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CAPITAL EDITION PRINTED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN KATHMANDU, BIRATNAGAR, BHARATPUR AND NEPALGUNJ

Vol XXIV No 97 | 12+4 Pages WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 (12-O2-2073)

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SC summons Dahal over contempt of court caseKATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has summoned CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to appear in court within three days and furnish a reply regarding a contempt of court case charged against him. Responding to a contempt of court case filed by Advocate Dinesh Tripathi on May 16, a sin-gle bench of Acting Chief Justice Sushila Karki issued the order. Tripathi in his petition had argued that Dahal’s remarks undermined a Supreme Court verdict on con-flict-era cases. (PR)

Embassy team to leave for DehradunNEW DELHI: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi said on Tuesday that it is dispatch-ing a team to Dehradun to take stock of the situation after a landslide killed 10 Nepali workers and injured seven others in Chetra vil-lage on Sunday night. A team led by Counsellor Yadav Khanal will visit the area on Wednesday, said the embassy. (PR)

NEWS DIGEST

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEHANOI, MAY 24

She has ladled out countless bowls of her pork noodle soup, but the owner of a Hanoi streetside restaurant says she was stunned when Barack Obama strolled in, pulled up a plastic stool and slurped down Vietnam’s famed “bun cha” delicacy.

The US president slipped away from his hectic Vietnam visit on Monday night to sample the dish with Anthony Bourdain, a chef and food critic who fronts a travel show about hidden culinary gems around the world.

While 54-year-old restau-rant owner Nguyen Thi Lien knew a foreign television crew was on the way, she had no idea they would be bringing a very special guest.

“His presence in our res-taurant was a great surprise for my whole family, who could never have imagined it, even in our dreams,” she told AFP on Tuesday.

US Secret Service and local police closed down the streets surrounding Bun Cha Huong Lien eatery on Monday evening.

A large crowd gathered outside the restaurant, let-ting out a cheer as Obama exited.

Surrounded by a coterie of bodyguards, he stopped to greet excited locals, many capturing the moment on

their phones, before being whisked away in his limousine.

“Obama was nice, smil-ing, cheerful and popular with everyone,” the shop’s owner told AFP, adding that she regretted not posing for a picture with the president.

Bourdain posted a picture of the dinner on his Instagram feed with the caption “The President’s

chopstick skills are on point”. It showed the two sitting on tiny plastic stools that are a common feature of Vietnamese street restau-rants, Obama clasping a bot-tle of Hanoi Beer in his right hand.

Local diners could be seen sitting at stainless steel tables behind the pair tucking in to their own steaming bowls of broth, one wearing an American-style black baseball cap.

“Total cost of bun cha dinner with the President: $6.00. I picked up the check,” Bourdain, who is renowned for his love of cheap streetside food, later tweeted.

Vietnam is known for its fresh ingredients and healthy cuisine but Obama’s choice of bun cha, which with its fatty pork and sweet broth is at the more glutton-ous end of the country’s culinary spectrum, might have raised the eyebrows of his wife Michelle who has long campaigned for healthy eating.

Obama escapade stuns eatery ownerUS P R ES I D E N T I N V I E T N A M

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NRB bonds issue from Sunday

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dancing to the tunes

n The musical fountain at the West Lake in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province. As one of the highlights of the West Lake, the fountain will erupt twice a day from Monday to Thursday after an upgrading project. XINHUA

n Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli presides over an all-party meeting at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu on Tuesday. POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL

POST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Sadbhawana Party leader Rajendra Mahato said on Tuesday that the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) was for amending the constitution, not for rewriting it.

Mahato’s remarks come at a time when Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav has been demanding that the constitution should be rewritten to address the demands raised by some sections of the society.

Both Mahato and Yadav’s parties are part of the SLMM, which is an alliance of seven Madhes-based forces that are protesting against the constitution.

“Our demand is amend-ment to some of the provi-sions of the constitution,” Mahato said at Reporters’ Club. “We, Madhesi Morcha, have never called

for rewriting the constitu-tion.” Yadav, on the other hand, has long been saying that the Morcha would not sit for talks with the gov-ernment until the latter agreed to rewrite the con-stitution. Though the Morcha did not attend the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Mahato said the letter sent by PM was a “positive move”. “We will respond to the PM after holding an internal meeting of the Morcha,” said Mahato. “We will make our position clear very soon.”

Mahato is one of the leaders not happy with Yadav’s initiative to form an alliance between Madhesi and Janajati forc-es. “Most of us were not here when Yadav formed t h e [ S a n g h i ya Gathabandhan],” he said, criticising Yadav for assum-ing the Gathabandhan’s leadership.

No need to rewrite statute, amendment will do: Mahato

CAPITAL EDITION PRINTED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN KATHMANDU, BIRATNAGAR, BHARATPUR AND NEPALGUNJ

Vol XXIV No 97 | 12+4 Pages WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 (12-O2-2073)

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n US President Barack Obama and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain sip beer at a Vietnamese restaurant. PHOTO COURTESY: ANTHONY BOURDAIN

Cong objects to PM Oli’s ‘provocative statements’POST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

The main opposition Nepali Congress has taken exception to some “provocative” state-ments made by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Madhes issues during an all-party meeting on Tuesday.

Some statements made by the prime minister and some ministers are not helping to create conducive environment to resolve the political stand-off, said NC leader Mahesh Acharya after the meeting. Madhes-based parties had snubbed the all-party meeting called by PM Oli.

Stating that the demands and grievances of Madhesi and Janajati parties are political in nature, the Congress, during the meeting, had urged the prime minister to deal with them accordingly.

“We urged the prime minis-ter to hold informal talks before holding formal negotiations with the disgrun-tled parties,” Acharya added. “There is no alterna-tive to talks.”

Gathabandhan seeks ‘proper letter’ for talksPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s renewed effort to resume talks with the agitating par-ties failed to materialise on Tuesday after the latter refused to show up demanding a “proper invitation”.

Madhesi and Janajati par-ties, which have been protest-ing in the Capital, have sought a formal invitation addressed to the Sanghiya Gathabandhan, an alliance formed by the agitating forces, instead of a letter addressed to the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM).

PM Oli on Monday had invited the Morcha for talks.

The Morcha had earlier declined two invitations ques-tioning the sincerity and capacity of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa-led political mechanism to address its key concerns, including redraw-ing of provincial boundaries. The Morcha and the govern-ment have not held talks since February 18--the day the Thapa-led mechanism was formed. “We would respond to the calls for talks only when

the government sends anoth-er letter addressed to the Sanghiya Gathabandhan,” said Rajendra Shrestha, gen-eral secretary of Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal, one of the constituents of the SLMM.

An all-party meet called by PM Oli on Tuesday morning ended without entering into the agenda after Madhesi par-ties did not participate. PM Oli’s aides said that Morcha representatives did not attend the meeting “due to their own internal differences”.

Pramod Dahal, press advis-er to PM Oli, later in the day issued a statement, claiming that “the time table of the talks was set in consultation with Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Chairman Mahantha Thakur”.

“PM Oli was planning to hold the meeting at 9am. But the meeting was delayed by an hour as per Thakur’s request as he had a prior appointment with a doctor,” said Dahal. “But he rang up half an hour later to say that the Morcha would decide about participat-ing in the talks only after holding an internal meeting,” he added.

thekathmandu postnews 02Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Man arrested for raping 13-year-old girlHETAUDA: Police have arrested a 35-year-old man from Manahari village in Makwanpur district, on charge of raping a 13-year-old girl. Police said Pradip Karmacharya was arrested after he alleged-ly raped the girl on Monday. The girl was employed as a domestic help at Karmacharya’s house. (PR)

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3 children’s shelters in Capital shutPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Authorities have closed down three children’s shelters in Kathmandu after they were found sheltering non-orphan children as orphans.

A recent inspection of the children’s shelters in Kathmandu conducted by the Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) and the Kathmandu District Administration Office had found Purna Jaanma Child Home of Jorpati, Pabitra Samaj Sewa of Tokha, and Sahara Asahaya Bal Sundar Association of Boharatar keeping children whose parents are alive and well, officials said.

Children from places like Humla and Mugu had been living at these shelters. They were moved to a government-run children’s shelter.

According to a CCWB report published last year, 76 percent of the children’s shelters in the country are in Kathmandu.

“We have more children’s shelters than necessary and we suspect some of them are being used as a place to promote religious activities.

Besides, there are also cases of children being sexually exploited,” said Dilli Ram Giri, the chairperson of Central Child Welfare Body.

“We plan to inspect the children’s shelters throughout the country and close the ones that do not meet the minimum standard.”

Giri added that a lot of children’s shelters were found making the Gorkha Earthquake as an excuse to shelter non-orphan children.

The CCWB started inspecting the children’s shelters in the Capital after discovering that a lot of them did not meet the set standards concerning hygiene, nutrition and finan-cial transparency, among others. Some children’s shelters were also found admitting children without sufficient documents and identification papers.

Namche police post in sorry stateKUMBHARAJ RAINAMCHE, MAY 24

The Area Police Office in Namche, an important tourist hub in the Sherpa heartland, is in a sorry state.

As the police office has been operating from a make-shift hut, the security person-nel are struggling with the weather conditions through-out the year.

“We cannot express our

hardship in words. Even the passers-by have pity on us,” said Police Inspector Tejnarayan Yadav, adding that even some tourists were taken aback by plight of the security personnel.

Namche police office is very important as it is the last security post in the Everest region. It is responsi-ble for the security of Lukla Airport.

However, the area police

office, with 17 security person-nel, has been operating from the Sagarmatha National Park.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Madhav Budhathoki at the District Police Office acknowledging the difficulties of police personnel in Namche, said: “We have repeatedly asked the centre to build the office building in Namche. But it has not taken any decision on that yet,” said

Budhathoki. Other institutions like

health facilities and schools are comparatively in good condition owing to support from various foreign organi-sations and individuals.

“Everyone feels sorry upon seeing the situation of the security personnel here. Amazed, foreigners often enquire if it is a police office” said Subas Tamang, a local tourism entrepreneur.

BADI WOMEN DEMAND SECURITY KAMAL PANTHIGULARIYA, MAY 24

Five Badi women, who were displaced from Dhadhawar Village, have demanded the local administration for their security and immediate reha-bilitation in Gulariya, the dis-trict headquarters of Bardiya.

One of the displaced women, Sundari Badi, informed the Post that the vil-lagers chased them away accusing them of being involved in prostitution. Sundari used to operate a small shop at Baidi Chowk.

“Villagers vandalised our shop and forced us out of the village,” said Sundari. The victims, who are currently staying in their relative’s home, have demanded the District Administration Office to punish the guilty and provide compensation to them.

However, villagers claimed that they were driven away as they had set shop by encroach-ing upon the road. Devendra Bista, a local, said around a dozen shops had been evicted from the area.

“Sundari Badi is involved in prostitution with some other women there,” said Bista.

Earlier, the villagers had complained about the rise in immoral activities in Baidi Chowk. Another local Dipak Thapa said Badi women had manhandled them during the incident.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Bharat Bohara said Badi women were not driven away from the area as the villagers had evicted the encroached land. “The shops belonging to other communities were also removed from the area,” Bohara clarified.

MAX MIN RAINFALL TEMP (0C) TEMP (0C) (MM) MAX MIN RAINFALL TEMP (0C) TEMP (0C) (MM)

FORECAST: Partly cloudy throughout the country but becoming generally

cloudy in the western region.

Dadeldhura 26.3 13.5 0.0Dipayal 34.0 19.6 14.0Dhangadi 34.8 23.9 0.0Birendranagar 33.9 21.5 0.0Nepalgunj 35.7 24.1 0.1Jumla 24.4 12.0 5.8Dang 33.8 21.0 0.2Pokhara 31.0 19.5 0.2Bhairahawa 35.6 24.5 12.4Simara 34.0 25.4 0.0Kathmandu 29.5 18.2 TracesOkhaldhunga 24.6 15.0 10.8Taplejung 26.4 14.7 0.0Dhankuta 28.1 17.5 34.9Biratnagar 32.9 21.9 56.4Dharan 31.2 21.5 43.2*Lumle 24.0 15.7 6.8*

Source: Meteorological forecasting Division, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Kathmandu

WEATHER WATCH

PLACES

Central Child Welfare Board is inspecting children’s

shelters after discovering many of them did not meet

the minimum standard

against traffic fine

n Transportation workers stage a protest in Ratnapark, Kathmandu, against the decision of the traffic authorities to increase the fine amount for traffic rule violations, on Tuesday. POST PHOTO: KAUSHAL ADHIKARI

Police say the Badi women were expelled from

encroached land, not for running a prostitution

racket in the village

thekathmandu post news03 Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Forest officials held for graftDHANGADHI: A team from the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has caught an assistant forest officer and a ranger red-handed while they were receiv-ing Rs76,500 as bribe from a timber entrepre-neur at Narayanpur-9 in Kailali district. Officiating chief of CIAA Regional Office in Dipayal Bishnu Singh Bista confirmed the arrests of Assistant Forest Officer Raj Kumar Malla of Sector Forest Office in Balchaur and Ranger Baburam Mijar of Area Forest Office in Jagatpur. District Forest Officer Sindhu Dhakal, however, told the Post that the CIAA had not officially informed them about the incident. (PR)

Rhino gores woman to deathBHARATPUR: A 39-year-old woman died on Tuesday after being attacked by a rhino at Narayani Municipality in Chitwan district. Ganga Gurung of Narayani-12 was gored by the pachyderm as she was collecting fodder in a local forest, police said. Four other women, however, escaped the attack. (PR)

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Govt directs local bodies to take leadGAURAV THAPAKATHMANDU, MAY 24

The government has decided to mobilise local bodies in all 14 districts worst-hit by last year’s earthquakes to lead reconstruction efforts in their respective areas.

According to the govern-ment, local development officers of the 14 District Development Committees, chief and executive officers of all the municipalities and Village Developmet Committee secretaries of the 14 districts will take a lead role in data collection, identi-fication of victims, coordina-tion between technical man-power, and information dis-semination, among others.

Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has written to the DDCs of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Gorkha, Sindhupalchok, Kavrepala-nchok, Rasuwa, Dhading, Nuwakot, Makwanpur, Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli and Okhaldhunga as well as to all the municipali-ties and VDCs in these dis-tricts highlighting their roles.

“The role of local bodies is very important in reconstruc-tion one year after the earth-quake,” Under Secretary at MoFALD Prakash Dahal said. “VDCs and municipalities should lead reconstruction efforts of all private houses in their respective areas.”

The government has high-lighted 14 different roles for local bodies. They have to pre-pare inventory of destroyed buildings, identify victims eli-gible for relief, open bank accounts for the victims, coor-

dinate technical aspects of reconstruction, issue building construction permits, mobi-lise local community, NGOs and volunteers, prepare pro-gress reports and formulate five-year recovery and recon-struction plan.

The local bodies have been tasked as per the National Reconstruction Policy 2015 and other govern-ment decisions regarding reconstruction after the April 25 earthquake of last year and its aftershocks, according to Dahal.

But media reports suggest that government officials have been reluctant to join the National Reconstruction Authority, the apex body for rebuilding efforts.

An Organisation and Management survey conduct-ed jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office and the NRA has concluded that at least 208 staffers, including 17 joint-sec-retaries and 36 under-secre-taries, will be required for the authority.

The Ministry of General Administration, the body responsible for arranging

human resources required for government bodies, has deployed only a few junior-lev-el officials for the reconstruc-tion body. Some of the offi-cials who had earlier joined the NRA are seeking transfer to other offices.

There were suggestions that senior government offi-cials are reluctant to work under an “untested” chief executive. Lack of clarity on career prospects and possible action of anti-graft bodies while dealing with a huge amount of money to the tune of $4.1 billion, are other deterrents.

Earlier, NRA Spokesperson Ram Thapaliya admitted that the authority was considering recruiting staff “on contract” after the government had delayed providing human resources.

The absence of civil serv-ants has affected NRA plan to establish sub-regional offices, which should have been com-pleted by mid-January, giving an impression that the gov-ernment’s move to mobilise local bodies as a stopgap measure.

The Gorkha Earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people, leaving more than 600,000 houses destroyed and around 300,000 damaged. Many quake survivors are still living in temporary shelters, most of whom have not received gov-ernment relief yet.

House panel finalises bill to amend Edu ActPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

The parliamentary Committee on Women, Children and Social Welfare has finalised the draft bill on eighth amend-ment to the Education Act-1972 which envisions the restructuring of school-level education and provide a gold-en handshake to thousands of temporary teachers.

The committee, after three months of discussion, final-ised the draft that will be endorsed by the panel before tabling it in the full House. The eighth amendment pro-cess in the Act that started some six years ago to set the legal background for the implementation of School Sector Reform Programme (SSRP) has yet to be complet-ed. The new Act envisions phasing out the Higher Secondary Education Board, incorporating Plus Two level in school education and end-ing the decades-long problem of temporary teachers.

It also envisions outlawing the current provision of regis-tering private schools under the company law, making it mandatory for new ones to be registered as cooperatives. Private school operators, who also have representation in Parliament, however, are

against the provision. They have been demanding that the schools be governed by the Company Act.

Ranju Jha, chairperson of the committee, said the final draft of the bill will be put in the panel for endorsement on Wednesday. If there is no con-sensus, the draft would be put to a vote. “We are committed to tabling the bill in the full House in the upcoming ses-sion that starts on Thursday,” said Jha. As conceptualised by the SSRP, the amendment aims at restructuring school level education at basic (grades one to eight) and sec-ondary levels (grades nine to 12) from the existing primary (grades one to five), lower-sec-ondary (grades six to eight), secondary (grades nine to 10) and higher secondary (grades 11 to 12) levels. The Higher Secondary Education Board will be replaced by the Central Examination Board, and SLC exams will go regional while central assessment will be held only in grade 8.

The bill also has a provision whereby temporary teachers recruited before February 2011 can either compete for 40 percent reserved posts in total vacancies or choose the gold-en handshake deal, which offers a severance sum between Rs100,000 and Rs400,000 based on their ser-vice period.

The deal will be provided under three categories: those with service period of 5-10 years, 10 to 15 years and 15 years and above.

Temporary teachers who fall under the first category will be entitled to an amount equal to 15 days’ salary for each service year, while those coming under the second and third categories will be paid one month’s and 45 days’ sala-ry, respectively, for each year of service period. Although the ministry had decided to end the temporary posting of teachers by 2014, terms of temporary teachers was extended to 2018 due to the delay in amending the Act.

India prez: One Belt, One Road initiative should reflect common interestKAMAL DEV BHATTARAI & DEVENDRA BHATTARAINEW DELHI, MAY 24

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has said that pro-jects such as the China-led One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative “should be governed by commonly agreed interna-tional norms and practices and should reflect” the inter-est of all the concerned par-ties.

China is rallying the support of Asian countries including Nepal to push this mega Asian project. Nepal expressed its commitment to supporting the project during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s India visit in the third week of March.

In an interview with the Chinese official Xinhua

News Agency before his China visit, Mukherjee said, “A better connected Asia requires that all the countries consult together on determining the best way for-ward.”

Mukharjee said, “Building connectivity is an important aspect of our national devel-opment. In India, a number of projects are being undertaken in cooperation with other countries.”

“India views OBOR as a unilateral attempt by cash-rich China to build road and sea connectivity projects across Asia without taking on board other countries concerned and raising apprehension of implications of the project on the national interests and securi-ty of these countries,” report-ed Indian newspaper The

Economic Times. This project was introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with an expressed purpose of promoting economic cooperation in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Xinhua organised a semi-nar in Kathmandu on May 22 with some Nepali and Chinese experts on the OBOR initiative.

Nepal extended its support to the China-driven project during Prime Minister Oli’s China visit in the third week of April this year.

The joint statement issued after PM’s visit said that “both sides agreed to synergise each other’s development planning, formulate appropri-ate bilateral cooperation pro-grammes and carry out major projects” under the OBOR framework.

