UML candidate Alam dead - Bharkhar.com

CAPITAL EDITION PRINTED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN KATHMANDU, BIRATNAGAR, BHARATPUR AND NEPALGUNJ STAND PRICE RS 5.00WORLDMunro winsNobel Prize inliterature5OP-EDElection observerscan use the Dashainhiatus for someself-reflection6SPORTSMake or breaktime for World Cupcontenders8INTERESTSPREAD RATENRB fixes mid-July deadline forcommercial banksIKathmandu, Friday, October 11, 2013 (25/06/2070) Nepal Sambat 1133NEPAL’S LARGEST SELLING ENGLISH DAILYVol XXI No 236 | 12+4 Pages | www.ekantipur.comnewsdigestPower-cut hoursKATHMANDU: Keepingin view the Dashainfestival, the NepalElectricity Authority hasdecided to reduce dailyload-shedding hours byhalf, effective Friday.The state power utilitysaid there will be threeand-a-halfhours ofdaily power-cut fromOctober 11 to 16.However, no changeshave been made in thepower outage hours forthe industrial sector. (PR)6,139 candidatesKATHMANDU: A totalof 6,139 candidates arecontesting theNovember 19 electionunder the first-pastthe-post(direct) electionsystem for 240seats. The EC finalisedthe list of candidatesunder this system onThursday.(Details on Pg 4)Musharraf arrestedISLAMABAD: Pakistanipolice said on Thursdaythey had arrested formermilitary rulerPervez Musharraf overthe 2007 raid of the RedMosque in Islamabad, aday after a court grantedhim bail in a separatecase. “We have putGeneral Musharrafunder house arrest in acase involving a militaryoperation on anIslamabad mosque,” asenior police officialsaid. (AFP)END OF AN ERA: SACHIN SET TO RETIREIndian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar celebrates a century againstSri Lanka in Colombo in this July 28, 2010 file photo. Tendulkar willretire from cricket after playing his 200th test match at home againstWest Indies next month, the world's most prolific internationalrun-scorer said on Thursday. (Report on Pg 9)REUTERSUML candidate Alam deadMANISH GAUTAMKATHMANDU, OCT 10Body taken home; demos in BaraLAXMI SAH & PAWAN YADAVNIJGAD, OCT 10HUNDREDS of people poured outon the streets of Simara in Bara districton Thursday to protest the murderof CPN-UML election candidateMohammad Alam.In a spontaneous demonstrationorganised by Alam’s friends, UMLworkers and the Muslim community,protesters demanded investigationsinto the case and arrest of thepersons who shot Alam in Bara district.A gunman shot Alam on hishead at Lipanimal-8 on Friday.Critically injured, the UML leaderhad been undergoing treatment inKathmandu. He died on Thursdayafternoon. Alam’s body wasbrought home at Lipanimal,CPN-UML election candidateMohammad Alam, who wasseriously injured after anunidentified gunman shot athim on Friday, died at the TU TeachingHospital (TUTH) here on Thursdaynoon.In the first instance of attack againstcandidates since the election campaignbegan earlier this month, Alam, 52, wasshot in the head from close range bytwo unidentified persons as he was outcampaigning in his constituency ofBara-4.He was airlifted to Kathmandu thesame day where doctors performed asurgery in the evening. The bullet hadstruck him on his right temple and exitedfrom the other side.“His brain had been dysfunctionalfor the past five days. We tried to stabilisehis blood pressure, but it did notwork and the pressure gradually fell,”said Dr Bhagwan Koirala, the TUTHexecutive director. “His kidneys werealso not functioning properly.”Alam’s body was taken to the UMLoffice in Balkhu and kept there for leadersto pay their last respects. It was thenairlifted to Bara in a Nepal Army helicopterfor final rites, said Amar Yadav,UML’s Bara district committee member.The UML had last Thursday registeredAlam’s candidacy under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election system.Alam was also the chairman of theMuslim Ittehad Organisation and hadcontested the 2008 election from hispresent constituency and lost toJitendra Sonar of the Tarai MadhesLoktantrik Party.Two armed outfits based in thewhere his supporters gathered topay their final tributes.UML to field new candidateIn Kathmandu, the CPN-UMLsaid it will field a new leader in Bara-4 for the November election.Mohammad Alam, the party’scandidate was shot at on Friday. Hedied in Kathmandu on Thursday.“I feel the Election Commissionwill give us some time to field a newcandidate (in Alam’s place),” saidparty leader Agni Kharel.According to the election laws, theEC must give political parties achance to field a new leader for pollsif a candidate whose name has beenincluded in the final list of candidatesdies before 15 days ahead ofthe poll date.Tarai—Madhes Mukti Tigers (Tarai) andTarai Janatantrik Party (Madhes)—owned up the attack through the localmedia.The incident has sent shockwavesacross the country, especially amongthe political parties and election candidates.The parties have been seeking‘better’ security for its candidates.Baidya backs off;party now opts‘gentle boycott’CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidya (centre) at a pressmeet in Lamahi, Dang, on Thursday.POST PHOTODURGA LAL KCDANG, OCT 10BACKTRACKING on itsplan to disrupt theNovember election, theCPN-Maoist led by MohanBaidya on Thursday said theparty has adopted a ‘gentle boycott’strategy for the polls.A two-day meeting of theparty’s officer bearers held inLamahi here has decided tourge the people to boycott theelection but not to disrupt it.“In a democracy, peoplehave the right to exercise theirfranchise or to boycott elections.We urge people to boycottthe election, but we will notforce to abstain from voting,”Baidya told a press conferencehere organised after the twodaymeeting ended onThursday. Baidya said his partywill launch a campaign in villagesacross the country tomake people aware of its boycottplans. “We will educatethem on the importance of boycottingthis election. We will tellthem that the election held bysidelining a major political forceis meaningless,” he said.The party chairman furthersaid his party will not go forconfrontations or clashes. “Theparty will not strike first, but itwill retaliate if there areattempts to suppress the peacefulprotest,” he said.“We have concluded thatthe major political parties, atthe behest of foreign power centres,forced the CPN-Maoist toboycott the polls,” said Baidya.Mystery as twocops die ofgunshot woundsPRAKASH ADHIKARIDAILEKH, OCT 10A POLICE constable died of an apparentself-inflicted gunshot injury aftersupposedly shooting dead his senior atthe Dailekh District Police Office(DPO) on Thursday morning.Preliminaryinvestigationsrevealed thatConstable KamalPrasad Sharma shotdead PoliceInspector HemrajBhatta and decidedto take his own life.Hemraj Bhatta “Bhatta wasshot twice on theback of his headwhile he was asleep,” DeputySuperintendent of Police (DSP)Prajwal Maharjan said. “Sharma wasfound on his bed with a gunshotinjury. A self-loading rifle (SLR) waslying on the floor nearby.”Sharma died undergoing treatmentfor gunshot wounds on his stomachat the district hospital.Though the police were yet to putin the pieces together, Sharma’s colleaguessaid he and Inspector Bhattahad recently had an argument after thelatter disapproved of his two-day leaverequest for Dashain.DSP Maharjan said he was awakenedby the sound of gunshot that hethought had come from the DistrictCourt nearby. “As I rushed outside, thesmell of gunpowder wafted fromdownstairs. When everything was calmand quiet, I went downstairs and madearrangements to take the injured officerto hospital.”Police are yet to find out howSharma had access to the rifle found atthe crime scene.MYSTERY CONTD ON PG 4

2 THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 20131 23 4 5DASHAINDOINGS1) People out for a last-minute shopping for Dashain, at New Road in Kathmandu on Thursday. 2) A man carries chickens to be slaughtered during the festival, at Lagankhel in Lalitpur. 3) People enjoy the swingnear the Bisnumati river at Dhaukhel, Kathmandu. 4) Children in a Dashain clean-up campaign at Saibu in Lalitpur. 5) A boy flies a kite near the Bisnumati river at Dhaukhel.POST PHOTOS: KAUSHAL ADHIKARI / SHREEDHAR POUDEL / SANJOG MANANDHAR / LAXMI PRASAD NGAKHUSIPhulpati celebrations todayNepal signs UN mercury conventionPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10PEOPLE across the country observePhulpati, the seventh day ofDashain on Friday. Although the10-day festival begins fromGhatasthapana, Phulpati is markedwith enthusiasm as the official beginningof a week long public holiday.Marking this day, a set of sacredshrubs previously offered to GoddessDurga is taken to the Dashain Ghar inHanumandhoka. Phulpati is carried bya group of six Magar people fromGorkha to Dhading. Afterwards, sixBrahmins carry it to Jamal, from whereit is transported to Dashain Ghar.Devotees also perform puja, and takePhulpati to the place when ‘Jamara’ isbeing planted. Rituals are performed toseek the goddess’ forgiveness for thesins committed by their family membersas well as her blessing for familypeace and well-being.Preparations for Phulpati pujaPhulpati is marked as theofficial beginning of aweek-long public holidaybegins from the sixth day of Navaratra.On that day, a pair of Bel (woodenapples), hanging from the tree itself, isconsecrated. If a tree is not available, apair of Bel is kept in the south corner ofone’s household and worshiped. ‘Bel’fruit represents goddess ‘Shree’ of prosperity—oneof the many manifestationsof goddess Laxmi. The same pair of ‘Bel’along with eight other plants is takeninside the Dashain Ghar or the particularroom where Navaratra puja isoffered. Nine plants—banana, pomegranate,green paddy, turmeric plant,manabriksha, kachuki, belpatra, ashok,and jayanti—are collectively calledNavapatrika. Each of the plants representsa specific manifestation ofGoddess Shakti. The banana plant representsGoddess Brahmande, whobestows peace.Similarly, pomegranate representsGoddess Rakta Dantika who helps andblesses devotees. The goddess of wealth,Lakshmi, is believed to live in the ricestalk (dhan ko bala). Goddess Durga issupposed to grace the turmeric plant toput an end to obstacles and the gingerplant represents Goddess Kalika whoblesses the mortals. There is also a religiousbelief that god Shiva lives in belplant and is the favourite fruit of Bishnuand Shiva.The Nepal Army is also organising aprogramme in Tundikhel to celebratethe day as the troops are set to host aseven canon-salute, to be overseen bythe President and other state delegates.Of the nine days of Navaratri, thefirst day is called Ghatasthapana, theseventh day, Phulpati , the eight day,Maha Astami and the ninth day, MahaNawami hold special religious significance.POST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10THE government onThursday became the signatoryto the UnitedNations MinamatoConvention on Mercury, alegally binding globalframework formulated toban, export and import of arange of mercury containingproducts by 2020.A government delegationled by the Ministry ofScience, Technology andEnvironment during a twodaymeeting held inKumamoto in Japan fromOctober 10-11 agreed tothis effect to prevent emissionsand releases causingserious public and environmentalimpacts, said apress statement issued bythe ministry on Thursday.The UN MinamatoConvention on Mercurycame into effect fromJanuary this year wherearound 140 countriesagreed to ban production,export and import of arange of mercury containingproducts by 2020 toprotect human lives andthe environment from mercurypollution. Mercury, aheavy and toxic metal, isfound in range of medicalequipment such as thermometers,energy savinglight bulbs, cement, metalsmelters, amalgam dentalfillings and even facialcreams among others.Nepal has alreadyimposed a blanket ban onthe import, purchase anduse of mercury-containingequipment in the countryand has planned to phaseout mercury-containingequipment from this fiscalyear 2013-2014.According to the WorldHealth Organization, mercurycauses harmful effectsto nervous, digestive, respiratoryand immune systems,development deficitduring pregnancy andchildhood, kidney and lungdamage along with longexposure leading to tremor,impaired vision and hearing,paralysis, insomniaand emotional instability.Sikali Jatra lights up KhokanaPeople carry clay pots as they walk to the Shikali Temple during celebrations for the Sikali Jatra festival, inKhokana, Lalitpur, on Thursday.AFP/RSSPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10AT a time the Dashain festival hasgripped the country, local residents ofKhokana, a rural village locatedaround 10 km on the outskirts ofKathmandu Valley, are busy celebratinga five-day long Sikali Jatra.The Jatra, also celebrated as analternative to Dashain by the traditionalNewari community in Khokanafrom the day of Ghatasthapana (thefirst day of the 10-day Dashain), willbe concluded on Friday, alsoobserved as Fulpati by the Hindus.On the occasion of the Sikali festival,goddess Rudrayani and otherdeities are worshipped. According toPurna Bahadur Maharjan, a memberof a local Guthi, a community-led religiousand cultural institution, theJatra has been celebrated since theMalla period and is believed to preventfrom any unwanted and unfortunateincidences affecting the life oflocals and the locality. The three differentguthis (Ta-Guthi, Sala Guthiand Jhahu Guthi) are responsible forthe whole festival.Locals say the practice of celebratingSikali Jatra dates back to 336Nepal Sambat during the reign of thethen king Amar Malla. During thefive-day celebration, three he-buffaloare sacrificed at a local Sidhi Templein Bhakha of Khokana along withdances and offerings. On the final day(Friday), a local dressed as GoddessRudrayani comes out to battle againstthe devils.While the locals seem busycelebrating the annual festivalin Khokona, some feel that thepractice of sacrificing animalssuch as buffaloes and ducks as a partof the local tradition is the dark side ofthe festival.“Locals believe that if we don’tsacrifice the animals on differentoccasions, misfortunes and tragedieswill occur,” said Amrit PrasadDongol, a local. “We can’t stopthe sacrifices completely now butwe should try to minimise theanimal offerings during the festivals,”he added.

THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 20133

4 THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013EC now plans ‘temporary’ voter I-cardsBHADRA SHARMA &PRANAB KHARELKATHMANDU, OCT 10AS plans to award a contractto a private company toprint voter identity cardsfailed, the Election Commission(EC) on Thursday said it will printand distribute ‘temporary’ I-cardson its own.The EC’s plan to print the cardsfor the November 19 ConstituentAssembly election hit a roadblockwhen it was pressured to award thecomtract to a company that rankedfifth among the six bidders in financialevaluation.Election officials on Thursdaysaid they have not given up on theirplans to introduce the cards. “Wewill print the voter ID cards in theEC and they will be distributedamong the voters before the election,”Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) Neel Kantha Uprety told thePost. He, however, did not say howthe EC was going to actually dothat. Given the logistics at its disposal,the number of such cards ithas to print (12.3 million), and theever nearing elections, Uprety’sclaim seemed questionable.With only 39 days to go for thepolls, the EC’s plan to print the‘temporary’ cards immediatelyafter Dashain looks a Herculeantask.On Wednesday, the electionCAELECTIONNOVEMBER 19, 2013body cancelled its plan to awardthe contract to private companiesafter its Secretariat, the bodyresponsible for selecting the printingfirms, was pressured to awardthe work to Sama Printers.Sama was ranked fifth in termsof financial evaluation. Sourcessaid the EC had invited the lowestbidder Jagadamba Press, which hadquoted Rs 4.91 per card, to sign anMoU on Tuesday. Sama Printershad proposed to print an ID card atRs. 8.40. The other bidders wereSilmo, which proposed to print thecards at the rate of Rs 6.1, Omni (Rs7.40), Arol (Rs 7.48), and SaugalTrading (Rs 9.23).6,139 contesting for240 seats under FPTPPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10A TOTAL of 6,139 candidatesare contesting in theNovember 19 ConstituentAssembly (CA) electionsunder the first-past-the-post(direct) election system for240 seats. The EC finalised thename list of candidates underthe direct election system onThursday.Of the total candidates inthe fray, 630 are women, onethird gender and 1,119 independentcandidates.The EC had disqualified20 candidates citing lapses inthe registration process, while205 withdrew their candidacyfollowing pressure from theirrespective party and supporters.EC spokesperson BirBahadur Rai said the list ofcandidates contesting underthe direct election system hasbeen finalised and the electionsymbols have been distributedto the political partiesand independent candidates.Sources at the EC saidaround 15,000 candidateshave been fielded under theproportional representationsystem.UML appeal for donationKATHMANDU: The CPN-UML has appealed to the generalpublic to donate money to the party for the upcomingConstituent Assembly election. Issuing a statement onThursday, the party said well-wishers can deposit donations inthe name of the pary through various banks. The party has alsostated that contributions can be submitted to the party officewith receipts bearing signatures of the chief of UML FinancialDepartment, Bharat Mohan Adhikari. As per the EC’s directiveany contribution above Rs 25,000 has to be conducted throughthe banking system. (PR)Election round-upElection candidate slappedRASUWA: UCPN (Maoist) electioncandidate Prem Bahadur Tamangwas slapped in Dhunche, the districtheadquarters of Rasuwa, duringhis election campaign onThursday. According to local residentswho witnessed the incident,one Ram Titung slapped the Maoistcandidate in front of Rudra GangaHotel at Dhunche-8. Titung slappedTamang accusing the latter for notworking in favour of the people.Tamang was elected to theConstituent Assembly from the districtin the 2008 election as well. TheMaoist district leadership, however,remained tight-lipped about theincident.Parties vow not to use kidsBARDIYA: Various political partieshere in Bardiya district haveexpressed their commitment inwritten not to use children duringthe CA election. During a meetingheld at the District AdministrationOffice on Thursday, the parties infray vowed to abide by the electioncode of conduct. The local administrationsaid the parties agreed tocooperate with security agencywhile mobilising their youth wingsduring the electioneering. (PR)Prices ofgoods undercontrol: GovtPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10THE government has said it has managed tosupply essentials for the Dashain festival atreasonable prices through various fair priceshops across the country.At a press meet here on Thursday,Secretary at the Prime Minister’s OfficeKrishnahari Baskota said the government hasbeen keeping a close tab on shops to curbirregularities and black marketing during thefestive season.Baskota urged consumers to registercomplaints against shops or prices, ifany, either at the ‘Nagarik Subidha Kakshya’ orby making a telephone call at 1111, a toll freenumber.“The government will act immediately,while those guilty of violating the set rules canbe sentenced to 14 years in jail or fined rupeeshalf a million,” he said.Banskota added that five quarantinecheck-posts have been set up in theKathmandu valley for examining livestockthat is brought in.A total of 23 fair price shops have been setup at various places in the Valley that offerbasic goods like sugar at Rs 66 per kg, salt at Rs13 per kg and rice starting from Rs 32 per kg.He added that the Nepal DairyDevelopment Corporation (DDC) is also providingdairy products at reasonable pricesthroughout the country.weather watchFORECAST: Generally cloudy throughout thecountry with chances of brief rain or thundershowersto occur at few places.PLACES MAX MIN RAINFALLTEMP ( 0 C) TEMP ( 0 C) (MM)Dadeldhura 26.0 16.1 4.6Dipayal 33.4 22.8 0.0Dhangadi 32.4 25.0 0.0Birendranagar 33.2 21.0 0.0Nepalgunj 33.4 23.6 0.0Jumla 25.0 12.4 2.2Dang 31.5 19.5 0.0Pokhara 29.8 20.5 0.0Bhairahawa 32.1 22.5 0.0Simra 33.0 21.0 0.0Kathmandu 28.0 18.0 0.0Okhaldhunga 25.4 14.8 0.0Taplejung 26.4 13.6 0.0Dhankuta 28.7 17.0 0.0Biratnagar 32.6 22.0 0.0Source: Meteorological forecasting Division, Department of Hydrology andMeteorology, KathmanduDoctors urge regular eye check-upPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10AS countries marked WorldSight Day-2013 on Thursdaywith the theme “Universal eyehealth: Get your eyes tested,”doctors here urged people tohave their eyes tested regularly.The doctors said eye carehas been an area of ‘least priority’and people visit eye hospitalsonly when they have complications.Dr Ananda Kumar Sharma,head of the Department ofOphthalmology at the Instituteof Medicine, said he rarely findspatients who come for routineeye test. “At least people go seethe doctor for other health reasons.But they don’t seem tocare about their eyes,” he said.“But the fact is, there are manysmall eye problems, which, ifWORLD SIGHT DAYA rally taken out from the Community Hospital on WorldSight Day in Hetauda, Makawanpur, on Thursday:POST PHOTO: PRATAP BISTAuntreated, can lead to blindness.”Secretary at the Ministry ofHealth and Population DrPraveen Mishra said the governmenthas finalised a plan toincorporate eye care in thecountry’s primary health careservices.According to him, the governmentplans to train healthofficials on basic eye check-upand on using certain medicines.“Once we get a green signalfrom the government to implementthe programme, we hopeblindness in the country will bedrastically reduced,” Dr Mishrasaid. He added that an estimatedRs 20 million will berequired for the initial orientationand procurement ofequipment needed for eye careservices.It is estimated that 2,75,000people are blind in Nepal, while65 five percent of the blindnessis due to cataract. The WorldHealth Organization estimatesthat 285 million people arevisually impaired worldwide,among which 39 million areblind and 246 have low vision.Also, about 90 percent of theworld’s visually impaired live indeveloping countries.Secys’ reshufflePOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10THE government onThursday transferred twogovernment secretariesand promoted four jointsecretariesto the post ofacting secretaries.According to the governmentdecision, chief ofNational Vigilance CenterMadhav Prasad Regmi hastransferred to the Ministryof Commerce and Suppliesand Secretary at PublicProcurement Office DhanBahadur Tamang to theMinistry of Peace andReconstruction.Likewise, four JointsecretariesAnup KumarUphadhaya (Ministry ofEnergy), Bhola Shiwaloti(Ministry of Home Affairs),Hari Kumar Shrestha(President’s office) andMadhu Regmi (ElectionCommission) have promotedto the post of actingsecretaries.According to the decision,Uphadhya will headthe Office of the PublicProcurement, Shrestha hasbeen transferred to thevice-president’s office,Regmi to the VigilanceCenter and Siwakoti to thePMO. Likewise, in view ofthe upcoming ConstituentAssembly election, the governmenthas urged all civilservants not to take anykind of leave from October18. The Cabinet alsoinstructed all the civil servantsposted in 75 districtsnot to leave their respectivedistricts and offices untilthe final results of theNovember election are out.Junior cop hurtin ‘DSP assault’DILLIRAM KHATIWADAUDAYAPUR, OCT 10A JUNIOR police officerwas injured when theDeputy Superintendentof Police (DSP) allegedlythrashed him onTuesday.Accusing AssistantSub-Inspector (ASI)Amar Khadka of drinkingon duty, DSPLokendra KumarShrestha at the DistrictPolice Office allegedlybeat him up as thejunior policeman preparedto go out on apatrolling duty.Doctors at the districthospital saidKhadka’s right eardrumhas been severely damagedand that he needsto go to a better hospitalout of the district fortreatment.Khadka submitted areport to theSuperintendent ofPolice (SP), AjayBhattarai, and demandedproper medicaltreatment. Khadka saidhe has sustainedinjuries on his chest aswell. “DSP Shrestha firstslapped me all of a suddenas I was about to setout for patrolling,”Khadka said. He saidShrestha accused himof drinking alcohol.According toKhadka, doctors at thehospital gave him aclean chit after theytested him for alcoholconsumption.It is learnt that DSPShrestha had alsoassaulted constable KulBahadur Surkheti forgoing out with his wifeand brother-in-law to alocal fair at Gaighataround two weeks ago.SP Bhattarai said hewould dig out the truthafter investigations.DSP Shrestha could notbe reached for comments.CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal paying his last respects to party pollcandidate Mohammad Alam, who died undergoing treatment for gunshotwounds, in Balkhu, Kathmandu, on Thursday.PHOTO: SHALIGRAM TIWARIConstable’s family demands probeMYSTERY FROM PG 1The SLR used in theincident is usually kept inthe armory. Only themobile police team isallowed to carry theweapon.The Nepal PoliceHeadquartersinKathmandu has formed acommittee under BheriZonal Police Chief MadhuPrasad Pudasaini to investigatethe case.