Forget CA revival, Prez tells parties

Nepal’s No. 1
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Vol. XI No.336 • Kathmandu, Monday, October 29, 2012, Kartik 13, 2069, Nepal Sambat 1132
• SHORT TAKES
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Jamie Rees from Plymouth poses for a
photograph in his "The Mad Hatter"
costume from Alice in Wonderland during
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centre in east London on Sunday.
NEPAL
Lakes getting extinct
MAHENDRANAGAR:More than one dozen
lakes in Kanchanpur district are shrinking
and facing threat of extinction. However, no
effort has been been initiated from the government
to conserve these lakes. Most of
them, popular as religious tourist destinations,
are losing their depth every year. More
than half a dozen lakes inside Shuklaphanta
Wildlife Reserve are on the verge of extinction.
Rara Lake, Rani Lake, Baunne Lake,
Sikari Lake, Salgaaudi Lake and Baba Lake
inside the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve are
shrinking every year, thanks to government
apathy. (Details on Page 6 )
INTERNATIONAL
Hurricane Sandy to hit US
HATTERAS ISLAND: Weather forecasters
warned on Sunday that Hurricane Sandy will
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said it was too early to pinpoint where the
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Reuters
New Delhi, October 28
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh gave his Cabinet
an overdue facelift today,
bringing in younger
ministers in a bid to breathe
new life into his aged, scandal-tainted
government
ahead of state and federal
elections.
The reshuffle may be
Singh’s last chance to signif-
icantly change the direction
of his government and convince
voters the ruling Congress
party deserves a third
consecutive term in 2014.
He rejigged about a third
of his 30-member cabinet,
and reshuffled a number of
key portfolios, including,
oil, foreign policy, railways
and justice. He also brought
in new, younger junior ministers
who will not have cabinet-level
posts.
Farmers harvesting paddy at Lekhnath municipality, Kaski, on Sunday.
NC, UML stress unity govt to end crisis
Decide to launch joint agitation after festive season ends
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
A day after the UCPN-
Maoist Chairman Pushpa
Kamal Dahal came up with
proposals to end the political
and constitutional deadlock,
Nepali Congress and
CPN-UML leaders today
said the proposals “have
nothing new in substance”
and reiterated their stand
that nothing would be discussed
unless the ruling
party agreed to form a consensus
government.
“There is nothing new in
Dahal’s proposals,” UML
chairman Jhala Nath Khanal
told mediapersons after an
NC-UML meeting in Lalitpur.
Khanal said Dahal’s
proposal intended to give
continuity to the Baburam
Bhattarai-led government,
which, he said, was responsible
for the CA’s dissolution.
Notably absent from the
new names was Rahul
Gandhi, the scion of the
Nehru-Gandhi dynasty .
Gandhi is expected to be the
party’s candidate for prime
minister in the 2014 election.
Singh said after a swearing-in
ceremony for the new
ministers that he had wanted
Gandhi in the Cabinet
but that the Congress party
general-secretary wanted to
UCPN-Maoist chairman
had proposed either to form
a consensus government
under NC leadership and revive
the dissolved CA to
adopt a constitution accommodating
the agreed issues
or go for fresh elections converting
the incumbent government
into a national
consensus one. Dahal had
conferred with Khanal and
NC president Sushil Koirala
yesterday.
But the NC and UML rejected
the offer, saying the
UCPN-Maoist had to first
agree to form a consensus
government before discussing
contentious issues.
“We have decided not to
discuss political and constitutional
issues with the
UCPN-M unless it agrees to
form a consensus government,”
NC Vice-president
Ram Chandra Paudel said.
NC and UML leaders re-
work for the party.
“The road ahead is full of
challenges. But this is a
team, which I hope will be
able to meet those challenges,”
Singh said, according
to a Tweet by his office.
Despite the reshuffle, relatively
few senior ministers
in the cabinet led by 80year-old
Singh are under 65.
Outgoing foreign minister,
SM Krishna (80), had
stepped down ahead of the
peated their stance that the
government must pave the
way for formation of a consensus
government if the
UCPN-M was really sincere
about finding a way out of
the looming crisis.
Khanal also said the NC
and UML would launch a
joint agitation after the festive
season was over. “We
have agreed to launch a
joint agitation against the
government and we will
make public our protest
programmes soon,” Khanal
said.
Paudel blamed UCPN-
Maoist for not being sincere
about adopting the new federal,
democratic constitution,
saying that it had backtracked
from the May 15
agreement, which had
agreed to adopt the constitution
incorporating all
agreed constitutional issues,
leaving the disputed ones
UCPN-M moves on self-reliance
‘Misappropriation of funds and extortion
charges have damaged the party’s image’
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Stung by allegations of misuse
of combatants’ fund and extorting
money from business houses,
the UCPN-Maoist today decided
to make its party organisation
self-reliant by promoting
fair means of income generation
through labour and cooperatives.
A meeting of UCPN-M held
here today, formed Production
Department under party Chairman
Pushpa Kamal Dahal,
which will be a permanent
body of the party.
Two other permanent bodies
were also formed under party
Vice-Chairs Baburam Bhattarai
and Narayan Kaji Shrestha.
Bhattarai will lead Development,
Planning and Research
Department and Shrestha will
lead the Discipline Department.
Shrestha said the party
formed these departments after
realising that anomalies and
discrepancies had taken a toll
on the party. “We formed these
• MAOIST CHANGEOVER
departments because we realised
that our organisation had
been affected. We want to transform
our party through cooperatives
and other schemes of
self-reliance,” Shrestha said.
Bhattarai’s department will
recommend appropriate policies
on water resources, land
management other important
issues that will help transform
society and the state, said
Shrestha.
He said party leaders also discussed
parleys the party has
had with other political parties
with the aim of resolving the
current political problems. “We
are of the view that consensus
should be forged on the basis of
two options that our party
Chairman has forwarded so far.
In the latest rounds of discussions
with other political parties
mainly the Nepali Congress
and the CPN-UML, Dahal has
suggested either promulgating
the constitution through a revived
Constituent Assembly or
fresh CA elections. Dahal also
suggested incorporating agreed
agendas in the constitution and
leaving the unsettled issues to
the new parliament to decide.
Party Spokesperson Agni
Prasad Sapkota said his party
decided that if elections are to
be held there should be no further
delay. He said the party decided
to intensify talks with
other political parties to break
the deadlock. “Consensus is the
only alternative,” he added.
Meanwhile, the party has
called a meeting of its General
Convention Organising Committee
on November 21 after
which elections for the district
chapters will be held. Today’s
meeting of the party also mandated
Dahal to prepare a single
political paper to be presented
in the upcoming General Convention.
The party also assigned new
responsibilities to chiefs of ethnic
and other sectoral organisations.
India PM rejigs Cabinet with an eye on elections
reshuffle, saying he was
“making way for youngsters”.
Krishna’s replacement
was the 59-year-old Salman
Khurshid, who until the
shakeup, was law minister.
Other key appointments
are: Veerappa Moily (oil),
Ashwani Kumar (law and
justice), Dinsha Patel
(mines) Jyotiraditya Scindia
(power) and Sachin Pilot
(corporate affairs).
THT
for next parliament to settle.
Meanwhile, PM Bhattarai
and senior UML leader
Madhav Kumar Nepal also
discussed current issues.
After meeting the PM,
Nepal said the main issue
was whether or not the parties
would be able to reach
an understanding on constitutional
issues.
“Reviving the CA or going
for referendum are not the
issues,” Nepal said, adding:
“The crux lies in whether or
not the parties will agree on
constitutional issues.”
Nepal said parties must
be ready to go for fresh mandate
if they failed to reach
consensus on constitutional
issues. He also advised the
PM not to be a stumbling
block for consensus. Nepal
also quoted the PM as saying
that he would fully cooperate
with the parties for
consensus.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
President Ram Baran Yadav today
suggested to the leaders of Nepali
Congress and UML to go for fresh
elections and forget about reviving
the dissolved Constituent Assembly
(CA).
The Head of the State told NC
President Sushil Koirala and UML
Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal that
the eleven-month-old Supreme
Court verdict had envisioned a
fresh mandate so the parties
should forget the agenda of reviving
the CA.
Koirala and Khanal had met the
President separately at the Latter’s
residence in Shital Niwas.
“The President asked us to resolve
the crisis at the earliest,”
UML Chairman Khanal told THT
after the meeting. Khanal said he
made his stance clear to the President
that his party wanted formation
of consensus government to
hold elections.
Yesterday, Yadav had held talks
with leaders after UCPN-Maoist
Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal
floated a two-point proposal before
leaders — forming a national
consensus government under NC
leadership after reviving the CA to
draft the new constitution and
putting on hold disputed constitutional
issues; or holding fresh elections
under the incumbent government’s
leadership, which the
NC and UML would also join. But
both the parties have questioned
the Maoist intention.
“I clearly communicated to the
President that if there is no consensus
government as per our demand
we will hit the streets against
the government,” Khanal added.
Khanal also said the two-point
UCPN-M proposal had not seriously
sought to resolve the crisis,
but merely intended to engage
parties in discussions.
“It came just as an eye-wash,”
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Forget CA revival,
Prez tells parties
• Says fresh mandate the only way
• NC,UML doubt Maoist proposals
Khanal said. “It wants to show that
the Maoists are serious about handling
the crisis in the country and
that they are also concerned about
the problems confronting the
country.”
President Yadav resumed consultations
with leaders after
Dashain holiday to seek a solutions
to the political and constitutional
deadlock.
NC President Koirala said he
clearly put his stance before the
President that Nepali Congress
wants fresh elections and reviving
the CA would be a very tardy affair.
He asked us to seek a solution before
Tihar at any cost,” Koirala told
reporters. “Since there is no possibility
of reinstating the dissolved
CA, opting for fresh elections is the
single valid option before us,”
Koirala added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister
Narayan Kaji Shrestha also
met the President and urged him
to play the role of facilitator in resolving
the deadlock. He said he
told the President that his party
was ready for both options — promulgating
the constitution
through a revived CA or holding
fresh CA elections, but the best option
would be CA revival.
“The President said he would
follow what political parties decides
on the basis of consensus,”
Shrestha quoted Yadav. The DPM
said the President was worried that
the political parties committed to
resolve their differences within a
certain time frame but failed to do
so on many occasions.
The President told Shrestha it
was urgent to forge consensus to
avoid a constitutional vacuum and
economic crisis. Absence of parliament
has affected appointments in
constitutional bodies and economic
crisis looms large as opposition
parties threaten to block efforts
to bring a full-fledged budget
after the partial budget expires in a
few weeks.

PAGE 2 www.thehimalayantimes.com
CAPITAL
1
4
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
Penultimate day: festive mood on as Dashain nears end
1.Youngsters heading to their destination after receiving tika from their elders during Dashain, at Boudha Ramhity in Kathmandu on Sunday. 2. A woman buying fruits for Dashain, at Ason in Kathmandu. 3. A police officer talking to her
colleague after tika, at Hanumandhoka in Kathmandu. 4.Women striking a pose with their pet after tika, in Kathmandu. 5. People heading to their destination after celebrating Dashain.
Polls the silver
bullet: Ex-CJs
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October
Former Chief Justices today
suggested Prime Minister
Baburam Bhattarai that promulgating
constitution by
reviving the dissolved Constituent
Assembly is impossible,
so the best solution to
end the present crisis is to
hold elections.
Talking to this daily, Attorney
General Mukti Narayan
Pradhan said that the CA
can be revived only to remove
the constitutional and
legal hurdles to go for fresh
elections.
Former Chief Justices Keshav
Prasad Upadhayay,
Anup Raj Sharma, Ram
Prasad Shrestha, Trilok Pratap
Rana, Om Bhakta
Shrestha and Hari Prasad
Sharma held a meeting with
PM Bhattarai at his residence
at Baluwatar. AG Prad-
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Security officials at the Tribhuvan
International Airport
said they are keeping a close
watch on baggage handlers
in the wake of growing complaints
of theft of valuables
from passengers’ luggage.
Deputy Inspector General
of Police Narayan Prasad
Bastakoti, security in-charge
at the country’s only international
airport, informed that
pro-active measures of police
had resulted in the arrest
han and Political Adviser to
the PM, Devendra Paudel
were also present in the
meeting.
“They stressed on political
consensus for any solution
to the present political and
constitutional deadlock,”
Pradhan said adding, “The
Chief Justices interpreted
that the election is the best
solution to the present crisis
as stated by the Supreme
Court in its verdict passed
eleven months ago.”
The former Chief Justices
also warned the government
not to look for any
solution against the
Supreme Court order because
that would be against
the Interim Constitution.
They also added that the
government and the parliament
did not work towards
finding a solution in the past
six months following the
Apex court verdict.
Luggage handlers under close watch
Five arrested at TIA for stealing passengers’valuables
of five baggage handlers involved
in stealing highpriced
electronic goods from
bags belonging to passengers
landing at the airport in
the past three months.
Those arrested are Bhup
Bahadur Rai, Deepak
Tamang, Niraj Kumar Basnet,
Tapendra Shahi and
Subash Silwal.
“We arrested the five people,
filed theft charges
against them and the airport
administration dismissed
them,” he said.
Passengers arriving at the
Cataract a major cause of blindness, says report
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
The changing pattern of
eye diseases demand that
people take care of their
food habits and lifestyle.
Although Cataract remains
the leading cause of blindness
as shown by the national
survey in 2010 and
1981, the other diseases
have shown significant
changes.
airport are prone to losing
their valuables at the hand of
bag handlers entrusted with
making sure passenger luggage
gets to vehicles waiting
to receive them from the arrival
point. The goods stolen
from the luggage included
laptop computers, mobile
phone sets and cameras.
“Activities of baggage handlers
and passengers are under
CCTV surveillance. We
have also deployed cops in
civvies to ensure the safety of
luggage and prevent theft,”
DIG Bastakoti informed.
According to Rapid Assessment
of Avoidable
Blindness Survey by Apex
Body for Eye Health at the
Health Ministry, Cataract
was responsible for 65 per
cent of blindness in 2010,
which was 72 per cent in
1981.
The survey showed that
a retinal disease was responsible
for nine per cent
of blindness in 2010 which
was three per cent in 1981.
Fortnightly launched
Portugal gets Nepali mag
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Kathmandu, October 28
The first Nepali language
newspaper in Portugal,
‘Nepali wave’ (fortnightly),
was published on the occasion
of Bada Dashain and
Tihar festivals-2069 Bikram
Sambat.
Honorary Consular of
Nepal for the European
country, Makar Bahadur
Hamal, and Chairman of
the Nepal-Portugal Art, Literature
and Communication
Council Kumar
Shrestha released the newspaper
in the Portuguese
capital Lisbon at a function
on Thursday.
Kamal Bista is the chief
editor and publisher of the
eight-page fortnightly.
Airport police claimed to
have been able to stop the
incidents of theft after five
baggage handlers landed in
jail and lost their jobs for
their crimes.
Six months ago, police at
the airport used to receive
five complaints of thefts on
an average day, but this has
all stopped, according to
Bastakoti.
“We have not received any
such complaints in the past
two months,” Bastakoti said,
attributing this to the arrest
of the offenders.
5
Likewise, glaucoma was responsible
for five per cent
of blindness in 2010, which
was three per cent in 1981.
Earlier in 1981, trachoma
was responsible for three
per cent of blindness
which came down to one
per cent in 2010.
YD Sapkota , Programme
Coordinator, Nepal Netra
Jyoti Sangh (NNJS) said,
“The pattern of increasing
risk is due to unhealthy
2
3
lifestyle that people are
adopting. Unhealthy diet
and lack of exercise are the
reasons behind diabetic
retinopathy at present
time.
The survey also showed
that age-related macular
degeneration , refractive
error, surgical complication
and diabetic retinopathy
has been recorded by
four per cent, four per cent,
one per cent and 0.2 per
cent respectively.
At present, there are 21
eye hospitals, 63 primary
care centres and 12 eye departments
across the
country. There are about
275,000 blind people in the
country.Ophthalmologist
Dr Sunu Dulal said, “Diabetic
retinopathy is the
most common diabetic eye
disease in the country
caused by uncontrolled diabetes.”
Thin vehicular movement on the road in front of Singha Durbar on Sunday.
THT
Two nabbed
with live
pangolin
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Photos: THT
Metropolitan Police Range,
Hanumandhoka today arrested
two smugglers of rare wild
species with a live Pangolin at
Naya Basti, Bouddha.
Those arrested have been
identified as Buddhiman Moktan
(30) and Aryan Moktan (17)
of Daduwa-1, Ramechhap.
SSP Jaya Bahadur Chand,
MPR in-charge, said, “Buddhiman
and Aryan were on their
way to find prospective clients
for the pangolin when they were
held at around 1.30 pm based
on a special tip-off.”
During interrogation, they
told the police that they were
planning to sell the animal for
Rs 1,00,000.
“We captured the pangolin in
a forest of our home district and
brought it to Kathmandu for
sale as some people said it can
fetch us handsome money,” a
source quoted Buddhiman as
saying.
The pangolin seized from the
duo weighs 12 kg.
According to police, pangolins
are generally smuggled to
China where it is used for meat
and decorative purposes. Its
scales are believed to have medicinal
properties.
Chinese people believe that
pangolin scales can heal
swelling, increase blood circulation
and help mothers produce
milk.
Anyone involved in the trade
of the conserved species could
be slapped a fine of up to Rs
100,000 and 5-15 years jail term
as provisioned in the National
Parks and Wildlife Conservation
Act-1973. Police said the duo
and the pangolin would be
handed over to the Kathmandu
District Forest Office after an investigation.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
CAPITAL
• IN BRIEF
A tourist looking at a flower shop in
Ason, Kathmandu, on Sunday.
Assailant nabbed
THT
KATHMANDU: Police on Sunday arrested
Suman Budhathoki (21) of
Kathmandu- 15 for assaulting Sanjeev
Lama (19) of Panauti, Kavre. According
to officials, Suman and his
friends had attacked Lama on Saturday
night over a brawl. Lama has sustained
head injuries and has been admitted
in Bir Hospital. No arrests
have been made so far. —HNS
One held for attack
KATHMANDU: Police on Saturday
held Sudeep Tamrakar (26) of Kathmandu-
34 for knifing Chiyong Gurung
(19) in Shankhamul. Tamrakar
had stabbed Gurung after a scuffle
over playing on a swing. Gurung has
been undergoing treatment in TU
Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj. — HNS
Injured man dies
KATHMANDU: An unidentified man,
who was found lying injured in Chapali
Bhadrakali- 6, died while undergoing
treatment in Maharajgunjbased
TU Teaching Hospital on Sunday.
The man is at his 30s and was
moaning with pain when police
rushed him to hospital. Police suspected
that he might have been attacked
with iron rod. Police said an
investigation was launched to establish
the fact. — HNS
Burglary reported
KATHMANDU: An unidentified gang
broke into the office of NIIT Computer
Institute in Kantipath and made off
with a laptop on Saturday night. Police
said two night watchmen and
four others working in the institute
were taken into custody for further
investigation. — HNS
10 arrested in
City casino raid
Himalayan News Service
The existing law against gamblers and
Kathmandu, October 28
operators of gambling berths is not
tough enough, police said.
Sleuths from the Metropolitan Police The first-time offenders can walk free
Range, Hanumandhoka, raided the Casi- after paying a fine of up to Rs 200.
no Royale located on the premises of Yak Most gambling dens were found to
& Yeti Hotel at Durbarmarg yesterday have been operating under the cloak of
night and arrested 10 Nepalis, including restaurants, guest houses and eateries to
a woman, on gambling charges.
hoodwink police.
The existing Gambling Act 1963 bars “Gambling is punishable by law and
Nepali nationals from entering casinos gamblers have affected the livelihood of
with the intent of gambling and lending their families. It is our duty to enforce the
money to the gamblers.
law and lend an ear to the woes of affect-
“The raid followed after we received a ed families,” SSP Chand said.
tip-off at around 10:30 pm that some Police investigation shows that gam-
Nepalis were indulged in illegal gambling is associated with domestic viobling
in the casino,” said SSP Jaya Balence and social crimes. “Once you are
hadur Chand
hooked into gambling, you are likely to
Police have confiscated Rs 21,893 in commit crimes to serve the habit,” he
stake and casino chips equivalent to Rs said.
19,700 from them.
The addiction to gambling has cost
The arrestees, in the age group be- several families their cash, gold jewtween
22 to 41 years, would be charged elleries and other valuables, according to
under the Gambling Act, he said.
police.
Despite repeated police raids on casi- Earlier on October 7, police had arrestnos,
entry of Nepali gamblers into casied five Nepali gamblers, including two
nos has remained undeterred.
women, from the Casino Royale.
A group of pedestrians crossing over an overhead bridge at
Bhadrakali in Kathmandu on Sunday.
EYESORE: Tourists pass by a heap of garbage at Thamel, Kathmandu, on Sunday.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Muslims across the country
celebrated Eid-ul-Adha aka
Bakr Eid with great enthusiasm
and vigour today.
The festival, also known
as the feast of sacrifice, is
one of the biggest Muslim
festivals. Hundreds of devo-
tees thronged the mosques,
especially Jame Masjid and
Kashmiri Masjid, in the Valley
to offer prayer and recite
Namaz.
Bakr Eid is celebrated in
Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah
for three days from
tenth to twelfth day of this
month.
On the occasion, the
Man Bahadur’s body sent
to Teaching Hospital
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Man Bahadur Lopchan’s (45)
body, which was lying unclaimed
on the premises of Tribhuvan International
Airport for the past
eight days, was sent to Maharajgunj-based
TU Teaching Hospital
today.
DIG Narayan Prasad Bastakoti,
TIA security in-charge, said the
move followed the refusal of the
deceased’s kin to receive the
body for funeral rites despite repeated
requests.
“Officials of airport administration,
Silk Air and police held a
meeting to find an amicable solution
and decided to shift the
coffin containing the body so as
to keep it in a fridge to prevent it
Eid-ul-Adha marked with great enthusiasm
Muslims sacrifice animals
and the meat is distributed
among the poor and needy
people.
According to Muslim rituals,
any Muslim who has
enough money should
make a animal sacrifice to
commemorate Prophet
Abraham’s willingness to
sacrifice his son Ismail as an
THT
from decaying,” he informed.
The body was taken to the hospital
at around 5:00 pm.
“Santa Bahadur, Man Bahadur’s
son refused to claim the
body without substantial reasons,”
he said.
The body had remained at the
TIA since Silk Air brought it to
Kathmandu via Singapore on October
21. Man Bahadur had
hanged himself after missing his
flight back home on the night of
September 10, a day after the
London 2012 Paralympic Games
drew to a close.
The wheel-chair bound Nepal
Paralympic Committee official
had hanged himself from a “short
tree branch” at the village where
participants and officials had
stayed.
THT
act of submission to God’s
command.
Meat is divided into three
parts; one is kept for self,
other for friends and third
for needy ones.
On this day, they wear
new clothes and prepare
other delicacies of Eid and
share with friends and
relatives.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 27
The Ministry of Health and
Population is scaling up a
programme of behavioural
change to encourage healthy
handwashing, especially targeting
mothers with children
under five years, in 18 more
districts having significant
presence of underprivileged
communities this fiscal to
curb waterborne diseases,
pneumonia and infections.
