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Nepal’s No. 1<br />
English Daily<br />
www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
Printed simultaneously from<br />
Kathmandu and Itahari<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Tamang, a true Gandhian Page 6 Pakistan seizes 14 tonnes of explosives Page 9 Three Star edge Friends; JYC triumph Page 12<br />
The Himalayan<br />
T I M E S<br />
Vol. XII No.11 • Kathmandu, Monday, December 3, 2012, Mangsir 18, 2069, Nepal Sambat 1133<br />
• SHORT TAKES<br />
Reuters<br />
Children riding sledges down a hill as the<br />
first snowfall of the season hits Brussels<br />
on Sunday.<br />
Highway tunnel collapses<br />
OTSUKI: Japanese rescuers found five<br />
charred bodies in a highway tunnel that collapsed<br />
on Sunday, crushing cars and triggering<br />
a blaze, and sparking fears of another<br />
cave-in. At least seven people were missing<br />
inside the nearly five-kilometre-long tunnel.<br />
Witnesses spoke of terrifying scenes as at<br />
least one vehicle burst into flames, sending<br />
out clouds of blinding, acrid smoke. For several<br />
hours rescuers were forced to suspend<br />
their efforts to reach those believed trapped<br />
under the more-than one tonne concrete<br />
ceiling panels. (Details on Page 7)<br />
CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs) SELLING (in Rs)<br />
Indian Rs 100 160.00 160.15<br />
Chinese Yuan 1 13.89 13.99<br />
U.S. Dollar 1 86.50 87.10<br />
Euro 1 112.31 113.09<br />
Pound Sterling 1 138.51 139.47<br />
Japanese Yen 10 10.49 10.56<br />
The foreign exchange rates are fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Local Development Secretary<br />
Shanta Bahadur<br />
Shrestha today questioned<br />
the integrity of Village Development<br />
Committee secretaries,<br />
who represent the<br />
government at the grassroot<br />
level.<br />
Speaking at a press meet,<br />
he said they can no longer<br />
accept pay slips coming<br />
from these secretaries without<br />
a grain of suspicion.<br />
Secretary Shrestha informed<br />
that secretary of<br />
Saptari district’s Bairawa<br />
VDC, Dev Narayan Shah,<br />
had furnished pay slips of<br />
Rs 1.47 lakh, the social security<br />
allowance meant for 49<br />
widows aged below 60 years<br />
in January last year. Later, a<br />
team under Deputy Prime<br />
Minister Narayan Kaji<br />
Shrestha, which monitored<br />
the district on November<br />
20-24, found that the widows,<br />
entitled to a monthly<br />
pay of Rs 500, had not received<br />
the sum.<br />
Secretary Shrestha<br />
showed documents that 20<br />
widows, including Jogida<br />
Khatun of Bairawa, Saptari,<br />
had furnished to show they<br />
did not receive any allowance<br />
last year.<br />
SC split on picking judges<br />
sans parliamentary hearing<br />
PM promises ordinance or consensus to tide over crisis<br />
Ananta Raj Luitel<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
The Supreme Court today<br />
issued a split judgment on<br />
whether to appoint justices<br />
in the apex court without<br />
parliamentary hearing as<br />
Parliament does not exist.<br />
With the division bench of<br />
justices pronouncing a split<br />
judgment, it is clear that five<br />
ad hoc judges will retire on<br />
Wednesday and one on January<br />
21 when their contracts<br />
finish.<br />
The bench transferred the<br />
case to a full bench of more<br />
than three justices as they<br />
could not settle the issue.<br />
The tenure of ad hoc<br />
judges Baidhya Nath Upadhayay,<br />
Tarka Raj Bhatta,<br />
Gyanendra Bahadur Karki,<br />
Kamal Narayan Das and<br />
Bharat Bahadur Karki is expiring<br />
on December 5, while<br />
Prakash Osti will retire on<br />
January 21. Ad hoc judge<br />
Bharat Raj Upreti has already<br />
resigned.<br />
Sources said some ad hoc<br />
judges are considering resignation<br />
before their term<br />
expires. Justice Osti, however,<br />
said he is not worried<br />
about the consequences. “I<br />
don’t care what should be<br />
done and what the JC will<br />
do,” Osti told The Hi-<br />
The ministry today suspended<br />
Shah and three other<br />
VDC secretaries, three engineers<br />
and an overseer<br />
based in Saptari after finding<br />
their involvement in irregularities.<br />
It found that<br />
Dandha VDC secretary<br />
Narayan Yadav, Banainiya<br />
VDC secretary Dev<br />
Naryayan Yadav and Didhawa<br />
VDC secretary<br />
Baladev Yadav had misappropriated<br />
social security<br />
allowance and other funds<br />
in their VDCs, according to a<br />
press release.<br />
Deputy spokesman for<br />
the ministry, Dhan Bahadur<br />
Shrestha, informed that an<br />
Full bench not possible: JC member<br />
KATHMANDU: JC member<br />
Khem Narayan Dhungana<br />
said the Supreme<br />
Court verdict has further<br />
complicated the issue.<br />
“We were waiting for the<br />
bench to give a way out<br />
but it did not. Instead the<br />
crisis has worsened because<br />
the apex court cannot<br />
decide the case,”<br />
Dhungana added. There<br />
must be three justices to<br />
test the issue, but Chief<br />
Justice Khil Raj Regmi and<br />
senior justice Damodar<br />
Prasad Sharma cannot<br />
test the issue because they<br />
represent the JC, which it-<br />
malayan Times. An informal<br />
emergency meeting of the<br />
JC at Chief Justice Khil Raj<br />
Regmi’s residence, which<br />
Prime Minister Baburam<br />
Bhattarai attended, discussed<br />
the matter. “The PM<br />
assured us he would try to<br />
issue an ordinance and also<br />
forge consensus among political<br />
parties,” JC member<br />
Khem Narayan Dhungana<br />
said. Regmi, however, re-<br />
in-depth investigation into<br />
fake pay slips is on.<br />
Engineers Laxmi Prasad<br />
Chaudhari, Tej Narayan Bajpeyi,<br />
Kishor Shah and subengineer<br />
Khursed Ikram, all<br />
based in Saptari, got suspended<br />
after the probe<br />
found their involvement in<br />
multiple cases of substandard<br />
road construction.<br />
A similar monitoring in<br />
Dhanusha had led to suspension<br />
of 18 VDC secretaries<br />
and referral of their<br />
cases to the Commission for<br />
the Investigation of Abuse of<br />
Authority for a further<br />
probe. Secretary Shrestha<br />
said the team had sought an<br />
self is the defendant in the<br />
case. Justices Ram Kumar<br />
Prasad Shah and Girish<br />
Chandra Lal cannot share<br />
the bench either because<br />
they have expressed their<br />
opinion in Sunday’s verdict.<br />
The remaining two<br />
justices Kalyan Shrestha<br />
and Sushila Karki are not<br />
sufficient to form a threemember<br />
full bench. Constitutional<br />
expert Tikaram<br />
Bhattarai said the issue<br />
has become more complicated<br />
and no authority<br />
can decide when the case<br />
is referred to the full<br />
bench. — HNS<br />
• APEX COURT APPOINTMENTS<br />
fused to elaborate. “We are<br />
still considering what<br />
should be done,” he added.<br />
Stating that Article 155 (1)<br />
of the Interim Constitution,<br />
according to which parliamentary<br />
hearing prior to<br />
appointment of Supreme<br />
Court justices is mandatory,<br />
Justice Shah declined to issue<br />
mandamus order to the<br />
JC to appoint judges without<br />
parliamentary hearing.<br />
The funeral procession of late Nepali Congress leader Bhim Bahadur Tamang at Kalanki on<br />
Sunday.Tamang died of cardio respiratory arrest on Saturday.<br />
Local govt representatives’ integrity in question<br />
Four VDC secys of Saptari suspended for gobbling up widows’funds<br />
investigation in all 91 VDCs<br />
of Dhanusha anticipating<br />
rampant corruption there.<br />
It is not a case of one or<br />
two districts, though.<br />
During its monitoring,<br />
the team found that Kathmandu<br />
Metropolitan City<br />
and Kathmandu District<br />
Development Committee to<br />
have awarded tenders for<br />
parking lot management<br />
without public notice and<br />
renewed the contracts without<br />
adhering to KMC rules.<br />
Deputy spokesman<br />
Shrestha cited the absence<br />
of elected local bodies as the<br />
major reason behind rampant<br />
corruption.<br />
He also pointed out errors of<br />
the writ petitioner who demanded<br />
the order but did<br />
not make the Chief Justice,<br />
who is the appointing authority,<br />
defendant. Besides,<br />
he stated that both the demands<br />
for tenure extension<br />
for ad hoc judge or appointment<br />
without parliamentary<br />
hearing were unconstitutional.<br />
“Since the Judicial Council<br />
itself is competent<br />
enough to decide, there is<br />
no need to issue order in the<br />
name of JC,” Shah said. According<br />
to him, the JC can<br />
decide to recommend.<br />
Justice Lal, however, issued<br />
a directive order in the<br />
name of JC to fill vacancies<br />
in the Supreme Court by informing<br />
the Parliamentary<br />
Hearing Special Committee,<br />
keeping in mind the qualifications<br />
of the ad hoc judges<br />
and other qualified persons<br />
to take decisions.<br />
In his dissenting opinion,<br />
Justice Lal stated there was<br />
no possibility of parliamentary<br />
hearing in the absence<br />
of parliament and there was<br />
no guarantee a new parliament<br />
would be formed at<br />
the earliest. Hence, the provision<br />
of parliamentary<br />
hearing as per Article 155<br />
cannot be effective.<br />
THT<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Amid the opposition parties’ increasing<br />
rancour against the Baburam<br />
Bhattarai-led government and<br />
clamour for a <strong>national</strong> unity government<br />
under a different leadership,<br />
the Nepali Congress and the<br />
CPN-Maoist today announced at a<br />
joint meeting that they will topple<br />
the incumbent government<br />
through street protests.<br />
The opposition<br />
parties’ stance<br />
notwithstanding,<br />
the Unified CPN-<br />
Maoist, the main<br />
constituent in the<br />
ruling coalition, reiterated<br />
that the opposition<br />
parties will<br />
ultimately join the<br />
incumbent government<br />
and give it a<br />
<strong>national</strong> shape, saying<br />
removing Prime<br />
Minister Baburam Bhattarai is<br />
against the constitution.<br />
While UCPN-M spokesman<br />
Agni Sapkota echoed this at a regular<br />
press briefing today, Maoist<br />
sources claimed that party Chairman<br />
Pushpa Kamal Dahal has<br />
been doing spadework to replace<br />
Bhattarai and hold the mantle<br />
himself. They claimed Dahal is<br />
forcing the opposition to support<br />
him by defaming PM Bhattarai.<br />
Though the President-set deadline<br />
for naming the consensus candidate<br />
for a consensus government<br />
ends in four days, major parties are<br />
busy locking horns over the government<br />
leadership.<br />
The meeting of the UCPN-M of-<br />
Weather: Partly cloudy<br />
Max: 18-20 o<br />
C Min: 02-04 o<br />
C<br />
Sunrise 06:38 Sunset 17:09<br />
Capital ★ 16 pages Rs 3<br />
NC, CPN-M to topple govt<br />
through street protests<br />
fice-bearers held at Dahal’s Lazimpat<br />
residence this morning decided<br />
to take initiatives for transforming<br />
the incumbent government<br />
into a unity dispensation.<br />
Following the meeting with<br />
CPN-M leaders CP Gajurel and<br />
Dev Gurung, NC president Sushil<br />
Koirala clarified that a <strong>national</strong><br />
unity government is not possible<br />
under any leader of the ruling<br />
coalition. “We decided to pick<br />
leader for such a government, who<br />
is not part of the<br />
coalition,” he told<br />
reporters after a<br />
meeting at his Maharajgunj-based<br />
residence this<br />
morning. CPN-M<br />
secretary Gurung<br />
said the two parties<br />
have agreed to<br />
launch street movements<br />
to topple the<br />
government as<br />
Bhattarai is bent on<br />
clinging to power.<br />
Meanwhile, CPN-UML Chairman<br />
Jhala Nath Khanal today said<br />
turning the Bhattarai-led government<br />
into a consensus dispensation<br />
is out of the question, taking<br />
exception to the President’s suggestion<br />
that it will be better if the<br />
parties join the incumbent government.<br />
“I reiterate it is not possible<br />
to form a consensus government<br />
under Bhattarai’s leadership,”<br />
Khanal told reporters at his Dallu<br />
residence this morning.<br />
He said the incumbent government<br />
is the stumbling block on the<br />
path of consensus, without which<br />
holding fresh elections in May will<br />
be next to impossible.
PAGE 2 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
CAPITAL<br />
NVC finds 709 officers<br />
on wrong side of law Himalayan<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
In a surprise check at 11<br />
public corporations today,<br />
National Vigilance Centre<br />
(NVC) today found as many<br />
as 709 officials, including a<br />
general manager and a director<br />
on the wrong side of<br />
the law<br />
Eleven separate NVC<br />
monitoring teams had carried<br />
out surprise checks to<br />
see whether or not government<br />
officials were complying<br />
with office time, dress<br />
code and sanitation rules in<br />
accordance with the existing<br />
Corruption Prevention Act.<br />
Krishna Prasad Paudyal,<br />
National Vigilance Centre<br />
spokesperson, said Nepal<br />
Telecom Central Office,<br />
Nepal Water Supply Corporation,<br />
Kathmandu Upatyaka<br />
Khanepani Ltd, Civil Aviation<br />
Authority of Nepal,<br />
Dairy Development Corporation,<br />
Radio Nepal, Nepal<br />
Electricity Authority, Rastirya<br />
Samachar Samiti,<br />
Nepal Television, Gorkhapatra<br />
Corporation and Nepal<br />
Oil Corporation were chosen<br />
for monitoring.<br />
During the surprise check,<br />
433 officials were found to be<br />
absent without leave. Nepal<br />
Electricity Authority tops the<br />
list of officials playing truant<br />
with 133 of them not present,<br />
followed by Gorkhapatra<br />
Corporation (62) and Civil<br />
Aviation Authority of Nepal<br />
(50). In Nepal Drinking Water<br />
Supply Corporation, employees<br />
including the gener-<br />
NEFIN burns census<br />
report in protest<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Alleging that the latest census<br />
report was unscientific<br />
and had eliminated<br />
around a dozen indigenous<br />
<strong>national</strong>ities, the umbrella<br />
organisation of indigenous<br />
<strong>national</strong>ities today<br />
burnt copies of the<br />
Census-2011 report on the<br />
premises of Central Bureau<br />
of Statistics (CBS), Thapathali,<br />
today.<br />
Addressing the sit-in<br />
protest of Nepal Federation<br />
of Indigenous Nationalities<br />
(NEFIN) held for two<br />
hours on the premises of<br />
CBS, its chairman Raj Kumar<br />
Lekhi alleged that the<br />
Bureau had intentionally<br />
reduced the number of indigenous<br />
<strong>national</strong>ities to<br />
weaken the federalism<br />
agenda.<br />
Lekhi handed over a<br />
memorandum to CBS Director<br />
General Uttam<br />
Narayan Malla. The federation<br />
had yesterday announced<br />
a monthlong<br />
protest across the nation.<br />
Many indigenous<br />
groups, including the Gurung<br />
community, have<br />
claimed that their total<br />
population has been decreased<br />
in comparison to<br />
the 2001 census. “How can<br />
the population decrease in<br />
ten years? This is not possible,”<br />
commented Om Gurung,<br />
a protester.<br />
NEFIN’s 71 district coordination<br />
committees will<br />
hand over memorandum<br />
to their respective district<br />
administration officers<br />
and hold sit-in protests on<br />
every working day.<br />
Lekhi said the federation<br />
will also hold an interaction<br />
in Kathmandu after a<br />
week and devise further<br />
protest plans since they<br />
have only launched publicity-based<br />
protest programmes.<br />
• DRIVING LICENCE TRIAL<br />
Candidates<br />
found hiring<br />
doctored bikes<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Racketeers were found<br />
renting mechanically<br />
modified motorcycles to<br />
persons applying to the Office<br />
of Transport Management<br />
for driving licence.<br />
The motorcycles were<br />
modified in such a way<br />
that the engine would not<br />
shut off ignition if the rider<br />
failed to properly handle<br />
the clutch system.<br />
This came to light after<br />
traffic police impounded<br />
five motorcycles with their<br />
speed and gear fixed, from<br />
the trial venue at<br />
Ramshahpath last week.<br />
DIG Upendra Kant Aryal,<br />
MTPD in-charge revealed<br />
that the speed-fixed motorcycles<br />
had for long been<br />
hired to obtain licence for<br />
two-wheelers. “It is part of<br />
MTPD’s drive to keep vigil<br />
and make the driving licence<br />
issuance process<br />
transparent and scientific,”<br />
he informed. Earlier, traffic<br />
police had impounded<br />
seven modified bikes.<br />
Earlier, more than 70 per<br />
cent of applicants used to<br />
get through the practical<br />
test against 40 per cent in<br />
the past three weeks<br />
thanks to ‘pro-active traffic<br />
policing’.<br />
“We found many people<br />
renting the doctored motorcycles<br />
for practical test.<br />
The speed of the bikes was<br />
so meticulously fixed that a<br />
person appearing in the<br />
trial did not have to accelerate<br />
or decelerate or shift<br />
gears. The speed was fixed<br />
in such a way that one<br />
could easily pass the trial,”<br />
DIG Aryal informed.<br />
Traffic police said they<br />
were interrogating bike<br />
owners to proceed with legal<br />
action. Meanwhile,<br />
MTPD has started mobilising<br />
traffic cops in uniform<br />
on the trial venue to announce<br />
‘pass’ or ‘fail’ result<br />
on the spot. Earlier, there<br />
used to be traffic cops in<br />
civvies making it difficult<br />
for the examinees to identify<br />
them.<br />
With the MTPD deciding<br />
to announce on-the-spot<br />
result, we hope such malpractice<br />
will become a<br />
thing of the past, a traffic<br />
police source said. Traffic<br />
cops will display a flashcard<br />
reading ‘PASS’ if an<br />
examinee clears the practical<br />
exam and ‘FAIL’ if<br />
he/she does not manage to<br />
make it.<br />
al manager were absent<br />
without leave.<br />
Ten employees including<br />
the director at Radio Nepal,<br />
28 at Dairy Development<br />
Corporation, 12 at Rastriya<br />
Samachar Samiti, 39 at<br />
Nepal Television and eight<br />
employees at Nepal Oil Corporation<br />
were absent from<br />
office, virtually paralysing<br />
service delivery and daily administrative<br />
business of the<br />
offices. Some employees had<br />
been absent for the past 16<br />
days without leave approval.<br />
Likewise, 276 employees<br />
at public corporations were<br />
not in uniform. NVC, said it<br />
would direct the concerned<br />
body to take departmental<br />
action against employees<br />
found on wrong side of the<br />
law.<br />
Tamang cremated with<br />
full state honours<br />
News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
The final rites of late<br />
Nepali Congress (NC)<br />
leader Bhim Bahadur<br />
Tamang were performed<br />
with state guard of honour<br />
in Swoyambhu, today<br />
afternoon.<br />
Senior NC leader and<br />
former Minister for Law<br />
and Justice Tamang<br />
breathed his last at 8:45<br />
am yesterday while being<br />
rushed to Norvic Hospital.<br />
Tamang, (78), died<br />
due to cardio-respiratory<br />
arrest.<br />
His son Deepak<br />
Tamang and a priest of<br />
the Tamang community<br />
(Dharma Guru) lit the funeral<br />
pyre as per Buddhist<br />
tradition in the presence<br />
of hundreds of grieving<br />
NC leaders and cadres.<br />
Before the pyre was lit,<br />
NC President Sushil<br />
Koirala draped his colleague’s<br />
body with the<br />
party flag.<br />
Tamang’s mortal remains<br />
have been kept at<br />
party headquarters in<br />
Sanepa for well wishers to<br />
pay their last respects.<br />
Unified CPN-Maoist<br />
Chairman Pushpa Kamal<br />
Dahal, Vice Chairman<br />
Narayan Kaji Shrestha,<br />
Spokesperson Agni Sapkota<br />
and CPN-Maoist<br />
General Secretary Ram<br />
Bahadur Thapa, Vice<br />
Chairman CP Gajurel and<br />
Secretary Dev Gurung<br />
paid their last respects to<br />
late Tamang this morning<br />
at NC headquarters.<br />
Dahal hailed late<br />
Tamang as the icon of<br />
dedication and simplicity,<br />
who has made unforgettable<br />
contributions to<br />
Nepal’s politics.<br />
School textbook prices fixed<br />
‘Move will check unscrupulous practices’<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
The Textbook Price Fixation<br />
Committee (TPFC) today endorsed<br />
the government decision<br />
on price of school textbooks.<br />
Last year, publishers and<br />
distributors had put stickers<br />
on the books and pasted the<br />
price arbitrarily. The government<br />
banned the use of<br />
stickers on textbooks and<br />
made it mandatory to print<br />
the price on the cover so that<br />
the guardians and students<br />
were not cheated. Textbooks<br />
must also be priced the same<br />
all over the country.<br />
In March, TPFCprepared a<br />
report with price ceiling of<br />
textbooks and sent it to the<br />
Ministry of Education for fi-<br />
nal approval. Publishers had<br />
urged the ministry to increase<br />
the price from 20 to 25<br />
per cent, but the committee<br />
increased the price by only<br />
five per cent. The ministry<br />
then sent the increased price<br />
ceiling to the committee,<br />
which approved it and decided<br />
to implement it with effect<br />
from today.<br />
If the text has a single<br />
colour, each page of the book<br />
will cost 89.25 Paisa. Each<br />
page with texts in two<br />
colours will cost Rs 99.75<br />
paisa and each page with text<br />
in multi-colour will cost Rs<br />
1.15 paisa. The cover page,<br />
acknowledgment, table of<br />
contents and pages without<br />
page number will be free.<br />
Suprabhat Bhandari, president,<br />
Guardians Association<br />
PAGE 3<br />
of Nepal said this would help<br />
check black-marketing of<br />
textbooks.<br />
He said publishers would<br />
have to publish the price of<br />
school textbooks in one of<br />
the daily newspapers before<br />
the academic session.<br />
The report said if the book<br />
had 64 pages, its cover would<br />
have to weigh 100 grams and<br />
if it had more than 64 pages,<br />
the cover would have to<br />
weigh 250 grams. The size of<br />
textbooks would be the same<br />
(18x25 cm) as recommended<br />
by the committee.<br />
“The price ceiling is only<br />
for the new fiscal year<br />
2070/71, it will be revised<br />
next year” Bhandari said,<br />
adding, “The books will be<br />
published by mid-November<br />
every year.”
