IMFORMATIONS : June 2020

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

DU open book exam: Delhi University faces HC heat on open-book exam

The exams, which were scheduled to start from July 1, have been deferred by another 10 days.

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Kerala SSLC Result: Haroon T K, a visually impaired student scores A plus in all subjects

Haroon'following which state Education Minister C Raveendranath had issued a special order to permit him to take SSLC examination on computer.

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NEET quota for Tamil Nadu govt students: Governor to consult experts

A fortnight ago the Tamil Nadu cabinet cleared a proposal to provide horizontal reservation for government school students from this academic year.

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UP Madarsa Board Result 2020 to be declared today at 1 pm

The UP Madarsa Board result will be announced today around 01:00 pm on the Board's official website -madarsaboard.upsdc.gov.in.

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INEOS Automotive unveils new Grenadier to rival Toyota HiLux, LandCruiser

Rock-solid reliability, go-anywhere usability, powerful engines and action hero styling with a choice of ute or wagon bodies – the INEOS Automotive Grenadier feels tailor-made for Australia.

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Victorians face jail for entering NSW

Victorians from virus hot spot suburbs will face fines of up to $11,000 or jail time if they enter NSW from midnight tonight.

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‘Traumatic’: Whale hits tourist boat

A family of four narrowly escaped death after their small boat collided with a humpback whale while boating near Juneau in Alaska.

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38 die in monsoon related natural disasters

Kathmandu, June 30

As many as 38 persons, including 15 females, have been killed in various natural disasters across the country since the onset of monsoon.

According to statistics updated by the Ministry of Home Affairs, at least 2009 households were directly affected by disasters which caused economic loss worth around Rs 133 million. The disasters, mainly the landslides, floods and inundation resulted in damage or destruction of 84 houses or huts.

Major disasters that claimed the lives include landslides, floods, lightning and fire, mainly in the Tarai and hilly districts.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division had officially announced the arrival of monsoon in Nepal on June 12, two days later than the normal onset date of the rainy season.

“Monsoon activity has gained momentum, leading to rain-induced disasters. Therefore, we appeal to everyone to take necessary precautions against disaster events,” Meteorological Forecasting Division advised. MFD has forecast light to heavy rain with thunder and lightning at many places of the country for the next three days.

“Monsoon trough line is now located close to Nepal, bringing more rain. Heavy rainfall may increase the water level in many rivers, leading to inundation and landslide. Therefore, we would like to appeal to all to maintain high alert against the possibility of natural disasters,” read a weather forecast bulletin released by MFD today. It has also forecast obstruction of air and road transport due to bad weather conditions.

More than 120 persons were killed and property worth tens of millions of rupees damaged in natural disasters last year.

The country receives an average of 80 per cent of annual rainfall during the monsoon. The average annual rainfall in Nepal is 1,600 mm, but it varies from place to place depending on climatic conditions.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 1, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post 38 die in monsoon related natural disasters appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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Fernandes double steers Man United to 3-0 win at Brighton

BRIGHTON: Bruno Fernandes capped a fine individual performance with two goals and Mason Greenwood added another as Manchester United won 3-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Tuesday to stay in the hunt for a top-four finish.

Having stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 games, United climbed back into fifth place on 52 points from 32 games, two behind fourth-placed Chelsea who have a game in hand and ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers on goal difference.

The result and the performance pleased manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who praised his team after United celebrated their first league win at Brighton since 1982.

“It’s a joy to watch them when you see them express themselves like that,” the Norwegian told the BBC.

“The confidence comes from performances and knowing they’ve done the right things leading in to the restart. They worked hard during the lockdown and we know we have loads to play for.

“The third goal was a great team goal. To see so many players sprinting forward to get on the end of it was fantastic. A great finish by Bruno Fernandes.”

Solskjaer added to Sky Sports: “Mason’s first goal was brilliant and he played fantastically. He’s a special kid, we know when he gets faced up he looks dangerous. His link-up play was great today.”

United dominated from the start and Fernandes hit the post with a rasping first-time shot from 20 metres before 18-year-old Greenwood fired them ahead in the 16th minute from a jinking solo run capped by a crisp low shot inside the near post.

Fernandes made it 2-0 with a deflected effort in the 29th following a superb build-up, with Luke Shaw piercing through on the left flank before the ball eventually fell to the Portugal midfielder on the edge of the penalty area.

United scored a high-quality third goal shortly after the break as Nemanja Matic released Greenwood with a searching long ball and the forward delivered an inch-perfect cross for Fernandes to volley home superbly from 10 metres.

Substitute Daniel James missed a chance to score United‘s fourth in the 86th minute when he had only Mathew Ryan to beat but the home keeper did well to deny the Wales winger.

United are next at home to relegation-threatened Bournemouth while Brighton visit bottom team Norwich City on Saturday.

The post Fernandes double steers Man United to 3-0 win at Brighton appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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Aayush shares a sweet post on his dad's bday

Aayush Sharma is currently spending time at Salman Khan's Panvel farmhouse with his family. The actor has been treating his fans with some cute photos of his little ones. Recently, Aayush took to Instagram to wish his father on his birthday.

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HBD A Kodandarami Reddy: 5 box office hits

Renowned filmmaker A Kodandarami Reddy turns 70 today. Known for his association with Mega Star Chiranjeevi, the maverick filmmaker is the recipient of the Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy National Award for Life Time Achievement.

from Entertainment News, Celebrity News, Latest Movie News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India https://ift.tt/2NM1LjL

LA sheriff says officials who slashed his budget are listening to the ‘mob’

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, facing cuts Monday that would shrink his office’s budget by $145 million, told a local TV news station that county officials “want to listen to the mob who is demanding ‘defund the police.‘”

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Florida governor signs new law requiring parental consent for abortions

Critics argue that the new law is unconstitutional.

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Prehistoric new feature for phones

Google has unveiled new augmented reality features that will let you virtually travel back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

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Tourist outrage over resort receipt

Holiday-makers might be stung with extra charges despite cheap deals as beach resort prices soar amid the pandemic.

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Post: Huma shares some wise words on Insta

Huma Qureshi is an avid social media user and loves to share pictures and videos of how she is spending her lockdown days. We have seen her de-cluttering electronics, cooking delicious food and more in the videos on Instagram.