At present, the ministry is
operating the campaign at
households in seven districts
through female community
health volunteers to raise
awareness on handwashing
with soap as an effective,
Street vendors look for customers in Ratnapark, Kathmandu, on Sunday.
Drive targets underprivileged populace
Campaign to curb mortality in backward communities
simple, and inexpensive way
to prevent life-threatening
diseases and reduce child
mortality.
The seven districts where
the campaign is under way
are Jhapa, Saptari, Sunsari,
Dhanusha, Mahottari, Chitwan
and Banke.
Kunja Joshi, focal person
for the campaign at health
ministry’s National Health
Education, Information and
Communication Centre, said
the programmes are mainly
centred on districts where
Dalit, Janajati and backward
communities constitute are
in a majority.
“The ministry plans to expand
the programme nationwide
by 2015,” informed
the focal person.
One of the most cost-effective
interventions, handwashing
with soap can reduce
the incidence of diarrhoea
among children under
five by almost 40 per cent,
and respiratory infections by
nearly 23 per cent, said Joshi.
He added 44 per cent of
neonatal deaths can be prevented
through handwashing.
The health ministry introduced
the programme after
the Nepal Demographic
Health Survey (NDHS)-2011
showed that only 47 per cent
of the people are using soap
to wash their hands.
NDHS-2006 showed that
inadequate access to water
PAGE 3
THT
and sanitation are responsible
for 10,500 child deaths in
Nepal.
Nepal has to ensure 53 per
cent sanitation coverage and
73 per cent improved water
source by 2015 to meet the
Millennium Development
Goal target for drinking water
and sanitation.
The Nepal government has
targeted universal access to
water and sanitation to all by
2017.
According to the global
campaign ‘Let’s keep our
promises on water and sanitation’,
2.5 billion people in
the world still live without a
safe toilet and 783 million
people still lack access to
clean water.

PAGE 4
BLONDIE Dean Young and Denis Lebrun
HAGAR Chris Browne
BEETLE BAILEY Mort Walker
BEAU PEEP Andrew Christine and Roger Kettle
• ENGAGEMENTS
EXHIBITION, CLASS AND WORKSHOP
Yoga classes for ladies - Come transform yourself at the Transformers - The Yoga
Studio.Venue: Naxal, time: 6 pm to 7 pm., charge for 21 days: Rs. 3500/-.
Limited seats available. For further details 9841019111.
FINE CUISINE
“Bubbly Brunch”: Every Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm @ Shambala Garden & Club
Sundhara where you can enjoy Live Shawarma & Pasta only @ Rs.1100 Nett
per person ( Includes a glass of Sparkling Wine). For further details call Hotel
Shangri~La, Kathmandu at 4412999 Extn. 7520,7515.
“Starry Night BBQ”: Every Friday Evening from 7:00 pm onwards at Shambala
Garden Café, Hotel Shangri~La only @ Rs.1299 Nett per person and live performance
by Ciney Gurung. For more details and Reservation: 4412999
Bar-Be-Que Brunch Bazaar- Make your gourmet journey memorable for lifetime
with all live counters serving in one place. Every Saturday at poolside garden of
Gokarna Forest Resort, Kathmandu from 12 noon to 2:30PM at NRs. 1999
NET per person. For more information contact: 4451212
Enjoy the real taste of Tibetan Gyakok and free wi-Fi Internet at Boudha Stupa
Restaurant and Cafe Boudha tel:012130681.
Baithak allows you to be a part of the Feast of the Rana Maharajas, experience the
Authentic Nepali food along with the culture programme with the historic atmosphere.
Contact: 014267346
Cafereena a multi-cuisine restaurant located in the heart of city with the terrace
beer garden turned up with the motto “Feed Your Passion”, Cafereena aims to
be the most exclusive and unique restaurant offering the best lineup of
cuisines. Contact: 014231313(durbarmarg)/ 015009122(Jhamsikhel)
Smoky Charcoal and Hot Stone BBQ Dinner at Splash Bar and Grill, Radisson
Hotel Kathmandu from 14th September onwards every Friday at Rs. 1199 plus
taxes from 18:30 hrs. to 22:00 hrs. For more information contact: 4411818
EVENT
Good Music at Tamarind Restro and Bar, Dharmendra Sewan every Friday
acoustic live, sufi evening with Hemanta Rana every Wednesday, Salsa Workshop
every Tuesday,Value Meals with Coke everyday from 1130hrs to 1500
hrsacoustic live with Hem Lama every Saturday and piano playing by Sunil
Singh every Sunday, Monday and Thursday. For booking Contact: 552-2626.
Experience your holiday at Kingfisher Jungle Resort at Shukranagar, Meghauli
Chitwan. One night and two days at Rs 3500 and two nights and three days at
Rs 6000. Elephant safari,Canoeing and Nature walk fee to pay extra at the resort
pickup and drop to Narayanghat.Residential package at Rs 30,000 per
month. Contact: Rudra Raj Dotel 9849 059295, Kathmandu Office: 4260329,
Resort: 056 69 4490.
Spend your summer vacation with your family in Chitwan & Pokhara for more
details contact us : 01-4414696, 4425456, 9849712974. Kailash Int’l Travel
& Tours, Lainchour.
Live sufi and Hindi gazals by Rajesh Khadga and Pooja Sunwar at one of the finest
Indian Restaurant in town at Maharaja, Grand Hotel, Soaltee mode. Contact:
4282482 ext: 5040 & 5080
For listing in this column, mail your events to
engagements@thehimalayantimes.com
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8
9 10
Across: 1 They are used as nutrients
for plants and soil (11) - 9 Total numbers
issued at one time, say of book
(7) - 10 It’s a hen party so __ ___ allowed
? (2,3) - 11 First three alphabets
(3) - 13 Rich soil (4) - 16 Newborn
child (4) - 17 French lovers (6) -
18 Appellation or title (4) - 20 Move
through (4) - 21 Two Gentleman of
___ : Great Bard’s comedy ? (6) - 22
Raise the ___ : procure money for a
purpose ? (4) - 23 Stern and forbidding
(4) - 25 Role playing game in
short (3) - 28 ___ firma : planet earth
11 12
13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20
21
22 23 24
25 26 27
28 29
30
Quick Clues
• WHAT’S ON
NTV
1600 News
1625 Samabesi
Karyakram
1700 News
1705 Mission Point
1730 Bimbha Pratibimbha
1800 News
1805 Sangharsha
1825 Hamro Kathmandu
1838 Krishi
1900 News
1925 Paribartan
2000 News
2050 Jeeray Khursani
2130 Aaja Ko Bigyan
2200 Ujyalo Tira
2230 News
STARPLUS
1915 Saath Nibhana
Saathiya
1945 Ek Doosre Se Karte
Hain Pyaar Hum
2015 Iss Pyaar Ko Kya
Naam Doon?
2045 Ek Hazaaron Mein
Meri Behna Hain
2115 Diya aur Baati Hum
2145 Yeh Rishta Kya
Kehlata Hai
2215 Pyaar Ka Dard
Meetha Meetha
Pyara Pyara
2245 Veera
2345 Arjun
STARWORLD
1515 Two and a Half Men
1615 The Dewarists
1715 MasterChef Australia
1815 Grey’s Anatomy
1915 Two And A Half Men
2015 The Simpsons
2045 How I Met Your
Mother
2115 MasterChef Australia
2215 Grey’s Anatomy
2315 Two And A Half Men
? (5) - 29 ___ bridge : old time game
now more popular as Contract Bridge ?
(7) - 30 One staying as a boarder in
someone’s house ? (6,5).
Down: 2 Lloyd Webber musical set in
Argentina (5) - 3 Drudgery or hard work
(4) - 4 ___ Lang : she loves Superman,
the man of steel ? (4) - 5 “Zn”
chemically speaking ? (4) - 6 Ransack,
ferret about (7) - 7 Taking measures
concerning ? (7,4) - 8 Causing to exist,
begetting (11) - 12 Animal’s hole in the
ground (6) - 14 Ms. West of Hollywood
fame ? (3) - 15 American slang, to hide
oneself ? (4,2) - 19 One of the Balearic
ZEE TV
1915 Afsar Bitiya
1945 Sapne Suhane
Ladakpan Ke
2015 Rab Se Sohna Isshq
2045 Hitler Didi
2115 Pavitra Rishta
2145 Phir Subah Hogi
2215 Mrs. Kaushik Ki
Paanch Bahuein
2245 Punar Vivaah
2315 Hitler Didi
2345 Rab Se Sohna Isshq
TENSPORTS
0945 ATP 500
Series 2012:
Valencia Open 500
- Final
1215 EFLI Player Profile:
Kandy Skykings
1230 EFLI Player
Profile: Pakistan
Wolfpak
1245 EFLI 2012: Kandy
Skykings vs. Pakistan
Wolfpak
1345 UEFA Champions
League 2012/13:
Matchday 3
1445 WWE: Experience
1515 ATP 1000
Masters 2012
1705 ON HBO
STARSPORTS
1715 Asian Tour Golf Show:
Hero Indian Open
1745 Game
1815 TNA Xplosion
1915 FIA F1 World Championship
2012 H/ls
2045 Engine Block 2012
2115 Score Tonight
2145 Motorsports: Petronas
2215 Italian Serie A
2012/13 H/ls
2315 Liga Bbva 2012/13:
RCD Mallorca Vs. Real
Madrid CF
SETMAX
0740 Mohabbat
1045 Don No. 1
1355 Pyar Ka Mandir
1730 Dost
2115 Vaastav
HBO
1145 The Seven Of Daran:
The Battle Of Pareo
Rock
1315 Ace Ventura: When
Nature Calls
1450 Blue Crush 2
1640 HBO Central
1705 Three Kings
1900 The Tourist
2045 On Freddie Roach
2115 Eastbound & Down
2145 30: Minutes Or Less
CINEMAX
0805 Snow Beast
0940 The Karate Kid
1200 The Quick And The
1345 Ocean’s 11
1555 Wonder Woman
1705 All-star Superman
1820 Morlocks
1945 Cruel Intentions
2120 John Carpenter Presents
Vampires
2255 Manticore
www.thehimalayantimes.com
POTPOURRI
DENNIS Hank Ketcham
HOCUS FOCUS Henry Boltinoff
Himalayan Double Crossword — 5756
Islands in W. Mediterranean - “I’m on
car” anagram ? (7) - 20 A bundle of
notes, perhaps ? (3) - 24 Of Garfield’s
buddy (5) - 25 Small branches (4) - 26
Band or group (4) - 27 Light fawn
colour (4).
Cryptic Clues
Across: 1 No danger of giving too enterprising
a performance ? (7,4) - 9
First-day cover (3,4) - 10 They’re wild
in central Africa (5) - 11 Puff a good bit
of the cigarette (3) - 13 Thank you dad
for this little morsel (4) - 16 Betting
there’s a bag to carry (4) - 17 Woman
finally leaving the opening for a spell
(6) - 18 Food served in here at suppertime
(4) - 20 Letters for the queen in
the country (4) - 21 Police round up
large or small hit (6) - 22 It could hold
about half a gallon - or more (4) - 23 A
pattern belonging to Dorothy (4) - 25
Remains a discredited failure (3) - 28
Part of SA province backing the French
colour (5) - 29 Lakes `e’d transformed
in the Lake District (7) - 30 Small
dwelling big enough for a cat? (4,7).
Down: 2 It may be given to one needing
help as a climber (3,2) - 3 Agree
about very short French name (4) - 4
Enthusiast taken aback by loud, tasteless
slang (4) - 5 Work hard to go after
the bowling (4) - 6 A number in favour
of good taste ? (7) - 7 Irrelevant description
of a ship by the head-land
(3,3,5) - 8 He’s keen I add variety to
children’s game (4,3,4) - 12 Bill on the
line to give agreement (6) - 14 Sat
around with former service women ?
(3) - 15 Bill is to raise and set sail for
French port (6) - 19 Entertainment
provided here at the new rate (7) - 20
Old age, in old times (3) - 24 Ring before
getting telephoned with this
non-Tarzan ape-man (5) - 25 Slap into
the mountains (4) - 26 Brave
fellow has woman’s love (4) - 27
Fabric originating in Indonesian knotting
and tying (4).
Solution for 5754
R U B R I C R E B U T S
A R O R D E R R P
B L O T T O C A B A L A
B G A U R A S N R
I S U P C L S I L K
M E E T H A L F W A Y
E L L A R
A F T E R A W H I L E
G R A S A I N E S T
E L C R A Z Y V R
T I T T L E A E R A T E
U E A L E R T N A
P A R O D Y D I E T E D
QUICK
F I P P L E W R E A T H
A H U L N A E N O
L O L I T A V I T A L S
L E E P E E S D T
A L G A S R B I A S
I M P R E S S I O N S
M P I B K
P E R C E P T I B L E
O S L O V O Y A W S
P I O O M P H W O
H I J A C K E I F F E L
I A T E A R S U O
R E H E A R S T A L L S
CRYPTIC
• FLIGHT SCHEDULE
INTERNATIONAL
FROM-TO
AIR ARABIA
DAYS DEPT/ARRV FLIGHT NO
KTM-SHJ-KTM DAILY 2025/1945 G90536/G90535
KTM-SHJ-KTM DAILY 1350/1310 G90538/G90537
AIR INDIA
KTM-DEL-KTM DAILY 1000/0900 AI214/AI213
KTM-DEL-KTM MON, TUE, WED, THU 1555/1455 AI216/AI215
KTM-VNS-KTM SAT, SUN, TUE, THU 1425/1340 AI252/AI251
KTM-CCU-KTM MON, SAT 1605/1515 AI248/AI247
KTM-CCU-KTM TUE 1750/1710 AI248/AI247
AIR CHINA
KTM-LXA-KTM TUE 0930/0830 CA408/CA402
KTM-LXA-KTM SAT 1045/0941 CA408/CA407
BIMAN BANGALDESH AIRLINES
KTM-DAC-KTM WED 1200/1000 BG 702/BG701
KTM-DAC-KTM MON 1410/1310 BG 702/BG701
KTM-DAC-KTM TUE, FRI 1100/1000 BG702/BG701
CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES
KTM-CNN-KTM DAILY 2315/2210 CZ 3068/CZ3067
DRAGON AIR
KTM-HKG-KTM SUN, WED, FRI 2330/2230 KA 191/KA192
DRUK AIR
KTM-PBH-KTM THU, SAT 0915/0835 KB 401/KB400
KTM-PBH-KTM TUE 1215/1145 KB 401/KB400
KTM-PBH-KTM FRI 1345/1300 KB 401/KB400
KTM-PBH-KTM SUN, WED 1410/0855 KB 205/KB205
KTM-PBH-KTM MON 1610/1530 KB 411/KB410
JET AIRWAYS
KTM-DEL-KTM DAILY 0930/0825 9W263/264
KTM-DEL-KTM DAILY 1545/1445 9W261/262
NEPAL AIRLINES
KTM-KUL-KTM SUN TO FRI 2330/1105 RA415/416
KTM-BKK-KTM MON,WED,FRI 0900/1630 RA401/402
KTM-HKG-KTM TUE,THU,SAT 0810/1820 RA409/410
**Please check with airlines for any change in schedule
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
• ONCE-OVER
A child enjoying on the linge ping
in Pokhara, on Sunday.
One dies in accident
BUTWAL: Anupa Chaudhary (28)
who was injured after falling in the
village two days ago, has died in a
motorcycle accident. She died when
the motorcycle she was on collided
with a buffalo while returning with
her husband after doing CT scan of
her head. Chaudhary, a resident of
Gopigunj, Januniya-2 of Nawalparasi
district, died after the accident Saturday
at Devdaha of Rupadehi, Devdaha
police said. Her husband Rajkishor
Chaudhary has sustained injuries
and is undergoing treatment at
Devdaha Medical College. – RSS
Man found dead
UDAYAPUR: Hari Khadka (33) of Rupatar
VDC -9 in Udayapur district has
been found dead at a paddy field
nearby his home. According to police
inspector of District Police Office
Udayapur, Krishna Paudel, he was
found dead at the paddy field at 10:00
pm Saturday night. Police team has
reached the site from Katari and the
body has been sent to Katari Hospital
for post mortem. He used to consume
excessive amount of alcohol,
said villagers. The site is in hilly area
55 kms north-west of Katari Police
Office. – RSS
Rapist arrested
GOLBAZAAR: The Armed Police
Force has caught an Indian national
red-handed raping a girl from bordering
Kamalpur of Itatar VDC-9 in
Siraha district. The arrested is Ram
Pujan Mandal, 19, from Mahauliya
Village of Ward 5, Bihar. He was
caught red-handed gang-raping an
11-year-old girl with Saha surname of
the same locality at a paddy field.
However, another accused managed
to evade the arrest. Mandal has been
handed over to the Nepal Police for
further investigation into the case,
said the APF. The victim girl said that
she was trapped by the accused while
she was on the way to her home from
a grinding mill at Itatar. – RSS
Traditional houses
BHAKTAPUR: Attempts to build traditional
houses in Madhyapur Thimi
have been left in the lurch due to
budget deficit in the current fiscal.
Earlier, the Madhyapur Thimi Municipality
had pledged discounts to locals
if they built houses in traditional
styles in an effort to protect the local
architectures of the area. They had
promised 50 per cent discount in
purchase of artistic bricks and cent
per cent discount in map approval for
building traditional houses last fiscal
year. The programme was made public
in the municipal council meeting
by then executive officer, Ram Prasad
Pathak last fiscal. However, the project
has been halted after the budget
was curtailed after his transfer. “Although
conservation areas were declared
during his tenure in 2056 BS,
the municipality was not able to
conserve these sites,” said former
Mayor Madan Krishna Shrestha. — RSS
Sarayen dance
KATHMANDU: On the occasion of
Kojagrat Poornima, the last day of
Bada Dashain 2069, the 'sarayen'
dance is to be presented in Gulmi
and Arghakhanchi on Monday. The
sarayen dance is performed to commemorate
the victory of the gods
over the demons, according to Chairperson
of Bagalamukhi Mai Temple
Conservation Committee, Dhruva
Mahat. — RSS
Himalayan News Service
Taulihawa, October 28
The number of people to
keep arms at home for their
self defence is increasing by
the day in Kapilbastu district,
sources said.
Various people and party
cadres including the district
chairman of Bijaya Kumar
Gachhadar-led Madhesi
Janaadhikar Forum (Democratic)
Jit Bahadur Chaudhary
have got the permission
from the District Administration
Office to keep
weapons on the pretext of
THT
Himalayan News Service
Dang, October 28
self defence. Likewise,
Furkan Akwal Kha, Manjur
Kha, Mahetab Alam Kha
and Asif Manjur Kha of Birpur
VDC ward number 6
and Hasan Kha, Nurul
Khan, Prabez Alam Kh of
Chanai VDC-8 too have received
the license from the
DAO to keep weapons.
Forum (Democratic)
leader Chaudhary said that
he had got the permission
from the DAO legally to possess
the weapons for his self
defence only.
Besides, the Kapilbastu
District Administration has
CPN-UML Secretary Shankar
Pokharel today said the Unified
CPN-Maoist Chairperson
Pushpa Kamal Dahal must
explore ways to forge consensus
within Tihar as this could
be his last opportunity to bring
parties together to give the
country a way out to the politi-
Kankai Canal supplying little after 40 yrs
Himalayan News Service
Damak, October 12
With a view to providing irrigation
facility to more than 8,000
hectares of land in Jhapa, the
Kankai Canal Project was constructed
forty years ago. However,
getting the irrigation facility
via the canal has become a
pie in the sky.
Peasants living nearby the
canal are forced to use electric
motor to draw water for irrigation.
Many farmers have no
choice but to rely on rainfall for
cultivation.
Chhatrababu Basnet, a
farmer, in Baigundhara of Jhapa
lamented that they were facing
difficulty for paddy plantation
due to lack of irrigation facility
despite the presence of canal
structures. “I have planted paddy
in half of the land out of the
three bighas of filed due to lack
of irrigation,” he said. He finds
it very painful when he sees the
barren filed during the harvest
season around the corner.
cal imbroglio.
Speaking at a press meet organised
by the Press Chautari
in Dang, Ghorahi, Pokharel
said if Dahal fails to do so then
his party would go ahead with
Baidhya led-Maoist faction,
the CPN-M, with in Dashain
and Tihar if there was no
agreement.
Pokharel said the first priority
is given to the UCPN-M to
Basnet complains that lack of
irrigation facility gives them
hard time for paddy plantation.
“Farmers face a myriad of problems
during paddy plantation
due to untimely rainfall,” he
added.
Consumers of branch number
12 of the Kankai Canal are
worst sufferers due to lack of
water in the canal.
Biswo Prasad Adhikary of
Mahavara-4 bemoaned that his
four bighas of land was left uncultivated
because of nonavailability
of water in the
canal.
Another farmer Gopal
Khimding (Limbu) said that
they were tired of seeing the
empty canal. “Our VDC is deprived
of various facilities of development
including the irrigation,”
he added.
According to him, irrigation
facility has not reached to
around 500 bighas of land located
at Baigudhara and Mahavara
despite canal structures.
The Kankai Irrigation Project
NATIONAL
Dahal not doing enough for consensus: Pokharel
discuss a way out to the country
as the country is facing obstacles
at different stages. Otherwise,
they could go ahead
with the Baidhya led-CPN-M
for the continuation of the
peace process as they did in
the past.
UML leader claimed that the
majority of Baidhya supporters
were larger in number than
the UCPN-M when they come
was built to provide irrigation
facility to 8,000 acres of land including
Satasidham, Dharampur,
Topgachhi, Shivgunj,
Panchgachhi, Baigundhura.
The project was completed in
two phases. In the first phase, it
was aimed to provide irrigation
facility to 5,000 hectares land.
Likewise, project was supposed
to provide irrigation in 3,000
hectares of land in the second
phase.
Major canal’s capacity is 10
cusec. Engineer Pradip
Bantawa at the Eastern Regional
Irrigation Division Gainde
said that they could supply only
5 cusec water due to low water
level in the river.
Surya Narayan Tajpuriya,
Chairman of the Kankai Canal
Water Consumers’ Corporation
said that they could not cater irrigation
facility as per the target
due to lack of canal maintenance
for a long time, lack of
sanitation at the canal and extraction
of the sand and boulders
at the source of the canal.
Traffic police conducting checking at Gunadi on Prithvi Highway in Tanahu, on Sunday.
‘Do not fire journalists’
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Chitwan, October 28
Four professional organisations of journalists active
in Chitwan today urged media houses to not
remove working journalists without providing
sufficient reasons and also to release their due
Dashain allowance.
In a joint statement here, the organisations
have expressed serious concern over the
dismissal of journalists Subash Pandit and
Anil Dhakal working at Radio Triveni,
Bharatpur, and have demanded their immediate
reinstatement.
The Nepal Press Union, Press Chautari Nepal,
Revolutionary Journalists’ Association and Revolutionary
Journalists Federation, Chitwan, have
also urged all the media houses in the district to
release the Dashain allowance and to enforce the
Working Journalist Act.
They have also urged journalists to stop working
against the Federation of Nepali Journalists to
work in partnership with the professional associations
on journalists’ issues.
Likewise, journalists at large have been urged
to begin work only after receiving the letter of
employment from the respective media houses.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Radio
Triveni Sudip Singh Adhikari denied the
allegation that any staff of the radio station has
been fired from work, and made it clear that only
a programme had been pulled off from air.