REUTERSNEW DELHI, MAY 24

Tens of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka need aid including clean drinking water, dry food rations and medicines after a deadly cyclone hammered the South Asia region, aid agen-cies said on Tuesday.

With wind speeds reaching 90 kph and heavy rains, cyclone Roanu struck Bangladesh on Saturday, after buffeting India and Sri Lanka in the Bay of Bengal--killing at least 120 people and affect-ing hundreds of thousands more in the region.

Aid workers said Roanu’s torrential rains triggered flooding, landslides and tidal surges mostly in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh--ripping apart thousands of homes, burying villages and inundat-ing swathes of farmland.

“Tens of thousands of poor families will have lost most of

their assets--not just their houses, but also their food stores, seasonal crops and vital livestock such as cows, goats and ducks,” said Shakeb Nabi, Christian Aid’s Bangladesh head.

“Access to food, safe drink-ing water, health supplies and sanitation materials is limited in some villages. Water points have been ruined, ground water contaminated and agri-cultural land destroyed.”

In Sri Lanka, where more than a week of heavy rains has triggered the worst flood-ing in 25 years, the United Nations said it was worried about the spread of diseases due to large amounts of standing water. The World Health Organization said there was an increased risk of vector borne diseases like malaria, water borne and diarrheal diseases, the bacte-rial disease leptospirosis, fun-gal diseases and acute respira-tory infections.

DOLAKHA: Two teenage rape victims, aged 15 and 19, from Suspakshyemawati VDC in Dolakha, have been disowned by their families after learn-ing about their pregnancy. They are presently living at a women’s shelter in Charikot, the district headquarters.

Srijana Karki, who works for an organisation, Aawaj Nepal, said the teenagers have been devastated by the treat-ment of their families. She said the two victims belong to Thami community that has a tradition of banishing daugh-ters during pregnancy. One of the community members, Bir Bahadur Thami, said as their tradition does not allow preg-nant daughters to visit their parents’ home, the two teenag-ers were not allowed to remain in the village.

They should undergo a spe-cial purification ritual if they want to continue living in the village, he added. (PR)

Committee chairperson says final draft will be

tabled for endorsement on Wednesday. If no accord, bill would be put to vote

POST-QUAKE

RECONSTRUCTION

Local development officers, chief and executive officers of municipalities and VDC secretaries of 14 districts to take

lead in data collection, identification of victims, expert coordination and information dissemination

2 RAPE VICTIMS DISOWNED BY FAMILIES

caught with fake bills

n Metropolitan Police Range Ranipokhari presents six members of an alleged fake currency racket in Kathmandu on Tuesday. One of them is a Pakistani and another Indian citizen. POST PHOTO: DIPEN SHRESTHA

Tens of thousands in need of aid

Kin go to Dehradun to claim landslide victims’ bodiesTHAKUR SINGH THARUBANKE, MAY 24

Neighbours of five people including Dipak Badi who died in the Dehradun land-slide on Monday are aggrieved by the tragedy.

Dipak, his wife Kumaridevi and son Bharat, daughters Sarjana and Tara of Kaprechaur-5 in Salyan were buried under boulders after a landslide hit the Chetra vil-lage in Dehradun, India. They were construction workers at a road project.

Dilsari Budha, a neighbour, said they had stayed at their house in Kohalpur before going to India. “The family members have gone to Dehradun,” she said.

Dilsari’s husband Birbal told her over the phone that Dipak and his family mem-bers were killed in the inci-dent. Birbal is also working in Dehradun. According to Birbal, post-mortem on the bodies had been over. Five

other Nepalis were also injured in the incident.

CDO Rabilal Pantha said they have been coordinating with the Indian officials to find out the details. Meanwhile, two youths were killed in landslides at Pithauragadh in India four days ago. According to their relative Ganesh Bohara, 22-year-old Birendra Bohara and Mohan Bohara, 24, of Deulikot VDC in Bajhang were buried in the landslides. They were involved in con-structing a road at Rasaiyapatta in Pithauragadh.

n Aggrieved relatives of Nepali workers who died in a landslide in Dehradun, India, on Monday.

cyclone in b’desh, s lanka

WHO points to risk of vector diseases

The ‘rhetoric’ about Nepal becoming ‘a vibrant bridge between China and India’ has been around since it became a republic. Former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had floated the idea of ‘trilateral cooperation’ between

China, India and Nepal during his Beijing visit in 2009. Recently, China proposed build-ing a China-India-Nepal Economic Corridor (CIN-EC) as part of its larger goal of imple-menting infrastructure development in the region. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had proposed this idea during his visit to Nepal to attend the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction (ICNR) last year.

Against this backdrop, China and Nepal signed an Agreement on Transit Transport during Prime Minister KP Oli’s visit to Beijing in March. However, China has not yet clearly laid out how it would like to go about cementing the relationship with Nepal. These developments have made India anxious, and it is waiting to see how far China will go to realise all these ‘begin-nings’.

Nepal’s prioritiesBefore speculating about where China and India stand, Nepal should identify what its priorities are in the long term. Its economic development largely depends on how much it can invest in the productive sector and how far it can fill the infrastructure gap. As investment flows are significantly low, young people have been leaving the country in epic numbers to work in the Gulf and Malaysia. Development activities that were anticipated to take off with the promulgation of the new constitution have not happened. Manufacturing and services have been per-forming below par even though the Indian blockade ended months ago. Tourism is the only sector that has been showing signs of a rebound, but it will be difficult to sustain the growth with a political crisis looming.

In order to revive the moribund economy, Nepal needs to come out of the current polit-ical instability and embark on the road of

economic development. This is where China has space in Nepal, only one space: Nepal’s economic development. The country needs an exogenous shot in the arm. The develop-ment of transportation, health, education and hydropower will not be possible without a massive boost in foreign direct investment (FDI) from both China and India.

Game of politicsNepal has been seeing fast-paced political developments, especially after the promul-gation of the new constitution, with India’s heavy-handed actions and China’s subtle participation. Since then China is said to be working to counter India’s political hegemo-ny in Nepal, but there can be a counter-argu-ment to such a claim, given the Communist Party of China’s very lengthy decision mak-ing process.

In any case, China should not be engaged in petty political games if it wants to win the hearts of the Nepali people who have been suffering from a vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment. China should be playing a fair game of supporting Nepal to develop its infrastructure and push the country towards the path of economic prosperity.

China should realise that playing a ground-level game as India has been doing in Nepal by being provocatively engaged in domestic affairs will backfire in the long run. A case can be made for a prosperous

Nepal, which can stand up stronger against India and other international forces which want to exercise influence inside China through Nepal.

Moreover, let us observe India’s actions after Nepal promulgated the constitution. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Brussels and London from where he could include the issue of Nepal in a joint com-muniqué urging Nepal to

correct its course. This clear-

ly indicates India bene-fits from the support of Western forces given

the values they share. That is the not the

case with China. Having alliances and powerful friends is much more

important for long-term dominance in world politics. China’s peripheral diplomacy is the result of such a realisation, but it has to be cautious when it comes to Nepal. It should be careful that its engagement in Nepal will remain confined to economic ties.

Economics, economics, economicsThus, the only space left for China in Nepal and the

larger South Asia is to be active on the economic front.

Chinese investments can easi-ly be a key to trigger growth in

Nepal, create jobs as well as push us towards having an interde-

pendent economy with India. If China helps Nepal to produce elec-

tricity regardless of whether India buys it or not, Nepal can host manu-

facturing industries by providing heavily subsidised power. In that sce-

nario, Indians from the northern part will cross the border into Nepal for better jobs, making India dependent on remittances from Nepal.

This is just one example of how China can counterbalance India in Nepal. But for that, China should think long term, and Nepal needs to reciprocate.

Poudel is an economist associated with ThinkIN China, Beijing

The United Nations World Humanitarian Summit—a two-day conference held in Istanbul—concluded yes-terday, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging governments, businesses and aid groups to

commit themselves to halving the number of displaced civilians by 2030.

Organised at a time described as ‘the worst humani-tarian crisis since the Second World War’ and billed as the first of its kind, the summit aimed to address a “broken” humanitarian system that has left 130 million people in need of aid. Around 6,000 participants, includ-ing 150 UN member states attended the conference. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa represented Nepal in the summit. For Nepal, these platforms are a useful forum to question the international aid regime and how best to position itself to utilise the flow of funds to suit its needs.

It is too early to assess the summit’s success, but critics have argued that it lacked focus and specific proposals. They have said that the global aid system needs more resources, and at the same time, has to bring down corruption and inefficiency that eat up significant humanitarian funds before they reach those most in need. Earlier this month, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), an international aid agency, withdrew from the summit saying that it was not likely to address the weaknesses in humanitar-ian action and emergency response.

Some of the participants also took the conference as an opportunity to voice critical views. For example, the president of the host country Turkey, which houses the majority of refugees—about three million—from the war in neighbouring Syria, argued that the West had done little to help Syrians in need of humanitarian aid.

Despite these criticisms, the summit is a welcome development in that it helped shed light on the chal-lenges that global humanitarianism is facing.

Although humanitarianism has a longer history, it developed as an enterprise only in the last 200 years. Michael Barnett, in his book Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism, divides this development in three phases: Colonial humanitarianism, marked by the civilising missions of the Western powers; post-co-lonial humanitarianism, characterised by the rivalry between the US and the then Soviet Union; and liberal humanitarianism, distinguished by the burgeoning of humanitarian NGOs tied closely with the liberal ideol-ogy of spreading democracy, free markets and human rights. Barnett argues that humanitarianism is a ‘crea-ture of the world it aspires to civilize’ and that despite its core principles—humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence—it is inextricably linked with poli-tics. But he does not portray too cynical a picture and balances the self-interest inherent in humanitarianism with the compassion behind it.

Nepal has been relatively fortunate in that it has been spared too many humanitarian catastrophes. The decade-long conflict and the earthquakes last year took a few thousand lives, but they pale in comparison to the horrors of wars that have wrecked unimaginable havoc in countries like Syria and placed millions of people in need of humanitarian aid.

However, whenever a crisis strikes, Nepal will become the centre of attention—if only for a brief peri-od—of the world and particularly regional powers. But the much-needed aid from them is also likely to bring in unnecessary interference to the country. In the after-math of the earthquakes, for example, although the prompt dispatch of international assistance was indeed a humanitarian gesture that saved many lives, it was also viewed critically as a form of disaster diplomacy; some donors seemed more interested in ensuring how the aid would serve their own interest. It is best, there-fore, for Nepal to prepare well for the next disaster, build its national capacity for aid utilisation and navi-gate the flow of aid according to its own interest, not to the whims of the international aid community.

Humanitarian politics Nepal should prepare well for the next

disaster, build capacity for aid utilisation

One-way road to NepalChina needs to clearly lay out how it would like to go about cementing its relationship with Nepal

EDITORIAL

BHOJ RAJ POUDEL

thekathmandu posteditorial 04Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Nepal-China accords have made India anxious,

and it is waiting to see how far China will go

to realise all these ‘beginnings’

Since 1993

Waiting, waiting

DRISHAN DAHAL

It’s been more than a year since a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the country. Due to the slow pace of recon-struction and rehabilitation, the coun-try’s cultural heritage still lies in

ruins, and millions of poor people are forced to live under tarpaulins and zinc sheets. They have endured the shivering cold of the winter and now they are sweltering in the summer sun. Last year, after the devastating earthquake, politi-cians hyped it as a chance for a new beginning in the country’s development. Earthquake victims were given high

hopes with sweet words. A Cabinet meet-ing held after the disaster decided to make various plans to rehabilitate the quake affected people in well managed settle-ments. But the plans remained just words.

After some months, the country faced an embargo and it caused a huge eco-nomic loss and turmoil. The economic blockade by the southern neighbour pushed the country further back when it was trying to recover from the earth-quake. The days during and after the embargo have been like glittering days for dons and black marketeers. They earned lots of money taking advantage of possibly the worst situation in the

country’s history. I remember those long lines in front of fuel depots and gasoline stations. All the wait used to go in vain when one didn’t get the amount of fuel promised by the government or had to return empty-handed. The queues at LPG stores still haunt me. But the the so-called dons with large bodies and earrings used to get a full tank of gasoline and a house full of gas cylinders with no difficulty. Regarding the people with political con-nections, I don’t have to say more.

The situation is still the same. Black marketeers seem to be enjoying nev-

er-ending days of bliss. Prices of various household products are rising uncon-trollably and fuel shortages don’t look like going away. Even amid this situa-tion, our prime minster seems to be try-ing to solve all the issues psychological-

ly with humour and sarcasm. But I wonder how humour will turn rubble into a perma-

nent shelter, and broken cultural herit-age and monuments into their former state. I assume the problem should be solved with proper planning and imme-diate action.

It’s been more than six months since

the promulgation of the Constitution that gave the Nepali people hopes for a bright and prosperous future. For the past 70 years, political leaders have been talking about the need for a constitution written by the people’s representatives. A new Constitution has now been prom-ulgated, and even though it wasn’t able to contain the full aspirations of the people, I fear for how many more years they will keep on talking about it. My fear grows when I realise that no docu-mented plans for the sustainable devel-opment of the country have been made. Billions in donations lie unspent. Mishandling remains unknown.

postplatform

French women are fed up with sexual harass-ment, and they aren’t going to take it any-more. That was the message in an extraordi-nary “Statement Against Sexism” published on Sunday and signed by 17 prominent

women. The women were moved to speak out following accounts in France Inter and the news site Mediapart on May 9 by eight women of repeated instances of sexual aggression and harassment. A year ago, 40 French female jour-nalists published a letter of protest against per-vasive sexism by French male politicians, including salacious text messages, lewd com-ments and offers of political scoops in exchange for sexual favors. One problem is that there have been few convictions that could deter sexual harassers. The current limitation of three years to file criminal charges for alleged sexual har-assment could be extended. And police stations need to have dedicated officers to deal with sex-ual harassment complaints: French women say that many officers do not take sexual harass-ment. Meanwhile, the women who signed the statement are encouraging others to speak out against harassment. “Enough,” they wrote. “We will no longer be silent.”

French women fight backCurrent and former government

ministers are taking a stand

WORLDVIEW

It will not be surprising if a large number of people are untouched by the policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year presented by the KP Oli government. It is because people have simply lost faith

in the government—not just this one, but many as far back as a whole generation of young Nepalis can remember.

When was the last time Nepal was well-governed? Governments before 1990 may be forgotten because they were not accountable to the people; they were answerable to the king in a partyless regime.

Bad governance When Nepal got its democratic constitution 26 years ago, people had hoped the episode of misrule would end. But their aspirations were dashed. What followed was a period of unstable governments, hamstrung by intra-par-ty feuds and irresponsible opposition.

Ever since, bare necessities of Nepalis remain unfulfilled. Long hours of power cut have been common, healthcare is paralysed, good academic institutions are hard to find, corruption is endemic, water is scarce and consumers are cheated.

With good plans, electricity deficiency could have been overcome in five years. But the chronic power shortage in Nepal has lasted a whole decade, despite lofty promis-es of successive governments to generate 10,000 megawatts in ten years.

Why do the people today fight over the clauses of the new constitution? The answer is simple: They have no fields of productive obsession. Our governments have utterly failed to engage the people. Ask an ordinary teenager today what he would do after picking up the citizenship certifi-cate. Take it easy if he says he would collect his passport next and head for a Gulf coun-try to do menial jobs. Little wonder that he does not say he will go to the town to study engineering or medicine. He finds his

well-educated uncles struggling for their basic needs while his seniors carrying merely school degrees are buying property with the cash they earned toiling in the Arabian deserts.

There has been a pattern of government plans remaining on paper and development funds left unspent. This means fields with-out irrigation facilities, health posts devoid of supplies and doctors, far-flung areas not linked by roads and thousands robbed of the chance of getting employment. So there is little enthusiasm when a potentially important plan is floated.

Broken promisesRecent governments are known more for mischief than service. Party cadres are awarded with public positions, top bureaucrats and security officials seek political patronage and teachers and profes-sors work for party sister wings. This is precisely why public services are being hampered.

The present CPN-UML-Maoist coalition punished earthquake survivors by not help-ing them rebuild their homes on time. But no better were its predecessors in terms of delivery. Governments led by the Nepali Congress have been notorious for politicis-ing every sphere of the state by appointing their cadres. The Maoists have had many

things to do while in government to fulfil their promises made right from the early insurgency era. Earlier UML-led governments also repeated the same mistakes made by other disappointing administrations.

When recently the largest party Nepali Congress tried to topple the government by dangling the post of prime minister before the chairman of the ruling Maoist party, there was not much excitement in many quarters about a possible regime change. People had already experienced the brief stint of the erstwhile rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal or the corruption, misman-agement and political chaos under the three-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who would share the PM’s seat in a rotational arrangement between his Congress party and Dahal’s UCPN (Maoist).

Right from the king’s Panchayat era, peo-ple have been promised prosperity by at least a dozen successive governments but development has been as elusive as ever. Rivers in the world’s second richest country in water resources have been left untapped even as people reel under chronic shortages of electricity or water for household pur-poses and irrigation. There is no single rail-way operational along the nearly 900 kilo-metre long plains. Nepalis could be one of the world’s least connected people; it often

takes days to reach nearby districts in the hills in the lack of an efficient transport system.

Failed strategy The country has many ills that can be cured. But the governments utterly lack the willpower to tackle problems.

The people are losing their faith in politi-cians, most of whom across the party line have failed to keep their promises made during the election.

Instead, what has been the survival strat-egy of every government or the ruling party is a deadly mix of propaganda, distri-bution of favours to disgruntled factional leaders, courting foreign powers and float-ing a few delusionary agendas. The loud calls of opposition are mellowed when the parties get into the seat of power. No public position holder exhibits a sense of service or responsibility towards the people but they do not hesitate to act as if they were the masters of the sovereign.

As a result, the public perceives elected officials and government employees as a bunch of thugs who live off taxpayers’ money, and politicians as thieves stealing from state funds.

Unless those responsible strive for an image makeover, people will never take them seriously, nor will they support any public initiative. The harm of this ten-dency is that state-public partnership becomes a farce.

Ambitious leaders rarely believe in a sys-tem, without which no plan or policy gains legitimacy. Public interest is not protected without letting democratic institutions take root. Leadership does not evolve without fostering it right up the grassroots. It has been amply clear that the absence of peo-ple’s representation in local government only benefits the agents of regional and central power centres.

But who should arrest this trend of decay and doom? The remedy is not for any offi-cial, public position holder or governing head to pass the buck. Instead, the chain of check and balance should be tightened. Those holding the reins must muster not just their legal power but also moral authority to command the state workforce and check corrupt tendencies.

Guragain is a desk editor at The Kathmandu Post

Successive failures People have been promised prosperity by at least a dozen governments but development has been as elusive as ever

MOHAN GURAGAIN@GuragainMohan

C M Y K

the kathmandu post05 Wednesday, May 25, 2016

ELLE HUNT

Facebook has denied allegations that the team responsible for its trending topics section deliberately suppressed conserva-tive views—but says it will

improve the feature.Allegations have been made anon-

ymously that the team responsible for choosing trending topics did so with little oversight and deliberately suppressed conservative views. On Monday, Facebook denied any bias in a press release and a letter sent directly to John Thune, the chairman of the US Senate commerce committee.

Colin Stretch, general counsel at Facebook, said the company met with Thune on 18 May to discuss an internal two-week investigation, which had found “virtually identi-cal” rates of approval of conserva-tive and liberal topics. “Suppressing political content or preventing peo-ple from seeing what matters most to them is directly contrary to our mis-sion and our business objectives, and the allegations troubled us deeply.”

But Stretch said the investigation “could not fully exclude the possibili-ty of isolated improper actions or unintentional bias” and Facebook would make changes to trending top-ics to prevent potential misuse and “to minimise risks where human judgment is involved”. The allega-tions, first reported by Gizmodo on 9 May, were made by a former “news curator” of the trending topics team. Shortly afterwards, Thune demand-ed answersfrom Facebook chief exec-utive Mark Zuckerberg.

