How Oli's Actions Put Heads of Two Houses at Odds

WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR

Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 336 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 21.8 C -5.5 C Tuesday, February 02, 2021 | 20-10-2077 Dipayal Jumla How Oli’s actions put heads of two houses at odds Speaker and National Assembly chairman spar over Constitutional Council’s December 15 recommendations, in a brazen display of their partisan allegiance.

TIKA R PRADHAN Partisan politics has reached the KATHMANDU, FEB 1 legislature now, which is not a good sign for parliamentary democracy, A day after Speaker Agni Sapkota sent which is already under attack from back recommendations made by the Oli, they say. Constitutional Council, National “Both the factions of Nepal Assembly chair Ganesh Timilsina on Communist Party are constantly Monday reacted to the move, saying attacking the constitution,” said that the Speaker had no authority to Daman Nath Dhungana, a former do so without consulting him. Speaker. The chiefs of Nepal’s bicameral leg- “This is just part of a series of con- islature are clearly at odds. stitutional violations the Nepal Observers say Prime Minister KP Communist Party has been involved Sharma Oli, by dissolving the House in. Now the two factions are in a bid to of Representatives, has by now destroy the constitution both ways— dragged all key institutions of the in conduct and compliance.” country into controversy—the execu- The Constitutional Council led by tive which he heads, the legislature Oli had made recommendations to that elected him to the post and the appoint office bearers at 11 constitu- judiciary, which is considered an inde- tional bodies on December 15, the day pendent institution. he had issued an ordinance on the Oli’s December 20 House dissolu- Constitutional Council Act (Functions, tion move had an immediate impact Duties and Procedures) 2010 to amend on his Nepal Communist Party, which two provisions on convening the has split into two—with one faction Council meeting and taking decisions. led by him and the other jointly by The ordinance was approved by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav President Bidya Devi Bhandari almost POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL Kumar Nepal. immediately that day. Military armoured vehicles roll along the Ring Road in Kathmandu on Monday night as part of what Nepal Army calls its regular exercise. Sapkota, a long-time ally of Dahal The amended provisions meant Oli since the ‘people’s war’ days, is had effectively made the presence of believed to have acted at the behest Speaker and leader of the main oppo- of Dahal. Many say Timilsina’s sition unnecessary for convening the reaction to Speaker’s Sunday meeting and taking decisions. move was expected as he owes his alle- The Council, headed by Oli, has Myanmar military seizes power, detains Suu Kyi giance to Oli. five members—chief justice, According to analysts, both, howev- Speaker, National Assembly chair, er, seem to have failed to play non-par- deputy Speaker and leader of the tisan roles that the constitution main opposition. The coup derails years of efforts to establish democracy in Myanmar where neighbouring China has a powerful influence. requires of them. >> Continued on page 2 EDITORIAL | PG 4 It is a shocking reversal of all democratic reforms that made an election possible in Myanmar after decades of military rule.

Nepal’s response on page 2

Summarising a meeting of the new junta, the military said Min Aung Hlaing had pledged to practice a “gen- uine discipline-flourishing multi-par- ty democratic system”. He promised a free and fair election and a handover of power to the win- AP/RSS ning party, it said, without giving a In this May 6, 2016 file photo, Aung San Suu Kyi (left) Myanmar’s foreign minister, walks with timeframe. senior General Min Aung Hlaing (right) Myanmar military’s commander-in-chief, in Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were “taken” in the REUTERS on people to protest against the military early hours of the morning, NLD NAYPYITAW, FEB 1 takeover, quoting comments it said had spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters by been written in anticipation of a coup. phone. Reuters was subsequently una- Myanmar’s military seized power on The coup derails years of Western- ble to contact him. Monday in a coup against the demo- backed efforts to establish democracy A video posted to Facebook by one cratically elected government of in Myanmar, also known as Burma, MP appeared to show the arrest of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, where neighbouring China has a pow- regional lawmaker Pa Pa Han. In the who was detained along with other erful influence. video, her husband pleads with men leaders of her National League for The generals made their move in military garb standing outside the Democracy (NLD) party in early hours before parliament had been due gate. A young child can be seen cling- morning raids. to sit for the first time since the NLD’s ing to his chest and wailing. The army said it had carried out the landslide win in a November 8 elec- Troops and riot police stood by in detentions in response to “election tion viewed as a referendum on Suu Yangon where residents rushed to fraud”, handing power to military Kyi’s fledgling democratic rule. markets to stock up on supplies and chief General Min Aung Hlaing and Phone and internet connections in others lined up at ATMs to withdraw imposing a state of emergency for one the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main cash. Banks then suspended services year, according to a statement on a commercial centre Yangon were dis- due to poor internet connections but military-owned television station. rupted and state television went off air said they would reopen from Tuesday. Suu Kyi’s party said she had called after the NLD leaders were detained. >> Continued on page 6 Government plans for new petroleum law and deregulating the oil business Several attempts in the last decade failed despite the sector being governed by an old law.

KRISHANA PRASAIN net profit of Rs7.5 billion on oil mechanism helped improve its finan- KATHMANDU, FEB 1 imports. It paid Rs63.85 billion in cial health. Brent crude fell to $27.67 a taxes alone to the government. barrel in January 2016—the lowest Nepal’s biggest import item in terms The corporation’s profit has been since 2003. of value is petroleum products. gradually increasing since 2014 when In 2015-16, the company announced In 2018-19 the country imported the automatic pricing mechanism it had finally become debt-free after 14 petroleum products worth Rs216 bil- was introduced as per which the years. Its debt had swollen to Rs36.87 lion, up from Rs53.30 billion in 2009-10. price of petroleum products in the billion in January 2015. The sole importer and distributor country goes up or down based on The corporation paid off all the of the commodity is the state-owned international prices rather than the loans in one and a half years, thanks Nepal Oil Corporation. In the fiscal government fixing the prices as was to falling oil prices in the internation- year 2018-19, the corporation made a the system earlier. al market and the new pricing Since then lines at petrol sta- mechanism. tions that were a common sight, At the height of the scarcity of as imports would be curtailed to petroleum products in the country, the lessen losses, have disappeared. government had mulled deregulating Nepal Oil Corporation was the oil market to allow the private once a chronic loss maker. The sector to import and distribute it. corporation’s financial position In 2010 too the Commerce Ministry started to weaken in the had even tabled a new bill in fiscal year 2002-03 when world Parliament, but it was sent back for petroleum prices went into an further homework and consultations. upward spiral. And with the frequent changes Oil prices peaked at $147 per in government, the law never became barrel in 2007. Falling prices in a priority. 2014 and the automatic price >> Continued on page 2