Though the Dashain allowance would be given
this year as well, he added.
granted licenses of 494
small arms to the affluent
and former VDCs chairpersons
in the district.
District Forest Office
Chief Krishna Prasad
Pokhrael said the police was
yet to return the licensed
weapons seized from the
commoners and 30 guns
seized from the forest
guards during the Maoist
insurgency.
SP Rajendra Dhakal said
people could take their
weapons showing their documents
and license to keep
the weapons. Police and
Himalayan News Service
Nawalparasi, October 28
Gun ownership on the rise in Kapilbastu
DAO had returned those
weapons seized from the
commoners to the people
involved in retaliation
against then Maoist rebels.
Locals in Kapilbastu have
got 494 sets of licensed
weapons. The DAO has given
the license to the locals
to keep only the small
weapons. Locals are banned
from keeping pistol, rifles
and other modern weapons.
Meanwhile, Kapilbastu
DAO arrested as many as 43
persons on the charges of
possessing illegal weapons
last year alone. According to
THT
‘Oppn will start stir
against government’
Nepali Congress General Secretary
Prakashman Singh today said opposition parties
in the country would join hands and hit
the street against the Baburam Bhattarai-led
government.
Addressing his party’s meeting at
Nawalparasi’s Gaidakot, NC leader said, “Parties
in the opposition will forge working unity
and launch street agitation against the incumbent
government.”
The NC general secretary accused the Unified
CPN-Maoist of dissolving the Constituent
Assembly on May 27 with the intention of prolonging
its stay in power.
He also held that the resurrection of the dissolved
CA as not relevant in the present political
context. Opposition parties would dislodge
the government through agitation, Singh
added. On a different note, Singh went on to
say that proposal presented by UCPN-Maoist
Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in writing yesterday
to the NC and CPN-UML was a mere
farce to hoodwink them once again.
Stating that the country was experiencing
misfortune due to Maoist reluctance to make a
new constitution, NC leader remarked that
fresh election was the right option to give an
outlet to the country.
DAO, still nine cases related
to illegal weapons are yet to
be finalised.
Madhes Human Rights
Griha, Kapilbastu Chairman
Rabindranath Thakur said
license to keep weapons
and arms possession would
only endanger the human
rights situation. Chief District
Officer Krishna Chandra
Ghimire called on the
government to annul the
old law pertaining to arms
possession. “The government
has to put an end to
weapon sale by changing
the old law,” he added.
to the peace process. Therefore,
Dashain and Tihar will be
the last deadline to Dahal.
He accused that the Unified
CPN-M of taking advantage
of political and constitutional
crisis facing the country. “The
crises will never end until and
unless the UCPN-M changes
its fundamental mindset,” he
said. The nation has started
facing the crises since May 27,
he added.
Coming down heavily on
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai,
Pokharel described him
as the ‘subversive PM’ in the
history of Nepal as he has already
raised the issues of nationality
and submitted 40
points demands.
Pokharel said that the country
is mired with corruption
as the UCPN-M does every-
PAGE 5
thing for the money and
weapons. “The UCPN-M’s
statement to reinstate the
Constituent Assembly can be
regarded as a kind of game
to cheat people of this nation,”
he added.
He further said that there is
no any alternative way rather
than going to the new election
to seek fresh mandate from
the people.
Tourists thronging the Highway Restaurant located in Jamune,Tanahu, on Sunday.
THT

PAGE 6 www.thehimalayantimes.com
NATIONAL
• ONCE-OVER
Wooden idols kept at the Gumraha
Tharu Cultural Museum in
Ghorahi, Dang, on Sunday.
Two hurt in clash
OKHALDHUNGA: A clash took place
between the Young Communist
League (YCL) and Youth Association
cadres at Bilandu village in Okhaldhunga
district. Buddhi Baral, the
UCPN-M Bilandu VDC In-charge,
and Nawaraj Mishra, a supporter of
the CPN-UML were injured in the
clash. They are undergoing treatment
at the Sunkoshi Cooperative Hospital
in Ramechhap district, police said.
The clash broke out after an attempt
was made on Ashok Shrestha, a
Youth Association cadre in course of
a dispute between youths over
the matter of taking turns for
playing the swing. — RSS
Rastriya Samachar Samiti
Nepalgunj, October 28
“I want to go home and if I
tell this, my husband and inlaws
would beat me,” said
Ramawati Verma, a victim of
domestic violence.
When Ramawati shared
her woes at a public dialogue
programme, ‘Let’s end violence
and light up lamp of peace
in each house’ organised
by the Fatima Foundation in
Banjarepur of Indrapur VDC
in Banke district, every woman
present in the programme
were moved to tears.
Ramawati, whose house is
at Bhangotan of Hirminiya
THT
Health facilities
closure hits
service seekers
Himalayan News Service
Bajura, October 28
As many as 26 health centres and
sub-health posts across Bajura
district were closed during
Dashain festival. The closure of the
health facility has hit the service
seekers hard.
Health sector in the district was
severely affected after health workers
left for their home during
Dashain holidays.
Locals bemoan that they were
compelled to go to neighbouring
district as all the health centres and
sub-health posts except the District
Health Office were shut during
the festive time.
Senior AHW Dipak Shah at the
District Health Office said that
more than 30 patients visited every
sub-health posts and health centre.
Local Binod Nepali complained
that his wife died despite
the district having parturition facilities
at 22 health centres, as they
Banke district victims seek justice
VDC said, “I am left in the
lurch. I want justice.”
Another victim of domestic
violence, Nasibun Janha
(25) is bearing the pains of
• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
‘talak’. She was shocked
when her husband gave her
divorce two years after returning
from abroad.
“I don’t know why he gave
me divorce, I want my share
of property and rights,” she
said. Other victims present
also complained of domestic
violence.
Muslim leader Maulana
Abuddin Khan said, “There is
no provision in Muslim community
to give ‘talak’ without
fulfilling four preconditions.”
The foundation has
been running a project to
free the VDC from domestic
violence and has been organising
training programmes
from time to time.
“Muslim women have
been victims as most of them
do not have access to education
as well as economic
benefits,” said human rights
activist and advocate Abdul
Ajij Musalman. Civil society
leaders, political party repre-
were closed during the Dashain
period. “Had the health centres
been opened, my wife would have
survived,” he added.
Though the Devlasdain Health
Centre has 24 hour parturition service,
the health facility was closed
as all the health workers were on
leave during Dashain.
According to AHW Shah, patients
were compulled to go for private
clinic or at times had to go out
of the district even for a common
health problem.
Local Prem Dhami said that he
had to take his sick wife to another
district as health facilities were
closed in home district. “All the
health centres located in the lower
belt were shut. Thus, we were compelled
to go out of the district,” he
lamented.
Altogether six women undergoing
labour pain have died in the
district for want of skilled health
workers and equipments in the
past six months.
sentatives, journalists,
women rights activists, Hindu
and Muslim priests, and
Muslim leaders present
signed an eight-point
commitment to stop domestic
violence.
“Programmes including
training and awareness campaign
for development of
women leadership will be
organised,” said Maimuna
Siddiqui, acting chairperson
of the foundation.
The foundation has incorporated
5,000 women in the
development mainstream by
running empowerment programmes
in various VDCs of
Banke and Nepalgunj.
Muslim children on the occasion of Id-Al-Adha in Taulihawa, Kapilbastu,
on Sunday.
Women urged to go for
pre-natal checkups
Himalayan News Service
Okhaldhunga, October 5
Here is a noble and innovative
idea to urge pregnant
women to go for regular
checkups.
Health facilities in the remote
VDCs in Okhaldhunga
have initiated a novel
way by sending invitation
cards to pregnant women
of the villages urging them
to visit the health facilities
for the timely checkup of
their foetus and during the
time of delivery.
Interestingly, there are
also incentives for each
checkup.
According to the health
facilities, they have sent invitation
cards to the women
of 30 VDCs out of the total
of 56, in the district.
Assistant Health Worker,
Indra Gautam of Kuntadevi
Sub-Health Post said, “We
provide eggs as incentives
to the pregnant women visiting
the health facilities.
Four eggs are given to a
woman who comes for the
check-up for the first time.
Similarly, we provide them
six, eight and nine eggs for
the second, third and
fourth check-ups respectively.”
According to Senior
Health Worker, Manahari
Adhikari of the Pokalibased
Sub-health post said,
“Despite the health facilities
very few pregnant
women come for regular
checkups, so we had to
start the drive.”
Health workers said that
many pregnant women in
the remote areas do not
visit the health facilities out
of ignorance and still others
owing to the poor finan-
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
THT
cial conditions of their
families or long distance to
the health facilities.
“As there is ignorance
about the reproduction
health, women in Palapu,
Kalika, Balakhu, Pokali,
Rani Ban, Ragani and remote
places prefer to visit
the witch doctors and take
herbs, putting their and
their babies’ life at risk,”
said a local Bishnu Budhathoki.
According to the health
workers of the concerned
health facilities, they have
been also conducting
awareness campaigns in
the rural parts regarding
the reproductive health of
the pregnant women.
At their health facilities,
they have increased many
facilities targeting pregnant
women who visit for
the checkup of their foetus.
Over dozen
lakes face
extinction
threat
Himalayan News Service
Mahendranagar, October 28
More than one dozen lakes
in Kanchanpur district are
facing shrinking and extinction
threat. However, no efforts
on the part of authorities
have been initiated to
conserve these lakes.
Most of them, popular for
religious tourism destinations,
are losing their depth
every year.
The existence of more
than half a dozen lakes situated
inside the Suklaphant
Wildlife Reserve is on the
verge of extinction.
The lakes situated both inside
and outside of the
wildlife reserve are losing
their natural form.
Rara Lake, Rani Lake,
Baunne Lake, Sikari Lake,
Salgaaudi Lake and Baba
Lake located inside the Suklaphant
Wildlife Reserve are
shrinking every year, thanks
to the government’s apathy
for the sorry state of the
lakes. These lakes are losing
their charm among tourists
due to lack of maintenance
and conservation efforts.
Wild lives in the reserve
are also hit hard as the lakes
are drying up. Meanwhile,
the Suklaphant Wildlife Reserve
has constructed
around half a dozen artificial
lakes for animals. Spread
over 10 hectares land, Rara
Lake is home to birds of various
species and Magar crocodile.
Though human settlements
around the lake were
recently removed, no concrete
efforts have been made
to conserve the lake.
Chief Conservation Officer
Yubaraj Regmi, said they
were unable to maintain the
lakes located inside the reserve
due to fund crunch.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
INTERNATIONAL
• THE WORLD OVER
Reuters
Bishop Guido Marini (right) looks
on as Pope Benedict XVI holds the
pastoral staff during a mass at the
end of the Synod of Bishops at the
Vatican, on Sunday.
No trim for Greek debt
BERLIN: Germany’s finance minister
has dismissed all suggestions that
governments and other public creditors
could agree to a so-called haircut
on their Greek debt holdings. However,
Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said
in an interview with Deutschlandfunk
radio broadcast on Sunday that
a debt buyback programme under
which Greece could get loans that
would enable it to pay off much of its
debts could be considered. Greece is
pushing for an extension of the deadline
to meet the terms of its bailout
programme, a move that is expected
to incur a great deal of extra costs.
The private creditors of Greece had
agreed earlier this year to take a hit on
their Greek debt holdings but publicsector
creditors were spared the burdern
of debt. —AP
Six die in accident
MANILA: A speeding bus on Saturday
slammed into a concrete wall that
surrounded a house after its brakes
failed while it was negotiating a
downhill curve in an accident that
killed six people and injured 43 others
in the central region of the Philippines.
Police said on Sunday that the
impact of the unfortunate incident
hurled the bus conductor out of the
vehicle in Cebu province’s Toledo city.
All the casualties were from the bus
itself. Police moved in and arrested
the driver. — AP
Freighter missing
MOSCOW: Officials said on Sunday
that a Russian ship with 11 people on
board has gone missing in the stormy
seas off the nation’s Pacific Coast. The
Russian Emergency Situations Ministry
said that it had received a signal
on Sunday from an emergency buoy
of the freighter Amurskaya in the Sea
of Okhotsk. The ship was en route
from the coastal town of Neran to
Feklistov Island in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Another ship, which was travelling
nearby, was ordered to search for the
missing freighter and its crew, but
couldn’t immediately locate it. An
amphibious plane has been sent to
the area to help in the search. — AP
Tsunami downgraded
WASHINGTON: A tsunami warning
for Hawaii has been downgraded, according
to an advisory that was issued
on Sunday by the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Centre. Evacuation orders
that had earlier been sent were
also lifted for the coastal areas, a
Hawaii civil defence official said. At
least 100,000 people in Hawaii were
ordered to move away from the
shoreline to higher ground late on
Saturday after a tsunami warning,
but the first waves were less forceful
than had been feared and no damage
had been initially reported. Sources
said that the tsunami had been triggered
by a powerful earthquake off
Canada’s Pacific coast. — Reuters
Protesters blocked
THESSAONIKI: A military parade
commemorating Greece’s entry into
World War II was held without interruption
as hundreds of Greek police
and troops were deployed to keep
anti-austerity protesters away. Authorities
deployed some 2,000 police
in the northern city of Thessaloniki
on Sunday, and for the first time ever,
the armed security forces lined the
annual parade route, including some
from an elite quick reaction force that
has served in Kosovo. A few hundred
left-wing protesters were easily kept
at bay until the parade ended and the
officials attending it had departed.
Last year, people protesting the government’s
tough austerity policies
during the country’s economic crisis
overran the parade ground, insulted
officials and forced the evacuation of
the then Greek President Karolos Papoulias.
— Reuters
Drone strikes kill 3
SANAA: Suspected US drone strikes
killed three Al-Qaeda militants on
Sunday in the northern Yemeni
province of Saada in the first such
raid against the militant network
there, tribal sources said. — AFP
Hurricane Sandy to hit US east coast tomorrow
Reuters
Hatteras Island, October 28
Weather forecasters warned
today that Hurricane Sandy
will affect a large area of the US
East Coast but said it was
too early to pinpoint where the
storm, which has the potential
to be the biggest to hit
the mainland, would make
landfall.
Government officials in several
states in Sandy’s path
faced tough decisions on
emergency plans, including
mandatory evacuations in vulnerable
coastal areas, and residents
scrambled to buy supplies
before the storm arrives
on tomorrow.
On its current projected
track, Sandy is most likely to
make US landfall between
Delaware and the New
York/New Jersey area, forecasters
said. However, the Miamibased
National Hurricane
Centre said it could not yet
predict the precise point. “It is
still too soon to focus on the
exact track ... both because of
forecast uncertainty and because
the impacts are going to
cover such a large area away
from the centre,” the NHC said
in an advisory.
While Sandy’s winds were
not overwhelming for a hurricane,
its width was what made
it exceptional. Hurricane force
winds extended 165 km from
its centre while its lesser tropical
storm-force winds reached
across 1,125 km.
This image taken from NOAA's GOES satellite on Sunday, shows Hurricane Sandy. US emergency officials braced for the potentially
massive impact of a so-called "Frankenstorm" as the hurricane lumbered north.
Sandy could have a brutal
impact on major cities in the
target zone. In New York, city
officials discussed whether to
shut the subway system in advance
of the storm, which
could bring the country’s financial
nerve centre to a
standstill.
The storm could cause the
worst flooding Connecticut
has seen in more than 70 years,
said the state’s governor, Dannel
P Malloy.
The storm was moving over
the Atlantic parallel to the US
coast at 20 km/h, but was forecast
to make a tight westerly
turn toward the US coast tomorrow
night.
Tropical storm conditions
were spreading across the
coast of North Carolina and
gale force winds are forecast to
begin affecting the New York
area and southern New England,
the NHC added.
Sandy could be the largest
storm to hit the US, according
to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s
website.
7.7 Richter quake hits islands off west coast of Canada
Agence France Presse
Vancouver, October 28
A major 7.7 magnitude earthquake
shook the Queen Charlotte
Islands off the west coast
of Canada today, prompting
some people fearing a tsunami
to move to higher ground.
The epicenter of the tremor
was located 139 kilometres
south of the town of Masset,
the US Geological Survey
said.
Numerous aftershocks,
some as large as magnitude
Anti-Assad
protest
dispersed
Reuters
Mecca, October 28
Saudi authorities quickly dispersed
a protest by hundreds of
Syrian pilgrims calling for the fall
of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
and denouncing what they
said was international failure to
stop bloodshed in Syria.
Protesters held up rebel flags
and marched toward the Jamarat
Bridge in Mina, east of the Saudi
Arabian city of Mecca, where
more than 3 million Muslim pilgrims
congregated for the annual
haj.
No one was hurt when two police
vehicles drove slowly in the
direction of the protesters with
the sirens on as the officers asked
the crowd through loudspeakers
to leave the area. The protesters
swiftly dispersed and merged
with thousands of other pilgrims
in the area, the witness said.
Saudi officials made it clear in
recent days that they want a politics-free
pilgrimage and urged
pilgrims to focus on performing
the rituals.
This year’s haj took place
against a backdrop of divisions
among Muslims, with Shi’ite Iran
and US-allied Sunni countries
such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and
Qatar backing opposing sides in
Syria’s civil war.
Saudi Arabia has led Arab efforts
to isolate President Bashar
al-Assad’s government and has
supported the rebels with money
and logistics.
At the protest, dozens of security
guards already deployed in
the area stood by without interfering.
“Syria lives forever despite of
you Assad,” the protesters shouted
as they streamed by a giant
wall at Jamarat Bridge used for
the ritual stoning of the devil,
one of the main rites of the haj.
Another slogan went: “We
don’t want Bashar, all Syriansraise
your arms up!”
The Syrian crisis also was evident
at Mount Arafat, scene for
the haj’s main rites, on Thursday
when some Syrians held up rebel
flags despite a call by Saudi Arabia’s
grand mufti to avoid raising
national and factional slogans.
4.6, followed the initial quake,
Canadian officials reported.
The regional West Coast-
Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre
also issued a regional
warning for coasts located
near the epicentre of the
earthquake.
Emergency officials in
British Columbia said a small
tsunami had been recorded
on a deep ocean pressure sensor,
but its effect was not immediately
known.
The officials urged residents
in low-lying coastal ar-
eas to be alert to instructions
from local officials and be
prepared to move to higher
ground.
“The tsunami alarm went
off and everybody went to the
evacuation site,” Danny Escott,
owner of the Escott
Sportfishing lodge near Massett,
told AFP by telephone.
Natural Resources Canada
said in a statement that the
temblor was felt across much
of north-central British Columbia,
including Haida
Gwaii as the Queen Charlotte
Agence France Presse
Rome, October 28
Italian ex-premier Silvio
Berlusconi’s warning that
his centre-right party could
withdraw its support for the
government was seen by the
press today as a declaration
of war against Prime Minister
Mario Monti.
“In the next few days we
will decide with the leadership
of my party whether it
is better to immediately
Islands are otherwise called,
Prince Rupert, Quesnel, and
Houston.
“There have been no reports
of damage at this time,”
the ministry added.
However, experts said
tremors exceeding magnitude
7.0 were extremely dangerous.
“A 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake.
It’s not something you
can ignore,” said Gerard Fryer.
He explained that the latest
tremor had occurred partly
under an island, but mostly
withdraw our confidence or
to keep it, given the upcoming
election (in April),”
Berlusconi said at a press
conference on Saturday after
he was sentenced to jail
for tax fraud.
“We need to weigh this
government policy that
leads to a spiral of recession
for our economy” against
the way “a vote of no-confidence
could be seen by the
world of finance,” he added.
Reactions to Berlusconi’s
under shallow water.
“I think we have to be
thankful it happened where it
did,” Fryer said. “If that were a
heavily populated area, it
would have caused significant
damage.”
The earthquake reading
was based on the open-ended
Moment Magnitude scale
used by US seismologists,
which measures the area of
the fault that ruptured and
the total energy released.
The Islands has a total population
of 5,000.
Muslim pilgrims cast seven stones at a pillar that symbolises Satan during the annual haj pilgrimage near the holy
city of Mecca on Sunday.
Five killed in
P’ppine clash
Associated Press
Manila, October 28
Philippine marines who were
searching for long-held hostages
battled Al-Qaeda-linked militants
in a fierce clash today that killed
three marines and two insurgents
in the south, officials said.
The fighting continued sporadically
through the day in the mountainous
hinterlands of Patikul
town in Sulu province, where the
Abu Sayyaf movement has survived
in jungle encampments despite
years of US-backed Philippine
military offensives.
At least 10 other marines were
wounded in the clash, regional
military spokesman Lt Colonel
Randolph Cabangbang said.
Regional military commander
Major General Rey Ardo ordered
air force planes and navy ships to
back up the government forces,
ensure the recovery of the slain
marines and transport the wounded
to a hospital.
Cabangbang said the marines
had been deployed to check the
reported sighting of hostages.
Syrian jets bomb east Damascus
Reuters
Amman, October 28
Syrian fighter jets bombarded
suburbs of eastern
Damascus today,
continuing the air raids
launched on Sunni Muslim
neighbourhoods in
the capital since a UNbrokered
ceasefire was
supposed to begin two
days ago, opposition ac-
tivists said. There were
large explosions and
huge plumes of smoke as
Russian-made warplanes
hit the adjacent suburbs
of Zamalka, Irbin, Harasta
and Zamalka, they
said.
A statement by the Harasta
Media Office, an activists’organisation,
said
electricity, water and
communications had
been cut and dozens of
wounded at the Harasta
National Hospital had
been moved as the bombardment
closed in.
Activists also reported
fighting in the suburb of
Douma to the northeast,
where Free Syrian
Army fighters have been
attacking roadblocks.
Damascus is ringed by
Sunni districts.
comments were splashed
across the front pages of the
Italian press on Sunday, with
the leading Corriere della
Sera saying “Berlusconi
threatens to topple Monti”,
while other headlines declared
“Berlusconi attacks
Monti” and “Berlusconi
against Monti”.
“Berlusconi in his bunker
has declared war on Monti
and Merkel,” leftwing daily Il
Fatto Quotidiano said, referring
to Berlusconi’s accusa-
PAGE 7
“The size of this alone, affecting
a heavily populated
area, is going to be history
making,” said Jeff Masters, a
hurricane specialist who
writes a blog posted on the
Weather Underground
(www.wunderground.com).
Sandy could hit Boston, New
York, Baltimore, Washington,
DC and Philadelphia, one of
the most densely populated
regions of the country and
home to tens of millions of
people.
Forecasters said Sandy was a
rare, hybrid “super storm” created
by an Arctic jet stream
wrapping itself around a tropical
storm, possibly causing up
to 30 cm of rain in some areas,
as well as heavy snowfall inland.
Sandy killed at least 66 people
as it made its way through
the Caribbean islands, including
51 in Haiti, mostly from
flash flooding and mudslides,
according to authorities.
The approaching storm
forced a change of plans for
both presidential candidates
ahead of the November 6 election.
The White House said
President Obama canceled a
campaign appearance in Virginia
and another stop in Colorado,
and will instead monitor
the storm from Washington.
Republican challenger Mitt
Romney rescheduled campaign
events planned for Virginia
and was flying to Ohio instead.
10 killed
in reprisal
attacks in
Nigeria
Agence France Presse
Kaduna, October 28
A suicide attacker drove a car
bomb into a Nigerian church today,
sparking fierce reprisals that
saw a Christian mob burn a man
alive in a day of bloody violence
that left at least 10 people dead
and 145 wounded.
