Nepal will vote on November 20 to elect new representatives to the federal parliament and provincial assemblies.

In a way, these elections will be more than a periodic democratic exercise. Outside forces, China and the United States in particular, will be very interested in knowing which party will form the government in Kathmandu for another five years.

It would be folly to imagine otherwise in the current geopolitical climate, says foreign policy analyst Geja Sharma Wagle.

As the United States and China vie for influence in South Asia, he says the two world powers are “watching carefully” political developments in Nepal.

“The new government’s foreign policy priorities will have a direct impact on them,” adds Wagle.

The effects of US-China tensions have already played out in Nepal’s national politics, as political parties are divided on issues where Beijing and the West disagree.

More recently, two former communist prime ministers, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Jhala Nath Khanal, lamented the visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Previously, communist forces, including those in the ruling coalition, had opposed the government’s stance on the Russian-Ukrainian war. They criticized Nepal’s Congress-led government for deviating from Nepal’s non-alignment policy and taking the US side in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The maneuvers of the United States and China in Nepal reached the level of open insults at the beginning of this year over the United States’ pact of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Nepal.

It is no secret that the United States and China are trying to lure Nepal into their orbit and each wants to see a friendly government in Kathmandu.

Nepal’s political parties have also left little to the imagination on which side they stand.

“Nepalese leaders from all political walks of life have this tendency to seek outside blessings,” says political analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta. “Their sycophancy has created space for outside forces to influence our domestic politics.”

Admittedly, it is up to Nepalese voters to choose their government, but the influence of foreign powers on the electoral process should not be overlooked. “External forces, for example, can influence the formation of electoral alliances,” says Bhatta.

It is clear that China prefers the unification of communist forces in Nepal while Beijing wants a strong communist government in Nepal. He had been instrumental in unifying two of Nepal’s most prominent left-wing parties, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center), after the 2017 elections.

The result of this union was the former Communist Party of Nepal (NCP), the largest communist party in the country’s history, which held the majority of seats in Kathmandu and six of the seven provinces.

Although the party collapsed within a few years due to infighting, China still has not given up its communist project in Nepal. If not merging parties, Beijing wants Nepal’s communist parties to at least forge an electoral alliance.

During his visit to Nepal in the first week of July, Liu Jianchao, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, met with leaders of the Nepalese Communist Party in a bid to encourage them to come together.

The United States and its Western allies, on the other hand, do not want a pro-Beijing communist government to rule Nepal.

“The democratic world wants to see a government run by a non-Communist party,” Wagle said.

For the United States, and by extension the West, the main objective is to counter China’s growing influence in Nepal. They are ready to support political parties that are committed to implementing the 2015 constitution.

India, which wields considerable influence over Nepal’s domestic politics, is wary of growing Chinese activism in Kathmandu – or Americans, for that matter.

Over the past few years, India has maintained a low-key approach to Nepal’s domestic politics. Narendra Modi’s government in New Delhi is more focused on building party-to-party relationships with the Nepalese forces: it does not want to support one party at the risk of upsetting another.

India knows that Communist parties in Nepal can easily stir up anti-Indian sentiment among voters. He is therefore ready to work closely with any party that comes to Baluwatar. New Delhi will be happy as long as the next government in Kathmandu does not lean towards Beijing.

A New Delhi-based diplomatic source said India had urged Maoist President Pushpa Kamal Dahal not to break the current five-party ruling coalition. Dahal also assured senior Indian officials that his priority was also the continuation of the coalition.

Bhatta says the extent of outside influence in Nepal’s political parties will be further clarified during the formation of the post-election government.

“All powers that have interests in Nepal will try to bring to power those political parties they feel comfortable with,” Bhatta said.

China, led by Xi Jinping and his Communist Party, has worked hard to increase its influence in Nepal despite fears that it wants to trap the Himalayan nation in an endless cycle of debt, as it has done in parts of the country. Sri Lanka, according to analysts.

Under the leadership of then-Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepal and China signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (or BRI) in May 2017. However, five years have passed since the signing, and not a single project has been completed, mainly because, according to sources, it is customary to keep all agreements with China confidential.

Sarjor Mishra, writing for Khabar Hub, told ANI that in order to do business with China, Nepal needs to understand the conditions China imposes on borrowing countries. Citing comparisons with Sri Lanka, Mishra said: “Whether or not the huge port of Hambantota built by the country on loan was necessary for the country should have been determined by an objective analysis of the future benefits of the project. .”

Mishra also added that learning from the island nation of Lanka, the people of Nepal should exercise their right and ask questions as a single mistake by the government could impact future generations of Nepal.

Foreign investment in Nepal

Talking about some Chinese investments in Nepal that could seriously harm Nepal’s economy, Mishar added, “Finally, in 2016, CAMC Engineering was awarded the construction contract for $217 million, including $216 million in concessional loans. from China Exim Bank, 25 for interest-free loans and 75% loans with 2% interest.The same company has also become an entrepreneur here!Speaking of the profitability and financial feasibility of this project, the interest annual loan of 25 billion amounts to 37.5 million each year.”

“Another project in Nepal, the Nagdhunga Tunnel Marg, is being built with the help of a loan from the Japanese government and has an interest rate of 0.01%. But the interest rates on the loans Chinese loans are 150 times higher than on Japanese loans. The interest that should be paid to China in two and a half days is enough to be paid to the Japanese in a year,” Mishra added.

“China’s objective could be to trap Nepal in a spiral of irrevocable debt without helping Nepal and to use this land in its monopolistic way. That is why China is encouraging Nepal to ‘live luxuriously’ with it. “on loan,” Mishra added while noting that the signs are there and Nepal needs to consider them before doing business with Nepal.

China invests harshly ‘illegally’ in Nepal’s tourism industry: report

China has been implicated in illegal investments in tourism and infrastructure in neighboring Nepal, Khabar Hub reported. This comes despite the Himalayan nation being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investors and traders from Beijing have spent on more than 50 restaurants and other businesses in Pokhara, as well as many other cities in Nepal. China has been steadily expanding its footprint in the country, and Nepal’s ruling party has been wary of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, which has raised concerns as Sri Lanka’s economy and financial framework have completely collapsed.

The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the non-reimbursement of debt have also made Nepal cautious in its financial relations with Beijing.

(with ANI inputs)

The past week has been quite dramatic as Colombo has carefully balanced its relationship with China while allaying India’s concerns over the visit of the Chinese spy ship, Yuan Wang 5. The ship was due to dock at the port of Hambantota on August 11, but was postponed after India raised the issue with Sri Lanka over security concerns.

Interestingly, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday reaffirmed the “One China” policy, around the same time as talks centered on denying entry to the Chinese vessel.

The reaffirmation came amid the crisis in the Taiwan Strait and Beijing called on the world community to uphold the “One China” principle. Sri Lanka has joined Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Afghan Taliban in reaffirming the policy dear to Beijing.

A Chinese policy is the diplomatic acknowledgment of Beijing’s position that there is only one Chinese government with the People’s Republic of China serving as the sole legitimate government of that China, and that Taiwan is part of China.

On August 5, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry wrote a letter to the Chinese Embassy in the country, informing them that the ship had to postpone the visit.

The letter read, “The ministry would like to request that the arrival date of the vessel YUAN WANG 5 at Hambantota be postponed until further consultations are conducted on this matter.”

Also that same week, the issue was discussed between Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when they met in Cambodia on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings.

Last month, India publicly raised concerns about the ship’s visit. During the Ministry of External Affairs’ weekly briefings, spokesman Arindam Bagchi, in response to a question about the matter, said: “We are aware of reports of a proposed visit by this ship to Hambantota port in August. Let me just say that the government is carefully monitoring any development affecting India’s security and economic interests and taking all necessary measures to safeguard them.”

Sri Lanka had cleared the ship to dock on July 12. Notably, the clearance was given a day before Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country after popular protests escalated.

The Sri Lankan Air Force, in a statement dated July 13, said: “The Sri Lankan President, First Lady as well as 2 bodyguards have been subject to the full approval of the Ministry of Defense for immigration, customs and other laws to get to the Maldives Air Force planes were provided to them in the early morning of July 13”.

Amid the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, India has provided economic support worth more than $2 billion. In January this year, India extended a US$400 million currency exchange in Sri Lanka under the SAARC and postponed successive Asian Clearing Union (ACU) settlements until 6 July 2022.

A line of credit (LoC) of $500 million has been granted to Sri Lanka for the importation of fuel from India. In addition, India has extended a US$1 billion credit facility for the procurement of food, medicine and other essential items from India. Humanitarian aid has also been provided to Sri Lanka by offering essential drugs worth about Rs 6 crore, 15,000 liters of kerosene oil and a line of credit of US$55 million for the purchase urea-based fertilizer.

