WI THOUT F EAR O R F A V O U R

Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXIX No. 195 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 33.6 C 12.7 C Wednesday, September 01, 2021 | 16-05-2078 Nepalgunj Jomsom Deuba struggles to expand Cabinet as coalition partners squabble While Janata Samajbadi demands withdrawal of ordinance that eases party splits, CPN (Unified Socialiast) eyes plum ministries. Maoist Centre has its own demands.

ANIL GIRI cent Central Committee or KATHMANDU, AUG 31 Parliamentary Party can apply for a new party. As per the amended rules, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba even four lawmakers of the JSP can introduced an ordinance to ease register a new party if they want. party splits with a view to expanding Then there are aspirants for minis- his Cabinet. Now the same ordinance terial posts from Madhav Nepal’s CPN has become an albatross around his (Unified Socialist). neck, as it is now hobbling Cabinet The party has 23 lawmakers. The expansion. Nepal group had played an instrumen- At least one coalition partner has tal role in installing Deuba as prime called for repealing the ordinance as a minister. The number of lawmakers prerequisite for its nod for Cabinet in the Communist Party of Nepal expansion. As a result, Deuba has not (Maoist Centre) looking for ministeri- been able to give his government a full al berths is also high. shape even 50 days after he assumed “We are of the view that the ordi- office. Sources said that the Janata nance should be withdrawn,” Yadav Samajbadi Party (JSP) has been told the Post. “This is not going to do demanding that Deuba repeal the ordi- any good to any political party and nance first, because it fears a further democracy. That’s why we have asked split in the party. the prime minister to expand the Post Photo: KABIN ADHIKARI Of the 19 lawmakers the party Cabinet only after withdrawing the Children play on a stack of pipes at Chabahil in Kathmandu on Tuesday. has on its side, some had desert- ordinance.” ed Mahantha Thakur and are The fact, however, is the JSP had aspiring for some ministerial seen a split—Thakur formed berths. JSP chair Upendra Yadav Loktantrik Samajbadi Party—because fears failure to ensure them min- of the same ordinance, even though it Probe hints at Indian isterial berths could lead to was primarily aimed at splitting the Last US troops leave another split in the party, and CPN-UML. Until a few days ago, the only way to stop that is Thakur was one of the JSP chairs. security personnel’s repealing the ordinance. “Cabinet expansion is unlikely any- The ordinance has changed time soon… it might take 10-12 days or Afghanistan, ending provisions for splitting a politi- so,” Yadav told the Post. involvement in cal party. Any group with 20 per- >> Continued on page 2 Darchula incident America’s longest war Report recommends A US commander says some American citizens, likely in diplomatic initiatives to ‘very low hundreds’, will still be able to exit the country. bring the culprit(s) to book.

TIKA R PRADHAN & SHUVAM DHUNGANA KATHMANDU, AUG 31

The panel formed to investigate last month’s incident in which a Darchula youth fell into Mahakali while crossing the river using a cable cross- ing has said “it appears the incident took place in the presence of Indian security personnel” and recommend- ed that the government take diplomat- ic initiatives to bring the perpetra- tor(s) to book. The probe panel, formed on August 1, a day after the incident, submitted its report to Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand on Tuesday. “The report was submitted to the home minister today,” said Phanindra Mani Pokharel, spokesperson for the Home Ministry. “Now it’s up to the AP/RSS government to implement it.” Chris Donahue, a commander of an airborne division, boards a plane at Hamid Karzai Airport The five-member panel was headed in Kabul, on Monday as the final American service member to depart Afghanistan. by Janardan Gautam, a joint-secre- tary at the Home Ministry. ASSOCIATED PRESS security adviser, said Tuesday that the WASHINGTON, AUG 31 mission to get Americans out of Afghanistan continues. Editorial | pg 4 The United States has completed its “It’s just that it has shifted from a withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending military mission to a diplomatic mis- Dhami’s story is the story of a America’s longest war and closing sion,” Sullivan said on ABC’s “Good democratic state failing to a chapter in military history likely Morning America.” He cited “consid- fulfil its responsibility. to be remembered for colossal fail- erable leverage” over the Taliban to ures, unfulfilled promises and a fran- get Americans out. tic final exit that cost the lives of more Biden was set to address the nation On July 30, Jaya Singh Dhami, 33, than 180 Afghans and 13 US service on Afghanistan later Tuesday. from Khangdang Mal of Byas Rural members, some barely older than Biden said in a written statement Municipality-2 in Darchula fell into the war. Monday that military commanders Mahakali while crossing the river Hours before President Joe Biden’s unanimously favoured ending the air- using an improvised cable crossing, Tuesday deadline for shutting down a lift, not extending it. He said he asked locally known as tuin. final airlift, and thus ending the US Blinken to coordinate with interna- Media reports based on eyewitness war, Air Force transport planes car- tional partners in holding the Taliban accounts suggested that a Sashastra ried a remaining contingent of troops to their promise of safe passage for Seema Bal (SSB) person had untan- from Kabul airport late Monday. Americans and others who want to gled the cable just when Dhami was Thousands of troops had spent a har- leave in the days ahead. about to reach the Indian side, across rowing two weeks protecting the air- The airport had become a the river. lift of tens of thousands of Afghans, US-controlled island, a last stand in a After falling into the river, Dhami Americans and others seeking to 20-year war that claimed more than was swept away by the raging waters escape a country once again ruled by 2,400 American lives. and his whereabouts remains unknown. Taliban militants. The closing hours of the evacuation The Gautam-led probe panel was In announcing the completion of the were marked by extraordinary drama. initially given 10 days to submit its evacuation and war effort, Gen Frank American troops faced the daunting report. However, its term was extend- McKenzie, head of US Central task of getting final evacuees onto ed three times. Command, said the last planes took off planes while also getting themselves The Sher Bahadur Deuba govern- from Kabul airport at 3:29 pm and some of their equipment out, even ment was facing criticism for failing Washington time, or one minute before as they monitored repeated threats— to make the report public and taking a midnight in Kabul. He said some and at least two actual attacks—by the position on Dhami’s disappearance. American citizens, likely numbering Islamic State group’s Afghanistan Instead of making the report public, in “the very low hundreds,” were left affiliate. A suicide bombing on August the government on August 26 behind, and that he believes they will 26 killed 13 American service mem- announced Rs1 million in compensa- still be able to leave the country. bers and some 169 Afghans. More died tion for Dhami’s family, attracting Secretary of State Antony Blinken in various incidents during the air- more criticism, as many considered it put the number of Americans left port evacuation. as an attempt to quell growing behind at under 200, “likely closer to The final pullout fulfilled Biden’s demands that Deuba take a firm stand 100,” and said the State Department pledge to end what he called a “forever on the incident. There were also con- would keep working to get them out. war” that began in response to the cerns if the Deuba government was He praised the military-led evacuation attacks of September 11, 2001, that reluctant to make the report public so as heroic and said the US diplomatic killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, as not to antagonise India. presence would shift to Doha, Qatar. Washington and rural Pennsylvania. >> Continued on page 2 Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national >> Continued on page 6

C M Y K WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 | 02 National Deuba struggles to expand Cabinet as coalition partners squabble

