Aama Nepali buwa Nepali, hami chahi kahanko?
[Mother and father Nepali, where are we from?]

So read one of the placards that a group of youths displayed during
a demonstration in Kathmandu on Tuesday. They were up in arms demanding a speedy implementation of the recently-endorsed bill to amend the Citizenship Act. The protest took an unfortunate turn when one of the protesters, Niraj Kumar Kamat from Katahari, Morang, attempted to set himself on fire before the police intervened and stopped him.
On June 4, the Supreme Court issued an interlocutory interim
order asking the authorities not to enforce the new amendment to the Citizenship Act that was authenticated by President Ramchandra Paudel.
A single-judge bench of Justice Manoj Sharma issued the order after hearing the writ petition filed by senior advocates Surendra Bhandari and Bal Krishna Neupane. Ever since, youths without citizenship and their allies have taken to the streets in Kathmandu.
As the amendment has become a law with the presidential seal, it clears the path for thousands of children of parents who got citizenship by birth to acquire citizenship by descent.
The Act allowed everyone born within Nepal’s territory before April 12, 1990 to acquire citizenship by birth. However, their children haven’t got their citizenship by descent in the absence of a law as the constitution said the provision to grant them
citizenship would be guided by a federal law.
Speaking at the protest on Tuesday, Kamat noted that former president Bidya Devi Bhandari kept the Citizenship Bill on hold, twice, even after the federal parliament endorsed it and now it is being said that the current President did not follow due process in authenticating the bill. “Was the double endorsement by the federal parliament not enough?” Kamat said. “The constitution is also not in favour of us, the victims. It has not solved problems. The Supreme Court has also been repeatedly mired in politics.”
The protesters chanted strongly-worded slogans against former Prime Minister and chair of CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli. The UML has been protesting Paudel’s authentication of an “expired bill”.
The protesters also shouted slogans against lawyers Neupane and Surendra Bhandari, who had filed the petition against enforcement of the amendment.
The citizenship issue has become serious over time. Hundreds of thousands of youths who are without citizenship remain deprived of opportunities to open a bank account, to pursue education, to get a job and to go abroad. Many blame the over-politicisation of the citizenship issue for the delay in resolving the problem.
Vivek Baranwal, 21, who is currently studying in Kathmandu, is also waiting to get a citizenship certificate. His father holds citizenship by birth as his grandfather did not have citizenship. His mother has citizenship by descent.
Baranwal has had to let go of study opportunities and scholarships due to the lack of a citizenship certificate. “I am invisible to government bodies, so I won’t be issued a driving licence, permanent account number, passport or a voter identity card,” said Baranwal, who has written about his ordeal for the Post. “Neither can I sit for public service commission exams.”
He does not see the chances of a resolution anytime soon. “As it has entered the court, it is uncertain when it will conclude. Even if the bill is to be brought again, it will take time. Even then there is no guarantee that it won’t be a victim of politicking.”
Four years earlier, a youth in Sunsari district had killed himself after a ward office declined to write him a recommendation for citizenship. Hari Mandal of Duhabi-3 hanged himself to death after the ward office repeatedly declined his request for a recommendation letter, citing the lack of necessary documents.
His brother Pramod Mandal had acquired citizenship by birth 17 years ago. Hari had reached the ward office seeking a recommendation letter with his birth certificate and academic certificate issued by his school. But his request was declined as his parents did not have citizenship certificates.
Now the youths who have been denied citizenship plan to protest in other places as well.
Arjun Sah from Mahottari and other victims are planning to stage a protest in Janakpur as well since many of them can’t afford to travel and stay in Kathmandu for protests. A 35-year-old resident of Matihani, Mahottari, Sah is yet to get a citizenship even after the Supreme Court’s ruling in his favour in 2018.
Sah had moved the top court on February 13, 2018, seeking Nepali citizenship, claiming that he had been living in Nepal since his birth and his mother was a Nepali citizen by descent. His father, not a citizen of any country, had been living with his mother in Nepal ever since their marriage.
The Supreme Court ruled in his favour on September 13, 2018 and the District Administration Office asked him to go to the home ministry. Sah went to the ministry with a petition after two months, seeking naturalised citizenship. But the ministry did not issue him citizenship, saying that it requires legal clarity as his father was neither Nepali nor a foreigner nor was it the case of an unidentified father.
Sah has three degrees—an MBA, an MA and an Acharya [master’s] in Sanskrit—but he is jobless and is dependent on his parents for survival. “Private-sector employers also seek citizenship certificates. All parents hope that their children will earn a living and look after them when they are old,” he said. “We cannot afford to come to Kathmandu time and again to file and fight cases.”
Sah’s youngest daughter has been denied a birth certificate as he does not have a citizenship certificate. His two sons, however, got their birth certificates as, earlier, the system in the ward office was not computerised and did not require the citizenships of parents.
Sah’s is a tricky case, and the state does not appear interested in coming to his help.
As per the bill endorsed by the Parliament twice, children born to Nepali mothers born in and residing in Nepal and whose fathers are not identified are eligible for Nepali citizenship by descent. However, in such a case, the mother must declare that the father cannot be identified. Moreover, she will be liable for action if it is later found that her claim that the father “cannot be identified” turns out to be wrong.
A child born to a Nepali man who is married to a foreign woman can obtain citizenship by descent as per the bill. A child born to a Nepali mother and a foreign father will only be eligible for a naturalised citizenship and that too if the state deems it okay. Article 10 of the Constitution ensures that no Nepali person will be deprived of the right to citizenship.
“Let’s keep the political matters aside, it has been eight years since the promulgation of the constitution, but the government and political parties have not shown any interest in implementing the constitution’s provisions,” Mohan Kumar Karna, an advocate living in Biratnagar, said.
“Citizenship should be given as soon as possible as hundreds of thousands of people are suffering. The leaders, the President, and the court have been seen to be playing different roles and taking different stands on the citizenship issue at different times.”
The process of authenticating the bill to amend the Citizenship Act was initiated in July last year. After both houses of the federal parliament first endorsed the bill and sent it to the then President Bhandari, she sent it back with her 15-point suggestions.
However, the federal parliament endorsed the bill without any changes and detailed discussion. When re-sent for authentication, Bhandari sat on the bill, allowing the 15-day deadline to pass, drawing severe criticism from various quarters.
“No one, not the government, the legislature, the court, or the political parties have been serious about such a serious issue,” Karna said.