More than 5,000 vehicles imported in seven months

Thukten Zangpo

With foreign currency reserves running out, Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering during his recent visit to Bumthang advised that the government may stop importing non-essential items if the country’s economy does not improve.

The government has even urged people to show solidarity in choosing essential items over non-essentials.

The Commerce Department has not compiled lists of non-essential items at this time.

However, since April 2021, Bhutan has experienced a decline in its foreign exchange reserves due to surging imports, declining remittances, meager export earnings, and no tourism earnings.

Import bills, meanwhile, are skyrocketing amid high commodity and fuel prices on the global market, fueled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The foreign exchange reserve shrank by more than 30% to $970.4 million (M) in December last year, from $1.5 billion (B) in April. The reserve can only pay for 13.4 months of essential imports. The last figure for this year is not available.

In a recent interview, Finance Minister Namgay Tshering said the country’s foreign policy foreign exchange reserve would cover 14 months of essential imports. This is only two months longer than the constitutional requirement to maintain a minimum reserve to cover the cost of at least a year of essential imports.

Many countries in the region are trying to restrict the import of non-essential items to save their foreign currency reserves. Nepal has banned the import of luxury goods, including automobiles, motorbikes with a capacity of more than 150 cc, expensive cell phones (over USD 300), whiskey and tobacco, diamonds, televisions from over 32 inches, toys, cards and snacks.

The Nepalese government has also decided to introduce two public holidays – Saturday and Sunday to save the consumption of petroleum products.

Bangladesh tightened its rules for luxury and non-essential imports like sport utility vehicles, washing machines, air conditioners and refrigerators in May this year. At the end of April, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves stood at around 44 billion, which is enough to cover imports for six months.

Pakistan lifted a ban on imports of non-essential and luxury items last week. However, the ban on automobiles, cell phones and household appliances is still in effect. At one time, the government urged people to reduce their tea consumption to reduce import bills.

If Bhutan’s foreign exchange reserve situation does not improve, the country should ban the import of non-essential items, an economist has said.

Bhutan imports over 80% of its goods from India. Although Bhutan and India have an internal agreement that Bhutan can borrow Indian rupees through a standby credit facility, the country also sells convertible currency (USD) to replenish the stock of rupees .

Since 2008, the Bhutanese economy has been in trade deficit. With the country’s import bill reaching Nu90.2 billion in 2021, the trade deficit widened by 75% to Nu32.2 billion from Nu18.4 billion in 2020.

In the first six months of this year, Bhutan’s trade deficit was recorded at Nu 21.2B, more than the trade deficit of 2020. If Bhutan had not exported electricity to India during the period, the trade deficit could have reached Nu 27.3 billion.

Bhutan imported fuel worth Nu 8.4 billion in 2021. In the first six months of this year, Bhutan imported fuel worth Nu 3.4 billion.

Rice imports increased from Nu 2.4 billion in 2020 to 5.7 billion in the first six months of this year.

The country imported vehicles, aircraft and associated transport equipment worth Nu 6.3 billion in 2021. In June this year, the import bill was Nu 1.9 billion. Bhutan imported more than 5,000 vehicles between October 2021 and May 2022 – in less than seven months.

Meanwhile, Bhutan’s import of smartphones worth Nu 2.4 billion in 2021 increased to Nu 5.1 billion in the first six months of this year.

The Ministry of Finance has projected that the country’s trade deficit could rise from 7.1% in the 2020-21 fiscal year to 17.8% of gross domestic product in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs earlier this year during the pandemic ensured that the 30 essential items listed must be available in the economy.

Some of the items include liquefied petroleum gas and fuel, industrial raw materials, and raw materials for hydroelectric construction.

Intelligence agencies have recommended increasing the range of Border Security Forces (BSF) to 100 km, due to the unexpected demographic change in border areas. According to reports, the Muslim population in the border areas has increased by around 32%, well above the national average.

Based on the latest Gram Panchayats records, the Uttar Pradesh and Assam Police have sent separate reports to the Union Home Ministry outlining the demographic changes over the past ten years in the border areas of Nepal and Bangladesh.

According to reports, the Muslim population in the border districts has increased by about 32% since 2011. On the contrary, the population change across the country is between 10% and 15%. Security agencies and state police described the demographic change as highly sensitive in the context of national security. Therefore, Assam and UP recommended that the scope of jurisdiction of BSF be increased from the current 50 KM to 100 KM. If this happens, BSF will have the right to search and investigate in areas up to 100 KM from the international border.

It’s not just about population growth

Dainik Bhaskar quoted an unnamed Union Home Ministry official as saying that demographic change is not just about population increase. It could be a new conception of infiltration in India. “Therefore, keeping national security in mind, we must now make strong preparations. That is why Assam and UP security agencies have suggested increasing the scope of the BSF,” did he declare.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Interior increased the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 KM to 50 KM in October 2021. While some states opposed the increase from 15 KM to 50 KM, the UP and the ‘Assam recommended further increases.

Mosque-madrasas increased by 25% in 5 districts of UP

According to UP Police, the Muslim population has increased by more than 20% since 2011 in five districts which are Pilibhit, Kheri, Balrampur, Maharajganj and Bahraich. All these districts share borders with Nepal.

One of the biggest challenges facing the state police is determining how many new Muslim families who have settled in the area have valid documents and how many are illegal. Security agencies suspect many of these people may be illegal immigrants. There are about 1,000 villages in 5 border districts of UP. Of these, 116 have more than 50% Muslim population. About 303 villages have a Muslim population between 30% and 50%.

Not only the number of Muslims, but the number of mosques and madrasas have also increased in these districts by at least 25% from April 2018 to March 2022. According to reports, compared to 1,349 mosques and madrasas in border districts in 2018, the number stands at 1,688.

According to the police report, infiltration has been active in the border areas for a long time. Most people who come from outside are Muslims. In Assam, the Muslim population has increased by around 32% in the districts of Dhuvari, Karimganj, South Salmara and Cachar. These districts share borders with Bangladesh.

Unexpected increases in the Muslim population have been reported before

This is not the first time such reports have made headlines. In March 2022, OpIndia reported that the sudden increase in Muslim population in border districts of West Bengal has forced Hindus to migrate.

A journalist from Organizer magazine named Pranay Kumar visited few cities like New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, Islampur, Malda Town, Murshidabad etc. Villages and towns were located next to them, where he noticed a terrible demographic imbalance in these villages. Many Rohingya immigrants from Bangladesh have come to settle in these areas. This unprecedented increase in the Muslim population in specific areas of the border state of Bangladesh has forced many Hindus to migrate from these areas.

In most villages and small towns, Muslims outnumber non-Muslims. There are also large numbers of suspected Rohingya from the country bordering Bangladesh, who are deliberately pushed into villages for vote banks, although the Center identifies them as a security threat. Due to their abundance, local Hindus migrate to other cities or safer places. They flee because of organized and sponsored violence. They are terrified of the spread of violence, the journalist said.

As a result, Hindu migrants are selling their homes, farms, businesses and other assets.

In December 2021, following the notification of an increase in the jurisdiction of BSF from 15 KM to 50 KM, the DG BSF explained the reasons. BSF chief executive Pankaj Kumar Singh said a greater degree of demographic imbalance in bordering states was a key reason for the Centre’s decision.

The CEO of BSF said that over time the demographic balance in border states like West Bengal and Assam has been upset. He said a survey by the BSF confirmed the demographic changes. He said it was one of the probable reasons for the Narendra Modi government extending the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 km to 50 km in Punjab, Assam and West Bengal. The DG said India was facing large-scale infiltration. Whether in Assam or West Bengal, the demographic balance has been upset to a large extent, he said.

A similar demographic shift has also been reported in Uttarakhand and Gujarat. In 2018, BSF warned of demographic changes in the border areas of Rajasthan.

The government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is stepping up efforts to send high level teams to nearly 20 or more countries to organize international tours ahead of the planned Global Investor Summit 2023 (GIS-23).

The UP government hopes to attract investment from ₹10 lakh crore at GIS-23 to be held in Lucknow in January 2023.

“Yes, we will send five to six teams to organize road shows in 20 or more countries. In addition to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak and Ministers will lead the teams to be dispatched by October-November 2022. We will soon be developing itineraries for the teams and Ministers to lead from different departments will visit the countries of where possible, investments can be made in the sector related to their departments,” said Arvind Kumar, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Industrial Development (IIDC), Uttar Pradesh.

Kumar did not share the list of possible destinations to attract investment for the state government teams.

