Thursday, December 31, 2020

Responsibility on NC’s shoulders, says Singh

CHITWAN, DECEMBER 31

Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh has said the Nepali Congress should behave in a responsible manner at this critical political situation.

Speaking at an interaction organised by NC district committee on the occasion of the 45th National Reconciliation Day here today, Singh, who is also former deputy prime minister, argued that it was time to work for political stability.

He said that the NC should be responsible towards ending the current political instability.

Singh further said the NC should play a decisive role to lead the nation during the time of political turmoil. “It is the time to stand together to implement the constitution promulgated under the leadership of the Nepali Congress,” he added. The NC is marking the National Unity and Reconciliation Day commemorating the return of the party’s founding President BP Koirala from a long exile in neighbouring India on the same day.

Similarly, NC central member Badri Pande charged that the communist regime was derailing the state. He said, “NC accepts constitutional election but not unconstitutional.”

NC District President Jit Narayan Shrestha, among other leaders, pointed out the need of national unity in this critical time.

 

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NOC saves Rs 1.5bn

KATHMANDU: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has saved Rs 1.5 billion by importing fuel through Motihari-Amlekhgunj Petroleum Pipeline, which was brought into operation last year.

As per the annual financial report of the last fiscal made public by the corporation, Rs. 1.47 billion was saved in transport cost in the 10 months from August 2019 to July 2020.

According to the report, Rs 147 million was saved per month by transporting fuel through the pipeline. MAPP is the first cross-border petroleum pipeline of South Asia that is 69 km long and runs from Motihari of India to Amlekhgunj of Nepal.

Meanwhile, at 3:10pm on Thursday, the Indian Oil Corporation crossed the milestone of supplying 100 million litres of diesel in a single month for the first time via the pipeline.

 

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California passes 25,000 deaths, finds 3 more variant cases

LOS ANGELES: California surpassed 25,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic and officials disclosed Thursday that three more cases involving a mutant variant of the virus have been confirmed in San Diego County.

The grim developments came as an ongoing surge swamps hospitals and pushes nurses and doctors to the breaking point as they brace for another likely increase after the holidays.

“We’re exhausted and it’s the calm before the storm,” said Jahmaal Willis, a nurse and emergency room leader at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley. “It’s like we’re fighting a war, a never-ending war, and we’re running out of ammo. We have to get it together before the next fight.”

Public health officials continued to plead with residents just hours before the start of 2021 not to gather for New Year’s Eve celebrations.

In Los Angeles County, where an average of six people die every hour from COVID-19, the Department of Public Health tweeted out snippets every 10 minutes on lives that have been lost.

“The hair stylist who worked for 20 years to finally open her own shop.”

“A grandmother who loved to sing to her grandchildren.”

“The bus driver who put her daughter through college and was beaming with pride.”

The tweets, which included messages to wear a mask, physically distance, stay home and “Slow the spread. Save a life,” came on a day when the county reported a record 290 deaths. That would be a rate of one death every five minutes, though it included a backlog.

Los Angeles County, which has a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents, has had 40% of the deaths in California, the third state to reach the 25,000 death count. New York has had nearly 38,000 deaths, and Texas has had more than 27,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Infections are spreading rapidly. San Diego County confirmed Thursday that it had found a total of four cases of the virus variant that appears to be more contagious. A 30-year-old man tested positive for the variant on Wednesday and three more men — two in their 40s and one in his 50s — also have been confirmed to have the strain. Other cases involving the variant have been confirmed in Florida and Colorado.

At least two of the men in San Diego County hadn’t traveled outside of the country and none had “any known interaction with each other,” the county said. Officials believed many more cases will surface.

San Diego County also reported a record high number of new deaths in a single day at 62, well over the previous record of 39 reported only a week earlier.

Hospitals, particularly in Southern California and the agricultural San Joaquin Valley in the middle of the state, have been overrun with virus patients and don’t have any more intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients.

In Los Angeles County, hospitals have been pushed “to the brink of catastrophe,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, health services director. “This is simply not sustainable. Not just for our hospitals, for our entire health system.”

Cathy Chidester, director of the county’s Emergency Medical Services Agency, said hospitals are facing problems with oxygen with so many COVID-19 patients needing it because they are struggling to breathe. Older hospitals are having difficulty maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure and some are scrambling to locate additional oxygen tanks for discharged patients to take home.

Ambulances are being forced to wait in bays as long as eight hours before they can transfer patients inside hospitals — and in some cases, doctors are treating patients inside ambulances, she said.

At Providence St. Mary Medical Center, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, there is a cacophany of alarms that sound when a patient’s heart stops and a constant hiss from the oxygen keeping so many alive, Willis said. The hospital has filled the triage area with beds and is assessing new arrivals in the parking lot. Three dozen patients were waiting to be admitted.

“We’re overflowing,” Willis said. “We’re treating patients in chairs, we’re treating patients in the hallways.”

In Santa Clara County, home to Silicon Valley, only 8% of ICU beds were available, which is better than many places. Hospitals are still “stretched to the limit,” said Dr. Ahmad Kamal, county director of healthcare preparedness.

Two months ago, the county had 4.5 cases per 100,000 people. Now it has 50 cases per 100,000.

“What we are seeing now is not normal,” Kamal said. “It is an order of magnitude more than we saw just two months ago. We are not out of the woods. We are in the thick of the woods. And we all need to redouble our efforts.”

Kamal said the one bit of good news was that hospitals hadn’t felt the additional pressure of new cases after Christmas that they did after Thanksgiving, which has led to the current surge.

But public health officials fear a double-whammy from people who gathered at Christmas and New Year’s will create a surge upon a surge. They made their final pleas to persuade people to stay home on what is typically one of the biggest party nights of the year.

“We recognize the temptation and the frustration,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “You may simply want to stray for one night to celebrate with friends. However, all it takes is one slip to have one exposure and the coronavirus has found another host, another victim, and our dangerous surge continues.”

Most of the state is under a 10 p.m. curfew and newly extended restrictions that have closed or reduced capacity of businesses. People people are being urged to stay home as much as possible to try to slow the spread of infections.

Police in Los Angeles will be patrolling streets and looking to shut down large New Year’s Eve gatherings, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued an executive order directing stricter enforcement of state and local public health rules.

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Onion price expected to drop in 2021

Nepali consumers left teary-eyed this year due to soaring price of onions can expect some respite in the coming days as India is resuming the export of the kitchen staple from January 1.

The southern neighbour — the main source of onions for the local market — had imposed a ban on export of the commodity from September 14 export drop in its production. Since then, the local traders had increased the price of onions.

Currently onions are being sold in the retail market at the rate of around Rs 120 to Rs 130 per kg. Once the Indian onions begin to arrive in the market its price will go down gradually, said Khom Prasad Ghimire, a vegetable trader of Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market.

“After India banned onion export, retailers increased its price and it has remained same till date,” he said.

Even though India had not formally lifted the ban on export of onions, the vegetable was being imported legally through the customs. Nevertheless, due to lack of sufficient supply, the price of Indian onions had gone up in the local market. Moreover, as its price had also increased in India, the imports of onion from China had also gone up a bit.

Ghimire said that the situation will now change as the seasonal onions will start arriving in the market.

Amid this, Vegetable Crops Development Centre has started distributing onion sets to the farmers from this week.

According to the centre, around 1.5 million onion sets will be distributed to the farmers. In the first phase, distribution has started from Kathmandu valley and nearby districts. Gradually the onion sets will be distributed in other districts as well.

According to Agricultural Statistics Report 2018-19 published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, 239,024 tonnes of onions were produced in the country in the fiscal year 2017-18. However, there is no data of the local production after that.

Every year, Nepal imports onions worth more than Rs thee billion from India.

While the country also imports the commodity from China, it started importing onions from Namibia as well since last year.

 

 

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Nepal will graduate to middle income country by 2022: PM Oli

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that Nepal will graduate to the status of a middle income country within 2022 as per the development goals of the United Nations (UN).

In a video message delivered on the occasion of New Year 2021, PM Oli said the country has made a leap in developing infrastructures related to transportation, bridge, stadium, education and other archeological heritages.

Comparatively Nepal has been successful in lessening the loss of COVID-19 in 2020, PM Oli said, urging one and all to remain secure while adopting the government-set health safety measures against the pandemic.