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Watch Video: Sonu Sood working out with son

Sonu Sood has been rocking the news for sending migrant workers back to their homes by arranging transport facilities for them. The actor is also quite active on social media and loves to keep fans updated about his day-to-day activities.

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Sonakshi poses for a cool mirror selfie!

Sonakshi Sinha is an avid social media user and loves to keep fans updated about her day-to-day activities through regular posts. From live chats and QnA sessions to doodling, the actress has been keeping herself busy while being at home due to lockdown.

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Pic: Rajkummar flaunts his chiselled physique

Rajkummar Rao has been updating fans about his day-to-day activities on social media. While being at home due to lockdown, the actor is sharing pictures and videos of how he is spending the quarantine period.

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Pic: Genelia reminisces pre Coronavirus days

Genelia D'Souza Deshmukh and husband Riteish Deshmukh are currently spending their lockdown days in Latur. The actress has been sharing pictures and videos to update fans about her day-to-day activities.

from Entertainment News, Celebrity News, Latest Movie News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India https://ift.tt/3ii6rvS

Study uncovers most effective non-medical face mask for protecting against coronavirus

The best type of non-medical face mask is a stitched mask made from two layers of quilting fabric.

from New York Daily News https://ift.tt/38i0SZO

Lori Vallow hit with 2 additional charges after her children’s remains were found

The Madison County Prosecuting Attorney’s office charged Vallow, 47, with two felony counts of conspiring to destroy, alter or conceal evidence, according to a criminal complaint.

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Several injured after whale collides with boat off coast of Alaska

Several members of a family of four were injured Saturday after their boat collided with a humpback whale off the coast of Alaska, near Juneau.

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Monday, 29 June 2020

Schools and colleges to remain closed till July 31

The ‘Unlock 2’ the ‘phased reopening’ guidelines said that the activities that had been barred to curb the coronavirus spread in the country - and said educational institutions, Metro rail services, cinema halls and gyms will continue to remain closed.

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St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters were ‘in fear for our lives’

A St. Louis couple who brandished guns at peaceful protesters surging down their street said Monday they were terrified of what appeared to them to be an unruly mob and that their aim was to defend themselves if necessary.

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Ford Mustang rental car sets ‘crazy’ speed record

The driver of a daring high-speed record “Cannonball Run” across America says video evidence of his pursuit “would probably land me in jail”.

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The big change in the new-look Qantas lounge

As flights across the country gear up for an influx of domestic travel, Qantas has announced it will be reopening the doors to some of its lounges.

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Where our new cases are coming from

As Victoria continues to see an uptick in coronavirus cases, all eyes are on where the cases are coming from and the best measure to slow the new outbreak.

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‘Not pleasant’ measure to stop second wave

A decision on whether parts of Victoria will be thrown back into lockdown is likely today as the state’s hot spot testing blitz comes to an end.

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Amid China row, India to get first batch of Rafales

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Nepal families face hunger, skip meals as pandemic hits remittances

KATHMANDU: Nepali housewife Shiba Kala Limbu grimaced as she recalled how she went hungry in order to feed her five-year-old daughter after the coronavirus pandemic cost her husband his job as a mason in the Gulf state of Qatar.

The 25-year-old said she had no money for rent after the payments from her husband, Ram Kumar, stopped.

“It is painful,” she said, as she peeled potatoes in a dimly lit kitchen that doubles as her bedroom in the Baniyatar locality of the Nepali capital.

“I skipped several evening meals to save whatever little food I had for my daughter.”

The spread of the deadly respiratory disease caused by the virus has choked economies worldwide and pitched millions of migrant workers out of jobs, leaving them unable to send money home.

More than 56 percent of Nepal’s estimated 5.4 million households receive remittances that are a vital lifeline for families that have no other source of income, official figures show.

Remittances totaled $8.1 billion last year, or more than a quarter of Nepal’s gross domestic product, but are likely to drop 14% in 2020 because of the global recession caused by the virus, as well as a fall in oil prices, the World Bank says.

Millions of Nepali migrants work in the oil-rich Gulf countries and Malaysia.

Remittances are crucial for lower-middle-class families that have moved to city centres and rely on them to pay for rent, groceries, school fees and utilities, said analyst Ganesh Gurung.

“Without remittances these families will get poorer and crimes like human trafficking and prostitution could rise,” said Gurung, an expert on migrant issues at the Nepal Institute of Development Studies think tank.

Limbu, the housewife, used to receive up to 20,000 Nepali rupees ($165) every month before the pandemic.

But in the last six months she has received only 40,000 Nepali rupees from her husband, most of it borrowed from his friends.

“That’s all he has managed to send this year,” she said. “I used some of it to pay for the rent and the rest to buy groceries.”

In the southwestern town of Gajedah, Radha Marasini said her husband, Indra Mani, lost his job as a security guard at a textile factory in India‘s northern city of Ludhiana after the outbreak.

As her income dried up, the 43-year-old had no option but to turn to a local lender and pay crippling interest rates to ensure she and her 15-year-old son can survive.

“If the corona (virus) situation does not improve, we’ll have to eat only one meal a day,” Marasini said.

The virus has caused 13,248 infections and 29 deaths in Nepal.

Some migrants, like Limbu’s husband Ram Kumar, are staying overseas despite the loss of their jobs, in hopes the situation will improve and they can resume work.

“It is traumatic to be away from the family,” Kumar said from Qatar, which plans a limited re-opening of restaurants, beaches and parks from July 1.

“If there was any hope for finding a job in Nepal, I would go.”

The post Nepal families face hunger, skip meals as pandemic hits remittances appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/38brPyd

‘No border dispute with China’

Kathmandu, June 29

Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali told the National Assembly that there was no boundary issue with China and pillar 37 and 38 were never erected between Nepal and China as the terrain of the place was very difficult.

Gyawali said that before boundary pillars were erected along the northern border, residents of Rui village and Samagaun used to frequently visit both places but when the border was marked and pillars erected in 1962, households of the two villages were told that Rui village became part of China and the residents were free to choose one of them.

Gyawali said 60 households chose to live in Rui village and 40 in Samagaun and even though they had land possession papers issued by Gorkha district, they never had any problem. He said no land was occupied by China in Gorkha district.

