KATHMANDU,
Over six years into the construction of the Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, Nepal Army has completed a little over a quarter of the project that has a price tag of over Rs200 billion.
The army in August 2017 started work on the national pride project with a plan to complete it in four years. With the project moving ahead at a snail’s pace, the government in August 2021 extended the completion deadline to December 2024.
After assessing that the highway would not be ready by the extended deadline, the government further stretched the completion time till April 2027. However, given the sluggish progress in construction, even the army leadership is not confident of the project’s completion three years later.
Presenting a progress report to the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives, Chief of Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma said it would be impossible to complete the project in 2027 without revising the existing Forest Act and the Land Acquisition Act.
“We have been asked to work on the fast track but the laws from the 1950’s. If relevant laws are not in place on time, I cannot assure the project’s completion in 2027,” he said. “It would be an achievement even if just the track is ready and motor vehicles can ply the road by the deadline. After that, it will take two or three years more to complete the project.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, the army leadership blamed the executive and the legislature for the delayed work. It takes nine months to get clearance to cut down four trees on the project site, he said. “We have been unable to clear the trees that I showed to the prime minister and the defence minister at the project side months ago,” Sharma said.
He also pointed to the problems in acquiring land in the Khokana and Nijgadh areas, caused by the “problematic” provisions in the acquisition Act. “The money that land owners are asking for is much higher than what the government is willing to give. Acquiring private land has been a huge challenge. This is another factor for the delay,” General Sharma explained.
Some residents of Khokana, a traditional Newar settlement in southern Lalitpur, have charged the government with sullying their religious heritage, livelihood and indigenous identity by acquiring the land for multiple development projects, including the expressway. The other projects in their locality are the Outer Ring Road Development Project, the Bagmati Corridor, a Satellite City, and a high-tension power line. They have been demanding a relocation of the entry point of the highway.
As per the army’s report card, the physical progress of the 70.97-kilometre project stands at just 28.56 kilometres since construction began in August 2017. The army has spent Rs52.86 billion on the highway whose revised estimated cost is Rs212 billion.
The parliamentary committee had summoned the army leadership to inquire why the project’s progress had been so slow. The committee members said slow construction had raised questions about the army’s capacity and role.
“At the current pace, it will take another 10 years to complete the project,” said Buddhi Man Tamang, a Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker, questioning the capacity of the national defence force to undertake such mega projects. Other lawmakers, including Raghuji Pant of the CPN-UML, asked if the army would complete the project within the given time frame or if the project needed further extension. The lawmakers even said it was time to think about whether the army should be involved in physical infrastructure. “A serious question has been raised about whether the army should be involved in developing infrastructure projects by going beyond its defined duties,” said Gagan Thapa, a Nepali Congress lawmaker.
Not happy with the remarks, Sharma even went on to say, “The army didn’t ask for the project, it was you [political leadership] who gave [us] the responsibility.”
Delays in the preparation and approval of the Detailed Project Report, India’s denial to give explosives, the Covid-19 pandemic and the unavailability of construction materials are the other reasons the army cited for the sluggish progress.
After listening to the army leadership, the committee has decided to summon the prime minister, the defence minister and other ministers concerned to discuss the issue and explore ways to clear hindrances in implementing the highway project that will connect Kathmandu with Nijgadh in Bara district in around an hour.
The Kathmandu-Nijgadh expressway was first conceptualised in the mid-1990s. But it failed to take off for almost a decade and a half. The government revived the project in 2013 and two years later, the Indian consortium of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Transportation Networks, IL&FS Engineering and Construction, and Suryavir Infrastructure Construction won the project bid in February 2015.
But in October the same year, the Supreme Court ordered a halt to preparations to award the project to the Indian developer. A year later, in December 2016, the government cancelled all agreements with the Indian company. In the first week of May 2017, the Nepal Army was given the project.

KATHMANDU,
The government’s overall performance—from service delivery,
budget expenditure, and governance to capital expenditure—has seen a sharp decline, according to a report from the Prime Minister’s Office.
A meeting of government secretaries chaired by Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal on Monday took several decisions after the government fell short of the targets it set in its annual policies and programmes and the annual budget.
Experts observing the government’s performance termed the current situation as “catch-22”, saying the government has a difficult escape as it is caught in conflicting rules and limitations. The evaluation report published by the Prime Minister’s Office on December 5 shows problems in service delivery, with 21 ministries and six other government agencies failing to achieve the targets, particularly in areas like fiscal distribution, infrastructure progress, governance reform, and social sectors.
According to the report, the four-month evaluation covered 27 government entities including 21 ministries, the National Planning Commission, the Office of the Nepal Investment Board, the National Vigilance Centre, the Public Procurement Office and the National Statistics Office. A total of 1,600 government-related activities, 3,421 milestones and 327 result indicators were identified and integrated into the PMO’s evaluation system.
In the four months since the announcement of the annual budget, by mid-October, only 3.88 percent of government-related activities were completed and 8.13 percent of the milestones achieved, according to the report.
After poor performance and poor service delivery by various ministries and government agencies, the meeting of the government secretaries on Monday called for expediting efforts to achieve the milestones.
At the meeting of government secretaries on Monday, chief secretary Aryal was visibly angry by the poor performance of government agencies and ministries, and threatened to take stern action against under-performing officials, according to a secretary who was present at the meeting.
As the government is all set to complete its year in office, the meeting also gave an eight-point instruction to ministries and government agencies to initiate immediate reforms.
By mid-October, or the four months of the current fiscal year, a total of 775 milestones were to be completed, but the achievement rate was just 35.35 percent—51.10 percent milestones are in progress while 13.55 percent are yet to start.
The PMO report, citing statistics provided by the Office of the Auditor General, stated that by mid-October, 16.02 percent of the annual budget was spent by various state agencies. Likewise, of the budget allocated for current expenditure, only 18.69 percent was spent while just 5.9 percent of the capital budget has been spent in the four months.
“None of the indicators is satisfactory and we are far from meeting the halfway target by the end of this fiscal year,” the secretary said, adding, “that’s why the chief secretary was angry and instructed officials to scale up efforts to meet the targets.”
The same figures were presented at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is set to complete his year in office next week.
As almost all ministries and government agencies are set to fail to meet the halfway target, Chief Secretary Aryal in Monday’s meeting urged secretaries and heads of six government agencies to submit their new baselines by Wednesday to align with the annual target, according to the statement issued by the PMO on Tuesday.
The same report was presented in Wednesday’s cabinet meeting where the performance of one year of Dahal’s government was discussed. Chief secretary Aryal had presented the findings and indicators of the past one year at the meeting.
“The government is completing a year. In this context, we discussed and evaluated its performance. The chief secretary shared some ideas to enhance the government’s performance, evaluated the procedures that caused delays in overall service delivery, and suggested improvements in the decision-making process, among other things,” said Rekha Sharma, Minister for Communication and Information Technology, after the cabinet meeting. “The chief secretary also recommended amending some laws, regulations and other legal frameworks in order to expedite developmental works and improve governance and service delivery.”
Accordingly, the meeting of government secretaries on Monday also decided to send by December 24 a list of laws to be formulated in the upcoming Parliament session, to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
Regarding the signing of treaties and agreements with foreign nations, organizations and entities, the meeting instructed to carefully consider the context, objectives, importance, language and other details before sending them for approval to the entities concerned.
The meeting also instructed all ministries and government agencies to submit a roadmap for service delivery including issuing passports, citizenship, national identity card, driving license, land ownership certificate, police report, permission for foreign employment, immigration, consular affairs, civil registration, industry, commerce, company registration, and no objection letter for students pursuing higher studies abroad. The roadmap is to be submitted at the Prime Minister’s Office latest by January 5 along with suggestions on ways to improve these services.
In this recent post in X, formerly Twitter, former chairman of the Public Service Commission Umesh Mainali said “Bureaucracy is suffering from ‘Teeter-Totter syndrome (Buck-passing upward, downward and outward)’.’”  
And on Wednesday, he posted in Nepali: “When the government fails to perform, it loses legitimacy, and such a government cannot work effectively. This is a Catch-22 situation. Nepal is now falling in a similar trap.”
The meeting of the government secretaries also decided to give maximum priority to the concerns forwarded by provincial governments. In view of the upcoming investment summit, the meeting emphasised the reporting of changes in policy and legal framework.
Also, considering the demands from provincial governments for a high number of staff and officials, the meeting decided to formulate criteria for organisational and management surveys to streamline such postings.
Prime Minister Dahal also promised that he will seriously review his one-year term and accordingly prepare a work plan for the next year.
During a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday, the prime minister said, “As I am set to complete my one year in office, I plan to prepare a calendar and hold discussions with all ministries. We will identify problem areas and formulate plans for the next year on the basis of our achievements,” adding, “I will start my office at 10:00 am and will take regular updates.”
“We have to work in a new way and that starts with me. I will regularly come to Singhadurbar and discuss problems. I believe working closely with the bureaucracy enables timely delivery and I hope we will see better results next year.”

JERUSALEM,
Among the nations condemning Israel’s war in Gaza, one has stood out--Russia had built a growing friendship with Israel, but that dalliance is over, analysts said, erased by the shifting sands of Middle East geopolitics.
Just under two years ago, the picture had been very different.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Israel didn’t join the West in sanctioning Moscow, a demonstration of the alliance of convenience between the two governments.
Now, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is among Israel’s loudest critics and has refused to denounce Hamas’s bloody October 7 attack.
Instead, his war against Ukraine has driven Russia into a different coupling, this time with Israel’s sworn enemy Iran.
Russia has officially backed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at the UN, while early in the war Putin accused Israel of contemplating tactics comparable to Nazi Germany’s brutal siege of what is now Saint Petersburg during World War II.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says Israel’s offensive, aimed at destroying Hamas, has killed more than 19,600 people, mostly women and children. In late October, Moscow went as far as to host envoys from the Palestinian militant group and Iran, which Moscow said included talks on releasing foreign hostages. Israel called the meeting “a reprehensible step that gives support to terrorism”.
This month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Moscow for talks with Putin, while on Wednesday Russia made a joint demand alongside the Arab League for a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution.
In Israel, the mood is one of shock and anger. Putin’s decision not to criticise Hamas, even with Russian citizens among the roughly 1,140 people killed by the militants on October 7, was “a foul betrayal”, said Israeli historian Semion Goldin.
Russia has come down squarely “on the side of the aggressor, not at all on our side”, said Golding, a researcher in Russian studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
It’s all a far cry from where Israeli-Russian relations were as recently as last year.
During much of the Cold War, Soviet-Israeli relations were frosty. The Kremlin prevented many Jews from emigrating to Israel, while the Soviet Union propagated anti-Zionist propaganda and provided military aid to Arab states, in particular during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
However, following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, the newly re-emerged Russia established much closer ties with Israel, that saw increased tourism and a massive wave of Russian Jewish migration to Israel.
Today, there are more than a million Russian-speakers from the former Soviet Union in Israel, forming a substantial political bloc.
As Putin’s war in Ukraine has dragged on and his international isolation deepened, he has turned against Israel’s quiet friendship.
Instead, the Russian president has forged a new alliance with Iran, with Tehran delivering drones to Moscow and the pair cooperating in evading Western sanctions.