C M Y K TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 | 02 NATIONAL Bagmati’s Speaker accused of US envoy trusts court to sort out House row ANIL GIRI Amid the conspicuous silence main- sometimes these processes take some KATHMANDU, FEB 1 tained by the international communi- time to play,” he said. ty on Nepal’s political situation, US The US diplomat also said his coun- delaying no-confidence motion International community has Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry try has no view or position regarding remained largely silent over Nepal’s said on Monday that America’s the rift in the Nepal Communist Party. political crisis precipitated by Prime engagement in Nepal “consistently He reiterated that political divi- Speaker postpones meeting called to discuss the no-trust motion against chief minister. Minister KP Sharma Oli’s move of has been in support of democracy”. sions and conflicts were part of the dissolving the House of But he did not make any comment democratic process. SUBASH BIDARI writing a motion of no-confidence decision to postpone the assembly Representatives on December 20 last on the matter of House dissolution, “Obviously, that has now played out MAKWANPUR, FEB 1 against the chief minister. The motion meeting. year. saying the case was under court’s con- into the democratic and constitutional will be endorsed if it is approved by “The frequent postponement of the While India, Nepal’s closest neigh- sideration. processes. That also has to work its The Speaker of the Bagmati Provincial majority members in the provincial assembly meeting without any valid bour, has “noted” the incident calling Ambassador Berry was talking to a way through. I think it would be pre- Assembly has been charged with assembly. reason is against the parliamentary it as an internal affair of Nepal, the small group of journalists in sumptuous of us to make a statement delaying the process of the no-confi- Various political parties vented system and its principle. The assem- United States of America, the Kathmandu to appraise them of the not knowing the issue,” he said. dence motion filed against Chief their ire against Speaker Shrestha, as bly meeting should be called soon to European Union and other democratic new foreign policy priority under After Biden and Vice President Minister Dormani Paudel. he decided to postpone the Provincial decide the no-confidence motion countries have maintained silence newly elected US President Joe Biden. Kamala Devi Harris assumed the Speaker Sanu Kumar Shrestha, who Assembly meeting ‘unilaterally’ with- through voting,” said Tsering Dorje over Oli’s move that has been con- Asked about the US view on Nepal’s office of president and vice president is considered to be close with Prime out consulting with the deputy speak- Lama, the whip of the Nepali demned by the political parties and political development, the US ambas- of the United States on January 20, US Minister KP Sharma Oli, postponed er and political parties in the assem- Congress. civil society of his own country as sador said it would be presumptuous ambassador Berry had held meetings the assembly meeting scheduled for bly. They charged Speaker Shrestha of The Bibeksheel Sajha Party has “undemocratic and unconstitutional”. to make any statement when the with Nepali leaders and appraised Monday to deliberate about the holding the Provincial Assembly hos- also criticised the Speaker’s move to Oli has dissolved the House and Supreme Court is there to look after them of the new policy under the motion. Shrestha issued a notice on tage and working under the influence postpone the scheduled Provincial announced snap polls on April 30 and the constitutional principle. Biden-Harris administration. Sunday evening to postpone the of the federal as well as the provincial Assembly meeting. May 10. At least 13 petitions have been “And that is the part of a process,” According to Berry, the new US for- Provincial Assembly Meeting to governments. Meanwhile, assembly members filed at the Supreme Court against said Berry about the case being heard eign policy will give much more stress February 17. The assembly meeting “The provincial government is now close to the Dahal-Nepal faction chant- House dissolution while political par- by the country’s top court. on the issue of climate change and called for Monday was scheduled to in the minority. Regular assembly ed slogans on the premises of the ties, civil society and citizens’ groups “America’s engagement has consist- combat its adverse effect on mankind discuss the no-trust motion filed meetings should be held in this situa- Provincial Assembly building on are holding protest rallies in the ently been in support of democracy, in as President Biden announced to against CM Paudel. tion. The Speaker has breached the Monday, demanding that the assembly streets. support of those institutions. And rejoin Paris Climate Agreement. The Dahal-Nepal group of the rul- parliamentary norms and values, par- meeting be summoned. Around 30 ing Nepal Communist Party had regis- liamentary ruling system and regula- assembly members of the faction, tered the no-confidence motion tion of the Provincial Assembly,” said including Shakya, Shalikram against Paudel, a supporter of PM Oli, Ashtalaxmi Shakya, who was declared Jammakattel and Yuvaraj Dulal, were on December 25. As many as 45 provin- the parliamentary party leader of the present on the occasion. How Oli’s actions put heads of two ... cial assembly members of the Dahal- Dahal-Nepal faction. She demanded They also organised a press meet Nepal faction filed the motion against that the assembly meeting be resumed and demanded the resignation of CM >> Continued from page 1 work procedure regulation when they government should wait at least until Paudel. immediately, as it was postponed with- Paudel from his post, claiming that he As per Constitutional Council Act were duly registered at the secretariat the court passes a judgment on the As per Article 188 (4) of the consti- out any reason. failed to run the provincial govern- (Functions, Duties and Procedures) of general secretary of the Federal Council’s recommendations and tution, one-fourth of the total number The main opposition party, Nepali ment effectively and jeopardised the 2010, the presence of at least four Parliament and secretary of the House dissolution,” said Dhungana. of assembly members may table in Congress, also opposed the Speaker’s federal ruling system. members was needed, apart from the Parliamentary Hearing Committee When Nepal’s constitution was chair, to convene the Council meeting before the House was dissolved.” being drafted by the Constituent and in the event of failure to reach a Timilsina’s concerns stem from the Assembly, drafters discussed at length decision by consensus, the next meet- fact that the parliamentary hearing various aspects, putting in a lot of ing could make its recommendations. committee has members from the efforts to ensure provisions that would However, Oli, through the ordi- upper house as well. allow stability and ensure the checks nance, changed the provisions, which In the 15-member hearing commit- and balances. meant the meeting could convene if tee, 12 members are from the lower The first elections under the new the majority of members—three— house and three from the upper house. constitution voted Oli to power with a were present and took a decision While the lower house has been dis- mandate to govern for the full five- through the majority. solved, the upper house continues to year term, something that had not The December 15 meeting was exist, though it’s not in session—the happened in the country’s recent his- chaired by Oli and attended by Chief winter session began on January 1 tory. But, by dissolving the House, Oli Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and ended on January 10. has thrown the country into uncer- and National Assembly chair Radheshyam Adhikari, a member tainty. Constitutional experts say Oli Timilsina. of the National Assembly represent- took a step that the constitution did Sapkota and Sher Bahadur Deuba, ing the Nepali Congress who is also an not allow him to. leader of the main opposition, did not advocate, said the chairs of the federal The constitution also envisioned attend the meeting. Even though parliament have failed to maintain the the parliamentary hearing process to Sapkota was elected Speaker in dignity of their positions by acting as scrutinise the appointees and a January last year after a long-drawn- if they are party members. well-balanced Constitutional Council POST PHOTO: SUBASH BIDARI out tug-of-war between Oli and Dahal, Though the Speaker and upper to maintain the checks and balances. Assembly members close to the Dahal-Nepal faction stage a demonstration on the premises of the Provincial Assembly building on Monday. the House was yet to elect his deputy. house chair candidates are fielded by The constitution guaranteed bicamer- Sapkota’s decision to send the rec- the parties, once elected, such individ- alism, a principle that requires the ommendations back to the Secretariat uals must resign from their respective consent of two differently constituted of the Constitutional Council on parties. According to Adhikari, the chambers of Parliament to make or Sunday came two days before 45 days malafide intention of the prime minis- change laws. since the recommendations were reg- ter was clear from the outset, as he But partisan politics has led to a Nepal says it has been closely following istered with the Parliament had sent the Council recommenda- fight between the heads of the two Secretariat. The recommendations tions for parliamentary hearing know- chambers of the House, which is quite were received by the Parliament ing that the House would be dissolved. discouraging, say analysts. latest developments in Myanmar Secretariat on December 20, the day “What the prime minister has done According to them, the heads of Oli dissolved the House. is a fraud on the constitution,” said both the houses should be working in POST REPORT Though the world was quick to censorship. It is believed to be a tactical move on Adhikari. “Our constitution does not tandem, but they are so guided by KATHMANDU, FEB 1 denounce the military coup in Earlier on Monday, the United the part of Sapkota, as Rule 26 (2) of envisage appointments to constitu- their partisan allegiance that it is Myanmar, Nepal released its state- Nations said the developments [in the Joint Parliamentary Meeting tional bodies without parliamentary hurting the spirit of constitution and Nepal said on Monday that it has been ment only on Monday evening. Myanmar] were a “serious blow to Regulations says there would be no hearing.” the parliamentary system. closely following the developments in Since Prime Minister KP Sharma democratic reforms” and urged all obstruction for the recommended peo- Given that there was a gap of five “This conflict between the heads of Myanmar after the military in the Oli was out of the Capital throughout leaders to refrain from violence and ple to assume office in constitutional days between introducing the ordi- two Houses was expected; this is just Southeast Asian country seized power the day, there was a delay in issuing respect human rights. The United bodies if the hearing committee fails nance and appointments, House disso- an aftershock of Oli’s House dissolu- in a coup against the democratically the statement, according to a senior States, Britain, Australia and the to take any decision within 45 days of lution makes it apparent that Oli had tion,” said Chandra Kanta Gyawali, a elected government of Nobel laureate Foreign Ministry official. European Union condemned the mili- receiving the letter from the made a calculated move for his politi- senior advocate who specialises on Aung San Suu Kyi. “It requires the prime minister’s tary’s coup and detentions and its [Constitutional] Council. cal gains, according to observers. In constitutional law. “The Nepal Suu Kyi, along with other leaders of approval for issuing statements on declaration of a state of emergency. Sapkota’s action could put the rec- doing so, however, he has dragged the Communist Party dispute is taking a her National League for Democracy such a sensitive matter,” the official India said it expresses “deep con- ommendations in limbo. According to hallowed legislature into controversy. toll on the constitution and the parlia- party, were detained by the military in who did not wish to be named told the cern” over the reports of an unfolding the statement issued by the Parliament There is widespread speculation mentary system.” early morning raids. Post. “There was also a lot of pressure military coup in Myanmar. Secretariat on behalf of Sapkota, first, that Oli wanted to have “his” people at Nepal restored democracy in 1990, “Nepal has been closely following on the government to speak up on “We have noted the developments in the Speaker was not informed about certain constitutional bodies, includ- but it was attacked by the monarch in the recent developments in Myanmar. what was happening in Myanmar.” Myanmar with deep concern. India the December 15 Council meeting, and ing the Commission for Investigation 2005. It took yet another movement to We believe that all parties involved On why the response is more muted, has always been steadfast in its second, since the House was dissolved, of Abuse of Authority. usher in the federal republic, but an will respect the will of the Myanmar the official just said the government support to the process of democratic the Parliamentary Hearing Committee Though Timilsina has claimed the elected government seems to be in a people and hope that the democratic has come up with its position. transition in Myanmar,” India’s also did not exist, and the nominees’ Speaker’s move may not affect auto- bid to nip it in the bud, analysts say. and constitutional process will be “We have come up with the state- Ministry of External Affairs said in a hearing was not possible. matic appointments of the nominees Nepali politicians’ and subsequent restored soon,” the Ministry of ment, even though it’s soft,” the offi- statement. However, Timilsina on Monday said after 45 days as per the constitutional governments’ failure to strengthen Foreign Affairs said in a statement. cial told the Post. China said it “noted” what hap- all the decisions of the authority that provisions, Dhungana said until writ institutions makes democracy vulner- “We are equally concerned about the The putsch in Myanmar on Monday pened in Myanmar. come to the federal parliament are petitions against the recommenda- able. According to them, a democracy safety and wellbeing of the detained comes as a grim reminder for Nepalis “We have noted what has happened properties of both the houses. tions are heard by the court, no one flourishes in a country where institu- civilian leaders including President U of a royal-military coup exactly 16 in Myanmar and are in the process of Timilsina also argued that Sapkota can be appointed. tions are strengthened. Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw years ago. further understanding the situation,” failed to consult with him before As many as two writ petitions have “But there is a lack of institutional Aung San Suu Kyi and call for their On February 1, 2005, then king Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang deciding to send the recommendations been filed at the Constitutional Bench culture in Nepal’s democratic practic- immediate release.” Gyanendra had assumed absolute Wenbin told a daily news briefing in back to the Council Secretariat. against the December 15 recommenda- es,” said Govinda Bandi, a legal The army said it had carried out the power, declared himself the chair of Beijing, according to Reuters. “China “I would like to inform everyone that tions. However, the bench has yet to expert. “The recent actions by Oli and detentions in response to “election the council of ministers and put polit- is a friendly neighbour of Myanmar’s. there is no involvement of the National conduct a hearing. the dispute in the Nepal Communist fraud”, handing power to military ical party leaders under house arrest. We hope that all sides in Myanmar can Assembly in the wrong process of the Since January 6, the Constitutional Party are having overreaching impli- chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing Just like in Myanmar, the king had appropriately handle their differences Speaker to return the recommenda- Bench has instead been hearing 13 cations, as democratic institutions are a state of emergency for one year, cut off telephone and internet under the constitution and legal tions,” Timilsina said. “I object to the writ petitions filed against Oli’s House under attack. Only if we can protect according to a statement on a mili- and declared a state of emergency. framework and safeguard political unilateral decision of the Speaker to dissolution move. our institutions can we save democra- tary-owned television station. The media was put under military and social stability.” return the letters violating the existing “As per the judicial propriety, the cy, or else we are doomed.” Government plans for new petroleum law and deregulating the oil business >> Continued from page 1 corporation, who did not wish to be vate sector. sion while it will also end subsidies potential risks. According to them, the standards will improve. If we want to But now the government is once named. “Some lobby groups don’t “In view of national security, petro- given to the consumers. orders are too weak to govern the bring the private sector in the oil busi- again gearing up to enact a new petro- want a new player in the market,” leum is sensitive. Therefore, I think But now the government has anoth- petroleum business which has a high ness, the government should form a leum law to deregulate Nepal’s lucra- A number of Indian companies we should not bring the private sector er rationale behind the need for a new investment risk and is volatile in separate regulatory body that will tive oil market. have shown interest to sell petroleum into the oil business,” he had said. law. “Obviously with the country nature. oversee the quality and other safety On January 13, the Cabinet gave an in Nepal on different occasions. The government’s reluctance to importing petroleum products worth The order set up the minimum paid- issues.” approval in principle to the Ministry In January 2013 India’s private loosen its grip on the oil trade may more than Rs200 billion annually, the up capital required for refining com- For example, according to Ojha, of Industry Commerce and Supplies petroleum giant Essar Oil, which is have been prompted not only by the law governing the oil sector is outdat- panies, petroleum trading firms, liqui- there is no third party insurance if a to prepare a draft bill of an integrated now Russian oil company Rosneft- massive revenues but also because of ed,” said Shrestha. fied petroleum gas importing firms petrol tank explodes in the middle of petroleum law, which will supersede owned Nayara Energy Limited, the profits domestic sellers fear may “Such a sensitive and growing busi- and bottling plants at Rs20 billion, the market or in an residential area. the Nepal Petroleum Act-1983. approached the Nepal government to go down, say industry watchers. ness is currently governed by the Rs10 billion, Rs5 billion and Rs50 mil- “At present no one will take the Prem Lal Shrestha, joint-secretary supply petroleum products. “Private traders’ fear of deregula- working procedure prepared by Nepal lion respectively. responsibility for any mishaps,” said at the ministry, said it would prepare In January last year, the govern- tion of the oil business made the Oil Corporation. Further, the rules are Private companies dealing in petrol, Ojha. The first and foremost thing is the draft integrated bill to suit the ment, however, had baulked at deregu- attempts at a new law unsuccessful,” mainly related to security, sales and diesel and kerosene were required to to create an ecosystem of competition changing times. lating the petroleum sector with Nepal the former official said. “On the other distribution and transportation and install a depot with a capacity of in the business, ensuring the quality “A committee will be formed to pre- Oil Corporation awash in cash despite hand, the existing guidelines of the are prepared by the Nepal Oil 20,000 kl while liquified petroleum gas of petroleum products, according to pare the draft. The existing law will be there being a long-standing pledge to Nepal Oil Corporation on petroleum Corporation itself.” bottling plants were required to have a the former secretary. studied and changes will be made as break the monopoly of the state- transactions have failed to benefit con- The existing Petroleum Act-1983 is stock capacity of 500 tonnes. Such is the monopoly that staff of per the requirement,” said Shrestha. owned company. sumers in terms of costs, quality and focused on extraction and exploration The “regulatory orders” would not Nepal Oil Corporation are given bonus “It will take time.” The government monopoly even quantity.” of petroleum only and does not talk guarantee investment of the private whenever it makes a profit and this While ministry officials are tight- raised Rs11.95 billion in infrastruc- For example, Nepal Oil Corporation about the petroleum business. sector as the Nepal government can remains controversial as there have lipped whether the petroleum busi- ture tax in 2018-19 for the construction gives sales commission of Rs4.21 on a Earlier attempts to deregulate the suspend their licence at any time. been several dozen Cabinet decisions ness will be deregulated, other knowl- of the storage-type 1,200 MW Budhi litre of petrol and Rs322.67 on a oil market had been half-hearted. The orders were subsequently sus- in the past to inject cash into the state edgeable sources have indicated that Gandaki Hydropower Project, which cylinder of cooking gas to sellers and Subsequent to the Indian company’s pended. entity. deregulation is the “sole purpose” of a the government plans to develop with bottlers. approach, in March 2013 the govern- Purushottam Ojha, former com- Chandika Bhatta, former executive new law. its own resources. “Even if the oil entity incurs losses, ment introduced the Petroleum and merce secretary, said it’s important director of Nepal Oil Corporation, Former officials at Nepal Oil Profits of the state-owned firm con- the private traders enjoy the sales Gas Transaction (Regulatory) Orders that the government should introduce agreed that the private sector needs to Corporation said there had been sev- tinue to grow, despite the end of commission. Each year, they demand 2013 which envisaged the opening up a new petroleum act as the business come into play to make the business eral efforts to enact a new petroleum chronic power cuts, which meant an increase in the commissions threat- of the petroleum business to private has grown massively, but there are more transparent and accountable law to deregulate the oil market earli- operation of diesel generators, due to ening to stop selling the oil in the investment, but it drew flak from gas- still questions about pricing, quality towards the public. er but were unsuccessful. rising incomes of Nepalis and import market,” said the former official. oline dealers and experts over its and safety. “The government needs to be flexi- “This is because the petroleum sec- of two-wheelers and four-wheelers. The Cabinet decision last month is a effective implementation without “The government should allow ble to allow the private sector in the tor is such a business in Nepal where Last January Minister for Industry, U-turn from the government’s earlier related legislation. another private party to compete in business,” he said. “The government the private sector never makes losses Commerce and Supplies Lekhraj position. Experts say that deregulat- Experts had expressed doubts that the market and end the Nepal Oil should act as a regulating body and because of the government’s subsidy Bhatta had said that the government ing the oil market will end the provi- the regulatory orders will attract mas- Corporation’s monopoly,” he said. “As the distribution and sales part can be policy,” said a former official at the would not open up oil trade to the pri- sion of providing the sales commis- sive private investment and address soon as there is competition, service handled by the private sector.”