“At this stage, we cannot share the list of countries to visit as new destinations may be added and those currently on the list may be removed from the same in the coming weeks,” he said. .

“We are also liaising with different embassies/high commissions as the need arises,” he added.

Those familiar with the developments in the infrastructure and industrial development department have said roadshows are likely to be held in the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, UAE, Sweden, in the Netherlands, Israel, France, Germany, South Korea, Mauritius, Russia and Australia. . There are indications that advance teams of civil servants and industry representatives could be sent to prepare for visits by high-level teams of ministers. The state government is also offering to organize roadshows in major cities of India.

The Chief Minister has instructed officers from the Department of Infrastructure and Industrial Development to finalize the list of partner countries for SIG-23. Singapore has offered to be the summit’s first partner country. The Netherlands, Japan, Slovakia, Finland, Czech Republic, Mauritius, Thailand, Nepal and Belgium were the partner countries of the 2018 UP Investor Summit. The state government is also reaching out to themselves and with other potential partner countries.

“Yes, Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit-2018 had seven participating countries. Singapore has already offered to be a partner country for Global Investors Summit-23. We may have more partner countries this time,” said said Kumar.

The Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit-2018 was organized in Lucknow in February 2018. It had received proposals for ₹Investment of 4.68 lakh crore. The state government claims to have implemented investment proposals of ₹3 lakh crore so far. It has implemented investment proposals worth ₹80,000 crore at the third groundbreaking ceremony held in Lucknow in June 2022. He also appointed a consultant to make the state a trillion dollar economy in the next five years.

One expert, Professor Yashvir Tyagi, former head of the economics department at Lucknow University, said: “To achieve the goal of a trillion dollar economy over the next five years, the UP needs a big boost to invest in the state. Given the specter of recession in the United States and many other countries, potential investors are looking for profitable avenues and UP may prove to be an attractive destination for foreign direct investment. This way, it would be a win-win situation for investors and the state.

When X (name withheld on request) discovered that the Metropolitan City of Kathmandu was granting a budget of Rs 10 million to develop esports in Nepal, he was not as pleased as many had hoped.

He’s been on the scene for almost a decade and has played in nearly every national level tournament, but seeing how the media and people have blown the thing up has left him disgusted.

“You, the media and many others think this budget is a lot. Are you kidding me? Do you think a budget of Rs 1 crore will do anything to grow the esports scene? If you think it will, you’re kidding,” X says.

There are several esports tournaments in India where the prize pool for a tournament is Rs 10 million. Teams have a coach; they have regular tournaments and a developing scene. But, in Nepal, there is not much and this has led many players like X to leave the scene.

“There is no future. There is no investment. People don’t understand what esports is and where it can go if given proper attention. It’s just frustrating,” says X.

Since esports was included as a demo game in the 2018 Asian Games, the scene seems to have improved in Nepal. Gaming teams like Dota 2, Counter-Strike: GO, Pub G Mobile, and FIFA have gone overseas to compete in international tournaments. While a few did well, most of them realized how old the scene in Nepal is and how much investment is needed to improve the scene in the country if it wants to win big.

Lots of potential vs little motivation

Abhinav Shakya, 21, known as Mel in the esports community, has been playing Dota 2 competitively for seven years. Recently, he traveled to Korea and Israel to compete in the Dota 2 World Championship hosted by the International Esports Federation (IeSF). In Korea (2019), the team did quite well finishing fifth. But, in Israel (2021), things weren’t the same as they finished last.

“There is a huge quality gap between playing in Nepal and playing with the best in the world,” says Shakya. “First of all, the level of competition is low. There are only a few good teams, which means it’s very easy to win the national championship.

But when they go abroad, the dynamic changes. They face teams that go through a training camp, have a coach and, in some cases, even psychologists to help them when they doubt themselves.

“Little things like that play a major role in helping us perform well. Here in Nepal, we don’t even get prize money, which kills our motivation to play,” says Shakya.

This is the case of FIFA. Sameer Gurung is the country’s national champion. He regularly competes internationally, but says his time is coming to an end as he sees no future in the sport.

“I play with my Indian contemporaries. Our matches are always close. We’re neck and neck every time we play, but that’s where our similarities end,” says Gurung.

Its Indian counterparts compete in tournaments worth over INR 10 million. But, Gurung plays in tournaments which offer the winner less than 10,000 rupees. Even these tournaments have come to a standstill lately, which has made players like him frustrated.

“There is no motivation to keep playing. Those who play only do it because they are passionate.

The death of promises

Suraj Dangol, the president of the Nepal Esports Association (NESA), understood this well. He says, as the governing body, the association is trying to create space for esports in the country. But, due to a lack of government and private sector support, things are not easy.

“We couldn’t offer any prize money for the national tournament this year because we couldn’t find any sponsors. People promised us an amount, but they didn’t give us anything until the tournament we organized recently,” says Dangol.

Vidit Singh, also known as Dafi, is a former esports player. After competing on stage in Nepal, he decided to turn to coaching. Currently, Singh is in Bangalore coaching a Valorat team and believes Nepal has a lot to learn from India.

“India is 10 years ahead of Nepal despite its own problems. The mindset of parents in India is the same, but others in the country are doing good to support the scene because people have realized how much money there is in esports,” explains Singh.

He thinks Nepal would have been way ahead of India if the country had had a visionary to drive the sector forward.

“A lot of people quit playing games like Counter-Strike and Dota because there was no scope and most grew up and had bigger responsibilities,” Singh says.

He thinks it was time for organizations like NESA to focus on casting for these tournaments as well. Also a game streamer, Singh believes tournaments like Nationals should be accessible to everyone.

“These generate eyeballs and when there are people watching it, then the sport will automatically come,” Singh explains.

Dangol knows this and says the association is trying to do this. This year it partnered with AP1 TV and broadcast the tournament live. But, he knows there are gaps because they are learning on the job, but he promises things will get better.

PUBG promises

While almost every game is suffering in Nepal, there is one that is thriving – PubG Moblie. There are over 100 teams participating in each tournament, with most Nepalese teams dominating South Asia.

One of these teams is Haute Tension. The team regularly participates in the PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL). What started as a fun activity for most of its players has turned into a full-time profession.

High Voltage is currently in a training camp in Chabahil to prepare for the PMPL. The team has six members who receive a monthly salary. Thanks to this security, the team can concentrate and perform at their best.

“Things are easy for us, but we don’t take it for granted because we want to win things,” says Diwas Kumar Shrestha.

Training camp is for them to improve their game and work on their weakness. Shrestha says it helps a lot but thinks the scene needs government support if it is to take the next step.

“We need more LAN tournaments. We need more competitions because there is a lot of chance that this game will win Nepal something big internationally,” says Shrestha.

But, for Shakya, things are not at all similar. The Dota 2 tournament in Nepal is a rarity and if things continue like this he says he won’t play again.

“The news about Kathmandu city’s investment in esports is positive. I hope things change. If not, I will probably quit playing.

Nepal has become the world leader in tiger conservation.

The country announced today that it has 355 endangered cats within its borders, nearly tripling its known population since its estimate of 121 tigers in 2009.

At the World Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2010, the 13 countries that have tigers in the wild pledged to double their tiger numbers. Only Nepal has achieved this goal.

The country’s successes are largely the result of “strong government buy-in” for tiger conservation and the enforcement of strict anti-poaching policies, says Abishek Harihar, deputy director of the tiger program at the within the wildcat conservation group Panthera, which supported the recent campaign in Nepal. efforts to survey its Bengal tiger population.

At the start of the 20th century, more than 100,000 tigers roamed the planet, but habitat loss wiped out more than 90 percent of their range, according to Panthera. Trophy hunting and poaching for their skins and bones – used in China and elsewhere in Asia to make products such as tiger bone ‘wine’, a traditional brew that some say will grant the drinker strength of the animal, has also drastically reduced tiger populations. Today, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and southern China have no tigers in the wild. (Read how Siberian tigers are poached for their body parts.)

In Nepal, the penalty for poaching a tiger includes 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, Harihar said.

Since the 1970s, Nepal has created five national parks where most of its tigers live. They are heavily patrolled by park staff and army personnel. Tiger protections have also helped other endangered animals – rhinos, elephants and pangolins, among others.

Better sampling methods, such as camera traps, explain some of the improvements in tiger numbers in Nepal. But there has also been a real population increase, with more tigers being born, Harihar says. “Certainly, Nepal has come very close to [its tiger goals] than other countries,” he says, although India, Bhutan and Thailand have also made progress in recent years.