>> Continued from page 1 “On budget, discussions are under- “We have made a request to the way… on whether to bring a replace- prime minister to deactivate the ordi- ment bill in the House. The law minis- nance.” ter [Karki] is holding consultations,” Deuba was appointed prime minis- said Khadka. “As far as Cabinet expan- ter on July 13 as per a Supreme Court sion is concerned, we have to reach an order. The court on July 12 restored agreement on portfolios among the the House of Representatives dis- coalition partners.” solved by KP Sharma Oli in May and Khadka admitted that there are ordered the appointment of Deuba as calls from some sections for the ordi- prime minister. nance to be repealed before the On July 18, Deuba won the vote of Cabinet is expanded. “Minister Karki confidence, as he was supported by is also holding discussions on sum- the Communist Party of Nepal moning the House session.” (Maoist Centre), the Madhav Nepal The Deuba government prorogued faction of the UML, the Janata the House on August 16 and the next Samajbadi Party and Rastriya day it introduced the ordinance on Janamorcha. easing party splits. Deuba, however, was waiting for the UML to split, as without the Nepal faction’s support, he was not confident Insiders say the of a majority in the House when it came to passing bills. major concern is Despite the splits in the UML and the JSP, Deuba’s struggle to expand how the coalition the Cabinet has continued. A Nepali Congress leader said there partners cooperate post photo: Beeju Maharjan is a tentative decision on the distribu- with Deuba. A man collects water at a stone spout at Tangal Hiti in Lalitpur on Tuesday. tion of ministries among the coalition partners, but Cabinet expansion could take a few more days, as there are some disagreements between Yadav Deuba himself is under pressure and Nepal. from his own party to expand the The leader, who spoke on condition Cabinet. A meeting of the rival faction of anonymity, said that the CPN in the party, led by Ram Chandra Nepali returnees from India receiving (Unified Socialist) is demanding at Poudel, on Tuesday decided to pile least five ministries, including the pressure on Deuba to expand the Ministry of Physical Planning and Cabinet as soon as possible. Infrastructure, and the Ministry of “We have decided to urge the prime Covid-19 shots at Gaddachauki border Industry, Commerce and Supplies. minister also to fix the number of The JSP too has set its sights on the ministerial portfolios divided among Ministry of Physical Planning and various parties,” said Arjun Narsingh Around 375 people have received AstraZeneca vaccine at the border point as of Tuesday, health officials say. Infrastructure and the Industry, KC, a senior Congress leader. Commerce and Supplies. The JSP says Deuba had assured at least two min- BHAWANI BHATTA returned from India. it needs at least one of them. istries for the Poudel camp and one for KANCHANPUR, AUG 31 Narendra Joshi of Darchula was These are considered lucrative min- the Krishna Prasad Sitaula faction. also administered his first dose of istries, given the high financial trans- Insiders say allocation of ministeri- The District Health Office in vaccine at Gaddachauki border point actions, and with elections around the al portfolios to the factions within the Kanchanpur started providing Covid- in Kanchanpur on Monday. corner, many say most parties want to Congress won’t be much of a problem 19 vaccines to Nepali returnees from “I know when and where to go for control them. and that major concern is how the India at the Gaddachauki border point the second dose in Nepal. It was diffi- The Congress, which is controlling coalition partners cooperate with from Thursday. cult for common people like us to get home and law ministries at present, Deuba. “As per the government decision, vaccinated in India,” said Joshi. wants to keep foreign and health min- As per a tentative agreement among we have been administering the first Of late, the infection rate istries for itself. the top leaders, Congress will get five dose of AstraZeneca vaccine to those among people returning from India The Maoist Centre has been given ministries, besides the two it is returning from India through the bor- has dwindled. finance and energy ministries so far. leading now, and the Maoist Centre, der point. Those who received the first According to health workers, out of Deuba has been receiving flak for CPN (Unified Socialist) and JSP will dose will receive their second dose at 300 people entering Nepal from the failing to give his government a full get five ministers and one state their respective local units,” said Gaddichauki border point, only one or shape even as he is close to hitting two minister each. Shivaraj Sunar, chief at the District two persons test positive for months of his prime ministership, Congress has already sent Umesh Health Office in Kanchanpur. Covid-19 through antigen testing on a especially when the country is in the Shrestha as the minister of state for According to Sunar, all returnees daily basis. midst of a Covid-19 crisis and has its health. As per the constitutional pro- from India have to take the vaccine at “The vaccination drive at the bor- foreign policy in disarray. visions, the Council of Ministers can the border point. der point ensures that the infection The budget, introduced by the erst- have a maximum of 25 members. “These days, around 200 to 250 indi- rate does not increase. It will be help- while KP Sharma Oli government Currently Deuba is leading 17 minis- viduals are entering Nepal from ful in preventing the possible third through an ordinance, is in limbo. tries. Leaders say unless there is a Gaddachauki border point on a daily wave of the pandemic,” said Sunar. “We are particularly focused on decision on ordinance, Cabinet expan- basis. Among them, approximately 100 Post Photo: Bhawani Bhatta The second wave of the Covid-19 four key issues like budget, calling the sion is unlikely. are receiving their Covid-19 jabs at the Nepali returnees from India get their names registered for vaccination. infection had affected several districts House session, deactivation of the Yadav, the JSP chair, said further border point. The rest have already of Sudurpaschim Province, as return- ordinance related to the Political discussion on ministerial portfolio been inoculated in India,” said Sunar. testing at the border. Those who test relieved with the government’s initia- ees from India were sent home with- Parties Act and Cabinet expansion,” division will take place after a deci- According to the data of the District positive are sent to isolation facilities tive. out having undergone even a basic said Purna Bahadur Khadka, sion on the ordinance. Health Office, 375 individuals had while the rest are given their first dose “I got my first dose of Covid-19 vac- health check up at the border. As Congress general secretary, who was “We will enter the Cabinet received AstraZeneca vaccines in the of the vaccine at the border,” said cine at the border point. Now I will many as 175 people died of Covid-19 in present at Tuesday’s meeting of the expansion process after the ordinance Gaddachauki border point as of Sunar. return to India only after receiving Kanchanpur during the second wave coalition partners. is repealed,” said Yadav. “Discussion Tuesday. Nepali workers who missed out on the second dose,” said Lokendra Bista, as compared to just 16 fatalities dur- Khadka said all the issues would be on portfolio division will start after “Returnees have to undergo antigen the vaccination drive in India are a resident of Jajarkot who recently ing the first wave. resolved “soon”. that.” Probe hints at Indian Bajura cut off from national road network for two months security personnel’s ... Floods and landslides since mid-June have damaged the Sanfe-Martadi road section at several places. >> Continued from page 1 the Nepali state too has not been able ARJUN SHAH The probe panel submitted the to pay attention to the region. DHANGADHI, AUG 31 report, exactly a month after the inci- Darchula, however, is a region dent, but the government has not which Nepal’s political parties have Martadi, the district headquarters of made the details public yet. used for their partisan interests and Bajura, has been disconnected from The panel, according to a statement they consider it a strategic issue. the national road network for the past issued by the Home Ministry, has rec- Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and two months due to floods and land- ommended that the government make Lipulekh, which Nepal included in its slides. Prices of essential commodi- arrangements for the livelihood of new map published in May last year, ties have skyrocketed in the district Dhami’s family and education of the fall in Darchula. The region is claimed owing to the lengthy transport disrup- children. by India as its own. tion. The Gautam-led probe panel had The Nepali state’s presence in the Floods and landslides since mid- Deputy Inspector General of Nepal region, however, is nil. June have blocked the Sanfe-Martadi Police DIG Purushottam Kandel, The absence of the state has made road section at several places. Around Hutaraj Thapa, an investigation Darchula people depend entirely on 17 kilometres of the road section has officer from the National Investigation India—not only when they have to suffered severe damage from the dis- Department, Suresh Shrestha, a sen- travel to their own district headquar- asters while two kilometres of the ior superintendent from the Armed ters or to Kathmandu but also when road have been swept away due to Police Force, Jyotsana Bhatta Joshi, they have to buy daily essentials. embankment erosion by the assistant chief district officer of On July 30, Jaya Singh Dhami was Budhiganga river. Darchula, as members. on his way to Kathmandu, the Capital, “Massive landslides have erupted Nabin Singh Dhami, an eyewitness, where he was supposed to complete below and above the road from Balle to had told the Post on August 1 that Jaya some tasks before flying abroad as a Dwari. The road has been totally had almost made it to the other side migrant worker. But in the lack of a swept away by landslides in the area,” when he suddenly fell, along with the road connecting his village and the said Padam Bahadur Baduwal, mayor cable after it was detached from a tree district headquarters, he was left with of Badimalika Municipality. on the Indian side, into the river. no option than to take the risky means Landslides have blocked around 30 Anand Swarup, then district magis- of crossing the raging Mahakali river. km of the Barjagadh-Jadanga road trate of Pithoragarh, had written to People of Darchula have for long section in more than a dozen places. A his Nepali counterpart Siddha Raj said that unless the state pays atten- bridge at Taprisera, which had been Joshi, chief district officer of tion to their plight and the conditions swept away by last year’s flood, has yet Darchula, on August 1, claiming that they live in, lip service by political to be constructed. Post Photo: Arjun Shah the Sashastra Seema Bal was not parties in Kathmandu and their pro- Sick people who need to be taken Road repair works have been hampered by continuous rains and landslides, officials say. involved in the incident. nouncement of reclaiming territory outside the district for treatment have Nepal’s failure to make its position mean little, as more residents could been hit hardest by the road blockage. Bahadur Malla, a local trader in Kolti. along the road. But the work has been that the company will submit its on the incident had created quite an meet Jaya Singh’s fate. “The only road connecting the dis- “The price of Mota rice, which stood hampered by continuous rains and reports within a few months. uproar, with some accusing the Deuba Amid the delay in making the report trict headquarters to the rest of the at Rs 52 per kg before the road disrup- landslides. An alternative track The landslides along the Barjugad- government of making attempts not public, Deuba had come under pres- country has remained closed for a tion, has gone up to Rs 62.” should be constructed in the area Jadanga section do not only block the to antagonise India. sure from his coalition partners as long time, affecting the lives of every- The 58km road section from since the Barjugad-Jadanga road is road but also leave various roadside Gautam, who led the probe panel, well. one in Bajura. The road blockage has Achham’s Sanphe to Bajura’s Martadi highly prone to landslides,” said settlements at high risk. The land at told the Post last week that there were On Monday, leaders of the ruling led to price hikes and shortage of is highly prone to landslides and Daman Bista, an engineer at the Amkot village in Budhiganga multiple factors leading to the delay in coalition, including Baburam daily essential commodities,” said floods during the monsoon season. Division Road Office in Sanfebagar, Municipality-1 has developed cracks, completing their investigation report Bhattarai, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Chief District Officer Gopal Kumar Around 20 km of the road section lies Achham. as landslides have damaged the road on time. Dev Prasad Gurung and Beduram Adhikari. in Achham while the remaining 38 km The Division Road Office in just below the settlement. He said that at least two members Bhusal, expressed their dissatisfac- The residents of Kolti, a remote lies in Bajura. Sanfebagar is responsible for repair- “Three houses in the settlement were faced with some pressing family tion at the delay in making the report area in the eastern part of Bajura, are According to Dipak Bikram Shah, ing the road and resuming transporta- have developed cracks while a total of matters and that they were not availa- public. They called on the prime min- facing a shortage of essential com- the mayor of Budhiganga tion. “Study is on to construct an 113 houses are at high risk. We don’t ble to finalise the report. ister to make the government’s posi- modities. Municipality, it is not possible to con- alternative road in the Dhuralsain- know when landslides will sweep “As you know, this issue is quite tion clear at the earliest. “We used to transport one kilogram struct the landslide-ravaged road from Tipada area. The road office has also away the entire settlement,” said sensitive,” said Gautam. “The area is It was not immediately clear when of goods at Rs 9 from Dhangadhi to Balle to Dwari as per the old align- signed an agreement with Geo Nandaram Padhya, a resident of also remote so it took time to complete the detailed report would be made Kolti via road. Now we pay around Rs ment. An alternative road should be International Company to conduct a Amkot. “We have nowhere to go. The the investigation.” public. 25 to transport the same goods on constructed in the area, he added. geological study of the area. The alter- government should either control the Gautam was right in saying that the Home Minister Khand refused to mules. Prices of the available goods “Efforts are underway to clear the native road will be constructed on the landslides or relocate the settlement “area is remote”—so remote it is that speak on the matter. are also very high,” said Hasta debris and resume transportation basis of the report,” said Bista, adding to a safer place.”

C M Y K 03 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 National Shakya and Acharya may lose chief Gokarneshwar reopens minister posts if they remain in UML schools, but experts say With some UML assembly members defecting to CPN (Unified Socialist), Oli supporters could slip into minority. rush could prove costly