Gyawali said that a fake letter was circulated recently purportedly issued by the Survey Department of Nepal’s Agriculture Ministry, which the Agriculture Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already refuted. He said the government was probing how the fake report was prepared and who were behind that. Gyawali said the guilty would be punished for circulating fake reports on the basis of which fake news was also reported saying Nepal’s land was encroached by China in seven districts.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 30, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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Mee heads Burnley up to eighth with win at Palace

LONDON: Burnley moved up to eighth in the Premier League after a header from captain Ben Mee earned them a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Monday.

Sean Dyche’s side move above Arsenal and Sheffield United and on to 45 points, level on points with Tottenham Hotspur, who have played a game less.

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha shoots at goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Burnley, at Selhurst Park, in London, Britain, on June 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Despite being depleted by injuries and with another incomplete and inexperienced substitute bench, Burnley were well on top in the first half with Dwight McNeil influential in a central role.

Palace were stronger after the break but fell behind shortly after the hour mark when Mee launched himself at an Ashley Westwood free-kick and Palace keeper Vicente Guaita could only push the ball in off the post.

Roy Hodgson’s team piled on the pressure in the final minutes but Burnley, who have lost just once in the last ten games, hung on to secure the three points which will give them hope of a push towards possible Europa League qualification.

“There’s a long way to go because of how thin our squad is. There are no excuses though and the mentality is good, the physicality has to remain strong,” said Dyche.

The win was particularly impressive for Burnley who had one fit striker in Matej Vydra and had to bring on reserve centre half Kevin Long when midfielder Jack Cork went down injured.

Dyche has been critical of the club’s chairman Mike Garlick after three players left the club last week when their contracts ran out but he brushed off a question about his future.

“Everyone keeps talking about my future apart from me. I’m getting on with my job as I always do – I’m still here,” he said.

“We have a group that give everything and we saw that again tonight. When you think before lockdown, in the 100 days, the fabric of the club has changed somewhat. We have a group here who will never go under and we have some youngsters here who can see that.”

The post Mee heads Burnley up to eighth with win at Palace appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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Photo: Sonam's "Lockdown evenings" with Anand

Sonam Kapoor has been sharing pictures and videos on social media about how she is spending her lockdown days. Also, the actress and her husband Anand Ahuja have been giving us major couple goals for a long time.

from Entertainment News, Celebrity News, Latest Movie News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India https://ift.tt/2Zk90op

#FACTCHECK: The Sushant Singh Rajput case

Here's looking at everything that has happened so far

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Taapsee posts a childhood pic with mom & sister

Taapsee Pannu is one of the talented actresses of Bollywood and has made a place for herself in everyone's hearts with her stellar performances in the films. The actress is quite active on social media and loves to treat fans with day-to-day updates about her life.

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Big B shares a throwback pic with Jr AB

Amitabh Bachchan is an avid social media user and keeps his fans updated about his life through regular posts. Now, the megastar took to Instagram to share a throwback photo clicked at Montmartre in Paris.

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Priyanka shares a sweet wish for Joe & Sophie

Priyanka Chopra took to Instagram to wish her brother-in-law Joe Jonas and his wife Sophie Turner on their first wedding anniversary. Sharing a black and white picture of the couple, she captioned the picture, "Happy 1 year anniversary @Joejonas and @sophiet, Love you both!"

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Sushmita shares a throwback pic with daughter

Sushmita Sen is quite active on social media and loves to treat fans with her day-to-day updates. She often uploads pictures and videos of her daughters and with beau Rohman Shawl.

from Entertainment News, Celebrity News, Latest Movie News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India https://ift.tt/2Vw6udt

Louisville will investigate mayor for actions around Breonna Taylor’s killing

“You, the public, have a right to know whose calling the shots and what their thought process is.”

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Reddit bans community devoted to Donald Trump for violating hate speech policies

“Reddit is a place for community and belonging, not for attacking people.”

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Audi claims world-first tech in new SUV

Audi has updated its Q5 family SUV with increased tech and facelifted looks leading the charge.

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Katy contemplated suicide after Orlando split

American singer-songwriter Katy Perry got vulnerable in a recent interview where she spoke about how she contemplated taking her own life in 2017.

from Entertainment News, Celebrity News, Latest Movie News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India https://ift.tt/38ddWzm

Multiplexes not happy with digital releases

The entertainment industry is one of the worst-hit among others due to the Coronavirus pandemic. And now, a lot of production houses are opting to release films on digital platforms as theatres won't be opening anytime soon.

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Kartik shares a throwback pic with Sagarika

Kartik Aaryan has been sharing pictures and videos of how he is spending time while being at home due to lockdown. The actor has been keeping himself entertained by doing house chores and making videos with family.

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Video of couple with guns goes viral

A video has gone viral of wild scenes when a couple pointed a pistol and an assault rifle at Black Lives Matters protesters in an angry confrontation outside their huge mansion.

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Sunday, 28 June 2020

NC office-bearers to discuss General Convention schedule

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

A meeting of the office-bearers of the Nepali Congress is set to discuss the party’s 14th General Convention schedule which was affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

According to party office Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel, the meeting to be conducted at the party central office, Sanepa, will discuss the General Convention schedule.

Besides this, the meeting will seek ways to mount pressure on the government for further effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus.

Earlier, on January 27, the NC central committee meeting had published the schedule for the convention for the party’s subordinate bodies and the 14th General Convention. As per the calendar, distribution of new active membership by the party’s House of Representatives electoral executive committee and renewal of active memberships by the respective district executive committees was fixed for Mid-February to mid-march. Though the forms for registering active membership were already dispatched to the districts, form distribution and membership renewal were affected by the crisis.

Similarly, village to district conventions were fixed for November 2020. The provincial convention was scheduled for 14 December 2020 and the General Convention was scheduled to start from 19 February 2020 in Kathmandu.

Poudel hinted at the possibility of changing the dates for other conventions, keeping the date earlier fixed for the General Convention unchanged.

The party had held its 13th General Convention in Kathmandu in March 2016. The party statute has fixed a four-year term for its office bearers and members of all levels. In an odd situation, it has provision for extending the term by one year. As per this provision, the tenure of all office bearers and members was extended by a year to be effective from 27 December 2019.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post NC office-bearers to discuss General Convention schedule appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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Form Road Safety Council: House panel

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

The Road Accident Reduction Study Sub-committee formed by Development and Technology Committee of the House of Representatives has recommended that the Government of Nepal form the Road Safety Council to curb the rising number of road injuries and fatalities in the country.

