WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR

Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 261 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 29.5 C -2.1 C Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 04-08-2077 Janakpur Jumla Chinese whispers, Sheetal Niwas and wrangling in Nepal Communist Party Just as conflict was escalating in ruling party, the President intervened and China’s ambassador called on Oli. Despite reservations, Oli then attended the Secretariat meeting.

TIKA R PRADHAN KATHMANDU, NOV 18

Until Tuesday night, ruling Nepal Communist Party chairmen KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal were baying for each other’s blood. They refused to see each other eye to eye. But on Wednesday, the party held its Secretariat meeting, the major bone of contention between them, and both of them were present in the meet- ing. The meeting ended with a decision PHOTO COURTESY: PM’S SECRETARIAT that the next meeting will be held on Oli and Dahal at Wednesday’s Secretariat meet. November 28. Not just observers and analysts but even This, however, is not the first time the some party members were baffled—as to Chinese ambassador has met with ruling how things changed overnight. party leaders including Oli. Multiple factors worked, say party insid- In the first week of July, Hou had held a RSS ers. However, multiple leaders the Post series of meetings with several ruling Birds fly over Taudaha in Chobhar on Wednesday morning. As winter advances, mornings are getting foggy and days colder in Kathmandu Valley. spoke with said they were not in a position party leaders. At that time also, the Nepal to say how long such a tense situation in Communist Party (NCP) was in a deep cri- the party will continue. A series of events sis, as 30 of the 44 Standing Committee took place since Tuesday morning and at members were demanding Oli’s resigna- least three stand out. tion. While the party looked headed for a After Dahal refused Oli’s call to post- split, the Oli government was staring at its In ruling party one-upmanship Can surgical pone Wednesday’s meeting and withdraw fall. Hou had then met with President his political document, President Bidya Bhandari also. Devi Bhandari invited Dahal to Sheetal Though some media suggested Hou’s masks be reused? Niwas on Tuesday evening. The same meeting with President Bhandari over the game, the only loser is general public evening, Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi last few days, Tika Dhakal, senior media met with Oli, who is also the prime minis- expert for the Office of the President, As masks become ubiquitous, ter. On Wednesday morning, Bhandari refuted such reports. As the Oli government has failed to fight the pandemic and ensure governance invited Oli to Sheetal Niwas. Nonetheless, Hou’s active engagement cost has been an issue with The party’s Secretariat meeting was then has once again raised questions if the rul- amid party infighting, experts say there’s a danger of systemic failure. held at 1pm, the time it was scheduled for, ing party indeed is functioning on its own. so many of them ending up in and concluded in about an hour, deciding The Chinese ambassador’s meeting with that Oli will present his own political docu- Oli, later in the night on Tuesday, follows waterways and the oceans. ment during the next meeting 10 days later. Oli’s October 21 meeting with the chief of The roles played by Bhandari and Hou India’s foreign spy agency—Research & AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in the ruling party’s internal affairs have Analysis Wing. PARIS, NOV 18 now become a talking point. Oli has already faced a lot of criticism Even some ruling party leaders have for holding such a meeting with R&AW Health authorities say the most wide- taken exception to such a meeting between chief Samant Goel at Baluwatar. spread anti-Covid weapon—surgical Oli and the Chinese ambassador, especial- Nepali Congress leader Prakash Sharan masks—must be thrown away after a ly in such crucial times. Mahat, who is a former foreign minister, single use, but environmental concerns “This is not an appropriate time for both said such open meetings not only under- are pushing some scientists to question sides to meet,” said Raghuji Pant, a mine national sovereignty but also invite this recommendation. Standing Committee member. “[After all], competition among major powers. As the coronavirus continues to our party has its way of functioning.” >> Continued on page 2 spread, masks have in many places become mandatory on public transport, in shops and at work. But cost has become an issue, as has the fact so many disposable plastic masks wind up in waterways and the oceans. One alternative is reusable cloth masks, but many people prefer single-use surgical masks because they are lighter and individually cheaper. “Medical masks are for single use only,” the World Health Organization has said. “Discard the mask immediately, POST FILE PHOTO preferably into a closed bin.” Public frustration has grown as the government has fumbled in its response to the pandemic. But faced with shortages during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in BINOD GHIMIRE take part in the teaching learning people had hoped that a stable March and April, the WHO allowed in a KATHMANDU, NOV 18 process. There are worrying signs government would result in pros- June report for “exceptional procedures” that the pandemic could take away perity. to disinfect throw-away masks for reuse. The grim reporting continues the gains Nepal has made in the However, the Oli government The US Food and Drug Administration every day. Covid-19 cases continue health sectors all these years. has not even been able to run the (FDA) recommends—in emergency cir- to grow every day. The number of But, proverbially speaking, daily administration efficiently, cumstances—hydrogen peroxide vapour lives the disease claims, similarly, Nero fiddles while Rome burns. making prosperity a far-fetched to decontaminate the N95 masks worn by continues unabated. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dream. healthcare workers. It is the same story the world and his party show they are least Hari Roka, a political economist Other methods to purify single-use over. But other governments are, concerned about the suffering of and commentator, says there’s masks include exposing them to high at least, making serious efforts to the country and its people. Oli, growing pessimism and frustra- temperatures or ultraviolet radiation. contain the spread, with the war who should be working to formu- tion among the general public due But these methods are inconvenient for against the virus often headed by late a strategy to cope with the to job losses and declining eco- people at home, said French microbiol- the head of the government. crisis, is busy designing one game nomic activities but that hasn’t ogist and member of Adios Corona, Denis On Wednesday, Nepal’s Prime plan after another to tire dissent- affected the Oli government a bit. Corpet. Adios Corona—a group of scien- Minister KP Sharma Oli was ers within his ruling party and “Capital expenditure in the first tists who provide information on Covid- fighting a different war--one to increasing the length of his stay quarter of fiscal year stands at 19 to the public—recommends “placing save his chair fending off accusa- in government, experts say. merely 8 percent,” said Roka. the mask in a paper envelope with the tions by detractors within his own “The real test of leadership is A recent assessment by the date clearly marked, and leaving it for Nepal Communist Party (NCP). during a crisis,” former chief sec- National Planning Commission seven days”. And as if to show that it was retary Bimal Koirala told the Post. showed the country suffered a loss “Several scientific studies show that looking ahead, the Cabinet recom- “Oli has neither succeeded in run- of Rs 198 billion in gross domestic viruses are almost all dead on a mask mended an ordinance to amend an ning the government nor has he product due to Covid-19 in the last after seven days,” said Corpet. Act that would make it easier to been able to manage his party.” fiscal year. The figure is for just A study published in The Lancet found procure the vaccine. Reports how- It was in a generation that over four months—from last week that only 0.1 percent of the virus on the ever say that large scale produc- Nepal had finally seen a govern- of March to mid-July—of this cal- outside surface of the mask was still tion of any vaccine against the ment with a majority in parlia- endar year. detectable after one week. This method, coronavirus--so that Nepal would ment--since the first democratical- The report says at least 1.56 however, is not appropriate for health- be able to procure it--is at least a ly elected government in 1991-- million people lost their jobs dur- care workers exposed to high viral loads. year away. when Oli came to power in 2017. ing the period while an additional Peter Tsai, the inventor of N95 electro- Meanwhile, the country’s econ- Experts on governance and pol- 1.2 million people were pushed statically charged filter material, agrees omy has suffered a loss worth bil- itics say the way the Oli govern- below the poverty line. with the seven-day method. lions. Hundreds of thousands ment is functioning shows that a A separate report by Nepal But he suggests leaving used masks out have lost their jobs. Millions of majority government doesn’t Rastra Bank published in August in the open for a week before reuse, a cycle students have not been able to mean a stable government. They showed that only 35 percent of he says can be repeated five to 10 times. say Oli and his party businesses operated partially Disposable masks can also be placed in have shattered the while a mere 4 percent operated the oven, Tsai told AFP, ideally at a tem- dream of the millions of fully during the lockdown period perature between 70 and 75 degrees Nepalis who voted for from March 24 to July 21. Celsius (158 and 167 degrees Fahrenheit)— the electoral alliance of The central bank study found not too high to avoid burning the plastic, CPN-UML and CPN that 22.5 percent of employees but sufficiently hot to kill the virus. (Maoist Centre) in the were laid off by businesses in the Washing masks in a washing machine, 2017 general elections. formal sector—that includes man- however, is not a good idea. The two parties unified ufacturing and service sectors. “Washing without detergent may not in May 2018 to form the Two-thirds of the laid-off employ- wash away the virus,” Tsai said. “And Nepal Communist Party ees were either working on a con- washing with detergent will erase the with an almost two- tract basis or had been hired tem- [electrostatic] charges,” diminishing its thirds majority in porarily. efficiency. Parliament. The Nepali >> Continued on page 2 >> Continued on page 2

