where to lay the emphasis has
divided liberals and conservatives against
one another.
Conservatives who are generally happy
with the Republican Party’s status quo, the
mix of policies that Trump has ranged himself against, have stressed his voters’ baser
proclivities and passions, dismissing them
as bigots who are really the authors of their
own unhappy fates.
Conservatives who favor a populist shift in
how the G.O.P. approaches issues like taxes
or transfer programs have stressed the ways
in which Reaganite Republicanism has failed
the working class, while urging a conservative politics of solidarity that borrows at
least something from the wreck of
Trumpism.
Likewise on the left: The more content you
are with a liberalism in which social issues
provide most of the Democratic Party’s energy, the more likely you’ll be to crack wise on
Twitter—“a lot of economic anxiety here!”—
every time Trump or one of his hangers-on
or supporters makes a xenophobic foray.
Alternatively, the more you favor a leftwing politics that stresses economic forces
tals belong to these UML honchos. Had
all those people been born as Prince
Talal, we would have no problem even
if they owned the whole world, but we
know most of them were scrounging
for a living not too long ago. It is painful for most of us to bear their transition from ‘chappal-chhap’ through
illicit gains. The only way to correct
this anomaly is by swift, shortcut remedy such as ‘primal’ whip lashes to the
erring gentlemen and women. This
will ensure egalitarian economic justice and regain our lost glory as an
honest nation.
Manohar Shrestha
via email
SAFETY NEEDS
In Nepal, bus accidents are a common
phenomenon. Still, it is sad that 27
people were killed and 39 injured
when a bus met with an accident in
Birta Deurali VDC in Kavre district
(‘At least 25 killed as bus veers off
road in Kavre’, August 16, Page 1).
There is no strict rule regarding
above all else, the more you’ll cast Trump’s
blue collar support as the bitter fruit of the
Democratic Party’s turn to neoliberalism,
and argue that social democracy rather than
shaming and shunning is the cure for rightwing populism.
My sympathies are with the second group
in both debates—as a partisan of a more
solidaristic conservatism, and as an outsider
who prefers the old left’s class politics to
the pseudo-cosmopolitanism of elite liberalism today.
But it’s also important for partisans of
socioeconomic solidarity, whether right
wing or left wing, to recognize that racial
and economic grievances can’t always be
separated, and that a politics of ethnic competition is an unfortunately common state of
political affairs.
Consider the trajectory of liberalism. In
the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal
deliberately excluded blacks from certain
benefits and job programs. This was discrimination, but it was also patronage: It was a
time when “affirmative action was white,” to
borrow from the historian Ira Katznelson,
lifting white workers at the expense of
African-Americans.
Then decades later, liberalism moved to
create affirmative action programs to help
those same African-Americans. This was
redress and expiation, but it was also another form of patronage: a promise of a hand
up, a race-based advantage that only liberalism would provide.
With time, that promise was extended
to groups with weaker claims to redress
than the descendants of American slaves,
even as mass immigration expanded the
potential pool of beneficiaries. Eventually,
we ended up with a liberalism that
favors permanent preferences for minority
groups, permanently large immigration
flows—plus welfare programs that recent
immigrants are more likely than native-born
vehicle movement in Nepal. Due to
this, the number of accidents seems to
be increasing. The conditions of the
roads and the vehicles, and the unavailability of emergency medical help
make matters worse. Similarly, the
drivers are sometimes drunk or drive
recklessly or use mobile phones while
driving. All these increase the likelihood of a disaster.
Research shows that especially at
bends, curves or corners, the risks of
an accident are higher. So the
drivers need to be fully aware about
them. Small negligence on the part of
the driver can easily lead to a big
disaster.
On top of that, many buses carry
people and objects way more than
their capacity. For example, the bus
that met with an accident in Kavre
was carrying around 90 people though
it was only a 35-seater bus. Many of
those who were sitting on the roof or
Americans to use.
This combination is (mostly) rooted in
idealism. But it still amounts to a system of
ethnic patronage, which white Americans
who are neither well-off nor poor enough to
be on Medicaid see as particularly biased
against them.
This constituency, the gainfully employed
but insecure lower middle class, is the
Trumpian core. By embracing white identity
politics, they’re being bigoted but also, in
their own eyes, imitative: Trump’s protectionist argle-bargle boils down to a desire to
once again have policies that specifically
benefit lower-middle-class whites—welfare
for legacy industries and affirmative action
for white men.
This crude attempt at imitation, unfortunately, is part of a very common iterative
cycle in politics. It’s a reason why, in multiethnic societies, multiracial parties are the
exception rather than the rule.
And breaking that cycle won’t be easy for
either party. The activist energy on the left is
pushing for a more ethnically focused politics, devoted to righting structural racebased wrongs. That energy will be blunted
temporarily by the flight of well-educated
whites from Trump, but the absence of economic common ground between Hillaryvoting white moderates and the party’s poorer, minority base means that her temporary
coalition is likely to fracture first along
racial lines.
That
fracturing
will
help
the
G.O.P. recover, but it won’t help Republicans
build a pan-racial conservatism. The
pull of white identity politics can be
overcome, but only with great effort.
Not least because it requires not only
that conservatism change, but that
minority voters be persuaded that the change
is meaningful.
And after Trump, what forgiveness?
— © 2016 The New York Times
hanging on the door were “lucky” in
that they could jump off the vehicle
before it fell down.
The government should make transport regulations more stringent. This
will significantly reduce the frequency
of the disasters like the one on
Monday. Let us hope for the speedy
recovery of the injured and pray that
those who lost their lives rest in peace.
Saroj Wagle
Dumarwana, Bara
C M Y K
classroom
kathmandupost
the
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
PG 08 | FRIDAY,AUGUST19,2016
Dreaming the invention
The gambling city
Talking through lights
Everyone dreams almost two to three hours on
average during their sleep and imagines various things. Some people have changed those
imaginations into reality. Larry King got the
idea for setting up Google through his dream.
Many other people like Tesla also got the
ideas for their findings from dreams.
Macau one of the most richest and populated city in the world is also known as ‘Las
Vegas of Asia’. The city which is the same
size as that of 700 football fields generates
50 percent of its total income from gambling and around 20 percent of the residents of this city are employed in casinos.
The glow that the fireflies produce at
the night is actually to communicate
with other fireflies rather than to provide
light in the dark. They talk with each
other by emitting the light in order to
attract mates, defend their territory or
warn away predators.
Life
Live your life free,
Without any care,
Stay in the meadow,
And breathe the cool air.
Life is a dream,
Which flows like a stream,
Into the wide river,
Glowing bright silver.
Life is not a problem,
That should be solved,
It’s the reality you should,
Try to get involved.
Life is very short,
Smile because you have teeth,
Always move upward,
Never beneath.
Hope you live your life,
With full of care,
I only know that,
Life is very rare.
Lochan Acharya
Class 10
Neologian Academy
Flower
n
Lovely lovely flowers,
With sweet smell,
Looking very well.
Art by Prashamsa Neupane, Class 9, Amar Jyoti English School.
D
A little piece
of inspiration
on’t let others judge you.
Live your life judging yourself,
judge your own actions and
your own decisions. Imagine
your life as a colour book that
you have to fill in different colours
yourself. See your life in creative
colours and not boring ones.
Live every shade, every colour
of life as if it is the most valuable
thing in the world. Don’t ever let
the world see your weaknesses.
Have different names,
Confusion in knowing all .
Many, many flowers in the world,
People wore them on their heads
Some are white and some are red,
Rhododendron is my favourite.
Shreya Mani Poudel
Class 4
Bright future Secondary School
Hard times do come but don’t let
some obstacles hinder the path to
your destiny. Remember always
that life only challenges strong
people and not the weak ones. And
whenever you feel alone, know
that everything around you is your
company in disguise.
Sujyana Pradhan
Class 9
Triyog Higher Secondary School
NOTICE
The girl
The beauty queen has lost her beauty to the mighty sun,
The sparkle of her eyes has faded to the day’s dawn
But hope is not out, the candle still flows.
The love for your through my veins still flows
Your voice intrigues me; your personality enhances mine
Your presence is like being in heaven, your soul so divine
It won’t be long before you’re back in my arms
Only when you hold my hand, my soul is calm.
Sujal Chapagain
Class 9
St Xavier’s School, Godavari
Send your poems, essays,
travelogues, memories, articles and
artworks along with your photo to
the following address. All the
students are requested to add their
class and school name.
[email protected]
n
Art by Sonisha Gautam, Class 9, Orchid School, Bharatpur, Chitwan.
We were H
born
to serve
uman beings have been calling themselves the superior
beings of this Earth. It may
look as like they are superior because of their power
and capacities, but the only
thing that has made them superior is humanity. If there is no
humanity in humans, there are
no longer powerful, no longer
superior.
Humanity existed before civilisations were created. Humanity
existed before we evolved to be
what we are today. But it has been
sleeping for too long. Maybe we
need to awaken our humanity
once again.
I am humanity. You are humanity. We are all embodiments of
humanity, even though it might
not be apparent most of the time.
Service is daring to share food
with starving people. Service to
humanity is showing love to the
ones you didn’t know existed a
few seconds ago. Service to
humanity is bringing the smiles
on the face that had for decades
forgotten how to smile. Service to
humanity is fighting for people
who can’t fight for themselves.
Service to humanity is to be a
support for the ones who can’t
stand tall by themselves. Service
to humanity is to be the hand that
feed the ones who can’t feed
themselves. Service to humanity
is the largest, tallest, highest and
strongest thing in this entire
world that can never be
overshadowed or killed. It is the
biggest proof that some higher
power exists in this world; that it
exists in thousand forms; that the
higher power is with everyone,
no matter how they differ from
one another.
Service gives you a kind of
satisfaction that you didn’t know
existed before. You will discover
the real truth of loving and being
loved, caring and being cared.
Mahatma Gandhi had said, “The
best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself in the service of others.” And addition to this, service
will also show other the path of a
good life. Here I want to quote
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.
“Everybody can be great…
because anybody can serve. You
don’t have to have a college
degree to serve. You don’t have to
make your subject and verb agree
to serve. You only need a heart
full of grace. A soul generated by
love.” I do believe that this quote
clearly elaborates why service is
so necessary in our lives. I further want to mention, whoever
you are, whatever you do and
wherever you stand, there is
room for you to be worthwhile for
others and have the capacity to
bring changes and save the entire
humanity in this world. It just
depends upon how you utilise
that space you have been given by
life. Just try to bring some
new but wonderful thoughts in
the palace of your mind and
follow them. Go be an agent for
change, go serve humanity.
Your true calling.
Manish Mawn Lamichhane
Class 10
Dhulikhel English Awasiya
Vidhyalaya
C M Y K
life&style
kathmandu post
the
PG 09 | Friday,August19,2016
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Expensive wedding gig
BORN TODAY
Robbie Williams was reportedly given 1.6 million
pounds to perform at Russian oil magnate Rashid
Sardarov’s daughter’s wedding at Prague Castle.
The singer was hired by Sardarov to perform at his
daughter Victoria’s nuptials with Anton Antonov.
The couple said their vows at Prague Castle in
front of their family and friends.
American former president Bill Clinton is 70
Star artist in hot soup
over aborigines comment
BBC
Melbourne, Aug 18
O
ne of the world’s most prominent artists has been called racist for a description of
Indigenous Australians in her
upcoming memoir.
Advance copies of performance artist Marina Abramovic’s
biography contain a passage describing Australia’s first people as
“dinosaurs”. Abramovic said the
comments were from an “early,
uncorrected proof ”.
But response to the excerpt on
social media was unsympathetic,
with many branding her a racist.
The memoir, entitled Walk
Through Walls, features a passage
that describes Abramovic’s first contact with Indigenous Australians in
the 1970s.
“Nothing prepared Westerners—
American actor Matthew Perry is 47
American actor John Stamos is 53
American singer Christina Perri is 30
South African actress Tammim Sursok is 33
Pokemon movie in the works
The writers of Guardians of the Galaxy,
Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch, are in
negotiations to write a live-action movie
on Pokemon. The news comes after
Legendary Films landed the rights to the
franchise. The movie will be based on the
upcoming game Detective Pikachu.
about town
projecting dolakha
On Mic
Sky-Bar & Grill
Saturday, Aug 19
On Mic: Kichaa, Pri and CJ
Time: 6 pm onwards
Location: Dillibazaar
Twitter users criticise Abramovic’s
post under the hashtag
#theracistispresent, a reference
to her famous performance
bloats their bodies) and sticklike
legs.” As the passage was widely
shared on social media, Abramovic
defended herself in a statement.
“I have the greatest respect for
Aborigine people, to whom I owe
everything,” she said.
“The time I spent with members of
the Pijantjatjara and Pintupi tribes
in Australia was a transformative
experience for me, and one that has
deeply and indelibly informed my
entire life and art.
“The description contained in an
early, uncorrected proof of my forthcoming book is taken from my dia-
nn
Tunnel
Friday, Aug 19
On Mic: Victoria
Time: 8 pm onwards
Location: Lazimpat
nn
Karma Bar & Lounge
Saturday, Aug 20
On Mic: Mukti and Revival
Time: 7 pm onwards
Location: UWTC, Tripureshowr
nn
n An innovative instalation by Sandhya Silwal projects Dolkhali faces onto a wall at the on-going Dolakha Album exhibition in
the Capital. The event, hosted by Artudio, features artworks by six artists during their short stay in Gairimudi, Dolakha.
The exhibit will continue until Aug 20. Photo Courtesy: Yugal Shrestha
Salman to present cheques to Rio athletes
Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, Aug 18
25 Hours
Saturday, Aug 20
On Mic: Skip, Fatfro G, Easi Twelve and
Rabbit
Time: 9 pm onwards
Location: Tangal
Contact: 01-4437486
nn
Karma Bar and Lounge
Friday, Aug 19
On Mic: Accoustix, Vital and Suren
Time: 8 pm onwards
Location: UWTC, Tripureshwor
nn
B
ollywood superstar Salman
Khan announced on Wednesday
that he will be presenting each
Indian athlete at the Rio
Olympics 2016 with a cheque of
INRs 101,000 as a “gesture of
appreciation.”
“As a gesture of appreciation for
our Olympic athletes, I will present
each one with a cheque of Rs 101,000,”
Salman, who is India’s goodwill
ambassador for the games, tweeted.
The Dabangg star also shared that
the Indian government is very supportive of sports.
He said that he admires the work
the Olympic Gold Quest is doing to
“shape tomorrow’s champions.”
Ai-La Lounge and Restaurant
Saturday, Aug 20
On Mic: Innvo8
Time: 6:30 pm onwards
Location: Kumaripati
Contact: 01-5522968
nn
The 50-year-old superstar was last
seen on screen in Sultan, produced by
Aditya Chopra under the banner
Yash Raj Films (YRF).
