Preparations for CPN-UML general convention completed Page 3 At least 11 dead, dozens trapped in Russian mine Page 5 Cambodia
promotes shared growth Page 6
Nepal’s No. 1
English Daily
www.thehimalayantimes.com
Printed simultaneously from
Kathmandu and Itahari
Vol. XX No. 3 s Kathmandu, Friday, November 26, 2021, Mangsir 10, 2078, Nepal Sambat 1142
s3(/244!+%3
NEPAL
Lawyers, justices dwell on
lottery-based cause list
KATHMANDU: Amid their continued protest
against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher
JB Rana, the Nepal Bar Association and dissi-
dent justices of the Supreme Court on
Thursday discussed the new Supreme Court
Regulation that incorporates provision relat-
ed to lottery-based cause list. The SC has de-
cided to launch the lottery-based cause list
from December 1. NBA General Secretary
Lilamani Paudel said they welcomed the
amendment made to the SC regulation as it
had fulfilled one of NBA’s old demands.
(Details on Page 2)
).4%2.!4)/.!,
France, UK trade blame
after migrant tragedy
CALAIS/LONDON: France and Britain traded
blame on Thursday after 27 people died try-
ing to cross the Channel in an inflatable din-
ghy, the worst accident of its kind on record in
the waterway separating the two countries.
With relations fraught by years of tension over
Brexit and immigration, much of the focus
was on who should bear responsibility, even
if both sides vowed to work together to find
joint solutions. “There is bad immigration
management (in Britain).” (Details on Page 5)
.%0!,#/5.4
Updated COVID-19 figures
on Thursday
Confirmed cases 820,285
Total tests (PCR)
New Tests
In Quarantine
In Isolation
Recovered
Deaths
&/2%8
CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs) SELLING (in Rs)
Indian Rs 100 160.00
US Dollar 1 118.91
Euro 1 133.46
Pound Sterling 1 158.54
Swiss Franc 1 127.37
Japanese Yen 10 10.31
Chinese Yuan 1 18.62
The foreign exchange rates are fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
281 diagnosed with coronavirus disease
in a day, 298 discharged after recovering
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, November 25
Health authorities today diagnosed
281 cases of coronavirus infection in
the country, including 130 cases in
Kathmandu valley. With this, Nepal’s
COVID caseload has reached 820,285,
including 801,420 recoveries, 7,349
active cases, and 11,516 deaths.
Of those testing positive for the
contagion in the valley today, 78 are
from Kathmandu, 36 from Lalitpur,
and 16 from Bhaktapur.
Of the others diagnosed with the
disease today, 21 are from Jhapa,
15 from Morang, 13 from Rupandehi,
12 from Chitwan, and 10 from Kaski.
As many as 32 districts recorded
less than 10 cases, whereas no
COVID case came to light today in
38 districts.
According to the Ministry of Health
and Population, 298 people were
discharged from health centres
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T I M E S Jomsom and beyond)
New COVID variant
with ‘unusual’
mutations found
Reuters tists believe.
Johannesburg, “Although the data are
November 25 limited, our experts are
working overtime with all
South African scientists the established surveil-
have detected a new lance systems to under-
COVID-19 variant in stand the new variant and
small numbers and are what the potential impli-
working to understand its cations could be,” South
potential implications, Africa’s National Institute
they said today. for Communicable Dis-
The variant - called eases said in a statement.
B.1.1.529 - has a “very un- South Africa has re-
usual constellation” of
mutations, which are
quested an urgent sitting
of a World Health Organi-
concerning because they
could help it evade the
sation working group on
virus evolution today to
body’s immune response discuss the new variant.
and make it more trans- Health Minister Joe
missible, scientists told Phaahla said it was too
reporters at a news con- early to say whether the
Skanda gautam / THT
ference. government would im-
Dharahara tower illuminated on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Early signs from diag- pose tougher restrictions
Kathmandu, on Thursday. The theme for this year is Orange the world: End violence against women now. nostic laboratories sug- in response to the variant.
gest the variant has rapid- South Africa was the
ly increased in the most first country to detect the
CPN-UML general convention populated province of
Gauteng and may already
be present in the coun-
try’s other eight provinc-
es, they said.
South Africa has con-
Beta variant last year.
Beta is one of only four
labelled “of concern” by
the WHO because there is
evidence that it is more
contagious and vaccines
commences in Sauraha today
Ram Kumar Kamat have arrived in Nepal to take by the Supreme Court, will UML GC on behalf of the
firmed around 100 speci-
mens as B.1.1.529, but the
variant has also been
found in Botswana and
Hong Kong, with the
work less well against it.
The country detected
another variant, C.1.2,
earlier this year, but it has
not displaced the more
Kathmandu, November 25 part in the UML convention. not attend the UML GC. party. According to a member Hong Kong case a travel- common Delta variant
Tamang said his party did not in- CPN-MC leader Narayan of Prime Minister Sher ler from South Africa. As and still only accounts for
The main opposition CPN-UML vite too many international ob- Kaji Shrestha said Dahal had Bahadur Daube’s Private many as 90 per cent of a small percentage of ge-
will inaugurate its 10th general servers in view of the COVID other programmes to attend Secretariat, the PM will new cases in Gauteng nomes sequenced in re-
convention in Sauraha, Chit- pandemic in other countries. tomorrow, but other party attend the UML convention could be B.1.1.529, scien- cent months.
wan, at 12:00pm tomorrow. Tamang said party leaders leaders would attend the tomorrow.
The GC will elect 210 central wanted to elect their candidates
committee members and 15 on the basis of consensus, but
office bearers, including since there were multiple aspir-
one chairperson, one senior ants for the same posts, elec-
vice-chairperson, four tions could be inevitable.
vice-chairpersons, a general sec- Tamang said the 10th GC
4,591,660 retary, a deputy general secre- would be significant as it would
tary, and seven secretaries. give the message of party unity
7,104 UML GC will also elect 15 of- and UML’s political strength.
fice bearers of the Central Disci- Tamang said his party chose
103 plinary Commission and 15 Chitwan as it had a strong
office bearers of the Central base there and it wanted to help
7,349 Accounts Commission. Incum- revive one of the popular tourist
801,420 bent Chair KP Sharma Oli will destinations.
be one of the candidates for The party, which collected Rs
11,516 the chairperson’s post. Bhim 100 from each cadre, has booked
Bahadur Rawal has announced hotel rooms in Sauraha for al-
(Source: MoHP)
that he will also contest the top most 4,000 people. Tamang said
party post. his party chose Chitwan also to
According to UML Headquar- highlight Nepal’s effort to miti-
ters Secretary Sher Bahadur gate the impacts of climate
Tamang, 50 per cent of the 2,200- change and protect endangered
plus general convention repre- wild animals.
sentatives had already arrived in He said CPN-Maoist Centre
Chitwan and 90 per cent of the Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s re-
preparation work had already marks that UML was trying to
been completed by 5:00pm. harm his political career by or-
Tamang said the organising ganising the GC in his home dis-
committee would complete the trict was wrong. “We have a
preparation by midnight. strong base in Chitwan and have
The UML expects five lakh multiple reasons to organise our
people to come to Chitwan to GC in Chitwan. Why should we
witness the main opposition give importance to Dahal, who is
160.15 party’s general convention. losing his relevance in the coun-
119.51 Tamang said his party had re- try’s politics due to his own mis-
134.13 quested transport entrepreneurs takes?” Tamang said.
159.34 to use a detour to avoid four- to The GC will end on Sunday.
128.01 five-hour-long traffic jam that Dahal, who has not shared
10.36 could be caused due to the gath- dais with Oli in the past few
18.71 ering of a large number of cadres months particularly after the
and people. unification of the Nepal Com-
Observers from 10 countries munist Party (NCP) was nullified
patients have recovered in Nepal.
As many as 27 people tested posi-
Three more succumb tive for antigens today.
The number of active COVID cases
TO#/6)$ in Kathmandu valley is 1,666 — 686 in
KATHMANDU: Three COVID Kathmandu, 552 in Lalitpur, and 482
patients have died in the past in Bhaktapur. Kathmandu and Lalit-
24 hours, taking the death toll pur are the only two districts with
due to the respiratory conta- more than 500 active COVID cases;
gion in the country to 11,516 at the number of active COVID cases
a case fatality rate of 1.4 per in Sunsari, Jhapa, Dhanusha, Chit-
cent, the health ministry said wan, Bhaktapur, Kaski, Nawalparasi
on Thursday. As many as 3,352 (East), Rupandehi, and Banke is be-
of the deceased were from tween 200 and 500, whereas Manang,
Kathmandu valley — 2,222 in Humla, Jajarkot, and Mugu have no
Kathmandu, 695 in Lalitpur, active COVID case.
and 435 in Bhaktapur. As many Of those diagnosed with the virus
as 2,417 of the deceased were in today, 55 are in the age group 31-40,
the age group 60-70, whereas whereas of five are children below 10,
49 were children below 10. — HNS and 24 are in the age group 11-20.
As many as 9,367,789 Nepalis have
received at least one dose of COVID
across the country in the past 24 vaccine, whereas 8,153,734 have been
hours after recovering from COVID. fully vaccinated. As many as 177,884
So far, nearly 98 per cent of COVID people were given jabs today.
 CMYK
PAGE 2 www.thehimalayantimes.com THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021

NATIONAL

NBA, justices 13th Nepal-EU Joint Commission meeting concludes

Himalayan News Service in the summer this year. programming documents under green growth, human capital de- pal, which will focus on climate

dwell on Kathmandu, November 25
The 13th meeting of the Joint
Commission of Nepal and the Eu-
ropean Union concluded in Kath-
mandu yesterday.
The EU and Nepal underlined
the importance of effective multi-
lateral cooperation, strengthen-
ing the World Health Organisa-
tion, and strengthening global
capacity to respond to future
the new Neighbourhood, Devel-
opment and Inter national
Cooperation Instrument (NDICI
Global Europe).
In the Sub-Commission on De-
velopment Cooperation held on
velopment and good governance.
Nepal thanked Finland, France,
Germany and the EU for the an-
nounced Team Europe Initiative
on green recovery for a total
amount of EUR 240 million.
change adaptation and mitiga-
tion as well as improved connec-
tivity and renewable energy in the
coming years.
Regarding people-to-people
contacts, Nepal and the EU

lottery-based A broad range of issues of

mutual interest featured on
the agenda.
Set up in 1996, the Nepal-EU
Joint Commission has proved a
pandemics.
The two sides also underlined
that vaccines are public goods,
hence the need to ensure equita-
ble access.
November 23, Nepal and the EU
took stock of the progress
achieved and lessons learned in
the implementation of ongoing
cooperation.
The EU appreciated the
achievements made by Nepal in
its socio-political transformation.
It stressed the important role of
civil society and media for
discussed ongoing higher educa-
tion cooperation, whereby a
growing number of Nepali stu-
dents are studying in European
universities.