Trending topics appear in the upper-right corner of the Facebook website, separate to the main news feed, and are said to be chosen to “help people discover current con-tent that is both popular in the world and meaningful to them”.

Topics are selected through a com-bination of algorithms and staff. In the letter to Thune, Facebook said: “We currently use people to bridge the gap between what an algorithm can do today and what we hope it will be able to do in the future.”

The allegations of anti-conserva-tive bias prompted Zuckerberg to hold a meeting with conservative commentators last Wednesday.

The platform’s internal investiga-

tion spoke to current and former reviewers, current supervisors and “leading conservatives, to gain valua-ble feedback and insights”. Stretch said it found “no evidence of system-atic political bias” in either the selec-tion or prominence of stories includ-ed in the feature. “We were also una-ble to substantiate allegations of politically-motivated suppression of particular subjects or sources.”

The letter to Thune went into more detail: topics relating to Republican political figures Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney and Scott Walker—allegedly suppressed by reviewers because of political bias—were in fact accepted “on dozens of occa-sions”.“In fact, the two most fre-quently accepted topics since early 2015 are presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and #GOPDebate,” the letter went on. Analysis of coverage of the late Navy Seal Chris Kyle, the Conservative political action conference, former IRS official Lois Lerner, radio host Glenn Beck, the Drudge Report, and comedi-an Steven Crowder in trending topics also did not support claims that con-servative news stories were sup-pressed, Facebook said.

Nonetheless, Facebook said its guidelines have been clarified and reviewers have undergone refresher training “that emphasised content decisions may not be made on the basis of politics or ideology”.

Additional controls and oversight around the review team would also be introduced. Stretch said Facebook would also stop using external web-sites and news outlets to assess the importance of a story, and would no longer rely on a top 10 list of news outlets as revealed in internal guide-linesleaked to the Guardian.

Earlier this month, Facebook released an updated version that showed BuzzFeed News had replaced Yahoo News among the 10 most trust-worthy news sites. Thune said in a statement that he welcomed Facebook’s efforts to address allega-tions of bias and his concern about “a lack of transparency”. “The seri-ousness with which Facebook has treated these allegations and its desire to serve as an open platform for all viewpoints is evident and encouraging and I look forward to the company’s actions meeting its public rhetoric.”

n FACEBOOK

NATALIE NOUGAYRÈDE

This is the age of the disgrun-tled—in domestic politics and foreign affairs alike. Anti-establishment senti-ment within countries is somehow echoed by the

way the rule book of internation-al relations is being torn up. These dynamics feed on each other. They are at play in America (the rise of Donald Trump), Europe (growing populism) and Asia (nationalism and an arms race). Finding a way to address them will be crucial if democra-cies are to have any hope of resisting instability.

I recently attended the Lennart Meri conference in Estonia—a transatlantic gathering where much of the talk focused on how the “dream of a Europe whole and free” might be fading, and how that is affecting security and stability. And this week in London, at a meeting on global governance, and what needs to be done to improve it, a key focus of British and other European par-ticipants was: how do we restore the legitimacy of international institutions?

In democracies it is only natural that public opinion influ-ences actions taken by govern-ments on the international stage. But the way that pressure is exerted has changed. The Dutch government would never have sought a review of an association agreement between the EU and Ukraine if a referendum in the Netherlands—with a turnout of only 32%, triggered by a petition that had just over 300,000 signa-tures—hadn’t signalled a rejection of that treaty.

Angela Merkel would never have pushed for a relaunching of EU membership talks with Turkey (something she had been blocking for almost 10 years) if the German far right hadn’t start-ed doing better in opinion polls. In my country, France, although Marine Le Pen’s Front National failed last year to win control of any region in local elections, her admiration for Vladimir Putin has made it more difficult for the socialist government to stick to its policy of renewing EU sanc-tions against Russia later this year. In Austria, where the far-right seems within reach of the presidency (ahead of voting on Sunday), populist pressures have already led to borders being shut to refugees. And in the US Donald Trump’s success is already beginning to frame the foreign policy debate .

Just as the traditional domestic politics of many nations is being upended by groups who claim that elites have lost all legitimacy, global politics is being shaken up by the way institutions created after 1945 have lost much of their credibility. The UN has failed dis-mally to put an end to the war in Syria; and the EU is widely criti-cised for its inability to address a variety of crises—its very func-

tioning as an institution is ques-tioned as never before. Meanwhile, Russia and China are disrupting international rules that were once deemed rock solid: force has been used to change borders uni-

laterally (Crimea), and territorial claims are made through the creeping militarisation of islands (in the South China Sea).

Both in Europe and Asia alli-ances are being put to the test,

with many asking if they will hold. The result of much of this is that global governance appears weakened, if not powerless. Passions and frustrations, often with strong nationalistic under-

tones, have become a major driv-ing force of events, both domesti-cally and internationally. Increasingly we see the rule of force—even rule of the mob—pre-vailing over the rule of law and over diplomatic mechanisms designed to defuse tensions.

To a large extent that’s because the very legitimacy of institu-tions, and the way we have known them, has eroded. Many citizens feel their voices are not being heard. The influence of the inter-net means representative democ-racy is losing ground to grass-roots mobilisation—spontaneous or orchestrated—that often exists outside a recognised frame-work. And on a global stage ten-sions between powers fester because the forums meant to set-tle them aren’t working. Accepted rules and limits are increasingly set aside. Broadly speaking, what we are seeing is a growing cacophony in which it is unclear who, or what, will ulti-mately act as an arbiter.

The parallel between disgrun-tlement on the inside and disrup-tive behaviour on the outside may well define our era. It’s as if a race is under way between the growing aspirations of citizens (not least driven by a massive, instant spread of information

and disinformation) and the struggling capacity of govern-ments and international institu-tions to address them.

So what can be done? Reforming the UN system entirely is much talked about, though all but impossible right now. Reinventing the way democracies function is just as difficult. So perhaps small steps might be taken. At the Tallinn conference some speakers suggested EU officials could embark on “town hall meetings” across the continent, to reach out to citizens who resent what they see as a dehumanised Brussels bureaucracy.

And in the London discussion, several participants spoke of the need to create a “multi stake-holder” model for international institutions in which not just states but NGOs and citizens would have a say in open and transparent deliberations. Depending on the issue at hand, ad hoc groups of stakeholders could be convened. One idea was dubbed “the skateboard model” after the sport’s eschewing of judging panels in favour of com-petitors marking each other’s per-formances in open discussions—apparently everyone comes out more satisfied.

It’s easy to see the flaws (for example, how do you make sure the results aren’t manipulated?). But the key point is that if pas-sions are to be managed in an orderly way, both within societies and globally, new mechanisms are needed to restore the legitimacy of decision-making. That this issue is increasingly being dis-cussed is a good thing—because the risk of sticking to the status quo is that populists, everywhere, will continue to thrive.

Facebook to change trending topics

‘Virtually identical’ rates of conservative and liberal topics, but guidelines updated to ‘exclude possibility of improper actions’

Libya: a continent’s problemEurope must not close its eyes to the fate of one of Africa’s best-resourced countries

n LIBYA

n ECONOMICS

Forcing employees to look busy does nothing

for productivity. Sometimes, less work

gets more doneSTEFAN STERN

What is your favourite style of lit-erature? Voltaire was once asked. “All styles are good,” he said, “except for the boring kind.” People like the idea of

busyness because it is better than feel-ing bored. The sadness at the heart of Waiting for Godot is that, for Vladimir and Estragon, there is “nothing to be done” (the play’s opening line). The closing stage direction says: “They do not move.”

Researchers at the University of Texas have found that older people who remain active score better in cog-nitive tests than those who are less busy. As well as the financial penalty in unemployment (and under-employ-ment), there is a psychological cost too. “Be not solitary, be not idle” ran the traditional advice to those hoping to avoid gloom and despair. Today that would be classed as a “top tip.”

So, let’s get busy? Hang on. Who determines how busy you have to be? Has your busyness been created by an unreasonable or unrealistic deadline, or an impossible workload? Have you been left to be busy all on your own—you’ve avoided the idle bit, but are still resoundingly solitary?

Busyness is not what you might call an unalloyed good. Indeed, if simply being busy and stressed were such a good idea, why has the UK’s productivity—the measure of useful (or “value-adding”) work done—failed to improve over the last few years? Being busy is not an end in itself. It is better to be busy with a productive pur-pose, with the aim of creating a worth-while outcome.

One of the imbalances in our econ-omy is that some remain too busy

while others are not busy enough. John Maynard Keynes anticipated a world of leisure in which essential tasks could be completed in a few hours, leaving us all with much more time for cultural and recreational pur-suits. More recently, the New Economics Foundation argued that a 21-hour working week might reduce unnecessary busyness while allowing us to make better and more sustainable use of the earth’s limited resources.

Traditional supervisory manage-ment required staff to look busy, with the aim of reassuring the managers that something was actually being done. In an age of “knowledge work”, with people clicking away at comput-ers all day, it is harder to know if the apparent busyness is really leading to anything. One thing in favour of the

so-called “gig economy” is that identi-fiable tasks are often being completed. There is nothing phoney about the busyness of Deliveroo riders. How happy they might be in their work is another matter.

So yes, busyness may be good for keeping the brain ticking over, but it is not necessarily good for efficiency. The benefits of so-called “multitask-ing” have now been revealed to be a myth. Stress distracts and under-mines us, and really good work is the product of a focused mind. “We’re far more productive if we singletask,” says Caroline Webb, author of the recently published How to Have a Good Day.

A new balance has to be struck, one that allows room for calm human interaction as well as the exciting, always-on world of digital connection. Bringing this about will take maturity and good old time management skills. We have to be able to say no to unrea-sonable demands if we are going to stay sane and productive.

Condemning those who are fit and talented to inactivity is a social as well as an economic crime. The costs are both social and economic, too. So let there be some more busyness for those who want and need it, but also space and quiet for those who don’t. It is all a matter of getting our priorities right—rather like the boss who put up a sticky note on his office door,reading: “No, I do not have a bloody minute.”

Busyness isn’t always good for business

Libyans are the first victims of a dys-functional state that has neither sta-bilised nor unified since the over-throw of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. But Europe can be affected, too. If

Libya doesn’t find a way out of its cur-rent state of chaos, two things are likely to happen: refugee and migrant move-ments will pick up again this summer in large numbers across the central Mediterranean (as an alternative to the Aegean route), and Isis will be able to carve out an even larger foothold for itself, from which it will try to launch attacks across the region and beyond. So it is a good thing that more interna-tional attention is now being brought on Libya, whose stabilisation was the topic of an international meeting held this week in Vienna. But whether a new focus will bring the right strategy is a different question altogether.

Having failed so dismally to assist Libya in its post-Gaddafi transition after Nato intervened five years ago, Europeans and other international actors desperately need to do better now. The plan, as it currently stands, is to increase international support for Libya’s new fledgling central govern-ment, which last March managed to establish itself in the capital Tripoli. The west hopes this administration will replace rival factions that have vied for power since 2014, creating the vacuum that has helped Isis thrive. Weapon deliveries are being considered

to help the unity government defeat the jihadi insurgency, which controls a 250km-long strip of coast around the city of Sirte. However, this initiative is currently being resisted by a rival group based in the east, whose leader is supported by Egypt.

The west needs to tread carefully. Libyans have painful memories of the colonial era during which Italian troops carried out massacres. This is a

legacy which went a long way to explain why, in 2011, after Gaddafi had been ousted, Libya’s new revolutionary authorities rejected any notion of a UN-led protectorate, or indeed any kind of strong international presence. Western plans in 2011 foundered not just on the lack of post-conflict plan-ning—which Barack Obama has described as the “worst mistake” of his presidency—but on Libyan fears of

appearing to submit to external control. All this makes any speculation about a possible new intervention all the more perilous. The Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi is said to be lobbying western allies for a European “security mission” to be deployed: his country will be the first destination of migrants if the Libyan route gains new prominence. So far, increased western military involve-ment has reportedly taken the discreet form of French and British special forces working on the ground.

Libya’s downward spiral has made life hell for its citizens. Human Rights Watch has documented how Isis has imported beheadings and floggings to Libya. Sirte has become Isis’s biggest stronghold outside of Iraq and Syria. Libya is one of Africa’s wealthiest nations with huge oil reserves, yet it is in desperate need of humanitarian aid; the chaos threatens to intensify migra-tion flows and unleash terrorism on Europe. If Libya is to be prevented from drifting further, a careful interna-tional strategy is called for. It must include reconciliation efforts and development, and the cooperation of regional actors. If the west ignores everything except Isis and the chok-ing-off of migrant routes, it will risk making a new mistake—compounding past blunders with current neglect. It is a mistake Europe can hardly afford.

Editorial

Rule of law is losing out to rule by the mobn UNITED NATIONS

The institutions set up to defuse global tensions are no match for today’s populism. We need new solutions

C M Y K

C M Y K

book bus goes east

n Locals throng to the Book Bus, which is currently making its way through Ilam. The travelling library is slated to tour the eastern district until June 4. POST PHOTO

life&stylekathmandu postthe

PG 06 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Pitt rescues young fanActor Brad Pitt has been hailed as a hero after saving a young girl from being crushed by a crowd at his latest movie, Allied. Pitt rushed to her rescue as a huge crowd gathered to watch him shoot in Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria in the Spanish Canary Islands.

BORN TODAYBritish actor Ian Mckellen is 77

Indian director Karan Johar is 44

Canadian actor Mike Meyers is 53

Irish actor Cillian Murphy is 40

Senegalese footballer Demba Ba is 31

Bata Zivojinovic diesVelimir Bata Zivojinovic, one of old Yugoslavia’s best known and prolific film stars who often played partisans fighting Nazi occupation in World War Two, died at 82 of multiple illnesses. Zivojinovic starred alongside Orson Welles in Battle of Neretva, the most expensive Yugoslav movie ever.

Angry Birds soars at the box officeBBCLOS ANGELES, MAY 24

The Angry Birds Movie has knocked Captain America off the top spot of the North American box office chart in its first week of release.

The film, based on the video game, made $39m (£27m) at the weekend, pushing the Disney Marvel caper into second place in its fourth week with $33.1m (£23m). In third came new release Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising with $21.8M (£15m). Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe’s The Nice Guys opened in fourth, making $11m (£8m) from a low-key 2,865 screens. The Angry Birds Movie has been adapted from the game made by Rovio Animation at a cost of $73m (£50m) and has already done

well internationally, raking in $150m (£104m) worldwide, according to

its distributors Sony.“It’s very diffi-

cult turning a video g a m e

property into a successful movie,’’ said Josh Greenstein, Sony’s presi-dent of worldwide marketing and dis-tribution. “To use a bad pun, we are flying high.”

The animation features the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad and Danny McBride as the feathered

stars. It is set on an island populated by happy, flightless birds except for angry bird Red, voiced by Sudeikis, speedy Chuck, Gad’s character, and Bomb, voiced by McBride.

The film has received mixed reviews but as a family-friendly fea-ture, it is expected to do well over the coming Memorial Weekend holiday, said market analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Families are always looking for out-of-the-home content,” said Mr Dergarabedian, adding that this is the latest in a string of suc-cessful PG-rated films including The Jungle Book and Zootopia.

“PG is the hot new rating now. There used to be a stigma that young-er teens wouldn’t be interested. The numbers prove that when you go after the broadest base possible, you can be highly successful.”

Captain America’s weekend tak-ings took its total domestic earnings to $347.4m (£240m) and, even in its fourth week in cinemas, outshone comedies Neighbours 2 and The Nice Guys.

It’s Bond, Jane BondTHE GUARDIANLOS ANGELES, MAY 24

Gillian Anderson has hinted that she would accept the role as the first female Bond, tweeting out a mocked-up poster of herself as 007. The star of The Fall and The

X-Files expressed her desire to take over from Daniel Craig as the world’s most famous secret agent, tweeting, alongside the poster: “It’s Bond, Jane Bond.”

She added: “(And sorry, don’t know who made poster but I love it!)”, with the hashtag #NextBond. Speculation has been raging over who will fill Craig’s shoes, with bookies last week suspending betting on Tom Hiddleston after a flurry of interest. Others in the running to play the spy in the next 007 film include actor and DJ Idris Elba and Homeland star Damian Lewis.

It is widely believed Craig wants to move on after four outings as 007. Hiddleston, who played spy Jonathan Pine in the Night Manager, has played down speculation that he would take on the role, recently telling the BBC’s Graham Norton Show: “The position isn’t vacant as far as I’m aware. No one has talked to me about it.

“I think the rumours have come about because in the Night Manager

I play a spy and people have made the link.” Meanwhle Elba, who starred in Luther, has spoken of being weary of the constant speculation. “I’m probably the most famous Bond actor in the world, and I’ve not even played the role,” he said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph in 2015. “Enough is enough. I can’t talk about it any more.”

JOINT ART EXHIBIT AT NACREA MISHRAKATHMANDU, MAY 24

The Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal is currently host-ing a collaborative art exhibi-tion that features artworks by artists Krishna Lama and Krishna Maya Suwal. The exhib-

it was inaugurated on Monday by Sangeeta Thapa, director of the Siddhartha Arts Foundation.

Though part of the same exhibit, the works by the two artists have been put on display in two different galleries, owing perhaps to the seem-ingly dissonant themes the artists have employed in their works. The

Gallery 1, inside the Art Council premises, features an array of works by the artist Lama, titled Light That Holds a Dream; whilst the Gallery 2 is adorned with Suwal’s artworks, the collection of which is titled Conditional Counterfactuals.

“I believe that my paintings are not conventional and are largely the out-comes of my experiments.The imag-es are far from realistic but close to the thoughts and exaggerated things I imagine in mind. These paintings portray various moments in my life: I speak through art,” said artist Lama at the opening.”All my feelings are encased in these works, which I feel grateful sharing with the audience.”

While Lama’s works largely express what is inside, Suwal’s art-works look like they are on a lookout, on an eternal quest—the quest of finding the deities and gods. Suwal explains the genesis of her work as: “I wanted to explore the unexplained dimension of how God looks like by depicting the appearances of God with multiple hands and weapons. I believe we react to things differently because everyone experiences life dif-ferently; and thus I have compared this phenomenon to flowers in my paintings, a variety of them—some short, and some tall, as you can see. Therefore, simply put, my artwork depicts the various stimulis our mind happens to be struck by.”

The exhibit will continue until May 27.

KANTA DABDAB set for Europe tour

POST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Folk band Kanta dAb dAb is all set for a Europe tour. The Kathmandu-based trio with Nikhil Tuladhar (on percus-sions), Sunit Kansakar (on sitar

and guitar) and Riju Tuladhar (on bass) is set to perform in Europe, as part of their Musicians for Musicians project, and are all set fora two-month-long Europe tour starting Wednesday. The band will be playing at various venues and festivals in Finland, Germany, Poland and Denmark—including the World Village Festival, Kaustinen Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival and BRT Festival.

The band’s project, Musicians for Musicians, is ‘a socio-cultural pro-ject to help earthquake-affected musicians; it is also a project to preserve the endangered Nepal tra-ditional music heritage’. The pro-ject was launched in the occasion of

the first anniversary of the earth-quakes.

“We are extremely excited to be a part of this project and play Nepali music in the international arena. We believe this will be an amazing experience to share our music toa European audience,” said Nikhil Tuladhar.

“We hope that we will be able to reach out to people through our music, heritage and our project. After the tour, we will focus on working with traditional musicians with the aim of preserving tradi-tional music and to help earthquake affected musicians,” said Rizu Tuladhar.

The band will also be engaged inlive performances, workshops and presentations of the Musicians for Musicians project. While in Europe, the band will also be con-ducting workshops with music stu-dents at the Sibelius Academy of Music, which is a part of the University of Arts in Helsinki.