“We will find out ifthere were other individualsinvolved in the crime.The rifle and its source willalso be investigated,” saidPudasaini. Meanwhile,Sharma’s family membersrefuted reports of his possibleinvolvement in theincident. Friends and familymembers of Sharmastaged a demonstrationoutside the DPO in theafternoon, demanding athorough investigationinto the case. “We wantthe truth, not conjectures,”demanded Sharma’s fatherBadri Prasad. He said theunauthorised weaponrecovered at the scene,Sharma’s ripped clothes,gunshot wound on thestomach and absence oftwo officers from the DPOat the time of the incidentsuggest foul play.Army soldiers ‘threaten’ Doti traffic copDOTI: Nepal Army (NA) soldiers from theFar-West Division Headquarters in Dotiallegedly threatened traffic police Sub-Inspector Padam Singh Dhami with deathat Pipalls Bazaar on Thursday.The plainclothes armymen threatenedto kill the policeman on duty after he finedthem for violating traffic rules. Goingagainst traffic rules, the soldiers, who hadbeen to the local bazaar to buy goods,parked their vehicle on the main street.“They threatened to kill me for penalisingthem for violating traffic rules,” Dhamisaid. (PR)

5KATHMANDU, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013 | WWW.EKANTIPUR.COMMalala wins EU’s prestigiousSakharov human rights prizeMALALA Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenageactivist nominated for Friday’s Nobel PeacePrize, was awarded the prestigious Sakharovhuman rights prize by the European Parliamenton Thursday. The Sakharov Prize for freespeech is awarded by the European Parliamentannually in memory of Soviet physicist anddissident Andrei Sakharov.World’s oldest cinemato reopen in FranceTHE world’s oldest movie theatre, where thefirst films of the pioneering Lumiere brotherswere screened in 1899, reopens in a sleepysouthern French town after an extensivefacelift. The Eden Theatre, which closed in1995, is all set for an inauguratory gala eventin La Ciotat, a town near the sprawling portcity of Marseille.Australia PM Tony Abbottin expenses rowAUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Tony Abbott wasembroiled in a spiralling travel expenses scandalas he defended his use of taxpayer moneyto take part in an ironman competition andother events. Last week he voluntarily repaidabout Aus$1,700 (US$1,600) in travel expensesclaimed for attending the weddings of twoformer colleagues in 2006.newsdigestLast British deployment inAfghanistan beginsLONDON: The last major deploymentof British troops to Afghanistanbegan on Thursday, the Ministryof Defence said, ahead of the withdrawalnext year of Western forces.Some 6,000 British troops will deployto Helmand in southern Afghanistanin stages over the next sixweeks, a ministry spokesman said.Taylor to serve jail term in UKLONDON: Liberia’s former presidentand warlord Charles Taylor isto serve out his 50-year prison sentencefor war crimes in a British jail,Britain confirmed on Thursday.NKorea replaces army chiefSEOUL: North Korean state mediahas confirmed that the nation'shard-line military chief wasreplaced only a few months after hisappointment.Iraq executes 42BAGHDAD: Iraq has executed 42“terrorism” convicts over the pastweek, the justice minister said onThursday, defying condemnation ofits extensive use of the death penaltyas violence intensifies. (Agencies)30 killed in new Syriaair raids on rebelsAGENCE FRANCE PRESSEBEIRUT, OCT 10SYRIAN air raids on rebelpositions in the northernAleppo and southernDaraa provinces killed 30 peopleon Thursday, includingcivilians, a monitoring groupsaid.With the world’s attentiontrained on Syria’s chemicalweapons, set to be destroyedby international experts undera UN resolution, the latestdeaths highlighted the lethalityof the regime’s conventionalarsenal.Fighting has raged in Syria’sonetime commercial hub ofAleppo, where President Basharal-Assad’s regime and rebelshave battled street by streetfor neighbourhoods andsupply routes.The raids by planes andhelicopters on Thursday killed16 people, including a womanand two children in the villageof Sfire to the east of the city,2nd team of armsinspectors arrivesDAMASCUS: A secondteam of internationalinspectors arrived inDamascus on Thursdayto help supervise thedestruction of Syria’schemical arsenal underthe terms of a UN resolution.Three UN vehiclescarrying inspectors earlierdeparted from theirDamascus hotel en routeto an undisclosed location,as the dangerousmission to eradicatechemical arms in the hostileenvironment of a civilwar continued. (AFP)according to the SyrianObservatory for Human Rights.The village is controlled byIslamist groups, including theAl-Qaeda-affiliated IslamicState of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL). “The regime has bombardedSfire for two days inorder to relieve pressure on thesupply route to Aleppo,” whichthe army reopened earlier thisweek, said Rami AbdelRahman, head of the Britainbasedgroup, which relies on anetwork of activists across thewar-torn country.The route is used not onlyto ferry weapons and reinforcementsto troops at the front, butalso to deliver food and medicalsupplies to civilians in regimecontrolledareas.Another six people, includinga woman and a child, werekilled in air raids on Menbej,another village east of Aleppocontrolled by ISIL and otherIslamist groups.In the southern province ofDaraa, where the uprisingbegan in March 2011, eightpeople, including two children,were killed in air raids on Nawavillage, split between the armyand rebels.Musharraf rearrestedPakistani police on Thursdayarrested former militaryruler Pervez Musharraf overthe 2007 raid of the RedMosque in Islamabad, a dayafter a court granted him bailin a separate case. (AFP)Libyan PM freed after stunning abductionASSOCIATED PRESSTRIPOLI, OCT 10LIBYAN Prime Minister Ali Zidanwas freed from captivity just hoursafter gunmen abducted him onThursday at dawn from the hotelwhere he resides in the capital,Tripoli, according to the statenews agency.The brazen abduction—apparently in retaliation for theUS special forces’ raid over theweekend thatseized a Libyan al-Qaida suspectfrom the streets ofTripoli—reflectedthe deep chaosand lawlessnessgripping Libya.Governmentspokesman Mohammed Kaabartold the LANA new agency thatZidan has been “set free” and wason his way to his office.The brief report gave nofurther information and detailswere sketchy, but it appearedLibyan forces had intervenedin some way and that theabductors did not free Zidanvoluntarily.A militia commander affiliatedwith the interior ministry told aprivate Libyan television stationthat the prime minister was freedwhen members of a Tripoli-basedmilitia stormed the house wherehe was held hostage.Haitham al-Tajouri, commanderof the so-called “ReinforcementForce,” told Al-Hurrah televisionthat his men exchanged firewith the captors but that Zidanwas not hurt.Zidan’s abduction reflectedthe weakness of Libya’s government,which is virtually heldhostage by powerful militias,many of which are made up ofIslamic militants.Munro wins NobelPrize in literatureASSOCIATED PRESSSTOCKHOLM, OCT 10ALICE Munro, a Canadianmaster of the short storyrevered as a thorough butforgiving chronicler of thehuman spirit, won theNobel Prize in literature onThursday.Munro is thefirst Canadianwriter to receivethe prestigious$1.2 millionaward from theS w e d i s hAcademy sinceSaul Bellow, wholeft for the US as aboy and wonin 1976.Seen as a contemporaryChekhov for her warmth,insight and compassion,she has captured a widerange of lives and personalitieswithout passingjudgment on her characters.Unusually for Nobelwinners, Munro’s workconsists almost entirely ofshort stories. “Lives of Girlsand Women” is her onlynovel.“I knew I was in therunning, yes, but I neverthought I would win,” the82-year-old said by telephonewhen contacted byThe Canadian Press inVictoria, British Columbia.Munro is belovedamong her peers, fromLorrie Moore and GeorgeSaunders to MargaretAtwood and JonathanFranzen. She is equallyadmired by critics. Shewon a National BookCritics Circle prize for“Hateship,Friendship,Courtship,Loveship,Marriage,” and isa three-time winnerof the GovernorGeneral’sprize, Canada’shighest literaryhonour.Munro’s publisher,PenguinRandom House,welcomed theaward with “jubilationand great pride,” andsent “joyous good wishesto our beloved author andto our family of her publishersand editors.”Canadian Prime MinisterStephen Harper congratulatedMunro on Twitter “onbehalf of all Canadians.”The award is likely tobe the capstone to Munro’scareer. She told Canada’sNational Post in June thatshe was “probably notgoing to write anymore.”Munro is the 13thfemale literature laureatein the 112-year history ofthe Nobel Prizes.

6THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013EDITORIALHolidays aheadLet this Dashain bea good break for allTHE time of the year when neigbourhoods inKathmandu fall asleep to the noise of goats bleatingat night is here. Bus stops are littered with goatpellets and people can be seen carrying, dragging andpushing these poor animals to new destinations. Thegoats tag along uncertain, unacquainted with the blacktopped roads of the city. In case Kathmandu dwellersmiss the goats, the deserted streets are an infallible signof Dashain. The streets are empty and the sound of everybike, truck or bus on the road is distinct to the ear. Thefew public vehicles plying on the streets cram people andluggage together while the city takes its annual breather.Over a million people have already left Kathmandu vialand while as many as 167,000 have booked their ticketsfor Fulpati, Asthami and Nawami just to make it home forTika.Dashain holds different meanings for each personcelebrating it. For children, it is a time to run free, flykites, pester parents to buy new clothes and convenientlyturn a deaf ear to complete the ever dreadful Dashainhomework until it is days before school restarts. As onegrows older, people realise that no excuse to avoid meetingrelatives will work during Dashain. From one home tothe next, the same questions about age, education, aimsin life, marriage and kids recur according to one’s age.Answers are given and duly forgotten until the ritualrepeats next year. Relatives insist on serving a pieces ofmeat and chuira at every stop for Tika until a fewbecomes too much to take in for the stomach.Vegetarians meanwhile will make do with dahi chuiraand aaluko achar pining for the sweets of Tihar. All of thismakes Dashain what it is: a time to feast, complain andstill manage to feel good about reconnecting with one’sroots. The mass exodus of people from the Valley is testimonyto that fact.However, not all in the country celebrate this Hindufestival. Buddhists, Muslims and Christians all have differentfestivals that hold the same significance Dashainholds for Hindus. For them it is just like any other holiday,an opportunity to meet friends and relax.Nonetheless, it is a much-needed respite from everydaywork for all. Most in Nepal, journalists included, only geta one-day weekend—a Saturday—that is quickly overattending to household chores, leaving little time to rejuvenateoneself. We hope this Dashain turns out to be thewell-deserved holiday for all, whether celebrating the festivalor not. Everyone deserves a break from their increasinglyfast-paced lives. Everyone needs sometime to relax,reflect on life and for once, relish food and drink inleisure. Let this Dashain be that break.ELECTION observation organisationstend to be regarded (andregard themselves) as akin tomother’s milk, of high moralcharacter and beyond reproach. Theygive off the aroma of earnestness,whereas one can detect the whiff ofKANAK MANI DIXITnaiveté and ritualism. Certainly, theaccountability demands are low whenyou can fly into a country, or drive up toa district, go through the motions ofobservation, hold solemn press conferencesand be gone before your hastydeclaration of ‘free and fair’ impacts thehost citizenry.Nepal is going in for the holidays ofDashain, Tihar and Chhat even as thesecond Constituent Assembly pollscome up and some see this as fortuitousbecause the festive spirit will prevent theturbulence that is guaranteed in thespring. The flipside to this is that there isno time left for campaigning on the criticalelection issues of the day, vizaccountability for war crimes, corruption,economic downturn, inter-communitydivides and the weakening of thenational sovereign space.International election observersmay themselves feel tempted to try atrek or two in the guise of monitoringwork, having arrived smack in the middleof the tourist season. But hopefully,they will use the time to study the prepollrealities, all that has been left unsaidand undone by the political class, thepresidency and the government. Andalso examine the grievous weaknesses ofthe 2008 poll observation exercise,which was on the whole a betrayal of theNepali citizenry on the chopping blockof populism.All in all, with 38 days left forNovember 19, we have hardly 20 days foractual campaigning outside the festivalsand this helps none but the radical leftand the up-and-coming right. Indeed,the holiday mood is dangerous for theorganisation of clean polls—notice howthe shooting of CPN-UML candidateMohamaad Alam last Friday failed tomake an impact on the governmentadministration and political class, eventhough it has caused palpable alarmamong the electorate, particularly in theWatching the watchersThe country is shutting down for the holidays and willopen up for elections. What is an election observer to do?vulnerable parts of the Tarai-Madhes.The meaning of itThe job of elections observation is toensure free, fair and meaningful elections.There has been great neglect of the‘meaningfulness’ aspect by the politicalparties, government and Kathmanducivil society. This has left the platform forelections rather feeble, also because theNGO and INGO observation organisationsfailed to take a stand on crucialmatters. Whether it was fear of incurringthe wrath of Pushpa Kamal Dahal or thepossibility of funding loss, poll reviewgroups have been timid.The national observation teams arefattened with donor funds and theirsilence over the past year, including duringthe passage of the poll ordinance, isobjectionable. And now comes the newsthat, for the sake of ‘balance’, a Maoistorientedobservation organisation hasbeen provided funding support by thedonors—as if elections are a matter ofbalancing contending forces, thosestanding for democracy and those not.On the matter of meaningfulness(sarthak chunab), the national andinternational observation entities didnot object to: the abolition of the‘threshold’ provision which would haverestricted the number of parties in theHouse to a manageable level; the nonrequirementof inclusiveness for partiesfielding in less than 30 percent of constituencies;the abysmal representationof Dalits in the First-Past-The-Post(FPTP) rosters; the exclusion of the CPN-Maoist and associated parties from theelections; and so on. There was resoundingsilence as the proportional representation(PR) roster was allowed to be‘unlocked’, permitting party leaders topick and choose rather than go sequentially.The Election Commission (EC),meanwhile, refuses to demand therelease of the parties’ proportional liststo the public.The unkindest cut by the observationgoups—desi and bidesi—has beentheir refusal to utter a word against thefielding of war-crime accused and otheraccused of bloody hands as candidates.The relevant ordinance was passedwithout real objection from the monitoringgroups. The election observerscan use the Dashain holidays to understandthe extent of this malafide inactionby perusing the record of thisemblematic roster of candidates: AgniPrasad Sapkota, Surya Man Dong, BabanSingh, Yam Bahadur Pariyar and BalramSah.It is time to cross-check the philosophicalguidelines of election observationagainst the on-the-ground record ofongoing pusillanimity. It is time for electionobservers to empathise with the victim(eg Purnimaya Lama, when consideringthe candidacy of UCPN (Maoist)spokesperson Agni Prasad Sapkota)rather than to make things easy for demagogueswho plan to rule for decades onthe basis of paisa and danda (moneyand truncheon).The previous exerciseElection observers are programmed toritualistically declare an election exercisefree and fair, that too, as quicklyafter polling is over as possible in orderto beat the competition. They will not dootherwise unless there is a possibility ofbeing found out and embarrassed internationally.This time around, the ECmust restrain the observer groups,national and international, from immediatelypronouncing themselves on theelections as a whole. Let the polling exercisebe evaluated booth by booth and letthe observers concentrate on reportingfraud where they see it, and let themdare to demand cancellation whererequired—something most shied awayfrom in 2008.The observers must evaluate theirown ability to evaluate the campaignperiod over the next 38 days, broken upbetween three festivals of the hill-plain.Are all candidates being allowed to campaignon the ground? At what level arefinancial inducements being used? Whatof criminalisation, particularly as itaffects voters in the plains adjacent tothe open border? Are families, clans andwhole communities being intimidatedand forced to vote for a particular candidate/party?Belying their record thus far are theobserver groups willing to call a spade aspade, when the evidence points to misuseof money, muscle and intimidationby-propaganda?Are they equipped tomonitor the media, including FM radioand bring misconduct from whicheverquarter to the attention of the EC? Inessence, are the groups able and willingto go beyond the ritualism of electionobservation, to try and guarantee anindependent and clean exercise?The 2008 exercise was allowed to beunfree and unfair, because, from theChief Election Commissioner on down,everyone told us that the elections werepart of the peace process. Everyoneobserved but no one reported the massive,countrywide electoral fraud. Boththe national and international observergroups were complicit, with only a feworganisations such as the NationalElection Monitoring Alliance (NEMA)seeming to go against the current. Inorder to prepare for November 19 and itsprelude, observers organisations can usethe Dashain hiatus for some self-reflectionand compare and contrast NEMA’sreport of the 2008 exercise with those ofthe other groups.The cast of characters leadingnational politics are the same today as in2008, other than the absence of GirijaPrasad Koirala. The fear, once again, isthat we will allow a poor election exerciseto be given legitimacy, which will getour society stuck that much deeper inthe mud. We may have failed in makingthe upcoming elections meaningful butat least we can try for an exercise that isfree/fair in the true meaning of the twoterms. That is when we can begin to pickup the pieces of our destroyed polity andbegin to build anew—including planningfor local government elections in acountry where the villages and districtshave been abandoned for too long.A rich man’s worldEconomic deregulation and liberalisation in Nepal have only made the rich richer and the poor poorerDESPITE Nepal’s laissez-faire economy,economic liberalisation has so farfailed. Only very sluggish growth isbeing experienced while the manufacturingand industry sectors have diminished after liberalisationand deregulation. EconomicBHIM PRASAD BHURTELreforms have not been able to yield growthbecause of a lack of competitive capacity,entrepreneurship and economic efficiency inthe private sector. As a result, vertical, spatialand horizontal inequalities are rampant. Howmuch growth has been achieved is not worthdiscussing, far more important is the questionabout how economic growth has been distributedamong the people.Vertical inequalityVertical economic inequality is generally measuredin terms of income and wealth. Amongvarious indicators, I have applied decile andquantile tables, the Gini coefficient, andKuznet’s ratio. The resulting statistics show thecolossal economic inequalities within Nepal.First, let us consider the decile data. In1985, the poorest 10 percent of the populationshared 4.04 percent of the national income.This figure plummeted to 1.7 percent in 1996and number increased only marginally to 2.1percent in 2003/4 before plunging to 1.5 percentin 2010/11. On the opposite end, the richest10 percent shared 25 percent of the wealthin 1985. This digit increased to 34.9 and 37.7percent in 1996 and 2003/4 respectively. In2011, it reached a record-high of 39.5 percent.Quantile data shows that the poorest 20percent of the population shared 9.1 percent ofthe national income in 1985. This figuredropped to 5.3 percent in 1996 and furthersank to 4.1 percent in 2010/11. Conversely, therichest 20 percent of the population shared39.5 percent in 1985 and 50.2 percent in 1996.The figure increased to 53.4 percent in 2003/4and 56.2 percent in 2010/11.This clearly indicates that the poor andlower classes have failed to profit from post-liberalisationgrowth. The total income shared bythe first to eighth decile has continuouslydecreased over the same period. It can thus beconcluded that economic liberalisation hasmade the rich richer and the poor poorer.Economic deregulation, it seems, is onlyfavourable for rich people.Let’s take the Gini coefficient, which is acommon means to measure inequality. Thecloser it is to 100 percent, the higher theinequality between the groups looked at. TheGini coefficient reached 29.55 percent in 1985.It increased to 42.76 percent in 1996, 45.54 percentin 2003/4 and 49.42 percent in 2010/11.After China, Nepal has one of the highest Ginicoefficients in the world.Fourth, Kuznet’s ratio—a ratio between theincome of the richest 20 percent and theincome of the poorest 40 percent—was 1.79 in1985. It increased to 3.28 in 1996 and 4.72 in2010/11. These figures help us understand thateconomic reforms have helped the rich accumulatemore income while at the same timereducing the wealth of the poor.What policy conclusions can we draw fromthese findings? First, the labour share of thenational income has declined over time whilethe share of capital has rapidly increased. KarlMarx’s conclusion about the income share incapitalist societies obviously holds true forNepal. The decline in the share of income ofthe poorest 40 percent is due to the decline inagricultural growth. The agriculture sectordeclined due to cuts in agricultural subsidiescombined with a hike in agricultural inputprices.A second policy conclusion is that our governmenthas failed to take fiscal measures toreduce income inequality. Monetary measuressuch as providing cheap and easy credit to thepoor have been largely ineffective.Spatial inequalitiesAnother impact of economic deregulation hasbeen massive spatial inequality. Inequalities inthe standard of living, physical infrastructure,bank/financial services, education and heathfacilities increased greatly after economicreforms. The UN’s Human DevelopmentReport 2009 put Nepal’s national HumanPoverty Index (HPI) at 35.4. In urban areas, it is20.7 whereas in rural areas, it is 38.2. Worst offis the Karnali region, with an HPI of 60.1.Similarly, the Human Development Index(HDI) of Kathmandu in 2009 was 0.65 whereasin Mugu, Bajura and Dolpa it hovers around0.30. Similarly, literacy rates, life expectancyand per capita income also differ spatially.Economists like Mansoob Murshed and ScottGates have attributed the 10-year Maoist insurgencyto prevailing poverty and income andspatial inequalities in Nepal.Horizontal inequalitiesThe Human Development Report 2009 concludesthat inequalities in educational attainment,income, life expectancy and othersocioeconomic attainments can be witnessedamong the same caste, ethnic, gender, religiousgroups and also across these groups. It is oftensaid that this kind of inequality cannot beobserved in a free market economy. However,horizontal inequalities of this kind have onlyincreased since Nepal’s economic deregulation.What lessons can be learned from suchstudies on vertical, spatial and horizontalinequalities? The findings raise questions thatneed to be answered by politicians and policymakers.What kind of society are they shapingfor the future? What legacy do they want toleave for future generations? If only 20 percentof the population is profiting from economicpolicies and 80 percent is being left behind, canthere still be peace, harmony, stability andprosperity for all? The current situation onlyoffers fertile ground for anti-social elements.To rectify income inequalities, the agriculturesector needs to be heavily subsidised.Labour-intensive technologies should beadopted to develop new infrastructure. Fiscalmeasures such as a progressive taxation systemcould transfer wealth to low-income groups inthe form of food, housing and energy subsidies.The development that perpetuates today’sinequalities is not sustainable. More attentionneeds to be paid to poverty reduction, ensuringsocial justice and presenting sustainable economicpolicies. It is obvious that the free marketalone cannot bring social justice and desirablesocio-economic development; the stateneeds to play its role. Adam Smith knew thiswhen he said, “No society can surely be flourishingand happy of which by far the greaterpart of the numbers are poor and miserable”.Bhurtel is pursuing a PhD in Macroeconomics.He was executive director of Nepal South Asia Centre,a development think tank, from 2007 to 2011Thinkbeforeyou talkPUJARI VENKATRAMANAALEXANDER Graham Bell, who invented thetelephone in 1876, may not know how tooperate today’s cell phone. Phones have nowbecome mobile and so technically advanced thatyou can do an unlimited number of things on them.The ability to make a phone call while away froma landline is the first advantage of a mobile phone.Cell phones now provide an array of services thathelp people stay in touch, communicate with eachother and share ideas and interests. They havespread to all parts of the world and are now the leadingmedium of communication, even in rural areasand third world countries.However, there is a darker side to cell phone use.They are now the leading cause of vehicle accidents.There has also been much research conducted onthe amount of radiation that cell phones emit, whichhas variably been shown to be harmful to physicaland mental health.Recently, a study was conductedon 35 rats that were bombarded withthe trace amounts of radiation that all cell phonesemit. Prolonged exposure to this radiation led tobreakage in the rat’s DNA, leading scientists to estimatethat similar reaction might be happening inhuman beings over long periods of cell phone use.Besides the negative health effects of cellphones, there are numerous social problem too.postplatformParents should ensure that children use mobilephones only when absolutely necessary because ofthe potential risks of overuse, distraction and negativeinfluence. Although it is quite impossible to stopusing mobile phones completely, as they have permeatedmost sections of society andhave thus become indispensible tocommunication and interaction,most people would definitely benefit fromcontrolling their use and reducing their exposure toradiation.The prevalence of cell phones has even led to theinception of a new disorder called nomophobia,which is the irrational fear of being without a cellphone. Sufferers tend to feel uncomfortable or panickywhen they lose the use of their phone, even forregular problems like when phone lose power andare switched off or they stop working properly.Modern gadgets like mobiles have made usslaves to machines. From doing things in the kitchento working in the industry, everything now dependson machines. Consequently, human health andvalue has deteriorated to a large extent. Physicallabour is necessary for good health but most gadgetsact as deterrents to such activity and promote passivity.The new generation is growing physically andpsychologically weak and suffers from diseasesunheard of in the past. Incidentally, the more wedepend on modern gadgets, the more weak webecome physically, mentally and emotionally.

THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 20139Batting Great Tendulkar to retire after 200th Test‘All my life, I have had a dream of playing cricket for India. I have been living this dream every day for the last 24 years’AGENCE FRANCE PRESSENEW DELHI, OCT 10INDIA’S record-breaking batsmanSachin Tendulkar announcedThursday that he would retireafter playing his 200th Test matchnext month, calling time on a careerstretching nearly a quarter of a century.Tendulkar, the highest run-scorerin Test cricket history and the onlyplayer to make 100 centuries in internationalcricket, said he had been“living a dream” since making hisdebut in 1989 but recognised it wasnow time to call it quits.“It’s been a huge honour to haverepresented my country and playedall over the world,” the batsman saidin a statement.“I look forward to playing my200th Test Match on home soil, as Icall it a day.”India is to play a two-Test seriesagainst the West Indies next monthwhich would enable Tendulkar, whohas already made 198 appearances, tobecome the first player to reach the200 landmark.Tendulkar, 40, said he found ithard to imagine life without cricket“because it’s all I have ever done sinceI was 11 years old.”“All my life, I have had a dream ofplaying cricket for India. I have beenliving this dream every day for the last24 years,” he said.The right-handed batsman hasscored 15,837 runs since his debutagainst Pakistan in Karachi inNovember 1989, although he hasstruggled for form in recent times. His100 centuries in international cricketincludes 51 Test tons.His last Test match century camein January 2011 when India playedSouth Africa and he retired from One-Day internationals late last year. Healso played his last Twenty20 matchearlier this month in an appearancefor the Mumbai Indians.New Diamond, Dhor Patanin volleyball finalKATHMANDU: New Diamond SportsClub secured pole position to reachthe final of the 15th Martyrs RajendraMemorial Open VolleyballTournament on Thursday. NewDiamond beat Dhor Patan 25-15, 18-25, 25-15, 25-22 to come on pole positionplayed in the round-robin phaseof the tournament. Despite the defeat,Dhor Patan also progressed to thefinal as runners-up.Hosts Shree Bhakta crownedchampionsKATHMANDU: Hosts Shree BhaktaClub clinched the Bhaktapur DistrictWide Badminton Championships onThursday. Shree Bhakta bagged threegold medals, one silver and twobronze medals to finish at pole positionwith 26 points. Likewise, ABCBadminton Club (12) and NagarikHospital (6) secured second and thirdpositions respectively.Chapali-4, Bishnu-4 ‘B’ marchinto semisKATHMANDU: Chapali Bhadrakali-4and Bishnu-4 ‘B’ progressed into thesemi-finals of the FourthBuddhanilkantha Inter-ward FootballIndia’s Sachin Tendulkar celebrates after scoring a century on the second day of their second Test cricket matchagainst South Africa in Kolkata in this February 15, 2010 file photo. Tendulkar will retire from cricket afterplaying his 200th Test match at home against West Indies next month.REUTERSTendulkar captained India forseveral years but the high point of hiscareer came in 2011 when he was partof the Indian team to win the WorldCup. He was carried from the field byhis team-mates after the final in hishometown of Mumbai.Known as the ‘Little Master’,Tendulkar has been widely hailed byhis contemporaries as second only tothe Australian legend Sir DonaldLOCAL ROUNDUPTournament on Thursday. ChapaliBhadrakali-4 edged Bishnu-1 ‘A’ 1-0thanks to Tshering Lama’s goal andSuman Gurung and Phurba Lamaguided Bishnu-4 ‘B’ into the final fourbeating Chapali-3 2-0.Koteshwor invitationaltaekwondo from Oct 25KATHMANDU: The Fourth KoteshworInvitational National TaewkondoChampionship will kick off onOctober 25, organisers KoteshworTaekwondo Dojang confirmed onThursday. Altogether 165 players from13 teams, including five regionalteams, three teams from Kathmanduvalley and three departmental sideswill compete for a total 15 gold medalsin both senior and junior categories.Kalika, Golden Flower in finalKATHMANDU: Kalika Western UnitedClub and Golden Flower GardenSchool progressed into the final of thePratham Naikap Smriti Cupon Thursday. A total of forty-threeteams participated in thetournament that was played in theknock-out phase of the tournament.The final will be contested onOctober 11. The winners will beawarded with a cash prize of Rs100,000 while the runners-up will takehome Rs 50,000.Bradman in the pantheon of battinggreats. Australia’s Shane Warne, whowas considered one of his generation’sfinest spinners along with SriLanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, saidthat no one else came close toTendulkar in his prime.“Sachin Tendulkar is, in my time,the best player without a doubt —daylight second, Brian Lara third,”said Warne.AGENCE FRANCE PRESSELONDON, OCT 10KEVIN Pietersen took toTwitter to question Englandfootballer Jack Wilshere’sbelief that only English playersshould represent thenational side.Pietersen, born inPietermaritzburg, SouthAfrica to an English motherand South African father, hasbecome a mainstay of theEngland cricket team and isjust one match away fromappearing in 100 Tests.He is one of a number ofplayers across several sports,including Jamaica-bornfootballer John Barnes,who’ve represented Englandwithout being born in thecountry, a legacy of thecountry’s imperial past,‘mixed’ marriages and, morerecently, greater globalmigration.But Wilshere saidTuesday: “The only peoplewho should play for Englandare English people. If you livein England for five years itTendulkar, who is an honourarymember of parliament, hassometimes struggled to cope withhis iconic status, but he made apoint of praising his fans in his retirementstatement.“Most of all, I thank my fans andwell-wishers who through theirprayers and wishes have given me thestrength to go out and perform at mybest,” he said.Pietersen takesWilshere to taskdoesn’t make you English.”However, Pietersenpointing to his own case andthat of several other SouthAfrica-born England cricketersas well as Somali-borndouble Olympic championMo Farah, said: “JackWilshere — interested toknow how you define foreigner...?“Would that include me,(Andrew) Strauss (the ex-England cricket captain),(Jonathan) Trott (Englandbatsman), (Matt) Prior(England wicketkeeper),Justin Rose (South Africaborngolfer), (Chris) Froome(Kenya-born Tour de Francechampion), Mo Farah?”FACTFILEFull name: Sachin Ramesh TendulkarMajor teams: India, Mumbai.TESTS:Matches 198, Runs 15,837, Highest 248not out, Average 53.86, Centuries 51,Half-centuries 67ONE-DAYERS:Matches 463, Runs 18,426, Highest 200not out, Average 44.83, Centuries 49,Half-centuries 96TWENTY20:Match 1, Runs 10, Average 10.00WORLD RECORDS:• Most Test runs and centuries• Most one-day runs and centuries• Only batsman to score 100 internationalcenturies• Most World Cup runs (2,278)• Most appearances in Tests and onedayinternationals• 1,000 or more Test runs in a calendaryear six times: 1997, 1999, 2001,2002, 2008, 2010• 1,000 or more one-day runs in a calendaryear seven times: 1994, 1996,1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007KEY DATES:April 24, 1973 : Born in MumbaiDecember 11, 1988 : First class debutaged 15 with a centuryNovember 15, 1989 : Test debut vPakistan, KarachiDecember 18, 1989 : One-day debut vPakistan, GujranwalaAugust 14, 1990 : Maiden Test century vEngland, Old Trafford aged 17December 10, 2005 : Overtakes SunilGavaskar’s world record of 34 Test tonsOctober 17, 2008 : Overtakes Brian Laraas highest run-getter in TestsFebruary 24, 2010 : First batsman to score200 in one-day cricket.April 2, 2011 : World Cup winner with IndiaMarch 16, 2012 : Becomes only batsmanto score 100 international tons.Oct 10, 2013: Says he will retire from Testcricket after playing his 200th match.Hehas already retired from one-day andTwenty20 cricket.Tributes pourin for legendaryrun machineAGENCE FRANCE PRESSENEW DELHI, OCT 10TRIBUTES poured in on Thursday from fans,players and experts after legendary Indianbatsman Sachin Tendulkar announced hisretirement from Test cricket next month after a24-year career.The reactions were tinged with sadness butmost acknowledged that it had been inevitableand came at a time when his reflexes wereclearly showing signs of slowing down.“One of the greatest ever is retiring. One ofmy heroes and a absolute joy to play against,”wrote former England captain MichaelVaughan on Twitter.Kevin Pietersen wrote that the right-handerwas the “undisputed champion of cricket”.The father of two, the only player to make100 centuries in international cricket, will hangup his boots after a home series against theWest Indies in November which will see himcomplete 200 Tests.“This is the hardest call to make when youhave played cricket for 24 years. This decision isentirely his own and it gives us an opportunityto celebrate Tendulkar in the years to come,”said cricket historian and author BoriaMajumdar. “There will be an overflow of emotionswhen he takes the field for his final Test,”Majumdar told AFP.The Indian Express newspaper concededthat Tendulkar had not been at his best in therecent past. But it greeted news of theannouncement with a picture captioned “TheGod retires”.Sourav Ganguly, a former India captain,told the NDTV news channel that Tendulkar’s“commitment to the game and his temperamentstood out”.Ton-up Watling puts New Zealand on topAGENCE FRANCE PRESSECHITTAGONG, OCT 10BRADLEY-JOHN Watling led NewZealand’s remarkable fightbackwith a gutsy century to leave thetourists in control of the first Testagainst Bangladesh in Chittagongon Thursday.The South African-born wicketkeepercompiled a career-best 103as the Black Caps recovered from282-7 to post 469 all out by tea onthe second day at the Zahur AhmedChowdhury stadium.Bangladesh were 103-2 in replyat close, following a breathtakingcounter-attack by 22-year-oldMominul Haque, who smashed anunbeaten 77 off 71 balls with 13boundaries.Mominul shared an unbrokenthird-wicket stand of 95 with debutantMarshall Ayub (21 not out)after two wickets had fallen for eightruns by the fourth over.Bangladesh, who have lost eightand drawn one of their nine Testsagainst New Zealand, will need tomatch the rivals’ huge total if theyare to avoid defeat in the first gameof the two-match series.Watling’s century was the cornerstoneof the brilliant resistenceby New Zealand’s tailenders thatfrustrated Bangladesh’s bowlers.New Zealand’s BJ Watling acknowledges the crowd after scoring acentury during the second day’s play in the first Test againstBangladesh in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on Thursday.AP/RSSNumber 11 Trent Boult also hit apersonal best of 52 not out, helpingWatling add a valuable 127 runs forthe 10th-wicket on the newly-laidpitch that provided only slow turn.“It was great fun batting withTrent out there,” Watling said.“I thought he played extremelywell. He waited for the loose balland played some nice shotsthrough the onside.“We played some good cricketand put Bangladesh under pressure.We were patient and managedto put on a good partnershiptogether. It was needed because 400is pretty much par on this wicket.”Watling, who was on four whenhe was caught off a Rubel Hossainno-ball, prospered with the help ofthe tailenders and reached his secondcentury with a six off AbdurRazzak. His valiant effort ended justat the stroke of tea when he wasstumped off Mominul, the eighthbowler deployed by Bangladeshduring the innings.Watling hit six boundaries andtwo sixes as he surpassed his previousbest of 102 not out againstZimbabwe in Napier in January lastyear. Boult breezed past his personalbest of 33 with a six off Shakib AlHasan and returned unbeaten asWatling was dismissed attemptingto pick up the scoring rate.The Black Caps, who resumedat the overnight score of 280-5, lostBruce Martin and debutant CoreyAnderson in the first two overs ofthe day to slip to 282-7.Martin was caught behind froma thin edge off Rubel and Andersonedged Razzak to first slip, giving theleft-arm spinner his third wicket inthe innings.SUMMARY, 1ST TEST, DAY 2Bangladesh 103/2 (Mominul 77*,Ayub 21 *Boult 1-5, Bracewell 1-25) trail New Zealand469 (Williamson 114, Watling 103, Razzak 3-47,Gazi 2-79) by by 366 runs with 8 wicketsremaining in the 1st innings.