PAGE 4<br />
BLONDIE Dean Young and Denis Lebrun<br />
HAGAR Chris Browne<br />
BEETLE BAILEY Mort Walker<br />
BEAU PEEP Andrew Christine and Roger Kettle<br />
• ENGAGEMENTS<br />
EXHIBITION, CLASS AND WORKSHOP<br />
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are trained by Korean professional Jong Gwon Kim in deep tissue massage<br />
for rebalancing, improved health and general well being. Specialised<br />
medical massage Rs 3000. Bagdol 4, Ring Road Tel ++ 977 (1) 2298259,<br />
Mobile 9813 595563<br />
Meditation Session and Satsang<br />
Benefit yourself and friends with free meditation session to heal your body<br />
and mind, and discover the right path towards the ultimate fulfillment of life.<br />
Every Saturday morning at 8am Mind Body Library, Babarmahal,<br />
Ph 4102025 more info at www.fb.com/mindbodylibrary<br />
FINE CUISINE<br />
“Oriental Night”: Enjoy the true Asian mouth watering Cuisines of the region<br />
.Every Friday evening from 7:00 pm Onwards at Café Horizon, Hotel Himalaya<br />
@Rs 1099/- plus taxes per person. For more information contact :<br />
5523900<br />
Escape the hustle & bustle of Kathmandu without having to travel too far and<br />
enjoy peace and tranquility, good food, cool breezes and fresh air at Shivapuri<br />
Heights Cottage. Rs 3500.00 per person per night inclusive of dinner<br />
and breakfast or come up just for a walk and a lunch. Advance booking required.<br />
Contact Sohan: 9841371927 or e-mail info@shivapuricottage.com<br />
“Bubbly Brunch”: Every Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm @ Shambala Garden &<br />
Club Sundhara where you can enjoy Live Shawarma & Pasta only @ Rs.1100<br />
Nett per person ( Includes a glass of Sparkling Wine). For further details call<br />
Hotel Shangri~La, Kathmandu at 4412999 Extn. 7520,7515.<br />
“Starry Night BBQ”: Every Friday Evening from 7:00 pm onwards at Shambala<br />
Garden Café, Hotel Shangri~La only @ Rs.1299 Nett per person and live performance<br />
by Ciney Gurung. For more details and Reservation: 4412999<br />
Extn. 7520,7515.<br />
Bar-Be-Que Brunch Bazaar - Make your gourmet journey memorable for lifetime<br />
with all live counters serving in one place. Every Saturday at poolside<br />
garden of Gokarna Forest Resort, Kathmandu from 12 noon to 2:30PM at<br />
NRs. 1999 NET per person. For more information contact: 4451212<br />
EVENTS<br />
It is pleasure to inform you that EL MEDITERRANEO (first spanish restauant in<br />
Nepal) is going to organise “*TAPAS FESTIVAL*” (about 12 tapas including :<br />
famous jamon serrano, chorizo, queso manchego etc.) on this “SATURDAY<br />
24th November 2012” at jhamshikhel, patan from 12.30 to 15.00 so who<br />
would like to reserve the TAPAS plate, please call BIBHUSHAN RAJ JOSHI<br />
9849157445 or mail to elmediterraneo.nepal@hotmail.com for reservation.<br />
For listing in this column, mail your events to<br />
engagements@thehimalayantimes.com<br />
1 2 3 4 5 6<br />
8<br />
11 12<br />
16 17<br />
21<br />
23<br />
15<br />
Quick Clues<br />
Across: 1 Representatives, brokers<br />
or realtors (6) - 7 A corpse or a<br />
dead body (7) - 8 Keep a stiff ___<br />
___ : show fortitude ? (5,3) - 9 Examining<br />
or trying (7) - 11 ___ on<br />
the lips of : listens to very very attentively<br />
? (5) - 12 Kinds, types or<br />
sorts (4) - 13 ___ by night : unreliable<br />
? (3) - 15 Evil spirit (5) - 16<br />
First in short (3) - 18 Solid, stony<br />
part of earth’s crust ? (4) - 20 Make<br />
butter by agitating cream or milk (5)<br />
- 21 Early evening meal (4,3) - 22<br />
• WHAT’S ON<br />
NTV<br />
1700 News<br />
1705 Mission Point<br />
1730 Bimbha Pratibimbha<br />
1800 News<br />
1805 Sangharsha<br />
1825 Hamro Kathmandu<br />
1838 Krishi<br />
1900 News<br />
1925 Paribartan<br />
2000 News<br />
2050 Jeeray Khursani<br />
2130 Aaja Ko Bigyan<br />
2200 Ujyalo Tira<br />
2230 News<br />
STARPLUS<br />
1745 Arjun<br />
1845 Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas<br />
1915 Saath Nibhana<br />
Saathiya<br />
1945 Mujhse Kuch<br />
Kehti...Yeh<br />
Khamoshiyan<br />
2015 Iss Pyaar Ko Kya<br />
Naam Doon?<br />
2045 Ek Hazaaron Mein<br />
Meri Behna Hain<br />
2115 Diya aur Baati Hum<br />
2145 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata<br />
Hai<br />
2215 Pyaar Ka Dard<br />
Meetha Meetha Pyara<br />
Pyara<br />
STARWORLD<br />
1515 Two And A Half Men<br />
1545 Modern Family<br />
1615 Two And A Half Men<br />
1815 Greys Anatomy<br />
1915 Two And A Half Men<br />
1945 Modern Family<br />
2015 The New Normal<br />
2045 How I Met Your<br />
Mother<br />
2115 Junior Masterchef<br />
Australia<br />
2315 Two And A Half Men<br />
2345 Modern Family<br />
7<br />
9 10<br />
18 19 20<br />
22<br />
24<br />
13 14<br />
Corrective remedy (8) - 23 On ___ :<br />
without premeditation ? (7) - 24<br />
County in Southern England (6).<br />
Down: 1 Capital of United Arab Emirates<br />
? (3,5) - 2 A symbol or index<br />
or power in algebra ? (8) - 3 Grows<br />
weary (5) - 4 Facing of jacket (5) - 5<br />
A man of many ___ : a versatile<br />
personality ? (5) - 6 Edible part of<br />
nut (6) - 7 Orson Welles’ classic<br />
(7,4) - 10 Slip sideways (4) - 13 Unbelievable<br />
or astonishing (8) - 14 Of<br />
least age, not the oldest ? (8) - 15<br />
Terminal part of the leg (4) - 17<br />
ZEE TV<br />
1915 Afsar Bitiya<br />
1945 Sapne Suhane<br />
Ladakpan Ke<br />
2015 Rab Se Sona Ishq<br />
2045 Hitler Didi<br />
2115 Pavitra Rishta<br />
2145 Qubool Hai<br />
2215 Mrs. Kaushik Ki<br />
Paanch Bahuyein<br />
2245 Punar Vivaah<br />
2315 Phir Subah Hogi<br />
TENSPORTS<br />
1245 UEFA Europa League<br />
2012/13 HLs<br />
1415 Arsenal TV<br />
1715 WWE Experience<br />
2012<br />
1815 WWE Vintage Collection<br />
1945 FIH Mens Hockey<br />
Champions Trophy<br />
2012 HLs<br />
2145 FIM Speedway 2012<br />
2245 WWE Experience<br />
2012<br />
2345 WWE Vintage Collection<br />
STARSPORTS<br />
1615 Best Of The Cship<br />
Wimbledon 2012<br />
1515 ON HBO<br />
1715 FIA Asia Pacific Rally<br />
Cship 2012<br />
1745 Game 2012<br />
1815 1st Jet Ski Pro Asian<br />
Grand Prix<br />
1915 MotoGP World Cship<br />
2012<br />
2015 Best Of The Cship<br />
Wimbledon 2012<br />
2115 Score Tonight 2012<br />
2145 Motorsports @<br />
Petronas 2012<br />
2215 Italian Serie A<br />
2012/13 HLs<br />
2315 Best Of The Cship<br />
Wimbledon 2012<br />
SETMAX<br />
0815 Daata<br />
1115 Aur Ek Ilzam<br />
1415 Aaina<br />
1715 Waqt Hamara Hai<br />
2115 Don No.1<br />
HBO<br />
0945 Green Lantern<br />
1145 Thor<br />
1345 Bean<br />
1515 28 Days<br />
1700 The Nutty Professor<br />
1835 Fast Five<br />
2045 Freddie Roach<br />
2115 Eastbound & Down<br />
2145 Ironclad<br />
2345 Tyler Perry’s Why Did I<br />
Get Married Too?<br />
CINEMAX<br />
0900 Jonah Hex<br />
1020 Red Water<br />
1150 Killer Elite<br />
1345 To Catch A Thief<br />
1600 The Long Kiss Goodnight<br />
1805 Semper Fi<br />
1945 Tactical Force<br />
2110 True Blood S401:<br />
She’s Not There<br />
2205 Hideaway<br />
2350 Recreator<br />
www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
POTPOURRI<br />
DENNIS Hank Ketcham<br />
HOCUS FOCUS Henry Boltinoff<br />
Himalayan Double Crossword — 5787<br />
Mark of infamy (6) - 18 Watery discharge<br />
from the nose (5) - 19 ___ -<br />
fire : halt in hostilities ? (5) - 20<br />
Capital of Egypt (5).<br />
Cryptic Clues<br />
Across: 1 Country lovers (6) - 7 One<br />
isn’t covered this way (7) - 8 Show<br />
disdain for Winnie’s duplicity (4,4) -<br />
9 Mistake the method where a flotation<br />
may be in prospect (7) - 11<br />
Raises backs (5) - 12 Sound of a<br />
trumpet, any way you look at it ? (4)<br />
- 13 He deals with beastly complaints<br />
(3) - 15 For Summits, speak<br />
out of order (5) - 16 Heaven being<br />
the end of many a Russian in South<br />
Kentucky (3) - 18 The woman’s a<br />
goddess (4) - 20 Recognition received<br />
and given (5) - 21 Grab with<br />
the intention of maybe making a<br />
killing (4,3) - 22 The point of punctuation<br />
(4-4) - 23 Represents half<br />
side as being people from the north<br />
(7) - 24 Different people from parents<br />
losing their heads (6).<br />
Down: 1 Don’t let it be known you<br />
drink with reporters (8) - 2 Casually<br />
place arm round love and her<br />
friend, in an unprincipled manner<br />
(8) - 3 Back when necks where last<br />
seen on gorillas (5) - 4 Mexican<br />
painter to want out of walkathon<br />
round (5) - 5 Skipped the French<br />
army physical training (5) - 6 Liquid<br />
lost in purposeful lager production<br />
(6) - 7 Astrologer number on violin<br />
before a morning with you and me<br />
(11) - 10 Letters of credit (4) - 13<br />
Get vat in trouble and receive a decoration<br />
(8) - 14 Drawing lines?<br />
(3,5) - 15 Turn pale when making a<br />
request (4) - 17 Dishonest cards?<br />
(6) - 18 Sounds like what the kid<br />
does with a candy (5) - 19 Unusual<br />
first results of splits (5) - 20 Vacation<br />
time for composer (5).<br />
Yesterday’s solution<br />
A S T I F I E S T A<br />
E N C O N I B<br />
E V E S R U S T L E R S<br />
E T U G U T E<br />
I N C A O V E R H E A R<br />
H N A I K<br />
P U T T I N G U P W I T H<br />
N R U A H<br />
E D U C A T E S T E E N<br />
R A U L A C N<br />
N E W D E L H I H E E L<br />
D G L C U E W<br />
B E D E C K D U S T<br />
QUICK<br />
A D D S M I F F E D<br />
I E A U L N K<br />
A V O N M O U N T A I N<br />
O T I P F E N<br />
P R O F S U F F R A G E<br />
C O N O S<br />
S E C R E T S E R V I C E<br />
C L A E O<br />
H O L I D A Y S G U L P<br />
U N L T I E L<br />
A R M A D I L O T O E D<br />
T I B K E A G<br />
D R Y I C E L I E S<br />
CRYPTIC<br />
• FLIGHT SCHEDULE<br />
FROM-TO<br />
AGNI AIR<br />
NATIONAL<br />
DEPARTURE<br />
ARRIVAL<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 0900/1010 AG701/702<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 1145/1250 AG703/704<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 1430/1535 AG705/706<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 0900/1030 AG801/802<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 1230/1400 AG805/806<br />
KTM-LUK-KTM DAILY 0630/0745 AG101/102<br />
KTM-LUK-KTM<br />
BUDDHA AIR<br />
DAILY 0800/0915 AG103/104<br />
KTM-BDP-KTM DAILY 1050/1250 U4951/952<br />
KTM-BDP-KTM DAILY 1335/1535 U4953/954<br />
KTM-BWA-KTM DAILY 0920/1030 U4851/852<br />
KTM-BWA-KTM DAILY 1350/1520 U4855/856<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 0750/0930 U4703/704<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 1000/1150 U4705/706<br />
KTM-DHI-KTM DAILY 1100/1335 U4251/252<br />
KTM-JKP-KTM DAILY 0930/1040 U4501/502<br />
KTM-JKP-KTM DAILY 1530/1635 U4505/506<br />
KTM-NPJ-KTM DAILY 0800/1020 U4451/452<br />
KTM-NPJ-KTM DAILY 1610/1840 U4405/406<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 0730/0850 U4603/604<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 0830/0950 U4605/606<br />
KTM-SIM-KTM DAILY 0930/1005 U4551/552<br />
KTM-SIM-KTM<br />
GUNA AIRLINES<br />
DAILY 1030/1105 U4553/554<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 0940/1105 GNA051/052<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 1105/1220 GNA053/054<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 1100/1235 GNA041/042<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 1615/1750 GNA043/044<br />
KTM-SIF-KTM DAILY 0855/0940 GNA011/012<br />
KTM-SIF-KTM DAILY 1500/1545 GNA013/014<br />
KTM-BWA-KTM<br />
NEPAL AIRLINES<br />
DAILY 1250/1415 GNA071/072<br />
KTM-PPL-KTM SUN, FRI 0700/0825 RA117/118<br />
KTM-KDN-KTM WED 0700/0835 RA137/138<br />
KTM-TMK-KTM SUN 1020/1155 RA113/114<br />
KTM-LDN-KTM TUE 1020/1145 RA135/136<br />
KTM-LDN-KTM WED 0850/1155 RA135/136<br />
KTM-KGL-KTM MON 0840/1005 RA107/108<br />
KTM-SKH-KTM WED 1210/1515 RA153/154<br />
KTM-PKR MON,TUE 1500 RA167<br />
PKR-KTM TUE, WED 1225 RA168<br />
KTM-TMI-KTM<br />
YETI AIRLINES<br />
SAT 1000/1130 RA191/192<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 0800/0910 NYT671/672<br />
KTM-PKR-KTM DAILY 0900/1010 NYT675/676<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 0900/1040 NYT787/788<br />
KTM-BIR-KTM DAILY 1220/1400 NYT791/792<br />
KTM-BDP-KTM DAILY 1010/1200 NYT921/922<br />
KTM-BDP-KTM DAILY 1410/1600 NYT923/924<br />
KTM-BWA-KTM DAILY 0840/1000 NYT891/892<br />
KTM-BWA-KTM DAILY 1610/1730 NYT893/894<br />
KTM-JKP-KTM DAILY 1110/1140 NYT571/572<br />
KTM-JKP-KTM DAILY 1540/1650 NYT573/574<br />
KTM-TMI-KTM DAILY 1030/1200 NYT751/752<br />
KTM-DHI-KTM DAILY 1230/1510 NYT231/232<br />
**Please check with airlines for any change in schedule<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
NATIONAL<br />
Landless people staging a sit-in in front of the District Inland Revenue Office,<br />
Sindhupalchowk, on Sunday.<br />
Nepal says CA poll best option<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Birgunj, December 2<br />
CPN-UML senior leader<br />
Madhav Kumar Nepal today<br />
said the country has no<br />
choice but to hold fresh<br />
election to the Constituent<br />
Assembly to extricate the<br />
nation from the political<br />
stalemate.<br />
Addressing the party’s<br />
mass meeting in Mirjapur,<br />
Birgunj, Nepal said, “As the<br />
new poll to the CA is the<br />
best option available to bail<br />
the country from the political<br />
stand-off, parties have to<br />
join hands for the polls at<br />
the earliest.”<br />
Coming down heavily on<br />
the government, the UML<br />
leader made it clear that<br />
Bhattarai-led government<br />
had lost the constitutional<br />
and ethical grounds to conduct<br />
the election.<br />
“The current government<br />
cannot and will not hold the<br />
election. Even if it holds the<br />
election, it cannot be free<br />
and fair,” Nepal added.<br />
‘President can’t<br />
ignore small parties’<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Nawalparasi, December 2<br />
Rastriya Prajatantra Party-<br />
Nepal senior leader Keshar<br />
Bahadur Bista today said<br />
his party has serious objection<br />
to the President consulting<br />
only major parties<br />
about the issues pertaining<br />
to the country.<br />
He described the measures<br />
initiated by both the<br />
President and Cabinet as<br />
unconstitutional, at least<br />
in the present context.<br />
Bista was speaking at a<br />
press meet organised in<br />
Kawasoti to inform about<br />
the chariot procession for<br />
the demand to make Nepal<br />
a Hindu state.<br />
The RPPN leader went<br />
on to add that given the<br />
present circumstances<br />
there is no party which can<br />
called as big or small. He<br />
said RRPN wants a government<br />
under the leadership<br />
of an independent person<br />
rather than a consensus<br />
government to hold the<br />
election.<br />
Stating that RPPN favours<br />
a monarchical government,<br />
he said Nepal<br />
should be declared a Hindu<br />
state for the simple fact<br />
that 81 per cent of its population<br />
is Hindus.<br />
Khadka is new secy of Dahal<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Meeting of the office bearers<br />
of the UCPN-Maoist today<br />
decided to make<br />
changes in the personal<br />
secretariat of party Chairman<br />
Pushpa Kamal Dahal.<br />
Earlier, Dahal’s nephew<br />
Shamir Dahal was assisting<br />
him in the capacity of personal<br />
secretary, but after<br />
Nation to<br />
get new PM<br />
soon: Bista<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Syangja, December 2<br />
Magarat State Community<br />
Coordinator and former<br />
minister Lokendra<br />
Bista today said the selection<br />
of the prime minister<br />
will be announced soon.<br />
Speaking at an interaction<br />
programme on<br />
‘Identity-based federalism<br />
today’s need’ organised<br />
by the Joint Ethnicity<br />
Morcha, Bista said the selection<br />
of the PM will be<br />
declared soon.<br />
He went on to say that<br />
the PM might be Baburam<br />
Bhattarai, Sushil Koirala<br />
or any one from the<br />
Madhes-based parties or<br />
from other parties too.<br />
He said leaders should<br />
rise above partisan interest<br />
and stop saying that<br />
‘our party is the best’ as it<br />
already caused political<br />
insecurity in the country.<br />
Bista requested the<br />
voters to opt for a party<br />
that promises federalism.<br />
He accused some parties<br />
wanted to revive the Constituent<br />
Assembly and to<br />
announce the new structure<br />
as the 95 per cent<br />
works were completed.<br />
much criticism from the<br />
participants, the party had<br />
decided to make changes<br />
in the personal secretariat<br />
of the top leaders.<br />
The party today decided<br />
to appoint National Convention<br />
Organising Committee<br />
member Chudamani<br />
Khadka to replace<br />
Shamir Dahal. Dahal has<br />
been transferred to Newa<br />
State Committee.<br />
THT<br />
He reiterated that a consensus<br />
government was not<br />
possible unless the Bhattarai-led<br />
government put in<br />
its papers.<br />
The former prime minister<br />
also urged Bhattarai to<br />
surrender power and make<br />
the way for a <strong>national</strong> unity<br />
government.<br />
“Though Bhattarai had<br />
good thinking during the<br />
time of assuming power, his<br />
vision has regrettably<br />
changed over the time,”<br />
Nepal added.<br />
Land victims<br />
stage sit-in in<br />
Sindhupalchok<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Sindhupalchok, Dec 2<br />
Land victims of Sindhupalchok<br />
district today staged a<br />
sit-in protest in front of the<br />
District Land Revenue Office<br />
demanding to change<br />
Guthi land into Raikar<br />
land.<br />
They have been demanding<br />
to convert the<br />
Guthi land where they<br />
have been living for years<br />
into Raikar, however no<br />
initiatives have been taken<br />
so far.<br />
Hundreds of land victims<br />
from different villages<br />
have arrived in the district<br />
headquarters Chautara to<br />
participate in the protest<br />
led by the National Land<br />
Rights Forum (NLRF).<br />
The agitation will continue<br />
till Tuesday.<br />
“I don’t have high hopes.<br />
I don’t think the government<br />
will fulfill our demands,”<br />
said Bhagwati<br />
Pariyar, a land victim.<br />
Meanwhile, some victims<br />
said they were still<br />
hopeful.<br />
Last May, the government<br />
had published a notice<br />
through Gazette to<br />
probe into the issue. A<br />
probe committee was<br />
formed under the coordination<br />
of the Chief District<br />
Officer.<br />
The probe committee is<br />
learnt to have collected the<br />
applications from the affected<br />
farmers on the matter.<br />
As many as 2,926 people<br />
from 34 VDCs of the district<br />
have submitted the applications,<br />
a source said.<br />
However, District Land<br />
Revenue Officer Shree Ram<br />
Sharma said that the<br />
Supreme Court and the<br />
Commission for Investigation<br />
against Abused of the<br />
Authority (CIAA) had already<br />
given a clear verdict<br />
that Guthi land cannot be<br />
changed into Raikar under<br />
the existing legal provisions.<br />
“A verdict has already<br />
been pronounced. We,<br />
therefore, cannot solve the<br />
problem unless the existing<br />
law is changed,” Sharma<br />
added.<br />
According to NLRF, there<br />
are over 27,000 land victims<br />
in the district. While,<br />
as many as 3,000 families<br />
are landless, Land Rights<br />
Agitation Coordinator Hari<br />
Timalsina said.<br />
Wife shot dead<br />
DHANGADI: Tilak Sarumagar, a resident of<br />
Kailali’s Sahajpur VDC, shot dead his wife<br />
PAGE 5<br />
Kopila, 21, on Saturday night. The deceased<br />
was perpetrator’s first wife. Locals surmised<br />
that Tilak might have shot Kopila walked out<br />
on him. – HNS
PAGE 6 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
NATIONAL<br />
Orphans get Nepali citizenship<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Dharan, December 2<br />
Two orphans, who were taking<br />
shelter in Dharan-based<br />
Saraswati Orphanage, got<br />
citizenship cards from the<br />
Area Administration Office,<br />
Dharan, today.<br />
Sushma Tamang, 17, and<br />
Aaita Bahadur Tamang, 16,<br />
received the citizenship<br />
cards following a recommendation<br />
made by the orphan-<br />
age. Under-secretary at the<br />
administration office, Ram<br />
Mani Pokharel said the citizenship<br />
was provided as per<br />
the Citizenship Act 2063’s<br />
clause 3’s sub-clause ‘Ka’,<br />
adding, the fact that they<br />
were born in Nepal was also<br />
considered.<br />
Both Sushma and Aaita<br />
thanked the orphanage for<br />
its support. They are studying<br />
in Grade XI.<br />
Sushma said she wants to<br />
be a banker and Aaita Bahadur<br />
shared that he wishes<br />
to join civil service.<br />
There are altogether 24<br />
children taking shelter in the<br />
orphanage.<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Charikot, December 2<br />
Veteran Nepali Congress<br />
leader Bhim Bahadur Tamang,<br />
who passed away yesterday,<br />
had traits of a true<br />
Gandhian who believed in<br />
working for the nation selflessly.<br />
While other NC leaders<br />
who became ministers have<br />
bungalows in the Capital<br />
and have amassed wealth,<br />
late Tamang had nothing<br />
except a land he inherited<br />
from his father at Dolakha’s<br />
Jhule VDC.<br />
Born to a middle-class<br />
family, Tamang had to<br />
struggle to manage even<br />
two meals a day. Family<br />
sources say Tamang never<br />
thought of amassing wealth<br />
and property using his political<br />
leverage. “I want to<br />
serve the country and people.<br />
If you want to do something<br />
for the society, do remember<br />
me,” Bal Bahadur<br />
Pakhrin recalls his brother<br />
Tamang as saying.<br />
Born and brought up in<br />
India’s Kurseong, Tamang<br />
had returned to his village<br />
at the age of 16. Since then,<br />
he devoted himself to social<br />
service. He never demanded<br />
money even when he<br />
taught at a school in his vil-<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
Tamang, a true Gandhian<br />
‘Cultural progress<br />
key for overall<br />
growth of Madhes’<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Tarai Madhes Democratic Party Chairman Mahantha<br />
Thakur said Madhesis’ struggle with<br />
the state for identity and existence was imperative<br />
for Madhesis to explore and enrich its<br />
history, language, culture and civilisation of<br />
the region.<br />
Addressing a seminar on Saint Meira, a Muslim<br />
mystic idolised in Hindu houses, organised<br />
by the Madhes Initiative, Thakur said Madhesis’<br />
heightened political awareness was contributing<br />
positively to the promotion of all aspects<br />
of life-culture, language, history, religion<br />
and social harmony.<br />
Researcher Govind Sah had presented a paper<br />
on Saint Meira.<br />
Thakur said development of culture was<br />
necessary to attain the goal of overall development<br />
of the region.<br />
Various faiths, he said, have lived in harmony<br />
in Madhes, and it is a positive development<br />
that such awareness is increasing in all aspects<br />
of the Madhes region.<br />
“We are rich in history and culture, yet we<br />
are backward. Our scholars should look into<br />
the causes that relegate us,” he added.<br />
Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandi Devi)<br />
President Sarita Giri said researcher Sah’s work<br />
was the beginning of the writing of social harmony.<br />
“Madhes suffered numerous attacks in<br />
the past, yet the fabric of Madhes remains intact.<br />
Researchers should bring forth the<br />
strengths of Madhes people,” she added.<br />
Likewise, former minister Dambar Narayan<br />
Yadav said all Madhes issues should be linked<br />
to the development of the region.<br />
Researcher Sah said there were many historical<br />
aspects of Madhes that were not adequately<br />
addressed, written or preserved in the <strong>national</strong><br />
archives or library, and therefore, he decided<br />
to study on the Muslim saint who was<br />
being revered in Hindu houses.<br />
He said Meira was a symbol that binds Hindus<br />
and Muslims together like Tajiya and<br />
Daha.Some Hindu castes revere Meira as<br />
Kuldevta like Teli, Sudi, Baniya, Kalwar and<br />
Haluwai.<br />
lage. “We used to help him<br />
when he was in need, but he<br />
never asked for money,”<br />
Tamang’s student Lal Bahadur<br />
Yonjan recounted.<br />
Tamang had urged his relatives<br />
to cremate his body<br />
in his village after his death.<br />
“His wish remained unfulfilled,”<br />
Dhan Kumari said.<br />
She had been taking care of<br />
the late leader for the past<br />
37 years. “I have lost my<br />
guardian,” she added.<br />
Tamang’s relative Rajendra<br />
Yonjan has urged the<br />
government to blacktop<br />
Bhirkot-Jhule-Chhaude<br />
and name it after late Bhim<br />
Bahadur.<br />
When the former leader<br />
had become law minister in<br />
1994, he had visited his village<br />
and donated all the<br />
money he received from<br />
Parliament Development<br />
Fund to the village school.<br />
The school buildings of<br />
Jan Prabhat Secondary and<br />
Amar Higher Secondary<br />
School were constructed<br />
with Tamang’s financial<br />
support.<br />
Teachers Union Dolakah’s<br />
Chairman Shankarlal<br />
Shrestha said they have lost<br />
their guardian. He said all<br />
the schools in Dolakah were<br />
shut today to pay respect to<br />
late Tamang.<br />
Seven-year-old killed in fire<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Pokhara, December 2<br />
A minor was killed and two others<br />
injured, all in one family, in a<br />
massive fire that broke out at a<br />
squatters’ settlement at Patneri,<br />
Pokhara, on Saturday night.<br />
Devi BK’s seven-year-old son<br />
A student with hearing disability delivering speech in sign<br />
language at an oratory competition in Itahari, on Sunday.<br />
29 inmates shifted<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Pokhara, December 2<br />
As many as 29 prisoners of the<br />
District Prison, Kaski, have been<br />
shifted elsewhere since prisoners<br />
clashed two weeks ago.<br />
The clash over a minor issue<br />
left 25 injured. Of them, 19 were<br />
shifted a week ago, four on Friday<br />
and six today to other districts'<br />
jails.<br />
Jail administration said the<br />
jailbirds have been shifted to<br />
other districts for the security<br />
purpose.<br />
Jailer Sunil Adhikari said the<br />
Santosh died when the fire engulfed<br />
the house. Her other son<br />
Buddhi, 9, and daughter Bina, 3,<br />
were hurt in the incident.<br />
The house caught fire from the<br />
taper when there was power outage.<br />
Santosh breathed his last<br />
while undergoing treatment at<br />
the Manipal Hospital.<br />
THT<br />
leader of inmates, Chandra Gurung<br />
has been shifted to Birgunj,<br />
eight to Rautahat, 10 to Palpa,<br />
four to Kathmandu, three each<br />
to Parbat and Myagdi jails.<br />
A probe committee formed after<br />
the clash under the leadership<br />
of Assistant Chief District<br />
Officer Antar Bahadur Silwal<br />
along with Jailer Sunil Adhikari<br />
and Inspector Rabindra Nath<br />
Poudel had suggested shifting 20<br />
inmates from the jail.<br />
The prison with the capacity of<br />
60 jailbirds has 354 prisoners.<br />
The committee has also suggested<br />
installing CCTV in the prison.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
PAGE 7
PAGE 8 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
TheHimalayan<br />
T I M E S<br />
A THOUGHT FOR T ODAY<br />
What does not kill me makes me stronger.<br />
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<br />
Towards justice<br />
The Nepalese authorities have been accused of<br />
continuing to deny the victims’ rights to truth and<br />
justice. The United Nations says that the envisaged<br />
transitional justice mechanisms in Nepal are not sufficient<br />
to deal with the past human rights violations.<br />
This evaluation should be taken seriously, as the ruling<br />
goes that what the Nepal Government has come<br />
up with does not meet the human rights standards<br />
that has been set by the Universal Declaration of Humans<br />
Rights which advocates the guaranteeing of<br />
basic human rights. The state is not sensitive to its<br />
duty to guarantee law and order and justice. The<br />
United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) has<br />
rejected the arguments on a case of enforced disappearance<br />
and has hoped that the case be declared inadmissible.<br />
This is indeed a serious allegation and<br />
the HRC will keep a close watch on the case examining<br />
its merits. Meanwhile, the government of Nepal<br />
requested that the case be declared inadmissible by<br />
the HRC insisting that since the case occurred during<br />
the conflict period when human rights were violated,<br />
it should be investigated by the transitional justice<br />