The tiger announcement in Nepal comes after the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s authority on the status of endangered animals, announced earlier this month that the number of tigers in the world was “stable or increasing”. Its latest count says there are between 3,726 and 5,578 wild tigers, a 40% increase from the 2015 estimate. Much of the improvement comes from better monitoring, not an increasing number of endangered animals, noted the IUCN.

Yet the progress of the tiger in Nepal comes at a price: Some critics say the focus on raising tigers is at odds with community safety. In recent years, tiger attacks on local people living around tiger habitat have increased, as has livestock predation, threatening livelihoods. Government agencies and conservationists “have not thought enough about how to keep people safe in these communities”, says Kumar Paudel, director of Greenhood Nepal, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Kathmandu.

“I am delighted to see the number of tigers,” he says, “but the cost of this conservation is really sad.”

Tiger attacks on the rise

Between July 2021 and July 2022, tigers killed 16 people in Chitwan National Park, the big cat’s main habitat, according to Babu Ram Lamichhane, a biologist at the National Trust of Nature Conservation, Nepal. In contrast, he says, in the previous five years combined, there have been 10 attacks (and resulting deaths) at the park.

Last month, a tiger attacked and injured a 41-year-old woman in Bardiya district, near one of the tiger’s largest habitat areas, while she was collecting firewood. The incident, according to Kathmandu post office, infuriated the community and people blocked the main road, demanding better wildlife protection. To disperse the demonstrators, the security forces deployed tear gas canisters and opened fire, injuring several people and killing one.

Lamichhane’s group found that tigers that injure or kill people are usually physically handicapped or without territory – they are stressed animals looking for easy prey. The increased density of tigers, he says, forces some cats to seek territory in outlying areas, where they are more likely to encounter people.

Better surveillance of these animals and rapid control, such as euthanizing the tiger, can help reduce attacks, he says, adding that moving big cats that have already attacked people is not a good solution because they can harm people elsewhere.

Most people who live around the parks still depend on the forest for their daily needs, such as wood for fuel, says Kanchan Thapa, wildlife programs manager for the World Wildlife Fund-Nepal. The government and other conservation partners should therefore focus on providing alternative livelihoods for these people, he says.

With the release of new global population figures, IUCN urged countries to continue expanding and connecting protected areas and called for increased collaboration with communities living in and around tiger habitats.

“The major issue is the human-tiger interaction,” says Paudel, adding that governments need to “think about the social cost of conservation and how we can really all share it.”

US Under Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday, according to diplomatic and government sources.

This is his second visit to Nepal since November last year and the first since the Nepalese parliament ratified the Millennium Challenge Corporation after months of controversy.

Lu is expected to meet with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Naryana Khadka.

Officials did not release further details.

Lu made headlines in Nepal in February after holding separate talks with Prime Minister Deuba, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli about the MCC.

According to officials and politicians familiar with the conversations, the message from Washington was that it would be forced to review its policy in Nepal if the MCC failed to pass parliamentary ratification.

Nepal ratified the MCC on February 27 after attaching an interpretative declaration.

The US official’s visit comes at a time when another US program – the State Partnership Program – has become a hotly debated issue in Nepal, with parties across the political spectrum calling for an end to Nepal’s partnership with the SPP.

On June 21, the government decided not to join the SPP, but the Foreign Office has yet to write a letter to the United States to that effect.

On Wednesday, the Parliament’s International Relations Committee instructed the government to brief it on the status of the SPP and why it has not yet written to the United States asking to end Nepal’s partnership in the program. .

According to the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal was accepted into the SPP in 2019 following two applications in 2015 and 2017. After this became a politically debated issue, the embassy said it was Nepal’s sovereign decision whether to be part of the SPP or not and that any country can just write a letter if they wish to terminate participation.

Several world leaders, including the presidents of Russia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, congratulated India’s new president Draupadi Murmu, who took office on July 25, and expressed their desire to work with her to strengthen the multifaceted ties of their respective countries with India.

Ms Murmu, India’s youngest president and the first to be born after independence, was sworn in on July 25. She is the country’s first tribal head of state and the second woman to hold that position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated Ms. Murmu and expressed the hope that she will further encourage productive bilateral cooperation.

“We attach great importance to the relations of a special privileged strategic partnership with India,” Putin said.

“I hope that your activities as head of state will promote the further development of Russian-Indian political dialogue and productive cooperation in various fields for the benefit of our friendly nations and in the interests of stability and ‘strengthened international security,’ he said in his July 24 message.

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed President Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated Ms Murmu, recalling the close ties between the two nations and stressing that her leadership provides “new impetus” to joint efforts to maintain and strengthen the cordial ties they enjoy.

“Your appointment to this primary responsibility in one of the greatest democracies speaks to the confidence the government and people have placed in your caliber and political acumen,” Wickremesinghe wrote in his message.

The President of Bangladesh, Mr. Abdul Hamid, said he looked forward to working with her to advance mutual interests and strive for development, peace and prosperity in the region.

He said Bangladesh-India relations are rooted in shared history and culture, mutual trust and respect, long-standing friendship and continued cooperation.

“The invaluable support of the government and people of India during our war of liberation in 1971 marked a turning point in our relationship. Today, our cooperation spans a range of areas including trade, connectivity, water resources management , energy, border management and security,” Mr. Hamid said.

Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih congratulated Ms Murmu on her “historic election”.

“His abilities and experience will undoubtedly lead India to greater heights. I look forward to furthering the close relations between the Maldives and India under his leadership,” he tweeted last week.

Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari conveyed her well wishes to Mrs. Murmu and expressed her confidence in the cooperation between the two countries which will reach new heights during her tenure.

Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted: “On behalf of the government and people of Nepal, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Smt Draupadi Murmu on his election as the 15th President of India. I am confident that the excellent bilateral relations between Nepal and India will see new heights in the days to come.”

Britain also sent its greetings to the President and expressed confidence that India-UK relations will “grow stronger” under his tenure.

Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for South Asia and the Commonwealth, took to Twitter on July 22 to send his “ badhai” in Devanagari script to the new Indian head of state. The tweet follows the former governor of Jharkhand’s confirmation as president-elect.

With outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson having now technically left office after his farewell address to Parliament last week, ahead of the election of a new Prime Minister in early September, 10 Downing Street said Lord Ahmad’s tweet from last week was the official British government. congratulatory message for the new indian president.

Ahmad is the official minister in charge of Indian affairs and sent the message in his capacity as minister for South Asia.

Recently, Sujan Babu Adhikari wrote in a group chat at the Shangrila Development Bank office: “I’m going to get my car. Those residing on the Kalanki-Baluwatar road, rest your cars for the day and jump into mine. The time and place of departure were also mentioned in the message.

His Syuchatar colleagues, Ravi Bhawan and Kalimati all reacted with a thumbs up to his message saying they agree with the plan; carpooling to get to work. So, Adhikari picked up his colleagues and with a full house, they all proceeded to the bank’s headquarters in Baluwatar. That day, in the office parking lot, there were three fewer cars.

By now, the four employees have already started carpooling or regularly commuting to the office together. “Using a single car costs much less fuel and reduces traffic on the road,” says Adhikari.

Not just them, it’s been four months since Shangrila Bank employees started sharing cars and motorbikes, leaving their seats vacant, with a few exceptions.

After fuel prices started rising in the international market, all employees, including the bank’s CEO, started carpooling. “Our car park is now more convenient for customers as well,” says Adhikari, who is also the bank’s general secretary, adding that other people can also adopt carpooling if they want to save fuel and help make traffic management easier. of Kathmandu less chaotic.

The idea born out of necessity

With the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, fuel prices skyrocketed around the world. According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, five million liters of diesel and two million liters of gasoline, collectively worth Rs 1.22 billion, are consumed daily in Nepal.

As a country like Nepal, dependent on imported fuel, is affected by the debate on reducing fuel consumption, employees of Shangrila Development Bank have also started talking about reducing the use of vehicles to essence.

But how? During a discussion, the employees spontaneously had the idea of ​​carpooling, shared cycling or carpooling, and of using a bicycle. If possible and those who live nearby can also walk on foot. Recalling that discussion four months ago, Adhikari says the small effort to save the economy and the environment by reducing fuel consumption has now become a rule in the office.

The bank is also very proactive in the effort and in all of its 19 branches in the Kathmandu Valley, it has been practicing carpooling since last April.

Now, NMB Bank will also do the same, CEO Sunil KC informs. The bank might even implement a policy for the same.

‘You ride alone, you ride with Hitler’

Carpooling was heavily practiced in major American cities after World War II, causing a severe supply crisis. It is also called carpooling, carpooling or carpooling. At that time, to promote the idea, posters reading “You ride alone, you ride with Hitler” were hung everywhere.

