Govt fiat against anti-poll elements - Bharkhar.com

PAGE 2www.thehimalayantimes.comCAPITALTHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013Adhikari couple toresume hungerstrike from todayHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Nanda Prasad Adhikari and his wifeGanga Maya Adhikari of Fujel,Gorkha, have decided to resume theirhunger strike to make the governmentbook those who killed their son KrishnaPrasad in Chitwan nine years ago.“In the name of relief, governmentofficials have pledged to provide ustwo million rupees and return theproperty that the Maoists haveseized,” said Noor Prasad, the couple’selder son. “But money is not what wewant. We want justice.”This morning, Noor Prasad had ameeting with human rights activistsand civil society leaders, includingKanak Mani Dixit, Krishna Gautam,Charan Prasain, Suresh Bhatta andSudip Pathak.Prasain, chairman of the Joint Forumfor Human Rights, said, “We havetold the couple that resuming thestrike is not appropriate, but the decisionis theirs. We have also told themthat we will hold negotiations with thegovernment on the basis of a threepointagreement reached with the victim’sside.” According to Noor, his parentswill resume the fast at Bir Hospitalfrom 11 am tomorrow. “We willstage protests on the streets ofBaluwatar once my parents are dischargedfrom the hospital,” he added.Nanda Prasad Adhikari and GangaMaya Adhikari first started theirhunger strike at Baluwatar on July 21.They were admitted to Bir Hospitalon August 12 after they fell ill. The couplecalled off a 47-day-long fast-untodeathon September 8 after the governmentassured them of justice andarrested Ram Prasad Adhikari, a suspect.However, the Chitwan DistrictCourt acquitted Ram Prasad on September31. The Adhikaris have beenaccusing the government and policeof ‘doing nothing’ to arrest and prosecutethe culprits.A man blessing Nepali Congress candidate Gagan Thapa during his election campaign, at Chabahil, Kathmandu, on Wednesday; Unified CPN-MaoistChairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal waving to locals during a door-to-door poll campaign in Kirtipur.Dipak Manange released on bailHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Don Rajiv Gurung alias Dipak Manange,arrested for accumulating illegalassets worth millions of rupees,walked free after posing bail at theSpecial Court today.On August 20, the Special Courthad set Rs 29 million bail on him inTSC to publish teachers’ examresults by end of NovemberHimalayan News ServiceBhaktapur, October 23The Teachers’ Service Commission,the governmentbody which appoints teachersfor community schools,will publish results of permanentteachers’ examsheld on May 23-25 afterConstituent Assembly polls.The exams were held forselection of 2,286 teachersat the secondary level, 2,793at the lower secondary leveland 7,980 teachers the primarylevel. A total of 61,620applicants had applied forvacant positions at the secondarylevel, 168,184 forlower secondary level postsand 250,954 for primary levelposts. The TSC said it isdone with what it called‘first-phase marking’ of answersheets. Udaya Raj Soti,TSC chairperson, said thecommission is currently reexaminingthe sheets in thesecond phase to avoid errors.He informed that thecorrection work will be overbefore CA polls. Soti saidTSC will publish the resultsby November-end.“It would not have beenpossible for us to publishthe results of all levels invarious districts. Moreover,publishing results for reservationquotas would havetaken more time. Completingthese tasks will take afew days more,” he said. Theenforcement of the ElectionCode of Conduct means theTSC cannot publish resultsbefore polls.Soti said TSC would haverequested the EC to allow itto follow its own schedule ifthere were chances of delayscausing adverse impacts.We decided to publishthe results only afterpolls also because we tooare not ready for the resultsyet, he said. “Novemberendwould be suitable for ustoo,” he added.connection with a money launderingcharge. It had sent him to jail afterthe don failed to post bail.“As he deposited 18 ropani and 15ana of land belonging tohis relatives, we released him,” NatibabuLamichhane, Special Courtregistrar, told this daily. According toLamichhane, the land at Sundarijalis worth Rs 33.3 millions.The Money Laundering Investigationhad filed money launderingcharges against dons, includingManange, Ganesh Lama, ParshuramBasnet, Chakre Milan, and AbhishekGiri, on May 19. Manange facescharges of accumulating propertyworth Rs 147. 03 millions by resortingto extortion and other criminalactivities.Three Chinese drugsmugglers in CIB netHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Groping in thedark with no lead• The Chinese were caught withthe 15-kg consignment atSinamangal• Language barrier is hamperinginvestigation• Police suspect that the substanceis a raw material foramphetamine, a performancebooster and cognitive enhancer• The consignment was mostprobably bound for China,says an officialSleuths from the Central InvestigationBureau today rounded upthree Chinese nationals fromSinamangal while they were tryingto push a consignment ofphychoactive substance into anundisclosed foreign country viathe Tribhuvan International Airport.The arrested are YangChengquan, 45, Yang Muchang,41, and Zheng Xu Ming, 43, of Fujian,China.Acting on an intelligence input,a team from the Nepal Policeunit held the trio with 15 kg ofpsychoactive drug from Sinamangal,which is close to thecountry’s only international airport,informed Superintendentof Police Pitambar Adhikari. Anofficial suspected that the threemay have tried to smuggle thedrug into China.Police suspect that the seizedsubstance found in 24 plasticpackets is a raw material for amphetamine.Police have sentsamples to a forensic lab foridentification. Officials havebeen having a tough time interrogatingthe Chinese, thanks tothe language barrier. They havehired a translator to ease the investigationprocess underway atthe Narcotics Control Bureau.As per the Narcotic Drug Act,the arrestees face a fine of Rs100,000 to 200,00 and imprisonmentof two to 10 years.Amphetamine is also used as aperformance booster and cognitiveenhancer due to its ergogenicand nootropic effects.• IN BRIEFKidney treatmentKATHMANDU: Only two youth fromdisadvantaged communities have sofar availed themselves of treatmentfor kidney diseases. About five yearsago, then government had introduceda programme to provide freetreatment to kidney patients fromcommunities that are on the verge ofextinction. The government providesfree dialysis services to kidney patientsfrom such communities. Incourse of five years, Indra KumarLepcha, 27, of Ilam, and Lal BahadurChepang, 24, of Dhading have receivedfree dialysis treatment, accordingto the National Kidney Centre.The government also provides afinancial assistance of two lakh rupeesto poor patients requiring a kidneytransplant. The government hasalso been providing free dialysis servicesto kidney patients aged 75 yearsand above. So far, around 40 eldershave benefited from this service, accordingto the centre. Anyone with afailed kidney has to undergo dialysisthree times a week until a kidney istransplanted. A dialysis session costsabout Rs 3,000. — RSSPolice office openedLALITPUR: Additional InspectorGeneral of Police Navaraj Dhakal onWednesday inaugurated the newlyconstructed building of MetropolitanPolice Sector at Lubu in Lalitpur district.The police office building wasconstructed with financial assistancefrom the Peace Fund under the Ministryof Peace and Reconstruction. Anold building of the MPS Lubhu wasdestroyed during the decade-longMaoist insurgency. AIGP Dhakal informedthat the building was constructedas per the commitment ofthe ministry to construct all 765 policeunits damaged or destroyed duringthe conflict that caused damageto national infrastructure. — HNSTHTA vendor waiting for customers at her shop, in Ason, Kathmandu, on Wednesday.The demand for flowers andgarlands soars during Tihar, which is around the corner.Deal to supply anti-snake venom in a monthHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23The government has signed an agreementwith a foreign company for thesupply of 5,000 vials of anti-snake venom.The Logistics Management Divisionof the Department of Health Serviceshas inked the agreement with thecompany for the supply of the antisnakevenom within a month, said GDThakur, Director of the Epidemiologyand Disease Control Division.He said the supply will take care ofthe country’s emergency requirements.Every year, the government imports30,000 vials of the antidote from Indiato treat patients in a country, wherearound 3,000 people suffer snakebiteeach year and more than 100 die forwant of treatment.Instances of snakebite and deathrates due to the same are higher inTarai districts compared to the districtsin the hills.He further said, “Last year, a companyprovided only 20,000 vials of antisnakevenom and failed to supply8,000 vials as ordered.”To meet the yawning shortfall, theWorld Health Organisation donated4,000 vials that were supplied to regionswhere number of snakebite patientsis higher.THTThakur said the company concernedwill supply 8,000 vials in twomonths. A month ago, the governmenthad informed that its plan toprocure anti snake-venom had sufferedwith representatives of the suppliercompany remaining out of contactfor long.Dr Tara Pokharel, head of the LMD,had informed, “The government’splan to buy 5,000 doses of anti-snakevenom has hit a snag with companyofficials staying out of contact forlong.”If we cannot reach them within thisweek, we will contact another companyand procure the venom as soon aspossible,” he had said.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013CAPITALwww.thehimalayantimes.comPAGE 3Rs 1.2bn budget for PashupatiGovt to provide PADT Rs 250 million as grant this yearHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23The Pashupati Area DevelopmentTrust (PADT) isannouncing its budget andprogrammes for the currentfiscal year tomorrow.“We have made allpreparations for presentingthe budget and programmesfor the currentfiscal year tomorrow,” saidDr Govind Tandan, member-secretaryat the PADT.“We are presenting anRs 1.22 billion budget andprogrammes for this fiscal.”For the current fiscal, thePADT has doubled its budget,which got delayed bythree months. The PADThad presented an Rs 500million budget last fiscal.The government willprovide Rs 250 milliongrant to the PADT for thecurrent fiscal. “PADT willmobilise internal resources,including devotees’donations to thePashupatinath Temple, tomeet the budget shortfall,”said Tandan.Till the end of the last fiscal,the PADT had earnedRs 110 million from the donationsthat devotees hadoffered.Hundreds of Hindudevotees visit the PashupatinathTemple every day.“We have prioritised developmentand preservationof the heritage site,”Tandan said. The budgetwill be spent on eight projects,including the renovationand conservation ofthe heritage site, constructionof an electric crematorium,establishment oftourist information centreand land acquisition.The temple, which is believedto be more than2,500 years old, is a UN-ESCO World Heritage Site.There are more than 500monuments, includingtemples, abodes, statues,and shelters, on the heritagesite premises.As part of its budget andprogrammes, the PADTalso plans to pave stonesalong the 250-metreJayabageshwori-Aryaghatroad.A dispute in the 17-member PADT council haddelayed budget for this fiscal,according to PADTsources.The members had accusedthe PADT of sideliningthem while developingprogrammes for preservationand development ofthe temple.“We have formed a fivemembersub-committee towork transparently on issuesrelated to the programmes,”said Tandan.“The budget and programmeswill be approvedtomorrow without anyhassle,” he claimed.This year, the PADT willexpedite formulation of thefollow-up programme as itsRs 2.03 billion 10-year masterplan has achieved onlyabout 25 per cent of itsgoals. The plan formulatedin 1988 was amended in1996 and the governmenthad approved the same in1999.The 10-year plan wasaimed at preservation ofthe Pashupatinath area‚promotion of its religiousand cultural environmentand development of its aestheticand artistic value.Developing a centre of faith• The budget, which got delayedby three months,will be spent on eight projects.They include renovationand conservationof the heritage site, constructionof an electriccrematorium, establishmentof a tourist informationcentre and land acquisition• PADT also plans to pavethe 250-metreJayabageshwori-Aryaghat road• The trust will also expediteformulation of a follow-upprogramme as its• Rs 2.03 billion 10-yearmaster plan has achievedonly about 25 per cent ofits goals

PAGE 4www.thehimalayantimes.comPOTPOURRITHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013BLONDIE Dean Young and Denis LebrunDENNIS Hank KetchamHAGAR Chris BrowneBEETLE BAILEY Mort WalkerHOCUS FOCUS Henry BoltinoffBEAU PEEP Andrew Christine and Roger Kettle• ENGAGEMENTSFINE CUISINE AND GETAWAYS“Asian Barbecue & Mountain Documentaries” at The TerraceGarden, Radisson New Wing. Every Friday, 6:00 pm onwards atRs. 1500 nett per person with a complimentary drink. Contact:4411818 Ext. 1312Mongolian BBQ: Every Friday Evening from 7:00 pm onwards atShangri~La Village Resort, Pokhara only @ Rs.1099 Nett perperson (Includes a glass of Mocktail ) and featuring TraditionalMusic. For more details and Reservation: 061462222 Extn: 5055.Happiness Happens: Enjoy Continental, Chinese, Nepali, Newari,Indian food in a new modified version i.e. Fusion version with alltime favorite songs played live by Lucky Sitaula and His Bandevery Wednesday, Friday and Saturday @ Fusion Restro andBar,Jhamsikhel, Just opposite of St.Mary’s Parking, ForReservation:5009076.”Bubbly Brunch: Every Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm @ ShambalaGarden & Club Sundhara where you can enjoy Live Shawarma &Pasta only @ Rs.1100 Nett per person ( Includes a glass ofSparkling Wine). For further details call Hotel Shangri~La,Kathmandu at 4412999 Extn. 7520, 7515.Starry Night BBQ: Every Friday evening from 7 p.m. onwards atShambala Garden Cafe, Hotel Shangri-la. Only @ Rs. 1499 nettper person with Live Performance by Ciney Gurung. For moredetails and reservation: 4412999 Ext: 7520 / 7515Escape the hustle & bustle of Kathmandu and enjoy peace andtranquility, good food and fresh air at Shivapuri Heights Cottagefrom Rs.3500.00 to Rs.4500.00 per person per night inclusive ofdinner and breakfast. Contact Sohan: 9841371927, Steve:9802012245 or e-mail:info@shivapuricottage.comEVENTEnjoy our weekly event: Sunday: Live Instrumental Piano By SunilSingh, Monday: Live Instrumental Piano By Sunil Singh, Tuesday:Salsa Workshop with Riyaz Shrestha, Wednesday: Live Sufimusic by Hemanta Rana, Thursday: Live Instrumental Piano BySunil Singh, Friday: Live Acoustic performance by DharmendraSewan, Saturday: Live preformance by Hem Lama. Venue:Tamarind Restro and bar; Jamshikhel, Lalitpur; Damkal road;Opposite St. Mary’s school, Ph -5522626 (for bookings)For listing in this column, mail your events toengagements@thehimalayantimes.com1 2 3 4 5 6 79 1011 12 1314 1516 17 18 19Across: 1 Worthless persons or mischievouschildren (6) - 4 Observation(arch.). (6) - 9 Pen something forsomebody, should we say ? (5,2) - 10African antelope (5) - 11 African lake -“as any” anagram ? (5) - 12 Descriptiveterm (7) - 14 Part played by an actor(4) - 16 ____ down : defeated,overwhelmed, or overcame ? (5) - 18Burnt down in fire, etc. (5) - 21 Inspires,frightens (4) - 24 Look after,hold dear (7) - 26 Fighting female fromIsrael (5) - 28 Custom or practice (5) -820 21 22 2324 25 26 2728 2930 31Quick Clues• WHAT’S ONNTV0830 Bikash Bahas0900 News in Nepali0905 Suseli0930 Lok Suseli1005 Hamro Kathmandu1030 Shanti Abhiyan1130 Haatemalo1220 Aadha Aakash1305 Samaya Sandarbha1430 Kinara1505 Bimbha Pratibimbha1530 35MM1705 Sthaniya Sarokar1730 Sankha1805 Hamro Uddhyam1825 Hamro Kathmandu1838 Krishakko Sarokar1900 News in Nepali1925 Jana SwaysthyaBahas2000 News in Nepali2050 Tito Satya2200 Nepal Mandal2230 The NewsSTARPLUS1815 Iss Pyaar Ko KyaNaam Doon1845 Sapno Se Pyara EkGhar Banaunga1915 Saath NibhaanaSaathiya1945 Saraswatichandra2015 Meri Bhabhi2045 Mahabharat2115 Diya Aur Baati Hum2145 Yeh Rishta Kya KehlataHai2215 Pyar Ka Dard Hai2245 VeeraSTARWORLD0915 MasterChef Australia1015 Castle1115 Once Upon A Time1215 Two and a Half Men1315 MasterChef Australia1415 Once Upon A Time1515 CastleHimalayan Double Crossword — 610729 Care for, cherish or foster (7) - 30Tears, breaks or divides (6) - 31 Behindboat (6).Down: 1 Doing needlework ? (6) - 2“In at a” change for a girl’s name ? (5)- 3 Make or get ready for use or action? (7) - 5 The desert in Israel (5) - 6Scott’s famous novel (7) - 7 A shed orother small outhouse with a slopingroof (4-2) - 8 Division of alimentarycanal below stomach, intestine (5) -13 ‘Father’ in French (4) - 15 Haremrooms (4) - 17 It may be worn by a factoryworker (7) - 19 Arranges in types,1615 The Simpsons1645 Two and a Half Men1715 MasterChef Australia1815 Castle1915 One Tree Hill2015 The Simpsons2045 Two and a Half Me2115 MasterChef Australia2215 ArrowZEE TV1815 Khelti Hai ZindagiAankh Micholi1845 Pavitra Rishta1915 Ek Mutthi Aasmaan1945 Sapne SuhaneLadakpan Ke2015 Jodha Akbar2045 Do Dil Bandhe...2115 Pavitra Rishta2145 Qubool Hai2215 Khelti Hai ZindagiAankh Micholi2245 Punar VivaahTENSPORTS0845 ATP 1000Masters 2013:Shanghai Rolex MastersShanghai1015 UEFA ChampionsLeague 2013/14:Manchester Unitedvs. Real Sociedad1620 ON HBO1415 FIVB Beach VolleyballWorld Tour & WorldCh’p 2013: ReviewSeason1445 WWE: Raw1745 ATP 500Series 2013: Wf 1:Swiss Indoors Basel2240 UEFA Europa League2013/14: Liberec vs.Sevilla FcSTARSPORTS1515 Australia Tour ofIndia 20131815 Australia Tour ofEngland 20131845 Duleep Trophy 20132115 Jai Ho2145 England Tour of India20122215 Pl Netbusters2245 Duleep Trophy 20132315 Australia Tour ofEngland 2013HBO0850 Killer Elite1045 Dark Shadows1235 Lost In Translation1415 About Schmidt1620 Dolphin Tale1815 Paranorman1945 Safe House2140 Boardwalk Empire2240 Source CodeCINEMAX0805 Maverick1015 American History X1215 High School High1345 True Grit1550 Mississippi Burning1800 Above The Law1945 Urban Legends:Bloody Mary2115 Grabbers2250 Poison Ivy: The SecretSocietyclassifies (7) - 20 Cleans by hard rubbing(6) - 22 Wail or bemoan (5) - 23Subside, yield to pressure ? (4,2) - 25Inactive or motionless (5) - 27 Animaltype (5).Cryptic CluesAcross: 1 Crusty point for a taxi-driver? (6) - 4 We hear Charles has a ridingboot (6) - 9 That’s near the fire - andthe metal, too (7) - 10 Northern townirreversibly threatened? Not entirely(5) - 11 Many on the move in Africa (5)- 12 Hot, dry, I repaired the gland (7) -14 Funny Ernie should seem so sensible(4) - 16 Form of penicillin ? (5) - 18See what’s nearly the best but hangdown ! (5) - 21 Dripping with unction?(4) - 24 Something to chew with jelliesin clubs (7) - 26 Indian grub sheddingchrysalis finally to emerge in independentstate (5) - 28 Depends on takinggold from Orleans (5) - 29 Declare aman turned aside (7) - 30 Differentsetter presenting new trial (6) - 31 Newstar I’d follow is a girl (6).Down: 1 Excitedly chants,“Grab!’ (6) -2 Join in the ballad,don’t be shy ! (3,2)- 3 Flighty creature ran round in thestadium (4-3) - 5 Leisure pursuit withearly bicycle (5) - 6 An opening for anopener (7) - 7 Cleans out a ship containinglarge number of greenflies, forexample (6) - 8 Do they determine thecarpenter’s speed of working ? (5) - 13He will shortly be seen in this hot place(4) - 15 A much revered figure notworking, we hear (4) - 17 Auto manufacturermeeting a lieutenant in “TheAncient Mariner”? (3,4) - 19 Rosy setabout the fish course (7) - 20 Graduatedline right for a fare dodger (6) - 22Faith making one a big hit (5) - 23 Assembledand in bed (6) - 25 Getslighter, rough seas being on the way,however (5) - 27 Man gets too confused,entering drive (5).Yesterday’s solutionC A R C I N O G E N GU O E I E V E RT P O W E R S EH O P I D D A H L I AI N E E L A TP A N G L A M E N T E DP O H A E AO R D E R I N G A X O ND E O N A M ER U S S I A O A I M SO A C O L O N IM O A N E I D RE D I S P A R A G E SQUICKO L D M A S T E R S IE I T R H O U RA N A R E S A IO N Y X A E C H O E SU E L D O U HT U G S D I S T A N C EB U L A C XA L L S W E L L B E A TL A A A R U RA U G U R S R M E S AN P A L I S P CC E N T V E E AE O V E R S T R U N GCRYPTIC• FLIGHT SCHEDULEINTERNATIONALFROM-TO DAYS DEPT/ARRV FLIGHT NOAIR ARABIAKTM-SHJ-KTM DAILY 1345/1305 G9532/G9531KTM-SHJ-KTM MON,THU,SUN 2225/2145 G9534/G9533KTM-SHJ-KTM DAILY 2125/2045 G9536/G9535AIR ASIAKTM-KUL-KTM TUE, THU 1530/1400 D7193/194AIR INDIAKTM-DEL-KTM SUN TO FRI 1000/0905 AI214/AI213KTM-DEL-KTM SUN TO FRI 1540/1455 AI216/AI215KTM-CCU-KTM SAT,MON,TUE,THU 1605/1515 AI248/247AIR CHINAKTM-LXA-KTM TUE,THU,SAT 1130/1030 CA408/CA407KTM-CTU-KTM WED, FRI,SUN 1130/1030 CA438/CA437KTM-CTU-KTM TUE,THU,SAT 1130/1030 CA408/CA407BIMAN BANGLADESH AIRLINESKTM-DAC-KTM SUN,FRI 1210/1110 BG702/701KTM-DAC-KTM WED 1440/1340 BG702/701DRAGON AIRKTM-HKG-KTM WED, FRI, SUN 2330/2230 KA191/192ETIHAD AIRWAYSKTM-AUH-KTM SUN,TUE,THU,FRI 2120/2005 EY293/292KTM-AUH-KTM MON,WED,SAT 1740/1615 EY291/290KOREAN AIRKTM-ICN-KTM MON,FRI 1355/1225 KE696/695NEPAL AIRLINESKTM-BKK-KTM MON, FRI 1155/1925 RA401/402KTM-HKG-KTM TUE, THU, SAT 1135/2150 RA 409/410KTM-KUL-KTM DAILY 2330/1035 RA415/416KTM-DOH SUN, TUE, THU, FRI 2055/2310 RA239DOH-KTM MON, WED, FRI, SAT 1920/2150 RA410QATAR AIRWAYSKTM-DOH-KTM DAILY 0935/0835 QR353/352KTM-DOH-KTM DAILY 1935/1730 QR357/356KTM-DOH-KTM DAILY 2020/1635 QR351/350KTM-DOH-KTM DAILY 2335/2235 QR355/354**Please check with airlines for any change in schedule