Christian youths took to the
streets of the northern city of
Kaduna with machetes and sticks
after the blast, targeting those
they believed to be Muslims as
anger again boiled over due to repeated
church bombings in recent
months.
Attackers beat a motorcycle taxi
driver near the church, then put
his bike on top of him before
dousing him with petrol and setting
him on fire, an AFP correspondent
who saw the violence
said. Two other bloodied bodies
apparently killed by the mob were
seen near the church. A rescue official
also spoke of the man being
burnt and said rescuers could not
save him because the mob was
too violent.
The mob also attacked an ambulance
in the ensuing violence,
but there was no indication that
rescuers were wounded.
“So far we have eight dead and
145 injured from the church
blast,” Musa Ilallah, regional coordinator
for the National Emergency
Management Agency, said,
noting that his death toll included
the suspected bomber.
The attacker rammed what residents
said was an SUV into St
Rita church, shaking the Malali
neighbourhood of Kaduna, a city
that has suffered a wave of deadly
violence blamed on Islamist extremist
group Boko Haram.
“All of a sudden it drove on high
speed and rammed into the
church wall, forcing its way into
the church premises,” said witness
Samuel Emmanuel.
“Initially I thought the driver
had lost control of the vehicle.
Suddenly there was a huge explosion
as the car reached the church
building. It was dust, fire and
smoke all over.” The bomb attack
has been confirmed and rescuers
had been rushed to the scene.
Berlusconi ‘declares war’ on Italy PM
Reuters
AFP / RSS
tion that the Italian prime
minister was following policy
dictated by German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Berlusconi, who was sentenced
to jail for tax fraud
last week, had earlier announced
he would not run
in next year’s election but
vowed to remain in politics
to reform the justice system
that found him guilty.
The scandal-hit threetime
premier was toppled in
November last year.

PAGE 8 www.thehimalayantimes.com
TheHimalayan
T I M E S
A THOUGHT FOR T ODAY
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe,
the mind can achieve.
—Dr. Napoleon Hill
Consensus foremost
If the present trend in Nepali politics continues,
there is a slim chance of finding a suitable outlet to
the present political impasse. The need of the hour is
for the holding elections for a new Constituent Assembly
which can double up as a parliament. It is unrealistic
to believe that the option of reviving the CA
for a short period to write a constitution after leaving
out the contentious issues will solve the problem.
First and foremost, reviving the defunct CA is not legal
as per the Interim Constitution. Moreover, it is futile
to believe that this is the panacea for the problems
besetting the country at this very delicate transient
period. The CA had been given more than sufficient
time to come up with a new constitution, and
the former lawmakers failed much to the dismay of
the Nepali people who believed that the lawmakers
would deliver. Instead, Nepal politics mostly revolved
on as to which political party should lead the government.
It seemed the major political parties were obsessed
with holding on to power and having their
men at the helm of powers no matter what.
The country is now making do with a caretaker
power for over four months now, and in that period
no substantial achievements have been made on the
political front. It is agreed that a national unity government
could only be able to hold free and impartial
elections. So, the demand of the time is for forming
such a government which
alone would be able to do
It is high time the this. The Maoists are for
political parties heading the government
with their man holding
achieved the the post of prime minister
elusive consensus desperately. It is evident
that they have every in-
by overcoming tention of manipulating
hurdles in the the elections when they
are held and coming to
form of rigid
power through coercion
stances
and inciting fear among
those who are to exercise
their franchise. Anyway, no matter who heads the
government that would carry out the elections, it
should be one of consensus having the backing of not
only the political parties but also the people.
This is now time for the political parties, the major
ones in particular, to achieve the much touted consensus
which so far seems to be proving elusive with
the political parties standing rigidly to their stances.
They should rise above their partisan interests with
the interest of the common people and the country
uppermost in mind. There can be no doubt that unless
a consensus is reached about forming a national
unity government, the holding of authentic polls will
not be possible. Hence, it is in the interest of all the
political leaders concerned to keep this in mind to
reach consensus by exhibiting more flexibility. They
go around making such a commitment but they fail
to deliver when the time arrives to translate them
into reality. To the layman it appears that the major
political parties are merely attempting to have their
people in power, which they perceive would give
them an edge while holding elections. This is indeed
very unfortunate for then the validity of the polls
would be questionable. Only polls held under a national
unity government can guarantee impartiality
and fairness and provide the much needed fresh
mandate for drafting the republican constitution.
Nothing moving
Announcements and declarations hardly make
much sense unless they are backed up by
adequate homework and judicious planning. Also,
without the appropriate strategies they are bound to
fall flat. This is what is happening with the Investment
Year 2012-2013. The government seems to have
spun the idea of observing the Investment Year
without a list of the requirement to make it a
success. Now, the Doing Business Report 2013,
published by the World Bank, shows Nepal ranking
108th out of 185 economies. It reports that not even
one reform was initiated to facilitate in doing
business. Though the Investment Year had the intention
of luring foreign direct investment, no such development
has taken place at all thanks to the apathy
of the government.
Taking into consideration the rather unfriendly
business climate in the country, foreign investors are
wary of stepping into this domain. Moreover, the
government is only paying lip service without any
concrete steps to impress the foreign investors to
make investments. At this rate, the only thing the
country has earned is another year to be observed
sans any real thrust.
• LETTERS
CA not
required
Shakti Basnet (UCPN-M) has
stated recently that the single
ethnic federalism would not
fragment the country if the
people are able to own the
nationality of the country.
Basnet seems to be doubtful
whether the people would be
able to own the nationality of
the country or not by taking
the road of single ethnic
federalism. If the single ethnic
federalism would result in the
incapability of the people to
own the nationality of Nepal,
the country would fragment.
I do not think that Nepal
should take this risk. Nepal
should take a U-turn from the
federalism. Instead, a rigid
guarantee of the proportional
representation of all the 103
ethnic communities in all the
organs of the state in the
Republic should be made. This
would cure the age-old
marginalization of the
marginalized ethnic
communities.
I would also like to opine
that the country need not
spend again to buy track-suits
for the lawmakers because the
direct ratification by the
supreme people of Nepal on a
very vibrant republican
constitution drafted by a
committee of Nepalese and
foreign experts, through a
national referendum would
be most democratic, surest,
quickest, least expensive and
the least risky way ahead to
give a very urgent birth to the
constitution. Nepal neither
needs the reinstatement of the
RAM KUMAR KAMAT
Sangita Chaurasiya of
Taulihawa Municipality
Ward-4 in Kapilvastu qualified
to be a citizen of Nepal
by birth when the new Citizenship
Act 2006 and the Interim
Constitution 2007 incorporated
the provision for
citizenship by birth. Her father,
who also became a citizen
by birth, was unaware of
the ‘one time’ provision of
the law and hence failed to
secure citizenship for his
daughter. There are many
others who suffer Sangita’s
fate. There are many cases
where children of naturalised
citizens waited for
30-35 years to become citizens
of Nepal. I know a family
where the elder brother
became a citizen of the
country by birth before the
end of 2037 BS, the cut-offdate
mentioned in the 1964
citizenship act, but his
younger brother waited for
almost 25 years to become a
citizen of this country. The
younger brother could have
acquired a naturalised citizenship
upon reaching 16
years of age, but he did not
do so because he never considered
himself a foreigner.
In order for one to qualify
for naturalised citizenship,
one has to renounce his/her
previous citizenship which
was not the case with this
man, and there is reason to
• TOPICS
SANTOSH KC
Food during the holidays
spurs the feeling of warmth,
comfort, and the sense of belonging.
Families together at the
table, sharing dishes helps bring
out traditions to the forefront.
We associate our family foods
with our happiness. We associate
our food with the caring of
others. We can give the gift of
food to those we love and for
friends to cherish. We influence
each other with the food we eat,
the food we make, and the foods
we give. We will continue to feel a
sense of connection as we draw
on our personal lives as we share
our memories with all those
around us. Our connection with
food is as special as a gift
dead CA nor any new CA.
Laxmi Bhakta Manandhar,
Kathmandu
Quality counts
For the past few decades the
pass percentage of the school
leaving certificate (SLC) was
only 33 per cent, now the
authorities have fixed the
passing score of 40 per cent.
at the basic level (grade 1 to 8)
and secondary level ( grade 11
to 12) to enhance student
performance. I support the
move. But, only securing
the minimum marks or
percentage doesn’t help
students compete in an
international way. So, the
decisions that the committee
has made is a genuine one. But
there lies a problem, I think it
will be difficult for many
believe that there were
many others who were in
similar situation. A big sigh
of relief for this category of
people came when the new
Citizenship Act and the Interim
Constitution incorporated
provision for citizenship
by birth. But the problem
of those who became
citizens by birth is not over
yet. The man became a citizen
by birth post-2006. He
has three children born before
he became a citizen by
birth. Therefore, his children
do not qualify for citizenship
of this country under
the existing laws.
Nepali laws guarantee citizenship
by descent for
those children whose parents
became citizens before
they were born, but it is not
clear what will be the status
of those children who were
born before their parents
became citizens by birth.
Human rights activists put
the number of such children
to be around three lakhs.
The constitution and the
citizenship act stipulate that
these children whose father
and mother were citizens of
Nepal at the time of their
birth are entitled to be citizens
of Nepal, but many
continue to face hurdles
due to ambiguous legal provisions.
Citizenship rules
stipulate that the CDOs of
the concerned district can
award naturalised citizen-
wrapped at Dashain time.
It is safe to say that food influences
our lives by being ingrained
in our lives. It taps directly
into the pleasure centre of
our brains. It makes us emotional.
It guides our decision about
how we live our lives. To be honest,
it is the fibre that makes fabric
to our lives. Food is an important
part of our lives. Not only do
we need to eat in order to live:
food also has social and cultural
relevance for all of us. The influence
of food on lives is deeply ingrained,
so deeply in fact that
our very existence depends on
every aspect of food. The average
person cannot survive more
than a few days without some
sort of meaningful nutrition. We
all understand and acknowledge
Food unites
• BLOG SURF • CARTOON
Youth issues...
RICHA BHATTARAI
Our country is in the phase of political transition
and even the new constitution is
being made. the new constitution will be
made on participatory approach in order to
include the real voices of the people and to
make the real citizen feel their ownership towards
this issue. i had even attended some
programs regarding the youth issues in the
upcoming constitutional assembly. the main
problem i find is the recognition of youths in
the decision making process and in the planning.
though youths are considered to have
high potential and high energy, their energy is
being wasted in fulfilling the mere interests of
certain parties and political leaders. they are
considered to be the physical strengths but
never the mental backbone. that’s why, youths
are always seen in the streets but never in the
position. the constitution needs to define who
the youths are!!! what is their age bar? we do
not need a new Nepal where the person in
white beard and an old age stick is considered
to be youths.—richabhattarai.blogspot.com
The international obligation
Focus on guaranteeing citizenship
students to secure this modest
pass marks of 40. It will not
make much difference to the
overall pass rate. However, if
the student, teachers, and all
the stakeholders would
come together then only this
new decision can be beneficial
in the long term.
Implementation is needed
than just making a new policy.
More than the pass percentage
alone, the overall quality of
education needs to be
upgraded instead of making
these window dressing.
Moin Uddin. Ghattekulo,
Kathmandu
Be prepared
The Nepalese women team
which went to play in China
for the ACC tournament came
up with a really shameful
Not having citizenship means one cannot
get employment in formal sector, cannot
attend university in some cases; and cannot
acquire driving license or own property.
Without citizenship, one cannot avail the
government’s health programmes,
insurance and banking services
ship to the children of
Nepali mothers married to
foreigner citizens if these
children have resided in
Nepal and have not acquired
citizen of their father’s
country. In practice,
such children continue to
face difficulties in acquiring
Nepali citizenship. Sharad
Bheshwakar of the Nepali
national cricket team is one
example. The Hague Convention
on nationality 1930
this fact. Therefore, having food
readily available is always in our
conscious and subconscious
thoughts. From the minute we
are born, food plays a huge part
in our lives. In cave men times
men were hunters, women were
gatherers, and have times really
changed? Men may not necessarily
whack some poor animal
over the head any more to sustain
their own and their families’
lives, but most still see themselves
as the main provider.
Food is a corner stone of our
world and will increasingly become
more so. Food is the one
thing that we all have in common.
No matter a person’s
colour, religion or social background
we are all linked together
with either our love of good food
states that the contracting
states agree to accord nationality
to a person who
would otherwise be stateless
and this provision remains
the core concept of
other international instruments
that were adopted
subsequently by the United
Nations.
Article 15 of the UN Human
Rights Declaration
(UDHR) states that everyone
has the right of nation-
or by our own dislike of bad
food. We call all recall a moment
as a child when the thought of
going round to grandma’s house
meant being able to have a bowl
of ice cream to cheer us up.
Food fuels our bodies and our
moods. It provides the energy
and nutrients that our cells need
to function properly. With the
current emphasis on dieting,
people are more aware of what
food they eat do to their bodies.
The food smells and sparks
memories vivid with feelings of
warmth and happiness. When
we are getting to know someone
new, try asking them what their
favourite meal is. We never know
what we may find out when
someone starts talking about
food’s role in their life.
performance as it lost to
Bangladesh heavily by 9
wickets, just after being
defeated to Sri Lanka by 20
runs. Both teams are
test-playing ones and they
really showed that Nepal
needs to make special
preparations if it really wants
to prove itself as a competitive
team as it’s already out of the
league stage right now. It
seems that the road ahead is
highly challenging. So, Nepal
should make a high-quality
preparation before going to
such a tournament.
Pratik Shrestha,
Buddhanagar, Baneshwor
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
ality. No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his nationality
or denied the right
to change his nationality.
Similarly, Article 7 (1) of
the Child Right Convention,
which Nepal is a party to,
states that the child shall be
registered immediately after
birth and shall have the
right from birth to a name,
the right to acquire a nationality,
and as far as possible,
the right to know and be
cared by his or her parents.
Article 7 (2) of the convention
says state parties shall
ensure the implementation
of these rights in accordance
with their national
law and their obligation under
the relevant instruments
in particular where
the child would otherwise
be stateless.Article 24 (1) of
the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights
(the ICCPR) states that every
child shall be registered immediately
after birth and
shall have a name. Article 24
(2) further adds that every
child has the right to acquire
nationality. Although government
bureaucrats agree
that there are many genuine
citizens who have failed to
acquire Nepali citizenship,
they do not accept that
statelessness is a problem
and even if it is, it is not a big
problem.
Dhanapati Commission
had concluded that 3.4 mil-
Letters to this column should be addressed to
Letters C/o Edit Page Editor,The Himalayan Times,
Post Box 11651,APCA House,
Baidya Khana Road, Kathmandu, Nepal
email: edit@thehimalayantimes.com,
Fax 0977-1-4771959
lion Nepalis lacked citizenship.
In 2007, when citizenship
laws were amended
and citizenship teams were
dispatched to almost all
parts of the country, 2.6 million
citizenship certificates
were distributed. The UN-
HCR continues to say that
800,000 people (deducted
from the figure of 3.4 million
people who acquired citizenship)
are stateless. Government
officials have refuted
the UNHCR’s claim saying
statelessness and not
having citizenship are two
different issues. The
Supreme Court has observed
in public interest litigation
in recent years that
citizenship is a sensitive issue
and the provision relating
to it are incorporated as
per the country’s national
interest which cannot be
denied. Our citizenship law
should not be liberal. But it
is also equally important
that we not forget our international
obligation. Not
having citizenship means
one cannot get employment
in formal sector, cannot attend
university in some cases;
and cannot acquire driving
license or own property.
Without citizenship, one
cannot avail the government’s
health programmes,
insurance and banking services.
People without citizenship
will remain nonpersons.
• THT 10 YEARS AGO
Axe on political
appointees soon
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28, 2002
The Chand cabinet has decided to cancel
all the political appointments
made by the previous governments. “The
policy decision of the council of ministers
cancels all political appointments
put in place by previous governments,” a
high level source told The Himalayan
Times today after a cabinet meeting. This
decision in effect retires chairmen of all
the government-run institutions who
were appointed on political considerations.
The vacant posts, including high
level positions in a number of public corporations,
commissions and committees,
will gradually be filled, said a source
close to the government. The meeting
also decided on some transfers at the secretary
level. According to sources, Bhanu
Prasad Acharya, secretary at the ministry
of industry, commerce and supplies, has
been transferred to the ministry of finance.
Lok Bandhu Karki, secretary at the
ministry of water resources, is shifted to
the ministry of population and environment,
secretary Lab Kumar Dahal from
the ministry of education and sports to
the ministry of industry, commerce and
supplies. Chuman Singh Basnet has been
appointed acting secretary at the ministry
of education and sports, the sources
said.The cabinet also took stock of the
current law and order situation.
CIAA grills Khadka
Cases filed against
Chaturvedi,Khanal
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28, 2002
The Commission for the Investigation
of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today interrogated
former home minister and
Nepali Congress (Democratic) general
secretary Khum Bahadur Khadka on
charges of financial irregularities. This is
the second time that it has questioned
Khadka on his decision concerning the
Rs 170 million Rapti river control project,
when he was water resource minister
three years ago. The interrogation will
continue tomorrow. “The CIAA asked me
several questions concerning the decision
on Bakraha river project,” he told reporters
after the five-hour long grilling.
Khadka refused comment when asked
whether the move was politically motivated.
He said: “I’ve nothing to comment
on this.” The CIAA also filed cases against
two high-ranking officials at the Special
Court, on the same case, demanding 30
days police custody. The CIAA on Friday
had raided the houses of R P Chaturvedi,
executive chairman, Royal Nepal Airlines
Corporation, and AnandaKhanal, joint
secretary at the ministry of physical planning
and works, and taken them under
detention. The hearing will begin tomorrow.
aying that the final decision on the
Rapti river project was taken at the ministerial
level, he said those involved in taking
the decision should be held responsible
as per their status. Chaturvedi said
that they had been cooperating with the
CIAA. “It’s unfortunate that we were taken
in,” he said. Before detaining the two,
the CIAA had interrogated Chaturvedi
five times, and Khanal six times.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
NEIGHBOURS
• SNIPPETS
Two men paddle a boat at sunset on
the River Ganges in Allahabad on
Sunday.
Shrine attack kills 4
AP / RSS
PESHAWAR: A bomb went off outside
the shrine of a Sunni Muslim saint in
northwestern Pakistan on Sunday,
killing at least four people, police
said. Senior police officer Mumtaz
Khan said 23 people were also
wounded in the attack at the shrine of
Kaka Sahib in the town of Nowshehra.
Hundreds of devotees were
present there at the time, and the
dead and injured had been transported
to a hospital. There was no claim
of responsibility but Pakistani militants
such as the Taliban have been
blamed for previous such attacks. — AP
Suicide blast
KABUL: A suicide bomber detonated
explosives outside a mosque packed
with senior regional officials in northern
Afghanistan on a major Muslim
holiday on Friday, killing 41 people.
The officials escaped unhurt, and
many of the dead were soldiers and
police. The choice of targets suggests
that the insurgents are increasingly
turning against Afghan authorities
and security forces now that NATO is
drawing down toward a final withdrawal
of foreign combat troops in
2014. Deaths of Afghan police and
soldiers are higher this year than last
year, according an army spokesman.
Although the Taliban have claimed
responsibility for a parallel sharp increase
in attacks by Afghan servicemen
on their foreign colleagues, the
overall number of coalition deaths
has been noticeably lower than last
year. — AP
Bo Xilai booted
BEIJING: Chinese lawmakers have
stripped disgraced politician Bo Xilai
of his last official position, formally
expelling him from the country's top
legislature and clearing the way for
criminal proceedings against the
once-rising political star. Though
largely a formality since Bo was
purged from the Communist Party
late last month, his expulsion from
the congress removes his immunity
from prosecution. That sets the stage
for a criminal case involving accusations
of corruption. — AP
Pak offer likely to
boost Afghan peace
Associated Press
Islamabad, October 28
Pakistan has increased efforts
to reach out to some of
its biggest enemies in
Afghanistan, a significant
policy shift that could prove
crucial to US-backed efforts
to strike a peace deal in the
neighbouring country.
The target of the diplomatic
push has mainly been
non-Pashtun political leaders
who have been at odds
with Pakistan for years because
of the country’s historical
support for the Afghan
Taliban, a Pashtun movement.
Many of the leaders fought
against the Taliban when the
fundamentalist Islamic
group seized control of
Afghanistan in the 1990s
with Pakistan’s help, and
have accused Islamabad of
maintaining support for the
insurgents following the USled
invasion in 2001 — allegations
denied by the government.
Many experts agree that
Pakistan continues to see the
Taliban as an ally, albeit a
shaky one, in countering the
influence of archenemy In-
dia in Afghanistan. But they
also say Islamabad no longer
believes the insurgents can
take over the country or
wants them to, a common
misperception in the West.
“A Taliban victory on the
other side of the border
would give a huge boost to
domestic militants fighting
the Pakistani state,” said Zahid
Hussain, a journalist
who has written extensively
about Islamabad’s war
against the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan is also worried
that unrest in Afghanistan
following the withdrawal of
most foreign troops in 2014
could provide the Pakistani
Taliban with greater space to
establish sanctuaries across
the border.
The Afghan and Pakistani
Taliban are allies but have focused
on different enemies.
The Afghan Taliban have
battled local and foreign
forces in Afghanistan, while
the Pakistani Taliban have
mainly waged war against Islamabad.
Pakistan concludes that a
peace agreement with all
Afghan groups and among
the non-Pashtuns is necessary
to achieve that goal.
Beijing bows to
people power in
small town
Associated Press
industrial projects, as Chinese who
Ninbo, October 28
have seen their living standards
improve become more outspoken
Thousands of protesters who against environmentally risky pro-
marched through an eastern Chijects in their areas. “The governnese
city today against the expanment hides information from the
sion of a petrochemical factory people. They are only interested in
won a pledge from the local gov- scoring political points and makernment
that the project would be ing money,” one protester, Luo
halted.
Luan, said earlier in the day. “They
The protest, which comes at a don’t care about destroying the en-
sensitive time in China’s political vironment or damaging people’s
calendar, had swelled over the lives.”
weekend and led to clashes be- Hundreds of residents headed
tween citizens and police. The from a city square towards the of-
Ningbo city government said in a fices of the municipal government
statement this evening that they early today. They were stopped by
and the project’s investor had “res- police at the gate, where they
olutely” agreed not to go ahead shouted for the release of people
with the expansion.
reportedly detained a day earlier.
Outside the government offices Tensions rose after about 200
where crowds of protesters re- riot police walked out of the gate,
mained, an official tried to read the tore down banners that people had
statement on a loudspeaker but hung in trees and grabbed at least
was drowned out by shouts de- three protesters, carrying them
manding the mayor step down. On into the government compound.
the third attempt, the crowd briefly Some protesters marched away
cheered but then turned back to from the offices in an apparent ef-
demanding that authorities release fort to round up more support.
protesters being held inside. Hundreds roamed along nearby
Liu Li, 24, a Ningbo resident, said shopping streets. Police diverted
the crowd did not believe the gov- traffic to allow them to pass down a
ernment’s statement. “There is main road. The protests began a
very little public confidence in the few days earlier in the coastal dis-
government,” she said. “Who trict of Zhenhai, where the petro-
knows if they are saying this just to chemical factory is located. Yester-
make us leave and then keep on day, they swelled and spread to the
doing the project.”
center of Ningbo city, whose offi-
The Ningbo government was cials oversee Zhenhai.
likely under great pressure to The crowds in Ningbo are a slice
defuse the protest with China’s of China’s rising middle class that
leadership wanting calm for a par- poses an increasingly boisterous
ty congress next month at which challenge to the country’s incom-
the country’s new leaders will be ing leadership: Armed with expen-
named. It was unclear whether losive smartphones, Internet concal
authorities will ultimately cannectivity and higher expectations
cel the project or continue it when than generations before them,
the pressure is lower.
their impatience with the govern-
The demonstration in wealthy ment’s lack of response is palpable
Zhejiang province is the latest this in every fist pump and rendition of
year over fears of health risks from the national anthem they shout.