Earlier this month, YRF had also
announced that it will honour Indian
athletes who win gold at Rio with
INRs one million.
Moksh
Friday, Aug 19
On Mic: Mental Radio
Time: 7 pm onwards
Location: Jhamsikhel
Contact: 01-5528362
nn
Step Brothers to
reunite for Sherlock
BBC
Los Angeles, Aug 18
even Westerners used to extreme
experiences—for meeting Australia’s
first inhabitants,” the passage reads.
“Aborigines are not just the oldest
race in Australia; they are the oldest
race on the planet. They look like
dinosaurs.
“They are really strange and different, and they should be treated as
living treasures. Yet they are not.
“To Western eyes they look terrible. Their face are like no other faces
on earth; they have big torsos
(just one bad result of their
encounter with Western
civilisation
is
a
high-sugar diet that
ries and reflects my initial reaction
to these people when I encountered
them for the very first time way back
in 1979. “It does not represent the
understanding and appreciation of
Aborigines that I subsequently
acquired through immersion in their
world and carry in my heart today.”
Twitter
users
criticising
Abramovic posted under the hashtag
#theracistispresent, a reference to
the
artist’s
famous performance, The
is
Artist
Present, in
2010.
W
ill Ferrell and John C Reilly
are to reunite to play comedic
versions of Sherlock Holmes
and Doctor Watson.
The actors previously
appeared together in 2006’s
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of
Ricky Bobby and again in 2008 for
Step Brothers.
Etan Cohen, who directed Ferrell
in Get Hard last year, will direct the
comedy from his own self-penned
script.
According to Deadline, production
on the film—to be called Holmes and
Watson—will begin in November.
Ferrell will play Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth, while
Reilly will portray his dependable
companion. Recent film versions
Etan Cohen, who directed
Will Ferrell in Get Hard
last year, will direct the
comedy from his
own self-penned script
of the author’s famous stories
have starred Robert Downey Jr and
Jude Law in the iconic roles.
Holmes and Watson have also
appeared in the BBC’s Sherlock
and US series Elementary, both of
which transplanted the characters to
the modern day.
Ferrell was seen earlier this
year in Zoolander 2 and will be
seen again later this year in
James Franco’s directorial debut
Zeroville.
Swift donating $1m Ben-Hur gets a remake
for flood relief
Reuters
Los Angeles, Aug 18
BBC
Los Angeles, Aug 18
T
aylor Swift is donating USD one
million to flood relief for the state of
Louisiana in the US, after torrential
rains caused massive flooding,
killing at least 11 people and damaging tens of thousands of homes.
She said that she felt compelled to
help having felt graciously welcomed
when kicking off the US dates of her
1989 tour in the state last year.
Swift said in a statement: “We began
The 1989 World Tour in Louisiana, and
the wonderful fans there made us
feel completely at home. The
fact that so many people in
Louisiana have been
forced out of their own
homes this week is
heartbreaking.
I
encourage those who
can to help out and
send
your
love
and prayers their
way during this
The Bad Blood singer mentioned in
statement that they began ‘The 1989
World Tour’ in Louisiana and the
wonderful fans there made her feel
completely at home
devastating time.”
More than 20 inches of rain have fallen in and around Baton Rouge since last
week, and more is on the way, forecasters
said. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue through
the week.
The disaster is blamed for at least eleven deaths: six in East Baton Rouge
Parish, two in St Helena Parish and one
in Tangipahoa Parish, local officials
said.
The US Coast Guard and other first
responders rescued more than 20,000
people over the weekend. Civilians
helped out in some cases.
The flooding is some of the worst in
Louisiana’s history.
B
en-Hur, the 1959 movie epic that
won 11 Oscars, has received a
Hollywood revamp—but its makers say the famed chariot race
still relies on humans and horses, not special effects.
Boardwalk Empire actor Jack
Huston takes on the role for which
the late Charlton Heston was named
Best Actor, playing the young Jewish
noble Judah Ben-Hur, who is sent
into slavery by Roman occupiers but
returns to take his revenge.
“If you think about the climate of
the world today—and this movie is
set 2,000 years ago—you realise the
world hasn’t changed that much,”
Huston said at the film’s premiere.
“Being a beautiful action movie
with all of the thrills and excitement,
it’s still a very serious movie for our
time.”
Producer Mark Burnett said that
for the chariot-racing sequence—
nine minutes long in the original—
special effects had been used only for
crash scenes. “The actual horses
were ridden and driven by the actors.
It was 32 horses, eight chariots round
and around that arena at full speed,
sometimes on one wheel,” he said.
C M Y K
variety
Friday, August 19, 2016
thekathmandu post
10
TODAY’SHOROSCOPE
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
***
Your energy will be strong today—when it’s working, that is.
Through the day your energy is probably going to turn off and on
unpredictably, but this will not distract you too much. But you
won’t get anything done until you clear your mind.
u
d
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
***
A lot of change and movement is not advised for you right now.
Keep things where they are right now, because that is where they
need to be—whether you like it or not. Put any travel plans on
hold and stay close to home, school or work.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
***
If you feel like you’re working hard to help others but no one
seems to be appreciating your efforts, so what? If helping others
was your motivation, then why do you need recognition? If you’re
just trying to be good to get credit in someone’s eyes, stop.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
****
You’ll get a better idea of how someone truly feels about
you today because they’re starting to get a lot bolder in their
actions! This new awareness will be a little bit confusing, but very
exciting!
LEO (July 23-August 22)
*****
Your enthusiasm is vital for your team or circle of friends today.
People are looking to you for guidance on whether or not to get
involved in something, and if they see that you are up for it, then
they will be too.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
****
You don’t always have to know all the details about where, when
and how something is going down in order to have fun! You’ll be
surprised by what the other people cook up, and you’ll probably
end up loving it.
Yesterday’s Solution
s
o
k
u
c
r
o
WORD GAME
GRAFFITI
s
s
w
o
r
d
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
*****
It’s easy to push past the limits today—the limits set for you by
family members, co-workers, and even your own imagination are
no match for your determination! You can get out of following the
rules by coming up with your own set of guidelines.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
***
Questioning authority is usually a shrewd thing for you to do, but
right now you need to trust the people who are making the tough
decisions. Combating them will be a waste of your time, and
could create drama that is distracting rather than helpful.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
****
When you see a chance to get ahead today, take it! The time for
being conservative with your actions is over. If you want to make
a mark at work, catch the eye of that cutie, or just get a better
seat on the bus, you’ve got to make it happen.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
*****
Lengthy conversations are the name of the game today—starting
them and continuing them with the people you love most. Feel
free to be more inquisitive and ask a lot of questions that you
might usually find too prying.
DILBERT
RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT
AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)
*****
Expect some very rewarding news to come your way today—your
progress has been more significant than you thought and there
are some very happy people around you! If people give you praise
that seems too enthusiastic, so what?
PISCES (February 19-March 20)
*****
Being aggressive is not the same thing as being abrasive—you can
push harder to get what you want without turning into an angry or
annoying person! Especially today, when you have a great wave of
positive energy all around you.
L
A
U
G
H
O
U
T
L
O
U
D
K
A
N
T
I
P
U
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V
K
A
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F
M
A man to a psychiatrist: “How do you select who should be
admitted to your facility?” The psychiatrist replies: “We fill a
bathtub with water and give the person a spoon, a cup and a
bucket. Then we ask that person to empty the bathtub.” The man
smiles: “Ah, I understand, if you are sane you would take the
bucket.” The Psychiatrist replies: “No, a sane guy pulls the plug.
Do you want a room with or without a balcony?”
nnn
A man hired a lawyer when he got sued by his company for
embezzlement of many millions. At the beginning of the process,
the lawyer kindly reassured him: “Don’t worry, you’ll never go to
jail with that amount of money.” And the lawyer was right.
When the man did go to jail eventually, he didn’t have a penny
anymore.
5:00Bhaktisur/
AmritBani
6:00 Jeevan Bigyan/
Jyotish Manthan
6:40 Sky Shop
7:00 Kantipur Samachar
8:00 Kantipur News
8:30 Rise N Shine
9:00 Headline News
9:05 Marga Darshan
10:00 Kantipur Samachar
10:30 Market Updates
11:00 Headline News
11: 05 Music Galaxy
11:30 Info plus
12:00 Kantipur Samachar
12:30 Kilo Tango Mike
00:00 Non – Stop Hindi
Songs
02:00 Non – Stop Nepali
Pop/Adhunik Songs
04:00 Non – Stop Bhajan
05:00 Bhakti Anusthan
06:30 Kantipur Diary
07:00 The Headliners
07:30 Radio Magzine
08:00 Kantipur Diary
08:05 The Good Morning
Show
09:00 Traffic Update
09:30Kickstart
1:00
1:05
1:30
2:30
3:00
3:05
4:00
4:30
5:00
5:05
6:00
6:30
7:00
7:30
8:00
Headline News
Quiz Mania Season
4
Kantipur Samachar
Rise N Shine
Headline News
Sajha Sawal
Kantipur Samachar
New Entry
Headline News
Call Kantipur
Reloaded
Kantipur News
Score Board
Kantipur Samachar
Market Updates
Kantipur Samachar
10:00 Kantipur Diary
10:05 New Releases
11:00 Kantipur Diary
11:05Femina
12:00 Kantipur Diary
12:10 Brunch With
Bhumika
13:00 Kantipur Diary
13:05 Ke Chha Nepal
14:00 Kantipur Diary
14:05 Ke Chha Nepal
15:00 Kantipur Diary
15:15 SauraiKrishna
Malla
9:00 Samkon 2
10:00MNS
10:30 Kantipur News
11:00 Kantipur Samachar
11:30 Market Updates
12:00 Call Kantipur
Repeated
1:00 Kantipur News
Repeated
1:30MNS
2:00 Kantipur Samachar
Repeat 1
2:30 Score Board
3:00 Kantipur Samachar
Repeat 2
3:30 Samkon 2
4:30MNS
V
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T
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G
R
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R
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S
GARFIELD
CHAPALI HEIGHT 2
16:00 Kantipur Diary
16:05 Cine Quiz
17:00 Kantipur Diary
17:05 Fanatic Friday
18:00 Happy Life
18:30 Kantipur Diary
18:55Khoj
19:00Playtronix
20:00 Kantipur Diary
20:05 Wheel No Tension
21:00 Kantipur Diary
21:30 Club Mix
23:00 Aaja Dheki Arko
Aaja Saamas
Savour the cardamom and saffron spice,
slow-cooked kebabs and kormas at Indian
restaurant serving Awadhi cuisine.
contact: 427399, at Soaltee Crowne Plaza
E
S PEARLS BEFORE SWINE
F
I
L
M
S
QFX LABIM Mall: 8:30/11:30/16:45/19:30
QFX Civil Mall: 8:45/11:00/15:30/20:15
QFX Kumari: 11:15/17:15/20:45
QFX Jai Nepal: 9:00/15:15
RUSTOM
QFX Civil Mall: 8:15/12:00/18:30/19:45
QFX Kumari: 8:00/14:00/20:15
QFX LABIM Mall: 8:00/11:15/18:45
QFX Jai Nepal: 12:00/18:30
SUICIDE SQUAD 3D
QFX LABIM Mall: 14:30/20:00
QFX Civil Mall: 16:45
MOHENJO DARO
QFX LABIM Mall: 11:45
QFX Civil Mall: 14:30
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 Garden 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
Jayawardene ton
lifts Somerset
LONDON: Sri Lanka great
Mahela Jayawardene’s
first hundred for
Somerset saw the southwest side into the semi-finals of English county
cricket’s 50-over One-Day
Cup as they beat
Worcestershire by nine
wickets on Wednesday.
Somerset, playing in
front of their Taunton
home crowd, restricted
Worcestershire to 210
with only England
all-rounder Moeen
Ali (81) and Daryl
Mitchell (64) making
significant scores.
Both batsmen fell to
Peter Trego, who took
three for 33. Former Sri
Lanka captain
Jayawardene, who
retired from international duty last year, made an
unbeaten 117 and
received good support
from Jim Allenby (81) in
an opening stand of 188
that helped see Somerset
to victory with more
than 13 overs left. (AFP)
kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Friday,August19,2016
Ayew faces four months out
Wolfsburg sign Mario Gomez
West Ham’s record signing Andre Ayew faces four
months on the sidelines after injuring his thigh on
his debut, club co-owner David Gold said on
Thursday. Ayew was replaced 30 minutes into West
Ham’s 2-1 defeat by Chelsea on Monday, and Slaven
Bilic’s side are now likely to be without their new
recruit until the New Year.
Wolfsburg said they have signed Germany striker
Mario Gomez from Italian side Fiorentina. The
Bundesliga club gave no details of the transfer fee or
the contract, but German media reported that
Wolfsburg are paying around seven million euros for
him. Gomez previously played 236 Bundesliga games
for Stuttgart and Bayern Munich, scoring 138 goals.
Mahrez stays with Leicester
Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez ended speculation over his future by signing a new contract
that will keep him at the club until June 2020, the
Premier League champions announced on
Wednesday. The 25-year-old Algerian international signed for Leicester from French Ligue 2 side
Le Havre in January 2014.
Messi shines as Barca claim title
Agence France-Presse
BARCELONA, Aug 18
Luis Enrique wanted his players to take the plaudits as
Barcelona crushed Sevilla 3-0
to win their 12th Spanish
Super Cup on Wednesday, 5-0
on aggregate.
Arda Turan and Lionel
Messi
blew
away
the
Andalusians at the Nou Camp,
with victory meaning the
coach has won eight of the 10
competitions he has contested
while in charge of Barcelona.
With the hosts already leading
by two goals from the first leg,
Sevilla—bar an early flurry of
chances—were on the receiving end of a Barcelona football master class.
spanish super cup
Turan put in his best display yet for the Catalans after
a disappointing debut season,
scoring once in each half. But
it was Messi who masterminded a relentless slew of
assaults on Sevilla’s goal. “I
am very fortunate to have a
group of unique players, who
don’t stop surprising me,”
Enriquw said.
“They are different and the
good thing is that the new
players have a lot of enthusiasm and will try and copy
what those who have been
here for years have been
doing. It’s a true honour and a
pleasure.”
Sevilla started brightly
with Ben Yedder forcing a
smart save from Claudio
Bravo. Barcelona withstood
the early pressure and it took
just 10 minutes for them to
open the scoring. A good move
between Andre Gomes and
Messi led to the latter putting
Turan through and the Turk
fired home to break the dead-
Racing Club sack
coach Sava
BUENOS AIRES: Racing
Club have sacked coach
Facundo Sava less than
two weeks before the
start of the Argentine
league championship.
Club president Victor
Blanco confirmed the
decision at a news conference on Wednesday,
saying the board had
taken it because “the
objectives were not
reached”. Sava, a former
striker who played in
Europe for Fulham and
Celta Vigo between 2002
and 2005, had been at
Racing, his first job with
a major club, since the
beginning of the year.