He further said Nepal is steering ahead to meet the national aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’ and the stable politics is a must to achieve the mission. “We are continuously headed towards the path of realising the national aspiration in an honest manner”, the prime minister claimed.

“We would move through the path of good governance and development by safeguarding and enabling the federal democratic republic and effectively implementing the constitution and social campaigns,” he said in his new year’s message.

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National Assembly winter session to commence Friday afternoon

KATHMANDU: The winter session of the National Assembly has been scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Parliament building in New Baneshwor.

The meeting will commence at 4:00 pm.

The NA session is being conducted for the first time after the Oli government dissolved the House of Representatives on December 22.

Constitution of Nepal has provisioned that there should not be a gap of more than six months between the prorogation of one session of the Parliament and commencement of the next session.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari had called the session pursuant to Article 93(1) of the constitution on December 26 following the cabinet’s recommendation.

There are a total of 59 members — 50 nominated by Nepal Communist Party (NCP), six by Nepali Congress and three from Janata Samajbadi Party — in the upper house.

NCP leader Bamdev Gautam was the latest member to be inducted in the NA.

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US CDC reports record 3,764 coronavirus deaths in a day

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 341,199 deaths from the new coronavirus, a record rise of 3,764 deaths from its previous count.

The agency said the number of cases had risen by 230,337 to 19,663,976.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 30 versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

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‘Protect statute to strengthen democracy’

KASKI, DECEMBER 31

Senior leader of the Nepali Congress Ramchandra Paudel said democracy would be strong only if the constitution was protected.

At a programme organised by NC, Kaski, on the occasion of 45th National Reconciliation Day in Pokhara today, Paudel stressed that the reinstatement of the House of Representatives was the need of the hour because democracy would be strong only through protection of the constitution.

Saying that foreign forces were playing in the country after the dissolution of the HoR, he clarified that reinstatement of HoR was the solution to the ongoing problem. He argued that though it would be in favour of the NC if the country went for polls, the democratic republic brought after a long struggle would be jeopardised.

The senior NC leader opined that he had struggled in the party to protect the constitution, and he would also fight with the government, adding that NC was not afraid of election.

Senior leader Paudel also blamed the government for dissolving the HoR after failing to settle a dispute that had surfaced in the party although the left alliance was given a mandate to run the government for five years.

Similarly, former general-secretary of NC Taranath Ranabhat commented that the dissolution of HoR had put the constitution at risk, adding that reinstatement of the HoR was the best alternative.

Likewise, different NC leaders, including Shukra Raj Sharma, Yagya Bahadur Thapa, Khem Raj Poudel, Devraj Chalise and Krishna KC said that BP Koirala had adopted national unity and reconciliation at a time when the nation was at risk.

 

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Temple’s consumers committee forced to buy timber at high price

LALITPUR, DECEMBER 31

The consumers committee involved in the reconstruction of the historic Rato Machchhindranath temple at Bungmati has been compelled to buy timber at an exorbitant rate due to shortage in the market.

The committee said there was shortage of various sizes of timber in the market due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reconstruction works had to be halted owing to the shortage of timber.

Committee President Amir Shakya said they had been carrying out the reconstruction work by buying the available timber at the sawmill. “Since we have not been able to get the timber in bulk, we have to bring it from several sawmills in separate trips, which is costly in terms of transportation charge,” Shakya said. He said they were compelled to buy timber at high price as the engineer assigned by the government for reconstruction of the temple had not determined the exact quantity of timber required for the same.

The temple will be 70 feet, 4 inches high from its base to the pinnacle. It is said that timber will be used for construction of the temple up to a height of 64 feet, 4 inches. “So far, wood work has been completed only up to the height of 22 feet,” Shakya shared.

“We have already ordered the ‘karnes’ and ‘batu’ bricks that are required for reconstruction of the temple. It was found that 33 different types of bricks had been used for construction of the temple in the past. We had to give special order for preparation of these two types of bricks as we could not manage them,” said Shakya.

The committee said the temple’s reconstruction had been completed up to one storey and 70 per cent of the masonry work was over. The temple which was destroyed by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake will be reconstructed with the financial assistance of Rs 50 million to be provided by the Sri Lankan government.

The consumer committee had to take the initiative for reconstruction of the temple as no agency showed any concern for the same. As a result, an agreement was signed between the committee and the Department of Archaeology for carrying out reconstruction with an investment of Rs 32.1 million. Accordingly, the reconstruction work started on July 6 after performing the atonement rituals at the temple on 4 July 2020.

As per the agreement, the reconstruction work should be completed by mid-July 2021.

The temple is believed to be around 1,500 years old and is built in the ‘Shikhar’ architectural style. The temple is dedicated to the Rato Machchhindranath deity, the god of rain and good harvest.

The Machchhindranath chariot procession, the longest religious-cum-cultural festival in Kathmandu valley and the biggest festival of Patan, is also associated with Rato Machchhindranath deity.

Both Hindus and Buddhists celebrate this festival.

There is shortage of various sizes of timber in the market due to the COVID pandemic

 

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Shift in eye care after COVID-19

The Novel Coronavirus-2 invaded humankind in late 2019, orchestrating unprecedented global health havoc for over a year now. We seem to know much about the virus, but it is still so little to implement actions against it. New knowledge would impart a change in the pre-existing COVID guidelines.

What we used to do in the yesteryear has become a nightmare now. Therefore, not only from economy to society, humanity has come across a paradigm shift in every other aspect—eye care sector not being an exception.

The world quite recently witnessed a massive layoff of the eye care workforce. One because of institutional financial constraints, and two, there wasn’t any work left to be done as travel restrictions caused lesser client counts. On the contrary, non-urgent ocular and visual problems kept on accumulating in the community.

Care providers were returning home, and care seekers were homebound. At one point in time, this imbalance will create a service delivery crisis.

Many practices have been formally institutionalised in the health facilities, like soap and a bucket of water at the front gate of the hospital with a “No entry without mask” sign, sanitiser in each entry room, geometric shapes scribbling on the floor for mandatory social distancing while queueing, disinfection of equipment after each patient visit, and arrangement of a robust plastic shield in the slit lamp that barricades the patient field.

Each eye care taskforce was to be provided with the personal protective equipment (PPE) from a verified source. That added masks, gloves and caps are norms. Provision of enough cross-ventilation is slated where people hoard. Administrative works were deployed as ‘work from home’ model.

Also, the World Health Organisation recommended less patient interaction time as far as possible with the clinicians.

This inevitably exacted a need for adopting newer technology, for example, communicating across the room through videoconferencing and asking the client to come in only for the check-up and then leave. Many times, consulting conversations would be facilitated by telemedicine.

So, tele-ophthalmology has become a subject of practitioners’ choice in many parts of rural India. The applicability of online platforms for delivering training and lectures greatly amplified in this tenure, literally showcasing the probable landscape of future academics.

COVID-19 has, therefore, deviated the focus and resources of eye institutions elsewhere which otherwise would have been on strengthening the specialty services and maximising community projects.

 

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Ode to 2021: It’s time to ring in fresh new hope

The best thing to do is to think of the New Year—differently. Not like 2020 which was as wicked as COVID-19. Go, get into the couch. Daydream. Because, there are several novel ways to looking at 2021 differently. Think of a metaphor, like “The grass is greener on the other side of the landfill, not hill”

It’s time to ring in fresh new hope. When the legendary English poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, wrote, “Ring out the old, ring in the new,/Ring, happy bells, across the snow:/The year is going, let him go;/Ring out the false, ring in the true”, he would not have, in his wildest dreams, visualised a sinister scourge called COVID-19 to make a mockery of our modern, scientific, medically-advanced and technologically-driven world and knock the stuffing out of our socalled impregnable fortress, or so we thought.

Like every old year that goes by, we’ve ‘rung-in’ yet another New Year—2021— with the ‘sword’ of not Damocles, but COVID-19 ‘horribilis’ hanging over our psyche. Yet, as the adage echoes, life goes on. So, there we are, and thanks to our inherent optimism, most of us would brush aside the ghost of COV- ID-19, doubtless, and ‘elect’ to make a great lifestyle and other changes in the wake of, during and after the unprecedented, extraordinary times that we’ve all lived through, whatever our beliefs, race or creed—more so, in the post-vaccine scenario.