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013www.thehimalayantimes.comNATIONALPAGE 5MoFA mulls hiring local staffNepal police personnel guarding Simri jungle where the remnants of a burnt body was found on Wednesday.Police suspect abducted veterinary doctor Bhagawan Badal might have been burnt.• ONCE-OVERNC, UCPN-M clashBHOJPUR: A clash erupted betweenthe members of Nepali Congress affiliatedTarun Dal and UCPN-Maoistcadres in Chyangre of Bhojpur today.Nepali Congress has alleged thatUCPN-M cadres assaulted Tarun Dalactivists at an organisational extensionprogramme of the party. SixTarun Dal members, including SantoshKoirala, were injured in the scuffle.They are undergoing treatment ata local health facility. UCPN-Mcadres, on the other hand, blamedTarun members of interrupting theirparty’s programme. Following the incident,NC Bhojpur staged a protest.NC leader Kailash Kumar Ale said NCcadres would no longer tolerate theextortion being carried out by UCPN-M cadres. He also warned of strongconfrontation if they didn’t stop suchactivities. He demanded actionagainst the guilty. — HNSSmugglers arrestedBIRGUNJ: Narayani Zonal Police Office,Parsa, today made public twopersons who were arrested with Rs2.1 million cash and a kg of gold. RajKumar Daruka and Harendra Yadavof Birgunj 6 and 19 were arrestedfrom Chhapkaiya border while headingto India today morning. SSP SarbendraKhanal said, “We have beenable to nab the smugglers with a hugeamount of gold which they intendedto sell in India.” However, Daruka’swife Renudevi blamed the police ofimplicating her innocent husband ona wrong charge. Niraj Sarraf, chairmanof gold and silver entrepreneurs’association argued that it was wrongto arrest any person from their residenceeven if police had the right topunish them for involvement in illegalactivities. Parsa DPO Chief SPDhiraj Pratap Singh said Daruka hadlong been involved in smugglinggold, but had not been arrested dueto lack of sufficient evidence. — HNSParents liable if kidscaught setting offfirecrackers: PoliceHimalayan News ServiceBiratnagar, October 23Morang police have enforceda new strategy tocurb use of firecrackersduring Tihar.As per the new regulation,action will be takenagainst parents/guardiansif their children are foundsetting off firecrackers duringthe festive period of Tiharand Chhat.Police believe this measurewill prove effective incurbing the import, purchase,sale and use of firecrackers.In the previousyears, police used to focuson controlling the importof firecrackers.Morang police chief BisworajPokharel said policehad gone on high alert tocurb firecrackers as theyposes a serious challengeto peace and security. “Wehave deployed personnelto crack down on use offirecrackers. People involvedin bursting firecrackerswill be punished,”SP Pokharel said. He addedthat parents/guardianswould be arrested andpunished if their childrenwere involved in explodingfirecrackers. “If childrenare involved in burstingfirecrackers, it means parentshave blundered, andthey will be punished,”said Pokharel.He said exploding firecrackersdisturbed peaceand harmony in the neighbourhood.He also saidfirecrackers caused injurynot only on users but alsoothers.Dr Hiralal Sahani saidthe noise of firecrackershad a detrimental impacton people, especially children’seyes, skin and otherbody parts.Despite the ban on itsuse, firecrackers were soldopenly in violation of thelaw last year. This year,however, police have tightenedthe screw on the purchaseand sale of firecrackers.Police have seized firecrackersworth Rs 7 lakh,which was imported fromIndia, this year.Morang police is preparingto take action againstpeople who sell and burstfirecrackers under the PublicSecurity Act.As per Public SecurityAct, the CDO can fine anyonebursting firecrackersup to Rs 28,000 for disturbingthe peace. He/she canalso be kept in police custodyfor up to 25 days forinvestigation.Himalayan News ServicePathalaiya, October 23Police suspect veterinary doctorBhagawan Badal of Nijgadh,Bara, who was kidnapped onSeptember 17 when he was onhis way to Simri from Nijgadh,to treat livestock, might havebeen murdered.On the basis of informationgiven by arrestees, police suspectsthat the kidnappers mighthave killed Badal.Police had suspected murderafter they found the remains ofa burnt human body at Simrijungle of Rauthahat yesterdaynight. But police are yet to ascertainwhether or not the bodyis Badal’s. Narayani Zonal PoliceOffice Chief SarbendraKhanal said they would only beable to say anything on the recoveredbody after an investigation.He said the bones foundon the spot have been sent toKathmandu for confirmation.Police on Monday night hadarrested five persons from Katahariyaand Kanakpur VDC ofRautahat, accusing them of involvementin Badal’s abduction.Of the five, two have beenidentified as former VDC chairmen.Jadolal Mahato of Katahariya,and Rawan Majhi ofKanakpur VDC-4. Police did notmake public the names of the‘Move aimed to address workers’woes in Gulf and Malaysia’Himalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Missing vet was murdered: CopsFirst lot of Indianmilitary supply arrivesHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Nepali Army is about to receivethe first consignment of lethalmilitary supply from India,which was halted since the Royaltakeover in February 2005.The early supply of militaryhardware includes as many as216 light-vehicles, 154 heavy vehicles,and some firearms.NA said in a statement thatthe heavy vehicles comprise 58military-patterned trucks of the7.5 tonnes category, 67 trucks(2.5 tonnes), four ambulancesand 25 armoured MPVs (MinesProtected Vehicles).NA spokesperson JagadishChandra Pokharel told THT thatthe consignment has already arrivedat Birgunj and Sunauli,two bordering points with India,from where Nepali armywill receive the consignmentsTHTthrough due customs procedurein a day or two. “Our coordinationteams have already leftfor these places, we will receivethe consignments after clearingcustoms, which might take aday or two,” he added.This is a portion of militarysupply from neighbouring Indiaas agreed upon during an Indo-Nepal bilateral security-meetheld in India in April.During the meet, the twocountries had sealed a deal thatthe Government of Nepal wouldpay only 40 to 60 per cent of thetagged price and remainingwould be provided as grant.During his visit to India lastmonth , Chief of Army StaffGeneral Gaurav Shamsher JBRana was assured by Indian officialsthat the first consignmentof military supply would arrivebefore the Constituent Assemblyelection in Nepal.other three who were arrestedas the investigation is underway.DSP Bishnu Hari Koirala ofArea Police Office, Nijgadh, saida police team, acting on a tipoff,had reached the spot. Hesaid details of the incident willbe made public after the investigationis completed.According to SP ThakurPrasad Gyawali of Bara policeoffice, police has so far detainedmore than 30 persons to interrogatethem with regard to thekilling.As demanded by the abductors,Badal’s family said theyhad paid ransom of Rs 10 lakhfor his release.Five killed inbus plungeHimalayan News ServiceChitwan, October 23Five persons died when abus skidded off KhaharekholaBridge at Chandibhanjyangand fell on the banks ofthe Trishuli River along theNarayangadh-Mugling roadsection today morning. Fiftythreeothers were injured.Four persons died on thespot whereas one died onthe way to Bharatpur Hospital.The deceased have beenidentified as Jhakendra Niraula,20, Prem KalaShrestha, 30, of TerhathumJirikhimti, and Reshma RanaMagar, 35, of Lalitpur. Theidentities of two others areyet to be ascertained.Of the injured, 12 are critical.They are being treated atdifferent health facilities inChitwan.The Ministry of Foreign Affairsis thinking of recruitingmore support staff at its missionin three prominentcountries, where the numberof Nepali migrant workers ishigh and so are the problemsrelated to them.MoFA is seriously consideringto increase the numberof Nepali staffs at embassiesin Qatar, Saudi Arabia andMalaysia, where almost 1.5million Nepalis work.“We realise that more staffsare needed at out embassiesin these countries so as torender service effectively,”MoFA Spokesperson DeepakDhital told THT.“We are considering creatingnecessary posts forNepali staff so that it becomesconvenient for Nepaliworkers there to approachthem,” he added.A recent fact-finding missionto Malaysia had concludedthat problems relatedto Nepali workers in thesouth-east Asian countrywere not addressed due to severestaff crunch at theNepali embassy in KualaLumpur.Following the Malaysiangovernment’s campaign ofdeporting all illegal foreignworkers in September, thousandsof Nepali workersqueued up at the Nepali embassy,which simply failed toprovide travel documentsand make available otherprotective arrangements tosend them to Nepal. This wasmainly due to “minimum serviceproviders in comparisonto service seekers”.The same situation wasseen in Saudi Arabia, whenthe Gulf country launched itsdeportation campaignagainst all foreign illegalworkers.“It’s also necessary to createmore diplomatic posts atour embassies, where, service-seekersare very high,”Dhital added. “However, providingservice through localstaffs would be quick, easyand economical.”Qatar, Saudi Arabia andMalaysia, the three-mostfavoured job-destinations forNepali workers, collectivelyhost almost two-thirds ofNepali migrant labourers.Dhital, however, said it wasyet to be decided as to howmany staffs would be recruitedin these missions to respondto the issues theNepali population there havebeen facing. Recruiting localstaffs would also be economicalas they don’t demandhigh salary, high accommodationfacilities and otherbenefits and privileges thatare required for diplomaticstaff assigned from Nepal.A Ministry of Foreign Affairsofficer told The HimalayanTimes that the ministrywould consult the concernedstakeholders, includingthe Ministry of Finance,Ministry of General Administrationand even Ministry ofLabour in this regard beforetaking a decision.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013www.thehimalayantimes.comINTERNATIONALPAGE 7• THE WORLD OVERTB deaths go up with rising drug resistanceAP / RSSA boy clenching his fist during aprotest in Tunis on Wednesday,calling for the resignation of thegovernment. Thousands protestedin Tunisia on the day of the openingof the country's national dialoguecalling for the Islamist-ledgovernment to keep its promise andresign to allow fresh elections.Cholera grips NigeriaKANO: Officials say an outbreak ofcholera in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfarastate has infected 536 people andkilled 50 in the past week. Medical directorof the state hospital,Dr Labaran Anka, blamed contaminatedwater in rural areas that haveno clean running water. Villagers relyon handmade ponds where animalsand people share water. Anka saidmore than 420 patients have beentreated and discharged since the firstvictims arrived on Friday. Medical authoritiesalso have reported a choleraoutbreak that had killed eight peopleby Monday in a village of centralPlateau state crowded with refugeesfrom communal violence. — APPope expels bishopVATICAN CITY: Pope Francis temporarilyexpelled a German bishopfrom his diocese on Wednesday becauseof a scandal over a 31-millioneuroproject to build a new residencecomplex, but refused popular calls toremove him permanently. The Vaticandidn’t say how long BishopFranz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst wouldspend away from the diocese of Limburgand gave no information onwhere he would go or what he woulddo. At the centre of the controversy isthe $42 million price tag for the constructionof a new bishop’s residencecomplex and related renovations. — APPrez bashing costs jobWASHINGTON: A White House nationalsecurity official has been firedfor running a Twitter account thatwas critical of the Obama administration.Jofi Joseph served as a directorat the National Security Council andwas involved in nuclear talks withIran. Joseph said he takes “completeresponsibility” for the @natsecwonkTwitter account. An official confirmedthat Joseph no longer worksfor the administration. — ReutersReutersMalaysian courtruling on use of Allahcourts controversyReutersKuala Lampur, October 23Malaysia’s self-styled imageas a global leader ofmoderate Islam has beenundermined by a court rulingthat only Muslims canuse the word “Allah” to referto God, with a growingnumber of Muslim scholarsand commentatorscondemning the decision.A Malaysian court ruledlast week that the word was“not an integral part of thefaith in Christianity”, overturninga previous rulingthat allowed a Malay-languageRoman Catholicnewspaper to use theword. Since then, confusionhas reigned overthe interpretation of theruling, with governmentministers, lawyers andMuslim authorities givingwidely diverging views onits scope.Critics of the decisionhave said it casts a chill onreligious rights in MuslimmajorityMalaysia, whichhas substantial minoritiesof ethnic Chinese andIndians.Commentators in somecountries that practise Islammore strictly thanMalaysia have condemnedthe ruling, arguing thatthe word Allah has beenused by different faithsfor centuries.Christians in Malaysia’seastern states of Sabah andSarawak have used theword for generations, ashave those in the MiddleEast. Pakistan’s Dawnnewspaper said in a commentarythat the decisionwas a “sad reflection onhow an otherwise moderncountry, widely seen as arole model for the Muslimworld, is succumbing tothe current trend of insularityin matters of faith”.Reza Aslan, an AmericanMuslim theologian, calledthe ruling a political decisionand said it had madeMalaysia an internationallaughing stock. “It’s an embarrassment,it’s shameful,it’s not worthy of a greatcountry like Malaysia,” hesaid this week on radio.Reza noted that the wordAllah means “the God” andthus could not be considereda name. “It’s almost ablasphemous thought tothink that God has aname.” The ruling came asMalaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak seeks to consolidatehis support amongmajority ethnic Malays,who are Muslim by law,and secure backing of traditionalistsafter a divisivenational election in May.London, October 23Cases of people infected with tuberculosisand the number of deathsfrom it fell in 2012, but progress oncontrolling the contagious lung diseaseis underthreat from growing drug resistance.In its annual report on tuberculosis,the World Health Organisationsaid the world was on track to meetUN goals for 2015 of reversing TB incidencesand cutting the death rateby 50 per cent compared to 1990. Yet,around three million people with TBare being missed by health systems,and “superbug” drug-resistant strainsof the bacterial infection are puttingprogress at risk.“Far too many people are still missingout on care and are suffering as aresult,” said Mario Raviglione, theWHO’s director of the Global TB Programme.“They are not diagnosed, ornot treated, or information on thequality of care they receive is unknown.”TB is often seen as a disease of thepast, but the emergence over the pastdecade of strains that cannot be treatedwith existing drugs has turned itinto one of the world’s most pressinghealth problems.Unfolding globalhealth crisis• Three million people with TB beingmissed by health systems• In 2012, 8.6 million peopledeveloped TB and 1.3 milliondied from it• Insufficient resources for TBat the centre of all hurdlesto further progress• The WHO says $7-8 billion a year isneeded for a full response to theglobal TB epidemic by 2015• There’s a funding shortfall of some$2 billion a yearOf all infectious diseases, only HIV— the human immunodeficiencyvirus that causes AIDS — kills morepeople than TB. In 2012, an estimated8.6 million people developed TBand 1.3 million died from the disease,including 320,000 deaths among HIVpositivepeople, according to today’sWHO report, down from 8.7 millioncases and 1.4 million deaths in 2011.Raviglione said insufficient resourcesfor TB were at the centre of allthe hurdles to further progress. TheWHO says $7 to $8 billion a year isLondon is Europe’s tuberculosis capitalAssociated PressLondon, October 23London is famed for its historicsites, its double-decker buses andits West End shows, but the city nowhas a more dubious distinction:Britain’s public health agency says ithas become the tuberculosis capitalof Western Europe.In response, health officials aretaking to the streets in an effort tostop the spread of the infectiouslung disease. A high-tech white vanequipped with an X-ray machine isdriving around London offering freecheck-ups. Similar vans were oncecommon in Europe and the US inneeded for a full response to the globalTB epidemic by 2015, and there is afunding shortfall of some $2 billion ayear.Many TB programmes do not havethe capacity to find and care for peoplein hard-to-reach groups — suchas the homeless, the poor, and themarginalised, who often live outsideformal or state health system. TheMilitary drill behind tragic Aussie fireAssociated PressSydney, October 23A military training exercise ignitedthe largest of the wildfiresthat have ravaged Australia’smost populous state over thepast week, investigators saidtoday.More than 100 fires havekilled one man and destroyedmore than 200 homes in NewSouth Wales state since Thursday.Fire investigators found thata massive fire near the city ofLithgow, west of Sydney, beganon October 16 at a nearby DefenceDepartment trainingarea, and that the blaze “wasstarted as a result of live ordnanceexercises” at the armyrange, the Rural Fire Servicesaid in a statement.The fire has burned 47,000hectares and destroyed severalhouses, but no injuries ordeaths have been reported inthe blaze. It was downgradedfrom the highest emergencycategory today.The department declined tocomment on the investigators’findings, but had earlier confirmedthat an explosive ordnancetraining exercise wasconducted on October 16. Itwas also investigating any linkbetween the exercise and thefire.The revelation drew angerfrom Mark Greenhill, mayor ofthe community of Blue Mountains,which has been ravagedby several of the fires over thepast week. “I would haveA helicopter dropping water on a bushfire approaching homes near the Blue Mountainssuburb of Blackheath, around 70 km west of Sydney, on Wednesday.hoped on a day like that —which was a dry day, a hot day,with the winds — the Australianmilitary would haveknown it wouldn’t be a goodtime to be igniting,” Greenhilltold the Australian BroadcastingCorp. New South WalesPremier Barry O’Farrell cameto the military’s defence.