mechanisms, in this case Truth and Reconciliation<br />
Commission and Enforced Disappearance Commission.<br />
In this context, the government has said that the<br />
criminal investigations are ongoing .<br />
Meanwhile, it was found that Nepal had failed to<br />
demonstrate that it was<br />
indeed carrying out the<br />
The Nepalese criminal investigations<br />
authorities have on the alleged crime. The<br />
first action against the en-<br />
been accused forced disappearance<br />
of continuing to was taken only in 2007, 11<br />
years after the event, and<br />
deny the<br />
so far very little progress<br />
victims’ rights has been made in the investigations.<br />
This is just<br />
to truth<br />
one case of injustice and<br />
and justice<br />
an instance of the perpetuation<br />
of the overall state<br />
of immunity that serves to tarnish the image of Nepal<br />
in the inter<strong>national</strong> arena for failing to meet its inter<strong>national</strong><br />
obligations. This case has aroused much<br />
concern for it projects that Nepal is not heading in<br />
the correct direction. The immediate need is to implement<br />
a policy that would aim to uphold the victims’<br />
rights to truth and justice. What it all points to is<br />
that the HRC report is right in assessing that the potential<br />
transitional justice mechanisms cannot be<br />
sufficient for guaranteeing the victims the rights to<br />
justice and truth.<br />
What is recommended now is that Nepal stop<br />
breaching its inter<strong>national</strong> obligations, and for the<br />
authorities to take the necessary steps to carry out investigations<br />
without further delay on the grave human<br />
rights violations that took place during the conflict<br />
period. It also calls for further steps to identify<br />
the responsible people and judge them before capable<br />
ordinary courts where necessary punishment is<br />
meted out according to the gravity of the crimes that<br />
they had committed. Despite much discussions<br />
about such instances of human rights violations, it is<br />
a pity to observe that the government-formulated<br />
transitional justice mechanisms have only been a<br />
cover-up to let the guilty escape, thereby, sabotaging<br />
the fight against impunity. Herein, the UN body’s assessment<br />
must be the guideline in keeping with the<br />
inter<strong>national</strong> obligations.<br />
Gloomy scenario<br />
The Fourth National AIDS Conference kicked off<br />
Saturday when there are allegations of abuse of<br />
funds meant for the victims. It may be disheartening<br />
to note that since 1995 Rs. 5 billion has been invested<br />
in the HIV sector in the far western region but there<br />
are no results to justify the massive investment, all<br />
which have come from foreign donations. It is quite<br />
shocking that the funds meant for the HIV/AIDS victims<br />
have disappeared. This obviously points to the<br />
fact that funds have poured in but no commensurate<br />
works have been undertaken. This is outright abuse<br />
of the money that the foreign donors had made available<br />
for creating succour to the victims. Such misappropriation<br />
of funds meant to tackle the scourge of<br />
the modern times is condemnable in the harshest of<br />
terms. Moreover, the plans and programmes against<br />
HIV/AIDS seem to be moving on an ad hoc basis.<br />
It has come to light that many NGOs working in the<br />
HIV/AIDS sector do not submit their reports as to<br />
how the foreign donations have been used leaving<br />
enough room for them to abuse the funds to their<br />
own advantage. It is high time for transparency and<br />
accountability as regards the use of foreign donations<br />
in anti-HIV/AIDS campaign.<br />
• LETTERS<br />
For better<br />
managed TIA<br />
This is with reference to the<br />
news article “Tribhuban Int’l<br />
Airport to restart visitors’ deck<br />
today” (THT, Nov. 26 Nov,Page<br />
10). It sounds good, as it will<br />
mean a continuous flow of<br />
money for the TIA, which will<br />
be in millions in a year’s time.<br />
This is the gross negligence of<br />
the TIA authorities to stop the<br />
visitors’ deck for almost 15<br />
years. This money could have<br />
been well used for the<br />
improvement of the<br />
inter<strong>national</strong> airport, which is<br />
now pathetic. The restrooms<br />
are in the worst condition but<br />
the TIA authorities are not<br />
doing anything for their<br />
improvement. Only last year,<br />
TIA publicly announced that it<br />
would introduce 300 new taxis<br />
for the passengers as in other<br />
inter<strong>national</strong> airports. But,<br />
nothing has happened so far.<br />
The harassment of the tourists<br />
continue by the taxi drivers<br />
which gives a very bad image of<br />
the country and the airport<br />
authorities. There had been<br />
drastic lack of law and order at<br />
the TIA. The only inter<strong>national</strong><br />
airport remains the main<br />
DR UMESH SHARMA<br />
The risk of death after<br />
surgery is a combination<br />
of the risks associated<br />
with the operation, the illness<br />
that necessitated the<br />
operation, and other factors<br />
causing death (that is independent<br />
of the operation) in<br />
patients who undergo<br />
surgery.<br />
The use of routine statistics<br />
to analyze death rate as<br />
an indicator of hospital care<br />
has been advocated worldwide<br />
for at least several<br />
years. Hospital fatality<br />
rate is most readily available<br />
measure of postoperative<br />
mortality. It is influenced<br />
by length of stay in<br />
hospital and can be hard<br />
to interpret.<br />
Fatality rates after particular<br />
operations are sometimes<br />
compared with fatality<br />
rates in the general population<br />
by calculating standardized<br />
mortality ratios.<br />
Most deaths related to operations<br />
are likely to be concentrated<br />
in definable periods<br />
shortly after operation.<br />
The health and underlying<br />
risk of death of surgical patients<br />
are likely to differ<br />
from those of the general<br />
population and between<br />
operations.<br />
Fatality rates are higher<br />
after emergency admissions<br />
than after similar operations<br />
undertaken selective-<br />
• TOPICS<br />
DR.SAMLEE PLIANBANGCHANG<br />
Ten years ago, the idea of<br />
elimination of HIV would<br />
have sounded like a pipedream.<br />
However, this is now considered<br />
a realistic goal due to substantial<br />
progress made through years of<br />
commitment, investment and<br />
collective action. New HIV infections<br />
now show a declining trend<br />
globally. All eleven countries in<br />
WHO’s South-East Asia Region<br />
showed a decline by 34% in the<br />
past decade.<br />
The overall decline in the Region<br />
is cause for increased optimism,<br />
however complacency<br />
now could become our greatest<br />
enemy. Those most “at risk” of<br />
HIV are disproportionately affected<br />
by the disease and are also<br />
gateway to Nepal for air<br />
travellers. Mismanagement of<br />
the airport and the failure to<br />
give a good impression will not<br />
be liked by the tourists coming<br />
in. And, let’s not forget that<br />
tourism is one of our main<br />
sources of income. Therefore,<br />
the Tribhuvan Inter<strong>national</strong><br />
Airport has to go improvements<br />
in a big way if it wants the<br />
ly. Fatality rates in the first<br />
years after emergency operations<br />
can be higher than<br />
that in the general population.<br />
By contrast, patients<br />
who are selected for elective<br />
surgery for restoring different<br />
functions may be<br />
healthier than the average.<br />
The death rate among<br />
Irish patients after surgery is<br />
among the highest in Europe.<br />
Ireland ranked near<br />
the top of the table for rates<br />
of unexplained post-surgical<br />
deaths. Latvia has the<br />
highest rate.<br />
The study, published in<br />
the “Lancet” journal, found<br />
that post-surgical death<br />
rates varied widely. Iceland<br />
does best at 1.2 per cent,<br />
while the rate is 21.5 per<br />
cent in Latvia. Britain’s rate<br />
is 3.6 per cent. The study<br />
found nearly three quarters<br />
of patients who died were<br />
never admitted to intensive<br />
care.<br />
Failure to allocate critical<br />
care resources to patients at<br />
greatest risk of death is a serious<br />
public health concern<br />
for patients undergoing<br />
surgery in Europe. It said<br />
“there are several possible<br />
reasons, including rising legal<br />
costs, high patients expectations<br />
and the increased<br />
risks associated<br />
with advances in technology<br />
and complex care”.<br />
Variations in mortality<br />
between countries suggest<br />
HIV testing critical to ending AIDS<br />
among the least empowered.<br />
They include the youth, those<br />
who inject drugs, female sex<br />
workers, men who have sex with<br />
men (MSM), transgender people<br />
and migrants. Zero new HIV infections<br />
and zero AIDS-related<br />
deaths by 2015 can be achieved<br />
through greater efforts directed<br />
towards “at risk” populations to<br />
encourage increased testing.<br />
HIV prevention services for<br />
these people need to be expanded<br />
to battle the concentrated<br />
epidemic found in this Region.<br />
The role of HIV testing and<br />
counselling is extremely important<br />
to ensure knowledge of a<br />
person’s HIV status. It is also the<br />
entry point to HIV care and<br />
treatment services. Furthermore<br />
it offers access to HIV prevention<br />
• BLOG SURF • CARTOON<br />
How much...???<br />
ROSHAN<br />
When two flowers cuddled, people believed<br />
that the actor and actress in the<br />
mainstream cinema were romancing. People<br />
blushed with that very imagination. Women<br />
showing their ankle were termed bad ‘coz they<br />
were supposed to be well covered. It was the<br />
matter of then. Things have completely<br />
changed now. A single girl hangs out with numerous<br />
boys and vice-versa. A gender issue<br />
doesn’t arise in friendship anymore. Similarly,<br />
the comfort zone has been upgraded to the<br />
next level too. Sex has been the need of the<br />
body and individuals doesn’t have to be tangled<br />
with the procession of marriage for that.<br />
Maslow’s Hierarchy of need portrayed “Love &<br />
Affection” as one of the need too where we<br />
studied in our class that SEX is an important<br />
part of it.But the question arises, how much is<br />
too much??? Smooching passionately in public,<br />
making love & similar XYZ stuffs of course<br />
that is kinda too much... But if individuals are<br />
having a private affair behind the closed<br />
doors...respect their privacy... —www.stuffsforall.com<br />
tourists to remember the country<br />
to return again.<br />
Rajendra Gurbacharya,<br />
Tahachal Bagaicha,<br />
Kathmandu<br />
Danger<br />
Caretaker Prime Minister Dr<br />
Baburam Bhattarai is reported<br />
to have remarked in Baglung in<br />
Western Nepal very recently<br />
that the country would face a<br />
catastrophe if the President<br />
tried to cross the constitutional<br />
limits, and acted as the<br />
executive. In India they have<br />
Presidential rules whenever<br />
they require to do so. Such<br />
Presidential rules have saved<br />
Indian democracy. Such<br />
Presidential rules are fully<br />
constitutional according to the<br />
Indian Constitution. It is very<br />
hard to understand why the<br />
Postoperative mortality<br />
A health concern<br />
The increasing number of specialty<br />
services, addressing the infrastructure<br />
needs and upgrading the facilities at<br />
government hospitals in the districts can<br />
definitely reduce post-operative mortality.<br />
This is because pre-existing ailments can<br />
be prevented even before they<br />
become more complicated<br />
the need for <strong>national</strong> and<br />
inter<strong>national</strong> strategies to<br />
improve care for this group<br />
of patients. Clinical outcomes<br />
after major surgery<br />
are poorly described at the<br />
<strong>national</strong> level. Evidence of<br />
heterogeneity between hospitals<br />
and health care systems<br />
suggests potential to<br />
information which can persuade<br />
people who are at-risk to change<br />
their behaviour and reduce the<br />
risk. Today a person infected<br />
with HIV can remain healthy<br />
and live long with antiretroviral<br />
therapy. They can also take measures<br />
to prevent spreading the<br />
virus to others. However most<br />
at-risk populations are reluctant<br />
to approach HIV testing and<br />
counselling services.<br />
Addressing the health needs of<br />
at-risk populations can be challenging<br />
when laws and practices<br />
criminalize populations at highest<br />
risk for HIV, and deter them<br />
from HIV prevention and care<br />
services. We know what needs to<br />
be done for halting and reversing<br />
the HIV epidemic among the<br />
vulnerable and those at highest<br />
President should not rule in<br />
Nepal when the interim<br />
constitution has<br />
constitutionally bestowed all<br />
the executive and the legislative<br />
powers on him. If Presidential<br />
rules in India does not cause<br />
catastrophe, certainly Nepal<br />
need not fear its (catastrophe’s)<br />
risk. On the contrary, there<br />
seems to be a very big risk of<br />
catastrophe in the country if the<br />
President is unconstitutionally<br />
obstructed to exercise his<br />
executive and legislative<br />
powers accumulated on him<br />
since the demise of the<br />
CA/Parliament.<br />
Megha Nepal, Kathmandu<br />
Reason<br />
Having read Ajay Risal’s piece<br />
“Meeting Buddha in Sri Lanka:<br />
Deep devotion and faith” (THT,<br />
improve care of the patients,<br />
but the potential remains<br />
unconfirmed.<br />
No such study on post operative<br />
mortality has been<br />
carried out in Nepal and this<br />
could vary depending upon<br />
the health-care facilities in<br />
different hospitals and regions.<br />
The causative factor<br />
risk. There is an urgent need for<br />
scaling-up services. We need to<br />
expand HIV testing and counselling;<br />
involve affected and infected<br />
communities for spreading<br />
awareness about knowing<br />
one’s HIV status and enrolment<br />
into care for those who test positive.<br />
Ongoing support and care is<br />
critical as more and more HIVpositive<br />
people on treatment live<br />
longer. WHO continues to advance<br />
and update evidence on<br />
newer technologies and treatment<br />
initiatives in collaboration<br />
with country programmes and<br />
other stakeholders to ensure<br />
that we move together and faster<br />
towards the end of AIDS.<br />
Dr. Plianbangchangm<br />
is Regional Director,WHO<br />
South-East Asia Region<br />
Nov. 30, Page 8) on Sri Lanka, it<br />
brought back my memories<br />
when I was there. Our boastings<br />
about Buddha and Sagarmatha<br />
are just hollow and gives a<br />
notion as if both were our<br />
creations! It was indeed a<br />
humbling experience to see a<br />
Sri Lankan showing his feeling<br />
towards someone from a<br />
“Buddha Country”. It was<br />
enough reason for him to waive<br />
entrance fee while I was visiting<br />
the sprawling Kandy Tooth<br />
temple in central Sri Lanka. Will<br />
we ever learn to be modest and<br />
caring?<br />
Armugam,<br />
via e-mail<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
for the mortality would not<br />
be that much different, but<br />
to address or manage the<br />
evolving or unexpected<br />
complications is something<br />
where the hospital with sophisticated<br />
facility has an<br />
advantage.<br />
Any surgery is a team<br />
work of clinicians, surgeons,<br />
anesthesiologist, nursing<br />
and paramedical staffs. The<br />
result depends upon the efficiency,<br />
experience, working<br />
environment, and workload<br />
of the concern medical<br />
team or doctors. The<br />
surgery performed in the<br />
mornings with fresh minds<br />
may differ from the surgeries<br />
performed later in the<br />
day or at odd hours. This is<br />
because fatigue also comes<br />
to become a concerned,<br />
particularly in countries<br />
that lack adequate human<br />
resources.<br />
In the past few years there<br />
has been remarkable development<br />
in the healthcare<br />
system in urban Nepal. This<br />
has been made possible by<br />
the establishment of a number<br />
of medical colleges and<br />
private hospitals.<br />
Nepal is also one of those<br />
countries where there is<br />
high fatality in road traffic<br />
accidents, floods and other<br />
natural disasters compared<br />
to that taking place in health<br />
care institutions. However,<br />
the public interest or concern<br />
about these fatalities<br />
Letters to this column should be addressed to<br />
Letters C/o Edit Page Editor,The Himalayan Times,<br />
Post Box 11651,APCA House,<br />
Baidya Khana Road, Kathmandu, Nepal<br />
email: edit@thehimalayantimes.com,<br />
Fax 0977-1-4771959<br />
are placid compared to a<br />
few deaths that take place at<br />
hospitals, where the institutions<br />
have been vandalized<br />
and doctors have been harassed<br />
or threatened and<br />
even beaten up. Given that<br />
hospital deaths sometimes<br />
take place for reasons beyond<br />
the control of doctors,<br />
the public reaction is unfair<br />
to say the least, and almost<br />
disproportional when compared<br />
to fatalities taking<br />
place due to accidents and<br />
natural disasters that are<br />
preventable.<br />
The increasing number of<br />
specialty services, addressing<br />
the infrastructure needs<br />
and upgrading the facilities<br />
at government hospitals in<br />
the districts can definitely<br />
reduce post-operative mortality.<br />
This is because pre-existing<br />
ailments can be prevented<br />
even before they become<br />
more complicated.<br />
The public anger shown towards<br />
the final health-care<br />
providers (with specialized<br />
services) is not in any<br />
way going to influence the<br />
overall outcome if due attention<br />
that is very<br />
much needed at the government<br />
run institutions, particularly<br />
in the districts, is<br />
ignored.<br />
Dr. Sharma is Associate<br />
Professor, Kathmandu<br />
Medical College and B&B<br />
Hospital<br />
• THT 10 YEARS AGO<br />
UML game for<br />
referendum: Nepal<br />
Rastriya Samachar Samiti<br />
Birgunj, December 2, 2002<br />
The CPN-UML is ready even for a referendum<br />
on the issue of preserving the<br />
constitution and settling the Maoist<br />
problem. Speaking at a press meet organised<br />
by the Press Chutari, general secretary<br />
of the party Madhav Kumar Nepal<br />
said here today that his party is even<br />
ready to join the government if the King<br />
makes an attempt to constitute a government<br />
in accordance with the article 128<br />
of the constitution. The present government<br />
does not have any authority for formulating<br />
policies and making the 10th<br />
five-year plan, he said. It has turned a<br />
deaf ear to resolving the problems of violence<br />
and terror in the country and conducting<br />
general election, he said. He said<br />
the Maoist problem is a political one and<br />
hence it should be settled through negotiations.<br />
In Bara, addressing a meeting of<br />
UML cadre, he urged the Maoists to shun<br />
violence. He said the Maoists would not<br />
achieve any constructive objective by<br />
killing those who did not agree with<br />
them. “In fact by misusing the name of<br />
Mao they have violated the noble objective<br />
of communist movement,” said<br />
Nepal. Himalayan News Service reports<br />
from Kathmandu: The CPN (UML) is<br />
finding it difficult to control its cadre, as<br />
they are demanding more violent street<br />
protests than what what ht is being done<br />
now, says party general secretary Madhav<br />
Kumar Nepal.<br />
WLL introduced in<br />
three districts<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2, 2002<br />
With an attempt to extend telecommunications<br />
service in rural areas,<br />
Nepal Telecommunication Corporation<br />
Rural Development has installed Wireless<br />
Local Loop (WLL) in three districts of<br />
the western development region. The<br />
project, especially focussed in the terai<br />
for now, is said to be implemented in the<br />
whole of western development region. At<br />
present, the WLL has been implemented<br />
in Kapilavastu, Nawalparasi and Rupendehi<br />
districts.<br />
“We will increase the lines to 5,000 if<br />
the pilot project sees success,” said Vesh<br />
Raj Kanel, director at the NTC rural secretariat.<br />
If all goes well, the project would<br />
be completed within three to four years,<br />
said Kanel. The agreement of the 423 million<br />
telecom project was made between<br />
NTC and Telkon NV Rural Telecommunications<br />
of Belgium on October 31. “The<br />
agreement has been made for 5,500 WLL<br />
lines,” Kanel said. The project, according<br />
to Kanel, is being implemented under the<br />
Special Rural Telecommunications Programme<br />
(SRTP) of the government in a<br />
bid to extend telecommunications facilities<br />
who are deprived of it in an effective<br />
way. Likewise, the SRTP has already received<br />
60 V-sat terminals and V-sat<br />
phones from STM, an American company.<br />
The V-sat phones, especially targeted<br />
for the hilly and mountainous regions,<br />
have already been installed in five districts<br />
– Dhading, Jumla, Humla, Gulmi,<br />
and Lamjung.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
INTERNATIONAL<br />
Japan highway tunnel<br />
collapse kills five<br />
Smoke billows out of the Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo<br />
Expressway in Koshu, Japan, after a part of the tunnel<br />
collapsed on Sunday morning.<br />
Agence France Presse<br />
Otsuki, December 2<br />
Japanese rescuers found five charred bodies<br />
in a highway tunnel that collapsed today,<br />
crushing cars and triggering a blaze,<br />
NKorea<br />
gearing up<br />
for rocket<br />
launch<br />
Reuters<br />
Seoul, December 2<br />
North Korea said it would<br />
carry out its second rocket<br />
launch of 2012 as its<br />
youthful leader Kim<br />
Jong-un flexes his muscles<br />
a year after his father’s<br />
death, in a move<br />
that South Korea and the<br />
United States swiftly condemned<br />
as a provocation.<br />
North Korea’s state news<br />
agency announced the<br />
decision to launch another<br />
space satellite yesterday,<br />
just a day after<br />
Kim met a senior delegation<br />
from China’s Communist<br />
Party in the North<br />
Korean capital of Pyongyang.<br />
China, under new<br />
leadership, is North<br />
Korea’s only major political<br />
backer and has continually<br />
urged peace on<br />
the Korean peninsula,<br />
where the North and<br />
South remain technically<br />
at war after an armistice,<br />
rather than a peace<br />
treaty, ended the 1950-53<br />
conflict.<br />
China’s Foreign Ministry<br />
said it was deeply<br />
concerned, but urged<br />
calm.<br />
“North Korea has a<br />
right to the peaceful use<br />
of space, but this right<br />
has been restricted by<br />
United Nations Security<br />
Council resolutions. China<br />
hopes all sides can do<br />
more to benefit peace<br />
and stability on the<br />
peninsula, and hopes all<br />
sides handle it calmly to<br />
avoid the situation escalating,”<br />
ministry<br />
spokesman Qin Gang<br />
said in a statement.<br />
In Washington, the<br />
United States Department<br />
of State spokeswoman<br />
Victoria Nuland<br />
condemned the launch<br />
plan as a provocative<br />
threat to the Asia-Pacific<br />
region that would<br />
violate United Nations<br />
resolutions imposed on<br />
Pyongyang after past<br />
missile tests.<br />
“A North Korean<br />
‘satellite’ launch would<br />
be a highly provocative<br />
act that threatens peace<br />
and security in the<br />
region,” she said in a<br />
written statement.<br />
AFP / RSS<br />
and sparking fears of another<br />
cave-in.<br />
At least seven people<br />
were missing inside the<br />
nearly five-kilometrelong<br />
tunnel. Witnesses<br />
spoke of terrifying scenes<br />
as at least one vehicle<br />
burst into flames, sending<br />
out clouds of blinding,<br />
acrid smoke.<br />
For several hours rescuers<br />
were forced to suspend<br />
their efforts to<br />
reach those believed<br />
trapped under the morethan<br />
one tonne concrete<br />
ceiling panels that<br />
crashed from the roof as<br />
engineers warned more<br />
debris could fall.<br />
Emergency crews who<br />
rushed to the Sasago tunnel<br />
on the Chuo Expressway,<br />
80 kilometres west of<br />
the capital, were hampered<br />
by thick smoke billowing<br />
from the entrance.<br />
Dozens of people<br />
abandoned their vehicles<br />
on the Tokyo-bound section<br />
of carriageway, and<br />
ran for one of the emergency<br />
exits or for the<br />
mouth, where they huddled<br />
in bitter winter<br />
weather.<br />
Emergency crews<br />
equipped with breathing<br />
apparatus battled around<br />
a third of the way into the<br />
tunnel, where they found<br />
110 metres of concrete<br />
panels had come crashing down, crushing<br />
at least two vehicles.<br />
Hours after the collapse, engineers<br />
warned the structure could be unstable,<br />
forcing rescuers to halt their work as a<br />
team of experts assessed the danger.<br />
Pakistan seizes 14<br />
tonnes of explosives<br />
Agence France Presse<br />
Quetta, December 2<br />
Pakistani authorities seized<br />
nearly 14 tonnes of potassium<br />
chlorate, a key ingredient<br />
in bomb-making, from<br />
a bus in the country’s violent<br />
and unstable southwest<br />
today, officials said.<br />
The haul was made when<br />
officials acting on a tip-off<br />
stopped a bus just outside<br />
the city of Quetta loaded<br />
with the volatile substance<br />
hidden under cartons of<br />
food, an official with the<br />
government paramilitary<br />
force said.<br />
“We have seized some<br />
13,900 kilograms of potassium<br />
chlorate from a bus and<br />
arrested five people,” Frontier<br />
Corps Captain Johar<br />
Sarwar said.<br />
“The substance was hidden<br />
in sacks under various<br />
food items.” Frontier Corps<br />
spokesman Murtaza Baig<br />
confirmed the haul and<br />
said the substance could be<br />
used to make bombs and<br />
was so dangerous that only<br />
a simple detonator was<br />
needed to make a deadly<br />
device.<br />
The bus was bound for<br />
the remote town of<br />
Naushki, around110 kilometres<br />
west of Quetta, he<br />
said.<br />
The bomb disposal officers<br />
were summoned to<br />
check for detonators, but<br />
they found none, he added.<br />
Baluchistan province, of<br />
which Quetta is the capital,<br />
is frequently hit by bomb<br />
attacks.<br />
The oil and gas-rich area<br />
borders Iran and<br />
Afghanistan, and suffers<br />
from sectarian violence,<br />
attack by Taliban militants<br />
and a tribal insurgency.<br />
Baluch rebels rose up in<br />
2004, demanding political<br />
autonomy and a greater<br />
share of profits from the<br />
region’s mineral resources.<br />
Man braves death to save lives<br />
Associated Press<br />
Casper, December 2<br />
Gravely wounded by an<br />
arrow fired into his head, a<br />
college instructor still managed<br />
to wrestle with his 25year-old<br />
son who carried<br />
out the attack and gave his<br />
students time to flee the<br />
classroom, say police who<br />
hailed the actions as heroic.<br />
Gruesome details of the<br />
murers came to light yesterday,<br />
a day after the young<br />
man killed his father’s livein<br />
girlfriend, then barged<br />
into his father’s computer<br />
science class and shot him<br />
in the head with a highpowered<br />
bow and arrow.<br />
As James Krumm, 56,<br />
fought with son Christopher<br />
Krumm to save himself,<br />
the handful of students<br />
in the Casper College classroom<br />
fled the classroom.<br />
Christopher Krumm had<br />
stabbed 42-year-old Heidi<br />
Arnold to death at her<br />
home that she shared with<br />
James Krumm.<br />
Police found Christopher<br />
Krumm bleeding from self-<br />
PAGE 9<br />
inflicted knife wounds.<br />
“I can tell you the<br />
courage that was demonstrated<br />
by Krumm was<br />
absolutely without equal,”<br />
he said, adding that the<br />
instructor’s actions could<br />
offer some measure of<br />
comfort to those affected by<br />
the killings. Authorities believe<br />
“around six” students<br />
were in the classroom when<br />
Christopher Krumm entered,<br />
Casper police<br />
spokesman Justin Smith<br />
said. None of the students<br />
were hurt.