SALYAN,
On December 8, 45-year-old Dammar Sarki killed his 40-year-old wife at their home in Uchalne in ward 3 of Siddha Kumakh Rural Municipality. It was nighttime when an argument broke out between the husband and wife. Sarki, in a fit of rage and under the influence of alcohol, attacked his wife with an axe. She did not survive the fatal attack.
According to the Dhodchaur Area Police, Sarki was arrested the same night and since then has been in judicial custody.
On October 15, an 18-year-old woman Sharmila Budhathoki from Kharpan in ward 4 of Siddha Kumakh Rural Municipality, killed her 49-year-old mother-in-law. She hit her mother-in-law with a log injuring her and then strangled her to death. According to police, the woman’s dead body was recovered from a rice storage container in the house. The accused was soon arrested and has been sentenced to prison for the crime.
On the night of August 8, Nabin Bhandari, a 23-year-old man from ward 13 of Mathillo Salyanchaur in Sharada Municipality killed his 48-year-old mother while she was asleep. Bhandari confessed to the crime and stated that a faith healer had convinced him that his mother was possessed by a demonic spirit and must be killed. According to the District Police Office, Bhandari repeatedly hit his mother which led to a severe head injury and blood loss. Bhandari, who was arrested soon after the incident, is currently serving a prison sentence.
On December 16, a 39-year-old man from Panikhola in ward 7 of Chhatreswari Rural Municipality was arrested by the Hulam Area Police on the charge of raping his sister-in-law when she was alone in the house. The accused has been remanded to police custody for further investigation, said police.
Such forms of domestic violence wherein a family member has committed a heinous crime against another member of the family are being reported frequently in Salyan.
According to the District Police Office, in the past few years, incidents like murders, rapes, domestic violence and disputes leading to physical altercations in the family have been increasing in the district. According to the details made public by the police, the contributing factors in most of the violent crimes committed in the past two years are alcohol abuse and unrestrained anger issues among the accused. Family disputes and rising unemployment have also contributed to the rise in heinous crimes in the district.
According to the District Police Office, in the fiscal year 2022–23, a total of 195 cases of crime were registered, of which three were homicides, three were rapes, and 76 involved domestic violence. Similarly, until the first week of December 2023, four homicides, five rapes, one attempted rape, and 22 cases of domestic violence were registered.  
Even though the district authorities, security personnel and the local units of the district have been conducting awareness programmes in the local communities against the misuse of alcohol and other substances to mitigate violence, the impact of such campaigns is ineffective.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Nabin Karki, chief of the District Police Office, Salyan, said that the cause of most of the violent crimes committed inside families is excessive alcohol consumption, unemployment and the negative effects of social media.
“Most of the victims of domestic violence are women while not all criminals are men,” said Karki. “We organise awareness programmes and discussions with locals in more than 30 places in the district to control violent crimes happening inside families every year. But even after our continued efforts, we have not seen any significant decrease in the number of crimes happening inside households.”
According to Mina Budhathoki, a women’s rights activist and psycho-social consultant, due to the addiction to alcohol, unemployment, and abuse of the internet these days, mental problems and family disputes resulting in incidents of murder, rape, and violence inside families are increasing.
“Among the crimes committed inside households, the victims are mostly women and girls who are afraid of society’s reaction if they go to the authorities, which is to say that a lot of these crimes go unreported,” Mina told the Post. “Often, after the incidents of rape and domestic violence, women and girls feel helpless and die by suicide. The incidents do not come to light because the family members do not want such crimes to be reported.”
Min Bahadur Budhathoki, chief administrative officer of the Siddha Kumakh Rural Municipality, despite consolidated efforts from the authorities, controlling domestic violence and violent crimes has become a challenge.
“We conduct awareness programmes to raise awareness among the public about the ills of alcoholism and anger issues but our efforts have not borne fruit,” said Min Bahadur.
According to Bimala Roka, a local of ward 3 of Siddha Kumakh, only conducting awareness campaigns is not sufficient to control violent crimes in the villages since the campaigns only try to treat the problem superficially instead of delving into and solving the real triggers of these crimes.
“The local government should formulate rules and regulations at the local level to control such crimes and should establish a support group of locals in every ward of the local unit so the victim can seek help before it gets too late,” said Roka. “The awareness programmes are not going to help unless the criminals are afraid of the consequences. Instead of events and programmes, the local and district-level authorities should make sure they are always available for the victims in times of need. In remote areas of the district, it takes hours for the police to reach the victims, and by the time they reach them, it is too late to save the victims from violent family members,” she added.

MAKAWANPUR: At least three people died and 27 were injured in a road crash in Amlekhgunj on Wednesday. The incident occurred after a bus on its way to Kakarbhitta from Kathmandu and a truck travelling towards Pathlaiya collided near Bridge Number 3 in Amlekhgunj. According to Dadhiram Neupane, spokesman of the district police office, truck driver Purna Gurung, 28, bus driver Hari Shumsher Suyal, 40, and one other seriously injured individual succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in Hetauda. The identity of the third victim is yet to be ascertained. Seven of the critically injured were taken to hospitals in Hetauda and Chitwan for treatment while the others are being treated in local hospitals.

JHAPA: A 60-year-old man died after a wild elephant attacked him at Parakhopi in Haldibari Rural Municipality-2, Jhapa, on Wednesday. According to the District Police Office, the victim has been identified as Pathal Rajbanshi, an office assistant at the ward 2 office of Haldibari Rural Municipality. He was attacked while he was out for a morning walk. His body was found in a bush some 200 metres east from his house. The body was taken to Provincial Hospital in Bhadrapur for postmortem. Two weeks ago, a forest guard was killed in a wild elephant attack in ward 3 of Haldibari.

BIRENDRANAGAR: Nine police units situated in the mountainous areas of Dolpa, Humla and Mugu districts of the Karnali Province have been shifted to the respective district police offices after severe cold made it difficult for the units to operate. According to the Province Police Office in Surkhet, a total of 53 security personnel posted in the units have been deputed to the district police offices for two months. “It is not possible to stay in the police units there due to the cold and snowfall. Mobile police teams will patrol the areas from time to time,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police Bhim Prasad Dhakal.

JHAPA: A 57-year-old man from Sugabathan in ward 2 of Jhapa Rural Municipality died after being caught in a threshing machine in a paddy field of the same rural municipality on Wednesday. The man suddenly got himself stuck in the machine hooked up to a tractor and died on the spot, police said. Further inquiry and questioning of eyewitnesses is under way, and after that, the body will be handed over to the family, according to police.

KATHMANDU,
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has decried the tendency of governments at all three levels to make policy decisions through the Cabinet or similar authorities at provincial and local levels to avoid investigation by the anti-graft body.
Making public its 46-point suggestion to the government on Wednesday, the anti-graft body called for an end to such practice. The commission said that the suggestions were provided to the government after an interaction with government secretaries and department chiefs on October 29 and 30.
“There should be an end to the practice of taking issues supposed to be decided by the ministry, department or secretariat concerned to the Cabinet, council or assembly,” one of the suggestions reads. “The agency assigned by the law to perform the task must make its own decision.”
As the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act-1991 bars the anti-graft body from investigating the decisions taken by the Cabinet, there is a growing tendency among policymakers of forwarding the matters to the Cabinet for a decision even for the tasks to be performed from a minister or a secretary level to avoid investigation by the CIAA.
Section 4 (B) of the CIAA Act states: “The Commission, pursuant to the Act-1991, shall not take any action in matters relating to any business or decisions taken at meetings of any house of Parliament or of any committee or anything said or done by any member at such meetings, or any policy decisions taken by the council of ministers or any committee thereof or judicial actions of a court of law.”
Citing the same provision, the anti-graft body decided to exempt two former prime ministers—Baburam Bhattarai and Madhav Kumar Nepal—from corruption charges in relation to the Lalita Niwas land scam, giving an impression that this provision is being misused to shield top politicians from prosecution.
“We suggested that the bureaucratic leadership not forward the issues supposed to be decided by a ministry, department or a subordinate government agency to the Cabinet,” said Narahari Ghimire, spokesperson for the CIAA. “All the decisions the Cabinet takes cannot be policy decisions.”
With policy decisions providing legal protection to senior politicians, the government has kept similar provisions in the bill to amend the CIAA-Act registered at the National Assembly.
Instead, the bill has allowed even the provincial cabinet to take policy decisions to save senior politicians from the provincial government from being investigated by the anti-graft body. The commission has long urged the government and Parliament to review this legal provision.
Besides suggestions with regard to policy decisions, the anti-graft body has also called for full compliance with the Public Procurement Act and its regulations when it comes to public procurement.
It has called for an end to the practice of amending the Public Procurement Regulations frequently to serve the interests of targeted individuals. For example, the regulation has been amended nine times since its amendment in May 2019, allegedly to serve the interests of some people. Since the introduction of the regulation in 2007, it was amended five times until 2019.
The corruption watchdog has also called for an end to the influence of interest groups in the lawmaking process. “The CIAA has received complaints that those involved in public contracts influence the lawmaking process related to public procurement and those involved in banking businesses influence the lawmaking related to the banking sector,” the CIAA said.
Nepal is supposed to introduce a law to prevent the conflict of interest in lawmaking—also to comply with anti-money laundering standards. Lawmakers having a particular interest in some businesses are inducted into the relevant parliamentary body, leading to the situation.
Amid concerns about handing over public works to local users groups involving the cadres of political parties, the CIAA has called for doing away with the practice of assigning such groups to undertake tasks that are technically complex and need machinery use.
The commission also wants to do away with the practice of changing the customs duty on imports through the Financial Bill every year. The questions are being asked about alleged favouritism to certain business interests while revising the tariff every year through the Financial Bill.
In this context, the CIAA has suggested the government change the rates by introducing a Tariff Act. “It will be effective and legal only if the taxation and waiver of taxation are done through a regular session of Parliament,” the commission said.
It also suggested the need for a study on the effectiveness of the tax waiver provided by the government to select groups and businesses.
In its annual reports, the Office of Auditor General has been raising questions about the effectiveness of tax waiver.
The CIAA has suggested auctioning off confiscated vehicles and other goods by law enforcement agencies every year. “Take departmental action against senior officials for failing to auction them off,” the CIAA said. Many vehicles and other goods continue to litter government office premises due to the failure to get rid of them on time.