Subsequently, the largest and busiest cities in the world have been known to practice carpooling to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution caused by fuels, epidemics and natural disasters.

A similar exercise took place in 2010 in Tehran, the capital of oil-producing Iran. Then the population reached 8.45 million, and the number of passenger cars reached three million. Due to lack of road infrastructure development, the city had become chaotic with frequent traffic jams.

To control the traffic jam, the government implemented a fuel consumption reduction policy, but it did not succeed. Even after increasing the price of fuel, consumption did not decrease.

Then the government adopted a carpooling policy. A study found that a 30% increase in carpooling saved 240 million liters of fuel per year.

Is the Nepalese government doing something?

Recently, during a press conference organized by the Ministry of Trade and Supply to inform about the increase in fuel price and tax, Secretary Ganesh Prasad Pandey was asked, “Sir, do you drive an electric vehicle Or a gasoline vehicle?

He laughed and said, “Where to buy an electric vehicle? The government has a policy of not buying new cars.

The reporter asked again, “Shouldn’t fuel consumption reduction measures start with you?” The secretary replied, “We all have to do it together.

So far, no concrete effort has been made to reduce fuel consumption. No ministry or agency in the premises of Singhadarbar has taken initiatives such as car sharing to reduce fuel consumption.

“They fill up the gas with a coupon (given to government officials) and hit the road. That’s what happened,” said a Commerce Ministry official, adding, “Many ministers and secretaries have up to three diesel and gasoline vehicles.

The House of Commons State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, responsible for making public bodies aware and thrifty as well as leading them in times of energy crisis, is inactive. The position of committee chairman is also vacant.

Previously, the government decided to reduce fuel consumption. But, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply said that no institutional responsibility has been identified in this regard. In other words, the government has not taken measures to reduce fuel consumption.

This story has been translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length.

Chitwan National Park received a record number of visitors in the last fiscal year ending July 16, as national safari enthusiasts swarmed the jungle, happy to be free from virus restrictions.

Park spokesman Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said 190,458 thrill seekers including 155,671 Nepalese visited the park in the 2021-22 financial year.

In the financial year 2019-2020, the number of visitors was recorded at 187,109, including 44,623 Nepalese.

Tourist arrivals to Chitwan National Park, located in the Tarai Plains in south-central Nepal, have returned to pre-pandemic levels, officials said.

Foreign tourists stopped coming to Chitwan after the Covid-19 pandemic, but the number of Nepalese tourists started to increase. Park data shows that 89,441 Nepalese visited the park in the 2020-21 financial year.

“The number of domestic tourists was not so large before the coronavirus outbreak. But during the pandemic, Nepalese tourists have become the saviors of the local tourism industry, including resorts and hotels in Chitwan,” said Deepak Bhattarai, Chapter President of Hotel Association Nepal Sauraha.

Established in 1973, Chitwan National Park is the country’s first national park. Characterized by thick tropical jungle, the park is a habitat for rare wildlife like the one-horned rhinoceros and the Bengal tiger. Tourists come from all over the world to see these animals.

Tourists are also attracted by the customs and cultures of the local communities like the Tharu and Kumal residing near the protected area. Tourists visit the national park by jeep and on elephant back. Canoe trips on crocodile-infested rivers and jungle walks are also hugely popular activities.

In recent times, meetings, seminars and large conventions, including wedding ceremonies, are held in hotels around the park.

Biplap Paudel, owner of Barahi Jungle Lodge, said many large wedding receptions take place at the hotel.

Poudel said Nepali tourists were providing good deals at a time when tourists from foreign countries were stopping coming due to travel restrictions.

“It was not possible to travel abroad during the pandemic, and these high-spending Nepali tourists came to our hotel,” Paudel said.

Bhattarai said programs such as symposia, seminars and conventions were held in large numbers. There has also been an increase in the number of Indians coming to Sauraha hotels for weddings from neighboring Indian towns.

Paudel said attracting foreign tourists to Chitwan would be top of the agenda now that the pandemic has subsided.

“The promotion of Chitwan National Park to domestic tourists is going well. With the normalization of Covid-19, more foreigners will come,” Poudel said.

“Nepalese tourists may not come in large numbers, but if tour programs are created with proper planning, domestic tourists with money to spend may still come to visit the park,” he said. -he declares.

Most of the domestic tourists who come to the park enjoy elephant rides, jeeps and boat rides. Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest near Sauraha organizes both elephant safaris and boat trips.

Jit Bahadur Tamang, chairman of Baghmara Community Forest, says there are records of regular domestic tourists coming six or seven times for elephant and boat safari.

“I think new tour programs should be added to Sauraha,” Tamang said. “Domestic tourists visiting the park should be well informed about the characteristics of wildlife tourism, the importance of wild animals and their habits.”

Rishi Tiwari, chairman of the United Elephant Cooperative run by elephant herders who run elephant safaris in the community forest, says more than 150,000 domestic tourists have visited the park.

“The number of people who bought entrance tickets to visit the park has increased. There are other places in Sauraha that don’t require tickets, and they also attract more tourists,” Tiwari said.

“There are other places in Sauraha where you don’t need an entry ticket,” Tiwari said. “Over 200,000 domestic tourists visit Sauraha every year.”

Tiwari, who is also a hotelier, says there is a need to offer new programs in addition to the usual jungle safaris and tribal dances by studying the interest of domestic tourists.

“Nepalese are interested in nightlife. But that’s not Sauraha’s specialty, and something has to be done about it,” Tiwari said.

Although the spending habits of Nepalese and foreign tourists are roughly the same, insiders say government revenue and foreign exchange earnings will only increase if foreign tourists come. Tax rates for domestic and foreign tourists are very different.

Chitwan National Park achieved a turnover of Rs 294 million in the financial year 2019-2020. But in the last financial year, even with the record number of tourists, the park earned only about 115 million rupees, insiders said. Revenues plunged due to lower numbers of foreign tourist arrivals.

“It’s good that the number of domestic tourists is increasing, but foreign tourists are important for generating revenue,” Bhattarai said. “Future tourism plans should be developed with these elements in mind. Government, hotel associations and tourism professionals should bear this in mind.”

NEW DELHI – India’s Supreme Court has granted bail to Mohammed Zubair, a prominent fact-checker and journalist who shed light on ruling party spokesman Nupur Sharma’s controversial comments against the Prophet Muhammad (as ).

The high court on Wednesday ordered that Zubair be immediately released from jail, saying there was no justification for keeping him in custody.

Since his arrest in late June following a tweet, Zubair had spent most of his time shuttling between prisons and courts.

He was moved by police in and out of a courtroom in Delhi and then, as new charges piled up against him, he was taken to a remote town on the Indo-Nepal border for investigation.

Delhi police arrested him on June 27 for a 2018 tweet for “insulting Hindu religious beliefs”. They later cited other charges against him, including criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and receipt of foreign funds.

A few days later, police in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the north of the country took him into custody. They accused him of using an ‘offensive term – hatemongers’ to describe three Hindu religious leaders who were seen in videos engaging in hate speech, inciting violence against Muslims or threatening to violate Muslim women. On July 8, the Supreme Court granted him a five-day provisional release in this case after learning that he was the subject of death threats. The high court then extended his bail on July 12 and said a final hearing into the police complaint against him would be held on September 7.

On July 15, a Delhi court also granted him bail in the original case for which Delhi police arrested him. But he was still in custody due to the half-dozen cases brought against him by Uttar Pradesh police.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered Uttar Pradesh police to bludgeon all complaints against Zubair and transfer them to Delhi police.

A telecommunications engineer based in the southern city of Bangalore, Zubair co-founded Alt News in 2017 with former software engineer Pratik Sinha to fight fake news.

Over the past five years, the website has played a key role in debunking claims that spread misinformation about religion, caste and unscientific myths.

With more than 3,000 articles that have been viewed more than 60 million times, Alt News has been in the crosshairs of the government since its creation in 2017, particularly because of its focus on fake videos and messages that target the minority Muslim community. from India.

A digital forensics expert, Zubair is known for tracking down the origins of unknown images and videos that are often distorted on social media and even mainstream media.

It’s unenviable work – hours spent sifting through photographs and videos of hate, violence, lies and propaganda.

Recently, he also began overseeing “UnHate” – a new Alt News project that documents hate speech.

Described as “a very determined and dedicated man” by those who know him, Mr Zubair is a prolific tweeter with over half a million followers and is regularly trolled and abused by accounts claiming to be Hindu nationalists.

Days before his arrest, he posted emails from Twitter saying some of his tweets criticizing Islamophobic comments by Hindu leaders were ‘withheld’ – meaning they cannot be seen in India – at the request law enforcement authorities.