C M Y K 03 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 NATIONAL Sinopharm’s vaccine yet to get approval in Nepal China has decided to provide 300,000 doses in grant. But officials say licence is must for importing the jabs.

ARJUN POUDEL 79.34 percent efficacy against Covid-19. KATHMANDU, FEB 1 “The safety and effectiveness of the vaccine has surpassed the marketing China has decided to provide a corona- standards of the World Health virus vaccine to Nepal but it is still Organization and received wide recog- unclear how long it will take for the nition by other countries,” the embas- consignment to arrive, as the product sy claimed. “So far the vaccine has got is yet to get emergency use approval in licences for marketing or approval for the country. emergency use in 13 countries includ- The Chinese Embassy in ing Pakistan, the United Arab Kathmandu announced on Sunday Emirates, Egypt and Hungary.” that the Chinese government has Officials in Nepal, however, said decided to provide 300,000 doses of the they would discuss the matter once vaccine produced by Sinopharm in the vaccine gets emergency approval grant as requested by Nepal. in the country. “For the vaccine to be brought in “Providing emergency use approval Nepal, it must get emergency use for vaccines and receiving grant assis- approval from the concerned agency,” tance are two different things,” Dr POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC Dr Shyam Raj Upreti, coordinator of Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson for A young girl plays cricket at the Pashupati area in Kathmandu on Monday. the Covid-19 vaccine advisory commit- the Ministry of Health and Population, tee, told the Post. “Even to accept the told the Post. “We will receive the vac- jabs in grant or gift, it must get emer- cine only after the drug regulatory gency use approval.” body of our government provides the Two vaccines from India and one emergency use approval.” from China—the BBIBP-CorV devel- On 30 December 2020, Sinopharm oped by Sinopharm—applied for announced the vaccine’s efficacy was Wetlands support life, but they remain ignored emergency use approval in Nepal on 79.34 percent, which was lower than January 13. the 86 percent announced by the CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL Nearly 90 percent of the world’s Two other vaccines—Covishield, United Arab Emirates on December 9. KATHMANDU, FEB 1 wetlands have been lost since the 1700s developed by the University of Oxford The UAE had based its results on an and those remaining are disappearing and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca interim analysis of Phase III trials Nepal’s valuable wetlands are under three times faster than forests. and produced by the Serum Institute of conducted from July. threat, mainly from anthropogenic Likewise, 25 percent of all wetland India, and Covaxin, indigenously devel- activities like encroachment, pollu- species and 1 in 3 freshwater species oped in India by Bharat Biotech—had tion, unsustainable harvesting and face extinction. Global warming is applied for emergency use approval. Sinopharm’s jab haphazard construction along the wet- reducing surface and groundwater in However, the Department of Drug land areas, according to experts already dry regions, which will Administration gave the emergency is said to be On the eve of the World Wetlands increase further water stress and be use licence only to Covishield on Day, which is celebrated on February 2 resulting in increasing competition January 15 and directed the Bharat 79.34 percent every year, experts stressed the need for water. Biotech and Sinopharm to furnish for conserving wetland areas that pro- Despite wetlands’ contribution to necessary documents and third-phase effective. vide water for local communities and nature and sustaining human society, data. sustain biodiversity. it has not received required attention “We have demanded some neces- “Wetlands across the country are that it deserves, researchers say. sary documents from the company A report published in Lancet says facing several threats. Locally, they “Hardly any attention has been with their suppliers, who have applied the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, are facing encroachment. Pollution POST FILE PHOTO given to the management of wetlands to us for emergency use approval in BBIBP-CorV, is safe and well tolerated from nearby settlements and indus- Nearly 5.5 percent of Nepal’s total area is covered by wetlands. which provides water, food, socio-eco- Nepal,” Bharat Bhattarai, director at all tested doses in two age groups. tries are disposed of in wetlands, nomic activities, and biodiversity con- general at the Department of Drug Humoral responses against SARS- which disturbs the aquatic ecosys- are facing pollution threats due to said wetlands offer a variety of servation. If only there were research- Administration, told the Post. “We CoV-2 were induced in all vaccine tem,” Hem Sagar Baral, a biodiversity growing tourism activities while environmental services and support es on the loss of biodiversity in our will give approval if all their docu- recipients on day 42. Two-dose immu- expert, told the Post. “Unsustainable Jagdishpur lake and Ghodaghodi lake livelihood. wetlands, we would know what we ments and data are okay. But they nisation with 4 µg vaccine on days 0 harvesting of wetland resources and are being impaired by development “Wetlands are also called the kidney have already lost,” said Shrestha. have not submitted the documents we and 21 or days 0 and 28 achieved high- fishing practices with nets and explo- pressure. of nature as it purifies water and Loss of biodiversity in wetland asked for.” er neutralising antibody titres than sives are also causing adverse impacts Wetlands are rich sources of envi- turns it into freshwater,” said areas is already being seen as the Emergency use authorisation is the single 8 µg dose or 4 µg dose on on the health of wetlands. ” ronmental services like fresh water Shrestha. “However, these vital sites waterbird population in the country is granted for some drugs and vaccines days 0 and 14. Nearly 5.5 percent of Nepal’s total for drinking, and irrigation for food are facing overexploitation from declining. by authorities such as the US Food and Gautam said that the ministry has area is covered by wetlands, which has production, aquatic plants and humans.” A recent count of waterbirds in the Drug Administration during a declared directed the department to see if rich ecological, economic and organisms. Researchers like Baral and Shrestha country’s wetlands has shown that the emergency when officials can make a emergency use approval licence can socio-cultural significance. “Wetlands provide direct benefits say existing wetlands, which are fac- number of aquatic birds has gone judgment that the drug is worth releas- be given to the vaccine produced by Nepal’s ten wetlands of internation- from drinking water, support liveli- ing the threat of encroachment and down this year, which is attributed to ing—even without all the evidence that Sinopharm. al significance have been enlisted as hood and recreational activities and other human activities, are also facing the degradation of wetlands. would fully establish its eectiveness Meanwhile, the Health Ministry the Ramsar Site. As its commitment to sustain biodiversity,” said Baral, the challenges from invasive plants and Baral, who commissioned the cen- and safety. Such a decision is taken said it has decided to ask all health protecting its wetlands, Nepal signed biodiversity expert. “It also supports accelerated eutrophication. sus based in five Ramsar sites, said the when there’s enough evidence to sug- workers, having identity cards and the Ramsar Convention on December vegetation composition. If the planet Eutrophication is the process of country’s wetlands and their biodiver- gest that patients have benefited from licence to serve to reach nearby immu- 17, 1987. Earth is called a living planet, it is excessive plant growth and algae sity were in poor state. the drug/vaccine. In Nepal the depart- nisation centres to receive the jabs. However, growing disturbance from because we have water in it. Water is bloom due to the increased availabili- “The worst of them was Jagdishpur, ment gives such approval. Earlier, the ministry had prepared human activities has posed challenges life and wetlands provide water for all ty of nutrient fertilisers, which ulti- where the waterbird population has Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu the list of health workers deployed on for protecting these valuable sites. living beings.” mately leaves dramatic consequences declined to 12,000 from 18,000 last stated that it has been coordinating the front line and decided to inoculate According to Haribhadra Acharya, Besides capturing and storing rain- for drinking water sources, fisheries, year,” said Baral. “Waterbird popula- with relevant Nepali authorities on them. spokesperson for the Department of water and recharging groundwater and recreational water bodies as a tion in Beeshhajari, Ghoda Ghodi and the registration of the vaccine for “We have decided to immunise all National Park and Wildlife aquifers, wetlands also regulate water result of oxygen depletion. Koshi Tappu has also decreased over emergency use and its delivery. health workers, whether they are Conservation, wetlands across the quantity and supply by releasing “On the one hand, pesticides used the years. Management of these sites, The embassy would like to deliver practising or not,” said Gautam. “But country are threatened on different water at the time of need. for agricultural purposes and indus- where there are disturbances, is not the vaccines to Nepal at the earliest so they should show their identity card levels. Wetlands also play a crucial role in trial waste are being released into happening properly.” as to help the country in its Covid-19 and licence taken from respective “Wetland sites outside protected improving water quality by absorbing wetlands, polluting the water. On the According to Baral, construction, battle, it added. councils.” park areas are threatened by encroach- pollutants and provide protection other, excess nutrients are speeding pollution and other human activities BBIBP-CorV inactivated Covid-19 The Health Ministry aims to inocu- ment while those within parks are from floods and storms with each acre up the eutrophication process, dis- are deteriorating the quality of the vaccine got conditional marketing late 430,000 frontline workers includ- facing problems caused by pollution of wetland absorbing up to 1.5 million turbing the whole aquatic ecosystem,” country’s wetland sites. approval in China. The Chinese embas- ing health workers, supporting staff, due to tourism activities,” said gallons of floodwater, according to a said Shrestha. “While we are searching for water sy in Kathmandu claimed that more sanitation workers, female communi- Acharya. factsheet of Ramsar. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s on Mars, we have forgotten the value than 24 million doses have been admin- ty health volunteers, people taking According to Acharya, who is also Bharat Babu Shrestha, an associate species live in wetlands, with 200 new of wetlands that provide water,” said istered by January 31 and after two refuge in old age homes and prisoners an ecologist, wetlands like Gosaikunda professor with the Central Department fish species discovered in freshwater Baral. “We have been taking these doses of inoculation, the vaccine shows in the first phase. lake, Rara lake and Beeshajari lake of Botany at Tribhuvan University, wetlands annually. water resources for granted.” Newly ordained female priest sees the recognition as sign of changing times