cause list
Ram Kumar Kamat
Kathmandu, November 25
Amid their continued protest
against Chief Justice Cholen-
dra Shumsher JB Rana, Nepal
Bar Association and dissident
justices of the Supreme Court
today discussed the new Su-
preme Court Regulation that
incorporates provision relat-
ed to lottery-based cause list.
The SC has decided to launch
the lottery-based cause list
from December 1.
NBA General Secretary Lil-
amani Paudel said they wel-
comed the amendment made
to the SC regulation as it had
fulfilled one of NBA’s old de-
mands. NBA officials told the
dissident justices that lawyers
would resume pleading in
other benches after the lot-
tery-based cause list was pre-
pared, but they would not
plead in Rana’s bench or any
bench that Rana shared.
The SC has also decided
that cases listed for continued
hearing or cases on which the
justices have reserved their
verdicts, will also be assigned
to new benches as per the lot-
tery-based cause list.
NBA officials warned dissi-
dent justices not to share the
bench with CJ Rana. “We
want SC benches sans Chief
Justice Rana. CJ Rana should
not exercise any administra-
tive or judicial power,” Paudel
said. He said NBA officials
also told dissident justices to
make provisions for amend-
ment to the High Court Regu-
lations and District Court
Regulations so that lot-
tery-based cause list could be
implemented in the high
courts and district courts.
NBA President Chandesh-
wor Shrestha said the lawyers’
umbrella body would contin-
ue its protest against the CJ
until he resigned from his
post. He said CJ Rana should
not lead or represent any con-
stitutional body such as the
Constitutional Council, Judi-
cial Council and Judicial Ser-
vice Commission. “As long as
CJ Rana plays a role in ap-
pointment and transfer of
judges, anomalies will contin-
ue to dog the judiciary,” he
Indian Army
gifts
workshop
trucks to NA
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, November 25
The Indian Army gifted TATA
LPTA 1628 Workshop Trucks
to the Nepali Army in a cere-
mony organised at Nepali
Army Headquarters, Tundik-
hel, today.
The workshop trucks were
handed over on behalf of the
Indian Army by Colonel Amit
Sharma, Defence Attaché of
India to Brigadier General
Krishna Dev Bhatta of the
Nepali Army.
These workshop trucks
which act as a compact
mobile workshop will be
instrumental in ensuring
smooth and uninterrupted
said and added that CJ Rana’s
statement that he had pro-
posed nominees in the Con-
stitutional Council was
against the spirit of the con-
stitution. “The chief justice is
supposed to check whether or
not the recommendation
made by the council is in ac-
cordance with the constitu-
tion and law, but the CJ ad-
mitted that he shared the
spoils of appointment. This is
wrong,” Shrestha said. While
the chief justice presides over
the JC and JSC, he serves as an
ex-officio member of the
Constitutional Council.
Protesting lawyers have ac-
cused the CJ of seeking a quid
pro quo deal with the execu-
tive and seeking the spoils of
political appointments. An SC
Source, however, said that the
lottery-based cause list was a
graceful exit for the protesting
justices who had been pro-
testing for almost a month.
“Now we will have to see what
the dissident Justices think of
compensating the case par-
ties who were deprived of jus-
tice on time due to the dissi-
dent Justices’ protest,” the
source added. The source said
that it was yet not known how
the CJ would react to the deci-
sions of the dissident justices.
Meanwhile, Nepal Bar As-
sociation and dissident justic-
es of the Supreme Court con-
tinued to protest against
Chief Justice Cholendra
Shumsher JB Rana today.
Protesting lawyers staged a
sit in at the main entrance of
the apex court and also
marched from the NBA build-
ing to Baluwatar to draw the
attention of the government
and the public.
Dissident Justices heard
only the habeas corpus
writ petitions, petition seek-
ing withdrawal of cases and
cases that needed to be kept
pending. The NBA and dissi-
dent justices have south CJ
Rana’s resignation accusing
him of seeking to get his
brother-in-law appointed in
the Sher Bahadur Deuba Cab-
inet and delaying hearings of
cases field against the ap-
pointments made in constitu-
tional bodies.
Construction materials piled up at Old Base Camp in Diktel, on Thursday.
Capacity enhancement of security
useful platform for engagement
and provided momentum to fur-
ther deepen the partnership be-
tween Nepal and the EU.
The EU and Nepal discussed
the COVID-19 pandemic and
cooperation in post-pandemic
recovery.
Nepal conveyed its gratitude to
the European Union for promptly
extending the support of life-
saving medical items and
equipment when Nepal was
struggling through the devastat-
ing second wave of the pandemic
Australia’s Ambassador to Nepal Felicity Volk interacting with officials after providing medical equipment worth
Rs 4.2 million to the COVID-19 Unified Central Hospital, under the National Academy of Medical Sciences, on Thursday.
Bir Hospital gets medical equipment support
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, November 25
Australia’s Ambassador to Ne-
pal Felicity Volk provided
medical equipment worth
Rs 4.2 million to the COVID-19
Unified Central Hospital, at Bir
Hospital under the National
Academy of Medical Sciences
today. The equipment, includ-
ing Intensive Care Unit beds
and equipment, will be used
Nepal reiterated its apprecia-
tion for the EU’s strong support
for the G20 Debt Service Suspen-
sion Initiative as well as for the ex-
tension of the Initiative.
Nepal and the EU agreed that
swift and full implementation of
the DSSI by all official bilateral
creditors should be a key priority
in ensuring predictability given
the continuing financing pres-
sures on beneficiary countries
owing to the pandemic.
The EU also informed about
the finalisation of development
to establish an emergency
ward in the COVID-19 Unified
Central Hospital.
Addressing the handover
ceremony, Ambassador Volk
said, “As the COVID-19 vacci-
nation campaign continues in
Nepal, the Australian Govern-
ment is committed to sup-
porting health security under
our COVID-19 Development
Response Plan. The plan fo-
cuses on providing assistance
RSS
The meeting expressed satis-
faction over the successful imple-
mentation of the projects and
programmes envisaged under the
Multiannual Indicative Pro-
gramme for Nepal for 2014-2020
in priority areas of sustainable ru-
ral development, education, and
strengthening democracy and de-
centralisation.
The EU stated that the new MIP
2021-27, to be finalised soon,
would be aligned with the priori-
ties of the current 15th Periodic
Plan and support inclusive and
for the most vulnerable. With
Nepal responding to multiple
challenges simultaneously,
the needs of marginalised
communities are more evi-
dent than ever.”
“Australia’s contribution of
equipment through the
Lutheran World Federation
Nepal will strengthen Nepal’s
health system and serve
as a reminder of the close
friendship of over six decades,
Call to increase
physical activity
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, November 25
The World Health Organisa-
tion has called upon coun-
tries, including Nepal, in the
South-East Asia Region to ac-
celerate action to address in-
sufficient physical activity
which is as high as 74 per cent
among adolescents, to arrest
and reverse the growing epi-
demic of non-communicable
diseases and promote physi-
cal and mental well-being.
“Physical activity helps pre-
vent non-communicable dis-
eases such as heart disease,
stroke, diabetes and some
cancers, which continue to be
leading killer diseases in the
region and a risk for severe
disease and deaths in the on-
going COVID-19 pandemic,”
said Dr Poonam Khetrapal
strengthening democracy and
good governance.
The EU encouraged Nepal to
further increase the participation
of women in political life and the
decision making process.
The EU also welcomed the
commitment to transitional jus-
tice expressed by Foreign Minister
Narayan Khadka at the 76th ses-
sion of the UN General Assembly
in September this year.
The Joint Commission wel-
comed the lending activity of the
European Investment Bank in Ne-
THT
throughout which Nepal
and Australia have supported
each other.”
The handover ceremony in-
cluded Vice-chancellor of
NAMS, Professor Dr Dev
Narayan Shah, Acting Chief
Executive Officer of COVID-19
Unified Central Hospital
Professor Dr Bhupendra
Kumar Basnet, and LWF Nepal
Country Director Dr Bijaya
Bajracharya.
ties must take action to pro-
vide everyone with more op-
portunities to be physically
active. This requires a collec-
tive effort, both national and
local, across different sectors
and disciplines to implement
policies and solutions, appro-
priate to a country’s cultural
and social environment to
promote, enable and encour-
age physical activity,” Dr
Khetrapal Singh said.
WHO has been advocating
physical exercise as one of the
primary preventive measure
and best buys against NCDs, a
flagship priority programme
of the region since 2014.
“While there has been pro-
gress in terms of commit-
ments, policies and pro-
grammes for promoting phys-
ical activity face many chal-
lenges including modern life-
Nepal ranks among the top 20
countries worldwide in terms of
students being awarded scholar-
ships for Erasmus Mundus Joint
Master Degree programmes.
They agreed on the importance
of sincerely implementing the
outcome of the COP26 held in
Glasgow earlier this month and
taking robust measures for cli-
mate action as well as meeting the
financial commitments made to
support the less resourceful coun-
tries in fighting the adverse im-
pacts of climate change.
s/.#%/6 %2
‘Nepali Congress can
solve problems’
DHANUSHA: Vice-president of Ne-
pali Congress Bimalendra Nidhi ar-
gued that the NC was able to sort out
problems facing the country. NC’s win
in the coming election is essential to
consolidate democracy and ensure
development, he underscored. Nidhi
said this while inaugurating the con-
stituency convention of the party in
Dhanusha-3 (b) here on Wednesday.
According to him, the present coali-
tion government led by the NC had
prioritized protection of constitution
and public welfare. “The government
is moving ahead in right direction.
The people should vote for the NC
again,” he called on the public, assur-
ing that Nepal Railway would come
into operation soon as it would boost
tourism in Nepal. — RSS
Six elected as GC reps
DHANGADI: All six candidates vying
for Nepali Congress district presi-
dent’s post have been elected as party
general convention representatives
from Kailali. Dhangadi Sub-metro-
politan City Mayor Nripa Bahadur
Wada, vice-president Prakash Baha-
dur Bam and former president
Narayan Bhatta, Khemraj Chaudhary,
Ganesh Deuba and Bhim Baduwal
have been elected as GC representa-
tives. While Wada, Bhatta and Deuba
were elected from Kailali Electoral
Constituency-5, Chaudhary and
Baduwal were elected from Constitu-
ency-3. Bam was elected from Con-
stituency-4. In Constituency-4, how-
ever, a dispute is underway to repeat
the voting. All six elected candidates
are said to be close to party president
Sher Bahadur Deuba. — HNS
Oxygen plant set up
JAJARKOT: An oxygen plant installed
on the premises of Jajarkot District
Hospital has started production. The
plant was procured at a cost of Rs 8
million and it is capable of filling over
40 cylinders daily. Construction of
new structures is in progress at the 50-
bed hospital. The construction of its
new building is 70 per cent complet-
ed. The cost of the project is around
Rs 320 million. — RSS
EMERGENCY
NUMBERS
OFFICE PHONE NO.
Police Control Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Traffic Police Control Room . . . . . . . . 103
Fire Fighters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Traffic Jam Information (SMS) . . . JAM 4321
Emergency Police Service . . . . . . . 4228435
Crime Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4412748
Child Missing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Nepal Electricity Authority . . . . . . . 4153164

functionality of the
Nepali Army transport
fleet.
According to a press re-
lease issued by the Indian
Embassy, the gifting of work-
shop trucks comes immedi-
ately after the arr ival
of General Prabhu Ram
Shar ma, COAS, Nepali
Army back in office after the
recent conferment of Honor-
ary Rank of General of the
Indian Army by the President
of India.
The timely provision of
military hardware under de-
fence cooperation is a testa-
ment of strong and deep
rooted relations between
the Indian Army and Nepali
Army, and will go a long
way in further strengthening
the bonds between India
and Nepal.
agencies, government’s priority: PM
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Kathmandu, November 25
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur
Deuba has said professional
efficiency and capacity en-
hancement of security bodies
are special priorities of the
government.
In his address to the convo-
cation ceremony of basic-lev-
el training of APF Inspector
organised by the APF Training
Academy in Kathmandu to-
day, the prime minister insist-
ed that security of the nation
and citizens would be guaran-
teed only if security bodies
became capable and strong.
Terming peace and security
the foundations of develop-
ment and good governance,
he highlighted the need of ef-
ficient and strengthened in-
ternal and external security
arrangements to protect the
existence of the nation and
ensure citizens’ safety.
He directed the APF to be
disciplined, honest, profes-
sional, and creative while on
duty. He applauded the APF
for its contributions to the
containment of cross-border
crime and safeguarding na-
tionality and nation’s exist-
ence as frontline workers.
He said Nepal’s security
mechanism was capable of
combating terrorism and
cross-border crime. He re-
called the role of APF during
the earthquake, COVID-19
crisis and in disaster manage-
ment and post-disaster re-
construction efforts. He ar-
gued that the incumbent gov-
ernment was committed to
establishing rule of law, pro-
tecting and promoting peo-
ple’s inalienable rights as per
the spirit of the constitution,
building a corruption-free so-
ciety, advancing towards ho-
listic development of people
from all castes, communities,
classes and genders by keep-
ing coexistence and mutual
bonding intact.
He pointed out the need for
collective efforts from the
three-tier governments, all
levels of the state, organisa-
tions, civil society and general
people to fulfil the govern-
ment’s determination.
Singh, Regional Director,
WHO South-East Asia Region.
The Regional Director was ad-
dressing a virtual meeting of
health officials and partners
from member countries
where the regional roadmap
for implementation of Global
Action Plan for Physical Activi-
ty was launched today.
According to a press release
issued by the WHO South-East
Asia Regional Office, the re-
gional roadmap aims to facili-
tate context-specific activities
to achieve 10 per cent relative
reduction of insufficient phys-
ical activity by 2025, and 15
per cent improvement in glob-
al levels by 2030. Insufficient
physical activity is a leading
risk factor for non-communi-
cable diseases globally and in
the South-East Asia Region.
“Countries and communi-
styles, unhealthy work-life
balance, lack of enabling and
safe environment such as road
safety and air pollution,” Dr
Khetrapal Singh said.
As per the release, the COV-
ID-19 pandemic has further
exacerbated the problems
with movement restrictions
and work from home man-
dates fuelling further the sed-
entary lifestyle. In addition,
mental health issues have in-
creased due to social isolation,
fear, and uncertainty. Promot-
ing physical activity requires
whole of government and
whole of society approach in-
cluding multi-sectoral collab-
oration between ministries of
health, youth, sports, educa-
tion, urban planning, city ad-
ministration, etc to create an
enabling and safe environ-
ment for physical activity.
Blood Bank, Pradarshani Marg. . . . . 4225344
Nepal Red Cross Society, Teku . . . . 4270650
Bhaktapur Red Cross . . . . . . . . . . . 6611661
Army Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4271940
Bir Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4221988
Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital . . . . . . 6611532
Chirayu National Hospital. . . . . . . . 5905888
Kanti Children Hospital. . . . . . . . . . 4411550
Norvic Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4258554
Police Hospital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4412430
Patan Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5522295
Om Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4476225
Star Hospital, Sanepa . . . . . . . . . . . 5550197
Teaching Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4412505
Grande Hospital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5159266
Dr. Iwamura Memorial Hospital . . . 6612695
Tilganga Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5970048
Hearse (Shav Vahan). . . . . . . . . . . . . 6612266
 CMYK
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021 www.thehimalayantimes.com PAGE 3

