Chelsea, Leicester losses open up Champions League chase

LONDON: With Leicester and Chelsea both losing, the race for European spots is heating up in the Premier League.

Leicester once looked certain of returning to the Champions League, but is now winless in four games after a 2-1 loss to Everton on Wednesday. Only Chelsea’s 3-2 loss at West Ham kept Leicester in third place — ahead of Frank Lampard’s side by one point.

Manchester United and Wolverhampton are only two points behind Chelsea with six games remaining of a season that resumed two weeks ago after the three-month pandemic-enforced break.

Even north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham will have renewed — if fainter — hopes of returning to Europe’s elite competition.

After beating last-place Norwich 4-0, Arsenal moved within six points of United in fifth place, which will secure a Champions League spot if Manchester City’s two-season European ban is upheld.

Tottenham could move within four points of United with a victory at Sheffield United on Thursday. The game that completes the 32nd round on Thursday is Liverpool traveling to Manchester City for its first game since dethroning Pep Guardiola’s side as champions.

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LEICESTER SLUMP

Four years after its shock run to the title, Leicester had been enjoying another standout season. Until January at least.

When the Foxes beat Newcastle on New Year’s Day, they were 15 points clear of sixth place. Now they are only three in front of Wolverhampton.

Leicester has only won two of its 11 league games since Jan. 1, with five losses.

The latest came after Richarlison struck 10 minutes in and Gylfi Sigurdsson doubled Everton’s lead six minutes later with a penalty. Kelechi Iheanacho’s second half-goal couldn’t spark a Leicester recovery.

“How we have performed for the best part of this season has got us into a strong position,” Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said. “Our form hasn’t been the best for a period now but we still have it in our hands to achieve what would be a dream for us, getting into the top four. But we can only get that if the performance is right.”

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WEST HAM BOOST

West Ham turned around a night of frustration against Chelsea to seal a victory that moved the side three points clear of the relegation zone.

Tomas Soucek was denied an opener for offside after a lengthy VAR review. But his goal from another corner did stand in first-half stoppage time to cancel out a penalty converted by Willian after Christian Pulisic was tripped.

Michail Antonio put the hosts in front at the start of the second half and Willian looked like recovering a point for Chelsea when he netted for a second time in the 72nd minute.

But Andriy Yarmolenko completed a counterattack to end a run of three successive losses since before the season was suspended.

It ended Chelsea’s three-match winning run in the league.

“We had an opportunity to move third,” Chelsea manager Frank Lampard. “If there’s moments when you switch off you are going to encourage teams on. It’s been there. I’m very aware of it. The players then have to show that extra mentality, that extra bit.”

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AUBAMEYANG DOUBLE

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was gifted two goals by Norwich to end a four-game run without scoring. The captain also set up Granit Xhaka’s first goal of the campaign and Cedric Soares grabbed Arsenal’s fourth on his injury-delayed debut from the bench.

With 50 Premier League goals in 79 appearances, Aubameyang is the fastest Arsenal player to reach a half-century.

Now manager Mikel Arteta hopes he will sign a new contract beyond next season.

“A player that is able to score as many goals as he’s done in that short space of time tells you everything about the importance he has for us,” Arteta said.

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BLEAK BOURNEMOUTH

Bournemouth missed a chance to climb out of the relegation zone after a 4-1 loss to Newcastle extended the winless run to seven games.

A club-record 19th loss in a top-division season was inflicted by goals from Dwight Gayle and Sean Longstaff in the first half and substitutes Miguel Almiron and Valentino Lazaro after the break.

Bournemouth remains a point from safety in next-to-last place.

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Mexican president to hold first meeting with Trump, Democrats unimpressed

MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s president and his US counterpart Donald Trump will hold their first meeting on July 8 in Washington, officials said on Wednesday, sparking complaints from Democratic lawmakers, who saw it as a political stunt with elections looming.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has not left his country since taking office in December 2018, and paying his first foreign visit to Trump is politically risky because the Republican US president is widely disliked in Mexico.

For Lopez Obrador to visit less than four months before Trump attempts to secure re-election has sparked comment from Mexican critics that it could help the American president shore up support among millions of Hispanic voters.

Lopez Obrador has described the visit as a matter of economic necessity and said it has nothing to do with the November election. He has vowed to stay neutral in the contest.