KATHMANDU,
The Parliamentary Hearing Committee on Wednesday endorsed six nominees for Supreme Court justices.
The meeting of the joint committee of the House of Representatives and National Assembly endorsed Saranga Subedi, Abdul Aziz Musalman, Mahesh Sharma Paudyal, Tek Prasad Dhungana, Sunil Pokharel and Bal Krishna Dhakal, all of whom were recommended by the Judicial Council, said Lilanath Shrestha, a member of the House committee.
Subedi, Musalman, Paudyal, and Dhungana are High Court judges. Pokharel and Dhakal are advocates. Pokharel is a former secretary general of the Nepal Bar Association while Dhakal also served as the secretary for the Supreme Court Bar Association.
President Ramchandra Paudel later in the day appointed them as per Article 129(2) of the constitution.
Although the committee had completed the hearing of the nominees on Monday, the decision on their approval was yet to be made.
On November 20, a meeting of the Judicial Council had recommended the six individuals for the post of Supreme Court justices.
Currently, there are seven vacant positions of judges in the 21-strong apex court.
For over two years, the court never had all the positions filled with some positions being left vacant for over two years now. Among the existing 14 justices, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada will retire in March after reaching the age of 65.
Only two justices have been added to the top court since March last year. Binod Sharma, a high court judge, has been promoted to the Supreme Court.

KATHMANDU,
Immunisation drive against measles-rubella and typhoid is scheduled to start on Thursday in the seven districts of Karnali Province including quake-affected districts, which are considered highly vulnerable to outbreaks of these diseases.
The Ministry of Health and Population said that vaccines for measles-rubella and typhoid will be administered in Jajarkot and Rukum West, the two districts worst-hit by the earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on November 3.
Officials estimated 150,000 children between six months and five years in Jajarkot and Rukum West.
However, typhoid vaccine will be administered in Surkhet, Jumla, Kalikot, Dailekh and Salyan districts in the 10-day campaign, which will continue until December 30.
“All necessary preparations have been completed to launch vaccination of measles-rubella and typhoid,” said Dr Abhiyan Gautam, chief of the Immunisation Section of the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. “We urge all people of the eligible age bracket from respective districts to get inoculated with measles-rubella and typhoid vaccines.”
Officials said that they have estimated as many as 600,000 people between 16 and 45 years in the seven districts will be inoculated with the typhoid vaccine.
An additional campaign is being launched in the quake-affected districts and other vulnerable areas, as the risk of disease outbreaks escalate in the aftermath of natural calamities, according to officials.
“Our own experiences show that risks of outbreaks of communicable, vector-borne and other diseases increase in the aftermath of disasters,” said Gautam. “Diarrheal outbreaks were witnessed after the 2015’s mega earthquake, which took lives of around 9,000 people, and injured and displaced thousands in various districts. Moreover, Jajarkot and other districts of Karnali Province regularly witness outbreaks of several
diseases—measles-rubella, typhoid, respiratory illness, and diarrheal problems, among others.”
Public health experts have warned of outbreaks of infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases in the quake-hit areas, as thousands of people have been rendered homeless, and the health and hygiene of the displaced people have been compromised. Officials concede that preventing possible outbreaks in the coming days will be challenging, as thousands of people have been forced to live out in the open amid growing cold.
The quake brought down not only houses but also toilets, increasing open defecation and the risk of contamination of water sources, officials say. Jajarkot witnessed the worst diarrhoea outbreak in 2009, in which 111 people died and over 6,000 were infected. The Karnali district also saw an outbreak of cholera in 2014 and 2016.
Earlier, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, an expert panel, had recommended the Health Ministry launch an additional vaccination drive in the quake-affected and high-risk districts. The expert group also suggested the authorities launch a drive against diseases such as measles and rubella, polio, cholera, pneumonia, and influenza.
At least 154 people died, hundreds were injured and thousands displaced by the magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Jajarkot and West Rukum districts of Karnali Province on November 3. Additionally, over 30 quake-displaced people lost their lives due to cold in the aftermath of the disaster.
The Health Ministry has planned to launch a measles-rubella vaccination campaign in the rest of the districts as well in 2024.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted through fluids from an infected person’s nose, mouth or throat. It can be potentially deadly for unvaccinated people.
Nepal had committed to eliminating measles by 2023 after missing the earlier deadline of 2019. To declare measles as eliminated, the number of cases should be less than five per 1,000,000 people throughout the year.
However, the deadly virus was reported in over 14 districts across the country at the start of 2023. At least one child died and hundreds were infected with the disease. The Ministry of Health and Population has now extended the deadline for measles elimination to 2026.
Typhoid fever, usually called typhoid, is also a highly contagious disease caused by Salmonella typhi, which spreads through contaminated food or water. Studies have shown that the disease can be fatal in up to 10 percent of the reported cases.
Typhoid fever is prevalent around the world but the problem is acute in areas where safe drinking water and sanitation are a problem. Nepal has recorded major typhoid outbreaks in the past, but very few cases have been reported in the last few years. As sanitation and hygiene conditions are compromised in quate-affected districts, the risk of an outbreak of typhoid fever is very high, experts say.

Kathmandu,
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed the death of one more Nepali serving in the Russian army.
In a statement, the ministry said it has received information that Kundan Singh Nagal has died. The ministry hasn’t made other details public except for his passport number. This takes the official tally of Nepalis killed in the Russia-Ukraine war to seven.
The ministry is, however, yet to officially announce the death of Bharat Shah of Kailali. The 36-year-old man of ward 1 of Tikapur Municipality of Kailali district, who joined the Russian army three months ago, died on November 26, according to the family. Shah’s family members performed the final rites by making an effigy of kush, a holy grass, as per the Hindu tradition last week. They said they made the decision as they were unsure if the body would be repatriated.
Earlier, on December 1, the ministry had confirmed the death of at least six Nepali nationals serving in the Russian army while fighting Ukrainian forces.
A total of four Nepalis have been held captive by Ukrainian forces, according to the ministry.
The ministry said it is making diplomatic efforts through the International Committee of the Red Cross and other channels for the release and repatriation of Vivek Khatri of Bardiya, Siddhartha Dhakal of Kavre, Vikas Rai of Morang and Pratik Pun of Rolpa, who are in captivity.
Similarly, the ministry said the provision of obtaining no objection certificate for travel to Russia except for those who are involved in government work, scholarship of the Russian government and those in a profession or business has been extended to other countries.
The foreign ministry has appealed to one and all to obtain the certificate from Nepali diplomatic missions in case of travel to Russia from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
The ministry said it has renewed its call to the Russian government to send the bodies of the Nepalis killed in the Russia-Ukraine war and provide compensation to the victims’ families.
Nepal has once again requested the Russian government not to recruit Nepali citizens into the Russian army and if any Nepali nationals have been recruited, to immediately return them to Nepal.
It is believed that around 200 Nepalis are currently serving in the Russian Army in different capacities despite the government’s request not to risk lives there. Similarly, according to foreign ministry officials, some Nepali youths are also serving in the Ukrainian Army, but their exact number is not known.
Earlier, several videos circulating on social media showed Nepali youths serving in Russian and Ukrainian armies. The videos claimed they joined the warring forces risking their lives just to earn for their livelihood. In the videos, they are heard as saying they could earn up to Rs400,000 a month.
Nepal only allows recruitment in the Indian and British Army in line with bilateral agreements reached with the respective countries.

KATHMANDU: Megnath Dhimal, chief researcher at the Nepal Health Research Council, has been appointed as an international fellow by the International Science Council for his contribution to scientific research on public health issues. Dhimal is among the 100 fellows appointed by the Council on Tuesday. The fellowship is the highest honour conferred on an individual by the Council.  “It is the recognition of my contribution to science and research works I have done in the last two decades,”  said Dhimal. “Additionally, I am the first, and the only one so far, from Nepal. This honour motivates me to continue and devote myself to research work.” The new fellows of the International Science Council include eminent social and natural scientists, thought leaders, policymakers, and engineers among others from various countries, regions, and disciplines, who have contributed to society through their works.  Dhimal, a PhD degree holder in Natural Sciences from Goethe University, Germany, carried out various researches on climate change and health. He was appointed as Climate Change and Health Expert/Temporary Advisor to WHO SEARO. He is a visiting faculty at Environmental Health in Disaster, Central Department of Environmental Science, Kirtipur, Nepal.

KATHMANDU: South Korea has pledged a contribution of $300,000 to support earthquake relief efforts in Nepal. The funds will be channelled through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN body said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Government of the Republic of Korea is committed to providing assistance to the most vulnerable people affected by the earthquake in Jajarkot, in collaboration with UNFPA,” the UNFPA quoted Taeyoung Park, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nepal, as saying. “This commitment aligns with Korea’s long standing partnership with Nepal, which will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2024.” The people and the government of Korea stand with Nepal, hoping that this assistance will contribute to the recovery of the areas affected by the recent earthquake, it said.

The China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) held the second China-Indian Ocean Forum in Kunming on December 8, 2023. This year’s focus was “Boosting Sustainable Blue Economy to Build Together a Maritime Community with a Shared Future”. Highlighting this, Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the CIDCA, said China was striving to further the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and its own Global Development Initiative. The blue economy, Luo said, would help Indian Ocean island countries achieve sustainable development.
The forum is one of China’s various initiatives to engage countries of the South Asian and Indian Ocean regions to consolidate and expand its strategic footprint, but India and Bhutan are not part of them. This is one of Beijing’s attempts to set up parallel forums to challenge India’s primacy.
China has deeply engaged several South Asian countries through its Belt and Road Initiative projects and used its lending to prevent them from getting out of the agreements. The Colombo Port city is a case in point. Yet some countries have curtailed investment after Sri Lanka defaulted and declared itself bankrupt. For example, Pakistan scaled-down the Main Line 1 (ML-1) railway project, and Myanmar downsized Chinese investment in Kyaukphyu port.

Mapping the Indian Ocean
China’s forays into the Indian Ocean have increased in the recent past. It has been building ports in the region to bolster its maritime presence. From insisting that China has no overseas ambition, it has a naval base in Djibouti and already has Hambantota port on a lease of 99 years. Its “research” vessels that have been surveying the region like Shi Yan 1, Shi Yan 6, Yuan Wang 5, the ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship, Xiang Yang Hong 06 and spacecraft-tracking vessel and also a nuclear submarine, have docked both in Hambantota and Colombo Port Southern Container Terminal built by China in spite of India’s protest. Ostensibly, the spy ship is engaged in deep marine research in the Indian Ocean in which some Sri Lankan locals participated. China has recently asked for permission from Male and Colombo for the docking of another spy ship vessel, Xiang Yang Hong 03. Such activities have increased recently as China acquires new ports and bases.
The importance of the Indian Ocean as a major sea lane of communication and trade is well documented. There is an argument that China’s increasing presence is to get out of its Malacca dilemma and ensure its trade is safe. However, some think this Malacca dilemma proposition bolsters the country’s naval presence. Over time, it has built Gwadar to have a strategic footprint and overcome its Malacca dilemma to build an overland pipeline to connect to China’s mainland through Pakistan. However, its engagement in port-building activities gives China a strategic vantage point. It has opened up a research centre at the University of Ruhuna in Matara, Sri Lanka, and also engaged in maritime research in the Maldives.