NATIONAL

Preparations for CPN-UML

general convention completed
Himalayan News Service
Chitwan, November 25
Preparations for the 10th National
General Convention of the CPN-UML
are almost complete. The general
convention is scheduled to be held
from November 26 to 28 in Chitwan.
Chief at publicity department Yo-
gesh Bhattarai said that welcome sta-
tions in different places, stage man-
agement for the inaugural session
and close session, among other ar-
rangements were completed.
Speaking at a press conference or-
ganised by Press Chautari Chitwan
Chapter in Chitwan today, Bhattarai
said that stage management, selfie
points, construction of rhino mascot
among other preparations for the na-
tional general convention have been
completed. He added that the district
was decorated with flags and wel-
come doors in more than 50 places.
Speaking at the press meet, Bhat-
tarai said that millions of people in-
Heavy vehicles banned
NAWALPUR: Heavy vehicles have
been banned along the But-
wal-Narayangadh road in view of
the CPN-UML’s 10th National
General Convention. This ban will
be in place from 6:00pm Thursday
until Friday midnight, said Chief
District Officer, Nawalparasi, Man-
maya Bhattarai Pangeni. A meet-
ing of the chief of security bodies
on Wednesday decided to this ef-
fect in view of the traffic jam at
cluding party leaders and cadres from
across the country would attend the
inaugural session and preparations
were completed for the same. “We
will be back from the general conven-
tion with the commitment that the
UML will be in majority in all three
levels and this is the message of the
general convention,” he added.
Daunne road. This ban will facili-
tate a large number of vehicles
reaching the general convention
site. Arrangements have been
made for vehicles heading to Kath-
mandu through Butwal to pass
through Pokhara, she said. Joint
patrol teams of Nepal Police,
Armed Police Force, National In-
vestigation Department and Ne-
pali Army have been mobilised
during the convention. — RSS
Bhattarai said that his party would
be established as one and only party
of the communist revolution in the
country.
The inaugural session of the gener-
al convention will be held on the
banks of Narayangadh-based
Narayani River while the close session
will be held in Sauraha.

Only one female from Implement law effectively

Province 1 vying for to end VAW: President
CPN-UML CC berth Bidhya Bhandari
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Itahari, November 25 Rastriya Samachar Samiti based on the principles of pro-
Kathmandu, November 25 portional system, inclusion
Menuka Kafle is the only female chair from 137 and participation,” she re-
local levels of Province 1 who is vying for the post President Bidhya Devi minded, adding that noticea-
of central committee member in the 10th Nation- Bhandari has said effective im- ble participation of women in
al General Convention of the CPN-UML. plementation of laws is imper- people’ elected institutions
Kafle is chair of Kamal Rural Municipality, ative to end all sorts of violence and in politics have caused a
Jhapa. She is also the National Vice-president of against women. wave of women empower-
National Association of Rural Municipality in Ne- Giving a message of best ment. However, she expressed
pal. Kafle leads the All Nepal Women Association wishes on the occasion of 16 worry over social evils such as
Province 1 committee. Days of Activism against gen- Chhaupadi, allegation of
“I decided to file my candidacy for the female der based violence and Inter- witchcraft, discrimination
quota of Province 1.’’ There are six CCM quotas national Day for the Elimina- against women, and supersti-
for Province 1. Among them, two are for women. tion of Violence against Wom- tions that have plagued the
Kafle, who was attracted to active politics dur- en today, President Bhandari lives of many women in Nepal.
ing the student movement of 1979, was actively wished success for the activ- Activism is important for
involved in underground politics since 1985 dur- ism. Various programmes are massive public awareness at
ing the Panchayat regime when political parties being organised with the na- the household and community
were banned in Nepal. tional resolution of ‘ending levels against such social evils
She was elected Kamal Rural Municipality VAW from home’. and anomalies. President
chair in the first local level elections held in “The constitution has re- Bhandari underscored the
2017 after the promulgation of the new constitu- solved to build an equitable, need to make women finan-
tion in 2015. prosperous and just society cially self-reliant.
 CMYK
PAGE 4 www.thehimalayantimes.com THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021

TheHimalayan T I M E S
Remembering Dag Hammarskjold
A THOUGHT FOR T O D AY
A memorable peacemaker
The greatest discovery in life is the discovery of one’s NIR BAHADUR KARKI rious air crash in Zambia, Rajehswar Dayal’s A Life world peace. be seen through a com- Hammarskjold established
destiny. Discovering your destiny is more precious then Rhodesia. The crash of Our Time – Dag Ham- Hammarskjold’s image monly coined phrase in 1957-58, as proposed by
than discovering gold — Harrison I Enudi
T he month of September
is probably the most
pronounced month, com-
on September 17, 1961
came on the eve of the con-
vening of the annual UN
marskjold (coincidently,
R a j e s w a r ’s b r o t h e r
Hariswar Dayal was Indian
of an extraordinary diplo-
mat has never been
equaled by any of his pre-
“Leave it to Dag” on the
38th floor, the office of the
UN secretary-general.
the then Minister for Exter-
nal Affairs of Canada Lester
B Pearson, clearly mani-

Enforce the law pared to the other 11

months, in the media and
academics on foreign af-
General Assembly in New
York, which begins from
the third Tuesday of every
ambassador to Nepal in
early 1960) and Paul R. Nel-
son’s book Courage of Faith
decessors as he possessed a
multidimensional person-
ality. Discussion and stud-
US President Kennedy
had remarked, “I realise
now that in comparison to
fests how farsighted he was
in maintaining peace and
security in the world.

N epal’s parliament endorsed the Tobacco Prod-

ucts (Control and Regulatory) Act-2011 to im-
pose a ban on smoking and chewing tobacco in pub-
fairs round the world, since
a number of events have
taken place in this month
September and runs for
three months after in-
depth deliberation on po-
– Dag Hammarskjold are
some of the many books
that amply reflect various
ies on Hammarskjold are
focused on mainly two
grounds, that he died while
him, I am a small man. He
was the greatest statesman
of our century”, further eu-
Nepal was admitted to
this world body as its mem-
ber during the incumbency
lic places to reduce its harmful effects on public with far reaching historical litical, economic, social aspects of Hammarskjold’s on an official trip to negoti- logising him for his dedica- of Hammarskjold on De-
health. With the Act coming into force since August 8, consequences globally, and other humanitarian is- tion to the cause of peace, cember 14, 1955 due to the
2011, no one is allowed to smoke or chew tobacco
products in public places, such as hospitals, child-
touching future successive
generations on world
sues that impact world
peace and security. Dag
Discussion and studies on Hammarskjold his untiring labour to
achieve it, willingness to
veto imposed by the USSR
in the earlier fray. The first
care centres, orphanages and elderly homes, govern-
ment offices, corporations, educational institutions,
peace, security, defense
and development.
Hammarskjold died in one
of his quests for peace
are focused on mainly two grounds, that he accept all responsibility in
trying to strengthen the
Nepali permanent repre-
sentative to the UN Rishi-
libraries, airports, hotels, restaurants, girl’s and boy’s Most of the events that and security missions died while on an official trip to negotiate United Nations to make it a kesh Shah reportedly had
hostels, children’s parks and eateries. As per the law, the world witnessed during as the incumbent UN sec- more effective instrument. frequent interactions with
those who smoke or chew, sell and distribute tobac- the 9th month were unde- retary-general. A venture peace as the UN secretary-general and, In another reference he Hammarskjold.
co-related products in public places may be fined sired ones as they had a is made in this column had viewed Hammarsk- That Shah was chosen as
from Rs 100 to Rs 100,000. It was a huge stride to- negative impact on all as- to briefly highlight the in- more importantly, that he was a dynamic jold’s death as an organisa- chairman of the UN Com-
wards curbing smoking in public places and con- pects of humanity, mainly credible contributions that tion’s death. mission constituted to in-
trolling the unscrupulous sale of tobacco products. during the second half of he made. personality with a distinct way of thinking In contrast, however, vestigate the death of Ham-
Nepal was the first country after Bhutan in South the past century and first Of the nine UN secre- Kennedy’s then USSR marskjold aptly displays
Asia to impose the ban on smoking in public places. decade of the 21 century. tary-generals from its in- and doing for the cause of peace, security counterpart, Nikita his well hailed image. That
As per the WHO report, Nepal has the highest rate of These events mainly origi- ception to date, Hammar- Khrushchev, blamed Ham- a Nepali diplomat was
smoking with 35.5 per cent male and 15 per cent fe- nated in the European con- skjold remains the most and development to benefit mankind marskjold frequently for picked up to chair such a
male smoking or chewing tobacco products. It has tinent. Germany’s invasion talked about personality. A his handling of the Kalan- commission was an
also been revealed that the prevalence of smoking of Poland on September 1, lot is talked about the through his diplomacy ga, Congo conflict and achievement in itself for
among adult females in Nepal is one of the highest in 1939, the declaration of thoughts and steps he had quite a few other issues, Nepal at that time when
the region. The world health body has also revealed war on Germany by Britain taken in his official capaci- and had even called for his Nepal had little exposure to
that around 16,000 people die of tobacco-related dis- and France on September 3 ty, many books are written life and contributions to ate peace as the UN secre- resignation from the post. the external world. Ham-
eases, such cancer and heart diseases every year. To- that year, germinating the about him highlighting his world peace. tary-general and, more im- To which Hammarskjold marskjold was the first UN
bacco is the leading cause of heart attack and cancer, seeds of World War II (1939- wisdom and vision on Hammarskjold’s own portantly, that he was a dy- had responded, “It is very secretary general to visit
which is prevalent in all age groups and regions. 1944) and the 9/11 attack world peace and security, book “Markings”, posthu- namic personality with a easy to bow to the wish of a Nepal, whose poem after
Even though the law on the Twin Towers in New spirituality, humanity, and mously published by Leif distinct way of thinking big power, it is another his visit to the Swayambhu-
was brought into force York and the Pentagon in actions initiated and deeds Belfrage, one of his close and doing for the cause of matter to resist”. nath stupa in Kathmandu
If Bhutan can with strong commit- Washington DC, just to done by him as the UN sec- associates and Sweden’s peace, security and devel- Hammarskjold’s role as a reads:
ments from the govern- name a few. retary-general. permanent undersecretary opment to benefit man- mediator during the Suez The brilliant notes of the
effectively ment, its effectiveness is It was also in this very Books by renowned au- in the Ministry of Foreign kind through his diploma- Crisis and capture of a US flute; Are heard by the God
implement the ban in question. For a few
days, the police fined
month that the life of a
great world statesman, Dag
thors like Roger Lipsey’s
Hammarskjold – A Life,
Affairs, with a foreword
by W.H. Auden, amply re-
cy. That Hammarskjold
would stand by a solution
reconnaissance plane by
the Soviet Union had estab-
In the cave of birth
Himalayan ice cliffs …
on smoking, what those who smoked in Hammarskjold, the then Susan Williams, Who killed flects Hammarskjold’s to any burning issue ac- lished him as a great nego- A lace of rest. Charcoal
has prevented public places, mainly in UN secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjold?, Brian holistic approaches on ceptable to many world tiator in 1960. The UN fires; Deep in the mirror
the Kathmandu Valley. came to an end in a myste- Urquhart’s Hammarskjold, spiritualism, humanity and stakeholders could amply peace keeping force that Vishnu is at peace
Nepal from Even a lawmaker was
caught on camera smok-
enforcing the law
it has endorsed?
ing on the parliament
premises. But no action s4/0)#3 sTHT 9%!23!'/
was taken against him.
Due to the slackness of the law enforcing agencies,
people are seen smoking in public places, parks and
restaurants, and the street vendors are seen openly
A rising tide of hope Shape up or ship out,
selling tobacco-related products in the busy streets
under the very nose of the police. The major chal-
DERRICK SILIMINA pecially strong among entre-
preneurs. Many of them ac-
ey agent at the Kamwala market
in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital and
Small and Medium Enterprise
Development to facilitate the
apex court tells CA
lenge for the government is to control its sales in
public places as defined by the law.
Nepal enacted the Act as per its commitment to an
V oters across the country
were jubilant after Hakain-
de Hichilema was finally elect-
cused the former regime of ex-
torting illegal levies from small
businesspeople, such as market
largest city. “The PF’s party op-
eratives would come around
twice a week and extort money
creation and growth of your
businesses,” he wrote on his
Twitter feed recently.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, November 25, 2011
international convention it ratified without adequate
preparation at home. While addressing an all-party
advocacy meeting on Wednesday, Minister for Health
ed president of Zambia in
August 2021 after unsuccessful-
ly contesting five previous
traders and bus owners.
One such critic is Morgan
Chibuye, a bus driver at Lusa-
from market traders,” she says.
The new regime promises to
stop such practices. “We will be
The new administration’s
economic challenges are con-
siderable. Zambia faces slow
A day after the government tabled a bill
seeking 11th amendment to the In-
terim Constitution for extending the
and Population Birodh Khatiwada vowed to discour- elections. Hichilema – a cattle ka’s intercity bus station. “The available to listen and to sup- economic growth, high unem- term of the Constituent Assembly by six
age the use of tobacco products by taking strict rancher, businessman and PF regime made our business port you,” Hichilema said to ployment, heavy national debt months, the Supreme Court today grant-
measures. But he did not elaborate on the measures politician representing the unattractive,” he says. “If a bus citizens and entrepreneurs dur- and fiscal deficits and dou- ed a ‘final opportunity’ to CA to conclude
his ministry was planning to take to effectively im- United Party for National driver refused to pay off thugs ing his inaugural speech. He ble-digit inflation. In addition, its mandated task of writing a new con-
plement the law. If Bhutan can effectively implement Development (UPND) – un- posing as revenue collectors, pointed to his own background the country’s currency is vola- stitution. The apex court said if the CA,
the ban on smoking there, what has prevented Nepal seated the long-entrenched he was blacklisted and prevent- as a businessman with interests tile, and interest rates charged which was originally elected for two
from implementing the law? Although advertise- Patriotic Front (PF) regime. ed from loading his bus.” in cattle ranching, tourism, to small businesses are high. years and has not been able to deliver a
ments of tobacco-related products in the mass me- Entrepreneurs in particular are Entrepreneurs and local offi- health care and finance, to A key to solving these prob- new constitution in the last three-anda-
dia have been totally banned, the law has barely pinning their hopes on Hichile- cials expect this situation to show that he understands en- lems is to promote entrepre- half years, fails to promulgate the statute
made a dent in reducing its consumption, especially ma’s promises to revive the improve soon under the new trepreneurs’ concerns. neurship and job creation, the by the end of extended period, it will be
in the rural areas, because of the cheap price and its economy. government. Small and mid-sized enter- new president and his loyalists automatically dissolved. A five-member
high use among the poor community that is not In the run-up to the election, Other sectors also suffered prises are engines of job crea- say. “When they succeed, we all special bench of Chief Justice Khil Raj
aware of the law. Nepal is also the only country in voters had grown disenchanted under the former regime. Extor- tion and economic growth, succeed,” says Elias Mubanga, Regmi and Justices Damodar Prasad
South Asia to impose low taxes on tobacco products, with the Patriotic Front. Disap- tion used to be a daily burden, Hichilema emphasises. “We national youth mobilisation Sharma, Ram Kumar Prasad Shah, Kaly-
which has led to its easy availability. The only way to pointment with the PF was es- says Sara Mofya, a mobile mon- have created the Ministry of chairman for the UPND. an Shrestha and Prem Sharma today
reduce its consumption is to enforce the law effec- gave a ‘final chance’, notwithstanding the
tively with an awareness drive and educate the young
generation, which is more educated than the old one. s",/'352& s#!24//. restrictive proviso of Article 64 and earlier
verdicts related to eighth, ninth and
tenth amendments to the Interim Con-