10 THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013TODAY’S HOROSCOPEARIES (March 21-April 19)****It’s a really good time to take action-even if that means you’vegot to wing it! Your good energy is perfect for leaving your markon the world, whether you’re at work or looking for love.TAURUS (April 20-May 20)***You need to avoid the temptation to invest too heavily in oneperson or offer-spread yourself out a bit! You should see thatwhile intensity has its place, for now it’s better to go easy.GEMINI (May 21-June 21)***You have got to step up and take direct action-your people aretoo confused to make the first move. Once you lead the way,they should see what needs to happen and then make it so.CROSSWORDSU DOKUYesterday’s SolutionCANCER (June 22-July 22)***Sometimes you have to take care of yourself before you canhelp anyone else. It’s a good time to focus your attention onyourself and try to spur real growth. A clue comes your way thismorning.GRAFFITIWORD GAMELEO (July 23-August 22)****You’re having a blast with almost everything today-even thechores and drudgery of your home or work life. Somehow, youneed to instil this spirit of fun in those around you.VIRGO (August 23-September 22)**Your practical side catches up with the promises you’vemade some time today-and forces you to let someone down.You can do it gently, and may be able to salvage this situationbefore long.LIBRA (September 23-October 22)***Explore new territory today—you can’t just stick to the same oldhaunts! You may find that your energy is best spent on reinventingyourself or pioneering some new activity.SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)***Take a risk today—but don’t count on it paying off. Just pushyourself a bit, as the particulars don’t matter nearly as much asyour personal need to keep from playing it safe.SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)****You admire a friend or colleague for their hidden qualities—solet them know you can see what they’re best at! You may findthat things start to get a little easier between you.CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)****You need to dig deeply into your feelings-your idealism is a drivingforce, and you should find that your energy is just right formaking a real difference in the world. Enlist support!AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)****Your network is supporting you more than ever-and more thanyou would have expected. It’s a really good time for you to reachout and ask for help from someone who feels kind of distant.STRIPSDILBERTRIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOTPISCES (February 19-March 20)**An authority figure makes life difficult for you, but that doesn’tmean that you have to just sit there and take it. Though it’s nota good time for confrontation, you can start to attract allies toyour cause.PEARLS BEFORE SWINELAUGH OUT LOUDA MAN IN A BAR SEES a friend at a table, drinkingby himself. Approaching the friend he comments,“You look terrible. What’s the problem?”“My mother died in August,” he said, “and left me$25,000.” “Gee, that’s tough,” he replied. “Then inSeptember,” the friend continued, “My father died,leaving me $90,000.” “Wow. Two parents gone intwo months. No wonder you’re depressed.” “Andlast month my aunt died, and left me $15,000.”“Three close family members lost in threemonths? How sad!” “Then this month,” continued,the friend, “absolutely nothing!”……………………………..ELIZABETH WAS SURPRISED to receive ten dollarsfrom her Aunt for her birthday. The Auntasked how she was going to spend it. “I’m taking itto Sunday School and giving it to God.” the littlegirl replied. “He’ll be just as surprised as I was atnot getting a dollar like usual.”GARFIELDFILMSWAR CHHODNA YAARQFX Jai Nepal: 12:15 PM/6:15 PMQFX Kumari: 9:30 AM/ 3:30 PMQFX Civil Mall: 9:45 AM/11:30 AM/ 4:30 PM/ 7:15 PMPRISONERSQFX Kumari: 12:15 PM/3:15 PM/ 6:15 PMQFX Civil Mall: 9:30 AM/12:45 PM/ 7:00 PMBESHARAMQFX Jai Nepal: 9:15 AM/3:00 PMQFX Kumari: 12:00 PM/6:30 PMQFX Civil Mall: 8:30 AM/12:15 PM/ 3:30 PM/ 6:45 PMMAUNQFX Civil Mall: 2:00 PMELYSIUMQFX Kumari: 9:00 AMQFX Civil Mall: 4:00 PMKANTIPUR TV5:00 Shuvarambha/Bhaktisur5:55 Kundali/ Aatma Bachan6:25 Sky Shop7:00 Kantipur Samachar8:00 Kantipur News8:30 Rise n Shine9:00 Headline News9:05 Disanirdesh10:00 Kantipur Samachar10:30 Kantipur Aaja11:00 Headline News11:05 Music Mela11:30 Infoplus12:00 Kantipur Samachar12:30 Kantipur Tiffin Box1:00 Headline News1:05 Disanirdesh2:00 Kantipur Samachar2:30 Rise n Shine3:00 Headline News3:05 Sajha Sawal4:00 Kantipur Samachar4:30 New Entry5:00 Headline News5:05 Call Kantipur Reloaded6:00 Kantipur News6:30 Ghum Gham7:00 Kantipur Samachar7:30 Ditha Sab8:00 Kantipur Samachar9:00 Quiz Mania09:30 Frame by Frame10:00 Kantipur Aaja10:30 Kantipur News11:00 Kantipur Samachar11:30 Ditha Sab12:00 Call Kantipur Repeated1:00 Kantipur NewsRepeated1:30 Ditha Sab2:00 Kantipur SamacharRepeated 12:30 Kantipur Aaja3:00 Kantipur SamacharRepeated 23:30 Ghum Gham4:00 Frame by Frame5:00 Kantipur Aaja00:00 Non Stop Hindi Songs02:00 Nepali Pop/ AdhunikSongs04:00 Bhajan05:00 Bhakti Anusthan06:30 Kantipur Diary07:00 The Headliners07:30 Radio Magazine08:00 Kantipur Diary08:05 The Weekender09:00 Traffic Update JanataSanga Prahari09:30 Thank God It’s Friday10:00 Kantipur Diary10:05 New Releases11:00 Kantipur Diary11:05 Fair & Lovely Femina12:00 Kantipur Diary12:10 Dial Doctor13:00 Kantipur Diary13:05 Ke Chha Nepal14:00 Kantipur Diary14:05 Ke Chha Nepal15:00 kantipur diary15:15 Sau Rai16:00 Kantipur Diary16:05 Guna CinemaQuiz16: 30 Nahase Nahashnus17:00 Kantipur Diary17:05 Fanatic Friday18:00 Happy Life18:30 Kantipur Diary18:55 Khoj19:00 People and Playlist20:00 Kantipur Diary20:05 Wheel No Tension21:00 Kantipur Diary21:30 Club Mix23:00 Aaja Dheki ArkoAaja SaamaEVENTOGRAPHFOOD AND DRINKSKrishnarpan—a specialty NepaliRestaurant at Dwarika’s, 6 courses to 22courses Nepali meal served. Opening Time: 6pm-11 pm. Prior reservations required, contact:4479448Taste sandwiches and crepes at TheLounge from 11 am to 6 pm everyday.Contact: Hyatt Regency at 4491234.The Italian restaurant serves authenticItalian cuisines in an elegant ambience forboth lunch and dinner. Timings: Lunch:1230-1445 hrs, Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs,Contact: 427399, at Soaltee Crowne PlazaSavor the cardamom and saffron spice,slow-cooked kebabs and kormas at Indianrestaurant serving Awadhi cuisine.Timings: Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs, contact:427399, at Soaltee Crowne PlazaChina Garden offers delectable dishes fromacross Asia, including Japanese, Korean,Vietnamese and Chinese. Timings: Lunch:1230-1445 hrs, Dinner: 1900-2245 hrs,contact: 427399 at Soaltee Crowne PlazaGarden Terrace offers an authentic worldcuisine ie Indian, Nepali, Oriental, Italian,Continental etc, with different live cookingstations providing diners with the uniqueexperience of observing their selected dishesbeing freshly prepared by chefs. Contact:427399 at Soaltee Crowne PlazaTibetan Gyakok for Lunch & Dinner everyday at The Mandarin, The Everest Hotelph: 4780100 ext: 7811Kaiser Cafe Restaurant & Bar at TheGarden of Dreams, opening time: 9 am till 9pm, offers an international cafe menu servingbreakfast, lunch, dinner, specialty tea’s,coffees and pastries, contact: 4425341Daily Buffet with a complimentary glass ofhouse wine at The Café, The Everest Hotel,Lunch 1200- 1500 hrs and Dinner 1830-2230hrs. Ph: 4780100Special Saturday Brunch at The Café &Garden, The Everest Hotel 1200-1600 hrs;Ph 4780100Mako’s offers traditional Japanese foodserved within a warm and stylish setting,don’t miss out on Mako’s special Tempuras,and also the green tea ice cream, OpeningTime: 11: 30-14:30 & 19:00-22:00, contact:4479448Manny’s Eatery and bar introduces a speciallunch package that is affordable, tasty,nutritious and quick enough to fit your lunchbreak, Jawalakhel, Shaligram complex,5536919Out-of-Africa Lunch amid rural splendor:Sat & Sun from 1130 to 1630 hours at TheWatering Hole, Indrawati River Valley. Forprior reservation contact: indrawatiresort@gmail.comSandwich and Crepes: Taste the sandwichesand crepes at The Lounge from 11:00amto 6:00pm everyday. For further details callHyatt Regency at 4491234.The Toran, an ideal location for all daylounging and informal dining offers continentalcuisines. Contact: Dwarika’s Hotel,Sales and Marketing—4479488.The Dwarika’s Thali brings you the simpleyet sublime flavours of Nepal’s favourite dishat the Dwarika’s Hotel, 3 course meal justfor Rs1300/- plus 10% service charge and13% vat, per person, contact: 4479488Enjoy Biryani with Kebab, Western Grill Itemsand Pasta with baked dishes this weekend atThe Café from 12:30 noon to 4:00 pm, buffetlunch for just Rs 1600. Call: HyattRegency, at 4491234Make your weekend more exciting with familyand friends with sumptuous Satey,Dimsums, Mangolian Barbecue and Pasta atThe Cafe from 12:30 noon to 4:00 pm, buffetlunch for just Rs 1600 excluding applicabletaxes. Call: Hyatt Regency, at 4491234Smoky Charcoal and Hot Stone BBQDinner at Splash Bar and Grill, RadissonHotel Kathmandu from 14th Sept onwardsevery Friday at Rs 1199 from 18:30 hrs to22:00 hrs. Contact: 4411818Come and experience BBQ BRUNCHBAZAAR every Saturday at poolside gardenfrom 12:00-2:30 pm and make yourgourmet journey memorable, contact:4451212We serve nothing but the finest Arabica coffeesat great value prices at BaristaLavazza Coffee Restaurant, Lazimpat,Uttar Dhoka. Open: 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.Contact: 4005123/4005124Enjoy every Friday with a special NepaliBBQ at The Dwarika’s Hotel with manyLive Cooking Stations themed on NewariCuisines, Live music with bonfire & a can ofCarlsberg beer, or Local Spirit 30 ml, or a softdrink, or a bottle of mineral water. Time: 7pm till 10 pm, price: NRs 1600/per person.Contact: 4479488 orsales@dwarikas.comBourbon Room, Lal Durbar Marg is nowopen for lunch every day from 12 noon.Enjoy affordable and delicious meals