C M Y K THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Can surgical New tourist spot in Tanahun masks ... lacks needed infrastructure >> Continued from page 1 French consumers’ rights group UFC-Que Choisir washed surgical masks at 60C, put them in the dryer, and ironed them. After 10 such cycles, the masks still filtered at least 90 per- cent of 3-micron particles. “Apart from a slight felting, the washed surgi- cal masks were at least as efficient as the best cloth masks,” UFC-Que Choisir reported last week. Researcher Philippe Vroman from POST PHOTO: SAMJHANA RASAILI French engineering university Ensait Manhunkot in Tanahun has seen an increasing number of tourists of late. came to the same conclusion. After five washes, “there are practi- SAMJHANA RASAILI municipality Mayor Baikuntha cally no differences [of filtration] for TANAHUN, NOV 18 Neupane particles of 3 microns,” Vroman said, Likewise, a man was recently found on the basis of preliminary results not Dashain holidays saw an increasing dead in one of the guest houses in the yet published in a peer-reviewed sci- number of tourists frequenting village. He had come to Manhunkot entific journal. Manhunkot in Ward No. 5 of Byas with a group of 15 other individuals POST PHOTO: SANJOG MANANDHAR “And I would rather we swap masks Municipality, Tanahun. Manhunkot, a on Tuesday night. A crowd of people seen on the street of Ason in Kathmandu on Wednesday. Given its high daily infection rates, Kathmandu Valley is the every four hours and wash them, rath- vantage point for the best view of “The individual, who had stayed in country’s new hotspot for Covid-19. With 1,038 new infections reported on Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in the Valley has er than wearing them several days in a Damauli Bazaar, became a hit on a local’s house, was found dead in his reached 98,536. row as some people do. It’s a bit like social media and since then domestic bed,” said Neupane. underwear,” he said. tourists have been flocking the point There are only seven houses in But not all scientists agree. to witness sunrises. Manhunkot with no hotels. Visitors “Washing the mask at home could However, the new tourist hub is not have to spend the night outdoors or potentially cause a secondary contam- prepared to welcome tourists in such seek shelter at a local’s house. ination and spread the virus if wash- large numbers, locals say. The road “Manhunkot has become viral on ing is not set appropriately,” said infrastructure is poor and accommo- social media of late. Because of this, Covid-19 brings improvement Kaiming Ye, head of the biomedical dation for tourists is negligent. the flow of tourists has increased but engineering department at New York’s On Wednesday, a microbus carrying there’s no infrastructure or hotels to Binghamton University. 16 individuals fell off the road in accommodate the rising number of Until more research is Tanahun. A woman died in the acci- tourists,” Neupane said. in Makwanpur’s health sector published on the matter, official advice dent, according to the District Police Meanwhile, SP Arun Paudel said, from health authorities is not set to Office, while several others were “There are security challenges in change. injured. Manhunkot due to the increased peo- The local government has given due priority to the health sector in the current fiscal year. “Single-use surgical masks must be “The road to Manhunkot is under ple’s movement. We have started a thrown into the bin after use,” said construction. It is a steep and rough police patrol after the place saw an PRATAP BISTA has enhanced its health facilities as due to a lack of funds. The provincial France’s health authority DGS, road. That is why the microbus driver increasing number of tourists in HETAUDA, NOV 18 well. government this year has allocated Rs but noted that more studies were could not manoeuvre his vehicle recent days. We will have to establish “The hospital will initiate dialysis 6 million and the federal government underway. through the steep road,” said the a police post here soon.” The Covid-19 pandemic has affected services within a week. We are also Rs 1 million to upgrade the health almost all sectors in Makwanpur dis- working on installing six ventilators facility,” said Mayor Labasher Bista. trict. Development activities have for the treatment of Covid-19 patients,” All 10 local units in Makwanpur been halted, various targeted pro- said Dr Prabin Shrestha, chief at the district have prioritised the health grammes disrupted and sports activi- hospital. “We have extended health sector in the current fiscal year. ties and education of thousands of services since the pandemic took hold Health services have been improved In ruling party one-upmanship game ... children put on hold. However, the of the nation.” in remote rural municipalities like pandemic has brought about a So far, critical Covid-19 patients are Raksirang and Manahari. The local >> Continued from page 1 The Finance Ministry, meanwhile, The blame game within the ruling much-needed improvement in the referred to other places due to a lack units have appointed health officials “Nobody had imagined that the sta- proudly says the government man- party has emboldened the voice of the health sector of the district, say locals. of ventilators in the district. in their respective areas and extended ble government would be indifferent aged to garner foreign aid pledges opposition to pour vitriol on the Oli In light of the pandemic, authori- According to Shrestha, both the fed- their health services. towards the people to this extent,” totalling Rs84.07 billion in the first administration for having failed in ties have upgraded several health eral and provincial governments and “All the local bodies have set up Roka told the Post. “The ongoing turn two months of the current fiscal year governance. institutions and added human the local units have been providing their own isolation wards to provide of events in the last few months shows 2020-21, a near seven-fold increase Releasing a statement through resources to them. Health offices, help to enhance the institutional treatment to coronavirus patients. the only motive of the Oli government year on year. During the same period Twitter Nepali Congress leader which used to be short-staffed, are capacity of Hetauda Hospital. Though the pandemic crippled devel- is to stick to power to enjoy the state last fiscal year, aid commitments Gagan Thapa said the dispute within now fully functional with health offi- According to Bidur Lamichhane, opment activities in other sectors, it benefits for him and his people.” amounted to Rs12.35 billion. the ruling party has taken a toll on cials present in their duty stations, the in-charge of Makwanpurgadhi has brought improvement in the dis- Political stability doesn’t only mean On Wednesday the Ministry of governance. according to the District Health Office. Health Post, preparation is underway trict’s health institutions,” said having the numbers in parliament, it Finance signed an agreement with the “Allegations of Pushpa Kamal “Health facilities in the district, to set up a 15-bed isolation ward in the Raghunath Kulal, chief at the District means stability in the vision and pro- World Bank for Rs 42 billion for urban Dahal in his political paper about pro- which often had shortages of essential health post. Coordination Committee in gramme and will power and capacity development and reinforcement of the tection for corruption and failure in medicines and human resources, are “The local unit has already appoint- Makwanpur. He said the pandemic to execute that. “The Oli government economic sector. governance aren’t new and nor are now well stocked with health workers ed two officials to run the isolation has made the people’s representatives has failed miserably when the country Experts say this is the time the gov- they wrong,” Thapa stated. present every day” said Tek Prasad ward. The ward will come to operation realise the importance of a robust is in crisis,” he said. ernment should have been interacting Political experts have said the never Lamsal of Makwanpurgadhi. soon,” he said. health sector. Over 8.1 million students have been with the people to know what they ending dispute within the ruling party Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City has Similarly, authorities are all set to “The health sector, which was often deprived of lessons as virtual learn- want and act accordingly. “The main might not result in its split but is tak- set up health institutions in all 19 upgrade a primary health centre in ignored in the past, has been given due ing hasn’t been effective and 116,000 objective of the government is to ing the country on the regressive path. wards to provide various health ser- Palung of Thaha Municipality to a priority to combat the virus threat,” teachers from private schools haven’t address the suffering of the people,” Taking to Twitter, political scientist vices to the people. Hetauda Hospital, 15-bed hospital. he added. A total of 3,413 coronavirus got their salaries, according to the said Koirala. “Failing to do so is the Lok Raj Baral wrote, “The Nepal the major hospital in the provincial “We could not upgrade the primary cases have been reported in commission’s report. failure of the government.” Communist Party neither unites nor headquarters of Bagmati Province, health centre to a hospital in the past Makwanpur with 562 active cases. The World Bank predicts the GDP Amid the ongoing crisis, the differ- splits. But, that is hurting the nation.” growth will be 0.6 percent this fiscal ent factions within the ruling party Experts say while the failure of the year and could be as little as 0.1 per- are busy in internal feud and blame government is a worrying sign, its cent should Covid-19 persist, disrup- game. Ruling party leaders are blam- severe consequences could be the fail- tions on the economic activities con- ing the Oli government for failing to ure of the political system the country tinue and weak subnational capacity function. In his bombshell political embraced just five years ago. to implement relief spending further paper, the party chair Pushpa Kamal “I am worried that the failure of the weaken. Dahal had accused Oli of promoting Oli government could lead towards Government revenue is down, corruption, failing to curb systemic failure, that is a failure of meaning it has no option but to contin- anarchy and not being able to ensure the present political system of federal ue borrowing. governance. republicanism,” said Roka. Chinese whispers, Sheetal Niwas and ...

>> Continued from page 1 has failed on both the government and one presented by Oli will be discussed “If we give such a leeway to one party fronts and demanded his resig- at the next Secretariat meeting sched- diplomat or one country, then others nation. uled for November 28,” said Shrestha. will seek similar treatment,” Mahat According to insiders, at Though the party’s Central told the Post. “First, major powers are Wednesday’s meeting, Oli said that Committee was earlier scheduled to competing with each other and in this Dahal’s document is a collection of meet on November 30, it has been hour of crisis, everyone wants to lies and accusations. Insiders say Oli pushed to December 10. expand their clout. Such activities sought 10 days to prepare his own doc- As party meetings have already also show that our foreign policy is not ument, in which he will give answers been scheduled, leaders say what wor- balanced, not consistent and not to Dahal’s charges. ries them the most is intervention of nuanced.” Those familiar with Wednesday’s external forces as well as Sheetal Party insiders say no matter how meeting said that Oli and his support- Niwas. Oli agreed to sit for the meeting on er Ishwar Pokhrel took serious excep- “After assuming the high office, the Wednesday—be it his meeting with tion to Dahal’s political document, President is above the party. The Chinese ambassador or the President, saying that they would come up with President must not involve herself in the crisis in the party has not ended “a point-wise response” to Dahal’s internal matters of the party,” said yet. At the November 28 meeting, Oli allegations. Leelamani Pokhrel, a Standing is set to present his own political doc- After the November 28 Secretariat Committee member. “I don’t know ument, which is said to be a counter meeting, the ruling party, according to what transpired in her [President’s] move to Dahal. spokesperson Naryayan Kaji Shrestha, meetings with Oli and Dahal, but what Dahal in his political document pre- will hold its Standing Committee I know is she must not engage in inter- sented at Friday’s Secretariat has lev- meeting on December 3 and Central nal party issues.” elled a host of allegations against Oli. Committee meeting on December 10. Pokhrel also termed the Chinese Dahal in his document has said Oli “All the documents including the ambassador’s meeting with Oli inap- propriate if the issues that fig- ured are related to the ongoing conflict in the party. “An ambassador can meet the prime minister, but it’s not good to discuss the party’s internal matters with an envoy,” said Pokhrel. Insiders say Oli’s presence in the meeting on Wednesday may look like the possibility of the party returning to a truce, but it is wrong to assume that everything is hunky-dory. “Oli is on the defensive now. He had called a Cabinet meet- ing just when Dahal had called the Secretariat meeting so as to avoid the Secretariat,” said Matrika Yadav, a Standing Committee member close to Dahal. “But later he postponed the Cabinet and decided to attend the Secretariat meeting. Multiple factors may have worked to make him change his mind, but there is one thing for sure—he cannot escape the party system and procedures.”

Anil Giri contributed reporting.

C M Y K 03 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 NATIONAL Rising tuberculosis cases could soon Camera traps installed lead to another epidemic, experts warn in Tanahun to study They say that misdiagnosis and under-reporting of the bacterial infection could spread the disease further. leopards and their prey

ARJUN POUDEL Officials suspect low prey numbers are driving the big KATHMANDU, NOV 18 cats into human settlements attacking people. At least 46 people die of tuberculosis every day throughout the country, three times more than previously SAMJHANA RASAILI The Division Forest Office in believed. TANAHUN, NOV 18 Tanahun and the community forests The figures were revealed by the have worked together to set up the National TB Prevalence Survey 2018- On November 7, a team led by Kedar camera traps. 19, a nationwide study conducted with Baral, chief at the Division Forest Out of 22 community forests adja- technical support from the World Office in Kaski, installed camera traps cent to the areas with frequent leopard Health Organization. in various community forests in sightings, a camera trap has captured “Yes, the study shows three times Bhanu Municipality, Tanahun, to an image of a leopard in Majuwa Okle more deaths [each day] than what was monitor the movement of leopards. Community Forest in Ward No. 2 of previously believed,” Dr Anuj Many locals have reported sightings Bhanu Municipality recently. Bhattachan, director at the National of leopards in the area with some of “Camera traps were installed in Tuberculosis Control Center, told the the big cats even venturing into the Majuwa area initially. We have started Post. settlements. to collect the images of leopards and That was before the pandemic. “But According to the data of the other wild animals including rabbits, the ongoing pandemic has made the Division Forest Office in Tanahun, bears and wild cats,” said Baral. situation even worse.” there are 96 community forests Prem Thapa, chairman of The disease, caused by bacteria (which cover 5,777 hectares of land) in Bhimthumki Community Forest (mycobacterium tuberculosis), Bhanu Municipality. The office, how- Consumers Committee in Ward No. 1 spreads from person to person through ever, does not have data on the exact of Bhanu Municipality, said, “We hope the air. It is one of the leading causes number of leopards that live in these that the number of the human-wild- of death in Nepal, killing 17,003 people forests. life conflict will decrease in the near every year, according to the report. The Division Forest Office has future. Camera traps will help us Earlier it was considered that only PHOTO COURTESY: NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS CENTER installed 72 camera traps in communi- know the exact number of leopards 5,500 people died of tuberculosis in the A file photo of a lab technician at National Tuberculosis Center. ty forests of Ward No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of and their prey. Since we don’t know country annually. Bhanu Municipality to keep track of the exact leopard population, we are The study comes as Nepal remains Although models estimate that around ally and same is the case in Nepal,”an agency also shows that access to TB the local leopard population, their having problems managing the preda- committed to meeting its target of 69,000 are infected with the disease, official at the centre told the Post. “It service remains a challenge, and the movement and their habits. tor-prey ratio.” reducing infections to 10 for every only 30-32,000 are being identified. will take over five years to return to global targets for prevention and treat- “We have installed 65 cameras so In the last two years, six children 100,000 population by 2035 by increas- This means nearly 54 percent of cases the pre-pandemic stage. We have to ment will likely be missed without far. We have divided the forest area were mauled to death by leopards in ing investments in the eradication of are neither identified nor treated. intensify ongoing programmes and urgent action and investments. into 36 grids. There is a pair of camer- Bhanu Municipality alone. The first the disease. It is said that a TB patient, if not introduce new ones for it.” “Equitable access to quality and as installed in each grid,” said Baral. leopard attack in the municipality Currently Nepal reports 245 cases treated, can transmit the infection to The coronavirus pandemic, which timely diagnosis, prevention, treat- Officials suspect that the reason was reported on February 13, 2018. per every 100,000 population, accord- at least 10 other people. is spreading throughout the country ment and care remains a challenge,” behind the leopards entering the According to the data of the Division ing to the study. Likewise, there are “If immediate steps are not taken to has affected more than 50 percent of said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, human settlements is due to the lack Forest Office in Tanahun, 10 children 117,000 total recorded tuberculosis control the spread of tuberculosis, we the TB treatment facilities. Similarly, director general of the World Health of prey in forests. were killed in separate leopard attacks cases in Nepal— 415 per 100,000 popu- might have to face another epidemic,” detection of new tuberculosis cases Organization. “ Accelerated action is “The cameras have been installed to in Bhanu, Anbu Khaireni, Bandipur lation. Previously it was estimated said Dr Sagar Rajbhandari, director at has declined by 50 percent ever since urgently needed worldwide if we are record the number of leopards as well and Shuklagandaki in the past two that the country had 60,000 cases (215 Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious the government enforced the nation- to meet our targets by 2022.” as the number of their prey,” said years. Likewise, 167 cattle were per 100,000). Disease Hospital. wide lockdown on March 24, accord- The Ministry of Health and Baral. “We will soon be able to prepare attacked by leopards within five years, The study also revealed around two “We are only talking about the cases ing to an assessment carried out in all Population, which is even unaware of a proper database. This will help us the record showed. Also, nine leopards times higher prevalence and 1.6 times of the previous year. We don’t know seven provinces and the Kathmandu the total number deaths due to corona- mitigate human-wildlife conflict in were captured alive and 11 leopards higher incidence of the disease than the real situation after the start of the Valley. virus infection, doesn’t know how the area by a great degree.” were found dead within five years. previously thought. It showed varia- coronavirus pandemic,” said The drop in the number of TB cases many people have died of exact TB. The cameras will be placed in each Prem Thapa, a native of Bhanu tions based on geography, age and sex Rajbhandari, also the former director has been attributed to the closure of Public health experts said that as grid for around 15 days and the collect- Municipality Ward No. 1, said, “We of patients. According to the report, of the National Tuberculosis Center. transportation services which has both tuberculosis and the coronavirus ed visuals will be studied later. are relieved to some extent with the the prevalence of the infection is high- The study showed the majority of restricted patients’ access to health attack the lungs, some of their symp- “If the visuals show more leopards authorities finally making an effort to er in the Tarai and in the hills com- the TB patients belong to the working facilities. Due to the closure of trans- toms are common. This may lead to in certain areas and fewer in others, mitigate human-wildlife conflict. pared to the mountains and in age group (25 to 64 years). The ongo- portation service and fear of trans- misdiagnosis. we will shift the cats from crowded Leopard attacks have become a major Kathmandu Valley. Prevalence was ing Covid-19 pandemic has made the mission of Covid-19, patients have “We are heading towards another areas to somewhere less crowded. problem in our area. Leopards find found higher among members of the situation worse, according to officials. been unable to reach health facilities epidemic after the coronavirus pan- This will create a balance between the easy prey in children. That’s why we older age group and among men. “Covid-19 is projected to have pushed for examination and treatment, demic, “Dr Dirgha Singh Bom, former cats and their prey numbers,” said don’t let our children out of our sights. The other issue the report high- the TB programme and its achieve- according to the centre. health secretary, chest physician and Baral. “This whole exercise and study We have to walk in groups and not go lighted is that of “hidden cases”. ments back by five to eight years glob- A new report from the UN health TB expert told the Post. will help us in leopard conservation.” out alone in the dark.”