Yet, the fact of the matter, again, is a clichéd saga. How well we all know that such resolutions may tumble down the alley by the time we are through with the subdued celebrations.

Wait a minute; just don’t cringe. There’s hope, after all, whatever the adversity.

So, latch on to the following 21 pointers to keeping your promises through the New Year and beyond.

Why twenty-one, you may well ask. Simple—it makes for a 2021 vision, even if you don’t like one bit of it.

The best thing to do is to think of the New Year—differently.

Not like 2020 which was as wicked as COVID-19—and, unlike no other year. Go, get into the couch. Daydream. Because, there are several novel ways to looking at 2021 differently. Think of a metaphor, “The grass is greener on the other side of the landfill, not hill”. Or, “I’m going to have a great year and end up trumps over my associates and a disgusting boss”. Or, “I’m going to be a slot higher in my wife’s esteem than the year that’s gone by”, or vice versa, and so on.

Take a look at an earlier situation in a new way.

Look beyond the box. Better still—have no box at all than being outside it. This would help you to improvise your belief, ingenuity and routine, or whatever you are trying to ‘hone’.

Great idea, isn’t it? Because, the world is shaped on our personal experiences and outlook. Changing your attitude can change your world. However, remember—as Mahatma Gandhi observed—that you need to be the change, to bring the change you want. Or, as philosopher Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Transform the ‘colour’ of your bedroom, the paint of your car, the ‘tint’ of your bifocals, progressive glasses, contact lenses, or whatever—and see the world in a different new light. Maybe, with a fresh, new understanding in place.

Don’t you feel overawed—try something new, even if you fail. It will bring purpose to your life—to try the idea again.

Take a fresh gaze at your ethics, because it is what that upsets you the most when everything else looks pleasant.

Use your cell phone sparingly, because it is cheap, yet not cheap; and, also because ‘delivery’ exceeds ‘requirement’.

Think more foolishly than you did last year, because it got you into your present ‘clutter’. And, also because it can easily get you out of it like one of Laurel and Hardy’s rollicking, hilarious slapstick clips.

Propose by all means, if you are not married. If married, avoid the divorce-trap—even if you don’t want to.

Walk on the right and the wrong footpath, simultaneously, because if you are on the precise pathway, you’ll breathe more and more pollutants, also viruses and bacteria, in the air.

Celebrities, and each one of us, have one thing in common. Difficulty. So, change ‘guard’ regularly; the latter without the benefit of a ‘fan-club’.

Be positive. Stick to it, even if you can’t. You know that you have the best possible mind-set.

You cannot avoid stress, hyperacidity, virus attacks, levy, every politician’s ‘mouth-in-the-foot’ disease, also demonetisation, and skewed ideologies.

Also, remember, taxes don’t get healthy every year.

Make sure that everyone you know considers your idea. Tell them that the ‘tenet’ isn’t entirely yours; it is from the Upanishads.

Battle for your honour and values. Because, you cannot live with(out) them.

Don’t go beyond ‘nowhere’, because it’s the most demanding and exciting trail.

Shop by all means—find out the freebies that come ‘handy’ with the worst possible bathing soap you don’t use.

If anger, or hatred, isn’t broke, ‘bond’ it till it goes kaput.

Tell your ‘competition’ that their ego is as good as yours, not any better.

Existence is a lengthy tussle. It is full of frustrations and challenges, but you know the best do-ityourself (DIY) kit money cannot buy. You.

Use the hand-wash, soap, sanitiser and the like, albeit they all have the ironical anti-bacterial ‘tag’ to kill the virus by 99.9 per cent, be it COVID-19, its variants, or anything else.

Life is neither a feast, nor a spectacle. It begins to divulge as you ‘mellow’.

Now, to use a platitude—a must, for anyone, who wishes to have a truly great, safe, healthy and successful 2021, or as Frank Sinatra said, “The best is yet to come.” It translates not just to a metaphor, but a new-fangled, redefined reality—laugh, the world will laugh with you, and not at you.

Happy New Year!

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EDITORIAL: Now, hit the books

Despite the many hurdles, the National Examination Board must not renege on its resolve to hold the SEE

The government’s decision to hold the Secondary Education Examination (SEE), held at the end of class 10, from mid-May should put to rest any doubts about whether or not students will have to sit for the exams this year. The National Examination Board (NEB) has already asked all schools to register the names of those students who will be sitting for the exams. Of course, the scheduled exams are many months away, and no one knows if COVID-19, which has yet to be brought under control, will play spoilsport.

Still this should help the students to be mentally prepared for the exams, which were cancelled in June last year due to the coronavirus scare. And schools could plan their academic calendar for the remaining period in such a way that the course is completed way before the exams begin in mid-May.

This could mean running extra classes. But this is easier said than done.

It’s been more than nine months since students have not been present in person in schools. And although classes have been held virtually since the past few months, their effectiveness and outreach are being questioned. Online classes require expensive gadgets like laptops, computers and mobiles, with reliable power supply and internet connections.

However, when these are a luxury even in urban homes, how students are learning in a rural setting is anyone’s guess. It is, thus, likely that online classes are limited to the urban areas. The disparity seen in learning opportunities definitely puts the government in a dilemma.

On the one hand, it cannot afford to risk losing a whole academic year, while on the other it does not know how to provide a level playing field for all students, regardless of where they live and what their economic status is.

Worse still, by not holding the SEE, it does not want a repeat of the irregularities seen in the internal evaluation of the class 10 students by the schools themselves, which led to manipulation of the grades, especially by the private schools. As a result, 9,019 SEE students graduated with a GPA of 4.0, while only 106 students had achieve the highest score last year and 74 students the previous year.

There are many challenges to overcome in holding the SEE exams. Apart from the corona pandemic, now with its new deadly variant also making its scene in Nepal, political unrest has been unleashed in the country following the dissolution of the parliament.

Should the mid-term poll take place, it will be held on April 30 and May 10, just before SEE begins. Political disturbances till the time of the elections are likely to shut schools and colleges than open them, if the past is any guide. Despite the many hurdles, the NEB must not renege on its resolve to hold the SEE. Many colleges are already holding plus 2 level and other exams by maintaining physical distancing. Also, Nepal is not alone in holding the board exams of different levels. There is plenty we could learn from our neighbours, trapped in similar situations. The year gone by has been a tumultuous year for us from every aspect, but, hopefully, the New Year 2021 will be a better one, and students can return to their schools for regular studies.


ADB assistance

The Ministry of Finance on Wednesday signed a loan agreement worth Rs 18.25 billion with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to modernise the country’s electricity transmission lines and substations.

The main objective of the deal is to improve the power transmission capacity and distribution system under the Electric Grid Modernisation Project.

The ministry has said that the energy thus saved from the power modernisation project could help minimise energy loss due to power leakage, and the additional energy added to the grid from leakage control could be exported to neighbouring countries.

Currently, the energy loss due to the leakage stands at around 15 per cent, which is the lowest in 33 years.

Before the appointment of Kul Man Ghising as the managing director of the state-owned NEA four years ago, the energy leakage in the system was as high as 26 per cent. The NEA managed to earn Rs 7 billion in 2019 in its account by reducing the energy loss by a whopping 10 per cent. As per the plan, the ADB loan will be utilised to upgrade a total of 237 km of 132 kV transmission lines and 40 grid substations across the country. A major section of the transmission lines in the Kathmandu Valley will also go underground.

 

 

 

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KUKL to construct processing plants near water sources

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited, a public undertaking responsible for water supply in the Kathmandu valley, is all set to construct water processing plants near water sources in various places of the valley.

Earlier, water processing plants were located near distribution centres. Unprocessed water was being distributed in a few settlements.

KUKL is now constructing such centres close to water sources.

According to KUKL Chief Executive Officer Milan Shakya, the processing centres are being constructed close to the water sources now for supplying processed water to all places.

“A study has been initiated for this purpose in the Kathmandu valley,” he said. KUKL has been distributing water from 35 sources within the valley.

Shakya said the processing centres near water sources would be constructed in coordination with the local levels concerned.

So far, Tokha Municipality and Budhanilkantha Municipality have agreed to provide land for construction of water processing plants. Shakya added that coordination had been established with other municipalities in the valley to this end.