PANCHTHAR, SANKHUWASABHA, SURKHET &  SALYAN
Indra Subedi, a resident of Hilihang Rural Municipality-7 in Panchthar district, is a dairy farmer. He mostly rears cows and makes a living selling milk. Two years ago, he bought a Holstein heifer, a breed of cow known for high milk production, for Rs25,000. On April 18 this year, the cow gave birth to a calf, and since then, had been producing 10 litres of milk daily. Subedi was excited with the prospect of a proper return to his investment.
That excitement, however, would not last long. On May 16, Subedi’s
only dairy cow died due to lumpy skin disease, a viral infection that afflicts cattle.
“My family thought we would see returns on the investment we made in buying the cow and rearing it,” said Subedi. “But just when we had started milking the cow and selling milk, it contracted lumpy skin disease and died. With it gone, our hopes of recovering our investment and making a sustainable income have also died.”
According to Subedi, his family spent around Rs100,000 on the cow in the past two years.
“Soon after the cow gave birth to the calf, nodules had started appearing all over its body. Its urine showed traces of blood. Only much later did we find out it had contracted the lumpy skin disease. By the time we started treatment, it was too late.”
Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha, another farmer from the same ward, had two oxen, which he used for ploughing fields. In the last week of May, one of the oxen fell ill and died on June 10. “The ox had nodules on the skin but it was too late to start treatment. My other ox has also contracted the disease and is currently being treated,” said Shrestha. “I am extremely worried. I invested my savings in the pair of oxen. I don’t know how I will manage my finances this year.”
According to Shrestha, most dairy and livestock farmers in ward 7 have reported lumpy skin disease in their cattle.
Yashoda Katuwal from ward 9 of Khandbari Municipality in Sankhuwasabha district had also bought two cows eight months ago for Rs150,000 each from Dhankuta. Each cow used to give 18 litres of milk per day.
“In mid-April, one of the cows fell ill, and I was told by the veterinarian that the cow had contracted the lumpy skin disease. The cow died a couple of days after the diagnosis. The other cow has also contracted the disease and since the diagnosis a month ago, she has stopped producing milk. Later, a team from the Veterinary Hospital and Service Centre in Khandbari rescued the sick cow and treated her.”
Although Katuwal’s second cow has started producing milk after treatment, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Katuwal to find customers. “People don’t want to buy my cow’s milk because she was sick. They think they will fall sick if they consume the milk.”
Lumpy skin disease has affected animals in most small-scale dairy and livestock farms in all 14 districts of Koshi Province, according to the provincial Directorate of Livestock and Fishery Development. Some of the disease’s symptoms are swelling around the neck, wounds around the tail, belly, and udder, sores forming and water oozing from the wounds, nodules on the skin, and pus in the mouth. The disease is transmitted by the bites of mosquitoes, flies, and other insects.
According to Dr Manoj Kumar Mahato, head of the Veterinary Hospital and Animal Service Centre, Panchthar, farmers have experienced milk losses of up to 80 percent after their dairy cows contracted the disease.
Mahato said that the infected animals should not be taken to public places for grazing and should avoid all kinds of contact with other animals to prevent transmission of the disease to other healthy animals. Similarly, attention should be paid to vaccinations, medication, and barn sanitation.
According to the Directorate of Livestock and Fishery Development of Koshi Province, this disease, which appeared in India and Bangladesh three years ago, reached the hilly and mid-hilly regions of the province two years ago.
According to the directorate, in Koshi Province, a total of 1,129 cows and three buffalos have died of lumpy skin disease in the current fiscal year. Information officer Binod Kumar Sah said around 85,784 cows and buffaloes were taken ill from the disease in the province. It is mostly cows affected by the outbreak. Of the 85,784 livestock taken ill across the province, the number of buffaloes stands
at 487.  
Ilam, a hill district, is hardest hit by the outbreak in Koshi Province. As many as 435 cattle died in Ilam while 182 succumbed to the disease in Morang, 120 in Jhapa and 120 in Udayapur in the current fiscal year.
The directorate, the veterinary hospital and livestock service expert centres and the local units have been trying their best to control the outbreak, but to no avail. Veterinarians argue that all three levels of government
and stakeholders should jointly launch a campaign to control the outbreak.
The lumpy skin disease is also taking its toll in Karnali Province.
Kal Bahadur Budha of Kalimati Rural Municipality-5 in Salyan district lost a cow and two oxen to the disease two months ago. After a week two oxen, a cow and a calf belonging to his neighbour Sur Bahadur Khatri also died.
“Nodules appeared in the body and started festering. We attempted to cure the disease through traditional medicines. But the cattle died within three or four days of the symptoms,” said Khatri. “We had no insurance for our cattle. We have been visiting the rural municipality office and agriculture office seeking help but they have not taken our issues seriously.”
Budha regrets not insuring the cattle. “I incurred a huge loss. I would not have to face such a loss if I had insured the cattle. The agriculture office was indifferent to providing timely treatment at first because I didn’t have insurance,” he said.
The local farmers are hugely affected by their cattle loss since it’s time to plough the fields for the paddy transplantation season. “The veterinarians came to the village after the spread of the disease. They did not give any medicines or vaccines to control the disease. They just urged us to use locally available medicinal plants like Asuro and Titepati (mugwort). But our efforts to save our cattle failed,” said Budha.
According to the Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre in Salyan, around 1,200 cattle died of lumpy skin disease in Salyan in this fiscal year. As per the data available at the centre, around 31,000 cattle have been infected by the disease in Salyan. The centre said it mobilised technicians in all 10 local units but their efforts to control the disease failed to bear results.
It is estimated that around 31,600 farmers have been rearing 70,000 cattle in Salyan, a hill district of Karnali Province. The farmers are highly dependent on oxen to plough the fields for planting crops. “We don’t have any healthy ox left in our barns,” said Sher Bahadur Budha of Bangadkupinde Municipality-9. He had two oxen, a cow and a calf. All of them perished in the outbreak. “There is also a shortage of milk in the villages as the disease claimed many cows,” he said.
Govinda Bahadur Mahat, chief of the Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre, said that the Karnali Province government provided 2,000 doses of vaccine to Salyan to control the disease. “We demanded 3,000 doses of vaccines for Salyan. Around 1,000 doses are yet to arrive. We started administering vaccines to the cattle by mobilising technicians in every local body. However, the outbreak is yet to come under control,” said Mahat.
The disease has been spreading also in Humla, a mountain district. According to the provincial Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives, a total of 1,005 cattle died in Humla alone. Krishna Bahadur Rokaya, acting chief at the Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre in Humla, said that almost all the cattle were infected with the disease although the vaccination drive is underway. According to him, farmers rear around 9,000 cattle in Humla.  
“Livestock and dairy farmers rear around two million cattle in Karnali Province. Nearly 60 percent of them have been infected with the lumpy skin disease,” said Dhan Bahadur Kathayat, spokesman at the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives. “We have been launching awareness and vaccination programmes simultaneously. The farmers are in panic as their cattle started dying. Discussions are on regarding providing compensation to the affected farmers,” Kathayat said.
On Thursday, the Nepal Dairy Association issued a press statement demanding the government control the outbreak at the earliest. The association urged the federal, provincial and local governments to take the problem seriously and provide compensation to the affected farmers. “The disease has spread in 73 districts and killed 9,410 cows, oxen and buffalos across the country,” reads the statement.
Indrakala Khanal of Khandbari-3 in Sankhuwasabha has only one Jersey cow. The cow is the only source of income for the Khanal family. “I bought the cow for Rs 150,000. She used to give 16 litres of milk daily. I used to sell milk and support my family,” said Khanal. “She contracted the lumpy skin disease and although she has been treated successfully, her milk production has decreased significantly.”
According to Khanal, her cow currently gives 2 litres of milk a day. “But I haven’t been able to sell even two litres of milk because my regular customers don’t want to buy milk from a diseased cow,” said Khanal. “If this continues, my family of four will face financial ruin.”

DHANKUTA,
Chaubise Rural Municipality in Dhankuta district is littered with abandoned houses and overgrown farms as its residents flee never-ending deprivation.
No drinking water, no irrigation, no roads and no sanitation. The people decided they’d had enough, and just got up and left.
In the last one and a half decades, many villages in the rural municipality have become empty. The vacant houses are falling apart, and the fields are covered with weeds as there is nobody to tend to them.
Kuruletenupa is an example of the ghost towns that are spreading across the eastern hill district of Dhankuta. Losing hope of seeing any improvement, the inhabitants left in search of a better life in other districts, mostly to the Tarai flatlands in the south.
A government report says the exodus of Nepalis from the hills to the plains is leading to overcrowding in the Tarai, which accounts for 17 percent of the country’s area.
According to the Population Census 2021, the Tarai is home to 15.63 million Nepalis, or 53.61 percent of the country’s total population of 29.16 million.
Development experts and planners say swelling migration to the Tarai strip has caused agricultural lands in the country’s food basket to shrink. Housing development on the fertile farmlands means Nepal could become more food-insecure in the future, they say.
Hill districts like Dhankuta, Ramechhap, Khotang, Manang, Bhojpur and Tehrathum witnessed the fastest population loss in the past decade. But Dhankuta is seeing a revival of sorts. People are returning to their villages, thanks to a new way of farming called permaculture.
Permaculture is an innovative framework for creating sustainable ways of agriculture and productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the concept of utilising land, resources, people and the environment.
Lal Bahadur Tamang is among those who have returned to their villages. Tamang had migrated to Urlabari, Morang. Dirgha Man Tamang, who was thinking of moving to Letang, Morang, has decided to stay in his village.
Four years ago, a group of senior farmers established the Tamor Permaculture Learning Centre at Banduke Danda in Chaubise-3 in a bid to stem the out-migration and lure back those who have left.
Spread over 103 ropanis of land and situated at an elevation of 1,400 metres, the centre promotes permaculture as a modern and sustainable farming system. The centre contains over 100 apple trees.
Tamang said he and his group have utilised the abandoned land in the village which occupies wards 3 and 4 of Chaubise Rural Municipality.

He has received training in raising beds, plantation, low-input high-yield methods, grafting, making plastic ponds and vermicompost.
Bhoj Kumar Kafle, local resident and one of the leaders of the campaign, said his decision to be part of permaculture had started paying off.
According to villagers, an American national, Rajiv Goyal, who had come to the village for research, had inspired them to establish the centre.
“Under Goyal’s lead, local youths were provided training. Villagers then managed the initial financial assistance to establish the centre,” said Lokendra Kumar Yakkha, chairman of the centre.
The centre has an annual income of Rs300,000 and aims to earn at least Rs1.5 million this year.
“The villagers have started producing orange, walnut, Japanese pear, macadamia nut, lemon and other fruits,” said Yakkha.
The centre produces around 30 types of seasonal fruits, including apple, apricot, pear, peach and avocado.
“Once considered a wasteland, it now has an abundance of fruits,” said Yakkha. The centre has been distributing fruit saplings produced in its nursery to locals for free. Farmers from other villages have to buy them.
The income is utilised for the management of the centre and to pay the salaries of nine workers who have been hired by the centre.
“The centre has an investment of more than Rs30 million,” Yakkha said.
“Many villages were declared drought-affected. Now the villagers are returning. The local government is under pressure to address the drinking water scarcity, irrigation, road infrastructure and other issues in the area now,” said Raj Kumar Chemjong, chairman of the rural municipality.
“We are working on a plan centred on Kuruletenupa,” said Chemjong. The rural municipality had allocated Rs9 million for the 12-km Shukrabare-Lapse-Kuruletenupa road in the last fiscal year.
More than 300 families from Kuruletenupa and around 200 from Bajthala and Andheri villages had migrated to other parts of the country in the past 15 years, according to the statistics of the rural municipality.
Chemjong argues that the actual figure might be higher as many migrate without informing the rural municipality. “Half of the 886 households in Kuruletenupa had migrated,” Chemjong said. Pushpalal Dhungana, 98, of Kuruletenupa said he had seen people leaving the village one after another. “Once lively villages became lonely in no time.”
Tek Prasad Bhandari, another local, said that the people started leaving the villages in droves especially after 2006.
“Drinking water scarcity and lack of other basic amenities were the reasons for migrating to other areas permanently,” said Bhandari. Once barren, Chaubise Rural Municipality has now become fertile. It has been receiving some visitors too. They come to see the green organic farm and the impressive achievements of the returnees.
Gopi Krishna Bhandari of Kurule in Chaubise-3, who left the police force as a sub-inspector and is engaged in commercial goat farming, says the permaculture project has given people hope. “This has become the fruit of my continued stay in the village through hardships. People are increasingly becoming convinced to drop their migration plans or to return to their ancestral village by buying back their sold property.”
After learning about the change in their place, people who left earlier are said to be inquiring with those who continue to stay back about their prospects of returning.