fromour lunch menu starting from Rs 99! We arecurrently offering Indian & chinese combosalong with momos and kathi rolls. Call:4441703Saturday Brunch, 10:30 am till 3:30 pm, atPark Village Resort, Budhanilkantha@ specialintroductory price of Rs 999/. Luckydraw—one of the main attraction. Contact:4375280The most delightfully awesome chickenmomos & yummy rich chocolate cake on thispart of the planet @ Just Baked Bakery &Cafe, Battisputali, offering much more specialtiesat affordable price.MUSICEnjoy snacks and drinks from 4:00 pm to11:00 pm every day and nightly live musicfrom “The Corner Band” except Tuesdayand Saturday from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm atThe Corner Bar, Radisson Hotel. Contact:4411818Live music at Jazzabell Café everyWednesday and Friday with great food, drinkand old friends from 6 pm every Friday.Jazzabell Cafe, Jhamsikhel, Patan, contact:2114075Every Friday BBQ from 7:00 pm at FusionBar & Pool side at Dwarika’s Hotel with liveband “Dinesh Rai and Sound of Mind”. PriceRs 1600/ includes BBQ dinner and a can ofbeer or a soft drink. Contact: 4479448LIVE Gazal with authentic Indian food fordinner at Far Pavilion except Tuesday, TheEverest Hotel ph: 4780100Live Music 7:00-10: 30 pm by Rapsodi trioband except Monday & Happy hour 30 %discount at Bugles & Tigers, Gurkha Barfrom 5 to 7 pm, The Everest Hotel,4780100Hotel Narayani Complex, Pulchowk,Lalitpur presents Shabnam & Cannabiz Bandevery Wednesday and Rashmi & Kitcha Bandevery Friday, 7:30 PM onwards @ Absolutebar P Ltd; Contact: 5521408,abar@wlink.com.npBubbly Brunch—every Saturday from 11am to 3 pm @ Shambala Garden & ClubSundhara where you can enjoy LiveShawarma & Pasta only @ Rs 1100 Nettper person (Includes a glass of SparklingWine). Contact: Hotel Shangri~La,Kathmandu at 4412999Starry Night BBQ—every Friday Eveningfrom 7:00 pm at Shambala Garden Café,Hotel, Shangri~La only @ Rs 1499 nettper person and live performance by CineyGurung. Contact: 4412999Oriental Buffet with live Jazz music, everyFriday evening 7 pm onwards at EarthwatchRestaurant at Park Village Resort @ Rs999/- per person, contact: 4375280GETAWAYJungle Safari Lodge, Sauraha introducesDashain offer of 2 Nights/ 3 DaysPackage at Rs 5555 per person, forNepalese Citizen Only. The offer includes oneway transportation. Contact: 014444999 /9851137771 (Pradip Acharya).Experience your holiday at Grand NorlingHotel, Gokarna. One night and two days atRs 4500 and two nights and three days at Rs7000, residential package at Rs 30000 permonth. Contact: 4910193Fulbari’s Domestic Tourism PromotionPackage @ Rs 6500 nett per person, packageincludes: 2 night/ 3 days deluxe accommodationon bed & breakfast basis, one specialdinner, welcome drinks, free tennis,swimming pool and gym, attractive discounton Spa, Golf & other services. Contact4461918, & email: sales@fulbari.com.npExperience The Last Resort, the perfectplace for family fun adventure and relaxation.Special packages for residents.Contact: 4700525/ 4701247 or mail us atinfo@thelastresort.com.npAsia World Travel Pvt Ltd presents fascinatingluxury escapades to amazing destinations:Prague, Ladakh, Bangkok, Singapore,Kuala Lumpur, Mount Kailash andPanchpokhari in North East Nepal. Contact:6222604, email: info@asiaworldholidays.comHotel Tibet International, Boudha -Experience Nepalese warmth with a touch ofTibetan hospitality in our Re-opening discountfor rooms & restaurant. Savior authenticTibetan cum Chinese cuisine. Call:4488188 or sales@hoteltibetintl.com.npNestled in the boarder of Royal ChitwanNational Park and medieval Tharu Village,Maruni Sanctuary Lodge offer special winterpackage including jungle activities 2 nights3 days @ Rs 9,999 per person on twinsharing basis. Contact: Prajina—9841792225, 4700632Experience your holiday at KingfisherJungle Resort at Meghauli, Chitwan.1 night and 2 days at Rs 3500 and2 nights and 3 days at Rs 6000for Elephant safari, Canoeing and Naturewalk. Contact: Rudra Raj Dotel-9849059295, 4260329MIND AND BODYDynamic Health Group: Join free classesevery Saturday to learn about Reiki, Yoga,Meditation, Quantum Science and HealthyLife Styles, Suryabinayak, contact:9841393760Women Skill Development ResourceCentre: Join free training for Straw Art,Sewing and Skill Development (for 2hours, 4 hours and 7days), Suryabinayak,contact 9849426628Meditation Session and Satsang:Benefit yourself with free meditationsession to heal your body and mind, anddiscover the right path towards thefulfillment of life. Every Saturday at 8 am,at Mind Body Library, Babarmahal.Contact: 4102025Yoga detox and Ayurveda treatmentsand retreats every day at HimalayanPeace & Wellness Centre, Park VillageHotel. Get 10% discount on all Ayurvedictreatments. Contact: 980106661, e-mail:peace@wellness.com.np, website:www.himalayanwellness.com.np

KATHMANDU, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013 | WWW.EKANTIPUR.COM11TantalisingTATSFROM Angelina Jolie, to Victoria Beckham, ink seems to be the newtrend in Hollywood. Whether its David Beckham baring his toned absaccented with black Chinese characters or Rihanna flaunting her starrytattoos, these stars want you to know their tats are there and here tostay. There are a few revisions every now and again, but Hollywood A-listersare certainly amongst those with the most memorable—although they canand sometimes do veer on the odd and strange—tattoo designs.ANGELINA JOLIEcelebrity tattoos? Or was it her mostquestionable style choice to date?David BeckhamThe upcomingNepal InkedTattoo andLifestyleConvention,touted as thebiggest suchevent in all ofSouth East Asia,will showcasethe beauty andexpressive powerof the mediumHOT & HAPPENINGPOST REPORTYou may send in event details to tkpbabaal@kantipur.com.npGet inked!TATTOOS have beenaround, including inNepal, for generationsnow, but rarely has the artform seen the kind of mainstreamattention it is gettingat present. Whether that wasowing to celebrity tattooartists who’ve popularisedgetting inked on TV showslike Miami Ink or LA Ink, orbecause more and moreyoungsters have latched onto tattooing as a means ofartistic self-expression, it’scertain that the tattoo cultureis here to stay.Testament to that was thefact that Kathmandu hasalready been playing host toone annual tattoo conventionfor a few years, but now,ink-lovers have even morereason to celebrate, with theaddition of yet another tattooevent starting this year.Nepal Inked, touted as thebiggest such convention inall of South East Asia, willtake place between October18 and 20, and for thoseinterested in the mediumand the lifestyle, it will comprisethe ultimate extravaganza.Designed to peer deeperinto the tattoo culture inNepal, which has a long andrich artistic history, andbringing into the fold tattootraditions from around theworld thanks to the substantialcontingent of internationalartists who will bejoining Nepali tattooists—astunning 120 participantsaltogether. These willinclude Mark Powell andKris Sunkie Allen fromAustralia, Piotr Olejnik andKarolina Czaja from Poland,Dana Helmuth and ChrisPowers from the US, PauloCruzes from the UK, PieroBigvoodoo and LoicGignoud from France,Niyazi Abi Tau from Russia,Alex Arnautov from Ukraine,Guido Baba fromSwitzerland, DanielBensmann from Germany,Dharma Doctrain fromSpain, and Mohan Gurungand Sudeep Khadka fromNepal, among many, manyothers.Besides presentationsby the participating tattooand piercing artists, theevent will also featureequipment suppliers, aswell as other excitingperipheral activities like atattoo competition that willextend up to all three days,seminars on the subject, avintage car show, bike stuntshow as well as a graphic artcompetition.As if that weren’t enoughto get you going, there willalso be live music at thevenue throughout the festival,with bands likeJindabaad, Albatross, Mukti& Revival, Lakhey,Tumbleweed and The HornyMonks set to perform forcrowds. Besides which,entertainment, informationand food stalls will be onhand in the outdoor gardenof the Exhibition Hall tocater to the guests.“We would like to promoteand expose Nepal’s artculture and its rich traditionaldesigns and tattooculture, and build up aninternational platform tohelp Nepal’s tattoo industryreach a more organised andmature stage,” the organisershave stated. They addthat it is their objective tochange the kind of negativeattitudes that continue todemonise this unique artform, and hope that theevent will bring somedetractors around and helpthem see the “beauty andexpressive power of themedium.”Entry is Rs 100 per personThe original tattooed wild child,Angelina Jolie almost has too manyinked images to mention. The mostprominent has to be the latitude andlongitude co-ordinates of all herchildren’s birthplaces, which she hasetched on her upper left arm. It coversthe marks that are just about visiblefrom an old tattoo of a dragonand ex-husband Billy BobThornton’s name, which she hadremoved when they split. The Saltstar also has the slogan ‘Know yourrights’ printed on the back of herneck, and a secret inking for Brad’seyes only on her inner thigh.Johnny DeppJohnny Depp has at least 13 tattoos,including a ribbon that reads ‘WinoForever’ but originally read ‘WinonaForever’ but was altered after he splitfrom actress Winona Ryder. Healso has ‘Lily-Rose’ inked over hisheart for his daughter and ‘Betty Sue’on his bicep for his mother. ButDepp’s coolest tattoo has to be the‘Jack’ script on his right arm, which ismeant for his son but, in a clevertwist, has a sparrow flying towards itin reference to his Pirates of theCaribbean character, Jack Sparrow.Cara DelevingneAs if David Beckham didn’t alreadyhave enough tattoos—he’srumoured to have more than 30,including the name Harper acrosshis chest, a crucifix on the back of hisneck and a couple of guardian angelson his shoulders—Beckham showedoff a brand new tattoo design as hejoined his wife at London FashionWeek. A tribute to Mrs B, the swirlyinking across the back of his handreads ‘Victoria,’ and was rumouredto be paid for with a voucher fromhis wife for his 38th birthday.Ryan GoslingDid you know Mr Ryan Gosling hadtattoos? Well, he does. And surprisingly,he thinks they’re pretty stupid.