BRIEFING Ordinance issued to clear legal hurdles to Two dead, two others injured in Birtamod accident roll out vaccines BIRTAMOD: Two persons died and two others were injured in a road acci- POST REPORT dent at Birtamod Municipality-6 in KATHMANDU, NOV 18 Jhapa district on Wednesday morn- ing. According to the Area Police President Bidya Devi Bhandari has Office in Birtamod, two motorcycles issued an ordinance to amend the were hit by an SUV outside the Drugs Act (1978) for the third time. Giribandhu Tea Estate on the East- On Thursday, the Ministry of West Highway. A 24-year-old and an Health and Population had proposed a 11-year-old from Buddhashanti Rural draft of the ordinance to the Cabinet Municipality-3 died in the accident, to cover legal issues related to a poten- police said. In a separate incident, a tial vaccine roll-out. three-year-old boy was killed in a hit- A ministry official had told the Post and-run incident in Birendranagar, earlier that the proposal was sent to Surkhet, on Tuesday. The boy’s rela- the Cabinet in advance to avoid legal tives and locals disrupted the high- complications (such as the ones faced way traffic on Wednesday, demanding during the roll-out of antiviral medi- that the authorities arrest the motor- cine remdesivir). cyclist. The Department of Drug Administration in September author- ised the import and usage of remdesi- Farmers allowed to import vir for treatment of Covid-19 patients fertilisers from India as a study drug after doctors treating BARDIYA: The District Administration infected patients pressed the govern- Office in Bardiya has allowed farmers ment to do so. As the department to bring one sack of chemical issued permission to use the drug, fertilisers each from India, as the even before importing the drug was Nepali market faces a shortage of fer- made legal, kin of the seriously-infect- tilisers. Chief District Officer ed patients were forced to pay exorbi- Liladhar Adhikari said the decision tant prices for the drug. was taken, as the farmers faced short- The ministry hasn’t yet decided age of fertilisers to sow wheat and about the company that will supply mustard. According to him, a farmer POST PHOTO: HEMANT SHRESTHA the vaccines, some of which are in can bring one sack of fertiliser from Workers cleaning the Manohara river with the help of backhoe loaders on Wednesday. their third phase trial. the Indian market without paying customs.

Special work plan to control Covid-19 in Gandaki 569 local governments receive Rs6.89 billion for jobs programme POKHARA: The Gandaki provincial CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL national programme director of the minimum 100 days of work to the tar- was time-consuming as it required coronavirus. In others, the unemploy- government is going to launch a spe- KATHMANDU, NOV 18 PMEP, told the Post. “The local units geted population. the local governments to seek approv- ment registration process could not cial work plan to contain the spread can now start their projects and pro- In the fiscal year 2019-20, the pro- al from the Labour Ministry for pro- take place due to issues with the of Covid-19. Minister for Physical Over 500 local units have received a vide jobs to registered locals. Some gramme could generate 1,603,883 days jects. internet connections.” Infrastructure Development Ram new budget allocation from the federal local governments are already imple- of work for 102,641 applicants, with a Last year, the government had made Besides, Ghimire added local units Sharan Basnet, also the spokesperson government to implement the Prime menting the employment projects.” mere 15 days of work on a national some operational changes which in remote regions and mountainous of the government, said, “Under the Minister Employment Programme According to the Labour Ministry’s average against the envisaged target sought detailed project plans in districts had problems implementing plan, a Cabinet meeting on Thursday (PMEP), which ensures a minimum data, 862 citizens have benefited from of providing a minimum 100 days of advance from the interested local the programme while some sub-met- decided to upgrade all 11 district hos- 100 days of wage employment to regis- jobs under the PMEP so far. work. units for effective implementation of ropolitan and metropolitan cities have pitals in the province. These hospitals tered unemployed citizens. The government has placed high With the total budget allocation of the PMEP. Only after their projects not applied for the PMEP at all. will be equipped with ICU beds, venti- The Ministry of Labour, hopes on the PMEP for creating jobs to Rs 6.89 billion into the programme, were approved, the ministry parcelled The federal government has been lators and essential medical equip- Employment and Social Security, the the unemployed population, as the the government aims to provide a out the budget. repeatedly asking local governments ment. We have brought this plan to central government agency supervis- country is reeling under acute job minimum 100 days of wage employ- Under the new directive, Ghimire to provide 100 days of work to regis- control the spread of the virus.” ing the programme, has allocated Rs3 losses and untimely and unprecedent- ment to 133,327 jobless population reg- said the local units can select the pro- tered citizens who have been kept on billion to the local units which will be ed return of thousands of Nepali istered with the Employment jects through their local council meet- the priority list before switching to implementing various projects under migrant workers from labour destina- Management Information System ings, making the implementation pro- another group of people. Bridge construction in the PMEP for generating temporary tions countries due to the Covid-19 (EMIS). cess much swifter. This should help ensure a mini- Tadikhola, Nuwakot jobs for unemployed people at the pandemic. “The concerned local governments The Labour Ministry hopes that mum 100 days of employment to the NUWAKOT: A motorable bridge is going local level. Through this year’s budget, the gov- will be implementing the projects in this year the PMEP will make signifi- beneficiaries, something which has to be constructed over Tadikhola, With the latest allocation, a total of ernment had announced to generate their respective areas on various sec- cant progress in comparison to previ- not been achieved yet, according to which connects Tadi and 569 local units have received a budget 200,000 jobs through the PMEP. It had tors like agriculture, tourism, drink- ous years. Ghimire. Dupcheshwor rural municipalities in of Rs6.89 billion this fiscal year, also doubled the budget for the pro- ing water and development-related “Most of the local units have “The Prime Minister Employment Nuwakot district. The foundation according to Suman Ghimire, joint gramme to Rs11.6 billion. constructions,” said Ghimire. “This already gone into the project imple- Programme was rolled out to provide stone of the bridge was laid on secretary at the Labour Ministry. Whether the government’s employ- year, we have made some changes to mentation phase, bar some who are opportunities to the ultra-poor groups Friday. Radhika Tamang, the deputy “We have dispatched the second ment programme will work remains the directive and allowed the local still lagging behind due to various first. We have been telling local levels speaker of Bagmati Province, said, batch of budget to the local units. The to be seen though. Two years into its governments to select and prioritise reasons,” Ghimire told the Post. “In to employ such groups before mobilis- “Locals of Tadi and Dupcheshwor first allocation was made soon after implementation, the much-talked- their projects under the PMEP.” some local units, the programme ing other groups,” he said. will benefit from the bridge’s con- the budget was announced for this fis- about employment scheme has so far The previous directive for the could not be implemented because the “We have started earlier this year, struction. cal year,” Ghimire, who is also the failed to achieve its aim of providing a implementation of the programme local leaders were infected with the so we expect to achieve our goal.”