On Wednesday, Lopez Obrador reiterated that he would be there to bolster Mexico’s economic ties with the United States and celebrate the start of a new regional trade deal on July 1. Trilateral matters that include Canada are on the agenda on the morning of July 9, his government said.

Trump said he would talk about trade, health and security with Lopez Obrador, as they met to mark the beginning of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

However, a letter sent on Wednesday to the White House by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus urged Trump to call off the meeting, describing it as an effort to distract from the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Seen by Reuters, the letter signed by more than a dozen Democrats in Congress called the meeting a “blatant attempt to politicize the important US-Mexico relationship along partisan lines.”

A Democratic congressional aide said Mexico’s government would get a similar letter soon.

Mexico has urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take part in the meeting. So far, Canada had not responded to the invitation to participate, Lopez Obrador said.

Many Mexicans have held Trump in low regard since he described Mexican migrants as rapists and drug runners in his 2015-16 election campaign and vowed to make Mexico pay for his planned border wall.

He has also made repeated threats against Mexico’s economy to pressure its government to stem illegal immigration.

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‘Citizenship bill not inclusive’

KATHMANDU, JULY 1

Although the constitution is progressive in terms of citizenship issues it does not guarantee equality.

Even after five years of the promulgation of the constitution, necessary amendments have yet to be made to Citizenship Act-2006, as per the provisions of the constitution.

As a result, a large number of people, who are qualified to obtain Nepali citizenship, have been deprived of citizenship rendering them stateless. It has been two years since a bill seeking amendment to the Nepal Citizenship Act has been registered in the House of Representatives.

The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives passed the bill on the basis of majority and presented it to the HoR on June 23 for deliberation.

Issuing a press release Civil Society Network on Citizenship Rights observed that the parliamentary panel’s report on the citizenship bill, passed by the majority of members of the committee, has resolved many problems of the Nepal Citizenship Act. The network comprises 29 organisations, including Forum for Women and Law and Development.

Despite some positive provisions in the report, the network has raised various concerns over the bill.

“Since the constitution itself discriminated between Nepali mother and Nepali father, the bill does not contain any provision that could enable Nepali mothers to independently ensure citizenship by descent for their children. If a Nepali woman marries a foreign man, the Nepali woman cannot ensure naturalised citizenship for her husband,” read the release. The bill stipulates that foreign women married to Nepali men shall have to wait for seven years to obtain Nepali citizenship.

If Nepali citizens married to foreign citizens want to reclaim Nepali citizenship, they will have to furnish evidence that they have not obtained citizenship of a foreign country or similar nationality documents of a foreign country. If the applicants had obtained foreign citizenship or nationality document before applying for Nepali citizenship, then they are required to renounce those citizenship and nationality documents.

This could render people stateless, according to the release.

The bill also stipulates that applicants, who want to obtain citizenship as ‘Other’ on the basis of gender identity, shall have to reveal their identity based on the recommendation provided by a recognised medical doctor. But this provision will increase the burden of proof on the applicant and would undermine their prestige. This provision will be a disadvantage to those, who were born as male or female but feel to be different from their biological gender and do not want to undergo sex change surgery or are unable to afford such surgery, read the release.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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Hunger strike by youth activists enters sixth day

KATHMANDU, JULY 1

Iih, 26, who initiated ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign demanding effective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the government, has been on fastunto-death in a sattal (rest house) at Patan Durbar Square as his hunger strike entered the sixth day today.

Iih has been joined by three youths, who have also refrained from eating and drinking to exert pressure on the government to adopt prompt mechanism to fight the pandemic. The youths are Sudan Gurung, Subani Sijapati and Pukar Bam. Gurung and Sijapati were admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital two days ago as their health deteriorated. They have been given saline water at the hospital but have refused to eat food to continue their protest.

The youths, including Iih are a part of apolitical protest which has been supported mostly by people who would otherwise not involve in politics.

Hundreds of such people took to the street a few weeks ago, protesting the government’s lack of urgency, transparency and accountability to tackle COVID-19. The movement spread along major cities across the country. The government turned a deaf ear to their demands and used force to subdue the protesters.

Refusing to be silenced, Iih and his supporters joined satyagraha.

“Our call for truth is not only for the government but also for the general public, whom we urge to stand for their rights. They should demand proper quarantine facility, PCR tests and transparency in its work from the government,” said Iih, adding, “Our frustration is that the government still does not understand the gravity of the situation created by the pandemic. It has been handling the cases with sheer negligence and it is not sincere towards its duty.”