TIKA R PRADHAN bers. CPN (Unified Socialist) has pro- Health Ministry has said the pandemic is not over KATHMANDU, AUG 31 posed its leader Rajendra Pandey for new chief minister of the province yet and children are at high risk of infections. The two remaining chief ministers of and is holding talks in the five-party the CPN-UML are set to lose their posi- alliance. In the assembly, the Maoist ARJUN POUDEL tiffin from home.” tions with 12 members of the Bagmati Centre has 23, Nepali Congress 22, KATHMANDU, AUG 31 Besides, all students will be Province and 10 members of Province Bibeksheel Sajha 3, and the RPP and required to wear face masks, maintain 1 defecting to Madhav Nepal’s CPN Nepal Workers and Peasants Party Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, distance, and schools must set up (Unified Socialist). This will strip the have two each members besides one the Gokarneshwor Municipality in handwashing stations, according to party led by former prime minister independent. Kathmandu has allowed schools to him. KP Sharma Oli of leadership posi- Similar was the case with Bhim resume in-person classes starting But doctors say reopening schools tions in four provinces that it held for Acharya, who was close to Madhav Tuesday. in the midst of the pandemic is full of over three-and-a-half years. Nepal and Jhala Nath Khanal. He was All the academic institutions in the risks, especially considering the ongo- As many as 12 members of the defeated by Sherdhan Rai in the elec- municipality, which were shut down ing rapid surge in cases involving the Bagmati Provincial Assembly, who tion for the Parliamentary Party lead- after the second wave of the pandemic highly contagious Delta variant of the were elected on CPN-UML tickets, er of Province 1. hit the country in April, have been coronavirus. defected to the CPN (Unified Socialist) Since then Acharya had not given permitted to run physical classes, the “Since we have not been conducting on Tuesday, pushing the recently up his claim to the post. Lately in mayor of the municipality told the enough tests and do not have a proper appointed Chief Minister Asta Laxmi negotiations with Oli, Acharya had Post. screening system, we still do not know Shakya into minority. got the assurance that he would “We have made an official decision the scale of infections,” says Dr “A dozen members of the provincial file Photos Post replace Rai as chief minister if he to allow in-person classes from Basudev Pandey, a former director of assembly including a minister have Asta Laxmi Shakya Bhim Acharya lobbied for party unity. A day after Tuesday,” Santosh Chalise, the mayor the Epidemiology and Disease Control notified the provincial office of the Madhav Nepal supporters registered of the municipality, said. “We consult- Division. “Who will be responsible if a Election Commission that we are with Among the four chief ministers the Bagmati chief minister with his CPN (Unified Socialist) with the ed parents and several committees of large number of students become the CPN (Unified Socialist),” said elected from the CPN-UML, who are party’s vice-chair Asta Laxmi Shakya. Election Commission, Acharya was the municipality before making the infected at once?” Basanta Manandhar, a member of the close to Oli, two have already been Surprising everyone in the party appointed on August 26 with the hope decision.” Doctors say even if infected chil- Provincial Assembly. ousted with the alliance of five parties and outside, Shakya, a longtime ally that he would stop the provincial All three districts of the Valley— dren do not become seriously ill, they While at least 10 UML members of garnering the majority both at the of Madhav Nepal and a strong critic members from joining Nepal’s party. Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and can still pass the infection to the elder Province 1 Assembly are preparing to federal government and the provinces. of Oli’s moves, on August 18 readily The 93-member Provincial Assembly Lalitpur—are major hotspots of the members of their families. join the CPN (Unified Socialist) on Oli’s confidant Prithvi Subba Gurung became chief minister of Bagmati, a currently has 92 members after a coronavirus with over 9,000 active Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Wednesday. lost the Gandaki chief minister posi- post she had been eyeing since her Maoist Centre member lost position for cases in total currently, according to Kali Prasad Parajuli, however, said In a bid to save his position, the tion on June 12. election as a provincial assembly having defected to the UML. Acharya the Ministry of Health and Population. the District Administration Office has newly-appointed chief minister of After Gurung, Oli himself was member in 2017. Shakya had agreed to needs 47 members to win a majority Public health experts have warned yet to decide whether to allow schools Province 1, Bhim Acharya, had a few replaced as prime minister by Nepali contest the provincial assembly elec- but among 51 members of the CPN- that reopening the schools in the to reopen. days ago managed to bring two leaders Congress President Sher Bahadur tions after she was promised the chief UML including the Speaker and one midst of a pandemic is like inviting “Today I spoke to the mayor of close to Madhav Nepal—Bal Bahadur Deuba on July 13. minister position, but Oli, having member charged with criminal another major catastrophe. They said Gokarneshwor Municipality and Samsohang and Laxman Tiwari—to Around a month after Oli’s ouster, it secured a majority for his faction in offence—the party will only have 49 children are highly vulnerable to the requested him not to reopen the his fold and made them ministers. was time for another of his close the UML provincial Parliamentary members who can vote. Even if five infection as they are not yet immu- schools,” said Parajuli. “Our [chief However, Acharya will fall into minor- aides, Shankar Pokhrel, to go. He was Party, used a vote to elect Paudel, his members stand with the Unified nised against Covid-19. Moreover, district officers of the Valley] restric- ity if five provincial members defect replaced by Maoist Centre’s Kul confidant, as chief minister. Socialist, Acharya will slip into strict adherence to public health tions on schools and several other to the CPN (Unified Socialist). Prasad KC on August 12. Shakya had appointed two minis- minority. measures at schools is almost impossi- businesses are in effect until today “At least 10 members of the provin- But UML Chairman Oli tried to play ters after she took charge of office. Coalition partners in the federal ble and there is no mechanism in and we will take a new decision tomor- cial assembly will declare their affilia- a trick in both the remaining provinc- But one of them—Social Development government—Nepali Congress, CPN place to monitor if the Covid-19 safety tion to the CPN (Unified Socialist) on es—Province 1 and Bagmati—by Minister Krishna Khanal—has defect- (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified measures are followed strictly. Wednesday at the provincial office of replacing chief ministers Sherdhan ed to the CPN (Unified Socialist). Socialist) and Janata Samajbadi “If any schools anywhere in the Kathmandu CDO the Election Commission,” said Rai and Dormani Poudel, with lead- In Bagmati, the 110-member strong Party—are working to expand the Valley are allowed to resume in-per- Rajendra Rai, a central committee ers, who used to be close to Madhav assembly after the death of UML Cabinet to give it a full shape. son classes, it could invite a disaster,” says the local member of the CPN (Unified Socialist), Nepal and had been vying for the pro- member Pashupati Chaulagain has Currently Nepali Congress has 21 warned Dr Krishna Man Shakya, vice who has been proposed as the new vincial posts. 109 members. Shakya needs 55 mem- seats, Maoist Centre has 15, and president of Nepal Public Health administration chief minister candidate. “We were A day before Madhav Kumar Nepal bers for a simple majority but with 12 Janata Samajbadi Party has 3 seats, Association. “Even the vaccinated planning to notify the office today went to the Election Commission to members among the UML’s 56 mem- Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Morcha people are getting infected and cases has yet to decide on itself but due to a public holiday in apply for a new party, UML Chairman bers defecting to the new party she and RPP have one each member in the of reinfection are being reported. We school reopening. our province it has been postponed.” Oli, in a dramatic move, had replaced now has the support of only 44 mem- province. should not forget what happened when the authorities refused to shut down schools before the start of the second wave.” row [Wednesday].” Over 6,000 people died and hun- He said police will be deployed to dreds of thousands of people were close the schools if any local units infected in the second wave of the violated the restrictions. pandemic that hit the country in April The Ministry of Health and and May. Health facilities were over- Population also said time has not whelmed with patients and several come yet to reopen schools as the pan- died after hospitals ran out of oxygen. demic is not over and children are at Chalise, the mayor of Gokarneshwor high risk of infections. Municipality, said the decision to “The Health Ministry has not rec- resume in-person classes was taken ommended reopening schools,” Dr because students have been deprived Samir Kumar Adhikari, joint spokes- of normal schooling for a long time. person for the Health Ministry, told Virtual classes have not been effective, the Post. “Conducting physical classes as many students do not have access to is full of risks.” high speed internet and gadgets--lap- The Covid-19 Crisis Management top and mobile phones, he argued. Centre, however, a few days ago per- “It is not possible for a family to mitted local administrations to provide individual laptops for two- enforce smart lockdowns—identifying three children,” said Chalise. “If the Covid-19 hotspots and infection clus- children study in different grades and ters within their jurisdictions and have classes at the same time, then enforcing localised restrictions. But they need to study in separate rooms, the centre’s spokesperson said they but our reality is that many families will not allow schools to reopen. cannot afford to rent a flat,” he said, “We have not permitted any local mentioning the practical difficulties units to reopen schools and have no of online classes. immediate plans to do so,” said He said that it is not wise to deprive Nurhari Khatiwada, spokesperson for the children of their fundamental the centre. right to education. When asked why Experts say before reopening his municipality decided to resume schools, certain things including the physical clases, when other local units number of active cases; positivity have not taken such a decision yet, rate; the status of testing, contact trac- Chalise said someone needed to take a ing and active surveillance and moni- bold decision and he did. toring mechanisms; and facilities for Chalise said the chief district treatment, isolation and quarantin- officer of Kathmandu contacted him ing, should be taken into account. on Tuesday and asked why the deci- “We need to first set up an effective sion was taken without consulting screening mechanism to know the sta- with the District Administration tus of infection among children and Office. “I told him that we held consul- other groups at the local level,” said tations in the municipality and with Dr GD Thakur, a former director of the parents of schoolchildren before the Epidemiology and Disease Control making the decision,” he said. Division. “I told him that we will strictly mon- “Yes, teaching and learning activi- itor whether schools are following the ties have been affected due to the pan- health protocols and social distancing demic but that does not mean we Post Photo: Anish Regmi in classrooms,” said Chalise. should reopen schools immediately People play chess by the roadside to pass their time at Koteshwar, Kathmandu on Tuesday. “Students will have to bring their own without assessing the risk.” Kathmandu mayor says garbage collection will resume today Shakya blames damaged road to Sisdole for the mess. City has agreed to pay the Department of Roads for repairing the road to Sisdole landfill site.

ANUP OJHA years, is long stretched beyond its capacity. Ishwor Man Dangol, spokesperson of KATHMANDU, AUG 31 Initially, the City had made an agreement Kathmandu Metropolitan City, however, to dump garbage at Sisdole for three years. says a better solution to the garbage prob- Unable to cope with widespread criticism Sisdole residents have time and again lem is not possible until the Ministry of over the garbage piling up in the Capital’s obstructed garbage disposal. Urban Development makes available the streets, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City “The City will pay the roads department Banchare Dada landfill site. Banchare on Tuesday announced that it would for the repairs and if there are any issues Dada is 1.9km west of Sisdole, which is resume garbage collection from with the residents of Sisdole, we will solve around 27km west of Kathmandu. Wednesday. them through talks,” said Shakya. At Tuesday’s meeting, Kathmandu’s After a meeting with the Director For the past one week, Kathmandu’s chief district officer Parajuli promised to General of the Department of Roads Arjun garbage piles have made headlines in the provide security for managing garbage if Jung Thapa, Kathmandu’s Chief District mainstream media and generated strong there is any obstruction from local resi- Officer Kali Prasad Parajuli and other offi- reactions on social media. On Monday, a dents. “If the Sisdole residents have some cials, Kathmandu Mayor Bidya Sundar group of youths associated with the Youth problem they should come to us, but they Shakya announced that his office would Congress Nepal had dumped garbage in are not supposed to obstruct the vehicles,” resume garbage collection from 6 am front of the City’s office protesting its fail- said Parajuli. Wednesday. ure to manage waste. Every day, Kathmandu Valley generates “We could not pick up garbage as the Amid mounting public pressure, Mayor around 1,200 tonnes of solid waste, of road to Sisdole landfill site has been dam- Shakya had earlier this week written to which nearly 600 tonnes comes from aged by rains. Now that the director gener- Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to Kathmandu alone. The landfill site at al of the roads department has promised help solve the garbage problem. A source Sisdole, around 27 km southwest of to repair the road, we will resume collect- at the City office said Tuesday’s meeting Kathmandu, is spread over 740 ropoanis ing garbage from tomorrow,” said Shakya. was held after Prime Minister Deuba (37.65 hectares). Initially a gorge, Sisdole Post Photo: Keshav THapa However, Sisdole, where the city has urged all stakeholders to solve the garbage has turned into a garbage mountain and Activists collect waste from the roadside in Kathmandu on Tuesday as a symbolic protest against the failure of Kathmandu been dumping its garbage for the past 16 problem. exceeded its capacity years ago. Metropolitan City to manage the city’s waste for weeks.

C M Y K WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 | 04 Opinion EDITORIAL The Kabul chaos and South Asia Living on the margins It may not be the Saigon moment, but its Dhami’s story is the story of a democratic state reverberations are unlikely failing to fulfil its responsibility. to be any less calamitous.