PAGE 10 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
Business<br />
• BIZ BRIEFS<br />
Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudyal<br />
during the inauguration of<br />
Anugraha Cooperative Ltd’s AGM ,<br />
in Kathmandu, on Sunday.<br />
NOC seeks loan<br />
THT<br />
KATHMANDU: Nepal Oil Corporation<br />
(NOC) has asked the government<br />
to release a loan of Rs 1.60 billion<br />
to maintain smooth supply of<br />
petroleum products. NOC’s estimated<br />
loss has increased to Rs 560 million<br />
every month, according to the<br />
December 1 price list sent by its sole<br />
supplier Indian Oil Corporation<br />
(IOC). “The loss estimation was Rs<br />
204 million every month, as per the<br />
price list of IOC, 15 days back,” said<br />
chief of the distribution department<br />
of NOC Shiva Prasad Pudasaini. The<br />
loss-making corporation has asked<br />
the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies<br />
to manage the loan to maintain<br />
smooth supply, he said. The loss in<br />
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and<br />
diesel has increased, based on the<br />
December 1 price list, he informed.<br />
The loss in every cylinder of LPG has<br />
increased to Rs 656 from Rs 508, he<br />
said, adding that the loss to the corporation<br />
in diesel has increased to Rs<br />
3.52 from Rs 1.91. — HNS<br />
Spain’s public deficit<br />
MADRID: Spanish prime minister<br />
Mariano Rajoy said in remarks published<br />
on Sunday it would be difficult<br />
to meet the goal of cutting public<br />
deficit to 6.3 per cent of gross domestic<br />
product this year in line with European<br />
Union demands. “It is very<br />
complicated to reduce the deficit<br />
by 2.6 points in a context of recession,<br />
with as many problems with revenue<br />
and such high financing costs,” Rajoy<br />
told La Razon newspaper. “Spain<br />
was asked to make a very difficult effort,<br />
to go from 8.9 per cent to 6.3 per<br />
cent in only one year,” said the Spanish<br />
prime minister Rajoy, who has<br />
until now pledged to respect the<br />
country’s deficit target. “Our goal is<br />
to do things well and we will see<br />
what will happen at the end of the<br />
year,” Rajoy pointed out. — AFP<br />
Starbucks tax review<br />
LONDON: Global coffee giant Starbucks<br />
said on Sunday it was reviewing<br />
its tax affairs in Britain after it<br />
took a roasting from lawmakers and<br />
campaigners who accuse the chain of<br />
paying too little. The Seattle-based<br />
firm admitted that ‘we need to do<br />
more’ although it would not confirm<br />
a report in Britain’s Sunday Times<br />
newspaper that it will promise this<br />
week to increase the amount of corporation<br />
tax it pays. “We have listened<br />
to feedback from our customers<br />
and employees, and understand<br />
that to maintain and further<br />
build public trust we need to do<br />
more,” Starbucks said in a statement.<br />
“As part of this we are looking at our<br />
tax approach in the United Kingdom.<br />
The company has been in discussions<br />
with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue<br />
and Customs) for some time<br />
and is also in talks with the Treasury<br />
(Finance Ministry). — AFP<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
National Peasants’ Coalition,<br />
which joined the Agriculture<br />
Development Strategy (ADS)<br />
drafting process a few<br />
months ago, has criticised<br />
the draft of the strategy.<br />
The strategy will not be<br />
successful unless it is able to<br />
protect farmers through accessible<br />
subsidies, expert inputs,<br />
insurance and land reforms,<br />
said the coalition in a<br />
press meet today.<br />
The strategy will meet the<br />
same fate as that of the Agriculture<br />
Perspective Plan<br />
(APP), if it does not include<br />
the necessities of farmers<br />
and the geophysical situa-<br />
tion of the country, said a<br />
representative of the coalition<br />
Prem Dangal. “APP<br />
failed to achieve its targets<br />
because it ignored farmers,<br />
and their involvement in the<br />
production and marketing<br />
process,” he said.<br />
The government had<br />
adopted APP in 1995, with a<br />
vision to make the country<br />
self-reliant on cereal crops<br />
and to commercialise cash<br />
or high value crops in 20<br />
years. However, it completely<br />
failed to achieve its targets.<br />
The government has been<br />
developing ADS to replace<br />
APP from 2015. “We have<br />
corrected our past mistakes<br />
and tried to make it practical,”<br />
said deputy coordinator<br />
Economy to grow by 4.6pc<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has<br />
projected an economic growth<br />
of 4.67 per cent for the current<br />
fiscal year, despite poor harvest<br />
due to the late monsoon and<br />
shortage of chemical fertilisers<br />
during the harvesting season,<br />
and also despite the lack of a<br />
budget that could have helped<br />
the economy.<br />
“Apart from the agriculture<br />
sector, industrial and service<br />
sectors were also not able to<br />
perform better due to the prolonged<br />
political transition coupled<br />
with structural problems<br />
in the economy,” the central<br />
bank said in its study report that<br />
was formulated after a survey of<br />
42 districts of the country.<br />
Despite a 32 per cent increment<br />
of finance in agriculture<br />
in the last fiscal year, major<br />
crops — paddy (-six per cent),<br />
maize (-five per cent), wheat<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
A regional inter<strong>national</strong> airport<br />
is not possible with only<br />
one air entry point, according<br />
to the Civil Aviation Authority<br />
of Nepal (CAAN).<br />
“We are already suffering<br />
from air congestion due to<br />
a single air entry point, therefore,<br />
unless there are multiple<br />
entry points, the concept<br />
of developing a regional inter<strong>national</strong><br />
airport will not<br />
be possible,” said director<br />
general of CAAN Tri Ratna<br />
Manandhar.<br />
It has been a year since<br />
Nepal requested India for<br />
additional air entry points to<br />
reduce the growing air congestion.<br />
Nepal, currently, has<br />
only one air entry point that<br />
is from Simara but has six<br />
exit points.<br />
The Ministry of Culture,<br />
Tourism and Civil Aviation<br />
(MoCTCA) has already requested<br />
India for three additional<br />
air entry points. “We<br />
have asked for two entry<br />
points in the west — Bhaira-<br />
of the ADS technical assistance<br />
team Dr Purushottam<br />
Mainali. According to him,<br />
the strategy has been designed<br />
on a logical base of<br />
four pillars — governance,<br />
productivity, profitable commercialisation,<br />
and competitiveness.<br />
“ADS will achieve its target<br />
through the promotion of inclusive<br />
and sustainable<br />
growth with larger connectivity<br />
and participation of<br />
the private and cooperative<br />
sectors,” he said. The strategy<br />
has a target to increase<br />
land productivity from<br />
$1,600 per hectare to $5,000<br />
per hectare in the next 20<br />
years. Similarly, it has<br />
planned to achieve agricul-<br />
Low confidence of the private<br />
sector has made it difficult to<br />
attract foreign direct investment,<br />
says central bank<br />
(-0.2 per cent) — recorded drop<br />
in production, the report said,<br />
adding that the overall performance<br />
of the agriculture sector<br />
— that contributes around 33<br />
per cent to the gross domestic<br />
product (GDP) — will, however,<br />
be satisfactory.<br />
Likewise, industries were not<br />
able to utilise half their production<br />
capacity in the last fiscal<br />
year. “The industries were able<br />
to utilise only 58 per cent of<br />
their capacity in the last fiscal<br />
year,” the report said, “The production<br />
of cigarettes, soaps and<br />
biscuits have declined. Indus-<br />
hawa, Mahendranagar or<br />
Nepalgunj — whereas in<br />
the east, we have requested<br />
for one air entry point — either<br />
Janakpur or Biratnagar,”<br />
said Manandhar.<br />
Nepal has six air exit points<br />
that are from Simara, Bhairahawa,<br />
Biratnagar, Nepalgunj,<br />
Janakpur, and Dhangadi.<br />
“We have already forwarded<br />
the proposal about the additional<br />
air entry points and we<br />
are now looking forward for<br />
the high level meeting to discuss<br />
on the agenda,” said<br />
joint secretary at MoCTCA<br />
Ranjan Krishna Aryal.<br />
The only inter<strong>national</strong> airport<br />
of the country handles<br />
30 inter<strong>national</strong> flights and<br />
seven regular domestic airlines.<br />
There are generally<br />
around 350 arrivals and departures<br />
at Tribhuwan Inter<strong>national</strong><br />
Airport.<br />
To control the growing air<br />
congestion, CAAN has also<br />
planned to operate the inter<strong>national</strong><br />
airport round-theclock,<br />
but inter<strong>national</strong><br />
airlines have not been very<br />
keen on it.<br />
‘Agriculture development strategy must protect farmers’<br />
Critics say that the projections are unrealistic and unattainable in the present scenario<br />
ture growth of at least five<br />
per cent during the period.<br />
However, critics doubt<br />
whether the strategy will be<br />
able to attract the youth to<br />
the agriculture sector with<br />
the projected income. “How<br />
can we attract youth with a<br />
projected income of $2,000 a<br />
year in 2035,” said a critic<br />
during the programme,<br />
adding that it will not stop<br />
the migration of youth to foreign<br />
job markets.<br />
Currently, migrants have<br />
been earning about $2,400<br />
and they are sending about<br />
$1,600 home annually.<br />
Therefore, the agriculture<br />
sector will remain a business<br />
related to elderly people and<br />
the target will not be<br />
trial lending has also increased<br />
by 16 per cent.”<br />
Increasing labour cost due to<br />
frequent strikes, and rising<br />
prices of raw materials, have<br />
been posing challenges for domestic<br />
products to compete in<br />
the inter<strong>national</strong> market and<br />
bridge the ballooning trade<br />
deficit apart from product and<br />
market diversification.<br />
The low confidence of the domestic<br />
private sector has also<br />
made it difficult to attract foreign<br />
direct investment in the<br />
country, according to the central<br />
bank. “Lack of infrastruc-<br />
People visiting stalls on the third day of the ongoing Nepa Construction Expo 2012, in<br />
Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, on Sunday.<br />
Ministry requests India to arrange<br />
for additional air entry points<br />
THT<br />
“We are waiting for a high<br />
level meeting which will put<br />
forward the agenda which is<br />
necessary to have congestion-free<br />
air transportation,”<br />
said Aryal, adding that the<br />
ministry is waiting for a positive<br />
nod from India.<br />
“The government should<br />
invite India for bilateral talks<br />
and fix the meeting at the<br />
earliest,” said Manandhar.<br />
Nepal and India had the<br />
revised the air service agreement<br />
three years back.<br />
According to the agreement,<br />
three new points were<br />
added for Nepali carriers —<br />
Dehradun, Gorakhpur and<br />
Bagdogra.<br />
The air service agreement<br />
between the two countries<br />
has increased the capacity<br />
to 30,000 seats per side from<br />
earlier 6,000.<br />
Currently, Air India, Jet Airlines,<br />
Jet Lite, Spice Jet, and<br />
Indigo fly on the New Delhi-<br />
Kathmandu route with<br />
around 78 flights a week,<br />
which has significantly increased<br />
the number of Indian<br />
tourists coming to Nepal.<br />
achieved, he said.<br />
Similarly, an officer at the<br />
Ministry of Agriculture Development<br />
said that the target<br />
to achieve 20 per cent<br />
gross domestic product<br />
(GDP) from agribusiness is<br />
unrealistic.<br />
Two decades is a long<br />
time. There is a possibility<br />
that other sectors could<br />
emerge as major contributors<br />
to the GDP, so a target of<br />
20 per cent is unrealistic, he<br />
said. The strategy’s other<br />
weakness is that it has been<br />
based on a sound governance<br />
environment when<br />
political instability and uncertainties<br />
are overwhelming<br />
in the country.<br />
Deputy coordinator of the<br />
ture development has also hit<br />
the industrial sector hard.”<br />
The tourism sector has performed<br />
satisfactorily, whereas<br />
the real estate sector was still<br />
under pressure, though it has<br />
contributed more revenue to<br />
the government coffer as compared<br />
to a fiscal year ago, it said,<br />
adding that transportation,<br />
communication, education and<br />
service sectors have expanded<br />
in the last fiscal year.<br />
The central bank has concluded<br />
that due to the contracting<br />
industrial sector coupled<br />
with the over exposure of banks<br />
and financial institutions in urban<br />
areas, and land and housing,<br />
financial resources could<br />
also not be mobilised efficiently,<br />
which will hurt the economy.<br />
The central bank’s offices located<br />
in Kathmandu, Pokhara,<br />
Biratnagar, Janakpur, Birgunj,<br />
Siddharthanagar, Nepalgunj<br />
and Dhangadi were involved<br />
in the study.<br />
NFC to buy<br />
rice directly<br />
from farmers<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has<br />
planned to buy rice directly from<br />
farmers to support its profit motivated<br />
business model. Purchasing<br />
rice, wheat, pulses and mustard seeds<br />
directly from farmers will benefit<br />
the corporation.<br />
NFC will buy 34,000 metric tonnes<br />
(MT) of rice from farmers this year,<br />
said general manager of the corporation<br />
Hari Krishna Shah. “We will buy<br />
the rice at the government prescribed<br />
rate,” he said. The government has set<br />
the reference price of mota and masino<br />
rice at Rs 1,650 and Rs 1,725 per<br />
quintal, respectively.<br />
“We will make a profit of Rs 47 million<br />
on rice,” he said, adding that<br />
Nepal Food Corporation will further<br />
process the rice at its rice mills located<br />
in Rajapur of Bardiya district and<br />
Janakpur. “We will also purchase<br />
wheat, pulses and mustard seeds.”<br />
It has planned to establish three<br />
new rice mills in Lahan, Itahari and<br />
Kailali. According to Shah, the direct<br />
purchase plan will be able to generate<br />
profits for the corporation. Earlier,<br />
NFC used to buy rice, wheat and edible<br />
oil from business people through<br />
a local and global tender.<br />
NFC will introduce the Food Exchange<br />
Programme targeting hill districts.<br />
According to the plan, the corporation<br />
will give rice to people living<br />
in hill districts in exchange of millet,<br />
soyabean, buck wheat and uwa<br />
(hordeum himalayense). “We will sell<br />
the food items bought in the hills in<br />
urban areas. Millet, soyabean, buck<br />
wheat and uwa are in good demand<br />
there,” he explained the plan.<br />
NFC has planned to supply about<br />
15,000 MT rice to 23 food deficit hill<br />
districts. “Government has provided<br />
Rs 480 million for it,” said Shah,<br />
adding NFC will also supply subsidised<br />
rice to urban people. “We sold<br />
16,700 quintals of subsidised rice in<br />
urban areas during Dashain, Tihar<br />
and Chhath,” he said. NFC has a stock<br />
of 33,000 MT rice, including 8,000 MT<br />
in the SAARC food bank.<br />
ADS technical assistance<br />
team Dr Prabhakar Pathak<br />
said that the government has<br />
been incorporating two new<br />
programmes — food and<br />
nutrition security, and climate<br />
change effects in agriculture.<br />
“The two components<br />
were not included in<br />
APP. These are new concepts<br />
in the sector,” he said.<br />
The government has been<br />
developing ADS with technical<br />
assistance from Asian<br />
Development Bank and a<br />
dozen other donors including<br />
IFAD, EU, FAO, SDC,<br />
JICA, DANIDA, USAID, and<br />
WFP. It is a $2 million project<br />
where ADB has contributed<br />
$1.5 million and the remaining<br />
by other donors.<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY,DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
Stock brokers<br />
face trading block<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Due to the delay in the settlement<br />
of traded shares, all<br />
brokers at the stock exchange<br />
were suspended<br />
during the first hour of trading<br />
today.<br />
Trading of all 48 stock<br />
brokers was blocked by<br />
Nepse today for the first 45<br />
minutes as their trading<br />
limit with stock exchange<br />
was insufficient due to the<br />
delayed settlement process.<br />
The new mode of operations<br />
implemented by CDS<br />
and Clearing (CDSC), that<br />
requires both selling and<br />
buying brokers to present<br />
documents simultaneously,<br />
has slowed down the pace<br />
of settlements.<br />
“As the trading limit of<br />
all the brokers had become<br />
low due to delayed settlements,<br />
Nepse at first<br />
blocked trading, and later<br />
randomly assigned all of us<br />
additional limits and the<br />
day’s transaction was not<br />
disturbed,” said president<br />
of Stock Brokers Association<br />
of Nepal (SBAN) Anjan<br />
Raj Poudyal during a press<br />
conference today. Brokers<br />
have been opposing the<br />
new operation system, calling<br />
it impractical.<br />
All brokers maintain an<br />
account with the stock exchange,<br />
amounting to Rs 50<br />
million. When a broker<br />
places a buy order, Nepse<br />
deducts the amount required<br />
to buy the shares<br />
from the broker’s account.<br />
And the amount is later restored<br />
to the broker’s account<br />
when the broker submits<br />
the voucher presented<br />
by the buyer.<br />
Nepse suspended brokers<br />
whose limit was over,<br />
due to the delay in settlement.<br />
CDSC started the<br />
manual settlement of share<br />
• STOCK<br />
SN NAME OF THE COMPANY SHARE VALUE IN RUPEES SHARES QTY<br />
Maximum Minimum Closing<br />
1 Ace Dev Bank Ltd 127 127 127 222<br />
2 Agricultural Dev Bank Ltd 207 200 201 4,800<br />
3 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 326 302 326 7,511<br />
4 Alpine Dev Bank Ltd 90 90 90 20<br />
5 Asian Life Insurance Co Ltd 238 238 238 486<br />
6 Bottlers Nepal (Terai)Ltd 1,038 1,018 1,038 100<br />
7 Bank of Kathmandu 623 603 623 15,768<br />
8 Butwal Power Co Ltd 777 733 733 1,149<br />
9 Bishwa Bikas Bank Ltd 150 145 147 720<br />
10 Business Universal Dev Bank Ltd 115 115 115 30<br />
11 Clean Energy Dev Bank Ltd 180 172 173 3,554<br />
12 Chilime Hydro power Co 1,118 1,102 1,118 2,446<br />
13 Citizens Bank Inter<strong>national</strong> Ltd 245 237 241 6,458<br />
14 Diprox Dev Bank 312 305 305 493<br />
15 Everest Bank Ltd 1,195 1,160 1,183 3,634<br />
16 Excel Dev Bank Ltd 336 334 334 260<br />
17 Global IME Bank Ltd 380 366 370 9,600<br />
18 Guras Life Insurance Co Ltd 149 148 148 40<br />
19 Grand Bank Nepal Ltd 197 193 195 470<br />
20 Gaurishankar Dev Bank Ltd 90 89 89 110<br />
21 Himalayan Bank Ltd 835 818 831 2,607<br />
22 ICFC Finance Ltd 139 137 139 1,525<br />
23 Inter<strong>national</strong> Leasing And Fin Co 106 104 106 3,011<br />
24 Jyoti Bikas Bank Ltd 91 90 90 490<br />
25 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd 150 145 149 4,643<br />
26 Janaki Finance Ltd 417 388 395 2,844<br />
27 Kaski Finance Ltd 105 105 105 62<br />
28 Kumari Bank Ltd 261 250 251 3,820<br />
29 Kasthamandap Dev Bank Ltd 85 85 85 334<br />
30 KIST Bank Ltd 143 138 138 14,175<br />
31 Laxmi Bank Ltd 340 340 340 1,349<br />
32 Lumbini Finance Ltd 174 174 174 100<br />
33 Lumbini General Insurance 134 126 126 560<br />
34 Lumbini Bank Ltd 243 239 241 574<br />
35 Machhachapuchhre Bank Ltd 193 188 190 2,423<br />
36 Malika Bikash Bank Ltd 142 142 142 200<br />
37 Manakamana Dev Bank Ltd 69 68 69 490<br />
38 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 250 250 250 110<br />
39 Nabil Bank Ltd 1,461 1,426 1,445 3,251<br />
40 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 231 221 227 55,820<br />
41 Nilgiri Bikas Bank Ltd 138 138 138 10<br />
42 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 820 800 807 14,149<br />
43 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd 1,407 1,380 1,407 1,954<br />
44 NMB Bank Ltd 237 235 236 460<br />
45 Nepal Doorsanchar Co Ltd 659 653 658 2,625<br />
46 Pathibhara Bikas Bank Ltd 95 93 93 80<br />
47 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 275 266 268 29,836<br />
48 Prime Life Insurance Co Ltd 300 294 300 360<br />
49 Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd 85 83 83 180<br />
50 Sanima Bank Ltd 232 224 229 2,780<br />
51 Sahayogi Vikas Bank 285 285 285 544<br />
52 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 660 653 653 553<br />
53 Siddhartha Bank Ltd 316 315 315 386<br />
54 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 1,905 1,900 1,905 404<br />
55 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 320 311 318 4,442<br />
56 Sagarmatha Insurance CoLtd 700 690 690 189<br />
57 Subha Laxmi Finance Co Ltd 82 82 82 20<br />
58 Sunrise Bank Ltd 176 167 169 5,551<br />
59 Subhechha Bikas Bank Ltd 126 126 126 28<br />
60 Supreme Dev Bank Ltd 79 79 79 2,304<br />
61 Swabalamwan Bikash Bank 319 313 313 849<br />
62 Tourism Dev Bank Ltd 122 122 122 10<br />
63 Tinau Dev Bank Ltd 115 115 115 90<br />
64 Unique Finance Ltd 92 92 92 80<br />
65 Western Dev Bank Ltd 97 96 96 96<br />
66 Zenith Finance Ltd 105 105 105 140<br />
Float Index: 34.47 ( -0.333)<br />
Base: 24/08/2008=100<br />
transactions from October<br />
30 of shares traded since<br />
October 17.<br />
“Though CDSC is faster<br />
than what Nepse was in<br />
clearing and settling transactions,<br />
the process itself<br />
has become a bigger problem<br />
even bringing about a<br />
trading block for brokers,”<br />
said Poudyal. None of the<br />
brokers submitted documents<br />
for clearing and settlement<br />
to CDSC today.<br />
“CDSC cannot revise the<br />
mode of operation on its<br />
own, as only the board at<br />
CDSC and Nepse have the<br />
authority,” said chief executive<br />
of CDSC Subodh Sharma<br />
Sigdel.<br />
“Since CDSC took up the<br />
job, we have been settling<br />
transactions quicker. More<br />
than 88 per cent of transactions<br />
done since October 17<br />
have been settled and<br />
cleared,” he added.<br />
Nepse had tried to introduce<br />
the system earlier this<br />