Racing, who won the last
of their eight league
crowns in 2014, finished
14 points behind title
winners Lanus in the
last championship that
finished in May. (REUTERS)
Milan sign Sosa
from Besiktas
MILAN: AC Milan have
signed Argentine midfielder Jose Ernesto Sosa
in a two-year deal from
Besiktas for a contract
termination fee of $8.45
million, the Turkish
champions said on
Wednesday. The 31-yearold player joined
Besiktas, initially on
loan, in 2014 from
Ukrainian club Metalist
Kharkiv. He made 31
league appearances
and scored seven goals
last season. Before
joining Besiktas, Sosa
had a six-month spell
on loan at Atletico
Madrid, during which
he helped the Spanish
club win the 2013-14
league title. (REUTERS)
n FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (left) vies for the ball
with Sevilla’s Mariano during their Spanish Super
Cup final at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
AP
Arsenal aren’t afraid
to spend: Wenger
Agence France-Presse
LONDON, Aug 18
Arsenal manager Arsene
Wenger hit back on Thursday
at suggestions he is afraid to
spend in the transfer market
amid concerns the Gunners
are losing ground to other
leading Premier League clubs.
The north London club,
who were last crowned
Premier League champions
back in 2004, are estimated to
have cash reserves in the
region of £200 million. But
their only signing this summer has been that of
Switzerland midfielder Granit
Xhaka for a reported £30 million
from
Borussia
Moenchengladbach.
That is in stark contrast to
the transfer activity elsewhere, including Manchester
United’s world-record £89 million move to bring the French
midfielder Paul Pogba back to
Old Trafford from Juventus
amid several signings.
With centre-backs Gabriel
and Per Mertesacker injured,
Wenger decided against
recalling defender Laurent
Koscielny, as well as Olivier
Giroud and Mesut Ozil, for
Sunday’s Premier League
opener against Liverpool after
they were all involved at Euro.
But Wenger, speaking
ahead of Arsenal’s trip to
champions Leicester City on
Saturday, said: “You (the
media)
are
absolutely
convinced that I do not want
to spend the money, but I reassure you we are ready to spend
the money. Buying calms the
fans, of course, but we have to
make sure...it is important to
spend money but we have to
spend it the right way,” the
66-year-old, in charge of
Arsenal since 1996, added.
Pogba poised for second debut
Agence France-Presse
MANCHESTER, Aug 18
Four years after he left
through the back door,
Manchester United will roll
out the red carpet for Paul
Pogba’s second debut in
Friday’s Premier League
home
game
with
Southampton.
Pogba first donned a United
first-team shirt when he came
on as a half-time substitute for
Ryan Giggs in a 3-0 League
Cup win over Leeds United in
front of 31,031 people in
September 2011. His return to
action for the club will not be
so inauspicious, after United
paid Juventus a world-record
£89 million to bring him back
to Old Trafford.
Pogba has not played since
France’s 1-0 loss to Portugal in
the Euro 2016 final, but he told
the Manchester Evening
News: “You have to ask the
manager, but I feel very good
english premier league
n Paul Pogba
and have been training for 10
days. I am quite used to this. I
played the World Cup two
years ago when at Juve and
three years ago I was at the
Under-20s World Cup as well.
So I am OK. It is about your
body and I have been training
on my holidays.”
Pogba, 23, missed United’s
3-1 win at Bournemouth last
Sunday due to a suspension
carried over from last season’s Italian Cup, but his lack
of match fitness meant he was
unlikely to have featured anyway. Should he play from the
start, United manager Jose
Mourinho must decide where
he is going to play.
Mourinho has started the
season with a 4-2-3-1 forma-
tion and Pogba is expected to
take up one of the midfield
berths in front of the back
four. Marouane Fellaini and
Ander Herrera occupied those
roles at Bournemouth.
Southampton won 1-0 on
both their most recent visits
to Old Trafford, with Charlie
Austin’s 87th-minute header
securing victory last January,
but they are also a team in
transition. Sadio Mane,
Graziano Pelle and Victor
Wanyama have left and Claude
Puel has succeeded Ronald
Koeman as manager.
Puel has warned that
Southampton’s
last
two
results at Old Trafford will
count for nothing on Friday
and he has warned his players
not to repeat the sluggish
start they produced against
Watford. “Their (United’s)
players have changed, their
manager has changed and
Southampton’s view of this
team has changed,” he said.
10-man Roma hang on to hold Porto in 1-1 stalemate
Reuters
BERNE, Aug 18
AS Roma clung on for a 1-1
draw away to Porto despite
having Thomas Vermaelen
sent off on his debut before
halftime in their Champions
League playoff first leg on
Wednesday.
Porto defender Felipe gifted Roma the lead with an own
goal but the Serie A side had
Vermaelen dismissed for a
second bookable offence in
the 41st minute and Andre
Silva replied for the twice
European champions with a
second-half penalty.
A superb individual goal
by midfielder Bernardo Silva
gave Monaco a 2-1 win away
to Villarreal in another of
Wednesday’s five matches
while
much-travelled
Brazilian Alexandre Pato
scored on his debut for the
hosts. Leigh Griffiths scored
twice to help Celtic thrash
Hapoel Beer Sheva 5-2 in
Glasgow,
although
the
Scottish champions suffered
a scare as their 3-0 halftime
lead was at one point reduced
to 3-2 by the Israeli visitors.
Polish champions Legia
Warsaw won 2-0 away to Irish
counterparts Dundalk and
Bulgaria’s
Ludogorets
Razgrad beat Viktoria Plzen
2-0 in a meeting of the
Bulgarian and Czech league
winners. The Champions
League playoffs are among
champions league playoff
the most awkward matches
of the season for coaches.
With places in the group
stage at stake, defeats can
cost millions of euros, yet
teams are often playing their
first competitive game of the
season
as
Roma
and
Villarreal were on Wednesday.
Roma’s Edin Dzeko (center) views for the ball against FC Porto during their Champions League playoffs
first leg match at the Dragao Stadium in Porto, Portugal, on Wednesday.
Roma already had two
shots cleared off the line
when an outswinging corner
caught hapless Porto defend-
AP
er Felipe in the penalty area
and bounced into the net.
Iker Casillas made a triple
save to deny Roma a second
but their dominance ended
after Belgian international
Vermaelen was sent off for a
high tackle on Andre Silva.
Porto levelled in the 61st minute when Silva converted a
penalty after a harsh handball decision against Roma
substitute Emerson Palmieri.
In other top tie, Fabinho
put Monaco ahead with a
third-minute penalty before
Brazilian Pato pounced on a
scramble to equalise for the
Spanish side. Portuguese
midfielder Silva won the
game in style for Monaco
with a superb diagonal run
across the pitch which ended
with him firing a left-foot
shot into the far corner.
Celtic, who last reached
the group stage three seasons
ago, raced to a 3-0 halftime
lead after Tom Rogic struck
early and Griffiths scored
twice in six minutes late in
the first half.
Lucio Maranhao and Maor
Melikson scored two quickfire goals for the visitors, but
Moussa Dembele and then
Scott Brown restored Celtic’s
three-goal lead.
Second-half goals from
Nemanja Nikolic, from a penalty, and Aleksandar Prijovic
gave Legia a 2-0 win which
has almost ended Dundalk’s
hopes of becoming the first
Irish team to reach the group
stage. Cosmin Moti, from a
penalty, and Virgil Misidjan
gave Ludogorets an important win at home to Plzen.
Results
Celtic
Villarreal
Porto
Ludogorets
Dundalk
5-2Hapoel
1-2Monaco
1-1Roma
2-0Plzen
0-2Legia
lock. Gomes was one of
Barcelona’s four summer
signings and the other three,
Samuel Umtiti, Denis Suarez
and Lucas Digne, all also
started the match.
French centre-back Umtiti
was having a good game until
shortly after the half-hour
mark, when he blocked
Mariano Ferreira’s shot with
his arm and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
However, Bravo dived low to
his right to deny Sevilla captain Vicente Iborra. Reports
in Spanish media suggest
Bravo could be moving to
Manchester City and he put in
a flawless display.
Sevilla should have equalised on the stroke of half-time
when Vidal allowed Gabriel
Mercado space, but his header
clipped the top of the crossbar
and flew over. It proved a costly miss straight after the
break when Turan put the
game beyond them as he
lashed home a superb strike
from distance.
Messi soon made it 3-0,
heading home after an
inch-perfect cross from Digne,
who in turn had been fed neatly by Gomes. “I’m very happy
and satisfied with what I saw
on the pitch,” added Enrique.
“Apart
from
[Javier]
Mascherano’s injury.”
The Argentine defender
went off late in the second
half and it has been revealed
that he has a minor hamstring
strain which will keep him
out for a week.
The victory was achieved
with regular starters Luis
Suarez, Gerard Pique and
Ivan Rakitic who were left on
the bench, while Neymar is on
Olympic duty in Rio. “We
could have scored in the first
half,” Sevilla coach Jorge
Sampaoli reflected.
andy Murray
maintains
fine form
Agence France-Presse
CINCINNATI, Aug 18
Andy Murray picked up
where he left off at the Rio
Olympics with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat
of Juan Monaco in the second
round of the ATP-WTA
Cincinnati
Masters
on
Wednesday.
The top seed and world No 2
was back on the court on
Wednesday just 72 hours after
winning the gold medal in the
men’s tennis tournament at
the Summer Games. He next
plays South African Kevin
Anderson, who beat French
Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-4.
Second seed Stan Wawrinka
polished off a two-day victory
as he takes aim at a return to
the year-end season finals in
London. The Swiss tennis
player—the second seed at the
last major tune-up prior to the
US
Open—defeated
122nd-ranked American teenager Jared Donaldson 2-6, 6-3,
6-4. The match began on
Tuesday night but was held up
several times due to rain
before being postponed late in
the evening. Wawrinka now
plays Grigor Dimitrov, a winner over 16th seed Feliciano
Lopez 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).
Olympic doubles gold
medalist Rafael Nadal defeated Pablo Cuevas, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4)
while there were also victories for No 4 Milos Raonic and
Japanese No 5 Kei Nishikori.
“I played a good match
against a tough opponent in
the first round for sure,”
Nadal said. “After coming
from Rio and after the marathon that I had in Rio, it’s very
important victory for me. So
I’m very happy.”
Raonic hammered a dozen
aces, compared to 20 for losing
opponent John Isner, as the
Canadian beat the American
for the first time, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6
(7/5). Nishikori stopped
Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-3,
6-2. Sixth seed Tomas Berdych
eliminated Spain’s Marcel
Granollers 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
C M Y K
Friday, August 19, 2016
(C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053
thekathmandu post
Thompson clinches sprint double
12
basketball
US, Spain set
semi-finals
n Wins women’s 200m gold to add to 100m title in Rio n Rollins leads first ever USA clean sweep in women’s 100m hurdles showdown
Athletics results
Women’s 200m
Elaine Thompson (JAM) 21.78 (GOld)
Dafne Schippers (NED) 21.88 (Silver)
Torie Bowie (USA) 22.15 (Bronze)
Women’s 100m hurdles
Brianna Rollins (USA) 12.48 (Gold)
Nia Ali (USA) 12.59 (Silver)
Kristi Castlin (USA) 12.61 (Bronze)
Women’s long jump
Tianna Bartoletta (USA) 7.17m (Gold)
Brittney Reese (USA) 7.15 (Silver)
Ivana Spanovic (SRB) 7.08 (Bronze)
n Elaine Thompson of Jamaica (left) wins the gold medal in the women’s 200m ahead of second-placed Dafne Schippers (second from right) of the Netherlands during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Agence France-Presse
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 18
Elaine Thompson captured a
magnificent Olympic sprint
double for Jamaica on
Wednesday as Brianna Rollins
led a first ever clean sweep of
medals for the United States
in the 100m hurdles.
Thompson, who sprinted to
gold in the 100m on Saturday,
stunned Dutch world champion Dafne Schippers to win the
200m in 21.78sec. Schippers
took silver in 21.88 while Tori
Bowie of USA won bronze.
The victory was the latest
golden night for Jamaica, who
24 hours earlier had been celebrating Omar McLeod’s 110m
hurdles victory.
Thompson, 24, dedicated
her victory to the trailblazing
Jamaican stars, who had won
Olympic gold over the past
years. “It is very special for
me to win,” she said. “I spent
my childhood growing up
watching Veronica CampbellBrown and then Shelley-Ann
Fraser-Pryce.”
It was a first Olympic women’s sprint double since
American world record holder
Florence Griffith Joyner’s at
the Seoul Games in 1988.
Thompson’s gold also avenged
her loss to Schippers in the
World Championships in
Beijing last year. “I knew she
had a strong finish, so I knew
I had to get out there as soon
as possible,” Thompson said
of her Dutch rival.
Jamaica’s golden games is
likely to continue with Usain
Bolt looking unstoppable in
his signature event, the 200m.
Bolt, who completed a third
consecutive Olympic 100m
win on Sunday, romped home
in his heat in a season’s best
of 19.78sec. Bolt eased up 40
metres from the line to finish
ahead of Canada’s Andre De
Grasse—and believes his
world record of 19.19sec could
be in jeopardy in final.
“I definitely think I can try
for the world record, I definitely feel that,” said Bolt. But
there was a shock as Bolt’s US
rival Justin Gatlin—the fast-
est man over the distance this
year—failed to make the final.
In the final event of the
night, 2013 world champion
Rollins led a majestic performance by America’s formidable trio of 100m hurdlers.
Rollins produced a flawless
display to zip over in 12.48sec
ahead of compatriot Nia Ali,
who took silver in 12.59. The
third US hurdler, Kristi
Castlin, faced an agonising
wait before her bronze medal
was confirmed in 12.61sec.
The American women hugged
AP
each other and jumped up and
down after the sweep was confirmed.
“It’s like a sisterhood,” said
Rollins. “I’ve known these
girls for years. I’m so grateful
and blessed that we were able
to accomplish this together.”
It was the first clean sweep of
the event in Olympic history.
Elsewhere,
Tianna
Bartoletta of the United States
upset defending champion
and teammate Brittney Reese
to take the long jump gold.
Bartoletta, a 2005 world cham-
pion who gave up the sport as
she struggled to regain her
fitness, secured victory with
her penultimate leap of 7.17m
to knock Reese out of the gold
medal standings. Reese, who
could only manage 7.15 on her
final jump, had to settle for
silver.
“It’s just a great feeling to
have pulled that off,” said
Bartoletta. “It’s been a good
night for sure.” But it was a
disappointing long jump final
for Darya Klishina. The only
Russian athlete allowed to
compete in the track and field
competition following her
country’s doping scandal
bowed out midway through
the final. “Ten or 15 years ago
I couldn’t imagine that my
first Olympic Games would be
like this,” a disappointed
Klishina said.