“I want to ensure that thisdoesn’t detract from the effortsthat Defence have made overthe past week in assisting thestate’s emergency services battlethese fires,” he told the SevenNetwork.Meanwhile, winds that werefanning wildfires and showeringembers on threatenedcommunities eased late today,after scores of Blue Mountainsresidents evacuated theirhomes.Residents were told theycould return to their homestonight, as cool weather settledacross the region and fears liftedthat the fires could spreadand threaten homes. Therewere no reports of propertyloss or injuries today.While many hours of firefightingare still to come, “thebroader risk to a much larger,more widespread populationhas certainly eased,” Rural FireService commissioner ShaneFitzsimmons said.the 1950s but most disappearedabout two decades later when TBrates dropped. But in recent years,the disease has surged in the UK.Last year, London had about3,500 TB cases — more than theNetherlands, Belgium, Greece andNorway combined. It also had moreTB than some African countries, includingEritrea and Gambia.Britain as a whole however stillpales against India, China andSouth Africa, which all have hundredsof thousands of TB cases.“We kind of took our eye off theball and now TB has become a bigproblem again,” said Dr Alistair Story,who runs the mobile TB van forReutersReutersLondon, October 23Just 21 guests were invited tothe christening of Britain’sPrince George today, a sign ofhow much his parents intendto guard the privacy of a babyborn to be king.Prince William, whosemother Diana was killed in acar crash in Paris in 1997,hounded by paparazzi, andhis wife Kate only invited veryclose family members andgodparents, according to aguest list released ahead ofthe 1400 GMT ceremony.Queen Elizabeth, her husbandPrince Philip, heir to thethrone Prince Charles, hiswife Camilla, and William’sbrother Harry will attend theservice in which Archbishopof Canterbury Justin Welbywill baptise the three-monthold baby with water from theRiver Jordan.Although the christeningwill be held behind closeddoors, in the Chapel Royal ofUniversity College London Hospitals.He said the vast majority of TBin the UK is among the homeless,drug users and prisoners becausethey live in cramped conditions thatmake them susceptible to infections.Despite the belief that TB isbeing imported into the UK by recentimmigrants, Story said theirrates of infection are low.“It’s certainly not the case that wecould have closed the borders andavoided the problem,” he said,pointing out that other Europeancountries with high levels of immigration,including France andGermany, have not had similarspikes of TB.WHO estimates that 75 per cent of thethree million missed TB cases are injust 12 countries, with South Africa,Bangladesh, India and Pakistanamong them. On the issue of multidrugresistant TB (MDR-TB), theWHO report said the problem wasnot only that the links in the chainwere weak, but that links were noteven there. The UN health agency estimatesthat 4,50,000 people fell illwith MDR-TB in 2012 alone, withChina, India and Russia worst affected,followed by another 24 othercountries.What is more worrying is around16,000 MDR-TB cases reported toWHO in 2012 were not put on treatment,with long waiting lists becomingan increasing problem.Private christening forfuture British kingSt James’s Palace, well-wishersgathered outside, hopingto see guests arriving at the16th century building in centralLondon commissionedby King Henry VIII.Millions of people watchedcoverage of the couple in Julyas they left the hospital withtheir son, the only publicsighting of George since hisbirth on July 22.The parents named sixfriends and William’s cousinZara Phillips as godparents,a break with the traditionof choosing royal dignitariesto take on the ceremonialrole, continuing their effort toportray a more informal,modern image to austerityhitBritons.Kate’s parents, Michael andCarole Middleton, and hersister Pippa were due to beamong the guests.A friend of Princess Diana,Julia Samuel, is one of thegodmothers alongsideKate’s schoolfriend EmiliaJardine-Paterson.

PAGE 8www.thehimalayantimes.comTHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013TheHimalayanT I M E SA THOUGHT FOR T ODAYWhether you think you can or you thinkyou can’t, you’re right.—Henry FordIntent to misleadWith just less than four weeks to go for the November19 elections to the Constituent Assembly(CA II), many voters appear still confused abouthow everything will turn out at the end — a smoothaffair, a Pyrrhic victory, or postponement? These scenariosapart, one of the things at issue is the questionof democratic principles in electing the people’s representatives.The political parties have submittedtheir revised lists of candidates for proportional representation.The three biggest parties in the last CA —the UCPN-Maoist, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML — have sent in all the 335 names — the totalnumber to be elected on proportional basis. Basedon past records, each of the three is likely to win morethan 20 per cent of the total votes polled.This means that each of them is likely to get at least75 seats. But if we look at the order of names on thelists, we find that there appears a clear intention onthe part of the party leadership concerned to misleadthe public. Mostly the names of little or less knowncandidates, from such groups as Dalits and women,figure ahead of high-profile candidates, such as centralcommittee members. But when it comes tochoosing the people finally, those high-profile peopleare highly unlikely to be dropped. The PR lists of theCPN-UML are self-explanatory. But some other partiesare not far behind. Neither the Constitution northe electoral law providesThe parties shouldfinally choosetheir CA membersin order of thelist of namessubmitted.Thereis somethingcalled ethicsthat the candidates are tobe elected automaticallyin the order in which theyare put in the closed lists.The party leadership hasbeen given the completefreedom to pick andchoose. That means it isnot the people who willbe electing the PR candidates,it is the centralleadership of each of theparties who does. So one,naturally, has qualms about calling PR candidatesendorsed by the people.During the last elections too, this same proviso existed.There was even talk of amending the electorallaws to reform some of the provisions. But littlehas been done because the top leadership of eachparty wants to perpetuate their grip on who to be finallyselected as PR winners. This kind of practiceis not popular around the world, nor does itpromote the democratic spirit of elections. Instead, itwill give proportional representation a bad name.Already, many of the people who were enthusiasticabout proportional representation at first forwhatever reasons, for the sake of novelty if for nothingelse, seem to have lost much of that enthusiasmnow. It is only through the selfish interests of theleaderships of most of the parties that proportionalrepresentation accounts for much more CA seats(335) against direct elections (240). The sameholds true for not reducing the number of CA seats,despite a strong public sentiment that still seesthe jumbo CA to be a colossal waste of the publicpurse without any benefit at all. Now, though it is toolate for any electoral reform, the parties owe it to thepeople, as well as to their public pledges to democraticspirit, to finally choose their winning candidatesin order of the list of names submitted. There issomething called ethics.Scary garbageIt seems that many Kathmanduites are guiltyof throwing waste wherever they want tomaking its management difficult. About 40 percent of garbage that is produced daily in theKathmandu valley remains uncollected as a result ofwhich they continue to accumulate and over timehave an adverse effect on the health of thevalley’s population. The culprits for this state of affairshave already been identified. Those to beblamed are mainly the government, the private sectorand the public.There is the Solid Waste Management Act whichprovides for the segregation of organic and inorganicwastes. The Act also has provisions for punishing thedefaulters. Yet, we rarely hear about them being punished.It is in the larger interest of the valley residentsto segregate wastes as a significant proportion ofthem are organic and can be used as fertilizers whilemany other wastes can be recycled. It is high time tomanage the valley’s garbage by implementing theSolid Waste Management Act strictly and those foundguilty of disposing garbage in a manner that is prohibitedought to be punished.• LETTERSFulfil pollpromisesIt was not surprising to see theCPN-UML unveiling its electionmanifesto like others, as reportedin the news item “CPN-UMLunveils its manifesto” (THT,Oct. 23, Page 1). All the majorpolitical parties have their owninteresting and instigatingagendas to lure the voters.However, they have still majordifferences over the unresolvedissues, namely state restructuringand forms of governanceand federalism that became thebone of contention during thefirst CA. As a result, they failedto draft the new constitution.How will they sort out theseoutstanding issues during thesecond CA’s term and draft thenew constitution? How can theyassure the voters and the generalpeople about their commitmentto draft the new constitutionwithin one year? None ofthe major political parties havepublicly confessed their totalSAMI MAHROUM• TOPICSRAJAN RAJ ACHARYAToday, the increasing numberof vehicles, narrow roads,rash and drunken driving and,most of the time, violations ofthe traffic rules are the primereasons for the increasing numberof road accidents in Nepal.Every day, there are news storiesof road accidents taking placesomewhere in Nepal. A few daysback, there was a fatal bus accidentin Dolakha killing 10 peopleand injuring many others. A colleagueof mine lost his familymembers in that accident. Thenews of the pathetic storiesabout whole families beingkilled in accidents, children beingorphaned, parents beingdevastated by the death of a• BLOG SURFVAWSUVENDU CHATTERJEEThe agreement reachedbetween the UnitedStates and Russia to eliminateSyria’s chemicalweapons ties the disarmamentprocess to negotiationsaimed at ending thecountry’s civil war. That issurely a sensible approach.Unfortunately, two majorproblems with the proposedGeneva-based process willprevent it from achieving itsgoal. But an alternative formulamight just work.The first problem with theUS-Russian approach is afailure to recognize the constraintsfacing the warringparties. The current regime– maintained for more than40 years as a unitary, all-encompassingactor — has littleleeway to offer concessions:there is no such thingas a part-time dictatorship.Any political agreementwith the opposition wouldrequire the transfer of controlof at least some political,security, and economicresources that were previouslycontrolled by PresidentBashar al-Assad’s familyand its inner circle.A regime that is so heavilyindebted to its supporters ishighly unlikely to acceptsuch an outcome, whichwould reduce its ability toreward — and, more important,to protect — its loyalistsat home and abroad. Forexample, a post-conflictSyria in which the oppositioncontrols a substantialpart of the state is unlikely tomaintain a relationship withIran and Hezbollah.The opposition is in asimilar position, though forthe opposite reason: it is farfrom being a unitary actor.As a loose umbrella of verydifferent groups, the oppositionwould be likely to experiencea dynamic similarto that on the governmentside, with a power-sharingformula, however temporaryand transitional, leavingAssad’s opponents withfewer resources than theywould have if they had fullcontrol of the state. Thisalone would intensify conflictand divisiveness withinthe opposition, potentiallyleading many within itsranks to reject any peacesettlement, prolonging theconflict. The second problemwith the US-Russianpeace-process approach isits definition of the partiesto the conflict: the Assadregime and the opposition.Some segments of Syriansociety, particularly religiousminorities, remain onthe regime side for fear ofthe unknown; but they donot trust the regime to safeguardtheir interests. This isparticularly true for Christiansand Druze, but also forViolence against women (VAW) has manydimensions – psychological, emotional,physical, and it is perpetrated in many spaces– domestic, social state.Violence against women has risen at an unprecedentedrate. The trauma that womenundergo is not measurable or quantifiablestatistical analyses, and lengthy reports tell uslittle about the horrors of violence, or ofwomen’s courage.The international photography exhibition‘Women Struggle, Women Resist’ is part of aprocess of initiating social changes — itdocuments not only the struggles but alsothe resistance of women to domestic andstate violence.Visually stimulating and thought-provoking,these photographs by socially committednational and international photographers laybare, question, challenge and go beyond thestereotypical ‘grieving mother’ or ‘women ofsorrow’ and present those women who haveboth resisted and survived... — clickdeep.blogspot.comRoad mishapschild grieves the whole nation.This is just an instance of the lossof the dear ones that could havebeen avoided were the necessarysafety measures taken.The word “accident” means anincident over which one has nocontrol at all. In the case of roadaccidents, nearly 90 per cent ofthem are caused due to humanerror. Only 10 per cent of accidentscan be attributed to technicalfailures or circumstancesover which we have no control.The increasing number of accidentsin Nepal is a matter ofgrave concern and all of usshould think about how we canprevent such tragic roadmishaps.Today, everyone is short oftime, so, all of us are always in aMisdefining Syria’s civil warAway from the reality• CARTOONfailure to fulfil their earlierpromises made to the people.What could be the assuringpoints for the voters to vote forthe political parties? Consideringthe false promises made inthe previous CA election, thevoters need to be more carefulthis time as to whom they needto vote. Maybe, they need tocarefully look at the backgroundsand competencies ofthe candidates before castingtheir valuable votes. As for thepolitical parties, simply unveilingtheir political manifestosbefore the election does notmake any sense unless they sincerelyrespect their promises inreal terms. In FM talk programs,almost all the callers criticizethe major political parties fortheir false promises made duringthe first CA election. Noneof them seemed serious aboutfulfilling their promises. However,the CA-2 election is almostat the door. It is still doubtfulwhether the election will bepeacefully held, looking at theongoing intra- and inter-partyThe question is what happens until andduring the dialogue.This is where the UNSecurity Council can play an important role.It should be easier for all Security Councilmembers, especially China and Russia, tosupport a plan for an intra-Syrian dialoguethat brings all parties togetherscuffles taking place among thecadres. And, whether the outcomeof the election will be acceptableto all the stakeholdersis yet to be seen.Rai Biren Bangdel, via e-mailEnshrine NOTAOn the eve of Nepal’s own election,Prof Birendra Mishra hasdrawn timely attention ofNepali voters to the Indian apexcourt’s recent ruling providingits electorate an option to rejectall candidates in the fray by votingNOTA (none of the above),as mentioned in “Electing betterrepresentatives” (THT, Oct22., Page 8). While our own legislationstill has to incorporatesuch people-empowering provisionagainst the thieves, dacoitsand murderers who masqueradeas politicians in Nepal,secular elements within theSunni majority. What isneeded is a shift in the waythe conflict is perceived. Thereality is that both theregime and the oppositioncomprise a wide spectrumof groups that stand on oneside of the conflict or theother for a variety of groupspecificreasons.So far, the internationalcommunity has recognizedthis diversity only on the oppositionside. This has allowedthe regime to claimsome legitimacy, whiledenying intimidated thirdpartygroups a voice. Thus,instead of insisting on apeace process that bringsthe regime and the oppositiontogether, the politicalpath to peace in Syriashould bring the many differentsegments of Syriansociety together, regardlessof which side of the conflictthey are on. Representativesof the Alawites, Christians,Druze, Kurds, and Sunnis, aswell as representatives ofnon-religious groups andsmaller minorities, shouldgo to Geneva to help createa new political contract for anew Syria.Nonetheless, movingfrom a two-party negotiationprocess to a multipartyprocess has its own hurdles.Multiparty negotiationstend to be more complicatedand can drag on indefinitely.But they are alsomore democratic and morerepresentative, and skillednegotiation design and facilitationcan help to mitigatemany of the challenges.This is why it is importantto set strict limits on theagenda. Agreement on, say,a commitment to a multiconfessional,secular, anddemocratic state should beenough. The framework forthe transitional period canbe borrowed from successfulprecedents like those establishedin South Africaand, more recently, Yemen.United Nations facilitatorscan help the parties involvedreach agreements ona transitional governmentand a roadmap to a newconstitution, referendum,and elections.The question is what happensuntil and during thedialogue. This is where thetearing hurry. We want to completeour journey within a shorttime. If we manage to do thatthen we feel that we have won avictory of sorts — but hurry alwaysinvolves serious risks,which often take the route to themortuary.I think breaking traffic rules,like jumping red lights, driving inthe wrong direction along a onewaystreet, and exceeding thespeed limit most often lead toaccidents. Therefore, driversshould always follow the trafficregulations strictly. All of us cando our bit in reducing road accidents.First of all, we should havepatience — whether we are behindthe wheel or just walkingalong the road. If all of us do this,we will be able to reduce accidentsby 25 per cent. So weshould all patiently wait for thegreen light and we should avoidneedless overtaking. And, ofcourse, we don’t have to forget toservice our vehicles according tothe schedule the manufacturerhas suggested. This will meanlonger life of our vehicles andwill also reduce the chance oftechnical failures resulting in accidentswhile driving.Lastly, my suggestion to all is,life is wonderful and we allhave loved ones who will bedevastated if anything happensto us. So, we should all drivecarefully and return homesafely. In the bargain, we will bereducing the number of accidentsbecause of our failure tomeet the safety norms.we still have a way of punishingthose political beings who hadbled the country white duringthe four full years of the erstwhileCA, and are now runningfor the second innings in thisruthless enterprise.Elections are the only timewhen the people can teachthem a lesson or two. So thistime around, Nepali voters canpunish the incumbents of theearlier CA by just voting for newfaces. This will also show thenewcomers that they too couldbe voted out in the next election.Bihari Krishna Shrestha,via e-mailLetters to this column should be addressed toLetters C/o Edit Page Editor,The Himalayan Times,Post Box 11651,APCA House,Baidya Khana Road, Kathmandu, Nepalemail: edit@thehimalayantimes.com,Fax 0977-1-4771959UN Security Council canplay an important role. Itshould be easier for all SecurityCouncil members, especiallyChina and Russia, tosupport a plan for an intra-Syrian dialogue that bringsall parties together. TheCouncil would permit theuse of military power to enforcea cease-fire, regardlessof the source of violations.Both the US and Russiamight go a step further bycreating a joint operationscenter to monitor a ceasefireand prevent new flowsof arms or militants fromentering the country.The international community,especially the US,the European Union, China,and Russia, along withTurkey, Saudi Arabia, andIran, would have no role toplay in an intra-Syrian dialogue.But their supportwould be crucial, becausethey would pledge to backany agreement coming outof the dialogue and rejectany deal that implies thecountry’s breakup. Withouta pledge to preserve Syria’sunity, very few Syrianswould be willing to negotiate.And, without inclusivenegotiations, the war willnot end.Mahroum is AcademicDirector of Innovationand Policy at INSEAD.