year but it was not successful<br />
following a protest by<br />
the brokers. However, when<br />
Nepse shifted its clearing<br />
and settlement job to CDSC<br />
the new mode of operation<br />
was implemented.<br />
CDSC does not move<br />
ahead with the settlement<br />
even if the buying broker<br />
submits the vouchers and<br />
required documents, if the<br />
selling broker delays in submitting<br />
the documents.<br />
“This provision has benefited<br />
investors, but brokers,<br />
who are careless and deliberately<br />
delay the submission<br />
of documents on time,<br />
are the ones to be blamed<br />
for the trouble,” pointed<br />
out Sigdel. “You cannot<br />
punish a broker because<br />
another broker fails to do<br />
his job properly,” said managing<br />
director of Creative<br />
Securities — broker number<br />
40 — Dipesh Bhatt.<br />
Total Traded Amount Rs: 82,460,570<br />
Total Market Cap Rs: 458,129.44 millions<br />
Total Shares: 224,379<br />
Total Transactions: 1018<br />
Nepse Index: 483.8 (-5.18)<br />
Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100 Date: December 2, 2012
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
BUSINESS<br />
• BIZ BRIEFS<br />
IME helps victims<br />
THT<br />
KATHMANDU: Inter<strong>national</strong> Money<br />
Express (IME) has donated blankets<br />
to 28 families hit by the recent windfed<br />
inferno in Chang Thapu Bazaar,<br />
Panchthar district. IME zonal coordinator<br />
and proprietor of IME agent<br />
outlet, New Pathivara Enterprises<br />
Somlal Limbu handed the blankets to<br />
the victim families. — HNS<br />
IPPAN holds AGM<br />
KATHMANDU: Independent Power<br />
Producers’ Association, Nepal (IP-<br />
PAN) held its 11th annual general<br />
meeting in Kathmandu. President of<br />
IPPAN Dr Subarna Das Shrestha presented<br />
the president’s report and<br />
treasurer Narendra Prajapati presented<br />
the treasurer’s report at the AGM,<br />
respectively. The AGM approved the<br />
reports after a floor discussion. — HNS<br />
MBB’s annual meet<br />
KATHMANDU: Kanchanpur-based<br />
Mahakali Bikas Bank (MBB) held its<br />
fifth annual general meeting (AGM)<br />
under its chairman Surendra Kumar<br />
Joshi. It was attended by the president<br />
of Kanchanpur Chamber of<br />
Commerce and Industry Ganesh<br />
Dutta Joshi as chief guest. The AGM<br />
approved the financials of the last fiscal<br />
year and also appointed Sujan<br />
Kumar Kafle and Associates as the<br />
auditing firm for the current fiscal<br />
year. The development bank proposed<br />
to distribute 12 per cent cash<br />
dividend from the profit of last fiscal<br />
year. It also decided to approach the<br />
central bank to expand its banking<br />
area from Kanchanpur to adjoining<br />
Dadeldhura and Kailali districts and<br />
be open for a possible merger with<br />
other financial institutions. — HNS<br />
Sri Lanka’s petro plan<br />
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will purchase<br />
oil from Iraq after the United States<br />
imposed new sanctions on Iran, the<br />
island’s main supplier of crude oil,<br />
a report said on Sunday citing a senior<br />
official. The US Senate unanimously<br />
approved new economic<br />
sanctions on Friday aimed at further<br />
crippling Iran’s energy, shipping and<br />
port sectors, a year after Congress<br />
passed tough restrictions against<br />
Tehran. Sanctions have made it difficult<br />
to procure oil from Iran, prompting<br />
Colombo to turn to Baghdad for<br />
oil purchases, the local Sunday Times<br />
reported. “Oil in northern Iraq is similar<br />
to Iranian crude and could be refined<br />
(domestically), thereby reducing<br />
costs on the import of refined<br />
products,” foreign ministry secretary<br />
Karunatillaka Amunugama told the<br />
newspaper. Sri Lanka has relied<br />
on Iran for 92 per cent of its crude<br />
oil requirements. — AFP<br />
Sahara in trouble<br />
NEW DELHI: India’s giant Sahara<br />
business group, charged with illegally<br />
raising $4.5 billion from millions<br />
of small rural savers, took out huge<br />
ads declaring it never does anything<br />
‘against the law’. The two-page newspaper<br />
adverts appeared before a<br />
Supreme Court hearing set for Monday<br />
on the case which has put the<br />
practices and finances of the conglomerate,<br />
headed by flamboyant<br />
billionaire Subrata Roy, in the public<br />
spotlight. Late in August, the court<br />
said Sahara, whose interests run from<br />
real estate to entertainment to financial<br />
services, had ‘no right to collect’<br />
funds from 29.6 million investors<br />
‘without complying with any regulatory<br />
provisions’. Stating ‘an iron hand’<br />
must be used to deal with such ‘economic<br />
offences’, the court told Sahara<br />
to deposit IRs 240 billion ($4.5 billion)<br />
with the market regulator, the Securities<br />
and Exchange Board of India<br />
(SEBI), by November 30 or risk having<br />
its assets seized. — AFP<br />
• FOREX RATES<br />
The foreign exchange rates for December 3 as fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank are as follows:<br />
CURRENCY UNIT BUYING (in Rs.) SELLING (in Rs.)<br />
Swiss Franc 1 93.20 93.85<br />
Australian Dollar 1 90.20 90.82<br />
Canadian Dollar 1 87.05 87.66<br />
Singapore Dollar 1 70.84 71.33<br />
Saudi Arab Riyal 1 23.07 23.23<br />
Qatari Riyal 1 23.76 23.92<br />
Thai Bhat 1 2.82 2.84<br />
UAE Dihram 1 23.55 23.71<br />
Malaysian Ringit 1 28.46 28.65<br />
Swedish Krona 1 12.99<br />
Danish Krona 1 15.06<br />
Hongkong Dollar 1 11.16<br />
Note: Under the present system the open market exchange rates quoted by<br />
different /commercial banks may differ.<br />
Nepse re-lists<br />
NBL shares<br />
To be traded from next week<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
After a wait of almost nine years,<br />
shareholders of Nepal Bank Ltd<br />
(NBL) will be able to trade their<br />
shares from next week as the bank<br />
signed an agreement with Nepal<br />
Stock Exchange (Nepse), today,<br />
to re-list its 3.8 million units of ordinary<br />
shares.<br />
“We have finalised the re-listing<br />
of the shares which can be traded<br />
from the coming Sunday,” informed<br />
coordinator of NBL’s management<br />
team Maheshwor Lal<br />
Shrestha.<br />
Following the regulator’s order,<br />
Nepse had de-listed NBL’s shares<br />
from trading as the bank was on<br />
the brink of solvency. Yet, its share<br />
prices were well above face value in<br />
March 2004.<br />
The shares were trading at Rs<br />
175 right before the suspension<br />
and subsequent de-listing, while<br />
its net worth had been negative by<br />
almost Rs 10 billion. Now after going<br />
through almost a decade of restructuring,<br />
NBL’s financial health<br />
has improved but the bank’s net<br />
worth is still negative by about Rs<br />
2.6 billion as of the first quarter of<br />
the current fiscal year.<br />
Nepal Bank is planning to issue<br />
rights shares after waiting for a<br />
couple of months following the<br />
listing in order to increase its capital<br />
base and fulfill regulatory requirements.<br />
The government –– that owns 41<br />
per cent stake in the commercial<br />
bank –– has already injected Rs<br />
1.37 billion for rights shares, which<br />
has increased the bank’s paid up<br />
capital to Rs 1.7 billion.<br />
In October, the government<br />
transferred the bank’s 71,928 unit<br />
shares under its ownership to<br />
Nepal Bank’s 2,664 employees at a<br />
face value of Rs 100 through Over-<br />
The-Counter trading, due to delayed<br />
listing. The bank already had<br />
about 1,000 shareholders.<br />
According to Nepal Bank’s plan<br />
to increase its paid up capital to Rs<br />
four billion, the bank will raise<br />
funds worth Rs 3.62 billion by issuing<br />
rights shares to existing shareholders.<br />
The remaining will be<br />
raised by selling the fixed assets<br />
with the bank.<br />
Shares of NBL will debut at anywhere<br />
between the bank’s net<br />
worth and three times the net<br />
worth as per Nepse’s pricing bylaws.<br />
“Since the bank’s net worth<br />
is still negative, its debut price<br />
at Nepse this time might be low<br />
but the market will decide its price<br />
within a few<br />
days of trading,”<br />
said share<br />
analyst RabindraBhattarai.<br />
The reception<br />
of the<br />
bank’s rights<br />
issue can be<br />
assessed by<br />
looking at how<br />
the investors<br />
take to its ordinary<br />
shares.<br />
“Investors are<br />
aware that<br />
NBL will not<br />
be in a state to<br />
provide dividends<br />
any<br />
time soon due<br />
to its negative<br />
net worth, but<br />
it has speculative<br />
value as<br />
the bank is not<br />
doing bad at<br />
present,” said<br />
Bhattarai.<br />
House and land prices drop by 30 per cent: Survey<br />
| PRICE PERCEPTION |<br />
22%<br />
Prices will go down<br />
35%<br />
Prices will see<br />
no change<br />
43%<br />
Prices to go up<br />
by 15 % to 30 %<br />
(Source: Nepal Rastra Bank)<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
House and land prices<br />
have declined by around<br />
30 per cent as compared<br />
to last year, whereas transaction<br />
has dropped by almost<br />
half, according to a<br />
central bank survey.<br />
Some 43 per cent developers<br />
expect prices of land<br />
and housing to go up by<br />
15 per cent to 30 per cent,<br />
the survey revealed,<br />
adding that a very few —<br />
around 22 per cent of<br />
them — still expect prices<br />
to go down, whereas some<br />
35 per cent expect no<br />
movement in the prices<br />
anytime soon within six<br />
months to a year.<br />
Growth rate of tourist<br />
arrivals by air decreases<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Despite the peak tourist season, visitor<br />
arrivals by air has slowed down in November<br />
due to the government’s apathy<br />
in promoting tourism that has been significantly<br />
contributing foreign currency<br />
to the <strong>national</strong> coffer.<br />
“The upward trend that was briefly<br />
interrupted in October continued again<br />
in the 11th month of the year showing<br />
rising travel demand as the Immigration<br />
Office,<br />
Tribhuwan<br />
Inter<strong>national</strong>Airport<br />
data<br />
revealed<br />
that visitor<br />
arrivals in<br />
November<br />
— as compared<br />
to<br />
the same<br />
month last year — increased by 2.2 per<br />
cent to 59,411 visitors,” said Nepal<br />
Tourism Board.<br />
The aggregate growth for the period<br />
between January to November has<br />
posted a growth of 11.5 per cent as compared<br />
to the same period last year.<br />
Arrivals by air during the peak season<br />
slowed down due to the poor performance<br />
by the SAARC market as it has<br />
declined by 23 per cent as compared to<br />
the same month last year.<br />
“The Indian market — considered to<br />
be a major market — has declined by<br />
21.6 per cent, followed by Bangladesh<br />
and Sri Lanka — negative growth of 37.3<br />
per cent and 24 per cent, respectively —<br />
despite Pakistan registering a growth of<br />
12.8 per cent,” it said.<br />
Arrivals from Asia — except South<br />
Asia — recorded a growth of 20.9 per<br />
cent in aggregate, with China — one of<br />
the fastest growing tourist markets<br />
globally and for Nepal too — posting a<br />
sustained growth of 9.6 per cent as compared<br />
to the same period in 2011.<br />
Similarly, Malaysia (151.4 per cent),<br />
Thailand (97.6 per cent), Singapore<br />
(31.3 per cent) and Japan (12.5 per cent)<br />
also maintained steady growth, though<br />
arrivals from South Korea dropped<br />
by 12.2 per cent.<br />
Europeanmar-<br />
Visitors inflow during peak<br />
season slowed down due to<br />
poor performance by the<br />
SAARC market<br />
ketsregistered a<br />
meagre<br />
growth of<br />
3.1 per cent<br />
as arrivals<br />
from the<br />
UK, Germany,<br />
Italy,<br />
and the<br />
Netherlands increased by 18.3 per cent,<br />
14.7 per cent, two per cent and 17.7 per<br />
cent, respectively. Arrivals from France<br />
and Spain declined by 7.1 per cent and<br />
22.6 per cent, respectively, as compared<br />
to the same month last year.<br />
Arrivals from Australia, New Zealand<br />
and the US registered a growth of 29.5<br />
per cent, 30.50 per cent and 12.6 per<br />
cent, respectively, whereas arrivals from<br />
Canada declined by 10.3 per cent.<br />
Likewise, a total of 84,729 foreign<br />
tourists departed from Tribhuwan Inter<strong>national</strong><br />
Airport in November, which<br />
is an increase of 12.35 per cent as compared<br />
to the same month last year,<br />
whereas 68,977 Nepalis departed from<br />
and some 72,735 Nepalis arrived at the<br />
country’s only inter<strong>national</strong> airport.<br />
President of National Business Initiative Padma Jyoti with other executive members of the organisation during a<br />
programme to celebrate its sixth anniversary, in Kathmandu, on Sunday.<br />
Private sector to focus on<br />
good business practices<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Private sector will promote<br />
good business practices to<br />
create a clean image.<br />
“Our activities for next<br />
year will be focused on<br />
“Similarly, land and<br />
housing transactions have<br />
dropped by 40 per cent to<br />
50 per cent due to lack of<br />
finance that was earlier<br />
easier to obtain from<br />
banks and financial institutions,”<br />
it said, adding<br />
that some 44 per cent developers<br />
expect real estate<br />
business may not see any<br />
remarkable progress any<br />
time soon due to problems<br />
related to bank loans,<br />
tax on capital gain, source<br />
of income verification,<br />
and no basis for price determination.<br />
“The remaining 40 per<br />
cent of the developers expect<br />
transactions to pick<br />
up by around 20 per cent,”<br />
said the central bank’s<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
building a fair business<br />
environment,” said president<br />
of National Business<br />
Initiative (NBI) Padma Jyoti,<br />
during the sixth anniversary<br />
of National Business<br />
Initiative.<br />
“The initiative will also<br />
conduct dialogues<br />
on the<br />
safety of entrepreneurs,”<br />
Jyoti<br />
said, adding<br />
that threats to<br />
entrepreneurs<br />
have been major<br />
obstacles to<br />
development in<br />
the current political<br />
turmoil.<br />
“We will propose<br />
a special<br />
security plan in<br />
a public-private<br />
partnership<br />
model,” Jyoti<br />
added.<br />
More than<br />
one dozen private<br />
sector organisations,includingFederation<br />
of<br />
Nepalese<br />
Chambers of<br />
Commerce and<br />
Industry, Nepal<br />
Chamber of<br />
quick field survey of Land<br />
Offices, municipalities, urban<br />
development agencies,<br />
members of district<br />
chambers, and land and<br />
housing developers in 10<br />
major districts — Morang,<br />
Dhanusha, Parsa, Rupandehi,<br />
Kaski, Banke and<br />
Kailali — including three<br />
districts in the valley —<br />
Kathmandu, Lalitpur and<br />
Bhaktapur — to gauge<br />
the risks due to higher exposure<br />
of banks and financial<br />
institutions in a<br />
single sector.<br />
Land and housing witnessed<br />
a surge in price a<br />
couple of years back instigating<br />
a bubble.<br />
The central bank conducted<br />
the study after<br />
Hulas Steel Industries has launched<br />
the second Continuous Galvanising<br />
Line and Next Generation Colour<br />
Coating Line. A memorandum of understanding<br />
between Hulas Steel and<br />
Berger Becker Coatings (India and<br />
Sweden) was exchanged between<br />
representatives of the companies.<br />
Hulas Steel was incorporated in<br />
1981, as a joint venture between<br />
Golchha Organisation and Comcraft,<br />
to manufacture galvanised sheets for<br />
roofing and to provide the best cost<br />
effective and affordable roofing solution<br />
to the vast majority of the population,<br />
especially in the hilly and difficult<br />
terrain of the country.<br />
From a small start with around 40<br />
workers, and an annual capacity of<br />
only 12,000mt per year, it has now<br />
grown to become one of the largest<br />
steel companies in Nepal with over<br />
900 employees, and an annual capacity<br />
of over 140,000mt per year.<br />
The company has always adopted<br />
Commerce, Hotel Association<br />
Nepal, and Nepal Association<br />
of Foreign Employment<br />
Agencies are<br />
associated with the initiative<br />
that aims to promote<br />
business in the country<br />
and abroad.<br />
In the programme, former<br />
president of Nepal<br />
Chamber of Commerce<br />
(NCC) and the current general<br />
secretary of National<br />
Business Initiative Surendra<br />
Bir Malakar mentioned<br />
that entrepreneurs in the<br />
country have not been able<br />
to get the peace dividend<br />
despite the end of the<br />
armed conflict.<br />
“Therefore, political instability<br />
should end early,”<br />
he said, adding that promulgation<br />
of a new constitution<br />
is a must for peace<br />
and stability that can ensure<br />
an investment friendly<br />
environment by encouraging<br />
the private sector.<br />
National Business Initiative<br />
has been conducting a<br />
study on the security situation<br />
of entrepreneurs —<br />
that could help instill confidence<br />
in the business fraternity<br />
— in Morang, Sunsari,<br />
Bara, Parsa, Kailali and<br />
Kathmandu districts.<br />
most banks and financial<br />
institutions got trapped in<br />
the bubble, posing threats<br />
of a systemic failure in the<br />
financial system, it said.<br />
However, housing entrepreneurs<br />
still believe<br />
that the indifference<br />
shown by the government<br />
in framing a clear and stable<br />
real estate policy has<br />
hit the business hard,<br />
making them struggle to<br />
pay even the interest on<br />
loans taken from banks<br />
and financial institutions.<br />
Likewise, the report<br />
has also revealed that revenue<br />
from land and housing<br />
dropped by 41.89 per<br />
cent in the last fiscal year<br />
as compared to a fiscal<br />
year back.<br />
• BRAND WATCH<br />
Hulas Steel Industries launches<br />
Continuous Galvanising Line<br />
the best available<br />
technology for all its<br />
product lines, as a<br />
result of which, Hulas<br />
Guras brand has<br />
established itself as<br />
a market leader and<br />
the first choice of<br />
users in providing<br />
the best roofing<br />
sheet solution for<br />
over three decades.<br />
Over the years, it<br />
has been continuously<br />
investing in<br />
capacity expansion and upgrading of<br />
technology to keep abreast of latest<br />
developments globally, and to provide<br />
best product at the right price to<br />
consumers all over the country.<br />
Regular investments in bringing<br />
the latest technology to the country<br />
together with a resolute commitment<br />
to inter<strong>national</strong> quality standards<br />
has enabled the company’s Hulas<br />
Guras brand to become the market<br />
leader in roofing sheets in Nepal.<br />
The company also has agreements<br />
of understanding for valuable support<br />
and expertise from global steel<br />
majors like Posco (South Korea) and<br />
JFE (Japan), and for coil coating paint<br />
technology with Becker Coil coatings<br />
(Sweden and India).<br />
In view of increased demand for<br />
roofing sheets as well as rising awareness<br />
among consumers for better<br />
quality products and services, a new<br />
generation colour coating line of<br />
60,000mt per annum capacity, together<br />
with a modern continuous<br />
galvanising line of 80,000mt per annum<br />
capacity has been set up.<br />
PAGE 11<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Colors brings<br />
Fighter F8<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
THT<br />
Company<br />
registrar’s<br />
office goes<br />
online<br />
The Office of Company Registrar<br />
has started the facility<br />
of viewing company profile<br />
and e-file documents online.<br />
In a programme organised<br />
here in the capital, today, the<br />
office demonstrated its new<br />
online system and said it will<br />
help enhance effectiveness<br />
in regulating companies.<br />
All registered companies<br />
will be able to upload many<br />
of their activities online, said<br />
company registrar Toyanath<br />
Adhikari. “The office will<br />
complete the technical and<br />
other processes within a<br />
month though the e-service<br />
was started on November 9.”<br />
Registered companies will<br />
have access to the online<br />
system, Adhikari said,<br />
adding that companies can<br />
upload all updated information<br />
in the system.<br />
Companies can upload information<br />
of annual general<br />
meetings, balance sheets,<br />
change in share structure,<br />
and other necessary documents<br />
in the online system<br />
after its full operation, according<br />
to the office.<br />
Companies will not have<br />
to go through the lengthy<br />
process of bringing each and<br />
every single document to the<br />
office once the system is fully<br />
incorporated, the office said.<br />
The office has developed a<br />
separate e-Services (Office of<br />
Company Registrar Online<br />
Services) user manual to<br />
help companies adopt the<br />
system. “The manual is expected<br />
to assist companies<br />
in working with the user registration<br />
module of e-Services,”<br />
said Adhikari, adding<br />
that the online company registration<br />
module will help<br />
users with online registration<br />
of the company and<br />
view company details.<br />
The system will also help<br />
the office increase vigilance<br />
and update records of every<br />
single company, he said.<br />
Teletalk — the authorised<br />
dealer of Colors Mobile —<br />
has launched its new bar<br />
phone, ‘F8’, under the Fighter<br />
series.<br />
The multimedia handset<br />
comes with 1.77” display<br />
screen along with various<br />
other features. The mobile<br />
has an inbuilt audio/video<br />
player that supports 3gp,<br />
Mp4 and AVI formats.<br />
It comes with a battery of<br />
1000 mAh<br />
for a longer<br />
talk time. It<br />
also works<br />
in ‘dual sim<br />
dual standby’<br />
mode<br />
and its ext<br />
e r n a l<br />
memory is<br />
expandable<br />
to up to<br />
8GB. F8<br />
also has a<br />
torchlight<br />
and sound recorder.<br />
All Colors mobile phones<br />
come with a six-month warranty<br />
on the battery and<br />
charger, and one-year warranty<br />
on the handset.