Regional diplomacy
How does this regional forum help further China’s interest in the region? China is an observer in the Indian Ocean Rim Association with 23 member states and 11 dialogue partners, and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) consisting of 25 countries. IONS is a regional forum for the navies of the Indian Ocean littoral to discuss maritime issues. In both these associations, India is one of the dominant players. China is also an observer in SAARC, like some other countries.
Since the launch of the BRI, China has made extra effort to connect with the South Asian region and set up parallel organisations to coordinate with other South Asian countries except India. In July 2020, China held a video conference of foreign ministers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and China to coordinate the Covid-19 efforts. This was followed up in November 2020 with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui’s video meeting with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in which they agreed to establish a centre for cooperation on poverty reduction and development. During the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2021, the China-South Asia Emergency Supplies Reserve was to bring these five countries together again to emphasise its role in the region. Interestingly, Maldives was not part of this initiative, given the previous Solih government’s approach to China.
China has persistently maintained that it wants to work with “these countries to resist illegal acts of interfering in other countries’ internal affairs and coercing other countries to choose sides”. Perhaps this is one point that appeals to the countries looking for an alternative framework to dodge the interest of India, the United States and other Western countries.

Promising prosperity
China’s trade with South Asian countries has doubled in the past 10 years, with an annual growth of 8.3 percent. Though this is minuscule compared to its global trade, China’s investment in South Asia has grown exponentially. Its cumulative investment in the region is $15 billion, and the completed project contract turnover has exceeded $200 billion. China would have a deep interest in South Asian politics as political upheaval would impact its investments.
In this context, the Indian Ocean is crucial in China’s overall approach to the region. For example, China imported 515.65 million tons of crude oil this year through the Indian Ocean, as per data from November. Its vulnerability to any attack on its oil-carrying vessel is apparent. To underline its presence, it has given names to nine under-seabed features.
Recently, the Chinese Defence and Foreign Ministers have made a point of visiting important Indian Ocean littorals where China has invested heavily and is looking for a strategic foothold. It is not easy to wriggle out of an agreement on investment with Chinese capital, as Sri Lanka and Maldives learnt lately. In times of economic crisis, China is reluctant to stand by its friends, as Sri Lanka’s economic crisis underscores. Yet the South Asian countries’ eagerness to play the China card has given Beijing a strategic opportunity.

Nepal’s economy is currently characterised by two aspects. On the positive side, there are external sectors like remittance, foreign exchange reserve and tourism income. The internal part, which includes the country’s production and job markets, is in a relaxed state. The demand in the market or consumption has not increased, leading to the closure of shops in commercial centres, while others have partially opened. The difficulty of affording daily costs and opening big shopping centres on the periphery have also negatively impacted the market.
Due to low production and demand, unemployment numbers have increased, as the government data proves. Frustration is growing in the business and professional sectors, and hoards of young people are leaving the country for better opportunities.

What went wrong?  
The downward journey of Nepal’s economy began during the 90s. In 1992-93, the government’s initiative built the 69 MW Marsyangdi hydropower project and handed it over to the Nepal Electricity Authority. Since then, the government has not invested in big power projects for two decades until 2013, except for constructing a 144 MW power project in Kaligandaki. During that period, most foreign aid came as “software”—training, capacity development, etc.,—not for constructing “hardware” or physical infrastructure. As a result, Nepal couldn’t develop the critical infrastructure needed to strengthen the economy.
During 1994-95, the number of people leaving the country for foreign employment was only 2,159 per year, which rose to 214,094 in 2006-07. The primary factors of such a large-scale out-migration from Nepal were the higher labour force growth and limited employment opportunities outside the farm sector.
Moreover, the civil war (1996-2006) brought people under the repression of both the state and the Maoists. The government presence in the villages was nearly zero, pushing young men into cities to save their lives. It was evident for them to find greener pastures, and the movement of seeking foreign employment started increasing from the cities. Parents were not hesitant to send their children abroad as it was the only alternative since the war began to rage and poverty gradually rose. A poverty alleviation fund was established with 97 percent support from the World Bank. Although the fund’s main purpose was to reduce poverty, its indirect goal was to establish the government’s presence in the villages.
At present, the number of Nepalis going abroad, including students, has reached nearly 1 million, excluding those going to India. In fact, after the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government and the Maoists, Nepal should have focused on rebuilding and reducing foreign dependence. Significant reforms should have been made in the favourable policies. But that didn’t happen. The movement’s leaders often came to power, but there was neither economic change nor a vision. After the safe landing of the Maoist conflict, the commitment to private investment increased in some areas, but its realisation remained weak.
The 2015 earthquakes, costing about Rs700 billion, hit the country at a new low. To compensate for the loss, we took a foreign loan, and in the private sector, the families rebuilt the destroyed houses using borrowed money. The three-year growth of the economy exceeded 7 percent during that time. Foreign funds flowed into Nepal, and the reconstruction work was carried out. Economic activities occurred, but we could not invest in the productive sector even then.
In recent years, some roads have been built in the villages as the state thought this would encourage people to live there and produce goods. Still, people came to the cities and moved abroad as the situation didn’t improve their income and lifestyle. Nepalis abroad sent goods to the country, but village production did not reach the cities.
The villages became places for the elderly and disabled, and production remained stagnant.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, lockdowns disrupted life and the economy. Although we knew that the impact on the world would affect our economy, we did not deliver as much attention as we should have towards the mitigation. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank data, only 4 percent of the industries were fully operational, and 39 percent were partially operational then. People did not invest the money outside; it was deposited in the bank, and high liquidity was observed. The stock market attracted everyone as the capital market increased, but it did not always remain green. The Russia-Ukraine war began when industries were running at 45-50 percent capacity due to the effects of Covid-19.

Way forward
The country’s current economic situation didn’t emerge overnight. Given that, the improvement will also take some time. There should be a practical assessment of our current situation to distinguish immediate, short-term, medium-term and long-term tasks. In the name of foreign employment, getting a diversified visa and taking non-objection letters to study abroad, the trend of youth going abroad is increasing.
The leaders making stringent rules now to prevent workers from going abroad is again a wrong move. Even if youths go on a student visa, 60 percent will work there instead of studying. We are pushing the energetic manpower abroad as we have not developed adequate physical infrastructures for their development at home.
Young people should be asked why they want to go overseas. Matters related to education, employment, health facilities, opportunities and other aspects of the lives and careers of the youth should be studied as this is the most practical way to identify the causes and effects. Based on that, a sustainable environment should be created by launching programmes in various fields, especially agriculture, industry, tourism and hydropower, to encourage youths to stay in the country. Politics purification should be the first step; policy and administration malpractices must be eliminated to make a strong government that caters to the youth. Nepal’s overall development cannot be fully imagined until the youth migration stops.

Adhikari is an economist.

If there is one thing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has harped on time and again since he took office a year ago, it is the good-old rhetoric of sushashan, or good governance. Hardly a week passes by without the prime minister promising to curb corruption and punish the corrupt. But now, with the controversial exit of Axiata drawing the attention of Parliament’s State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, the prime minister has himself come under the corruption radar.
Dahal has confessed to knowing Satish Lal Acharya, whose company has just purchased 80 percent of Ncell’s shares. Dahal said Acharya had hosted him in Singapore when he was in the country for his late wife’s treatment. He further claimed that there was no basis to claim that Acharya in any way benefited from their proximity. But he did not forget to drag his political counterparts, including Sher Bahadur Deuba and KP Sharma Oli, the top leaders of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, respectively, into the Ncell buy-out mud. Yet Dahal was defensive when asked about the connection of his daughter and secretary, Ganga Dahal, with the sale of Ncell’s majority stake. Not only did Dahal claim the charges were aimed at tainting his family, he added for good measure that the allegations were intended at defaming democracy and republicanism. That is Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his manipulative best.
In fact, Nepali politicians have no qualms about using the victim card when fingers point at them or their family members. But to bring democracy and republicanism into the discussion when questions are raised about personal conduct is a bit too rich, even by the low standards of Nepali leaders. Our politicians have gotten away with equating themselves with the nation for far too long. In fact, conflating the individual with the nation has been the traditional modus operandi of leaders and their sycophants in much of South Asia, exemplified by the phrase “India is Indira, Indira is India” popular in the 1970s; or the terming of Mohandas Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah as “Father of the Nation” in India and Pakistan, respectively. What’s more, Sri Lanka’s Mahinda Rajapaksa proclaimed himself the “Father of a Victorious Nation” in the wake of a bloody win over the Tamil separatists in 2009.
The ability to give a “national” colour not only helps the individual leader hoist themselves up on the high pedestal of nationalism, it supposedly also helps them dodge difficult questions about their legal and moral standing. Oli and Deuba, the twin leaders Dahal linked with Acharya, the controversial buyer of Ncell, are as notorious for crying wolf when their moral integrity comes under question. Famous for his stubbornness, Oli has time and again claimed he had no business engaging in corruption as he has no children for whom he must save money. Deuba, as well known for his easy outbursts of anger, once shouted at a young engineer on a recorded television programme, so much so that the latter became a popular rival in his constituency. Deuba’s wife and fellow parliamentarian Arzu Rana, when asked about her alleged links to the fake citizenship racket, swore in the name of her son, claiming that her family was poor.
Base emotional appeals do not suit national leaders, and no leader, however great, is equal or interchangeable with the nation, democracy or republicanism. They would do well to respond with more maturity and responsibility. These political leaders have been in public view for a long-long time. People see easily through their manipulation.

In a climate where corruption has been effectively institutionalised, it is hardly surprising that some of the candidates allied
with the ruling party would not only undervalue assets in their affidavits but also get away with it, in the absence of any scrutiny or punishment whatsoever from the relevant authorities. An
analysis by The Daily Star highlights how alarming the trend has been. These affidavits—meant to provide a proper insight into a candidate’s assets so that voters can make informed choices—have instead become a study in valuations that simply border on
the absurd, raising concerns that extend far beyond economic
outcomes.
There are instances where prime properties were quoted at a fraction of their actual market values. For example, in the affidavit of one candidate, 20 bighas of land was valued at only Tk 2,000, which cannot even buy two kilograms of mutton in today’s market. In another affidavit, a flat in Baridhara DOHS was valued at only Tk 1.3 lakh, even though one month’s rent in this upscale neighbourhood may exceed the entire flat price. One candidate took this even further, showing the value of a five-katha plot to be only Tk 400, which cannot even buy 3 litres of cooking oil. Another showed the value of 148 bhoris of gold as Tk 40,000, when one bhori alone costs over Tk 100,000 in the current market.
When a candidate declares ownership of significant assets like gold, land, and properties but appraises them at laughably low prices, it’s an affront not just to voters but also to the very integrity of the electoral process. Such undervaluation, presumably to evade taxes or cover up illicit accumulation of wealth, amounts to false declarations, which is a punishable offence both in the criminal and election laws. And the fact that the relevant authorities are refusing to take action against them shows how farcical the whole exercise surrounding the upcoming election has become. The question is, what can we expect from such candidates once they are elected?
Any scrutiny of the financial backgrounds of candidates at a time when the election is orchestrated to be held without credible opposition may seem irrelevant. But it has ramifications for the future of Bangladesh as corrupt leaders will only enable corruption. We, therefore, urge the Election Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission, and National Board of Revenue to investigate these discrepancies thoroughly and take necessary action. Lack of response will only further erode public trust in these institutions.