 

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Ensure payment for sugarcane farmers in a month, SC tells govt

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued an interim order to the government to ensure that sugarcane farmers got paid for their produce within a month.

The order was issued by a single bench of Justice Kumar Regmi in response to a petition filed by Punya Prasad Khatiwada against the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The court observed that compelling sugarcane farmers to go to Kathmandu every year to seek payment for their produce was not only an injustice against farmers, but also against the principle of welfare state.

The court observed that delaying payments to sugarcane farmers violated their fundamental right to dignified life as they were deprived of earnings that they needed to meet health, education, and other needs of their families.

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Rai suspends 15 Province 1 lawmakers

DHARAN, DECEMBER 31

Province 1 Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai has suspended 15 Provincial Assembly members belonging to the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-Madhav Kumar Nepal faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), but the Dahal-Nepal faction removed Rai as the leader of the parliamentary party of the PA and claimed that the CM’s decision to suspend lawmakers didn’t hold.

Rai, who is close to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, decided to suspend lawmakers from the rival faction for their anti-party activities.

The suspended PA members are: Indra Bahadur Aangbo, Jivan Ghimire, Bijaya Kumar Biswas, Bhim Prasad Acharya, Sabitra Kumari Regmi, Upendra Prasad Ghimire, Yosodha Adhikari, Lila Ballav Adhikari, Rajendra Kumar Rai, Lachhuman Tiwari, Mohan Kumar Khadka, Kul Prasad Samba, Dhirendra Sharma, Tanka Aangbohang Limbu, and Kusum Shrestha. A letter was sent today to the PA Secretariat informing it about their suspension.

Lawmakers close to Dahal and Nepal, meanwhile, removed Rai as the leader of the parliamentary party and replaced him with Bhim Prasad Acharya. They have also sent a letter to the PA Secretariat informing it about Acharya’s selection as the PP leader.

“A no-confidence motion was been registered against the chief minister. He was involved in anti-party activities even after that. That’s why he had to be removed from the post of PP leader,” said NCP parliamentary party deputy leader Aangbohang.

He said Rai’s decision to suspend lawmakers in his capacity of PP leader would not hold.

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WHO emergency COVID-19 vaccine listing aims to lift access in poor countries

  • WHO listing aims to speed shots to poorer countries
  • Agency has been talking to Pfizer/BioNTech about getting vaccine
  • Millions of shots already going to Europe, US, elsewhere

ZURICH: The World Health Organization on Thursday listed Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, in a move seeking to speed access in the developing world.

The United Nations health agency said it will work with regional partners to tell national health authorities about the two-dose shot and its anticipated benefits.

The WHO established its emergency use listing (EUL) process to help poorer countries without their own regulatory resources quickly approve medicines new diseases like COVID-19, which otherwise could lead to delays.

The WHO’s review found Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine met the “must-have” criteria for safety and efficacy benefits outweigh its risks.

“This is a very positive step towards ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines,” said Mariangela Simao, the WHO’s access to medicines program leader.

“But I want to emphasize the need for an even greater global effort to achieve enough vaccine supply to meet the needs of priority populations everywhere.”

The UN health agency, with the GAVI Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), are spearheading a global effort called COVAX to secure and distribute vaccines to poorer countries, to ensure shots do not go only to wealthy nations.

The WHO-backed COVAX alliance has agreements for nearly 2 billion doses, with first deliveries due in early 2021. The alliance has been in talks with Pfizer and BioNTech to secure vaccine.

Even so, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine’s challenging storage and delivery requirements, including keeping it at minus 70 degrees Celsius, have made deliveries challenging in western countries, and may pose bigger hurdles for developing nations without adequate infrastructure.

The vaccine has gotten regulatory backing from the United Kingdom, the European Medicines Agency, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s messenger RNA vaccine was found to be 95% effective after two doses 21 days apart.

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‘Unity must to fulfil responsibility towards nation’

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

Former president Ram Baran Yadav today said that all should unite to resolve the existing problems and fulfil responsibility towards the nation.

“The country’s welfare is possible only if all the people understand their responsibilities,” he said at an event organised here by the Tej-Tirtha Trust. “All have their faith in the court. I am also optimistic about getting justice.”

Stating that the reconciliation policy propounded by Nepali Congress leader late BP Koirala was still important at present, he said there was need for the policy at a time when the national situation was deteriorating. Expressing his concern about ‘weak situation’ of opposition parties, he said political parties were the pillars of democracy.

“People should be responsible in the present situation. Parties should be even more responsible,” he added. Stressing the need for a healthy foreign policy, he said strong foreign policy could only safeguard the state.

On the occasion, the former president presented the ‘Human Rights and Democracy Award’ to democracy fighter Shiva Kangal, the ‘Jujubhai Nani Maiju Award’ to historian Yogendraman Shrestha and poet Narayandevi Shrestha. He also felicitated former General Manager of Rastriya Samachar Samiti Nirmala Acharya and Chief Editor of hamrakura. com Ajaya Babu Shivakoti for their contribution to strengthen journalism.

The trust said the award ceremony was delayed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The awards used to be given away on the occasion of the Republic Day every year on May 28.

 

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NZ’s Henry replaces injured Wagner for second Pakistan test

Canterbury fast bowler Matt Henry was called up to the New Zealand squad for the second test against Pakistan, starting on Sunday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, to replace the injured Neil Wagner, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Friday.

Wagner is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks after sustaining fractures in the toes of his right foot during the first test at Bay Oval, which the hosts won by 101 runs.

Henry, who has 30 test wickets, is being rewarded for his recent form which saw him register figures of 6-53 for New Zealand ‘A’ against Pakistan Shaheens in December. The 29-year-old has also taken seven wickets from four Ford Trophy matches this season for Canterbury.

“Matt has been in good form with the ball,” coach Gary Stead said. “We’re still a couple of days out from the test, so need to take a look at the surface while also assessing our options for best possible team make-up.”

The squad for the second test: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Will Young.

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NC’s responsibility is to safeguard statute: Deuba

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba today said the NC had shouldered the main responsibility of safeguarding the constitution and promoting the federal democratic republic.

He said he recognised the democratic constitution as the chief medium for reconciliation among people from mountains, hills and Tarai-Madhes.

The former prime minister was speaking at a function organised here by the party’s Information, Communications and Publicity Department on the occasion of National Unity and Reconciliation Day.

Stating that the NC had launched a nationwide protest against the dissolution of the House of Representatives, he said protection of the rights of people was the main goal of the reconciliation policy.

The NC observes the National Unity and Reconciliation Day on Poush 16 (December 31) of the Nepali Calendar when the party’s founding president BP Koirala, along with other leaders came back home following a long exile in neighbouring India.

“Ideas of national unity and reconciliation adopted by BP Koirala in 1976 after returning home from his political exile in India are still very relevant. The main constituents of reconciliation are people’s rights and democracy,” he said.

 

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Online scammers still active in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

Despite relentless crackdown on online fraudulent rackets on the part of Nepal Police, scammers continue to swindle unsuspecting users out of millions of rupees.

In the latest instance of such fraud, Metropolitan Police Crime Division yesterday arrested two youths, including a teenage girl, for allegedly cheating people by using various social networking sites.

According to MPCD, Santosh Shrestha, 22, and Asha Shrestha, 19, of Bhume Rural Municipality, Rukum, were taken into custody from their rented room in Kirtipur yesterday after a rigorous technical investigation into several complaints of online fraud.

Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Thapa, MPCD in-charge, said online scammers created fake accounts with profile pictures of foreign citizens on Facebook and WhatsApp and sent friend requests to various persons. Once social media users accepted the friend request, the scammers would exchange mobile numbers and personal information to bring the unwary users to their fold. The Shrestha duo had posed as Dutch nationals to con unsuspecting persons.

“They took their Facebook and WhatsApp friend into confidence, stating that they would soon visit Nepal, marry Nepalis and send them precious items such as jewellery, iPhone and laptop,” he informed. The duo would also send photos of parcels, jewellery and electronic gadgets to their victims as evidence and made them deposit cash in their bank accounts for ‘airport tax clearance’.

MPCD said the racketeers had swindled more than a dozen persons out of 4.19 million in Kathmandu and other parts of the country. Further investigation into the case is under way. Meanwhile, police have cautioned social media users against the traps set by online scammers. The security agency urged the people not to respond to suspicious messages.