PAGE 12 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
Sports<br />
• TIME OUT<br />
Russia's Maria Sharapova (right)<br />
and Serbia's Ana Ivanovic share<br />
some light moment during their<br />
exhibition match against Italy's<br />
Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, in<br />
Milan on Saturday.<br />
Nepal beat B’desh<br />
AP / RSS<br />
KATHMANDU: Nepal opened the<br />
first Twenty20 World Cup for Blind in<br />
an emphatic note with a nine-wicket<br />
victory over Bangladesh at the LD Srinatham<br />
Stadium in Banglore on Sunday.<br />
It was Nepal’s first ever victory<br />
against Bangladesh. Electing to field<br />
first, Nepal restricted Bangladesh to<br />
154-7 in 20 overs. Surya Prasad Bhattarai,<br />
Ram Prasad Paudel and Amar<br />
Oli took two wickets each for Nepal,<br />
while Bikram Rana had one. Man-ofthe-match<br />
Surya inspired Nepal to<br />
victory with 78 not out helping the<br />
team reach 155 in just 7.3 overs.<br />
Bikram — the only Nepali wicket to<br />
fall — contributed an invaluable 54.<br />
Ram Prasad was unbeaten on 12.<br />
Nepal will take on Sri Lanka in their<br />
second match at the Central College<br />
grounds on Monday. – HNS<br />
Rajbanshi elected<br />
KUWAIT: Nepal Sports Journalists Forum<br />
(NSJF) President Niranjan Rajbanshi<br />
has been elected as the central<br />
committee member of the AIPS-<br />
Asia. The 16th Congress of AIPS-Asia<br />
that began in Kuwait on Saturday<br />
unanimously elected Rajbanshi as<br />
the member of the committee after<br />
the five candidates withdrew their<br />
candidacy. Faisal Al Qanai of Kuwait<br />
was unanimously elected as President<br />
of the 16-member committee.<br />
Kanai was the first vice-president in<br />
the previous committee. – HNS<br />
Gitau wins in Japan<br />
TOKYO: Kenyan Joseph Gitau produced<br />
an upset victory in the Fukuoka<br />
Inter<strong>national</strong> Marathon after former<br />
world record holder Haile Gebrselassie<br />
pulled up after 32-kilometres<br />
of Sunday’s race. The 24-year-old<br />
clocked a winning time of two hours,<br />
six minutes, 58 seconds with Japan’s<br />
Hiroyuki Horibata runner-up in<br />
2:08:24 and Henryk Szost of Poland<br />
third in 2:08:42. Gebrselassie’s latest<br />
failure is set to further fuel speculation<br />
over the future of the man<br />
dubbed the “Emperor” after another<br />
year of disappointment. — Reuters<br />
Tottenham lose Bale<br />
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s<br />
Wales winger Gareth Bale could be<br />
sidelined for up to two weeks with a<br />
hamstring injury, manager Andre-<br />
Villas Boas said on Saturday. Bale was<br />
injured during the 3-0 Premier<br />
League win at Fulham that moved<br />
Spurs up to fourth place. He limped<br />
off after falling awkwardly following a<br />
shot at goal in the second half. Spurs<br />
also lost defender Michael Dawson<br />
with a hamstring strain, though he<br />
could be fit for Saturday’s trip to Everton.<br />
“One (Bale) looks more serious<br />
than the other but nothing too major,”<br />
Villas-Boas told Sky Sports. “Both<br />
players will come in for treatment<br />
very soon.” — Reuters<br />
MARTYRS MEMORIAL A DIVISION LEAGUE<br />
TEAM P W D L PTS<br />
Machhindra 3 2 1 0 7<br />
MMC 3 2 1 0 7<br />
Three Star 3 2 0 1 6<br />
NRT 2 2 0 0 6<br />
RCT 2 2 0 0 6<br />
JYC 3 2 0 1 6<br />
Sankata 3 1 2 0 5<br />
Himalayan Sherpa 2 1 1 0 4<br />
Saraswoti 3 1 1 1 4<br />
APF 3 1 0 2 3<br />
MYA 3 0 2 1 2<br />
TAC 2 0 1 1 1<br />
Friends 3 0 1 2 1<br />
Bansbari 3 0 1 2 1<br />
NPC 3 0 1 2 1<br />
Bouddha 3 0 0 3 0<br />
Three Star edge Friends; JYC triumph<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu, December 2<br />
Lemi Joshna struck a last gasp<br />
winner as Three Star Club<br />
edged city rival NIBL Friends<br />
Club 1-0, while another Lalitpur-based<br />
outfit Samsung<br />
Jawalakhel Youth Club (JYC)<br />
recorded a dramatic 3-2 win<br />
over Mahindra Bansbari Football<br />
Club in the Martyrs Memorial<br />
Red Bull ‘A’ Division League<br />
here today.<br />
In an entertaining match<br />
Lemi, who hails from Sierra<br />
Leone, struck home from almost<br />
25 yards leaving the<br />
Friends goalkeeper Bashir<br />
Ibrahim Toyin merely a spectator<br />
in the 86th minute.<br />
The second successive victory<br />
saw Three Star, who were<br />
stunned 2-1 by Saraswoti Club<br />
in their first match, climb to the<br />
third spot with six points. JYC<br />
also rose to sixth position on<br />
goal difference after tying on<br />
six points with Three Star, New<br />
Road Team (NRT) and Ranpokhari<br />
Corner Team (RCT).<br />
Both NRT and RCT, however,<br />
have a game in hand. Friends<br />
and Bansbari remain at 13th<br />
and 14th places respectively<br />
with one point each.<br />
Three Star coach Pradip Humagain<br />
was a relieved man after<br />
recovering from a disappointing<br />
start to their campaign.<br />
He added the performance<br />
against NRT in the next<br />
round would be<br />
a real test.<br />
Friends made<br />
a blistering start<br />
when Prakash<br />
Budhathoki<br />
forced Three<br />
Star goalkeeper<br />
Kiran Chemjong<br />
to make a spec-<br />
NPS triumph;<br />
Galaxy, SAM<br />
share spoils<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Bhaktapur, December 2<br />
Nepal Police School (NPS) beat Brihaspati<br />
Vidhya Sadan by four wickets,<br />
while another match between<br />
hosts Sainik Awasiya Mahavidhyalaya<br />
(SAM) and Galaxy Public<br />
School ended in a draw in a thrilling<br />
day of the sixth CoAS Inter-school<br />
Running Cricket Tournament today.<br />
In an entertaining 18-over-a-side<br />
Group ‘B’ match at the SAM<br />
grounds, Brihaspati made 105-8 after<br />
electing to bat first. NPS then<br />
registered a victory in the last ball of<br />
the day finishing 106-6 with Basanta<br />
Chaudhary playing a precious innings<br />
of unbeaten 18-ball 16. Bhupendra<br />
Oli (22) and Ajay Chaudhary<br />
(20) were other NPS batsmen to<br />
score in double digits. Samriddha<br />
Maharjan took two wickets for Brihaspati,<br />
while Pratik Kant, Ashish<br />
Bhandari and Biraj Tandukar had<br />
one scalp each.<br />
Earlier, Pratik Raj Bhandari’s 34<br />
from 39 deliveries helped Brihaspati<br />
cross triple figure mark. He hit three<br />
boundaries. Pratik Kant made runa-ball<br />
19 with four fours. Man-ofthe-match<br />
Bhupendra also impressed<br />
with the ball returning with<br />
2-10 from four overs. Aryan Deepak<br />
Raut also took two wickets. Prajwal<br />
Ghimire and Ayush Shrestha also<br />
had one wicket apiece.<br />
In another low scoring match,<br />
Galaxy were restricted to 100-9 in 20<br />
overs but did extremely well to stop<br />
SAM on 100-9 to share points. Both<br />
teams are now tied at three points<br />
each in the Group ‘A’ standings.<br />
Akash Bista’s 1-11 and Aditya<br />
Pandey’s 1-14 in their four-over<br />
spells was the turning point for<br />
Galaxy. Rajendra Pal took two wickets<br />
and the other SAM wicket fell to<br />
Nabin Budhathoki.<br />
Gunjan Yadav made 30 runs from<br />
43 balls for SAM with five boundaries.<br />
Dharmendra Rana Magar<br />
chipped in with 12 runs. Man-ofthe-match<br />
Darmendra, earlier,<br />
starred with the ball picking 3-18<br />
from four overs that saw Galaxy restricted<br />
to a low total.<br />
Basu Baniya (2-12) and Sourab<br />
Pela (2-12) shared four wickets between<br />
them. Gunjan also took one<br />
wicket. Dhirendra Raut top scored<br />
with a 29-ball 33 including six<br />
boundaries. Nabin made a 25-ball<br />
36 with three hits to the fence.<br />
Lemi Joshna (centre) of Three Star Club celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Friends Club during their<br />
Martyrs Memorial Red Bull ‘A’ Division League match at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Saturday.<br />
tacular save in the second<br />
minute. Jagjit Shrestha’s header<br />
on a Dodoz cross hit the bar<br />
and Ritesh Malla scored in rebound<br />
only for Referee Bikash<br />
Mahat to rule it offside. The decision<br />
infuriated Friends coach<br />
Dil Kaji Gurung: “Referee<br />
favoured them (Three Star) by<br />
disallowing the goal. It is always<br />
hard to play with 11 play-<br />
Pun wins trophy<br />
KATHMANDU: DIG Niraj Pun won<br />
the first Senior Golf Tournament title<br />
here at the Tribhuvan Army Officers<br />
Golf Club (TAOGC) on Sunday.<br />
Played under stableford format, Pun<br />
accumulated 40 points to claim the<br />
trophy in the 1-12 handicap category.<br />
Brig Gen BB Thapa came second with<br />
39 points. Lt Gen Hikmat Bahadur<br />
Chand won the 13-19 handicap section<br />
trophy with 37 points, while Lt<br />
Gen CB Gurung finished second with<br />
34 points. Likewise, UJ Thapa (38)<br />
and Dr SB Basnet (36) claimed top<br />
two spots in 20-24 handicap category.<br />
Other winners were B Moktan<br />
(longest drive), Shyam Chitrakar<br />
(closest-to-the-pin) and Robin D<br />
Marston (best sportsmanship).<br />
Chairman of TAOGC and Chief of the<br />
Army Staff Gaurab SJB Rana and<br />
Tournament Coordinator Lt Gen KNS<br />
Thapa handed over the prizes. — HNS<br />
MMC set for friendly<br />
KATHMANDU: Six-time ‘A’ Division<br />
League champions Laxmi Hyundai<br />
Manang Marshyangdi Club will play<br />
a friendly match with Ambassadors<br />
Football Club of the USA at the<br />
Dasharath Stadium on December 8.<br />
“The American club comprising of<br />
players from Major League Soccer<br />
and former <strong>national</strong> players from Bolivia,<br />
Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Scotland<br />
and South Africa is set to arrive here<br />
on Monday for a friendly with MMC,”<br />
confirmed ANFA General Secretary<br />
Dhirendra Pradhan. — HNS<br />
BCC enter final<br />
KATHMANDU: Baluwatar Cricket<br />
Club (BCC) defeated Kathmandu<br />
Khel Mandal (KKM) by 54 runs to enter<br />
the final of the Kathmandu Dis-<br />
ers against the 14 of the opponent,”<br />
said Gurung.<br />
Three Star then responded<br />
soon with Lemi, who ended up<br />
hitting inches above the bar<br />
from the edge in the 28th<br />
minute. Bikram Lama had a<br />
chance to put two-time champions<br />
ahead in the 67th minute<br />
but the midfielder only found<br />
the side netting. Friends were<br />
unlucky again<br />
when Ritesh<br />
Malla failed to<br />
score in an<br />
open net after<br />
beating advancing<br />
Kiran in a<br />
one-on-one encounter<br />
in the<br />
88th minute.<br />
• LOCAL BRIEFS<br />
Earlier, Juma Benlee scored a<br />
brace including an injury time<br />
winner in JYC victory. JYC took<br />
a 23rd minute lead with Prabin<br />
Karki making a one-touch<br />
strike off Raj Poudel’s rightflank<br />
cross. JYC made it 2-0<br />
when Juma’s flicked header<br />
found the net following a Jaggu<br />
Nath Khadka’s corner.<br />
Shyam Babu and Nir Kumar<br />
Rai brought Bansbari back<br />
scoring twice within a minute.<br />
Shyam Babu made it 2-1 scoring<br />
from inside the crowded dbox<br />
in the 77th minute and Nir<br />
Kumar levelled the scores a<br />
minute later. Fed by skipper Dil<br />
Bahadur Tamang, Nir Kumar<br />
beat offside trap to score.<br />
Just as it looked like Bansbari<br />
trict Senior Selection Cricket Tournament<br />
on Sunday. With half centuries<br />
from Rabin Joshi and Prakash Bista,<br />
BCC made 193-7 in 40 overs. Prakash<br />
made run-a-ball 56 with six boundaries<br />
and Rabin made 92-ball 54. Niraj<br />
Basnet took three wickets for<br />
KKM, who were packed up for 139 in<br />
35.3 overs. Only Niraj Bhattarai (28)<br />
and Manish Gupta (26) managed to<br />
put some fight against BCC bowlers.<br />
Indra Kamal Manandhar took four<br />
wickets for BCC. — HNS<br />
Selection tourney<br />
LALITPUR: Planet De Sports crushed<br />
Lalitpur Warriors by 138 runs in the<br />
Lalitpur District Senior Selection<br />
Cricket Tournament on Sunday. With<br />
fair contribution from batsmen,<br />
Planet made 299-9 in 38.5 overs. Dipankar<br />
Yonjan then claimed five<br />
wickets as Lalitpur Warriors were dis-<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
had done enouth to secure a<br />
point, Juma scored the winner<br />
in the fourth of the five minutes<br />
of injury time. JYC coach<br />
Kishor KC said his side has not<br />
yet found good coordination.<br />
“Defenders and midfielders<br />
were not up to their mark,” said<br />
KC adding the injury to defender<br />
Suraj Thing was the main<br />
reason they conceded two<br />
quick goals. Bansbari coach<br />
Hari Om Shrestha said his side<br />
has shown improvements.<br />
TODAY’S MATCHES<br />
• Himalayan Sherpa vs TAC<br />
@ 12:30PM<br />
• RCT vs NRT @ 2:30PM<br />
The winners of the first Senior Golf Tournament hold their trophies at the<br />
Tribhuvan Army Officers Golf Club in Kathmandu on Sunday.<br />
Reuters<br />
Graeme McDowell hits a shot on the 18th fairway during the<br />
World Challenge golf tournament on Saturday.<br />
Reuters<br />
missed for 161 in 30.5 overs. Kiran<br />
Tamrakar fought a lonely battle for<br />
Warriors with a 57-ball 66. Earlier,<br />
Sudhir Maharjan made a patient 75ball<br />
69 and Samim Akhtar played a<br />
cameo of 33-ball 44 to set a daunting<br />
task for the Warriors. — HNS<br />
NPC still dominant<br />
KATHMANDU: Defending champions<br />
Nepal Police Club (NPC) continued<br />
their dominance in the eighth<br />
Dhorpatan Blue Sky Cup Women’s<br />
Volleyball Double League with double<br />
victory on Sunday. NPC routed<br />
Angels’ Heart 25-12, 25-9, 25-7 and<br />
sidelined New Diamond Academy<br />
25-16, 25-23, 25-16. Unbeaten NPC<br />
lead the standings with 15 points<br />
from five matches. Nepal APF Club<br />
also filed their fourth consecutive<br />
victory easing past Kavre District Volleyball<br />
Association 25-3, 25-11, 25-9.<br />
Thousand Oaks, December 2<br />
Former US Open champion<br />
Graeme McDowell edged<br />
closer to his first win in two<br />
years by ending the third<br />
round of the World Challenge<br />
with a two-shot lead.<br />
The Northern Irishman,<br />
who despite several close<br />
calls has endured a barren title<br />
run worldwide since his<br />
playoff victory at the World<br />
Challenge in 2010, fired a<br />
flawless four-under-par 68<br />
on Saturday to post a 13-under<br />
total of 203.<br />
McDowell’s closest challenger<br />
was first-round leader<br />
Keegan Bradley who<br />
Uma Bista / THT<br />
matched the day’s best<br />
round with a six-birdie 67 to<br />
finish at 11 under. Defending<br />
champion Tiger Woods, bidding<br />
for his fourth victory<br />
this year, was a further three<br />
strokes back after narrowly<br />
missing a seven-foot birdie<br />
putt at the last to card a 69.<br />
Woods failed to birdie any<br />
of the five par-fives on the<br />
hilly course that winds its<br />
way below the Santa Monica<br />
mountains as he ended the<br />
day level with fellow American<br />
Bo Van Pelt, who birdied<br />
the par-four last for a 70.<br />
On a soggy morning, 2010<br />
US Open champion Mc-<br />
Dowell began the third<br />
round with a commanding<br />
Beckham<br />
bids farewell<br />
with title<br />
Reuters<br />
Carson, December 2<br />
Leaving the field draped in<br />
the Union flag and the<br />
Stars and Stripes, David<br />
Beckham bowed out of<br />
Major League Soccer on a<br />
winning note on Saturday<br />
as LA Galaxy retained their<br />
title with a 3-1 victory over<br />
Houston Dynamo in the<br />
MLS Cup final.<br />
The game was a fitting<br />
way for Beckham to end<br />
his six seasons in MLS as<br />
he added another title to<br />
his collection. “This is the<br />
goal we set ourselves at the<br />
start of the season,” said<br />
Beckham. “It is another<br />
special occasion to win a<br />
championship at home, in<br />
front of our fans and our<br />
families.”<br />
The former England<br />
captain received a standing<br />
ovation as he was substituted<br />
in the final seconds.<br />
“I think today was<br />
always going to be an<br />
emotional day for myself,<br />
win or lose. I’ve been here<br />
for six years and part of a<br />
team that has kept the majority<br />
of their players together.<br />
Coming off was<br />
tough but I enjoyed the<br />
win today,” he said.<br />
After the final whistle,<br />
Beckham was joined by<br />
his children as he said his<br />
farewell to the Galaxy fans<br />
after a display in which he<br />
had shown some of the<br />
passing vision and execution<br />
that has been characteristic<br />
of his career.<br />
APF are second with 11 points. In<br />
other matches, Chandeshwori Youth<br />
Club of Ramechhap defeated Dhulabari<br />
HS School of Jhapa 25-12, 25-13,<br />
25-10 and Angels’ Heart overcame<br />
Dhading District Volleyball Association<br />
25-4, 25-7, 25-8. — HNS<br />
National advance<br />
KATHMANDU: Champions National<br />
Campus and Trinity on Sunday<br />
reached the boys’ pre-quarterfinals of<br />
the 10th Prime Cup Inter-college Basketball<br />
Championships. National<br />
humbled Whitefield 59-22 riding on<br />
15 points from Prajun Pokharel and<br />
entered the last 16 as Group ‘A’ winners.<br />
Trinity inflicted humiliating 60-<br />
6 loss to Cabridge to top Group ‘E’. Krishna<br />
Maharjan posted 15 points for<br />
the winning side. In other matches,<br />
Learning Realm Inter<strong>national</strong> edged<br />
Gurukul 38-32, Premier sneaked past<br />
Rosebud 47-45, NASA crushed Ace<br />
52-28 and Orient defeated BernHardt<br />
40-33. In the girls’ round robin<br />
league, Mrinalini Shrestha tossed in<br />
19 points to hand NASA a 50-10 victory<br />
over BernHardt. — HNS<br />
Innovative in final<br />
KATHMANDU: Innovative and<br />
Daffodil Public School set the senior<br />
boys’ title clash of the fourth Golden<br />
Peak Inter-school Basketball Tournament<br />
on Sunday. In the first semi-finals,<br />
Innovative ousted Valley Public<br />
56-36 following a 16-point contribution<br />
from Sudip Shrestha. In a onepoint<br />
thriller, Min Raj Tamang<br />
rolled in a match-high 24 as Daffodil<br />
pipped Deepjyoti 54-53. Neric and<br />
Valley Public entered the junior<br />
boys’ final. Neric defeated Odyssey<br />
29-17 and Valley Public beat Greenland<br />
19-14. Both the finals are slated<br />
for Monday. — HNS<br />
Flawless McDowell stays in control<br />
THT<br />
three-shot lead but that was<br />
swiftly trimmed to just one<br />
after the fast-starting<br />
Bradley birdied two of the<br />
first three holes.<br />
However, McDowell got<br />
his putter working in scintillating<br />
fashion, sinking birdie<br />
putts from 30 feet at the parfive<br />
second and the par-four<br />
fourth to restore his threestroke<br />
advantage.<br />
Though American Bradley<br />
picked up another shot at<br />
the sixth to apply early pressure<br />
on McDowell, the<br />
Northern Irishman maintained<br />
his grip on the tournament<br />
with further birdies<br />
at the ninth and 11th before<br />
parring the last seven holes.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
Associated Press<br />
Perth, December 2<br />
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers<br />
posted big centuries in<br />
quick time before South<br />
Africa was dismissed for 569<br />
late on Sunday, setting Australia<br />
an unlikely victory target<br />
of 632 in the third Test.<br />
David Warner (29) and Ed<br />
Cowan (nine) survived an<br />
hour before stumps to steer<br />
the Australians to 40-0 on the<br />
third day, cutting the target<br />
to 592 with two days remaining<br />
in a Test that will decide<br />
the No 1 ranking for 2012. After<br />
20 wickets tumbled in the<br />
first five sessions, the topranked<br />
South Africa seized<br />
control in the second in-<br />
nings with Amla scoring 196<br />
and de Villiers hitting 169.<br />
Amla batted for almost six<br />
hours and stroked 20 fours<br />
as he shared stands of 178<br />
with Graeme Smith (84), 81<br />
with Jacques Kallis (37) and<br />
149 with de Villiers until he<br />
gave a return catch to<br />
Mitchell Johnson.<br />
De Villiers continued,<br />
reaching his 14th Test hundred<br />
with three consecutive<br />
reverse sweeps for boundaries<br />
from offspinner<br />
Nathan Lyon and belting 21<br />
boundaries and three sixes<br />
before he was eventually<br />
caught behind off Mitch<br />
Starc for 169. After pounding<br />
the Australian bowlers for<br />
three sessions, the South<br />
Africans lost their last five<br />
wickets for 31 runs with leftarm<br />
pacemen Starc (6-154)<br />
and Johnson (4-110) taking<br />
all the wickets.<br />
The record successful<br />
fourth-innings chase is West<br />
Indies’ 418-7 to beat Australia<br />
at St John’s in 2003. The<br />
South Africans went close to<br />
that here four years ago<br />
when they scored 414-4 to<br />
beat Australia and clinch the<br />
2008 series.<br />
The highest fourth-innings<br />
total was England’s<br />
654-5, from 218 eight-ball<br />
overs, chasing 696 to beat<br />
South Africa in a famous<br />
timeless match at Durban in<br />
March, 1939, when both<br />
captains finally agreed to a<br />
www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
SPORTS<br />
Proteas on brink of clinching series<br />
South African batsman AB de Villiers (right) celebrates with Faf du Plessis after completing his century on the third day of their third Test match<br />
against Australia in Perth on Sunday.<br />
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (left) duels for the ball against<br />
Athletic Bilbao’s Ander Herrera during their Spanish<br />
League match in Barcelona on Saturday.<br />
Associated Press<br />
Reading, December 2<br />
Manchester United prepared<br />
for next weekend’s<br />
derby with Manchester City<br />
by moving three points<br />
clear of the champions with<br />
a frenzied 4-3 win at Reading<br />
in the Premier League<br />
on Saturday in which all the<br />
goals came in the opening<br />
34 minutes.<br />
Hal Robson-Kanu put<br />
Reading in front, but Anderson<br />
equalised and Wayne<br />
Rooney gave United the<br />
lead from the penalty spot<br />
by the 16th minute. Adam<br />
Le Fondre and Sean Morrison<br />
headed Reading back in<br />
front from corners, but the<br />
lead didn’t last long.<br />
United’s second comeback<br />
was begun by Rooney,<br />
with Robin van Persie then<br />
completing the scoring as<br />
the visitors’ fragility at the<br />
AP / RSS<br />
back disappeared. United’s<br />
victory was their seventh after<br />
falling behind this season.<br />
“I thought it might be a<br />
record Premier League<br />
score at halftime,” United<br />
manager Alex Ferguson<br />
said.<br />
“It was really, really bad<br />
defending. That was the absolute<br />
worst it’s been this<br />
season. We deserved to get<br />
battered today. We scored<br />
goals thankfully which rescued<br />
us.” Ferguson will be<br />
hoping the defense is<br />
stronger Sunday week when<br />
they host second-place City,<br />
who were held to a 1-1 draw<br />
by Everton on Saturday.<br />
The first goal in the<br />
thrilling first half at Madejski<br />
Stadium came after eight<br />
minutes when United defender<br />
Jonny Evans could<br />
only head Jobi McAnuff’s<br />
cross into the path of Robson-Kanu,<br />
who volleyed<br />
draw after 10 days of play so<br />
the tourists could get a ship<br />
back to Britain. The South<br />
Africans only need a draw at<br />
the WACA to retain the No 1<br />
Test ranking, while Australia<br />
need a victory to replace<br />
them in top spot.<br />
Amla resumed on 99 with<br />
South Africa at 230-2 and<br />
reached his 18th Test hundred<br />
in the first over. The<br />
Australian attack, missing all<br />
three pacemen who played<br />
in the first two drawn Tests,<br />
had only picked up one<br />
wicket in 3 1/2 hours before<br />
Johnson’s double breakthrough<br />
in one over to remove<br />
Amla and Dean Elgar<br />
as the South African slipped<br />
from 3-436 to 5-436.<br />
Barcelona make<br />
best La Liga start<br />
Associated Press<br />
Barcelona, December 2<br />
Lionel Messi scored twice<br />
on Saturday as Barcelona<br />
made the best start in the<br />
history of the Spanish<br />
League with a 5-1 win<br />
over Athletic Bilbao, while<br />
Real Madrid extended<br />
their dominance over<br />
Atletico Madrid by easing<br />
to a 2-0 victory.<br />
Bara’s 13 wins and a<br />
draw in the opening 14<br />
rounds surpassed Real’s<br />
12 wins and two draws to<br />
begin the 1991-92 campaign.<br />
Barca led 3-0 by<br />
halftime with goals from<br />
Gerard Pique, Messi and<br />
Adriano. Cesc Fabregas<br />
and Messi scored after<br />
halftime.<br />
Real’s ninth straight win<br />
kept alive their run of not<br />
losing to Atletico in 24<br />
straight games, dating<br />
back to 1999. Atletico entered<br />
the game on their<br />
best start ever with 11<br />
wins in 13 rounds. But any<br />
hopes of ending years of<br />
misery were crushed<br />
when Cristiano Ronaldo<br />
past goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard.<br />
But United found their<br />
ruthlessness when coming<br />
from behind. Anderson<br />
picked out Ashley Young<br />
wide on the left and the<br />
Brazil midfielder continued<br />
his run before Young picked<br />
him out and lashed United<br />
level in the 13th.<br />
The visitors were ahead<br />
three minutes later after Jay<br />
Tabb bundled into the back<br />
of Evans, and Rooney<br />
scored from the penalty<br />
spot. Reading were level<br />
three minutes later, Le Fondre<br />
wriggling free of Evans<br />
in the area to head home<br />
Nicky Shorey’s corner.<br />
Moments after Rio Ferdinand<br />
had headed away a<br />
cross at the back post, Morrison<br />
beat Evans to a corner<br />
and powered a close-range<br />
header past Lindegaard. But<br />
United were soon back on<br />
scored an exquisite free<br />
kick in the 16th minute. A<br />
poor clearance by Miranda<br />
in his own half led to<br />
Mesut Oezil scoring Real’s<br />
second goal in the 66th<br />
from a pass by Ronaldo.<br />
Atletico remained in<br />
second place with their<br />
second loss of the season.<br />
But Barcelona are six<br />
points clear, as thirdplace<br />
Real closed to within<br />
five of their city rival.<br />
At Camp Nou, Pique<br />
pounced on the rebound<br />
of Fabregas’ shot from a<br />
corner that keeper Gorka<br />
Iraizoz did well to block to<br />
open the scoring in the<br />
22nd. Messi then struck to<br />
double the lead three<br />
minutes later before Adriano<br />
added another in injury<br />
time. Fabregas took<br />
his goal in the 57th from a<br />
pass by Andres Iniesta.<br />
Ibai Gomez replied for<br />
Bilbao in the 65th. Messi<br />
recorded a double five<br />
minutes later. Also, Valencia<br />
lost 5-2 at home to<br />
Real Sociedad and Getafe<br />
beat Malaga 1-0 for their<br />
third consecutive win.<br />
United go three points clear on top<br />
top. A sublime piece of skill<br />
from Young freed Patrice<br />
Evra down the left, and his<br />
low cross was tucked away<br />
by Rooney to make it 3-3 on<br />
the half-hour.<br />
The second half started<br />
much calmer but it was<br />
Reading pressing forward.<br />
Lindegaard fumbled a simple<br />
catch from Shorey’s corner<br />
before Reading’s appeals<br />
for a penalty were<br />
waved away after Evra won<br />
the ball in a challenge with<br />
Mariappa.<br />
Van Persie wasted a good<br />
chance to put United two<br />
clear when he shot wide after<br />
being picked out by Phil<br />
Jones, although the ball to<br />
the ex-Arsenal striker was<br />
slightly behind him. Van<br />
Persie missed a better opportunity<br />
moments later,<br />
robbing the ball off Federici<br />
but unable to hit the empty<br />
net from a tight angle.<br />
AP / RSS<br />
Johnson took his second<br />
caught-and-bowled dismissal<br />
of the innings, this<br />
time with a reflex, righthanded<br />
grab to dismiss Amla<br />
on the first ball of the 89th<br />
over. Then, he trapped the<br />
rookie South African Elgar<br />
leg before wicket to give him<br />
a pair of ducks on debut.<br />
The South Africans added<br />
69 runs in the six overs after<br />
the tea interval, with de Villiers<br />
and Faf du Plessis (27)<br />
flaying the bowling attack.<br />
Du Plessis shared a 102-run<br />
partnership with de Villiers<br />
on Sunday before his defiance<br />
ended, edging Johnson<br />
to Michael Clarke at slip.<br />
Starc then dismissed the last<br />
three tailenders.<br />
Reuters<br />
Khulna, December 2<br />
Opener Anamul Haque<br />
struck his maiden inter<strong>national</strong><br />
century as<br />
Bangladesh crushed West<br />
Indies by 160 runs in the<br />
second one day inter<strong>national</strong><br />
(ODI) today to record<br />
their biggest win in the 50over<br />
format.<br />
Playing only his second<br />
one dayer, right-handed<br />
batsman Anamul smashed<br />
120 off 145 balls to help<br />
Bangladesh post 292-6 before<br />
the hosts returned to<br />
skittle out West Indies for<br />
132 in 31.1 overs for a comprehensive<br />
win that put<br />
them 2-0 up in the fivematch<br />
series. The victory at<br />
the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium<br />
bettered Bangladesh’s<br />
146-run win against Scotland<br />
in Dhaka in 2006.<br />
Anamul shared 174 runs<br />
with skipper Mushfiqur<br />
Rahim (79), a record for<br />
Bangladesh in third wicket,<br />
which lifted the hosts after<br />
West Indies had put them in<br />
and reduced to 21-2 inside<br />
seven overs. The duo fell<br />
just one run short of<br />
Bangladesh’s highest ever<br />
ODI partnership set by<br />
Habibul Bashar and Rajin<br />
Saleh against Kenya in 2006<br />
when Rahim was out after<br />
his 87-ball knock.<br />
Anamul, the top scorer in<br />
the ICC Under-19 World<br />
Cup in August, had a nervous<br />
wait for his century<br />
that came off with a single<br />
off Ravi Rampaul in the 47th<br />
over of the innings. The<br />
opener, who turns 20 on December<br />
16, took 23 balls to<br />
reach from 90 to 100 but<br />
compensated soon by hitting<br />
Andre Russell for two<br />
sixes and a four in consecutive<br />
balls in the next over.<br />
Rampaul, pick of the West<br />
Indies bowlers with careerbest<br />
figure of 5-49, eventually<br />
dismissed Anamul who<br />
hit 13 boundaries and two<br />
sixes in his 145-ball knock.<br />
West Indies were under<br />
pressure right from the beginning<br />
as the first four<br />
overs produced only five<br />
runs despite the presence of<br />
destructive batsmen Chris<br />
Gayle (15). Opener Lendl<br />
Simmons (nine) fell to offspinner<br />
Sohag Gazi (3-21)<br />
and the visitors’ problem<br />
compounded when Gayle<br />
PAGE 13<br />
Haque hits ton as Bangladesh<br />
record biggest ever ODI win<br />
AP / RSS<br />
Bangladesh’s Anamul Haque acknowledges the crowd<br />
after scoring a century during their second ODI match<br />
against the West Indies in Khulna on Sunday.<br />
was dismissed caught behind<br />
off paceman Mashrafe<br />
Mortaza.<br />
Gazi struck another crucial<br />
blow by removing Marlon<br />
Samuels (16) before leftarm<br />
spinner Abdur Razzak<br />
(3-19) broke the back of the<br />
West Indies batting order.<br />
Both the teams travel to<br />
Dhaka for the third match<br />
on Wednesday.