In the day’s other final,
Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya
won gold in the men’s 3,000m
steeplechase. Evan Jager of
the United States won silver,
while Mahiedine Mekhissi of
France was awarded bronze
after Kenya’s Ezekiel Kemboi,
who had crossed the line in
third place, was disqualified.
Agence France-Presse
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 18
Defending champion United
States and European champion Spain booked a Rio
Olympic semi-finals showdown of NBA stars with triumphs on Wednesday while
Australia, boasting four NBA
champions, earned a last-four
date with Serbia.
Kevin Durant scored 27
points to power the Americans
over Argentina 105-78, stretching their Olympic win streak
to 23 games and their 10-year
overall win streak to 74. After
their slimmest wins in the
Olympic streak—three-point
group-stage triumphs over
France and Serbia—the US
millionaire lineup started
slow but showed top form
against a veteran foe. “I think
we got our swagger back,” US
guard Paul George said. “We
were confident shooting, we
were aggressive, we kept our
poise.”
Spain routed France 92-67
to book a Friday semi-final
rematch with a USA side that
beat them 107-100 in the 2012
Olympic final and 118-107 for
2008 gold. Spain’s Nikola
Mirotic scored 23 points but
the Chicago Bulls forward
will face fellow NBA defenders against the USA team the
Spanish must oust for another
chance at gold. “We know it’s
going to be a tough,” Spain
guard Jose Calderon said.
QF results
Australia
Spain
USA
Serbia
90-64Lithuania
92-67France
105-78Argentina
86-83Croatia
Brazil police pull two US Neymar leads Brazil to Germany rematch
men’s football
swimmers from airplane
Agence France-Presse
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 18
Agence France-Presse
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 18
Brazilian police pulled two US
Olympic swimmers off a
US-bound plane in a row over
their claim of having been
victims of an armed mugging,
officials said on Wednesday.
“We can confirm that Jack
Conger and Gunnar Bentz
were removed from their
flight to the United States by
Brazilian authorities,” said
Patrick Sandusky, spokesman
for the US Olympic Committee.
The two were with star US
swimmer Ryan Lochte and
another squad member, James
Feigen, when they said they
were robbed at gunpoint early
on Sunday. A Brazilian judge
ordered a probe, saying their
story is full of inconsistencies. “The swimmers are here
and making statements,” an
airport police spokesman
said, without giving further
details. Globo, a leading
Brazilian news organisation,
posted a video online showing
the two swimmers walking
into a police station.
They were later released
“with the understanding that
they would continue their discussions about the incident on
Thursday,” Sandusky said.
Lochte, who went home before
Brazilian authorities ordered
the swimmers’ questioning,
and Feigen, who remains in
Brazil, will cooperate with the
investigation, broadcaster
NBC reported.
Earlier on Wednesday,
Judge Keyla Blank “issued
warrants for searches and the
seizure of the passports for
the US swimmers,” a state-
ment from her office said.
“With this, they are banned
from leaving the country,” the
statement said. The court
order was the latest twist in a
story of a supposedly terrifying incident that embarrassed
Olympic authorities and
ramped up the fear factor for
hundreds of thousands of
tourists in Rio at South
America’s first Olympics.
Now, Brazilian officials are
suggesting that the US swimmers may have made up their
account—and could face
charges for filing a false
report. In Washington, State
Depart-ment spokesman John
Kirby said US authorities had
“seen media reports that two
US athletes were detained. We
stand ready to provide all
appropriate consular assistance”.
Neymar scored twice, including the fastest goal in Olympic
history, as Brazil set up a
blockbuster revenge showdown with Germany for
Olympic gold by thrashing
Honduras 6-0 on Wednesday.
The sides will meet on
Saturday at the Maracana just
two years after Germany
inflicted Brazil’s heaviest
defeat of all time in a 7-1
thrashing in the 2014 World
Cup semi-finals at the same
stadium. World champions
Germany reached their first
Olympic final as a unified
nation as Lukas Klostermann
and Nils Petersen netted in a
2-0 win over Nigeria.
Neymar had been much
criticised for lacklustre displays in two 0-0 draws to start
the tournament. But his
transformation from the
n Neymar
nation’s whipping boy back to
golden boy was capped by his
determination to open the
scoring after just 15 seconds.
“Neymar is a monster. He has
the gift of playing football, he
delights everyone with his talent,” said Brazil coach
Rogerio Micale. “Neymar
deserves
our
gratitude
because he pushes Brazil to a
higher level.”
The Barcelona star hounded defender Johnny Palacios
to rob possession on the edge
of the Honduras box and goalkeeper Luis Lopez’s attempt
to atone for his teammate’s
error only ricocheted the ball
off Neymar’s midriff and into
an empty goal.
For a moment, Neymar’s
bravery looked like it may
have come at a cost. He was
stretchered off after being
winded in the challenge.
Neymar missed the 7-1 humiliation as he suffered two broken vertebrae in his back at
the end of a brutal World Cup
quarter-final win against
Colombia. However, there was
no repeat as the 24-year-old
Results
Brazil
Germany
6-0Honduras
2-0Nigeria
was soon back terrorising the
Honduras defence. Bryan
Acosta and Allans Vargas
were booked for uncompromising attempts to stop
Neymar.
Manchester City’s new £27
million wonder kid Gabriel
Jesus piled on the pain for
Honduras with two more
goals before the break. Luan’s
lovely through ball was prodded past the helpless Lopez by
Jesus for his second goal of
the tournament on 26 minutes. Nine minutes later,
Neymar turned provider with
a precise pass down the left
that Jesus burst onto before
crashing the ball into the roof
of the net.
Paris
Saint-Germain
defender Marquinhos took
advantage of some awful
Honduras marking to make
it 4-0 six minutes into the
second-half. Luan converted a
fine team goal for Brazil’s
fifth as Gabriel Barbosa
slipped in Felipe Anderson to
cross low to the far post.
Neymar capped a fine display
with his second of the afternoon from the penalty spot in
stoppage time.
Germany will be hoping to
recreate happy memories of
Rio as they followed up beating Brazil to lift the World Cup
at the Maracana with a 1-0 win
over Lionel Messi’s Argentina
two years ago. Defender
Matthias Ginter is the only
World Cup winner in the
German Olympic squad.
Whilst seeing similiarities
between the teams, he insists
the 7-1 was a “once in a lifetime” experience.
o ly m p i c s s p i r i t
Losing gracefully still the name of the game
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 18
In a world in turmoil, one thing
never changes: the Olympic sport
of losing gracefully.
With a crisp, assured landing
of his final somersault off the
parallel bars, Oleg Verniaiev
bumped Danell Leyva out of the
gold-medal spot. Did the
American curse? Turn his back?
Roll his eyes in disgust? No. He
firmly shook the Ukrainian’s
chalk-covered hand, flashed a
broad smile and embraced him.
“He didn’t take anything away
from me,” Leyva said. “He
deserved that medal.”
With a hand on her shoulder
and the words “Get up, get up, we
have to finish this,” Nikki
Hamblin persuaded Abbey
D’Agostino not to quit when they
tripped over each other and hit
the deck hard in qualifying of the
women’s 5,000m. A New
Zealander and an American, perfect strangers, turning personal
disaster into a triumph of
Olympic goodwill. “Isn’t that just
so amazing?” Hamblin said. “I’m
never going to forget that
moment. When someone asks me
Athletes have gone at each other hammer and tongs in
swimsuits, leotards and running shorts on fields of play but
mostly been the picture of grace once done with competing
what happened in Rio in 20 years’
time, that’s my story.”
When troubled people seethe
with hatred, gunning each other
down in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas,
stabbing fellow passengers on
European trains and plowing
through families on the seafront
in Nice, France, with a 19-ton
truck, it is genuinely comforting
that 11,400 athletes from 205
nations can still come together
for two weeks of Olympic competition and treat each other with
such respect. They have gone at
each other hammer and tongs in
swimsuits, leotards and running
shorts on fields of play but mostly been the picture of grace once
done with competing.
In the 1940s, author George
Orwell scathingly wrote that
“serious sport has nothing to do
with fair play. It is bound up with
hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic
pleasure in witnessing violence:
in other words it is war minus
the shooting.”
Hearing British gymnast Amy
Tinkler gush about the “honour”
and “privilege” of competing
against American Simone Biles
surely would have tempered
Orwell’s opinion. Tinkler’s score
of 14.933 on the floor was good for
gold until Biles bested that with a
15.966. Afterward, Tinkler still
made a point of seeking out the
now four-time gold medalist to
give her hug. And she applauded
when Aly Raisman posted 15.500
to bump Tinkler from silver to
bronze. Just 16 and yet already
oozing class seen too rarely from
other athletes away from the
games, most notably in professional football, who could do
themselves some favours by following her example.
In such fine company, sore losers stand out more than they
would outside of the feel-good
Olympic bubble. US goalkeeper
Hope Solo labeling opponents a
“bunch of cowards” would have
made waves in any context. But
the insult, aimed at Sweden after
a penalty shoot-out loss that put
the top-ranked US team out of the
medals in women’s football for
the first time, felt especially jarring at the Olympics.
Equally sour was French pole
vaulter Renaud Lavillenie ‘s reaction to heckling from a partisan
crowd rooting for Brazilian
Thiago Braz da Silva, who won
gold. The crowd did not, as he
said, “spit on” him, but did boo
vociferously.
Topping the table of foul
behaviour are Egyptian judo athlete Islam El Shehaby , sent home
after he refused to shake the
hand of Israeli Or Sasson, and
Irish boxer Michael Conlan.
Conlan may have a valid point
about puzzling judging decisions
at the games, but the bronze
medalist from the 2012 London
Games didn’t deliver it with his
tirades of bad language and
obscene gestures after losing to
Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin.
Perhaps it’s too much to ask
that everyone embrace the
Olympic spirit. But enough athletes are doing so to keep that
noble idea alive.
n Nikki Hamblin (left) of New Zealand stops running the race to help fellow competitor Abbey D’Agostino of USA in Rio
de Janeiro after D’Agostino suffered a cramp during their 5,000m race on August 16. REUTERS
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money
kathmandupost
the
F ORE X
cross currency
USDEUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR
INR 66.831075.6470 0.6663 87.9080 69.6510 52.1305 51.4000
GBP0.7603 0.8604 0.0076
JPY100.2800
113.5200
EUR0.8835
USD
finance&economy
0.793
0.6244
0.5927 0.5844 0.0114 0.0071
131.5789104.600078.2300 77.1200 1.50080.0935
0.0088 1.1623 0.9216 0.6890 0.6793 0.0132 0.0082
1.1319 0.0100 1.3153
1.0439 0.7801 0.769
US Dollar
107.18
Euro121.26
NR 107.1800121.260010.6900 141.0100 111.8100 83.6600 82.4600 1.6015
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
141.01
Japanese Yen
10.69
Chinese Yuan
16.16
Qatari Riyal
29.44
Australian Dollar
82.46
Malaysian Ringit
26.83
Saudi Arab Riyal
28.58
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
FRIDAY,AUGUST 19, 2016 (03-05-2073) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Brezza expected to rev up competition among SUVs
Inside
Japanese exports
drop on surging yen
Japan’s exports in July suffered their
sharpest monthly fall in seven years,
data showed Thursday, as a surging
yen clouds the country’s trade picture,
with shipments of cars, ships and
steel all tumbling. The gloomy export
figures come despite Japan logging a
bigger-than-expected trade surplus as
imports also dropped at their fastest
rate since 2009. The finance ministry
said the value of exports last month
fell 14 percent from a year earlier, the
10th straight monthly fall, while
imports dropped nearly 25 percent,
leaving Japan with a trade surplus of
513 billion yen ($5.1 billion).
That reversed a year-earlier
deficit and was bigger than the
273.2 billion yen surplus expected
by economists. Pg: II
Birgunj Customs hikes
fine for undervaluing
The Birgunj Customs Office has started imposing hefty fines on traders
who attempt to produce fake bills in a
bid to control the practice of underinvoicing. According to customs officials, they have started slapping a fine
equivalent to five times the amount
shown on an undervalued customs
clearance document. Similarly, the
office has begun doing rigorous
cross-checking of imported goods
even after they have passed
customs. Last Thursday, the
customs seized an Indian truck
with registration number APO
4 U 3459 carrying smuggled textiles.
The truck was said to be
transporting UPS inverters, but
officials found that it contained
37 bales of shirting and suiting
fabrics on which customs duty
had not been paid.
Pg: III
Page IV CG NXT GEN, the authorised dealer of Suzuki four-wheelers in Nepal, has rolled out a sporty SUV,
the Vitara Brezza. Priced at Rs3,599,000, the Brezza is available in five variants in the market.
RHL in line to get NAC resumes Dubai
survey licences for flights after 4-yr gap
two hydro projects
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
BIBEK SUBEDI
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
The Ministry of Energy has decided
to award the survey licences for two
run-of-the-river hydropower projects
to Remit Hydro Limited (RHL), a
wholly owned subsidiary of
Hydroelectricity Investment and
Development Company Limited
(HIDCL).
The two proposed power schemes,
71.5 MW Ghunsa Khola and 53.7 MW
Sinbuwa Khola, are located in
Taplejung district in eastern Nepal.
The ministry had agreed to issue
the survey licences to RHL as per the
recommendation of the Department
of Electricity Development (DoED).
Energy Secretary Suman Sharma
said the ministry had already written to the DoED directing it to award
the licences to RHL.
CEO of HIDCL Deepak Rauniyar
said they had paid the licence fee to
the DoED. “We are in the final stages
of getting the licences from the
DoED,” said Rauniyar.
A feasibility study for the Ghunsa
Khola project has been completed.
According to RHL, it will start preparing a detailed project report
(DPR) after receiving the formal
approval from the ministry.
The combined estimated cost of
the two projects is Rs19 billion. The
The two proposed power
schemes, 71.5 MW Ghunsa Khola
and 53.7 MW Sinbuwa Khola,
are located in Taplejung
district in eastern Nepal
company has said that the money
will be raised domestically. RHL has
decided to finance 70 percent of the
cost through loans and the rest
through equity financing.
HIDCL plans to hold a 51 percent
stake in each project, according to
Rauniyar. Similarly, 24 percent of
the shares will be sold to migrant
workers, 10 percent to locals and the
remaining 15 percent will be sold to
the public through an initial public
offering.
“We have tried to develop a new
model of hydropower development
by involving migrant workers in
financing the projects as shareholders,” said Rauniyar.
With the objective to promoting
gender inclusion and empowering
women, 50 percent of the shares to
be issued to locals and in the IPO
will be reserved for women.
RHL has planned a scheme under
which migrant workers can buy
shares on installment basis in a bid
to ensure their participation in the
investment.