ANUP OJHA Kingdom to take up residency there. used to do and we used to feel that our KATHMANDU, FEB 1 Then she and her mother Sabitri, 82, This is a step brother will look after the family,” gave continuity to the puja. said Jha, who was born in Naradevi. On Monday, Sahanshila Jha Sharma, “It was okay for everyone, because ahead in breaking Jha runs an organisation, Media who was officially appointed as a there was no one to take up our ances- House, in Lalitpur which she priest of Annapurna Temple in Ason tral responsibility,” said Jha. the patriarchal established 18 years ago with her by Guthi Sansthan on Friday, sounded Jha said her grandfather’s father sister Sharmila. The organisation comparatively relieved as the negative was a tantric priest during the Rana mindset, Jha says. offers job-oriented training. Being a comments that had been made after regime, and her family had been liv- professional working woman, she her appointment had died down. ing in the area in harmony with the believes in equality. “It came down because I got massive Newar community performing the But Jha is unfazed by what critics “Our focus was to give journalism support from different sections of the pujas annually. are saying. training and other job-oriented skills society, including academia,” said “It’s only our family who knows the “I take it as a matter of pride despite for women. But very few women 48-year-old Jha . ingredients that are needed for puja. all the negative comments,” said Jha showed up, so we later made it While there had been criticism over We do not need to wear any special talking to the Post at her office. “This inclusive,” said Jha. the appointment of a woman as a clothes or ornaments to conduct it,” should be taken as a handover of cul- She started her career as a priest of a Hindu temple, which is said Jha. ture to the next generation in this journalist in Himalaya Times and rare, many have hailed the decision as A month after the nationwide lock- changed situation.” Nepali Patra weekly. well. down imposed in the country on Hari Prasad Subedi, chief of the “As a journalist, I always wrote on Women’s right activist Amrita March 24, after consulting her family Guthi Sansthan, said some people are the issue of women empowerment and Lamsal was happy to know of Jha’s members she applied to the Guthi giving negative comments on social always questioned the patriarchy appointment as a priest by Guthi Sansthan, the government body that media showing her personal issues. which is too dominant in our culture,” Sansthan. oversees religious sites and rituals in “This should not be the case here, said Jha. “I was really happy because this has the country, for the position of a because there are other women priests She is not happy with the negative a great positive impact and will set an priest, as performing puja at performing puja,” said Subedi. “We comments that are countering on her example for the future generation,” Annapurna temple has been her fami- POST PHOTO: KIRAN PANDAY got a letter from the ward office to appointment. She blames some nar- said Lamsal. ly’s ancestral responsibility. The family of Sahanshila Jha Sharma, the newly appointed priest of Annapurna temple, has approve her as a priest as she and her row-minded people for making it a For Jha, taking up the role of a Nine months later, on Friday, the been conducting puja at the temple in Ason, Kathmandu, for generations. mother have been conducting the puja ‘political issue.’ priest is nothing new. She was brought Guthi Sansthan officially appointed for years. There should not be any “This is a step ahead in breaking up seeing her father Hutta Raj Jha her the priest at the temple at the cen- port those religious institutions as the move while others have condemned it issue in this regard.” the patriarchal mindset of the Sharma, who passed away 24 years tre of Kathmandu for a maximum of state would be directly linked with it,” as a malady imposed in the name of Jha, the third daughter among four society and a breakthrough for other ago, conducting puja at the temple. five years with a one year probation said Dhakal. “But with time, institu- embracing progressive ideology. sisters and one brother, didn’t like the women to carry the task because it’s “As a kid, our whole family used to period. tions such as Guthi or other religious Regarding the criticism in society discrimination the society made all about equality and inclusiveness,” go for puja in the temple when my Anthropologist Suresh Dhakal wel- bodies have come out from such a feu- about Jha’s appointment, Dhakal said between sons and daughters. Even in said Jha. father performed the ritual,” said Jha. comed the decision to appoint Jha, dal mindset and are getting more lib- the criticisms were a reflection of the her own family, she had seen the dis- But while running her office and The ritual puja at Annapurna tem- saying this is a symbol of breaking eral.” attachment of people with the same crimination as her brother was sent to empowering women, she had one ple is conducted three times a year-- feudal thought. Such institutions have started to feudal values. a boarding school while all her sisters question on her mind—if performing once during Krishna Janmashtami “Appointing male priests is a tradi- give some recognition to new trends in “Outwardly, it seems that it’s their were sent to a government school in puja at Annapurna temple had been and two times during Dashain. tional practice that started hundreds the society, and Jha’s appointment is religious protest. But if we see it Kathmandu. done by her family for generations, After her father’s death, her brother of years ago and that structure as an an example, according to Dhakal. minutely, it shows that some people “I didn’t know that was a case of why not make it official as the position Pramod performed rituals for three institution would naturally support Many people on social media hailed are unwilling to accept the change and discrimination until I was in school, of the priest had been vacant for years years but then went to the United feudalism. And feudalism would sup- Jha’s appointment as a progressive they want a status quo,” said Dhakal. because that was what the society after her brother left the country.

C M Y K TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 | 04 OPINION EDITORIAL What’s cooking in Nepal-China relations? Coup in Myanmar Nepal must join the world to strongly denounce the heinous step by the military.

To Nepalis waking up on Monday to the news of a military coup in Myanmar, it was a major nudge amid political uncer- tainties of how quickly civilian supremacy can be squashed. It was exactly 16 years ago on this day that King Gyanendra had assumed absolute power by dissolving the government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba and declared himself the chairman of the council of ministers. In a move that was strongly condemned by the international community and which plunged the coun- try further into crisis, a state of emergency was declared, the military was out on the streets, phone lines were cut, and sen- ior politicians were put under house arrest. An ominous date for Nepal is now an ominous date for Myanmar. Hours after staging a coup against the democratical- ly elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and detaining democratic leaders and activists, including Suu Kyi, ‘in response to fraud’ during November’s general election, Myanmar’s military on Monday in a televised address said power had been handed to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and it would hold new elections after a year-long state of emergency and return power to the winner.

The coup comes less than 10 years since the military junta POST FILE PHOTO handed over power to a civilian government. Fears were rife is allowing only four to five truckloads struggles to maintain a smooth supply dicament of import-dependent Nepal China has maintained an of goods from each of the two key bor- of essential goods in the market, as had India, in the same pretext of pro- since last week when the spokesperson for the armed forces, der points, Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani, well as an uninterrupted flow of tecting its citizens from virus, imposed Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, had said at a news conference ‘undeclared blockade-like to enter Nepal per day, which is only machinery, equipment and materials similar restrictions on trade and tran- that the military would ‘take action’ over election fraud. He about five percent of normal cargo for development projects, many of sit? As China boasts of the global reach situation’ at Tatopani and movement. This has a proportionate which are being developed by the of its domestically developed Sinovac would not rule out a coup. Tensions are expected as the Rasuwagadhi. impact on revenue collection. Chinese contractors. To recall, China Covid-19 vaccines, including its pro- National League for Democracy led by Suu Kyi won 83 percent Rasuwagadhi Customs Office has col- has declined Nepal’s request to fully fessed willingness to donate to poorer lected about 15.4 percent of its annual operationalise the Tatopani border nations, there is no indication of Nepal of the available seats in the November election. The Union target of Rs11.33 billion while Tatopani point that was closed right after the being included on that goodwill list in a Solidarity and Development Party, the former ruling party cre- ACHYUT WAGLE Customs has collected only Rs400 mil- Gorkha earthquake in April 2015. The meaningful way—for whatever reason. lion out of the annual target of Rs5.47 focus then was shifted to open China’s cold-shouldered approach ated by the military, won only 33 of the 476 available seats. billion. Rasuwagadhi customs point that still towards Nepal has lately found ground As the crisis unfolds in Myanmar, governments, human It is estimated that about $200 mil- has far less convenient than Tatopani in a conspiracy that tries to establish lion worth of goods, in about 1,500 con- in terms of infrastructure connectivity the pandemic as just an excuse not to rights groups and key leaders have condemned the detentions tainers, imported by Nepali business- like road, warehouse and other logis- fully open the customs points. The real and called for the election results to be upheld. The United men from or via China have been tics. Back then, the unofficially com- motive is to express its displeasure, in States is even threatening to take action against those respon- stranded across these two border points municated Chinese ‘security concern’ the form of the ‘undeclared blockade’, Last week, Minister for Industry, for the past year. Nepali businessmen was that the advocates of the Free against the split of the Nepal sible. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Commerce and Supplies Lekh Raj have suffered a huge loss due to dam- Tibet movement used the Tatopani Communist Party—despite Beijing’s the developments were a ‘serious blow to democratic reforms’ Bhatta in a public statement declared age and rotting of goods, particularly entry route ‘posing threat to instabili- insistence at presenting a united front. that the time had come to seriously the perishable ones. Although Nepali ty’ in Tibet. Whatsoever the reason Thus, the non-cooperation towards the and urged all leaders to refrain from violence and respect reconsider whether Nepal should at all authorities unfailingly claim that they may be, it affected imports from China, Oli government is believed to have human rights. Nepal must join the world to strongly denounce trade with China. He was reacting to have communicated Nepal’s concerns let alone exports from Nepal. expanded way beyond trade issues. It is ‘an undeclared blockade-like situation’ to Beijing, there have not been any All these constraints have cropped public knowledge that China is still the heinous step by the military, and ensure Myanmar goes enforced by China on imports of changes on the ground. Instead, last up against the backdrop where Nepal keen to unite the Nepal Communist back to a democratic process. Chinese goods into Nepal. Trade across Saturday, the traders reportedly pro- has signed at least four trade and tran- Party, whatever way possible. the land border has almost entirely tested against the Chinese highhanded- sit protocols with China and were All these conspiracy theories may or Monday was supposed to be the new Parliament’s first ses- stopped, right since the outbreak of ness, which was highlighted in Indian thought to facilitate not only bilateral may not be entirely true. But the use of sion, which would have approved the next government led by Covid-19 a year ago. It is perhaps for the media; the information was, conspicu- trade but also provide transit access to an economic blockade, hard or soft, as a Suu Kyi; but the coup has set Myanmar on an uncertain path. first time in the seven decade-long ously, missing in the mainstream third countries. The relations between weapon by both the disproportionately Nepal-China diplomatic relations that Nepali press. the ruling Communist Party of China powerful neighbours to capitulate The military’s power grab, consequent detentions of political any incumbent minister has lambasted Chinese goods constitute 15.4 percent and the Nepal Communist Party head- Nepali rulers in their political agenda figures, and any justifications for the coup are unacceptable. It China so openly for the latter’s imper- of Nepal’s total import trade as against ed by Oli, and between the two govern- is never a benign idea. The Chinese viousness to facilitate cross-border only 1.2 percent of exports. In value, in ments thereof, are claimed to have been economic blockade to Nepal is in fact a is a shocking reversal of all democratic reforms that made an trade. the fiscal year 2019-20, Nepal exported the best in history. China as the imme- so far unheard of phenomenon in our election possible in Myanmar after decades of military rule. Incidentally, Bhatta was expressing goods worth only Rs1.19 billion while diate and resourceful neighbour cer- modern history. It might have also his displeasure over China in a func- importing about Rs182 billion worth. tainly is in a position to support Nepal been due to the fact that economic The military, which claims it will hold fair and free polls, must tion organised to mark the 24th anni- The direction of trade is heavily in the at present on multiple fronts. But that and trade exchanges were very limited. acknowledge that it adheres to democratic principles and insti- versary of Nepal Intermodal Transport interest of China and the total share of goodwill is not forthcoming. On the But when China emerges as the Development Board, an entity that Nepal’s foreign trade with the northern contrary, China has not shown ade- global superpower, its ambition of tutions in the first place. Without conditions, it should immedi- manages about a dozen inland contain- neighbour has grown exponentially quate sensitivity to resume normal extending strategic influence, particu- ately release everyone it has unlawfully detained, undo all er depots and facilitates Nepal’s foreign over the period of a decade, from little trade. larly in the neighbourhood, can only be communications disruptions, and show the maturity to respect trade. According to reports, China, on over 2 percent. The excuse given, of the ‘contain- fulfilled by magnanimity and good- the pretext of containing the possible Nepal’s current trade bottlenecks ment of the virus’, may appear plausi- faith; certainly not by a brute exhibi- the people’s choice. transmission of the novel coronavirus, with China come at a time when Nepal ble. But what would have been the pre- tion of might. Chure-Tarai and climate change

consequences are that many shallow Rampant excavation tube wells in the region which were mainly used by individual of riverbed materials has households for pumping out ground- water for drinking purposes are led to dire environmental drying up, threatening the water secu- rity of the local poor people and consequences. increasing pressure on deep aquifer systems. The Chure-Tarai region encompass- MOTI RIJAL es the first forest ecosystems after the vast agroecosystem of the Tarai region, where farm practices have shifted from native crop systems to cash and high-value crops. This has led to excessive use of chemical fertil- isers and pesticides, which ultimately releases into the river systems and The Chure-Tarai region extends east possibly shallow aquifer systems. to west along the southern part of This has caused the loss of many Nepal. The Tarai plains adjoin the aquatic species, a decrease in pollina- Indian border and are often called the tors and poor soil health. Development country’s food basket. Immediately to activities are directly going against the north, the Chure range forms the natural systems and disturbing natu- southernmost foothills of the ral flows. This has led to increased Himalaya. Geologically, this is part of hydrometeorological disasters and the Gangetic plain composed of fine significantly weakened the climate sediments of rivers that are tributar- change resilience capacity of this ies of the Ganga. The Chure hills are region. This goes very much against the youngest hills that are building up the recently adopted approach of with the rise of the Himalaya. using nature-based solutions. After the eradication of malaria in The climate change resilience the Tarai region in the 1960s, the pop- capacity of this region is decreasing ulation started to increase slowly. The rapidly due to over-exploitation and trend accelerated after the building of unmanaged excavation of geological the East-West Highway. Forest substrates, the sole part of the fragile encroachment skyrocketed due to POST FILE PHOTO landscape which is the major part of rapid settlement growth and the use their use as construction materials, rectly in establishing crushers across er-bed materials and the amount of natural health of the ecosystem as protecting the climate change resil- of firewood for cooking increased ille- the pressure on geo-resources the country with their turnover run- deposits. rivers are an integral part of the eco- ience capacity of the land. Human gal logging and deforestation for increased. This led to machine excava- ning into billions of rupees. The situa- This has led to extreme environ- system. The water storage capacity of activities such as construction by expanding urbanisation in the Tarai- tion of riverbed materials and distur- tion became even more alarming after mental consequences in many places riverbanks has almost been lost, and modifying the riverine ecology and its Chure region. bances to the natural course as well as the establishment of a three-tier feder- in the Chure-Tarai region. River this has caused a total modification of associated biodiversity, lowering the As the population in the Tarai previously deposited river terraces al system. The exploitation of river courses have been modified and many the local environment, badly affecting groundwater level, decreasing soil increased due to migration from near- and their natural settings. Moving far resources became the main and only villages are flooded during the mon- the local environment and making the health and water holding capacity, by hilly districts and adjoining Chure beyond livelihood support for individ- source of income for many local gov- soon. There is widespread siltation land surface vulnerable to atmospher- encroaching on forests and removing hills, infrastructure development also ual families, the use of geo-resources ernments in the Tarai and problem on agricultural lands, impact- ic interactions of the surroundings. native forest species, and introducing spread that led to a massive expansion has grown into a business, and heavy Chure regions. There is huge competi- ing soil health and soil-forming pro- Not only this, the riverbeds have new management in community for- of road networks, highways, bridges machinery like excavators and dump tion to generate the most income cesses. Not only this, the natural eco- dropped more than five metres in ests are major detrimental factors and concrete houses in the last two trucks are being used for riverbed among neighbouring municipalities system that thrives on the geological various locations of many rivers by responsible for the decline of the resil- decades. This put immense pressure excavation. which ruthlessly exploit the upstream substrate has been impacted badly. the use of heavy machines which can ience capacity. on the local geo-resources and ground- The illegal excavation of riverbed and downstream sections of the Riverbed materials are not only be seen on the rivers crossing the water resources, mainly riverbed materials has become big business. same river. In some municipalities, important as construction materials, Chure-Tarai region. This has caused a Rijal is an Associate Professor at the materials. As the economic value of All political parties and leaders of all border disputes have emerged due but they are also important as the geo- total inversion of the river water Central Department of Geology, riverbed materials increased due to levels are involved directly or indi- to the revenue generation from riv- logical substrate that maintains the and groundwater interaction. The Tribhuvan University.