C M Y K THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | 04 OPINION EDITORIAL American dilemma Lying with numbers Trumpism may survive even after January 2021, but the The government has failed so much as to quantify Obamas and Harrisses show Covid-19 casualties, let alone humanise them. the hopeful side of America. Global Covid-19 statistics show that as of Wednesday, 1.34 mil- lion had died of the coronavirus while 55.6 million had been PRAMOD MISHRA infected. But human beings are not just numbers. The magni- CROSSROADS tude of the suffering the coronavirus has caused among humans across the world, and the resilience the people have shown in the face of the invisible enemy cannot be put in fig- ures alone. So we must resist the temptation to quantify the More than 78 million Americans felt a pandemic in terms of the ever-increasing Covid-19 death and sense of relief the Saturday after the infection graph. US presidential elections when news Nepal has a different Covid-19 story altogether. It is as if the networks, including the Associated Press, called the election for Joe Biden. government’s foremost responsibility is to update the number Biden had not only topped the popular of deaths and infections. Each day, the Health Ministry spokes- votes by a few million but also crossed the 270 magic mark in the tally of elec- person enumerates fresh deaths and infections as if the govern- toral votes. Millions all over the world ment’s responsibility to fight the pandemic and protect citizens also rejoiced. The thinking was that it from it stopped right there. What is even more farcical is that would not only be the end of atten- tion-seeking tweets from the White when the government is expected to resist the temptation to House but also President Trump’s quantify the deaths and infections, the numbers it puts up are racial dog-whistles, bizarre theories and whimsical anti-immigrant, not uniform and hence unreliable. anti-women and anti-minority state- As per the ministry, Nepal has seen 1,259 Covid-19 deaths, ments, giving America and the world SHUTTERSTOCK while the number of those infected by the virus stands at some peace of mind, because an American democracy. Similarly, the of minorities while the blue-collar and didn’t do anything impactful for the American president’s word and actions Democrats since Bill Clinton’s rise to rural America of quiet dignity, play-by- inner cities, even by issuing presiden- 211,917 as of Wednesday. That makes it a fatality rate of 0.59 reverberate throughout the world. the presidency in 1992 have not only the-rule ethos and Sunday school tial decrees if the Republicans impeded percent. However, as the Post reported on Wednesday, the num- Well, despite President Trump’s ignored but aggravated the second big- turned to addictions and suicides to his plans. So, the Black and White twin refusal to concede, despite his unrealis- gest American dilemma of the past escape the economic humiliation American dilemmas challenge ber of deaths from the coronavirus is far higher than what the tic desire to have a second term (and decades—namely the emergence of the caused by the new economy. Suicide American prosperity and democracy. government claims it to be. The team that had been formed to presumably his love for the pomp and White underclass that memoirs like rates and drug and alcohol addictions Will President Joe Biden be able to grab investigate discrepancies in data provided by the ministry and splendour of the American presiden- Hillbilly Elegy (2016) and sociohistori- among white blue-collar workers have the horns of the twin dilemmas and cy), come mid-December, he will have cal studies like White Trash (2016) skyrocketed in the past 30 years. find a way through them? Can the the Nepal Army has found errors in the ministry’s numbers to make way for President-elect Joe have explored. Hillary Clinton’s use of In American cities, concentrations Republican leadership set aside its slo- while the army’s numbers are found to be more reliable in com- Biden because the Biden-Harris ticket the derisive phrase ‘baskets of deplora- of extreme wealth and liberal values gans and get down to work? has clearly won both the popular and bles’ represents that blindness quite co-exist side by side with extreme pov- That’s where the Kamala Harris fac- parison. electoral votes. American democratic well. erty and urban decay and pathology. tor in the winning ticket shows possi- As per the army’s data, there have been over 1,800 coronavi- institutions have deep roots and have While the Black inner-city ‘hoods’ While the White rural and manufactur- bilities. When Obama was running for rus-related deaths, way more than the numbers provided by the stood strong for over 200 years through have festered in the American urban ing America suffered job losses and president, he always made sure to pro- a Civil War, domestic upheavals, two landscape with homicides, drugs and responded by embracing white suprem- ject the white side of his mother’s fam- ministry. The army’s figures are based on the record it keeps of World Wars and a Cold War. It will not gang violence ever since the Great acy, nationalism, conspiracies and a ily next to his Black side—for good the dead bodies it has disposed of ever since it was given the allow any tin-pot dictator to rise and Migration (1916-1970), terms like ‘white phobia of the racial other when reasons. He married a descendent of hold power by defrauding a genuine trash’ and ‘hillbilly’ have expanded stripped of staple economic dignity, the slaves and adopted the black identity to responsibility in March. While the army is pretty confident election. their geographical reach in the past 30 urban ghetto of the minority popula- be an authentic black American. But he about its data, the ministry’s reporting system was found to be years, spreading from the backwoods tion responded through its nihilism of never forgot to rightly project the white problematic at many levels. What is more, the team found that A changed country of Appalachia to the rust and coal belts black-on-black violence. side of his racial identity. Kamala Trump may have lost and will have to from Pennsylvania to Illinois; since the Harris has no whiteness in her, and her the definition of death from the coronavirus is different leave office but Trumpism is here to outsourcing of middle class-producing Path to resolution? blackness has roots in her Jamaican between the ministry and the army. Whereas the army counts stay. By Trumpism we mean the whims manufacturing jobs to cheap labour But both the Republicans and the father’s slavery-derived African identi- and fancies of Trump’s personality and destinations of Asia and Latin America Democrats have ignored the twin ty and brownness in her mother’s the patients who died in home isolation as well as those with the baser instincts he has awakened in in a globalised economy. dilemmas of the American body polity. Indian immigrant identity. But she cul- Covid-19 symptoms, the ministry skips such deaths. a sizable portion of the American peo- As abandoned farms litter the rural Can democracy survive without tivated her blackness by attending an The discrepancy has exposed a serious failure of coordina- ple. However, anti-Trump Americans midwestern landscape, so do aban- addressing the discontented that have HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and need to honestly ask whether it is just doned factory buildings in small-town turned to Trump? Can it survive with- Universities). tion between the ministry and the army, two of the govern- Trumpism alone—the dash and flash, America—grass sprouting from the out resolving the urban pathology that And she is the first person of colour ment’s major institutions that are on the frontline of the fight garish display of ignorance and tat- concrete cracks of their parking lots. has turned on itself ? Even though and first woman to be vice president in tooed, gun-toting white nationalism The rise of the knowledge economy Trump has awakened the spectre of American history. In this sense, against the pandemic. This failure is symptomatic of a larger and white supremacy—that Trump has overwhelmingly benefitted college-edu- white discontent, Trumpism is proba- America, despite all its historical sins problem facing the government: The inability to fathom the awakened in America. cated Americans and tech-savvy immi- bly more bluster than any durable eco- and dilemmas, remains a land of possi- magnitude of the pandemic as well as the means to control it. Republicans since the end of grants, bypassing both the Black inner- nomic policy to address the malaise of bilities. And the possibility of resolv- Reconstruction and the Great city neighbourhoods and non-col- the White working class. ing its issues remains as alive as ever If the pandemic has reduced human beings to statistics, the Migration of Blacks to the northern lege-educated blue-collar or rural Similarly, even Bill Clinton, called because of America’s willingness to failure to so much as put the statistics in order is a gross injus- and western American cities have America. Pockets of new tech cities the ‘first black president’ by Toni embrace the new, despite the pull of the never seriously dealt with the sprinkle the suburban American land- Morrison, only aggravated black incar- old remaining as strong as ever. If tice to the lives that have been lost. The government must rec- American dilemma that Gunnar scape, such as the Research Triangle ceration rates through his ‘three strike America can produce a Donald, the tify the mistake it has committed for the past eight months, and Myrdal explored in his epochal study Park in North Carolina, Silicon Valley and out’ law in the early ‘90s. And the country can equally push to the top a provide reliable data about the damage caused by the (1944) of the same name about the ten- in California, Atlanta in Georgia and real black president Barack Obama Barack and a Kamala Devi as well. And sions between poverty among Blacks so on, where the tech barons existed during his two terms was too reconcil- so can it find solutions to the twin pandemic. caused by racial oppression and not far away from the run-down ghettos iatory of opposite positions that he American dilemmas.

Mini-Trumps in the wilderness

defence cooperation agreement that is For the current leaders of brimming with Trumpian overtones. A similar agreement concluded by a Poland, Hungary, Serbia previous Polish government had held the US responsible for construction and the UK, Biden’s win costs and granted Poland legal juris- diction over US personnel and bases is a disaster. on its soil. Under the new accord, Poland will receive US financing, and the US will maintain jurisdiction. SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI Excellent relations with Trump were supposed to enable Poland to dismiss the European Union’s criti- cism and maintain cool ties with Germany as the PiS government sub- dued Poland’s judiciary. Now Trump’s electoral loss is compounded by a sec- ond piece of catastrophic news. Joe Biden’s election as president of Earlier this year, the European the United States has seriously weak- Council and the European Parliament ened authoritarian and populist gov- agreed to make EU funding conditional ernments around the world. For inde- on compliance with the rule of law, pendent global powers like Russia, which PiS has been undermining ever Brazil, and Turkey, Donald Trump’s since it came to power. The European departure need not amount to a com- Council is now set to adopt this ‘condi- plete tragedy. But for the current gov- tionality’ clause with a qualified-ma- ernments of Poland, Hungary, and jority vote, meaning that Poland has no Serbia—and perhaps Boris Johnson’s veto. Yes, Poland could try to block United Kingdom, too—it is a veritable another element of the EU’s budgetary disaster. process—the so-called own-resource Not surprisingly, each of these decision (determining how much a smaller players has greeted Biden’s given country pays to the EU)—but election with fear and loathing. only if it is willing to lose the last Putting it most bluntly, Serbian remaining support it has in Germany. President Aleksandar Vucic has At this point, not even Orbán is likely already complained that, ‘I did not get to go out on a limb for Poland. along with Biden when he came to Moreover, the EU has its own nucle- Serbia [as Barack Obama’s vice presi- ar option, that is, accepting the new dent]. I can’t get along with him now. I SHUTTERSTOCK €750 billion ($884 billion) Recovery congratulated him and that’s it’. George W Bush in 2006, when Orbán has gotten away with repeated attacks principles or the rule of law. low opinion of the PiS government Fund as a 25+2 intergovernmental Clearly, Russia, not America, will was out of power. After Orbán took on basic European principles such as Now that Trump is on his way out, clear when he included Poland along- agreement, which would suit many remain Vucic’s Pole Star. office in 2010, the Obama administra- the rule of law, and has even indulged and Johnson (inelegantly dubbed side Hungary and Belarus as an exam- net payers, as Poland is one of the For his part, Hungarian Prime tion repeatedly criticised him for its in open anti-Semitism. Yet to this day, ‘Britain Trump’ by the US president) ple of the ‘rise of totalitarian regimes biggest beneficiaries. Here, too, Orbán Minister Viktor Orbán has long made authoritarian tendencies, clampdown his party, Fidesz, remains in the is rushing to get in Biden’s good grac- in the world’. Whereas Polish has no incentive to stick his neck out it clear that his ‘Plan A’ was for a on public and private media, and klep- European People’s Party, the umbrella es, the Polish government is left with President Andrzej Duda was effusive for PiS. Just like when he supported Trump victory, reflecting how close tocracy. In return, Hungary introduced group for conservatives in the no powerful friends on the interna- in congratulating Trump on his 2016 the bid of former Polish Prime the two have become. Like Vucic, the sanctions against several high-level US European Parliament. tional stage. Because Poland is victory, this time he congratulated Minister Donald Tusk, a PiS bogey- Hungarian government harbours officials, and—following Trump’s It is Poland’s government that has staunchly opposed to Russia, too, it Biden merely ‘for a successful presi- man, for a second term as European resentments for things Biden said arrival in the White House—kicked the the most to worry about. When the now stands completely alone. This dential campaign’. Council president, Orbán will not hes- back in the Obama era, when, accord- US-accredited Central European ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party development represents another For Trump, Poland was proof that itate to leave the Polish government ing to Hungarian Foreign Minister University out of the country. came to power in 2015, it initially breach in Poland’s post-communist foreign policy could be transactional. out in the cold. Péter Szijjártó, Hungary was the sub- But Orbán has long tried to juggle chose the UK as its main ally within diplomatic strategy, two principles of The PiS government signed multiple ject of ‘continuous lecturing, accusa- several geopolitical balls. While main- the EU. But since the 2016 US election which are to avoid dependence on any arms contracts with the US in Sierakowski, founder of the Krytyka tions, and attacks’. taining close relations with Russia (which followed on the heels of the one country, and to avoid isolation at exchange for symbolic gestures, such Polityczna movement, is Director of To be sure, before Trump came to and even China, he has enjoyed the UK’s Brexit referendum), PiS has bet all costs. as Trump’s invitation to Duda to visit the Institute for Advanced Study in power, Orbán was practically persona protection of German—particularly everything on its cosy relationship Of course, PiS cannot say that it the White House during his own pres- Warsaw and Senior Fellow at the non grata in Washington, DC. The last Bavarian—politicians who do not hide with Trump, an American leader who didn’t know the risks of losing its last idential campaign in June. On German Council on Foreign Relations. US president to visit Hungary was their sympathy for him. Orbán thus couldn’t care less about democratic ally. Just last month, Biden made his November 9, Duda signed a Poland-US —Project Syndicate

C M Y K 05 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 MONEY

FOREX

US Dollar 119.02 Nepal Airlines to accept reports Nepal, World Bank sign Euro 141.43 Pound Sterling 158.14 financing agreements Japanese Yen 11.46 issued by government labs only Chinese Yuan 18.17 Move follows false negative passengers causing the carrier to be banned at foreign airports. Qatari Riyal 32.69 worth Rs42 billion Australian Dollar 87.13 POST REPORT sion of risks confronting the banking KATHMANDU, NOV 18 and financial institutions, especially Malaysian Ringit 29.12 in the context of the pandemic’s Nepal and the World Bank signed two impact. The operation will also help Saudi Arab Riyal 31.74 separate agreements on Wednesday build capital, insurance, venture capi- Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank that will help strengthen urban tal and private equity and disaster governance and the financial sector in risk financing markets through regu- Nepal in support of the country’s latory reforms. This will help open Shares Covid-19 resilience and recovery new investment opportunities for efforts. market actors and crowd-in private Nepse 1,741.81pts 1.36% The $150 million (around Rs18 bil- financing, the bank said. lion) Nepal Urban Governance and The operation also focuses on HIGHEST GAINERS Infrastructure Project will support expanding access to finance for house- HDL GUFL BBC BNT STC SHIVM 10% 10% 9.99% 9.99% 9.98% 9.25% municipalities located in two strategic holds, women and firms through regu- urban clusters: Eastern-Terai region latory and other reforms that will MODERATE GAINERS SICL OHL NICL CIT NLIC FOWAD (Provinces 1 and 2) and Western attract additional inflows of interna- 8.38% 7.75% 7.33% 7.06% 6.65% 6.36% region (Gandaki Province and tional finance and mobilize digital