© Project Syndicate, 2013.www.project-syndicate.org• THT 10 YEARS AGOIndian role ‘key’ inrefugees’ passageIshwar KhanalKathmandu, October 23, 2003Nepal and Bhutan will “appeal to Indiato ensure and facilitate safe passage”to the returning refugees, following thedecision to repatriate verified refugees ofthe Khudunabari camp from February15next year. However, much would dependon India’s stand on the matter, given thefact that India had stopped a group ofBhutanese refugees going to Bhutanfrom Nepal in 1996, arguing it could notallow its soil to be used as transit territory.Though leader of the Nepalis delegation,ambassador-at-large Dr Bhekh BahadurThapa — upon his arrival at the TribhuwanInternational Airport by Druk Air— said the “repatriation” would be initiatedon February 15, he did hint at thepossibility of some minor obstructionsduring the implementation process,which he claimed would be “sorted out”through consultation between the twocountries.The 15th MJC, Thapa argued,has ended the process of talks, and hasinitiated the implementation processwhich would not be as “easy as expected”.For,refugees who do not wish to returnwill be dealt with by Nepal as per the constitutionand relevant laws. Madhu RamanAcharya, secretary at the Ministry ofForeign Affairs, who was also a memberof the team, said it was time for implementationand not talks. “Bhutan is committedand has assured us of providingfull rights and proper rehabilitation tothe refugees,” Dr Thapa told this daily. Hehastened to add that Nepal, however,cannot interfere in Bhutan’s internal affairs.“The refugees will be temporarilysettled in the initial period before theirpermanent settlement,” he added. Thapaalso said Bhutan had been urged to dealequally with all refugeesin categories I, IIand IV during and after repatriation.Negotiated peacealone will last, saysDenmarkJan SharmaKathmandu, October 23, 2003Anegotiated settlement with the activeparticipation of all pro-democraticforces of Nepal alone can bring lastingpeace in Nepal, feels Denmark. “The lastround of peace talks underscores thispoint. A negotiated solution may not bepossible without the parties,” GertMeinecke, the Danish charge d’affaires,told this daily. “An un-democratic peaceis not a lasting peace! Having saidthat, the political parties should actresponsibly, putting the interests ofthe people first, and present their ownroad map to peace. Where are the urbanelite, the academia, the media and all theother progressive forces that played acrucial and constructive role in the democraticmovement in 1990?” “One thingis clear. The military escalation we seenow will only protract the conflict. Nomilitary action can bring Nepal any closerto peace,” he added. The current politicalcrises only add to blur the situation,said Meinecke.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013India,China sign deal aimed atsoothing Himalayan tensionwww.thehimalayantimes.comNEIGHBOURSAt last, Myanmar’s Suu Kyi collects 1990 prizeAssociated PressStrasbourg, October 23Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’sNobel Peace Prize laureateand long-time politicalprisoner, has finally collectedthe European Union’s 1990Sakharov Prize for humanrights.In Tuesday’s stirringceremony, EuropeanParliament PresidentMartin Schulz said that‘23 years later, we welcomeyou here and it isa great moment’.Suu Kyi has persevered forSuu Kyidecades in promotingdemocracy. She andher National Leaguefor Democracy partywere frozen out of politicsby the militaryregime that governeduntil 2011, and lastyear she and several dozenPAGE 9party members won parliamentaryseats. However, aclause in the army-dictatedconstitution disqualifies herfrom becoming president.She is now seeking theconstitutional changes thatwould allow her to seek thepresidency.China's Premier Li Keqiang (right) gesturing as India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh waves during their visit tothe Forbidden City, in Beijing, on Wednesday.ReutersBeijing, October 23China and India signed a deal todayaimed at soothing tension on theircontested border, as the two nucleararmedgiants try to break a decadesoldstalemate on overlapping claimsto long remote stretches of the Himalayas.The agreement was signed in Beijing’sGreat Hall of the People followinga meeting between Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh and ChinesePremier Li Keqiang. China, aclose ally of India’s long-time foe, Pakistan,lays claim to more than 90,000sq km disputed by New Delhi in theeastern sector of the Himalayas. Indiasays China occupies 38,000 squarekilometres of its territory on the AksaiChin plateau in the west.The two countries fought a briefborder war in 1962 and since then tieshave been mired in distrust, with a seriesof alleged violations by Chinesemilitary patrols earlier this year. “I amsure it will help to maintain peace,tranquillity and stability in our borderChinese newspaperurges police to freeits reporterAssociated PressBeijing, October 23A Chinese newspaper made a rare front-pageappeal today for police to release one of itsreporters after he was detained for writing reportsalleging financial misdeeds at a large,state-owned construction equipment company.In an editorial boldly headlined ‘Please releasehim’, The New Express newspaper saidthere was no evidence the journalist, ChenYongzhou, had committed any crime. It saidjournalists should not be criminally prosecutedfor responsibly reporting facts thatmay embarrass influential companies or individuals.“Although our newspaper is small, we havea backbone,” the editorial said.The newspaper’s protest garnered significantattention in the Chinese blogosphere,with Internet users circulating the editorialand news portals giving it prominent play. Itcomes at a time when concerns have beenraised about heavy-handedness by Chineseauthorities against journalists or bloggerswho seek to expose wrongdoing or raise criticalopinions. The New Express said Chen wasbeing punished for a series of reports hewrote that scrutinised the finances of Zoomlion,a construction company listed on theHong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges.The reports accused Zoomlion of artificiallyinflating its profits.Zoomlion is the second-largest constructionequipment maker in China, with 32,000employees and reported revenue of 48 billionyuan ($7.6 billion) last year. The Hunanprovincial government owns one-sixth of thecompany and is its largest shareholder. Callsto Zoomlion’s press office in Changsha rangunanswered.Police in the Hunan provincial capital,Changsha, said on its official microblog thatthe journalist had been detained on Saturdayfor alleged “damage to business reputation.”The newspaper adopted a slightly mockingtone in its plea: “If the heavens would give usa chance, then we would say: Uncle policemen,Brother Zoomlion, we beg you, releaseChen Yongzhou!”Chen is the second New Express reporterto be detained in recent months. In August,New Express reporter Liu Hu was detainedafter he made posts on his personal microblogurging authorities to investigate thedeputy director of the State Administrationfor Industry and Commerce, saying that theofficial had been derelict while working inChongqing.Associated PressSrinagar, October 23India today accused Pakistanitroops of firing guns and mortarson at least 50 Indian border postsovernight in the Kashmir region,calling it the most serious ceasefireviolation between the nuclear-armedneighbours in adecade.The attacks began yesterdaynight in southern Kashmir afterIndia’s home minister visited theregion to review security, BorderSecurity Force spokesman VinodYadav said. Indian troops returnedfire, but one guard waskilled and six were injured by ashell fired at the Arnia post in theJammu region, he said.At least 100 civilians were beingmoved from the villages of Arniaand Ramgarh near the frontier,local Indian police officer RajeshKumar said. Hundreds more weresheltering overnight in governmentcamps away from any gunfire,which had injured 12 civiliansin recent days, officials said.“These people usually go backto their homes in the day as thefiring incidents mainly occur duringthe night,” said civil administratorShantmanu, who uses onename.While nearly 200 smaller violationsof the 2003 cease-fire agreementhave been reported thisareas,” China’s Li told reporters followingtalks with Singh.The border defence cooperationagreement is built on existing confidence-buildingmeasures and is designedto ensurethat patrolling along the Line of ActualControl, as the unsettled border iscalled, does not escalate into an unintendedskirmish, an Indian officialsaid last week. Singh said the agreement“will add to the existing instrumentsto ensure peace, stability andpredictability on our borders”.Under the new deal, the two sideswill give notice of patrols along the illdefinedborder to ensure that patrolsdo not “tail” each other to reduce thechance of confrontation and will exercise“maximum self-restraint” shouldthe two sides come face to face in areaswhere the line of control is unclear.The two armies, strung out alongthe 4,000-km border from the high-altitudeLadakh plateau in the west tothe forests of Arunachal Pradesh inthe east, have also agreed to look atsetting up a hotline between toprankingofficers in addition to existingbrigade-level contacts.The border defence cooperationpact is a small step forward in acomplicated relationship markedby booming economic ties and growingdistrust. In May, armies from thetwo countries ended a three-weekstandoff in the western Himalayas afterChinese troops set up a camp atleast 10 km inside territory claimed byIndia, triggering a public outcry andcalls that India should stand up to itspowerful neighbour.China denied that troops hadcrossed into Indian territory.A Chinese airline earlier this monthblocked two Indian archers from disputedArunachal Pradesh from travellingto China, souring the mood in Indiaahead of Singh’s visit. But Li soughtto play down the differences.“China and India are two old civilisations,”he said. “Our two peopleshave the wisdom and our two governmentshave the ability to manageour differences along the border sothat it won’t affect the overall interestsof our bilateral relations.”Pak troops ‘attackedIndian border posts’Indian Foreign MinisterSalman Khurshid hasrejected (NawazSharif’s) idea of USinvolvement, sayingKashmir is a bilateralissue between Indiaand PakistanReutersyear, Yadav called the latest skirmishesthe most serious in adecade. In most cases, India orPakistan accuses the other of initiatingthe fighting.India also regularly accusesPakistan of supporting Kashmirirebels. An estimated 68,000 peoplehave been killed in the conflict,though most resistance isnow shown through streetprotests. Pakistan denies givingany backing to the rebels beyondmoral support.Both India and Pakistan, however,have reported an increase inthe number of cross-border attackssince the current Pakistaniand Indian prime ministers heldtheir first face-to-face meetinglast month in New York andagreed on the need toreduce tensions.Pakistani military officialshave said that inthe last week, ‘unprovokedfiring’ by Indianforces killed a Pakistanisoldier and a civilian.Ten other civilianswere wounded, thePakistani officials said,speaking on conditionof anonymity, in linewith military policy.Most recently, thePakistani officials said,Indian forces shelledDhamala village nearSialkot yesterday. Pakistanisoldiers returnedfire, and no casualtieswere reported.Pakistani Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif said he would askPresident Barack Obama during ameeting in Washington for US interventionand help in resolvingthe dispute.Speaking to reporters in London,Sharif noted that “India andPakistan both were nuclear powersand the region was a nuclearflash point.”Indian Foreign MinisterSalman Khurshid in New Delhirejected the idea of US involvement,saying Kashmir was a ‘bilateralissue between India andPakistan’.

PAGE 10www.thehimalayantimes.comTHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013BusinessCourt halts IBintervention inEIC till SundayAFP / RSSA file photo of an American Airlines Boeing 737 airplane taking off from the Ronald Reagan Washington NationalAirport in Arlington,Virginia. US aerospace and defence giant Boeing said on Wednesday, third-quarter profit soared12 per cent from a year ago and raised its 2013 earnings outlook on a pick-up in commercial aircraft deliveries.• STOCKSN NAME OF THE COMPANYSHARE VALUE IN RUPEES SHARES QTYMaximum Minimum Closing1 Ace Dev Bank Ltd 142 140 140 6,4322 Agricultural Dev Bank Ltd 279 275 279 6,5893 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 340 330 339 5284 Alliance Insurance Co Ltd 265 260 260 2195 Alpine Dev Bank Ltd 102 101 101 706 Asian Life Insurance Co. Ltd 447 435 443 3,0927 Bank of Kathmandu 555 548 550 7478 Butwal Power Co Ltd 800 800 800 5009 Bishwa Bikas Bank Ltd 160 157 160 44810 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 700 674 674 1,02711 Clean Energy Dev Bank Ltd 160 160 160 47612 Chilime Hydro power Co 1,340 1,325 1,328 2,51513 Citizen Investment Trust 1,900 1,895 1,900 19414 Country Dev Bank Ltd 71 71 71 16015 Commerz and Trust Bank Nepal Ltd 157 153 155 6,97816 Citizens Bank International Ltd 258 253 258 67917 Citizens Bank Int Ltd Promoter Share 139 137 139 15,05318 Diprox Dev Bank 561 561 561 18319 Everest Bank Ltd 1,640 1,606 1,630 2,04920 Fewa Finance Co Ltd 172 172 172 2021 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 158 155 156 40722 Global IME Bank Ltd 463 450 461 9,89423 Goodwill Finance Co Ltd 104 102 102 86324 Guras Life Insurance Co Ltd 245 228 245 4,80825 Grand Bank Nepal Ltd 195 190 192 7,18926 Gaurishankar Dev Bank Ltd 97 95 96 24227 Hama Merchant & Finance Ltd 71 69 71 38028 Himalayan Bank Ltd 752 737 737 60929 ICFC Finance Ltd 130 124 130 6630 Infrastructure Dev Bank Ltd 66 62 66 58231 International Leasing And Fin. Co 145 141 145 15032 Jyoti Bikas Bank Ltd 81 76 76 11,46033 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd 165 161 163 11,18034 Kumari Bank Ltd 304 295 301 13,79035 Kumari Bank Ltd Promotor Share 100 100 100 4,32036 Kamana Bikas Bank Ltd 161 156 156 1,26037 Laxmi Bank Ltd 348 340 340 98438 Lumbini Finance Ltd 118 118 118 43539 Lumbini General Insurance 213 200 209 2,55740 Lumbini Bank Ltd 208 202 202 2,57041 Mahakali Bikas Bank Ltd 143 143 143 1042 Machhachapuchhre Bank Ltd 243 238 240 6,34443 Mega Bank Nepal Ltd 204 200 203 29,88344 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 300 285 299 65745 Nabil Bank Ltd 2,160 2,111 2,140 2,54446 NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share 1,325 1,310 1,315 2,99247 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 399 385 390 5,14048 Nabil Balance Fund 1 9.89 9.69 9.7 9,29149 Nepal Bank Ltd 167 160 167 25,74150 Namastee Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 215 199 199 5051 Nepal Credit And Com. Bank 285 278 279 51,10952 NDEP Dev Bank Ltd 82 80 80 6,24953 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 880 872 880 2,74154 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 644 635 640 3,20755 Neco Insurance Co 146 146 146 1356 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 735 735 735 17257 NLG Insurance Co Ltd 481 478 479 1,98958 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd 2,249 2,201 2,201 1,31859 National LifeInsu. CoLtd 1,132 1,108 1,125 2,26360 NMB Bank Ltd 255 250 255 2,48661 Narayani National Finance Co Ltd 122 120 120 4,00062 Nepal Doorsanchar Co Ltd 614 602 608 2,13563 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 485 485 485 57264 Oriental Hotel Ltd 230 227 230 64065 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 330 326 326 4,47266 Premier Insurance Co Ltd 175 174 175 4867 Prudential Insurance Co 221 218 221 25068 Prime Life Insurance Co Ltd 388 383 383 72769 Professional Diyalo Bikas Bank Ltd 105 105 105 12070 Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd 106 105 105 35071 Rural Microfinance Dev Centre Ltd 553 548 550 9,42872 Sanima Bank Ltd 268 262 262 1,03373 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 780 780 780 12174 Siddhartha Bank Ltd 392 390 392 1,12475 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 1,820 1,800 1,800 50676 Seti Finance Ltd 114 110 114 61677 Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 115 115 115 6278 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 381 352 381 21,95779 Sagarmatha Insurance CoLtd 800 790 800 74880 Shikhar Insurance Co Ltd 500 490 500 51881 Siddhartha Inv Growth Scheme-1 10.44 10.35 10.35 42,00082 Siddhartha Insurance Ltd 355 355 355 10083 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd 682 670 680 14,04184 Swarojgar Laghu Bitta B Bank Ltd 371 361 365 55685 Surya Life Insurance Co Ltd 272 245 270 16,64486 Sunrise Bank Ltd 232 226 228 8,36287 Subhechha Bikas Bank Ltd 127 125 125 4288 Supreme Dev Bank Ltd 71 70 71 4,33589 Swabalamwan Bikash Bank 506 499 503 1,49290 Tourism Dev Bank Ltd 93 93 93 1,57991 Tinau Dev Bank Ltd 103 102 103 3292 Western Dev Bank Ltd 98 96 98 32493 Zenith Finance Ltd 88 88 88 88Total Traded Amount Rs: 120,552,208Float Index: 40.55 (-0.11)Total Market Cap Rs: 588,905.67 millionsBase: 24/08/2008=100Total Shares: 414,926Nepse Index: 580.55 (-1.24)Total Transactions: 1,803Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100 Date: October 23, 2013ECB set to beginbank stress testsunder new roleAgence France PresseFrankfurt, October 23European Central Bank saidon Wednesday it will startnext month to check the balancesheets of 124 eurozonebanks and ‘stress-test’ thembefore it becomes the sector’ssupervisor next year.The exhaustive year-longreview will seek to sniff outrisky loans and assets, insufficientcapital and other dangersthat would make banksmore vulnerable to financialshocks. ECB president MarioDraghi called the project ‘animportant step forward forEurope and for the future ofthe euro area economy’.