KALIKOT,
Last Saturday, a passenger jeep plunged off the Chisapani cliff, killing three people. Jeep driver Harka Kami and passengers Ram Bahadur Shahi and Gopal Salami Magar died on the spot. The vehicle was heading for Shubhakalika from Surkhet.
The road, which wraps around the cliffside in Haudi village of Shubhakalika Rural Municipality-6, is quite narrow and dangerous. Deputy Superintendent of Police Jayashwar Rimal said the road where the accident occurred is a rough one constructed using heavy equipment.
On June 8, another jeep met with an accident at Serachaur of Raskot Municipality-2, killing Man Bahadur Shahi and his wife. The vehicle fell
off the road as the driver had deboarded the vehicle without turning the engine off.
“My parents were heading for Manma, the district headquarters of Kalikot, on some personal business. The jeep skidded off the narrow road due to the utter negligence of the driver,” said 17-year-old Paras Shahi, son of the deceased.
Paras now has to shoulder the responsibility of his younger brother and a disabled older sister.
Kalikot, a remote hill district in Karnali Province, is notorious for road accidents. According to the District Police Office, a total of 78 road accidents have occurred in Kalikot over the past three fiscal years killing 30 people and injuring 133 others.
“Road accidents have become more frequent in Kalikot,” said Subaraj Bam, the information officer at the District Police Office. “Seventeen road accidents were reported in the fiscal year 2020-21, while 25 road accidents occurred in the year 2021-22. In the current fiscal year, as many as 36 road accidents, involving mainly jeeps, have occurred in the district.”
Bam stressed the need for a collaborative approach to minimise road accidents. “The local government, police administration and drivers must work hand in hand to reduce road accidents,” he said.
According to the District Traffic Police Office, poor road conditions, carelessness of drivers, drink driving, carrying passengers beyond the vehicles’ capacity and driving without a license are the major causes behind the increasing cases of road accidents in Kalikot.
Most of the rural roads are constructed using bulldozers and excavators and without proper engineering surveys. The district administration accuses the local governments for giving undue priority to rural roads without studying topography.
“After the local elections of 2017, the people’s representatives kept road construction as their top priority. The local units constructed roads without environmental impact assessments and proper engineering surveys. Most accidents in Kalikot occur on such roads,” said Chief District Officer Jora Singh Majhi, who is also the chairman of the district natural disaster management committee.
According to Majhi, the district administration has imposed a nighttime ban on vehicles on the road citing dangerous road conditions. “The jeep accident in Shubhakalika on Saturday had occurred at around 11pm. Had they not travelled at night on such a risky road, the accident may have been averted,” he said.
Kalikot is a hill district with difficult terrain. The local units haphazardly constructed rural roads without carrying out proper engineering surveys and environmental impact assessments. These roads are prone to accidents as they are quite narrow, rough and steep.
However, it’s not only rural roads that are difficult to drive on. The Surkhet-Jumla road section of Karnali Highway that passes through the middle part of Kalikot and Karnali corridor road is also both narrow and difficult, say drivers.  
While poor road conditions are the major contributor to road accidents in Kalikot, drivers allege that inefficient monitoring by the traffic police is also one of the reasons behind unsafe road travel. “The traffic police are indifferent to maintaining road safety. Their only concern is to extort transport workers under various pretexts,” Bharat Karki, a jeep driver, told the Post. “Traffic police intercept vehicles for no reason, take drivers aside and ask for money even when we have all the essential documents.”

Morang, 
The Koshi provincial government on Thursday unveiled a Rs36.24 billion budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024 through an ordinance.
Chief Minister Hikmat Kumar Karki, who also holds the portfolio of the Ministry of Financial Affairs and Planning, announced the provincial government’s programmes for the coming fiscal year at a press meet.
The government has allocated Rs14.39 billion for recurrent spending, which consists of regular expenses of salaries and allowances. It has set aside Rs18.23 billion for capital spending, Rs10 million for financial management and has earmarked Rs3.60 billion for transfer to the local level.
The government aims to raise Rs4.57 billion from internal revenues, Rs11.64 billion from revenue-sharing, Rs1 5.36 billion from federal grants and Rs150 million from foreign aid. The budget mentions the government has Rs3.75 billion in cash deposits.
As much as Rs2.7 billion has been allocated to the agricultural sector in the budget, brought with the goal of creating jobs, by modernising agriculture. The budget has allocated Rs430 million for industry, Rs11.41 billion for physical infrastructure and Rs5.43 billion for water supply, irrigation and energy.
The government has set aside Rs3.07 billion for health and Rs1.79 billion for social development.
The budget has also allocated Rs1.5 billion for the provincial assembly member constituency development programme.
The UML-led government, which lost its majority after the CPN (Maoist Centre) withdrew its support, unveiled the budget through the ordinance by skipping the provincial assembly.
Koshi Province Head Parshuram Khapung on Wednesday had prorogued the provincial assembly after the government presented its policies and programmes.
Khapung, on the recommendation of the provincial Cabinet, authenticated ‘Koshi Province Financial Ordinance 2023’ and ‘Koshi Province Appropriation Ordinance 2023’, on Thursday.
But there are doubts whether the provincial budget, brought by a minority government, will be implemented.
As per article 202 of the Constitution, ordinances become ineffective if they are not endorsed within 60 days from the first meeting of the new provincial assembly session. The incumbent government lacks the majority required for endorsement.

KATHMANDU,
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has abruptly stopped the eighth edition of Kantipur-HISSAN Education Fair, which started on Thursday with permission from the Ministry of Education. Around 75 educational institutions jointly organised the four-day event with an objective to inform the students and their parents about their queries on admission to grade 11 or bachelor’s level.
The organisers Higher Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal (HISSAN) said they had informed the district administration office and the KMC about the event that was inaugurated by Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire on Thursday.
They said they planned the event estimating the participation of around 200,000 students and their parents.
But a team led by the municipal police chief Raju Pandey on Thursday suddenly reached the venue to stop the educational fair.
The education department of the metropolitan office has said the event had to be stopped since it was organised before the publication of the results of School Education Examinations (SEE) and grade 12.
Sitaram Koirala, chief of the department, said they directed the officials to stop the event “as organisers were taking admissions and offering scholarships to students”.
However, event convenor Tanka Raj Acharya, who is also vice-chair of HISSAN, said they were only providing information as sought by the students and their parents about the courses and colleges.
According to him, it was still not clear whether the event will continue on Friday. “We are still waiting for the KMC’s response. We have not even been able to talk to the mayor [Balendra Shah],” Acharya said.
KMC’s Education Department chief Koirala said they will discuss the matter and decide whether to allow the event on Friday.

KAVRE: A ward member of Namobuddha Municipality-11 died on Thursday after she was allegedly assaulted by her husband. According to Nepal Police Inspector Dhundiraj Neupane, information officer at the District Police Office, Kavre, Gyani BK, a ward member elected under the Dalit female category, was subjected to domestic violence by her husband, 48-year-old Shambhu BK, on June 12. Police had reached the incident site after receiving information about the dispute between the couple. Neupane said that the victim had sustained serious injuries to her head and body and was rushed to the Dhulikhel Hospital for treatment. Gyani died on Thursday while undergoing treatment at the hospital, Neupane said. The victim’s husband was arrested from the incident site and an investigation is underway, said police.

SANKHUWASABHA: Locals blocked the Khandbari-Manebhanjyang section of Koshi Highway on Thursday accusing the contractor of negligence in road construction and not carrying out periodic repairs. This section is part of the road connecting the Kimathanka border point with Biratnagar. Transportation along the section has come to a complete halt following the obstruction. The road section is riddled with potholes and becomes dangerously slippery after rains, making it difficult for vehicles to operate. The blacktopping of the Khandbari-Num section has not been able to pick up speed although work began two years ago; only 25 percent of the work has been completed so far. As per the contract agreement signed two years ago, blacktopping of the 39 km of the road should be completed within the coming nine months.

KATHMANDU,
Chief justice nominee Hari Krishna Karki on Thursday made a presentation before the Parliamentary Hearing Committee where he shared his vision highlighting his plans and the initiatives he would take should he be appointed to lead the judiciary.
Karki said he would formulate policy for institutional reforms in the judiciary if he gets appointed as the chief justice. Zero tolerance against corruption and effective monitoring and supervision to minimise corruption were the other plans he presented. Karki also assured the committee that as chief justice, he would be working towards giving common people easy access to the court.
The committee decided to conduct Karki’s hearing in two phases: first allowing him to present what qualities he possesses to become the chief justice, which will be followed by a question-answer session with the lawmakers. “The probable chief justice presented his justification on Thursday. He will face the questions from the lawmakers on Friday,” Nirmala Devi Lamichhane, a joint-secretary on the committee, told the Post.
During his presentation, Karki also said that the workload was increasing in the judiciary with every passing year. The caseload which was 166,176 in 2012-2013 had increased to 339,961 in the previous fiscal year. There are 28,350 cases in the Supreme Court of which 4,184 are as old as five years, or more. He blamed the failure in increasing the human resources at par with the workload to be the major problem in clearing the cases languishing in different tiers of the courts.
The members of the hearing committee will question Karki while also asking him to clarify on the complaints lodged against him. As many as 29 complaints have been lodged by 38 people, including a sitting judge of a district court. The complainants have claimed that as Karki has failed to maintain the dignity of the position as the acting chief justice, he shouldn’t be appointed the chief of the judiciary. They also argued that appointing Karki as the chief justice would only result in a waste of the state’s resources.
The Constitutional Council on May 8 nominated Karki, the senior-most justice in the Supreme Court, for the chief justice’s role and forwarded his name to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. On May 30, the committee had invited complaints against Karki. The hearing committee had received 29 complaints until the deadline ended on Friday.
Prior to allowing Karki to present his plan, the hearing committee had allowed the complainants to provide a basis to their complaints. Karki was appointed the acting chief justice on October 5 last year. The top court has been headless after Cholendra Shumsher Rana faced an impeachment motion in the second week of February last year. Rana retired as the chief justice on December 13, without the Parliament deciding on the motion. Senior-most justice Deepak Kumar Karki then led the judiciary as the acting chief justice for seven months.
Article 292 of the constitution requires the chief justice, justices, and those nominated to constitutional commissions and ambassadorial posts to clear parliamentary hearings before they are administered the oath of office. President Ramchandra Paudel will appoint Karki as the chief justice, if the committee endorses his recommendation.
“The hearing committee on Friday will decide whether or not to endorse the recommendation,” said Lamichhane.
Only a two-thirds majority of the 15-member committee can reject the nomination. Even if Karki becomes the chief justice, he will not have the time to execute the plan that he has presented before the parliamentary committee as he is set to retire on August 5 after attaining the retirement age. As there is the practice of taking exit from the court hearings a month before retiring, he won’t be working, effective from July 5.
Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha will succeed Karki as the head of judiciary.