The five-member sub-committee is headed by lawmaker Ganesh Kumar Pahadi.

Other members of the sub-committee include lawmakers Gauri Shankar Chaudhary, Durga Paudel, Yagyaraj Sunuwar and Rangamati Shahi.

The sub-committee report submitted to the parliamentary panel yesterday said there was urgent need to form the high-powered council to prevent road accidents.

It suggested that the 19-member council be chaired by the Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Other proposed members are ministers of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of all provinces, secretary of the Ministry of Finance, secretary of MoPIT, secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, chief of Traffic Police Directorate, experts and transport entrepreneurs, among others.

“Road safety is a broad issue which can only be addressed by a dedicated body of the government. It is the need of the hour to effectively implement Nepal Road Safety Action Plan (2020-2030) being developed by the MoPIT through such a dedicated body by mandating it to prepare and implement road safety plans,” the report stated.

The report warned that involvement of various agencies in road safety management had made them less responsible towards reducing road accidents. Though Department of Transport Management, Department of Roads and Nepal Police have been overseeing road safety affairs, lack of coordination among them has led to duplication of efforts and misunderstandings about their responsibilities only to aggravate the situation. They often pass the buck to one another for failure to curb road fatalities.

The report has also indicated various reasons for road accidents such as poor mechanical condition of vehicles, operation of old vehicles without proper maintenance, use of substandard spare parts, poor road engineering, tendency to transport goods and passengers beyond capacity, government failure to fix potholes from time to time, construction of roads without footpath, lack of retaining walls along roads vulnerable to landslides, absence of crash barriers on the highways, negligence of drivers, issuance of licence to young persons and lack of public awareness about traffic rules.

Other aspects that are responsible for accidents include road and footpath encroachment, stray cattle, lack of effective monitoring and inspection of road safety measures, animosity between drivers and traffic police, non-implementation of scientific system in licence distribution, lack of vehicle fitness centres, syndicate in transport and lenient punishment for traffic rule violators.

The sub-committee has also suggested that the government fully dispose vehicles that are more than 20 years old, besides addressing all the reasons for road accidents.

According to the report, road fatalities are on the rise every passing year. It said as many as 2,779 persons were killed in the fiscal 2019-20 (13,366 accidents) compared to 2,087 in 2018-19 (10,178 accidents).

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post Form Road Safety Council: House panel appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from Kathmandu – The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/2Zlc4Ar

NC office-bearers to discuss General Convention schedule

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

A meeting of the office-bearers of the Nepali Congress is set to discuss the party’s 14th General Convention schedule which was affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

According to party office Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Poudel, the meeting to be conducted at the party central office, Sanepa, will discuss the General Convention schedule.

Besides this, the meeting will seek ways to mount pressure on the government for further effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus.

Poudel hinted at the possibility of changing the dates for other conventions, keeping the date earlier fixed for the General Convention unchanged.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post NC office-bearers to discuss General Convention schedule appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/3iie19R

Form Road Safety Council: House panel

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

The five-member sub-committee is headed by lawmaker Ganesh Kumar Pahadi.

Other members of the sub-committee include lawmakers Gauri Shankar Chaudhary, Durga Paudel, Yagyaraj Sunuwar and Rangamati Shahi.

The sub-committee report submitted to the parliamentary panel yesterday said there was urgent need to form the high-powered council to prevent road accidents.

The sub-committee has also suggested that the government fully dispose vehicles that are more than 20 years old, besides addressing all the reasons for road accidents.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post Form Road Safety Council: House panel appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/2Zlc4Ar

Lampard shows ruthless streak as Chelsea youngsters hauled off

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard showed his ruthless side as he hauled off three of his brightest young players at halftime in Sunday’s 1-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester City.

Lampard was clearly unhappy with what he witnessed in the opening 45 minutes and admitted he could have substituted seven or eight of his players at the interval.

As it was Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and Reece James made way for the vastly more experienced trio of Ross Barkley, Mateo Kovacic and Cesar Azpilicueta and the difference was clear.

Barkley struck the game’s only goal in the 63rd minute, ghosting on to Willian’s cross to steer a shot home.

Chelsea record scorer Lampard’s trust in youth has been an impressive part of his first season since returning as manager to Stamford Bridge, but he is not afraid to hand out some tough love when required, as it was on Sunday at the King Power Stadium.

“We haven’t played that badly since I’ve been back, we were fortunate at halftime that it was 0-0,” he said.

“The first rules of football are urgency and sprinting back and if you don’t do that you can’t compete. Our game needs to be brighter than that. In the second half there were glimpses of it, but we can’t turn up like that again. We got lucky today.”

Lampard said his young players would “take it on the chin”.

“It is a learning experience. I could have taken more off, or other players off. I am not pulling those out on their own. They will be top players for this club and have top careers,” he added.

“But if I have to do something in games I will do it. It was one of those games where I had to do something.”

Chelsea have won all three of their games since the restart of the season, twice in the Premier League to cement themselves in the top four, and can now look ahead to a Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

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‘Anti-national’ Mahakali Treaty comes back to haunt ‘nationalist’ Oli

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Bamdev Gautam, who had stopped criticising the prime minister in recent weeks, appears to have found new voice in taking the PM to task of late.

Gautam, who left the Bhainsepati alliance, an alliance led by party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, in April after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli assured that he would get him into the Parliament and eventually make him the PM, had stopped criticising the PM directly or indirectly.

But in the party’s Standing Committee meeting, he demanded that the party should admit that action taken against him and 15 other leaders of the erstwhile CPN-UML for terming the Mahakali Treaty ‘anti-national’ was wrong.

Although Gautam, who is the vice-chair of the party, did not name the PM directly in his remarks, his ire was directed against Oli as he was the UML’s key leader who supported the Mahakali Treaty.

According to a press release issued by Gautam’s private secretariat, he told the party Standing Committee yesterday that he and 15 other former CPN-UML leaders, who had called the Mahakali Treaty anti-national, were unjustly expelled by the party. He demanded that the Standing Committee decide that the charge levelled against him and other opponents of the Mahakali Treaty and the decision of the UML at that time was wrong.

Gautam, CP Mainali and other key leaders of the erstwhile UML split the party over their differences on the Mahakali Treaty signed between Nepal and India in 1996. Recently, Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal leader Upendra Yadav said the leaders who had played a key role in the signing of the Mahakali Treaty should apologise to the public for failing to determine the origin of the Mahakali River in the treaty.