“Transparency will be itsprimary objective,” he saidin a statement. “We expectthat this assessment willstrengthen private sectorconfidence in soundness ofeuro area banks and in qualityof their balance sheets.”The list of banks accountsfor 85 per cent of the eurozonebanking system and includesDeutsche Bank, BNPParibas, UBS, ABN AMRO,Banco Santander and theBank of Cyprus.The ‘comprehensive assessment’will look at ‘keyrisks’, review the quality ofbank assets and include ‘astress test to examine the resilienceof banks’ balancesheets to stress scenarios’,the ECB said.Aside from building transparencyand taking any necessarycorrective actions, theexercise aims ‘to assure allstakeholders that banks arefundamentally sound andtrustworthy’.Agence France PresseMumbai, October 23The Centre One shopping mall onthe outskirts of Mumbai is gloomyand bereft of customers, even duringIndia’s annual festive and weddingseason when retailers traditionallycash in.“Business is dull, usually weak,”said one bored-looking fashionsalesman. The shopping centre’sempty look is no exception.In the past decade, supermarketsand malls have spread across India’slarge cities and towns, fuelledby fast economic growth andexcitement about middle-classbuying power.A ‘Malls in India’ report releasedby Images Research last monthfound 470 shopping centres wereoperational this year, up from just50 malls in 2005, and expected tosoar to 720 by 2016.“But over 90 per cent of India’smalls are struggling,” said SusilDungarwal, founder of BeyondThe review starting in Novemberwill look at December31, 2013 data and be carriedout together with nationalauthorities and supportedby an external consultingfirm. To crisis-proofbanks, the ECB will requirethem to set aside eight percentof capital as buffersagainst financial shocks.Berenberg Bank senioreconomist Christian Schulzsaid the exercise will increasetransparency, triggerfurther balance sheet repairand restore confidence inthe eurozone banking sector.“A successful exercise couldcomplete the process ofhealing after the Lehmanand eurozone crises.”ECB in late 2014 takes onthe new role of single supervisorof banks in eurozone,which will have 18 membersfrom January when Latviajoins the currency bloc.The single supervisorymechanism (SSM) is part ofEurope’s banking union project,to be discussed furtherat a Brussels summit thisweek. Germany’s Federal FinancialSupervisory Authority(BaFin) praised ECB’s review,which will cover 24banks that make up 65 percent of German banking sector.“The assessment ensuresthat before the launch ofECB supervision there istransparency as to potentialrisks and burdens,” saidBaFin president Elke Koenig.“Diligence is thereforeagain more importantthan speed.” The eurozonehas this year started to graduallyemerge from its deeprecession.Dikshya SinghSquarefeet, a mall managementand advisory firm based in Mumbai.“Just 15 of these can be countedas running successfully.”India’s middle-classes with theirrising disposable incomes havelong been considered a dream formall-builders.The country’s retail sector is setto grow at an annual rate of 16 to 19per cent, reaching IRs 56.8 trillion($901 billion) in 2016, the ImagesResearch report shows.The government has also relaxedforeign investment rules in a bid toattract international supermarketsand boost the economy throughretail. But Dungarwal and otheranalysts say the majority of India’sshopping centres are strugglingwith a potent mix of high real-estateprices, bad planning and sluggishdemand as economy slows.When it opened in 2003, the150,000-square-foot, threestoreyedCentre One was billed asthe first world-class mall in NaviMumbai, a satellite town that isKathmandu, October 23The Patan Appellate Court hasstayed the insurance regulator’sdismissal of Everest InsuranceCompany (EIC)’s CEO and thesuspension of the executiveboard, till Sunday.Back on October 8, the regulator— Insurance Board (IB) — hadsuspended the company’s directorsfrom being involved in anyinsurance business for the nextfive years and fired then CEO KebalKrishna Shrestha, while takingover the management of EIC. Theannulled board’s members andCEO had lodged a writ petition atPatan Appellate Court to reversethe regulator’s moves.“The Court has issued a stay orderon today’s hearing on a writpetition till October 27,” informedregistrar at Patan Appellate CourtNirpa Dhoj Niraula.For the first time in Nepal’s insurancehistory, IB had taken overthe management of an insurancefirm, drafting its own team tohandle the management after thecompany failed to run its businesssince the past three months.Despite being in good financialstate, EIC had run into trouble asit was found to have flouted regulationson 18 different countsmore than a year ago.Following the stay order, theIB’s management team is forbiddento be engaged with EIC affairstill the final verdict.“The court will give a final verdictonly after hearing from bothsides —petitioner and petitioneeare summoned to be present onOctober 27 for the hearing,” informedNiraula.In addition, the then dismissedboard has also filed an appealfor interlocutory order against IBfor taking over the managementof EIC.“Today, the hearing for the appealcould not take place due toHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Simrik Airlines, today, started operationsto Lukla with aircraft leased fromAgni Air. The operations were startedwith a Dornier 228 aircraft after SimrikAirlines signed a five-year lease agreementwith Grand Bank Nepal.According to the company, GrandBank along with Sunrise Bank and InternationalLeasing and Finance Companyhad financed Agni Air and it hadfailed to repay loans worth more thanRs 600 million to the banks.“We have taken five aircraft of AgniAir on a five-year lease agreement withGrand Bank Nepal,” said executive directorof Simrik Airlines CaptainRameshwor Thapa. The details of thelease agreement were not disclosed.“We hope the initiative will help inAgni Air’s revival and prevent it fromlimitation of court time,” informedNiraula.However, the regulator is yet toget a confirmed report about thecourt’s decision to stay EIC’s CEOand board dismissal, according toIB chairman, Dr Fatta BahadurKC. “After we receive formal summonand notice from the court,we will take action accordingly,”he informed.IB had also not renewed EverestInsurance’s operating licence forthis year as the non-life insurerfailed to get the suspension on itsfire portfolio revoked. Moreover,the management and then boardare accused by their own employeesof trying to shut down thecompany instead of getting theiract straight.The non-life insurance companyran into trouble more than ayear ago after it was found tohave made payments to an insuranceclaim worth Rs 40 millionmade by Himalayan Snax beforethe surveyor submitted thefinal report. Since HimalayanSnax and Everest Insurance arepromoted by Khetan Group, theregulator was suspicious of thehasty transaction.“We have already started towork on the claim settlementsamong others,” informed IB’schartered accountant SantoshPrasai who is heading IB’s team atEIC. There are more than 1500cases of outstanding claims.The IB’s team is supposed tohold an annual general meetingand elect a new executive board,investigate the amount of lossthat the company has incurreddue to the ongoing problem, andmake the people responsiblecompensate the loss.IB has also directed to freezethe shares owned by the directors— including former chairman RajendraKhetan — and their familymembers until the loss to thecompany is assessed and compensated,as per the law.completely collapsing,” Thapa said.Simrik Airlines officially startedflights to Lukla with a Dornier aircraft.After a month it will operate anotherDornier aircraft and three months laterthe company has plans to operateall three Jet Stream aircraft.“The aviation market has a high fleetdemand but the number of domesticairlines are unable to fulfil the demand,”said chief executive officer ofGrand Bank Sudhir Khatri. “We hopethat the lease agreement will create awin-win situation for both airlinecompanies and the bank,” he added.After the lease agreement withGrand Bank, Simrik Airlines is nowliable to repay loans worth Rs 570 millionwith interest that were takenby Agni Air from Grand. Simrik willalso have to repay loans of Rs 150 –Rs 200 million acquired under consortiumfinancing from two otherYamaha MahamelaKATHMANDU: MAW Enterprises —the authorised dealer of Yamaha twowheelersin Nepal — is hosting the‘Yamaha Scooter Exchange Mahamela’,at Bhrikutimandap, on 24-26October. The major attraction of theevent is an old motorbike or scooterexchange offer with Yamaha Rayscooter — the most popular scooterat present even among boys. Theevent will see the participation ofover 10 renowned dealers and over 40reputed re-condition houses,promising the best value for yourtwo-wheelers. There will also be a facilityof spot finance from over 15 financialinstitutions offering up to 70per cent finance facility with a competitiveinterest rate starting from14.5 per cent. Additionally, on everypurchase of a scooter, buyers will getsure gift packs. — HNS• FOREX RATESThe foreign exchange rates for October 24 as fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank are as follows:CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs.) SELLING (in Rs.)Swiss Franc 1 109.65 110.32Australian Dollar 1 94.51 95.09Canadian Dollar 1 95.08 95.66Singapore Dollar 1 79.19 79.67Saudi Riyal 1 26.16 26.32Qatari Riyal 1 26.95 27.11Thai Bhat 1 3.15 3.17UAE Dihram 1 26.71 26.88Malaysian Ringit 1 30.99 31.18Swedish Krona 1 15.39Danish Krona 1 18.10Hong Kong Dollar 1 12.66Note: Under the present system the open market exchange rates quoted bydifferent /commercial banks may differ.Simrik Air leases Agni Air aircraftfilled with apartment and officetowers. But competition from larger,better-designed malls such asInorbit and Raghuleela, whichsprung up nearby later, drew thecrowds away.In the last year alone, Mumbaisuburbs have seen the Milan Malland the City Mall shut down, whileothers such as Evershine and MegaMall are struggling to stay afloat,analysts say. “There is a huge mismatchbetween the demand forconsumption and the pace atwhich retail real estate is expanding,”says Saloni Nangia, presidentof consultancy Technopak.India’s slowing economy, withgrowth at a decade-low of five percent in the year to March 2013, hasput a firm dampener on spending.But other factors are compoundingthe troubles at the tills. Over thepast decade, builders and developershave rushed to build withoutpaying sufficient attention to whata mall requires to survive.Until recently, most ignored theso-called ‘catchment’ area,analysing the geographical areafrom which a mall attracts most ofits visitors, experts say.In the northern Indian city ofGurgaon in Haryana state is thehyped ‘Mall-Mile’ — a vast stretchof nearly a dozen shopping malls,built almost one after another.“Not all of them are workingout,” said Devangshu Dutta, chiefexecutive with retail consultancyThird Eyesight, adding that theywere all chasing too few shoppers.The oversupply of malls meansmany have empty space: about afifth of Centre One lies bare and sodoes up to 75 per cent of theDreams Mall in Bhandup, an easternsuburb.Mumbai’s Atria, once a packedmall, now has ‘For Rent’ signs comingup and looks deserted, with lowfootfalls owing to ‘bad designing,causing people to miss stores’,Dungarwal said.Another nearby mall, Sobo Central,is unable to draw the crowds asfinancial institutions.According to the agreement, SimrikAir will have to share the profit earnedthrough the operation of the leasedaircraft with Agni Air. Agni Air hadstarted the process of looking for potentialbuyers after it started sufferingfrom huge bank loans and staff paymentdues.Agni Air had started operations in2006 with three Jet Stream and twoDornier aircraft.Meanwhile, Simrik Airlines hadstarted regular flights with Beechcraft1900 in February 2013. At present, itoperates flights to Pokhara, Bhairahawa,and Simara, and today with theleased Dornier 228 aircraft it has extendedflights to Tenzing Hillary Airportin Lukla. According to CaptainThapa, once the lease agreement expiresthe aircraft will be returned toAgni Air.Failed malls in India point to soured retail boomTHTit does not offer a food court nor amultiplex. “People do not go to ashopping mall to shop. They gothere for the experience, to hangaround,” said Dungarwal.India’s real estate is amongst thesteepest in the world, and KishoreBhatija, owner of Inorbit Mall, saidcosts have risen by 300 per cent inMumbai, which is 50 times morethan markets such as Delhi, Bangalore,Chennai or Kolkata.Retailers are therefore facing thedouble whammy of spiralling realestate prices and sluggish sales.They also face growing competitionfrom online retailers such asFlipkart, India’s answer to Amazon,which hand-delivers goods to thefront door for minimal cost.Shoppers can buy with the clickof the mouse, with no need to battletraffic jams or India’s punishingweather. “Malls will have to doeverything to drive footfalls. Theywill have to make sure there isenough excitement to attract people,”said Dutta of Third Eyesight.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013www.thehimalayantimes.comBUSINESSPAGE 11• BIZ BRIEFSHeineken sales downTHE HAGUE: Dutch brewerHeineken posted a lower-than-expectedprofit outlook for 2013 afterearnings fell by 15 per cent year-onyearfor the third quarter, blamingthis on continuing economic crisis incountries such as Greece. Heinekennow expects 2013 net profit to declinein the low single digits on an organicbasis, the Amsterdam-based groupsaid. Heineken posted a net profit of483 million euros for the third quartercompared to 568 million euros yearon-year.Before revising its figures,Heineken was banking on a 2013 netprofit ‘broadly in line’ with last year’s2.9 billion euros. — AFPPeugeot holds targetsPARIS: Struggling French auto makerPSA Peugeot Citroen reported a fall inthird-quarter sales and warned thatone of its ventures with General Motorswas in doubt on Wednesday, butheld to its financial targets. The priceof shares in the group, the biggestFrench car manufacturer and the second-biggestin Europe after the VWgroup, rose by 4.71 per cent to 10.89euros in initial trading. Peugeot saidthat sales in the quarter fell by 3.7 percent on a 12-month comparison to12.1 billion euros. Sales by the autodivision fell by 5.8 per cent and by thebanking subsidiary by 5.1 per cent.Sales by the auto-parts subsidiaryFaurecia were little changed, firmingby 0.8 per cent. In the first ninemonths of the year, sales fell by 3.8per cent to 39.8 billion euros. — AFPTurkish interest ratesANKARA: Turkey’s central bank heldits key interest rates steady onWednesday, keeping the overnightrate at 7.75 per cent, holding the lineon a commitment to avoid using interestrates to shore up the lira. TheTurkish currency and governmentborrowing costs on the bond marketwere hit when the US Federal Reservecentral bank signalled in May it mightbegin to taper its monetary stimulus,some of which had boosted assetprices in emerging economies. — AFPReutersSan Francisco, October 23Apple Inc on Tuesday offered freeupgrades for life on its operatingsystem and business software, andunveiled thinner iPads and fasterMac computers ahead of a competitiveholiday shopping season.The debut of the one-pound iPadAir and MacBook Pro with sharper‘retina’ display repeats a pattern ofrecent launches with improvementsin existing lines rather thantotally new products, and Appleshares fell 0.3 per cent for the day.Apple said upgrades to its Macoperating system and iWork softwaresuite, which compete with MicrosoftCorp’s Excel, Word and otherapplications, will now be offered forall MacBooks and Mac computers.That brings Apple’s model of freesystem software upgrades onphones and tablets to the computermarket, where Apple is still the underdogto Microsoft’s Windows.Apple may be trying to safeguardits grip on mobile software as Microsoftrevs up its Windows-poweredSurface Pro, which runs applications,such as Word or Excel, thatare the standard for business customers,analysts said.“We are turning the industry onits ear, but this is not why we’re doingit,” Apple chief executive TimCook told media and technology executivesat San Francisco’s YerbaBuena Center. “We want our customersto have our latest software.”India’s Jet Airwaysposts sharp lossAgence France PresseMumbai, October 23Indian carrier Jet Airways,in which Abu Dhabi-basedEtihad is buying a stake, onWednesday posted one ofits worst ever quarterly results,hit by the economicslowdown, rising fuel costsand a depreciating rupee.Jet announced a net lossof IRs 8.91 billion ($144million) in the secondquarter ended September,against a loss of IRs 997million in the same perioda year earlier.This is the third successivequarterly loss postedby Jet and came despiterevenues edging up 1.3 percent to IRs 41.94 billion.“Lean season and theeconomic slowdown resultedin a drop in yields(returns),” said a companystatement. “The depreciatingcurrency, high fuelcosts and increase in airportcharges at some Indianairports drove up costpressures, resulting in losses,”it added.Jet forecast a better earningsoutlook for the currentquarter which ends December.Earlier this month, thegovernment cleared Jet tosell a 24 per cent stake toEtihad, in the first deal witha foreign carrier since reformswere announced lastyear allowing them to buyup to 49 per cent.The $335 million dealhas been delayed by a lastditchlegal challenge. India’sSupreme Court is expectedto announce a verdicton a public interest litigationwhich challengesthe sale by the month-end.Consumable loans soar during festive seasonHimalayan News Serviceof commercial banks can be attributedpoint for home loans till November — Greenhill City, CE Constructions borrower’s repayment capacity, creditto the increased purchases of targeting festive buyers,” he added. and Civil Homes to name a few — history and income level. There isKathmandu, October 23houses and automobiles, among others.Along with Standard Chartered have announced heavy discounts on less chance of borrowers defaultingWith more people going on a buyingspree during Dashain, the autumnseason sees a chunk of bank lendingflowing towards personal and consumablepurposes.Between the beginning of Septembertill the first week of October,banks floated additional loans of Rs17 billion as businesses and peopleprepped themselves up for festivepurchases. Moreover, almost all electronicbrands and automobile companiesoffer discounts and bankscomplement the discounts by slashinginterest rates, so that consumerscan make purchases.This year also, the surge in lendingIn the first quarter of last fiscalyear — between mid-July to mid-September—lending by financial institutionsunder consumption loan increasedby more than Rs 2.5 billion.Likewise, during the same period,personal home loans and hire-purchaseloans also went up by Rs 2.6 billionand Rs 1.16 billion, respectively.