RHL was established with the
objective of tapping the enormous
remittance inflows into Nepal. It
aims to develop midsized hydropower projects in Nepal, primarily by
utilizing remittance as a source of
financing and giving migrant workers an opportunity to get involved in
national development.
The company has so far funded
eight hydropower projects and
a
cross-border
transmission
line project.
Nepal Airlines has resumed
its Dubai operations after a
four-year hiatus. An Airbus
A320 flight was dispatched on
Thursday to the destination
with 158 passengers onboard.
As a promotional offer, it
has priced one-way fare at
Rs20,000 and Rs32,000 for a
round-trip. The offer is valid
through August, the airline
said.
The national flag carrier
will operate three direct weekly flights on the sector -- on
Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Sundays. The flight will
depart at 11:30 pm from
Tribhuvan
International
Airport (TIA) and land at
Dubai at 2:15 am (local time).
It will return at 4:00 am (local
time) from Dubai and land at
TIA at 10:10 am.
“We expect a good business
from the Kathmandu-Dubai
route as we are connecting the
sector at a right time,” said
Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson for Nepal Airlines
Corporation (NAC).
The September-November
period is Nepal’s peak tourist
season. In addition, autumn is
Nepal’s main festival season
when thousands of migrant
workers and other Nepalis living abroad return home to celebrate Dashain and Tihar
with their families.
The carrier will operate three direct weekly flights on
the sector—on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
Sharma said they have targeted yearly business of Rs850
million on the sector. “There
has been a demand for double
daily
flights
on
the
Kathmandu-Dubai sector, but
due to the lack of aircraft, we
are unable to operate twice a
day,” he said. “However, we
plan to operate daily flights in
the near future.”
According to travel agencies, the flights on August 21
have been sold out and more
than than 70 percent of the
seats have been booked for
August 23.
The UAE is the fourth largest destination for Nepali
migrant workers. According
to the statistics of the
Department
of
Foreign
Employment, in the last fiscal
year, 52,793 Nepali migrant
workers left the country for
the UAE. More than 200,000
Nepalis are estimated to be
working there presently. They
send home nearly Rs80 billion
in remittance every year.
NAC had stopped its
Kathmandu-Dubai flights in
2012.
Meanwhile, the state-owned
airline is set to restart services to Guangzhou, the third
largest city in South Central
China, by September-end.
NAC’s plan to increase the
number of destinations has
been prompted by the arrival
of two Airbus A320 jets last
year. By the end of this year,
NAC expects serving nine
international routes compared to seven at present.
Insurance company directors
can serve maximum 2 terms
‘world’s largest aircraft’ takes off
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
n The Airlander
10 hybrid airship is seen in the air over a road on its maiden flight from Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London,
on Thursday. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world’s longest aircraft, lifted off for the
first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel
engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a
cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. AFP/RSS
Board directors of insurance
companies can serve a maximum of two terms, according
to the Directive on Corporate
Governance for Insurers 2016
which went into effect on
Wednesday.
The revised directive of the
Insurance Board (IB) follows a
similar provision inserted by
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in
the new Bank and Financial
Institutions Act (Bafia), which
is currently being discussed
by the parliamentary Finance
Committee.
When the government
included the provision in
Bafia, lawmakers having
interests in banking institutions had tried to get it
removed. The resulting controversy forced the House to
send the bill back to the
Finance Committee.
According to the new directive, a new board director
must be appointed within 35
days after the position falls
vacant. The new directive has
retained the provision in the
previous version fixing a maximum of two terms for the
CEO hopefuls should hold a Master’s degree or be a
Chartered Accountant with at least five years’
working experience in insurance
chief executive officer (CEO).
IB Chairman Fatta Bahadur
KC said they had fixed a maximum of two terms for both
board directors and the CEO.
“The fixed term could help
prevent the influence that
these people can gain when
they work at the top level for a
long time,” said KC, adding
that the two-term rule would
be applicable for new entrants.
The directive has also fixed
the minimum qualification
for board members and the
CEO. In order to become a
board director of an insurance country, candidates have
to possess a bachelor’s degree
in any subject.
CEO hopefuls should hold a
Master’s degree or be a
Chartered Accountant with at
least five years’ working experience in insurance.
Candidates with a banking
and financial sector background should have a minimum work experience of
eight years. Earlier, there was
no mention of the academic
qualification of directors and
the CEO.
KC said they introduced the
provision of minimum qualification with the aim of making the top management team
more accountable to the insurance business and their clients. “By learning lessons
from the past, we have tried to
strengthen human resources
in the insurance business,” he
said.
The IB said a number of
insurers had been found to
have appointed candidates
with a low academic qualification to the post of advisor. “In
the new provision, such persons have been barred from
holding positions at the decision making level,” said KC,
adding that advisors would
not be allowed to be involved
in daily operations in the
future.
Likewise, the new directive
has declared that a CEO’s salary cannot be more than 15
times the pay of the junior-most employee.
If an executive has a proven
record of delivering extraordinary efficiency to strengthen the financial position of
the company, the payment
scale can be raised to 25 times
upon the recommendation of
the annual general meeting.
The directive has instructed insurers to provide their
staff with minimum salaries
as per the payment scale fixed
by the government.
It has also barred board
members from acquiring
shares and debentures issued
by the company during their
tenure and up to one year
after they leave their jobs.
Insurance companies have
to conduct board meetings at
least six times a year. The gap
between two consecutive
meetings should not exceed
three months.
Likewise, the new regulation has also barred the IB
chairman from holding any
position in insurance companies. Similarly, IB board members cannot work in insurance companies in any position for at least two years after
leaving the IB.
c h a l l e n g i n g s tat u s q u o
New ‘Flash Boys’ exchange IEX to challenge NYSE, Nasdaq
Agence France-Presse
NEW YORK, Aug 18
Wall Street’s old guard is gearing
up for a turf battle with upstart
exchange operator IEX Group,
which will launch its first trading
for the public on Friday.
IEX, a leading critic of
high-frequency trading and its
embrace by the New York Stock
Exchange and Nasdaq, plans a
gradual ramp-up of its exchange,
which it argues will allow individual investors to take back the
market.
The exchange aims to slow
down all trades with a physical
delay that will prevent aggressive
extreme-speed traders from cutting in ahead of earlier orders by
others, distorting pricing.
Trading will begin in just two of
some 8,000 possible companies
Friday as IEX tests its systems,
with the remaining companies
integrated into exchange over the
next two weeks, said IEX spokesman Gerald Lam.
The launch is a landmark for
four-year-old IEX, which was
co-founded by former Wall Street
trader Brad Katsuyama.
Katsuyama rose to fame with the
2014 publication of Michael
Lewis’s book “Flash Boys”, which
charged that high-frequency trading had rigged the system against
small investors.
The former head of trading at
RBC Capital Markets became suspicious when equity orders he
commissioned came in partially-filled and at a higher price
than he intended.
Eventually Katsuyama concluded the problem was widespread and the result of hightech, lightning-speed automatic
trading operations that had
inserted themselves in the
microseconds between the time
that his trade was ordered and
consummated.
The net effect was to force up
the price paid by slightly slower
investors. “It just didn’t feel
right,” Katsuyama told the news
show “60 Minutes”. “It didn’t feel
right that people who are investing on behalf of pension funds
and retirement funds are getting
bait-and-switched every single
day in the market.”
The solution of IEX, which has
been running a small, private
“dark pool” exchange up until
now, was to introduce a delay, or
“speed bump” into the system
designed to ensure that other
market participants cannot intervene in transactions.
Under the system, an order is
accepted to IEX’s data center in
Secaucus, New Jersey, and then
traverses 38 miles (61 kilometers)
of coiled fiber before being sent
to the company’s trading systems.
The entire process takes 350
microseconds -- incredibly fast,
yet relatively slow for high fre-
quency traders.
“That’s the only pathway into
our exchange,” said Lam. “If you
look at all the other exchanges ....
they’re selling you real estate
around their trading systems
and ... if you want to be closer,
you pay.”
IEX currently has 192 subscribers who trade through its dark
pool. Shifting to a public
exchange will allow IEX to boost
trading volumes and give it more
influence in the broader market,
Lam said.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission approved the IEX
application in June over the
opposition of NYSE and Nasdaq,
saying it would “promote competition and innovation”. Some
around Wall Street view IEX as a
curiosity for now, but with the
potential to disrupt the broader
system if it catches on.
“What IEX has done is try to
level the playing field so that you
don’t have to have special access,”
said Art Hogan, chief market
strategist at Wunderlich
Securities. “Will we see a revolu-
tionary change overnight?” he
asked. “No, like everything else
on Wall Street, it’s going to be an
evolution.”
IEX could be a catalyst for
change but faces challenges overtaking larger rivals, said
Morningstar analyst Michael
Wong. “If it turns out that IEX
becomes a competitive threat and
starts gaining material market
share from the other exchanges, I
think the other exchanges would
be quick copiers,” he said. “The
other exchanges definitely have
the capital and technological systems and the current trading
liquidity pool to give them a competitive advantage against IEX.”
Indeed, Nasdaq plans to introduce an trading option that will
protect investors’ orders from
being disrupted by high-speed
traders, according to a Wall
Street Journal report this week.
C M Y K
news digest
Amazon steps up
UK investment
LONDON: Online retailer
Amazon said it would
create 1,500 new jobs in
2017 when it opens a new
distribution center in
Tilbury, south east
England, maintaining its
surge of investment in
Britain. News of the
investment follows
Friday’s announcement
that it will create 500 jobs
when it opens a fulfilment center in
Doncaster, northern
England, next year. The
new jobs in Doncaster
and Tilbury are in addition to the 3,500 Amazon
has announced it expects
to create in Britain in
2016, spanning head
office, research and
development centres,
customer service centres,
a fashion photography
studio, Amazon Web
Services and distribution
centres. Those jobs will
take Amazon’s total fulltime permanent employees to over 15,500 by the
end of 2016. The warehouse will be the firm’s
13th in Britain. (REUTERS)
American Apparel
to explore sale
NEW YORK: American
Apparel LLC, the US teen
clothing retailer known
for its sexually suggestive advertising, has
hired investment bank
Houlihan Lokey Inc to
explore a sale, people
familiar with the matter
said on Wednesday. The
sale process comes just
six months after
American Apparel
emerged from Chapter 11
bankruptcy, following the
public ouster of its controversial founder and
chief executive officer,
Dov Charney, and a
string of losses that the
company has struggled
to reverse. The sources
asked not to be identified
because the sale process
is confidential. “As we
have regularly communicated to employees, vendors and customers, we
continuously evaluate
strategic alternatives,”
American Apparel,
which is now owned by
its former creditors, said
in a statement. Charney
said he would have to see
what the asking price for
his old company is before
considering making a
bid. (REUTERS)
‘China aircraft
demand steady’
SEATTLE: Boeing Co is not
experiencing any slippage in demand for jetliners in China, despite
the country’s sluggish
pace of economic
growth, a senior Boeing
executive said on
Wednesday. “We’re not
seeing any softness yet,”
Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s
senior vice president of
sales for Northeast Asia,
said at a briefing marking the 50th 787
Dreamliner delivered to
ANA Holdings Inc,
Japan’s largest airline.
“We’re watching it
close,” Mounir added,
since global economic
conditions could shift.
“But if I just look at the
Chinese market as it
stands today, I’m not seeing any signs of weakness whatsoever.” The
comments came after
other US industrial companies recently reported
weak sales growth in
China and suggested the
weakness could extend
through 2016. (REUTERS)
money
world
Friday, August 19, 2016 | thekathmandupost
Japanese exports
drop on surging yen
Agence France-Presse
TOKYO, Aug 18
Japan’s exports in July suffered their sharpest monthly
fall in seven years, data
showed Thursday, as a surging yen clouds the country’s
trade picture, with shipments
of cars, ships and steel all
tumbling.
The gloomy export figures
come despite Japan logging a
bigger-than-expected trade
surplus as imports also
dropped at their fastest rate
since 2009. The finance ministry said the value of exports
last month fell 14 percent from
a year earlier, the 10th straight
monthly fall, while imports
dropped nearly 25 percent,
leaving Japan with a trade
surplus of 513 billion yen ($5.1
billion).
That reversed a year-earlier
deficit and was bigger than
the 273.2 billion yen surplus
expected by economists. But
Thursday’s export data are
the latest reminder that
Tokyo’s policy remedies for
stoking growth in the world’s
number three economy have
failed to gain traction.
Japan’s economy stalled in
the April-June quarter, separate GDP figures showed this
week, confounding Tokyo’s
massive spending and monetary easing campaign. The
world’s third-largest economy
registered
zero
growth
on-quarter, falling below economists’ expectations for a
modest 0.2 percent expansion,
as weak exports and a fall in
business spending dented
activity.
Japan’s major exporters
have seen their bottom line
dented by a sharp rally in the
yen, which makes them less
competitive overseas and
shrinks the value of repatriated profits. Wild volatility on
global financial markets since
the start of the year and
Britain’s shock vote to leave
the European Union have
stoked demand for Japan’s
currency, which is seen as a
safe investment in times of
turmoil.
“Movements in trade values continue to reflect the
plunge in import and export
prices over the past year,”
Marcel
Thieliant
from
research
house
Capital
Economics said in a commentary. “This is mostly the result
of the stronger exchange rate,
as the majority of both
imports and exports are
invoiced in foreign currency
rather than in yen. “By contrast, the drag from cheaper
energy costs on import prices
has started to fade.”
The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster forced Japan to
shut down its nuclear reactors
and turn to pricey fossil fuels
to plug the gap. That sent
energy import bills soaring
and led to a string of trade
deficits, but falling energy
prices have eased the pain in
the past year.
Japan’s shipments to the
United States, China and
European Union all declined.
Among the declines last
month, vehicle shipments fell
11.5 percent, but analysts said
they may rebound. “In the
United States, cheaper gas
prices and low interest rates...
are boosting vehicle demand,”
said Junichi Makino from
SMBC Nikko Securities. “US
new vehicle sales are likely to
stay at a high level, which
should put Japanese auto
exports on a solid footing.”
II
Suu Kyi assures China of
solution to stalled dam
REUTERS
BEIJING, Aug 18
Myanmar leader Aung San
Suu Kyi told China’s premier
on Thursday that her new
government is willing to look
for a resolution that suits
both countries to a suspended
Chinese-funded hydropower
project in northern Myanmar,
a senior Chinese diplomat
said.
Finding a solution to the
$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project is important for Suu Kyi
who needs China’s cooperation in talks with Myanmar’s
ethnic minority armed groups
operating along northern borders with China.
Myanmar
For mer
President Thein Sein angered
China in 2011 when he suspended work on the hydropower dam, in the Ayeyarwady
river basin, after it drew widespread environmental protests. About 90 percent of the
dam’s power would have gone
to China. At the time, Suu Kyi
also called for the project’s
suspension.