A statement released by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday, August 31, has implicated India’s Sashastra Seema CK LAL Bal in the disappearance of Jaya Singh Dhami, a 33-year-old South Side Darchula man, on July 30. Dhami was allegedly sent plunging into raging waters while the improvised cable crossing he was using to traverse the Mahakali river was severed. As per the statement, a report submitted by a probe team When JB Tuhure, 78, died last week, he formed by the government has called for an investigation was affiliated with the Maoists, but he rose to fame singing songs of aware- into the association of the Indian border security forces with ness to solicit support for the Marxist- the case, and take diplomatic initiatives to bring the cul- Leninists. The undertone of sadness in the revolutionary songs of Tuhure was prit(s) to book. The report has recommended that the govern- unmistakable. Tuhure’s tunes were ment initiate diplomatic efforts with India to provide Dhami’s simultaneously rebellious and reassur- ing. It’s unlikely that complex emotions family with compensation. It has also recommended that the crossed the minds of the largely unedu- Nepal government provide Dhami’s family with subsistence cated Taliban fighters that killed sing- er Fawad Andarabi in cold blood, but and educational support. hardcore Islamists condemn music and As the ministry’s statement suggests, the probe report is fine arts. Love and fear are said to be the only two primary emotions that unequivocal in associating the Indian SSB with Dhami’s dis- drive all human actions. appearance. The government should, therefore, initiate diplo- On the face of it, there is little con- nection between the destruction of the matic talks with the Indian government to ensure that the soaring statues of the Buddha in guilty are brought to justice. Earlier in the month, the Deuba Bamiyan Valley, and the physical and psychological devastation wrought by administration was quick to announce Rs1 million compen- the 9/11 attacks except that the Taliban Reuters sation for Dhami’s family in a bid to mollify Dhami’s kin and were implicated in these heinous acts. vulnerabilities. Saigon finally fell on communists. In 1979, the Soviets invad- impact of the pandemic, the pressure Along with the stampede at the airport, April 30, 1975, and merely two months ed Afghanistan to maintain a friendly of the Rohingya refugees and the frus- the public. It is now time for the administration to follow up babies being thrown over the razor later, Indian prime- minister Indira regime in power, but their offensive trations of West Asian returnees are on its promise. wires by their desperate mothers and a Gandhi declared an internal emergen- merely added fuel to the fire of Islamist likely to enthuse militant mullahs that young dentist, among others, falling off cy alleging that foreign forces were fervour that the Americans had ignited have been lying low and watching The government should also ensure that such incidents do the undercarriage of a military plane conspiring to oust her. in order to give their Cold War adver- developments in Kabul with some not repeat in the future. Jaya Singh Dhami’s story is not his as it flew out, somewhat less moving In the newly-independent saries their own Vietnam. After four interest. pictures of defaced signboards from Bangladesh, military officers con- long decades, Afghanistan remains On the teardrop island currently story alone. It is the story of a democratic state failing to the streets of Kabul shall remain the spired and killed Sheikh Mujibur stuck in the quagmire as it continues to being run as a family enterprise of the provide a sense of security to its citizens. It is the story of defining images of the failed Rahman in mid-August the same year pull all of its putative rescuers into the Rajpaksa dynasty, fresh conflicts are nation-building project in Afghanistan. and introduced Islamist politics in the boggy pit. likely to rekindle memories of the late how Nepalis have been living on the margins of the Nepali The fall of the United States-backed secular country. Outside links of con- 1970s and early 1980s. The race between state. Living far away from the “centre” that is Kathmandu, government in Afghanistan may not spirators were never convincingly Kabul calls the Chinese and the Indians in the exactly be the Saigon moment for established. Anti-Tamil violence and There is little basis for the division of Maldives will perhaps intensify as the locals of remote districts such as Darchula spend their life- President Biden, but its reverberations exasperation of the people of Jaffna the Eurasian landmass into Europe exploratory mujahidin begin to look times in a state of statelessness. in South Asia are unlikely to be any with Sinhala-only policies of the Sri and Asia. The concept of South Asia is for hospitable bases closer to the ship- less calamitous. Metaphorically speak- Lankan government in Colombo were even more nebulous which continues to ping lanes in the Indian Ocean. By all Even today, the only way available to them to cross rivers is ing, the earth shakes even when a big proximate causes, but it’s still unclear baffle cartographers. Afghanistan and accounts, India is the net loser of the by clinging to improvised cables or tuins. Darchula residents tree falls. An entire mountain of mili- which foreign forces funded Velupillai Maldives are member countries of the Kabul debacle. India’s participation in tary presence from the crossroads of Prabhakaran to establish the South Asian Association for Regional the US-led democratisation project has have to cross over to Dharchula on the Indian side for road West, Central and South Asia being Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam in Cooperation (SAARC) while Myanmar gone to waste. Its aid and assistance in travel to the district headquarters and elsewhere. They have moved is sure to rattle the entire neigh- 1976, and then helped decimate him and Singapore are with the Association strengthening the Afghan Army has bourhood. after long years of deadly conflicts. The of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). proven to be meaningless. Its invest- to depend on Indian towns along the border for medical care signals from Saigon reached Islamabad Negotiators of the Taliban may have ments in trade and infrastructure and trade. It is this excessive dependence on India that has Saigon signals where General Zia ul-Haq, a protégé of promised president Donald Trump that development are at risk. And all of it Critics of the Saigon moment hypothe- prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, they will not allow their land to be used took place when Indians were heading led to the continuing dehumanisation and marginalisation of sis are quick to point out obvious dis- seized power through a military coup for any activity against the interests of the UN Security Council. Little wonder, the people in remote far-western districts of Nepal. similarities. President Biden himself in July 1977, and intensified the the US, but the Islamic Emirate of Indians are maintaining a meaningless ridiculed all such comparisons. North Islamisation of Pakistan’s polity, socie- Afghanistan will be bound by its sol- silence as Pakistanis celebrate the The government cannot wash its hands of the incident by Vietnam was an organised entity with ty and institutions. emn duty towards the Ummah. “freedom” of Afghans with glee. simply implicating the Indian SSB. Instead, it should look a motivated army trained in guerrilla Across the Durand Line, most The Tatmadaw junta in Naypyidaw Nepal is likely to suffer sterility in warfare. The Soviets as well as the observers agree that the intensification may interpret the fall of Kabul as the the name of stability just as it did when inwards and see how it has created conditions for the perpet- Chinese were behind the Vietcong. The of internecine warfare began with the failure of the democratisation project US ambassador Ellsworth Bunker fre- ual marginalisation of people belonging to a specific region, Taliban, on the other hand, are com- Saur Revolution in 1978 when Daoud everywhere, but the twin risks of an quently oversaw the Vietnamese cam- posed of a ragtag band of religious Khan was killed in a coup d’état and Islamic blowback in the south and eth- paign from Kathmandu in the late 1960s class, caste and gender. Its presence as the guardian of the zealots inspiring fear among all its the pro-Soviet People’s Democratic nic resurgence up in the north are and early 1970s. The socio-economic neighbours save its patrons in Pakistan. Party of Afghanistan took over power likely to make an already volatile situa- elite of the city have begun to citizens should be visible not only in theory but also in prac- Similarities lie in the signals emanat- in Afghanistan. Alarmed Americans tion of the frontline state of the incipi- salivate at the expectation of height- tice. The Darchula incident should serve as a potent remind- ing from the humiliation of the defeat- began to clandestinely identify, train ent cold war worse. Bangladesh had ened US interest in Nepal to recuperate ed party—the fall of Saigon blew the and arm tribal fighters who later came barely succeeded in putting the Islamist from the humiliations that they er to the government in fulfilling its responsibilities towards myth of the invincibility of the US and to be called “holy warriors” or mujahi- genie back in the bottle in order to fuel have lately endured in most Islamic its citizens. the fall of Kabul reveals its increasing din waging war against the godless its economic transformation. The countries. A case of political déjà vu

syndicate led by his coalition part- Unfortunately, for the ners. At this point, we must ask our- selves whether this is the change that people of Nepal, we are we desire. In my opinion, a change at the helm entrapped in a maze of is immaterial to the nation at this point. In the life of a country, there are instability. only a few opportunities that it gets to break through the vicious circle. These opportunities can be seen as SAMBRIDH GHIMIRE being at a crossroads in the life of a nation, one towards a virtuous circle where inclusive democratic institu- tions are working for the equitable distribution of resources. Then there is the vicious circle, where although a usurper brings about a change at the helm with no overriding change to The last few months have been tumul- policies to facilitate the smooth func- tuous for the nation, with the country tioning of governmental apparatus. experiencing widespread deaths due Nepal has had numerous trysts with to Covid-19 coupled with political critical junctures. But instead of impasses. Since early 2020 former learning from past mistakes and mov- Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had ing towards building and strengthen- been a target of the neo-elites of ing institutions, the medieval extrac- Kathmandu, be it Twitter or print and tive and exclusive methods continue digital media. One of the significant to dominate politics. reasons was his mannerism at the The English learnt their lessons helm of affairs. Oli was alleged to from the Glorious Revolution, and the have not been consultative and demo- French pulled up their socks after the cratic within the party. He was accused French revolution; the Japanese of making parliament inconsequen- mended their ways after the tial, and he has been attributed the Honourable restoration, these, were blame for destroying the institutions the critical junctures in their journey, of the state like the concentrating after which they set on a path to create powers with the prime minister’s inclusive political institutions which office, resisting devolution of powers prevented usurpation of power. They to the provinces etc. developed inclusive economic institu- The reasons, as mentioned earlier, tions, strengthening the continuation combined with the rising dissatisfac- Shutterstock of inclusive political institutions. It tion among the ruling elites of the ing inclusive institutions that would the amendment to the party division behind the said provision of the PPA on television, newspapers and streets looks like the Democratic Movement nation and a few catalysts, proved to promote the interests of the people, provision in the Political Parties Act came at the backdrop of unstable gov- regarding the derailment of institu- of 1950, the People’s Movement of 1990 be the final nail in the coffin. With the regimes were interested in extracting (PPA). There were two primary rea- ernments of the past. It is interesting tions by the communist regime. There and People’s Movement II of 2006 ouster of Oli, there was a general hope maximum resources for themselves sons: first, the political parties act was to note that all of the five major par- was a ray of hope that the new govern- could not take up the mantle of a crit- that the state of affairs would stabilise and their kith and kin. This extractive intended to safeguard the institutions ties have split at one point or the other. ment change would put a check to ical juncture. In that case, are we if not improve. But, rather than pro- tendency is antithetical to inclusive of democracy and watering down the It was also against the neo-Nepali cul- such perversions. But here we are; awaiting the “divine struggle”? gressing from the perils of Oli rule, institutions, which strengthen democ- provision might erode democratic ture of horse-trading and opportun- after just a month into the govern- In his essay “The Eighteenth the present government seems to be racy and pluralism. The vicious circle, principles. Second, an amendment to ism. But as always, realpolitik has ment, the Prime Minister has recom- Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte”, Karl trapped in the vicious circle of derail- although not inevitable, once in place such a provision will have a long term taken precedence over all other fac- mended that the President prorogue Marx has stated that historical enti- ing democratic institutions. Hence the is challenging to break. impact on the nation’s polity, and tors. the parliament session and promul- ties appear twice, “the first as tragedy, déjà vu. History has numerous anecdotes of hence it would be done through the The other allegation against Oli gate an ordinance hostile to parlia- then as farce”. Let us hope that this Although this vicious circle is not the operation of this circle, but at legislature and not through an ordi- was making the legislature busi- mentary democracy exactly like Oli. action of the government is just a something new to Nepal, the nation present, the current scenario provides nance. ness-less, and indeed so. Oli had issued The Prime Minister has been busy farce and not a tragedy. Whatever it has been a victim to an extraction-ori- us with a clear path to the nation’s But the current government has 25 ordinances in a year, out of which with public relations campaigns at the might be, it’s a textbook case of déjà ented ruling class since the inception future. Unfortunately, for the people of diminished the provision bringing seven were promulgated twice. This cost of strengthening democracy. He vu for the people of Nepal. of the nation-state. The Ranas and the Nepal, we are entrapped in a maze of down the threshold to 20 percent of was his ace in the hole for circumvent- has been unable to expand his cabinet Shahs being the torchbearers of this instability. One of the most conten- either the parliamentary party or cen- ing the legislature. When all this was for the past month due to a lack of Ghimire is a political consultant and extractive regime. Rather than build- tious issues of the past two years was tral committee. The legislative intent being done, there were fierce debates consensus in the power brokerage electoral strategist.