Manpower crunch Expanding trade

YASUSHI TANAKA
stitution. The bench observed that the
government had undermined the apex
court verdicts and provisions of the con-

I t’s a problem peculiar to most government hospi-

tals outside the major cities of the country. Damauli
stitution. “This (the final chance) is re-
quired for completing the remaining
Hospital in Tanahun is facing a shortage of doctors
and other health personnel, which is affecting the
treatment of patients. The 15-bed hospital has added
I n 2026, when Bangladesh is expected to gradu-
ate from the United Nations’ least-developed
countries list, it will lose preferential access to
tasks related to drafting of the constitu-
tion, even though the CA has failed to
conclude the assignment within its origi-
27 beds on its roof but has only two permanent doc- many of its global trading partners. Bangladesh nal deadline,” the order stated. SC sug-
tors made available by the government, while the needs to immediately expand its export destina- gested three alternatives should the CA
other doctors have been hired on contract basis or tions to its neighbors and shift away from ready- fail to achieve the goal even after the 11th
appointed locally by the hospital management com- made garments to more diversified exports. This amendment and has issued guidelines to
mittee. The hospital may be in for more trouble as will be challenging for a variety of reasons. While the government and Parliament that ei-
the contract of the 21 of its 30 staff members, who Bangladesh has 23 land border crossings, trade ther they go for a referendum or fresh
were recruited during the COVID-19 crisis, have not with its neighbors accounts for only 10% of na- elections or find another suitable option.
been extended. tional trade. Trade with neighbors is hindered by
Nepal has come a long way since the 1970s where
there was just one doctor for as many as 40,000 peo-
underdeveloped customs stations, outdated
trade policies and operations, and bureaucratic Three families get
ple. Today about a dozen medical institutes in the government agencies.
country train hundreds of doctors and other related
human resource annually, not to speaks of hundreds
Underdeveloped trade facilities at borders
means that the average time required from entry
seized land back
others who graduate from colleges abroad. However,
most doctors prefer to stay in the capital, working in
70 or so hospitals and in private clinics. The over con-
to exit is about 4 hours for import and 3–6 hours
for export at crossings such as Akhaura, Son-
amasjid, and Tamabil, according to an ADB study.
in Bardiya
centration of doctors in big cities and a lack of them About half of this time is spent waiting for ineffi- Himalayan News Service
in the hinterlands could not have happened were it cient procedures to be completed. Perishable Rajapur, November 25, 2011
not for the lopsided policies of the government. goods cannot be traded under such slow and un-
predictable operations. — blog.adb.org/blgos
E ven as the Mohan Baidhya faction of
the Unified CPNMaoist is objecting to
the seven-point deal that calls for return
s,%44%23 of the property and land seized during
the insurgency, in Bardiya, three families
have got their land back. In Rajapur VDC-
Heroic and of the Third World. Another
news that should be of grave
ganza. Manmohan Adhikari,
Pushpa Lal Shrestha and other
to hear that his party is going to
spend a huge amount of mon-
7, Prayagpur, Bardiya, about 28 bighas of
land, seized by the Maoists and distribut-
absurd news concern for women’s rights
emerges from Britain (THT,
prominent revolutionary lead-
ers used to request their cadres
ey on the convention. Other
parties are also planning to
ed to different persons, was returned to
the rightful owners today. A meeting held
Young Nobel Prize winner, November 25, Page 5). The to come along with homemade convene their conventions in between the land users and owners,
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of British parliament’s attempt to tiffin like grilled corn and whey similar fashion. People are fac- which was facilitated by Chief District Of-
Ethiopia, is reportedly at the bar female members from during the party’s general con- ing several problems like price ficer Ram Krishna Subedi, SP Ramkripal
war frontline to bolster the bringing their infants and vention. India’s Mahatma Gan- hikes of petroleum products, Sah, Maoist district in-charge Himal and
fight against the fast advancing breastfeeding in the House of dhi says that a leader should cooking oil, vegetables and ce- representatives of the Nepali Congress
rebels (THT, November 25, Commons is absurd. circumvent all individual inter- reals, but the leaders are and CPN-UML, ultimately led to return
Page 1). Not many prime min- Such a move cannot be ac- ests and family servitude like a throwing money everywhere, of the property to the owners. The Mao-
isters show such courage, not ceptable in the 21st century, hermit. The CPN-UML could leaving the commoners at the ists during the insurgency had captured
even in the Federal Democratic especially in first world coun- have spent that money on vari- mercy of God. The organisers 28 bighas of land belonging to Binod Dh-
Republic of Nepal. Ethiopians tries. Females should have un- ous development activities to should also be careful about woj Chand, Laxmi Chand and Gaurav
should be proud to have such a restricted freedom to breast- win our hearts. K P Oli, the par- the possible spread of the Dhwoj Chand and distributed it among
leader who, like the deceased feed their infants at all places, ty chair cum the former pre- COVID-19 during the conven- 32 landless families, who had been tilling
Chadian leader, is ready to sac-
rifice his life for the cause of his
including parliaments and
cabinets. Women around the
Convention rooms for the closed door ses-
sion at Sauraha. The party del-
mier of Nepal, is publicly ac-
claimed as a supreme leader.
tion period. it for their livelihood. Those using the
seized land today agreed to return the
Abhishek Kunwar, Pokhara
nation and people. world must show solidarity The CPN-UML is going to hold egates will be provided food He has already won our hearts property to the rightful owners after the
His heroism is in stark con- with the British woman parlia- its 10th General Convention and accommodation for three and minds by visiting the state- Letters to this column should be addressed to latter expressed ommitment to let them
trast to another leader from the mentarian, a victim of male from November 25-27 in Chit- days. The UML has been owned hospital for his regular Letters C/o Edit Page Editor, The Himalayan Times, continue to work in the fields. Binod Dh-
SAARC region, who fled in the chauvinism, wan with various programmes, claiming that it is an inevitable kidney ailment checkup. He Post Box 11651, APCA House, woj promised that he would help the
face of the Taliban advance. spending approximately Rs part of the convention. The could have gone to Thailand or Baidya Khana Road, Kathmandu, Nepal farmers in the best possible way. “If they
Manohar Shrestha,
Ahmed could be a shining ex- 750 million for its grand jam- CPN-UML should not hold its other developed countries, but email: edit@thehimalayantimes.com, ask for some land to build houses, I don’t
Kathmandu
ample to the wannabe leaders boree. It has booked 3,500 convention with such extrava- he did not do so. It is very sad Fax 0977-1-4771959 mind giving,” said Binod Dhwoj.
 CMYK
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021 www.thehimalayantimes.com PAGE 5