Nepal recently issued a new map depicting Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as Nepal’s territories and Nepal’s stated position is that Limpiyadhura is the origin of the Mahakali River. India has administrative and political control over these territories and claims these areas as its own.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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No new COVID death of Nepalis abroad reported last week

Kathmandu, June 28

No coronavirus-related death of Nepalis living abroad was reported last week, said Non-Resident Nepali Association today.

A press release issued by the NRNA from London informed that it recorded zero death of Nepalis living abroad in the past week ending last evening. The number of Nepalis diagnosed with COVID-19 in foreign countries has also gone down significantly in recent days.

According to a tally of fatalities and infections compiled by the health committee of NRNA, a total of 130 Nepalis living in 13 foreign countries have succumbed to COVID-19 and 26,227 have tested positive for the virus so far. Dr Sanjeev Sapkota, committee coordinator, said more than 18,700 Nepalis had already recovered from the disease.

Over 8,000 Nepali migrants in Middle East countries contracted the disease over the past two weeks. Nealy 20 per cent of 92,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Qatar are Nepalis, said the committee. Dr Sapkota informed that five Nepalis were diagnosed with the virus for the first time in South Africa last week. With this, the number of Nepalis infected with the virus in African countries have reached 10.

Similarly, 15 more Nepalis in Bangladesh and 150 others in India tested positive for the disease last week.

The 19 countries where Nepalis have recovered include Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Malta, Myanmar, Poland, Russia, New Zealand, Hong Kong (China), Canada, Finland, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Malaysia, South Korea, France and Belgium.
A clinically recovered COV- ID-19 patient should test negative for the virus twice in a gap of at least 24 hours.

Nepalis have been exposed to the virus in 36 countries and territories abroad.

NRNA said it had compiled data of COVID-19 cases and fatalities on the basis of information received from Nepali doctors working in various hospitals, its country chapters and other organisations.

Meanwhile, NRNA said that rescue of Nepalis stranded abroad was under way. It informed that as many as 11,371 Nepalis were rescued and brought home from destination countries, except India, over the past four weeks.

The countries from where Nepalis were rescued are UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Qatar, Maldives, Japan, Australia, Bahrain, Thailand, Oman, USA, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Pakistan, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

It also informed that the bodies of 87 Nepalis, who died in foreign countries during the lockdown, had been brought home so far. Of them, 20 bodies each were airlifted from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, 31 from Malaysia, seven from Kuwait, five from UAE, three from Bahrain and one from Oman. As many as 120 bodies of Nepali citizens are still stranded in destination countries.

NRNA said it was drawing the government’s attention to this situation.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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UNSEEN pic of SRK from his younger days

In this picture, Shah Rukh Khan is seen standing in between a group of over-excited school kids. He is seen busy looking at something on the other side as he got candidly captured by the camera.

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When B'wood couples won the twinning game

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CBSE’s assessment scheme for nixed exams causes worry

Many students are worried that the assessment scheme would affect their higher education plans, especially in the engineering and graduation streams.

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RBSE 10th exam 2020: 11.50 lakh students to appear in last 2 board exams today & tomorrow

Looking at the large number of students appearing in the exam, the RBSE has asked authorities to ensure proper maintenance of social distancing norms strictly. A similar number f students will also appear for the maths exam on June 30.

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Karnataka SSLC student tests Covid-19 positive; Minister allays fears

Minister said all 18 students and the invigilator of the exam hall in Hassan district, where a COVID positive student appeared to write the maths exam on Saturday, have tested negative.

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Plea to put off JEE as Covid tests resolve

Dilshad Khan had dropped a year in 2019 hoping to make it to one of the IITs in 2020. He prepared well the entire year to get a good score in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)

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Grand Canyon hiker dies from suspected heat exposure

Temperatures at the Grand Canyon reached highs of 114 degrees last Wednesday.

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‘Anti-national’ Mahakali Treaty comes back to haunt ‘nationalist’ Oli

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Bamdev Gautam, who had stopped criticising the prime minister in recent weeks, appears to have found new voice in taking the PM to task of late.

Although Gautam, who is the vice-chair of the party, did not name the PM directly in his remarks, his ire was directed against Oli as he was the UML’s key leader who supported the Mahakali Treaty.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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PM rants against India in bid to cling to power

The PM’s remark that India is trying to unseat him only undermines the prestige of Nepali people and the Parliament

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, under pressure from Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders who want him to step down either as prime minister or party co-chair, again played the nationalism card today to stay on in power.

The PM, who wishes to pin the blame for everything that’s wrong with Nepal today on India, claimed that the Indian state apparatus was active to topple him from power for amending the constitution to depict Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani in the country’s map.

But there were few takers for his assertion even in his own party, NCP lawmaker Ram Kumari Jhankrii said the PM’s remarks were aimed at diverting people’s attention from real issues. “The PM has failed in all respects.

He is making such remarks to mask his weaknesses and failures,” she said.

Addressing a programme organised on the 69th birth anniversary of late Madan Kumar Bhandari, the PM said, “You must have heard from Indian media that I am going to be unseated within a week or two. You must have heard the Indian intellectuals’ debate about this. Indian state apparatus is surprisingly active,” the PM said.

He even said an embassy was also active against him. Though he did not name the embassy, there is little doubt who he was referring to.

The PM claimed that he was removed from power in 2016 when he signed trade and transit agreements with China. “But if anybody is dreaming of removing me from power, then I must tell them that they will never succeed,” the PM said. In an apparent message to the leaders within his party who want him to give up either the PM’s post or step down as the party’s co-chair.

Though he is clinging on to power and skipped the NCP Standing Committee meet on Friday fearing tough questions from party leaders, he claimed that he had no desire to remain in power for long. He, however, added if he was removed from power, no subsequent prime minister would speak up in favour of the country. The PM said he was confident that neither his party nor NCP Parliamentary Party would seek to remove him from power.

Political analyst Uddhab Pyakurel said the PM, who has been drawing flak for questionable handling of the COVID-19 crisis, had unnecessarily ranted up rhetoric against India. “The PM’s remark that India is trying to unseat him only undermines the prestige of Nepali people and the Parliament. Nepalis voted the ruling NCP to power and the Parliament made him the PM. The NCP commands almost two-thirds majority in the Parliament. How can India make or topple Nepal’s PM,” Pyakurel wondered.