C M Y K 05 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 Money

FOREX US 117.11 Traders hope festival shopping will revitalise economy Euro 138.56 Pound 161.19 Online sales trends and business activity indicators suggest that a fast-paced recovery is underway, insiders say. Australian 85.77 KRISHANA PRASAIN Japanese 10.65 KATHMANDU, AUG 31

Chinese 18.12 With Nepal’s main holiday season Saudi 31.22 drawing closer, free-spending shop- pers are expected to set the market on Qatari 31.72 fire and give the virus-battered econo- my a welcome shot in the arm. Malaysian 28.17 Online sales trends and business Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank activity indicators show that a fast- paced recovery is underway in Nepal’s economy, insiders said. Shares “We are excited about festival sales. We expect more than a twofold growth Nepse 2,975.84pts -2.27% in sales during the festival season this year as people seem to be in a celebra- highest losers tion mood,” said Surakchya Adhikari, RURU MHNL HURJA CLBSL GHL MEN -9.99% -7.76% -6.92% -6.59% -5.94% -5.75% co-founder and chief operating officer at Thulo.com. moderate losers DHPL GLICL NHPC ICFC NLG RADHI The shopping spree begins from -3.97% -3.92% -3.92% -3.88% -3.85% -3.81% Teej, which falls on September 9 this

moderate gainers year. Teej is a fasting festival of SLCF NIBSF1 SBLD84 NICAD8182 NCCD86 SBLD2082 women in Nepal. 0.39% 0.32% 0.3% 0.1% 0.05% 0.02% “The online shopping trend shows highest gainers that people are excited by the approach KRBL MKLB SMB CORBL CMF1 NLICP of the festivals,” said Adhikari. 7.58% 6.08% 5.96% 4.63% 2.84% 1.94% As the population is gradually getting vaccinated and daily Covid-19 infection caseloads are decreasing, merchants are expecting a sales boom. Price Per tola Nepal on Tuesday reported 1,523 bullion new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally Fine Gold Rs 91,200 to 762,647. According to the Health Ministry, 141 people tested positive in Silver Rs 1,205 a total of 3,105 antigen tests. Consumer spending is the main Source: FENEGOSIDA driver of Nepal’s economy. The Central Bureau of Statistics has revealed that, in the last fiscal gasoline watch year 2020-21 ended mid-July, Nepal’s final consumption expenditure at cur- rent prices amounted to Rs3.98 tril- lion, representing 93.38 percent of the gross domestic product, As per Nepal Rastra Bank statistics, in the last two decades, remittance Post Photo: Beeju Maharjan earnings increased 20 times, boosting A vendor arranges clothes at Lagankhel in Lalitpur on Tuesday. consumption and economic growth although Nepal’s economy suffered a fered a negative growth rate for the outside Kathmandu Valley. So we see Nepal Rastra Bank, online payments “We have not made any estimates slowdown. first time in four decades due to Covid- expectations of sales growth.” using cards totalled Rs15 billion in the regarding our sales as things are Nepali migrant workers sent home 19. The growth rate in the last fiscal Sastodeal is hiring an extra 500 last fiscal year. still uncertain. The government may Rs961.05 billion in the last fiscal year, year is expected to be a little under 4 delivery personnel for festival orders. With multiple options to make impose a lockdown again,” said a record-high money transfer to Nepal percent, according to the Central “We have been working on strengthen- online payments now, traders said Sagar Dev Bhatta, co-founder of Mero since Nepalis started going for over- Bureau of Statistics. ing our supply chain even in the far that festive consumption would hit a Kirana. “But we are in constant con- seas employment en masse more than Consumption patterns and trends western region of the country,” he new high. tact with the concerned ministries two decades ago. through both online and offline shop- said. Many people started buying According to e-retailers, they are and agencies to make a wise decision The impact of remittance is seen in ping amid the Covid-19 pandemic this through online platforms during the mostly focusing on food items, the this year,” he said. imports. According to the statistics year are quite optimistic as compared first lockdown that was imposed on highest selling product after clothes “If the government does not issue released by the Department of to last year’s disappointing market March 24, 2020. These first-time buy- during festival time. But prices have stay-home orders during this festival Customs, the country’s overall trend, traders said. ers got hooked and are now regular increased in almost every product seg- season, we are optimistic that there imports grew by 28.66 percent to Amun Thapa, CEO and founder of customers, e-retailers say. ment due to higher shipping costs. will be a sales boom,” he said. Rs1.53 trillion in the last fiscal year Sastodeal, said customer trust in The Dashain and Tihar festivals last Thapa said that prices of television E-retailers are planning for festival despite the pandemic. online business had increased sharply. year saw an exponential growth in sets and other electronic items had sales with bumper offers to woo back In 2019-20, Nepal’s economy suf- “Orders are being placed even from e-commerce business. According to risen this year. customers. Old bike and farm South Korea bans app payment monopolies in world first AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE The South Korean measure comes tem—with its 30 percent commission artists and creators of all economic SEOUL, AUG 31 as Apple and Google face global criti- above a certain threshold—for in-app backgrounds can share their content cism for charging up to 30 percent purchases. without having to worry about the motor bring light South Korean MPs on Tuesday passed commission on app sales and requir- In South Korea, it is also planning commission fees.” a law banning Apple and Google from ing their own payment systems be to charge commission on all content Apple and Google have maintained forcing app developers to use the tech used that collect a share of the trans- payments from October, ending an that commissions charged are stand- giants’ payment systems, effectively actions. The Korean law—locally exemption where commissions were ard in the industry and fair compensa- to Malawi village declaring their lucrative App Store dubbed the “Anti-Google Law”—will only payable for online games. tion for building safe marketplaces and Play Store monopolies illegal. offer users a choice of app payment That announcement prompted an where developers can reach people The bill was approved by 180 votes providers, allowing them to bypass angry response from South Korean around the world. Only around 11 percent of Malawi’s 19 million or so to nil in the National Assembly, mak- charges set by the store owner. artists and creators, with web fiction Ahead of the debate, Apple told AFP ing South Korea the first major econo- “This law will certainly set a prece- writers and webtoon artists accusing that it would put digital purchasers at inhabitants have access to electricity, making it one my to pass legislation on the issue, in dent for other countries, as well as app Google of “power abuse” and cam- risk of fraud, undermine their priva- a move that could set a precedent for developers and content creators world- paigning fiercely for the new law. cy protection and render parental con- of the world’s least electrified countries. other jurisdictions around the world. wide,” Kang Ki-hwan at the Korea “Without this law, our working envi- trols less effective. In the United States three senators Mobile Internet Business Association ronment—where creators are guaran- “We believe user trust in App Store AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Despite the challenges, he is deter- this month introduced a bill to loosen told AFP. teed of full rewards for their efforts— purchases will decrease as a result of YOBE NKOSI (MALAWI), AUG 31 mined to expand his mini-grid to sur- the tech firms’ grip on their stores, It is expected to come into force in would’ve been destroyed,” Seo Bum- this proposal—leading to fewer oppor- rounding areas. while in Europe lawmakers are September, according to reports. gang, a webtoon artist who heads the tunities for the over 482,000 registered Fifteen years ago, when darkness used “Once more villages and schools debating legislation that could force Later this year Google plans to Korea Webtoon Industry Association, developers in Korea who have earned to fall in Yobe Nkosi, a remote village have electricity... people will no longer Apple to bring in alternatives to the enforce globally a requirement for told AFP. “We need this law to protect more than 8.55 trillion won to date in northern Malawi, children did cut down trees (for) charcoal,” he said. App Store. developers to use its payment sys- the diversity of our industry, where with Apple,” it said in a statement. their school homework by candlelight: Students “will have a lot more time there was no electricity. to study,” he said. But that started to change in 2006, As dusk settles over Kasangazi when villager Colrerd Nkosi finished Primary School, perched on an adja- secondary school in Mzimba, some 40 cent hilltop, chatty groups of learners kilometres away, and returned home— file into a classroom for a night-time Sri Lanka declares food emergency as forex crisis worsens and found he could no longer live study session. without power. “Before we had electricity here, we AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Aged 23 at the time, Nkosi soon fig- used to use candles to study,” said stu- COLOMBO, AUG 31 ured out that a stream gushing past dent Gift Mfune, sorting through a the house where he grew up had just heap of text books on his desk. Sri Lanka on Tuesday declared a state enough force to push the pedals on his “Now... we all have no excuse but to of emergency over food shortages as bicycle. pass our examinations,” he exclaimed. private banks ran out of foreign He created a makeshift dynamo that Courtesy of Nkosi, the building is exchange to finance imports. brought power into his home. the only school with power out of 17 With the country suffering Word spread quickly among the others servicing the area. a hard-hitting economic crisis, cluster of brick houses and neigh- Only around 11 percent of Malawi’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he bours began paying regular visits to 19 million or so inhabitants have ordered emergency regulations to charge their mobile phones. access to electricity, making it one of counter the hoarding of sugar, rice “I started getting requests for elec- the world’s least electrified and other essential foods. tricity [and] decided to upgrade,” said countries, according to Sustainable Rajapaksa has named a top army Nkosi, now 38, sawing through Energy for All, a campaign group officer as “Commissioner General of machinery on his verandah in blue backed by the UN. Essential Services to coordinate the overalls. Just four percent of the southern supply of paddy, rice, sugar and other With no prior training, he turned an African country’s rural population is consumer goods”. old fridge compressor into a connected to power, compared to 42 The move followed sharp price rises water-powered turbine and put it in a percent in urban centres. for sugar, rice, onions and potatoes, nearby river, generating electricity for Local councillor Victor Muva point- while long queues have formed six households. ed out that none of the constituency’s outside stores because of shortages of Today, the village is supplied by a more than 18,000 inhabitants were on milk powder, kerosene oil and bigger turbine, built from the the national grid. cooking gas. motor of a disused maize sheller—a He has been lobbying the govern- The government has increased machine that skims kernels of corn ment to help Nkosi expand his work. penalties for food hoarding, but the off the cob. The ministry of energy has prom- shortages come as the country of 21 The gadget has been set up on the ised to help “design a system that million battles a fierce coronavirus village outskirts. The power is produces adequate power” and “con- wave that is claiming more than 200 carried along metal cables strung struct power lines that are safe and lives a day. from a two-kilometre (one-mile) line reliable,” he said. The economy shrank by a record 3.6 of tree trunks topped with wooden Across the valley, loud laughter percent in 2020 because of the pan- planks. erupts from a house in which Nkosi’s demic and in March last year the gov- The users pay no fee for the power cousin Satiel and several relatives are ernment banned imports of vehicles but give Nkosi some money for main- watching a Zambian comedy show on and other items, including edible oils tenance—slightly more than $1.00 a small television. and turmeric, an essential spice in AFP/RSS (0.85 euros) per household per month. Young and old cluster local cooking, in a bid to save foreign A labourer pulls a cart loaded with vegetables at the main market in Colombo on Tuesday. “The electricity is basically free,” around the screen, teenagers wincing exchange. Nkosi said, speaking in local at embarrassing comments from Importers still say they have been bid to shore up the local currency. value against the US dollar in that exchange to buy essential medicines Chichewa. their elders. unable to source dollars to pay for the Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves fell to time, according to bank data. and vaccines. He admitted that the maintenance “I cannot ably explain in food and medicines they are allowed $2.8 billion at the end of July, from $7.5 Energy minister Udaya A presidential aide has warned income was too small to cover repair words how this has changed my life,” to buy. billion in November 2019 when the Gammanpila has appealed to that fuel rationing may be introduced costs, which he mainly funded from Satiel said. “I am now able to do so Two weeks ago, the Central Bank of government took office and the rupee motorists to use fuel sparingly so that by the end of the year unless his own pocket. many things.” Sri Lanka increased interest rates in a has lost more than 20 percent of its the country can use its foreign consumption was reduced.