— The Daily Star (Bangladesh)/ANN

KATHMANDU,
As the deadline nears for Nepali internet service providers (ISPs) to clear dues to the broadband service providers in India, Nepal’s telecom regulator has taken a firm stance—clear taxes and access foreign exchange.
India’s bandwidth providers—Tata and Airtel—have given a deadline of December 31 to Nepali internet service providers to clear the dues of nine months totalling Rs3 billion or face supply disruption.
The Indian companies have warned they would stop providing bandwidth service to Nepal if the Nepali companies failed to clear the dues. This may impact the internet services of private operators, other than the state-owned Nepal Telecom.
On Sunday, the internet service providers and Nepal Telecommunications Authority, the telecom regulator, held a meeting to discuss the issue, said Santosh Paudel, director of Nepal Telecommunications Authority.
A first round of meetings has been completed, said Sudhir Parajuli, president of Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nepal.
“There is still confusion regarding the clearance of taxes on the non-telecommunications service.”
“We did not have to pay taxes on non-telecommunications services for the fiscal year 2017-18 largely due to the directive issued by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee [of the past parliament]. On Sunday, we discussed why the authorities did not do the same for two other fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-20 as per the committee directive,” Parajuli said.
He said the private-sector operators need to be exempted from taxes on the non-telecommunications service for two fiscal years.
The authority responded that it would study the matter before reaching any conclusion, he said.
Paudel said that the government is not yet convinced to exempt the taxes for the internet service providers for those two fiscal years.
“The decision is now on the hand of the government to go against the Office of Auditor General report and exempt the taxes,” said Paudel.
“Also, the law needs to be amended to waive the taxes,” he added.
Last week, internet service providers met with Minister of Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma and briefed her on the situation.
Sharma said they would discuss and resolve the issues, said Parajuli.
Parajuli said that the decision to waive the taxes on non-telecommunications components was published in the Nepal Gazette after the parliamentary committee’s ruling.
“Why is the government then forcing us to pay the taxes?”
According to internet service providers, if an internet service costs Rs1,000, almost 50 percent is allocated to support and maintenance services.
The sales of goods, support and maintenance charges and other charges unrelated to telecommunications are exempt from royalties and taxes, as per the directive issued by the parliamentary committee.
According to the association, Nepali private internet service providers have been buying international bandwidth from two Indian companies—Tata and Airtel.
The average bandwidth cost is $2 per Mbps per month. Two years ago, it was expensive—the average price was $4 per Mbps per month—which has now dropped.
According to the Management and Information System report of Nepal’s telecom regulator, the number of fixed broadband subscribers—wired and wireless—reached 10.7 million as of mid-August, compared to 8.64 million in the same period last year.
Fixed broadband (wired) covers 40.72 percent of the total population.
There are 20 ISPs in the country.
Parajuli said the payment for 1 terabyte purchased by Vianet, Subisu, WorldLink, and ClassicTech, among others, has been halted.

KATHMANDU,
The government on Wednesday increased the price of sugarcane by 4 percent to Rs635 per quintal.
A Cabinet meeting fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs635 per quintal for this fiscal year’s harvest, according to Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma, who is also the government spokesperson.
Of the total Rs635 per quintal, Rs565 is the support price, which includes transportation and production costs, and profit.
Similarly, Rs70 is the subsidy provided by the government per quintal.
The minimum support price is the government-guaranteed price for farmers set annually.
The government announced a cash subsidy scheme in 2018 after the farmers complained that the money they get from the mill owners was insufficient to cover their costs.
In Nepal, sugarcane harvest normally begins in mid-November.
The floor price of sugarcane in the last fiscal year was set at Rs610 per quintal.
The decision comes on the heels of a protest by farmers in Sarlahi demanding the subsidy amount for the sugarcane sold last year and the minimum support price for the fresh harvest.
Farmers said they have received only Rs21 out of Rs70 per quintal as a subsidy announced by the government for last year’s harvest.
They had demanded the sugarcane price at Rs750 per quintal, considering the increase in the price of sugar and farmers’ production cost. Sugar sold for a record Rs160 per kg during Dashain after India banned the export of the sweetener.
Sugar at present costs Rs115 per kg in the market. In the same period last year, the price of sugar was Rs90 per kg.
Sugarcane production has been on the decline over the last few years. In 2019-20, Nepal produced 3.4 million tonnes of sugarcane, which dropped to 3.18 million tonnes in 2020-21, according to the Agriculture Ministry statistics. In 2021-22, the output further dropped to 3.15 million tonnes.
Low production led to a shortage of sugar this festive season.
As shortage was rampant during the Tihar festival, the state supplier Salt Trading Corporation rationed the sweetener to 2 kg at the unit price of Rs115 per consumer.
Neighbour India, too, imposed restrictions on sugar exports for the first time in seven years by capping this season’s exports at 10 million tonnes, to prevent a surge in domestic prices after mills sold a record volume on the world market.
With India’s restriction and domestic production failing to meet the demand, the sugar price shot up during this festive season.
Due to perennial hassles in getting payments and the government fixing an ‘unsustainably lower’ price for their produce, farmers have started looking for alternative crops. Many sugarcane farmers are planting mustard, for instance.
According to Minister Sharma, the government decided to dole out Rs520 million in subsidy to sugarcane farmers immediately.
The prime minister’s secretariat said that a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal with the ministers and officials concerned had decided to release the amount.
In 2018, the government started the practice of fixing the floor price for sugarcane in a bid to end the lingering conflict between sugarcane farmers and sugar producers.
Sugarcane growers and sugar mills routinely engaged in a bitter dispute over the floor price during the harvest time every year.
Before the government began setting the floor price, sugarcane prices in Nepal were normally based on the rates paid by Indian mills to their farmers.

TOKYO,
Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu said Wednesday it will suspend shipments of all car models in Japan and abroad, following news it had rigged safety tests.
The announcement came after an independent panel also found the malpractice dated back to 1989, when the oldest instance was confirmed and reports said the firm faced on-site inspections by government officials.
Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, expressed its “sincere apologies” over the issue and said it would carry out “a fundamental reform”.
The panel was set up earlier this year to probe a safety scandal that emerged in April.
The investigation “found new irregularities in 174 items within 25 test categories” in addition to wrongdoing previously detected in April and May involving door parts and side-collision tests, Toyota said.
With certification being a “major prerequisite” for an automobile manufacturer to conduct business, “our misconduct that surfaced this time amounts to disregard” of that very process, Daihatsu president Soichiro Okudaira told reporters, before bowing deeply to apologise.
In a statement, Toyota also recognised the “extreme gravity” of Daihatsu’s neglect, which has “shaken the very foundations of the company as an automobile manufacturer”.
“Daihatsu decided today to temporarily suspend shipments of all Daihatsu-developed models currently in production, both in Japan and overseas,” the auto titan said in a statement.
The panel of outside experts attributed the decades-long irregularities in part to “an excessively tight and rigid development schedule”.
Daihatsu employees were “exposed to the intense pressure to pass crash tests on their first attempt” to minimise the number of vehicles destroyed and thereby “reduce costs”, committee chair Makoto Kaiami told reporters.
“’No failure can be forgiven’—that was the kind of mindset,” he said.
With the latest findings, the number of car models linked to wrongdoing now totals 64, including some sold under the Toyota brand which will also be suspended.
The firms said it was unaware of any accidents that have arisen from the falsification, but “thorough technical verification” was underway.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that Japan’s transport ministry will conduct an on-site inspection of Daihatsu on Thursday.

LONDON,
On a busy north London street, plumber Ben Hume-Wright zipped through the heavy rush-hour traffic to his next job by bike.
Trades such as his used to rely on vans but many are now choosing to do more business using two or sometimes three wheels.
Since switching his Ford diesel pickup truck for an electric cargo bike two years ago, Hume-Wright said he has been busier than ever.
“I used to take on a maximum of five or six appointments” a day, he told AFP as the traffic ground forward behind him.
“I’ll now book in six, seven and possibly even eight, because I know that I’m not going to get stuck in traffic.”
Hume-Wright set up in 2010 and was reliant on his van for 11 years. But now describes it as a “glorified shed” handy for storing parts and tools.
When faced with a big installation job, he gets a supplier to deliver bulkier items directly to the client’s address. He then shows up on his bike with just the tools needed for the job.
“It’s cheaper, I don’t have any of the fuel costs and I just enjoy it. It’s a lot more fun,” he said.
Transport for London (TfL), the local government body responsible for most of the British capital’s transport network, launched its first “Cargo Bike Action Plan” earlier this year.
It wants to “promote and enable” their growth, given a rise in polluting van deliveries from online shopping since the pandemic. The use of cargo bikes, which can cost several thousand pounds (dollars), also increased during lockdown and encouraging their use chimes with Mayor Sadiq Khan’s aim of a carbon net-zero city by 2030.
TfL estimates that the move towards cargo bikes could save up to 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year across Greater London by that time.
Cargo bikes were popular across northern Europe until the mid-20th century but fell out of favour as motorised vehicles gained ground.
Their revival began in the early 2000s in cycling-crazy Denmark and the Netherlands, which unlike London are blessed with flat terrain and good cycling infrastructure.
The number of cargo bikes on the streets of Copenhagen increased from 20,000 in 2020 to more than 40,000 in 2022, the city said. In Germany—Europe’s largest market for E-cargo bikes—165,000 units were sold in 2022.
Ben Jaconelli, chief executive of leading E-bike and E-cargo bike firm Fully Charged, said UK growth has been “astronomical”.
He co-founded the firm in 2014, when the sight of an electric cargo bike was a rarity. “Nowadays, it’s almost rare not to see,” he added.
The Bicycle Association, a UK trade body, reported a 30-percent increase in UK sales of E-cargo bikes in the year to May 2023.
Contributory factors include the controversial expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone, which charges the drivers of the most polluting vehicles. Logistics company Zhero is also committed to using the bikes. It transports fine art between studios, galleries and related businesses such as framers. Like Hume-Wright, environmental considerations were a key factor for the switch. But co-founder Joe Sharpe called it a “straight-up financial decision”.
“It’s cheaper to move things by cargo bikes than it is by van,” he said near Sadie Coles HQ gallery, a regular client in the busy Soho district.
“They’re the most logical vehicle for moving things around the city... Sometimes we might be doing 30 to 40 deliveries a day on a cargo bike.
“In a van, eight to 10.”
Vans—or more specifically a fleet of E-vans—are still a part of Zhero’s business, in part for insurance reasons. Zhero are insured for up to £25,000 (nearly $32,000) to transport artwork by bike, but that rises tenfold when transporting art in an E-van.
Sharpe hopes that the insurance world will adapt to the changing norms of logistics companies, but concedes that vans may always be “a part of the fabric” of cities.
Back in the warren of railway arches that make up Fully Charged HQ, an optimistic Jaconelli declared that this is “the decade of the E-cargo bike”.
“Ultimately, I believe that all businesses will be using electric cargo bikes in some capacity in the future,” he said. “Why would they not?”