MODERATE LOSERS Lumbini Province). services, credit infrastructure and lit- NGPL UPCL CORBL AKPL JOSHI CHL Through Nepal’s first dedicated eracy programs. -3.74% -4.03% -4.26% -4.29% -4.65% -4.76% Urban Sector support, the project will The agreements for the Nepal HIGHEST LOSERS finance strategic infrastructure in the Urban Governance and Infrastructure SINDU NHDL SABSL DHPL UMHL GHL targeted cities, based on the priorities Project and the Finance for Growth -5.11% -5.53% -5.58% -5.65% -5.75% -5.8% of the municipalities and their citi- Development Policy Credit were zens. The project will also support signed by Finance Secretary Sishir capacity building for the municipali- Kumar Dhungana on behalf of the ties for improved urban management government of Nepal, and the World PRICE PER TOLA and with a strong focus on citizen Bank Country Director for the BULLION SHUTTERSTOCK engagement, enabling targeted munic- Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Faris The carrier has been boarding travellers holding a printed medical certificate with a negative test result issued not more than 72 hours before ipalities to better plan, manage and Hadad-Zervos. Fine Gold Rs 95,100 departure by any accredited private lab. execute service delivery and urban “We are thankful to the World Bank management activities, the World for the support in strengthening Silver Rs 1,230 POST REPORT private labs were false or not. tine period, were among the 11 new Bank said in a statement. urban development and improving KATHMANDU, NOV 18 “We cannot blame private labs out- Covid-19 cases detected in Hong Kong. The project will finance small scale financial sector stability in Nepal,” SOURCE: FENEGOSIDA right, but recurring cases have made Authorities banned the carrier yet labour-intensive public works, thus stated Dhungana. “The projects sup- Nepal Airlines says it will only accept us suspect their certificates.” again, just four days after it had com- supporting economic recovery and port Nepal’s implementation of feder- negative Covid-19 test certificates Nepal Airlines was suspended from pleted a two-week suspension on creating temporary jobs for at least alism and the financial sector reform GASOLINE WATCH issued by government labs after sever- operating Kathmandu-Hong Kong November 4. 20,000 people across the country, agenda while contributing to the gov- al false negative passengers led to its flights for the third time since Nepal Airlines said that airports in including women and other vulnera- ernment’s recovery efforts from the being banned at some foreign airports. November 12 after another batch of its the United Arab Emirates and Japan ble groups. The project also includes a Covid-19 crisis.” The carrier has been boarding trav- passengers tested positive for the coro- had also raised concern over the contingency emergency response “The World Bank is committed to ellers holding a printed medical certif- navirus on arrival. truthfulness of certification issued for component to allow for the realloca- supporting the government in imple- icate with a negative test result issued “The ban will remain until passengers from Nepal. tion of project funds to support menting its relief, recovery, and resil- not more than 72 hours before depar- November 25,” said Shrestha. Dubai has changed its Covid-19 PCR response and recovery in case of a ience plan to meet urgent demand ture by any accredited private lab. Following the incident, the Hong test requirements. Tourists must take national emergency. while focusing on long-term goals and Doubts were raised about the veracity Kong government also ramped up its two Covid-19 PCR tests: one before Similarly, recognizing several initi- opportunities to rebuild stronger and of such certificates after several pas- crackdown against airlines allowing departure with a validity of 96 hours atives and strong commitment of the better from the pandemic,” stated sengers were found to be infected passengers from high-risk places who from the date of the test, and a second government of Nepal in strengthen- Hadad-Zervos. upon arrival at the destination. do not meet entry requirements to test upon arrival in Dubai. ing financial sector stability, diversify- “Through the new projects, we look Two weeks ago, the Civil Aviation board their aircraft, which include “Nepal Airlines may be blameless ing financial solutions and increasing forward to working with the govern- Authority of Nepal raised questions holding a negative virus test result as it does not conduct the tests, and access to financial services, the bank ment to strengthen institutions for about the credibility of private labs and a valid hotel booking. relies on the certificates produced by offered the $200 million (around Rs24 effective service delivery as part of after Nepal Airlines passengers carry- Arrivals from outside China will the passengers before boarding. But if billion) Finance for Growth operation the federalism implementation pro- ing Covid negative certificates tested also have to quarantine at hotels, rath- such cases are not properly moni- as budgetary support. cess and build a resilient financial positive at foreign airports. er than in their homes, starting tored, it could spell disaster as it It will support enhanced supervi- sector to boost economic recovery.” Such ‘false certificates’ are bad for November 13, as announced previous- may tarnish Nepal’s reputation the national flag carrier as foreign ly. Passengers should book for their abroad,” Rajan Pokhrel, director gen- governments may bar it for violating post-arrival Covid-19 test at the air- eral of the Civil Aviation Authority of Covid-19 norms, the country’s civil port in Hong Kong and provide a spec- Nepal, said in a recent interview with aviation regulator said. imen. They receive their test results the Post. “As these cases have not stopped, via SMS and email after a few hours; Pokhrel said that they had asked the the board of directors of Nepal and if the test result is negative, a government to assign dedicated and Airlines last week passed a decision to green QR code will be received. authorised testing labs for airline accept only negative Covid-19 test They need to present the green passengers. certificates produced by government QR code to staff at the exit of the According to reports, both India labs,” said Karishma Shrestha, waiting area, complete immigration and Nepal are on Hong Kong’s list of BIZLINE spokesperson for the national flag procedures and proceed to the high-risk countries for Covid-19. carrier. Arrivals Hall. Those flying in from such places are “The board decision has been sent On October 3, six passengers on a required to test negative for Covid-19 Alibaba-owned Daraz reports to the Health Ministry for approval,” Nepal Airlines flight to Hong Kong before departure, and to quarantine in 11.11 records despite Covid-19 said Shrestha. “Due to the Tihar festi- tested positive upon arrival. The car- a hotel upon arrival in the city. There val, the ministry has not sent its rier was issued a two-week suspension are 11 other nations on the list. response. As soon as we get the nod for violating Covid-19 norms by Hong On September 1, the government from the government, we will imple- Kong authorities. okayed resumption of regular inter- ment it,” she said, adding that it would Again on October 22, nine Nepal national passenger flights after a five- help Nepal Airlines to ascertain Airlines passengers, who had twice month ban to prevent the spread of whether the test certificates issued by tested negative during their quaran- the virus. REUTERS

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s leading online marketplace, Daraz, has broken all previous 11.11 records despite Covid- ADB allocates $20 million Cash cards for kids: Digital banks 19. Daraz 11.11, the biggest online sale day in the country, is a 24 hour online shopping campaign organised annu- ally across all Alibaba markets on the to help developing members race to capture the next generation 11th of November. Within the first hour of the campaign launch, Daraz registered sales worth Rs2.52 crores, a access Covid-19 vaccines REUTERS in the US fintechs Greenlight, Step keeping data secure and ensure 60 percent increase from last year’s LONDON, NOV 18 and Copper are trying to capture the children and parents understand first hour, states the press release youth market. what they are giving consent to, issued by the company. The campaign When John Hibbs’ daughter Xanthe JPMorgan Chase & Co also recently Kocianski said. also reported significantly higher received her first bank card in the entered the space, introducing a chil- Atlanta-based Greenlight, which numbers in online pre-payment via mail, the six-year-old spent the next dren’s account in partnership with costs $4.99 a month including debit wallet and bank card taking up 45 week Googling how to buy a horse. Greenlight. cards for up to five kids, allows par- percent of the total sales. Hibbs and his wife Kate had got The companies say they aim to give ents to create in-app chore lists for Xanthe a newly launched children’s children a taste of financial freedom children and tie the work to perks. It debit card from UK digital bank and education, while letting parents also lets parents set and pay interest Starling, one of a number of new track and block spending. They hope on their children’s savings. offerings from fintechs aimed at chil- to capitalise on the digital payment “A couple of big macro trends drove dren and teenagers. and ecommerce boom, and hold on to the adoption of Greenlight,” Timothy Pressure grows on “The earlier we can start the learn- new customers into adulthood. Sheehan, the company’s chief execu- ing process of using a card, the earlier “It’s a play on profitability to get tive said. “The decline in use in the dollar as vaccine she can learn that you can’t just go out lifelong customers,” said Kavita cash and the adoption of the smart- and buy a horse,” said Hibbs, who Kamdar, who heads JPMorgan’s chil- phone, not only among adults but runs a charity. dren’s venture Chase First Banking. among children.” hopes get tested While traditional banks have long JPMorgan’s partner Greenlight has US digital payment apps such as offered basic savings accounts to chil- grown from 500,000 to 2 million parent PayPal Holdings Inc’s Venmo and REUTERS REUTERS dren, fintechs say they have spotted an and children customers in a year. Square Inc’s Cash App, which have LONDON, NOV 18 A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a ‘Coronavirus Covid-19 Vaccine’ sticker and a opportunity to offer better, slicker “I think the startups are in a posi- become a common way for consumers medical syringe in this illustration. apps to tech-savvy kids and teenagers, tion to take junior accounts away from to send money to each other, do not Pressure increased on Wednesday who they say have been under-served. the high street banks,” said Sarah allow users under the age of 18. This against the dollar which hit its lowest POST REPORT done well to limit the spread of Covid- Starling’s Kite card allows parents Kocianski, head of research at fintech boosts the appeal of new apps targeted level in over a week as tighter econom- KATHMANDU, NOV 18 19. Ensuring access to a safe, effective, to transfer money to their children’s consultancy 11:FS. “But they have to at those too young for popular apps ic restrictions across the United States and equitable vaccine is the next fron- account, set spending limits and strike a balance between being appeal- but old enough to spend money. and Europe tested market optimism The Asian Development Bank (ADB) tier in the fight against this virus,” receive notifications of their purchas- ing to kids and appealing to parents “This is a demographic that doesn’t over vaccine trials. has allocated $20.3 million in technical said Director General of ADB’s es. It rivals similar products from and goodness knows how you do that.” have a bank account, they still have Most notably, the retail sales report assistance to help its developing mem- Sustainable Development and Climate gohenry and Monzo in Britain while Companies must also be careful in money underneath their bed and we released by the US Commerce bers access vaccines for Covid-19 and Change Department Woochong Um. are providing them access to the digi- Department showed spending deceler- establish systems to enable equitable “With these additional grant tal economy,” said Eddie Behringer, ating as the holiday shopping season and efficient vaccine distribution. resources, ADB can immediately sup- chief executive of Seattle-based teen approaches, amid a lack of fresh fiscal The funds will be available for ADB port our developing members to banking app Copper.Analysts and relief from Washington. developing members to support vac- undertake urgent actions, including investors question whether the youth Against a basket of currencies the cine-related health system assess- vaccine system assessments and vac- market is getting overcrowded, given dollar eased to 92.250, its lowest level ments and the development of coun- cine deployment strategies, to ensure youngsters are not cash-rich. since November 9. try readiness plans to strengthen the vaccines are delivered efficiently and “A lot of money is going to these “The US Dollar drifted lower over- capacity to access, introduce, deploy, fairly.” ADB expects to implement the firms, but do they make money?” said night following disappointing US deliver, and monitor vaccines safely technical assistance with its partners Ian Kar, the founder and chief execu- Retail Sales and with increasing con- and effectively, the multilateral fund- UNICEF and the World Health tive of consultancy Fintech Today. cerns about the downstream effects of ing agency said in a press statement. Organization, in coordination with “Teen banking is not very profitable the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic”, Funds will help members assess COVAX, Gavi, the World Bank and yet.” UK-based gohenry, which was wrote OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley and strengthen vaccine cold chain and bilateral agencies, among others. founded 8 years ago, offers accounts to his clients. logistics, infection control, supply and The funds comprise $20 million for children charging parents 2.99 “That leaves the Federal Reserve skills of health workers, risk commu- from ADB’s Technical Assistance pounds per month. meeting well and truly ‘live’ in nications, and real-time data captur- Special Fund and $300,000 from the Alex Zivoder, gohenry’s chief execu- December, with further easing likely ing and monitoring, the ADB said. High-Level Technology Fund financed tive, said the company is on track to to add to the downward pressures on The technical assistance will also by the Government of Japan. make a profit within a few years, the US Dollar heading into 2021”, he support the identification and promo- ADB approved a $20 billion expand- despite its pretax loss jumping by added. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome tion of innovative cold chain and vac- ed assistance package in April to three quarters to 5.8 million pounds Powell said on Tuesday there was “a cine tracking technologies. support its developing members’ REUTERS last year as it invested in expansion long way to go” to economic recovery. “Asia and the Pacific has largely Covid-19 response. John Hibbs and his daughter Xanthe pose in an undated handout photo. including in the US.