KATHMANDU: Baikuntha Aryal has been appointed the new chief secretary of the Government of Nepal. A Cabinet meeting held on Thursday took the decision to that effect, the Office of the Prime Minister said. Aryal was serving as the secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister. Similarly, incumbent Chief Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi has been appointed as an adviser to the National Security Council. Bairagi, who was to retire from his post after three months, resigned on Thursday to take up the new responsibility. According to the Office of the Prime Minister, after the Cabinet decision, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal administered the oath of office and secrecy to Bairagi.

KATHMANDU: Police on Thursday arrested eight people on the charge of online betting. Among the arrested are popular Nepali sitcom actors Marichman Shrestha, who essays the role of ‘Balchhi Dhurbe’, and Raju Paudel, known for his role as ‘Raju Master’. According to police, they were arrested from various places in the Capital. Earlier on Wednesday, police had arrested five individuals for engaging in online gambling. One of the accused was found to have made transactions worth Rs640 million using 63 different accounts, according to police. Transactions worth more than Rs740 million occurred in the said incident. Section 125 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 prohibits gambling and betting in Nepal.

If one singular moment could define the legacy and bolster the credibility of the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) as an institution, it is now. The directive aiming to protect the rights of electricity consumers is just that—a historic moment. I urge the ERC to rise to the occasion, enhance the directive, modernise the definition of electricity consumers, and provide consumers with the right to be active stakeholders in the electricity sector.  
The draft directives that were released for public comments approximately a month ago is path breaking and should be welcomed. The window for public comments is now closed. In the spirit of transparency and given the profound significance that the establishment of electricity consumer rights could have on the sector’s development, and on Nepal’s overall progress, I urge the ERC to publicly disclose in full all the comments that were received.

Active consumers
Electricity consumers are not passive recipients concerned only about the voltage and frequency in the electricity they receive. They are also active users trying to understand how to optimise and reduce the cost of electricity usage.
Data is now critical to empowering consumers. Data about when, how much and for what consumers are using electricity would allow them to make informed choices. The smart meters installed on our premises by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) already record and collect this data. Consumers have paid for this meter.
This data from the electricity meters at our premises must be made available to electricity consumers. I urge the ERC to provide consumers with the right to access in real time the detailed data from the smart meters that the NEA has installed in our houses.
The smart meters contain detailed information about how much electricity we are using, when we are using it and the quality of power being supplied. This data is very important and would be valuable to us in actively managing our energy use. Electricity users in many countries around the world are already provided with access to real time data from their meters.
The data from the smart meters could be made accessible to electricity consumers in different ways. It could be done using a platform that the NEA provides. It could also be that the NEA merely sets the data transfer protocol and opens up a gateway for third party systems to fetch (or receive) the data in real time. Around the world, there are several well-established methods for customers to connect with and receive data on real time electricity usage and performance. There is no reason that it couldn’t be replicated in Nepal.
Consumers must have equal rights to the data in the electricity meters, as does the NEA.
Modern electricity consumers are also producers of electricity. Consumers manage their energy costs in many ways. They use efficient appliances or use electricity sparingly (some users, for example, choose never to consume more than 20 units a month
to be under the limit for receiving free electricity).
Today, consumers have the option to manage their energy costs by producing electricity within their premises. Technological advances in distributed renewable energy systems, such as roof-top solar and wind, along with storage, or batteries, means that consumers can produce electricity on other own terms.
This is also true in Nepal, where several electricity consumers also produce their own electricity through solar rooftop. In addition, the NEA allows them to export power to the grid through net metering. Within this context, the right of electricity consumers to produce electricity within their own premises must be protected.
This right must be explicitly stated in the directive and protected. I urge the ERC to recognise and protect the right of electricity consumers to produce electricity within their own premises.
Power generation has been liberalised in Nepal. This means that anyone who wants to build a power plant and sell electricity, subject to a set of governing rules, can do so. This has been applied to generation from centralised hydropower plants, which was later broadened to mean solar, wind and other renewable plants, which can sell power only to the NEA.
The world has changed. Today’s technology allows consumers to produce electricity in different ways through small and distributed systems. We can also store the electricity at off-peak periods when demand is low and use that (or sell that) during peak periods when demand is high.
Like other power producers of centralised power stations, electricity consumers must also have the right to produce and sell their electricity. To do so, consumers must have the right to access the distribution and transmission system.
I urge the ERC to recognise that the rights of electricity consumers do not merely start and stop with their meter. I urge the ERC to recognise that the rights of electricity consumers extend well beyond the meter into the transmission and distribution systems. After all, electricity consumers have also paid for the installation, operation and maintenance of the transmission systems through their electricity tariffs. Like in any other product, consumers have the right over all that they have paid for.    
Once the rights of electricity consumers over the transmission and distribution system are established, it opens a wide range of possibilities that begin to recognise the consumer as an engaged stakeholder in the overall power sector. That is where consumer rights need to be.
Electricity consumers must have the right to sell their electricity to other consumers if the NEA chooses not to buy it. This means that consumers must have the right to access the electricity grid, and to wheel electricity to the NEA or some other final consumer.
The operational mechanics of such systems are already widely in use around the world. Meter averaging, for example, allows several consumers to band together and offset what they use from the grid against their own generation produced at different locations.
I urge the ERC to recognise and protect the right of electricity consumers to access the transmission and distribution system, and to have the right to sell the electricity they produce within their premises to the NEA and other consumers.

Right to choose
The ultimate right of consumers must be the right to choose. Without that, it is a bit like a democracy that provides its citizens with all the rights, except the right to vote. It would be hard not to be cynical about the real value of such a democracy.
The ERC must consider providing consumers with the right to choose from whom they buy their electricity. For this, it must introduce competition in the retail segment where electricity is sold to customers. That may not be politically feasible today, though it is entirely practically viable.
The ERC must begin to examine the options for providing consumers with the right to choose their electricity suppliers. It must do so with the intent of establishing a clear attainable pathway for introducing retail competition.
There is no greater right for a consumer, and no greater penalty for a supplier, than the right to switch service to another supplier. If the bread is stale, consumers are able to switch to another baker. Why not for electricity?

It seems that a remedy to the current economic stagnation cannot be achieved through fiscal policy alone. There are indications that an immediate solution to the market slowdown in this budget shift is unlikely. It is evident that the 2023-24 budget has pressured the monetary system to attain the objective of 6 percent economic growth by augmenting liquidity flow.
Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat has brought a contractionary fiscal policy by imposing tax hikes rather than promoting the middle class through a budget of Rs1.751 trillion. This approach is expected to further hinder business growth and contract demand. Moreover, foreign loans and aid are regarded as primary sources, while reliance on domestic loans has been elevated. As the government’s propensity to spend weakens, internal debt is projected to exacerbate the liquidity constraints within the financial system.
Overall, there is an absence of policies aimed at stimulating the market. By exhibiting its reliance on the financial system to bolster the market, the government is likely to introduce further economic distortions. The government has set a target of achieving 6 percent economic growth while seeking flexibility in loan investments. Consequently, the dependence of fiscal policy on monetary policy has intensified.
Although the government has set a target of 8 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has established a credit expansion target of 12.6 percent. To balance the external sector, the NRB has ceased monetisation in the present year. So economic growth is estimated to remain around 2 percent following the market recession.
For the coming fiscal year, while the government has a growth target of 6 percent, the credit expansion target should be approximately 20 percent. However, considering that the target of around 13 percent has not been met, the ambitious credit expansion target is likely to destabilise the market.
There is nothing exceptional in the budget. Although the budget speech was well received, everything has been constricted due to the tax policy. In such a scenario, the responsibility of revitalising the market has again fallen on monetary policy’s shoulders. However, monetary policy also faces certain limitations. It will be interesting to observe how monetary policy addresses these challenges.
The budget was expected to provide a stimulus package for the contracting sector. The National Statistics Office (NSO) itself has reported negative growth in certain sectors. As a result, the market has not experienced a recession as envisioned by the government through the budget. The private sector has begun criticising the budget, with the Federation of Nepalese Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) strongly opposing the tax policy and the Confederation of Nepal Industry (CNI) protesting the absence of programmes aimed at revitalising the sector.
Meanwhile, the central bank has started the preparation of monetary policy for the coming fiscal year to achieve the targets outlined in the budget. Recommendations have begun to be put forth, although they are primarily ceremonial. Monetary policy, as seen in the past, is formulated based on the viewpoints of the governor of the NRB and its top officials.
During recent evaluations, bankers have abstained from offering recommendations. Business individuals contend that unless the NRB demonstrates accountability comparable to that of the government, the market recession will endure for an extended period. Furthermore, the central bank has already provided debt restructuring and rescheduling options on two occasions, making it inadvisable to extend additional time towards enhancing non-performing loans.
The central bank will actively manage liquidity both directly and indirectly. If liquidity is insufficient, it will be injected into the market, while excess liquidity will be mopped up. However, relying solely on monetary instruments for liquidity provision is not sustainable. Public expenditure is crucial for creating a sustainable and viable market, and the government has a strong role in this regard. The central bank’s failure to perceive signs of economic relaxation and recession may lead to a surge in non-performing loans within the financial system, resulting in financial imbalances.
The finance minister has announced measures in the budget to reduce income inequality by implementing a luxury tax for the first time and imposing additional levies on overseas travel. While symbolic, these provisions convey the message that the wealthy should bear a more significant tax burden. The budget lacks catchy slogans and contains fewer programmes directly impacting people’s lives. Given the economy’s weak state, despite efforts by the construction sector to stimulate economic activity, the budget is perceived as lacklustre with no immediate outcomes anticipated. However, positive results can be expected if the finance minister focuses on its implementation as strictly as he has made budgetary proposals. Although it may seem unexciting presently, the budget is realistic and feasible.
The government is relying on domestic borrowing to cover the budget deficit while the government and the private sector are competing for resources within the financial system. This situation leads to the government absorbing capital that the private sector requires for mobilisation, resulting in a “crowding out effect” where private sector resources become scarce. Furthermore, the country is facing a twin deficit scenario, as the large budget deficit translates into an unfavourable trade deficit. This double loss creates a challenging balance of payments situation for Nepal.
Remittances, private sector credit and government credit appear to be the driving forces of the economy. However, their contribution primarily pertains to resource transfers rather than stimulating production. As a result, the dichotomy between the real sector
(productive activities) and the financial sector is widening. Typically, during an economic recession, governments are expected to increase spending. However, it may only apply to some of the current situations in Nepal.