PAGE 14 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
THThi-tech hi-tech<br />
tech<br />
terse<br />
Apple to sell new iPads,<br />
iPhone 5 in China<br />
CALIFORNIA: Apple Inc on Friday said<br />
its latest iPad models will go on sale in<br />
China on Dec 7, followed by the<br />
iPhone 5 a week later. China is one of<br />
Apple’s largest and fastest-growing<br />
markets. Analyst Brian White at Topeka<br />
Capital Markets said iPhone 5 is<br />
launching roughly but he hadn’t expected<br />
the iPad mini and the fourthgeneration,<br />
full-size iPad to go on sale<br />
in China this year. “Our conversations<br />
during our meetings and casual consumer<br />
interactions tell us that the iPad<br />
Mini will take off like wildfire in China,”<br />
White wrote in a research report<br />
Friday morning. “The smaller form<br />
factor and lower price point, we believe<br />
Apple will be able to sell the iPad<br />
mini in meaningful volumes.” White<br />
said uptake of the iPhone 4S was relatively<br />
slow in China, because the signature<br />
new feature, voice-recognitionpowered<br />
virtual assistant Siri, did not<br />
understand Mandarin Chinese. — AP<br />
Google soon to buy<br />
BufferBox<br />
CALIFORNIA: Signalling an intent to<br />
compete with Amazon in online shopping,<br />
Google announced Friday it is<br />
buying BufferBox. It is a startup that<br />
runs a parcel storage service similar to<br />
Amazon Locker. Both services let you<br />
order online, but in BufferBox, instead<br />
of requiring a key, the locker can be<br />
opened with a PIN code. “We want to<br />
remove as much friction as possible<br />
from the shopping experience, while<br />
helping consumers save time and<br />
money,” said a Google spokesperson.<br />
BufferBox has a major advantage over<br />
its Amazon counterpart — you can<br />
pick up any package in its lockers, including<br />
UPS and Fedex. The company<br />
is currently running a trial service in<br />
Canada. It’s a major coup for the three<br />
founders, who work out of a startup<br />
incubator in Waterloo. “As online<br />
shopping becomes a bigger part of<br />
how you buy products, we look<br />
forward to playing a part in bringing<br />
that experience to the next level,” the<br />
trio wrote on the BufferBox blog.<br />
Amazon began testing its Locker service<br />
a year ago. But it has one distinct<br />
disadvantage : you can only use it for<br />
Amazon packages. — Agencies<br />
Mexican court<br />
to sue Yahoo!<br />
SAN FRANCISCO: A civil court in<br />
Mexico entered a preliminary USD2.7<br />
billion judgment against Yahoo Inc for<br />
breach of contract involving a yellow<br />
pages listings service, Yahoo said on<br />
Friday. Yahoo believes the claims are<br />
without merit and that it will pursue<br />
all appeals. Shares of Yahoo were off<br />
1.7 per cent at USD18.45. The lawsuit<br />
was brought by Worldwide Directories<br />
SA de CV and Ideas Interactivas SA de<br />
CV against Yahoo and Yahoo de Mexico,<br />
Yahoo said. “The plaintiffs alleged<br />
claims of breach of contract, breach of<br />
promise, and lost profits arising from<br />
contracts related to a yellow pages<br />
listings service,” Yahoo said in a<br />
statement. Yahoo said the ruling was a<br />
‘non-final judgment’ by the 49th Civil<br />
Court of the Federal District of Mexico<br />
City.Its most recent 10Q filing, which<br />
lists major ongoing litigation, makes<br />
no mention of the lawsuit. Worldwide<br />
Directories and Ideas Interactivas<br />
could not immediately be reached for<br />
comment. — Reuters<br />
Grand gifts<br />
for grand ceremonies<br />
Himalayan News Service<br />
Kathmandu<br />
Grand ceremonies call for<br />
grand gifts, especially<br />
weddings. But deciding<br />
on a present that is both<br />
unusual and useful for<br />
couples entering matrimony<br />
can be quite a challenge. For<br />
those mulling over the options<br />
available, here are some ideas<br />
to facilitate your decision<br />
making.<br />
SG Global, the sole authorised<br />
distributor of Sharp<br />
products in Nepal plan to<br />
launch new schemes within a<br />
week, targeting the wedding<br />
season. Chiranjibi Dahal,<br />
sales manager for Sharp products<br />
at Teku, says, “Usually it is<br />
the more affluent lot that gift<br />
electronic goods. But most of<br />
our customers are price sensitive,<br />
which is why our sales<br />
have not increased much.”<br />
According to him, Sharp refrigerators<br />
and washing machines<br />
do pretty well during<br />
this season. Refrigerators start<br />
at Rs 22,790 and go as high as<br />
Rs 199,000 while washing machines<br />
are priced between Rs<br />
17,490 to Rs 62,000. However,<br />
SAN FRANCISCO: As<br />
Zynga continues its free<br />
fall into irrelevancy with<br />
layoffs and its hit social<br />
games, the gaming company<br />
has revised its contract<br />
with Facebook (FB) to free it<br />
from being “forced to launch<br />
games exclusively on the FB<br />
platform” and “obligated to<br />
use FB Credits for Zynga<br />
game pages,” according to<br />
AllThingsD. The change of<br />
terms filed with the SEC also<br />
includes a clause that states<br />
“FB will no longer be prohibited<br />
from developing its<br />
own games.” Could FB start<br />
developing its own social<br />
games? Theoretically, yes.<br />
But would FB really jeopardise<br />
its relationships with<br />
game developers? Probably<br />
not. “We’re not in the business<br />
of building games and<br />
he considers 24 to 70 inch<br />
Sharp LED TVs — costing<br />
between Rs 37,900 to Rs 80,000<br />
— to be the best gifting option<br />
this season. The vast range of<br />
Sharp products includes LCD<br />
and LED TVs, refrigerators,<br />
microwave ovens, washing<br />
machines, DVD players, home<br />
theatre systems, air purifiers,<br />
vacuum cleaners, et cetera.<br />
Similarly, CG digital multibrand<br />
showroom at Chabahil<br />
offers different schemes for<br />
different brands to woo all<br />
types of customers. The<br />
multi-brand showroom is<br />
the authorised distributor<br />
of LG, Toshiba, CG, Godrej,<br />
PCL and Kelvinator. Madhav<br />
Malla Thakuri, multibrand<br />
showroom manager<br />
in Chabahil says, “This is<br />
a one-stop solution<br />
for consumers to<br />
choose from a variety<br />
of brands as<br />
they might not<br />
be satisfied<br />
with a particular<br />
one<br />
for the wedding<br />
gifts.”<br />
According to him,<br />
people normally choose wash-<br />
Is FB planning to<br />
develop its own<br />
games?<br />
REVISED ZYNGA TERMS<br />
OPEN THE DOOR<br />
we have no plans to do so,” a<br />
FB spokesman told AllThingsD.<br />
“We’re focused on being<br />
the platform where<br />
games and apps are built.”<br />
AllThingsD’s report says<br />
the change in terms isn’t so<br />
much as a bid by FB to make<br />
its own games, but to shed<br />
its dependence on Zynga to<br />
supply it with hit games. The<br />
new revised terms give FB<br />
more leverage and other<br />
game developers a greater<br />
incentive to create games.<br />
FB is a publicly traded<br />
company chasing profits,<br />
despite what CEO Mark<br />
Zuckerberg says. It might<br />
not be developing games<br />
today, but the new terms<br />
with Zynga now leaves that<br />
door open, should it want<br />
to make its own games<br />
one day. — Agencies<br />
ing machines, micro wave<br />
ovens or vacuum cleaners as<br />
wedding gifts. Electronic appliances<br />
on demand at the<br />
store during wedding seasons<br />
are LCD televisions of 22 to 65<br />
inches from LG worth Rs<br />
28,000 to Rs 400,000 respectively.<br />
Vacuum cleaners from<br />
1. Google Drive update (Free):<br />
This app is worth downloading,<br />
and has the capability of editing.<br />
It made an improvements to<br />
Google Drive documents, better<br />
clipboard support and cutting<br />
and pasting capabilities.<br />
2. Adblock Plus (Free):<br />
The app will block ads, browser<br />
windows, and even in videos,<br />
and doesn’t require Android<br />
device to be rooted. It works<br />
across multiple applications.<br />
3. Littlest Pet Shop (Free):<br />
Littlest Pet Shop offers virtual<br />
pet care opportunities to players.<br />
Mostly the game is about<br />
collecting, and to unlock new<br />
stuff to work with pets.<br />
4. Rdio beta update (Free): It is<br />
an update to the beta version of<br />
Internet radio app Rdio. The app<br />
CG, which are priced between<br />
Rs 3000 to Rs 6000 also hold<br />
potential for promising sales<br />
during this time of the year.<br />
Neerisha Shrestha, a TU<br />
graduate in Sociology,<br />
along with her friends<br />
are planning to gift a<br />
new couple, says, “We<br />
wanted the present to<br />
be special and after<br />
much discussion,<br />
everyone finally settled for<br />
a Philips iron and kitchen<br />
cutlery set.” According to her,<br />
although the trend to gift<br />
electronic appliances is<br />
growing popular, most people<br />
still prefer traditional<br />
presents owing to their cost<br />
effectiveness.<br />
Him Electronics Pvt Ltd,<br />
subsidiary of Golchha Organisation,<br />
has opened its<br />
first multi-brand showroom<br />
at Civil Mall, Sundhara. The<br />
outlet features products from<br />
Bajaj, Times and Himstar<br />
brands. Nikita<br />
Thapaliya, sales<br />
executives of the<br />
multi-brand<br />
showroom, says, “Most<br />
people usually opt for electronic<br />
appliances like rice<br />
allows to build playlists, and also<br />
collaborate with friends to<br />
create joint playlists.<br />
5. PostalPix (Free): PostalPix is<br />
an app that order prints of<br />
the photos with your Android<br />
device, and shred waves and<br />
around buoys in Sailboat Championship,<br />
a boat-racing game<br />
with great graphics.<br />
6. Skype update (Free): Skype<br />
received an update that makes<br />
it better for tablet users. The<br />
updated Skype revamped its<br />
interface specifically designed<br />
to make it easier to use on<br />
tablets. It received a number of<br />
improvements to increase audio<br />
quality, allow the merging of<br />
Microsoft and Skype accounts,<br />
and clean up various bugs. It allows<br />
users to make calls both domestically<br />
and inter<strong>national</strong>ly.<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
The progression of technology<br />
is based on making it fit, so it’s<br />
part of everyday life — Bill Gates<br />
WITH<br />
BRANDS<br />
CASHING<br />
IN ON THE<br />
WEDDING<br />
SEASON,<br />
THERE ARE<br />
PLENTY<br />
OF HI-TECH<br />
OPTIONS<br />
AVAILABLE<br />
TO FIT<br />
EVERY<br />
BUDGET<br />
cookers, irons and mixer<br />
blenders. However, a few<br />
prefer watches as gifts for<br />
weddings.” According to her,<br />
the company is providing 25<br />
per cent discount on Timex<br />
watches and 10 per cent on<br />
both Himstar and Bajaj brands<br />
for the wedding season. She<br />
also informed that the highest<br />
selling items at the outlet are<br />
Timex watches — the sales<br />
number amounting to around<br />
30 per month.<br />
With so many options<br />
available, it is only natural that<br />
people are stepping away from<br />
conventional gifting options<br />
and trying new items. While<br />
brands cash in on the wedding<br />
season, those attending the<br />
special event might just find<br />
the perfect gift that fits<br />
their budget.<br />
7. GTA Radio update (Free):<br />
GTA Radio added content from<br />
the beloved Grand Theft Auto<br />
video game series to bring yousome<br />
hilarious radio shows and<br />
great music.<br />
8. Hyperwave (Free): Arcade<br />
shooter Hyperwave puts players<br />
up against waves of alien invaders,<br />
with tons of enemies to<br />
dodge and destroy. Hyperwave<br />
uses a 2.5-D viewpoint, and<br />
effectively keeps players in the<br />
action all the time forcing them<br />
to dodge incoming economies.<br />
9. Amazon Mobile (Tablet)<br />
(Free): Amazon’s mobile app in a<br />
tablet version, which makes<br />
shopping the massive online<br />
• CELEB’S CORNER<br />
Top 11 Android apps<br />
worth downloading<br />
RAMKRISHNA DHAKAL, is a<br />
popular singer turned actor, who<br />
has released 15 albums and was<br />
featured in a Nepali movie titled<br />
Aashirbad. With his song ‘Orali<br />
lageko harin ko chaal bho’ his popularity<br />
skyrocketed. For Dhakal,<br />
technology is an efficient medium<br />
to connect people. He spoke to<br />
THT Hi-Tech Plus about his choice<br />
of gadgets.<br />
Which is your favourite gadget?<br />
Why?<br />
My favourite gadget is my<br />
iPhone 4 because it is comfortable<br />
to use and is very handy.<br />
Which features do you like the<br />
most?<br />
I like its various available apps,<br />
games, templeman and YouTube<br />
features.<br />
Which is the one gadget in your<br />
wish list?<br />
I would like to own a Samsung<br />
Galaxy S III in the near future.<br />
retailer a lot easier. Amazon’s<br />
app access the retailer’s entire<br />
catalog, and includes features<br />
like the one-click option for<br />
simplified purchasing.<br />
10. Utter! Voice Comman<br />
Beta (Free): It is pretty much ex-<br />
actly what it sounds like, allowing<br />
to control your entire device<br />
with voice commands. Utter!<br />
differentiates itself from other<br />
voice command apps by using<br />
very few resources and running<br />
in the background on your device.<br />
It’s worth noting that utter!<br />
is a beta release, which means<br />
it’s likely to have bugs and that<br />
the developers are looking for<br />
feedback as they test it before its<br />
official release.<br />
11. Speaktoiy Assistant update<br />
(Free): It can launch apps,<br />
surf and answer questions, all<br />
with commands spoken in<br />
natural language. It has undergone<br />
a huge overhaul, bringing a<br />
big redesign to the user interface<br />
and improvements to the app. It<br />
also now features social connectivity<br />
that share Assistant’s<br />
answers to questions with your<br />
friends. At its core, the app<br />
remains all about finding information,<br />
and mirrors similar<br />
technology like Apple’s Siri. The<br />
Speaktoit Assistant is still a<br />
beta release and is undergoing<br />
further improvements. — Agencies
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
POSITIVE LIVING<br />
Variety<br />
PAGE 15<br />
10 steps<br />
to a happier you<br />
AUTHOR OF THE HUMAN BEING OF THE FUTURE<br />
DANIELE BOIDO BELIEVES THAT PURGING<br />
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND IMPROVING RELATIONSHIPS<br />
COULD HELP US CREATE A BETTER AND HAPPIER LIFE<br />
LONDON: A spiritual<br />
teacher has suggested<br />
10 simple steps that<br />
could lead you to a<br />
happier lifestyle.<br />
Daniele Boido, author of The<br />
Human Being Of The Future,<br />
said purging negative emotions<br />
and improving relationships<br />
could helps us create a better<br />
and happier life, the Daily Express<br />
reported.<br />
Here are his top tips on how to<br />
feel upbeat and fulfilled, as revealed<br />
by the Daily Express —<br />
1. Understand<br />
spirituality<br />
To enhance your spirituality,<br />
make sure that whenever you<br />
come across someone with less<br />
understanding and awareness<br />
of particular situations you do<br />
everything in your power to help<br />
them.<br />
“Show compassion, patience<br />
and unconditional love. Don’t<br />
judge and instead share your<br />
knowledge and insights to try to<br />
support and encourage them to<br />
follow their own path,” advises<br />
Boido.<br />
“Work on becoming more<br />
aware and in tune with your<br />
thoughts and actions. This<br />
could be through meditation,<br />
exercise or a healthy lifestyle as<br />
these will help you to achieve inner<br />
strength and a connection<br />
• LIFE SKILL<br />
Balancing act<br />
I wish you bright mornings and<br />
warm, sunny days,<br />
Soft shade to cool you from<br />
sweltering rays,<br />
Raindrops, a few, from some<br />
cloud floating by,<br />
Rainbows thereafter to<br />
colour your sky.<br />
Rambling rivers and great<br />
shining seas,<br />
Mountains and forests with<br />
towering trees,<br />
Hillsides and valleys,<br />
all flower-festooned,<br />
Nature that nurtures<br />
whomever’s attuned.<br />
A faithful companion<br />
who’ll stay by your side,<br />
Children to care for,<br />
to love and to guide,<br />
Enough work to do with enough<br />
time for play<br />
Then restful sleep at the close<br />
of the day.<br />
Friends when you need them and<br />
when they need you,<br />
Something to spend,<br />
just as much as will do<br />
A heart full of laughter;<br />
perhaps a few tears,<br />
A faith you can follow through<br />
all of your years.<br />
Then, fearlessly facing your last<br />
setting sun,<br />
As you contemplate all the deeds<br />
you have done,<br />
Recalling a life that’s been more<br />
than worthwhile,<br />
Perhaps you will pause and give<br />
thanks with a smile.<br />
— Author Unknown<br />
to others,” he adds.<br />
2. Learn to forgive<br />
He says holding on to past<br />
hurts only leads to a destructive<br />
state of mind.<br />
“If someone has hurt you then<br />
you need to let go of your bitterness<br />
and resentment in order to<br />
move on,” says Boido.<br />
“For a few moments repeat in<br />
your mind or out loud, ‘I truly<br />
and freely forgive and let go of<br />
any negative event and person<br />
from my past and anyone who<br />
needs to forgive me now does,”<br />
he said.<br />
3.Take care of<br />
your body<br />
Boido recommends eating<br />
plenty of fresh foods including<br />
fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts,<br />
pulses and wholegrains, suggesting<br />
“these will nourish your<br />
body with vibrant, healthy energy”.<br />
He also advocates taking up a<br />
mind and body exercise such as<br />
yoga, Pilates or tai chi.<br />
4. Release negative emotions<br />
To let go of negative emotions<br />
Boido suggests a simple exercise.<br />
“Sitting comfortably, begin to<br />
inhale and exhale<br />
taking long,<br />
slow, deep<br />
breaths.<br />
“As you exhale imagine releasing<br />
all negative emotions such<br />
as anger, revenge or jealousy. As<br />
you inhale imagine breathing in<br />
the positive qualities you need<br />
in your life such as calmness,<br />
courage and will power.<br />
“Continue this for a few minutes.<br />
With practice you will find<br />
it easier to let go of negative feelings.”<br />
5. Share unconditional<br />
love<br />
Boido says feeling unconditional<br />
love towards yourself and<br />
others creates harmony.<br />
“The more you can open<br />
yourself up to this feeling, the<br />
more peaceful and tranquil you<br />
will feel,” he states.<br />
Perfect, the<br />
way we are<br />
We have all heard that no two<br />
snowflakes are alike. Each<br />
snowflake takes the perfect<br />
form for the maximum efficiency<br />
and effectiveness for its journey. And<br />
while the universal force of gravity<br />
gives them a shared destination, the<br />
expansive space in the air gives each<br />
snowflake the opportunity to take<br />
their own path. They are on the same<br />
journey, but each takes a different<br />
path.<br />
Along this gravity-driven journey,<br />
some snowflakes collide and damage<br />
each other, some collide and join together,<br />
some are influenced by<br />
wind... there are so many transitions<br />
and changes that take place along<br />
the journey of the snowflake. But, no<br />
matter what the transition, the<br />
snowflake always finds itself perfectly<br />
shaped for its journey.<br />
I find parallels in nature to be a<br />
More pancakes<br />
Six year old Brandon decided<br />
one Saturday morning to<br />
fix his parents pancakes. He<br />
found a big bowl and spoon,<br />
pulled a chair to the counter,<br />
opened the cupboard and pulled<br />
out the heavy flour canister,<br />
spilling it on the floor. He<br />
scooped some of the flour into<br />
the bowl with his hands, mixed<br />
in most of a cup of milk and<br />
added some sugar, leaving a<br />
floury trail on the floor which by<br />
now had a few tracks left by his<br />
kitten.<br />
Brandon was covered with<br />
flour and getting frustrated. He<br />
wanted this to be something<br />
very good for Mum and Dad, but<br />
it was getting very bad. He didn’t<br />
know what to do next, whether<br />
to put it all into the oven or on<br />
the stove (and he didn’t know<br />
how the stove worked)! Suddenly<br />
he saw his kitten licking from the<br />
bowl of mix and reached to push<br />
her away, knocking the egg carton<br />
to the floor. Frantically he<br />
6. Find your inner boss<br />
If one moment you feel calm<br />
and in control, yet the next<br />
stressed out and compelled to<br />
binge on chocolate, you might<br />
need to summon your inner<br />
boss.<br />
“If you want to feel more in<br />
control, a simple tactic is to<br />
imagine that you have an inner<br />
chairman,” says Boido.<br />
7. Learn from others<br />
Boido says we can learn a lot<br />
from people we fall in love with.<br />
8. Quiet time<br />
When you’re caught up with<br />
work, looking after family or just<br />
trying to get through the day it’s<br />
easy to slip into an automatic,<br />
beautiful reflection of grand orchestration.<br />
One of these parallels is of<br />
snowflakes and us. We, too, are all<br />
headed in the same direction. We are<br />
being driven by a universal force to<br />
the same destination. We are all individuals<br />
taking different journeys and<br />
along our journey, we sometimes<br />
bump into each other, we cross<br />
paths, we become altered ... we take<br />
different physical forms. But at all<br />
times we too are 100 per cent perfectly<br />
imperfect.<br />
tried to clean up this monumental<br />
mess but slipped on the eggs,<br />
getting his pajamas white and<br />
sticky.<br />
And just then he saw Dad<br />
standing at the door. Big crocodile<br />
tears welled up in Brandon’s<br />
eyes. All he’d wanted to do was<br />
something good, but he’d made<br />
zombie-like state. To come out<br />
of this Boido says, “Find a quiet<br />
place. Relax and starting with<br />
your right thumb mentally isolate<br />
and focus on every single<br />
body part. “Notice how they feel<br />
and work on being aware of how<br />
you are mentally and physically,”<br />
he suggests.<br />
9. Create positive vibes<br />
“You must develop the ability<br />
to focus,” says Boido.<br />
He suggests practising this exercise:<br />
“Draw a large circle. Fill it<br />
with black pen. Place it at eye<br />
level, breathing slowly and<br />
deeply. Focus on it for three<br />
minutes. Use these focusing<br />
skills when summoning positive<br />
thoughts.”<br />
10.Try to connect with<br />
nature<br />
“In the morning spend two to<br />
three minutes focusing on<br />
things such as water (rain),<br />
trees, flowers, grass or fruits. In<br />
the evening focus on inner qualities<br />
including love, peace, kindness<br />
and harmony. This will<br />
help you to create a stronger<br />
connection to these natural<br />
qualities and feel more in tune<br />
with nature,” Boido says. — Agencies<br />
At every given<br />
moment we are absolutely<br />
perfect for<br />
what is required for<br />
our journey. I’m not<br />
perfect for your journey<br />
and you’re not<br />
perfect for my journey,<br />
but I’m perfect<br />
for my journey and<br />
you’re perfect for<br />
your journey. We’re<br />
heading to the same<br />
place, we’re taking<br />
different routes, but<br />
we’re both exactly<br />
perfect the way we<br />
are.<br />
Think of what understanding<br />
this great orchestration<br />
could mean for relationships. Imagine<br />
interacting with others knowing<br />
that they too each share this parallel<br />
with the snowflake. Like you, they are<br />
headed to the same place and no<br />