“During this season we see moredemand for loans that are personal innature, so we too have offered festivediscounts on home and auto loans,”informed head of corporate affairs atStandard Chartered Bank Nepal DiwakarPoudel. “We have slashed interestrates by half to one percentageBank, banks such as Himalayan Bank,Commerz and Trust Bank Nepal andEverest Bank have also reduced theinterest rates for home and auto loansto about nine per cent for this season.Likewise, Global IME Bank also introducedan offer for credit card holderstargeting expenses to be made duringthis season.Electronic brands such as Samsung,Philips, LG and Whirlpool,among others have special discountsand free gift offers. Likewise, twowheelerand four-wheeler brands likeMahindra, Yamaha and Maruti Suzukialso have offered freebies to lurecustomers. Even housing companiesready-to-move-in units.People have started to wait forDashain schemes before making purchasesof major commodities such aselectronics, automobiles and housesin the hope of lucrative discounts.As a result, there is more demandfor loans in autumn — Septemberto November.Of late, banks seem to be movingtowards home and auto loans insteadof being dependent solely on corporateloans as business activities seemto have hit a snooze button. Mostconsumable loans like home loans,auto loans, credit card loans or directpersonal loans are made based on theon these loans, therefore, theseloans are considered a relativelysafe investment.However, on the eve of Dashain,commercial banks saw its depositsdeplete a bit following large scalewithdrawal by the public for festivespending. In the second week of October,deposits at banks declined byRs five billion.“We don’t see any other reason besidespeople withdrawing depositsfrom banks to spend during festivalson different things for the decline indeposits right before Dashain,” saiddeputy CEO of Sanima Bank BhuvanKumar Dahal.A student speaking with a megaphone as she takes part in a demonstration against the government's cuts on education spendingnear the headquarters of the Catalan government, the Palau de la Generalitat, in Barcelona, on Wednesday.Apple unveils iPad Air, new Macs for holidaysThe market is awash in inexpensivetablets running Google Inc’sAndroid software, but the companymay be focused on fending off athreat from the high end.“In the tablet PC market, they dothink Microsoft is a bigger threatthan Android,” said Gartner analystCarolina Milanesi. “The iPad Air willcompete with Surface Pro, not somerinky-dink Android tablet.”Gartner estimates that Apple’sshare of the global tablet market willslip to 47.2 per cent in 2014, withAndroid-based tablets just overtakingApple’s this year. The IT researchoutfit expects Microsoft tablets tograb 3.4 per cent of the market thisyear, double the 1.7 per cent forecastfor 2013.Microsoft gets 65 per cent of itsWindows revenue, which totalled$19.2 billion last fiscal year, fromPC manufacturers which put thesystem on its machines, and 35per cent from other sources, chieflypeople and businesses buyingits software separately to installthemselves.The latest version of Windows,when bought separately to installon an old computer, starts at $120Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook holding up the new iPad Air during an Appleevent in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday.Reutersfor a home version and goes up to$200 for the full ‘Pro’ version. Thelatest Windows 8.1 upgrade was freefor customers running Windows 8.Apple’s product launches onTuesday were evolutionary, with thenew iPads equipped with fasterprocessors and better screens.Cook, at an industry conference inMay, had hinted at ‘several moregame changers’ from Apple whichcould include wearable computers,but had not given a time frame.“As always with Apple, expectationson systematic breakthroughhardware innovations are irrational,”said Forrester analystThomas Husson said.“Apple is good at inventing newproducts and at maximising profitabilityof its product range overtime through software innovationsand clever marketing.”Apple’s new iPad Air — its fullsizetablet — is about 20 per centthinner than the previous generationof tablets, weighs one poundand starts at $499. It will go on saleon November 1.The iPad mini now has a ‘retina’high-resolution screen and starts at$399, compared with $329 for theprevious mini model. The two newtablets would face stiff competition,with Microsoft, Nokia and Amazon.comInc all plugging rival devicesin coming months.Apple also showed off a new MacPro, a premium and high-poweredcylindrical desktop computer thatwill be assembled in United States.ReutersMadrid, October 23AFP / RSSSpain’s economy exited atwo-year recession in thethird quarter thanks tostrong exports, though withdemand at home still depressed,sustainable growththat creates jobs may remainelusive for years.Gross domestic productgrew 0.1 per cent in the thirdquarter from the second, theBank of Spain said onWednesday, marking theeconomy’s first expansion innine quarters.Spain’s economy hasshrunk or has been stagnantevery year since 2008, when aproperty market collapse leftmillions out of work, forced adeep financial sector overhauland drove thousands ofcompanies in bankruptcy.One of the euro zone’shighest public deficits, nervousdebt markets and aparalysed construction sectorhas since then forced thegovernment to pass toughPAF launchese-Chautari platformHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23The Poverty AlleviationFund (PAF) has launchedan electronic platformcalled e-Chautari to engagecommunities in discussionson effectiveness ofprogrammes launched bythe fund.The platform, built insupport of the World Bank,was launched today byChairman of Interim ElectionCouncil Khil Raj Regmiamidst a function held tomark the International Dayfor the Eradication ofPoverty in Kathmandu.“Using this platform,beneficiaries of programmeslaunched by thePAF can file complaints.They can also lay suggestionson enhancing effectivenessof projects onpoverty alleviation,” PAFspokesperson Shree RamSubedi said. For this, peoplecan use their mobilephones and send text messagesor go to PAF’s websiteand write what they feelabout programmeslaunched by the PAF. “Gradually,we plan to introduce atoll free number so thatusers can directly call us.”Currently, the platformhas been launched in Kapilvastudistrict. “We will graduallyextend the programmeto other districts aswell,” Subedi said. PAF iscurrently operating programmesin 40 districts ofcountry and has coveredaround 650,000 poorhouseholds in those districts.It is planning to extendits programmes in 15more districts in this fiscal.Chief secretary LeelaMani Poudyal said that theelectronic platform wouldtruly benefit people if thePAF is able to immediatelyattend to complaints filedby people.Exports finally pull Spain out ofrecession in third quarterausterity measures andstructural reforms in an effortto clean up the country’sfinances and nurse it back toeconomic health.That process, whichpushed the country close torequesting sovereign aidlast year, is now starting tobear fruit, at least for manybusinesses with a presenceabroad.“After recently implementedreforms, Spain has becomean export powerhouse,and it will fully leave the recessionbehind in 2014 withprivate investment and consumptiongrowth turningpositive after three years ofdecline and credit levels stabilising,”economist andpartner at financial advisoryfirm Arcano, Ignacio delTorre said.“Though Spain still facesclear risks, it presents astrong potential upside in theyears 2015 to 2020, and thisupside is still not measuredby many investors.”The central bank said exportscontributed 0.4 percentagepoints to third quartergrowth while internal demandhad a negative impactof 0.3 points.Its GDP numbers, which itpresents as estimates ratherthan firm data, are traditionallyreleased a week or so beforestatistics agency INE’sofficial preliminary figures,which are due this quarter onOctober 30. The two sets ofdata rarely differ.Spain’s economy hasshrunk by 7.5 per cent sincethe beginning of 2008. Butover the same period, the exportsector has grown by 14.6per cent and is now worthover a third of total outputcompared to around a fifthfive years ago.Exports grew 6.6 per centfrom January to Augustfrom a year earlier to arecord 155.8 billion euros($214.6 billion), the EconomyMinistry said on Wednesday,while retail sales fell forthe 38th month runningin August.

PAGE 12www.thehimalayantimes.comTHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013SportsTanka, Pratima earn Mission Hills tickets• TIME OUTBangladeshi golfer Afnam claims boys’U-16 title to qualify for Faldo Series Asia FinalHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Tanka Bahadur Karki and PratimaSherpa of Nepal andBangladesh’s Afnam Mahmudearned tickets to Faldo SeriesAsia Final here at the GokarnaGolf Club today.Tanka won the boys’ U-21section title along with theoverall trophy, while Pratimalifted the girls’ section and Afnambagged the boys’ U-16category title in the secondFaldo Series Nepal Championship.The Asia Final isscheduled for March next yearat the Mission Hills in China.“I am happy to earn thechance to represent the country,”said Tanka, who cardedone-over 73 today to add to hisovernight total of three-over 75for a 36-hole total of four-over148. “But I am not delightedwith the score though the overallperformance over the twodays was okay,” he added.“I need to improve my chippingand putting before goingto China,” said Tanka, whoseseriousness with the gamecame only last year after NepalGolf Association General SecretaryTashi Ghale brought himHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23Turkish Airlines and EuroleagueBasketball haveagreed to extend the sponsorshipdeal for seven more seasonsthrough 2020, in Istanbulon Tuesday.The new agreement, one ofthe biggest sponsorship dealsin basketball history, meansthat Europe’s premier competitionwill be known as theTurkish Airlines Euroleaguefor an entire decade from thestart of the original partnershipin 2010, said Turkish Airlinesin a release.(From left) Afnam Mahmud of Bangladesh, Nepal’s Tanka Bahadur Karki and Pratima Sherpahold their gold medals after winning the Faldo Series Nepal Championship at the GokarnaGolf Club in Kathmandu on Wednesday.here from Bhutan.Tanka took the turn at oneunder35 and was two-underfor the day until the penultimatehole before he droppedthree shots on the last twoholes, a double bogey on the17th and bogey on the final.Shiva Raj Majhi of Dharanwas a distant second at 156,Turkish Airlines, Euroleague ink dealDuring their first threeyears together, EuroleagueBasketball and Turkish Airlineswent beyond title sponsorshipto build collaboration.“First, let me thank TurkishAirlines for proving itselfto be the exact type of forward-thinking,fully-engagedpartner needed to help oursport improve off the court asmuch as our basketball professionalshave done on thecourt this century,” JordiBertomeu, President andCEO of Euroleague Basketball,said.“Our new agreement willassure that not only the relationshipbetween Euroleagueand Turkish Airlines will continueto get bigger and better,together we can provide ourclubs and fans with the elitecompetition they deserve.”“Strengthening the corporatecooperation initiated in2010 with Euroleague Basketball,Europe’s top-level basketballevent and one of themost popular basketball organisationsin the world, is astrategic step in enhancingthe prestige and brandawareness of Turkish Airlineson a global scale,” said TurkishAirlines Board ChairmanHamdi Topcu.eight strokes behind thewinner. Ashok Lama finishedthird at 162.Pratima was not impressiveon both the days but managedHimalayan News ServiceKathmandu, October 23An all-round Nepal registeredback-to-back victory in theirNew Delhi tour defeatingDDCA U-25 team by five wicketsin a practice match at theRoshanara Club grounds today.Nepal bowled well restrictingthe local side to 123-6 in 20overs. The visitors were hit hardby the first ball dismissal ofSubash Khakurel (naught) inreply but other batsmen madefair contribution before a sixfrom Sharad Vesawkar tookNepal to 124-6 with just twoballs to spare.Coach Pubudu Dassanayaketold The Himalayan Times thatthe victory came against so farBibhu BhusalPokhara, October 23Yeti Himalayan Sherpa Clubdefeated visiting Yeti FootballClub of Australia 2-0and entered the third SafalPokhara Cup quarter-finalshere today.Dhiraj Tamang scored inthe first half and assisted forSequn Akinade Eyitayo forthe second after the breakfor the victory that sent thevisitors packing after theirfirst match. HimalayanSherpa will now lock hornswith fellow ‘A’ Division outfitand 2011 finalists TribhuvanArmy Club in Sunday’squarter-final.The U-19 national teamforward Dhiraj put HimalayanSherpa ahead intheir first notable move firinghome from the box in aone-on-one encounter withYeti goalkeeper Anthony afterPukar Gahatraj set forto earn tickets to China. Pratima,who played 21-over 93 onthe first day, played a round of16-over 88 in the second roundfor a total of 181.Aditi Ghimire came secondat 187, while Kashmira Shahcame third at 214. “It is a matterof pride to get an opportunityto represent the country,”said Pratima, who was nothappy with her overall performance.“I played horrible golfover the past two days. I needto work a lot in my chippingand putting. Hopefully I will beable to improve in those areasas we are to get training fromAsutralian coach,” added the14-year-old from Royal NepalGolf Club. Aditi Ghimire camesecond at 187 after she fired21-over 93, while KashmiraShah was third at 214.In the boys’ U-16 category,Bangladeshi player Afnamdominated the field andclaimed the four-stroke victoryover Ajeet BK of Nepal. He producedthe best card of thetournament at even-par 72 fora total of nine-over 153.Ajeet was second at 162,whereas Prithvi Malla finishedthird at 166. There was somesolace for Aditi and Ajeet as theAll round Nepal cruise to victorythe best team they playedagainst during the tour. “Theybowled well with their spinnerscoming handy and there wasone decent fast bowler either.We gave a good performanceon the field against a goodteam,” said Dassanayake.Pradeep Airee and Sagar Punsteadied the innings with a 42-run stand for the second wicket.Sagar made 19 from 27 ballswith two boundaries and a six.Pradeep made 26 off 31 withfour fours and departed sixballs after Sagar lost his wicket.Skipper Paras Khadka andGyanendra Malla then added37 runs with Paras hitting twosixes in his 21-ball 23. After thedeparture of Paras, Gyanendrashared 33 runs with Binodduo earned spots for theMalaysian Junior Championshipslated for November.According to the Nepal GolfAssociation (NGA) GeneralSecretary Tashi Ghale, the organiserhas invited two Nepaliplayers for the championshipin Malaysia. Meanwhile, theNGA said top 10 playersamong the Nepali participantswere selected for a four-daytraining to be conducted byAustralian PGA coach Kim atthe Gokarna Golf Club drivingrange from Thursday.In all, 41 players participatedin the 36-hole tournament, thesecond edition of the Faldo SeriesNepal Championship, organisedjointly by NGA. SangayOngdi Lama and Sunil KC hadrepresented Nepal in last year’sfinals at the Mission Hills.Sangay had won the girls’section title to qualify, whileSunil was awarded with thewild card for finishing the tournamentas the best playeramong the local golfers. NGAPresident Madhukar Yakthumba,Gokarna Golf Club PresidentSuhrid Ghimire and Tournamentcoordinator and NGAVice-president PB Rai gaveaway prizes to the winners.Players and officials of the national women's football team during a farewell programme aheadof their departure to Qatar, at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato on Wednesday. Nepal will playfriendly matches against Qatar national team on October 24 and 26.Bhandari but lost his wicketwith Nepal six runs sigh of thetarget with three balls left.Sharad finished off thematch in style with a six offKuldeep Rawat in the first ballhe faced. Binod remained unbeatenon 26 off just 14 ballshitting three sixes. Gyanendracollected 18 from 24 balls withtwo boundaries.Earlier, Sagar took two wicketsas Nepali spinners containedthe hosts with a disciplinedbowling conceding just51 runs from their collective 10overs. Shakti Gauchan, RahulKumar BK, Paras and AmritBhattarai took one wicket each.Nipun Malhotra top scored forDDCA U-25 with 25 runs andAkarshit Gomil made 24.the striker from the rightflankin the 25th minute.Man-of-the-match Dhirajthen turned the provider forunmarked Sequn, who slottedthe second goal in the58th minute.Himalayan Sherpa putYeti FC under pressure rightfrom the outset creatingscoring chances at regularintervals. Sequn ended upfiring high on a one-on-oneencounter with custodianAnthony in the 11th minuteand missed yet anotherchance in a similar fashionat the half-an-hour mark.The ‘A’ Division outfitwere close from adding anotherafter the break butpowerful strikes from Pukarand substitute KrishnaLama rebounded off thewoodworks. Yeti spent mostof the times at their ownhalf and Himalayan Sherpagoalie Sagar Gurung did restof the job preventing fewPhoto Courtesy: DCASubodh Ayer of DCA bowls againstRP Academy during their friendlymatch in Colombo on Wednesday.DCA lose two-in-twoKATHMANDU: Nepal’s DhangadhiCricket Academy (DCA) lost both ofits matches in their Sri Lanka tour onWednesday. DCA lost the first matchagainst RP Cricket Academy by 19runs before losing to KaikawalaSchool by six runs. In the first match,RP made 143-7 from 20 overs withAskar Kamdin making 61 runs. DCAopeners Dipendra Thapa (45) andRoshan Adhikari (34) added 86 runsfor the first wicket but the team ultimatelyfell19 runs short managingonly 124-9. In the second match,Kaikawala made 135 runs andstopped DCA on 129-8. Bibesh Singhtop scored with 35 runs for the Nepaliteam. DCA will now play two morematches against RP on Friday. — HNSShiva Ram in dangerKATHMANDU: Nepal No 1 ShivaRam Shrestha carded two-over 74 inthe opening round of the Bilt Open atthe Jaypee Golf Club in Greater Noidaon Wednesday. The RNGC pro playedone-over 37 on either halves to have ashare of 66th position. His round includedthree birdies against as manybogeys and a double bogey on the finalhole. “It was going well until thefinal hole where I had to dig hard for adouble bogey after hitting a bad drivershot,” Shiva Ram said. “I will trymy best to return with under-parscore in the second round and hopeto make the cut,” he added. AnotherNepali player, Toran Bikram Shahiwas at joint 75th position after shootingthree-over 75. Rashid Khan cardedeight-under 64 to take one-shotlead over fellow Indian pro DigvijaySingh in the event played under theProfessional Golf Tour of India. — HNSNawalparasi throughPARASI: Co-hosts Nawalparasi andKailali advanced into the Ncell 15thNational Women’s Football Championshipquarter-finals in Sunwal onWednesday. Nawalparasi defeatedSurkhet 3-0 on goals from SushmaBista (23), Ranjana Lama (53) andHasina Begam (77). Meanwhile,Kailali rode on a hat-trick from MinaChaudhary to beat Taplejung 3-1.Likewise, Kathmandu overwhelmedDolakha 4-0 at the Gauritar Stadiumin Hetaunda. Alina Shah scored abrace, while Babi Gurung andRabina Maharjan struck one eachfor Kathmandu. — HNSHimalayan Sherpa send Yeti FC packingPukar Gahatraj (left) ofHimalayan SherpaClub vies for the ballwith a Yeti FC opponentduring their third SafalPokhara Cup match atthe Pokhara Stadiumon Wednesday.Krishna Mani Baral / THTUdipt Singh Chhetry / THTchances they created.Sagar denied the lonestriker of the visiting side BinamHona twice in the 15thand 28th minute. Bijay Karkiand Umesh Khadka alsosquandered easy scoringchances after the break.Himalayan Sherpa coachBikash Gauchan creditedthe hard work of his boysfor the win. “My boys playedthe entire match in a consistentpace. We shouldhave won with even biggermargin but missed anumber of chances especiallyin the second half,”said the coach.He added his side willface an acid test in the tournamentwhen they take onthe Armymen in the quarters.Yeti FC coach PrabeshKC said: “We came here togive exposure to our juniorplayers.” Hosts Pokhara-XIwill take on Nepal APF Clubin Thursday’s match.