Yadav is a Member of Parliament from the Janata Samajbadi Party.

Tribhuvan University has finally called for merger applications from colleges under it that are struggling to sustain themselves due to the falling number of students. Although a little late, this is the right move from the university that is having a tough time just surviving. Its current plan emerges out of the desperation among colleges to stay afloat amid uncertainty about their future.
The country’s oldest university, though, is not the only institution facing a student crunch. As per the University Grants Commission, there are 634 colleges across the country that run with fewer than 100 students. An additional 277 colleges have under 200 students. Together, they constitute more than half the number of total colleges in the country operating under over a dozen universities. Even other
established educational institutions have been dealing with declining student numbers. Kathmandu University, for instance, has just a 70 percent enrollment rate, which makes it difficult for a privately run institution with limited funding and academic support from the government to sustain and provide quality education. While the TU’s merger plan might bring some respite to the colleges struggling to survive, it should be complemented by other reforms at a structural level.
The crisis facing these colleges reflects a general decline in the university system in Nepal in the past decade, as the number of students seeking to go abroad continues to rise. Moreover, unhealthy competition among universities often leaves the students frustrated with the education system here. Tribhuvan University, for instance, usually publishes its results so late that the students wanting to join other universities in the country cannot do so, which ultimately forces them to look for options abroad. If every other student wants to go abroad, it is reflective of not just their desire to pursue better opportunities but a desperate lack of prospects within the country.
The decline in the university system also has to do with decades of haphazard distribution of affiliation given to groups wanting to run colleges. Hundreds of colleges operating under various universities in the country have neither skilled and qualified staff and faculty nor the infrastructure that supports quality education. In an age where students have information about global universities at their fingertips, the colleges and universities in the country have little to excite them. They also don’t trust the education system in Nepal. The fact that the students who graduate from universities and colleges neither get the required skills for workplaces nor good job prospects is a big deterrent. The merger plan, while an essential immediate remedy, is therefore only one of the reforms the universities, particularly Tribhuvan University, need at the moment.
As Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Education Minister Ashok Kumar Rai roam around university campuses wearing convocation gowns, they should keep the formalities aside for a moment and sit down with university administrators to work on a more sustainable plan to retain students in the country and make the colleges and universities more sustainable. And this includes
cutting down on politicisation and providing more funds for their upkeep.

The safety and value of women defines the moral compass of a nation. But depressingly, Pakistan finds itself on shaky ground. Just a few days ago, Lahore police recorded eight incidents of rape in 48 hours, including a teenager, maid and a nurse. They were blackmailed, coerced and trapped on the pretext of lucrative employment by the accused. Then two suspects violated a 14-year-old mentally challenged girl in Hafizabad.
 In 2022, the country ranked 145th on the gender equality index owing to data that showed a “rape epidemic”—a rape occurs every two minutes chiefly because of an abysmal 3 percent conviction rate. The same year, Sindh’s rape cases shot up by 200 percent with a conviction rate of under 1 percent; the highest figure of 185 came from Karachi East.
In our blinkered milieu, sensitised, informed discourse can set the tone for congruence. For this, the focus on raising a male child to respect women and the concept of consent should erase victim-blaming and supervision of women. Our national leaders and institutions turn rape into insipid drollery as demonstrated by PPP’s Nabil Gabol in April, Imran Khan’s outdated notion of advocating purdah since ‘men are not robots’ and a high court setting aside a life sentence as the perpetrator agreed to marry his victim. Little surprise then that amid apathy from influential voices and fora, victims, and not the crime, are censured.
While radical amendments in rape laws have tackled archaic clauses, edicts that use “virtue” to argue sexual assault persist, alongside the misogyny of law enforcers and officers of the court. Such language leads to crimes that, in turn, violate ideals of justice. Moreover, criminal inclinations guide rapists; it’s a crime of power and revenge, not sex. Therefore, a woman confined within the home is far from safe; she is vulnerable to offences like marital rape. Pakistan cannot continue its cavalier approach; safe spaces, aware citizenry, rapid accountability is past due.

— Dawn (Pakistan)/ANN

FRANKFURT,
The European Central Bank on Thursday said eurozone inflation was still too elevated as it hiked interest rates for an eighth consecutive time to a two-decade high, despite a darkening economic outlook.
The ECB increased rates by another 25 basis points, taking the closely-watched deposit rate to 3.50 percent—its highest level since 2001.
“Inflation has been coming down but is projected to remain too high for too long,” the ECB said in a statement.
Policymakers were “determined to ensure” a return to the bank’s two-percent target, and will keep rates at sufficiently restrictive levels “for as long as necessary”, it added.
The quarter-point hike was widely pencilled in by analysts.
They were instead hoping president Christine Lagarde would use her 1245 GMT Frankfurt press conference to shed light on whether the ECB’s unprecedented campaign of monetary policy tightening was nearing the summit.
In the United States, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday held off from raising interest rates again after 10 straight increases.
But the Fed indicated more hikes were likely before the end of the year as inflation remains double the bank’s target rate.
In the euro region, the ECB has hiked borrowing costs at the fastest rate ever to tame inflation after Russia’s war in Ukraine sent food and energy prices soaring, raising rates by 3.75 percentage points since last July.
Eurozone inflation slowed to 6.1 percent in May year-on-year, down from a peak of 10.6 percent in October, mainly thanks to rapidly falling energy costs.
The ECB said its inflation-fighting efforts were “gradually having an impact across the economy”, with loan demand slowing sharply in the eurozone as higher borrowing costs take their toll on households and firms.

JAKARTA, 
Short video app TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, said on Thursday it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years, as it doubles down on the region amid intensifying global scrutiny over its data security.
Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million—half of them under 30—is one of TikTok’s biggest markets in terms of user numbers, generating more than 325 million visitors to the app every month.
But the platform has yet to translate the large user base into a major
e-commerce revenue source in the region as it faces fierce competition from bigger rivals of Sea’s Shopee, Alibaba’s Lazada and GoTo’s Tokopedia.
“We’re going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum it organised in Jakarta to highlight the social and economic impact of the app in the region.
TikTok did not provide a detailed breakdown of the spending plan, but said it would invest in training, advertising and supporting small vendors looking to join its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop.
Chew said content on its platform was becoming more diversified as it adds more users and expands beyond advertising into e-commerce, allowing consumers to purchase goods through links on the app during livestreaming.
TikTok has 8,000 employees in Southeast Asia, and 2 million small vendors selling their wares on its platform in Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy, he added.
E-commerce transactions across the region reached nearly $100 billion last year, with Indonesia accounting for $52 billion, according to data from consultancy Momentum Works.

KATHMANDU,
Nepal’s first boutique destination for wellness, spiritual enrichment, and adventure with tranquillity, Miraaya Wellness and Golf Resort, has opened its doors to visitors.
The resort is located in the Devchuli foothills in Nawalpur district.
Miraaya’s wellness services are designed and supervised by The Farm by San Benito, a multi-awarded eco-luxury holistic medical wellness resort in the Philippines. “We are thrilled to introduce Miraaya, a remarkable testament to CG Hospitality’s unwavering commitment to holistic well-being, environmental sustainability, and spiritual awareness,” said Rahul Chaudhary, managing director of Chaudhary Group.
“The exceptional wellness services at Miraaya, carefully curated and supervised by the renowned and multi-awarded eco-luxury holistic medical wellness resort, The Farm by San Benito, showcase the culmination of our expertise in holistic wellness hospitality.”
Visitors can enjoy healing holidays and indulge in wellness cuisine, including a holistic detox programme, weight loss programme, and various spa services.
The resort features an outdoor pool, a basketball and badminton court, wine-tasting workshops, a curated spa, hydrotherapy, wellness therapies and programs, nature walking trails, afternoon tea brewing rituals, and mountain hikes, the resort said in a press statement. The resort offers a variety of dining options, including the wellness vegan Alive! Restaurant, Nepali Indian Vegetarian Cuisine Prana Restaurant, and the energetic Sports Bar and Grill, The 19th Hole.
For those seeking spiritual experiences, Miraaya offers temple tours, puja and offering ceremonies, and private fire ceremonies to foster a deeper connection.

KAVRE,
When Dipak Timalsina of Kavre decided to begin a career in animal husbandry around two months ago, most people in his village questioned his choice.
Timalsina, 27, who is studying for a Masters in Business Studies at a local college, has 11 buffaloes—six local and five Murrah–and five
cows–four Holstein and a Jersey cow, on his farm.
“Most of the villagers advised me to engage in an occupation that suited my educational qualifications,” Timilsina said. “But, I made up my mind on rearing cattle.”
Timalsina built the necessary structures on his 10 aana of land to start a farm. He has invested around Rs4 million, which he borrowed from the villagers. He currently produces 130 to 150 litres of milk daily.
“I am making around Rs15,000 a day, selling milk,” said Timalsina. Last month, according to Timalsina, he earned Rs400,000. “I saved almost half the earnings.”
People who had questioned my decision earlier, now have started to admire my work, he said.
Every morning, Timalsina wakes up before dawn and works in his cattle shed. As soon as he finishes milking the cattle, he rushes to join his fourth-semester classes which begin at 6 in the morning.
Timalsina is least worried about the market as traders visit his farm every morning to collect the milk.
“Before starting my venture, I watched a lot of videos on animal husbandry on Youtube. I consulted with many farmers before establishing the farm,” said Timalsina.
Timalsina plans to add more cows and buffaloes to his farm and start grass farming as well in the coming days.
Rupa Koirala Adhikari, 31, and her husband from Ghaderi village at Bethanchok-3 have been involved in commercial animal husbandry for the past two years.
The couple started with two buffaloes, and now rear four buffaloes and three cows.
They operate the Adhikari Agriculture and Livestock Farm.
They currently produce around 40 litres of milk daily. “Normally, our farm produces around 70 litres of milk daily.”
The couple earns around Rs100,000 per month. They save Rs60,000 every month, according to Rupa.
The farmers believe training programmes for commercial animal husbandry would help them expand their farms and increase earnings.
“We have been, more or less, rearing livestock in the same way as our forefathers did,” said Rupa.
“We need more technical knowledge and skills for commercial animal husbandry.”
Anil Lopchan, 23, from Bhanjyang Kharka in Bethanchok-4 was a student in Kathmandu until two years ago.
Lopchan returned to his village following the spread of Covid-19.
Fed up with countless struggles in the city areas, Lopchan finally decided to start commercial goat farming in his village. He currently has 13 goats and three kids. Lopchan recently made Rs80,000 by selling five goats.
“It did not require much investment as my family already had two goats,” Lopchan said. “I only had to spend some amount on building the goat pen and growing grass for their fodder.”
The farmers said the government needs to invest in capacity building, training and skill development programmes for the youths to encourage them to take up commercial animal husbandry.
Bhagwan Adhikari, chairman of Bethanchok Rural Municipality, said that they have been conducting various programmes to attract more youths to commercial farming and animal husbandry.
“We are in the process of signing an agreement with the Global IME Bank for providing a concessional loan at a 5 percent interest rate to encourage youths towards farm and animal husbandry,” said Adhikari.
Around 8,500 litres of milk are produced daily in the rural municipality, Adhikari added.
Milk and vegetables worth Rs600,000 and Rs500,000, respectively, are supplied from Kavre to the Kathmandu Valley daily.