INTERNATIONAL

France, Britain trade blame At least 11 dead, dozens trapped in Russian mine
Reuters
Moscow, November 25
“The search and rescue
work has been temporarily
pound in video footage, with
police huddled outside as it
Tsivilev said there was still
electricity and ventilation in

after 27 die in migrant tragedy

Reuters
Calais/London, November 25
France and Britain traded blame to-
day after 27 people died trying to cross
the Channel in an inflatable dinghy,
the worst accident of its kind on re-
cord in the waterway separating the
two countries.
With relations fraught by years of
tension over Brexit and immigration,
much of the focus was on who should
bear responsibility, even if both sides
vowed to work together to find joint
solutions.
“There is bad immigration manage-
ment (in Britain),” French Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin told RTL
radio, while calling on other European
countries, which migrants cross on
their way to French shores and then
Britain, to do more to help.
“It’s an international problem,”
Darmanin said. “We tell our Belgian,
German, and British friends they
should help us fight traffickers who
work at an international level.” One
smuggler arrested overnight had
bought dinghies in Germany, he said.
His British counterpart Priti Patel
said she would be having talks with
Darmanin, hours after Prime Minister
Boris Johnson put the blame on
France, saying, “We have had difficul-
ty persuading some of our partners,
particularly the French, to do things
in a way that we think the situation
deserves.”
Meanwhile, rescue volunteers and
rights groups said the catastrophic
drowning was to be expected as
A damaged inflatable small boat is pictured on the shore in Wimereux,
northern France, on Thursday.
smugglers and migrants take more
risks to avoid a growing police pres-
ence. “To accuse only the smugglers is
to hide the responsibility of the
French and British authorities,” the
Auberge de Migrants NGO said.
It and other NGOs pointed to a lack
of legal migration routes and height-
ened security at the Eurotunnel un-
dersea rail link, which has pushed mi-
grants to try to make the perilous sea
crossing.
The Channel is one of the world’s
busiest shipping lanes, where cur-
rents are strong, the water is cold and
dinghies are often overloaded.
At least 11 miners died in an
accident at a coal mine in
Russia’s Siberia today and an
operation to rescue dozens
more people underground
suspended due to the threat
of an explosion,” an un-
named emergency services
spokesperson was quoted
by the RIA news agency
as saying.
snowed in the region, rough-
ly 3,500 km east of Moscow.
Some 285 people were in-
side the mine when smoke
spread through the ventila-
tion shaft, the emergency
the mine, but that contact
had been lost with some
people deep underground.
“For now there is no heavy
smoke, so we hope that there
is no fire,” Tsivilev said in vid-
was suspended due to the Eleven people died and 35 ministry said. eo comments shared on his
risk of an explosion, local au- others were still under- At least 239 made it above Telegram channel.
thorities and emergency ser- ground, Regional Governor ground, authorities said. “We have no communica-
vices said. Sergei Tsivilev said, accord- They did not say what had tion lines with these people,
Coal dust caught fire in a ing to RIA. caused the smoke. the underground communi-
ventilation shaft in the List- Dozens were being treated The Kremlin said it hoped cations system is not work-
vyazhnaya mine in the in hospital, at least some the miners who were still un- ing.”
s n ow b o u n d Ke m e r ov o of them with smoke poison- derground would manage to The Investigative Com-
region early today, filling ing. Four were in critical get out and that President mittee law enforcement
the mine with smoke, the condition. Vladimir Putin had ordered agency’s regional branch
TASS news agency cited Rescue workers and am- the emergencies minister to said it had opened a criminal
local emergency services as bulances could be seen ar- fly out to the region to help case into negligence that had
saying. riving at the mine’s com- with the operation. caused loss of life.
AP
“This a tragedy that we dreaded,
that was expected, we had sounded
the alarm,” said Bernard Barron, head
of the Calais region SNSM, a volunteer
group which rescues people at sea.
“The smugglers are more and more
reckless, criminal, launching at sea
poor innocent people who want to
reach England at all costs without
knowing the sea.”
Before yesterday’s disaster, 14 peo-
ple had drowned this year trying to
make it to Britain, a local maritime
prefecture official said. In 2020, seven
people died and two disappeared,
while in 2019 four died.

Romania parliament endorses PM’s coalition govt

Reuters
Bucharest, November 25
Romanian legislators en-
dorsed the grand coalition
government of Liberal
Prime Minister Nicolae Ci-
uca by an overwhelming
majority today, inaugurat-
ing a rotating premiership
deal to end a two-month
long political stalemate.
Romania has been in po-
litical paralysis since a cen-
trist alliance splintered in
September, undermining
efforts to cut large budget
and trade shortfalls at a
time of spiralling COVID-19
cases. “We can finally
offer predictability and
guarantee stability and
development. Today is
the first day of a new
approach to govern Roma-
nia to improve the econom-
ic, social and health situa-
tion of its citizens,” Ciuca
told parliament.
Ciuca, 54, a retired gener-
al, will run the cabinet until
25 May 2023 under the ro-
tating coalition agreement
with the party’s former foes,
Romania’s largest Social
Democrat party.
Together with ethnic
Hungarians’ party UDMR
and an independent group
of ethnic minorities, Ciuca’s
government has an over-
whelming backing of more
than 70 per cent of legisla-
tors. Today, the cabinet got
backing from 318 legisla-
tors out of 444 deputies
present.
The coalition will rotate
premiers every 1-1/2 years.
The PSD will hold the pow-
erful finance, farming, de-
fence, and transport minis-
tries and the Liberals will be
at the helm of departments
such as justice, energy,
home, and foreign affairs.
 CMYK
PAGE 6
5.'!ENDORSES Cambodia promotes shared growth
PROPOSALTO
GRADUATE.EPAL
TODEVELOPING
COUNTRY
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Washington, November 25
The United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) has en-
dorsed the proposal to gradu-
ate Nepal to the status of
a middle-income developing
nation from the category of
least developed country
(LDC) by 2026.
The Economic and Social
Council, the UN has present-
ed the proposal in the UNGA
for its passage.
The UNGA passed the pro-
posal on Wednesday, con-
firmed Amrit Bahadur Rai,
chief of the Permanent
Mission of Nepal to the UN.
On the occasion, Rai
pledged for Nepal to do its
best to undertake all required
procedures for its structural
changes for the same within
Australian firm wrongly
named as Taliban
'OLDRUSHDRAWS
hashish partner
Reuters
Sydney, November 25
A small Australian medical
consulting firm got caught up
in an unexpected publicity
storm today after being
wrongly named as agreeing
with Afghanistan’s ruling Tali-
ban to bankroll a $450 million
hashish processing plant in
the Central Asian country.
A report by Afghanistan’s
Pajhwok Afghan News said
representatives of Austral-
ia-based Cpharm had met
with counter-narcotic offi-
cials at the Ministry of Interior
to discuss producing medi-
cines and creams at the
factory, offering a legal use of
cannabis, which is wide-
spread there.
The report was picked up
by a host of global outlets in-
cluding the Times of London,
which ran its own story nam-
ing the Australian company.
Verified Twitter accounts
linked to the BBC and Middle
Eastern news outlet Al Araby-
bia repeated the claim about
the Australians.
But Cpharm Australia, a
family business with 17 staff
from the regional centre of
Maitland, has never spoken to
the Taliban and has no deal-
ings overseas or involving
cannabis, it told Reuters.
$YSONDUMPS-ALAYSIANSUPPLIER!4!OVERLABOURCONCERNS
Reuters
Kuala Lumpur, November 25
High-tech home appliance
maker Dyson Ltd told Reuters
it had cut ties with supplier
ATA IMS Bhd following an au-
dit of the Malaysian compa-
ny’s labour practices and alle-
gations by a whistleblower,
sending ATA shares plunging.
ATA, which is already being
investigated by the United
States over forced labour
allegations, confirmed Dyson
has terminated its contracts
and that it has been in talks
with its customer over the au-
dit findings.
Shares in ATA, which makes
parts for Dyson’s vacuum
cleaners and air purifiers,
tumbled 30 per cent to their
lowest since April 2020 after
the Reuters report.
Associated Press
Phnom Penh, November 25
an leaders today with a call for
next five years.
He said, “The government
of Nepal has completed
strategic efforts for the gradu-
ation. This is an opportunity
for the country to raise its
image in the international
forum by creating structures
for its economy within next
five years. We have also urged
for addressing challenges
that may emerge after 2026.
We will reach a conclusion
to this effect after holding a
dialogue with development
partners.”
Nepal had met the criteria
for its graduation in between
2015 and 2018. However, it
had been affected and post-
poned citing that its economy
was threatened due to the
2015 earthquake.
Nepal was incorporated in
the list of LDCs in 1971.
“We’re just trying to work
out what we’re going to do to
stop it,” Cpharm Australia’s
Chief Financial Officer, Tony
Gabites, said by phone from
the company’s headquarters,
located 166 km from Sydney.
“We’ve had probably 40 or
50 calls today. It’s just out of
control and it’s just all lies,
media guys ... not doing any
due diligence on what they
want to publish,” he said.
Gabites suspected the re-
ports stemmed from a tweet
from a Taliban-linked ac-
count which named a compa-
ny called Cpharm, referring to
another organisation else-
where in the world with a sim-
ilar name.
Cpharm Australia provides
medical advice about phar-
maceutical products and is
not a manufacturer so would
not take on a manufacturing
contract in any case. It also
would not be able to raise
$450 million, Gabites added.
The company may take le-
gal recourse if it lost business
due to wrongly reported Tali-
ban dealings — a potential vi-
olation of sanctions — but did
not expect to be impacted
long-term.
“Most of the companies
we deal with would look
at that article and laugh,” Ga-
bites said.
According to ATA, Dyson ac-
counts for almost 80 per cent
of its revenue.
The termination is also a
significant blow for Malaysia,
a major electronics manufac-
turing hub that has faced scru-
tiny this year over claims mi-
grant workers are being sub-
jected to abusive working and
living conditions.
Dyson, privately owned by
British billionaire James Dy-
son, said it received the results
of an audit of working condi-
tions at ATA in early October.
It said it had learned in Sep-
tember about allegations from
a whistleblower at an ATA
factory and had commis-
sioned a law firm to investi-
gate those claims.
“Despite intense engage-
ment over the past six weeks,
we have not seen sufficient
Business
the world’s population, 75 per
Cambodian Prime Minister
Hun Sen opened a virtual
meeting of Asian and Europe-
sustainable and shared global
growth as the world seeks to
recover from the COVID-19
pandemic.
Thirty European countries
and 21 Asian countries, along
with multinational organisa-
tions representing the Europe-
an Union and the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations,
are represented at the two-day
Asia-Europe Meeting. The bi-
ennial event is being hosted by
Cambodia after being post-
poned from last year due to
the pandemic.
ASEM’s membership ac-
counts for 65 per cent of the
global economy, 60 per cent of
HUNDREDSOF
DREDGINGRAFTSTO
!MAZONTRIBUTARY
Reuters
Autazes, November 25
H
undreds of
dredging rafts
operated by ille-
gal miners have
gathered in a gold rush on
the Madeira River, a major
tributary of the Amazon,
floating hundreds of miles
as state and federal authori-
ties dispute who is respon-
sible for stopping them.
The rafts equipped with
pumps are moored togeth-
er in lines that nearly