Facebook, WhatsApp and other social networking sites are easy means for fraudsters and scammers to access people’s network. People should not accept friend requests from unknown persons as they could be cheating gullible persons from home and abroad, it warned. “We have also appealed to one and all to notify the nearest police office if they receive any dubious calls and texts luring them with parcels or lottery,” SSP Thapa said.

According to police, the messages sent by scammers to Internet and mobile users often claim that the recipient has won a substantial sum of money in an online lottery scheme, or they are sending them a parcel comprising electronic gadgets and jewellery.

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Locals protest China-sponsored project in Damak

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

This illustration shows the planning of Damak Clean Industrial Park, in Jhapa. Image: Damak Clean Industrial Park

Locals have been protesting against China-sponsored Damak Clean Industrial Park in Damak Municipality, demanding adequate compensation for the acquired land and transparency regarding the Chinese investment project located in Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s home constituency Jhapa-5.

On Tuesday, one such protest was organised by Federal Limbuwan Forum, one of the constituents of the Federal Democratic National Forum. It attracted almost 5,000 protesters from among indigenous nationalities and other marginalised sections of society.

Chairperson of Federal Democratic National Forum Kumar Lingden told THT that they organised the protest as 150 households who had been living on government land in Damak Clean Industrial Park area for many years had not been paid compensation by the government.

“The government says that the proposed industrial park will create thousands of jobs, but what will be its use if thousands of locals are dispossessed of their land and resources and have to migrate to Assam or other parts of India to work as daily wagers?” Lingden wondered.

He said people close to the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) had prior information that an industrial park would be built in the area, purchased land plots at cheap rates from locals, and were selling the plots at much higher prices.

He said locals should be informed about all the process of industrial parks and should not be tricked. He said the government needed to form an all-party committee to address locals’ grievances.

“Our concern is that the project won’t do any good if thousands of locals are rendered homeless or jobless and outsiders are employed in the industrial park,” Lingden said.

Jhapa District Incharge of Sanghiya Limbuwan Manch Bhanu Bhattarai said, “Building an industrial park in Jhapa and creating infrastructure for development is good, but people complain that the government is not giving them enough compensation or telling them about the project.”

Chief of Kamal Municipality Menuka Kafle said there were around 30 households in her local level who could not make land ownership documents due to the land mafia’s manoeuvres and the municipality was trying to address their concerns.

Political Sociologist Uddhab Pyakurel said China was acting as a development fundamentalist and under its Belt and Roads Initiative the northern neighbour was pursuing unsustainable development model ignoring the concerns of locals and ecological aspects of infrastructure project.

He said Nepal should be cautious about involving Chinese companies in its infrastructure development projects.

“China does not care about locals.

It thinks once infrastructure is built, everything will be okay but such a model cannot be termed a sustainable model of development,” added Pyakurel.

He said locals’ protest in Jhapa reflected flaws that the Chinese model of development had. He said the government of Nepal needed to focus on involving local Nepali human resources in foreign investment projects.

File- Maha Prasad Adhikari, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Investment Board (IBN) speaks during a signing ceremony of the construction of China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park, in Kathmandu, on October 3, 2019. Damak Clean Industrial Park, a China-invested company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal Investment Board (IBN) for the China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park in Nepal’s eastern Jhapa district. Photo: Xinhua via RSS

Chief Executive of the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs Sunil KC said building industrial park in Damak was a good idea, but the Chinese side’s intention must be clear and the Nepali government should also be clear what it would gain from the project.

“As Nepal is strategically placed between India and China, the Nepali government should also have geo-strategic consideration before launching any project with foreign investment,” he added.

President of Damak Clean Industrial Park Govinda Thapa said the existing framework provided enough opportunities for redressing locals’ grievances.

He said the project would witness some delay due to the COV- ID-19 crisis.

According to him, the Chinese side will build the project with its own money and would hand it over to Nepal after 40 years.

The project will come up at Damak, Gaurahadaha, and Kamal local levels covering 2,100 bighas of land (one bigha = 6,772.63 square metres).

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2020, a tough year for Nepali journos, says FNJ

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

The Federation of Nepali Journalists today said 2020 had been the most challenging year for working journalists and their families due to the unprecedented public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to FNJ, journalists worked on the frontline and were vulnerable to coronavirus infection throughout the year. The umbrella organisation of Nepali journalists also said that mediapersons faced the double whammy of COVID-19 and deprivation of regular salary, pay cut, forced unpaid leave, dismissal from job and unnecessary transfer to coerce them into resigning. It caused financial hardship to the families dependent on journalists.

Despite being infected or at risk of being infected due to the nature of their work, journalists had been compelled to bear the expenses for PCR tests even when they were deprived of regular pay.

Journalists were impacted by injustice at the hands of media houses and inaction of the government to strictly enforce the existing law. Section 20 of the Working Journalists Act guarantees that service and facility of journalists shall not be altered or changed in a manner to affect them. Despite these, the government failed to announce relief package and subsidy for journalists and media houses were hit hard by the pandemic.

FNJ informed that as many as 513 journalists had been infected with COVID-19 across the country due to the nature of their work. Of them, two succumbed to the contagion. The government registered the Public Service Broadcasting Bill and Media Council Bill in the Parliament with anti-press provisions, disrespecting the suggestions of the media fraternity and other stakeholders.

FNJ has also painted a bleak picture of press freedom in the country over the past one year as media and journalists were frequently targeted by the government to silence them. It recorded as many as 52 incidents of press freedom violation in 2020, compared to 50 in 2019.

According to the FNJ, there were nine incidents of attack on journalists.

Similarly, they were 32 incidents of threat against journalists in relation to their work. “The authorities arrested five journalists, while four incidents were related to seizure of newsrooms. Two cases of press freedom violation were related to professional insecurity,” said a report released by FNJ.

As per the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Nepal had dropped six places on the global Press Freedom Index to rank 112th out of 180 countries for 2020. The country had ranked 106th on the index released by Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres in 2019.

 

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Court grants bail to wife of main accused

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 31

The Special Court today granted bail to Uma Kumari Dhakalni, the wife of one of the two main accused in the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

According to Spokesperson of the Special Court Pushpa Raj Panday, the bench of Special Court Chairperson Prem Raj Karki, and judges Abdul Aziz Musalman and Nityanand Pandey sought a bail of Rs 200,000 from Dhakalni.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had filed cases against individuals involved in Lalita Niwas land grab case in February, including Uma’s husband Shobhakanta Dhakal.

Shobha Kanta Dhakal and Ram Kumar Subedi, who have been accused of acting as land mafia, have been charged with embezzling Rs 39.27 crore and Rs 52.51 crore respectively.

The CIAA had on February 6 filed corruption cases against 175 individuals, including former deputy prime minister and Nepali Congress Vice-president Bijay Kumar Gachhadar, former ministers Dambar Shrestha and Chandra Dev Joshi for their role in the Lalita Niwas land grab case.

The anti-graft body also named Rukma Shumsher JB Rana and his family members as defendants in the case.

The CIAA accused Gachhadar and Shrestha of embezzling Rs 9.65 crore each. It accused Joshi of embezzling 7.08 crore.

The Sharada Prasad Trital-led probe committee had submitted its report saying the government had forfeited only 14 ana land of Subarna Shumsher and had paid compensation to Subarna Shumsher for acquiring 284 ropani land. The committee said that even those land plots, which the government had duly acquired by paying compensation was fraudulently transferred to individuals’ names. As per the Trital committee’s recommendations, the government has halted the sale and purchase of Lalita Niwas area land plots.

Family members of late Subarna Shamsher Rana claimed that the Panchayat government had confiscated 299 ropani land in Baluwatar that belonged to them.

The post democratic-era government returned only those land plots that were forfeited by the government in 1960.

 

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Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Anshika Sharma crowned Miss Universe Nepal 2020

KATHMANDU: Anshika Sharma, a Nepali residing in Sydney, Australia, was crowned Miss Universe Nepal 2020.

This undated image shows Anshika Sharma, Miss Universe Nepal 2020 waving her hand. Photo: Youtube

Miss Nepal Universe 2017 Nagma Shrestha, National Director of Miss Universe Nepal, crowned the 24-year-old at an event held on December 30.