KATHMANDU: GWM-Nepal has officially commenced booking of its most-awaited all-electric crossover, the ORA 03 EV, a 100 percent electric model, under GWM’s ORA brand in Nepal with an introductory price of Rs4,749,000. GWM ORA 03 is a global model that has already been launched in various countries, including China, Thailand, Malaysia, the UK, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, with different model names like Goodcat, Funkycat, and ORA 03 EV, and has gained great appreciation from users in various markets, with more than 150,000 owners worldwide, reads the press release issued by the company. The car is equipped with a 47.78 KWh battery which claims to provide a range of 400km. (PR)

BEIJING: Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates says he is in Beijing, joining a series of foreign business figures who have visited China as the ruling Communist Party tries to revive investor interest in the country. Gates, who stepped down as Microsoft chairman in 2014, said on Twitter late Wednesday that he would meet partners who have worked with his charitable foundation. However, Gates is revered in China as an entrepreneur, giving Chinese leaders a chance to show their interest in foreign business by publicizing any meetings with him. CEOs of global companies including Elon Musk of Tesla Ltd and Apple Inc’s Tim Cook have visited China this year and met Premier Li Qiang, the top economic official, and Cabinet ministers following the end of anti-virus controls that blocked most international travel. (AP)

MOSCOW: Russia’s number 2 lender VTB on Thursday said it would increase the number of countries to which retail clients can send money to 25 from 11, with India and Turkey the key, new destinations. VTB was particularly hard hit by sweeping Western sanctions, cut off from transactions in major global currencies and blocked from the international SWIFT payments system soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. “The key destinations in the outlook of this year will be India and Turkey, with whom our country has established partnership relations and where the tourist flow is now directed,” said Deputy President-Chairman of VTB’s management board Anatoly Pechatnikov. (REUTERS)

KALAMATA,
Rescue workers transferred the bodies of dead migrants to refrigerated trucks as a major search continued on Thursday for possible survivors of a sea disaster in southern Greece. Hundreds of people are still feared missing.
At least 78 bodies have been recovered after a fishing boat crammed with migrants seeking to make it from Libya to Italy capsized and sank a day earlier in deep waters off the Greek coast.
Rescuers saved 104 passengers — including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians, mostly men and including eight minors — but authorities fear that hundreds of others may have been trapped below deck. If confirmed, that would make the tragedy one of the worst ever recorded in the central Mediterranean.
Authorities revised the confirmed death toll from 79 following an overnight count of the bodies.
“The survivors are in a very difficult situation. Right now they are in shock,” Erasmia Roumana, head of a United Nations Refugee Agency delegation, told The Associated Press after meeting the rescued migrants in a storage hangar in the southern port of Kalamata.
“They want to get in touch with their families to tell them they are OK, and they keep asking about the missing. Many have friends and relatives unaccounted for.”
Greece declared three days of mourning and politicians suspended campaigning for a general election on June 25. A Supreme Court prosecutor ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the deaths.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and promised to strengthen cooperation between the European Union and nearby countries to try to further crack down on migrant smugglers.
But human rights groups argue that the crackdown means migrants and refugees are being forced to take longer and more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.
The search operation south of Greece’s Peloponnese region failed to locate any more bodies or survivors overnight or early Thursday.
“The chances of finding [more survivors] are minimal,” retired Greek coast guard admiral Nikos Spanos told state-run ERT television.
“We have seen old fishing boats like this before from Libya: They are about 30 metres long and can carry 600-700 people when crammed full. But they are not at all seaworthy. To put it simply, they are floating coffins.”
Coast guard experts believe the boat may have sunk after running out of fuel or suffering engine trouble, with movement of passengers inside the vessel causing it to list and ultimately capsize.
An aerial photograph of the vessel before it sank released by Greek authorities showed people crammed on the deck. Most were not wearing life jackets.
“We are witnessing one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean, and the numbers announced by the authorities are devastating,” said Gianluca Rocco, head of the Greek section of IOM, the UN migration agency.
The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.
Greece’s coast guard said it was notified by Italian authorities of the trawler’s presence in international waters. It said efforts by its own ships and merchant vessels to assist the boat were repeatedly rejected, with people on board insisting they wanted to continue to Italy.
Twenty-nine of the survivors in southern Greece remain hospitalised, mostly with symptoms of hypothermia, while eight have been questioned by coast guard investigators. Government officials said the survivors would be moved to a migrant shelter near Athens later Thursday or Friday.
The bodies of the dead migrants were moved to a morgue outside Athens, where DNA samples and facial photographs will be taken to start the identification process.
The embassies of the countries involved will assist, health officials said.
The spot is close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, and depths of up to 5,200 metres could hamper any effort to locate a sunken vessel.
The IOM said initial reports suggested up to 400 people were aboard. A network of activists said it received a distress call from a boat in the same area whose passengers said it carried 750 people.
The Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwreck in living memory occurred on April 18, 2015, when an overcrowded fishing boat collided off Libya with a freighter trying to come to its rescue. Only 28 people survived. Forensic experts concluded that there were originally 1,100 people on board.

OTTAWA,
Canada will freeze the planned deportation of dozens of students who entered the country using fraudulent university letters of acceptance, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Wednesday.
Fraser spoke after the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported in March that several students from India had been served deportation papers for using forged documents to enter Canada in an alleged immigration scheme. The acceptance letters appeared to have been written by universities but the Canada Border Services Agency informed the students the documents were fake and warned them that they could face deportation, according to the CBC report.
Students say they were unaware the documents were forged and have blamed the alleged fraud on the India-based immigration agents who helped them apply. Advocates and the students have petitioned for a halt to the deportations. Fraser told reporters that a special task force would look at every case of a student who had been told to leave. He did not give an exact number of people facing deportation.
“Any pending removals will be halted in the interim and there will be a temporary permission to stay over the course of this period of consideration,” he said.
Official data show there were more than 800,000 foreign students with active visas in Canada in 2022. Of those, some 320,000 were from India.
Canada is a popular destination for international students since it is relatively easy to obtain a work permit.
Canada, which has a population of around 39.5 million people, plans to take in a record 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025.

CANBERRA,
Australia’s Parliament passed legislation on Thursday to prevent Russia from building a new embassy near Parliament House citing threats of espionage and political interference, as tensions grow between Moscow and a major supporter of the Ukraine war effort.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the legislation would extinguish Russia’s lease on the site of a second embassy based on the advice of security agencies.
“The government has received very clear security advice as to the risk presented by a new Russian presence so close to Parliament House,” Albanese told reporters. “We are acting quickly to ensure the lease site does not become a formal diplomatic presence.” Albanese said Australia’s government condemns Russia’s “illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine.”
Australia is one of the most generous providers of military hardware, training and aid to Ukraine of any country outside NATO and has escalated sanctions against Russia since the war began in February 2022.
Australia’s growing hostility toward Russia became apparent last year when Australian officials demanded Moscow be held accountable for Russian cybercriminals suspected of hacking the nation’s largest health insurer, Medibank, and dumping customers’ personal medical records on the dark web. It is unusual for Australia to attribute blame to a country for an unsolved cybercrime.
Albanese said opposition and other lawmakers that are not aligned with the government were briefed on the legislation on Wednesday night and had agreed to pass it through both chambers Thursday. The government holds a majority in the House but not the Senate.
Within three hours of Albanese publicly announcing the bill, it had become law, passing the House then the Senate. The law is expected to take effect later Thursday when it is rubber-stamped by Governor-General David Hurley, representing Australia’s head of state, King Charles III.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil was later more specific about the Russian threat while addressing Parliament, saying the “scope for espionage and foreign interference from the site would have been a substantial risk for the nation.”
“The action is direct and decisive. We do not have any interest in sugarcoating this message,” O’Neil said. “We will not stand for espionage and foreign interference in our country. We will act in the face of danger to our democracy and our citizens and we will do so without any apology to anyone.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Parliament was united against the Russian threat.
“We won’t tolerate foreign espionage conducted in a way that is against our national interest. We won’t tolerate people seeking to interfere with electoral processes in our country,” Dutton told Parliament.