stretch across the vast Ma-
deira, and a Reuters witness
spotted plumes of exhaust
indicating they are vacu-
uming riverbed for gold.
“We counted no less than
300 rafts. They’ve been
there at least two weeks and
the government has done
nothing,” said Greenpeace
progress and have already re-
moved some production
lines,” Singapore-headquar-
tered Dyson said in response
to questions from Reuters. “We
have now terminated our rela-
tionship with six months’ of
contractual notice. We hope
this gives ATA the impetus to
improve, and enables an or-
derly withdrawal in the inter-
ests of the workers that they
employ.”
ATA had in May denied alle-
gations of forced labour at its
factories after a prominent
rights activist said US authori-
ties were going to scrutinise
the company’s work practices.
The activist, Andy Hall,
shared a letter the US Customs
and Border Protection (
CBP) had sent him informing
him it had agreed to investi-
gate an ATA unit after he
www.thehimalayantimes.com
cent of global tourism and and
55 per cent of global trade, ac-
cording to the organisers.
“As we all strive for so-
cio-economic recovery while
living with COVID-19, the
theme that we have chosen for
the ASEM-13, namely
‘Strengthening Multilateral-
ism for Shared Growth’, is even
more valid and relevant than
ever,” Hun Sen said in opening
remarks to the meeting. “In
fact, in the post-COVID-19 cri-
sis world, we need to further
reinforce our Asia-Europe
partnership to maintain a
strong multilateralism that
will bring about a global
growth that is not only ‘Sus-
tainable’ but can also be
‘Shared’.”
The absence of one leader,
Myanmar’s Senior General
Min Aung Hlaing, is likely to
seen some 650 km away in
Brazil activist Danicley
Aguiar.
The gold rush began as
world leaders gathered for a
United Nations climate
conference in Glasgow,
where Brazil vowed it had
stepped up protection of
the Amazon rainforest.
However, far-right Presi-
dent Jair Bolsonaro has
weakened environmental
enforcement since taking
office in 2019, turning a
blind eye to invasions of
protected public and indig-
enous lands by illegal log-
gers, cattle ranchers and
wildcat gold miners.
The Madeira flows some
3,300 km from its source in
Bolivia through the rainfor-
est in Brazil and into the
Amazon River.
The dredging rafts have
floated downriver from the
Humaita area, where there
flagged complaints received
from workers.
The CBP has banned six
Malaysian firm in the last
two years from selling their
products to the United States
after finding evidence of
forced labour.
In July, the US State Depart-
ment put Malaysia on a list
with more than a dozen coun-
tries including China and
North Korea, saying it had not
made progress in eliminating
trafficking of workers.
Foreigners form a signifi-
cant part of Malaysia’s work-
force. Most migrant workers in
Malaysia come from Nepal
and Bangladesh, and are em-
ployed in factories, planta-
tions and construction sites.
Over half of ATA’s 8,032
employees are foreigners,
according to the firm’s latest
reduce attention at ASEM to
the deterioration of human
rights in that Southeast Asian
country since the army seized
power in February from the
elected government of Aung
San Suu Kyi.
According to the list of at-
tendees, Myanmar’s rep-
resentation is listed as ‘work-
ing group’. There has been
no public explanation of
Min Aung Hlaing’s absence,
but his military-installed gov-
ernment is ostracised by many
western nations for its takeo-
ver and its violent suppression
of pro-democracy protests.
UN experts have said the
country is now on the verge of
civil war.
There had been concerns
that if the Myanmar leader
had attended, major western
powers would have down-
graded their representation,
Reuters
An aerial view shows
hundreds of dredging
rafts operated by illegal
miners who have
gathered in a gold rush on
the Madeira, a major
tributary of the Amazon
River, in Autazes.
has been a surge in illegal
gold mining, and were last
Autazes, a municipal dis-
trict southeast of Manaus.
A spokesperson for Bra-
zil’s environmental protec-
tion agency Ibama said the
illegal dredging on the Ma-
deira River was the respon-
sibility not of the federal
government but of Amazo-
nas state and its environ-
mental agency IPAAM.
The head of IPAAM, Ju-
liano Valente, said his agen-
cy has instructed state se-
curity forces to act, but he
insisted that the river is
federal jurisdiction and
so enforcement should
fall to federal police and
the National Mining Agen-
cy (ANM).
Federal police and the
ANM did not immediately
respond to a request for
comment.
“It’s a free-for-all. None of
the authorities are doing
anything to stop illegal
mining, which has become
an epidemic in the Ama-
zon,” Aguiar said.
annual report.
ATA posted record revenue
and profit for fiscal year ended
March 2021 as COVID-19
induced lockdowns boosted
demand for home appliances
such as Dyson’s stick vacuum
cleaner.
Dyson rejected allegations
earlier this year regarding
excessive hours and cramped
living conditions for ATA
workers, citing multiple prior
audits it said had not found
any issues involved in its
supply chain.
Activist Hall said Dyson’s de-
cision to terminate the rela-
tionship would have huge
implications for the thousands
of workers employed at ATA
and Dyson should remediate
ATA workers.
The Malaysian government
must also bear some responsi-
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021
diminishing the prospects for
substantive cooperation.
It is the third time that Min
Aung Hlaing, who led Febru-
ary’s army takeover, has been
a b s e n t f ro m i m p o r t a n t
regional meetings which
Myanmar’s leader would nor-
mally attend.
The Association of South-
east Asian Nations, of which
Myanmar is a member, last
month agreed not to invite
him to its annual summit
meeting. The action was a re-
buke for Myanmar’s failure to
cooperate with ASEAN’s mod-
est efforts to help restore
peace and stability to the
strife-torn country. Myanmar
was invited to send a repre-
sentative in Min Aung Hlaing’s
place but declined to do so.
The general was also absent
from the ASEAN-China Spe-
cial Summit earlier this week.
4HAILAND
SEESGRADUAL
TOURISM
RECOVERY
Reuters
Bangkok, November 25
Thailand was among the first
countries in Asia to reopen for
foreign arrivals, and it is seeing a
slow recovery, including new ho-
tels touting longer stays for indi-
vidual travellers.
In first 10 months of 2021, Thai-
land saw 106,117 foreign tourists,
a drop from 6.7 million in 2020.
Before pandemic, Thailand saw
about 40 million visitors a year.
Hospitality firms like Asset
World Corporation Pcl, which
opened its 19th property this
month, saw the majority of its
bookings come from western
countries and the Middle East.
“About 70 per cent of total
bookings came from Europe, in-
cluding Germany, UK, Scandina-
vian countries, followed by the
US, Middle East, and Asia,” Chief
Executive Wallapa Traisorat told
Reuters, adding that domestic
travel helped. “For November, we
should see 30 per cent occupancy,
and in the fourth quarter we hope
to see better momentum from
the reopening.”
Thailand, one of the region’s
most popular destinations, is
heavily dependent on tourism. In
2019, 40 million arrivals spent 1.91
trillion baht ($57.3 billion).
Centara Hotels and Resorts is
moving ahead with plans to open
a 1.1 billion baht hotel on the is-
land of Samui in December. Ini-
tially the property expects most
guests to be locals on longer stays,
said Centara Hotels Chief Finan-
cial Officer Gun Srisompong.
“De m a n d p a t t e r n s h a v e
changed. Individual travellers on
longer stays and ‘workations’
need more personalisation,” Sri-
sompong said.
Thailand expects only 200,000
foreign tourists this year, and five
million in 2022.
Thinner crowds and discounts
made for a more pleasant experi-
ence, said German tourist Markus
Klarer.
bility, Hall added, saying he
had made multiple com-
plaints in the past year to the
government about ATA.
Malaysia’s labour depart-
ment did not immediately
respond to a request for
comment.
Social audits — the main
form of due diligence con-
ducted by the world’s biggest
brands — are meant to moni-
tor labour and other ethical
standards in the supply
chain. However, critics say
some companies have turned
into a perfunctory tick-boxing
exercise.
Dyson said the recent audit
findings it received in October
were from a ‘comprehensive’
audit that interviewed over
2,000 members of ATA staff.
It did not disclose the find-
ings of the audit.
s"):"2)%&3
AFP
Lights illuminating the Christmas
market at the Gendarmenmarkt
Square, in Berlin. Despite the
pandemic inconveniences, stall
owners in European cities are
relieved to be open at all for their
first Christmas market in two years.
BFIN conference
KATHMANDU: Banking, Finance
and Insurance Institute of Nepal
(BFIN) is organising a one-day con-
ference titled ‘Conference on Leader-
ship Development for the New Nor-
mal’ on November 27. This confer-
ence is to be attended by board of di-
rectors, chief executives and top ex-
ecutives of banks and financial insti-
tutions, insurance companies, senior
government officials, leaders of pub-
lic and private industries and other
distinguished delegates/profession-
als engaged in the public and private
sector, as per a media release. This
conference shall be a great opportu-
nity to hear from the prominent in-
ternational speakers/personalities
from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka. This conference explores
the futuristic perspective of banking
services; the use of technology in the
delivery of products and services;
emerging threats for the financial in-
dustries due to financial crimes and
security issues; and the emerging
challenges for the leadership in man-
aging the digital financial sector. — HNS
‘Ditch Black Friday’
ALMATY: Kazakhstan’s top Muslim
cleric urged local businesses to stop
using the Black Friday tag for their
end-of-November sale campaigns, a
move that he said would be appreci-
ated by followers of the Central Asian
nation’s dominant faith. “Since Friday
is the holy day for the Muslim com-
munity, renaming Black Friday to
Generous Friday would be paying
due respect to our people, most of
whom follow Islamic traditions,” Su-
preme Mufti Nauryzbai Kazhy Tagan-
uly said in an address published by
the Spiritual Administration of Mus-
lims of Kazakhstan. The term, which
has originated in the United States
and refers to the Friday following
Thanksgiving, has become popular
among Kazakh retailers, even though
the former Soviet republic marks no
holidays near that date. — Reuters
Poland energy prices
WARSAW: Poland’s Prime Minister
Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thurs-
day that starting in December the
government will cut tax on fuels and
on energy and will offer bonuses to
hardest hit households next year to
counter inflation that has reached its
highest level since 2001. Morawiecki
said that the so-called ‘anti-inflation
shield’ will cost the government some
10 billion zlotys ($2.4 billion) while
additional funds will come from
spending cuts. He blamed the infla-
tion, which was 6.8 per cent in Octo-
ber, year-on-year, on higher energy
costs, saying they stem from Russia’s
gas policy, the European Union’s cli-
mate policy and CO2 emission certif-
icate prices, as well as on bonuses
that were paid out to help businesses
survive the COVID-19 pandemic. — AP
China emissions fall
BEIJING: China’s carbon emissions
fell in the third quarter for the first
time since its economic recovery
from the coronavirus began, new
research shows, partly as a result of
a clampdown on property develop-
ment and widespread coal shortages.
The world’s biggest emitter of
greenhouse gases saw CO2 emissions
drop by around 0.5 per cent in July to
September from a year earlier, Lauri
Myllyvirta, lead analyst with the Hel-
sinki-based Centre for Research on
Energy and Clean Air (CREA), said.
The fall marks a turnaround from an
approximately 9% increase in emis-
sions in the first half of 2021, when
China’s post-COVID-19 economic
recovery was in full swing with
construction and heavy industrial ac-
tivity. — Reuters
 CMYK
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021 www.thehimalayantimes.com PAGE 7