A Chinese police officer stands behind fellow officers confronting residents who gathered outside the government
office during a protest in Zhejiang province’s Ningbo city, on Sunday.
Associated Press
Sittwe, October 28
Victims of Myanmar’s latest
explosion of Muslim-Buddhist
violence fled today to
already packed displacement
camps along the
country’s western coast as a
top UN official said the unrest
has forced more than
22,000 people from their
homes.
Boats carrying some of
those fleeing arrived outside
the state capital, Sittwe.
They trudged to the nearby
Thechaung camp, a place
already home to thousands
of Rohingya Muslims who
took refuge there after a previous
wave of violence in
An exterior view of the burning chemical warehouse of a plastic bag manufacturing factory in Karachi on Sunday.
Tough life not new for this mandarin
Associated Press
Liangjiahe, October 28
The next leader of China
spent much of his youth living
in a dug-out cave.
Xi Jingping’s seven years
in this remote northern
community meant toiling
alongside villagers by day
and sleeping on bricks by
night, in stark contrast to his
pampered early years in Beijing.
He was born into the
communist elite, but after
his father fell out of favour
with Mao Zedong - and before
his later rehabilitation,
the younger Xi was sent to a
rural hinterland to learn
peasant virtues at age 15.
The Liangjiahe years are
among the scant details
known about Xi’s life and
personality partly because
he himself chronicled them
as a formative experience.
They are part of the vague
picture of a man who has
drawn little attention during
much of his political career
but is poised to become ruling
party chief next month
and president next year of
an increasingly assertive
China.
What is clear is that Xi has
excelled at quietly rising
through the ranks by making
the most of two facets:
He has an elite, educated
UN: 22,000 displaced in Myanmar unrest
TAILOR-MADE TO LEAD: A file photo of China's Vice President Xi Jinping.
background with links to
communist China’s founding
fathers that are a crucial
advantage in the country’s
politics, and at the same
time he has successfully cultivated
a common man
mystique that helps him appeal
to a broad constituency.
He even gave up a
promising Beijing post in
his late 20s to return to the
countryside.
He did not at first come
willingly, however, to
Liangjiahe, a tiny community
of cave dwellings dug into
arid hills and fronted by
dried mud walls with wood-
en lattice entryways. He
tried to escape and was detained.
Villagers remember
a tall bookworm who eventually
earned their respect.
“He was always very sincere
and worked hard
alongside us. He was also a
big reader of really thick
books,” said Shi Chunyang,
then a friend of Xi and now a
local official.
It is in the nature of
China’s politics that relatively
little is known about
Xi’s policy leanings. He is
not associated with any bold
reforms. Aspiring officials
get promoted by encourag-
June.
“I fled my hometown
Pauktaw on Friday because
there is no security at all,”
said 42-year-old fisherman
Maung Myint, who arrived
on a boat carrying 40 other
people, including his wife
and six children. “My house
was burned to ashes and I
have no money left.”
Another Muslim refugee
said she fled her village,
Kyaukphyu, on Thursday after
attackers set her home
on fire.
“We don’t feel safe,” said
40-year-old Zainabi, a fishseller
who left with her two
sons, aged 12 and 14. “I wish
the violence would stop so
we can live peacefully.”
Reuters
Reuters
ing economic growth, tamping
down social unrest and
toeing the line set by Beijing,
not by charismatic displays
of initiative.
Xi’s resume in provincial
posts suggest he is open to
private industry and some
administrative reforms as
long as they don’t jeopardise
the Communist Party’s monopoly
on power. He likes
Hollywood flicks about
World War II and has a
daughter at Harvard University
under an assumed
name, though he has signalled
he may be a staunch
Chinese nationalist.
Myanmar’s government
has put the death toll at 67
over the last week, saying 95
more people were injured
and 2,818 houses were
burned down from Sunday
through Thursday in seven
townships in Rakhine state.
The casualty figures have
not been broken down by
ethnic group, but Human
Rights Watch said the Rohingya
had suffered the
brunt of the violence. The
New York-based rights
group also said the true
death toll may be higher,
based on witness accounts
and the government’s history
of minimising news that
might reflect badly on it.
Ashok Nigam, the UN
Associated Press
Beijing, October 28
China’s government has demanded
talks with Japan in
their latest dust-up over a
set of tiny islands, but a
high-ranking Chinese military
officer has suggested
drastically more belligerent
responses.
Dispatch hundreds of
fishing boats to fight a maritime
guerrilla war, says
Major General Luo Yuan.
Turn the uninhabited outcroppings
into a
bombing range. Rip
up World War II peace
agreements and seize
back the territory, now
controlled by Japan
but long claimed by
China.
“A nation without a
martial spirit is a nation
without hope,”
Luo declared at an
academic forum this
month in the southern
city of Shenzhen while
officials in Beijing continued
to urge negotiations.
Luo’s remarks reflect
a challenge for China’s
leadership from an
army increasingly willing
to push the limits of the
ruling Communist Party’s
official line on foreign ties,
territorial claims and even
government reforms. It’s a
challenge that will need to
be carefully managed if a
once-a-decade leadership
transition beginning on
November 8 is to go
smoothly.
Backed by what is now
the world’s second-largest
military budget behind the
US, the People’s Liberation
Army is bristling with new
armaments and is becoming
increasingly assertive.
That has distressed neighbours
such as Japan, Vietnam
and the Philippines, all
locked in disputes with China
over island territory rich
in oil, and has prompted
the US to send more military
assets to the region.
Presiding over this force will
be a new generation of
PAGE 9
Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator in Myanmar,
said the figure of 22,587 displaced
included both Muslims
and ethnic Rakhine
Buddhists, but he gave no
breakdown.
The latest unrest pushes
the total displaced to nearly
100,000 since clashes broke
out in June.
Speaking to the AP while
visiting Thechaung camp,
Nigam said getting aid to the
new wave of displaced will
be a challenge as some fled
on boat and others have
sought refuge on isolated
hilltops.“The situation is
certainly very grave and we
are working with the government,”
he said.
China army flexing
muscles with Japan
Wants tougher action on
dispute over islands
AP / RSS
army leaders taking
power at the same time as
the new crop of political
leaders.
Up to seven of the 10 uniformed
members of the
Central Military Commission,
which oversees the
armed forces, are set to retire.
Members of the new
panel are expected to demand
an even greater say in
decision making - and a
tougher line in disputes
with other nations.
While President Hu Jin-
Major General Luo
Yuan has demanded
that China rip up
World War II peace
agreements with
Japan and seize
back the disputed
islands
tao’s absolute command
over the armed forces had
at time been questioned,
his presumed successor -
Vice President Xi Jingping -
may have an easier time
keeping officers on-message
because of his closer
ties with many top military
figures as a fellow
“princeling” - those with
ties to communist China’s
founding fathers.
He may have to wait,
though: Hu will likely seek
to hold onto his position as
chairman of the military
commission for another
two years, as his predecessor
did. Also, five officers
generally considered loyal
to Hu were promoted this
week to top posts such air
force commander and chief
of the general staff, meaning
they will sit on the new
commission once it is appointed
next month.

PAGE 10 www.thehimalayantimes.com
Business
• BIZ BRIEFS
A model parading a creation during
the bi-annual China Fashion Week
in Beijing, on Saturday.
S Africa mines’ woes
AFP / RSS
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s
mining sector is creeping back toward
normality but large wage increases
afforded to strikers mean the
sector will face shrinking profit margins
that could force companies to
mechanise or close shafts. On Thursday,
gold operators agreed to pay
raises of up to 20.8 per cent for some
workers, a month after a platinum
mine conceded a 22 per cent pay hike
to end illegal stoppages. The agreements
offered the prospect of an end
to crippling strikes, but also tighten
the screws on the largest employer in
Africa’s number one economy. It is a
sector that has changed little in the
last century and is battling for survival
amid rising operating costs and
a global crunch. The mining industry
lost $ 1.1 billion since the start of the
strikes in August. Individual operators
are now looking hard at the
books to see which mines can be considered
a going concern. —AFP
Suzlon mired in debt
MUMBAI: Wind energy giant Suzlon,
once a star of India’s green technology,
is facing a stormy future after aggressive
expansion left it mired in
debt at a tricky time for the industry,
analysts say. The world’s fifth largest
wind turbine firm this month made
the biggest default on repayments by
an Indian company, after bondholders
rejected its request for a fourmonth
extension to more than $ 200
million of debt. Investors are watching
with concern to see if founder
Tulsi Tanti can steer them out of a
desperate fund-crunch over the coming
crucial months, in an uncertain
global business environment. The
picture was once far rosier for Suzlon,
headquartered on a sprawling 10acre
campus on the outskirts of Pune,
a city in western India. Before the
global financial crisis, the firm was
the bluest of blue-chips and chairman
Tanti was a poster-boy for entrepreneurship
and unbridled ambition
in the country’s growth story. —AFP
Ambitious Asia plan
SYDNEY: An ambitious plan aimed at
maximising links with booming China
and other soaring Asian
economies will power Australia into
the world’s top 10 wealthiest nations
by 2025, the government said Sunday.
The sweeping policy blueprint, titled
‘Australia in the Asian Century’, sets a
series of goals for the next 13 years to
seize upon Asia’s rapid ascent as a
global economic powerhouse led by
the modernisation of China and India.
By 2025, Gillard said Australia’s
GDP per person — a measure of personal
wealth — would jump into the
world’s top 10, joining the likes of
Qatar, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei,
the UAE and the US. —AFP
Workers pelt police
TAIPEI: Slogan-chanting workers
threw eggs at riot police Sunday as
thousands took to Taipei’s streets
amid drizzle to demand a pay rise
and better protection of their rights.
Dozens of riot police in the square
outside the presidential office were
pelted. A small group of demonstrators
briefly scuffled with officers but
there were no arrests. The rally came
after the government in September
decided not to raise the minimum
wage. Business leaders said they
feared the additional cost amid the
economic downturn. “The (president)
Ma Ying-jeou administration
pledges to improve the economy, but
what has happened is that workers’
rights and interests were sacrificed to
benefit business groups,” said Chu
Wei-li, of the National Federation of
Independent Trade Union. —AFP
Valley witnesses low petrol use
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Though Kathmandu valley
consumes over a quarter of
the national demand at
around 350,000 litres of
petrol and around 400,000
litres of diesel every day in
normal conditions, due to
low vehicular movement
during the festive season of
Dashain and Tihar — Ashwin
and Kartik months —
are the lowest consuming
months in the year.
“Though the Thankot depot
distributed petroleum
products today too, consumption
has not yet picked
up to the normal level of
400,000 litres of diesel,” said
spokesperson of the Nepal
Oil Corporation Mukunda
Dhungel.
However, it might not
make any difference in national
consumption round
the year, because the Kathmandu
valley consumes the
least in the festive season, he
said, adding that the winter
season after the festive season
has been usually witnessing
an increase in the
consumption of petroleum
products due to increasing
load-shedding hours.
According to transport entrepreneurs,
more than 1.5
million people were expected
to leave Kathmandu valley
— Kathmandu, Lalitpur
and Bhaktapur districts —
for Dashain.
Around 1,100 buses,
minibuses and microbuses
have ferried the floating
population of Kathmandu to
the districts since
Ghatasthapana, the first day
of Dashain festival, when
almost all the government
offices and most of the pri-
vate sector closes.
Besides buses and microbuses,
around 40,000
motorcycles also leave the
Kathmandu Valley every day
during Dashain, lessening
the pressure on the valley
petrol pumps.
The petrol pumps in the
Kathmandu valley feel less
pressure during Dashain,
according to the Nepal Petroleum
Dealers National
Association.
The low consumption of
petroleum products in Kathmandu
valley — one of the
highest consumers — puts
less pressure in the distribution
system too, said Dhungel,
adding that Nepal Oil
PAN,VAT registration must
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
The Finance Ministry and the Office
of Company Registrar have agreed
to collaborate to bring new companies
into Permanent Account Number
(PAN) and Value Added Tax
(VAT) compliances in a more effective
manner.
The ministry reached an agreement
with the Office of the Company
Registrar last week, making the
provision of PAN or VAT registration
compulsory for new companies
who approach the office for registration,
newly appointed finance
secretary at the ministry Shanta Raj
Subedi said, adding that the agreement
will come into effect within
a month.
The provision will help expand
the tax net, said secretary Subedi.
“Similarly, the provision will discourage
the trend of non-filers.”
Cooperation between the tax administration
and the Office of the
Company Registrar will help maintain
a strong database of companies,
and also help the tax administration
track the transaction details
of every single company if any is
found to be involved in any suspicious
activity, according to Subedi.
A company, with transactions worth
| LOWEST CONSUMING MONTHS |
more than Rs 2 million, will automatically
come under the VAT net
after the implementation of the new
agreement, he further said.
Secretary Subedi further said that
the ministry will put its effort to reducing
non-filers. “Most of the revenue
fraud has been committed by
non-filer firms,” he said, adding that
the tax administration should develop
a scientific database to track
such non-filers.
Up to 35 per cent VAT registered
firms have been found to be a nonfiler,
according to director general of
the Inland Revenue Department
Tanka Mani Sharma.
The tax administration has long
been demanding for a reform in the
existing VAT registration system to
make the VAT-registered firms more
reliable.
A total of 813,710 taxpayers are
registered at the tax administration,
the department said. Of the total,
around 113,622 taxpayers are under
the VAT net, 274,696 under Permanent
Account Number net, and
539,014 taxpayers under the income
tax net.
The number of taxpayers will further
rise after the implementation
of the compulsory provision of either
VAT or PAN registration to open
new companies, the ministry said.
Corporation’s Thankot depot
has been distributing petroleum
products in the festive
season too, to ease supply,
Dhungel said.
Though some of the petrol
pumps that were running
out of stock could not refill
fuel on Saturday due to a
public holiday, they got the
fuel today but the demand is
less than normal.
The Kathmandu valley
consumes nearly 31 per cent
of the total petroleum products
supplied to the country,
according to a survey report
‘The Share of Kathmandu
Valley in the National Economy’
published by the central
bank.
(Figures in billion rupees. Source: Nepal Rastra Bank)
The consumption of Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG)
— popularly known as cooking
gas — stands at 60 per
cent of total domestic consumption,
the survey of the
fiscal year 2010-11 said,
adding that the valley consumes
45.5 per cent petrol,
15.5 per cent diesel and 37.6
per cent kerosene.
Last fiscal year, the country
imported petroleum
products worth Rs 92.25 billion,
almost double in the
last two years, when in 2009-
10, it had imported Rs 51.61
billion worth petroleum
products, according to the
data made available by the
central bank.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY,OCTOBER 29, 2012
‘Infrastructure holds
investment potential’
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Nepal still holds a huge potential
for growth as a major tourist destination.
“Air traffic to Nepal increased at
a compounded annual rate of 10
per cent between 2005 and 2010,”
said advisor to the prime minister
and former finance secretary
Rameshwor Khanal.
Some 29 international airlines
currently operate 284 flights per
week to the mystic Shangri-La
Nepal, he said, adding that
the country offers huge potential
for the growth of the tourism
industry.
The country
has 54 airports
currently and
there is still a
huge potential
for infrastructuredevelopment
like airports,
the former
bureaucrat
said. “The
country has
permitted foreign
direct investment
in domestic airlines, international
airlines, flying
schools, and repair and maintenance
work.”
Similarly, the second international
airport that is planned at
Nijgadh in Bara district, and
upgradation of Gautam Buddha
Airport in Bhairahawa and the
only international airport in the
country, speaks volume of the
need for foreign investment in infrastructure
development in the
country, Khanal added.
Air transport is the only and efficient
mode for a mountainous
country like Nepal as it will take
more time to construct roads.
The domestic demand for
infrastructure, energy, and
communication exceeds
supply, creating a huge
growth potential in domestic
market itself
Though the country is within
reach of achieving its target for
road accessibility by 2016,
according to International Finance
Corporation (IFC), a lending
arm of the World Bank Group,
there is huge potential for investment
for the north-to-south road
corridors.
Envisioning the need for transport
corridors for trade between
India and China, eight different
road corridors have been identified,
he said, adding that these
road corridors will provide easy
trade and transportation between
India and China, the two rising
Asian economies which have a
target to increase
bilateral
trade to over
$100 billion by
2015.
Besides infrastructure
for
the rising
tourist arrivals,
the country
also has a huge
demand for investment
in the
industrial corridor
that could
contribute significantly to the
economy.
“The domestic demand for
infrastructure, energy, and communication
exceeds supply, creating
a huge growth potential in
domestic market itself,” said
Khanal. “Due to access to trainable
and low cost workforce,
Nepal offers a huge potential for
foreign investment.”
Similarly, with help of development
partners, the country is
constructing a dry port in Birgunj
and international container depots
in Biratnagar and Bhairahawa,
and they are sufficient to
support industrial growth.
AFP / RSS
Demonstrators taking part in a protest in Taipei on Sunday. Slogan-chanting workers pelted eggs at police as
thousands took to Taipei's streets to demand a pay rise and better protection of their rights.
Food supply to be affected in coming months, says report
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
| FOOD PRICE INFLATION |
mal to moderate except in a
few hilly districts, says report.
Likewise, the festive season
10.1 per cent in the corresponding
period of the previous
year.
Overall food availability is ex-
of mid-October to mid-No- Under the items of the food
pected to be affected in comvember
is likely to aid prices of and beverage group, the price
ing months, according to a re-
staple food commodities and index of sugar and sweets subport.
“Food supply will be af-
prices of meats, fruits, vegetagroup increased by the highest
fected as paddy production is
bles and edible oils to stay rate of 23.4 per cent during the
likely to be low in some eastern
high. Prices of most commodi- review period, as compared to
Tarai districts due to late monties,
regularly monitored by an increase of 5.7 per cent in
soon and shortage of fertilisers
MoAD and WFP, showed an the corresponding period of
during plantation,” according
upward trend over the past one the previous year.
to a joint report published by
month, says the report.
The consistent increase in
UN World Food Programme
Retail prices of staple foods fuel prices has also led trans-
(WFP), Ministry of Agriculture
such as coarse rice and wheat port fares to go up by 15.7 per
Development (MoAD), Feder-
flour increased by 3.6 per cent cent during the review period,
ation of Nepalese Chambers of
to Rs 37, and by 4.9 per cent to as compared to an increase of
Commerce and Industries, and
Rs 37.6 per kilo, respectively. 12.7 per cent in the corre-
Consumer Interest Protection
Likewise, Nepal Rastra sponding period of the previ-
Forum.
Bank’s inflation data also show ous year. Such increment in
The report has predicted
increased food prices con- transportation cost has also fu-
that the production of crops in
tributing to the increased level elled the food price.
2012, such as paddy and
of overall inflation. By mid- Report, however, anticipates
maize, is expected to decline
September, the index of food improved food supply in food
by 10 per cent. Moreover, sum-
and beverage group increased deficit areas since many roads
mer crops, mainly maize, has
by 10.4 per cent, as overall in- linked to the hill and mountain
started to be harvested in the
flation reached 11.2 per cent markets from the Tarai have
hilly region and overall production
is expected to be nor-
(Figures in per cent. Source: Nepal Rastra Bank)
during the review period. The
food index had increased by
begun to operate smoothly as
monsoon has ended.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
BUSINESS
• BIZ BRIEFS
HK’s realty plans
HONG KONG: Hong Kong announced
Friday it will raise real-estate
purchasing and resale costs to
cool its overheating property market
down, in a move targeting non-local
buyers and speculative activities. The
prices of small and medium sized
residential flats in the southern Chinese
city, famous for its sky-high rent,
surged 20 per cent for the first nine
months of the year, prompting the
government to take action. The new
measures include the increase of special
stamp duties for properties resold
within the first three years of its
purchase and imposing an extra 15
per cent transaction cost on non-local
buyers and local and foreign companies.
The measures ‘targets speculative
activities, and for most genuine
homebuyers it would not affect them
because they won’t be reselling in a
short period of time’. —AFP
Samsung profit up
SEOUL: South Korean technology
powerhouse Samsung Electronics Co
posted a fourth straight record quarterly
profit - of $7.4 billion - with
strong sales of its Galaxy range of
phones masking sharply lower sales
of memory chips. The record run,
though, is likely to end in December,
with profit growth slowing even more
next year as TV markets stagnate and
growth in high-end smartphones
eases from the recent breakneck
speed. Profit is expected to grow 16
per cent next year, down from a forecast
73 per cent this year. Samsung
said July-September operating profit
almost doubled to 8.12 trillion won,
in line with its earlier estimate. Net
profit rose to 6.56 trillion won. —AFP
Australia’s new rating
SYDNEY: Australian treasurer Wayne
Swan welcomed a decision by ratings
agency Fitch to affirm the country’s
AAA credit rating, days after his midyear
economic review lowered this
year’s growth forecast. The affirmation
overnight of the AAA rating with
a stable outlook comes after the government
last week cut its growth and
budget surplus forecasts as worsening
global conditions hurt revenues
in the mining-driven economy. “We
manage our economy in the interests
of working people and we’ve had a
big tick from the rating agencies
overnight,” said Swan. —AFP
HUL beats forecasts
MUMBAI: Consumer goods giant
Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Indian
unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever, on Friday
reported an above-expected rise
in quarterly profit. HUL, which is India’s
largest consumer goods maker,
posted a 17 per cent rise in net profit
at IRs 8.07 billion ($152 million) in the
three months to September, compared
to IRs 6.89 billion a year earlier.
Sales rose 12 per cent to IRs 61.55 billion
rupees. HUL’s earnings beat market
expectations of a 7.7-billion-rupee
profit. Its personal care business
rose in quarter by 12 per cent yearon-year,
while soaps and detergents
jumped 22 per cent. Its food products
segment grew 10 per cent in the quarter
from a year earlier. —AFP
• FOREX RATES
The foreign exchange rates for October 29 as fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank are as follows:
CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs.) SELLING (in Rs.)
Swiss Franc 1 91.34 91.98
Australian Dollar 1 88.60 89.22
Canadian Dollar 1 85.60 86.20
Singapore Dollar 1 69.89 70.39
Saudi Arab Riyal 1 22.77 22.93
Qatari Riyal 1 23.45 23.62
Thai Bhat 1 2.78 2.80
UAE Dihram 1 23.25 23.41
Malaysian Ringit 1 28.09 28.29
Swedish Krona 1 12.76
Danish Krona 1 14.81
Hongkong Dollar 1 11.02
Note: Under the present system the open market exchange rates quoted by
different /commercial banks may differ.