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013Torres, Messi on targetReutersMilan, October 23• UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEChelsea's Fernando Torres runs with the ball during theirChampions League Group E match against Schalke 04 inGelsenkirchen, Germany on Tuesday.AP / RSSLionel Messi marked his firststart after injury with a goalin Barcelona’s 1-1 draw at ACMilan in the ChampionsLeague on Tuesday whileFernando Torres got two asChelsea thumped Schalkeand Atletico Madrid’s chargecontinued.Robert Lewandowski gotthe 82nd-minute winner asBorussia Dortmund put thebrakes on Arsenal’s campaignwith a 2-1 win in Londonthat, along with Napoli’s2-1 victory at OlympiqueMarseille, put three teams onsix points in Group F.There is a clear leader inGroup G, where Atleticomade it three wins fromthree with a 3-0 victory atAustria Vienna that left thema point away.With Diego Costa scoringtwice, including a stunningsolo effort, they went fivepoints clear of secondplacedZenit St Petersburg,who made the most of thesixth-minute sending off ofPorto’s Hector Herrera tobeat their hosts 1-0.In Group E, Chelseamoved level on six pointswith Schalke 04 at the topwith a 3-0 win in Germanywhere Torres celebrated his100th start for the club with afifth-minute opener and anotherafter 69 minutes beforeEden Hazard added a lategoal. The top two are clear ofthird-placed Basel, who havefour points ahead of SteauaBucharest on one after thosetwo teams shared the spoilsin a 1-1 draw in Romania.Celtic got their first pointsin Group H after a James Forrestpenalty on the stroke ofhalftime and a deflected shotby Beram Kayal early in thesecond half helped them to a2-1 win over Ajax Amsterdam.Barca are in charge ofthat group with seven points,while Milan — who had goneahead through Robinho’sninth-minute opener beforeMessi levelled after 23 minutes— have five points.Celtic are on three pointswith Ajax bottom on one.Milan took an early leadthrough Robinho following asmart exchange with Kakaafter nine minutes but withBarca then dominating possession,it was a matter oftime before they made itcount. Andres Iniesta foundMessi — making his firststart after a three-week layoff— in space on the right andthe Argentine kept his coolunder pressure from KevinConstant and Riccardo Montolivoto find the bottomright corner to equalise.Group G, meanwhile, isanything but open as AtleticoMadrid became the onlyteam to still have a 100 percent record after threerounds of matches. Costaenjoyed a dream competitiondebut in Vienna, scoringthe second and third goalsincluding a superb effort afterhe raced from inside theAtletico half and danced pastthe last defender before slippingthe ball into the cornerof the net.Associated PressIstanbul, October 23www.thehimalayantimes.comSPORTSTahir’s five-forputs Pak in spinReutersDubai, October 23Leg spinner Imran Tahir grabbed five wicketsto put South Africa in control of the secondTest as Pakistan collapsed to 99 all out on theopening day in Dubai today.Tahir made an instant impact on his returnto the South Africa line-up and his teammatesmade sure his hard work did not go to wasteas they finished the day on 128-3, a 29-runfirst innings lead. Captain Graeme Smith was67 not out and nightwatchman Dale Steyn onthree at the stumps.Pakistan-born Tahir made the most of theconditions as he recorded career-best figuresof 5-32 after replacing Robin Peterson asSouth Africa’s main spin option. He was ablysupported by paceman Steyn, who took 3-38as South Africa brutally exposed the fragilityof Pakistan’s top order.Tahir bowled Shan Masood for 21, beforetrapping Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq(two) LBW. Adnan Akmal (naught), AsadShafiq (10) and Mohammad Irfan (duck) wereall bowled. Steyn collected the first wicketwith just the second ball of the morning ascenturion from the first Test Khurram Manzoorguided the ball to gully without scoring.He also claimed the big wicket of YounusKhan (10), and bowled No 11 Junaid Khan towrap up the innings. Morne Morkel was theother South African bowler to prosper as hetrapped Azhar Ali in front for 19.South Africa lost Alviro Petersen (26) early,before Saeed Ajmal claimed scalps of DeanElgar (23) and Jacques Kallis (seven) as Pakistantried to contain the world’s top Test teamto a manageable first innings score. SouthAfrica trail 1-0 in the two-match series.Top-ranked Serena Williamsbreezed past Angelique Kerber6-3, 6-1 to open her bidfor a fourth ATP Championshipstitle on Tuesday.Williams, the defendingchampion, had no troubleagainst Kerber, who also lostto the American 6-4, 6-1 inthe round-robin at thisevent last year. Kerber wasthe only player to beatWilliams last year — inCincinnati — after theAmerican’s first-roundouster at the French Open.Williams was particularlyeffective with her backhandreturn. Kerber, who had twostraight double-faults tosurrender the first game ofthe second set, producedanother to give Williamsthree match points.Earlier, second-rankedVictoria Azarenka overcamean erratic performance toNew Zealand’s Corey Anderson celebrates his centuryagainst Bangladesh during the third day of theirsecond Test match in Mirpur on Wednesday.Williams opens account with Kerber scalpAssociated PressBasel, October 23PAGE 13Anderson slams ton as Kiwis leadReutersDhaka, October 23Corey Anderson smashed hisfirst Test century as NewZealand reached 419-8 againstBangladesh to take a first inningslead of 137 on the thirdday of the second and final Testin Dhaka today.Anderson, playing his secondTest, smashed 13 fours and twosixes in his 116 before beingcaught by Sohag Gazi to giveseamer Al-Amin Hossain hisfirst Test wicket. After a 20-minute rain delay, New Zealandresumed the third day on 107-3in reply to the hosts first inningsof 282 all out and the visitorslooked in trouble when RossTaylor was removed for 53 in thefourth over by Shakib Al Hasan.The former captain wascaught in the slips by Nasir Hossainto leave New Zealand on127-4. But in stepped the 22-year-old Anderson, who put on140 for the fifth wicket withKane Williamson (62) to help theAP / RSStourists close on the hosts’ total.Williamson departed after amiscue to deep midwicket offthe bowling of Abdur Razzak beforeAnderson followed eightovers later to leave the BlackCaps on 287-6 but wicketkeeperBJ Watling (59 not out) steeredthe tail expertly. Doug Bracewell(17) and Neil Wagner (8) held upthe Bangladeshi charge beforeKiwi spinner Ish Sodhi struckhis first Test half century to situnbeaten on 55 with Watlingwhen stumps were called.Wawrinka losesStanislas Wawrinka’s prospects of playingin his first ATP World Tour Finals weredamaged on Tuesday by a 6-4, 6-3 firstroundloss to Edouard Roger-Vasselin atthe Swiss Indoors.Wawrinka is eighth in the points race tosecure a place in the eight-man finals lineupin London next month. Second-seededTomas Berdych of the Czech Republic alsolost, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) against big-servingIvo Karlovic of Croatia. Seventh-seededAndreas Seppi of Italy also lost 7-6 (3), 6-3,against Daniel Brands of Germany.Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan beat HoracioZeballos of Argentina 7-5, 7-6 (3). KeiNishikori, the No 6 seed from Japan, easedpast Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-2, 6-4.Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus beat Germanqualifier Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (8), 6-1,and Ivan Dodig of Croatia also advanced.beat an ailing Sara Errani 7-6(4), 6-2 in the openingmatch. In the late match,2011 champion Petra Kvitova,who had to withdrawduring last year’s event becauseof injury, beat AgnieszkaRadwanska 6-4, 6-4.Williams, making hereighth appearance in theevent, is looking to becomethe first player to successfullydefend the title since JustineHenin in 2007. Heninwas also the last to win 10 titlesin a season, in 2007.Williams has clinched theyear-end No 1 ranking forthe third time in her careerafter 2002 and 2009 and Kerberwas impressed byWilliam’s performance.Azerenka, who was runner-upin the event in 2011and a semifinalist last year,finished with eight doublefaultsbut she also had 51winners for Errani’s 28.Azarenka’s win was her firstsince losing the US Open finalto Serena Williams.Azarenka lost both of heropening matches in Tokyoand Beijing, where she had15 double-faults.The tournament bringstogether the top eight playersin the world. ThirdrankedMaria Sharapovadropped out with a shoulderinjury. The players are splitonto two round-robingroups, with the top two finishersfrom each pool advancingto the semifinals.

PAGE 14www.thehimalayantimes.comTHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013SCHOOL TIMESSuccess is falling nine timesand getting up ten— Jon Bon JoviDashain is a wonderfulfestival but this year itwasn’t that good becauseof the heavyrain. Neither I could fly kites norgo to my friend’s house to enjoythe festivities. Not a single kitecould be seen at the sky in thisyear’s Dashain. I really felt bad.However, I am hopeful thatthe festival of lights, Tihar will bemuch better and wonderful. Ilove Tihar as the lights makes thecountry very beautiful. Peoplecelebrate this festival with muchfanfare and the children like usgo to play deusi bhailo.Many would also play with thefirecrackers.I also used to play with firecrackers,but this time I’ll notplay as I got hurt last year. So, Iwant to suggest that one shouldrecidivismPRONUNCIATION:(ri-SID-uh-viz-ehm)Enjoy a safe Tiharwith Anu GargMEANING:noun: Relapsing (into smoking, crime,et cetera), especially repeatedly.ETYMOLOGY:From Latin re- (again) + cadere (tofall). Ultimately from the Indo-Europeanroot kad- (to fall), which is alsothe source of cadence, cascade, casualty,cadaver, chance, chute, accident,occident, decay, and casuistry.Earliest documented use:1884.USAGE:“‘A person is counted in the recidivismrate if he or she reoffends withintwo years after being discharged’, MsPanapasa said.”Ioane Burese; Recidivism Rate Drops;The Fiji Times (Suva); Oct 29, 2011.A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:You’ve got to have something to eatand a little love in your life beforeyou can hold still for any damn body’ssermon on how to behave.— Billie Holiday, jazz singer andsongwriter (1915-1959)prasadjain.hubpages.complay with firecrackers carefully.Do not show bravery by burstingfirecrackers in your hands as theresult could be fatal. Please enjoythe festival safely. HappyTihar!—Yashin Gani, Class VIII,Siddhartha Vanasthali InstituteJohn Prasad, SLC appeared, GEMS Schoolibtimes.comAfter I was created inShanghai, I travelledto a huge store housein Kathmandu.Packed in a box, I didn’t knowanything happening outsidetill the time I found myselfamong all other brands of pensin a stationery at Baneshwor.For around two weeks I stayedthere looking at the puddlefilled road of the Capital, thedust and crowded street.And one day a beautiful girlpicked me as her purchase. Iwasn’t expecting anything betteras in those two weeks I haddisliked the people of the Capital.To my surprise, my mistresswas an exception. Her parentscalled her Sneha and she wasjust as beautiful as her name.She loved me, cared for me,kept me close to her as I wasMy idealpersonMy greatest dream is tomeet my ideal personChris Brown. Thereare many famous or greaterpeople than him in this world,but for me he is the best andflawless. I like him because heis a great artiste. His actionshave inspired me so much thatI would gladly wait to meet himeven if it takes a lifetime.— Sangay Dorje Lama,ClassIX,Shree Mangal D BoardingSchoolSupport children in needChildren are very dear totheir parents. They arethe earthly angels andthe source of happinessfor their parents. This is why, allparents leave no stone unturnedin their upbringing. They sacrificetheir personal interests justto to bring a smile on the children’sfaces. As such these childrenare always found livingwith their parents surroundedby love and care. Unfortunately,many children living underpoverty are deprived of aforementionedfacilities and care.There are also children who arebeing exploited physically andmentally. They are compelled towork at the factories, do thedishes at hotels, work at the circus.They are forced to do themost difficult, dirty anddangerous jobs.A long waitpeople.comfootage.shutterstock.comher beloved. I too did mybest to help her write well.By then we had been bestof friends.But then came the daythat became a nightmarein our life. I was there asalways close to her heartDiyogarlandIn Tihar, we decorate ourhomes with marigoldgarlands and diyos everyyear. This year, welcomeGoddess Laxmi to yourhome with an additional decoration.Handmade paper diyogarland will be a perfect homedecor whether you hang it onthe wall or the door. Here’s howyou make it.You will need• Old wedding cards• Compass or round lid• Pencil• Yellow chart paper• A pair of scissors• Tape• White glue• Ribbon or stringInstructions1. Find some old weddingcards with pretty prints and apiece of yellow paper. If notavailable, then orange paperwill also work.2. Decide the size of thediyos and make a circle on thecard with a compass. Or trace around lid of a container on thecard and cut out the circle.3. Now cut the circle into halfI want to make a humble requestto every prosperous citizento contribute a morsel fromwhen I could hear thethundering of clouds withsome flashes of lightening.The ground was gettingwet with the drops ofrain. Then a heavy downpourstarted. Sneha startedrunning to find a shelterwhen I fell down fromher pocket into the puddle.Sneha did not noticeme and I cried out to herbut that was of no help. Ihad nothing to do then towatch her disappear slowlyfrom my sight.It has been a week, I amlying here in the mud andmy eyes and heart eagerlywait to catch a glimpse ofmy dear Sneha.— Swastika Shrestha,Class VIII,Rosebud Schoolblogs.mirror.co.uk237their appetite for those who arestarving. Do take every child asyour own. If you support them,they will for sure pay back yourdebt someday. There are manyexamples in our country andalso in the world that after gettingshelter and protection fromothers some have steered theworld. Any well-off couple canadopt a needy child and sharethe parental love. I would lovethe moment when my parentswould take such a decision.Those children do hold right tolive life to the fullest, desire to becalled by the title ‘my dear’ andpassion to make their dreamscome true.— Nistha Lamsal,Class VI,United SchoolBeautiful roseMy favourite flower is rose. It comesin different colours like red, yellow,pink and white. I like red rosevery much. Rose is the most beautifulflower and everybody likes it. Rose plant, ashrub, has many thorns.We have a rose plant in the garden. Mymother also loves this flower. She offersrose to deities every morning. There aremany other plants found on this Earth andmy teacher says that we should love plants.We should water them every day and in returnthey give us oxygen to breathe.Meanwhile, flowers of any plants are alsoimportant. Insects feed on juice of flowers.My teachers taught usthat flowers are usedto make perfume.— ShreyaKunwar,Class I,BabaBoardingHigh Schoolblogspot 2.comWITH RECYCLED ART5641Photos: THTto form a shape of the diyo. Youwill have two diyos now. Makeas many as you like followingthe same instruction.4. Take a yellow chart paperand draw a shape of a flame onit. Now cut out the shape.5. Tape the flames and theback of the diyo cut-outs. Alsoto make the flames look real,draw some lines on the flameswith an orange colour pen.6. Lay the ribbon and putdots of white glue two inchesapart. Stick the diyos on it andlet them dry for sometime. Andyour diyo garland is ready. — HNSDO SEND YOUR ARTICLES, ESSAYS, ART WORK, POEMSto school@thehimalayantimes.comor to Features Department, The Himalayan Times, Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013 www.thehimalayantimes.com PAGE 15VarietyShielding against coldPhotos: forums.gardenweb.com / picketfencegreenhouse.dianemumm.com/ herb-stuff.com / agardenforthehouse.com / cohabitaire.comHimalayan News ServiceKathmanduAs summer bidsadieu, decreasingtemperature is onthe roll. In the autumnseason,chilly morninggreets you to a new day. And thischanging weather not only affectsyou, but also the plantsin your garden, be it outdooror indoor. Thus, there are differentkinds of plants in your homeand garden that you want totake care accordingly beforethey become the victims of increasingcold.In the open airThough there are differentseasons in Nepal, only two kindsof plants are available here —summer plants and winterplants. Until this day, you plantedsummer plants that grew andbloomed in your garden. Now, itis time for winter plants —plants of this season like pansyand petunia are already growingto become young plants.And Sanu Bhai Limbu of BelipuspaNursery in Lagankhel saysthat these plants don’t need protectionfrom cold as they arewinter plants made for wintergardening. So, even plants likechrysanthemums which bloomin fall and continue to bloom inthe following season, are not affectedby the cold.So, it is not necessary to protectthe winter plants and thosethat can stand cold as per Limbu.“However extreme cold thatis when temperature drops tobelow zero degrees Celsius canaffect any plants,” he states. Onthe whole, swift change in temperatureto low degrees has anadverse effects on perennialslike geraniums, rose, begonia,hibiscus and fruit trees like guavaand pomegranate. “Theirleaves fall and the plants maywither due to cold,” he reveals.How can we protect themfrom the cold?“We should place the pottedplants in the shade facing thesun. We can create a shelter forthese plants on the ground or inthe balconies and on the roofwith plastic,” answers Limbu.These plants should also be protectedfrom the frost and dews ofcold days.When it comes to feeding theplants in winter, Limbu sharesthat it is similar to human beings.