C M Y K 05 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 MONEY

FOREX India’s ‘get well soon’ US Dollar 117.14 Rupandehi housewife grows all Euro 141.54 Pound Sterling 160.56 her vegetables on her rooftop budget boosts healthcare Japanese Yen 11.16 Chinese Yuan 18.12 Bhandari says she doesn’t need to buy vegetables and fruits from the market anymore. spending 135 percent, Qatari Riyal 32.17 SANJU POUDEL Australian Dollar 89.37 TILOTTAMA, FEB 1 opens up insurance Malaysian Ringit 28.98 Sabitra Bhandari of Tilottama-5, Rupandehi has become a popular fig- REUTERS the economy two years to reach Saudi Arab Riyal 31.23 ure after her rooftop garden began NEW DELHI, FEB 1 pre-pandemic levels. Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank attracting hordes of curious visitors, “In a time of unprecedented eco- eager to find out how she grows succu- India boosted its healthcare spending nomic stress, the government’s lent vegetables and fruits in crates by 135 percent in a budget unveiled on responsibility was to spend enough to Shares and plastic bags. Monday and lifted caps on foreigners revive the economy or else face enor- The 29-year-old housewife says she investing in its vast insurance market mous human suffering,” said Anand Nepse 2,408.24pts 1.59% doesn’t need to buy vegetables and to help revive an economy that suf- Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra fruits from the market anymore. She fered its deepest recorded slump as a group, an autos to technology con- HIGHEST GAINERS just goes to her rooftop and harvests result of the pandemic. glomerate. “So I had one expectation CCBL PROFL PFL PLI MEN SHL 10% 10% 9.96% 9.95% 9.91% 9.9% whatever she wants. Delivering her budget statement to from this budget: that we should be “It has been about three months parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala very liberal in terms of the targeted MODERATE GAINERS since my rooftop started to produce Sitharaman projected a fiscal deficit fiscal deficit. Box ticked.” TRH BFC SINDU CFCL MPFL GFCL 9.85% 9.68% 9.39% 9.18% 8% 7.3% vegetables,” Bhandari said. She looks of 6.8 percent of gross domestic prod- India’s main stock indexes surged. after her plants every day from early uct for 2021/22, higher than the 5.5 The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was MODERATE LOSERS in the morning. percent forecast by a recent Reuters 4.75 percent higher by 0945 GMT, and ACLBSL NLBBL MLBBL CLBSL SDLBSL GUFL -2.09% -2.13% -2.15% -2.71% -2.84% -3.3% The enterprising woman learnt poll of economists. was set to clock its best one-day gains rooftop farming skills by watching The current year was expected to since April last year. The S&P BSE HIGHEST LOSERS POST PHOTO: SANJU POUDEL SLBBL MMFDB SLBSL SNLB GLBSL KMCDB YouTube videos during the Covid-19 end with a deficit of 9.5 percent, she Sensex climbed 4.94 percent. -3.4% -3.48% -3.86% -4.45% -5.6% -7.24% lockdown when she had so much The enterprising woman says she learnt rooftop farming skills by watching YouTube videos said, well up from the 7 percent expect- But, bond yields jumped after the free time she decided to do make good during the lockdown when she had plenty of free time and decided to make good use of it. ed earlier. government announced plans to raise use of it. Her house occupies 170 Prime Minister Narendra Modi said additional funds from the market over square metres. doesn’t have to buy vegetables any- organically has given a good sign. the budget was aimed at creating the next two months. Bhandari ran a clothing store till more. “I had to go to the market twice She has 400 crates and plastic bags “wealth and wellness” in a country PRICE PER TOLA BULLION mid-March. After she sold the busi- a week,” she said. “Now I am saving on her rooftop. Learning from her, that is battling the world’s second ness, she was free. “It became difficult all that money.” many women of Siddhartha Tol highest coronavirus caseload after the India currently Fine Gold Rs 92,600 to stay idle without doing anything,” Bhandari began her rooftop garden have started turning the roofs and United States. she said. “I learned rooftop farming by collecting plastic bags, pots and terraces of their houses into vegetable India currently spends about 1 per- spends about because there was nothing to do.” different types of crates from the mar- gardens. cent of GDP on health, among the Silver Rs 1,400 Rooftop farming may look small ket in which she planted vegetables, Bhandari’s daily life has also lowest for any major economy. 1 percent of GDP scale, but these gardens could prove to fruits and non-seasonal flowers using changed after she started cultivating Sitharaman proposed increasing SOURCE: FENEGOSIDA be crucial in fighting hunger in urban soil and organic manure, she said. vegetables on the roof. According to healthcare spending to 2.2 trillion on health. areas, researchers say. Urban farms She makes fertiliser using the waste her, green miracles can be created on Indian rupees ($30.20 billion) to help also increase vegetation cover--a key from her kitchen. She said that the the roof with the water used in the improve public health systems and GASOLINE WATCH way to limit rising temperatures. plants are disease-free because she kitchen. fund a huge vaccination drive to Sitharaman said the foreign direct Bhandari was attracted to agricul- has been using cow manure as fertil- She said that for those who have immunise 1.3 billion people. investment (FDI) cap for the insur- ture as she could not go out and do iser. “I have been eating poisonous houses in the city but do not have land “The investment on health infra- ance sector would be increased to 74 anything for fear of being infected by vegetables sold in the market till now,” to grow vegetables, roof farming can structure in this budget has increased percent from the current 49 percent. Covid-19. She said she started vegeta- she said. “Not having to buy vegeta- be a source of income. She added that substantially,” she said as lawmakers She also allocated 200 billion rupees ble farming after seeing her mother- bles has been a relief.” rooftop farming could be an easy way thumped their desks in approval. ($2.74 billion) to recapitalise state-run in-law and relatives doing it in their In a short period of time, she has to produce vegetables for one’s own Overall, the government set capital banks that are saddled with bad loans home in Rupakot-4, Gulmi. It has been experienced that roof farming has use and to earn extra income for expenditure for 2021/2022 at 5.54 tril- and have been a drag on growth. five years since she moved to Tilottama given positive results. She says even household expenses. lion rupees, 35 percent more than the “The indications are that the gov- in south central Nepal. her 10-year-old daughter and nine- Bhandari said she was still going previous year’s budget estimate. ernment is going to do more to pro- She had participated in agricultural year-old son are helping to grow vege- through her trial period, and that she Millions of people lost their mote growth rather than maintaining training while she was living in her tables by watering and taking care of had dispelled the notion that some- jobs when the government ordered fiscal discipline,” said Sujan Hajra, village earlier, and she changed the them. Vegetables and fruits can be thing can be done only through formal a lockdown last year to combat the chief economist at Anand Rathi lockdown into an opportunity. “I start- grown in a small area with the right education. “I have passed SLC, and I coronavirus. Unlike other countries, Securities in Mumbai. ed planting some saplings in the gar- roof and by following the right pro- feel that one can be capable when you India refrained from announcing a big To bridge some of the deficit, the den. Now I am growing more than 150 cess, Bhandari said. do things by yourself,” she said. stimulus, offering greater liquidity to government plans to raise 1.75 trillion vegetable and fruit plants.” She started roof farming by invest- She feels that people can move for- firms instead, and holding off the fis- Indian rupees from selling its stake in Bhandari used to watch YouTube ing Rs100,000, and said that she ward easily if they have skill training cal firepower until curbs to contain the state run companies and banks for entertainment; but she thought planned to develop her garden in an and have a zeal to learn something. the virus were lifted. including IDBI bank, an insurance she could learn some skills during the attractive way by spending up to Hearing that emphasis should be laid The government estimates the econ- company and oil companies. It also lockdown, so she searched the inter- Rs200,000. She said her husband on domestic production, she said that omy will contract 7.7 percent in the wants to sell state firms’ surplus land. net for information. abroad was happy with her hard work there would be no problem in produc- current fiscal year ending in March The pandemic ruined the divest- Her husband works abroad, and she when she showed him photos of the tion if one was willing to do it. but then recover to show 11 percent ment plans for the current fiscal with has been raising her two children and vegetables she had grown at home. She said that if housewives are growth in 2021/2022. only 180 billion rupees raised so far paying for her household expenses Bhandari said she sold the vegeta- trained in rooftop farming at the local That would make it the world’s fast- from the sales. Stake sales and privati- with the money he sends home. The bles and fruits from her garden that level, there would be greenery at home est growing major economy ahead of sation have seldom met targets in rooftop venture has allowed her to she could not consume. Since she does and every family could become China’s projected 8.1 percent growth, India, due partly to resistance from save Rs3,000 monthly because she not use pesticides, growing vegetables self-sufficient. but the government said it would take unions and political opposition. BIZLINE

AVO joins hands with Exports empty Canada’s canola bins, driving prices up Aakansha Creation to create jobs for displaced women REUTERS drove a late-summer rally that prompt- ly registering big losses in the process, KATHMANDU: Nepal Avocado WINNIPEG, FEB 1 ed farmers to sell more crop earlier he said. Farming and Industries and than usual. ICE canola futures retreated late in Aakansha Creation, Cottage and Canada, the world’s biggest canola Those early deliveries to commer- the week to less than C$700 per tonne, Small Industries have signed an grower, is running short of the oilseed cial handlers have helped Canada remaining close to levels unseen since agreement to create jobs for women six months before the next harvest, export nearly 33 percent more canola the record 2008 commodity boom. displaced by landslides and floods in with strong export demand driving year-to-date over last year, according Strong canola oil demand has also the district of Sindhupalchok. The prices to nearly 13-year highs last to government data. Top buyer China spurred Canadian crush plants to pro- social campaign of Aakansha week.Supplies of major commodity more than doubled purchases to 1.2 cess brisk volumes domestically, fur- crops are dwindling worldwide as buy- million tonnes as of December, despite ther straining supplies. Creation’s Tekka Initiatives will ers hoard food supplies during the continuing restrictions against Both crush plants and exporters lead the project in collaboration Covid-19 pandemic. China is loading Canadian exporters Richardson may already be short canola to fulfil with the local ward office. The up on grains and oilseeds that it can International and Viterra. orders, a Canadian exporter said. campaign will organise trainings feed to animals, raising food inflation Other exporters can still ship Archer-Daniels-Midland Co, Bunge for the displaced women on and causing some nations to restrict Canadian canola, helping meet Ltd and Richardson, major crushers, making soft toys by crochet, exports of their crops.Canola, known China’s voracious demand for animal declined to comment. Cargill Inc did states the press release issued for its bright yellow flowers, is crushed feed as its hog herd recovers from a not respond. The canola rally is not by the company. The materials mainly for oil to make French fries, deadly disease. necessarily over, Tryhuk said. Bigger used for making the soft toys mayonnaise and salad dressings. Its With the market soaring, canola than usual futures positions for and the training will be provided meal is also fed to livestock like pigs. REUTERS importers locked in their purchase November delivery indicate that seed free of cost. Once the training To Manitoba farmer Bill Craddock, A deer feeds in a Western Canadian canola field in full bloom before harvest in rural Alberta. prices under terms of their sales exporters and crushers are already is completed, they will be provided it seemed like a good decision in agreements last week, fearing even worried about the shortage continu- an opportunity for employment autumn to sell all of his canola at high “I’m entering my 51st year of trad- get killed.” The roots of Canada’s can- higher prices, said Tony Tryhuk, man- ing through the next harvest, he said. to produce soft toys for AVO Nepal. prices, only to see them spike even ing and the market is as volatile as I ola shortage trace back to the autumn, ager of commodity trading at RBC. Statistics Canada will estimate These toys will be sold via different more this month. Still, Craddock prof- ever remember,” Craddock said. “To when farmers reaped their smallest That forced Canadian exporters on the Canadian crop stockpiles on Friday in outlets throughout Nepal, India ited off last week’s rally by trading try and make money from it, you have harvest in five years. Strong export other ends of those sales to buy canola a report likely to garner more atten- and Japan. small numbers of futures contracts. to stand your ground, and be right, or demand for canola seed and oil then futures at high prices to fill them, like- tion than usual.