KANYE SUED BY

HUNGARIAN STAR

Presser is seeking at least $2.5m for copyright infringement

REUTERSLOS ANGELES, MAY 24

Kanye West is being sued by a prominent Hungarian rock singer and composer, who accused the hip-hop star of sampling one of his

best-known compositions without

permission for the 2013 song New Slaves.

In a complaint filed late Friday in US District Court in Manhattan, Gabor Presser said one-third of New Slaves, which appeared on the No 1 album Yeezus, is an unau-thorised copy of Gyongyhaju Lany, a 1969 song he wrote when he was in the band Omega.

Presser described his song, which roughly translates in English as Pearls in Her Hair, as “one of the most beloved pop songs ever in Hungary and across Eastern Europe.” He is seeking at least $2.5 million in damages for copyright infringement.

Lawyers for West and co-de-fendant Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, a joint venture between Sony Corp and the estate of pop star Michael Jackson, did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment.

Presser said he had no inkling his song was being used until West’s lawyer emailed him soon after marketing began, indicating that West “would like to work out a deal with you as soon as possi-ble” and giving him 24 hours to respond. West’s lawyers later sent Presser a $10,000 check and insist-ed that he grant a license. But Presser never cashed the check,

the complaint said. “Kanye West knowingly and intentionally misappropriated plaintiff ’s com-position,” the complaint said. “After his theft was discovered, defendants refused to deal fairly with plaintiff.”

It is common for well-known singers to be accused of stealing song ideas from the original com-posers. For example, in another prominent case, Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant and gui-tarist Jimmy Page face a June 14 trial in Los Angeles over whether they stole opening chords for their 1971 classic Stairway to Heaven from a 1967 instrumental.

C M Y K

thecollegianPG 07 | WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

kathmandupostthe

A keyhole to the world

What was your most recent read?

I recently read Kutniti ra Raajneeti (Diplomacy and Politics) by Ramesh Nath Pandey. I have been a witness to Nepali politics since 2036 BS and the book provided me a chance to revisit political hap-penings over the last decades. Pandey is one personality who claims to have been close to the movers and shakers in the corridors of power. The book helped me gain an insight into the inner workings of the contemporary Nepali polity. Though, I feel the book is a tad too self-centric.

Also, recently I finished Khusi by Bijaya Kumar.

What books are you reading currently?

I am reading Nayan Raj Pandey’s Sallipir and The Great Escape, by Angus Deaton.

Do you reread?

I read Bhavani Bhikshu’s

Aagat twice; the book helps one understand the political and social atmosphere during the time between 1990 to 2016 BS. The book is set in places such as Biratnagar, Bhirahawa, Banaras and Kathmandu.

I have read almost all of BP’s works at least twice. I am heavily touched by Hitler ra Yahudi: The book narrates the human emotions, freedom, and human nature—all written in BP’s powerful prose.

Do you relate to the characters you read?

I have fallen in love with characters many times. Rewa of Hitler ra Yahudi; Sumnima of Sumnima; and Bhote Dai of Munamadan are some of the characters I fell deeply in love with. I am also attracted to characters from the works of Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai and JM Coetzee.

What kinds of books do you like to read?

I love books that deal with

the nuances of poverty, justice, and human emotions. I also love to read poetry and write them at times too.

Why do you read?

While reading I am concerned about the time and circums- tances the character is living under. I love to understand the society the book I am reading is set in.

Any books that you want to read but have not got a chance?

I want to read the novel Veer Charitra, by Girishballav Joshi, written about 115 years ago.

Who are your favourite authors?

I adore BP Koirala, Devkota, Nayan Raj Pandey, Buddhisagar, Mitch Albom and Arundhati Roy to name a few.

Favourite books?

I like reading biographies and fic-tion. I really enjoyed the autobiog-raphies by BP Koirala, Gandhi and Mandela.

I also loved these historical epics: Kamal Dixit’s Janga Bhadur Ko Belayet Yatra and Aba Kahilei Yesto Nahos, by Baburam Acharya. I also liked Dor Bahadur Bista’s Sotala.

One book you would recommend to our readers?

Devi Bhagawat. The epic speaks volumes about what ‘Kali Yug’ is all about. Other books I want to recommend are: Have A Little Faith, by Mitch Albom; Disgrace, by JM Coetzee; and, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma.

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Development activist and the Executive Director of Karuna Foundation, Deepak Raj Sapkota, has reread Hitler ra Yahudi three times. Why? “Because I am heavily touched by how the book narrates human emotions, freedom, and human nature, all those encased in BP’s powerful prose,” says Sapkota. Sapkota loves biographies and autobiographies and fiction, especially those that pivot around history. Narendra Raule caught up with Sapkota to talk about his reading habits and his love for books. Excerpts:

As an orange line emerges on one side and the moon sinks on the other, I wish Nepal too would break out from the darkest clutches of the nightBIKASH GUPTA

I am 20,000 meters above land, some-where above Kabul in Afghanistan—a country mired in decades of insur-gency and wars. From this altitude, it looks peaceful. I can see blotches of lights arranged linearly in the

sea of darkness; there are also layers of clouds between us impairing the leftover visibility.

It’s the darkest hour before dawn.I just woke up. I had a good Sirahali

dream, in which all my characters were from Siraha. Maybe, because I am much closer to Nepal now, my excitement and emotions are no longer confined to my material self—it now seeps to the subconscious level. It has not been much—10 months to be precise—that I left my family. I do not know what I will be doing in two months: maybe start a business with friends or maybe write ethnographic papers—I am open to possibilities. One thing that is cer-tain, however, is I am looking forward to meeting new people.

The moon outside looks calm and innocently placid. The three things that are making noise at this moment are two large engines that are period-ically churning non-harming, tick-ling waves on my naked feet, and me pressing my laptop keys—though the

latter is only audible to me. The huge propeller, diagonally down my seat, has a light that is flickering periodi-cally every two seconds. I get to spy a sticker plastered to its metal body from the window—the sticker implies no man be allowed near the propel-lers. I try to see the earth below at this time. I am sporadically able to see some ridges on the earth; I would love to doubt that as the west end of Himalayas but the screen in front of me says the plane is scuttling to Peshawar—south of the Himalayas.

I love flying. I never thought I would fly when I was young. You can see very less air traffic in the sky above Siraha. Our family had a load-shedding assisted “moonlight” dinner ritual every night when we would dine under the moon. We would come outside to our porch nearby the forsaken road and spend time talking about all the day’s events as we prepared to eat. I would spend a good part of the load-shedding hours, relaxing and sleeping sky-faced on the long bench with hands as a pillow trying to see any movements in the

sky. Occasionally, I would encounter blipping red dots making a line as it moved slowly. Amid rolling SLC, a ‘precursor’ to Kathmandu for us and for which my friends and I were pre-paring religiously, the hot Siraha and the inconsiderate electricity, a very excited yet an unguided mind was about to be baked in the oven of Kathmandu a few months later.

Travel is fun. It is also a privilege. In Nepal, travelling to Europe or North America is seen as a rep-resentation of a class symbol or social status. Travel to Gulf coun-tries is not considered exactly a priv-ilege as much as it is seen as a com-pulsion. However, the stories related

to travels are cherished by people in either class. I remember how my Uncle, who worked in Saudi Arabia, would delightedly talk about his air-plane ride, the polite and well-dressed air hostesses and the variety of food. My siblings, cousins and I would fondly circle him to listen from him as if he was a master about to make a surprising move in the circus. He would bring stories from far-off lands and would talk about them and we would be enchanted by the stories. At one time, I was so enchanted by travel stories that I even thought of drop-ping out from school and “ride a plane” to any of the gulf countries—just like hundreds of people in my neighborhood, who were leaving us at the unprecedented rate. Going abroad marked the transition from the young self to adulthood. Many of my school friends dropped out of schools to go abroad. When they would come, they would come all grown-up with all adult stories.

My uncle eventually got older, and later no company accepted him. That hit his family, which largely survived

on his remittances. In places like Siraha, where businesses run luke-warm, and where the trade of deficit is extremely lopsided to Siraha as the neighbouring Indian city of Jayanagar pulls all the Nepali cus-tomers, opening businesses and sur-viving on it is very tough. My Uncle, with three daughters and a son, had the same problem. As inflation shot up, and the business remained evenly on y-axis over time, the effect of worsening economy was reflected in my younger cousin sister changing multiple schools. My Aunt would talk about the difficulty in arranging wealth for the dowry. The fast aging, perpetuated by taxing working condi-

tions itself, posed the biggest hurdle to working longer and contributing financially to the family. My next-door neighbour is a relative, who struggled for three years after his first company “collapsed” and he had to forcibly return to Nepal to find another job. He was aging fast—40—when the first company he applied to ignored him; soon there were a series of rejections waiting for him. He eventually got a low-paying job as a security guard in Malaysia and has been able to run his family by that.

While luck and hard work pushed me to a pathway from where I could make sense of where my society is and was, I still feel that I still have a lot to learn about myself and my soci-ety. As how from this 30,000 m altitude, now above Chandigarh in the dawn, everything looks calm, but is still hazi-ly unclear; I feel a similar metaphor for Nepal. I feel a looming sense of threat under this calm socio-economy hedged at the mercy of other countries, where there is nothing inherently to call ours. It appears calm but it is clearly unsta-ble, gearing to an economic time-bomb situation. My biggest attempt—and which may turn futile—is to try to know my community in a more nuanced way this summer.

As I will sit down to talk to my Uncle and my cousin sisters, and take that de-facto role of explaining about my adventures of studying in America, I will try to strike a more mature conversation with my Uncle and Aunt, my mother and father, and know about their pains and misery, parts they have never shared with us.

Our country is trotting at the mac-ro-level. In micro-level, it is worse for the majority, who are unemployed and struggling. The near knee-jerk change in subsistence system from agriculture and small-scale mercan-tilism to a massive mimicry of wage-seeking jobs in other countries have not only disrupted family and social cohesion but also robbed Nepal of any functional safety-nets. It has suffered the longest and darkest nights of transitions. As I see an orange line emerging on the horizon on one side and the moon sinking on the other, I wish Nepal too would break out from the darkest clutches of the night.

Gupta is an undergrad student in the United States

AIR DIARY

Our family had a load-shedding assisted ‘moonlight’ dinner ritual every night when we would dine under the moon. We would come outside to

our porch nearby the forsaken road and spend some time

ChangesPRATIBHA GAUTAM

The wind blew the hair from my face and plucked leaves from trees to take them past the valley, to make them free.

The air had a chill to it making the hair on my arm rise, but whatever the chill was

it couldn’t touch me deep inside.

The earth spoke of changes of new lives to come,she whispered soothing lullabies to bring them along.

I could feel the change within me stirring in my vein; and as much as it scared me, I changed with the rain.

Gautam is a recent +2 graduate from St Xavier’s College, Maitighar

I am tiredNISHANT DHUNGANA Staying well-dressed,acting sophisticated, Only speaking what they taught meIs a very hard job to do.I am tired of acting well in front of others.I just want to be meI want to wear what suits meI want to act funnyI want to pursue my dreams

Not those of others.Why I am forced to impress others?Why does the society need only the disciplined?Answer me my God, answer me.Al l I want is to be me,Not just in my own room butthe same everywhere I go.But can I?O god! Answer me.I am so tired of faking,I am so tired of acting,Oh God, I am so tired.

Dhungana is a class 11 student in Merryland College, Biratnagar

I love books that deal with the nuances

of poverty, justice, and human

emotions. I also love to read poetry

D E E P A K R A J S A P K O T A

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thekathmandu postvariety 08Wednesday, May 25, 2016

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YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOTDILBERT

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

GARFIELD

GRAFFITI WORD GAME

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A man walks into a bar and sits down. He asks the bartender, “Can I have a cigarette?” The bartender replies, “Sure, the cigarette machine is over there.” So he walks over to the machine and as he is about to order a cigarette, the machine suddenly says, “Oi, you bloody idiot.” The man says with surprise in his voice, “That’s not very nice.” He returns to his bar stool without a cigarette and asks the bartender for some peanuts. The bartend-er passes the man a bowl of peanuts and the man hears one of the peanuts speak, “Ooh, I like your hair.” The man says to the bartender, “Hey, what’s going on here? Your cigarette machine is insulting me and this peanut is coming on to me. Why’s this?” The bartender replies, “Oh, that’s because the machine is out of order and the peanuts are complementary.”

KANTIPURTV

LAUGH OUT LOUD

KANTIPUR FM

ARIES (March 21-April 19)***So what if things aren’t completely wonderful in your life right now? Just keep your hopes high, and your fingers crossed. Renewal is in the air right now, and while it still remains to be seen whether or not the renewal will bring all the changes you want.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)****An ex is back on the scene, and it looks like they might even be on the market! Before you even contemplate finding out if they are free next week, remember why things are over between you two. Then, be grateful that they are over!

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)****If you have the time, you should offer up your services to a friend in need. Together you can get all of their work done in half the time, and you’ll have fun doing it together! When bonding oppor-tunities like this come along, you have to take advantage of them.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)**Do not get involved with stuff that you are unsure of. Unless you can commit yourself to following through with something all the way, don’t commit yourself at all. Too many people are counting on you.

LEO (July 23-August 22) ****Spend some time nurturing a friendship today—after all, your friends are the family that you choose for yourself, and they deserve to be made a priority in your life every once in a while.

VIRGO (August 23-September 22)****Focusing on achieving your goals is an important part of living a successful life, but are your current goals even attainable? Reassess your plans for the future and eliminate any unrealistic goals that you have set up for yourself.

LIBRA (September 23-October 22)**If you are in the middle of some complicated business, you can breathe a sigh of relief today—things are going to move to the next stage with little if any conflict. That means that it’s time for you to start preparing for the next level!

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)**The best way to work your way through any problem is to talk it out. Verbal communication has long been one of your strengths, and today it will help you get things out of your head and into the air so you can get a god look at them.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)****Your imagination knows no bounds right now, so it’s a very good day to come up a plan for winning over your crush—or solidifying things with your sweetie. Give it some thought, and you’ll be able to craft an unforgettably experience for the two of you to share.

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)***The people you will be dealing with today are going to be very unpredictable, so you need to be prepared for anything. The good news is that the spontaneous energy they bring into your life will keep you interested—and keep you smiling!

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)***People will be coming to you and asking for your advice today, which is flattering—except when all you really want is to be left alone. Then, it could become quite annoying. So if you want some privacy, today, then you’re going to have to ask for it.

PISCES (February 19-March 20)**Are you feeling unsure about how you’re going to fare in an upcoming social situation? Don’t worry—you will have friends and familiar faces there to help you get through any tricky spots!

TODAY’SHOROSCOPE

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Revolution Cafe, AmritMarg, Thamel, away from busy crowed street, offers great music, fast wi-fi and wide menu with rea-sonable prices. Operation hours: 7 am to 10 pm, contact: 4433630

Enjoy Gourmet Saturday Brunch with your family and friends at the Sunrise Restaurant , Hotel Yak & Yeti from 12-7 pm every Saturday. Contact: 4248999

Escape, relax and get in shape @ Hyatt Regency. Embark on a personal well-being at Club Oasis. Remember us for Tennis, sauna, Jacuzzi, swimming, fitness centre and Beauty Salon. Contact: 4491234

Learn cardio, gym, aerobics, zumba, spa, boxing, kick-boxing, b-boying, bollywood dance at Oyster Spa and Fitness Club, Sinamangal. Time: Sunday to Friday from 5 am to 8 pm. Contact: 4110554

Jasmine Fitness Club and Spa, Fully equipped gym and spa; Zumba, aerobics and cardio classes; therapeutic massage; beauty parlour and men’s salon. Tripureshwor; Contact: 4117120

Ayurveda Health Home has been providing ayurvedic treatments/ massages, sirodhara & counseling for stress, detox & rehabilitation. Dhapasi, Kathmandu: 01-4358761, Lakeside Pokhara 061-463205

Yoga detox and Ayurveda treatments and retreats every day at Himalayan Peace & Wellness Centre, Park Village Hotel. Get 10% discount on all Ayurvedic treatments. Contact: 980106661

Krishnarpan—a specialty Nepali Restaurant at Dwarika’s, 6 courses to 22 courses Nepali meal served. Opening Time: 6 pm-11 pm. Prior reservations required, contact: 4479448

The Italian restaurant serves authentic Italian cuisines in an elegant ambience for both lunch and dinner. Timings: Lunch: 1230-1445 hrs, Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs, Contact: 427399, at Soaltee Crowne Plaza

Every Friday evening enjoy Starry Night BBQ from 7 pm onwards at Shambala Garden Café at Hotel Shangri La with live musical performance by Ciney Gurung. Contact: 4412999

Enjoy Bubbly Brunch every Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm at Shambala Gardena and Club Sundhara. Contact: 4412999

Savour the cardamom and saffron spice, slow-cooked kebabs and kormas at Indian restaurant serving Awadhi cuisine. contact: 427399, at Soaltee Crowne Plaza

China Garden offers delectable dishes from across Asia, including Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese. Timings: Lunch: 1230-1445 hrs, Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs, contact: 427399 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza

Garden Terrace offers an authentic world cuisine, providing diners with the unique experience of observing their selected dish-es being prepared by chefs. Contact: 427399 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza

Kaiser Cafe Restaurant & Bar at The Garden of Dreams, opening time: 9 am till 9 pm, offers an international cafe menu serv-ing breakfast, lunch, dinner, specialty tea’s, coffees and pastries, contact: 4425341

Embers Bar, Pulchowk, in all its sophistica-tion and glory is happy to announce Happy Hours every 6-7pm. It will be hosting a Barbeque night every Friday from 6:30-9:30pm

Mako’s offers traditional Japanese food served. Don’t miss out on Mako’s special Tempuras, and green tea ice cream, Time: 11: 30-14:30 & 19:00-22:00, contact: 4479448

Manny’s Eatery and bar introduces a spe-cial lunch package that is affordable, tasty, nutritious and quick enough to fit your lunch break, Jawalakhel, Shaligram complex, 5536919

The Toran, an ideal location for all day loung-ing and informal dining offers multi-cuisines. Contact: Dwarika’s Hotel, 4479488

Weekends brunch @ Hyatt Regency—treat yourself with a lavish buffet lunch, splash by the swimming pool or laze around outdoor, Jacuzzi, all for just Rs 2300 plus taxes per person. Contact: 4491234

Special Saturday Brunch at The Café & Garden, The Everest Hotel 1200-1600 hrs; Ph 4780100

We serve nothing but the finest Arabica coffees at great value prices at Barista Lavazza Coffee Restaurant, Lazimpat, Contact: 4005123/4005124

Bourbon Room, Lal Durbar Marg is open for lunch from 12 noon. Enjoy affordable and deli-cious meals starting from Rs 99! We are cur-rently offering Indian & chinese combos along with momos. Call: 4441703

Enjoy a Barbecue Buffet at the Radisson Hotel, wide selection of mixed fresh grills and vegetables together with a choice of salads and a delicious dessert buffet at a rate of Rs. 1,350 plus taxes per person. Contact: 4411818

Latin—Gypsy Jazz at The Corner Bar, Radisson Hotel, Kathmandu with Hari Maharjan feat Monsif Mzibiri, 7 pm onwards, Wednesdays & Fridays. Contact: 4411818

Sandwich and Crepes: Taste the sandwich-es and crepes at The Lounge from 11 am to 6 pm everyday. For further details call Hyatt Regency at 4491234.

Rosemary Kitchen and Coffee shop, Thamel, opening hours: 7:00 am to 10:00 pm offers an International cuisine in reason-able prices. Contact 01-4267554

Out-of-Africa Lunch amid rural splendor: Sat & Sun from 1130 to 1630 hours at The Watering Hole, Indrawati River Valley. For prior reservation contact: indrawatire-sort@gmail.com

Tibetan Gyakok for Lunch & Dinner every day at The Mandarin, The Everest Hotel ph: 4780100 ext: 7811

Make your weekend more exciting with family and friends with sumptuous Satey, Dimsums, Mangolian Barbecue and Pasta at The Cafe from 12:30 noon to 4:00 pm. Call: Hyatt Regency, at 4491234

The most delightfully awesome chicken momos & yummy rich chocolate cake on this part of the planet @ Just Baked Bakery & Cafe, Battisputali, offering much more spe-cialties at affordable price.