Dozens of supporters of the movement gathered around the satal in solidarity with the movement today. They have demanded to increase the number of polymerase chain reaction test, which is considered reliable and scrapping of the rapid diagnostic test, the result of which does not always yield exact truth about the contraction of the virus.

They have also called to change quarantine strategy by not releasing anyone from a quarantine facility without PCR test. Their other demands include preventing the spread of the disease at the community level and government’s commitment towards its work of containing the virus outbreak.

Many people expressing solidarity with the hunger strike also joined relay-hunger-strike, which has been continued for 478 hours. Dozens of people have also joined the ongoing non-stop running programme at Durbar Square as a symbolic form of protest against the government’s incompetence in handling of the disease. Former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, also a senior leader of Janta Samajbadi Party-Nepal and lawmaker Gagan Kumar Thapa visited Satyagrahis expressing solidarity with them. No government authorities have contacted the protesters till date.

Meanwhile, police arrested 15 demonstrators of the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign as they were staging a protest against the government in front of the prime minister’s official residence in Baluwatar, this evening.

 A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

READ ALSO:

• NC leader Gagan Thapa meets with youth activists staging Satyagraha

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Another huge locust invasion apprehended

Kathmandu, July 1

The Locusts Information Centre has warned that a large swarm of locusts is likely to enter Nepal from India over the next couple of days.

According to the centre, the swarm of locusts is headed towards Darjeeling from Bhagalpur and Motihari in Bihar. As the swarm is likely to enter Nepal from there, the centre has issued a notice directing the authorities concerned to be on high alert.

“The swarm with about two million locusts might affect Tarai and lower hilly regions of the country. If it enters the country and doesn’t split up, it will be difficult for us to control it,” said Ram Krishna Subedi, coordinator of the centre.

Although the federal government has fewer resources to deal with locust invasion, provincial governments claim that they are prepared and have enough resources to deal with the pests, he said.

He added that since the wind direction had not changed yet, the risk of invasion was on. “We have alerted the authorities concerned in high risk areas to keep themselves abreast of the locust movement and generate awareness among the people,” he said, adding that Agriculture Knowledge Centre and local governments were working in tandem.

According to the centre, around 24 smaller groups of locusts have been found in the country so far. In the past four days, more than three million locusts have invaded Nepal from India and have fanned out to more than 30 districts. Even though locusts have affected less crops so far, the centre has requested stakeholders to do their best to control the pests.

According to the centre, locusts have affected maize, vegetables, paddy and banana farms in several districts. However, the capital has not suffered major damage. Around two lakh locusts had invaded Kathmandu but moved on to other areas this morning without inflicting major damage, added Subedi.

On June 27, locusts were sighted in Bara and Parsa. Prior to that, locusts were seen in Nepal in 1962. Back then, the swarm had invaded crops in Kathmandu, Nuwakot, Dhading and a few other districts, inflicting much damage to crops.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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PM advised to reach out to rival NCP faction

Kathmandu, July 1

A day after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was asked by Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Standing Committee members to resign from both the posts of prime minister and party co-chair, the PM was advised by his aides in the party to reach out to the rival faction.

Oli held a meeting with his key confidants, including Cabinet ministers, this morning asking them what course of action he should follow.

According to Gandaki Province Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung, who was present in the meeting, leaders suggested that the PM reach out to party leaders in an attempt to win their confidence but without quitting as PM or party co-chair.

“Party unification process has not completed yet and if the PM quits the post of party co-chair, it will adversely impact the party unity process,” Gurung said, adding, “Party leaders should not seek resignation of the PM at a time when the PM has done exemplary work by forging national unity.” Gurung said some leaders suggested that the PM change his working style to win the confidence of all leaders in the party.

Deputy parliamentary party leader Subas Chandra Nembang said the PM told leaders that the party was facing tough time and Standing Committee members close to him should defend him in the meeting. Nembang told the PM to reconcile his differences with party Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal in order to end the standoff.

Of the 18 Standing Committee members who spoke in the Standing Committee meeting yesterday, 17 had demanded Oli’s resignation — some explicitly, some implicitly.

Standing Committee members, including Dahal, NCP Vicechair Bamdev Gautam and Jhalanath Khanal had sought the PM’s resignation yesterday. Leaders said the PM’s charge that India was plotting to unseat him from the top post undermined the prestige of the people and Parliament of Nepal that elected the prime minister.