In court, Zubair said he was arrested because of his work and because he is a Muslim.

Supreme Court lawyer Colin Gonsalves, who represented Zubair in the highest court, told the BBC there was no case against the fact-checker and that he “is a thorn in the side of the government because it single-handedly tackles hate crimes”.

Police said they were also investigating questionable foreign remittances to his bank account – an allegation he denied.

Opposition leaders, journalists and activists criticized Zubair’s arrest, saying he was being harassed for constantly speaking out against religious bigots and hate mongers.

The timing of her arrest, critics pointed out, was linked to her widely shared tweet which highlighted Ms Sharma’s comments during a televised debate in late May.

His remarks infuriated Indian Muslims and placed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in a diplomatic predicament as several Muslim countries protested vigorously against India.

As calls grew for Ms Sharma’s arrest, the BJP dropped her as spokesperson, she went into hiding and police said they had stepped up security.

But Ms Sharma’s supporters on social media quickly began calling for Zubair’s arrest after she accused him of ‘inciting hatred against’ her, which had earned her ‘threats of rape and death” on Twitter.

Hashtags such as #arrestzubair started to become popular and exactly a month later Delhi police called him for questioning over a photo he had posted of a man accused of assault.

As the photograph showed a child sitting next to the man, police said it could be a case under the strict Child Sexual Harassment Act, POCSO. But the photograph of the child had been blurred as required by law.

Police later arrested him for a four-year-old tweet, commenting on a photograph of a hotel sign, changed from “Honeymoon Hotel” to “Hanuman Hotel”.

The complaint against him came from an anonymous Twitter account called Hanuman Bhakt, meaning worshiper of the monkey god Hanuman, which called Zubair’s tweet a “direct insult” to Hindus.

The anonymous account, created last October, had only one subscriber at the time of the complaint to the police. Following the police complaint, it was deactivated, but has now been relaunched and has over 2,240 subscribers.

Many have also questioned the motive for the arrest after learning that the photo was actually a screenshot from a 1983 Bollywood comedy by acclaimed director Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

In an editorial titled Theater of the Absurd, The Hindu newspaper wrote that Mr Zubair “was forced to pay for bringing wide attention to Ms Sharma’s despicable remarks” and described him as an example of “the intolerance and characteristic government resentment of fact-checkers”. who frequently expose his claims”.

International rights groups and the United Nations have also expressed concern over the arrest – a spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres recently said that “journalists should not be imprisoned for what ‘they write, tweet and say’.

Germany also weighed in on the issue – a Foreign Office spokesman said “journalists should not be persecuted and imprisoned for what they say and write”. India responded by saying that the matter was pending in court and that such “ill-informed comments are unnecessary and should be avoided”.

Critics say Mr Zubair was the latest in a long list of arrests of India’s best-known activists, intellectuals and journalists and point to India’s plummeting ranking in the World Health Index freedom of press. A recent report said that “pressure has grown on the media to toe the line of the Hindu nationalist government” and that “journalists who do not are being arrested and imprisoned”.

“Mr. Zubair should receive a medal for his service to the nation. Instead, he was imprisoned,” Mr. Gonsalves said. “His determination shows that one person can cause so much consternation to the hatemongers, imagine if there were 10 like him out there? Then the hatemongers would have nowhere to run.” —BBC

“He used to say, ’24 hours [in a day] not enough for me! »

Bibhuti Ghimire’s voice cracks as she describes her father, a highly respected pilot in Nepal and a multi-talented man with a flair for music, who would get bored playing the piano and switch to the harmonium. “And he liked to fly.”

At 9:55 a.m. on Sunday May 29, Captain Prabhakar Prasad Ghimire took off aboard a Canadian-made DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, operated by Tara Air, for what would be his final flight. After waiting more than three hours for conditions to clear up, he was only 12 minutes into the flight, from Pokhara to Jomsom, when all contact was lost.

The aircraft had turned into the mountainside at approximately 14,500 feet. Ghimire, the two crew members and the 19 passengers perished. It took more than two days for search and rescue teams to locate all the bodies, with efforts hampered by bad weather.

The crash has again brought to light Nepal’s poor aviation safety record, especially for its domestic services. It was the 104th non-military disaster since 1955 and the seventh for an airline along this route in the past 30 years. Previous disasters have since 2013 prompted an EU ban on Nepalese airliners, and May’s crash has led to renewed calls for the government to spend more to protect domestic travellers.

“We can do more,” insists Ashok Pokharel, president of the Nepalese Association of Tour Operators. “For example, older planes don’t have modern weather radars. This could be mandatory so that the captain has real-time weather information about what he is flying towards.

The plane that Ghimire piloted made its first flight in 1979. It was not equipped with GPS technology which could have been used by the pilot in poor visibility and could possibly have saved lives.

“We cannot afford to continue flying planes that are 43 years old,” says Captain Bed Upreti, himself a very experienced pilot.

The majority of fixed-wing accidents in Nepal occur with short take-off and landing (Stol) aircraft. These planes go to hard-to-reach places, such as Jomsom or Lukla, a popular starting point for visitors to Mount Everest.

“Especially if it’s Stol aircraft, the technology, or lack thereof, is dangerous to fly in a place like Nepal,” Upreti says.

Questions are being asked whether pilots involved in crashes in Nepal at low altitude have the information and technology to avoid making mistakes, before and during flights.

“We are unable to provide the operational meteorological service required for domestic flights that operate below 10,000 feet,” says Dr. Archana Shrestha, senior Nepal government meteorologist.

Significant investment has been made in weather observation and forecasting for international travel at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal. However, progress in domestic services has been lacking, with pilots often relying on observations from airport weather stations.

“Government needs to spend more on aviation meteorological institutional development and service delivery, as well as airport construction,” says Shrestha.

Ghimire’s family and colleagues were shocked by the manner in which he died.

“He was known as the pilot who would never fly in bad circumstances. He would cancel the flight, despite the losses the airline would incur,” says his daughter.

The plane he was flying went down during the pre-monsoon season, when cloud formations can quickly engulf mountainsides and, combined with unpredictable changes in wind and atmospheric pressure, make the route even more dangerous. Usually there is only a short window, first thing in the morning, when it is safe to fly.

There is a feeling in Nepal that, given the forces of nature in the region, such disasters may be unavoidable.

In September, once the monsoon is over, the country is expected to open up to tourists for its busiest season in years, following the lifting of Covid restrictions. Around the same time, the May 29 crash investigation report is expected to be released. Whatever the findings, the question remains whether Nepal’s domestic air services are ready to keep passengers and crew safe, especially as tour operators seek to make up for lost time.

“We just hope that through this accident lessons will be learned so that it never happens again,” says Bibhuti Ghimire.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said it would not make any statement on the crash until the report’s findings are released.

A new outbreak of Covid cases in Nepal recalled that the pandemic is not over yet, and on the need to wear a mask, avoid crowds and get vaccinated.

Hospitals have not reported an increase in admissions and no deaths from Covid have been reported since March. But highly transmissible new substrains such as BA.4 and BA.5 have also been detected in Nepal, as elsewhere in the world.

“For the most part, people who have been fully vaccinated are unlikely to get very sick from the new strains, there has been no real increase in hospitalizations,” confirms Sher Bahadur Pun, virologist at the Teku Hospital in Kathmandu.

The fact that the new substrains are all Omicron variants means that unlike the Deadly Delta variant, they mainly infect the upper respiratory tract and not the lungs. Delta was responsible for millions of deaths in India in 2021 and killed at least 8,000 people in Nepal as hospitals ran out of oxygen and vaccines were delayed.

But with 82% of the eligible population now fully vaccinated, Nepalis are now better protected against serious diseases. But the virus is still mutating and scientists are engaged in a game of cat and mouse to stay ahead of new strains.

“Covid-19 has turned out to be even trickier than we thought. It is clearly still widespread and can be life-threatening,” warns Buddha Basnyat, a physician at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “This is not the end of the Covid story.”

This does not mean that the current push is a new wave. Although each new Omicron sub-line is more contagious, it is also gentler. This is good news, but asymptomatic infected people are also spreading the virus more widely.

While active cases are on the rise in Nepal, hospitalizations are not, and those infected could put the elderly and those with comorbidities at risk at home or at work.

Studies abroad have shown that up to half of people infected with the new substrains are asymptomatic. As people travel more this summer and lose their masks, the BA.5 and other variants are infect and re-infect even those who are vaccinated.

“We must continue to vaccinate and do a booster, especially those who have not even received their first vaccine. This may also be the time to start thinking about a fourth dose for vulnerable populations,” says Buddha Basnyat.