WASHINGTON: Pharmacy group Rite Aid was ordered Tuesday to stop using facial recognition for the next five years by a US regulator, which said the company falsely identified consumers as shoplifters using the technology. The case touches on one of the main concerns about the proliferation of artificial intelligence, and facial recognition in particular, which is deemed to potentially misidentify or discriminate against individuals, especially non-whites and women. “Rite Aid’s reckless use of facial surveillance systems left its customers facing humiliation and other harms,” said Samuel Levine, director of consumer harms at the Federal Trade Commission.  (AFP)

DHAKA: For a decade, the nimble fingers of Bangladeshi garment worker Naim Pramanik sewed shirts and trousers for top Western brands, to be worn by the wealthy across the world. Now the 28-year-old is unemployed, sacked after daring to take part in protests demanding a fair wage. “Some clothes we make are sold at $100 a piece in shops in America and Europe,” he said, showing the labels of American fashion giant Tommy Hilfiger and British brand George. “We don’t get more than $100 a month.” (AFP)

LONDON: Despite slashing oil production for months on end and announcing new cuts in late November, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ten allies have struggled to boost flagging prices. Moreover, the OPEC+ group faces pressure on multiple fronts, as rising US crude production, a looming transition away from fossil fuels, and reports of discord among members have added to the challenges. Prices are sitting at their lowest level in nearly six months despite the cartel’s announcement in November to further cut output. They have jumped in recent days as cargo shippers and oil firms say they will avoid using the Red Sea and Suez Canal because of drone and missile attacks by Huthi rebels. But they still remain below $80 a barrel. (AFP)

LONDON: British inflation has slowed sharply to the lowest level in more than two years on falling petrol prices, official data showed Wednesday, easing a cost-of-living crisis after aggressive interest-rate hikes. The Consumer Prices Index hit 3.9 percent in November from 4.6 percent in the previous month, attaining the weakest rate since September 2021, the Office of National Statistics said. The news handed a further boost to embattled Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after inflation had already achieved his goal of falling below five percent in October. (AFP)

DENVER,
A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the US Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.
The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision. Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear the provision was intended to cover the presidency.
The court stayed its decision until January 4, or until the US Supreme Court rules on the case. Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by January 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favour, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Trump’s attorneys had promised to appeal any disqualification immediately to the nation’s highest court, which has the final say about constitutional matters.
Trump’s legal spokeswoman Alina Habba said in a statement on Tuesday night: “This ruling, issued by the Colorado Supreme Court, attacks the very heart of this nation’s democracy. It will not stand, and we trust that the Supreme Court will reverse this unconstitutional order.” Trump didn’t mention the decision during a rally on Tuesday evening in Waterloo, Iowa, but his campaign sent out a fundraising email citing what it called a “tyrannical ruling.”
Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel labeled the decision “Election interference” and said the RNC’s legal team intends to help Trump fight the ruling.
Trump lost Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and doesn’t need the state to win next year’s presidential election. But the danger for the former president is that more courts and election officials will follow Colorado’s lead and exclude Trump from must-win states.
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed nationally to disqualify Trump under Section 3, which was designed to keep former Confederates from returning to government after the Civil War. It bars from office anyone who swore an oath to “support” the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against it, and has been used only a handful of times since the decade after the Civil War.
“I think it may embolden other state courts or secretaries to act now that the bandage has been ripped off,” Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor who has closely followed the Section 3 cases, said after Tuesday’s ruling. “This is a major threat to Trump’s candidacy.”
The Colorado case is the first where the plaintiffs succeeded. After a weeklong hearing in November, District Judge Sarah B. Wallace found that Trump indeed had “engaged in insurrection” by inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and her ruling that kept him on the ballot was a fairly technical one.
Trump’s attorneys convinced Wallace that, because the language in Section 3 refers to “officers of the United States” who take an oath to “support” the Constitution, it must not apply to the president, who is not included as an “officer of the United States” elsewhere in the document and whose oath is to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. The provision also says offices covered include senator, representative, electors of the president and vice president, and all others “under the United States,” but doesn’t name the presidency.
The state’s highest court didn’t agree, siding with attorneys for six Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters who argued that it was nonsensical to imagine that the framers of the amendment, fearful of former confederates returning to power, would bar them from low-level offices but not the highest one in the land.
“President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land,” the court’s majority opinion said. “Both results are inconsistent with the plain language and history of Section 3.”
The left-leaning group that brought the Colorado case, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, hailed the ruling. “Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government,” its president, Noah Bookbinder, said in a statement.
Trump’s attorneys also had urged the Colorado high court to reverse Wallace’s ruling that Trump incited the Jan. 6 attack. His lawyers argued the then-president had simply been using his free speech rights and hadn’t called for violence. Trump attorney Scott Gessler also argued the attack was more of a “riot” than an insurrection. That met scepticism from several of the justices.
“Why isn’t it enough that a violent mob breached the Capitol when Congress was performing a core constitutional function?” Justice William W. Hood III said during the December 6 arguments. “In some ways, that seems like a poster child for insurrection.”

MUMBAI,
India’s drugs regulator has banned the use of an anti-cold drug combination in children aged below four and ordered that drugs should be labelled accordingly, in the wake of the deaths of at least 141 children globally linked to cough syrups.
The regulator said concerns raised about promotion of an unapproved anti-cold drug formulation in infants prompted a discussion and a resulting recommendation to not use the combination for that age group.
The order comes as India draws lessons from a spate of child deaths since 2019 that authorities linked to toxic cough syrups made in the country, including at least 141 deaths in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since the middle of last year.
Within India, authorities said at least 12 children died and four others were left with severe disabilities in 2019 after consuming domestically-made cough syrups.
The deaths have cast a shadow over the quality of exports from India, often dubbed the “world’s pharmacy” due to its supply of life-saving drugs at low prices.
The order by the regulator on the fixed-drug combination (FDC), issued on December 18 and made public on Wednesday, requires drugmakers to label their products with the warning that the “FDC should not be used in children below 4 years of age”.
The fixed drug combination comprises chlorpheniramine maleate and phenylephrine—medication that is often used in syrups or tablets to treat common cold symptoms.
The World Health Organization does not recommend the use of over-the-counter cough syrups or medicines for the treatment of coughs and cold symptoms in children younger than five years of age.
India has introduced mandatory testing for cough syrup exports since June and stepped up scrutiny of drugmakers. Drugmakers whose cough syrups were linked to child deaths have denied any wrong doing.

BRUSSELS,
The European Union reached agreement early on Wednesday on new rules designed to share out the cost and work of hosting migrants more evenly and to limit the numbers of people coming in.
Representatives of the European Parliament and of EU governments reached an accord after all-night talks on EU laws collectively called the New Pact on Migration and Asylum that should start taking effect next year.
The laws cover screening irregular migrants when they arrive in the European Union, procedures for handling asylum applications, rules on determining which EU country is responsible for handling applications and ways to handle crises.
Migrant arrivals in the European Union are way down from the 2015 peak of more than 1 million, but have steadily crept up from a 2020 low to 255,000 in the year to November, with more than half crossing the Mediterranean from Africa, mainly
to Italy.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi called the pact a “great success” for Europe and Italy and meant that EU border countries most exposed to migration would no longer feel alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said agreement on the past was very important, relieving states affected - including Germany.
Previous efforts to share out the responsibility of hosting migrants have foundered because eastern EU members in particular were unwilling to take in people who had arrived in Greece, Italy and other countries.
Under the new system, countries not at the border will have to choose between accepting their share of 30,000 asylum applicants or paying at least 20,000 euros ($21,870) per person into an EU fund.
The screening system envisaged will seek to distinguish between those in need of international protection and others who are not.

YANGWA, China,
Surrounded by destruction, survivors of an earthquake mourned the dead and endured a frigid cold in temporary shelters Wednesday, unsure how to rebuild their lives in the remote mountains of northwest China.
“Look at this,” said Han Zhongmin, retrieving some belongings with his wife from the ruins of their house, built six years ago in Yangwa village. “My house turned into this overnight.” Houses caved in and crumbled in a Monday night earthquake that killed at least 134 people and injured more than 900 others. Most of the casualties were in Gansu province and the rest in the neighbouring province of Qinghai.
In the predawn darkness, Ma Lianqiang stood next to the body of his deceased wife wrapped in blankets in a tent-like temporary shelter lit by a single overhead light. His wife was hit and buried by debris in her mother’s house, where she had gone to stay because she was ill.
Ma and other members of his extended family survived despite extensive damage to their house in Yangwa, which is in Gansu province. His father pulled Ma’s son, whose back was slightly injured, out of the rubble. His uncle said they heard the earthquake and then the house started collapsing. “We crawled out in fear,” the uncle, Ma Chengming, said.
Nearly 15,000 homes collapsed in Gansu and more than 87,000 people have been resettled, provincial officials said at a Wednesday news conference. Many spent the night in shelters set up in the area as temperatures plunged well below freezing.