KYIV,
After a week of heavy fighting, the real tests of Kyiv’s counteroffensive lie ahead, with Ukrainian troops some distance from Russia’s main defensive line and the bulk of forces prepared for the push still on standby.
Ukraine struck in two areas along the southeastern front last week as it began the main phase of its long-awaited operation, reporting seven retaken villages but also taking losses including Western infantry fighting vehicles and tanks.
“On both sides, a lot of it’s going to come down to attrition,” said Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and among analysts who have reported losses on both sides based on satellite and photographic evidence.
“The risk for them [the Ukrainians] is that before they get to that [Russian] defensive line, they take too much attrition and it’ll be too tough to breach it and exploit it.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Western equipment like battle tanks and armoured vehicles should help protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
Russia has prepared thousands of defensive positions from the edge of western Russia all the way to occupied Crimea on the Black Sea, including minefields, anti-tank ditches, rows of concrete “dragon’s teeth” barricades and trenches.
The positions, reviewed by Reuters using satellite imagery in April, are heavily concentrated in the strategically important south where Kyiv may aim to cut Russia’s land bridge to Crimea and split the Kremlin’s forces.
Ukraine, which has the bulk of its counteroffensive forces in the wings, can watch where Moscow commits troops to shore up its lines and strike in more thinly-defended areas, including in the east, military analysts said.
“Ukraine’s got choices,” said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“It can’t achieve strategic surprise but it will try its damnedest to achieve operational and tactical surprise. That will involve concealment, camouflage, deception, misinformation which they used quite successfully last autumn.”
Moscow’s strategy in the south likely aims to maximise Ukrainian casualties before Kyiv can reach the main Russian line of defences about 10-15 km away, according to Lee.
“There’s no point in [them] fighting to the death there or risking encirclement,” he said.
Ukraine has been preparing for the counteroffensive for at least six months after recapturing the major southwestern city of Kherson in November, a swathe of Kharkiv region in September and forcing Russian forces back from around Kyiv in April.
The military created 12 armoured brigades for the operation, nine of them trained and equipped by the West, analysts say. A brigade typically comprises at least 3,500-4,000 troops. Ukraine has said it formed eight assault brigades of 40,000 soldiers drafted by the Interior Ministry.
Konrad Muzyka, a Poland-based military analyst who tracks the war closely, said only three of the 12 brigades had been seen in combat in the southeast so far.
The main thrusts have come near the Kyiv-controlled town of Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region and Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk region, about 80 km to the east. Those thrusts may indicate Ukraine’s generals have their eye on Tokmak, an occupied town in Zaporizhzia region some 25 km from the front line. A further 50 km away lies the city of Melitopol. Both settlements are heavily fortified.
The counteroffensive is complicated by Ukraine’s lack of air power. Kyiv has lobbied the West for months to supply F-16 fighter jets but they are at least several months away from being deployed.
Kyiv has imposed an information blackout to help operational security, making independent battlefield assessments hard. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has cast Kyiv’s attack so far as a failure involving heavy losses.

MANDVI, India/KARACHI, 
Authorities in India and neighbouring Pakistan have evacuated more than 150,000 people from vulnerable coastal areas in the path of cyclone Biparjoy, set to whirl in from the Arabian Sea and make landfall by Thursday night.
Biparjoy, which means ‘disaster’ or ‘calamity’ in the Bengali language, was centred 140 km off Jakhau port in India’s western state of Gujarat and 230 km off Pakistan’s southern port of Karachi, weather officials said.
“We are expecting the cyclone to make landfall during the evening, around 8 or 8:30 pm,” said Manorama Mohanty, the Gujarat director of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which warned the process could last until midnight.
It added that the cyclone could cause tidal waves in the Arabian Sea as high as 2 to 3 metres that could inundate low-lying coastal areas in both countries. Classified as a category one storm, the least severe on a scale of one to five, Biparjoy appeared to have lost some of its intensity.
It was expected to have a maximum sustained wind speed of 115 to 125 kph gusting up to 140 kph (87 mph), down from Wednesday’s estimate of 150 kph.
Close to 95,000 people have been evacuated from eight coastal districts in Gujarat likely to be affected by the cyclone and moved to shelters, the state government said.
Authorities in Pakistan said about 62,000 people had been evacuated from high-risk areas by Wednesday evening.
Makeshift relief quarters were set up in school auditoriums and other government buildings to shelter the displaced in both countries.
As the storm neared land, the windspeed rose around Jakhau, said Amit Arora, a revenue official in the region of Kutch, where the cyclone is likely to hit land, and more than 50,000 people have been evacuated.
In the coastal town of Mandvi, a Reuters witness said strong winds had uprooted trees and caused some waterlogging. Other districts in the state also reported fallen trees and moderate rain.
Ships and boats have been moved from some areas of Pakistan’s coast with hospitals put on high alert for the cyclone. Karachi, an economic hub of 20 million, faced no immediate threat, but emergency measures were being taken to protect against the expected winds and rain, said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s climate change minister.
Temporary thatched homes in coastal Gujarat could be flattened while standing crops, plantations and roads are threatened with major damage, the IMD said in a statement that cautioned against disruptions to the railway network.
Indian authorities suspended fishing until Friday, shut schools and closed beaches. Many offshore oil installations and major ports on
the Gujarat coast have suspended operations.

NEW DELHI: India’s defence ministry has approved the procurement of US-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, sources told Reuters on Thursday. India will buy 31 drones made by General Atomics worth slightly over $3 billion, one of the sources said. India’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The defence ministry’s initial clearance for the procurement comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for a state visit to the US next week. According to the two sources, Indian defence ministry’s apex body for capital procurement met on Thursday to approve the deal, which is expected to be announced when Modi meets US President Joe Biden next week. Biden has made deepening defence ties with India a priority to counter China’s growing dominance, and has offered to collaborate on military technology even though the two countries lack a formal security alliance. The ministry’s “Acceptance of Necessity” is the first step in the procurement process, which now needs clearance from Modi’s cabinet.

MANILA: An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the Philippines’ main island on Thursday, authorities said, halting some railway operations in the capital Manila. No casualties or major damage were reported after the quake, which struck out at sea at a depth of 10 kilometres and was felt in nearby provinces, the Philippine seismology agency said. Operations of the three elevated railway lines in Manila were stopped due to the earthquake, the transport ministry said. “Railways and airports had suspension in operations. So far, no report of major effect of the quake and we hope it remains this way,” Civil defence spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro, told GMA news channel. Ceiling lights were seen shaking at a hotel in one of Manila’s business districts where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was speaking to reporters after attending an international trade forum, according to a Reuters witness.

SCRANTON: A former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue, his wife and three other people have been indicted in the theft and sale of human body parts, federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced on Wednesday. Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, stole dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to the school in the scheme that stretched from 2018 to early 2023, according to court documents. The body parts were taken without the school’s knowledge or permission, authorities said, adding that the school has cooperated with the investigation. Lodge sometimes took the body parts — which included heads, brains, skin and bones — back to his home where he lived with his wife, Denise, 63, and some remains were sent to buyers through the mail, authorities said. Lodge also allegedly allowed buyers to come to the morgue to pick what remains they wanted to buy. Bodies donated to Harvard Medical School are used for
education, teaching or research purposes.

ROTTERDAM,
Croatia scored twice in extra time to beat the Netherlands 4-2 in their Nations League semi-final in Rotterdam on Wednesday and advance to Sunday’s decider.
Croatia are looking to win a first major title and continued their form from last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where they finished third.
Substitute Bruno Petkovic curled home a stunning shot from the edge of the penalty area eight minutes into extra time to put them on their way and Luka Modric made sure of Croatia’s triumph with a late penalty, their second of the game.
The Dutch, hosting the four-nation tournament, had forced extra time with a last-gasp equaliser to ensure they finished 2-2 after 90 minutes despite being largely outplayed in front of their home fans at the Feyenoord Stadium.
Donyell Malen handed the hosts a 34th-minute lead before Andrej Kramaric equalised from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half.
Croatia then went ahead through Mario Pasalic in the 73rd minute before Noa Lang side-footed the ball into the roof of the net to equalise six minutes into stoppage time.
The Netherlands’ first goal came against the run of play, but at the end of a swift series of passes that saw both quick feet and precise thinking.
Cody Gakpo set it up by winning possession and five passes later, Mats Wieffer teed up an unmarked Malen to fire home.
But it was the street-smarts of Croatia captain Modric that got them level, stealing the ball in the Dutch penalty area from Gakpo, whose instinctive reaction was to tug at the 37-year-old veteran who went tumbling to the ground to win a penalty.
Kramaric tucked it away comfortably, after which Luka Ivanusec played a pass into Pasalic, that he fired home on the turn despite a host of Dutch defenders around him to give Croatia a 2-1 lead.
But a desperate last attack saw the Dutch take advantage of Croatia’s failure to clear their lines with Lang perfectly placed to equalise and force the game into extra time.
Parity, however, did not last long. Modric’s pass put Petkovic through on goal and he curled the ball into the net with a shot worthy of winning any cup tie.
Modric completed the win with the late spotkick to seal another outstanding individual performance.
The final is in Rotterdam on Sunday.

KATHMANDU,
Nepal and India ‘A’ shared points in their second fixture of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup Twenty20 after the game was abandoned without a toss at the Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok, Hong Kong on Thursday owing to wet outfield following a downpour.
The other match of Group ‘A’ between hosts Hong Kong and Pakistan ‘A’ also ended in similar fashion at the same venue. Nepal had lost their opening match against Pakistan ‘A’ on Tuesday while India ‘A’ had pulled off a nine-wicket victory over Hong Kong. Nepal will play their third and final match of the group against Hong Kong on Saturday while India ‘A’ will vie against Pakistan ‘A’.  
India lead the table on three points. Pakistan, also on three points, are behind India on net run rate. Nepal are third and Hong Kong fourth on equal one points. Nepal still have a slim chance to make it into the semi-final should they beat hosts Hong Kong by a big margin and Pakistan lose to India on Saturday.
The Group ‘B’ comprises Bangladesh ‘A’, Sri Lanka ‘A’, the UAE and Malaysia. The top two teams of each group will make it to the semi-finals.