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
In the first half of 2012, global
FDI fell by eight per cent to
an estimated $668 billion,
down from $729 billion in
first half of 2011, according
to UNCTAD’s FDI Global
Quarterly Index.
South Asia witnessed a fall
by 40 per cent in its FDI inflows
as a result of declines
across nearly all countries in
the subcontinent. Inflows to
India, which accounts for the
lion’s share of inward FDI to
the sub-region, fell from $18
billion to $10 billion, partly
as a result of shrinking market-seeking
FDI to the country.
Strong interest by foreign
investors in manufacturing,
especially in garments,
helped keep FDI inflows to
Bangladesh at a relatively
high level — about $430 million
in the first two quarters.
It was due to increased uncertainty
in the global economy,
marked by fears of an
exacerbation of the sovereign
debt crisis in Europe
and a slow down of growth in
major emerging market
economies, it said, adding
that in the second quarter of
2012 the value of index,
which tracks FDI flows,
dropped from 128 to 123.
The $61 billion fall was
mainly caused by a decline
of $37 billion in inflows to
the US and a $23 billion fall
in inflows to BRIC — Brazil,
Russian Federation, India
and China — countries.
The declines were caused
by steep falls in both greenfield
investment projects
(down by 40 per cent) and
cross-border Merger and Ac-
Value of shares appreciates
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
The value of shares with investors
has appreciated by more than one
third of its value in the last six
months due to a surge in stock market
capitalisation.
Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse)’s
market capitalisation surged by 36
per cent since mid-April 2012. The
stock market capitalisation, that
stood at Rs 302 billion in mid-April,
has reached Rs 413.5 billion by
October 27.
The surge in market capitalisation
has also been accompanied by the
bullish benchmark index that also
scaled by 36 per cent during the
review period.
On April 12, the Nepse index
stood at 319.94 points, which kept
travelling north on positive political
cue, reaching 425.46 points in the
next two weeks. Though the ascent
did not continue at the same rate in
the following weeks, the benchmark
index though has not disappointed
investors.
“Investors who entered the market
before mid-April 2012 have benefited
a lot as the index was hovering
around 300 points then, and it will
not go back to that level in the near
future,” said general secretary of
Nepal Stock Investors’ Association
Prakash Rajaure.
The waxing size of market capitalisation
has upgraded the asset values
of shareholders. However, in the
last two and a half years, plunging
share prices had caused the market
capitalisation of listed companies to
decline by more than 25 per cent.
Market capitalisation is the total val-
Chocolate
conquers new
worlds
Agence France Presse
Paris, October 28
History is coming full circle: borrowed
from the Aztecs four centuries
ago, perfected for the palate
by the Europeans, chocolate is conquering
new worlds, with sales
booming from Asia to Brazil.
Every second, 95 tonnes of chocolate
are wolfed down around the
world, or three million tonnes a year,
according to figures supplied by the
annual Salon du Chocolat fair,
which kicks off Wednesday in Paris.
The globalisation of chocolate is
most striking in Japan, where annual
sales are soaring by 25 per cent and
French chocolatiers are feted like
stars while their Japanese counterparts
now rank among the world’s
best. For the Salon’s annual fashion
show featuring life-sized chocolate
dresses, this year’s model is a kimono-inspired
number created by
French chocolatier Frederic Cassel
— who has three stores in Japan.
The 15-kilo edible dress — a
month in the making — will be
slipped on just moments before the
show, lest it should melt under the
spotlights. Afterwards, it will be
shipped straight to Japan.
According to Jacques Pessis, president
of the highly serious Chocolate
Crunchers’ Club which each year rewards
the best world chocolates,
France and Japan are the current
masters of the game. Japan aside,
chocolate sales are also growing 30
percent year on year in China, while
in India — even though one in two
Indians have never tasted chocolate
— growth is 20 per cent.
Six multinational firms together
account for 85 per cent of the vast
market: Hershey, Mars, Philip Morris,
Nestle, Cadbury and Ferrero.
quisitions (M&As) transactions
(down by 60 per cent),
which are also visible in
the reduced importance of
the equity component of FDI
inflows.
The fact that the overall
decline remains limited to
downfall by eight per cent reflects
the stable reinvested
earnings component of
FDI, indicating that transnational
companies’ (TNCs)
earnings overseas continued
to be strong.
Developing countries —
without transition
economies — for the first
time absorbed half of global
FDI inflows due to the steep
fall in flows to the US and a
moderate decline in flows to
the EU. Despite a decline in
FDI inflows, China became
the world’s largest recipient
in the first half of 2012.
ue of the shares of the stock market.
Investors were attracted towards
the secondary market mostly due to
the availability of lucrative shares at
historically low prices of companies
such as Nepal Telecom, Chilime Hydropower,
Bank of Kathmandu,
Everest Bank, Nabil Bank, and Standard
Chartered among others.
The performance of class ‘A’ companies
as shown by the sensitive index
has also appreciated by 33 per
cent. In mid-April, the sensitive index
stood at 84.5 points, which is
now at 112 points.
FDI flows showed an uneven
pattern among regions.
In developing economies,
while flows to developing
Asia declined, those to Latin
America and Africa rose.
In developed countries,
the rise in flows to Europe —
in spite of a fall in flows to the
European Union and other
developed countries — was
not enough to compensate
for the decline in flows to
North America. Compared
to the full-year forecast of
FDI inflows published in
July, UNCTAD now projects
| SECONDARY MARKET MOVEMENT |
Earlier, the higher interest rates
being offered by banks used to be
blamed for taking away investors
from the stock market. But now as
banks are offering less than eight
per cent interest on fixed deposits,
investors are returning once again
to stock investing due to relatively
increased returns.
“If the lending rate of banks for
share purchase loans becomes more
reasonable then the market will further
go up,” pointed out Rajaure. At
present, banks are providing share
purchase loans or margin type lend-
that FDI flows will, at best,
level-off in 2012 at slightly
below $1.6 trillion.
The slow and bumpy recovery
of the global economy,
weak global demand
and elevated risks related to
regulatory policy changes
continue to reinforce the
wait-and-see attitude of
many TNCs toward investment
abroad.
In the first half of 2012, developing
and transition
economies continued to absorb
more than half of global
FDI flows. For the first time,
(Figures of Nepse in points and market capitalisation in billion rupees. Source: Nepse)
ing at an interest rate that is higher
than 14 per cent.
In the last six months, the number
of listed companies has gone up to
225 from 215. The number of shares
listed has increased to 1.6 billion
units from 1.2 billion units six
months ago.
The increased number of shares
listing at Nepal Stock Exchange has
also contributed in a surge in market
capitalisation as it is calculated
by multiplying a company’s shares
outstanding by the current market
price of one share.
Mobile market booms in Dashain
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Sales of mobile sets and accessories
increased by three times
during the Dashain festival, according
to the Mobile Traders Association
of Nepal.
“Normal sales of mobile sets is
around 3,000 to 4,000 per day during
normal times,” president of
association Purushottam Basnet
said, adding that sales increased
to around 10,000 to 12,000 every
day when consumers started their
Dashain shopping.
The sales of smartphones remarkably
went up this year, as
compared to earlier years, he informed.
“The preliminary data
collected by the association has
revealed that Samsung and Color
brands of mobiles are on the top
of the list according to consumers’
choice.”
There are a total of 25 brands of
mobile sets in the Nepali market,
according to Basnet. The annual
turnover of the mobile business is
around Rs 13 billion, he said,
adding that the trade volume is
expected to go up this year due to
the popularity of smartphones.
The mobile handset market has
been growing by 20 per cent to 25
per cent annually, according to
the association. The domestic
market, according to traders, consumes
approximately 1.5 million
handsets annually.
The trade volume of mobile
sets will witness a steep rise for
some more years due to increasing
mobile penetration rate, according
to traders. The telephone
penetration rate in the country
has reached 64.91 per cent until
mid-July, according to telecom
regulator Nepal Telecommunications
Authority (NTA).
Out of total 17.28 million telephone
users, 15.33 million consumers
have access to mobile
phones including Global System
for Mobile Communication, and
Code Division Multiple Access,
according to NTA. Number of
users has been growing every
month, creating a lot of opportunities
for mobile traders and companies,
said the association.
“However, consumers’ selectivity
and choice in buying mobile
sets have also increased in recent
days,” Basnet said, adding sales of
branded sets and smartphones
not only help increase the quality
of the consumers but also boosts
the revenue.
Foreign direct investment flows retreat in first half of 2012: UNCTAD
Global FDI fell by eight per cent to an estimated $668 billion,down from $729 billion in the first half of 2011
Developing countries — without transition
economies — for the first time absorbed half of
global FDI inflows
developing economies alone
accounted for a half of the
global total.
“Investment leads economic
growth but the current
trends of investment
flows to developing countries,
particularly to Asia,
are worrisome and the challenge
for channeling FDI
into key development
sectors such as infrastructure,
agriculture and the
green economy remains
daunting” said secretarygeneral
of UNCTAD Supachai
Panitchpakdi.
Despite a slight decline in
FDI inflows, China became
the largest recipient country
in the first half of 2012, followed
by the US. However,
early indications show that
FDI flows to the US might
be stronger in the second
half of 2012.
The value of cross-border
M&As in the third quarter
of 2012 were double those of
the first half of the year, while
some further acquisitions
are already taking place
or announced in the fourth
quarter.
FDI flows fell to the BRICs
as a whole and to each of individual
country within the
group. In the first half of
2012, FDI inflows declined
by 11 per cent in developing
Asia, despite a strong recovery
after the global financial
crisis. It reflects a protracted
period of weak external demand
with consequent
strongly negative effects on
exports and increasing uncertainty
about high-growth
emerging countries, the
UNCTAD said, adding that
as a result of declines in China
and Hong Kong (China),
PAGE 11
Churi has
huge potential
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28
Churi — a fruit berry that is found in the
hilly districts of Nepal — can generate
employment for around 150,000 people
if the government can help boost its development.
“Around 50 districts have
Churi,” according to national programme
manager of Micro Enterprise
Development Programme (MEDEP) Dr
Lakshman Pun.
Aesandra butyracea or popularly
known as Churi in Nepal can help produce
some 17,825 metric tonnes of honey,
he said, adding that at the rate of Rs
200 per kg of honey, Nepal can earn
around Rs 3.5 billion from Churi — that
flowers for three months a year — honey.
Similarly, it can also help produce
37,245 metric tonnes of butter and
herbal soap from Churi could earn the
country around Rs 26.81 billion, Pun
added. “The total employment generation
from the honey and soap production
of Churi could be around 150,000,”
he informed.
Churi is a medium sized tree native to
Nepal and is abundantly found in the
mountain areas between 300 to 2,000
msl. It can reach heights of up to 20 metres
and the seeds from Churi trees produce
fatty acid oils that are mainly used
as vegetable butter in rural areas.
According to a resource assessment of
Churi undertaken by Micro Enterprise
Development Programme, out of the 75
districts of Nepal, almost 50 districts are
known to have Churi plants.
The geographical distribution extends
from Darchula, Baitadi and Dadeldhura
districts in the far-west to Dhankuta and
Ilam districts in the east. The total number
of Churi trees in the country is estimated
at 10.8 million, according to
MEDEP. The highest number of trees (almost
40 per cent) are found in the midwestern
development region, which is
followed by far western development region.
These two regions combined account
for about 70 per cent of the total
number of trees in the country.
There are an estimated 5.6 million
Churi trees at fruit bearing stage in the
country with the potential to produce
37,245 metric tonnes of butter, the study
revealed, adding that there is a huge potential
in terms of resource availability to
produce Churi butter as well as honey.
The common method followed by micro-entrepreneurs
for Churi herbal soap
making is based on what is called the
‘Cold Process Soap Making’. Herbal soap
making is a specialised process with a
wide diversity in type of ingredients used
depending on the target markets consisting
of low end and upscale consumers.
There are various kinds of oils,
essential oils, and fragrances available
that could be combined by individual
entrepreneurs to come up with specific
products with unique characteristics.
The ferry ‘Napoleon-Bonaparte’, which manages Mediterranean sea transport shuttles, tilts to the side against a quay in France, on Sunday.
AFP / RSS
total FDI inflows to East Asia
fell by about 11 per cent.
Half-year inflows to China
amounted to $59 billion, a
three per cent decline from
$61 billion in the first half of
last year. China is experiencing
structural adjustments in
their FDI flows, including the
relocation of labour-intensive
and low-end marketoriented
FDI to neighbouring
countries.
Compared to the full-year
forecast of FDI inflows published
in July, UNCTAD now
projects that FDI flows will,
at best, level-off in 2012, at
slightly below $1.6 trillion.
UNCTAD’s longer term projections
still show a moderate
rise.
However, the risk of further
macroeconomic shocks
in 2013 can impact FDI inflows
negatively.

PAGE 12 www.thehimalayantimes.com
Sports
• TIME OUT
Proteas arrive
Reuters
AS Nancy’s Joel Sami (right) and
PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic fight for
the ball during their French Ligue 1
match in Nancy on Saturday.
SYDNEY: South Africa arrived on
Sunday for a three-Test cricket tour of
Australia hoping to maintain their No
1 ranking by beating the home side
for the second consecutive time
Down Under. Pace bowler Dale Steyn
said the Proteas are confident coming
into the series. South Africa are
two places and four points ahead of
the Australians in the ICC Test rankings
after securing top spot from England
with a series win in England earlier
this year. The first Test begins in
Brisbane on November 9, followed by
matches in Adelaide (Nov 22-26) and
Perth (Nov 30-Dec 4). — AP
Wilson suffers injury
LONDON: Stoke City have confirmed
defender Marc Wilson suffered a broken
leg during their 0-0 Premier
League draw with Sunderland on Saturday.
The Ireland international was
taken to hospital after falling awkwardly
early in the second half. “Marc
will be out for a while, but we are not
sure at this stage for how long,” manager
Tony Pulis said on Sunday. — Reuters
Del Piero strikes
SYDNEY: Former Juventus great
Alessandro Del Piero celebrated his
800th career match with a 58thminute
penalty before Brett Emerton
added the winner 12 minutes later as
Sydney FC beat the Perth Glory 2-1 in
Australia’s A-League on Sunday.
Travis Dodd had given the Glory a 1-0
lead in the 18th minute at the former
Olympic Stadium. The win evened
Sydney’s record at 2-2 on the season.
Del Piero signed a two-year contract
with Sydney in September. — AP
Benfica beat Vicente
LISBON: Lima scored one and set up
another to guide Benfica to a 3-0 win
at Gil Vicente on Saturday, provisionally
lifting the team three points
ahead of FC Porto at the top of the
Portuguese standings. Brazilian striker
Lima grabbed Benfica the early
lead with a headed goal just two minutes
in. Lima then passed for Benfica
left back Luisinho to double the margin
in the 27th, and Andres Gomes
capped the victory in first-half added
time. Porto can remain level with
Benfica with a victory at Estoril.— AP
Begiristain appointed
MANCHESTER: Manchester City
have named former Barcelona technical
director Txiki Begiristain as director
of football in a restructuring
aimed at making the Premier League
champions world leaders in recruiting
and developing players. The former
Spain international, who held a
similar position at Barca for seven
years until 2010, will support City
manager Roberto Mancini in first
team recruitment and operations.
City also announced that football administrator
Brian Marwood will become
managing director of the City
Football Academy when it is ready for
2013-14 season. — Reuters
Cruyff to break policy
MEXICO CITY: Guadalajara consultant
Johan Cruyff is prepared to break
with the club’s tradition of only signing
players with Mexican heritage in
order to strengthen the team for next
year. The Dutch great, employed in
February by Guadalajara owner Jorge
Vergara to lift the underachieving
Chivas, said on Saturday they would
open the doors to foreign-born players
who had become naturalised citizens.
The Mexican first division has
many South Americans, some of
whom have taken out Mexican nationality
and in some cases played for
their adopted country. — Reuters
Associated Press
Barcelona, October 28
Lionel Messi scored twice to
help Spanish leader Barcelona
roll to a 5-0 win at Rayo Vallecano
on Saturday, as coach
Tito Vilanova established the
best start for a first-year coach
in the 113-year history of the
Catalan club.
Cesc Fabregas set up David
Villa’s 20th-minute opener to
put Barcelona on their way.
Messi then scored his 16th and
17th goals in all competitions
this season in a second half
that also saw Xavi Hernandez
and Fabregas find the net.
“This was our best game of the
season,” Fabregas said.
Messi’s two strikes, the first
an unstoppable blast from the
edge of the box, the second a
showcase of fancy footwork to
undo the defense, took his
league leading tally to 13 goals,
four more than Atletico’s
Radamel Falcao and Real
Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi has 73 goals for club
and country in 2012, leaving
him two shy of matching Brazil
great Pele’s milestone of 75 in
1958. “Scoring two more goals
isn’t important, the important
thing is that we have another
win and we believe we can
keep this up,” said Messi, who
on Monday will receive the
Golden Shoe award for Europe’s
top scorer last season
with 73 goals.
Barcelona’s eighth win in
their first nine games kept
them unbeaten and lifted
them three points ahead of
Atletico before their match
against last-place Osasuna on
Sunday. The no-nonsense victory
also kept up Barcelona’s
pressure on Real Madrid by
opening an 11-point gap
ahead of the defending champion’s
tough test at Mallorca.
Barcelona needed an extratime
winner to beat Celtic in
the Champions League mid-
week and had to score five
times to edge out Deportivo La
Coruna last weekend. But after
weathering Rayo’s energized
start, Vilanova’s team eased to
a victory which kept them perfect
through five away outings
in league play.
“We played a serious game
at the back and we go away satisfied
because it is important
to have kept a clean sheet,”
said Vilanova, whose defense
had been suspect this season.
“It isn’t easy to win 25 of 27
possible points, but we deserve
them. We always fight to
the finish.”
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
Messi scores twice in Barca’s rout of Rayo
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates his goal against Rayo Vallecano during their Spanish League match in Madrid on Saturday.
Tevez gives City a hard-fought
victory over Swansea
Associated Press
Manchester, October 28
Carlos Tevez kept champion
Manchester City in touch with
English Premier League leader
Chelsea by settling a dour clash
with Swansea with his first goal
in eight appearances on Saturday.
City escaped with a 1-0 victory
despite another performance
that will raise more questions
over the side’s lack of dynamism
this season after they lost at Ajax
in the Champions League during
the week. City’s second clean
sheet of the season came after
goalkeeper Joe Hart saved twice
from Michu before Tevez broke
the deadlock in the 62nd minute
with a stunning strike from 25
yards.
“It wasn’t a great performance
but the manager said at halftime
to stay calm and we’d get a goal,”
City midfielder Gareth Barry
said. “Carlos came up with the
goods.” The game ran to 12 min-
utes of injury time after lengthy
stoppages for injuries to
Swansea goalkeeper Michel
Vorm and Swansea defender
Micah Richards. City are a point
behind Chelsea while Swansea
are 10th.
Following criticism of his defensive
formations after the midweek
loss to Ajax, City manager
Roberto Mancini dropped Joleon
Lescott and played Matija Nastasic
in a flat back four. The two
teams effectively cancelled each
other out in a first half that saw
little goalmouth action.
One of Swansea’s early attacks
saw Angel Rangel go down under
a challenge from Barry but referee
Martin Atkinson booked him
for diving. As the game settled in
to a slow tempo, Tevez tried to
make something happen for City
but his low cross was gathered by
Vorm.
Swansea exploited some uncertainty
between Vincent Kompany
and Nastasic in the City defense
as Rangel crossed from the
Reuters
Manchester City's Carlos Tevez celebrates after scoring against
Swansea City during their English Premier League match at The
Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday.
byline but Richards came across
to cut off Michu. City could have
benefited from an error when
Vorm gifted possession to Sergio
Aguero but Tevez was unable to
take up the attack.
Michu did put the ball into the
net with a fine finish but was well
offside as he received the ball.
Hart showed he was as alert as
ever when Michu raced clear in
the closing stages of the first half
with a well-timed run, blocking
the Spaniard. The halftime whistle
led to boos from some City
fans after their side’s uninspired
display but the team looked a
different proposition immediately
after the break.
Mancini sent on Mario
Balotelli for the ineffective Aleksandar
Kolarov and within two
minutes the Italy striker had a
shot blocked. Aguero also tried
to find his range but fired wide.
Balotelli had a great opportunity
as he latched onto a fine pass
from Samir Nasri and took the
ball round Vorm, but the goalkeeper
did just enough to force
him wide and the chance passed.
Swansea pieced together a fine
move which led to Jonathan de
Guzman crossing for Michu,
who powered a header straight at
Hart. Richards sliced a clearance
to give Ki Sung-yeung a followup
chance but Kompany
blocked.
City made the most of that reprieve
and took the lead just after
the hour as Tevez took a pass
from Clichy in his stride and hit a
swerving 25-yard effort past
Vorm.
Swansea’s woes were compounded
by an injury to Vorm,
who appeared to hurt himself
stretching for Tevez’s shot. He
was unable to continue and left
the field on a stretcher. Despite
taking the lead, City was still
sluggish and De Guzman attempted
to catch them out with
a long-range effort but missed
the target.
Yaya Toure tried to create
something for the hosts after
combining with Tevez but his
cross avoided everyone. City’s injury
blow came when Richards,
who missed the first two months
of the season through injury,
went down in agony holding his
knee before being carried off.
That led to a lengthy, nervy and
very long period of injury time
but City managed to hold out.
Reuters
Rome, October 28
AC Milan’s Stephan El
Shaarawy marked his 20th
birthday with a secondhalf
goal in a 1-0 win over
Genoa in Serie A on Saturday
while strugglers Siena
and Palermo scrapped out
a 0-0 draw.
Milan’s victory, which
puts them on 10 points
from nine games, eases
the pressure on manager
Massimiliano Allegri despite
a poor display that
even Brazil forward
Alexandre Pato, in his first
start for eight months,
could not light up. Despite
the win Milan are still languishing
in mid-table a
massive 12 points behind
leaders Juventus.
Genoa could have taken
the lead after 15 minutes
when Cristian Zapata gifted
the ball to Luca Antonelli.
He crossed to Ciro
Immobile, who was too
late to slot home but almost
scored anyway after
Marco Amelia punched
the ball into the striker’s
face only to see it rebound
wide.
The closest Milan came
to a goal in a dull first half
was after 37 minutes when
Reuters
Vilanova had his doubters
after being tapped to replace
Pep Guardiola this summer
following the most successful
run in the club’s history. But
Guardiola’s former assistant is
exceeding expectations with a
better debut than even his
mentor managed in 2008 with
El Shaarawy goal sees
Milan defeat Genoa
El Shaarawy collected an
overhit corner and flashed
the ball across the six-yard
box, only to see his teammates
rooted to the spot.
Milan started the second
half brighter and
could have scored almost
straight after the restart
when Pato’s raid down the
right flank ended with another
teasing cross flying
across Sebastian Frey’s
goal and no-one on hand
to put it in the net.
Allegri’s team finally
broke the deadlock with
15 minutes left after Ignazio
Abate finished some
good work on the right by
rolling a cross in front of
Frey’s goal that this time El
Shaarawy tapped home.
The Italy forward did not
celebrate his goal as a
mark of respect for his former
club.
Earlier, Siena and Palermo
produced an uneventful
goalless draw that
showed why they were the
bottom two in the table.
The first clear chance did
not come until two minutes
into the second half
when Siena substitute
Francesco Valiani
whipped in an inviting
cross that Emanuele
Calaio headed wide.
seven wins, a draw and a loss.