Because “immune evasion” puts even more people who have had Covid-19 at risk of reinfection, scientists are trying to improve the vaccine effectiveness as they try to track the mutations of the coronavirus.

“Eventually, Covid-19 will be like the seasonal flu, and maybe we will have vaccines for different strains,” says Sher Bahadur Pun of Teku.

BA.4 and BA.5 were first observed in South Africa and are currently the dominant strains in Nepal. This is surprising as it was the BA.2.75 that swept through India last month, and the surge is now peaking there. Whatever happens in India arrives in Nepal with a delay of two weeks, say the experts, and predict that the same scenario could play out here with the current surge.

“New strains and mutations are nothing out of the ordinary, but we need to keep masking and vaccinating. As for the new surge, it is peaking right now and it will have subsided by the end of July,” predicts Sameer Dixit of the Center for Molecular Dynamics.

The Center is leading the sequencing of the Covid-19 gene in Nepal, and it has worked with the Nepal Health Research Council, Birat Nepal Medical Trust, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Oxford to study 1,800 Covid-19 samples collected from across Nepal. over the past year. . The results will be published soon and could reinforce the importance of genetic sequencing in Nepal so that scientists can predict the behavior of the next variant.

Nepal is also part of the largest Covid-19 recovery study, currently underway in the UK, which has led to important findings including the use of certain steroids in the treatment of coronavirus disease.

But the fact that the new strains are milder doesn’t overlook the inherent correlation between health and economy. Even the best health care systems can collapse, as seen in Sri Lanka. In addition, we now have record inflation caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which made health care even more unaffordable for most Nepalese.

“Nepal, with its limited resources and the indifference of the government, must be even better prepared for a health crisis, which often spells disaster for those who cannot afford treatment”, warns the epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa.

She adds, “The new push may seem light, but it’s always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”

India’s central bank this week introduced a new mechanism for settling international trade in rupees, aimed at promoting exports and facilitating imports.

Besides promoting the international use of the local currency, many exporters and economists see the move as a way to promote trade with countries under Western sanctions, such as Russia and Iran.

Moscow has discussed with India, Iran, Egypt and other countries ways to withdraw dollars and euros from trade transactions.

Here are the key facts regarding India‘s plans for the settlement of international rupee trade.

HOW WILL THE SYSTEM WORK?
To settle international trade transactions in rupees, a foreign bank will need to open a vostro account – an account that a correspondent bank holds on behalf of another bank – with a licensed Indian bank. Indian banks would need prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India to act as correspondent banks. Indian importers of goods or commodities such as oil or coal would make payments to these accounts in rupees. The accounts could then be used to pay Indian exporters in the local currency. Surplus from vostro accounts could be used for investing in government bonds and payment for projects and investments, the RBI said.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE LIKELY TO USE THE NEW MODEL?
Exporters’ bodies said the RBI’s decision would help support trade with countries under sanctions, mainly Russia and Iran, and with African and South American countries – and neighboring Sri Lanka – which have little access to hard currency. The RBI however did not explicitly name the countries for which a new mechanism could be used. Exporters have lobbied the Indian government to set up such a mechanism, modeled on an earlier system introduced in 2012 to trade with Iran after the United States and other Western countries imposed sanctions. financial.

EXCHANGE RATE
The exchange rate between the Indian currency and those of trading partners will be determined by the market and settlement will be in rupees. Banks will be allowed to provide letters of credit, bank guarantees and offer advance payments to exporters for commercial transactions.

CURRENT PAYMENT SYSTEM
Currently, international transactions are mostly settled in foreign currencies, such as the US dollar, British pound, euro or yen. Payments in rupees are only allowed for certain neighboring countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan. Indian companies usually pay for imports in foreign currencies, while exporters are paid in foreign currencies and convert to rupees in most cases.

IMPACT ON TRADE WITH SANCTIONED COUNTRIES
Traders have welcomed the new mechanism, which they hope will increase exports of engineering, pharmaceuticals and food grains to Russia and some other countries by at least a few billion dollars this year, while making cheaper crude oil imports. Some commodity traders said they are in contact with buyers in Russia and expect to use the mechanism in the coming days. India’s exports to Iran nearly doubled after a partial rupee swap settlement was introduced in 2012 as it stocked up on cheap oil.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR INDIA?
The RBI’s move could slightly reduce India’s growing trade deficit by reducing the price of commodity imports, analysts said, noting that crude oil imports from Russia have been rising in recent months. But government officials said India would proceed with caution on the internationalization of the local currency given the associated risks to the economy, such as high exposure to global shocks, asset bubbles and volatility. foreign exchange rates.

Kathmandu, July 10 (IANS): Liu Jianchao, the new head of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) International Liaison Department, arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday at a time when reunification talks are currently underway between Nepal’s main communist parties.

Beijing had backed unity between two communist forces in 2017 which gave communist Nepali Nepal a landslide election victory.

The two main communist parties, the CPN (UML) and the CPN (Maoist Centre), formed the Communist Party of Nepal and nearly two-thirds majority government in 2018.

But a Supreme Court verdict in March 2018 nullified the unity between the two parties and they separated and reorganized the same old party.

This time again ahead of the proposed November 18 elections, China sent one of its senior diplomats to Kathmandu in a bid to push for a similar kind of unity between major communist parties like the UML led by the UML. former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. and the Maoist Center headed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The six-member Chinese delegation will meet President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, as well as Oli and Dahal among the Communist leaders, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The meeting with Deuba and Khadka will take place on Sunday.

Apparently, the Chinese suspect the outgoing Deuba government of bowing with the US and the West, as it has accepted and ratified the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s $500 million Nepal Compact.

Beijing had strongly opposed Nepal’s decision to ratify the MCC, saying it was an attempt to curb Beijing’s rise in Kathmandu.

Later, the Deuba government strongly supported Ukraine, which also raised suspicions in Beijing.

So far, China has maintained its neutrality in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Beijing’s concerns grew further after the United States offered the Himalayan nation to sign the State Partnership Program (SPP), which offered various types of military and defense support to the Nepalese army.

After huge controversy and uproar, the Nepalese government decided not to join the SPP, a move welcomed by Beijing.

Liu’s visit to Nepal is his first overseas trip since he took over as head of the CCP’s international liaison department in June.

According to the party leaders, the talks between the two sides will also focus on Nepal-China relations, strengthening inter-party relations, accelerating China-funded projects, among others.

By Lieutenant General Shokin Chauhan

“If China succeeds in replacing India as Nepal’s key economic and security partner…it would have crossed the Himalayan borders that separate the Indian mainland from China.” Shashank Shukla

Historical perspective

Nepal’s relationship with China’s first recorded official engagement dates back to the mid-seventh century, when Nepal’s armed incursions into Tibet led to Chinese intervention favoring the latter. This culminated in the signing of the Sino-Nepalese Treaty of 1792, which provided for a Nepalese tributary mission to China every five years, a symbol of China’s political and economic supremacy in the region.

Tibet was the focal point of their on-and-off relationship for many years until 1814-16, when British India entered as another significant contender for Nepalese loyalty. In the First Anglo-Nepal War of 1814, China refused to come to Nepal’s aid and voluntarily ceded its dominant position in Nepal to growing British influence in the region.

The Chinese addressed the king of Nepal with the title “Wang”. China seemed to use this title for the Nepalese monarch since they considered him a vassal of the Chinese Empire. The first treaty between Nepal and Tibet dates back to 1789, when Tibet, defeated by Nepal, agreed to pay an annual tribute to Nepal. In 1791, Nepal again invaded Tibet, but this resulted in a Ch’ing victory over Nepal in 1792, forcing Nepal to pay a continual five-year tribute to China. The treaty required the Nepalese to send diplomatic missions with gifts to the Manchurian Emperor every five years. This tribute was viewed differently by the Prime Minister of Nepal, Chandra Shum Shere (1863–1929), while clarifying this matter in his letters to the British resident in Nepal, John Manners Smith. He said this “tribute” was a simple exchange of gifts between two independent countries. “We have always considered our relations with China to be long-standing, simple, friendly and innocent in nature. This country’s missions in China were embassies from one court to another, which were invariably treated with the honor and consideration due to foreign guests of honor”.

China’s main interest in Nepal

China’s primary interest in Nepal has always been guided by its concerns over Tibet, which China has ruled since 1950. Beijing’s involvement with Nepal intensified much after the March 2008 Tibetan ethnic uprising. against Chinese rule, which deeply embarrassed the Chinese government on the eve. of its 2008 Olympics. An estimated 25,000 Tibetans live in Nepal, but with China pushing Nepal to tighten its border with Tibet, the number of new refugees reaching Nepal has dropped to a trickle from the previous annual figure about 2,500. China has also placed more emphasis on economic ties, with trade between China and Nepal quadrupling since 2003.