Sports
s4)-%/54 .EPALHAMMER+UWAIT Province-II, Province-I win Himalayan News Service six. Pradi Paswan took 3-31 for 163 runs in 38 overs. Bibek

THT
Nepal’s Sakshyam Bikram Shah and
Sunira Thapa hold their medals
after the Kathmandu-Asian U-14
Ranking Tennis Tournament in
Lalitpur on Thursday.
Shah, Thapa triumph
LALITPUR: Nepal claimed all four
gold medals in the Kathmandu-Asian
U-14 Ranking Tennis Tournament
here at the Tennis Complex on Thurs-
day. Sakshyam Bikram Shah defeated
fellow Nepali player Darshil Shrestha
6-1, 6-0 in the boys’ singles final,
while India’s Siddhartha Jibu and Pa-
kistan’s Amir Muhammed Khan fin-
ished joint third. Likewise, Nepal’s
Sunira Thapa won the girls’ section
gold medal with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory
over Prashamsa Moktan. Nepal’s
Adya Poudel and USA’s Nala Josfin
Maskey bagged bronze medals. Shah
and Thapa had also won singles gold
medals in the Circuit-I tournament
last week. On Wednesday, the pairs of
Sakshyam Bikram Shah/Darshil
Shrestha and Sunira Thapa/
Prashamsa Moktan bagged gold
medals in doubles events. A total of
33 players from Nepal, India, Paki-
stan and the United States took part
in the five-day tournament. Nepal
Tennis Association Vice-president
Keshav Raj Pandey and tournament
director Ajay Bista handed over the
prizes to the winners. — HNS
Morgan sacked
LONDON: Leicester City women
have sacked manager Jonathan Mor-
gan with the team bottom of the
standings, the FA Women’s Super
League club said on Thursday.
Leicester, who gained promotion to
the top flight after winning the
Championship under Morgan, are
yet to secure a point this season hav-
ing lost all eight matches played so
far. This season has been disappoint-
ing, with injuries contributing to a
difficult start, but we haven’t
achieved the results we had hoped
for. Assistant manager Michael Ma-
koni and first team coach Holly Mor-
gan have also left the club. Emile
Heskey, the club’s head of women’s
football development, will oversee
first team training ahead of Sunday’s
clash against Manchester United in
the FA Women’s League Cup. — Reuters
Miccoli sentenced
ROME: Former Italy and Juventus
striker Fabrizio Miccoli has had a
sentence of three-and-a-half years
in jail upheld for extortion, aggravat-
ed by mafia methods, Italian news
agency ANSA reported. Miccoli
was found guilty in 2017 of approach-
ing the son of a mafia boss to recover
12,000 euros from a nightclub
owner in Palermo on behalf of a
former Palermo football club physio.
He denied the charges and appealed
the conviction. On Wednesday, Italy’s
Supreme Court of Cassation, the
country’s highest court of appeal,
upheld the guilty verdict, ANSA
said, with Miccoli given the three-
and-a-half year sentence. The inci-
dent took place in 2010 and 2011.
In 2013, Miccoli was forced to apolo-
gise after he was accused of insulting
the murdered anti-mafia judge Gio-
vanni Falcone. — Reuters
MOVETOSECONDPLACE
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, November 25
Nepal thrashed Kuwait by nine
wickets to register their second
victory in the ICC Twenty20
World Cup Asia Region Qualifi-
ers at the ICC Academy
grounds in Dubai today.
Batting first, Kuwait were
bowled out for a paltry 27 runs
in 15.3 overs before Nepal
raced to 28-1 with 99 balls to
spare. With their second win in
three matches, Nepal moved to
second position with four
points, two behind hosts Unit-
ed Arab Emirates.
Hong Kong also have four
points from three games, while
Malaysia and Bhutan have two
each. Kuwait are yet to open
their accounts in the six-team
competition. After the round
robin league, the top side
will make it to next year’s
global qualifiers of the ICC T20
World Cup.
Kuwait’s decision to bat first
backfired as only opener Priya-
da Murali was able to score in
double figures. They lost the
last eight wickets for just nine
runs. Murali scored 10 off 20
balls with the help of two
boundaries, while Maryam
Omar was the next best con-
tributor with seven runs. Six
Kuwait batters even failed to
open their accounts.
Sangita Rai was the pick of
the Nepali bowlers taking 3-2
from 2.4 overs, while she was
ably supported by Karuna
Bhandari (2-8) and skipper Ru-
bina Chhetry (3-2-1-2). Saras-
wati Kumari also grabbed
a wicket.
In reply, Nepal lost vice-cap-
tain Sita Rana Magar (naught)
with just one run on the board
before skipper Chhetry and
Indu Barma took the team
Sri Lanka crush West Indies, take lead
Reuters
Colombo, November 25
Nkrumah Bonner and Josh-
ua Da Silva offered brief re-
sistance but Sri Lanka flexed
their spin muscles to crush
West Indies by 187 runs in
the opening Test on Thurs-
day and take a 1-0 lead in the
two-match series.
Chasing an improbable
victory target of 348, West In-
dies’ defeat looked just a
Sri Lanka team members celebrate after beating West Indies in the first Test match in Galle on Thursday.
Nepal skipper Rubina Chhetry holds the player-of-the-match
trophy after the ICC T20 World Cup Asia Region Qualifiers
match against Kuwait in Dubai on Thursday.
home without further loss.
Rana Magar was bowled by
Maria Jasvi in the fifth ball of
the innings.
Player-of-the-match
Chhetry struck a four in her 10-
ball 12 not out, while Barma re-
matter of time after they fin-
ished day four on a precari-
ous 52-6 at the Galle Interna-
tional Stadium. Both the
overnight batsmen Bonner,
who made 68 not out, and Da
Silva forged a century stand
to frustrate Sri Lanka amid a
rain forecast for Thursday.
Once left-arm spinner La-
sith Embuldeniya (5-46)
broke that stand by removing
Da Silva for 54, West Indies
collapsed in a heap.
Photo Courtesy: CAN
mained unbeaten on 13 off
eight balls that included a
boundary.
Nepal will take on Malaysia
on Friday and wrap up the
tournament with a match
against hosts UAE on Sunday.
Embuldeniya and his spin
colleagues Ramesh Mendis
and Praveen Jayawickrama
shared 18 of the 20 West In-
dies wickets among them-
selves. “It’s a great test for
me,” said home captain Di-
muth Karunaratne who was
adjudged man-of-the-match
for his 147 in Sri Lanka’s first
inning total of 386. “We need
to carry on the good work
and I have some targets to
achieve and I’m glad that
Kathmandu, November 25 for Province-II, while Bibek
Ya d a v a n d A j a y Ya d a v
Province-II and Province-I grabbed two wickets each.
recorded victories in the Wai In reply, Adil Ansari top
Wai U-19 National Cricket scored for Province-I with a
Tournament here today. quick fire 87 not out off 43
Province-II defeated Sudu- balls that included seven
rpashchim Province by two boundaries and six sixes. He
wickets at the TU Stadium. also earned the player-of-
Batting first, Sudurpashchim the-match award for his
were all out for 290 runs in match-winning innings.
41.4 overs before Province-II Amit Yadav missed the half
reached 292-8 with five balls century by a run and he hit
to spare. three fours and two sixes in
Sudurpashchim rode on his 75-ball knock, while Gul-
century from Arjun Saud and san Jha struck two fours and
a solid half century from four sixes in his 53-ball 46.
Lokesh Bam to post the chal- Rohan BK (23), Santosh
lenging total but their efforts Karki (21), Aashish Jha (16),
went in vain. skipper Bibek Yadav (14) and
Wicketkeeper Saud scored Pradip Paswan (nine not out)
a quick fire 116 from 85 balls also chipped in valuable runs
with the help of 14 bounda- for Province-II. Sher Malla
ries and five sixes, while Bam and Narendra Saud took
struck 13 fours and a six in his three wickets each for Sudur-
73-ball 81.
Naresh Bhatta scored 30 off
pashchim, while Hemant
Dhami and Lokesh Bam
33 balls with the help of five grabbed one each.
boundaries, while Basant In another match, Prov-
Karki hit three sixes in his 23- ince-I beat Karnali by 76
ball 27 and captain Gajendra runs. Batting first, Province-I
Bohara scored 16 off 15 balls were all out for 239 runs in 50
that included two fours and a overs before packing Karnali
Players of Province-II and Sudurpashchim Province greet after their Wai Wai U-19
National Cricket Tournament match at the TU Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday.
3PORTING,ISBONJOIN
we’re playing well as a unit.”
His counterpart Kraigg
Brathwaite said the tourists
were on the back foot after
%UROPEANPOWERS
managing 230 in their first Associated Press
innings. “I always believe the
Barcelona, November 25
first innings score was im-
portant and we fell short,” The parade of European powers
the opener said after West In- advancing to the Champions
dies were all out for 160 in League knockout stage on
their second innings. The Wednesday was disrupted by
second and final Test is also Sporting Lisbon completing a
scheduled at Galle from stunning turnaround to join
Monday. them.
Manchester City and Real Ma-
drid are back in the round of 16
after beating teams they lost to
in September. Paris Saint-Ger-
main also go through despite
their 2-1 loss at City after leading
when Kylian Mbappe scored
early in the second half.
Madrid’s 3-0 win at Sheriff —
avenging a 2-1 home defeat to
the champion of Moldova two
months ago — included a goal
for Karim Benzema on a day of
legal trouble for the forward and
ensured Inter Milan also ad-
vanced from Group D by beating
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0.
Three-time European cham-
pion Inter return to the round of
16 after a 10-year absence,
though Sporting ended a 13-year
wait by beating Borussia Dort-
mund 3-1. Pedro Goncalves
scored twice. Sporting seemed
overmatched in September
when routed at home by Ajax
then beaten in Dortmund, but
AP
three straight wins lifted the sur-
prise Portuguese title-winner to
advance with a game to spare.
“Teams grow,” Sporting coach
Anand Mehta top scored for
Province-I with 59 off 82 balls
that included five fours and
two sixes, while skipper Ankit
Subedi struck seven bounda-
ries in his 33-ball 37.
Sonu Mandal (25), Sonu
Ansari (24), Dipak Joshi (23
not out), Sumit Neupane
(18), Rakesh Shah (12) and
Shrawan Kisku (12) chipped
in valuable runs. Anuj Kumar
Chanara, Rupak Dahal and
Yunish Bikram Singh Thakuri
grabbed two wickets each for
Karnali.
In reply, Rupak Dahal
scored an unbeaten 41 off 50
balls hitting two fours and
three sixes, while Manish Ti-
wari scored a quick fire 39 off
28 balls hitting four fours and
two sixes. Raj Prasad Shah
was the next best Karnali
batsman scoring 24 runs.
Player-of-the-match
Shrawan Kisku was the pick
of the Province-I bowlers tak-
ing 4-34, while Luv Kamat
grabbed 3-36 and Gaurav
Katuwal claimed 2-27.
Dipesh Kandel pocketed
one wicket.
Photo Courtesy: CAN
tuguese team in second place in
Group B that promises a tense
final round on December 7.
AC Milan are still in conten-
tion after finding an 87th-min-
ute goal from a 30-year-old
Champions League debutant to
win 1-0 at Atletico Madrid. Jun-
ior Messias’s goal left both teams
on four points with Milan next
hosting Liverpool and last-place
Atlético going to Porto.
Leipzig were missing Ameri-
can coach Jesse Marsch, who
tested positive for COVID-19, yet
overwhelmed Club Brugge 5-0
in Belgium in their battle to fin-
ish third in Group A behind Man
City and PSG. Third-place teams
in Champions League groups
earn a ticket to the second-tier
Europa League knockout play-
offs in February. Dortmund and
Sheriff will be among them.
UEFA makes knockout draws in
all three European club compe-
titions on December 13.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe,
Neymar. PSG coach Mauricio
Pochettino was able to pick his
superstar forward line to face
Pep Guardiola’s Man City with-
out a typical center forward or
Kevin De Bruyne because of a
COVID-19 infection.
City still had enough despite
failing to turn first-half domi-
nance into goals and falling be-
hind to Mbappe’s goal in the
50th. Raheem Sterling struck
with a classic City tap-in goal in

@!USTRALIACONSIDERSDIPLOMATICBOYCOTTOF"EIJING/LYMPICS Rúben Amorim said. “It’s great,

Reuters
Sydney, November 25
Australia is considering not
sending any government offi-
cials to the Winter Olympics to
be held in Beijing next year fol-
lowing calls from lawmakers for
an official diplomatic boycott,
the Sydney Morning Herald said
in a report on Thursday.
Australian politicians from the
ruling Liberal-National coalition
and the opposition Labor party
are urging the federal govern-
ment to boycott the event, which
will be held in February, the
newspaper reported without cit-
ing a source. “A decision on (Aus-
tralia’s) representation at the Bei-
jing Winter Olympics is yet to be
made,” a spokesperson for
Sports Minister Richard Colbeck
said in an emailed response.
Australia’s foreign affairs depart-
ment did not respond to a re-
quest seeking comment.
China firmly opposes the po-
liticisation of the Olympics, for-
eign ministry spokesman Zhao
Lijian told a briefing on Thurs-
day. Attempts at a boycott will
not succeed, he added. Against
the backdrop of US concerns
about China’s human rights re-
cord, President Joe Biden last
week said the United States was
considering a diplomatic boy-
cott of the Olympics.
A diplomatic boycott would
involve not sending a delegation
of officials, but allowing athletes
to participate. Britain has not
made any decision on who will
represent its government at the
Olympics, but Prime Minister
Boris Johnson does not support
the idea of boycotts, his spokes-
man said earlier this week.
The Australian government
will await the Biden administra-
tion’s decision before any com-
mitment to a diplomatic boycott,
the report in the Sydney Morning
Herald said. Both the United
States and Britain are allies of
Australia and the countries in
September entered into a securi-
ty partnership to help Australia
build nuclear submarines. The
trilateral deal riled China, the
major rising power in the In-
do-Pacific region. Australia’s re-
lationship with China, its largest
trading partner, soured after it
banned Huawei Technologies Co
Ltd from its 5G broadband net-
work in 2018 and called for an
independent investigation into
the origins of COVID-19.
good for the project, but we still
have a lot to do.” Ajax and Liver-
pool extended their dominating
group-stage campaigns with
fifth straight wins.
Ajax’s 2-1 win at Besiktas came
thanks to two goals from re-
cord-setting forward Sebastien
Haller, who came on as a substi-
tute. Haller has now scored in his
first five career Champions
League games and is the fastest
player to get to nine goals in the
competition.
Liverpool cruised to a 2-0 win
over Porto and moved an aston-
ishing 10 points clear of the Por-
the 63rd and, after Neymar wast-
ed a clear chance, Gabriel Jesus
won it in the 77th with a scuffed
shot that beat PSG goalkeeper
Keylor Navas.
Pochettino eliminated City
from the Champions League in
the same stadium as Tottenham
coach three seasons ago, and
there is speculation he could be
back in Manchester soon as
United coach. Both Manchester
teams have won their groups
and will be seeded in the Round
of 16 draw. Inter Milan are head-
ing to the Champions League
knockout stage for the first time
in 10 years.
 CMYK
PAGE 8 www.thehimalayantimes.com THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021

VARIETY

3TANDINGTOGETHER
The event also saw poem
recitation and traditional
dance show that highlighted
women’s plight in our patri-
to end violence archal society. The poem ti-
tled Aamako Atyachar by
Ashmita Badi narrated the
story of the poet’s mother
who was a victim of patriar-
differently-abled women
and those from sexual mi-
norities who have been de-
nied even their basic rights
Gear up for AWON
and are the victims of the
state’s indifference.
The event ended with the
Bazaar on Nov 27
K
Patan Museum Courtyard ATHMANDU: The carpets, clothes, food
and the Dharahara being lit annual AWON Ba- items, ... et cetera. This