COLOMBO,
Pakistan will jointly host this year’s 50-over Asia Cup tournament with Sri Lanka, organisers said Thursday, in a compromise aimed at forestalling a tit-for-tat boycott involving India.
Neighbours India and Pakistan have not met on either side’s soil in a bilateral series since 2012, and only play each other in international tournaments on neutral grounds.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had threatened to boycott this year’s ODI World Cup in India, which is due to start in October and its schedule awaited, if its Indian counterpart refused to play in Pakistan.
The six-nation Asia Cup will be played between August 31 and September 17, an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) statement said.
“The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka,” it added.
The release did not mention the venues for the tournament or which team will play where but it is understood that India’s matches will be held in the island nation.
Oman Cricket chief and ACC vice-president Pankaj Khimji intervened to broker the compromise between the two sides, according to media reports.
India and Pakistan are bitter political rivals and the nuclear-armed nations have fought three wars since being carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947.
Any cricket match between India and Pakistan is one of the most watched events on the global sporting calendar.
They last played a bilateral series in 2012 and most recently faced each other during last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia—a match India won by four wickets.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to announce the ODI World Cup schedule this week.
The last edition of the Asia Cup was played in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 in T20 format as a tune-up tournament for that year’s T20 World Cup.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)
You may encounter a flirtatious situation later in the day, elevating your charm and desire for passion. Good vibes will flow this evening, inspiring you to have a bit of creative fun. Issues from yesterday could also reemerge.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Try to ground in the present while reconnecting with your physical self this morning, dear Taurus. Though your natural instinct may be to check your email and messages first thing, these vibes will ask you to migrate slowly toward work.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
Try not to place any restrictions on yourself this morning, dear Gemini. Though obstacles may manifest in your path, accepting defeat won’t serve you in the long term. Luckily, your wits can help pull you out of sticky situations as afternoon rolls in.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)
You’ll feel disciplined within your spiritual practice as the Gemini moon connects with Saturn this morning, dearest Cancer, though you should be mindful of respecting other people’s beliefs.

LEO (July 23-August 22)
You won’t be easy to impress, dear Leo, but try not to wear these expressions on your face. You’ll begin to perk up this afternoon, putting you in the mood for connectivity based on positive alliances. Plan on doing something social.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
Try not to let work-related stress spill over into your personal life this morning, though your emotions may feel a bit leaky, it would be a mistake to take your frustrations out on loved ones, no matter how passively you do so.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
Getting organized within your dreams may feel like a struggle this morning, dearest Libra, though these vibes may leave you feeling eager to work hard, it may be best to slow down and support your health instead. Keep your eyes peeled for signs.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
Try not to let the grudge-holder within crawl out from its cave this morning, dearest Scorpio. Luckily, you’ll have a chance to shake off these funky vibes and focus on yourself this afternoon, though you may want to take a few deep breaths.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
Try not to revive any arguments you had with your sweetie yesterday as a harsh connection between the Gemini moon and Saturn could tempt you to dig up issues that were already laid to rest. Luckily, you’ll return to your joyful self later.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
You may struggle to hold onto your train of thought this morning. Try to take notes as good ideas creep into your mind, or you could inconveniently forget them down the line. Luckily, it’ll be easier to find your sense of order.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)
The Gemini moon squares off with Saturn this morning, dearest Water-Bearer, and it may take you longer to get on track with your agenda. Don’t feel guilty about moving slowly, but understand the difference between procrastination and operating at a sustainable pace.

PISCES (February 19-March 20)
Watch out for moodiness within yourself and others which could make it difficult for us to show compassion to one another. Luckily, these heavy vibes will lift as afternoon rolls in helping you find clarity while putting you in a more nurturing headspace.

Kathmandu
Around the world, Korean food has become incredibly famous, and Kathmandu is no exception. Thanks to its distinctive flavours, brilliant colours, and nutritious ingredients, Korean cuisine has gained popularity among locals and visitors alike. If you yearn for real Korean food, look no further. Here is a list of the best five Korean eateries in the city, each renowned for its delectable cuisine, warm atmosphere, and first-rate service.



Gangnam Galbi Restaurant



The name Gangnam Galbi alludes to the 2012 viral K-pop song ‘Gangnam Style’ by Psy, and ‘galbi’ refers to ribs. As hinted by their name, their speciality is in pork ribs. They use charcoal to roast, barbeque and grill the meat at extremely high temperatures, giving the meat additional tenderness and a variety of flavours and scents. Intricate stews like kimchi jjigae and doenjang jjigae, as well as classic Korean BBQs like bulgogi and galbi, are served at the restaurant.

Location: Durbarmarg, Kathmandu
Seating: indoor and outdoor
Opening hours: 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm (on weekdays) and 11:00 am  to 9:00 pm (on weekends) (closed on Tuesdays)
Parking: Available
Payment: Cash or card


Seoul Jib Korean Restaurant



Seoul Jib Korean Restaurant is a well-known location for fans of Korean cuisine. The eatery has a homey atmosphere and a wide variety of traditional Korean meals on its menu, including bulgogi (marinated grilled beef), bibimbap (rice topped with meat and vegetables), and their in-house kimchi (hot fermented cabbage). Take advantage of the chance to sample their mouthwatering barbeque, which you can cook on your own at the table. Plus, the welcoming ambience and helpful employees enhance the whole dining experience.  

Location: Dashrath Chand Marga, Bishalnagar, Kathmandu
Seating: indoor and outdoor
Opening hours: 11:00 pm to 10:00 pm, every day
Parking: Available
Payment: Cash or card


Hankook Sarang Korean Restaurant



Chijuman Gurung established the Korean eatery Hankook Sarang in 2002. ‘Hankook’ is another name for Korea, and ‘Sarang’ means love.  Their dedication to providing healthy and authentic Korean food has made them a go-to dining destination for over two decades. They have two locations in Tangal and Thamel and provide a variety of conventional Korean meals as well as lesser-known specialities prepared using local products and traditional cooking methods. Their welcoming atmosphere and attentive service guarantee a great dining experience.

Location: Thamel and Tangal, Kathmandu
Seating: indoor and outdoor
Opening hours: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, every day
Parking: Available
Payment: Cash, card or digital payments


Won Korean Restaurant



Won Korean Restaurant is a traditional Korean eatery inside the Hotel Ngudrup. Just ten minutes from the Bauddha stupa, they provide a delicious charcoal barbecue and many other delicacies. One can try their specially made Korean fried chicken, kimchi jiggae, kimbap, egg rolls, and many more. The restaurant’s atmosphere is pleasant and inviting as you will be treated by professional servers. Moreover, it’s also pet friendly.

Location: Shramik Marg, Bauddha, Kathmandu
Seating: indoor and outdoor
Opening hours: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, every day
Parking: Available
Payment: Cash or card


Kimchee Restaurant and Bar



Kimchee Restaurant is an establishment that specialises in serving authentic Korean cuisine. It reflects the rich culinary traditions and flavours of Korea, offering a diverse range of dishes that showcase the unique flavours, spices, and cooking techniques of Korean culture. Upon entering the restaurant, you will be greeted by a warm and inviting atmosphere. Kimchee Restaurant focuses on attentive and friendly service, as the staff guides you through the menu, offering recommendations, and assisting with grilling or assembling your dishes, especially if you are new to Korean cuisine.

Location: Bauddha, Kathmandu
Seating: indoor and outdoor
Opening hours: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, every day
Parking: Available
Payment: Cash or card

LONDON, UK
American novelist Barbara Kingsolver won the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction Wednesday with ‘Demon Copperhead,’ the Dickens-inspired tale of a boy’s struggle against the odds in a corner of America scarred by opioid addiction.
Kingsolver’s Appalachian coming-of-age tale was announced as the winner of the 30,000 pounds ($38,000) award at a ceremony in London.
Kingsolver, 68, also won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for the novel, which transplants Charles Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’ to modern-day southwest Virginia, where the author lives.
It was a second victory for Kingsolver, who previously won the Women’s Prize in 2010 for ‘The Lacuna.’
“Lightning strikes twice,” she said as she accepted the award.
Kingsolver said she wrote the book to tell stories from a part of the United States—the mountainous Appalachia region—that is often overlooked or regarded as ‘just a joke.’
“We’re the last demographic in the U.S. that progressive people are allowed to laugh at,” Kingsolver told The Associated Press. “And we’re mad about it.”
Kingsolver has long woven social issues into her novels, which include ‘The Bean Trees’ and ‘The Poisonwood Bible,’ and helped establish the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Oprah Winfrey chose ‘Demon Copperhead’ for her book club last year.
Journalist Louise Minchin, who chaired the Women’s Prize judging panel, said the winning novel was “a towering, deeply powerful and significant book.”
“‘Demon Copperhead’ tackles universal themes – from addiction and poverty to family, love, and the power of friendship and art,” Minchin said. “It packs a triumphant emotional punch, and it is a novel that will withstand the test of time.”

– Associated Press

Kathmandu
Le Sherpa restaurant is holding a Yoga Brunch on June 21 with the renowned yoga instructor Ramesh Raudra to celebrate International Yoga Day. Le Sherpa is known for its famous Saturday breakfast market. What most people aren’t aware of is that they also celebrate major international events too.
Raudra’s yoga session will include sound therapy, yantra imagery, and chanting of some powerful mantras. The organisers are taking on a limited number of participants, which will provide a personalised experience. The yoga session will take place from 8:00 am to 9:30 am, followed by brunch.
Yoga brunch starts with a fresh glass of seasonal cold press juice, tea or coffee, followed by the starter seasonal fruit platter, a bread basket with grated tomato dip, and a homemade granola bowl. You can choose between Shakshouka, Spanish egg toast, and a healthy energy bowl for the main course. The meal concludes with a dessert. Reservations are encouraged as limited seats are available.

Where: Le Sherpa, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu
When: June 21
Time: 8:00 am to 11:00 am
Price: Rs1990 per person
Contact: 9801159480



Radisson Hotel is offering a weekend buffet brunch for families. You can pick between Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisines with your choice of drinks--beer, wine, mocktails or a peg of imported liquors.
The hotel is offering a 50 percent discount on children’s meals. They are also organising a salad-making activity for the kids led by the chefs.
After brunch, you can also enjoy 40 percent off at the spa and 30 percent off at the beauty salon inside Radisson. Reservations start on Fridays via call.

Where: Radisson Hotel, Kathmandu
When: Every Saturday
Time: 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Price: Rs3000 per person and Rs3500 for brunch with swimming pool
Contact: 9851048331