C M Y K THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | 06 WORLD

BRIEFING China’s Xi to Pfizer ends its Covid-19 vaccine take spotlight at Iraq, Saudi Arabia reopen key border crossing after decades Asia-Pacific summit BAGHDAD: Iraq and Saudi Arabia have trial with a 95 percent success rate reopened the main border crossing for trade between the two nations The drugmaker expects to make as many as 50 million vaccine doses this year and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021. in Trump’s absence after three decades of closure, Iraq’s border authority said on Wednesday. REUTERS REUTERS The Arar crossing was shuttered in NEW JERSEY, NOV 18 KUALA LUMPUR, NOV 18 1990s, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait after which Riyadh cut all ties Final results from Pfizer Inc’s Covid- Fresh from the success of creating the with Iraq. The crossing remained 19 vaccine trial showed its shot had a world’s largest free trade region, closed, reflecting the unease in 95 percent success rate and two China’s President Xi Jinping will be Baghdad-Riyadh ties with successive months of safety data, paving the way among the speakers on Thursday her- governments. But diplomatic ties for the drugmaker to apply for an alding a Asia-Pacific virtual summit were restored in 2015, following sever- emergency US authorisation within that US President Donald Trump has al high-level meetings that lead first days, it said on Wednesday. decided to skip. to the reopening of Riyadh’s embassy The vaccine’s efficacy rate, the Last week, 15 countries signed the in Baghdad. Later, in 2017, a bilateral highest of any candidate in late-stage Regional Comprehensive Economic coordination council was established clinical trials so far, pleased experts Partnership (RCEP), and the China- to improve ties. who had already said that interim backed accord, which excludes the results showing Pfizer’s shot was United States, will loom large over the over 90 percent effective were very virtual summit of the Asia-Pacific Japan watching human rights encouraging. Economic Cooperation (APEC) hosted conditions in China’s Xinjiang Pfizer said there were 170 cases of by Malaysia. A dozen of APEC’s 21 TOKYO: Japan is closely watching Covid-19 in its trial of more than members signed up to RCEP. human rights conditions in China’s 43,000 volunteers and only eight peo- Trump’s absence follows his defeat Xinjiang region with concern, its top ple with the disease had been given in the November 3 US presidential government spokesman said on the shot rather than a placebo, mean- election, though he has yet to concede Wednesday. “Japan believes it is ing the vaccine had a 95 percent effica- to President-elect Joe Biden. important that freedom, respect for cy rate. Of the 10 people who devel- The one and only APEC summit basic human rights and rule of law, oped severe Covid-19, one had received Trump attended was hosted by which are universal in international the vaccine. Vietnam in 2017. community, are guaranteed in China “The data is very strong,” said Ian The US has yet to name a head of as well,” Katsunobu Kato, the chief Jones, a professor of virology at delegation for this summit, though cabinet secretary, told a news confer- Britain’s University of Reading. “It’s Deputy Secretary of State Stephen ence. The United Nations estimates looking like a really contender.” Biegun attended an APEC ministerial that more than a million Muslims Pfizer said it expects the US Food meeting on Monday. have been detained in Xinjiang, and Drug Administration’s vaccine Malaysian Trade Minister Azmin where activists say crimes against advisory committee to review and dis- Ali admitted on Tuesday there were humanity and genocide are taking cuss the data in a public meeting that disagreements among member states place. China has denied any abuses, will likely be held in December. over the “level of ambition” in pursu- saying the camps provide vocational The final analysis comes just a week REUTERS ing APEC’s vision and approaches training and help fight extremism. after initial results from the trial The results from the two vaccines have raised hopes for an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 1.3 million people. on multilateral trade and economic showed the vaccine was more than 90 integration. percent effective. Moderna Inc on are at particular risk from the virus, 3.7 percent of recipients after the sec- ings. “With hundreds of thousands of Azmin expressed optimism that Danish agriculture minister Monday released preliminary data was over 94 percent. ond dose. Older adults tended to report people around the globe infected every some consensus could be found, but for its vaccine, showing 94.5 percent Equity markets strengthened slight- fewer and milder adverse events. day, we urgently need to get a safe and APEC’s recent history has not been quits over mink culling fiasco effectiveness. ly on the Pfizer news. Europe’s STOXX Moderna named five categories of effective vaccine to the world,” Pfizer encouraging. COPENHAGEN: The Danish minister in The better-than-expected results 600 and the US S&P 500 futures both severe side effects experienced by at CEO Albert Bourla said. Deadly riots forced hosts Chile to charge of farming resigned on from the two vaccines, both developed rose about 0.3 percent to hit highs for least 2 percent of those who received Pfizer and BioNTech also said they cancel last year’s summit. And in 2018, Wednesday as he took the blame for with new messenger RNA (mRNA) the day. The moves were small, howev- its vaccine. It listed fatigue at a fre- plan to submit the data to other regu- APEC failed to agree on a joint com- the government ordering the culling technology, have raised hopes for an er, compared with the jump when quency of 9.7 percent, muscle pain at latory agencies around the world and munique, the first time in the bloc’s of all farmed mink without having end to a pandemic that has killed more Pfizer first announced the vaccine 8.9 percent, joint pain at 5.2 percent, submit data from the study to a history, as the United States and China the necessary legislation in place than 1.3 million people and wreaked was more than 90 percent effective on headache at 4.5 percent, pain at 4.1 peer-reviewed scientific journal. stood at opposing ends of talks on first. The culling was ordered after a havoc upon economies and daily life. November 9. The reaction in European percent and redness around the injec- Pfizer reiterated that it expects to trade and investments. mutated version of the coronavirus However, while some groups such as government bonds and in currencies tion site at 2 percent. make as many as 50 million vaccine Xi and other APEC member leaders was found in some farms and had healthcare workers will be prioritised was muted. Pfizer’s final results come as the doses this year, enough to protect 25 are set to speak at a chief executives’ infected people. There is no evidence in the United States for vaccinations Pfizer shares rose 3 percent in pre- virus is running rampant around million people, and then produce up to conference starting Thursday, ahead that the mutated version is more dan- this year, it will be months before market trade while BioNTech’s the world, placing an enormous 1.3 billion doses in 2021. of Friday’s summit. gerous but the government moved large-scale rollouts begin. US-listed shares jumped 8 percent. strain on healthcare systems with Of the dozens of drugmakers and A joint ministerial statement on quickly out of safety, though it lacked Pfizer said the efficacy of the vac- Pfizer said its vaccine, BNT162b2, record numbers of new cases and research groups racing to develop vac- Monday outlined the need for mem- the legal basis to order the killing of cine developed with German partner was well-tolerated and that side effects hospitalisations. cines against Covid-19, the next data bers to uphold free, fair and non-dis- healthy animals too. “I have today BioNTech was consistent across dif- were mostly mild to moderate, and The approach of winter in the release will likely be from AstraZeneca criminatory trade practices to drive informed the prime minister that I ferent age and ethnic groups, a sign cleared up quickly. northern hemisphere in tandem with Plc with the University of Oxford in economic recovery from the pandem- want to resign from the government,” that the immunisation could be The only severe adverse event that the holiday season is expected to wors- November or December. Johnson & ic, besides implementing structural said Mogens Jensen, the 57-year-old employed broadly around the world. affected more than 2 percent of those en case numbers as people spend more Johnson says it is on track to deliver reforms to promote sustainable and agriculture minister. (AGENCIES) Efficacy in adults over 65 years, who vaccinated was fatigue, which affected time indoors and have family gather- data this year. inclusive growth. Thousands protest violence-marred A rusty Giuliani returns to the rally at Thai Parliament courtroom on Trump’s behalf to express anger at what they regard- ASSOCIATED PRESS Kerns, took over in answering Brann’s ed as disproportionate use of force the WILLIAMSPORT, NOV 18 questions. previous day by police who employed At one point, an opposing lawyer, chemical-laced water cannons and Representing a client inside a court- Mark Aronchick, disputed Giuliani’s tear gas against them. room for the first time in nearly three repeated contentions that it was ille- The two-day joint session of the decades, Rudy Giuliani showed some gal for counties to help people vote. House and Senate debated seven rust as he tried to make the case that “I don’t expect that he would know motions for amending the constitu- President Donald Trump has been the Pennsylvania election code,” tion. Voting took place Wednesday, robbed of re-election. Aronchick said. and the motion backed by the protest The former federal prosecutor and The Trump campaign is seeking to movement failed. New York City mayor, who has taken prevent Pennsylvania from certifying That motion, submitted by iLaw, the over Trump’s efforts to overturn the its election. The lawsuit is based on a Internet Law Reform Dialogue, would election results, entered a courthouse complaint that Philadelphia and six have allowed all aspects of the consti- in the small Pennsylvania city of AP/RSS Democratic-controlled counties in tution to be changed, including arti- Williamsport on Tuesday with a few Rudy Giuliani Pennsylvania let voters make correc- cles dealing with the monarchy. dozen Trump supporters cheering tions to mail-in ballots that were oth- The royalist establishment and him from across the street. reading your opinion and that I did erwise going to be disqualified for a many ordinary citizens consider the Over the next several hours, he fid- not understand it.” technicality, like lacking a secrecy AP/RSS monarchy to be the heart and soul of dled with his Twitter account, forgot And he tripped himself up over the envelope or a signature. Pro-democracy protesters flash the three-finger protest salute during an anti-government the nation, and the motion had not which judge he was talking to and meaning of “opacity.” It is not clear how many ballots that rally at a major intersection in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. been expected to pass. threw around wild, unsupported accu- “In the plaintiffs’ counties, they could involve, although some oppos- Two motions to set up a constitution sations about a nationwide conspiracy were denied the opportunity to have ing lawyers say it is far too few to ASSOCIATED PRESS motion that would lead to substantive drafting committee did pass. One, by Democrats to steal the election. an unobstructed observation and overturn the election result. President- BANGKOK, NOV 18 constitutional change, including initiated by the governing coalition, No such evidence has emerged ensure opacity,” Giuliani said. “I’m elect Joe Biden won the state by more measures to limit the power of the calls for the committee to be composed since Election Day. Giuliani needled not quite sure I know what opacity than 70,000 votes. Thousands of pro-democracy demon- monarchy. of a mix of appointed and elected an opposing lawyer, calling him “the means. It probably means you can On Tuesday, opposing lawyers asked strators rallied in central Bangkok on The protesters gathered peacefully members, while the other, backed man who was very angry with me, I see, right?” Brann to throw out the case, calling Wednesday, a day after a chaotic pro- Wednesday at a major intersection by the parliamentary opposition, says forgot his name.” “It means you can’t,” said US the evidence cited “at best, garden-va- test outside Parliament was marred and then moved as night fell outside all members should be elected. He mistook the judge for a federal District Judge Matthew Brann. riety irregularities” that would not by violence that left 55 people injured. the nearby national police headquar- The other motions, mostly dealing judge in a separate Pennsylvania dis- “Big words, your honor,” Giuliani warrant undoing Pennsylvania’s elec- Tuesday’s protest had been held to ters, its gates protected by razor wire with details of proposed changes, trict who rejected a separate Trump said. At times, the Philadelphia law- tion results, which delivered the White encourage lawmakers to approve a and riot police. They said they wanted all failed. campaign case: “I was accused of not yer working alongside Giuliani, Linda House for Biden. Ethiopia faces ‘hell’ in battle for Tigray, rebels say as they refuse to surrender

REUTERS Abiy, 44, ordered air strikes and to the world as media are barred, most and second largest groups respective- ADDIS ABABA, NOV 18 sent soldiers into Tigray on Nov. 4 communications are down and foreign ly. Tigrayans represent about 5 per- after accusing the well-armed local aid workers are pulling out, meaning cent of Africa’s second most populous The rulers of Ethiopia’s rebellious ruling party, the Tigray People’s Reuters could not independently veri- country. They dominated national Tigray region refused on Wednesday Liberation Front (TPLF), of revolt and fy assertions made by either side. leadership between 1991 and 2018, to surrender to federal troops and an attack on a government base. “The wider world will soon testify before Abiy took the premiership and instead claimed they were winning a The TPLF says their former mili- the amazing victories achieved by the began opening up both the economy war that has exacerbated ethnic frac- tary comrade and one-time political people and government of Tigray,” the and a repressive political system. tures in the vast nation and further partner has been persecuting their Tigrayan statement added. The government says rebel forces destabilised the Horn of Africa. ethnic group and removing Tigrayan “Attempting to rule the people of have destroyed bridges and a road “Tigray is now a hell to its ene- officials from senior security and Tigray by force is like walking on a connecting the regional capital mies,” they said in a statement on the government positions since he took burning flame ... Tigray will be the Mekelle. two-week offensive against them. office in 2018. graveyard of dictators and aggressors Debretsion Gebremichael, elected “The people of Tigray will never In a lengthy statement, the Tigrayan and not their playground.” Tigrayan president in polls that kneel.” leaders accused federal forces of tar- Tigrayans who have fled to Sudan Ethiopia does not recognise, told Ignoring international appeals for geting civilians, churches and homes, have told Reuters that militias from Reuters in a text message his forces talks, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s while blocking internet, electricity Amhara, the neighbouring state, had fallen back but denied they government is also claiming major and banking services. Hundreds of attacked them because of their ethnic- destroyed bridges. victories and says its forces are march- thousands of people have been uproot- ity and that government airstrikes “We have shifted our defence line ing on Tigray’s capital Mekelle and ed from homes, it said. were killing civilians. There have also REUTERS and as a result they get into some will triumph short l y. Nevertheless, Tigrayan forces had been reports of Tigrayans losing jobs Ethiopians who fled the fighting in Tigray region arrive in Hamdait village on the towns of South Tigray,” he added. The war has killed hundreds and captured tanks and artillery and and facing discrimination around Sudan-Ethiopia border in eastern Kassala state, Sudan, on November 17. Ethiopia’s army is one of the possibly thousands on both sides, sent would soon drive their enemies out Ethiopia. Tigrayan leaders have used strongest in Africa, but many senior 30,000 refugees fleeing into Sudan, and despite being massively outnumbered, the word “genocide”. teeing national unity. task force on the crisis said on officers were Tigrayan and plenty of called into question the reputation of it added. But Abiy’s government has repeat- “The federal government... Wednesday. its heavy weaponry were based in Africa’s youngest leader who won a The government denies it is target- edly denied an ethnic undertone, say- denounces, in the strongest of terms, Abiy is of mixed heritage, with par- Tigray, which was on the front line of Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for a peace ing civilians. ing it is simply restoring law and mischaracterization that this opera- ents from the Oromo and Amharic the two-decade standoff with Eritrea pact with Eritrea. The northern state is largely cut off order, pursuing criminals and guaran- tion has an ethnic or other bias,” its ethnic groups - the country’s largest after a 1998-2000 war.