C M Y K WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 | 06 world Briefing Taliban celebrate defeating Last US troops leave ... Pakistan says 11 Islamic State >> Continued from page 1 suicide bomber struck outside an air- militants killed in raid His decision, announced in April, port gate. reflected a national weariness of the Speaking shortly after that attack, QUETTA: Pakistan’s counter-terrorism the United States Afghanistan conflict. Now he faces Biden stuck to his view that ending units raided a hideout of the Islamic criticism at home and abroad, not so the war was the right move. The war’s State group in the restive southwest- The Taliban face a challenge of transforming from an insurgent group to a government. much for ending the war as for his start was an echo of a promise ern Baluchistan province before handling of a final evacuation that President George W. Bush made while dawn on Tuesday, setting off a shoot- unfolded in chaos and raised doubts standing atop of the rubble in out that killed 11 militants, the police about US credibility. New York City three days after said. The units, acting on intelli- The US war effort at times seemed hijacked airliners slammed into the gence, carried out the raid in the dis- to grind on with no endgame in mind, twin towers of the World Trade Center. trict of Mastung, where IS militants little hope for victory and minimal Less than a month later, on Oct. 7, had recently killed two police care by Congress for the way tens of Bush launched the war. The Taliban’s officers. The police said suicide belts, billions of dollars were spent for two forces were overwhelmed and Kabul hand grenades and assault rifles were decades. The human cost piled fell in a matter of weeks. A US-installed confiscated in the raid. The coun- up—tens of thousands of Americans government led by Hamid Karzai took ter-terrorism department provided no injured in addition to the dead. over and bin Laden and his al-Qaida further details and the nationality of More than 1,100 troops from cohort escaped across the border into the slain militants was not immedi- coalition countries and more than Pakistan. ately known. The counter-terrorism 100,000 Afghan forces and civilians The initial plan was to extinguish police is a special branch of the died, according to Brown University’s bin Laden’s al-Qaida, which had used police that fights militant groups. Costs of War project. Afghanistan as a staging base for Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan In Biden’s view the war could have its attack on the United States. province where IS group has claimed ended 10 years ago with the US killing The grander ambition was to fight a several attacks in recent years. of Osama bin Laden, whose al-Qaida “Global War on Terrorism” based on extremist network planned and the belief that military force could executed the 9/11 plot from an somehow defeat Islamic extremism. Singapore reports most Afghanistan sanctuary. Al-Qaida has Afghanistan was but the first round Covid-19 cases in six weeks been vastly diminished, preventing it of that fight. Bush chose to make Iraq SINGAPORE: Singapore on Tuesday thus far from again attacking the the next, invading in 2003 and getting reported 156 new local coronavirus United States. mired in an even deadlier conflict cases, its highest number in almost Congressional committees, whose that made Afghanistan a secondary six weeks. Singapore had fully vacci- interest in the war waned over the priority until Barack Obama assumed nated 80 percent of its population years, are expected to hold public the White House in 2009 and later against Covid-19 as of Sunday, one of afp/rss hearings on what went wrong in that year decided to escalate in the highest rates in the world, reach- Members of the Taliban Badri 313 military unit take a position at the airport in Kabul on Tuesday. the final months of the US withdraw- Afghanistan. ing a threshold for the city-state to al. Why, for example, did the adminis- Obama pushed US troop levels to further ease its restrictions. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE them all,” he said. airport. tration not begin earlier the evacua- 100,000, but the war dragged on Tuesday’s local cases were the high- KABUL, AUG 31 Mujahid also insisted Taliban secu- Thirteen US troops were among tion of American citizens as well as though bin Laden was killed in est since July 22. Singapore progress rity forces would “be gentle and nice”. more than 100 people killed when an Afghans who had helped the US war Pakistan in 2011. comes in sharp contrast to most of The hardline Islamist Taliban cele- The Taliban face a daunting chal- IS suicide bomber late last week effort? When Donald Trump entered the its neighbours, which have been brated their total return to power on lenge of transforming from an insur- attacked the perimeter of the airport, It was not supposed to end this way. White House in 2017 he wanted to struggling with low inoculation Tuesday with gunfire and diplomacy, gent group to a government, in where desperate Afghans had massed The administration’s plan, after withdraw from Afghanistan but was rates while battling deadly outbreaks after the last US troops flew out of war-ravaged nation dependent on for- in the hope of getting on board an declaring its intention to withdraw all persuaded not only to stay but to driven by the highly transmissible Afghanistan to end two decades of eign aid. evacuation flight. combat troops, was to keep the US add several thousand US troops and Delta variant. war. The United Nations has warned of a The US-led airlift began as the Embassy in Kabul open, protected by escalate attacks on the Taliban. Two The United States’ longest military humanitarian catastrophe, with food Taliban completed an astonishing a force of about 650 US troops, includ- years later his administration was conflict drew to a close on Monday stocks running low because of disrup- rout of government forces around the ing a contingent that would secure the looking for a deal with the Taliban, Bangladesh court sentences 6 night when its forces abandoned tions caused by conflict as well as a country and took over the capital on airport along with partner countries. and in February 2020 the two sides Kabul airport, where it had overseen a severe drought. August 15. Washington planned to give the signed an agreement that called for a militants to death in slayings frenzied airlift that saw more than Some Afghans appealed to the Their victory came after Biden now-defunct Afghan government bil- complete US withdrawal by May 2021. DHAKA: A Bangladesh anti-terrorism 123,000 people flee. Islamist movement to keep their withdrew nearly all American troops, lions more to prop up its army. In exchange, the Taliban made a num- tribunal on Tuesday sentenced six Taliban fighters then quickly swept promise of a softer rule. then was forced to send back about Biden now faces doubts about his ber of promises including a pledge not Islamist militants to death in the bru- into the airport and fired weapons Fawzia Koofi, a rights activist and 6,000 more to conduct the airlift. plan to prevent al-Qaida from regener- to attack US troops. tal slayings of two men, including a into the sky across the city in jubila- former negotiator for the ousted gov- Biden said he would address the ating in Afghanistan and of suppress- Biden weighed advice from mem- prominent gay rights activist, five tion—an astonishing return after US ernment who has twice survived nation on Tuesday in Washington, as ing threats posed by other extremist bers of his national security team who years ago, lawyers said. In April 2016, forces invaded in 2001, weeks after the assassination attempts, called on the his critics continued to savage groups such as the Islamic State argued for retaining the 2,500 troops assailants hacked to death Xulhaz September 11 attacks, and toppled Taliban via Twitter to include all him for his handling of the group’s Afghanistan affiliate. The who were in Afghanistan by the time Mannan, an editor of Bangladesh’s them for supporting Al-Qaeda. Afghans as they turn to governing the withdrawal. Taliban are enemies of the Islamic he took office in January. But in mid- first gay rights magazine who had “Congratulations to Afghanistan... country. “We can’t fight endless wars, but the State group but retain links to a April he announced his decision to worked for the US Agency for this victory belongs to us all,” Taliban “Taliban, hear us out: we must scope & consequence of Biden’s fail- diminished al-Qaida. fully withdraw. International Development, and his spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told rebuild together!” she wrote. “This ure here is staggering,” Republican The speed with which the Taliban The Taliban pushed an offensive friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. The kill- reporters hours later on the runway land belongs to all of us.” Senator Rick Scott said. captured Kabul on August 15 caught that by early August toppled key cit- ings in an apartment in Dhaka were of the airport. Other activists struggled to find Biden’s top diplomat, Secretary of the Biden administration by surprise. ies, including provincial capitals. The part of a wave of attacks targeting Mujahid said the Taliban’s victory hope amid the gloom. State Antony Blinken, was able to It forced the US to empty its embassy Afghan army largely collapsed, some- atheists, moderates and foreigners. was a “lesson for other invaders”. “If I let my thoughts linger on what offer little more than stern words for and frantically accelerate an evacua- times surrendering rather than tak- Judge Mojibur Rahman of the Anti- Many Afghans are terrified of a we have lost, I will lose my mind,” the Taliban. tion effort that featured an extraordi- ing a final stand, and shortly after Terrorism Special Tribunal ruled repeat of the Taliban’s initial rule Muska Dastageer, who lectured at the “Any legitimacy and any support nary airlift executed mainly by the US President Ashraf Ghani fled the capi- that the six defendants were responsi- from 1996-2001, which was infamous American University of Afghanistan, will have to be earned,” Blinken said, Air Force, with American ground forc- tal, the Taliban rolled into Kabul and ble for the killings of the two men but for their treatment of girls and wrote on Twitter. as he announced the United States had es protecting the airfield. The airlift assumed control on August 15. acquitted two others. Police had women, as well as a brutal justice sys- The withdrawal came just before suspended its diplomatic presence in began in such chaos that a number of Some parts of the country indicted eight suspected militants in tem. the August 31 deadline set by President Kabul and shifted its operations to Afghans died on the airfield, includ- modernised during the US war years, the case. Four of the defendants were The Taliban have repeatedly prom- Joe Biden to end the war—one that Qatar. ing at least one who attempted to cling and life for many Afghans, especially present amid tight security in the ised a more tolerant brand of rule claimed the lives of more than tens of All eyes will now turn to how the to the airframe of a C-17 transport women and girls, improved court Tuesday while the two others compared with their first stint in thousands of Afghans and over 2,400 Taliban handle their first few days plane as it sped down the runway. measurably. But Afghanistan remains remain at large. Prosecutors identi- power, and Mujahid continued that American service members. with sole authority over the country, By the evacuation’s conclusion, well a tragedy, poor, unstable and with fied all of them as members of Ansar- theme. The slightly early finish followed a with a sharp focus on whether they over 100,000 people, mostly Afghans, many of its people fearing a return al-Islam, a domestic militant group. “We want to have good relations threat from the regional offshoot of will allow free departure for had been flown to safety. The dangers to the brutality the country endured Defence lawyers vowed to appeal the with the US and the world. We wel- the Islamic State group, rivals of the those wanting to leave—including of carrying out such a mission came when the Taliban ruled from ruling to the High Court. (AGENCIES) come good diplomatic relations with Taliban, to attack the US forces at the some foreigners. into tragic focus last week when the 1996 to 2001. Bangladeshi vaccine scientist In Ida’s wake, Louisiana left without wins Ramon Magsaysay Award power, Mississippi highway collapses AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Pakistani development worker Muhammad MANILA, AUG 31 Amjad Saqib, 64, was also a winner for his “first- of-its-kind” interest- and collateral-free microfi- A Bangladeshi scientist who helped develop a nance programme that has helped millions of cheap oral vaccine against cholera, a Pakistani poor families. microfinance pioneer and a Filipino fisherman Nearly two decades after its launch, Akhuwat were among Tuesday’s winners of Asia’s equiva- has grown into the nation’s largest microfinance lent to the Nobel Prize. institution, distributing the equivalent of $900 Firdausi Qadri, 70, was one of five recipients million and boasting an almost 100 percent loan of the Ramon Magsaysay Award—named after a repayment rate, the award foundation said. Filipino president killed in a plane crash—for her Saqib, who uses places of worship to hand out “life-long devotion to the scientific profession” money, was cited for “his inspiring belief that and “untiring contributions to vaccine develop- human goodness and solidarity will find ways to ment”. eradicate poverty.” Working at the International Centre for Another winner was Filipino fisherman Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh’s Roberto Ballon, 53, who was recognised for help- capital Dhaka, Qadri had a “key role” in creating ing “revive a dying fishing industry” on the more affordable vaccines to combat cholera and southern island of Mindanao where abandoned typhoid, the Manila-based award foundation said fishponds had destroyed mangrove forests. in a statement. With government backing, Ballon and other Qadri was also cited for her leading role in a small-scale fishermen replanted 500 hectares mass vaccination effort in Rohingya refugee (1,235 acres) of mangrove forests by 2015, boost- camps in Bangladesh’s southeastern district of ing their fish catch and quality of life. Cox’s Bazar in recent years that prevented a chol- “What was once a desert of abandoned fish- era outbreak. ponds is now an expanse of healthy mangrove The disease causes acute diarrhoea and forests rich with marine and terrestrial life,” the spreads through contaminated food and water. award foundation noted. Qadri was also cited for her efforts to build up American Steven Muncy, founder of the Bangladesh’s scientific research capacity. Philippines-based NGO Community and Family “I’m overwhelmed, extremely delighted but Services International, was recognised for help- also humbled,” Qadri said in a video message ing refugees, assisting victims of natural disas- shared by the foundation. ters and getting former child soldiers back to REUTERS The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established school in Asia. A view of downtown New Orleans at dawn during a blackout in the city after Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana, US on Tuesday. in 1957 to honour people and groups tackling Indonesian documentary maker Watchdoc, development problems. which focuses on human rights, social justice and REUTERS ever to hit the US Gulf Coast, had weakened also slowed efforts on Tuesday by energy It was held virtually this year after the event the environment, also won recognition for its NEW ORLEANS, AUG 31 to a tropical depression by late Monday as it firms to assess damages at oil production was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pan- “highly principled crusade for an independent churned over Mississippi, where the system facilities, ports and refineries. demic. media organisation”. Two people were killed and 10 injured in a brought heavy rains overnight. Climate change is fueling deadly and disas- road collapse on a Mississippi highway likely The storm, which deluged Louisiana with trous weather across the globe, including triggered by heavy rains unleashed by rain and killed at least two people in the stronger and more damaging hurricanes. Hurricane Ida, a powerful storm that left state, caused widespread power outages Ida made landfall on Sunday as a Category Louisiana and neighbouring states without across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, 4 hurricane, 16 years to the day after power, officials said on Tuesday. and prompted rescue operations in flooded Hurricane Katrina, evoking memories of a Three people among those injured were in communities around New Orleans. disaster that killed more than 1,800 people in critical condition, according to the By early Tuesday, over 1 million customers 2005 and devastated New Orleans. Mississippi Highway Patrol. The collapse remained without power in Louisiana, But a $14.5 billion system of levees, flood affected a portion of Highway 26 in George according to PowerOutage, which gathers gates and pumps designed in the wake of County, about 53 miles northeast of Biloxi. data from U.S. utility companies. Katrina’s devastation largely worked as “We’ve had a lot of rain with Ida, torren- Residents in the hardest-hit areas could designed during Ida, officials said, sparing tial,” Mississippi Highway Patrol officer experience power outages for weeks, utility New Orleans from the catastrophic flooding Calvin Robertson said. “Part of the highway company Entergy said on Monday. Many water that devastated the area 16 years ago. just washed out.” systems in the state were also out. Officials in The state’s healthcare systems also Seven vehicles plunged into a 50-foot ditch Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans metropol- appeared to have largely escaped catastroph- that resulted from the highway collapse, local itan area asked residents to conserve water to ic damage at a time when Louisiana is reel- media reported. prevent sewage system backups. ing from a resurgence of Covid-19 infections Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes Widespread flooding and power outages that has strained hospitals.