Impressing the judges with her answer to the question, ‘What is the one life lesson that you have learned after COVID-19 and its effects?’, she was able to take home the coveted crown.

Her winning answer was: “The one lesson that I have learnt after COVID-19 is always to be ready for all the challenges that life throws at you because life is uncertain. Also for the government and for the individuals, be economically prepared because COVID-19 has taught us that economy is so important that we need to always be aware and always secure our finances to be moving forward in life.”

Sharma won a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs and a chance to participate in the Miss Universe pageant among others.

Sharma, who calls herself an advocate for education and a go getter, also won the subtitle of Miss Fierce.

Likewise, Sujita Basnet, a non-resident Nepali residing in the US, became the first runner-up, Nina Kant Mandal, a mental health advocate and professional model from Moscow, Russia was named the second runner-up, Dr Dikta Thapa from Chandragiri became the third runner-up while Nancy Khadka from Biratnagar was the fourth runner-up. Basnet also bagged Miss Lifestyle subtitle, Khadka was announced Miss Fabulous, while Mandal was chosen the winner of Brave, Bold, Beautiful Social Advocacy Winning Cause for her video on mental health.

The grand finale that saw Top 18 contestants on the stage was adjudged by a panel of judges comprising former Miss Nepal and media personality Malvika Subba, Anupama Khunjeli, CEO of Mega Bank Limited, actress Usha Rajak, Prerana Shah, international holistic health and transformation specialist, editor Charu Chadha, and rockstar Abhaya Subba.

The Top 10 were selected from Top 18, which was followed by the selection of Top 5 — based on judges’ selection and public votes. The grand finale also saw a swimsuit catwalk round where contestants sashayed the ramp in swimsuits.

This is the first time Miss Universe Nepal has been conducted as an independent event, separate from Miss Nepal. The winner gets a chance to participate in Miss Universe.

 

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Hammon first woman to coach NBA team; Lakers beat Spurs

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SAN ANTONIO: Becky Hammon would have preferred a victory over history after becoming the first woman to coach an NBA team.

The assistant coach took over the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter after coach Gregg Popovich was ejected in a 121-107 loss to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

“I try not to think of the huge picture and huge aspect of it because it can be overwhelming,” Hammon said. “I really have had no time to reflect. I have not had time to look at my phone. So, I don’t know what’s going on outside the AT&T Center.”

Hammon and the Spurs already had a lot to contend with against the defending league champion Lakers.

James celebrated his 36th birthday with 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the Lakers’ third double-digit victory. The teams will complete the two-game set Friday night.

“(I was) trying to get the guys in the right spots,” Hammon said. “Trying to get them motivated. Obviously, it’s a learning situation for all of us, but I would have loved to have walked out there with a win with the guys.”

Popovich was ejected by official Tony Brown with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter. Popovich screamed at Brown and entered the court following a non-call on DeMar DeRozan’s attempted layup and a subsequent attempted rebound by Drew Eubanks.

As he exited the court to applause from several of the team’s family members in attendance, Popovich pointed a finger at Hammon and had a succinct message.

“You got ‘em,” Hammon said. “See? He doesn’t treat us any differently than he does you guys.”

Said LeBron James: “Obviously she’s been paying her dues over the last few years and Coach Pop has given her the opportunity. … It’s a beautiful thing just to hear her barking out calls, barking out sets. She’s very passionate about the game. Congrats to her and congrats for our league.”

Hammon took over the team’s huddles during timeouts and walked the sideline following Popovich’s ejection. Hammon was the first full-time female assistant coach in league history.

“Well deserved,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “I’ve talked to her before and she really knows her stuff and obviously she’s here for a reason. She’s equipped, intelligent (and the) guys have great respect for her. She’s going to be a great coach one day.”

A three-time All-American at Colorado State, Hammon played for the New York Liberty and San Antonio Stars in the WNBA as well as overseas before retiring to join Popovich’s staff in 2014.

“Even in timeouts with Pop as head coach, she is quick on her feet,” DeRozan said. “She tells us about defensive assignments, offensive sets we should run. Seeing her in the forefront, it would have definitely been cool to have won for her.”

The Lakers contributed to Popovich’s frustration and the Spurs’ fortunes didn’t get much better after the veteran coach exited.

Dennis Schroder had 21 points, Anthony Davis had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers. Wesley Matthews was 6 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring 18 points off the bench.

The Spurs opened with a 9-2 run, including an uncontested drive through the lane by Keldon Johnson for a two-handed slam. The Lakers responded with an 11-0 run that promoted a timeout by Popovich.

The Lakers took their first double-digit lead at 35-25 on Kyle Kuzma’s 3-pointer with 1:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Dejounte Murray had a career-high 29 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

“At the end of the day, it don’t mean nothing, we lost,” Murray said.

DeRozan added 23 for the Spurs, who lost their second straight after opening the season with two consecutive wins.

TIP-INS

Lakers: PG Alex Caruso missed the game for “health and safety protocols” as mandated by the league. Lakers coach Frank Vogel did not elaborate on Caruso’s status. … James was listed as questionable after spraining his left ankle sprain in the Lakers’ 115-107 loss to Portland on Monday. James played 35 minutes against the Spurs after scoring 29 points in 36 minutes against the Trail Blazers.

Spurs: Popovich said the Spurs will monitor Aldridge’s knee soreness on a day-to-day basis. … Tim Duncan took over last season when Popovich was ejected against Portland on Nov. 16, 2019. The Hall of Famer opted not to return as assistant this season.

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Suman, Saga ink deal

KATHMANDU: Saga Tours and Travel Pvt Ltd has signed karateka Suman Timalsina as its brand ambassador.

Saga Tours and Travel Pvt Ltd signs karateka Suman Timalsina as its brand ambassador, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday, December 30, 2020. Photo: THT

Saga Managing Director Swachham Gurung handed over the appointment letter to Timalsina on Wednesday.

As per the one-year deal, Saga will provide karateka Timalsina with air tickets for his international participation.

Timalsina, who is also the ‘A’ category judge, thanked Saga for the support and vowed to give his best for the promotion of the brand. He has participated in 18 international events as a player and taken part in 13 tournaments as a coach. Gurung said he was excited with his first association with sports sector. — HNS

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Palistha Kakshyapati named Player of the Year

KATHMANDU: Nepal National Muaythai Association on Wednesday felicitated Palistha Kakshyapati with the Player of the Year award. Kakshyapati had won gold medal in the 30kg weight category in the 16th World Muaythai Championship held in Thailand from March 7-18 last year.

Nepal National Muaythai Association felicitates Palistha Kakshyapati with the Player of the Year award, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday, Deember 30, 2020. Photo: THT

Kakshyapati received felicitation letter along with Rs 40,000, while the association also distributed sports gears to 12 players who had won accolades in national and international events. National Sports Council Vice-president Shiva Koirala honoured the players.

 

 

 

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Mingma Sherpa scales seven peaks in two months

KATHMANDU: A record holding Sherpa climber from Sankhuwasabha district successfully climbed seven peaks in 2020 as the world struggled to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our chairperson Mingma Sherpa scaled Pisang Peak (6,091m) yesterday taking the count to seven successful ascents in 2020,” Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks announced.

Mingma along with climber Sophie Lavaud from Switzerland and Dawa Sangay Sherpa stood atop the peak early in the morning of December 30, Seven Summit Treks’ Manager Thaneshwar Guragai shared. “By the end of this year, Mingma climbed seven different peaks including Mt Manaslu, while Sophie Lavaud and Dawa Sangay each climbed four peaks,” he added.

Mingma, a record holder climber from Sankhuwasabha district also made the first ever ascent on Kyungya Ri 2 Peak before heading to Pisang Peak.

Out of his seven ascents, Sherpa had already climbed six peaks including Mt Manaslu (8,163m) in the autumn/winter seasons.

He climbed Lobuche Peak on October 3, Mt Manaslu on October 15, Mt Amadablam on November 12, Island Peak in the Everest region on November 30, and Kyungya Ri 2 Peak on December 11. Sherpa  holds a world record from the South Asian region becoming the first person to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000m (2000-2011).

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China OKs 1st homegrown vaccine said to be 79.3% effective

BEIJING: Chinese health regulators said Thursday that they have given conditional approval to a coronavirus vaccine developed by state-owned Sinopharm.