Chinese Vice Foreign
Minister Liu Zhenmin told
reporters after a meeting in
Beijing between Suu Kyi and
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
that Li had said China hopes
Myanmar can come up with
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (second left) and
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (second right) witness signing of
agreements in Beijing, China, on Thursday. REUTERS
n
an appropriate resolution.
“Aung San Suu Kyi said that
the Myanmar government has
already set up an investigation committee to look for an
appropriate resolution to the
Myitsone dam issue,” Liu
said. “She also said that she is
willing to look for a resolution
that suits both sides’ interests
via both sides’ energy administrations’ cooperation.”
China has been pushing for
work to restart on the dam,
which under the original
plans would have sent 90 percent of its power to China. A
Myanmar government commission reviewing the pro-
ject—as well as other proposed hydropower dams,
including several on the
Thanlwin river—is expected
to report by Nov. 11.
Suu Kyi did not mention
the dam in remarks to Li
made in front of journalists,
but said she hoped her visit
would “further consolidate
and develop” relations.
The two countries also
signed a deal to build a strategic bridge near their border. A
Myanmar foreign ministry
official said China had also
agreed to build two hospitals
in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay.
Turkey launches Brent crude oil price tops $50 Thai FinMin
brushes off
mass raids against
FDI plunge
businesses linked
to preacher Gulen
Agence France-Presse
LONDON, Aug 18
Agence France-Presse
ISTANBUL, Aug 18
Turkey on Thursday ordered
the seizure of the assets of 187
businessmen suspected of
links to US-based Islamic
preacher Fethullah Gulen,
accused by Ankara of masterminding last month’s attempted coup, state media reported.
Police launched a vast operation in the country’s economic capital Istanbul and other
provinces into the alleged
Gulen-linked companies—the
biggest crackdown on business since the July 15 failed
putsch, the Anadolu news
agency reported.
Prosecutors issued arrest
warrants for 187 suspects
including CEOs of leading
companies, with the Istanbul
chief prosecutor’s office
ordering their assets to be
seized, the state-run agency
added. Sixty of the suspects
were detained, the private
Dogan news agency reported.
Local media said around
1,000 police took part in raids
at 204 addresses in 18 provinces, which included simultaneous operations at around 100
sites in several districts of
Istanbul. The raids targeted
major companies like readyto-wear retailer Aydinli
Group, bakery Gulluoglu
Baklava and fashion company
Eroglu Holding, Dogan said.
Rizanur Meral, president of
the Turkish Confederation of
Businessmen
and
Industrialists (Tuskon), was
among the suspects, it added.
Founded in 2005, Tuskon has
55,000 members and is accused
by the government of financing pro-Gulen activities.
The wanted suspects are
accused of “membership in a
terrorist organisation” and
“financing the activities” of
Prosecutors issued arrest
warrants for 187 suspects
including CEOs of
leading companies
Gulen, according to Dogan.
In a similar operation on
Tuesday, Turkish police raided dozens of companies in
Istanbul in search of 120 suspects including CEOs. Around
100 people were detained.
President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has vowed to eradicate businesses, charities and
schools linked to Gulen, calling them “terror organisations” and “nests of terror”.
Gulen, a reclusive cleric
who has lived in self-exile in
the United States since 1999,
has been repeatedly accused
of running a “parallel state”
since a corruption scandal
embroiling then premier
Erdogan and several of his
ministers erupted in 2013.
Gulen, 75, once a close ally
of Erdogan and the ruling
Justice and Development
Party (AKP), has strongly
denied all of the government’s
accusations.
Prime Minister Binali
Yildirim said Wednesday that
40,029 state employees had
been detained in the crackdown on alleged Gulen supporters after last month’s
attempted coup, of whom
20,335 have been remanded in
custody.
More than 5,000 civil servants have been dismissed and
almost 80,000 others suspended, he said in an interview
with TRT public television.
Ankara wants Washington to
extradite Gulen to face trial
back home, indicating that
any failure to deliver him will
severely damage ties.
Oil prices rose on Thursday
with Brent briefly topping $50
thanks to a weaker dollar and
a drop in US crude stockpiles,
traders said.
Brent North Sea crude
reached $50.05 a barrel—
breaching $50 for the first
time since early last month.
Later around 1230 GMT, Brent
North Sea crude for delivery
in October was up two cents at
$49.87 a barrel following some
profit-taking. US benchmark
West Texas Intermediate for
September delivery gained 27
cents to $47.06, compared with
Wednesday’s close.
“Brent has climbed... to $50
per barrel for the first time
since early July, finding support from a weaker US dollar
and an unexpectedly marked
decline in US crude oil and
gasoline
stocks,”
said
Commerzbank
analyst
Carsten Fritsch.
As a dollar-priced commodity, a weaker greenback makes
crude cheaper for those holding other currencies. The dollar has been impacted by minutes from the Federal
Reserve’s July meeting that
showed caution over raising
US interest rates, dealers said.
US central bank minutes,
published Wednesday, coincided with official data revealing
signficant declines in US commercial crude stockpiles—signalling a modest strengthening of demand in the world’s
top oil consumer. US crude
stockpiles last week fell by 2.5
million barrels and gasoline
stocks declined 2.7 million
barrels, said the Department
of Energy.
Oil prices have hit fiveweek highs this week, supported by hopes of an agreement between OPEC and
non-cartel crude producers to
limit excess supplies.
Opec members and nonOpec rival Russia are to meet
informally in Algeria next
month, as reports suggest that
Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia is
ramping up production to
fresh record levels after an alltime high of 10.67 million barrels per day in July.
Oil price “upside is capped
by Saudi’s signals of pumping
more oil in August, which
could give the kingdom more
leverage during talks in
Algeria next month”, said EY
energy analyst Sanjeev Gupta.
“The oil market will continue
to seesaw amid scepticism
over the coordinated efforts to
stabilise output,” he told AFP.
harvest season
n
People pick tea leaves at a tea plantation in Changsha, Hunan province, China, on Thursday.
REUTERS
Agence France-Presse
BANGKOK, Aug 18
Thailand’s finance minister
on Thursday brushed off
concerns about plunging
foreign investment under
junta rule, saying “there is
light ahead” now that voters
have approved a military-crafted constitution.
Generals seized power in
2014 vowing to end years of
political instability and kickstart the lacklustre economy.
They have largely succeeded
in bringing calm to the politically turbulent nation by
stamping out dissent and banning political rallies. But the
economy remains the junta’s
weak point.
High household debt, weakening exports and low consumer
confidence
have
cramped growth for the last
few years in what was
Southeast Asia’s flagship
economy. Foreign investment
has fallen off a cliff since the
military takeover. The latest
figures from Thailand’s Board
of Investment (BOI) show no
let up in that fall.
Approved foreign investment applications plunged in
the first half of 2016 compared
to the same period last year.
Investment from Japan,
Thailand’s largest overseas
investor, dropped from $2.7
billion to $810m. North
American investment plunged
tenfold, from $660 million to
$67
million
while
the
European Union fell from $1
billion to $260 million.
Less pronounced falls were
seen across South East Asia.
China was one of the few
countries to increase its
approved investment footprint over the same period,
from $159 million in the first
half of 2015 to $723 million so
far this year.
At a briefing with reporters
on
Thursday,
Finance
Minister Somkid Jatusripitak
said he was unphased by the
drop. “I think we shouldn’t
look back at the past.”
fa l l i n g r at e s
Asian funds pile into alternative assets as traditional returns slide
REUTERS
SINGAPORE, AUG 18
As returns on traditional assets
have nosedived or turned more
volatile in Asia, conservative
investors such as pension funds
and insurers have been pouring
cash into alternative investments
that bring the yield they need,
but at significantly higher risk.
Many countries in Asia only
started to cut interest rates in
2015 or 2016, but they are now at
or near record lows and expected
to fall further; India, South
Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan and
Thailand are all likely to see rate
cuts this year, according to economists at Nomura.
The resulting decline in bond
yields has hit the region later
than many other parts of the
world, but is now forcing a strate-
gy rethink for investors who need
predictable income to match their
fixed commitments.
Zurich Insurance’s Asian division, for example, is considering
investing in private debt including collateralised loan obligations
and commercial real estate and
infrastructure debt. “We simply
have to accept that returns going
forward will be lower than what
they have been historically,” said
Michael Vos, Asia-Pacific investment manager at Zurich. “There
is no free lunch—if you want
higher returns, you need to take
more risk.”
Risks include a dearth of buyers when you want to sell, a
greater chance of loan defaults,
and lower levels of disclosure
about the underlying assets.
Credit Suisse said it, too, was
increasing allocations to hedge
funds and senior secured bank
loans on behalf of Asian institutional clients.
Swiss private bank Union
Bancaire Privee (UBP) said it was
switching more of its high-networth clients’ money from
low-yielding bonds and volatile
stocks into hedge funds, real
estate debt and insurance-linked
securities.“There is no doubt that
the risk/reward of equity and
fixed income markets have deteriorated dramatically over the last
six to 12 months,” said Ted
Holland, Hong Kong-based AsiaPacific head of business development for UBP. “Finding ‘low-risk’
yield in this environment has
been particularly difficult.”
This rapid change in climate is
demonstrated by GIC Pte,
Singapore’s biggest sovereign
wealth fund. Its portfolio return
Many countries in Asia only
started to cut interest rates in
2015 or 2016, but they are now
at or near record lows and
expected to fall further
slowed to 3.7 percent per annum
over the five years through
March 2016, from 6.5 percent in
the five years ended in March
2015, and it warned difficult
investment conditions would persist for a decade.
A survey by State Street
Corporation in July found that 44
percent of 72 Asian pension
funds, which must keep a steady
income flowing to pensioners, are
seeking higher-risk, higher-return strategies.
South Korea’s National
Pension Service, facing lower
domestic bond yields than US
Treasuries, plans to increase its
alternative holdings to 35 percent
of assets by 2020 from 10.7 percent in 2015, and will begin
investing in hedge funds this
year. It reported preliminary
returns of 4.6 percent for 2015,
down from 5.25 percent in 2014.
The trade-off in this hunt for
yield is an increase in risks that
require careful management.
Chief among them is a lack of
liquidity. Many alternative investments, such as property or private equity, can’t be readily
turned to cash, so investors can’t
get their money out in a hurry. In
a falling market, buyers for such
assets become yet more scarce,
exacerbating the falls.
They are also typically unlisted, so they are much less trans-
parent than traditional investments, which are priced in real
time on formal exchanges that
typically demand more stringent
governance and disclosure
requirements. “There are also not
many reliable or accepted benchmarks out there, so how do you
measure the performance of your
portfolio versus the performance
of the market?” said Beng-Eu
Lim, Asia Pacific head of asset
sector solutions at State Street.
If investors are stepping down
the yield curve to instruments
that don’t carry an investment
grade imprimatur from credit
rating agencies, the risks of
default are also higher.
Vos at Zurich acknowledges
that investors in alternative
assets need to take protective
measures. “When you take higher
risk, it is important you have suf-
ficient capital to absorb the extra
volatility that comes with taking
this additional risk so we are not
forced sellers at the bottom of the
market,” he said.
But even private individuals
are pouring into such investments. Alternative investments
made up 15 percent of Asian
high-net-worth individuals’ portfolios as of May 2016, almost double the level from three years ago,
and are expected to rise further
over the next year, according to
market research firm East &
Partners Asia.
UBP said some of its clients
were raising their exposure to
alternatives to as much as 50 percent of their portfolio, up from
about 20 percent previously. That
flood of cash could ultimately
defeat the investment rationale
for yield-hungry investors.
C M Y K
III
money
news digest
British retail
sales rebound
LONDON: Retail sales in
Britain, a key driver of
the country’s economy,
rebounded 1.4 percent in
July from the previous
month’s drop, official
data showed Thursday,
calming fears over any
immediate fallout from
Brexit. Sales by volume
rose sharply following a
0.9-percent drop in June
that had been caused by
wet summer weather,
according to the Office
for National Statistics.
“July’s retail sales figures show that consumers have been protected
from the immediate fallout of the Brexit vote,
but with firms intending
to stop hiring and inflation set to soar, the high
street is set for a tough
year,” Samuel Tombs,
chief UK economist at
Pantheon
Macroeconomics, said in
reaction to the data.
Analysts are widely predicting an economic
slowdown for Britain in
the coming months. (AFP)
Taiwan reveals
cautious budget
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s new government unveiled its
first budget Thursday as
it tries to kickstart the
island’s fragile economy,
but the cautious spending plan raised questions
over whether it was
investing enough.
President Tsai Ing-wen
was voted in by a landslide in January partly
because of public anger
over stagnant wages,
lack of job opportunities
and a rising cost of living. Trade deals with
China under former
leader Ma Ying-jeou were
seen as helping big business, not the ordinary
citizen. Tsai has pledged
to boost innovation in
several sectors, including
technology and defence,
as well as diversifying
away from reliance on
trade with China. But
the first budget under
Tsai, announced by the
cabinet, only raised
spending for 2017 by 1.1
percent. The biggest
increases were in education and social welfare.
Defence was given a
marginal lift. (AFP)
Pinterest rolls
out video ads
SAN FRANCISCO: Pinterest
on Wednesday introduced video ads as it
moved to cash in on a
growing appetite for videos at the popular online
bulletin board.
Marketing messages in
the form of Promoted
Videos paired with posts
“pinned” at the social
network will be served
up in the United States
and Britain, according to
product manager Mike
Bidgoli. Pinterest has
seen a 60 percent
increase in videos
ranging a gamut of
topics from exercise
and home improvement
to beauty tutorials,
Bidgoli said. Pinterest is
following in the footsteps
of internet giants such
as YouTube and
Facebook, which early on
tuned into rising interest
in online video by tailoring ads to the format.
“While other platforms
primarily offer video
views, we’ve coupled
Promoted Video with featured Pins below the
video,” Bidgoli said in a
blog post. (AFP)
economy
the kathmandu post | Friday, August 19, 2016
Birgunj Customs hikes
fine for undervaluing
BHUSHAN YADAV
BIRGUNJ, AUG 18
The Birgunj Customs Office
has started imposing hefty
fines on traders who attempt
to produce fake bills in a bid to
control the practice of underinvoicing.
According to customs officials, they have started slapping a fine equivalent to five
times the amount shown on
an undervalued customs
clearance
document.
Similarly, the office has begun
doing rigorous cross-checking
of imported goods even after
they have passed customs.
Last Thursday, the customs
seized an Indian truck with
registration number APO 4 U
3459 carrying smuggled textiles. The truck was said to be
transporting UPS inverters,
but officials found that it contained 37 bales of shirting and
suiting fabrics on which customs duty had not been paid.
The owner of the contraband, Krishna Sah Kanu, is a
resident of Inaruwa, Birgunj.