He added that a sovereign PM should not make such irresponsible remarks.

He said, “If the PM found any embassy’s activities against diplomatic norms, then he should take action against that embassy. But will he do that?”

Jhankri added that had the PM acted honestly, work related to party unity and the party’s General Convention would have been completed by now. “Had the PM mobilised party cadres well, we could have set up quarantine centres and isolation wards in each ward,” she argued.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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Holders Manchester City cruise past Newcastle into FA Cup semis

Kevin de Bruyne’s first-half penalty and a superb strike by Raheem Sterling after the break earned holders Manchester City a comfortable 2-0 win away at Newcastle United in the weekend’s last FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday.

City’s domination of the first half was absolute and the only surprise was it took a penalty for them to lead at halftime, De Bruyne slotting home in the 37th minute.

Newcastle did improve marginally after the break and substitute Dwight Gayle somehow missed a gaping goal.

One minute later Sterling curled home a delightful effort to seal City’s progress and set up a semi-final against Arsenal.

All four of this year’s Cup quarter-finals, all played behind closed doors, were won by the away team — the first time that has happened since 1987.

Manchester United will face Chelsea in the other semi-final.

“We are in the semi-finals. It was not easy to attack against a team defending so deep but it was a good performance. I am happy to go back to London, to Wembley,” City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters.

After their midweek defeat at Chelsea, a result that confirmed Liverpool as Premier League champions, Guardiola’s side were fired-up at an empty St James’ Park.

Twenty five minutes into the tie, Newcastle had completed only 15 passes and were camped inside their own penalty area as City toyed with them.

Riyad Mahrez wasted three chances for City and Sterling was twice denied by Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow.

Having somehow survived the City onslaught, Newcastle then gifted City an opening goal when Fabian Schar needlessly shoved Gabriel Jesus and de Bruyne tucked away the penalty.

Newcastle showed more intensity after the interval with striker Andy Carroll throwing his weight around but their absent fans watching at home on TV would have been groaning when Gayle somehow fired over the crossbar from Allan Saint-Maximin’s low cross.

That glaring miss looked even more costly a minute later when Sterling, who was inspired throughout, cut in from the left and picked out the bottom corner with a clinical finish.

City may have lost their English crown, but having already bagged the League Cup and still in the Champions League they could still end the most strange of seasons with three cups.

The post Holders Manchester City cruise past Newcastle into FA Cup semis appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

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PM rants against India in bid to cling to power

The PM’s remark that India is trying to unseat him only undermines the prestige of Nepali people and the Parliament

KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

He is making such remarks to mask his weaknesses and failures,” she said.

He even said an embassy was also active against him. Though he did not name the embassy, there is little doubt who he was referring to.

He added that a sovereign PM should not make such irresponsible remarks.

He said, “If the PM found any embassy’s activities against diplomatic norms, then he should take action against that embassy. But will he do that?”

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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Municipal solid waste management: Discourage Plastic Use

Kathmandu, June 29

Even as they struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, countries today are staring at another crisis—of biomedical and plastic waste. Single-use plastics used to make personal protective equipment, face masks, shoe covers and goggles for doctors and healthcare workers are contributing to a huge, increase in medical waste, creating environmental hazards and increasing the risks to waste workers. This is in addition to the waste management challenges that cities are already grappling with, especially of plastic waste.

Plastic waste can take hundreds of years to decompose. Meanwhile, they choke waterways and leach harmful chemicals into the soil and water, affecting terrestrial and aquatic life, ecosystems and human health. Studies suggest that micro-plastics in the human body could alter chromosomes, leading to infertility, obesity and cancer.

Improperly disposed waste ends up blocking urban drainage systems and causes waterlogging and flooding. A study from Bharatpur (Nepal) and Sylhet (Bangladesh) suggests that returns on investments in urban drainage infrastructure could be negated in five years if municipal waste (including plastic) isn’t properly managed.

Similar situations exist in several other cities with unplanned and inadequate drainage infrastructure, as this is a general problem across the region. Extreme events related to climate change, such as high intensity rainfall, can easily overwhelm drainage infrastructure, resulting in waterlogging and localised flooding, which is further aggravated when municipal solid waste is not well managed.

Roughly 70 per cent of municipal household waste in Nepal is organic. If segregated at source, organic waste (mainly kitchen waste) can be converted into compost and used in kitchen gardens and farms. Waste to energy is another option for managing organic waste. Segregation at source also lowers waste management costs for municipalities and extends the life of landfill sites.

In rural areas, organic waste is not a problem since food waste is used for animal feed, and other organic waste is composted. Most metal waste is reused or recycled. However, single-use plastics have extremely low recyclability rate. With rapid urbanisation and changing consumer habits, single-use plastic waste has rapidly increased as packaged foods have become a big part of our way of life, further aggravating the plastic litter crisis and pollution of the environment. Today, one would be hard-pressed to find a place untouched by plastic waste pollution.

There are two ways to discourage use of single-use plastics – banning their use, or making them expensive. Bans on single-use plastic are in place in some municipalities in Nepal, with mixed success. However, very few municipalities (e.g., Ilam and Dhankuta) have succeeded in enforcing the bans while also ensuring availability of affordable substitutes. In the current situation, it is nearly impossible to find substitutes for all kinds of single-use plastic.

Besides, plastic items are cheap compared to substitutes. To make matters worse, retailers do not charge separately for plastic bags, so consumers are happy to take them without a second thought. If they were made expensive, retailers would start charging extra, forcing customers to pay for plastic bags each time or use re-useable bags. This second option, of raising the price of plastic bags, is the more logical option to reduce plastic waste. Recycling is another option, but not all plastic waste is recyclable. The global recycle rate is so low that only 10 per cent or less of plastic produced worldwide is recycled.

Taxing raw materials used for producing single-use plastic items provides a way out. There are four benefits of such extra tariffs: it increases the price of single-use plastic items, discouraging their use; encourages recycling when virgin raw material becomes expensive; provides an incentive for substitutes; and generates revenue that can be used for financing municipal solid (plastic) waste management.

Given the federal structure of the country and the heterogeneity in geography and population density, granting exclusive authority to local municipalities to tax single-use plastics is an option. However, cross-border movement of goods makes it harder to enforce such local level tax on single-use plastics. Therefore, a centralised tariff on raw material imports used to produce single-use plastic items is a more feasible alternative.