Enjoy snacks and drinks from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm every day and nightly live music from “The Corner Band” except Tuesday and Saturday from 7 pm to 11:00 pm at Corner Bar, Radisson Hotel. Contact: 4411818

Every Friday BBQ from 7:00 pm at Fusion Bar & Pool side at Dwarika’s Hotel with live band “Dinesh Rai and Sound of Mind”. Price Rs 1600/ includes BBQ dinner and a can of beer or a soft drink. Contact: 4479448

Hotel Narayani Complex, Pulchowk, Lalitpur presents Shabnam & Cannabiz Band every Wednesday and Rashmi & Kitcha Band every Friday, 7:30 PM onwards @ Absolute bar P Ltd; Contact: 5521408

Starry Night BBQ—every Friday Evening from 7:00 pm at Shambala Garden Café, Hotel, Shangri~La only @ Rs 1799 net per person and live performance by Ciney Gurung. Contact: 4412999

Enjoy live DJ nights, on every Sunday chill out/ ambient, Wednesday tech/ funk house & Friday psy/ proggy/ full on from 6:00 pm to 10 pm at garden and 7:00 pm onwards at club at Funky Buddha Resturant & Bar, contact: 4700091

Set within the historic Garden of Dreams, the Kaiser Cafe Restaurant and Bar, Thamel, offers a continental menu and serves as an atmospheric venue for anything from a quiet coffee or intimate meal. Contact: 442534

Trisara offers food and drinks along with good music and great times. Sunday- Live Music by Barbeque Night, Monday, Wednesday-by Positive vibes, Tuesday, Saturday-By Jyovan Bhuju, Friday-Live Music by Dexterous

Experience The Last Resort, the perfect place for family fun adventure and relaxation. Special packages for residents. Contact: 4700525/ 4701247 or mail us at info@thelastresort.com.np

Asia World Travel Pvt Ltd presents fascinat-ing luxury escapades to amazing destinations: Prague, Ladakh, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Mount Kailash and Panchpokhari in North East Nepal. Contact: 6222604

Jungle Safari Lodge, Sauraha Chitwan offers 2 Nights 3 Days package only for Rs 6500 per person. Suman 9851008399

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06:40 Sky Shop07:00 Kantipur Samachar08:00 Kantipur News08:30 Rise N Shine09:00 Headline News09:05 Marga Darshan10:00 Kantipur Samachar10:30 Market Updates11:00 Headline News11:05 Music Summit11:30 Uddhyam12:00 Kantipur Samachar

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Samachar09:00 Harke Haldar09:30 Tough Talk10:30 Kantipur News11:00 Kantipur Samachar11:30 Market Updates12:00 Call Kantipur01:00 Kantipur News01:30 Harke Haldar02:00 Kantipur Samachar02:30 Cinema Fest03:00 Kantipur Samachar03:30 Tough Talk04:30 Harke Haldar

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016PG 09 kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Fifa fires Deputy Secy Gen KattnerScandal-plagued Fifa has fired its deputy secretary general, Markus Kattner, with immediate effect, football governing body said in a statement on Monday. The statement said that an internal investigation “uncovered breaches of his fiduciary responsibilities in connection with his employment contact.”

Thakur named in India Test squadFast bowler Shardul Thakur was the surprise selection in India’s 17-man squad for their Test series against West Indies, the Board of Cricket Control in India announced on its website on Monday. The 24-year old earned his first call-up after playing a key role in Mumbai’s 41st Ranji Trophy victory in February, picking up 41 wickets in his 11 matches.

Napoli sign Tonelli from EmpoliNapoli have signed defender Lorenzo Tonelli from Empoli, the Italian Serie A club said on their website on Monday. The Empoli youth product, who made his first team debut in 2010 when they were in the second tier, helped the club to a 10th place finish in the top flight this season.

SPORTS DIGESTNiraula, Joshi crowned champsILAM: Candidate Master (CM) Bhupendra Niraula and Sindira Joshi claimed their maiden National Chess Championship titles on Tuesday. Niraula, who was already assured of the title on Monday, fin-ished top with seven points despite losing his last match against Bilam Lal Shrestha. Joshi defeated Shanta Thapa and former national champion Monalisha Khamboo in tiebreaker after all three were tied on seven points each in the women’s section. The top five men qualified for the 42nd Chess Olympiad to be held in Ajerbaijan this year. (PR)

Rawal gets Rio wild card entryKATHMANDU: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved a wild card entry to Nepal’s taek-wondo player Nisha Rawal for the upcoming summer Olympics to be held in Rio, Brazil on August 5-21. Nepal Olympic Committee had asked for a wild card for Rawal, who is currently in the Olympic scholar-ship. NOC has also applied for wild card entries in judo, archery, boxing, badminton and shooting. Sangina Vaidya (2004) and Deepak Bista (2008) are the only two Nepali athletes to have earned Olympics qualifi-cation on their own. (PR)

Oasis edge Bouddha LALITPUR: Oasis Club and Swoyabmbhu Club recorded wins in the Martyrs Memorial ‘C’ Division League on Tuesday. Oasis earned a 2-1 win over Bouddha Youth Club. Bouddha took a lead through Manoj Rai before an own goal from Pujan Gurung levelled scores. Subash Rai struck the winner for Oasis. Satdobato saw off Nawa Jyoti Yuva Praiwar 3-1 with goals from Suman Dangol, Raju Mandal and Jamir Maskey. Krishna Malla scored for the losers. (PR)

C M Y K

Gothe, Shrestha win singles titles

POST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Shiva Sundar Gothe of Nepal APF Club and Nabita Shrestha of Nepal Police Club (NPC) claimed singles titles of the Venus Cup National Open Table Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

In the men’s final, Gothe defeated Deep Saun of NPC 14-12, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7. Earlier in the semi-finals, Gothe saw off Purushottam Bajracharya and Saun beat Chandan Shahi of APF.

Shrestha had an easy ride cruising past clubmate Elina Maharjan 12-10, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8. In the semi-finals, Shrestha beat Erika Maharjan and Elina edged Rabina Maharjan. The winners and runners-up in both the categories got Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000 respec-

tively. Third place finishers earned Rs 5,000 each.

The cash prizes were only given to the men’s and wom-en’s singles winners. Syantu Shrestha of Prime won the junior boys’ singles, defeating Narayan Ghimire of Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) 11-4, 11-5, 11-6. Subodh Limbu of Sunsari and Bipin Maharjan of Prime finished joint third.

Lasata Maharjan of Adarsha Vidya Mandir (AVM) had won the junior girls’ sin-gles on Monday. Ritij Joshi of AVM won the cadet boys’ sin-gles struggling past school-mate Sanyog Kapali 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5. Namgyal Lama of Swarnim and Diken Maharjan of AVM were the losing semi-finalists. Dikshya Dahal of Sunsari had won the cadet girls’ singles on Monday.

Anfa to reinstate ‘banned’ officialsPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

The All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) is set to reinstate its four “suspend-ed” officials, including three vice-presidents, on June 1.

Anfa had suspended vice-president trio Karma Tshering Sherpa, Bijay Narayan Manandhar and Kishor Rai along with cen-tral committee member Pankaj Nembang for not attending the executive meeting four consecutive times.

The suspended officials, who had been campaigning against Anfa and its leader-ship, had filed a court case against the decision with the case still pending.

After disgraced Anfa

President Ganesh Thapa was banned from international football on November 16 for 10 years on bribery and corruption charges, Fifa on May 11 had directed the Nepali football governing body to reinstate the officials by May 23.

Anfa had asked Fifa to extend the deadline as its statute seeks a 14-day prior notice to all the members to hold an executive committee meeting. “Our acting presi-dent (Narendra Shrestha) had asked the Fifa to extend the deadline and Fifa had told us to work on it. We told Fifa that their rein-statement will take place on June 1 from the executive meeting and it said it has no problem,” said Anfa Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) Indra Man Tuladhar.The then-president Thapa

had suspended the four offi-cials on September 28 appointing Bir Bahadur

Khadka, Santosh Baniya and Mani Kunwar as vice-presi-dents along with Arun Man Joshi as member.

Fifa had also directed Anfa to hold fresh elections for a new president as soon as possible. After the suspen-sion of Thapa, Anfa has not been able to fill the void with Shrestha serving as an act-ing president.

The Anfa CEO Tuladhar said Fifa’s second directive will be implemented follow-ing the reinstatement of the officials. “We will first hold the executive committee meeting on June 1 and rein-state the officials. The execu-tive committee meeting then will set the date for the general assembly which will elect a new president,” added Tuladhar.

Spotlight back on pitch

REUTERSLONDON, MAY 24

Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of foot-ball that promises to elevate the game above the corrup-tion scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.

All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France on June 10--210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people. It should have been a proud moment for former Uefa president Michel Platini. The France great, who inspired his country’s 1984 title on home soil, achieved his wish of expanding the tournament to a record 24 nations. But a four-year ban, handed down after becoming

engulfed by the Fifa corrup-tion scandal that has rocked the sport, means he will be a notable absentee.

Against such a backdrop it can only be hoped that the tournament, the first since the sleaze hit the fan last sum-mer and the last with a single host before it goes conti-nent-wide in 2020, can deliver some memorable moments on the pitch. It cer-tainly has the poten-tial to do so with 51 matches in 31 days.

Unfamiliar quali-fiers will be hoping to show they belong and vindi-cate Platini’s brainchild, criti-cised by some as substituting quality for quantity. The establishment should prove again, however, that the cream inevitably rises to the top and that Greece’s surprise tri-umph in 2004 was an anomaly. Spain retained the title four years ago in Poland and

Ukraine, a tournament com-prising only 16 nations, and will be among the favourites to make it a hat-trick, although three-times champions Germany, 2012 Italy, France and a resurgent England will all fancy their chances.

Northern Ireland, Albania, Iceland, Slovakia and Wales

are all appearing for the first time in the tournament which is second only to the World Cup in terms of prestige and not too far behind in quality. For Spain’s old guard, players

such as Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos, Euro 2016 could be their last hurrah after the disappointment of the Brazil World Cup two years ago, and with old sage Vicente del Bosque at the helm, they will take some stopping.

France, winners in 1984 and 2000, will carry the hopes of a

nation still coming to terms with last year’s militant attacks. Manager Didier Deschamps has some enviable quality at his disposal in Paul Pogba and Kingsley Coman and Antoine Griezmann. World champions Germany will be targeting a first Euro title in 20 years while England seek their first international success since 1966 World Cup.

One consequence of the fat-ter format means only eight teams will be eliminated from the six initial groups of four, with even third place likely to seal a last-16 spot.

Spain’s group looks the toughest with the Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia, while France should comfort-ably top a section including Albania, Romania and Switzerland. Italy will also have to be on their guard against Belgium squad, Ireland and Sweden, who in Zlatan Ibrahimovic have one of the tournament’s A-listers.

n Belgium players during a training session in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday. REUTERS

n Shiva Sunder Gothe and Nabita Shrestha with trophies.

n Indraman Tuladhar

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Murray, Nadal march on

ASSOCIATED PRESSPARIS, MAY 24

Andy Murray rallied to win from two sets down for the ninth time, advancing to the second round of the French Open by beating qualifier Radek Stepanek 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday.

While Murray needed two days to progress, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal had a much easier time against big-serving Sam Groth, losing only three games in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win. In the women’s draw, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber lost in the first round.

Hampered by a left shoul-der injury, the third-seeded Kerber was beaten by 58th-ranked Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champi-on, was also eliminated, losing to Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-4.

Stepanek, the oldest man in the field at 37, hit 57 winners in his suspenseful encounter on Court Philippe Chatrier. Murray was leading 4-2 in the fourth set when play was sus-pended Monday because of darkness. He was twice two points from losing while serving and trailing 5-4 in the fifth. But he held there, then broke Stepanek and served it out after wasting his first match point with a double-fault. “It’s unbelievable what he is doing,” Murray said. “At 37 years old, coming out and fighting like that. I don’t expect to be doing that myself at that age.”

Murray had rallied from two sets down twice before at Roland Garros, against Richard Gasquet in the first round six years ago and then to beat Viktor Troicki in the fourth round in 2011. With Aljaz Bedene, Kyle Edmund and Murray through, there are three British male players in the second round at Roland Garros for first time since 1975.

Also advancing in the men’s draw were seventh-seed-ed Tomas Berdych, number 13 Dominic Thiem, No. 15

John Isner and number 20 Bernard Tomic.

Kerber received treatment on her shoulder during a changeover as she trailed 3-0 in the deciding set. The left-handed Kerber then brief-ly left the court and returned to win her service game but could not break back and lost the match. Kerber arrived in Paris on the back of early losses in both Madrid and Rome. Last week, she pulled out of the Nuremberg tourna-ment because of her shoulder injury. “It’s getting worse and

worse, but I hope it’s not too bad,” Kerber said.

It was the second time in three years that the Australian Open women’s champion lost in the first round at Roland Garros - the same thing hap-pened to Li Na in 2014. Chris O’Neil (1978), Barbara Jordan (1979) and Lindsey Davenport (2000) are the other reigning Australian Open champions who lost in the opening round on the Parisian clay.

Schiavone was surprised to receive a standing ovation after her loss and blamed

French Open organizers for announcing she competed at Roland Garros for the last time of her career. “So Roland Garros announced my retire-ment, but I didn’t,” Schiavone said. “So you can stand up all of you and go back to work in the office because I didn’t say that. I will announce when I will want to stop.”

The weather should remain dry, good news for tourna-ment organizers who are fac-ing a backlog of matches because of rain during the first two days.

United in talks with Mourinho

BBCLONDON, MAY 24

Jose Mourinho’s represent-atives were meeting Manchester United officials on Tuesday as the Portuguese moves closer to becoming the club’s next manager.

Mourinho’s agent, Jorge Mendes, flew into London on Tuesday morning and will lead the discussions. A deal is unlikely to be announced on Tuesday but confir mation that Mourinho will take over is expected this week. Louis van Gaal, 64, was sacked as United boss on Monday, two days after winning the FA Cup.

The Dutchman could only steer United to fifth in the Premier League this season and failed to get them past the Champions League group stages. Former Netherlands boss Van Gaal also came under fire for his lack of attacking play, with United only scor-ing 49 goals in the top flight this season.

Three key members of Van Gaal’s coaching team have also departed but the future of assistant boss Ryan Giggs remains unclear. The United legend has been offered a role by the club, who are keen for him to extend his 29-year association with the Old Trafford club. However, Giggs, 42, is known to be unhappy at the way he and Van Gaal have been treated in recent weeks.

The Welshman also has reservations about taking a reduced role after twice now being passed over for the manager’s job. He took over in a short-term capaci-ty following the sacking of David Moyes in 2014 only for Van Gaal to be given the full-time job. Giggs felt his time at United had given him the perfect grounding to eventually replace the Dutchman but the club

have opted to go for Mourinho.

Former United goalkeep-er Peter Schmeichel says a lot of people would like Giggs to become manager one day but said he should leave Old Trafford now. “For him to become the manager, it would be so good for him to get some-where else,” the Dane told BBC Radio 5 live. “Get a job where he has to stand on his own two feet, learn the trade and then come back.”

Mourinho, who has been available since Chelsea sacked him in December, is one of the game’s most suc-cessful coaches. He won three league titles in two spells at Stamford Bridge, and guided Porto and Inter to Champions League wins in 2004 and 2010 respective-ly. The Portuguese also led Real Madrid to the La Liga title in 2012, and his appointment would see a resumption of his rivalry with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola, who takes over at Man City this summer.

n Jose Mourinho

n Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns to Australia’s Sam Groth during their French Open first round match in Paris on Tuesday. AP

Selected resultsMen’s SinglesJohn Isner (US) bt John Millman (AUS) 6-7(4), 7-6(12), 7-6(7), 7-5; Andy Murray (GB) bt Radek Stepanek (CZE) 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5; Rafa Nadal (ESP) bt Samuel Groth (AUS) 6-1, 6-1, 6-1; Lucas Pouille (FRA) beat Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4); Borna Coric (CRO) bt Taylor Fritz (US) 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Bernard Tomic (AUS) bt Brian Baker (US) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Tomas Berdych (Cz) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1

nnnWomen’s SinglesCamila Giorgi (ITA) bt Alize Lim (FRA) 6-3, 6-2; Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Varvara Lepchenko (US) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Tatjana Maria (GER) bt Jelena Jankovic (SER) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Samantha Stosur (AUS) bt Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) bt Katerina Siniakova (CZE) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Kiki Bertens (NED) beat Angelique Kerber (GER) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) bt Laura Siegemund (GER) 6-2, 6-2

Switzerland shuts bank in Malaysia scandal Page III Swiss financial regulators approved on Tuesday the dissolution of Lugano-based BSI Bank over its links to a corrup-tion scandal engulfing Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak.

INS IDEShort-handed factories running below capacityFactories based in the Butwal Industrial Zone have been hamstrung by labour shortages forcing them to operate at less than their potential capacity. According to Ganesh Kumar Adhikari, operator of Everest Plastic Factory, they have not been able to hire qualified professionals despite issuing vacancy notices for skilled workers for more than a year. “We are utilizing the available human resourc-es,” said Adhikari. “Our production has fallen because of a labour scarci-ty.” The factory employs around 75 workers and two to three employees quit every month. The high turnover rate has made it difficult to arrange shifts and continue production, he said. Pg: II

More challenges than cheer for Apple chief on Asia tourWith slowing iPhone sales in China, Apple Inc is having to take India more seriously, but investors hoping for a stock price fillip from CEO Tim Cook’s week-long Asia trip instead were given a taste of the daunting challenges that lie ahead. The second leg of Cook’s trip, to India, the world’s third-largest smartphone market, comes at a crucial time as Apple bat-tles slowing growth in China, its sec-ond-biggest market. But the challeng-es suggest it will be years before India is anything close to a major earnings pillar for the US tech giant. “With China saturating, everybody has no choice but to look at India, and Apple’s rivals have been strengthen-ing there in the last two years. Apple is playing catch-up,” said Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics. Pg: III

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016 (12-02-2073) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

moneymoneyfinance&economyfinance&economy

kathmanduposttheCROSS CURRENCY

US Dollar 108.56

Euro 121.45

Pound Sterling 158.26

Japanese Yen 9.90

Chinese Yuan 16.56

Qatari Riyal 29.81

Australian Dollar 77.70

Malaysian Ringit 26.33

Saudi Arab Riyal 28.95HOW TO READ THE TABLEThe chart shows the rates of nine world currencies. Move across the table to find rates of exchange between any two currencies. One unit of the currency mentioned vertically is worth that amount in the currency mentioned horizontally.

USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR

NR 108.5600 121.4500 9.9000 158.2600 209.5100 82.4300 77.7000 1.6015

INR 67.6703 75.596 0.6167 98.845 68.241 51.4672 48.655 0.6244

GBP 0.6849 0.7648 0.0062 0.6896 0.5255 0.4975 0.0101 0.0063

JPY 109.68 122.54 157.2500 111.17 83.98 79.5100 1.6215 0.1010

EUR 0.8953 0.0080 1.2646 0.8989 0.6811 0.6429 75.6170 0.0082

USD 1.1374 0.0091 1.4385 1.0104 0.6790 0.7219 0.0132 0.0092

F O R E X

Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank

aviation expo

n Visitors look at an Airbus ACJ 350 X aircraft replicas during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday. REUTERS

C M Y K

REUTERSMANILA, MAY 24

More than three months have passed since $81 million was sto-len in a brazen cyber-heist from Bangladesh’s central bank and sent to Manila—yet authorities in the Philippines appear no closer to nabbing those who laundered most of the money through a bank and casinos here.

Nobody has been arrested, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)—the nation’s equivalent of the FBI—has not been allowed to get fully involved in the probe, and a Philippines Senate investi-gation petered out last week.