C M Y K 07 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 Sports | Medley Briefing Ronaldo eyes more history at Man United Steyn retires Goverdhan to meet Britain’s from all cricket Munro in Tokyo Paralympics The 36-year-old has signed a two-year contract with the Red Devils with an option to extend that deal by a further season. KATHMANDU: Nepal’s sole representa- Agence France-Presse The investment in Ronaldo, who is tive for the Tokyo Paralympic Games MANCHESTER, Aug 31 set to become the highest paid player Palesha Goverdhan will meet in the Premier League, piles the pres- Britain’s Beth Munro in her first bout Cristiano Ronaldo said he has a “never sure on Solskjaer to end his wait to of taekwondo. In the draw held on ending love” for Manchester United win a major trophy since taking Tuesday, Goverdhan was pitted after sealing his return to Old Trafford charge of the Red Devils in December against the Briton in her first bout from Juventus on Tuesday. 2018. scheduled for Friday. She is set to United have secured the five-time United have also signed Ronaldo’s compete in K-44 category in the wom- Ballon d’Or winner for a initial fee of former Real Madrid teammate en’s U-58kg section. If she wins her 15 million euros that could rise to 23 Raphael Varane to bolster their afp/rss first bout, she will vie against Gamze million euros ($27 million, £20 million) defence and splashed out £73 million Paceman Dale Steyn is South Africa’s Gurdal of Turkey in the quarter-final according to figures released by the to bring 21-year-old England winger all-time leading Test wicket taker with rounds. She is the first Nepali taek- Italian club. The 36-year-old has signed Jadon Sancho from Borussia 439 wickets in 93 Test matches. wondo player to earn a Paralympics a two-year contract with an option to Dortmund in their quest to win a first berth. Born without the palm on the extend that deal by a further season. Premier League title since 2013. Reuters right hand, Goverdhan also has the Ronaldo made his name on the “Ronaldo’s return demonstrates the CAPE TOWN, Aug 31 experience of playing in World Para- world stage in six years at United unique appeal of this club and I am Taekwondo and Asian Para between 2003 and 2009 before moving absolutely delighted he is coming Dale Steyn has announced his retire- Taekwondo Championship. (SB) to Real Madrid for a then world record home to where it all started,” said ment from all forms of cricket, closing the curtain on a 20-year career in transfer fee of £80 million. The Solskjaer. Portugal captain scored 118 goals in Solskjaer’s men have taken seven which he became South Africa’s high- Liverpool extend catpain 292 games during his first spell at points from their opening three est wicket-taker in Tests and arguably Henderson’s contract United, winning his first Ballon d’Or Premier League games to sit two the country’s greatest ever fast bowler. and Champions League title, as well as points behind leaders Tottenham. “It has been 20 years of training, LIVERPOOL: Liverpool have extended three Premier League titles, one FA The English giants have also not matches, travel, wins, losses, strapped captain Jordan Henderson’s contract, Cup and two League Cups. won the Champions League since feet, jet lag, joy and brotherhood. the Premier League side said on “This is absolutely 100% the stuff 2008, when Ronaldo scored in the final Today I officially retire from the game Tuesday, putting an end to specula- that dreams are made of,” Ronaldo against Chelsea in Moscow. I love the most. Bittersweet, but grate- tion over his future at the Merseyside posted on Instagram. “Everyone who However, Ronaldo’s experience in ful,” Steyn said in a statement. club. Liverpool did not mention the knows me, knows about my never end- ap/rss Italy serves as a warning that even his He took 699 international wickets, length of the contract but British ing love for Manchester United. The Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or and Champions League title, as well as three goalscoring prowess does not bring a including a South African record 439 media reported he had extended his years I spent in this club were abso- Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups during his first spell at Man United. guarantee of success in Europe. In his in Tests, and is regarded as one of the stay at Anfield until 2025. Henderson, lutely amazing and the path we’ve three seasons in Turin, Juve never best fast bowlers of his generation 31, joined the club in 2011 and has made together is written in gold let- Ronaldo is expected to make his belong! Let’s make it happen once made it beyond the Champions League with extreme pace in his prime and made nearly 400 appearance since, ters in the history of this great and second United debut at home to again!” quarter-finals — crashing out to far the ability to swing the ball in both taking the captain’s armband in 2015. amazing institution. Newcastle on September 11. But the United manager Ole Gunnar less well-resourced opposition in Ajax, directions. Steyn retired from the five- He led the club to their sixth “I can’t even start to explain my United support were already delirious Solskjaer played alongside his new Lyon and Porto. day game in 2019. Champions League crown in 2019 as feelings right now, as I see my return at his impending arrival as they star during his previous spell in Inter Milan also ended Juventus’ Steyn would have taken many more well as their first league title in 30 to Old Trafford announced worldwide. chanted his name and held up a card- England, but it was his former boss nine-year grip on Serie A last season. wickets but for injuries later in his years in 2020. Liverpool are fifth in It’s like a dream come true, after all board cut out of Ronaldo in a 1-0 win Alex Ferguson who played a big part However, Ronaldo still topped the career, especially a shoulder problem the standings after their 1-1 draw the times that I went back to play at Wolves on Sunday. in convincing Ronaldo to return to the Serie A goal charts last season and that restricted him to only 11 Tests with Chelsea over the weekend. They against Man. United, and even as an “History has been written in the club despite interest from Premier rolled back the years at Euro 2020 to after 2015. travel to Leeds United on September opponent, to have always felt such love past and history will be written once League champions Manchester City. win the Golden Boot despite playing He was a key part of the South 12 when the league resumes after the and respect from the supporters in the again!” Ronaldo added. “You have my “Sir Alex, this one is for you,” said just four games as Portugal bowed out African side that rose to number one international break. (REUTERS) stands.” word! I’m right here! I’m back where I Ronaldo. at the last 16. in the Test rankings in 2012. Osaka stretches Grand Slam winning streak, Tsitsipas escapes Murray