Cities spend a significant amount of money to collect and dump municipal solid waste in Nepal. In 2018/19, Kathmandu Metropolitan City spent Rs 550 million, over 4% of its budget, just to collect and dump municipal solid waste in landfills. Other newly formed municipalities in Nepal may not have such resources at their disposal, since solid waste management isn’t a high priority and there are competing demands on limited budgets. Extra budgetary support from the central government could help them in managing waste better.

One estimate suggests that recovering and recycling plastic from the waste stream can generate revenue to cover a significant part of the cost of managing plastic waste. A less than 1 per cent additional tariff on imported plastic raw materials can help fill the remaining revenue gap to manage single-use plastic waste across the country. Since single-use plastic is extremely harmful to the environment, it is easier to justify such an additional tariff, similar to the taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

An estimate on the value of cleaner neighbourhoods from Nepal suggests that residents place a higher price premium (25–57%) on housing units in clean neighbourhoods, which means better returns for homeowners. This is also good news for cities since this reduces waterlogging and flood risks due to extreme climatic events, such as intense rainfall, and enhances the revenue base.

For these various reasons, eliminating plastic litter and managing solid waste should be a higher priority for municipal authorities across the country. During the pandemic, it is even more important that municipal authorities follow and enforce standard guidelines and practices for the safe disposal of medical waste and the protection of waste workers.

Mani Nepal is the programme coordinator of SANDEE and lead economist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

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Airport cleaner tests positive for COVID-19

Melbourne’s Border Force offices are undergoing a deep clean today after a cleaner tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend.

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Was Sushant Singh Rajput removed from the George Fernandez biopic due to his mental health issue?

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Evacuations ordered in Utah after fireworks cause wildfire

According to officials, a wildfire in Utah that led to homes being evacuated was caused by a person setting off fireworks.

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Premier slammed over ‘laughing’ response

As the end of the month ticks closer and closer, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will not buckle early on a border easing announcement by laughing off questions about a reopening date on the weekend.

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Saturday, 27 June 2020

Quarantine shelters emptying in Banke

NEPALGUNJ, JUNE 27

With people gradually returning home after completing mandatory quarantine stay, government quarantine shelters in Banke are becoming empty. There are some 114 quarantine shelters with 6,208 beds in eight local levels of the district.

According to District Health Office Corona Focal Person Nareshbabu Shrestha, some 10,624 persons have returned home after staying in quarantine so far in the district.

“Now, there are some 816 persons staying in these quarantine shelters,” he said, adding that the number of people requiring to stay in quarantine shelters was going down as the influx of India returnees had dissipated. Further, as informed by Shrestha, some 8,842 persons have had their rapid diagnostic tests and other 269 have been sent home without the test.

Similarly, of the 6,751 swab samples collected for PCR testing, 6,182 are said to have tested negative for the virus in the district, while 219 samples are in the process of being tested, Shresha informed.

Till date, the number of COVID-19 infection cases in the district has reached 350, of them 302 have recovered and returned home. Two have died in the district after being detected with the infection.

“As quarantined folks and even infected persons are returning home after full recovery, the district is all set to get rid of the virus,”

Shrestha said, adding that the district would be soon declared COVID-free.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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Bollywood's newsmakers of the week

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Pride Month: Priyanka celebrates ‘love’

As members of the LGBTQIA+ community celebrate Pride month around the world, actress Priyanka Chopra sent out an important message while sharing her definition of ‘love’.

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Radhika: Dad calls me Gabbar of the house

The Angrezi Medium actress who has been with her family in Delhi for a month now, has been educating her father about social media, apart from imparting some health tips to him

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Coronavirus movie in the works with ‘Bombshell’ writer set to direct untitled Wuhan project

That didn’t take long. Hollywood executives at entertainment company SK Global have already planned a coronavirus movie, and they’re bringing in “Bombshell” writer Charles Randolph to write and direct it.

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‘Nepal needs to break free from the shackles of the past’

The government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been heavily criticised by the main opposition party Nepali Congress and the general public. The economy appears to be in the doldrums in the aftermath of the lockdown, in effect since March 24. A historical unity that Nepal’s political parties demonstrated surrounding the inauguration of a half-built road to Limpiyadhura by India last month had evaporated by the time the House started debating, and subsequently, passing a bill on citizenship. The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) remains virtually besieged under the Millennium Challenge Compact pact, awaiting parliamentary approval for more than a year. NC leader Minendra Rijal is one of the fiercest critics of the government and the prime minister. “As an opposition Member of Parliament, my duty is to create constant pressure on the government so that it listens to the people’s voice,” says Rijal. Ram Kumar Kamat of The Himalayan Times spoke to the NC leader on these issues. Excerpts:

The government is upbeat about being able to control the coronavirus pandemic. Do you agree?

The government has utterly failed to control COVID-19 and the situation will become even worse. The lockdown provided us with an opportunity to flatten the curve, but the government let it go. We had time to put people in safe places, separate the infected from the rest of the population and slowly prepare for the economy to reopen in safe areas. But the government did not prepare.
Almost 20 per cent of our population lives outside the country. We knew well in advance that many would lose jobs and eventually return home, that those working in India would come back first and migrant Nepalis working in third countries would follow thereafter. We should have prepared adequately to bring them back and put them in safe quarantine centres, ensuring safe distance between people in quarantine centres and test them. We were supposed to separate healthy people from infected ones and finally take people to their homes. The government did not do anything during this period. It could have used the three months’ period for immaculate planning.

What the government was interested in was making bucks from purchases and agreements. It was hell bent on feathering its nest. When the government first tried to procure health equipment, people were up in arms against it and the government had to withdraw its decision. The government brought in the army as a shield.

That’s not how the government, the prime minister in particular, view things.

Within and outside of the Parliament, the prime minister delved into areas that were not areas of his expertise. He has tried to act like a medical doctor, the most knowledgeable persons on COVID-19, health care system and economics. People elected him as a leader and not as the best doctor or the best economist. Young people took to the streets recently to oppose the government’s poor handling of COVID-19. They are common citizens that are venting anger at the government. Instead of listening to their voices, the government is trying to punish them. People’s protests provided a good window of opportunity to the government to correct its mistakes, but the government has not done anything. COVID-19 is spreading across the country exponentially and it looks like we are heading for deep trouble. Three months of lockdown had provided the government ample opportunity to increase preparedness, but it did not do that.