C M Y K 07 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 SPORTS | MEDLEY BRIEFING Cricket governing body gives nod to lease proposed FIFA Club World Cup rescheduled for February ZURICH: The pandemic-delayed Club Nepal Premier League T20 to Indian company World Cup will be played next year in Qatar from February 1-11, FIFA said Tuesday. Only two of the seven tour- Once the deal is signed, India’s Seven 3 Sports will provide Cricket Association of Nepal Rs400 million for a period of 10 years, officials say. nament places—European champion Bayern Munich and Qatari champion PRAJWAL OLI The cricket governing body’s gener- Indian company will provide us with According to the company profile it said the event will be extremely bene- Al-Duhail—have currently been KATHMANDU, NOV 18 al assembly was held virtually on Rs400 million for a period of 10 years,” is involved in sporting and other rec- ficial for Nepali cricket. decided. The 2020 Club World Cup Wednesday. said Chand. “In the first year, CAN reational activities. “At present the only income we have lineup should be completed after the Cricket Association of Nepal has “The general assembly has entrust- will get Rs25 million and there will be Among others, some points in the is the Rs80-million fund that we get Copa Libertadores final in late Janu- agreed to a proposal to lease the pro- ed the executive committee with the an increment in the amount every agreement are related to infrastruc- from the International Cricket ary. The tournament was originally posed Nepal Premier League to an task of moving forward the proposal year.” According to Chand, though the ture like upgrading at least two crick- Council and around Rs60 million is scheduled for mid-December in Qatar, Indian company–Seven 3 Sports. on the condition that CAN should deal is yet to be finalised, a prelimi- et stadiums. “Our first priority is to spent in salary and allowances,” said but the CONCACAF Champions According to Chatur Bahadur have the ownership of NPL,” Chand nary agreement with the Indian com- install floodlights in the TU grounds Chand. “If the deal with the Indian League final will not be played until Chand, president of Cricket told the Post. “We are of the view that pany, in principle, has moved forward. and upgrade facilities either in company works out for the proposed December 22, and the Asian Association of Nepal (CAN), the annu- the event should be beneficial for “We had earlier informally taken Pokhara or Bhairahawa grounds,” NPL, we will have some extra funds in Champions League final is scheduled al general assembly of the country’s Nepali cricket.” the NPL proposal to the executive said Chand. “The agreement is simi- the hand for game’s development.” for December 19. The 2020 Club World cricket governing body on Wednesday CAN had put forth the proposal at committee meeting, but there was no lar to giving license to the Indian If the NPL takes off as per CAN’s Cup was intended to be the last edi- gave the green signal to the executive its general assembly after they consensus, so we introduced it before company for holding the fran- plan, it would be the fourth fran- tion with only seven teams. FIFA’s committee’s proposal to lease the pro- received a proposal from the Indian the general assembly,” he said. “The chise-based NPL for the next 10 years, chise-based domestic tournaments plans to launch a 24-team version in posed Nepal Premier League (NPL) company seeking to lease the NPL. general assembly has given various though CAN will be the owner.” after Dhangadhi Premier League, China in June 2021 were put on hold Twenty20 cricket tournament to the “If we ink the deal as per the pro- suggestions and we will discuss that Saying that the NPL would be “the Everest Premier League and Pokhara by the pandemic. (AGENCIES) Indian company. posal of Seven 3 Sports (S3S), the with S3S before finalising the deal.” highest level domestic cricket”, Chand Premier League. Brazil beat Uruguay 2-0 Loew admits black day after Germany’s historic defeat AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE to top qualifying group SEVILLE, NOV 18 Joachim Loew admitted it was a “black day” for REUTERS South American group to have Germany after their 6-0 drubbing against Spain in the MONTEVIDEO, NOV 18 won all of their opening matches. Nations League piled pressure on the team’s coach. Argentina are two points Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick as Spain ran riot in First half goals from Arthur and behind in second spot after a 2-0 Seville, leaving Loew to pick through the wreckage of Richarlison gave Brazil a 2-0 win win at Peru. Nicolas Gonzalez put Germany’s worst defeat for 89 years. away at Uruguay on Tuesday and the visitors ahead with an angled “This has been a black day for us,” admitted Loew maintained their 100 percent shot in 17 minutes following inci- after Germany’s heaviest defeat since losing 6-0 to record in the South American sive work from Giovani Lo Ceslo Austria in Berlin in 1931. “We completely lost track of World Cup qualifiers for Qatar on the left flank and then Lautaro our plan after we went 1-0 down, which was deadly and 2022. Martinez doubled their lead 11 the Spanish took their chances. Nothing worked, nei- Brazil were missing a host of minutes later when he ran on to a ther in defence nor attack. We left huge spaces, there players through Covid-19 and superb pass from Leandro was a lack of communication between the players.” injury, including talismanic Paredes and rounded the keeper The thrashing was double that of Loew’s previous striker Neymar, but they were too to slot home. worst defeat as Germany coach, when his side lost by 3-0 strong for their opponents, who The qualifiers will restart to both the Czech Republic in 2007 and to the Netherlands have not beaten them since 2001. again in March 2021. The top four in 2018. Coming two years after their 2018 World Cup Arthur got the opener after 34 teams in the group qualify auto- debacle, when Germany failed to get out of their group, minutes when his shot from out- matically for Qatar 2022 and the this is the biggest crisis of Loew’s 14-year reign. side the box was cruelly deflected fifth-placed side goes into an The 60-year-old, who led Germany to the 2014 World past Uruguayan keeper Martin inter-regional play-off. Cup title, insists he can still turn things around with Campana and then Richarlison In the day’s earlier games, six seven months to go before the European Championships glanced a header into the net different players got their name kick off in June. from a short corner seconds on the scoresheet for Ecuador as Germany face France and Portugal, the reigning before half time. they dealt Colombia their second world and European champions, in their group. “Of Missing Luis Suarez after he successive heavy defeat, crushing course,” Loew insisted when asked if he wants to stay tested positive for Covid-19, their neighbours 6-1 in Quito. on, with two years left on his German FA contract. “It’s Uruguay hit the woodwork twice Ecuador, who missed out on our duty to look at this and ask what we can do better. AFP in the first half but their unlucky Russia 2018, scored four times in We were second best in every department, it was a black Spain’s Ferran Torres (right) scored a hat-trick in their win over Germany as they entered into the semi-finals of the Nations League. night was confirmed when the the first half and although James day—there is no way of dressing this up.” Video Assistant Referee Rodriguez got one back from the Germany came into their final game in League A, Torres to complete his hat-trick. Serge Gnabry hit the Pavard put France ahead before half-time. Giroud then convinced the officials to send off penalty spot on the stroke of half- Group 4 on top, a point clear of Spain, and so only need- bar for Germany before substitute Mikel Oyarzabal headed in Kylian Mbappe’s cross to make it 3-1 before Edinson Cavani for a mistimed time, the home side added anoth- ed a draw at an empty La Cartuja to qualify for the completed the rout. “It was one of the best and most the hour mark, and Kingsley Coman scored France’s tackle on Richarlison at 71 min- er two in the second period. finals in October next year. But Alvaro Morata headed complete matches of the Spanish national team,” said final goal at the death after Robin Quaison had netted utes. In Caracas, Venezuela picked Spain in front in the 17th minute before Torres crashed Spain coach Luis Enrique. Sweden’s second. Uruguay kept battling and up their first points thanks to a in the second on 33 minutes after Dani Olmo’s header Spain become the second side to qualify for the Having recently overtaken Michel Platini’s tally of 41 Martin Caceres saw his close shot late Salomon Rondon winner hit the bar. Nations League finals after France clinched their place goals for Les Bleus, Giroud is now on 44 and is closing hit the net with a quarter of an against Chile. Guillermo Maripan His City team-mate Rodri headed in another to make by beating Portugal at the weekend. The World Cup in on Thierry Henry’s overall record mark of 51. The hour left only to be disallowed by put the home side ahead after it 3-0 for Spain before the end of a first half in which holders finished off their League A, Group 3 campaign 34-year-old remains a key player for France despite the Chilean referee. eight minutes and although they lost Sergio Canales and skipper Sergio Ramos to by beating Sweden 4-2 at the Stade de France as Olivier being on the periphery with his club Chelsea, for whom The win in Montevideo was Arturo Vidal got his third goal in injury, with the latter coming off feeling his hamstring. Giroud continued his remarkable scoring record for Les he has started just once this season, in the League Cup. Brazil’s fourth in a row in the two games moments later Germany’s defence was posted missing as Jose Gaya Bleus with a brace. Sweden finish bottom of the group behind Croatia qualifying stage and ensures they Rondon’s 81st minute strike gave burst through and squared for Torres to get the fourth Viktor Claesson’s deflected early strike gave Sweden and are relegated to the second-tier League B for the are the only side in the 10-team Venezuela a much-needed win. on 55 minutes, and Fabian Ruiz teed up the 20-year-old the lead, but Giroud soon equalised and Benjamin next edition of the competition. HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 21-April 19) ** CANCER (June 22-July 22) *** LIBRA (September 23-October 22) **** CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) *** While things in your personal life are getting Sometimes, trying to follow your bliss can cause Your five-year plan is all set and you’re pretty much If you need to bring together different people, lighter and brighter right now, you can expect you to get pretty lost! It’s hard to know which on schedule, so there’s nothing to worry about there. don’t push them into groups. Challenge them to things to get hot and heavy in the business opportunities to say yes to and which to run A road trip may be in order if it’s possible. If you start form their teams for their own reasons. If you aspects of your day. This may not be an easy day away from. Try as you might to pick correctly, setting aside some money now, you’ll have enough to trust people more, they’ll trust you more. This in terms of negotiating or making a power play. you could make a mistake. travel in style and splurge on a luxury experience. applies to co-workers, friends, and relatives.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) *** LEO (July 23-August 22) *** SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) *** AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) ***** It’s one thing to follow your mood, but it’s quite It’s wonderful that you want the people you care Gauging how other people react is crucial today. It You can make some great connections today. another to be moody. People have little patience about to be happy, but you aren’t in charge of will save you headaches, heartaches, and frustration. This will not only make you feel like you’ve for folks whose personalities seem to change their happiness. They are. Step back and let Fortunately, you’ve always been very skilled at trust- accomplished something important but being from moment to moment. It doesn’t exactly them find their own way. You found yours, and ing your intuition. So when the drama around you socially useful like this could turn you on to a inspire confidence. rest assured that they’ll find theirs. gets too intense, you’ll know when to step away. whole new career idea.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) ***** VIRGO (August 23-September 22) *** SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) ** PISCES (February 19-March 20) ** Conserving your energy is strongly advised today. People in your world could have a tough time agree- Right now in your life it might seem like every- When it comes to relationships, career path, or even Not only will you enjoy taking things at a slower ing on the right way to go about doing things and will one knows exactly what you should do next, and a health plan, you’d be better off waiting. Keep pace, but you will also start noticing things you be looking to you for a solution. If you listen to all they aren’t afraid to tell you! Try not to get too things where they are right now. Ride things out for never saw before. Today, just let the world swirl ideas with an open mind, you’ll be able to pull out a annoyed with these well-intentioned folks. They a few more days and wait until you get a sign from around you while you sit and watch what it does. suggestion or two that will make everyone happy. really do have your best interests at heart. the universe that it’s time to move on once again. CROSSWORD SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

C M Y K THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | 08 CULTURE & LIFESTYLE (C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053 What makes you pick up a book? A book is not just its content, it is its feel, say book designers. But what exactly goes behind creating a reading experience?