The two-dose vaccine is the first approved for general use in China. The go-ahead comes as the country has begun to vaccinate 50 million people before the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

Conditional approval means that research is still ongoing, the company will be required to submit follow-up data as well as reports of any adverse effects after the vaccine is sold on the market, Chen Shifei, the deputy commissioner of the National Medical Products Administration, told a news conference.

The company “must continuously update the vaccine’s instructions, labels and report to the agency,” Shifei said.

The vaccine was developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate Sinopharm. The company announced Wednesday that preliminary data from last-stage trials had shown it to be 79.3% effective.

It is an inactive vaccine, which means the virus was grown in a lab and then killed. The germ is then injected into the body to generate an immune response.

Final proof of its effectiveness will depend on publication of more data.

Sinopharm is one of at least five Chinese developers that are in a global race to create vaccines for the disease that has killed more than 1.8 million people.

In addition to the emergency vaccinations already underway, China plans to start vaccinating high-risk population, such as seniors as well as people with existing chronic illnesses. Officials did not say what percentage of the population they will vaccinate in China.

“This is different in every country but the general thinking is that it has to reach 60% to protect the entire population,” said Zeng Yixin, vice minister of the National Health Commission.

Practically, it means that the drug or product in question may be restricted for certain age groups, according to Tao Lina, a former government immunologist.

Officials declined to name a particular price and gave conflicting statements about it. “It will certainly be in the limit of what people can afford,” said Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official.

A minute later, Zeng, the other NHC official, stepped in to say that the vaccines “will definitely be free for the public.”

The vaccine is already under mass production, though officials did not answer questions about current production capacity.

Approval of China’s vaccine could also mean hope for countries around the world who may not have access to the Pfizer or Moderna shots, which have stricter cold chain requirements. Sinopharm’s vaccine is able to be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit), or a normal refrigeration temperature.

“This is very exciting that there is another vaccine and one that can be distributed in locations that don’t have the cold chain,” said Ashely St. John, an immunologist at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. “But at the same time we have to temper the excitement. We have to understand the long term efficacy, effect on transmission and effect on severe disease.”

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Province-1 enter semi-finals, Bagmati record first victory

DANG, DECEMBER 30

Province-1 recorded their second straight victory to make it to the semi-finals, while Bagmati opened their accounts in the Sagarmatha Cement PM Cup Women’s National Cricket Tournament here today.

Bagmati’s Suman Khatiwada plays a shot against Gandaki during their Sagarmatha Cemen PM Cup Women’s National Cricket Tournament match in Lamahi, Dang on Wednesday, December 30, 2020. Photo: THT

In the Group B matches played at the Deukhuri International Stadium in Lamahi, Province-1 beat Sudurpashchim Province by five wickets, while Bagmati bounced back after the opening match loss and beat Gandaki by 65 runs.

After the day’s results, Province-1 are at the top the table with four points, while Bagmati and Sudurpashchim have two apiece and they will face each other on Thursday to decide the second team in the last four from the group. Gandaki, who suffered their second straight loss, are out of the race and will play against Province-1 tomorrow. Nepal APF Club and Lumbini Province have already advanced to the last four from Group A.

In the first match of the day which was reduced to 16-overa-side due to adverse weather conditions, Sudurpashchim scored 53-3 before Province-1 reached 54-5 with five balls to spare. Province-1 skipper Rubina Chhetry was the lone batter to score in double figures for but that was enough for the team to record their second consecutive victory. Chhetry, who is also the national team captain, scored run-a-ball 12 that included a six.

Apsari Begam was the next best contributor with nine runs, while Ngima Tamang remained unbeaten on seven.

Deepa Jora took two wickets for Sudurpashchim, while Kabita Kunwar and Kabita Joshi grabbed one each.

Earlier, Kabita Joshi top scored for Sudurpashchim with 14 off 17 balls that included a four, while others failed to score in double figures. Laxmi Saud remained unbeaten on nine, while opener Rewati Dhami contributed eight. Sangita Rai was the pick of the Province-1 bowlers taking 3-10 and that also earned her the player-of-the-match award.

Sabnam Rai grabbed 2-14, while skipper Rubina Chhetri and Ngima Tamang claimed one wicket each.

In another match, Bagmati posted 153-4 in their allotted 20 overs before restricting Gandaki to 88-5. Bagmati made a flying start with openers Kanchan Shrestha and Binda Katwal putting up 76 in 10 overs before the former was run out for 29-ball 27 that included a four. Katwal and Suman Khatiwada then shared a 53-run partnership for the second wicket. Katal top scored for the team with 38 off 58 balls hitting three boundaries, while Khatiwada struck four fours in her 26-ball 31, while skipper Asmina Karmacharya was run out for eight in the last ball of the innings. Aarati Bidari remained unbeaten on 10 off six balls that included two boundaries.

Alisha Lamichhane took two wickets for Gandaki.

In reply, Sristi Poudel and Shila Chhetri added 60 runs for the third wicket but they failed to avert the team’s defeat. Poudel scored 44-ball 30 with the help of two fours, while skipper Chhetri hit a four in her 50-ball 26. Bagmati skipper Asmina Karmacharya, player of the match Suman Khatiwada, Aarati Bidari and Nisha Tamang took one wicket each.

 

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MoF signs loan agreement with ADB for grid modernisation

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 30

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has signed a loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the electric grid modernisation in the country.

Amid an event today, MoF and ADB signed the loan agreement worth Rs 18.25 billion for the modernisation of Nepal’s electric grid.

The agreement was signed by MoF Joint Secretary Shree Krishna Nepal and ADB Office In- Charge for Nepal Residential Office, Rudy Van Dale.

The major objective behind inking this agreement is to improve the power transmission capacity of the country. Joint Secretary Nepal said that the government has signed the agreement with ADB to improve the power transmission and distribution system under the Electric Grid Modernisation Project.

“We are expecting this agreement to play a crucial role in make the power supply sustainable and reliable by modernising the power grid in the country and to develop and strengthen the capacity of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA),” Nepal said.

According to Nepal, the total investment cost of the electric grid modernisation project is about Rs 22.81 billion. Of this amount, ADB will bear Rs 18.25 billion, while the remaining Rs 4.56 billion will be invested by the NEA.

Issuing a statement today, the ministry has stated that the energy saved from the power grid modernisation project can be exported to the neighbouring countries. “It will also help to minimise the energy loss due to power leakage and this will also make a positive contribution to the economic activities of the country.”

The NEA will implement the project.

According to the agreement, the project will finance automation of 40 grid substations throughout the country, construction of three units of modern 132/11 kV grid substations with automation (each with 2×45 megavolt amperes [MVA] capacity) together with 16 km of 132 kV double circuit underground line along Chobhar-Lagankhel-Sinamangal route. The project will also finance the construction of five km of 66 kV double circuit underground transmission line along Sinamangal-Chabahil in Kathmandu valley.

The project also covers upgrading of 237 km of 132 kV transmission lines with more efficient high-temperature-low-sag conductors; and commissioning of transmission system consisting of four automated grid substations with capacity of 290 MVA and 48 km transmission lines in Myagdi and Dhading districts.

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US detects first case of COVID-19 variant as Biden offers gloomy vaccine outlook

WILMINGTON: The first known US case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant discovered in Britain was detected in Colorado on Tuesday as President-elect Joe Biden warned it could take years for most Americans to be vaccinated against COVID-19 at current distribution rates.

Biden’s prediction of a grim winter appeared aimed at lowering public expectations that the pandemic would be over soon after he takes office on Jan. 20, while putting Congress on notice that he wants to significantly increase spending to expedite vaccine distribution, expand COVID testing and help reopen shuttered schools.

Biden, a Democrat, said about 2 million people have received the initial dose of one of two newly approved two-dose vaccines, well short of the 20 million that outgoing Republican President Donald Trump had promised by year’s end.

“The effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should,” Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware. At the current rate, “it’s going to take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people.”

Shortly after Biden’s remarks, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said his state had discovered the nation’s first known case of the highly infectious coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which was originally documented in the United Kingdom. Scientists there believe the variant is more contagious than other previously identified strains of the SAR-CoV-2 variant but no more severe in the symptoms it causes.