The PM recently told the Upper House that in the face of COVID-19, the country’s economy was not as bad as that of some other countries. What do you have to say?

The PM absolutely does not understand how bad the economic situation is. The gap between expenditure and income is reaching almost Rs 200 billion and for a country whose budget is 1,400 billion, this gap is just too huge. That is why the finance minister has urged the business community to pay taxes as soon as possible. Remittance can decrease by about 20 per cent. People’s disposable incomes can shrink by six per cent. That’s like the economy itself shrinking by as many percentage points. This will impact people who are marginally above the poverty line. Despite all the troubles in the last 30 years, we lifted one-third of the population above the poverty line, thanks also to remittance. Now the risk is that the sorry state of the economy might push many people below the poverty line. The PM is entirely in a different world and has no idea of the risks we are facing. My earnest request to the PM is please listen to experts and listen to your own finance minister.

Recently, you staunchly defended the government’s move on our border issues with India. Can you shed some light?

With India, the issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani are not new. We have been raising these issues for the last 23 years. In 1997, when then prime minister of India IK Gujral visited Nepal, we raised the issue and they were recognised as ‘pending issues’. In 2000, our then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala visited India and we raised these issues again and they were recognised as ‘outstanding border issues’.

Nepal has been raising these issues in all bilateral fora since then — both coherently and continuously. We have been very patient. We know the importance of our relations with India. India has a very special place in the Nepali mindset. We hope there is equal goodwill among Indians about Nepal and Nepali people also. But the thing is India has to recognise that Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura are part of Nepali territory. We have tried to persuade Indian leaders that this land has to be returned to Nepal. We are not asking India to give its land to us. We are only asking India to give our land back. Let’s present our evidence and check facts and evidence. Let’s see whose case stands out clearly and who will prevail. We raised the issue in eminent persons’ group.

When a deal was signed between India and China in 2015 on Lipulekh pass, we sent our diplomatic notes to both India and China. We said that they could not do that on their own and Nepal had to be consulted. In November 2019, India published a new map depicting Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as its territories. We have objected to that.

There are perceptions that our land has been encroached by China also. The government has, however, clarified saying that we have no border issues with China. What do you have to say?

We know that there are issues with China also. We will use our diplomatic channels to raise these issues. There are procedures and protocols to follow.

Are we using different yardsticks for India and China?

No. Our land on both southern and northern borders is of equal importance for us and there should be no misgivings that we employ two yardsticks as far as our two neighbours are concerned. The yardstick is the same and I will even go beyond that. Our relationship with India is very special. We have always honoured that and I am confident that the Indian people understand that. I hope Indian leaders at the policy-making level will understand that and respect us for what we stand.

What’s your take on the ruling party’s proposal to make foreign women married to Nepali men wait for seven years to obtain naturalised citizenship?

On citizenship, we have nuanced differences. A lot of people have not understood that we are a nation whose over five million people, which is more than one-fifth of the population live and work in foreign countries other than India. When we talk about citizenship issue, forget about India for a moment, how will citizenship bill affect over five million people living and working in several countries. That’s precisely why we have provision for non-resident Nepali citizenship. Once a Nepali, always a Nepali, but we do not understand that aspiration. They are our greatest resources. More than five million Nepalis working in foreign countries are our ambassadors living in all nooks and corners of the world. We have to be very serious about the citizenship bill affecting millions of Nepalis. That’s one of the reasons why there are nuanced differences between the parties on the citizenship issue.

Second, there cannot be disparity between men and women. We have to recognise the institution of marriage and the way it is changing. Citizenship issues are not the issues they used to be 25 or 30 years ago. Citizenship issues have various dynamics. While finalising the citizenship issue, we have to be very open-minded. We do not compromise our national security interests but at the same time we do not become too introvert a nation that will not use its six million people living outside the border to the best advantage in Nepal’s future endeavours.

What do you have to say about the seven–year waiting period for obtaining marital naturalised citizenship?

There could be one-year or five-year or seven-year waiting period. Then there is issue of equality between men and women. Many out of six million people living outside the country could get married to people of different nationalities. We will have to take into account these people, children born to these people who would get married to men and women of different countries. India should not be the only factor that we should look into while finalising citizenship issue.

We are a sovereign state. I know Indian people do understand Nepal and they have an enormous amount of love and affection for Nepal. I would urge Indian policy makers also to understand Nepali people’s aspirations. We are ready to make sacrifices for the benefit of our friends but we feel that our honour and pride should be respected. Nepalis have fought wars not only to defend their own territory but also India and the United Kingdom. Our leaders fought alongside their Indian brothers and sisters for Indian independence. If you give us a strong feeling of friendship, we are willing to reciprocate. We are willing to walk the extra mile to help our friends.

Your party has said that the Interim Constitution’s provision regarding naturalised citizenship on the basis of matrimonial relations should be retained. What do you say?

Not only in the interim constitution, but this provision was first introduced in the 1962 constitution and the provision served us well till now. Even before 1962, this provision was guided by common law, so when we want to change it, there must be national consensus on it.

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has not decided yet about the fate of millennium challenge corporation agreement. What are your views on the MCC agreement?

I am pretty clear about MCC, but have not spoken about it. The reason: my position is not going to change the fate of the agreement. It is so sad that NCP leaders are so divided on the issue. Former PM Jhalanath Khanal and Bhim Rawal are on one side and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pradeep Kumar Gywali on the other. How can party leaders be on two opposite sides on one issue? The NCP has to come up with consistent position on the issue. If they don’t endorse it, then they have to come up with an alternative plan to fund the project that would have been funded under MCC programme. But I have deeper worries. With the introvert nature that the ruling NCP has, it probably has not understood the increase in significance of Nepal internationally. China is the second largest economy in the world competing with the USA. India is following China’s footstep and it has also very strong ambition in the international arena. India, China and countries of the world that matter in the international arena take keen interest in Nepal and this should be good news for us. There should be no reason for us to take an introvert position. We need to come out of the shackles of the past and play a greater role in the international arena keeping in mind the best interest of our country.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post ‘Nepal needs to break free from the shackles of the past’ appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from Kathmandu – The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/2VrqLAZ