Australian prime minister says Microsoft’s Bing could replace Google

ASSOCIATED PRESS that the online meeting had taken CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA), FEB 1 place last week but released no details of the conversation. Australia’s prime minister said on “We recognize the importance Monday that Microsoft is confident it of a vibrant media sector and public can fill the void if Google carries out interest journalism in a democracy its threat to remove its search engine and we recognize the challenges the from Australia. media sector has faced over many A Google executive told a Senate years through changing business hearing last month that it would likely models and consumer preferences,” make its search engine unavailable in Microsoft said. Australia if the government goes REUTERS “With respect to the current contro- ahead with a draft law that would A sign of Microsoft Corp’s Bing search versy over a potential code of conduct make tech giants pay for news con- engine is seen at the World Artificial governing Google and Facebook, tent. Prime Minister Scott Morrison Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China. Microsoft is not directly involved and said he has spoken to Microsoft chief we wouldn’t want to comment on that executive Satya Nadella about its and is supported commercially, then ongoing process involving the ACCC search engine, Bing, filling the space. this is vital to how democracies func- and those companies,” the statement “I can tell you, Microsoft’s pretty tion,” he added. Although Bing is added, referring to the Australian confident” that Australians would not Australia’s second most popular Competition and Consumer be worse off, Morrison told the search engine, it has only a 3.6 percent Commission, the national regulator National Press Club of Australia. market share, according to web ana- that devised the draft law. “These are big technology compa- lytics service Statcounter. Google says The mandatory code of conduct pro- nies and what’s important to Australia, it has 95 percent. posed by the government aims to I think, is that we set the rules that are Nadella initiated the Zoom conver- make Google and Facebook pay right for our people,” Morrison said. sation with Morrison, The Australian Australian media companies fairly for “Having a news environment in this newspaper reported. using news content the tech giants country that is one that is sustainable A Microsoft statement confirmed siphon from news sites.

C M Y K TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 | 06 WORLD Merkel hosts ‘summit’ as impatience Indian journalists mounts over sluggish vaccine delivery accused of sedition Merkel has come under criticism over her decision to let the European Commission take the lead in securing vaccines. over protest reporting

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE REUTERS and independent reporting ... BERLIN, FEB 1 NEW DELHI, FEB 1 Government wants only its official version to be published,” he said in a Pharmaceutical giants scrambled Several senior Indian journalists are statement. Monday to announce ramped-up pro- facing charges of sedition over their A lawyer for Sardesai did not have duction and deliveries of vaccines reporting and online posts about a any immediate comment when con- hours ahead of talks called by German protest by farmers last week, sparking tacted on Monday. Chancellor Angela Merkel as fury criticism of the legal action from The Editors Guild of India, the grows in the EU over a sluggish inocu- media associations. Press Club of India and several other lation campaign. The cases have been filed with journalist groups condemned the Merkel has come under criticism police in at least five states against the police complaints and called them an over her decision to let the European journalists including Rajdeep intimidation tactic aimed at stifling Commission take the lead in securing Sardesai, a prominent anchor on the the media. vaccines for the bloc, as delays have India Today television channel, and Anand Sahay, president of the dogged both procurement and rollout Vinod Jose, executive editor of the Press Club of India, said it was not a of the jabs across the 27-nation bloc. Caravan magazine. coincidence that the cases had With impatience mounting, last The cases, filed by residents of the largely been registered in states that week she called a “summit” bringing states, allege that the journalists pro- are ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata together top members of her cabinet, voked violence during protests by Party (BJP). the key pharmaceutical manufactur- farmers at New Delhi’s Red Fort on ers as well as the EU commissioners January 26 through incorrect posts on for the internal market and health for Twitter and reports that police had Activists say press a telephone conference. killed a protester. Health Minister Jens Spahn said Tens of thousands of farmers have freedom has shrunk ahead of Monday’s meeting that camped out on the outskirts of the Germans should keep their expecta- capital for more than two months, under Modi’s rule. tions in check for now. AP/RSS demanding the withdrawal of “A summit alone won’t be enough to Members of the World Health Organization team prepare to leave for a fourth day of field visits from their hotel in Wuhan, China on Monday. new agricultural laws that they say produce more vaccines,” he said late benefit private buyers at the expense The club said “early reports” sug- Sunday, noting the complexity of the vaccine. As fatigue from shutdown of growers. gested the protester had been shot manufacturing process. WHO team in Wuhan visits disease control centres measures to curb the spread of the The government of Prime Minster dead though later it appeared he was “That’s why it can’t just happen in virus grows, Merkel last month Narendra Modi says reform of the killed when his tractor turned over. three or five weeks.” WUHAN: A World Health Organization virus. China has sought to avoid pledged to make jabs available to agriculture sector will bring opportu- “In a moving story, things change But as political pressure mounted team investigating the origins of the blame for alleged missteps in its early everyone in Germany who wants one nities for farmers. on a regular basis. Accordingly, the on the pharmaceutical companies, coronavirus pandemic visited two dis- response to the outbreak. by late September. The protests turned violent on reporting reflects the circumstances. which received millions of euros in ease control centres on Monday that Following the visit to the provincial But the relatively quick speed of the January 26, when farmers broke into It is criminal to ascribe this to moti- public investment to produce the vac- had an early hand in managing the center, team member Peter Daszak immunisation campaign in countries the historic Red Fort complex, with vated reporting,” the club said in a cines, they unleashed a flurry of new outbreak in Wuhan, China. told reporters it had been a “really such as Britain has trained a harsh one protester killed and hundreds statement on Friday. pledges for quicker deliveries. The WHO investigators arrived in good meeting, really important.” No spotlight on the EU and its top econo- injured. Activists say press freedom has BioNTech and Pfizer, the first firms Wuhan last month to look for clues other details were given. my, Germany. At the time, a witness told Reuters shrunk under Modi’s rule, which has worldwide to announce a successful and have visited hospitals and a sea- The evidence the team assembles A European source said Monday the protester was killed when the trac- been marked by attacks on and intimi- vaccine, promised to send up to 75 food market where early cases were will add to what is expected to that Berlin was putting “tremendous” tor he was driving overturned dation of journalists. The government million extra doses to the bloc in the detected. be a years-long quest for answers. pressure on the Commission to and crushed him but there was also denies intimidating the press. spring thanks to progress at key man- The team on Monday visited both Pinning down an outbreak’s animal improve the vaccine rollout, adding talk he had been shot. Police, who had India dropped two places to 142nd in ufacturing sites. the Hubei Provincial Centre for sources requires massive amounts of that von der Leyen’s position had been fired tear gas on the day, denied shoot- the annual World Press Freedom rank- European Commission chief Ursula Disease Control and its Wuhan city research including taking animal “severely weakened”. ing him. ings by the group Reporters Without von der Leyen said Sunday that office, amid tight Chinese controls samples, genetic analysis and epide- At the same time, Merkel has “The accused tried to provoke the Borders last year, which noted “con- AstraZeneca would finally deliver on access to information about the miological studies. (AP) defended her decision last year to pur- protesters for their political and per- stant press freedom violations, includ- 40 million doses in total in the first sue a European rather than a national sonal gains by spreading false and ing police violence against journal- quarter—nine million doses or 30 per- strategy on inoculations. She has said misleading information online,” one ists” and increased “pressure on the cent more than it had previously said produce a coronavirus vaccine that CureVac’s mRNA vaccine has yet to a go-it-alone drive would have inflated complaint filed in Uttar Pradesh state media to toe the Hindu nationalist it could. fellow German pharmaceuticals com- receive the green light from regula- prices, left pockets of the continent said, echoing the language of the government’s line”. An EU source said the first deliver- pany CureVac is developing. tors, but Spahn said it was “on its way more vulnerable to the pandemic. other filings. The Editors Guild of India, which ies would start in the second week of CureVac CEO Franz-Werner Haas to approval in the coming weeks”. Spahn asked Germans to remain Jose said his journalists on the represents newspapers, said it was February. said his company would also produce French pharma group Sanofi “realistic” in their hopes to get ground heard from a witness and a disturbed that the police complaints And chemicals giant Bayer several hundred million doses of its agreed last week to help produce 125 inoculated, saying participants at relative of the dead man that he had had been filed under as many as 10 announced that from 2022 it would own vaccine by the end of 2021. million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Monday’s meeting. been shot. “This is an attack on free different legal provisions.