Several official and private investigators said they had hoped to make headway by following the money trail in the Philippines, but they told Reuters it has gone

cold. They said the perpetrators probably knew the Philippines well and likely chose it because of the weakness of its money laundering laws.

The cyber-heist, one of the big-gest-ever in the world, shouldn’t be seen as just the hacking of a bank, said Augustus “Ace” Esmeralda, a Manila-based pri-vate investigator. “It’s more of somebody stealing the money employing a hacker, and someone who knows banks, the anti-mon-ey laundering system, the casinos ... It’s the modern-day Ocean’s 11,” he said, referring to the Hollywood movie about a crime syndicate robbing Las Vegas casi-nos. “I call it Manila 12,” added Esmeralda, who says he is follow-ing the case on behalf of two international bank clients.

One of the key reasons is that

casinos are not covered under the Philippines’ anti-money launder-ing law, which means they are not obliged to report suspicious transactions or the players involved. The Philippines Congress decided in 2013 to keep casinos off the list of institutions covered under the law to allow the country’s gaming industry to expand. Also hindering investiga-tors are antiquated bank secrecy laws that are among the strictest in the world. They stipulate that almost all deposits and foreign currency details are confidential.

The unidentified hackers infil-trated the computers at Bangladesh Bank in early February and tried to make 35 transfers of money, worth a total $951 million, from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. All but one of the attempt-

ed transfers involved were to the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in the Philippines. Most were blocked, but $81 million went to accounts at a single branch in Manila. The Senate inquiry heard from those who handled the money that most of it then went to casinos and casi-no agents in the Philippines, including jun-ket operators, through a remit-tance agency.

Vast sums are gambled in Manila’s high-end casinos each day. At the Solaire Resort and Casino, a Reuters team saw pink chips for one million Hong Kong dollars (about $130,000) at the

baccarat tables of the VIP rooms. Nearly half the high-end gam-

blers there are ethnic Chinese, from mainland China or other parts of the region. Solaire, oper-ated by Bloomberry Resorts

Corp, has said about $29 million of the funds

from the heist came to the casino and most was trans-ferred to the accounts of two junket operators. “You go into a

casino with one million bucks,”

said Senator Serge Osmena, a member of

the committee investigat-ing the case. “You bet 10,000,

probably lose it, and you hand over 990,000 to your friend and he goes out and cashes it.” The

money then is untraceable, he said.

Immediately after the heist it became clear that the money came to the Philippines. An NBI agent told Reuters that a team was on standby to make an arrest during Easter week at the end of March but was ordered to stand down with no reason given. The agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not know the arrest target’s name.

The investigations are being handled by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), a government agency with modest resources, while the NBI, which has 5,000 agents on its rolls, is only being used in a support role. “We have minimal participation in the investigation,” said NBI Director Virgilio Mendez when asked about the heist. He said he

could not comment further.AMLC chief Julia Bacay-Abad

said earlier this year the agency has only nine financial analysts to review millions of large trans-actions each month. She told Reuters last week that resources were not hindering the probe, though she declined to disclose how many investigators the AMLC has.

NBI agent said he was frustrat-ed watching the case from the sidelines and seeing the Philippines compared with other havens of money laundering.

The AMLC has filed criminal complaints against the manager of the RCBC branch that received the funds, the owners of relevant bank accounts at the branch and the owners of the remittance agency that it says was a “clean-ing house” for the money.

Bangladesh Bank heist trail goes cold in Manila as probes falter$ 8 1- M I L L I O N CY B E R H E I ST

Limit on BFI chair term removedBIBEK SUBEDIKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Influential lawmakers, who also chair bank boards, have become successful in removing the term limit for bank chair-men in the bill on Banks and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia), ensuring their perpetual hold over banks and financial institutions (BFIs).

A sub-committee of the Parliamentary Finance Committee (PFC) formed under the leadership of Lawmaker Deepak Prasad Kuikel for the final amendment of draft Act lifted the term-limit for BFI chairmen.

Lawmaker Ichha Raj Tamang, who is the chairman of Civil Bank, is a mem-ber of the sub-committee. Lawmaker Umesh Shrestha chairs Prime Commercial Bank’s board.

The original draft Act had capped the number of terms for BFI chairmen and CEOs. But in the latest draft, only the CEO’s tenure has been fixed—for two terms.

The draft, which was tabled at the Parliament a few months ago, was sent to the committee for final amendment after preliminary discussion.

Prakash Jwala, chairman of the com-mittee, said the committee will pass the final draft on Wednesday and forward it to the Work Management Committee of the Parliamentary Secretariat.

Experts said the latest draft Bafia, although “progressive”, will be a set-

back when it comes to Nepal Rastra Bank’s (NRB) initiative launched some six years ago to ensure good corporate governance in BFIs.

An NRB directive has already adopt-ed the provision on term limit for chair-men and CEOs and the regulator has been seeking to insert the provision in the Act to establish a norm.

“Now, it will be challenging for the NRB to curb anomalies in the financial industry,” said an NRB official. “NRB is of the view a person holding the posi-tion of chairman or CEO for a longer period could affect governance.”

The bill, however, has put in place more stringent provision for funds mis-appropriation.

As per the final draft, those involved in embezzlement could face imprison-ment from 6 to 12 years.

The bill has also provisioned alloca-tion of 0.5 percent of publicly issued shares of BFIs to their employees. As per the existing Act, BFIs can allocate 5 percent of the shares to employees dur-ing initial public offering.

However, the draft scrapped the provi-sion stating such an allocation will reduce the general public’s holding. The members of Finance Committee came to a conclusion that BFI employees too have the right to hold shares of the organisation they work for.

draft bafia

NRB bonds issue from SundayPRITHVI MAN SHRESTHAKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) plans to start issuing the NRB bonds from the next week—a move aimed at addressing the prolonged excess liquidity sit-uation in the banking system.

Excess liquidity occurs when banks hold more lona-ble cash than the market demand. In a such situation, interest rates go down and chances of capital flights are high as people find depositing in banks worthless.

The central bank plans to issue the bonds worth Rs50 billion this fiscal year and the first instalment of the issu-ance has been planned for the next week. “We will start the issuance of the first lot of the bonds next Sunday,” said Min Bahadur Shrestha, chief of NRB’s Public Debt Management Department. “A meeting of the Open Market Operation Committee sched-uled to be held on Wednesday will decide the value of the bonds.”

Bankers have been demand-ing the central bank issue more debt instruments for investment. Currently, the central bank uses instru-ments repo, reverse repo, and deposit collection.

The government’s debt instruments such as treasury bills and development bonds also help in liquidity manage-ment. However, they have not been so effective in addressing the persistent excess liquidity problem.

Currently, the banking sys-

tem is sitting on excess liquid-ity of around Rs30 billion, according to NRB.

“We have realised the bank-ing system always faces excess liquidity in the last quarter of the fiscal year and subsequent first quarter of the following fiscal,” said Shrestha. “It is a systemic problem and the issuance of NRB bonds has been planned to address this problem.”

As the liquidity absorbed through the NRB bond issu-ance will not be sent to the market unlike in the case of other instruments, the central bank believes it will help address the systemic problem. In the case development bonds, the funds also go to the market as the government spends.

As per the working proce-dure on NRB Bonds Issuance,

the maturity period will be either six months or one year. Only commercial banks, development banks and finance companies can partic-ipate in the bidding. Bidder banks and financial institu-tions (BFIs) can quote multi-ple interest rates.

NRB will maintain uniform interest rate for all the BFIs up to the issuance amount, while keeping the quoted interest rate of bid-ders in acceding order.

BFIs cannot count the NRB bonds as the cash reserve ratio, but statutory liquidity ratio and liquidity ratio.

The central bank plans to issue the bonds worth Rs50 billion this fiscal year and the first instalment of the issuance has been planned for the next week

Govt committee to study gas card systemPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, MAY 24

The Supply Ministry has formed a four-member com-mittee to study implementa-tion of card system for the distribution of liquefied petro-leum gas (LPG).

It is the third time the gov-ernment has planed imple-menting the system after its first two attempts ended in fiasco. The committee has been asked to submit its report in two weeks.

Under-secretary Arjun Raj Panta heads the committee. Among the members are Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Director Mukunda Ghimire, LP Gas Industry Association President Shiva Prasad Ghimire and National Consumer Forum President Prem Lal Maharjan.

Last month, a meeting of the Consumer Council at the ministry had decided to enforce the gas card system.

According to the ministry, the card system could control malpractices in LPG distribu-tion and end shortages. The system is also expected to sup-port the government’s scheme

to implement colour-coded gas cylinders. Under this system, household buyers would get red cylinders at a subsidised rate, while industrial users would get blue cylinders sold at full price.

The government had first launched the system in 2012, issuing the first such card to the then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. A total of 632,000 such cards were dis-tributed and Rs6.32 million was collected from the sub-scribers. Former NOC chief Chandika Prasad Bhatta, who had planned to enforce the dual cylinder system from January 29, 2015, was removed from the post two days before

its scheduled launch. The plan has been put on the backburn-er even since his ouster.

Consumer right activists expressed doubts about the success of the gas card sys-tem. “It may not be effectively implemented given poor gov-ernment mechanism to regu-late the market,” said Jyoti Baniya, president of Consumers’ Welfare Protection Forum.

Meanwhile, the Supply Ministry has formed a sepa-rate committee to study the use of ethanol in diesel. “The government, which an aim at reducing petroleum import, plans to enforce the provision as soon as possible if it is found feasible,” said the min-istry’s Spokesperson Ananda Ram Regmi, who is the com-mittee’s coordinator.

Regmi said representatives from Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology, Alternative Energy Promotion Center and Ministry of Science and Technology are among the committee members. The government, in the annual budget three years ago, had announced such a provision.

moneyeconomy IIWednesday, May 25, 2016 | the kathmandu post

Dubai’s $270m canal projectDUBAI: Officials in Dubai have announced a new, $270-million project to build homes and shops along part of the under-construc-tion Dubai canal. The project called Marasi Business Bay will be built by Dubai Holding, a conglomerate con-trolled by the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Dubai Holding said on Tuesday the project will include a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) promenade, five marinas, restaurants and waterfront homes. It says the promenade would be completed by September, while the total project would be built by 2023. Business Bay is a neigh-borhood of high-rise res-idential and commercial towers near downtown Dubai and the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tall-est building. The devel-opment comes as Dubai again has begun a series of high-profile projects after its financial crisis of 2009. (AP)

Emerging market currencies downTOKYO: Emerging Asian currencies, from the Malaysian ringgit to the South Korean won, weak-ened Tuesday as falling oil prices and a drop on regional equity markets dampened demand for riskier units. The oil-linked ringgit slipped to a 10-week low against the US dollar, tumbling 0.8 percent as weakness in crude prices sparked worries about the coun-try’s finances. The won also fell against the US unit, losing 0.7 percent, while Indonesia’s rupiah shed 0.6 percent and the Thai baht was down 0.2 percent. The Taiwanese and Singapore dollars, and the Philippine peso were also lower. Traders moved out of the units as markets mull the chanc-es of a US interest rate hike as early as next month. A rate rise would tend to draw investors to a dollar-denominated assets, lifting the US unit. (AFP)

Ryanair profit growth to slowDUBLIN: Irish no-frills airline Ryanair on Monday forecast rising annual profits on higher traffic and lower fuel prices but at a slower rate than its last finan-cial year. The company said net profit was set to rise by around 13 percent in the 12 months to the end of March 2017, as it predicted that passenger traffic would grow by 9.0 percent. Profit after tax had surged 43 percent to 1.242 billion euros ($1.395 billion) in 2015/16, Ryanair added in an earnings statement. It said average fares would fall by around 7.0 percent in the current financial year, as a result of recent terror attacks in Western Europe and thanks to lower fuel prices. “Ryanair has thrown down the gauntlet to its budget airline rivals promising further cuts in air fares as it bids to maintain its market share,” noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. (AFP)

NEWS DIGEST

Nepal Stock ExchangeSinghadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu

May 24, 2016

1 Ace Development Bank Ltd 389 381 381 49892 Agriculture Development Bank Ltd 695 685 690 76653 Alpine Development Bank Ltd 560 550 551 30344 Api Power Company Ltd 670 651 660 67745 Araniko Development Bank Ltd 290 284 290 42216 Arun Valley Hydropower Development Co. Ltd 335 331 332 133097 Asian Life Insurance Co. Ltd 1500 1470 1480 67378 Barun Hydropower Co. Ltd 405 399 401 2509 Bhargav Bikash Bank Ltd 395 388 395 318010 Biratlaxmi Bikas Bank Ltd 429 415 425 555111 Butwal Power Company Ltd 610 607 610 313112 Century Commercial Bank Ltd 445 421 429 2159413 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 2095 1980 2095 2159014 Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd 1292 1280 1283 1029015 Citizen Bank International Ltd 835 813 830 4636116 Citizen Investment Trust 4400 4300 4400 101217 Cosmos Development Bank Ltd 520 520 520 1618 Country Development Bank Ltd 233 226 232 528619 Deprosc Development Bank Ltd 2999 2870 2981 593020 Dev Bikas Bank Ltd 261 251 258 988121 Everest Bank Ltd 3010 2910 2995 1220222 Everest Bank Ltd Con. Pref. 1581 1550 1550 20623 Everest Insurance Co. Ltd 1475 1400 1444 573924 Excel Development Bank Ltd 640 601 640 412725 Fewa Bikas Bank Ltd 445 431 440 1175226 First Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd 1585 1456 1550 2338227 Gandaki Bikas Bank Ltd 380 368 380 285028 Global IME Bank Ltd 540 515 522 6596529 Goodwill Finance Co. Ltd 285 285 285 50030 Gurans Life Insurance Company Ltd 837 810 816 2528331 Hama Merchant & Finance Ltd 331 326 329 108032 Himalayan Bank Ltd 1512 1483 1512 1213533 Himalayan General Insurance Co. Ltd 1422 1340 1408 3894434 ICFC Finance Ltd 297 289 293 847235 ILFCO Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1500 1441 1471 296536 Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd 841 790 841 96137 Kalika Microcredit Development Bank Ltd 1973 1886 1973 300738 Kanchan Development Bank Ltd 510 510 510 8339 Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd 403 392 392 117040 Karnali Development Bank Ltd 203 188 203 16041 Kasthamandap Development Bank Ltd 305 300 302 752242 Laxmi Bank Ltd 786 773 775 2270043 Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 2790 2669 2790 147744 Laxmi Value Fund-1 11.25 11.03 11.25 1480045 Life Insurance Co. Nepal 3599 3525 3590 2486046 Lumbini Finance Ltd 342 330 342 135347 Lumbini General Insurance Co. Ltd 1030 990 1000 3308748 Mahakali Bikas Bank Ltd 323 293 317 566349 Mahila Sahayatra Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1700 1600 1680 514750 Manaslu Bikas Bank Ltd 404 386 404 28751 Manjushree Financial Institution Ltd 320 309 320 2782452 Mirmire Microfinance Development Bank Ltd 2800 2750 2750 7053 Mission Development Bank Ltd 539 525 539 50954 Miteri Development Bank Ltd 857 811 857 290955 Mithila LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd 2126 2005 2126 34856 Mount Makalu Development Bank Ltd 1283 1283 1283 1057 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 1224 1116 1199 745558 Nabil Balance Fund 1 18.30 18 18.01 30275059 Nabil Bank Ltd 2315 2255 2310 2287860 NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share 1769 1721 1769 636461 NagBeli LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd 4050 3900 3950 55962 Namaste Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 534 495 534 29363 National Hydro Power Company Ltd 190 174 176 8495064 National Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3155 3076 3105 1572965 Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1616 1568 1568 90066 Neco Insurance Co. Ltd 1487 1416 1450 1666567 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 760 741 750 11298268 Nepal Bank Ltd 498 485 489 7790769 Nepal Community Development Bank Ltd 295 295 295 3570 Nepal Doorsanchar Comapany Ltd 660 654 655 457071 Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank Ltd 880 848 848 480072 Nepal Insurance Co. Ltd 1006 970 988 1172773 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 1120 1080 1108 2749674 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Promoter Share 968 930 953 1136875 Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3994 3763 3900 1876476 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 1820 1760 1799 763977 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 2400 2392 2400 70078 NIBL Samriddhi Fund 1 10.70 10.60 10.60 5000079 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 799 782 790 3173580 NIDC Capital Markets Ltd 430 420 420 469981 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 2091 2021 2091 266982 NLG Insurance Company Ltd 1660 1570 1575 692783 NMB Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1638 1575 1638 4084 NMB Bank Ltd 719 700 719 6945885 NMB Sulav Investment Fund-1 12.95 12.26 12.51 4381086 Oriental Hotels Ltd 495 495 495 2287 Pacific Development Bank Ltd 541 501 541 800388 Pokhara Finance Ltd 309 302 305 417389 Prabhu Insurance Ltd 1250 1180 1195 2116490 Premier Insurance Co. Ltd 1681 1600 1620 1078791 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 713 690 705 7359492 Prime Life Insurance Company Ltd 1920 1885 1910 723293 Professional Diyalo Bikas Bank Ltd 259 255 255 282994 ProgressiveFinance Ltd 165 164 165 132095 Prudential Insurance Co. Ltd 1258 1200 1223 2173896 Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd 470 470 470 3297 Raptibheri Bikas Bank Ltd 270 257 270 18198 Reliable Development Bank Ltd 419 415 417 338699 Reliable Development Bank Ltd Promoter Share 200 200 200 296050100 Reliable Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 532 532 532 10101 Reliance Lotus Finance Ltd 270 259 264 1240102 Ridi Hydropower Development Company Ltd 467 441 441 3963103 Rural Microfinance Development Centre Ltd 1091 1020 1070 31254104 Sagarmatha Finance Ltd 428 397 404 39907105 Sagarmatha Insurance Co. Ltd 1800 1744 1765 5705106 Sajha Bikas Bank Ltd 290 275 279 4151107 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd 2050 1990 2050 5886108 Sanima Bank Ltd 925 904 914 67226109 Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd 860 852 855 3849110 Saptakoshi Development Bank Ltd 532 504 521 2336111 Seti Finance Ltd 321 315 321 630112 Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 441 426 440 6156113 Shangrila Development Bank Ltd 398 377 392 2791114 Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd 2715 2622 2678 10264115 Siddhartha Equity Orineted Scheme 12.21 11.75 11.97 140298116 Siddhartha Insurance Ltd 1805 1700 1725 4661117 Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme-1 21.60 21 21.60 1651200118 Sindhu Bikash Bank Ltd 462 453 462 610119 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 364 354 360 1580120 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 3042 2960 3025 13042121 Summit Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd 2850 2800 2850 334122 Sunrise Bank Ltd 663 632 663 24148123 Surya Life Insurance Company Ltd 953 927 947 5630124 Swabalamban Bikas Bank Ltd 2802 2720 2802 4354125 Swarojgar Laghu Bitta Bikas Bank Ltd 2460 2431 2431 92126 Synergy Finance Ltd 140 132 137 13293127 Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd 240 237 240 120128 Tinau Development Bank Ltd 510 510 510 139129 Tourism Development Bank Ltd 318 306 318 3394130 Triveni Bikas Bank Ltd 333 320 333 13040131 Uniliver Nepal Ltd 31437 30809 30809 50132 Union Finance Co. Ltd 137 135 137 280133 Unique Finance Ltd 226 221 222 944134 United Finance Ltd 390 390 390 273135 United Insurance Co. (Nepal) Ltd 1125 1060 1075 43656136 Vijaya laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1653 1560 1585 2403137 Western Development Bank Ltd 413 400 404 1476138 Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1615 1542 1615 210139 Yeti Development Bank Ltd 229 220 224 5470

TRADING INFORMATION TRADING PRICESN COMPANY MAX MIN CLOSING NO SHARES

Nepse 1,544.53pts 1.34%

EDBL MSBBL RMDC KMCDB HGI MDB5.96% 6.31% 6.46% 6.64% 6.66% 7.66%

KEBL NMBMF KRBL NBSL WOMI PADBL8.51% 9.2% 9.72% 9.87% 9.93% 9.95%

HIGHEST GAINERS

NICL SLBBL OHL PRIN ACEDBL SIL-1.88% -1.97% -1.98% -2.04% -2.05% -2.54%

RLFL SKDBL UNL RHPC NLG KNBL-3.64% -3.87% -3.95% -4.13% -4.48% -4.62%

HIGHEST LOSERS

MODERATE LOSERS

MODERATE GAINERS

Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100

Sub-Indices Current Pts Change %ChangeBanking 1,447.33 25.52 1.79 Hotels 1,918.03 4.98 0.26 Dev Bank 1,536.46 42.55 2.85 HydroPower 2,247.19 0.26 0.01 Finance 732.52 8.83 1.22 Insurance 7,809.66 41.5 0.53

Total Amount Rs. 1,655,303,980Total Quantity 4,062,795Total No of Transactions 6,384

INDEX CURRENT PTS CHANGE %CHANGENEPSE 1,544.53 20.46 1.34 Sensitive 334.47 4.65 1.41 Float 112.68 1.62 1.46

SHARES

REUTERSSINGAPORE/TOKYO, MAY 24

Criminals who stole millions of dol-lars from automatic teller machines across Japan in a three-hour spree probably chose the country because banks consider it a low fraud risk, security experts say.