Agence France-Presse Open wins and a first-round win at reception at the net after the match. “That was my bad. It was an impor- NEW YORK, Aug 31 this year’s French Open before with- “I have zero time for that stuff at all tant moment in the match.” drawing over mental health issues. and I lost respect for him,” Murray Murray broke in the second game Defending champion Naomi Osaka Osaka broke Bouzkova in the 10th said. “It’s nonsense. And he knows it, of the third set and held out from stretched her Grand Slam win streak game of the first set when the Czech as well.” there, but Tsitsipas took the last two to 16 matches on Monday at the US netted a backhand, the broke for a 2-0 Tsitsipas, who plays Frenchman sets to advance. Open while Greek third seed Stefanos lead in the second set on the way to Adrian Mannarino next, said he fol- Spectators had to show proof of Tsitsipas struggled past Andy Murray victory in 93 minutes. lowed ATP rules on breaks and medi- vaccination to attend but they brouht in five sets. Tsitsipas outlasted Britain’s cal timeouts, even as Murray ques- energy back to Ashe. “Playing without Osaka, seeking her third US Open Murray, a three-time Grand Slam tioned the length and timing. fans here was brutal,” 2017 US Open crown in four years, defeated champion, by 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 “I’m playing by the rules and stick- winner Sloane Stephens said. 87th-ranked Czech Marie Bouzkova after four hours and 49 minutes in ing to what the ATP says is fair,” said Two-time Grand Slam champion 6-4, 6-1 at a packed Arthur Ashe surroundings more like an intense Tsitsipas. “Then the rest is fine.” Simona Halep and Stephens each won Stadium to book a second-round second-week showdown than a cur- In the second-set tie-breaker, to reach the second round. “You feel matchup with Serbian qualifier Olga tain-raiser for the fortnight. Murray slipped at the net and fell the energy. You feel alive on court,” Danilovic. Two-time Olympic champion because his sweat-soaked shoes were Halep said. The 23-year-old Japanese star could Murray, ranked 112th lost for the wet and he didn’t have another pair. Russian Daniil Medvedev become the first back-to-back US Open first time in 15 first-round US Open Murray missed out on two set points defeated Frenchman Richard women’s champion since Serena matches. and the 23-year-old Greek star won five Gasquet 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Williams, out this year with a torn Tsitsipas, this year’s French Open of the next six points to grab the set Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus out- hamstring, won her third in a row in runner-up, took a long break before and level the match. lasted Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic 6-4, 6-7 2014. the final set, frustrating Murray, who Reuters “The shoes got so wet that at the end (4/7), 6-0. Osaka’s major win streak includes surrendered a break in the opening Andy Murray complained that Stefanos Tsitsipas taking medical timeout after dropping the of the set, I was slipping basically and Russian Andrey Rublev ousted Ivo her most recent US and Australian game. Delay tactics brought a frosty third set and a lengthy bathroom break after the fourth was ‘unfair gamesmanship’. was losing balance,” Murray said. Karlovic 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 21-April 19) *** CANCER (June 22-July 22) *** LIBRA (September 23-October 22) *** CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) **** As an Aries, you’re programmed to tirelessly push Don’t abandon your needs to save other people, Give your ambitions everything you’ve got today, What’s the current story in your closest relation- yourself towards your goals and aims. Wednesday’s Cancer. Wednesday’s cosmic landscape reminds you Libra. The moon’s presence in deep-feeling Cancer ships, Capricorn? Wednesdays’ skies work to help skies remind you to pump the brakes and quietly to take care of yourself and as the moon wades signals the time of the month where you’re at peak you tap back into that narrative as the moon floats replenish your energy on the home front as the moon through your sign. Luna’s tense square with mental visibility in career and professional matters. Devote through the nurturing sign of Cancer. Devote your wades through homebody Cancer. Mercury is likely to highlight unspoken issues. your energy towards getting ahead. focus towards a love interest or partner to feel best.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) *** LEO (July 23-August 22) *** SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) *** AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) ** Speak your truth today, Taurus. Wednesday’s skies It’s time to retreat and for some personal time, Leo. The universe is challenging you to think outside the As an Aquarius, you tend to feel suffocated when push you to engage with your communication skills The moon wades into emotionally rich Cancer today, box. The moon’s presence in Cancer has you step- you’re locked into tedious obligations and repetitive and get your story out. The moon floats through directing your attention towards that which needs ping back to examine the big picture of your life. workflows. Let yourself cultivate a new approach and poetic Cancer, encouraging you to engage with your releasing and renewing within. Let yourself pull Luna’s square with expressive Mercury highlights skills to your work-life balance today as the moon deeper feelings in a vulnerable, expressive way. away to recharge in peace and prioritize solitude. what ingrained mental patterns need adjusting. roams through nurturing Cancer.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) **** VIRGO (August 23-September 22) **** SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) *** PISCES (February 19-March 20) **** Wednesday’s skies point your focus towards your Try not to push your true feelings down too deep You usually prefer not to roll around in your messier Pleasure reigns supreme over productive efforts feelings of self-worth. Where could your confidence today, Virgo. The universe is working to help you feelings. Rather than aim your arrow high overhead, today. Don’t let yourself get sucked into another use some shoring up? The sensitive Cancer moon break through some emotional blockages as the aim to glance down at your roots below. Wednesday’s mundane routine as the sensual Cancer moon turns squares off with expressive Mercury, prompting a highly-sensitive Cancer moon squares off with your skies push you to examine relationship hang-ups and your focus towards romantic interludes, gateways strong need for emotional release. ruling planet, expressive Mercury. unhealed wounds. igniting a playful and jolly mood. Crossword Sudoku

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C M Y K WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021 | 08 Culture & Lifestyle (C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053 What does it mean to be famous on TikTok for young children Psychologists warn that exposure to fame at an early age can have a negative psychological impact on children.

Pinki Sris Rana most likely harbour or have harboured desires Lalitpur to become famous. “Like the parents of an older generation n August 2020, when Samaira Thapa was wanting to fulfil their desires of being doctors only two years old, her 30-second dance and engineers by enforcing them on their chil- video to the song ‘Fulpati Bhakera dren, the younger parents want their children Manakamana’ went viral on TikTok. In to be famous like the celebrities and influenc- the video, Samaira, who is seen sporting ers they have been identifying with since their short hair and a grey coloured hair band youth. This type of parenting is called ‘vicari- Iwith a huge flower on it, adorably dances and ous parenting’,” says Dr Karki. makes facial expressions to the song in a way Many parents may not even be aware that only children of her age can. they harbour such stardom dreams. As the video went viral, Samaira’s TikTok “These types of desires are usually psycho- account, which is managed by her mother logical and are suppressed desires that are Sabina Thapa, blew up. In the one year that projected towards the children without the Samaira has started using the app, she has knowledge and realisation among the parents already amassed more than 786,000 followers. themselves,” explains Dr Pathak, who’s also “Before last year, I used to make videos of the Chief Psychologist of the National Institute Samaira and upload them to my TikTok of Psycho-Educational Counseling. account. But during the first lockdown of 2020, “Regardless of whether the stardom is the par- I created a TikTok account for Samaira and ents’ or children’s desire, it’s important that started making videos of her posting them on parents know when it is the right time for their the app,” says Sabina. “Of course, we didn’t children to be exposed to certain things.” know that people would appreciate her videos Both Sabita and Shrestha say they are aware in the way people have. At that time, posting of the negative aspects of social media star- her dance videos was a way out from the bore- dom and what it can do to their young children. dom of the lockdown.” “So far, I haven’t seen any changes in my Ever since the Chinese video-sharing app sons’ behaviours or actions after becoming TikTok became popular in Nepal, many young popular on TikTok,” says Shrestha. children like Samaira have found themselves However, Dr Karki counteracts, “The chang- catapulted into social media stardom. These es among the children are very subtle. We must child TikTok stars have received admiration Post Photo: Drishna Sthapit look out for their age-appropriate behaviour, and love, and the stardom has opened doors to Sabina Thapa, 25, makes a TikTok video of her three-year-old daughter Samaira Thapa, who is a TikTok sensation. their functioning, their interaction with their more opportunities in the form of brand spon- peer groups or friends, and their appetite.” sorships, media content deals, and television and Aakash Shrestha, the experience was not create a TikTok account for them. “My boys Adolescent Psychiatrist at Kanti Children’s With technology being so embedded in chil- appearances. that pleasant,” says 25-year-old Sabina. “She love dancing, and they are quite good at it, and Hospital, is the negative criticism and cyber- dren’s lives from very early on, parenting tech- But there are downsides. was overwhelmed when she saw the big camer- I thought why not make a TikTok account and bullying, which are common in social media. niques also have to be adapted accordingly, say Such early exposure to social media fame, as with dozens of strangers on the set. When it upload the videos on the platform,” says Thapa. “Using apps like TikTok has many positive psychology experts the Post talked to. say psychologists, can have a lasting impact on was her turn to perform in front of the camera, Like Samaira’s mother, Sabina, Shrestha sides to it. But when we are talking about “We still believe in traditional parenting but young children, and parents need to be wary. she started crying.” also didn’t think the platform would turn her young content creators on such apps, parents with a massive exposure to technology at an “Very young children are advised not to use Samaira’s awkwardness in her debut music boys into stars. have to realise that most of these apps do not early age, young parents need to learn parent- social media because they cannot intellectual- video is apparent in her body language every “When my boys started using TikTok, they have any mechanism to protect users from ing techniques relevant to this era to keep ly discern the many different types of content time she appears on the screen. would often watch dance videos of other chil- cyberbullying and harassment. Being at the their children safe,” says Dr Pathak. available on these platforms,” says Dr Ganga But that was then. dren and would immediately learn new receiving end of online harassment and bully- Young TikTok stars and their parents admit Pathak, Psychology Professor at Tribhuvan She has since featured in seven Nepali music moves,” says Shrestha. “They have always ing can have a negative impact on these young that they are still learning to navigate the star- University. “But when you are talking about videos, made an appearance as a guest dancer been so invested in making sure that they give children’s psychology,” says Dr Karki. dom that comes with going viral on the plat- social media stardom for young children, you in the popular Indian dance show ‘Dance their best for their TikTok videos. Their hard Both Sabina and Shrestha say that they hav- form. are talking about a whole different level of Deewane’ season 3, and appeared in advertise- work and commitment have led them to be so en’t received any negative comments as of yet. Ever since going viral on TikTok last year, exposure to social media.” ments for brands like IME Life and GummiKing. loved and appreciated by people.” “My daughter is too young to read comments the Shrestha twin brothers have already When Sabina first created Samaira’s TikTok “Now that it’s been a while, she’s pretty con- TikTok accounts of both Samaira and the left by her followers but we do read them to her appeared on 17 music videos, and just a few account, she says she didn’t expect the plat- fident while doing music videos. But she is twins are managed by their respective mothers as much as we can so that she gets encouraged days ago, the duo wrapped up their latest form would become the springboard for her most comfortable with herself when making in a bid to insulate these young TikTok stars by the positivity,” says Sabina. music video appearance. The brothers’ sched- young daughter to stardom. “My friends and TikTok videos at home,” says Sabina. from the negative impact of social media fame. Shrestha admits that negative comments ule, says their mother, has become quite busy. family members loved Samaira’s TikTok dance In the last year, many child TikTok content But that, says Dr Pathak, is easier said than and criticisms will discourage and dishearten As for Samaira, Sabina says the focus is now videos, and they thought she was very adora- creators have amassed a huge number of fol- done. not just her young twins but will also impact more on attending online classes and less on ble. Some even said that she would get popular, lowers. Twin siblings Jvin and Jvis Shrestha “The child knows or is curious about the her. making TikTok videos. but none of us had even remotely thought the started using TikTok a year ago, and at just six, likes and comments they get on their videos. “I feel fortunate that so far we have only “I post new videos on Samaira’s TikTok level of popularity she would get,” says Sabina. their TikTok account has more than 318,000 When they keep on getting appreciation and received positive feedback, and if we do receive account every two or three days,” says Sabina. In person, Samaira, who is known as the followers, making them the most popular twins attention, the children might develop such negative criticisms, as a mother, I will “Since many experts are saying that the viral baby girl on TikTok, is like any other in the Nepali children TikTok landscape. The unhealthy self-perception which may also lead have to do my part in shielding my boys from next wave of the pandemic will impact chil- child her age. She is shy and takes her own duo has featured in some of the most popular to a superiority complex,” says Dr Pathak. such negativity,” says Shrestha. dren the most, I have been declining offers time to open up to people. music videos released in the last few months. Another thing that the parents of these According to Dr Karki, parents of young for Samaira to appear in music videos because “When she was first offered to appear in a The Shrestha twins’ love for dancing led young content creators on TikTok need to be stars also tend to enjoy the stardom as much as her health and safety is more important music video in ‘Sanu’ featuring Aliza Gautam their mother, Samiksha Thapa Shrestha, to aware of, says Dr Utkarsh Karki, Child and their children do and that many of them also right now.”

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