“During the cold days, wetend to eat more and drink lesswater. It is same with the plants.Hence, compost is requiredmore while they need less water,”he elaborates.Under the roofWhen outdoor plants are directlyin contact with shiftingtemperature, it would be wrongto say that houseplants wouldnot be affected by the growingcold outside. Mohan Lama,Owner of Coverless Fresh Flowerand Plants at Dhobighat remarks,“There are sensitiveplants like areca palm and philodendronthat are easily affectedby the cold while plants like dracaenamarginata and scheffleracan withstand cold climate”.Lama however points out,“When the temperature of theValley goes below zero degreeCelsius, many indoor plants diedue to utter cold.” On cold days,fog and frost are likely to affectthe indoor plants positioned incorridors and balconies andLama suggests to “reposition thethen in other warmer place”.And all these indoor plantsshould be able to get the sunlight.As per Lama, one can putthe indoor plants outdoor twicein a week for few hours — everydaywould be even better.When cold reigns, the bestway to warm these plants is to“loosen up the soil” in the potswhile medicine to strengthenthem are also available in themarket which can be sprayedonce in 15 days. And they shouldbe watered less — that is alsoonly when soil dries up — because“they really don’t requiremuch water during thewinter days”.Even though the plants won’tgrow in the cold, they will definitelysurvive, provided thatgardeners take measures tocope with it.Bird of paradisein your gardenIs it a bird? Is it a plant? It’s abird of paradise — a tropicalplant with flowers thatlook like birds. The bird ofparadise grows almosteverywhere but it originallycame from South Africa. Its abilityto adapt to different soil conditionsand climate make it easyto plant and care for. Proper carekeeps a bird of paradise not justalive, but thriving. If you live in acooler climate, don’t fret. Bird ofparadise makes an excellentcontainer plant, too.Typically, this tropical plantgrows up to four feet in height.However, some species like theStrelizia Nicolai is known toreach heights of 10 metres. Thebird of paradise offers a spectacularshow of flowers. Usually theblossoms have vibrant shades ofyellow, orange and purple. Anothercurious tidbit is that theseexotic flowers are a distantcousin of bananas. Yes, youheard it right, bananas.As an ornamental plant, thisexotic flower offers a tropicaltouch. This is why many poolsides are adorned with thisgardeningknowhow.complant. Another advantage of usingbirds of paradise is that itsleaves do not fall off like otherplants. Its flowers have three orangesepals and three bluepetals. The bird of paradiseshould flower twice a year ormore once it is mature.Keep in mindProvide bird of paradise withthaifoodandtravel.comsome afternoon shade to protectit from the hottest part of theday, especially in areas with sultrysummers. A nearby shrub,tree, fence or wall can give theplants shade. Grow bird of paradisein soil that drains well.Root rot can occur if the soil retainstoo much water. For a pottedplant, use a high-quality pottingmix. Outdoors, incorporatetwo or three inches of compostinto the soil at planting time.And water bird of paradise regularlywith one inch of water, oneto two times a week to keep thesoil slightly moist. Do not overwater.In the autumn and winter,allow the top of the soil todry out between waterings. Ifthe plant is container-grown,dump out any excess water thatseeps into the drainage dish.Easy peasyCare for this exotic floweringplant is practically easy. In fact, itis adaptable and can survive inmany soil types after it has beenplanted. Adding fertiliser is alwaysa good idea to keep themstrong and healthy. But the bestof course is organic fertiliser.These plants are low maintenanceand grow typically slow.As such, there is no worry ofovergrowth. Although regularpruning is needed to keep theplant healthy, it can survive withminimal attention. It is a goodidea to separate new growth andreplant them. This way theyhave more room to grow andavoid competition for nutrients.This is the most common way ofpropagating these plants.Pests anddiseasesThe bird of paradise plant isusually pest-free, but if insectpests or disease do occur, it willusually not kill the bird of paradise.Caterpillars, grasshoppers,scales and snails may findtheir way to your bird of paradise.Fungal leaf spot may alsooccur. — CompiledHEIRLOOM PLANTSCrops passed down through the generations are better than modern hybrid plantsHeirloom plants are most oftenthought of as old-time varietiesof vegetables that cometrue from seed. They’re openpollinated,so you can save seed fromyour plants every year for the followingyear’s garden. Many plants have been lovinglypassed down through the generationsas cuttings. Some famous heirloomshave been sold and passed downin families or communities for hundredsof years. What they all have in common isthat backyard gardeners have prizedthem for their beauty, flavour, fragrance,or productivity.Pros and consAlthough more expensive than hybridseeds, there’s no need to ever purchasemore than a single packet of heirloomseeds for each variety you want to grow.You can allow your plants to fully matureand save back seeds for each year. Storedpermanentculturenow.comproperly, seeds that you harvest yourselfwill be viable for years to come. The qualityof your produce are far more diverseand flavourful than hybrids. Russianheirloom tomatoes, like the Black Krimand Black Prince varieties, make a richer,more flavourful tomato sauce than anyhybrid available. Lemon cucumbers,round Parisian carrots, purple potatoesand other unusual varieties have unique— and often better — flavours than theirhigh-yield hybrid cousins. But their maindrawbacks are relatively low yieldand unpredictability.Know themMany heirloom crops have a morepleasing taste and texture than their hybridreplacements, and many spreadtheir harvest over a longer period so familiescan enjoy picking just what theyneed for each day’s meals rather thanhaving to harvest a bumper crop all atonce. If grown for years in one locality,the heirlooms have adaptedto the climate and soil conditionsof that area. They offergreater disease and insect resistance,which is invaluableto organic gardeners. Theyadd interest to garden with awide range of shapes,colours, and tastes. — Compiled

PAGE 16www.thehimalayantimes.comVARIETYTHE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013• YOUR LUCKHAPPY BIRTHDAY: This year you often find yourself involved with causemindedfriends. One friend in particular could be unusually difficult and/orangry. How you deal with this situation is your call. You might want to putyourself in this person’s shoes. If you are single, be open to meetingsomeone who is very different from you. You could meet this personthrough a friend. If you are attached, the two of you learn to respect yourdifferences and use them to empower your relationship. Plan a specialtrip together. CANCER helps you see a different vision of possibilities.A baby born today has a Sun in Scorpio and a Moon in Cancer.ARIES (March 21-April 19): You feel unusually tunedin to a family member. You have a lot going on andeasily could get angry out of the blue. Pressure buildsin a one-on-one discussion with this person. You might decideto let go of this situation for now. Tonight: Mosey on home, if you’renot there already. ✹✹✹✹TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You become quite the conversationalist,though you might get upset at someone’s angerthat appears to be directed at you.Your imagination could gowild as you try to figure out what is wrong with this person.Tonight: Return calls, and catch up on a close friend’s news. ✹✹✹✹✹GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You could be quite intense asyou seek immediate results. Your creativity flourishes whendealing with a hassle or someone’s frustration. A partnercould be changing in front of your eyes. The unexpectedcomes out one more time in a meeting. Tonight: Go with the flow. ✹✹✹CANCER (June 21-July 22): You beam in what youwant, but you might be so much in your head that youcould be accident-prone. A close associate reallydemonstrates how much he or she has changed. You couldget into a heated conversation if you are not careful. Tonight: Visit andchat with a friend. ✹✹✹✹LEO (July 23-Aug 22): Know what is happening behind thescenes. Understand what is going on with a loved one. Listento your inner voice, and follow through on your decision.Pace yourself and stay level-headed. If one approach is notworking, try a different one. Tonight: Only what you want. ✹✹✹VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22): Zero in on what you want. A partnercould be unusually vague, and he or she might confuseyou. You also might not want to hear what this person has tosay. Be careful if you are in an irritable mood. A fight mighttake some time to heal. Tonight: Where your friends are. ✹✹✹✹LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22): A sense of irritation couldbe undermining your best intentions and come out whenyou would prefer it wouldn’t. Pressure builds to anunprecedented level. A domestic matter could be difficult tosort out. Know that a control issue might be the cause. Tonight: A mustappearance. ✹✹✹SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): Your like-minded friends knowwhat they want from a situation. Trying to change theirminds would be like entering a war zone. The smart move isto back out and say little. A disagreement begun right nowwill be difficult to put to rest. Tonight: Gain a new perspective. ✹✹✹✹SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): You could be seeinga situation differently than in the past. A friend presentsa new side of his or her personality. This person hasbeen going through changes, but perhaps you didn’t realisethat the transformation had evolved to this point. Tonight: Go along with asuggestion. ✹✹✹✹✹CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): Defer to others, and knowfull well that you might not agree with them. It is importantfor a close associate to see the end results of pursuing thepresent course. Your anger breaks out when dealing withsomeone at a distance. Tonight: Listen to an outside perspective. ✹✹✹✹AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): Pace yourself. Your moneysense plays out, but you must handle your own finances, asothers could be accident-prone. A loved one or an associatecould be on the warpath in an attempt to upset you. For now,try not to react. Tonight: Make plans for the weekend. ✹✹✹✹PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Your creativity mightnot be able to soothe someone’s nerves. In fact, it mightjust make a situation worse. Be sensitive to whatsomeone says, but know that you don’t have to take on hisor her comments. Refuse to respond to anger. Tonight: You choose thetime and place. ✹✹✹✹Born today: Playwright Moss Hart (1904), actor Kevin Kline (1947),soccer player Wayne Rooney (1985)By Jacqueline BigarNote: Bigar’s Stars is based on the degree of your sun at birth.The sign name issimply a label astrologers put on a set of degrees for convenience. For best results,readers should refer to the dates following each sign.QUESTION OF THE WEEKWhenever one goes to any government office, onehas to run to different rooms and desks the wholeday, and usually one’s work remains incompletefor many days to come. What do you think is themain cause behind such a system? How can thisproblem be solved?Send your replies in not more than 200 words by Friday,October 25 by 2 pm to Features Department, The Himalayan Times,e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.comMiss WorldAustraliain NepalKATHMANDU:Aiming to promoteAustralianeducation andexplore local culture andtradition along withstrengthening bilateralties between two countries,Miss World-Australiaand Miss World Oceania2013 Erin Holland has arrivedNepal.Also the brand ambassadorof Australia Education& Career Consultant(AECC), Holland landedon Kathmandu on October18. As per a press releaseissued by AECC, Holland,who has involvedherself in humanitarianacts like providing aid tounderprivileged communitiesand deprived children,will be attendingvarious formal and informalevents during her stayin Nepal.She will leverage herknowledge and experiencesto contribute towardspromoting Australianeducation in Nepalalong with promotingNepal’s tourism and culture,the press statementadds. Nepal HospitalityGroup Pvt Ltd — owner ofproposed Marriott Hotelin Nepal, which is a partnercompany of AECC —will assist her in her effortto contribute to the country’stourism sector. — HNSKANCHAN RANA,a keen musicenthusiast, is aRadio Presenterat Hits FM 91.2and works forJazzmandu as wellOverpriced yet satisfyingThamel has gaineda reputation as abastion of restaurantsand barswhich are sprouting likemushrooms. I have dinedin a few of Thamel’srestaurants and I must sayit’s quite an experience. Iwas glad when I was assignedas a Food Spy byThe Himalayan Times.Since, I had been longingto try Phat Kath restaurantin Thamel for some time,it was an opportunity forme. I decided to go for adinner with a friend.Located in the heart ofbusy, bustling Thamel,Phat Kath was surprisinglylaid-back and chilled asI expected a peacefulhideaway. On our way inside,we noticed the unusualdécor, stairs madeof real wood and a massivebeautiful dreamcatcher hanging right infront.We decided todine outdoor underthe tree as theindoor spaceseemed small and too hotas the kitchen is rightthere heating up. Wemade ourselves comfortableoutdoors. Apart fromlight, there were permanentfixture candles onevery table, which lookedgood for the evening.Now, about orderingfood, I was quite disappointedbecause they didn’tprovide paper menus.Instead, you have to go upthe open kitchen amongstthe crowd to see the menuon the board then orderright next to bathroom!Although they have a varietyof food to choosefrom, we were tired after along day of work. So, weasked the waiter for thespecialties of the house.We opted for ManangeMomo and French Chicken.As we waited for ourfood, the restaurantbuzzed with excited energyand was comfortablyfull with seemingly satisfiedpatrons.Manange Momo wasfirst to arrive. Usually,Manange Momos at otherplaces are large andstuffed with buff meat.Since this dish was a specialtyhere, I was expectingsomething different.Though I didn’t find anyspecial taste, they weregood. The achaar was especiallygood.For the main course, wehad French Chicken, anotherof their specialties.It was a grilled chickenbreast topped with a deliciousyellow sauce withmushrooms along withrice and a generous portionof boiled veggies. Ourfirst thought was, “Wow!”The sauce’s flavour balancedwith richness of theboneless chicken. But therice didn’t go quite wellwith Cadenza Collective thatyear which was a big event forher. Since then, she has“grabbed all the fun of goodmusic” catered by nationaland international artistes ofthe festival.As far as she recalls, the festivalis reaching the pinnaclebecause “organiser knowsSUDOKU-1775where to take it”.“You get to see and witnessgood musicians and their musicin affordable price withoutgoing abroad,” she adds.Surya Nepal Jazzmandu2013 starts from October 24and will end on October 30.The Himalayan Times is theevent’s official print media.YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONHOW TO SOLVE: Every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each ofthe 9 vertical columns, in each of the 9 horizontal rows and ineach of the 9 boxesJust IN JESTPHAT KATHRATINGSFood quality/presentation: 9Ambience: 9Quality of service: 8Hygiene: 8Value for money: 7Overall satisfactionvalue: 8with it. The dish was executedperfectly with itspresentation. The servingswere big.Since they offer an excellentselection of Shishaas well, we ordered strawberryflavour. The tastewas a great follow up toour meal.There were only twochoices for desserts —grapes and ice-cream. Wewent with chocolate icecreamwhich was like anyother regular flavour.They have a few boardgames to offer too.Phat Kath is the kind ofplace that draws real characterstogether, travellersand locals alike. The atmosphereis vibrant andrelaxed. While the menuitems are a bit overpriced,we left full and satisfiedwith the special ambienceof Phat Kath.Kanchan RanaSummoning jazz loversHimalayan News ServiceKathmanduWho makes a musiciana performerand a star? An audience!What makes aconcert or a musicfestival to be organised repeatedly?An audience!If the other side is missing, therewould be no meaning to musiciansand music festival. There would beno meaning if audiences like RaviThapa, a music enthusiast or YanikShrestha or anyone who has becomea part of Kathmandu Jazz Festival inthe last 10 years, weren’t there. Theyhave made this festival the ‘jazz festof the Himalayas’. Hence, SuryaNepal Jazzmandu 2013 is here.“It is an awesome festival. It is oneof the big festivals that is pullingpeople of other parts of the world toNepal,” expresses Thapa aboutJazzmandu. The CEO of Sacred Summitadds, “To be able to see internationaljazz musicians performinggood music in nominal price is agreat opportunity.”The best thing of being a part ofJazzmandu for him is a “get together”at Gokarna for musical gala.Since its inception in 2002, Thapahas not missed any of the festival. Hewas there when “people didn’t takethe festival very well as they didn’tknow about jazz music”.As Jazzmandu contributed tomake people aware of jazz musichere, jazz music scene is swellingwhile the festival has become “bigger”.After 10 years, there are lots ofmusic students who have beenstruck by jazz. For them, Thapaadds, “Jazzmandu is a platform.They get to watch good jazz artistesperform live and by watching them,they would know how far they wouldhave to go.” Unlike his days. He was,nonetheless, lucky to have TonyBanks as his classmate while studyingin India.“Tony is the son of Louis Bankswho is a famous jazz musician of India.I got to listen to jazz records andmusic of Montreux Jazz Festival. AndI knew about jazz music,” he reveals.Music student like Rohit Chettritakes the jazz festival as a school to“witness the musicians playing liveKathmandu Jazz Festival as an organiser,volunteer and sometimesperforms slam poetry. The idea of“Jaaz in the Himalayas” excites him.And he is a familiar face at Jazzmanduvenues. Shrestha reveals, “Jazzmanduhas become well known internationally.People love it. There isselective audience who come togetherto relish the varieties of jazzmusic from funk to Afro.”When the festival kicked off, hementions, “There was full on excitement.Nervousness was also there ashow it would be.”It is 2013 and it is still going strongevery year captivating the likes of thepeople. In 2006, it was singerYankey Lepcha who was bowled overby the fest.Lepcha got to perform two songsTraditional tunesat Jazzmanduand learn from them”. A student ofeastern classical music, he is of theopinion that jazz and classical musichave the freedom of improvisation.Surya Nepal Jazzmandu 2012 washis first know-how of the fest and hesimply had “fun”. This year he haseven participated in ‘Jazz for NextGeneration Music Competition’.When Jazzmandu is a platform tolearn and to listen to music formany, it is a bond for some.“Jazzmandu connects me with mymother,” shares Shrestha who is DirectorOf Programs of Passage International.His mother is VidheaShrestha popularly known as ‘Jazzdidi’ whom we lost in 2010. She wasone of the patrons to start jazz hereand Jazzmandu.Yanik has been associated withPhotos: Courtesy JazzmanduKATHMANDU: Jazzmanduis a marathon of musicfor seven days withback to back jazz musicand its different shades. Saxophone,piano, trumpet, guitarand drums trade solo to catertheir music while jazzy and melodiousrepertoires resound differentvenues in the festival. Andsneaking in between thesesounds is the traditional music.“We want our audience — expats,foreigners and internationalartistes to experience our culture,”expresses Navin Chettri,Artistic Director of the festival.This is the main reason whyone can witness the tunes ofsarangi, flute, dhime on the stageof international music festival.Gandharva has been performingfor the last eight years whileDhimey Girls have performedseveral times at Kathmandu JazzFestival to which he reveals, “Wewant to promote our Nepali musictoo. They don’t get exposure ofthis magnitude.”They also want to experimentwith music. Chettri reveals, “Weare trying to see how and whatkind of music, musicians fromdifferent countries and backgroundscan do in one day. It is afun process.” In Jazz at Patan,Jazzmandu goers can witness thesync of Indian classical musicand jazz. Chettri also points outthat “Indian classical music andjazz music is similar when itcomes to improvisation”. — HNSA man walks into a store to buy a Barbie doll for hisdaughter. “How much is that Barbie in the window?”,he asks the shop assistant.In a manner she responds, “Which Barbie? We haveBarbie Goes to the Gym for $19.95, Barbie Goes to theBall for $19.95, BarbieGoes Shopping for$19.95, BarbieGoes to theBeach for$19.95, BarbieGoes Nightclubbingfor$19.95, and DivorcedBarbie for$395.00. “The guy asks, “Why is Divorced Barbie different from allthe others ?“That’s obvious,” the assistant states, “Divorced Barbiecomes with Ken’s house, Ken’s car, Ken’s boat, Ken’sfurniture... “ — Hi LamaPublished by: International Media Network Nepal (Pvt) Ltd, APCA House, Baidya Khana Road, Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO Box 11651 Phone: 4770358, Fax: 977-1-4770701 / 4771959, E-mail: editorial@thehimalayantimes.com Regd No 143/051/052 Postal Regd. 070-071 Printed at: Sama Printers (Pvt) Ltd, Sainbu VDC, Lalitpur. Editor: Ajaya Bhadra Khanal