POST PHOTO From using the literal image of the title to now using explorative metaphors, imageries, graphic art to a more readable text layout, book designing has evolved in Nepal.

SRIZU BAJRACHARYA multiple layers of meeting with tion of the book, as the text’s not evolved properly,” he says. a cover of a book should look like he says. LALITPUR designers and authors, says Kiran scaling jumbled up during the Yogol too agrees with Humagain was Nepalaya. “It pushed forward Yogol and Humagain, however, Krishna Shrestha of Nepalaya. binding process. That’s also one and believes that the Nepali book the creativity of the book indus- are well aware of the grey trades hen Sachin “Various expertise goes into of the things that we are yet to industry is yet to understand the try in a way,” says Humagain. of graphic designing, where Yogol making a book attractive,” says master properly in Nepal,” says value of fonts and typography. Nepalaya was coming out with designers’ manipulate or trace Shrestha Shrestha. Humagain. “Many Nepali fonts have prob- engaging book covers that didn’t stock images or use typography talks about “But it is, in the end, the design- Today, most books available in lems with the Nepali vowels and stick to the norms of the classic found on the internet. “Many book design, ers’ job to create a work that com- the Nepali market are printed in raswo and dirgha,” says Yogol book covers with just an image or designers lack research and the his voice over pliments the content,” he says. India. “And that’s because there is who has designed over 80 books in art; it focused on the packaging of sad part is that we haven’t been Wthe phone receiver bubbles with Designers collaborate with still a dearth of good printing about two and a half years and is the books and on the reader’s able to experiment much; even in joy. There’s just so much people authors, editors and publishers, technology and skilled workman- one of the most sought book experience. terms of editorial text design. But have not understood about the even photographers, to create a ship,” says Humagain. designers in the market. “Moving away from the cliched I also believe things are already design of books, he says. How visual that allures readers to pick “Besides the lack of technology, “Publication houses are still ideas of book designing we changing,”says Yogol. much thought goes into making a up the book. there is also a general lack of seri- not ready to invest in their own focused on designing books in a “New designers are pushing reader pick up a book and to flip “A book’s cover needs to appeal ousness in what we do,” says fonts, and there are some design- way that people would like to hold the convention of design think- from one page to another, he adds. to readers and exude a gist of the Humagain. ers who have been creating Nepali on to them. We wanted to give our ing,” he says. “You wouldn’t pick up a book if story, even if you say don’t judge a readers the feeling of possessing And much has changed in the it doesn’t tell you, ‘I could be book by its cover, that’s what we something,” says Shrestha, the book industry in the last decade: interesting’,” he says. normally do,” says Yogol, who team leader of Nepalaya. “To us, a from using the literal image of From designing an attractive believes the designer also shoul- “You wouldn’t pick up a book if book’s cover was not just a glossy the title to now using explorative cover to not making any word or ders the marketing of the book. appearance but more than that. metaphors, imageries, graphic art sentence orphan to making sure For a designer, a book’s design it doesn’t tell you, ‘I could be We primarily worked on explor- to a more readable text layout, there aren’t odd spaces between is about creating interest and ing uncommon creative ideas,” book designing has evolved. “I periods that stop you from read- ensuring readability with a good interesting’,” says Sachin Yogol says Shrestha. think the more we explore and ing seamlessly, the designer’s layout that does not hinder the But creativity is still limited in discuss these things, the more we work makes reading simple. This reading experience. It’s about Shrestha, a book designer. the larger industry of books, and will be able to unbind our creativ- construct, however, remains quiet planning pages, font styles, mar- to put it distinctly, Yogol divides ity and give quality work,” says much of the time but it’s as gins and line spacing. But it’s also the field of Nepali graphic design Khadka. important as the syntax of a lan- as much about understanding the “I have seen printing presses fonts on their own, like Anand into two parts: one that that is Yogol, who takes book guage to give readers a smooth printing methods, says Subarna where staff eat food next to papers Maharjan from Calijatra, but a ruled and functioning by fast designing as an art, is already reading experience. And to the Humagain. and books, where they are not separate market for fonts has not designers, or the ‘Bagbazar planning for a book cover exhibi- designer this is everything. “In the beginning when I start- bothered by the alignment of been established properly,” he designers’, and designers who are tion. “Once I hit 100, I want to A year ago, Shrestha had also ed designing I used to be more binding or extra spaces,” he says. adds. ready to immerse themselves in exhibit my book covers because I enrolled himself in a month-long ingrained in the processes on There are other challenges too. A good design helps readers the work they design, who are have learned so much in this jour- Paubha course just to be able to the screen, but I later realised its Readability of the Devanagari focus; it enhances the work of an ready to push creative bounda- ney,” he says. design the cover of Sanjeev the output that matters—if it does letters has also been one of the author. But that awareness of ries. With this growing understand- Uprety’s ‘Hansa’, a novel that tells not come out right in the paper main challenges for the book why purposeful design is impera- “Don’t get me wrong, the ing of the art of designing books, the story of a man and a duck that your design doesn’t really mat- industry. Many Nepali fonts in tive is still indiscernible to the Bagbazar designers have given so the scope of Nepal’s book design- expresses communal life, anthro- ter,” says Humagain, a graphic terms of readability in print are general public, says Bhupendra much to the printing industry; ing industry could be opening up pomorphism and human senti- designer who has designed hun- still not easy to read. Most Nepali Khadka, the CEO of Book Hill. however, they have not been able to new horizons. “Times are mentality. “As designers, it is nec- dreds of books. books use the ‘shreenath’ font, “We are yet to make our readers to move forward with time, in the changing, and I think we are see- essary that we understand the Humagain once went to great which is unobtrusive to reading. receptive of the aesthetic value of sense they are not ready to ing more creative book designs story first to design the book lengths to print Rabindra However, the typeface has a a book design; we rarely discuss explore. They usually stick to the and covers. Who knows in the because when you understand the Mishra’s book ‘Bhumadhya defect, says Humagain. “It’s diffi- the story behind the book covers conformed ways,” says Yogol. future someone might start book content of a book you have more Rekha’, which in its cover had cult to manage a chandrabindu (a and what goes into making and “But as designers, I think we cover competitions; it would be room to explore,” says Shrestha. Mishra’s silhouette walking on a half moon with a dot) with the creating books,” says Khadka. should exercise risks, and interesting to have something like But usually, when any content string. “We had to reprint the font, it only has a default But one of the foremost publi- explore our creativity. We need to that to unbound the creativity of is decided to be a book, there are book one day before the inaugura- shirbindu (a dot), and the font has cation houses that redefined what come out of our comfort zones,” designers,” says Shrestha. Tarantino has deal for two books People magazine names Michael on films, including one his own B Jordan as Sexiest Man Alive The Oscar-winning director’s two-book deal with Harper has him novelising his 2019 Jordan, known for his critically-acclaimed performances in Creed and Black film Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood and a nonfiction titled Cinema Speculation. Panther, was revealed as this year’s winner on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

HILLEL ITALIE JONATHAN LANDRUM movement and vocal about early voting registration NEW YORK LOS ANGELES for this year’s election. “I think there’s a time and a place for everything,” uentin Tarantino’s ctor Michael B Jordan has been he told People. “I’ve been picking my moments to next work of imag- crowned as 2020’s Sexiest Man Alive make the most impact. We can all take action—big or ination will be in by People magazine. small—to help create the change we want to see.” book form. Jordan, known for his critically-ac- In 10 years, Jordan hopes to direct and produce The Oscar- claimed performances in “Fruitvale more than taking on acting roles. winning director Station,” “Creed” and “Black “Just growing, whatever the next evolution of me Q has a two-book Panther,”A was revealed as this year’s winner Tuesday is,” said the actor, who will star as a former Navy deal with night on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” SEAL-turned-CIA operative in “Without Remorse.” Harper, beginning with a noveli- The actor appeared on the late-night talk show “Hopefully a family by then, I’m going to throw zation of “Once Upon a Time ... In dressed in a yellow biohazard suit. He revealed his that in the universe. I want to make an impact all Hollywood” that is scheduled for identity after removing his helmet, which had a smi- over the world and not just through the roles that I next summer. “Once Upon a ley face. He said he learned about the honour during play.” Time” will be a true Tarantino a call from his publicist while driving with a friend. —Associated Press production: The book will come Jordan tells the magazine in an issue out Friday out first as a mass market paper- that the honour is a “cool feeling.” back, like the old pulp novels the “You know, everybody always made that joke, like, filmmaker loves, and will offer “a ‘Mike, this is the one thing you’re probably not going fresh, playful and shocking depar- to get,’” he said. “But it’s a good club to be a part of.” ture from the film,” according to AP/RSS Other recent winners include John Legend, Harper. Quentin Tarantino Dwayne Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba, The film version of “Once Upon Adam Levine, Channing Tatum and David Beckham. a Time ... In Hollywood” was cinematic counterpart.” classic “Heat.” Tarantino, 57, may The 33-year-old Jordan said the women in his fam- released in 2019 and stars Tarantino’s second book will be well have more time in the future ily are “definitely proud of this one.” He credits his Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor the nonfiction “Cinema for books. entire family for supporting him throughout the and Brad Pitt as his stunt double. Speculation,” which Harper is He has said that he will retire years. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards calling “a deep dive into the mov- from filmmaking after he com- “When my grandmother was alive, it was some- and winner of two, the movie is set ies of the 1970’s” that draws in pletes 10 movies: “Once Upon a thing that she collected, and then my mom naturally in Los Angeles in 1969, around the part on the director’s admiration Time ... In Hollywood” was his reads it a lot and my aunts as well,” Jordan said. time of the killings by Charles for the late New Yorker critic 9th. Tarantino had not turned 30 “This is one that they’re definitely going to have a Manson’s followers. Pauline Kael. A release date has when he made his first fea- special place for.” “In the ‘70s movie novelizations not been determined. ture-length film, “Reservoir Jordan’s steady rise has come through strong per- were the first adult books I grew “The book will be a rich mix Dogs,” and he has claimed most formances on television on series “The Wire” and up reading,” Tarantino said in a of essays, reviews, personal writ- directors lose their edge in their “Friday Night Lights.” statement Tuesday. “And to this ing, and tantalizing “what if ’s,” later years. Writing has long been He made his mark in film as police shooting vic- day I have a tremendous amount from one of cinema’s most cele- part of his transition plans. tim Oscar Grant in “Fruitvale Station,” boxer of affection for the genre. So as a brated filmmakers, and its most “I think when it comes to theat- Adonis Creed in the “Rocky” sequels “Creed” and movie-novelization aficionado, devoted fan,” according to Harper, rical movies, I’ve come to the end “Creed II” along with his stellar work as Erik I’m proud to announce ‘Once an imprint of HarperCollins of the road,” Tarantino, who has Killmonger in the record-breaking “Black Panther.” Upon a Time ... In Hollywood’ as Publishers. yet to announce plans for his next Along with his acting endeavours, Jordan has my contribution to this often mar- Several directors have written film, told GQ Australia last year. championed change behind the scenes in Hollywood. ginalized, yet beloved sub-genre fiction in recent years, including “I see myself writing film books He started his own production company, Outlier in literature. I’m also thrilled to Brian De Palma, David and starting to write theatre, so Society Productions, which was among the first to further explore my characters and Cronenberg and Guillermo del I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve embrace the inclusion rider, adopting the pledge to their world in a literary endear that Toro, and Michael Mann has been given all I have to give to movies.” seek diverse casts and crews. AP/RSS can [hopefully] sit alongside its working on a prequel to his crime — Associated Press Jordan has been active in the Black Lives Matter Michael B Jordan

Published and Printed by Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd., Central Business Park, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal, P. B. No. 8559, Phone: 5135000, Fax: 977-1-5135057, e-mail: [email protected], Regd. No. 32/049/050, Chairman & Managing Director: Kailash Sirohiya, Director: Swastika Sirohiya, Editor: Sanjeev Satgainya