Rhode Island,
Hidden inside the foundation of popular artificial intelligence image-generators are thousands of images of child sexual abuse, according to a new report that urges companies to take action to address a harmful flaw in the technology they built.
Those same images have made it easier for AI systems to produce
realistic and explicit imagery of fake children as well as transform social media photos of fully clothed real teens into nudes, much to the alarm of schools and law enforcement around the world.
Until recently, anti-abuse researchers thought the only way that some unchecked AI tools produced abusive imagery of children was by essentially combining what they’ve learned from two separate buckets of online images—adult pornography and benign photos of kids.
But the Stanford Internet Observatory found more than 3,200 images of suspected child sexual abuse in the giant AI database LAION, an index of online images and captions that’s been used to train leading AI image-makers such as Stable Diffusion.
The watchdog group based at Stanford University worked with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and other anti-abuse charities to identify the illegal material and report the original photo links to law enforcement. The response was immediate. On the eve of the Wednesday release of the Stanford Internet Observatory’s report, LAION told The Associated Press it was temporarily removing its datasets. LAION, which stands for the nonprofit Large-scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network, said in a statement that it “has a zero tolerance policy for illegal content and in an abundance of caution, we have taken down the LAION datasets to ensure they are safe before republishing them.”
While the images account for just a fraction of LAION’s index of some 5.8 billion images, the Stanford group says it is likely influencing the ability of AI tools to generate harmful outputs and reinforcing the prior abuse of real victims who appear multiple times.
It’s not an easy problem to fix, and traces back to many generative AI projects being “effectively rushed to market” and made widely accessible because the field is so competitive, said Stanford Internet Observatory’s chief technologist David Thiel, who authored the report.
“Taking an entire internet-wide scrape and making that dataset to train models is something that should have been confined to a research operation, if anything, and is not something that should have been open-sourced without a lot more rigorous attention,” Thiel said in an interview.
A prominent LAION user that helped shape the dataset’s development is London-based startup Stability AI, maker of the Stable Diffusion text-to-image models. New versions of Stable Diffusion have made it much harder to create harmful content, but an older version introduced last year—which Stability AI says it didn’t release—is still baked into other applications and tools and remains “the most popular model for generating explicit imagery,” according to the Stanford report.
“We can’t take that back. That model is in the hands of many people on their local machines,” said Lloyd Richardson, director of information technology at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which runs Canada’s hotline for reporting online sexual exploitation.
Stability AI on Wednesday said it only hosts filtered versions of Stable Diffusion and that “since taking over the exclusive development of Stable Diffusion, Stability AI has taken proactive steps to mitigate the risk of misuse.” “Those filters remove unsafe content from reaching the models,” the company said in a prepared statement. “By removing that content before it ever reaches the model, we can help to prevent the model from generating unsafe content.”
LAION was the brainchild of a German researcher and teacher, Christoph Schuhmann, who told the AP earlier this year that part of the reason to make such a huge visual database publicly accessible was to ensure that the future of AI development isn’t controlled by a handful of powerful companies.
“It will be much safer and much more fair if we can democratize it so that the whole research community and the whole general public can benefit from it,” he said.
Much of LAION’s data comes from another source, Common Crawl, a repository of data constantly trawled from the open internet, but Common Crawl’s executive director, Rich Skrenta, said it was “incumbent on” LAION to scan and filter what it took before making use of it.
LAION said this week it developed “rigorous filters” to detect and remove illegal content before releasing its datasets and is still working to improve those filters.

Kyiv: Kyiv plans to produce a million FPV (first-person-view) drones, widely in demand on the front line, and more than 11,000 medium- and long-range attack drones next year, Ukraine’s minister for strategic industries said on Wednesday. Ukraine intensively used FPV drones—small drones originally for personal civilian use, but modified for the battlefield—since the first days of the Russian invasion in 2022 as a cheap but effective option for reconnaissance and attacks. The tactic was subsequently adopted by Moscow troops, which are now estimated to have many more such drones at their disposal. “All production facilities are ready, and contracting for 2024 begins,” Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister, said on Telegram messenger. The figure includes at least 1,000 drones with a range of over 1,000 km, he said. (Reuters)

KINSHASA: People in the Democratic Republic of Congo voted Wednesday in a high-stakes election pitting the incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi against a fragmented opposition, whose leaders denounced “chaos” and “irregularities”. The first polling stations in the east of the vast central African nation, which straddles two time zones, opened almost on time, shortly after 6:00 am (0400 GMT). At around midday, however, voting was still not under way in some polling booths in various regions of the country, which is the size of continental western Europe. Centres “have problems with machines, batteries,” the archbishop of Kinshasa, Fridolin Ambongo, told reporters after voting. “Solutions need to be found quickly, otherwise the elections are going to go on for several days.” AFP reporters in the capital Kinshasa and the cities of Goma, Beni, Lubumbashi and Tshikapa witnessed delays and other problems. “There’s terrible disorder in the organisation,” teacher Jean Claude Nzine Cokola grumbled, having still not cast his ballot after waiting four hours in South Kivu province. Leading opposition candidates Moise Katumbi, Martin Fayulu and Denis Mukwege all blasted what they described as chaos during the vote. “It’s total chaos, there’s no organisation,” said Fayulu. (AFP)

WARSAW: The management of Polish public television, radio and news agency PAP have been dismissed, the culture ministry said on Wednesday, as one public news channel that critics said had become politicised under the previous government went off air. Critics say that state-run media, in particular 24-hour news channel TVP Info, became an outlet for propaganda during Law and Justice’s (PiS) eight years in office. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition has vowed to create new stations that take a more balanced approach. On Wednesday the signal of TVP Info disappeared and was replaced by that of the first channel of public television. The same happened to its website. “The end of TVPiS. TVP Info was turned off,” Civic Platform - the biggest party in the new government - said on social media platform X. On Tuesday Poland’s new parliament adopted a resolution calling on “all state authorities to immediately take action aimed at restoring constitutional order in terms of citizens’ access to reliable information and the functioning of public media”. The head of the National Broadcasting Council said the dismissal of public media authorities broke the law. (Reuters)

KATHMANDU,
Ten-man Jhapa squeezed their way into the top four of the Nepal Super League standings after they defeated Dhangadhi 2-0 at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
Anjan Bista and Samiraj Thokar scored after break to help the Elephants climb two places up to fourth in the table that reignited their hopes to make the playoffs.
A draw or a win would have sent Dhangadhi into the playoffs but the outcome leaves the top four race wide open as the group stage nears the end.
Pokhara Thunders, on 14 points, booked their ticket to the playoffs on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Butwal Lumbini.
Dhangadhi are second with 12 points and face tricky Pokhara in their last group fixture on Friday.
Jhapa, who have 10 points, kicked Kathmandu Rayzrs out of the top four position but the defending champions still have two matches on hand.
Kathmandu, on nine points, face Birgunj United on Thursday before taking on third-placed Lalitpur City, who have 10 points, on Saturday.
Up next for Jhapa is Chitwan, who are out of contention along with Sporting Ilam.
Dhangadhi were the only unbeaten side of the franchise league and started as favourites but it was Jhapa who almost found the net three seconds into the game when Prashant Laksham stole the possession from Rohan Karki to set up Jorge Peiaez Sanchez but Dhangadhi goalkeeper Mohamad Taha reacted quickly to foil the effort.
Dhangadhi’s Ahmed Hijaji was a constant threat and deadly with his finishing touch.
But Jhapa’s goalkeeper Stefan Cupic was better and thwarted Hijaji’s destructive attempts twice in the first half, with the Lebanon forward’s first whack at target coming through a volley as early as the third minute. Hijaji also tried another stab with a second and more powerful volley from the outside edge of the area in the 20th minute but Cupic stretched full length to make a brilliant save.
Cupic also brilliantly kept out a curling freekick from Kamal Shrestha two minutes later.
Cupic is the most successful goalkeeper in the league this season having conceded only twice in seven matches. He has now kept clean sheets in five matches.
Jhapa’s struggle rested far up front as Oriol Mohedano Segura’s men had been able to score only twice before Wednesday.
Sanchez was wasteful again, missing another golden opportunity after failing to execute a routine task of controlling the ball in front of the goal in the 24th minute but the Spaniard definitely teased Taha with a powerful shot in the closing minutes of the first half.
Captain Bista found the breakthrough eight minutes after the break heading in a precise cross from his national team mate Chhring Lama.
Dhangadhi sent in Olawale Afeez after the hour mark in search of an equaliser but Cupic guarded the post to protect the lead, saving a lofted header from Fode Fofana in the 69th minute.
But Jhapa added their second goal in the 76th minute, courtesy of Pradip Lama’s smart cut-back that evaded the stretched palms of Taha before finding Sanchez who rolled the ball towards the empty net.
Sanchez could have written his name on the scoresheet but Samiraj Thokar poked the already goal-bound ball from the goalline to make sure it went in.
The frustrated Sanchez then found himself confronted by his own teammate Cupic in the dying minutes after letting through the wall a Dhangadhi freekick that went just wide of the post.
The most undesirable moment for Jhapa was the sending off of Diraj Thatali who was shown a straight red for a nasty tackle on Saimon Limbu.

LONDON,
Chelsea came back from the brink to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Newcastle after Mykhailo Mudryk’s last-gasp equaliser on Tuesday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were joined in the semi-finals by Fulham, who beat Everton on penalties, and second-tier Middlesbrough, 3-0 winners against Port Vale.
Beaten three times in their previous five games, a wretched run that started with their 4-1 loss at Newcastle, Chelsea showed some much needed fighting spirit to win the quarter-final 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, Chelsea were two minutes from being knocked out before Ukraine winger Mudryk came to the rescue with the leveller that set the stage for the Blues’ shoot-out success.
Pochettino’s only silverware as a manager is a French league title and domestic cup with Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea’s progress keeps the Argentine in contention for his first trophy in England after he lost the 2015 League Cup final during his time at Tottenham.
“We are so happy. The fans and the club deserve this sort of feeling. It’s a big motivation,” Pochettino said. “We are so young. We are creating a very good bond. This type of result will help us.” The defeat was a painful blow for Newcastle, who failed in their attempt to avenge last season’s League Cup final loss to Manchester United at Wembley.
After crashing out of the Champions League group stage, Newcastle’s exit was another setback for the Saudi-backed club in their bid to land a first major trophy since 1969.
“It hurts a lot. We defended really well but didn’t get over the line,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.
“It’s a very painful moment for us. We’ll just have to accept it and digest it.”
Newcastle had been gifted the lead by Chelsea’s shambolic defending in the 16th minute.
Callum Wilson seized possession inside his own half and accelerated away from Thiago Silva as his lung-bursting run carried him into the Chelsea area.
Benoit Badiashile should have snuffed out the danger, but the defender’s woefully miscued attempt to clear allowed Wilson to fire home with ease. With 20 minutes left, France forward Christopher Nkunku came on for his Chelsea debut after a prolonged injury absence since his close-season move from RB Leipzig.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Chelsea forced a shoot-out as Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier made a hash of dealing with a cross, misdirecting his header to Mudryk, who drilled into the bottom corner.
Trippier’s misery was compounded when he smashed Newcastle’s second penalty wide in the shoot-out.
Nkunku converted Chelsea’s third penalty in his first significant contribution for the club.
Djordje Petrovic sealed Chelsea’s victory as he dived to his left to make a brilliant save from Matt Ritchie’s kick.