BRIEFING Dozens of former Bush Myanmar military seizes power, detains ... >> Continued from page 1 Trump names two lawyers to Foreign companies from Japanese impeachment defence team officials leave Republican retail giant Aeon to South Korean trading firm POSCO International WASHINGTON: Former President and Norway’s Telenor scrambled to Key events in Myanmar Donald Trump announced a new reach staff in Myanmar and assess the JAN 4, 1948 impeachment legal defence team Party, calling it ‘Trump cult’ turmoil. just one day after it was revealed that Country then known as Burma gains Multinationals moved into the independence from British colonial rule. he had parted ways with an earlier country after Suu Kyi’s party estab- 1962 set of attorneys with just over a lished the first civilian government in Military leader Ne Win stages a coup and week to go before his Senate trial. half a century in 2015, although the 1988 rules the country through a junta for many The two representing Trump will be years. persecution of the Rohyngya Muslim Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of an inde- defence lawyer David Schoen, a fre- minority, which tarnished Suu Kyi’s pendence hero, returns to her home country quent television legal commentator, reputation, made some investors wary. as pro-democracy protests are erupting and Bruce Castor, a former district against the junta. Security forces open fire JULY 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, on demonstrators in August protests, attorney in Pennsylvania who has An increasingly outspoken critic of the junta, 75, came to power after an election win and hundreds are killed. Suu Kyi is put under house arrest. faced criticism for his decision to not that followed decades of house arrest charge actor Bill Cosby in a sex and struggle against the military, May 27, 1990 crimes case. Both attorneys issued which had seized power in a 1962 coup The National League for Democracy, statements through Trump’s office on and stamped out all dissent for dec- founded by Suu Kyi, wins a landslide Sunday saying that they were victory in elections, but the military refuses OCT 1991 ades. to hand over power. honoured to take the job. While still hugely popular at home, Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her international reputation was her peaceful struggle against the regime. severely damaged after she failed to NOV 7, 2010 Court fines Navalny’s wife stop the expulsion of hundreds of A pro-junta party wins Myanmar’s first after protests in Moscow thousands of Rohingyas in 2017. elections in 20 years, a vote that was boycotted as unfair and rigged in its favor. NOV 13, 2010 MOSCOW: A Moscow court on Monday The detentions came after days has ordered the wife of Russian oppo- of tension between the civilian Suu Kyi is freed from detention after spending government and the military in the long periods of the past two decades under sition leader Alexei Navalny to pay a house arrest. fine of 20,000 rubles (about $265) for aftermath of the most recent election, 2012 violating protest regulations after she REUTERS in which Suu Kyi’s party won 83% of Suu Kyi wins a by-election and takes her seat attended a demonstration in the President Donald Trump speaks about the impeachment inquiry during a meeting at the the vote. in Parliament, holding public office for the White House in Washington, US, on October 2, 2019. An army takeover would put first time. Russian capital to demand his NOV 8, 2015 Myanmar “back under a dictator- release. Tens of thousands took to the The NLD wins a sweeping victory in general streets in dozens of Russian cities on REUTERS Their defection from the Republican ship”, the pre-written statement on elections that were the first openly held since Sunday, chanting slogans against WASHINGTON, FEB 1 Party after a lifetime of service for Facebook quoted Suu Kyi as saying. 1990. The military retained significant power many is another clear sign of how a “I urge people not to accept this, to AUG 25, 2017 under a constitution that also barred Suu Kyi Russian President Vladimir Putin from the presidency, but the position of state and demanding that authorities free Dozens of Republicans in former growing intraparty conflict over respond and wholeheartedly to protest Insurgents attack military outposts in the counsellor was created for her to lead the Navalny, who was jailed last month President George W. Bush’s adminis- Trump and his legacy is fracturing it. against the coup by the military,” it western state of Rakhine, killing dozens. The government. tration are leaving the party, dismayed The party is currently caught said. Reuters was unable to reach any military responds with a massive crackdown and faces a prison term. His wife, on the Rohingya Muslim population, who Yulia Navalnaya, joined a protest in by a failure of many elected between disaffected moderate NLD officials to confirm the veracity begin fleeing by the hundreds of thousands Moscow that took place despite Republicans to disown Donald Trump Republicans and independents dis- of the statement. into Bangladesh. DEC 11, 2019 unprecedented security measures after his false claims of election fraud gusted by the hold Trump still has Supporters of the military celebrat- Suu Kyi defended the military in a case at the that city authorities took ahead of sparked a deadly storming of the US over elected officials, and Trump’s ed the coup, parading through Yangon International Court of Justice in The Hague, denying it had committed genocide. the rally. She was quickly detained Capitol last month. fervently loyal base. Without the in pickup trucks and waving national NOV 8, 2020 and charged with participating in an These officials, some who served in enthusiastic support of both groups, flags. Myanmar holds elections, with the NLD unauthorized rally. A court on the highest echelons of the Bush the party will struggle to win national “Today is the day that people are capturing an outright majority in Parliament. Monday ordered Navalnaya to pay a administration, said they had hoped elections, according to polling, happy,” one nationalist monk told a JAN 29, 2021 fine, her lawyer Svetlana Davydova that a Trump defeat would lead party Republican officials and strategists. crowd in a video published on Myanmar’s election commission rejects the told the Interfax news agency. leaders to move on from the former The Republican National Committee Facebook. military’s allegations of fraud in the elections, finding no evidence to support the claims. president and denounce his baseless referred Reuters to a recent interview But democracy activists and NLD FEB 1, 2021 claims that the November presidential its chair Ronna McDaniel gave to the voters were horrified and angry. Myanmar military takes control of the Somali forces end jihadist siege election was stolen. Fox Business channel. “We’re having “Our country was a bird that was country for one year, citing the government’s But with most Republican lawmak- a little bit of a spat right now. But we just learning to fly. Now the army failure to act against its claims of voter fraud of Mogadishu hotel, five dead ers sticking to Trump, these officials are going to come together. We have broke our wings,” student activist Si and refusal to postpone the November elec- MOGADISHU: At least five people have tions because of the coronavirus crisis. Her say they no longer recognize the party to,” McDaniel said, predicting the Thu Tun said. party says Suu Kyi is again placed under died in the attack on a Mogadishu they served. Some have ended their party will unite against the agenda of Senior NLD leader Win Htein said house arrest. hotel by Somalia’s al-Shabab rebels membership, others are letting it lapse President Joe Biden, a Democrat. in a Facebook post the army chief ’s that was ended on early Monday by while a few are newly registered as Representatives for Trump did not takeover demonstrated his ambition security forces, according to the independents, according to a dozen respond to a request for comment. rather than concern for the country. Somali police force. The siege of the former Bush officials who spoke with A representative of former Health Minister Myint Htwe said he and the United States. them. Bangladesh, which is sheltering Afrik hotel ended after a gun battle Reuters. President Bush did not respond to a was stepping down. He urged col- “The military must reverse these around one million Rohingya that lasted for more than eight hours, “The Republican Party as I knew it request for comment. During the leagues to serve the people, especially actions immediately,” U.S. Secretary who fled violence in Myanmar, called and all four rebel attackers were no longer exists. I’d call it the cult of Trump presidency Bush made clear with regard to the coronavirus and of State Antony Blinken said. for “peace and stability” and said it killed, Somali police spokesman Trump,” said Jimmy Gurulé, who was he had “retired from politics.” vaccinations. In Japan, a major aid donor with hoped a process to repatriate the refu- Sadiq Adan Ali said. The rebels Undersecretary of the Treasury for More than half of the Republicans In the capital, security forces con- many businesses in Myanmar, a gees could move forward. Rohingya exploded hand grenades and rock- Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in Congress--eight senators and 139 fined members of parliament to resi- ruling party source said the govern- refugees in Bangladesh also con- et-propelled grenades in their attempt in the Bush administration. House representatives--voted to block dential compounds on the day they ment may have to rethink the strength- demned the takeover. to repulse the police forces who were Kristopher Purcell, who worked in certification of the election just hours had expected to take up their seats, ening of defence relations with the The Association of South East closing in on them, he said. In addi- the Bush White House’s communica- after the Capitol siege. representative Sai Lynn Myat said. country undergone as part of regional Asian Nations, of which Myanmar tion to those killed, 15 people were tions office for six years, said roughly Most Republican Senators have The United Nations led condemna- efforts to counterbalance China. is a member, called for “dialogue, injured and have been hospitalized, 60 to 70 former Bush officials have also indicated they would not support tion of the coup and calls for the China called on all sides in reconciliation and the return to nor- health authorities said. Al-Shabab decided to leave the party or are cut- the impeachment of Trump, making release of detainees and restoration Myanmar to respect the constitution malcy” while in Bangkok, police claimed responsibility for the attack ting ties with it, from conversations he it almost certain that the former of democracy in comments largely and uphold stability in a statement clashed with a group of pro-democra- through their Andalus radio and has been having. “The number is president won’t be convicted in his echoed by Australia, Britain, the which “noted” events in the country cy demonstrators outside Myanmar’s Somalimemo website. (AGENCIES) growing every day,” Purcell said. Senate trial. European Union, India, Japan rather than expressly condemning embassy.

C M Y K 07 | TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 SPORTS | MEDLEY BRIEFING Sabitra scores a dozen as goals shower in women’s league Nepal-Qatar Twenty20 APF demolished Chaudandigadhi 22-0 to stretch their lead at top with 18 points. Army are second with 10 points after their 7-0 win over Biratnagar. International series cancelled KATHMANDU: Nepal national cricket SPORTS BUREAU tack in the 50th minute. Sabitra then team’s three-match Twenty20 KATHMANDU, FEB 1 put a pass into the top-right corner International series against Qatar five minutes later and added two more has been cancelled owing to Qatar National team striker Sabitra in the 62nd and 63rd minutes. government’s Covid-19 protocol, Bhandari alone scored a dozen goals Anu found her fifth in the 65th min- according to Cricket Association of as leaders Armed Police Force Club ute when her right-footed shot was Nepal. Nepal were scheduled to visit (APF) demolished Chaudandigadhi cheaply blocked by goalkeeper and Qatar at the invitation of Qatar Municipality 22-0 in the National Anita completed her hat-trick in the Cricket Association. The matches of Women’s Football League on Monday. 67th minute riffling into the top left the series were set to take place from The bottom club were only able to corner from inside the box. Sabitra February 9 to 12. Qatar had invited hold the 2017-18 and current champi- then rounded off the victory with her Nepal for the series to mark the coun- ons goalless for the first five minutes, fourth hat-trick of the game scoring try’s Sports Day. But all the pro- before Sabitra beat goalkeeper Anjana in the 72nd and 79th minutes and grammes of the Sports Day were can- Thulung for a calm finish following a added time. celled due to Qatar government’s provider from Anita Basnet. The win extended APF’s lead at top directives. Nepal had already It then opened the floodgates at the with 18 points from six matches. announced an 18-member squad for ANFA Complex as the in-form depart- Chaudandigadhi are yet to win a game the closed camp training under the mental side were already leading 12-0 in the league this season and remain captaincy of Dipendra Singh Airee. at the break, with Sabitra scoring five at rock-bottom with no points. The closed camp has also been sus- times and Anu Lama netting four APF coach Bhagawoti Thapa said pended for now. (SB) goals. Anita Basnet, Saru Limbu and the team still had weakness. Renuka Nagarkoti were also in the “We played well today and scored 22 scoresheet contributing one each. goals. But we still need to improve a Nepal No 1 Prerana Koirala Anita Basnet converted a pass from lot to cope with other departmental crashes out of first round Sabitra to double the lead in the 8th teams,” said Thapa. minute, which was followed by Anu Chaudandigadhi coach Dipak KATHMANDU: Nepal number one scoring twice—softly redirecting a Thapa said they conceded goals due to female tennis player Prerana Koirala pass from Anjali Yonjan in the 11th injury to their key players. crashed out of the first round of and a 14th minute volley. Saru made it “We wanted to concede less. But we women’s singles in the J5 ITF World 5-0 four minutes later when Sabitra could not stop them from scoring Tennis Tour that began on Monday at beat the advancing goalkeeper at the because our playing XI are still bat- the Satdobato tennis court. Koirala edge of the box and set up Saru who tling injuries,” said Thapa. succumbed to a straight set defeat of shot through an empty goal post. Tribhuvan Army Club climbed to 6-2, 6-2 against India’s Lakshmi Anu completed her hat-trick two second spot after Sharmila Thapa’s Gowda. Saloni Tamang and Torus minutes later following a fine drib- PHOTO COURTESY: ANFA hat-trick and Bimala Chaudhary’s Rawal were the only Nepali players to bling from Renuka Nagarkoti, and APF’s Sabitra Bhandari scored 12 goals, Anu Lama netted five and Anita Basnet got hat-trick in their win at the ANFA Complex on Monday. double guided them to a 7-0 victory make it to the second round. Tamang added another with a header in the over Biratnagar Metropolitan City in edged Kristi Boro of India 6-3, 6-4 in 26th minute—before Renuka shot in the 32nd minute, scored in a solo enough celebrating while seven more goals in the opponents’ the day’s other match. Rashmi Ghising women’s singles while Rawal saw off from outside the box in the 31st min- effort in the 33rd, controlled a hanging Chaudandigadhi had given up, not post, Anita completing her hat-trick and Bimala BK also scored one goal compatriot Nihal Jung Bahadur ute to make it 8-0. pass with a header before finishing off even battling to prevent the biggest and Anu adding her fifth. each for Army. Thapa 6-2, 6-1 in men’s singles event. Sabitra then scored three goals in the 34th and dribbled the ball past defeat by margin in the league this The departmental side’s 13th goal They have 10 points from five match- Sharvani Shrestha, Shreya Bhattarai, within three minutes and added the goalkeeper before finding the net season. came in the 48th minute when Saru es, two ahead of third placed Nepal Isha Shree Shah and Azaa Regmi another four minutes later. She bril- in the 38th minute. The goal-fest continued after the beat the offside trap setting up Sabitra, Police Club. Biratnagar slipped to were the other Nepali players to face liantly headed a cross from Preeti Rai By then APF had already had break as well, with Sabitra scoring before Anita scored in a counter-at- fourth with seven points. first round exit. In the men’s section, Nepal’s Nischal Kayastha, Prasidha Moktan, Aryan Giri, Aki Zuben Rawat, Nisan Shrestha, Aarav Samrat Hada, Evyak Joshi, Pritam Pariyar and Chirag Timilsian all faced first Table tennis ace Shrestha opens training academy Liverpool back as threat to round exits. (SB) SPORTS BUREAU Barcelona beat Athletic 2-1 KATHMANDU, FEB 1 relentless Manchester City BARCELONA: Lionel Messi scored his Eight time national table tennis cham- 650th goal for Barcelona while pion and Nepal number 1 female play- ASSOCIATED PRESS eight straight league games. Despite Antoine Griezmann struck the win- er Nabita Shrestha formally launched LONDON, FEB 1 their lengthy injury list—and Sadio ner in a 2-1 home success over a table tennis academy in Khusibu, Mane joined it this week because of a Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday, Kathmandu, on Monday. With a trademark left-footed curler minor muscle problem—Liverpool avenging a defeat by the Basque side The Stag Champions Table Tennis into the top corner and the deftest of cannot be discounted, even in the Spanish Super Cup final. Messi Academy has three boards. finishes from a clinical counterattack, if the third-placed Reds are four points curled in a stunning free kick after 20 “I had a long held dream to run an Mohamed Salah ended one of his long- behind City having played one minutes for his milestone goal. academy. I had thought of taking a est goal droughts in the Premier game more in their turbulent title Athletic, who had won their previous more active role in coaching than as a League for Liverpool in style. defence. five matches in all competitions in a player after the 13th South Asian The champions’ chief scorer is back They jumped above Leicester, who flying start under new coach Games and the support of family was doing what he does best. And that lost 3-1 at home to Leeds earlier Marcelino, failed to get going but lev- vital to setting up the academy,” said should make them the biggest threat Sunday and dropped to fourth. Sixth- elled in the 49th thanks to an own Shrestha. to relentless leader Manchester City place Tottenham also lost 1-0 at goal. Jordi Alba tried to prevent “Some talented players do not get in the title race. Brighton. Athletic’s Oscar de Marcos reaching a training opportunities due to Salah’s sublime, second-half double Salah scored twice in an FA Cup cross but instead prodded into the financial and other problems. The set Liverpool on their way to a 3-1 win loss to Manchester United last week- Barca net. The hosts finally restored academy will be helpful for such types at West Ham on Sunday. end, but he hadn’t netted in six league their lead in the 74th when of players.” Jurgen Klopp’s team hadn’t won matches, a barren run he had only Griezmann arrived in the box to Nepal Olympic Committee POST PHOTO: KESHAV THAPA any of their previous five games and experienced once—in February- knock home a cross from defender President Jeevan Ram Shrestha inau- Eight time national table tennis champion and Nepal’s No 1 female player Nabita Shrestha had dropped off the remorseless title March 2019—since joining Liverpool Oscar Mingueza. (REUTERS) gurated the academy. (centre) formally launched the table tennis academy in Khusibu, Kathmandu on Monday. pace being set by City, who have won in 2017. HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 21-April 19) *** CANCER (June 22-July 22) *** LIBRA (September 23-October 22) *** CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) **** Let your creativity call the shots today, no mat- If you act more on your impulses, you will be When you set your hopes way up high, you You will be able to fix an injustice today and give ter what silly stuff it’s telling you to do. So what able to mix up your routine and have more fun. increase the chances that you’ll be disappoint- credit to the person who truly deserves it: you! if it tells you to wear mismatched socks, speak The fact that your day-to-day business is getting ed. So be smart today and try not to pin This is not an easy day to stand up for yourself, only in rhyme, or skip down the street all day? It boring has more to do with you than everything on how a single event or encounter but you’ve been on such a good roll lately that needs you to hear its voice. anything else. goes. Keep an open mind. difficulty shouldn’t stop you from doing it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) *** LEO (July 23-August 22) *** SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) *** AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) **** If you end up dealing with an arrogant person You should continue on your quest to be more Be careful asking for more time with the boss Why are you hiding what you really have to today, try not to let their bad behavior tarnish mindful of other people by letting someone else right now. They could be dealing with some big offer? Being coy might seem like a cute way to who they are in your eyes. Sometimes when in on the perks you have. Share something of issues and now have a lot of patience for long get attention, but it’s not a good way to make people get put into a difficult situation, they yours that is deemed valuable by a co-worker or discussions about your career or what new what you’re about really clear to people. You lash out and act defensively or impolitely. friend, and make sure to do it in a casual way. responsibilities you’re looking for. need to be blunt and open about who you are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) *** VIRGO (August 23-September 22) **** SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) *** PISCES (February 19-March 20) *** Your confidence is going to get one or two boosts It’s strategically smart to be flexible with your There are some people who have been working Go ahead and dive right in to your latest obses- today. But while that happens, make sure that co-workers from time to time, but don’t let very hard to help you, and it’s time for you to let sions, but try not to lose your grasp on reality! you keep your feet planted on the ground! If you things go too far. You don’t want to set a prece- them know how grateful you are for what You need to create time for work and play. get too opinionated, you could push some people dent that you are some sort of pushover. Speak they’ve helped you accomplish. Give them a Devoting all your time to one or the other isn’t a w a y. up if you start feeling like a doormat. token of your appreciation today. wise. CROSSWORD SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