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai advised the PM to take the criticisms with an open mind and accept his mistakes while correcting them in a bid to resolve differences within the party.

NCP General Secretary Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Ishwar Pokharel, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock Development Ghanashyam Bhusal and Province 5 Chief Minister Shankar Pokharel were also present in the meeting.

However, ministers Barshaman Pun, Shakti Basnet and Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, who are close to party Co-chair Dahal were not present in the meeting.

Dahal, meanwhile, held a separate meeting of his faction late in the evening. NCP Standing Committee member Haribol Gajurel said Dahal told party leaders that Oli was acting arbitrarily and the party needed to censure his arbitrary actions, while keeping the party united.

“While party unity is important for us. We cannot let things go awry in the name of party unity,” Gajurel quoted Dahal as telling party leaders.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

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Strong front against PM Oli

COMMENTARY

Strong front against PM Oli

By Our Political Analyst

Kathmandu, 2 July: At a time when the nation is facing multiple crisis including serious economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaders in the ruling party are engaged in toppling down Prime Minister and party chairman KP Sharma Oli, which is very unfortunate. To what extend are the political leaders responsible towards the people, it becomes clear from the present war for power.

Senior leaders of the party gathered at a restaurant at Jhamshikhel on Wednesday evening decided to develop unity among them to oust Oli from both the posts he is enjoying.

Party co-chairman Pushpakamal Dahal, senior leader Madhav Nepal, party vice chairman Bamdev Gautam, senior leader JN Khanal, home minister Rambahadur Thapa, agriculture minister Ghanashyam Bhushal were the noted names present at the Jhamshikhel meeting. The meeting was concluding with the decision of demanding resignation of KP Sharma Oli from both the positions.

On the other hand, PM Oli had called a meeting at Baluatar Wednesday morning seeking suggestion from his well-wishers and supporters in the party.

It is learnt that PM Oli is preparing strategy to face the party standing committee meeting, where, 30 out of 45 members had demanded Oli’s resignation.

Options left for Oli:

A few options have left for Oli as he is in minority in the three organs of the party – party central committee, party standing committee and party secretariat. The first option is to defuse the gang-up against him by bringing either Madhav Nepal or Pushpakamal Dahal on his side. There left very rare chance to get success on this option. Next option is to tender resignation from one of the posts – either the PM or party chairman – and negotiate with the rival group. The other option is to face the parliament as he was elected by the party’s parliament members to the post of the PM. As he is an elected party chairman, only the next national convention of the party can change the guard.

The next and bitter options could be splitting the party, or dissolving the parliament or declaring emergency. Although, the constitution has not clearly defined on these options, as an executive prime minister, PM Oli may take such moves, say experts.

It is almost clear that in spite of developing strong front against Oli in the party, the party standing committee cannot take a decision to oust the PM and party chairman. The central committee holds such an authority. To take party decision, central committee meeting has to be called. Oli, on the other hand, is not in a mood to tender resignation in a humiliating manner, rather, he would be ready to face the parliament. Be that as it may, the present developments in the ruling party have lead the party towards a split.

Roadmap of anti-Oli camp:

Anti-Oli front has been developed to share power. As per the roadmap, JN Khanal is assured for the President’s post by eliminating Oli group in the party. Along with Oli’s oust from all the positions, the plan is to oust President Bidhya Bhandari through an impeachment. Dahal has assured Gautam for the next prime minister. However, Nepal believes that Gautam is not capable to the post. Surely, without Indian interests, Oli cannot be ousted and the Indian choice could be either Dahal or Nepal for the PM’s post. Indians are not comfortable with Khanal and Gautam. Therefore, finally, there will be power sharing between Nepal and Dahal. One will become the party chairman, other will become the PM until the party’s national convention.

Dahal’s political future:

In case Oli is ousted from the party, there will be strong domination of Nepal. Nepal is all set to contest to the post of party chairman in the upcoming party election and enjoying both the posts — party chairman and PM — by himself.

In case Oli will be ousted, those in Oli camp may join the Nepal camp as there is rare chance they to join the Dahal camp in the party. Therefore, although, Dahal may enjoy power for the time being, in the long run, Dahal is going to end his political future, say observers in the party.

People’s News Monitoring Service