matter what they may appear like to<br />
you, they have taken the perfect form<br />
for their journey. How strong our relationships<br />
would be if we could see<br />
and respect that we are all perfectly<br />
imperfect for our journey.<br />
— Abstract from the book: Life, the Truth, and Being Free<br />
a terrible mess. He was sure a<br />
scolding was coming, maybe<br />
even a spanking. But his father<br />
just watched him. Then, walking<br />
through the mess, he picked up<br />
his crying son, hugged him and<br />
loved him, getting his own pajamas<br />
white and sticky in the<br />
process.<br />
That’s how God deals with us.<br />
We try to do something good in<br />
life, but it turns into a mess. Our<br />
marriage gets all sticky or we insult<br />
a friend or we can’t stand our<br />
job or our health goes sour.<br />
Sometimes we just stand there<br />
in tears because we can’t think of<br />
anything else to do. That’s when<br />
God picks us up and loves us and<br />
forgives us, even though some of<br />
our mess gets all over Him. But<br />
just because we might mess up,<br />
we can’t stop trying to ‘make<br />
pancakes’. Sooner or later we’ll<br />
get it right, and then they’ll be<br />
glad we tried.<br />
Please pass some of this love<br />
on to others. — Author Unknown<br />
Rajyogi<br />
Brahmakumar<br />
Nikunj ji<br />
We never know<br />
what is around the<br />
corner or what the<br />
next step in our life<br />
is going to be. So<br />
our priority must be<br />
our own inner stability<br />
and our relationship<br />
with<br />
Supreme. If these<br />
are strong and firm,<br />
we would be able to<br />
deal with the circumstances<br />
and<br />
situations life brings<br />
up time and again.<br />
Spiritual knowledge helps us understand ourselves<br />
and keep our emotions and feelings positive<br />
and powerful and that brings us closer to<br />
Supreme. The daily practice of understanding<br />
and reflecting on these truths will enable us to<br />
use whatever situation comes to serve others<br />
and move forward in a way that’s helpful and<br />
meaningful for everyone in general.<br />
Many people have recognised how a situation<br />
of loss has been an opportunity to renew<br />
the self. Illness, for example, can be an opportunity<br />
to have silence and solitude that isn’t possible<br />
in the busy lives most lead today. Losing a<br />
role or responsibility in life can free oneself to reconsider<br />
ones values and priorities and perhaps<br />
take on a new and different one.<br />
Bereavement is more difficult to deal with.<br />
Yet, even then, we can maintain our stability,<br />
when we understand that our vibrations reach<br />
those we love and that, by staying peaceful, we<br />
will bring help and strength to the souls that<br />
have gone. If we come into upheaval, that upheaval<br />
reaches them too and hampers them on<br />
their journey forward. We haven’t suffered the<br />
loss alone — others around us also feel the loss<br />
keenly and our distress would add to theirs.<br />
Hence, our stability will help them cope with<br />
their loss. So by helping others we too will<br />
find strength.<br />
Emotional stability Life<br />
nikunjji@brahmakumaris.in www.brahmakumaris.com<br />
positive<br />
Think outside<br />
the shoe<br />
Born in 1983 in Sierra Vista,<br />
Arizona, USA, Jessica has<br />
learned to live her life with<br />
her feet. Born without<br />
arms and all doctors did not know<br />
why. There were many questions at<br />
the time about whether Jessica<br />
would be able to live a ‘normal’ life.<br />
However, Jessica’s father has said<br />
he never shed a tear about her<br />
birth condition. He had full confidence<br />
in her potential.<br />
With the support of her parents<br />
and family, Jessica became confident<br />
in herself as an adult and continued<br />
to explore the world with<br />
her feet. As a child, Jessica studied<br />
dance in her home town. When the<br />
first performance arrived, she<br />
asked to be put in the back row. Her<br />
dance teacher told her there was<br />
no back row. Tentatively she took<br />
the stage with the other students<br />
and performed her routine. When<br />
she finished, the applause from the<br />
audience gave her encouragement<br />
and the confidence to continue<br />
dancing for 14 years.<br />
Jessica’s parents eventually met a<br />
Taekwondo instructor named Jim<br />
Cunningham. His response when<br />
told of her birth condition was that<br />
she would be more than physically<br />
able and that only her attitude<br />
could hold her back. At the age of<br />
14, Jessica earned her first Black<br />
Belt in the Inter<strong>national</strong> Taekwondo<br />
Federation.<br />
After graduating from high<br />
school, Jessica attended the University<br />
of Arizona where she<br />
earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.<br />
When talking about her<br />
degree, she frequently explains<br />
that psychology credits the way<br />
people think has a greater impact<br />
on their lives than a physical limitation.<br />
Jessica’s most famous accomplishment<br />
was learning how to fly.<br />
It took three states, four airplanes,<br />
two flight instructors and a discouraging<br />
year to find the right aircraft:<br />
a 1946 415C Ercoupe Airplane.<br />
She received the Guinness<br />
World Record for being the first<br />
person certified to fly an airplane<br />
with only their feet.<br />
Jessica now works as a motivational<br />
speaker. She travels the<br />
world sharing her story and encouraging<br />
people to be creative<br />
and innovative with the mantra<br />
“Think outside the shoe.” — Jessica Cox
PAGE 16 www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
VARIETY<br />
Art symposium:<br />
Platform for cultural dialogue<br />
Photos: Courtesy Kailash K Shrestha<br />
YOUR LUCK<br />
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: This year interactions with others generally are<br />
very fortunate for you. It is through these contacts that many opportunities<br />
will arise. Impulsiveness works in your favour. You will want<br />
to detach when you feel triggered. If you are single, someone very<br />
special strolls through your door. This person could be very significant<br />
to your life history. Come next summer, you will experience a<br />
greater intimacy than you have in a long time, or possibly ever before.<br />
If you are attached, you could act like young lovers again. Plan<br />
on taking a special vacation this summer. You will remember this<br />
year for a long time. LEO helps you gain perspective.<br />
A baby born today has a Sun in Sagittarius and a Moon in Leo.<br />
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You could feel challenged<br />
by financial news and/or a partner’s reserved attitude.<br />
You have what it takes to break out of this stifling<br />
situation within a few hours. You’ll naturally find the<br />
right approach, which you impulsively will put into action.<br />
Tonight: Let the games begin. ✹✹✹✹<br />
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Someone you usually<br />
count on could be rather cold toward you right now. If<br />
you can’t figure out what gives, it is important that you<br />
find out. You know how to talk this person out of his or<br />
her reticence long enough to tell you what is wrong. Tonight: Happily<br />
at home. ✹✹✹<br />
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You appear to be robust<br />
and quite happy, until a normal encounter becomes<br />
too serious for your taste. You might consider<br />
distancing yourself from this person, as he or she<br />
seems to be the source of a chill in the air. Hang with your more<br />
jovial friends. Tonight: At a favourite spot. ✹✹✹✹✹<br />
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You might not like what a<br />
risk brings, but you are very tempted to find out. Make<br />
an effort to move past the obvious. Consider what<br />
would happen if this idea goes south. If you resist the<br />
temptation, you deserve a pat on the back. Tonight: Treat yourself.<br />
You choose what. ✹✹✹<br />
LEO (July 23-Aug 22): You beam, no matter what you<br />
do. Others respond in a big way to your efforts. A<br />
situation could drain you if you allow it to, but you<br />
won’t. Good news heads your way. A meeting could be<br />
more important than you realise. Tonight: Your wish is someone’s<br />
command.✹✹✹✹✹<br />
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22): Know when to step back<br />
and handle a situation differently. You are on top of<br />
your responsibilities, but you still are mulling over an<br />
important idea. Listen rather than talk. Ask all the<br />
questions you need to. Choose to do a stressbuster. Tonight: Get<br />
some extra sleep.✹✹<br />
LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 22): You could feel a bit insecure<br />
and might be left wondering just how much others<br />
expect of you. Regardless, you’ll take the lead in a<br />
meeting. Your opinions make a difference to many<br />
people. Would you present yourself differently if you felt slightly<br />
surer of yourself? Tonight: With pals.✹✹✹<br />
SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): You might not feel<br />
energised, with everything that is going on around you.<br />
In fact, you could be stuck on overthinking what has<br />
gone on. Know that you might need to understand the<br />
influence of your own negativity. Share your opinions. Tonight: A<br />
force to be dealt with. ✹✹✹<br />
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): You could be<br />
questioning what you want to do and why. Detach, and<br />
you will see that you need no explanations. It is your<br />
life; choose to live it well. Think more carefully about<br />
what is<br />
happening around you. You do need some feedback. Tonight: Let<br />
your mind wander. ✹✹✹✹<br />
CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): Deal with someone directly.<br />
In fact, everyone you deal with would appreciate<br />
your personal attention. Consider the possibility that<br />
everything would run more smoothly if you shared<br />
more one-on-one time with others. Tonight: With a favourite person.<br />
✹✹✹✹<br />
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): Stay on top of surprising<br />
requests or an unexpected financial development.Your<br />
original reaction could be very different from your final<br />
response. Lady Luck increases your options if you tap<br />
into your creativity. This allows you to see situations differently.<br />
Tonight: Return calls. ✹✹✹✹<br />
PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): You might want to rethink<br />
recent developments in your daily life. You might need<br />
to let go of a pattern or a certain way of thinking. You<br />
will be much happier in the long run. A child or family<br />
member seeks you out with good news. Tonight: Choose something<br />
relaxing.✹✹✹✹<br />
Born today: Born today: Singer Ozzy Osbourne (1948), actress Daryl<br />
Hannah (1960), author Joseph Conrad (1857)<br />
By Jacqueline Bigar<br />
Note: Bigar’s Stars is based on the degree of your sun at birth.The sign<br />
name is simply a label astrologers put on a set of degrees for convenience.<br />
For best results, readers should refer to the dates following each sign.<br />
KATHMANDU: The second<br />
Kathmandu Inter<strong>national</strong><br />
Art Festival<br />
(KIAF) this year has not<br />
only featured art exhibitions,<br />
installation works and performances<br />
but it also presented a<br />
three-day art symposium from<br />
November 26 to 28 at various<br />
venues around the Capital.<br />
The first day of symposium<br />
held at Nepal Tourism Board<br />
focused on discussions on<br />
topics like Urbanisation and<br />
Public Art, Environmental<br />
Art in Iran, Arts and Social<br />
Blues<br />
of life<br />
KATHMANDU: Stories<br />
about life and its moments<br />
were revealed<br />
through songs. It was<br />
bluesy yet comforting.<br />
The music was melodious touching<br />
the hearts, sometimes making you<br />
dance to the groovy beats.<br />
Apparently, it was another song of<br />
life, however it made the venue as<br />
well as time alive musically at the<br />
KATHMANDU: The<br />
mercury is coming<br />
down but the festive<br />
mood is going up with<br />
Christmas around the corner.<br />
And while talking about<br />
Christmas how can one forget<br />
the Christmas cake.<br />
Hotel Shangri-la organised<br />
a cake mixing programme<br />
at its Shambala<br />
Garden, Lazimpat on December<br />
2.<br />
The setting was perfect<br />
where one could enjoy the<br />
warmth of the sun and quiet<br />
ambience of the garden.<br />
Malina Joshi, Miss Nepal<br />
2011 , actress Nisha Adhikari,<br />
Norwegian director<br />
Haukur J Gunnarsson and<br />
Norwegian actress Inga Juuso,<br />
among others were present<br />
at the venue to take<br />
part in the cake mixing.<br />
And they were busy mixing<br />
all the aromatic ingredients<br />
like black currants,<br />
cashew nuts, peanuts, pista-<br />
Change and a lecture on renewable<br />
energy. Various inter<strong>national</strong><br />
artists like Sheba Chhachhi (India),<br />
Priscilla de Carvalho (Brazil), Svetoslav<br />
Nedev (Bulgaria), Jean Antoine<br />
Raveyre (France) and more<br />
were panelists of the day.<br />
The second and third day of<br />
symposium continued at the Patan<br />
Museum. Various inter<strong>national</strong><br />
artists talked on topics like Desire<br />
and Consumerism, Nature and the<br />
Arts: A Historical Perspective, Water,<br />
Geopolitical Landscapes and<br />
Creatures of the Natural World<br />
along with a lecture on How to Appreciate<br />
a Fine Arts Print.<br />
The artists put forth their critical<br />
views on different artworks and<br />
how their particular artwork is related<br />
to a certain topic. For example<br />
the talk on ‘Geopolitical Landscapes’<br />
that also featured presentation<br />
of the artists elaborated how<br />
Jolie to quit<br />
Hollywood!<br />
LONDON: Angelina Jolie has revealed<br />
that she is ready to quit acting to<br />
spend more time with her six children.<br />
The 37-year-old actress said that she<br />
would consider turning her back on Hollywood<br />
as her children enter their teens. Her<br />
oldest, adopted boy Maddox is now 11.<br />
“I think I’m going to have to give up acting<br />
as the children hit the teenage years because<br />
there is going to be too much to<br />
manage,” the Sun quoted her as saying.<br />
“If it went away tomorrow I’d be very<br />
happy at home,” she said. — Agencies<br />
Garden of Dreams, Kantipath on<br />
December 1 at Blues Garden.<br />
With folk tunes with a twist by<br />
Night band, the third day of the Himalayan<br />
Blues Festival (HBF) 2012<br />
ignited the soul of blues. Along with<br />
Nepali folksy tunes, blues from the<br />
USA and Finland echoed through<br />
the venue.<br />
Meanwhile, artiste Amy Hart from<br />
the USA made a special song of her<br />
chio nuts, black raisins, almonds,<br />
dry cherries, mixed<br />
peels, caramelised sugar,<br />
butter, rum cinnamon powder,<br />
fruit juice, beer and<br />
more.<br />
Pramod Aryal, Executive<br />
Chef of the hotel informed,<br />
“The mixing of these ingredients<br />
makes cake rich in<br />
flavour and healthy as well.<br />
It helps to generate heat for<br />
art is affected due to political situation<br />
of a country which further<br />
made impact upon community<br />
and nature.<br />
Meanwhile, in the lecture by<br />
Shahidul Alam, a photographer<br />
from Bangladesh, he elaborated<br />
how contemporary art world has<br />
accepted photography as the part<br />
of fine arts. He also explained that<br />
there could be only one version of a<br />
photo or uniqueness like painting<br />
in photography.<br />
Nameera Ahamed, an artist and<br />
filmmaker from Pakistan and one<br />
of the participants of KAIF shared,<br />
“The festival is very rich because of<br />
cultural dialogue from various<br />
countries. It is also a good platform<br />
for the artists to represent their<br />
work.”<br />
About the symposium, Sangeeta<br />
Thapa, Director of Siddhartha Art<br />
Foundation shared, “In the sympo-<br />
visit to Nepal. She sang Blues At The<br />
Top of The World along with songs<br />
like Red Dress Blues. Other songs<br />
that made the evening warm and<br />
soothing were Rain Of Colours,<br />
Suskera Haru, Himal Song among<br />
others.<br />
All the performances blended<br />
with the ambience of the garden<br />
and made it more wonderful. Tunes<br />
about nature, everyday life, travel,<br />
blues made the evening happening.<br />
Also, from electric blues to rock<br />
blues to the Nepali blues, the third<br />
day of the festival made the audience’s<br />
visit worth the while. And<br />
Wentus Blues Band from Finland,<br />
Sean Carney from USA, Amy Hart of<br />
USA and Steady Matt, USA jammed<br />
up on the stage of Blues Garden. It<br />
was more fun for the artistes as well<br />
as the crowd.<br />
“I am very excited to be here. It is<br />
an exciting experience in Kathmandu,”<br />
musician Carney who has travelled<br />
the farthest till date to perform<br />
shared. He found the audience and<br />
playing experience the same as<br />
everywhere he goes. Nonetheless,<br />
on his first visit, “it is amazing to<br />
know that blues has come this far.<br />
People have their own culture and<br />
music. And we are not sure if people<br />
know about jazz and blues. I met<br />
good musicians here who play<br />
blues. It is great”. On the other hand,<br />
he found the Nepali folk music<br />
“interesting”.<br />
HBF is the place where you find<br />
your own blues is what founder<br />
Samik Kharel opines. For him, the<br />
sixth edition of HBF was “good” with<br />
“a crowd that knew what they are listening<br />
to”. Watching them having<br />
fun and dancing in all the three days<br />
of the festival was memorable for<br />
him.<br />
HBF that started on November 30<br />
was a presentation of Blue Music<br />
Room. — HNS<br />
Hefner-Harris engaged again<br />
WASHINGTON: Hugh<br />
Hefner got engaged to<br />
Crystal Harris again and<br />
the couple will walk down the<br />
aisle at the Playboy Mansion on<br />
New Year’s Eve, according to reports.<br />
The 26-year-old Playboy playmate<br />
had previously cancelled the<br />
couple’s wedding in June, 2011<br />
the body during cold weather.<br />
And the act of marinating<br />
the mixture 25 days to one<br />
month prior, adds much<br />
flavour to the cake.”<br />
Joshi who was taking part<br />
in the cake mixing ceremony<br />
for the second time<br />
shared, “This kind of programme<br />
is meant for celebrating<br />
Christmas and respecting<br />
others’ culture and<br />
just five days shy of the big day,<br />
TMZ.com reported.<br />
According to sources, Hefner<br />
moved back into the Playboy<br />
Mansion earlier this year and the<br />
couple have worked out all their<br />
previous problems and decided<br />
recently that they want to try and<br />
get married again, the website<br />
said. Harris feels the time that she<br />
spent apart from<br />
the Playboy<br />
mogul really<br />
taught her how to<br />
be independent<br />
and stand on her<br />
own two feet<br />
something she felt<br />
she needed, the<br />
sources said.<br />
The marriage<br />
will be an intimate<br />
gathering with<br />
just close friends<br />
and family present,<br />
the sources<br />
added. — Agencies<br />
Heralding Christmas<br />
s i u m<br />
Chhachhi talked about garbage<br />
and community work.”<br />
He added, “And we also came to<br />
know about indigenous communi-<br />
I am happy to be the part of<br />
this overwhelming experience.”<br />
Cake mixing ritual creates<br />
a good feeling of doing<br />
something together which<br />
denotes the arrival of Christmas<br />
and is a good experience,<br />
as per Gunnarsson.<br />
Meanwhile Adhikari, who<br />
hates to shop for all the ingredients<br />
required for making<br />
a cake but loves to make<br />
a cake opined, “This kind of<br />
outdoor activity is a luxury<br />
and together we can enjoy<br />
in the ambience that is lovely,<br />
comfortable and relaxing.”<br />
Moreover, Raju Bikram<br />
Shah, Senior General Manager<br />
of the hotel informed,<br />
“We are in the hospitality industry<br />
and we make sure<br />
that our guests get the taste<br />
of their own culture being<br />
away from home. In addition<br />
the cakes are also<br />
meant for locals.” — HNS<br />
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012<br />
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION<br />
Though many countries have done away with capital<br />
punishment, some still think in its justice. Some feel<br />
that any other sentence other than capital punishment<br />
does not deliver justice. However, many feel that capital<br />
punishment is inhumane and should be<br />
abolished. What is your opinion? Give reasons.<br />
Send your replies in not more than 200 words by Friday,<br />
December 8 by 2 pm to Features Department, The Himalayan<br />
Times, e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.com;<br />
Log on to www.thehimalayantimes.com<br />
SUDOKU-1458<br />
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION<br />
HOW TO SOLVE: Every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of<br />
the 9 vertical columns, in each of the 9 horizontal rows and in<br />
each of the 9 boxes<br />
THT-DOKU-1268<br />
ty of Brazil that<br />
relate to nature. The dialogue between<br />
artists help to learn more<br />
about the art scenario and the festival<br />
has helped global artist connect<br />
with each other.”—HNS<br />
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION<br />
HOW TO SOLVE THT-DOKU: Place numbers into the puzzle cells in such a way that each row and<br />
column contains each of the digits from 1 up to 4. Like a Sudoku puzzle, no number is<br />
repeated in any row or column. Each bold-outlined group of cells contains a hint consisting of a<br />
number and one of the mathematical symbols — + x - /. The number is the result of applying the<br />
mathematical operation represented by the symbol to the digits contained within the domain.<br />
Rad gets ready for Yuletide<br />
KATHMANDU: Christmas<br />
is no fun without<br />
the traditional Christmas<br />
cake but making it is<br />
not a quick and an easy<br />
task. Preparations begin<br />
months in advance.<br />
The first step towards<br />
making the cake is the mixing<br />
process, which is formally<br />
called the cake mixing<br />
ceremony. And Hotel<br />
Radisson, Lazimpat organised<br />
the cake mixing programme<br />
on December 2 at<br />
The Terrace Garden.<br />
The programme was<br />
headed by Pralhad Raj Kunwar,<br />
General Manager of<br />
the hotel along with Head<br />
of Departments and Executive<br />
team. The whole team<br />
was excited and enjoyed<br />
the ceremony. The hotel<br />
has been organising this<br />
annual event since a few<br />
years. The ingredients contained<br />
dry fruits like black<br />
currants, sultanas, raisins,<br />
prunes, dry apricots, almonds,<br />
pistachio nuts,<br />
cashew nuts, candied orange,<br />
glaze cherries, sugar,<br />
et cetera. Litres of wine and<br />
other liquors were poured<br />
to soak all the mixture.<br />
Glycerine was also mixed as<br />
it helps in making the cake<br />
glossy.<br />
Ram Prasad Sapkota, Executive<br />
Pastry Chef of the<br />
hotel said, “These liquors<br />
and sugar are added in the<br />
mixture because they help<br />
to preserve ingredients,<br />
and also help in adding<br />
flavour. This is perfect food<br />
for the cold weather.”<br />
It was informed that<br />
these cakes will be available<br />
for customers at hotel’s Pastry<br />
Shop. — HNS<br />
Published by: Inter<strong>national</strong> 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<br />
THT<br />
Photos: THT