Sergio Busquets and Adriano
played well in yet another
makeshift combination in the
centre of Barcelona’s defense
with Carles Puyol and Gerard
Pique injured and Javier
Mascherano suspended. Despite
their rival’s intimidating
pedigree, Rayo took the initiative
early on at Vallecas Stadium
in Madrid. Rayo earned
three corner kicks in the first
10 minutes while disrupting
Barcelona’s passing attack.
But one pass by Fabregas,
who assisted on three goals in
last weekend’s wild 5-4 win at
Deportivo, to meet Villa’s run
inside from the left for the
striker to slot home was all it
took to turn the tables for
good. Messi decided the match
shortly after halftime. Pedro
played wide for back Martin
Montoya to send in a cross that
the Argentina forward controlled
before ripping the ball
beyond the goalkeeper with a
vicious left-footed strike. Jemez
was sent off in the 76th
apparently for complaining
about the refereeing.
Malaga remained third—
four points behind Atletico —
after drawing 0-0 at Espanyol,
while Salva Sevilla’s early goal
gave Real Betis a 1-0 home win
over Valencia. Betis’ victory lifted
them provisionally into
fourth place, trailing Malaga by
two points. Real and Sevilla are
both two points behind Betis
heading into their games.
Celta Vigo, meanwhile, held
on with 10 men for nearly 40
minutes to earn a 1-1 draw
with Deportivo in a regional
Galicia derby in northwestern.
AC Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy (right) vies for the ball with Genoa’s Mario Sampirisi
during their Italian Serie A match at the San Siro Stadium in Milan on Saturday.
Dortmund,
Schalke win
Associated Press
Berlin, October 28
Reuters
Borussia Dortmund won 2-0
at Freiburg to get their Bundesliga
title defense back on
track in difficult conditions
on Saturday.
Heavy snowfall hampered
both teams in a hard-fought
game. Neven Subotic scored
in the 54th minute and
Mario Goetze made the
game safe for Dortmund
with seven minutes remaining.
Jefferson Farfan’s 77thminute
strike was enough
for Schalke to complete a
perfect week with a 1-0 win
at home over Nuremberg.
Schalke won the Ruhr derby
against Dortmund last weekend
and then 2-0 at Arsenal
in the Champions League
midweek.
Wolfsburg beat Fortuna
Duesseldorf 4-1 away to end
their seven-game run without
a win in interim coach
Lorenz-Guenther Koestner’s
first game in charge.
Elsewhere, Mainz beat
Hoffenheim 3-0 thanks to an
Adam Szalai hat-trick, and
Greuther Fuerth drew 1-1 at
home with Werder Bremen.
Dortmund’s first away win
of the season leaves them
nine points behind Bayern
Munich.

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
• TIME OUT
Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh
arrives in the paddock before the
start of the Indian Grand Prix in
Greater Noida on Sunday.
Ecclestone hopeful
GREATER NOIDA: Formula One chief
Bernie Ecclestone has raised the
hopes for a return of the French
Grand Prix to the schedule,
possibly as soon as next year as a replacement
for the cancelled New Jersey
event. The French GP has been off
the calendar since 2008, but officials
of both the Magny Cours and Paul Ricard
circuits are making bids for its
return. The New Jersey cancellation
has left a three-week gap in the 2013
schedule, and on his 82nd birthday
on Sunday, Ecclestone told Autosport:
“if they are ready we can slot
it in the calendar.” — AP
Vorm out injured
LONDON: Swansea City’s Dutch international
goalkeeper Michel Vorm
could be out for six weeks after injuring
his groin in the 1-0 defeat at Premier
League champions Manchester
City on Saturday. Vorm was hurt
while trying to save Carlos Tevez’s
winning goal in the second half and
was taken off on a stretcher after a
lengthy stoppage. Vorm impressed
last season for Swansea after signing
from FC Utrecht, playing a big part in
his side’s survival on their return to
the top flight. He was replaced on Saturday
by Gerhard Tremmel. — Reuters
Vettel wins
India GP,
Peter Hanson of Sweden kisses the trophy after winning the BMW Masters in
Shanghai, China on Sunday.
extends lead
Reuters
only here. I am sure we will do
Greater Noida, October 28
it.” Kimi Raikkonen hung on to
third place in the overall stand-
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel ings with seventh place for Lo-
won the Indian Grand Prix tus but he is now 67 points off
(GP) today and stretched his the lead and just six ahead of
Formula One championship Webber. McLaren’s Lewis
lead over Ferrari’s Fernando Hamilton and Jenson Button
Alonso, who was a battling sec- finished fourth and fifth reond,
to 13 points with three spectively, with the latter deny-
races remaining.
ing Vettel the fastest lap but
The victory from pole posi- with his title hopes now mathetion
was the world champion’s matically over for another year.
fourth in a row — the first time Brazilian Felipe Massa was
he has done that in a single sea- sixth for Ferrari, ahead of 2007
son — and maintained his champion Raikkonen, with
dominance in India after win- Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg
ning last year’s inaugural race eighth for Force India in the
at the hazy Buddh Internation- team’s home race. Frenchman
al Circuit from pole.
Romain Grosjean finished
The 25-year-old German ninth for Lotus and Brazilian
now has 240 points to 227 for Bruno Senna grabbed the final
Alonso, who started in fifth point for Williams.
place, and his surge towards a Seven times champion
third title in a row is beginning Michael Schumacher, probably
to look unstoppable despite the the biggest Formula One name
Spaniard’s best efforts. His fifth in a country more focused on
win of the season was the 26th cricket, collided with Toro
of his career.
Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne at the
“A very special grand prix. I start and pitted with a punc-
don’t know what it is about this tured rear right.
circuit but I really like the flow That sent the 43-year-old
of it,” said Vettel, who has now German to the back of the field
led every single lap for three on his last race appearance in
successive races — a feat last India. To compound his prob-
managed by the late triple lems, he was lapped by Vettel
champion Ayrton Senna in after eight laps and was then
1989. “This was another good under investigation for ignor-
step for us but there’s still a long ing blue warning flags. To his
way to go.”
credit, Schumacher battled on
Australian Mark Webber fin- until finally retiring three laps
ished third for Red Bull, com- from the end.
plaining of a loss of KERS boost Mexican Sergio Perez retired
after 45 of the 60 laps and being in the pits after also suffering a
passed by Alonso three laps lat- puncture when his Sauber
er. “It is not easy at the moment clipped the front of Toro Rosso’s
to fight the Red Bull but we will Australian Daniel Ricciardo
never give up,” said the as they were leaving the pits
Spaniard. “Well done to Red together on lap 20. India’s
Bull and Sebastian but we want sole driver Narain Karthikeyan
to be happy and enjoy it in finished 21st for Spanish
Brazil (the last race). It is not stragglers HRT.
Hanson holds off McIlroy in Shanghai
Reuters
Shanghai, October 28
Sweden’s Peter Hanson capitalised
on the early errors
of playing partner Rory
McIlroy to hold on for a
one-shot victory over the
world No 1 at the BMW
Masters on today.
Overnight leader Hanson
posted a final round 67 for a
21-under-par total on the
Lake Malaren course to capture
his second European
Tour success in three events
and move behind Briton
McIlroy at the top of the
Race to Dubai standings.
The 35-year-old, who won
the Dutch Open in September,
stretched his advantage
at the start of the day from
one shot to four when his
23-year-old Ryder Cup-win-
ning teammate recorded
back-to-back bogeys from
the fourth hole.
Double major winner
McIlroy regrouped to birdie
four of his next eight holes
before highlighting his
round with a 25-foot eagle
putt at the par-five 15th,
moments before Hanson
walked off with a birdie. Despite
a final-hole bogey,
Hanson held on to capture a
sixth European Tour win
while the $1.66 million first
prize cheque is easily the
biggest of his career.
“It’s fantastic to win the
BMW Masters and to go
head-to-head with the
world number one is always
nice, but to come out on
top, it feels great,” Hanson
said. “It’s kind of weird because
when you have that
AP / RSS
kind of lead you’re playing a
bit safe and I couldn’t really
step it up towards the end,
hit the shots and get it up
close to the pin. So it’s lucky
we didn’t have to play another
two or three holes.
This is by far my biggest win
so it feels great as we had so
many guys in the world’s
top 10 here... this trophy is
very, very special to me.”
Despite picking up a
cheque for $779,000, McIlroy
looked disappointed to
be settling for a ninth second
place finish on the European
Tour. “I didn’t get the
best of starts but it started
coming together over the
back nine... I was aiming to
make him work for it,” McIlroy
said.
“It would have been nice
to hole that (birdie) putt on
• LOCAL BRIEFS
Nepal play against
China on Monday
KATHMANDU: Already out of
the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Asia
Cup race, Nepal will take on
hosts China in the Group ‘B’
match at the Guanggong International
Cricket Stadium in
Guangzhou on Monday. Both the
teams will be playing for pride after
losing their previous two
matches. After going down by 20
runs against Sri Lanka on Thursday,
Nepal lost to Bangladesh by
nine wickets on Friday.
Bangladesh (six) and Sri Lanka
(four) have already made it to the
last four from the group. — HNS
Manita strikes gold
KATHMANDU: Nepali taekwondo
player Manita Shahi claimed
the women’s senior Lightweight
category gold medal in the
ninth International Friendship
Taekwondo Championships and
Cultural Festival in Portland,
USA on Saturday. The 10th South
Asian Games gold medallist
and 15th Asian Games bronze
medal-winning player from
Nepal Police Club defeated local
player Doma 10-7 in the final.
Both the players were tied on
six points after the first two
rounds and Manita scored four
points giving away just one to her
opponent to record a comprehensive
victory. —HNS
the last to have him think a
little bit but it wasn’t to be,”
added McIlroy. “He played
well and deserved his win.
To go out there with the lead
and play the way he did and
shoot 67 is very impressive,
so he was always going to be
tough to beat.”
McIlroy is not contesting
next week’s $7 million WGC-
HSBC Champions event at
Shenzen and a Hanson victory
there would put the
Swede ahead of the Briton
on the European Tour order
of merit. English Ryder Cup
teammates Luke Donald
(17-under) and Ian Poulter
(16-under) ensured the top
four spots were secured by
players who helped Europe
register a stunning fightback
victory over the US at
Medinah last month.
www.thehimalayantimes.com
SPORTS
Red Bull’s Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany celebrates on podium after winning the Indian Grand Prix at
the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, on Sunday.
Associated Press
Valencia, October 28
Top-seeded David Ferrer
reached the Valencia Open final
for a fourth time after defeating
Ivan Dodig of Croatia
6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 on Saturday.
Ferrer will face Alexandr
Dolgopolov in final after the
Ukrainian used his big serve
to ease past Jurgen Melzer of
Austria 6-4, 6-2 in the other
semi-final match.
After the fifth-ranked Ferrer
controlled the opening set,
the local favourite showed
some strain from finishing his
doubles with partner Juan
Carlos Ferrero after midnight
Friday. Dodig rallied to save
two break points and force a
second-set tiebreaker, where
he converted a third set point
by forcing the Spaniard into
netting his volley.
Ferrer grabbed a 3-1 advantage
in the decisive set after
Dodig double-faulted. He
then hit a running approach
shot to break Dodig again before
serving out the win in 2
hours, 42 minutes.
Dolgopolov hit nine aces
and broke Melzer twice in
each set en route to victory.
The 21st-ranked Dolgopolov
will now play his fourth career
final in search of his second title
of the season after winning
at Washington.
Ferrer played another doubles
later Saturday following
the match between Melzer
and Dolgopolov. Ferrer has a
chance to add the tournament
at the City of Arts and
Sciences to his five titles this
season. He won here on the
indoor hard-courts in 2008
and 2010 after losing the final
in 2005 when the tournament
was played on clay. Ferrero, a
former No 1 and Valencia native,
will retire after this event.
Swiss Indoors
BASEL: Roger Federer and
Juan Martin del Potro advanced
to the Swiss Indoors
final on Saturday, setting up a
rematch of their epic semi-final
at the London Olympics.
Top-ranked Federer
brushed aside Paul-Henri
Mathieu of France 7-5, 6-4 in
the semi-finals, after Del
Potro eased to a 6-2, 6-2 win
over third-seeded Frenchman
Richard Gasquet.
Federer has beaten Del
Potro all six times they have
met this season, though was
pushed to his limits on Centre
PAGE 13
Ferrer ousts Dodig to reach Valencia final
Reuters
Court at Wimbledon in August.
Federer won 19-17 in the
decisive third set.
Del Potro let a two-set lead
slip in their quarter-finals at
Roland Garros, and took the
first set at the Olympics before
losing the second on a
tiebreaker. Federer, chasing
his sixth title in seven years at
his hometown event, fired 10
aces and never allowed Mathieu
a break point chance.
Excellent anticipation at
the net put Federer into position
to hit a volleyed winner to
create two set points in the
first. He clinched with a forehand
winner. Federer moved
his opponent around the
court in the final game before
putting away an overhead to
earn match point, and sealed
victory when Mathieu netted
a two-handed backhand.

PAGE 14 www.thehimalayantimes.com
THThi-tech hi-tech
tech
terse
China blocks NYT
website
BEIJING: China blocked access to The
New York Times website Friday after
the paper published a lengthy article
claiming the family of Premier Wen
Jiabao has amassed assets worth USD
2.7 billion through a web of investments.
The report said most of Wen’s
family’s wealth was accumulated after
he rose to high office in 2002. Chinese
censors also blocked the Times’
Chinese-language site that carried a
translated version of the story. Chinese
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei
told reporters at a press briefing that
the report “blackens China and has
ulterior motives.” He refused to elaborate
despite several follow-up questions.
Times’ Spokeswoman Eileen
Murphy says the paper hoped access
to the sites could be restored shortly.
The report is a blow to Wen’s reputation
as a politician concerned with
bettering lives of ordinary Chinese. — AP
ZTE sales record slump
HONG KONG: ZTE Corp, the world’s
fourth-biggest maker of mobile
phones and fifth-ranked telecommunications
equipment manufacturer,
reported a USD 310 million quarterly
net loss, its first since listing in Hong
Kong in 2004, on shredded margins,
project delays and accounting
changes in China. Shenzhen-based
ZTE, led by Shi Lirong, had previously
warned its quarterly loss could be
as much as two billion yuan — eight
times its first-half profit — triggering a
16 per cent drop in its stock price on
October 15, a self-imposed 50 per cent
pay cut by executives, and warnings
from Fitch ratings agency. In the third
quarter of last year, ZTE made a profit
of 299 million yuan. “Things should
move up from here, in terms of
profitability and margins. We have to
watch whether their telecom equipment
business overseas picks up,” said
Michael Li, an analyst with Everbright
Securities in Hong Kong. ZTE has also
faced accusations in a US Congress
committee report this month that it —
and local rival Huawei Technologies
Co Ltd — is a potential cyber security
threat. Both ZTE and Huawei deny the
committee’s allegations. — Reuters
Zynga lays off staff
SAN FRANCISCO: Zynga Inc laid off
five per cent of its full-time workforce
and shut its Boston office on Tuesday
as it embarked on a sweeping costcutting
campaign that may eventually
see the ‘FarmVille’ game creator close
its Japanese and British studios as well.
The company, which is trying to arrest
a steep decline in earnings as users
gradually migrate onto mobile devices
or rival games, plans to ‘sunset’ 13
unspecified older titles, Chief Executive
Mark Pincus said in a staff memo
on Tuesday that was published on
the company blog. “This is the most
painful part of an overall cost reduction
plan that also includes significant
cuts in spending on data hosting,
advertising and outside services,
primarily contractors,” Pincus
wrote in his memo. Pincus said the
cuts would accompany a regime of
“more stringent budget and resource
allocation around new games and
partner projects.” Tuesday’s cuts were
presaged on October 4, when Zynga
slashed its 2012 outlook and warned
investors it would record a steep drop
in sequential quarterly revenues for
the first time since its December initial
public offering. — Reuters
Attractive appliances
Customers have a field day as dealers offer irresistible schemes
on household gadgets
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu
Dashain might be over, but the
festive season is still on in
full swing. The competition
among sellers is heating up
even more, with dealers
of home appliances offering
unique schemes. With catchy
slogans to allure consumers, dealers
of household gadgets are surely
raking in the sales.
The market leader among home
appliances, Him Electronics Pvt
Ltd, the authorised distributor of
Samsung products, has introduced
the scheme ‘Swadotsav’. Surendra
Pokharel, product manager of the
company, says, “This year, on the
purchase of Samsung washing
machine or refrigerator, buyers will
get Bajaj and Himstar pressure
cooker. On the purchase of a
camera, the company is offering
one photo print of four by six inch
and 50 copies of photos printed
for free.” The scheme, which started
before Dashain, will end after three
months.
Similarly, Nepa Hima Trade Link
Pvt Ltd, the authorised dealer of
Sony products for Nepal, is offering
Gadgets add complexity to bank layoffs
regular five per cent discount on
its products. However, the discount
for cameras stands at four per cent.
Roman Awale, showroom manager
of Sony in Kantipath, says,
“This year, we do not have scratch
coupons, as we want each of
our customers to receive gifts on
the purchase of our products.” Customers
who purchase Sony digital
cameras will receive 4GB and 8GB
pen drive as well as carrying bags
as per the model, along with a
printing coupon for a four by six
inch photo. Meanwhile, buying a
Sony TV can land customers with
gifts such as DVD player, Wi-Fi
device, and home theatre system.
According to Awale, this is the best
season for sales, as it encompasses
20 per cent of the total yearly sales.
Meanwhile, Paramount Electron-
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
The iPhone is the most
sophisticated, outlook-challenging
piece of electronics to come along
in years — David Pogue
ics, the authorised dealer of Panasonic
brand for Nepal, is currently
offering 15 per cent discount on
its products. Bhulat Shrestha, sales
executive of the company says, “We
also have gift offers, and consumers
can choose between them and the
discounts.” According to him, gifts
offered on the purchase of Panasonic
products include Buxtron home
theatre and 20 gram silver piece
as per the model. Offers in 42 and 50
inch Plasma TV include Panasonic
camera FF5 and TDZ11 respectively.
Similarly, 50 inch 3D and 65 inch
3D Plasma TV come with the gifts of
Panasonic 32 inch LCD and 50 inch
Plasma TV respectively.
CG digital multibrand showroom
at Chabahil has also launched
schemes for different brands.
The multi-brand showroom is the
authorised distributor of LG, Toshiba,
CG, Godrej, PCL, and Kelvinator.
Madhav Malla Thakuri, showroom
manager, says, “This is a one stop
solution, as consumers can take
their pick from varieties of brands
and schemes.” According to him, the
company is offering ‘Chadi Ko
Chaska’ in the LCD and LED TVs of
PLC brand. If customers purchase
TVs above 32 inch, they will receive
silver coin weighing 20 grams, while
those purchasing TVs below 32 inch
will get 10 grams of silver coin. In LG,
the scheme is ‘Dashain Hosh ta Yesto
LG Le Lyaye Jasto’ and the gift is a
DVD player on the purchase of 3D
LED TV and 32 inch LCD TV.
Similarly, on the purchase of Toshiba
TVs of 32 inch and above, clients
receive multimedia speakers and
DVD players. CG has come up
with the ‘Dashain Kharcha’ scheme,
where lucky draw is held each week
and the winner receives Rs 50,000.
Also following the market trend
is Syakar Company, the authorised
dealer of Philips products for Nepal,
which is offering discounts of 10
to 20 per cent as per the appliance.
The company’s products include
everything from home theatre system
to kitchen appliances. According
to Indra Man Pradhan, showroom
manager of Philips showroom
at Kantipath, the company is giving
away various gifts like shopping bag,
MP3 player, Pillar (home theatre)
and folding chair as per the product.
With so many alluring schemes to
select from, customers are undoubtedly
thanking their lucky stars this
festive season.
Firms try to stop sensitive data leaving with employees
LONDON: In the high-tech,
gadget-addicted world of
investment banking, layoffs
are becoming more complex
and brutal as firms try to
stop sensitive data leaving with
employees. Sackings are usually
swift, with bankers escorted
out, a few belongings thrown
into boxes and Blackberries and
phones disabled the minute
they get their marching orders.
But weeks of trawling through
old e-mails and planning software
lockdowns now precede
and follow the job cuts that
are happening in thousands,
adding a new layer of indignity
to the process.
“It used to be that you
would take away any access
to the building and maybe
prevent someone from lifting
their Rolodex,” said Stephen
Bonner, a former Barclays
executive, now a partner in
the information protection
business at consultancy KPMG.
“Now there is extensive compliance,
with for example reviews
of the last six months of e-mail
activity, for signs of a large
amount of material being sent
to personal accounts.” Companies
have to make sure they can
block access to work systems
that employees may be using
on their own computers, while
occasionally calling in lawyers
to ask fired staff to destroy data
they may have downloaded.
Deutsche Bank and Nomura
have been among those shrinking
headcount again recently,
with layoffs at major players
adding up to well over 130,000
since 2011. With hundreds of
bankers sometimes leaving on
the same day in big redundancy
rounds, the huge IT operations
take meticulous planning,
sometimes with unnerving
consequences for staff. One
analyst laid off last year along
with his team said their Blackberries
stopped working for
15 minutes a week before
they were unexpectedly laid off.
In retrospect they believed it
had been a practice run. “That
made us feel a bit sick,” the
former analyst said, speaking
on condition of anonymity.
But recurring incidents of data
theft, and other breaches and
scandals mean banks will likely
only step up their checks.
A former Goldman Sachs
computer programmer was
recently charged with stealing
a high-frequency trading code
from the firm before leaving for
a job at a start-up. Systems
sweeps can extend to looking
for signs of downloads onto
memory sticks in the months
before an employee’s departure.
Banks store valuable client data
in relationship management
systems for example, listing
intimate details of their
every transaction, which junior
bankers could try to take
with them.
While preventing these
breaches is not always possible,
banks will notify each other if
they believe former employees
have taken data they were not
entitled to and collaborate
between firms. As in other
industries, there is also risk that
a disgruntled, fired employee
will return and send off angry
company-wide e-mails — but
worse can happen. A Computer
Programmer at US mortgage
association Fannie Mae was
convicted in 2010 for planting a
computer virus designed to
destroy all data on its servers
the day he was fired. — Reuters
• PROFESSIONAL’S PREFERENCE
SUMNIMA TULADHAR is the
executive coordinator at Child
Workers in Nepal (CWIN). Tuladhar,
who believes that technology has
connected the entire world beyond
geographical boundaries, spoke to
THT Hi-Tech Plus about her choice
of gadgets.
Which is your favourite gadget?
Why?
My favourite gadget is my
Apple Macbook Pro because it is
comfortable to use and has made
my work easier.
Which of its features do you like
the most?
I especially like its finger gesture
on multi-touch track pad, attractive
design and long lasting battery.
Which is the one gadget in your
wish list?
I would like to own any audio
visual system with huge screen.
APPLE
FAILS TO
WOW
iPad sales
disappoint; fall
short of Wall
Street targets
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc delivered
lacklustre quarterly results
and iPad sales fell short of Wall
Street targets, pushing its stock
slightly lower. The results came as it
heads into the crucial holiday season,
when competition in the smartphone
and tablet market will reach feverpitch,
with Apple pitting a new phone
and iPads against Amazon.com Inc
and Google Inc Android devices.