Fulham progress
Fulham moved into the semi-finals for the first time after a 7-6 shoot-out win against Everton following a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
Cottagers boss Marco Silva enjoyed a measure of revenge on the club that sacked him in 2019 by leading Fulham into their first domestic semi-final since the 2002 FA Cup.
Tosin Adarabioyo scored the decisive spot-kick after Everton’s Idrissa Gueye hit the post.
Amadou Onana had missed a chance to win the tie for Everton earlier in the shoot-out when his kick was saved by Bernd Leno.
Fulham went ahead in the 41st minute through Michael Keane’s own goal before Everton substitute Beto equalised with eight minutes left.
“It’s incredible what the players have been doing,” Silva said. “We wanted to make history in the football club.”
Middlesbrough cruised past third tier Port Vale to reach the semi-finals for the first time since they lifted the trophy in 2004.
Michael Carrick’s Championship side ruined Vale’s first quarter-final appearance with goals from Jonathan Howson, Morgan Rogers and Matt Crooks.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Your barriers will be dissolved this morning. Gear up for new beginnings or opportunities, taking initiative toward future goals. Keep your distance from authoritative or destructive personalities and monitor your relationship with control. Document your goals and focus on yourself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Trust your instincts and practical thinking. Reflect on upcoming events and how they affect you. Later, focus on your spiritual side to let go of fear and negativity. Your confidence grows in pursuing personal goals and defining who you are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
Today, speak up to overcome challenges and fix past errors for stability. Meet new people for potential connections. Take alone time to reset your body and mind. Let go of things that don’t benefit you in the weeks ahead.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)
Focus on your faith and close friends, showing your strong dedication. Stay calm and set boundaries when challenged. Think about how you want to stand out amongst the crowds. Tonight marks a time of peace, love, and positivity.

LEO (July 23-August 22)
This morning, your keen eye helps you cut out what you don’t need. Focus on bigger goals. Stay organised if things get chaotic tonight. Handle challenges calmly and stay in control, putting you in a serious and practical mindset.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
Today brings clarity to your close friendships. Express your needs and be open to what friends or counterparts want. Negotiate for yourself, as it could lead to new chances. Your mood improves, bringing luck and fulfilment to your spiritual side.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
You’ll be emotionally in charge, figuring out past issues and your role in them. Being productive heals. Stay focused on your goals. Love is uplifting, so connect with loved ones. Tonight, think about commitment and emotional security in your life.

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
Express yourself and be creative. Plan goals carefully for a brighter future. Be careful with your words tonight, especially when giving advice. Love is around, but take care of yourself too. Your thinking gets sharper in the next few weeks.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
Feel secure emotionally knowing what makes you feel safe. Share creative ideas when you can. Be cautious with people you don’t trust tonight, especially if you think they might try to bring you down. Listen to your body stress-free night.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
Clear up misunderstandings to show responsibility and strength. Trust your instincts and act quickly when it feels right. Be aware of moodiness tonight, and don’t let others control or make you change if it doesn’t feel right. Strengthen supportive relationships.

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)
Quick insights will help you understand confusing thoughts. It might be hard to set limits. Spend time alone to find your strength. Make home cosy and take care of yourself. You’ll feel like resting in the next few weeks.

PISCES (February 19-March 20)
Friendships you started earlier are growing. Be wise with money. Clean up old social media posts and think about taking a break. You’ll be more focused, bringing energy to ideas. You’ll feel secure as you find your place in society.

Manjushree Thapa’s writing has taken many tours through fiction, nonfiction, translations and biographies. Unbound by the constraints of genre, she is committed to the art of writing and continual improvement.
Among her notable works are ‘Forget Kathmandu: An Elegy for Democracy’, ‘All of Us in Our Own Lives’, ‘The Tutor of History’, and the English translation of Indra Bahadur Rai’s ‘Aaja Ramita Chha’, ‘There’s a Carnival Today’.
In a conversation with Manushree Mahat of the Post, Thapa reflects on her distinguished writing career, sheds light on the challenges within the publishing industry and discusses her ongoing exploration of prose.

How did your reading journey begin? How has it been taking shape over the years?
My reading journey began early in life during my childhood in Canada. I had access to numerous English-language children’s books, and our home had a rich collection. I started delving into literary heavy books at a young age, exploring British and Russian classics and various other works by the end of college.
As I started writing, I realised there were significant gaps in my knowledge on some topics. To address this, I initiated reading projects. In one year, I focused on Chinese literature, followed by Mexican literature the next. Over the last two years, I’ve immersed myself in memoirs, particularly as my father’s memoir was in progress. Much of my reading revolves around expanding my understanding of the world and literature, contributing to my own writing journey.

Having ventured into fiction, nonfiction, biographies and translations of renowned authors, which genre do you find yourself drawn to the most?
My writing journey began with nonfiction, and I’ve realised that it remains my fundamental impulse—a documentary impulse. Even my subsequent fiction novels lean towards realism. So, nonfiction is the foundational genre that has influenced all my other works.

When it comes to your fictional works, like ‘All of Us in Our Own Lives’, they often revolve around characters. Stephen King suggests letting characters take their own course in writing. Is this your approach as well?
Certainly. The essence of writing fiction lies in delving into the inner lives of characters. Unravelling the layers of who they are allows us to explore our own humanity and inner worlds. The more fiction I write, the more I expand my understanding. Comparing my first fiction novel to my latest, ‘All of Us in Our Own Lives’, there’s a significant contrast in the depth and growth of characters—a crucial aspect of their stories.

How do you feel about the division of literature into high and low genres?
I recently came across an article in The Guardian discussing the problematic nature of segregating literature into genres. I believe it’s not the writers but the publishing companies and their marketing roles that impose these classifications. Critiques should focus solely on the quality of the writing rather than demeaning entire genres. For authors, genre is a secondary concern, more relevant to the marketing strategies of publishing companies.

There’s often discussion in the writing community about the necessity of pursuing a degree in creative writing or literature, given that writing is not always a lucrative or stable career. What’s your take on this?
Like any humanities discipline, creative writing and literature degrees aim to enhance your critical thinking, imagination and overall understanding of the human experience. I find this aspect crucial.
However, making a living solely from writing can be challenging. It’s essential to be practical about your career and future while also exploring opportunities to broaden your writing horizons. If pursuing a full-time creative writing degree puts you in financial strain, I recommend reconsidering. Starting your writing career under economic pressure can be limiting and joyless. During my writing journey, I supported myself by working at NGOs a lot of the time. It’s vital to safeguard the art; if excessive economic pressure stifles creativity, one should reconsider their choices.

How does it feel to handle someone else’s writing?
I enjoy translation; it has significantly influenced my own writing. The process of translating mirrors what you do with your original writing. When I started translating, I delved into Nepali literature, exploring classics and works by established writers and then moving on to contemporary writers. This experience taught me two things: how to portray Nepal in English and how to convey Nepali reality in the English language. It provided me with a sense of the social milieu to write about. At that time, there were only a few Nepali writers who wrote in English, and I realised that my writing aligned with contemporary authors, contributing significantly to establishing my place as a Nepali writer.

Could you share your experience with the Nepali publishing industry?
My first book, a travelogue titled ‘Mustang Bhot in Fragments’, was published by Himal Books. While they produced excellent books, their marketing efforts were lacking. They prioritised the quality of books. The second book, ‘The Country is Yours’, was published by Deepak Thapa’s private publishing house, who also produced really good books, but faced similar marketing challenges. Since then, I haven’t published books through the Nepali publishing industry myself. However, I observe a positive trend with more companies becoming ambitious and competitive in publishing, indicating a promising development in the industry.

In one of your articles, you talked about addressing the concerns of a target audience. Do you still worry about the audience when you write, or do you focus on creating novels that you personally enjoy?
I believe this holds true for most writers and literary authors; you write the kind of books you want to read. The responsibility of considering the target audience often falls on the publishing companies. Now that I’m in Canada, it’s challenging to find the same interest in South Asian literature. My focus remains on South Asia and the audience here. I concentrate on refining my craft and the creative writing process rather than dwelling too much on the audience.

I recently discussed prose and narrative style with another author. The use of first and third person narratives can be an interesting choice. Why do you prefer the third person?
For me, the first person poses challenges in terms of voice. I initially wrote my first fiction novel, ‘Seasons of Flight’, in the first person because there was only one perspective. However, I soon realised that it didn’t work, and I changed it to a third person narrative, which effectively captured the character’s inner voice. In a first person narrative, you must convey the world through the character’s authentic voice. This reminds me of Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Remains of the Day’, a technically proficient novel told through first person narration. When the main character begins to lie, readers understand that the character is being untruthful, which is a difficult feat. The novel I’m currently working on is written in the first person, so we’ll see how that unfolds.


Manjushree Thapa’s book recommendations

Ducks
Author:     Kate Beaton
Year:     2022
Publisher:     Drawn and Quarterly

I’m not familiar with the graphic book format, but I enjoyed reading ‘Ducks’. I loved how it doesn’t follow a linear story and has great visuals.


The Ecological Thought
Author:     Timothy Morton
Year:     2010
Publisher:     Harvard University Press

This is a book I wish I had read when it was
first released. The concepts of entanglement and the uncanny explored in this book are thought-provoking.


We Don’t Know Ourselves
Author:     Fintan O’Toole
Year:     2021
Publisher:     Head of Zeus

Exploring the history of Ireland, ‘We Don’t Know Ourselves’ is a fascinating and remarkable account of modern nation-building. It details the astonishing journey of Ireland as a country.


Priestdaddy
Author:     Patricia Lockwood
Year:     2017
Publisher:     Riverhead Books

Patricia Lockwood’s memoir is fun to read. It details her life as she and her husband find themselves living in her father’s
rectory due to financial troubles.


Arctic Dreams
Author:     Barry Lopez
Year:     1986
Publisher:     Charles Scribner’s Sons

While focused on the Arctic, this book prompted me to think about the myths that animate the land I was walking through on my trek to the Makalu Base Camp.

LOS ANGELES, US
The 2023 Emmy Awards will be held in 2024. Hollywood’s two strikes meant a four-month delay for television’s annual celebration of itself. But both have now been resolved and the show will go on. Here’s a look at the telecast, the ceremony, and the series and stars up for awards.
The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on the Martin Luther King Jr holiday, January 15, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Anthony Anderson will host. It will be telecast live on the Fox network starting at 8 pm Eastern, and available to stream the following day on Hulu.
Fox is taking its turn this year in an annual rotation between the four networks. No presenters have yet been announced.
As is typical at the Emmys, HBO shows dominated the nominations when they were announced way back in July.
The top three nominees were all from the gilded cable channel.
‘Succession’ is the leading nominee, getting 27 for its fourth and final season, including best drama, an award it has won at two of the past three Emmys. HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ got 24 nominations, including best drama, best actor for Pedro Pascal and
best actress for Bella Ramsey.
Hollywood’s historic work stoppage among writers and actors, both essential to the Emmys, meant the show had a rare delay for an unprecedented four months. The delay is the first time the Emmys have been postponed since 2001.
Leaders of the Television Academy were among those breathing a sigh of relief when actors voted to approve their new strike-ending contract on December 5 and put a period on the entire stoppage. By the time of the ceremony, all the winners will have been established, the metaphorical envelopes sitting unopened for more than four months.