C M Y K TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2021 | 08 CULTURE & LIFESTYLE (C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053 Indie games you might have missed While both big and small developers have kept us entertained, some interesting, smaller indie titles have managed to go unnoticed. Here are some of them.

PRAJESH SJB RANA Raji is a game developed by our neighbours to the south. Developed by management tasks to undertake but it’s charming cast of loveable, KATHMANDU Nodding Head Games, a studio based in Pune, Maharashtra, the game anthropomorphised and well-written characters makes the game a won- borrows heavily on Hindu mythology, most specifically the Mahabharata der to play despite with little hiccups. he year 2020 was not easy, to say the least, but through the and the Gita. Many eminent figures like Vishnu and Durga accompany eccentricities of the past year, some really good games kept Raji through her journey to rescue her brother from the demons. The us company amidst uncertain lockdowns and work-from- game has Raji transverse beautiful Indian landscape and architecture home orders. Some really good AAA games like DOOM while battling hordes of demons. The game has a very unique Indian Eternal, Dragon Quest XI, and Ghost of Tsushima have kept flavour to it, with cut-scenes drawn out with puppet silhouettes in an ode us entertained during our time at home, and we also revelled to the country’s culture of shadow puppetry and frescos peppered Tin the indie charms of games like Hades, Ori and the Will of the Wisps throughout the game mimic images of Hindu mythology. and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While both big and small develop- Raji is a gem to play and to experience. Rarely do we see games set to ers have kept us entertained in 2020, some great, interesting smaller South Asian mythology and when done right, it looks like Raji. A must indie titles managed to go unnoticed. We take a look at some of these play if you’ve missed this one. games as we get ready for the numerous titles to come out this year. Roki Carto Roki is very similar to Raji in terms of narrative. In Roki, you play as Tove, a young girl on a mission to save her mischievous brother from the clutches of a monster. But while Raji takes place in South Asian mythol- ogy, Roki put you in the center of Scandinavian folklore filled with myth- ical monsters. While Raji has a fast-paced battle system, Roki follows a slower point-and-click adventure gameplay with object puzzles that will have you pixel-hunting various parts of the game’s beautiful shell-shad- The Pathless ed world for the exact item you need to pass a gate. The puzzles aren’t all easy however, and you will find yourself thinking hard to solve a puzzle. Pathless is a bit bigger than the other linear games mentioned here since But while the gameplay can get a bit rote after a while, the well-crafted it’s open-world with a lot of interesting areas to explore. Unlike other narrative keeps players engaged. The journey to find her brother leads open-world games, however, Pathless focuses strongly on fluid movement Tove into the deep pockets of her psyche where she is forced to come to and archery. In the game, you play as a mysterious hunter tasked with terms with her sense of grief, abandonment and fear. Roki is an emotion- lifting the curse off an island. As a master archer, the mysterious hunter al roller-coaster ride painted beautifully in front of a myriad of unusual runs and dashes her way across the game’s beautifully rendered land- monsters. scapes, shooting floating gems scattered across the land with her bow. The fluidity through which the hunter makes her way across the land makes movement really fun and without having to aim accurately, forces players to focus more on the run. There is plenty to do in the world how- ever, with many environment puzzles to solve and many interesting bosses to kill and interesting ruins to explore. The game’s delightful Carto is a game about maps. It doesn’t have battles, difficult platforming movement system paired with gorgeous landscapes of the game make puzzles or even death. Throughout the game, you play a young woman the world a joy to transverse through while the layered puzzle system with the power to change landscapes and worlds through a jig-saw like works great in balancing the pace of the game. The Pathless might not map. You can move, rotate and place various map pieces creating a path have the best story, but the unique gameplay mechanics make it a must for your character to transverse the world, meeting colourful characters, play if you’ve missed it. cultures and customs, while leading the young protagonist back home. Carto is about the journey home through gorgeous hand drawn worlds Rana is a Kathmandu-based tech writer who has been covering all lush with colour and quirky characters that give life to the charming things tech for the past decade. world. Carto is as easy on your mind as it is on your hardware; this med- itative game should work on your not-so-great laptops easily. Raji: An Ancient Epic

Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer is a narrative-adventure game that has you play the part of a Spiritfarer, a being that transports lost spirits to their final rest. You play as Stella, accompanied by her cat Daffodil, as you take on the responsibil- ities of a ferry master. As the new spiritfarer, you will have to find spir- its, upgrade your boat, and explore new islands. While there are plenty TUBE of things to do in the game, like crafting, cooking and resource hunting, YOU the strongest aspect of the game would most definitely be the narrative. Each ghost you meet is a unique character with their own life stories B VI A before death, understanding these characters helps Stella make their stays in the afterlife more comfortable and the final hug before sending them to the final resting places pulls at your heartstrings more than a

few times. The game can feel a bit grindy towards the end with plenty of RA SCREENG PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie sells painting Coronavirus lockdown a lonely Churchill gifted to Roosevelt time for Jerusalem zoo animals The piece is being sold next month with an estimated price of 1.5 million Since the start of a new national coronavirus lockdown in Israel, pounds to 2.5 million pounds ($2.1 million to $3.4 million). human visitors haven’t been around the zoo for a month.

REUTERS animals must make do with inter- JERUSALEM acting with their keepers, who are The zoo contains busy feeding and tending to kan- eering through enclo- garoos, zebras and elephants. sure windows, they a wide variety of When a Reuters television crew were a popular source animals but gives toured the zoo, black-and- gold of entertainment at howler monkeys came out of Jerusalem’s Biblical pride of place to their house, eager to take a look. Zoo. “They are really missing it,” PBut the human visitors haven’t species mentioned Avni-Magen said about the daily been around for a month, since interaction with visitors. “They the start of a national coronavi- in the bible. are sitting and waiting that the rus lockdown in Israel, and the zoo will open again.” animals miss staring at them, zoo The lions, however, seem to be keepers say. the visitors in the big front win- an exception, sidling closer to “They are sitting above, they dow.” their keepers and the front areas are playing with each other,” Nili A sprawling site in Jerusalem, of their compound now that the Avni-Magen, the zoo’s head veter- the zoo contains a wide variety of crowds are gone. inarian, said at the primates’ animals but gives pride of place “They feel more secure when enclosure. “We are trying to do to species mentioned in the bible. they see less people,” Avni-Magen enrichments but they are missing With no visitors around, the said.

AP/RSS An oil on canvas painting by Sir Winston Churchill Painted in January 1943 called ‘Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque’ is displayed at Christie’s auction rooms in London.

JILL LAWLESS planned the defeat of Nazi Roosevelt’s son after the presi- LONDON Germany. The two leaders visited dent’s death in 1945, and had sev- Marrakech after the conference eral owners before Jolie and part- painting by so that Churchill could show ner Brad Pitt bought it in 2011. Winston Churchill Roosevelt the city’s beauty. The couple separated in 2016 that is a piece of “Roosevelt was blown away by it and have spent years enmeshed in both political and and thought it was incredible,” divorce proceedings, amid specu- Hollywood history said Nick Orchard, head of lation about the division of their is coming up for Christie’s modern British art extensive art collection. auction.A department. He said Churchill cap- They were declared divorced in Christie’s auction house said tured the view in the “wonderful, 2019 after their lawyers asked for Monday that the Moroccan land- evocative painting” and gave it to a bifurcated judgment, meaning scape “Tower of the Koutoubia Roosevelt as a memento of the trip. that two married people can be Mosque”—a gift from Churchill to Churchill was a keen amateur declared single while other issues, US President Franklin D artist who completed some 500 including finances and child cus- Roosevelt—is being sold by paintings after taking up painting tody, remain. Angelina Jolie next month with in his 40s. Orchard said that “the The painting is being sold by an estimated price of 1.5 million light in Morocco and over the Jolie Family Collection as pounds to 2.5 million pounds ($2.1 Marrakech was something that part of Christie’s March 1 modern million to $3.4 million). Churchill was passionate about” British art auction in London. The image of the 12th-century and painted again and again. Orchard said the auction house mosque in Marrakech at sunset, “He loved the dry air, the light, was hopeful it could set a new with the Atlas Mountains in the the sun and the way it played on record for a Churchill work. background, is the only painting the landscapes,” he said. “And “The record price at auction for that Britain’s World War II leader that’s absolutely visible here in Churchill is about 1.8 million completed during the 1939-45 con- this painting. You can see the long (pounds) for a painting that, in my flict. shadows and the turning purple of view, is not as important as this,” He painted it after the January the mountains and the deepening he said. “And I think this is proba- 1943 Casablanca Conference, of the sky--classic sunset time.” bly his most important work.” REUTERS where Churchill and Roosevelt The painting was sold by --Associated Press A South African giraffe walks in her living area in The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem, which is closed due to the coronavirus lockdown.

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