“We were happy with the 14 million
iPad sales in the quarter. It exceeded
our expectations,” Apple Chief Financial
Officer Peter Oppenheimer said in
an interview. For the December quarter,
Apple forecast revenue of USD 52
billion, below the average estimate of
USD 55 billion, according to Thomson
Reuters I/B/E/S. Its fiscal fourth quarter
revenue rose to USD 35.96 billion,
roughly in line with the average
analyst estimate of USD 35.8 billion.
Apple shipped 26.9 million iPhones,
somewhat higher than the 25 million
to 26 million that Wall Street analysts
had predicted. Sales of the iPad
came in at 14 million in the fiscal
fourth quarter, well below lowered
forecasts for the tablet. Apple only
had nine selling days of the new
iPhone 5 in its fiscal fourth quarter.
Apple heads into the quarter after
having refreshed almost all of its
product lines. The December quarter
will show how well consumers
respond to Apple’s latest gamble —
the new, smaller iPad Mini that will go
on sale November 2. — Reuters

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com
POSITIVE LIVING
Variety
PAGE 15
• LIFE SKILLS
Metamorphosis
of self
I feared being alone
Until I learned to like myself.
I feared failure
Until I realised that I only fail
when I don’t try.
I feared success
Until I realised that I had to try in
order to be happy with myself.
I feared people’s opinions
Until I learned that people would
have opinions about me anyway.
I feared rejection
Until I learned to have faith
in myself.
I feared pain
Until I learned that it’s necessary
for growth.
I feared the truth
Until I saw the ugliness in lies.
I feared life
Until I experienced its beauty.
I feared death
Until I realised that it’s not an end,
but a beginning.
I feared my destiny,
Until I realised that I had the power
to change my life.
I feared hate
Until I saw that it was nothing
more than ignorance.
I feared love
Until it touched my heart,
making the darkness fade
into endless sunny days.
I feared ridicule
Until I learned how to laugh
at myself.
I feared growing old
Until I realised that I gained
wisdom every day.
I feared the future
Until I realised that life just kept
getting better.
I feared the past
Until I realised that it could no
longer hurt me.
I feared the dark
Until I saw the beauty
of the starlight.
I feared the light
Until I learned that the truth
would give me strength.
I feared change,
Until I saw that even the most
beautiful butterfly had to undergo a
Metamorphosis before it could fly.
— Author Unknown
Living
DREAM
Surmounting
ALL ODDS
“Education helps in changing
the life of women,as they can
be aware of their own life”
The passion of a
dream can never
be underestimated.
I have not come
across a stronger example
of this than through
the eyes of a long lost
friend I knew in India.
During my medical education
days, there was a
friend named Anil who
was two years my senior.
And for him the word
‘dream’ was spelled as
‘America’.
His life, his goal, his
aim, was to reach there. I
Anil I saw an intensity
that burned his soul. For
him the focus of living
was a land he had never
seen. He had to be there.
One stormy night, I sat
snug in my chair in my
hostel room trying to
comprehend why hypertension
and smoking
are linked.
I caught the whine of
Anil’s bike and I heard
him skid and halt right
in front of my ground
floor room. Anil was
drenched, his hair plastered
to his scalp, he
wore nothing but tennis
shorts.
Raindrops glistened
on his naked body, that
seemed to be heaving
with gasps of effort.
Then I saw his face ...
It had the look of a man
who seemed to have
done something incredible.
His eyes blazed red,
and his nostrils flared
with each breath he
took. “ Nirvi,” he said,
“Come with me , this
very moment, I have
something to show you.”
I looked at the rain, I
looked at the darkness of
the night, I looked at the
dry nightgown I wore.
“Anil,” I said, “It’s raining
and ...”
I could not say any
more. I knew it was that
moment in life when
you had to die for a
friend if that was the
need. I also knew that
procrastination would
be stupidity.
Sabitri Dhakal
Kathmandu
Living life is not
easy. Vicissitudes
always make it
more challenging.
Sabita Maharjan,
a survivor of domestic violence,
has battled several
odds in her life. However, in
all her difficulties she has not
run away from circumstances.
Rather, she has confronted
them head on.
Her life changed after her
marriage. The dream of living
a happy conjugal life was
shattered. The family didn’t
let her continue her job, so
she gave up her teaching career.
As time went on, conditions
in life started to worsen,
so she left home. It was
difficult for her to live handto-mouth
and plus there was
her child to be taken care of.
That’s when she started using
her skill of knitting by
working on a daily wage basis
in a nearby cottage industry.
After working for some
years and saving some
amount from the daily expenses,
she planned on
opening a small industry of
her own. The fund that she
had was not enough to meet
her goals. She knocked on
the doors of financial institutions
and fortunately they
provided her loans. With the
required amount in her
hands, she felt her dreams
come true.
Her understanding
of Nepali
women’s vulnerable
position and
her personal experience
with domestic
violence
prompted her to
open a shelter for
single women. So,
with an aim to empower
women,
Sabi Craft was established
some 15
years ago in Kirtipur,
which produces
hand knitted
sweaters, children
clothes, toys, mufflers
and other
things. Maharjan
was then able to
develop Sabi
Craft into Kirtipur
Hosiery Industry
(KHI)
with her hard
work, dedication,
passion
and perseverance.
Till date
KHI has
trained more
than 1,000
women and
currently
employs 125
women. Through
her institution,
Some passions were
worth being stupid. I
didn’t know what Anil
was up to or what was to
happen, but I took a step
forward into the rain. I
sat behind him on his
bike, then off we went.
Twelve minutes later
we were at Anil’s house.
Then through the back
door we tiptoed through
the hall to his room. We
stood there in the dark,
inside his room. He
whispered in my ear,
“Behold my passion”
and switched on the
lights.
I blinked twice before
I could comprehend his
work. One wall of his
room had a wall-to-wall
plastered map of the
USA, but that had been
there before. Today, it
was his bed.
From the four corners
of his bed stood four
poles and all the poles
had a large flag of the
USA carefully pinned.
Four flags of USA all
Maharjan has been able to
mobilise women in Kirtipur
and neighbouring places
and provide training to them
in the art of knitting, offering
these women as a source of
income with an aim to boost
their lifestyle. Her institution
provides a common place for
women to spend their free
time learning new skills and
generate income, thus making
them more independent
and building their self-esteem.
Maharjan did not only use
her skills of knitting but also
used her teaching skills to
educate women. She opened
an adult literacy class for
women to raise awareness
about education, health and
environment.
“Education helps in
changing the life of women,
as they can be aware of their
own life,” says Maharjan.
She is more careful about
environment. Maharjan and
her group of women conduct
a cleaning campaign,
collecting plastics in her locality.
These plastics are reused
to make decorative
baskets and dolls.
In recognition of her contribution
towards empowering
women, Maharjan received
the the Surya Nepal
Asha Social Entrepreneurship
Award 2011 and was
awarded from Gazab Social
Venture as well. Maharjan
says, “This award has made
us visible in the competitive
market and has encouraged
us to meet higher goals.”
“Women should not be
confined within the walls of
their house. Rather they
should use their skills and
ideas for economic development.
Besides the household
chores, women are able to
leave traces of other significant
works,” Maharjan says.
painted fresh oil colours
by hand, four handcrafted
maps. Every star and
every stripe, every edge
and every margin sewn
carefully.
The room dazzled in a
riot of colours. The smell
of fresh paint filled the
room. I looked at Anil
and saw his hands,
hands smudged with
rain and paint hues of
red, white and blue. He
was grinning ear to ear.
His eyes were on fire. I
had no words to say. He
said, “I am going to sleep
surrounded by my
dream.” I just hugged
him and said, “Yes , you
will.”
Anil made it to a medical
school residency in
USA six months later. He
left India never to return.
I could not see him off at
the airport but that picture
of him sleeping on
the bed surrounded by
American flags was
etched in my mind forever.
— Dr Nirvikar Dahiya
Life
positive
Accumulating
happiness
Rajyogi
Brahmakumar
Nikunj ji
How do we accumulatehappiness?
A
tough task for
all, but not an
impossible one.
It is said that a
person with a
happy, healthy
mind is the one
who is the Happiest,
because
in this state of
mind he remains
calm and
truly happy.
The main reason for our unhappiness is,
when we fall below the line of self-respect.The
lower we sink beneath our self-respect, the
more miserable we become, slipping into a
state of denial, thinking that it is normal not
to have happiness. However, our focus should
not be on constant happiness. It should be on
how we can begin to achieve a happy and
healthy mind.
A wiser person is the one who, instead of trying
to make big leaps in life, just tries moving
from one lamp post to the next.
By doing so he experiences significant
changes that take place and enlightens him
from within. One must always learn to live in the
present and try to connect with what is around
us. This simple method will give us a heightened
state of awareness. The more aware we are, the
more we are able to stay above. The habit of
seeing benefit in everything helps us to stay
above when the world is down below. What is
needed for this is good feelings, energy, light
and more understanding.
We can learn from everything that happens
around us. If someone else makes a mistake,
we can learn from it as well. Positive vision is an
incredible way to bring happiness into the
world. So try to cultivate positive vision in life
and keep accumulating happiness.
nikunjji@brahmakumaris.in www.brahmakumaris.com
Standing up
Bringing a giraffe into the
world is a tall order. A baby
giraffe falls 10 feet from its
mother’s womb and usually lands
on its back. Within seconds it rolls
over and tucks its legs under its
body. From this position it considers
the world for the first time and
shakes off the last vestiges of the
birthing fluid from its eyes and
ears. Then the
mother giraffe
rudely introduces
its offspring
to the reality
of life.
In his book, A
View from the
Zoo, Gary Richmond
describes
how a newborn
giraffe learns its
first lesson.
The mother
giraffe lowers
her head long
enough to take
a quick look.
Then she positions
herself directly
over her
calf. She waits
for about a
minute, and
then she does
the most unreasonable
thing.
She swings her
long, pendulous
leg outward
and kicks her baby, so that it
is sent sprawling head over heels.
When it doesn’t get up, the violent
process is repeated over and
over again. The struggle to rise is
momentous. As the baby calf
grows tired, the mother kicks it
again to stimulate its efforts. Finally,
the calf stands for the first time
on its wobbly legs.
Then the mother giraffe does the
most remarkable thing. She kicks it
off its feet again. Why? She wants it
to remember how it got up. In the
wild, baby giraffes must be able to
get up as quickly as possible to stay
with the herd, where there is safety.
Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild
hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes,
and they’d get it too, if the
mother didn’t teach her calf to get
up quickly and get with it.
The late Irving Stone understood
this. He spent a lifetime studying
greatness, writing novelised biographies
of such men as
Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh,
Sigmund Freud, and Charles Dar-
win.
Stone was once asked if he had
found a thread that runs through
the lives of all these exceptional
people. He said, “I write about people
who sometime in their life have
a vision or dream of something
that should be accomplished and
they go to work.
“They are beaten over the head,
knocked down, vilified, and for
years they get nowhere. But every
time they’re knocked down they
stand up. You cannot destroy these
people. And at the end of their lives
they’ve accomplished some modest
part of what they set out to do.”
— Craig B Larson

PAGE 16 www.thehimalayantimes.com
VARIETY
Richards apologises to Jagger
NEW YORK: Keith
Richards had to
apologise to Mick
Jagger for insulting himand
the size of his manhood
before the Rolling
Stones stalwarts could begin
rehearsals for their upcoming
50th anniversary
shows. The guitar great
had poked fun at Jagger
throughout his book, Life,
revealing that his nicknames
for the band mate
were once ‘Her Majesty’
and ‘Brenda’, and claimed
Jagger was packing a ‘tiny
todger’.
“It was something to get
out of the bloody way so
we could get the band on
the road ... I said, ‘Look
forward, brother, look forward’,”
Jagger told the
Rolling Stone magazine.
“If you were married to
somebody for 50 years,
you can have your little
spats here and there, and
we don’t mind having
them in public occasionally.
We can’t get divorced —
we’re doing it for the children!”
— Agencies
YOUR LUCK
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Charisma and intensity mark this year. You will
look at life more deeply. You often swing from being emotional to
being highly intellectual. Make a note of which mood works better
for you. You will need some time alone to process your feelings. If
you are single, a slew of admirers follow you nearly wherever you
go. You might date several people before you meet someone you
feel comfortable with. If you are attached, your relationship is exciting,
yet you will note a back-and-forth emotional struggle. If those
feelings are new, they are likely to disappear in a year. If you need
more space, say so rather than act out. TAURUS can challenge your
very foundations.
A baby born today has a Sun in Scorpio and a Moon in Taurus
all day.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Curb a possessive
streak, as it could cause a problem in your interactions.
You also might become quite competitive with
someone, which could strain the trust that exists between
you. Confusion and mixed messages are amplified right now.
Curb your need to win. Tonight: Don’t let others pressure you. ✹✹✹
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Your will could be tested
by someone who is just as strong as you are. Others
might not want to be around you with this power
struggle going on. Be willing to seek an alternative
way of doing something. As the saying goes, “If the mountain will
not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.”
Tonight: Make peace, not war. ✹✹✹
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You might want to be
hard to find with today’s Full Moon looming over you.
Recognise a tendency to be more sensitive than you
realise when dealing with others. You could make an
assumption, thus taking the first step to a misunderstanding.
Tonight: The wise shall not be found. ✹✹
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You might be on the
verge of achieving a long-term goal, and you have
many people rooting for you. Confusion surrounds
communication. Realise the different possibilities that
surround a key relationship. Make time for this person. Tonight: You
soon will have a lot to smile about. ✹✹✹✹
LEO (July 23-Aug 22): You are in the limelight, and
you can’t seem to escape it. You might feel tired and
withdrawn when dealing with others’ issues, and a
misunderstanding could occur as a result. You will
have a lot of errands and tasks to complete. Don’t worry; you will do
just that. Tonight: A must appearance. ✹✹✹
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22): Reach out to someone at a
distance. This person often makes suggestions that
you see as unusual yet effective. You have a lot to juggle,
and somehow you will manage not to drop any
balls. Cancel plans if you feel overwhelmed. Tonight: Decide on a
trip in the near future. ✹✹✹✹
LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22): Deal with a partner on a
one-on-one level. You could prevent a misunderstanding,
though you might need to clarify a plan of action
first. Do not be overgenerous, as you ultimately could
create a problem, whether it has to do with the other person or with
your finances. Tonight: Be with a special friend.✹✹✹✹
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): Defer to others and appease
their requests rather than get into a power
struggle. You will be much happier as a result. You will
have many invitations, so choose according to your
preferences. Be with people you enjoy. Tonight: Let someone else
make the first move. ✹✹✹✹✹
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): You might choose to
take a practical approach at this point, but you have
some concerns that you have not chosen to share. You
could be experiencing a low-level depression and not
really be able to isolate what is going on within yourself. Tonight:
Move forward with a project. ✹✹✹
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): Your creativity surges.
You also could feel quite amorous and just be waiting
for the right time to express your deeper feelings.
Don’t wait too long, though, or you could discover that
the apple of your eye has lost interest. Not everyone is as patient as
you are. Tonight: Follow your feelings. ✹✹✹✹✹
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): You are able to relax
around those you know well. You might be feeling as if
you want to spend more time at home, yet your work
or commitments force you to be out more and more.
You intuitively will know what to do. Do not play into today’s Full
Moon frenzy. Tonight: Make it easy and stay at home. ✹✹✹
PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): You have a lot to say, and
your words could trigger multiple reactions. Use care
and just smile. Others might be more confused than
you realise. Your intuition will kick in, and you will
know exactly what to say. Tonight: Hang out with friends.✹✹✹✹
Note: Bigar’s Stars is based on the degree of your sun at birth.The sign
name is simply a label astrologers put on a set of degrees for convenience.
For best results, readers should refer to the dates following each sign.
Born today: Humorist Fanny Brice (1891), guitarist Peter Green (1946),
actor Richard Dreyfuss (1947)
By Jacqueline Bigar
• JAZZMANDU 2012
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu
She was searching for jazz
events in and nearby regions
of Kathmandu
when she happened to
read about the Kathmandu
Jazz Festival. Hoping to
meet some local musicians that
she could involve in a collaboration
project, she immediately
started working towards getting
her solo based trio Suzy&2 for
Surya Nepal Jazzmandu 2012.
With the project Suzy&2 &
Kathmandu, Cecilie Giskemo
and her friends from Norway as
well as local musicians, are going
to infuse Jazzmandu with a mix
of vivid and varied sounds within
the periphery of jazz.
“We are all very excited as we
have heard a lot of great things
about the festival and are looking
forward to meeting all the
musicians visiting from all over
the world,” writes Cecilie Giskemo
about Jazzmandu in an
email interview with The Himalayan
Times. She is of opinion
that “it seems like a diverse festival
with a good mix of national
and international musicians”.
Indeed Jazzmandu is the festival
where musicians come together
and play music; Suzy&2 &
Kathmandu is one fine inspiration.
Suzy&2 is a jazz and pop trio
Black widows
scare Berry
out of home
LOS ANGELES: Actress
Halle Berry was forced to
move out of her Hollywood
home after a gardener
found a colony of black widow
spiders under a lawn chair in
her pool area.
The Oscar-winning star says
she freaked out when she realised
the poisonous spiders
were living beneath a chair she
used every other day — and left
the house until they had been
destroyed.
“(There were) hundreds under
this lawn chair that we
would all sit on around the
pool every other day. We found
out there was a whole village, a
colony of black widows ... One
of the gardeners decided he
should clean it and when he
looked under it was like,
‘Argh!’” dailystar.co.uk quoted
her as saying.
“I just left ... I said, ‘I’m gonna
leave and you’re gonna have to
handle that because I can’t
stand spiders...’I don’t even like
Daddy Long Legs (crane flies),”
she added. — IANS
that combines original compositional
material with the sound of
African traditional instruments
mbira nyunga nyunga and
kalimba played by Giskemo. Elevating
their creations is Asbjørn
Lerheim’s creative and innovative
jazz guitar while Giskemo
and Siri Kvambe Kvambe create
beautiful vocal harmonies. Together
with fantastic musicians
of Nepal Prabhu Raj Dhakal on
vocals, Rabin Lal Shresta on tabala
and Australian Marcus
Dengate on bass, they are to
come up with exceptional concerts
with fusions of jazz, Norwegian,
African and Eastern music
traditions.
They will be playing at the Valley
Jams, Jazz Bazaar, Jazz at
Patan and Jazzmandu Finale.
Furthermore, Giskemo speaks
about their music as “most of the
SRK too busy to celebrate Eid
NEW DELHI: Work
commitments kept
superstar Shah
Rukh Khan away from celebrating
Eid-Ul-Azha with
his family on October 27.
The actor, who is the
brand ambassador of luxury
watchmaker Tag
Heuer, flew down to the
capital to launch the limited
edition of “India Racing
Chronograph” watches.
However, he didn’t forget
to wish those present at
the launch a “Happy Eid”.
The actor seemed to
have lost some weight as
he looked quite lean in formal
wear. At the launch he
was accompanied by F1
racer Armaan Ibrahim as
they together launched
the limited edition watches.
“It’s an honour to be associated
with Tag Heuer.
It’s been a decade now that
I have been associated
with the brand. And every
time I wear this I get the
opportunity to be a little
classic, elitist and cool,”
said Khan.
The two celebrities also
had virtual car racing
Boyle’s life on reel
LONDON: Britain’s
Got Talent star Susan
Boyle has revealed
her rise to fame is being
made into a major biopic.
Boyle, 51, said she
would like British legend
Julie Walters to play her in
the movie. “My story will
make a great film. We are
in the middle of negotiations
just now for a film
about my life,” the Mirror
quoted her as saying.
“There’s only one person
I’d love to play me —
and that’s Julie Walters.
She would do the job and
you just know she would
do my story justice.
“When I signed the
recording contract originally
I had no idea what I
was doing, to be honest. I
just signed papers and
started singing,” she said.
“I had no idea how far I
would go ... And now there
will be a film of my life,”
she added. It’s less than
four years since Boyle
came second to dance
troupe Diversity on
Britain’s Got Talent and
since then she’s sold more
than 18 million albums
worldwide. — Agencies
compositions composed specifically
for this year’s Jazzmandu
performances derive from a jazz
perspective, but are all based on
the harmony and melodic structures
of eastern ragas.”
Interesting and unusual instrumentation
which makes the
music very exceptional to soothing
Nordic jazz influences mixed
with the rhythms of Africa and
the intricacy of Eastern ragas is
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
Collaborative
music Suzy&2
match together, in which
Ibrahim beat the superstar.
The actor was earlier
away from the hustle
bustle of Eid-ul-fitr also, as
he shot for the last leg of
his new film Jab Tak Hai
Jaan. — IANS
Sean is
decade’s
artiste
LONDON: Singer Jay
Sean walked away
with the trophy of
the British Artist of the
Decade at the recently
held Asian Music
Awards.
The Indian-origin
British singer was also
awarded the Best Male
artiste, however, he was
unable to attend the
event as he is on tour in
Australia, reports dailystar.co.uk.
— IANS
is a jazz and pop trio that
combines original compositional
material with the sound of
African traditional instruments
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
For those in the film industry, winning an Oscar may be
his/her greatest dream while for some it may be the
Nobel prize. Do you have a dream of winning any such
prestigious award in the field you are currently working
in? Which award would it be and why?
Send your replies in not more than 200 words by Friday,
November 2 by 2 pm to Features Department, The Himalayan
Times, e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.com;
Log on to www.thehimalayantimes.com
SUDOKU-1428
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
HOW TO SOLVE: Every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of
the 9 vertical columns, in each of the 9 horizontal rows and in
each of the 9 boxes
THT-DOKU-1238
sure to take the audience to a
magical sonic travel around the
world. And it will only happen in
different venues of Surya Nepal
Jazzmandu 2012 with Suzy&2 &
Kathmandu.
In return all they ask for is appreciation
and more music.
“We hope that concerts will be
well attended and our music will
be well appreciated. Further, we
hope that our appearance at
Jazzmandu will create
opportunities for future
collaborations and performances”
shares
Giskemo. They also
hope they too get to experience
a great sharing
experience with
both musicians and audiences
at the festival.
In addition to their
performances, several
workshops will be conducted
with a final
farewell concert at
Dokaima Café on November
8. Workshops
offer mbira and jazz fusion
techniques, vocal
improvisation skills,
jazz guitar and improvisation
skills.
Surya Nepal
Jazzmandu will take
place from November 1
to 7. The Himalayan
Times is the official
print media.
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
HOW TO SOLVE THT-DOKU: Place numbers into the puzzle cells in such a way that each row and
column contains each of the digits from 1 up to 4. Like a Sudoku puzzle, no number is
repeated in any row or column. Each bold-outlined group of cells contains a hint consisting of a
number and one of the mathematical symbols — + x - /. The number is the result of applying the
mathematical operation represented by the symbol to the digits contained within the domain.
Published by: International Media Network Nepal (Pvt) Ltd, APCA House, Baidya Khana Road, Anamnagar, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO Box 11651 Phone: 4771489, Fax: 977-1-4770701 / 4771959, E-mail: editorial@thehimalayantimes.com Regd No 143/051/052 Postal Regd. 069-070 Printed at: Sama Printers (Pvt) Ltd, Sainbu VDC, Lalitpur. Editor: Ajaya Bhadra Khanal
Photos: THT