The gang used counterfeit Standard Bank credit cards to with-draw 1.4 billion yen ($13 million) in 14,000 transactions from ATMs at 7-Eleven convenience stores over three hours on a Sunday morning, according to a source familiar with the matter. Most ATMs in the 7-Eleven stores belong to Seven Bank, a Japanese bank part-owned by Seven & I Holdings which runs the store chain in Japan, one of only two Japanese banks that allow with-drawals on foreign cards.

The thieves are still at large. “They were smart in selecting

Japan,” said one banking security consultant who asked not to be iden-tified. “They found a badly protected ATM network in a low-risk country, guessing that the fraud analytics software would not automatically block the transactions.”

South Africa’s Standard Bank said Monday it had suffered the loss-es, not its customers, and that it had alerted the authorities. It estimated its total loss at 300 million rand ($19 million). The bank declined to com-ment further on Tuesday.

Seven Bank said it was cooperat-ing with police. Japan’s banking reg-ulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and Japanese police declined to comment. Seven has about 22,000 ATMs across the country. Japan Post Bank also accepts overseas credit cards, but only about 540 of its 27,000 are open 24 hours a day. Reports in Japanese media said the withdrawals were

made on May 15 at ATMs in Tokyo and 16 prefectures across Japan’s main island Honshu and neighbor-ing Kyushu. That would have taken a substantial number of “mules” to make the transactions and ferry the cash, said experts. “($13 million) in a matter of hours is nothing short of blinding,” said Dan Kelly, of Dragon Threat Labs. “The use of loopholes in the bank’s procedures makes sen-se, but trying to rustle up a mule ne- twork in one country without making too much noise can’t be easy.”

Experts said both banks should

shoulder some blame for failing to monitor the flood of transactions, saying they should have had sys-tems in place to catch spikes in unu-sual activity in so many locations at the same time during what would usually be a quiet period.

“The liability is on the issuing bank, which is Standard Bank, but as the case gets further investigated, more blame will fall on the acquir-ing bank,” said Subhashish Bose, head of anti-financial crime in Asia-Pacific for FICO, a US-based soft-ware company that also scores con-sumer credit risk.

The criminals may have harvest-ed the data in a variety of ways, said the experts — possibly by “skim-ming” cards — but they would have had limited options when it came to using them to withdraw cash.

For one thing, they would have to pick a country that still uses mag-netic strip card technology, not the

newer and more secure “chip and pin” system, which would have ruled out South Africa itself.

“If they would have gone to any of the surrounding countries, they would risk detection (and blocking) by Standard Bank’s fraud analytics software”, which would consider any transaction in such countries to be high risk.

The same risk assessment would have ruled out most other African countries, Eastern Europe, the Mid-dle East, Central Asia and Russia, the consultant added. Japan, mean-while, is considered low-risk beca-use of low crime rates and its banks, most of which do not accept foreign cards in their ATMs, the experts said. Japan has long been ignored by criminal gangs and cybercrime groups because of its relative isolation. But that is chang-ing, say specialists, and the country has yet to catch up.

Japan an alluring target for ATM thievesSTA N DA R D BA N K H E I ST

C M Y K

A gang used counterfeit Standard Bank credit cards to

withdraw 1.4 billion yen in 14,000 transactions from ATMs over

three hours on Sunday

fish drying

n People hang fish to dry on bamboo poles in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday. REUTERS

Short-handed factories running below capacityAMRITA ANMOLBUTWAL, MAY 24

Factories based in the Butwal Industrial Zone have been hamstrung by labour shortag-es forcing them to operate at less than their potential capacity.

According to Ganesh Kumar Adhikari, operator of Everest Plastic Factory, they have not been able to hire qualified professionals despite issuing vacancy notices for skilled workers for more than a year. “We are utilizing the available human resources,” said Adhikari.

“Our production has fallen because of a labour scarcity.” The factory employs around 75 workers and two to three employees quit every month. The high turnover rate has made it difficult to arrange shifts and continue produc-tion, he said.

Ram Prasad Bashyal, opera-tor of Kohinoor Metal Factory, relates a similar story. According to Bashyal, it is dif-ficult to find skilled human resources and retain the exist-ing employees. The labour scarcity has made it difficult

for factories to fulfil orders for their products.

“On the one hand, there is a scarcity of skilled labourers; and on the other, the youths who come and receive on-the-job training apply for foreign jobs after acquiring the requi-site skills,” said Bashyal, “ This has created obstacles in the smooth operation of the factory.”

The Butwal Industrial Zone

contains 67 factories and all of them are running with less than the required number of workers. Metal and plastic fac-tories in particular are facing an acute labour shortage. Factory owners say that the labour shortage has emerged because young people are more interested in working in foreign lands.

According to the operators, many of the newly hired

workers have already applied for foreign visas before com-ing to work. Moreover, the number of workers who quit their jobs after working for three to six months is also high.

“Nowadays, we cannot find a single skilled labourer even after searching for four months,” said Nawaraj Shrestha, an industrialist.

According to the Industrial

Estate Industries Association, around 2,500 labourers are currently employed in the fac-tories running in the zone.

The labour pool in the zone consists of daily wage work-ers and contract-bound and permanent workers. Many factories have been paying more than the government set salary to discourage them from leaving. The factories which operate in three shifts have workers who earn up to Rs60,000 per month. Despite the attractive pay and good working conditions, the turn-over is still high. Female workers last longer than males.

Women workers have moved into positions left vacant by men. Five years ago, 20 percent of the workers were female, now the figure has swelled to 50 percent.

“It is difficult to operate night shifts because there are few male workers,” said Ganesh Prasad Adhikari, chairman of the association. “We face problem when oper-ating heavy equipment, repairing and maintaining machinery and loading and unloading goods.”

Govt to relocate unused rail tracksSHANKAR ACHARYAPARSA, MAY 24

The government has planned to relocate two railway tracks at Sirsiya Dry Port in Birgunj to another part of the termi-nal as they have been lying unused.

Of the five railway tracks used by freight trains trans-porting goods from Kolkata port in India, tracks number 3 and 4 have been proposed to be shifted. Tarka Raj Joshi, officer of the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board, Parsa, said the Commerce Ministry had started work towards this end. He added that the minis-try had planned to relocate them with the aim of putting

the space at the dry port to maximum use. Joshi said a joint team of representatives from the board, the World Bank and an engineer from the Integrated Check Post that visited the site on Friday had also recommended relocation of the railway tracks. “The team has recommended rear-ranging the prescribed rail-

way infrastructure to the western side of the dry port’s warehouse in its preliminary report,” he said. “The team will reach a decision after con-sulting technical experts.”

The team believes that the other three railway tracks will be put to optimum use if the two tracks are shifted. “In addition, the space now occu-

pied by the two tracks can be turned into a road for the movement of motor vehicles,” Joshi said. According to the board, the tracks proposed for relocation cannot be used by the freight trains arriving from India, and they are being used only for parking purpos-es when there is congestion on other tracks.

Experts have also been urg-ing the authorities to shift the tracks to the eastern or west-ern part of the dry port. As the two tracks are not func-tioning, shippers have been facing problems unloading the cargo arriving from Kolkata port. If a road is built after the railway tracks are removed, it will make it easier to transfer the cargo to trucks.

sirsiya dry port

ECB: RISKS TO EU FINANCIAL STABILITY HAVE INCREASEDREUTERSFRANKFURT, MAY 24

Risks to the eurozone’s finan-cial health have increased over the past six months, with a new bout of market turmoil and weak profits for banks and insurers emerging as the key sources of potential trou-ble, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday.

The ECB said in its semi-an-nual Financial Stability Review (FSR) that systemic stress had remained con-tained in the eurozone. But it warned about four main sources of risk for the next two years: market turmoil, weak profits in the financial sector, excessive debt, and a growing shadow banking sec-tor. “Compared with the November 2015 FSR, most risks have increased,” the ECB said. “At the same time, all risks are clearly inter-twined and would, if they were to materialise, have the potential to be mutually rein-forcing. Indeed, all risks could be aggravated by a materiali-sation of downside risks to economic growth.”

It said financial conditions had become “more challeng-ing” due to concerns about emerging markets, rising geo-political risks and renewed bouts of market volatility, raising risks to the eurozone’s moderate recovery. ECB cut its interest rates and boosted its money-printing pro-gramme to 1.74 trillion euros ($1.95 trillion) in March, but some economists expect it to ease its monetary policy again before the end of the year.

Among the risks facing the banking sector, the ECB emphasised the high level of bad loans in some countries and it called for lenders and authorities to do more to bring it down, including by making it easier to set up ‘bad banks’.

money worldIII the kathmandu post | Wednesday, May 25, 2016

China fund buys into MP & SilvaBEIJING: A Chinese fund has bought a controlling 65 percent stake in lead-ing international media rights company MP & Silva, according to a statement Tuesday, as Chinese investors snag another overseas sport-ing target. Beijing Baofeng Technology Co., one of the fund’s inves-tors, also said that it had signed an agreement for strategic cooperation with the London- and Singapore- headquar-tered MP & Silva. MP & Silva distributes sports programming to more than 200 broadcasters in 215 countries, including English Premier League football and Formula One auto racing, accord-ing to its website. No value was given for the stake purchase. Bloomberg News has reported the deal values the sports media compa-ny at $1.4 billion. Shanghai Jinxin Investment Advisory Partnership Co, set up by Baofeng and three other partners, is buying the stake, it said. (AFP)

China to build Sudan N-plantBEIJING: A Chinese state-owned company has signed a “preliminary” deal with Sudan to build the east African coun-try’s first nuclear power plant, an official in Khartoum said on Tuesday. The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) signed a memorandum of understanding with the electricity ministry on Monday to build nuclear reactors that would help to generate electricity. “The agree-ment will allow Sudan to build in the future a nuclear plant to generate nuclear energy for peace-ful use,” ministry spokes-man Mohamed Abdelrahim Jawish told AFP. “This preliminary agreement was signed on Monday and we are now talking of capacities,” he added. In 2012, Sudan informed the Intern-ational Atomic Energy Agency of its intention to pursue nuclear tech-nology amid an incre-ased demand for electric-ity from the country’s growing population. (AFP)

Sony: Quakes will shake profitTOKYO: Sony said on Tuesday that a pair of deadly quakes in Japan last month would dent its financial results, while the company warned that net profit would fall by nearly half, largely due to a year-earlier gain. The quakes, which caused major damage in southern Kyushu and claimed dozens of lives, would hit operating prof-it in the fiscal year to March 2017 by as much as 115 billion yen ($1.05 billion), Sony said, add-ing that sales would fall on year. Major firms including Sony and Toyota temporarily shut-tered factories in the wake of the disaster, hit-ting production and sales, while costs will also include repairing damaged buildings. “Due to the impact of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, sales are expected to be lower,” Sony said. (AFP)

NEWS DIGEST

REUTERSLONDON, MAY 24

Poorer oil-producing countries which took out loans to be repaid in oil when the price was higher are having to send three times as much to respect repayment schedules now prices have fallen.

This has crippled the finances of countries such as Angola, Venezuela, Nigeria and Iraq and created a further division within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Ahead of an Opec meeting next week, poorer members have con-tinued to push for output cuts to lift prices but wealthier Gulf Arab members such as Saudi Arabia, which are free of such debts, are resisting taking any action despite prices falling 60 percent in the past 2 years.

Angola, Africa’s largest oil pro-ducer has borrowed as much as $25 billion from China since 2010, including about $5 billion last December, forcing its state oil firm to channel almost its entire oil output towards debt repay-ments this year. This year Angola, Nigeria, Iraq, Venezuela and Kurdistan are due to repay a total of between $30 billion and $50 billion with oil, according to Reuters calculations based on publicly disclosed information and details given by participants in ongoing restructuring talks.

Repaying $50 billion required only slightly over 1 million bar-rels per day (bpd) of oil exports when it was trading at $120 per barrel but with prices of around $40, the same repayment would require exports of over 3 million bpd. “All of those oil nations—

Angola, Nigeria, Venezuela—have taken money for survival but haven’t got any money left for investments. That is very damag-ing to their long-term growth prospects,” said Amrita Sen from Energy Aspects think-tank.

“People tend to look at current production volumes but if you have committed your entire production to China or other buyers under loans—then you cannot invest to keep grow-ing and won’t benefit from higher prices in the future.”

China has also become Venezuela’s top financier via an oil-for-loans program which since 2007 has funnelled $50 billion into Venezuelan coffers in exchange for repayment in crude and fuel, including a $5 billion deal last September. While details of the loans have not been made public,

analysts from Barclays estimate Caracas owes $7 billion to Beijing this year and needs nearly 800,000 bpd to meet payments, up from 230,000 bpd when oil traded at $100 per barrel. Last week, Venezuela said it had reached a deal with China to improve the terms of loans, giving its econo-my “oxygen”. It did not disclose the new terms.

Nigeria and Iraq also owe bil-lions of dollars repayable in oil to companies such as Shell and Exxon Mobil, according to

national oil firms and industry sources.

Iraq is trying to renegotiate contracts for investment and development of new oil fields that it has with companies including Exxon, Shell and Lukoil. It was supposed to repay the companies $23 billion this year with oil but is now arguing that it will only have enough crude to repay $9 billion. Nigeria owes $3 billion this year in oil repayments to big oil companies which have helped the country fund its share of joint oil field development.

Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan has lever-aged all its oil production, worth $3 billion, to trading houses Vitol and Petraco as well as to Turkey to fund a fight against Islamic State, according to its natural

resources minister.Ecuador, one of Opec’s small-

est member countries, borrowed up to $8 billion from Chinese and Thai firms, repayable with oil, between 2009 and 2015, according to the national oil company.

In contrast, OPEC’s Gulf Arab members—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar—have very few joint ventures with oil companies, do not have pre-payment deals with China and do not need to borrow from trading houses.

While Saudi Arabia saw every dollar from its oil sales going to state coffers, the poorer members had a large part of their oil reve-nue eaten up by debts, leaving no money to invest in infrastructure and field development. As a result, Nigeria and Venezuela are now facing steep production

declines at a time when Saudi Arabia is preparing to further ramp up supplies as it invested heavily in new fields.

This helps to explain why Saudi Arabia is resisting a global deal to reduce output because the lack of debt means it is able to use the money for development and reinforce its dominant posi-tion in oil markets.

Nigeria and Venezuela, mean-while, are desperate for a deal that would reduce output and push up prices to help them invest in oil fields and repay fewer barrels to creditors. “It may ultimately be mounting sup-ply disruptions in stressed states, rather than collective cartel action, that causes an accelerated market rebalancing,” RBC Capital’s head of commodity strategy Helima Croft said.

Debt repayments in crude cripple poorer oil producersO I L P R I C E RO U T

C M Y K

Poorer Opec members have continued to push for output

cuts to lift prices, but wealthier Gulf Arab members are resisting taking any action

More challenges than cheer for Apple chief on Asia tourREUTERSMUMBAI/BEIJING, MAY 24

With slowing iPhone sales in China, Apple Inc is having to take India more seriously, but investors hoping for a stock price fillip from CEO Tim Cook’s week-long Asia trip instead were given a taste of the daunting challenges that lie ahead.

The second leg of Cook’s trip, to India, the world’s third-largest smartphone market, comes at a crucial time as Apple battles slowing growth in China, its sec-ond-biggest market. But the challenges suggest it will be years before India is anything close to a major earnings pil-lar for the US tech giant. “With China saturating, everybody has no choice but to look at India, and Apple’s rivals have been strengthen-ing there in the last two years. Apple is playing catch-up,” said Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.

While the numbers in India suggest huge potential—fewer than two in every 10 of the country’s 1.3 billion people have a smartphone—the world’s fastest growing major market operates differently to other markets where Apple has enjoyed stellar growth and high margins.

Apple’s traditional model is to sell its phones at full price to local telecoms carriers, which then discount them to users in exchange for charg-ing them for data as part of a multi-month contract. Not so in India.

“In India, carriers in gener-al sell virtually no phones and it is out in retail—and retail is

many, many different small shops,” Cook told analysts recently. “Because smart-phones there are low-end, pri-marily because of the net-work and the economics, the market potential has not been as great,” added Cook, liken-ing India to the Chinese mar-ket 7-10 years ago.

In meetings with India’s two largest carriers, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, Cook dis-cussed ways to work more closely to sell iPhones, includ-ing whether a contract pricing model could work in India. He said Apple sees opportunities to expand in the market as operators roll out 4G services. “The trip was more about understanding the Indian market, but was also about signaling to the world that Apple has arrived in India,” said Vishal Tripathi, research director at Gartner.

Another challenge for Apple is how to be a premi-

um-end player in a low-in-come market. “In India, incomes are so low that not many customers appreciate the full value of the Apple ecosystem, and it will take a lot more effort for Apple to sell the Macs and iPads in Indian stores compared to China,” said Strategy Analytics’ Ukonaho.

India is a more price sensi-tive market than China, and Apple’s relatively expensive iPhones are out of reach to most Indians, who on average live on less than $3.10 a day according to World Bank data.

With per capita income of $1,570 as of 2014 and the aver-age smartphone selling for less than $90, a third of the global average, India’s market growth is predominantly led by cheaper phones. High-end smartphones—costing from $300—make up only 6 percent of the market, or just 6 mil-lion units, according to

Morgan Stanley. Rebuffed by India’s govern-

ment in its plan to import and sell used, refurbished iPhones, Apple has seen only slow growth in a market dominated by Samsung Electronics and Chinese brands.

That issue was not resolved in talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi—which a Modi aide called “extremely successful”—and government officials have pressed Apple to set up manu-facturing facilities in India, said officials involved in dis-cussions, a move that would create jobs and boost Modi’s “Make in India” initiative. “Now it’s for Apple to talk about their plans,” the Modi aide said. Apple declined to comment on what Cook achieved on his Asia trip. Apple’s brand awareness ranks 10th in India, trailing Samsung, Sony, Blackberry and some local rivals. Almost

half of respondents in a Morgan Stanley survey said they do not know Apple.

While Apple is likely to dou-ble its share in the $400-plus segment to 40 percent, it “has to significantly increase its store presence, ramp up mar-keting, and add local content,” the brokerage said in a recent note. A first Apple retail store in India is unlikely to open its doors until next year at the earliest.

In internal meetings, Cook stressed how Apple wants to increase its retail operations in India and work with re-sell-ers to make its products avail-able more widely. “We’ve been hiring for India retail and dis-tribution for the last few months, and Tim’s message was that we need to double down on that,” said an Apple official in India.

In China, where iPhone sales slumped in January-March and some online enter-tainment services were sus-pended, Cook also had little to cheer investors.