!'!).347/-%. chal ideology due to which

sharing their stories on stage
as well as virtually.
Jenny Khadka, an acid at-
tack survivor from Kalanki,
said, “My husband threw
acid on my body as I was
staying away from him for
some time due to our per-
sonal differences. Life has
been difficult for me since
Himalayan News Service gender-based violence. then as I even have difficul-
Kathmandu Speaking dur ing the ties in breathing properly. I
event, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, call on the authorities to in-
established the mechanism
for crime mapping in all 77
districts to analyse crime in-
cident patterns and to mini-
mise them. The police has
been working with local
communities in all districts
to reduce gender-based vio-
lence against women.”
“she (poet’s mother) forced
me (poet) to follow women’s
traditional roles as home-
makers from an early age”.
Likewise, dancer Subima
Shrestha performed a Kath-
ak dance to a song based on
the real life experience of
Gauri Bista, a survivor of do-
mestic violence and a wom-
en’s rights activist from Doti.
The women activists also
highlighted the plights of
simultaneously in orange
colour — a symbol of a
bright future, free from
violence against women
and girls, as per Ashmita
Shrestha, the event’s host.
The event also marked the
beginning of the “16 days of
continuous activism against
gender-based violence
through various pro-
grammes with similar
themes held across the
country” as per Ashmita.
zaar is scheduled to
take place at The Soaltee
Kathmandu on November
27. A press release issued
by the hotel quotes Baba
Sarkar Shrestha, President
of the Active Women Of
Nepal (AWON), as saying
the AWON Bazaar is one
of the biggest fundraisers
where they promote local
products and it serves as a
bridge between vendors
and clients. Expatriates go
to this bazaar for holiday
shopping where vendors
sell goods at a fairly rea-
sonable price while one
year, due to the COVID-19
pandemic, we will only
have 75 per cent of what
we usually have, and with
social distancing,” the re-
lease quotes Shrestha as
saying. The Soaltee Kath-
mandu will have a food
stall that will sell food at
discounted price, Turkish
Airlines has provided a
business class ticket to
Kathmandu-US-Kath-
mandu, and Nepal Air-
lines Corporation has pro-
vided two Kathman-
du-Delhi-Kathmandu
business class tickets to

C
ommemorating UN Resident Coordinator in troduce strict laws so that can enjoy a full day of out- be sold at a silent auction
the International the country said, “It has other women don’t end up ing for family with activi- on the day of the bazaar,
Day for the Elimi- been 30 years since the Unit- with a similar fate like mine.” ties like games, face paint- as per the release. The
nation of Vio- ed Nations has been organ- Issues ranging from sexual ing, live music et cetera. funds generated will go
lence Against ising the annual event abuse at an early age, and “We usually have above towards the scholarship of
Women, that falls on No- around the world on No- domestic violence, to work- 100 tables selling indige- 85 children AWON has
vember 25, the United Na- vember 25. However, the vi- place sexual harassment of nous goods from shawls, been supporting. — HNS
tions (UN) in Nepal held an olence against women women professionals were
event with the theme ‘Or- hasn’t much abated despite rife in the stories narrated
ange the World: End Vio- our concerted efforts to end during the event.
lence against Women Now!’ it and the ongoing pandem- Most of the speakers re-
at Patan Durbar Square ic has only added to the quested the government SUDOKU-4471
Courtyard on the day. women’s existing problems. and all authorities con-
The event that called for Hence, still much needs to cerned to fight for the rights
the prevention and elimina- be done for women empow- of women and protect them
tion of violence against erment in the country and from being vicitimised.
women and girls around the the annual event has been Sharing about the govern-
world saw a host of foreign helpful to bring everyone to- ment’s efforts to protect
delegates, national guests, gether to fight for women’s women from violence, Ram-
along with local women genuine cause.” hari Sharma, Under Secre-
sharing their views and The event also saw wom- tary at Ministry of Home Af-
personal accounts of en survivors of violence fairs, said, “We have already
Photos: THT

she was seen hosting the red

s9/52,5#+ carpet at the American Music

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: You are a seeker in life who is an idealist. You

2APPER2AJA Awards, which makes her the
first Indian person of Indian
origin to host the ceremony of YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

+UMARITOPERFORM
also have common sense and a good sense of humour. The theme this scale. She was seen hosting
of service will be in your life this year, which is why you have to take pre-ceremony activities.
care of yourself so you can be helpful to others, especially family.
Her heart-hitting lyrics and HOW TO SOLVE:
Actually, it’s a good year for a personal makeover.
Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from
11:00 am to 9:30 pm EST today (8:00 am to 6:30 pm PST). After
that, the Moon moves from Leo into Virgo.
IN#APITAL rhyming lines her hip-hop
tracks like City Slums and I’m A
Rebel, and film songs The
Wakhra Song from the movie
Every number from 1 to 9
must appear in each of the
9 vertical columns, in each of
the 9 horizontal rows
Judgementall Hai Kya (2019) and in each of the 9 boxes
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Whoa, Nellie!” Be careful facebook.com
today, because this day is a Moon Alert. The good and Husan Parcham from the

K
news is it’s a creative day for you! It’s a fabulous ATHMANDU: Svetha
day to schmooze and socialise with others, so get Yallapragada Rao aka
out and have fun! However, during the Moon Alert, Raja Kumari, an Indi-
restrict your spending to food and gas. Don’t shop. Tonight: Be an-American songwriter,
helpful. ✹✹✹✹ recording artiste and rap-
per, is making her way to
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): This is an excellent day to
Nepal on December 4 to
entertain at home and enjoy warm family discussions,
especially with a female relative. You will enjoy co- perform live in the Capital.
cooning at home and settling down in front of the TV Confirming her perfor-
with your favourite snacks, because most of this day mance at Club Fahrenheit
is a Moon Alert. Tonight: Relax. ✹✹✹ in the Capital’s tourist hub
of Thamel, the artiste post-
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are a curious person ed a video on her official
who loves catching up on gossip. You also love an Instagram Handle theraja-
adoring peanut gallery. Today is a great day to kumari sharing the details
schmooze! Enjoy short trips, appointments and er- of her arrival.
rands; however, restrict shopping to food and gas. In the video, the 35-year-
Postpone important decisions. Tonight: Home and family. ✹✹✹✹ old says, “I am coming
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Be careful: Today the to Nepal on December 4,
Moon is in your Money House, and it’s a Moon Alert. 2021 to perform live at
Therefore, be careful! Postpone important financial Club Fahrenheit, Kath-
negotiations. When it comes to spending money, re- mandu. See you all there.
strict purchases to food and gas. Be safe and protect Love you all.”
your assets. Tonight: Communicate. ✹✹✹ Sharing that Kumari’s
live performance is mainly
LEO (July 23-Aug 22): This is a fun-loving, upbeat day! targeted to promote tour-
Enjoy schmoozing with others and exploring the arts, ism and the revival of
social outings and sports events. You also might enjoy Thamel, Milan Shrestha,
playful activities with kids. However, note that today
Founder and CEO of the
is a Moon Alert, which means you should restrict
spending to food and gas. Tonight: Money issues. ✹✹✹✹✹
Club said, “It’s been one-
and-a-half years that the
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22): This is a good day to hunker tourism industry of Nepal
down at home and enjoy family discussions. However, has been struggling to sur-
agree to nothing important, because today is a Moon vive, and so is the case with
Alert. Therefore, relax and have a good time today. Thamel. By bringing in Ku-
Socialise with others in a low-key way, but restrict
shopping to food and gas. Tonight: You win! ✹✹✹✹
LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22): Today the Moon is in your
House of Friendships. Furthermore, it’s a Moon
Alert. Keep things light. Avoid important decisions.
How Smith coped with
Nevertheless, you will enjoy warm times with friends
and relating to groups. Do not volunteer for anything.
Tonight: Enjoy solitude. ✹✹✹✹
his first real heartbreak
L
OS ANGELES: Holly-
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): You are high-viz today. wood star Will Smith
People will notice you more than usual, especially revealed that he de-
bosses, parents, VIPs and the police. Because today veloped a “psychosomatic
is a Moon Alert, just coast. Make no important deci- reaction” to having an or-
sions. Don’t shop (except for food). Easy does it. gasm after having his heart
Tonight: Be friendly. ✹✹✹ broken by his first serious
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): This is an exciting girlfriend when he was 16.
day, because you can explore new ideas, talk to He had earlier revealed
people from different backgrounds and possibly travel she was a “beautiful” girl
— all things that you enjoy doing. The thing to named Melanie who was
remember is that most of this day is a Moon Alert, unfaithful to him while he
which means restrict spending to food and gas. Tonight: Someone was away on tour. Smith —
admires you. ✹✹✹✹✹ who has 29-year-old son
Trey from a previous rela-
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): Be careful, because to-
tionship and Jaden, 23, and
day the Moon is in one of your Money Houses, specifi-
Willow, 21, with wife Jada
cally the one relating to shared income, debt and tax-
es. Because of the Moon Alert, make no important de- Pinkett — replied to the
cisions regarding these matters. If shopping, restrict end of his relationship by
spending to food and gas. Tonight: Explore! ✹✹✹ pursuing “rampant sexual
intercourse”, but it only left
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): You will have to go more him feeling more troubled.
than halfway when dealing with others today, be- He wrote in his new
cause the Moon is opposite your sign. Hey, no biggie. memoir Will: “I desperately
It simply requires cooperation and tolerance. Be need relief but as there is
aware of the restrictions of the Moon Alert. Tonight: no pill for heartbreak, I
Check your finances. ✹✹ resorted to the homeo-
PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Because of the Moon Alert pathic remedies of
today, you might be frustrated at work because short- shopping and rampant
ages and confused decisions might dog your foot- sexual intercourse.
steps. Postpone important decisions. Restrict spend- “Up until this point in
ing money to food and gas. Nevertheless, this is an my life, I had only had sex
upbeat, playful day. Tonight: Be cooperative. ✹✹✹✹ with one woman other
than Melanie, but over the
Born today: Singer Tina Turner (1939), actor Peter Facinelli (1973), actress next few months, I went
Tamsin Egerton (1988) By Georgia Nicols full ghetto hyena. I had sex
The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult with so many women, and
it was so constitutionally
Published by: International Media Network Nepal (Pvt) Ltd, APCA House, Baidya Khana Road, Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO Box 11651 Phone: 4770358, E-mail: editorial@thehimalayantimes.com Regd No 143/051/052 Postal Regd. 62/072/73 Printed at: Sama Printers (Pvt) Ltd, Sainbu, Lalitpur. Acting Editor: Rajan Pokhrel
mari, we want to spread the in the classical arts by the movie Zero (2018), managed
message that Nepal is safe Governor of Tamil Nadu, India. to quite a buzz around the
to travel to, and that we Recently on November 24, world. — HNS
are ready to welcome
international guests.”
He added, “Kumari is a
global artiste and we be-
lieve her presence will
have a positive impact on
Nepal’s tourism.”
Furthermore, Shrestha
hopes the event will live up
to rap music enthusiasts’
expectations hoping for it
to be a “surreal experience
for the audience as they
will be witnessing a mega
musician and event
after years.”
Kumari, whose first sin-
gle was Mute, is best known
for her collaboration with
artistes like Iggy Azalea,
Fifth Harmony, Knife Party,
Gwen Stefani and Fall Out
Boy. Nominated for the
Grammys in 2015, Kumari
has received the BMI Pop
award for song writing and
has also been featured in
Bobby Friction, a pro-
gramme on BBC Asia Net-
work. She has also been
honoured with the Kohi-
noor Award for excellence
AP
disagreeable to the core of
my being, that I developed
a psychosomatic reaction
to having an orgasm. It
would literally make me
gag and sometimes even
vomit.” The 53-year-old ac-
tor said he was desperately
trying to find love with the
sexual encounters.
He added: “In every case,
though, I hoped to God this
beautiful stranger would
be ‘the one’ who would
love me, who would make
this pain go away. But in-
variably, there I was, retch-
ing and wretched. And the
look in the eyes of the
women even further
deepened my agony.”
Elsewhere in the book,
the star recalled how he
thought he would “die
trying” to satisfy Jada in
the early stages of their
relationship. — IANS