Chief of Birgunj Customs
Sewantak Pokharel said that
the truck driver had been
used to smuggle the textiles.
The confiscated goods are
worth Rs3.7 million.
Two months ago, a shipment of cotton thread worth
Rs5.07 million that had cleared
customs was found to contain
other fibres during a second
check. Pokharel said the customs office imposed a 500 percent cash penalty on the
importer.
“If the importer had given
correct information, he would
have to pay only Rs950,000 in
customs duty and VAT.
However, the importer had to
pay Rs26.3 million in fines for
his offence,” he said.
Importers need to follow
the
Asycuda
system
(Automated
System
for
Customs Data) for customs
clearance which involves a
customs check through green,
yellow and red channels
depending on the nature of
the imported goods and the
past history of the importer.
Goods that are allowed
through the green channel do
not need thorough checking
while
goods
permitted
through the yellow and red
channels are rechecked even
after they have passed customs clearance.
With the customs office
becoming more stringent on
illegal trade, smugglers
have been found to be using
new approaches to avoid
paying tax.
Last month, the customs
office itself purchased a batch
of branded footwear and
accessories worth Rs1.1 million at a discounted rate after
the importer produced an
undervalued bill for the goods.
The office has even started
revaluating imported goods if
it suspects the accompanying
paperwork has been undervalued. Following the new measures, the customs office has
collected additional revenue
totalling Rs100 million in the
last four months, said
Pokharel.
With the Birgunj Customs
cracking down on contraband,
many importers are said to
have been using alternative
routes to transport their
goods. Customs officials said
that such traders had started
using entry points in Bara,
Rautahat and Sarlahi for the
purpose.
Figures released by the
Department of Customs show
that trade has increased
through these transit points.
Govt seeks
clarification
from NOC
boss, staffers
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
The Ministry of Supply has
sought clarification from
Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)
Managing Director Gopal
Bahadur Khadka and 36 other
staffers after they were found
absent without notice during
a surprise check.
The check was carried out
by the ministry last Sunday.
Ministry officials said a large
number of NOC employees
were found taking frequent
leaves, affecting daily works.
The ministry also seized the
attendance record of NOC
staffers.
Ananda
Ram
Regmi,
spokesperson for the ministry,
said they have sought a written clarification from Khadka
on Tuesday. “We have given
him three working days’ time
to submit a clarification.”
Sources said the surprise
check was done amid complaints that Khadka was irreg-
n
Gopal Bahadur Khadka
ular at his office.
Lately, the ministry and
Khadka have been in the loggerheads over permitting
cooking gas bottlers to acquire
600 gas bullets. The ministry
had scrapped the permits
approved by Khadka, citing
the lack of regulations to
allow the bottlers to acquire
bullets. The decision, however, was overturned by the
Parliamentary
Industry,
Commerce and Consumer
Welfare Protection Committee
that instructed government to
resume the process.
Philippines worried Gold up as Fed rate Disasters cost $71b in first
hike prospects cool half of 2016, says Swiss Re
for poor despite
strong growth
REUTERS
LONDON, AUG 18
Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Aug 18
The Philippine economy
expanded 7.0 percent in the
second quarter, official data
showed
Thursday,
but
President Rodrigo Duterte’s
new government said major
changes were needed to fix
one of Asia’s biggest richpoor divides.
The April-to-June period
covered the final months of
Benigno Aquino’s administration, capping six years of stellar growth that helped boost
the Philippines’ credit ratings
and end its reputation as one
of the region’s economic laggards.
However, Duterte won a
landslide election victory
partly on his railings against
the nation’s elite who have
soaked up much of the benefits of the growth, while leaving a quarter of the nation’s
100 million people living
below the poverty line.
Duterte’s economic chiefs
on Thursday credited the
7.0-percent growth on annualised basis in the second quarter, the fastest in three years,
to Aquino’s “sound marco-economic, fiscal and monetary policies”, but emphasised
the poor were continuing to be
left behind. “We need to sustain that rebalancing toward
investment-driven growth,
especially investment that
will lead to more inclusive,
poverty-reducing, inequality-reducing
growth,”
Economic Planning Secretary
Ernesto Pernia said.
Pernia said the Duterte
administration was particularly concerned about the
farming and fisheries sector,
which accounts for about 10
million workers and their
families. “Knowing that the
majority of poor Filipinos
rely on this sector for their
livelihood, this administration will prioritise agricultur-
al development,” he said.
The sector declined 2.1 percent from April-June, the fifth
quarter
of
consecutive
declines.
Nevertheless,
Finance Secretary Carlos
Dominguez also said Aquino’s
administration had helped set
the foundations for even
stronger overall growth, setting a target of at least 7 percent for the second half of
this year and 6.5-7.5 percent in
2017.
The 7 percent growth in Q2,
the fastest in 3 years, has
been attributed to sound
marco-economic, fiscal
and monetary policies
“Our strong macro-economic fundamentals will buffer
the Philippine economy from
external shocks,” Dominguez
said. The government is aiming to cut the poverty rate
from 26 percent currently to
17 percent when Duterte steps
down in 2022. Dominguez said
this would begin with a stimulus programme focused on
infrastructure, education and
health.
The
government
on
Tuesday unveiled its 2017
budget, announcing an overall increase of 11.6 percent in
spending. Education was one
of the biggest winners, with a
31-percent rise. Dominguez
also said the government
would expand a government
programme providing free
contraceptives to poor couples
and allowing sex education to
be taught in schools.
A landmark law enabling
this passed under Aquino but
budget cuts by lawmakers in
the mainly Catholic nation
diluted its effectiveness.
Duterte has said helping
Filipinos have fewer children
is one of the keys to poverty
reduction.
Gold steadied on Thursday,
buoyed by a weaker dollar
after minutes from the US
Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed policymakers
were divided over whether to
raise interest rates soon.
Members of the Fed’s
rate-setting Federal Open
Market Committee were
generally
upbeat
about
the US economy and labour
market, but several said
any slowdown in future
hiring would argue against a
near-term hike.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent
at $1,349.12 an ounce at 0956
GMT, on track for a fourth
straight day of gains. US gold
climbed 0.5 percent to $1,356.00
an ounce.
“Until we have clarity
around the US rate hike, gold
is going to remain range-
bound between $1,320 and
$1,370,” said ING Bank senior
strategist Hamza Khan.
The dollar fell 0.3 percent
against a basket of six major
currencies, after plunging to
its lowest in more than seven
weeks. A weaker dollar makes
gold cheaper for holders of
other currencies.
“Nobody
would
be
willing to sell gold aggressively even if there is a hike
in rates, with the US presidential elections in November
creating uncertainty,” said
Yuichi Ikemizu, head of commodity trading at Standard
Bank in Tokyo.
Gold is sensitive to rising
rates, which lift the opportunity
cost
of
holding
non-yielding assets such as
bullion. Holdings of SPDR
Gold Trust, the world’s largest
gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, fell 0.46 percent to
957.78 tonnes on Wednesday.
Agence France-Presse
GENEVA, Aug 18
From earthquakes in Japan to
wildfires in Canada, disasters
cost the world economy $71
billion (62 billion euros) in the
first half of the year, reinsurer Swiss Re said on Thursday.
That marked a 38-percent
increase compared with the
same period a year ago, the
world’s number two reinsurer
said, adding that only $3.0 billion was attributed to manmade events, while the
remainder was due to natural
disasters.
At the same time, the
human cost of disasters was
far lower, with some 6,000 people dying in catastrophic
events, compared with12,000
during the first six months
last year. The global insurance industry covered 44 per-
cent of the disaster-linked
losses, or $31 billion, up 51
percent from a year earlier.
Devastating thunderstorms
in the US and Europe were the
costliest events for insurers
during the January-June period, Swiss Re said. Three separate severe US weather events
cost insurers over $7.0 billion,
it said, with a single massive
storm in Texas in April raking up insurance costs of $3.1
billion after large hailstones
caused widespread damage.
Europe was also slammed
by heavy storms at the end of
May and in early June, when
France and Germany especially were hit with severe
lightening storms and flash
floods. At least 18 people were
killed in floods that trapped
people in their homes, felled
trees and power lines, cut off
roads and rail lines and forced
rescuers to navigate swamped
streets in lifeboats.
The total insured losses
from those storms and floods
in Europe were $2.8 billion,
Swiss Re said. The series of
deadly earthquakes that hit
Japan’s southern Kumamoto
prefecture in April, which
killed 64 people, caused extensive structural damage, fires
and collapsed buildings, raking up insurance costs of $5.6
billion, it said.
Simultaneously, on the
other side of the world in
Ecuador, a 7.3-magnitude
earthquake destroyed bridges
and buildings, and killed 668
people. While this was by far
the deadliest single event during the first half of the year,
low insurance coverage meant
that the insured losses
amounted only to $400 million, Swiss Re said.
preparing for storm
Fishing boats dock at the harbor to shelter from Dianmu storm in Quang Ninh province, northern Vietnam, on Thursday. Vietnam is making preparation for upcoming Dianmu
tropical storm, the third striking the country so far this year. The storm is said to directly affect Vietnam’s northern and central coastal areas from northern Quang Ninh
province to central Nghe An province on Friday morning, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecastings. Xinhua
n
e v e r a g i n g d ata
Low-cost airlines bet on data to drive profit
REUTERS
DUBLIN, AUG 18
Europe’s low-cost airlines once
mocked the air miles programs
run by flag carriers as expensive
relics of a bygone era. But after
watching wide-eyed as customer
databases were valued at billions
of dollars, they are scrambling to
catch up.
Europe’s two largest low-cost
carriers, Ryanair and easyJet
have both swallowed their pride
in the past year and launched
customer loyalty schemes and
both have announced significant
investments in data analytics.
Their aim is to ape retailers
like Amazon.com and Tesco in
driving profits by leveraging data
from vast online customer bases
to create highly personalized
offers and adapt services to customer preferences more quickly.
“This has transformed retail
and it’s going to transform airlines,” said Kenny Jacobs, a former Tesco executive spearheading Ryanair’s digital drive as
chief marketing officer. He has
overseen the hiring of 150 IT specialists since he was appointed
two and a half years ago.
“Airlines are not good at this.
We’re still crap compared to what
retailers do.”
easyJet chief executive
Carolyn McCall, who last year
appointed the company’s first
head of data science to oversee a
team of 25 data analytics specialists, has described data as
“incredibly important” for the
airline. A spokesman for easyJet
described the potential benefits
from digitization and data analytics as “exponential”. Both airlines have promised a detailed
breakdown of their digital data
Ryanair and easyJet have both swallowed their pride in the past
year and launched customer loyalty schemes and both have
announced significant investments in data analytics
drives and the financial returns
in the autumn. John Walton, who
writes for online aviation publication Runway Girl Network,
said that from the customer’s
point of view, they and other airlines had some way to go.
“I see few visible signs of
European airlines -- or indeed
other airlines -- using the rich
data they hold to drive bookings
and revenues,” he said, citing a
lack of useful, targeted offers
from any of the half a dozen airline loyalty schemes he held.
Ryanair and easyJet are taking
different approaches, with
Ryanair focusing squarely on
selling optional extras while
easyJet sees ticket pricing at the
heart of its data drive. easyJet
was first to move, investing in
artificial intelligence over the
past few years to drive the algorithm that determines seat pricing in real time depending on
demand. Its computers track over
a billion searches on the easyJet
site annually to see what prices,
destinations or travel times
prompted them to book or leave
the web site and adjust all three
as soon as possible.
Spokesman Paul Moore said
that kind of data more than compensated for the airline’s later
collection of personal information through its Flight Club loyal-
ty scheme. “We don’t have the
legacy frequent flyer systems the
legacy carriers have, but we have
been selling online far longer and
at far greater scale than they
have,” he said. “The data we have
on purchasing patterns and flight
patterns is, we suspect, larger
and richer by some way.”
Ryanair, whose business model
is to cut fares as far as possible to
fill planes and make money selling optional extras, was a little
later to the game. It has spent
much of the past two years overhauling its web and phone offerings and is preparing a push to
get more of its 100 million customers to register for its My
Ryanair loyalty program.
It is a far cry from the early
1990s, when Michael O’Leary
scrapped the airline’s Frequent
Flyer scheme on taking over as
chief executive. Soon after, easy-
Jet began a campaign for frequent flyer schemes to be
scrapped as “disguised bribery”.
First introduced in the 1980s,
air miles programmes allowing
customers to earn free flights by
sticking to one carrier were
sometimes set up as independent
entities. In 2014, analysts put a
value of up to $2.5 billion on the
loyalty division of Qantas when
it was considering floating it or
selling a part.
Alongside increasing sales of
tickets and ancillaries, better digital infrastructure can also enable innovations like automatically rebooking customers after canceled flights and sending stranded passengers hotel reservations
to their phones.
Legacy airlines are also investing heavily, with Lufthansa Chief
Executive Carsten Spohr describing digitisation as the “trend of
the future” with plans to invest
400 million in the ‘digitisation’ of
the group’s airlines by 2020.
But the most dramatic
improvements in recent years
have come from the low cost side,
said Rob Kemp, who provides
feedback to major European airlines in his role as Chief
Technology Officer at Momondo
Group, which runs ticket price
comparison websites. “The lowcost carriers are really taking
that as a clear mission. I just
don’t see as much of that from
the larger airlines at the
moment,” Kemp said.
Ryanair’s primary target is to
use highly personalised marketing to boost ancillary revenues -charges for extras like checked-in
bags, premium seats, fast track
security clearance, which
accounted for 24 percent of
Ryanair’s revenues last year.
C M Y K
bizline
Norway opens $1b credit line for Iran
TEHRAN: Iran said on Wednesday that Norway had offered
the Islamic republic a $1-billion credit line following a
meeting between their foreign ministers in Tehran.
Borge Brende and Mohammad Javad Zarif signed three
“export credit” deals aimed at funding “development and
infrastructure projects”, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a
statement. Iran has struggled to tap international
finance as many banks fear US penalties if they do business with the Islamic republic. A landmark deal between
Tehran and world powers, which was signed in July last
year and came into force in January, saw many international sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for curbs to
its nuclear programme. (AFP)
India’s BSE Sensex ends higher
MUMBAI: Indian shares ended higher on Thursday, snapping two days of losses, as global sentiment got a boost
after minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting
showed policymakers were split over whether to raise
interest rates soon. The Nifty rose 0.57 percent to 8,673.25,
its highest close since Aug. 9. The Sensex climbed 0.42
percent to 28,123.44. (REUTERS)
AirAsia India outlines expansion plans
BENGALURU: Budget airline AirAsia India said on
Wednesday that it planned to gradually expand its fleet
and network in India as it seeks to boost its small share
of a fast expanding domestic market. The airline, a tie-up
between Malaysian carrier AirAsia Bhd and India’s Tata
Sons conglomerate, said it planned to add a seventh
Airbus A320 jet to its fleet and bring the south Indian
city of Hyderabad into its network of destinations by
September. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday,
AirAsia India’s Chief Executive Amar Abrol said the airline was looking to expand further and that it would be
investing significant sums of money in the future. The
company also has international expansion in mind, but
its focus for now is to increase its fleet size to 20, Abrol
said in an interview with Reuters. (REUTERS)
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Friday, August 19, 2016 | thekathmandupost
Brezza expected to rev up
competition among SUVs
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 18
CG NXT GEN, the authorised
dealer of Suzuki four-wheelers in
Nepal, has rolled out a sporty
SUV, the Vitara Brezza. Priced
at Rs3,599,000, the Brezza is
available in five variants in
the market.