Nepal, on the other hand, has always looked to either China or India, depending on what it sees as crucial for its survival at that time, given its delicate position wedged between the two Asian superpowers. Maintaining a balanced relationship with China remains Nepal’s key and critical element in its “China” foreign policy.

When India gained independence in 1947, the vacuum created in the power equation after Britain’s departure sought to be filled by India trying to emerge as Asia’s premier power. from South. This resulted in the initiation of two binding treaties with Nepal, firstly the Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950, and secondly, the Trade and Transit Treaty. These treaties served as the basis for the initiation of bilateral relations between a newly independent India and Nepal and resulted in the articulation of the identification of too many cultural and historical similarities between the two nations, which although well intentioned , have created suspicion in the minds of the Nepalese. politicians about India’s long-term intentions. They also felt that these treaties reminded them of their perception of their inferior status vis-à-vis India.

Subsequently, a series of events including the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation in 1971, the Indo-Pakistani War and the establishment of Bangladesh, the merger of Sikkim into India in 1974 and later, India’s unofficial support for the political opposition in Nepal and finally the beginning of the Naxalite movement along the Indo-Nepal border”, in the Siliguri and Naxalbari regions of West Bengal, caused apprehension in the mind of the King of Nepal and his coterie of advisers, who believed that the overflow of this Naxalite movement could lead to a bigger problem in Nepal, given the great disparity in living standards among the Nepalese. Later, India’s nuclear explosion in 1974 and its decision to emerge as a declared nuclear power added to Nepal’s discomfiture and fueled its insecurity about the impact of India’s growing stature in as a regional power and to its intentions towards Nepal.

It is in this context that Nepal has restarted and reshaped its ties with China as a possible counterweight to India. Certain international events also influenced this decision to return to China; most significant was India’s defeat in the Indochinese Border War in 1962 and the beginning of an aggressive Chinese stance regarding continued disputed border claims with India. This event caused alarm within the Nepalese power and political structures, which felt that China would do the same to them sooner or later if it was not influenced now. Moreover, this insecurity of Nepal has also pushed China to start thinking about consolidating its presence in Nepal. He felt that it would be reasonably easy to support the Nepalese power structure against India if and when the need arose, given Nepal’s insecurity and apprehensions.

Nepal’s relationship with China is needs-based and practical. It lacks the warmth and depth of Indo-Nepalese relations, however imperfect. It is clear from the past that both China and Nepal are inclined to distance themselves whenever circumstances change and the power situation demands it. On the other hand, India and Nepal share a deep and enduring relationship cemented by a common history and culture.

(This is Part 1 of the article. The author, a veteran soldier, is a second generation officer of the 11th Gorkha Rifles and served in the Indian Army for almost 40 years. He was the former Chief Executive of Assam Rifles and was later appointed Chairman of the Ceasefire Monitoring Group located in Kohima where he was tasked with bringing the various insurgent groups to agree to an ongoing ceasefire with the government Indian. The views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online.)

Last week’s crackdown by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City against a couple selling grilled corn on the sidewalk has once again put the civic police in the spotlight and raised questions about street vending and its regulation.

Friday, in a widely circulated video clip on Twitter, we see the municipal police brawling with the couple, snatching a cart full of corn from them. Despite the couple’s resistance, the police loaded the cart onto a municipal truck and drove off. The incident took place in Baluwatar in the capital.

The couple – Chetendra Acharya and his wife Sita – said they had been selling grilled maize in Baluwatar for 15 years.

The police and city administration drew widespread criticism following the incident. Critics called the incident “idiotand “inhumane” on the part of the municipal administration.

However, this is not the first time that the municipal police have cracked down on street vendors.

City police chief Dhanapati Sapkota said Friday’s incident is not an isolated case and they are confiscating 20 such carts from roadsides daily.

“This is just one example,” Sapkota told the Post, claiming the couple engaged in “illegal activity.”

After receiving criticism for the incident, KMC police said Sunday they would take further action against the couple.

However, it is unclear whether such crackdowns by municipal police are legal.

Article 11 of Law 2074 (2017) on the functioning of local government empowers the municipal police for the implementation of the law and policies of the city. The law also allows municipal police to carry out “surveillance” and “management” of local markets and parking lots, and to protect public land and property. The law, however, does not mention the degree of force police can use when detaining street vendors and their wares.

Basanta Acharya, information officer at the city, said the 13th municipal assembly of the city administration decided to ban people from doing business on the sidewalks.

“I guess the city police tried to implement this and the Baluwatar incident happened,” Acharya said.

Following the incident, the couple alleged that some city staff asked them for bribes – a sum of Rs 5,000 – to enable them to run their business. Acharya said there will be an internal investigation into the allegations.

“But our attention has been drawn to the issue of child abuse,” said Acharya, who is also a former head of the city’s legal division. “We will also investigate whether there is any sort of corruption or financial transaction between the municipal police and the vendors after consulting with the mayor.”

Urban planners and experts say street vending is a “global phenomenon” and authorities should focus on regulating vendors rather than violently attacking and driving them out.

In Nepal, tens of thousands of workers in the informal economy face challenges and difficulties because the government does not regulate street vending. There is no safety net for many in the informal sector, especially in urban areas.

Nearly half of the business establishments operating in Nepal are unregistered and considered informal businesses, according to the Analytical Report on the Informal Sector released by the Central Bureau of Statistics last year.

Of the 923,027 business establishments in the country, 34,101 (3.7%) were street businesses. Of the 3.23 million people employed in the country, 45,330 people were engaged in such enterprises.

Street vending is a livelihood for tens of thousands of people across the country. The vendors not only lead a difficult life, but they face repeated crackdowns and restrictions from hostile city officials for encroaching on the sidewalk and obstructing pedestrians.

According to the Street Vendors Union, there are more than 10,000 street vendors in Kathmandu. The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have severely affected their livelihoods. During the pandemic, vendors had shared that they had been harassed by the city office accusing them of spreading the virus, and they had been forced to close their businesses ahead of festival season.

City planners say the city should not harm people who work in the informal sector as they are major contributors to the city economy. They say he should cooperate with them for their relocation instead.

Kishore Thapa, an urban planner and former government secretary, said that since thousands of people live from street vending, the city administration should adopt a more sustainable approach.

“The way the municipal police mishandled the sales couple was inhumane,” he said. “The municipality should find a way out through consultation and dialogue to manage street sales. It should come up with separate rules to regulate street vendors.

After Friday’s incident, Kathmandu’s new mayor, Balendra Shah, also found himself in the eye of the storm for ignoring the plight of the poor. Shah, a rapper and structural engineer who introduced himself as a freelancer, was known for singing politically charged lyrics, often about the plight of the poor.

After Bidya Sundar Shakya’s much-criticized tenure as mayor, Shah’s election had raised hopes with people expecting him to do “much better”. However, he inherited many files from his predecessor, including waste management.

As the new mayor struggles to solve the perennial garbage problem that simply cannot be solved overnight, the crackdown on street vendors has raised questions about his intentions.

The couple were roughed up the same day the KMC issued a notice to make Kathmandu a city without beggars, a plan which experts say needs a well-thought-out approach to execute.

The feud between street vendors in Kathmandu and the authorities goes back more than a decade. Over the years, the authorities have also made many recommendations and promises to deal with street vendors in the city. None of them have been implemented.

Ten years ago, the government formed a committee to relocate street vendors from Khula Manch, Tinkune, Kalanki and Balaju regions. The committee’s recommendations were not implemented and street vendors continued to run their businesses where they found it convenient, preferably in busy places.

Then in 2014, Bamdev Gautam, the interior minister at the time, issued an order to evict all street vendors, but the latter refused to back down.

Shakya, after his election as mayor of Kathmandu in 2017, promised to solve the problem of street vendors with better relocation options, but he did little.

Experts say KMC officials should develop a long-term plan for how they can make the capital more livable rather than making knee-jerk reactions.

“It is true that the mayor’s first priority is to maintain law and order in the city,” said Thapa, the city planner. “But he should also think about a long and sustainable management of the street vending.”

Thapa cited examples of the world’s most developed cities where street vendors do their business without impeding the movement of others.

“The City may designate a specific location and time for vendors to conduct their business,” he said. “For example, it can introduce Sunday or Saturday markets or holiday markets in specific locations at specific times. If it were regulated and continued for a year, it would become a habit for everyone.