At meetings with Chinese officials, Cook emphasized Apple’s contributions to China’s economy—creating jobs, generating revenue and paying taxes—said people familiar with the matter. His visit came just days after Apple announced a $1 billion investment in a local ride-hail-ing app firm, a move Cook says will help Apple better understand China.

But when he asked about the shutdown of online ser-vices and emphasized that Apple had followed proce-dures in establishing those services, he was told China would look into it, the people said.

n Apple CEO Tim Cook waves as he attends a talk in Beijing, China, on Monday. REUTERS

US president confident TPP will be ratifiedINDO- ASIAN NEWS SERVICEHANOI, MAY 24

Even though ratification of the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has stalled in the US, President Barack Obama said he’s still “confident” the trade deal will earn the support of Congress.

“I remain confident we are going to get it done, and the reason I’m confident is because it is the right thing to do. It’s good for the country, it’s good for America, it’s good for the region, it’s good for the world,” Obama was quoted by RT online during a joint press conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi.

Leaders signed the 12-nation TPP, which includes the US and Vietnam as mem-bers, back in February, but it still requires ratification from each country’s lawmakers before it can go into effect. That process has stumbled, though, as public outcry against international trade deals increases. In the US in particular, all three major-par-ty presidential candidates have come out against the deal. In Vietnam, Obama reit-erated why he believes the TPP was so important, noting that the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing part of the world and represents a huge market for the US. He said the TPP would eliminate some 18,000 tariffs that have been placed on American goods sold in Asia.

“I have not yet seen a credi-ble argument that once we get TPP in place we are going to be worse off,” he said. “We are

demonstrably better off. American workers and American businesses are bet-ter off if we get this deal passed.”

However, opponents have railed against the TPP from the outset, criticizing the secret, years-long negotia-tions and arguing that it will primarily benefit large corpo-rations, not workers. Protesters have argued that many of the regulations that would be stripped away would negatively affect laborers and the environment.

“It would make it easier to offshore American jobs, and it would push down their wages by putting them in direct com-petition with workers in Vietnam who don’t make but 65 cents an hour,” Lori Wallach, the director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, a non-profit consumer advocacy organiza-tion, told RT.

n Barack Obama

Switzerland shuts bank in Malaysia scandalAGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEZURICH, MAY 24

Swiss financial regulators approved on Tuesday the dis-solution of Lugano-based BSI Bank over its links to a cor-ruption scandal engulfing Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Swiss supervisor FINMA accused BSI, a merchant bank, of “serious breaches” of money-laundering regula-tions in its dealings with the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which is at the heart of the corruption alle-gations. In the toughest puni-tive action yet announced in the affair, FINMA said in a statement it was approving the takeover of the merchant bank by Zurich-based private banking group EFG International on the condition that BSI is integrated “and thereafter dissolved” within 12 months.

It ordered the seizure of 95 million Swiss francs (86 mil-lion euros/$96 million) of BSI’s “illegally generated” profits. FINMA said it was investigating two former top managers, who were not iden-tified, to determine what they knew about the illegal activi-ties, warning that it may launch further probes.

“In the case of 1MDB, the bank executed numerous large transactions with unclear purpose over a period of several years and, despite

clearly suspicious indications, did not clarify the background to these transactions,” the Swiss regulator said.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said earlier in the day that it had opened criminal proceedings against BSI “based on infor-mation revealed by the crimi-nal proceedings in the 1MDB case”. Malaysia’s prime min-ister, who founded 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2009, has battled allegations that billions were looted from the investment vehicle in a vast campaign of fraud and embezzlement stretching from the Middle East to the Caymans.

The fund, which ran up more than $11 billion in debt in a series of much-ques-tioned investments, has stead-fastly denied money was sto-len or that it was in financial trouble.

Najib also faced questions after the Wall Street Journal

revealed $681 million in trans-fers to his personal bank accounts. But since the scan-dal erupted last year, Najib has weathered the allegations by curbing scrutiny by authorities, purging officials demanding accountability, and stifling media reporting.

He insists the $681 million was a gift from the Saudi royal family, most of which he returned. A Saudi official in April said that was true, but only after weeks of silence that cast doubt on the claim.

In a more recent report, the newspaper said Malaysian investigation documents indi-cated more than $1 billion in 1MDB-linked money had been funnelled to Najib. Najib and 1MDB vehemently deny that claim. Najib has faced calls to resign but has tightened his grip on the ruling party and thwarted domestic investiga-tions. His position is not seen as being under imminent threat.

moneybazaar IVWednesday, May 25, 2016 | the kathmandu post

India’s BSE Sensex edges higherMUMBAI: Indian shares edged higher on Tuesday, heading for their first gain in five sessions after well-received cor-porate results, including from Tata Power, offset linger-ing worries about rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. Global markets remained edgy after San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Monday the US central bank will likely tighten policy a bit more quickly in 2017 than this year, by perhaps one or two more rate hikes. Investors are now awaiting Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s com-ments at a panel event hosted by Harvard University on Friday. The broader NSE Nifty was 0.15 percent higher at 7,742.41 as of 0833 GMT, after falling as much as 0.2 per-cent earlier in the session. The index shed 2 percent in the previous four sessions. The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 0.34 percent at 25,316.01. (REUTERS)

Nokia could cut up to 15,000 jobsHELSINKI: Telecom network equipment maker Nokia is likely to cut 10,000 to 15,000 jobs globally as part of a cost-cutting program following its acquisition of Franco-American rival Alcatel-Lucent, a Finnish union repre-sentative said. Nokia kicked off the program in April with a target to slash 900 million euros ($1 billion) of operating costs by 2018, but it has yet to give a figure for how many jobs will be reduced in total. “We haven’t heard any official numbers, but based on the information from our union contacts, I would estimate the global impact of this round would likely be around 10,000 to 15,000 jobs,” said Risto Lehtilahti, a trade union shop steward at Nokia’s Oulu site. A Nokia spokeswoman declined comment on the 10,000-15,000 figure. (REUTERS)

Mando, Tesla in Model 3 parts talkSEOUL: Mando Corp is in talks with Tesla Motors to sup-ply parts for its Model 3 car, an industry source said, as it seeks to join other South Korean firms supplying compo-nents for Tesla’s more affordable electric cars. Mando, which makes steering, brake and suspension parts, cur-rently supplies steering racks for Tesla’s Model S vehi-cles. The source did not give any details on the parts that Mando could provide for the cheaper Model 3, citing con-fidentiality. A Tesla spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. A Mando spokesman declined to comment. South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Monday that Mando had been picked by Tesla to develop and supply self-driving car technology and parts, pushing up Mando’s share price. Asked for comment, a Tesla spokesperson in San Francisco said: “The rumors are not true.” (REUTERS)

Toyota recalls 1.6 million US vehiclesWASHINGTON: Toyota Motor Corp said on Monday it will recall almost 1.6 million additional US vehicles for front passenger side Takata air bag inflators that could rup-ture. Earlier this month, Takata Corp said it was declar-ing another 35 million to 40 million US inflators defective at the urging of US regulators, a move that more than doubles the number of inflators recalled. Faulty Takata inflators have been linked to more than 100 injuries and 13 deaths worldwide. Toyota said the new recall includes some but not all Corolla, Matrix, Yaris, 4Runner, Sienna, Scion xB, Lexus ES, GX and IS vehicles built between 2006 and 2011. Toyota said it has now recalled 4.73 million vehicles in the United States for Takata air bags. Other reports from the 17 automakers now recalling Takata vehicles are due this week. (REUTERS)

British pound up on waning EU exit risk LONDON: The British pound is posting strong gains after another opinion poll indicated that those advocating a British exit — so-called Brexit — from the European Union are losing ground. With less than a month to go before the June 23 referendum on Britain’s EU future, a string of polls are showing the “remain” camp building up a sizeable lead. On Tuesday, a telephone poll for the Daily Telegraph newspaper conducted by ORB, showed the “remain” camp at 55 percent against 42 percent for the “leave” campaign. The poll of 800 people took place May 18-22 but gave no margin of error. Hopes that Britain will remain in the EU saw the pound rise 0.7 per-cent to $1.4586. Concerns over a potential British exit have weighed on the currency this year. (AP)

Dubai unveils $270m canal projectDUBAI: Officials in Dubai have announced a new, $270-mil-lion project to build homes and shops along part of the under-construction Dubai canal. The project called Marasi Business Bay will be built by Dubai Holding, a conglomerate controlled by the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Dubai Holding said on Tuesday the project will include a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) promenade, five marinas, restaurants and water-front homes. It says the promenade would be completed by September, while the total project would be built by 2023. Business Bay is a neighborhood of high-rise resi-dential and commercial towers near downtown Dubai and the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The development comes as Dubai again has begun a series of high-profile projects after its financial crisis of 2009. (AP)

India’s soybean area seen fallingMUMBAI: Indian farmers are set to reduce the area given over to soybeans by up to 10 percent this year in response to falling prices, pushing up likely imports of edible oils such as palm oil and soyoil. Soybean is the main sum-mer-sown oilseed crop for the world’s biggest importer of edible oil, but prices have dropped 10 percent in the past two years, while the prices of pulses such as red gram have nearly tripled over the same period. Lower soybean output will force the country to increase imports of edi-ble oils, supporting their prices. It could also limit India’s soymeal exports, given prices for its GMO-free produce are already above international prices. The further price rise due to lower supply could even make imports of soy-meal viable for local consumers. (REUTERS)

BIZLINE

C M Y K

world’s first 3d-printed office

n The world’s first functional 3D printed offices are seen in Dubai. The offices were unveiled on Tuesday. REUTERS

MARKET WATCH

Vegetables Unit Price (Rs)

Fruits Unit Price (Rs)

Red Potato Kg Rs55

White Potato Kg Rs45

Onion (Indian) Kg Rs35

Tomato Small Kg Rs85

Carrot Kg Rs65

Tomato Big Kg Rs85

Squash Kg Rs65

Cabbage Kg Rs35

Brinjal Long kg Rs55

Cow Pea Kg Rs55

GASOLINE WATCH

BULLION PRICE PER TOLA

SOURCE: FENEGOSIDA

Apple Kg Rs125

Pomegranate Kg Rs215

Water Melon Kg Rs28

Sweet Orange Kg Rs165

Mango kg Rs125

Pineapple 1Pc Rs115

Cucumber Kg Rs75

Papaya Kg Rs75

Banana Doz Rs110

Lime 100 Pcs Rs450

DAILY COMMODITIES

Pokhreli Rice Kg Rs65

Jeera Masino Rice Kg Rs70

Indian Basmati Rice Kg Rs100

Mansuli Rice Kg Rs55

Sona Rice Kg Rs45

Beaten Rice (Taichin) Kg Rs120

Beaten Rice Kg Rs50

Big Mas Kg Rs270

Small Mas Kg Rs250

Big Mung Kg Rs220

Musuro (No 1) Kg Rs170

Musuro (No 2) Kg Rs160

Rahar Kg Rs240

Chana (Big) Kg Rs150

Chana (Small) Kg Rs140

Chilli Powder Kg Rs350

Commodities Unit Price (Rs)

INT’L MARKET

Energy Price (US$) %Change

Agriculture Price (US$) %Change

Industrial Metals Price (US$) %Change

Copper Future (Lb) 207.7 1.07

Precious Metals Price (US$) %Change

Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz) 1,238.80 -1.03Silver Future (T Oz) 18.32 -0.83

Cocoa Future (Mt) 2,912.00 0.88Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb) 124.7 0.81Corn Future (Bu) 394.5 1.15Cotton No. 2 Futr (Lb) 61.7 -0.56Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt) 12.08 -0.58Soybean Future (Bu) 1068.5 -0.63Soybean Meal Futr (T) 371.8 -0.24Soybean Oil Futr (Lb) 32.11 -1.05Sugar #11 (World) (Lb) 16.74 -0.42Wheat Future (Cbt) (Bu) 475.5 -0.94

Hallmark Gold Rs55,800

Tejabi Gold Rs55,550

Silver Rs760

RETAIL PRICE

Brent Crude Futr (Bbl) 48.9 0.52Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt) 443.75 0.91Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal) 199.07 0.92Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu) 2.08 0.39

Gold price slides to four-week lowREUTERSLONDON, MAY 24

Gold fell to a four-week low on Tuesday as hawkish com-ments from Federal Reserve officials in the previous ses-sion sent the dollar to a two-month high against a curren-cy basket.

The prospect of an early rate hike, as indicated by Fed meeting minutes released last week, and a strengthening dollar have pushed gold down more than 4 percent so far in May, putting it on track for its biggest monthly decline since November.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal, while boosting the dol-lar, in which it is priced. Spot gold was down 0.9 percent at $1,236.81 an ounce at 1340 GMT, off an earlier low of

$1,235.35. US gold futures for June delivery were down $14.50 an ounce at $1,237.00.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of things that would mean higher rates coming togeth-er,” Oxford Economics analyst Daniel Smith said.

“The US economy is actually doing reasonably well... and with higher oil prices and a tightening US

labour market, everything’s starting to come together to (suggest) it would be sooner rather than later.”

Senior Fed officials on Monday said that rates being kept too low for too long could cause financial instability, and that the US central bank would continue with rate increases next year.

More Fed policymakers are

scheduled to speak this week and are expected to back the case for a rate hike within months. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will be at a panel event hosted by Harvard University on Friday.

“We had more hawkish noises yesterday, with a trio of Fed speakers lining up to say that June or July are live meetings for considering a

rate increase,” Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said. “The dollar’s in the ascendancy... and gold is com-ing under pressure. We’ve lost sight of the $1,250 level, which was holding things up pretty well. We’ll be looking to hold here -- if not, we could get back to the low $1,200s.”

Holdings in the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, rose 0.38 percent to 872.52 tonnes on Monday.

Meanwhile, silver was down 0.6 percent at $16.31 an ounce, after earlier hitting a five-week low of $16.19, while platinum was down 0.3 percent at $1,005.20 per ounce, off a four-week low of $997.79.

Palladium was down 0.9 percent at $541.97 an ounce, having hit a near six-week trough of $538.98 earlier in the session.

Google Paris HQ raidedBBCPARIS, MAY 24

French finance officials have raided the Paris offices of US internet giant Google as part of a tax fraud investigation.

Reports say about 100 tax officials entered Google’s offices in central Paris early in the morning. Police sourc-es confirmed the raid, but Google itself has so far made no comment.

Google is accused of owing the French state 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in unpaid taxes. The tax arrangements of international companies have come under close scruti-ny recently.

Several have been accused of using legal methods to min-

imise their tax bills. In Google’s case, its tax structure allows it to pay tax in the Republic of Ireland, even when sales appear to relate to the UK.

In January, it struck a deal with UK tax authorities to pay an extra £130 million in tax for the period from 2005, but that deal was heavily criticised. The UK Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the £130 million settlement “seems dis-proportionately small”, com-

pared with the size of its UK business.

Europe’s competition authorities have been examin-ing whether some deals struck by big companies with nation-al tax authorities amount to illegal state aid.

In April, the EU unveiled plans to force large companies to disclose more about their tax affairs.

They will have to declare publicly how much tax they pay in each EU country as well as any activi-ties carried out in specific tax havens.

The rules on “coun-try-by-country reporting” would affect multinational firms with more than 750 mil-lion in sales euros.

Google is accused of owing the French

state 1.6 billion euros in unpaid taxes

OIL TURNS POSITIVE AS FOCUS TURNS TO US SUPPLY OUTLOOKREUTERSLONDON, MAY 24

Oil reversed early losses to turn positive on Tuesday, as investors awaited crude oil inventory data from the United States that was expected to show a shrinking supply overhang.

Brent futures had gained 26 cents to $48.34 a barrel by 1242 GMT, after closing down 37 cents in the previous session. US crude futures rose 14 cents to $48.49 a barrel, having settled down 33 cents the day before.

Commercial crude stocks in the United States likely fell by around 2.5 million barrels to 538.8 million in the week ended May 20, a Reuters poll showed. The American Petroleum Institute releases inventory data later on Tuesday, while figures from the US government’s Energy Information Administration are due on Wednesday. The API is scheduled to release its data at 2030 GMT, while the EIA numbers are due to at 1430 GMT on Wednesday.

“I think the market is preparing for the (US) crude stock data today and tomorrow,” said Andy Sommer, senior energy analyst at Axpo Trading in Dietikon, Switzerland.

Oil was stronger earlier in the session, gaining support from a report that Iraq’s oil output has reached 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and exports are running at a record 3.9 million bpd.

However, Falah Alamri, Iraq’s Opec gover-nor and head of the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO), said at a conference in London that a decision to stop production of 170,000 bpd of Kirkuk crude, and the impact of bad weather and maintenance had slowed output. A meeting of the Opec exporter group, including Iran, is scheduled for June 2.

Plans for a deal between Opec and non-Opec producers to shore up crude prices by freezing output fell apart in April when Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran, its main rival for influence in the region, participate. A strike in France limited the market’s gains by dent-ing crude demand in Europe as refineries were disrupted by pickets.

French police using water cannon and tear gas broke up a strike picket that was blocking access to a large oil refinery in the southern port area of Marseille.

Imports of steel rods up as domestic output slowsPRAHLAD RIJAL & SHANKAR ACHARYAKATHMANDU, MAY 24

Nepal’s imports of mild steel rods, wires, coils and other con-struction materials have jumped 91.33 percent as domestic produc-tion falls behind demand, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) said. According to the central bank, the import bill as of mid-April totalled Rs5.82 billion, up from Rs3.04 billion year-on-year.

Demand for these construction materials have swelled in the country due to the need for mas-sive reconstruction following the earthquake last year. Meanwhile, domestic factories have been struggling to operate amid severe power shortages, besides taking a direct hit from the economic blockade by India that lasted four and a half agonizing months.

Major manufacturers of steel construction rods based in the Birgunj Economic Zone have reported a sharp drop in output due to a rise in load-shedding because the hydroelectric plants damaged by the earthquake have not come back online.

According to the factory own-ers, frequent power outages, the April 25 earthquake and subse-quent trade embargo have result-

ed in a drop in production by up to 50 percent.

“Falling domestic production has led to an increase in imports of low quality and cheaper rods,” said Dhrubha Kumar Shrestha, chairman of the Nepal Steel Rolling Mill Association.

“There are 16 steel mills in operation, and most of them have reported a 50 percent decline in total production.

Panchakanya Steel, one of the leading iron and steel manufac-turers in the country, has also reported a fall in output.

“We are seeing a drop of 40 per-cent in total production this year because of severe power cuts and unavailability of raw materials,” said Bishwa Jay Pudasaini, sen-

ior manager of sales at Panchakanya Steel.

“The raw materials ordered after the trade embargo have not arrived yet, and frequent power cuts have resulted in lost sales during the peak construction season.”

According to Pudasaini, demand for construction material usually increases after April, and due to a forced cutback in produc-tion, major domestic iron and steel rolling mills have been una-ble to fulfil the requirement. This has resulted in increased imports of low quality and cheaper metal rods.

“Many traders have been tap-ping this business opportunity by importing substandard 11 mm

steel rods and selling them at the price as high quality rods. The government should step up its efforts to curb such practices.” said Pudasaini.

Meanwhile, lack of trucks and loading and unloading equipment has hindered the transportation of raw materials imported by iron factories. Around 75,000 tonnes of hot rolled sheets, cold rolled sheets, mild steel wires and sponge iron lie piled up at Sirsiya Dry Port.

According to Ram Babu Shah, head of administration at Himalayan Terminal, the opera-tor of the dry port, the raw mate-rials lying abandoned have been imported by Jagdamba Steel, Jagdamba Enterprises, Hama Steel, Himal Iron and other facto-ries. There are seven cranes for unloading freight, but they are not enough, said Shah.

“Large amounts of raw materi-als are lying at the dry port yard, and the importers have not sub-mitted the required paperwork to the customs office,” said Harihar Poudel, chief of the customs office at Sirsiya Dry Port.

“We will not know the quantity of the unmoved raw materials until they acquire customs clearance.”