The Vitara Brezza has a 1,248
cc diesel engine which is mated
to a five-speed gearbox. The
power plant churns out a peak
torque of 200 Nm at 1,750 rpm.
The car features a smart play
infotainment system with Apple
Car Play, cruise control and antipinch guard power window.
“The Brezza is an ideal vehicle
to compete in the SUV segment as
it is one of the strongest vehicles
with an excellent engine,” said
Karan Chaudhary, executive
director of
CG Motocorp.
“Moreover, the vehicle will move
the competition in the SUV seg-
ment to a completely different
level.”
Other features include dual airbags, ABS, the segment’s first
dual color scheme, Suzuki’s innovative TECT system that adds to
the safety design, steering mount-
ed control and parking sensor
with camera, among others, the
dealer said. The Vitara Brezza
gives a mileage of 24.3 kmpl, the
company claimed.
The SUV is expected to rev up
competition in the fastest growing
automobile segment in Nepal. The
auto has been launched in
dual colour schemes and has muscular wheel arcs featuring sporty
alloy wheels.
Inspired by Suzuki’s global
compact SUV, the Vitara, the
design inferences in the Brezza
make it a virile looking and
rightly proportioned compact
SUV. The Vitara Brezza flaunts a
floating roof design which adds
to the feeling of lightness and
speed imprinting athletic and
aggressive character.
The SUV has a ground clearance of 198 mm, fuel tank capacity
of 48 litres, seating capacity of
five and a boot space of 328 litres.
The instrument cluster in the car
is of a new design and sports
‘mood lightning’, and has a multi-information display between
the tachometer and speedometer
that provides instantaneous data
on fuel consumption, available
range and average speed.
animation copyright fair
market watch
RETAIL PRICE
VegetablesUnit Price (Rs)
Red Potato
Kg
Rs55
White Potato
Kg
Rs45
Onion (Indian)
Kg
Rs35
Tomato Small
Kg
Rs65
Carrot
Kg Rs115
Tomato Big
Kg
Rs65
SquashKg Rs45
CabbageKg Rs45
Brinjal Long
kg Rs45
Cow Pea
Kg
Rs55
Fruits Unit
Price (Rs)
Apple Kg
Rs115
PomegranateKg
Rs225
Jackfruit1Pc Rs33
Pineapple1Pc Rs105
Rs65
CucumberKg
PapayaKg Rs83
BananaDoz Rs85
100 Pcs
Lime
Rs475
daily commodities
We’ll let you know on RBI guv: Jaitley
NEW DELHI: No decision has yet been reached to appoint
India’s next central bank governor, Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley said on Thursday amid mounting expectations that a replacement will be chosen soon to replace
Raghuram Rajan. “We will let you know when we
decide,” Jaitley told reporters as he returned to the
finance ministry from what aides said was a meeting
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “You will come to
know the conclusion, not the process.” (REUTERS)
Commodities Unit
Price (Rs)
Pokhreli Rice
Kg
Rs70
Jeera Masino Rice
Kg
Rs70
Indian Basmati Rice Kg
Rs100
Mansuli Rice
Kg
Rs55
Sona Rice
Kg
Rs50
Beaten Rice (Taichin) Kg
Rs125
Beaten Rice
Kg
Rs60
Big Mas
Kg
Rs270
Small Mas
Kg
Rs250
Big Mung
Kg
Rs180
Musuro (No 1)
Kg
Rs170
Turkey probe into Novartis ‘ongoing’
Musuro (No 2)
Kg
Rs150
ANKARA: Turkey’s investigation into Novartis is “ongoing”, a Turkish health ministry official told Reuters on
Thursday, after the Swiss drugmaker said last week it
was not under investigation over bribery allegations in
Turkey. The Ankara chief prosecutor’s office had said in
April it was investigating the Turkish unit of Novartis
after allegations were made that the company benefited
from bribery. Novartis said last week that it had determined the allegations were unsubstantiated and was not
aware of any government authority investigating it. It
said it considered the matter “closed”. However, an official at Turkey’s health ministry in Ankara told Reuters
that an investigation into Novartis was still “ongoing”.
The official declined to give further details. In
Switzerland, a Novartis spokesman said it considered the
matter closed and is no longer seeking information from
Turkish authorities. (REUTERS)
Rahar KgRs250
Wal-Mart quarterly sales beat estimates
NEW YORK: Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly comparable sales on Thursday, helped
by a rise in online sales and a higher average ticket at
Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. Net income attributable
to the world’s largest retailer rose to $3.77 billion, or $1.21
per share, in the second quarter ended July 31 from $3.48
billion, or $1.08 per share, a year earlier. Sales at US
stores open at least a year rose 1.4 percent, excluding
fuel. Analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix
had forecast a rise of 0.9 percent. Total revenue rose 0.5
percent to $120.85 billion. (REUTERS)
Qatar plane makes emergency landing
ISTANBUL: A Qatar Airways passenger jet made an emergency landing at Istanbul’s main airport shortly after
takeoff Thursday following a fire in one of its engines,
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported. On Twitter,
Qatar Airways said the flight “returned to Istanbul and
has landed safely. The passengers have disembarked as
normal.” It was not immediately clear how many passengers and crew were on board the Istanbul-to-Doha flight.
Anadolu said the emergency landing was ordered after
flames came out of the plane’s left-side engine. The private Turkish news agency Dogan said the affected plane
was an Airbus A330. Qatar Airways is one of the
Mideast’s three biggest carriers, alongside the region’s
biggest carrier, the Dubai-based Emirates Airline, and
the Abu-Dhabi based Etihad Airways. The three have
challenged Western airlines in long-haul flights. (AP)
West to open 21 ‘Pablo’ pop-up stores
NEW YORK: Kanye West fans can buy a taste of “The
Life of Pablo” this weekend following the rapper-turned-fashion mogul’s announcement of 21 pop-up
stores worldwide that will be open just this weekend.
West tweeted a map with red dots indicating the stores’
locations Wednesday night. Fourteen of the stores will be
in major cities in the US. West appears to be expanding
the pop-up store concept following a successful run at a
New York City location in March. The New York Daily
News reports shoppers lined up for blocks to snatch a
piece of clothing inspired by “Pablo,” West’s latest
album. A recycled Levis jacket customized by West was
on sale at the store for $400. (AP)
n A kid poses for a photo with cartoon characters during the 8th China International Animation Copyright Fair in Dongguan, south China’s Guangdong
Province, on Thursday. A total of 503 companies attended this year’s animation copyright fair. Xinhua
Volvo and Uber form
driverless car venture
Agence France-Presse
STOCKHOLM, Aug 18
Sweden-based manufacturer
Volvo Cars said on Thursday
it would team up with
ride-sharing service Uber in a
$300 million (265 million euro)
joint venture to develop driverless automobiles.
“Both Uber and Volvo will
use the same base vehicle for
the next stage of their own
autonomous car strategies,”
Volvo, owned by China’s
Geely, said in a statement.
“This will involve Uber adding its own self-developed
autonomous driving systems
to the Volvo base vehicle,”
it added.
Uber and Volvo were two of
the founding members of a
coalition unveiled in April to
push for a unified US legal
code on self-driving cars—a
group that also includes
Google, car maker Ford and
Uber rival Lyft. Both companies
have
previously
announced plans to develop
self-driving cars, which will
take passengers to their destinations of choice without
human intervention.
Uber unveiled its first
self-driving car in May,
announcing it had begun test-
ing an autonomous vehicle on
the streets of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Volvo engineers began supervised
tests of semi-autonomous
cars in 2014 in the Swedish
city of Gothenburg, where
the
company
has
its
headquarters.
It will let a limited number
of people test the vehicles on
the streets of London and
Gothenburg next year. “Over
one million people die in car
accidents every year. These
are tragedies that self-driving
technology can help solve, but
we can’t do this alone,” Uber
chief
executive
Travis
Kalanick said in a statement.
“That’s why our partnership
with a great manufacturer
like Volvo is so important,”
he added.
The chief executive of
Volvo
Cars,
Hakan
Samuelsson, said the venture
placed Volvo “at the heart of
the current technological revolution in the automotive
industry.”
‘Apple inc faces
revenue decline’
Chana (Big)
Kg
Rs210
Chana (Small)
Kg
Rs180
Chilli Powder
Kg
Rs400
gasoline watch
Indo-Asian News Service
New York, Aug 18
Apple will post the first annual decline in
iPhone shipments despite the launch of
iPhone 7 in September, said a study, adding
that India has emerged as a hot smartphone
market and Apple must look seriously into
making further inroads into the country.
The latest report by market research firm
Canalys also noted that despite growing global smartphone sales (up by five per cent),
Apple’s struggle in China will continue. “The
launch of the iPhone 6 saw Apple’s shipments
in Greater China skyrocket, but the company
has struggled to maintain this momentum,”
Jessie Ding, Canalys research analyst, was
quoted as saying.
“The iPhone 6s had a lacklustre reception
in comparison and the iPhone SE is unlikely
to make a big difference to Apple’s fortunes in
the region this year. Huawei, Oppo and Vivo
offer products with better specifications at
significantly lower price points,” Ding added.
The analyst advised iPhone makers to
include features such as waterproofing and
wireless charging, adding that if Apple wants
to grow, it needs to catch up in these areas. In
the high-growth Asia Pacific region—barring
the Greater China region—the smartphone
growth will be 13 per cent in 2016, Canalys
indicated. “The smartphone markets in India
and the Philippines are performing well in
2016, with annual growth expected to reach 21
and 26 percent respectively.”
bullion
Price Per tola
Hallmark Gold
Rs59,300
Tejabi Gold
Rs59,050
SilverRs890
Source: FENEGOSIDA
bubble tea
Taiwan tea entrepreneurs brew up new twist on tradition
Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI, Aug 18
Cheap instant “bubble tea” has
become one of Taiwan’s bestknown culinary exports—now a
new wave of entrepreneurs
hopes a high-end modern take
on traditional brews will also be
sipped worldwide.
Taiwan has been producing
tea for more than 200 years and
a cup of the island’s famous
oolong is obligatory for many
visitors, but exports have been
knocked by rising labour costs
and bubble tea has eclipsed a
carefully crafted cuppa.
Often artificially flavoured
and loaded with milk, sugar and
tapioca pearls, bubble tea has in
recent years gained a global following, from Southeast Asia to
the United States and Europe.
Ultra-modern tea shop “Xie Xie”
is one business trying to turn
the tide back to sophistication.
Founder Xie Yu-tung, 30,
comes from a family of tea producers and uses leaves grown on
their plantations in Taiwan’s
mountainous Dayuling and
Lishan areas. Her sleek allwhite tea boutique at Taipei’s
Mandarin Oriental hotel is
stacked with teabags in booklike boxes and clear cylindrical
bottles of ready-to-drink cold
brews. “I think Taiwan has the
best oolong and it’s a pity that
it’s not seen all over the world,”
says Xie. She sells pure and flavoured oolong—a fragrant,
semi-fermented tea.
Infused with spearmint,
chamomile, rose and ginger, she
hopes the pretty packaging and
ready-made bottles will attract
uninitiated foreign customers.
At Tw$680 ($21) for 10 teabags,
she says it is a reasonable price
for top tea. “Every step (in producing oolong) has to be exact. I
think the craftsmanship
n
A file photo shows a tea maker demonstrating her skills in Taipei. involved matches that of international luxury products,” she
says.
Xie has served up her tea at
the Venice film festival, Paris
fashion shows and Milan design
week since launching two years
AFP/RSS
ago. Other entrepreneurs are
hoping to create a cafe culture
that will entice younger generations. At David Huang’s salons
in Taipei, customers order pots
of organic Taiwan-grown tea
served up alongside tea-fla-
voured French pastries. “I don’t
want to see tea-drinking fade
into history because young people think it’s old-fashioned,”
says Huang, who opened the salons after studying marketing in
France. “It is one of the things
that most represents Taiwan.”
Huang’s “Zenique” brand of
pure and flavoured oolong,
green and black teas do not
come cheap—a small tin starts
at Tw$409 and can cost up to
Tw$1,890. Huang says it is a
price worth paying for a
high-quality product and he
counts seasoned tea drinkers
among his regular customers.
First-time salon visitor Anne
Yu, 30, says she likes the “chic
and tasteful” feel to the place. “I
started to drink more tea recently after I got palpitations from
drinking coffee,” she said,
between mouthfuls of green tea
and almond cake topped with a
macaron, washed down with
osmanthus oolong tea. “I like
tea better now.”
While industry experts say
the average age of tea drinkers
in Taiwan is rising, entrepreneurs like Xie and Huang are
giving the business a fresh edge.
“To some young people now,
running a tea company is
attractive and trendy, it’s like
being the owner of a French
vineyard,” said Lin Chih-Cheng,
president of the Association of
Taiwan Tea. “They feel like they
are part of a creative, cultural
industry.”
Both Huang and Xie have regular international clients and
are hoping to expand the list.
However, there are still those
who argue that no-frills is best.
At tea store Lin Hua Tai, leaves
are still processed in a factory
at the back of the shop, using
traditional methods unchanged
for the decades it has been in
business.
Int’l market
EnergyPrice (US$)%Change
Brent Crude Futr (Bbl)
Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt)
Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal)
Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu)
49.67
436
144.75
2.6
-0.36
1.40
-0.21
-0.57
AgriculturePrice (US$)%Change
Cocoa Future (Mt)
Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb)
Corn Future (Bu)
Cotton No. 2 Futr (Lb)
Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt)
Soybean Future (Bu)
Soybean Meal Futr (T)
Soybean Oil Futr (Lb)
Sugar #11 (World) (Lb)
Wheat Future (Cbt) (Bu)
3,101.00
139
339.5
72.12
10.14
1003.5
328.2
34.07
19.61
440.75
Industrial Metals
Price (US$)%Change
Copper Future (Lb)
Precious Metals
Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz)
Silver Future (T Oz)
218.9
0.71
0.65
-0.07
0.36
-0.83
-1.23
-1.26
-1.07
-0.51
-0.51
1.18
Price (US$)%Change
1,355.90
19.78
0.53
0.67
C M Y K