It has also been detected in several European countries, as well as in Canada, Australia, India, South Korea and Japan, among others.

Polis said in a statement the infected patient was a man in his 20s with no recent travel history who is currently in isolation in Elbert County, a semi-rural area on the outskirts of the greater Denver metropolitan area.

“Public health officials are doing a thorough investigation” and the individual has “no close contacts identified so far,” Polis said, adding that the state had notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Colorado State Laboratory scientists confirmed the UK variant after noticing that a diagnostic test sample was missing a key gene signal, prompting them to sequence the patient’s viral genome. This revealed eight mutations specific to the spike protein gene associated with the British variant, Polis said in his statement.

The Denver-based online news outlet Coloradopolitics.com, citing Elbert County’s public health director, later reported that a second suspected case of the variant was under examination there.

RACING THE VIRUS

Although experts believe the newly approved COVID vaccines will be effective against the British variant, the emergence of a more highly transmissible strain of the virus makes a swift rollout of immunizations all the more critical.

Biden’s goal of ensuring that 100 million vaccinations are administered by the end of his 100th day in office would mean “ramping up five to six times the current pace to 1 million shots a day,

Even at such an ambitious rate, it would still take months for the majority of Americans to be vaccinated, he said, adding that the situation may not improve until “well into March.”

Biden also said he plans to invoke the Defense Production Act, which grants the president emergency powers to order expanded industrial output of key materials or products on grounds of national security, to accelerate production of vaccine supplies.

Trump has invoked the law during the pandemic.

To reopen schools safely, Biden said Congress would need to provide funding for purposes such as additional transportation, so students can maintain social distancing, and improved ventilation in school buildings.

Congress also needs to fund more diagnostic testing and help pay for protective equipment for healthcare workers, Biden added.

Trump defended his administration’s record after Biden concluded his remarks.

“It is up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government. We have not only developed the vaccines, including putting up money to move the process along quickly, but gotten them to the states,” he said on Twitter.

Trump, who contracted COVID-19 in October, has often played down the severity of the pandemic and overseen a response many health experts say was disorganized and cavalier and sometimes ignored the science behind disease transmission.

Earlier in the day, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received a COVID-19 vaccination on live television in a bid to boost public confidence in immunizations. Biden, 78, did so last week.

Harris, the first Black person and first Asian-American elected vice president, received the Moderna Inc vaccine at a medical center in predominantly Black southeast Washington.

The Biden team has stressed the importance of inoculation in non-white communities especially hard hit by the coronavirus and more highly skeptical about vaccine safety.

To date, the respiratory virus has infected more than 19 million people and killed over 334,000 in the United States.

One of the latest casualties of the pandemic was U.S. Representative-elect Luke Letlow, a Louisiana Republican, who died on Tuesday of COVID-19, his campaign said. Letlow, 41, announced on Dec. 18 that he had tested positive for virus.

Dr. Atul Gawande, a member of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, told CBS News the transition team still did not have all the information it needed to understand vaccine distribution bottlenecks.

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One killed in wild elephant attack in Sunsari district

DHARAN: A person lost his life in a wild elephant attack at Koshi Katan area near the Koshi Wildlife Reserve in Sunsari district on Tuesday.

A wild Makuna elephant from a nearby Koshi Wildlife Reserve has been seen at the local settlement in recent days and has killed two persons including one today in fifteen days.

As many as 24 persons have lost their lives in similar incidents in last four years.

Locals burn tyres and obstruct vehicular movement along East-West Highway, in protest demanding effective management of wild animals, after a youth was killed in wild elephant attack, on Tuesday, December 29, 2020. Photo: Santosh Kafle/THT

Locals even halted vehicular movement along East-West Highway in protest against the local administration for not taking any effective preventive measures to prevent such incidents.

The locals prevented the police from removing the victim’s body from the highway in an effort to resume traffic. Demonstrators continued their protests demanding that the wild elephant be taken care of by authorities.

Later, the protests were ended as an agreement was reached to initiate compensation to the victim’s family, effective management of the elephant, recalling of technical team along with doctors, taking effective measures and installing concrete solar fencing in the area.

The victim, who was reported missing since Monday evening, was found motionless by the locals next morning at Katan in the area.

Although the government has allotted Rs 1.05 million as compensation to the victim’s family for death related due to wild animal attacks, locals have been asking authorities to find a preventive solution.

 

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British lawmakers approve post-Brexit trade deal with EU

LONDON: Britain’s Parliament voted resoundingly on Wednesday to approve a trade deal with the European Union, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the UK’s long and divisive Brexit journey.

With just a day to spare, lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 521-73 in favour of the agreement sealed between the UK government and the EU last week.

UK chief trade negotiator David Frost looks on as Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at 10 Downing Street, London, on Wednesday, December 30, 2020. Photo: Leon Neal/Pool via AP

Brexit enthusiasts in Parliament praised it as a reclamation of independence from the bloc. Pro-Europeans lamented its failure to preserve seamless trade with Britain’s biggest economic partner. But the vast majority in the divided Commons agreed that it was better than the alternative of a chaotic rupture with the EU.

Late Wednesday evening, Parliament’s upper chamber, the unelected House of Lords, also backed the deal. It will become British law within hours, once it has received the formality of royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II.

The UK left the EU almost a year ago, but remained within the bloc’s economic embrace during a transition period that ends at midnight Brussels time —- 11 pm in London — on Thursday.

The day before departure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel signed the hard-won agreement during a brief ceremony in Brussels.

“The agreement that we signed today is the result of months of intense negotiations in which the European Union has displayed an unprecedented level of unity,” Michel said. “It is a fair and balanced agreement that fully protects the fundamental interests of the European Union and creates stability and predictability for citizens and companies.”

The documents were then flown by Royal Air Force plane to London, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson added his signature in a photo opportunity in front of a row of Union Jack flags.

The European Parliament also must sign off on the agreement, but is not expected to get to it for several weeks.

Johnson told legislators that the deal heralded “a new relationship between Britain and the EU as sovereign equals.”

It has been 4 1/2 years since Britain voted 52% to 48% to leave the bloc it had joined in 1973. Brexit started on Jan. 31 of this year, but the real repercussions of that decision have yet to be felt, since the UK’s economic relationship with the EU remained unchanged during the 11-month transition period that ends December 31.

Big changes are coming on New Year’s Day. The agreement, hammered out after more than nine months of tense negotiations and sealed on Christmas Eve, will ensure Britain and the 27-nation EU can continue to trade in goods without tariffs or quotas. That should help protect the 660 billion pounds ($894 billion) in annual trade between the two sides, and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that rely on it.

But the end to Britain’s membership in the EU’s vast single market and customs union will still bring inconvenience and new expense for both individuals and businesses — from the need for tourists to have travel insurance to the millions of new customs declarations that firms will have to fill out.

Brexit supporters, including Johnson, say any short-term pain will be worth it.

Johnson said the Brexit deal would turn Britain from “a half-hearted, sometimes obstructive member of the EU” into “a friendly neighbour — the best friend and ally the EU could have.”

He said Britain would now “trade and cooperate with our European neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill, whilst retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national destiny.”

Some lawmakers grumbled about being given only five hours in Parliament to scrutinize a 1,200-page deal that will mean profound changes for Britain’s economy and society. But support among legislators —- most of whom debated and voted from home because of virus restrictions — was overwhelming, if not always enthusiastic.

The powerful euroskeptic wing of Johnson’s Conservative Party, which fought for years for the seemingly longshot goal of taking Britain out of the EU, gave its backing to the deal.

The strongly pro-EU Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party voted against. But the main opposition Labour Party, which had sought a closer relationship with the bloc, said it would vote for the agreement because even a thin deal was better than a chaotic no-deal rupture.

“We have only one day before the end of the transition period, and it’s the only deal that we have,” said Labour leader Keir Starmer. “It’s a basis to build on in the years to come.”

Former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, who resigned in 2019 after three years of Brexit acrimony in Parliament, said she would vote for Johnson’s agreement. But she said it was worse than the one she had negotiated with the bloc, which lawmakers repeatedly rejected.

She noted that the deal protected trade in goods but did not cover services, which account for 80% of Britain’s economy.

“We have a deal in trade, which benefits the EU, but not a deal in services, which would have benefitted the UK,” May said.

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