“I like when [tattoos] look bad, butno one will do bad tattoos,” he toldW magazine in 2010 of his variousarm tattoos. “So I did one myself.That”s why it”s bad. I”m waiting toget old — I think old guys with tattooslook good.” We have no doubtGosling will always look good.Adam LevineMAXIMAL CRAZY, FRIDAYNIGHT AT TRISARATrisara, Lazimpat are set to makethis Friday night memorable for allwither their Maximal Crazy party.Starting at 6 pm, the event will featureDJ Rabbit spinning some of thehottest tunes of the season to makesure that everyone has a great time.With wonderful food and plenty ofdrinks, great company, and DJRabbit’s upbeat music, there’s noway Maximal Crazy will disappoint.GLAMOROUS SATURDAY AT CUBEIt’s time you started thinking about what costume you’re wearingthis Halloween. Casanova Dreams are set to give party-goers inKathmandu the time of their lives once again with the second editionof Glamorous Saturday. Cube, the Club, Kamaladi will be hostingthe glamorous Halloween-themed event at its premises onOctober 26. DJ Krishon and DJ FreQ3 will be playing some greatmusic at beginning at two in the afternoon. Tickets are Rs 499apiece. Contact 9803724414, 9818828124 for details.RAP BATTLE IN POKHARAA Rap Battle Night is being organised at the Ozone Complex, Pokhara, on October 13.The event, touted as the first of its kind in the country, will feature rappers from HighVibe, Pokhara’s hottest rap group. There’ll also be plenty of opportunity to freestyleand beat-box at the event. The rap battle will be followed by a party that’s sure to geteverybody pimped. Raw Barz, the biggest hip-hop league in the country, will also bemaking a special appearance. Other performers of the evening include Sacar. Ticketsare priced at Rs 1000, Rs 500 and Rs 200. For details, contact: 9803215167,9814136462When Cara Delevingne unveiled hernew inking shortly before the 2013Met Ball, it certainly caused a stir.But fashion fans were divided. WasCara’s lion inking the coolest ofMaroon 5 singer Adam Levine is liberallydecorated with tattoos. Of hismany pieces of body art, Levinewears triple 2s on his left arm to indicatethe number of the roomMaroon 5 first recorded in, a tiger onhis right arm and a fetching guitar onhis left arm. He also has a cherryblossom inked on his left arm inremembrance of 9/11.

12 THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013SUN DOWN SNAPSHOTSOn October 5, partygoers in Kathmandu were all atwitter with the kicking off of the party of the season, hosted by none other than realityTV stars Shivangini Rana, known for her turn in MTV India’s Splitsvilla Season 5, as well as another Splitsvillan, Bigg Boss participant andMTV presenter, Siddharth Bhardwaj. The Sun Down Party, organised by Lucky Ace Events, was held in association with The Kathmandu Postat Tavern-ish at the Times Square Mall in Durbar Marg and comprised a real night to remember.SMS ZONELast week’s answersThanks for sending in your answers to last week’squestion: What are you Dashain plans for this year?WINNING ANSWER: One rupee per point Marriage,charcoal-grilled mutton, tongba at Panchali, andqueuing at Kalisthan. Sudesh Thapa, Biratnagar4063 I think I’m going to do a free concert thatpays tribute to rock bands, do some shoppingand go to my village.0181 My grandfather passed away so no plans assuch. Will shop, eat and travel though.6885 Celebrate my birthday with friends and family.8192 No new plans, just celebrating with the familylike in previous years. But one thing, willcertainly make people aware of the upcomingCA election!7592 Load a case of beer in the fridge andchillax...3353 Celebration and shopping for double happinessie my birthday and Dashain. :):):)4466 The only plan is not to see my girlfriend atleast for few days. Tired of saying “I love youbaby”.3927 It’s the same as always, go shopping at differentmalls, and enjoy cards and food withfamily! (What could be better?) :P6808 I plan to rock this Dashain by doing somethingspecial.6629 As usual, some cards and beer. It surely willbe fun.7719 Have fun, have fun and have fun.2056 Play cards or langurburja, and visit relatives’home. Either way earn or waste money.2187 Going to visit my grandfather and grandmother.DOING THE DANDIYADANDIYA exploded onto the dance floor at Club Platinum at the Hotel Yak and Yeti in Durbar Marg on October 9, played by dancers clad in traditionallehengas and salwaar kurtas. The Dashain Dhamaka—Let’s Dandiya Mumbai Style with Benny and Yashita event also saw special performancesfrom prominent Indian singers Benny Dayal and Yashita Yashpal, much to the delight of guests. Organised by Generation NextCommunications in association with Cine-de-Chef, Bu Keba, and the Sparsh Spa, Salon and Academy, the event also comprised a fashion showfeaturing Pooja Bagaria, Vishal Kapoor, and Mamta Joshi.FRIDAY FACESPOST PHOTOS: SAMPURNA MANANDHARQUESTIONOF THE WEEKWhat was yourbiggest Dashainsplurge of alltime?YOUR VIEWSType BABAAL youranswerand send it to8080with your full name and addressPublished and Printed by Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd. Kantipur Complex, Subidhanagar, Kathmandu, Nepal, Phone: 5135000, Fax: 977-1-5135057, e-mail: kpost@kantipur.com.np, Regd. No. 32/048/049, Chairman & Managing Director : Kailash Sirohiya, Director : Swastika Sirohiya, Editor-in-Chief : Akhilesh Upadhyay

Page III Pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea have increasingly targeted international cargo tankers, withroughly $100 million (74 million euros) in product stolen since 2010, a risk analysis group said Thursday.CROSS CURRENCYUSD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NRNR 99.6000 134.6800 10.1800 158.7000 109.3400 95.8200 93.9200 1.6015INR 61.39 83.1221 0.628 97.9662 68.035 59.1198 58.1795 0.6244AUD 1.0598 1.4342 0.0108 1.6898 1.1655 1.0208 0.0172 0.0106CAD 1.0382 1.4058 0.0106 1.6558 1.1418 0.9796 0.0169 0.0104CHF 0.9093 1.2309 0.0093 1.4513 0.8758 0.8580 0.0147 0.0091GBP 0.627 0.8483 0.0064 0.6890 0.6039 0.5918 0.0102 0.0063JPY 97.78 132.338 156.2500 107.5269 94.3396 92.5926 1.5924 0.0982EUR 0.7388 0.0076 1.1788 0.8124 0.7113 0.6973 0.0120 0.0074USD 1.3535 0.0102 1.5949 1.0997 0.9632 0.9436 0.0163 0.0100HOW TO READ THE TABLEThe chart shows the rates of nine world currencies. Move across the table to find rates of exchange between any two currencies.One unit of the currency mentioned vertically is worth that amount in the currency mentioned horizontally.FOREXU.S. Dollar 99.60Euro 134.68Pound Sterling 158.70Swiss Franc 109.34Australian Dollar 93.92Canadian Dollar 95.82Singapore Dollar 79.57Japanese Yen 10.18Chinese Yuan 16.29Saudi Arab Riyal 26.56Qatari Riyal 27.35Thai Bhat 3.17UAE Dihram 27.12Malaysian Ringit 31.21South Korean Won 9.28Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra BankFRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013 | ekantipur.comNRB fixes mid-July deadlinefor commercial banksInsideCheck out the latestthreads at US PoloIf you are shopping for apparels and are not surewhere to step in amid the hustle and bustle ofbusy shopping streets in Kathmandu, you maywant to try US Polo, a newly opened clothing storeat the country’s high-end shopping district—Durbar Marg.Pg: IVPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10NEPAL Rastra Bank on Thursdayfixed a mid-July 2014 deadlinefor commercial banks to bringdown their interest spread rate to 5 percentas per the monetary policy for thecurrent fiscal year.The central bank has also directed allA, B and C class banks and financialinstitutions (BFIs) to regularly calculatethe spread rate as per the NRB-fixed formulaand publish it in their quarterlyfinancial report starting from mid-January 2014. Spread rate is the differencebetween average interest rate ofdeposit and credit.NRB spokesperson BhaskarmaniGnawali said the spread rate was fixed asthe BFIs failed to address the concernsover higher spread rate by the stakeholdersand central bank. Despite the monetarypolicy stipulating for the cut, spreadrate has increased, shows the NRB statistics.In mid-July, spread rate of BFIsstood at 6.84 percent which surged to7.01 percent, according to the NRB.Gnawali said the central bank was compelledto take the decision after thebanking sector failed to honour the generalsentiment.INTEREST SPREAD RATECENTRAL BANK ORDERS Banks need to bring downspread rate to 5 percent inmid-July 2014 BFIS should bring down theshare of institutional depositto 60 percent in mid-July 2014 BFIs should assess operationalrisks to during monitoringof risks to the institutionThe NRB officials have long beenasking the BFIs to bring down the spreadrate terming it too high. On the otherhand, bankers have been complainingthat the central bank’s formula regardingspread rate is misguided.The NRB has also fixed a deadline forthe banks to bring down the share ofinstitutional deposits to 60 percent at theend of the current fiscal year. The centralbank’s took such a decision as institutionaldeposits increased liquidity relatedrisks in the banking sector due tolarge scale withdrawal on some occasions.According to Gnawali, an averageshare of the institutional deposit inNepal’s banking system is around 50percent.The central bank also told the BFIsthat they could accept institutionaldeposits up to just 20 percent of totaldeposits from a single institution.Deposits by the government and thegovernment-owned agencies, fundsbeing operated under such agencies andpublic limited companies are institutionaldeposits.The BFIs have also been instructedto incorporate operation risk under thelist of risks to be monitored. Currently,they have to monitor risk from the perspectiveof liquidity, interest rate, foreignexchange and loan and advances.They have been told to develop efficientinternal control and informationsystems. The internal auditor will haveto mention whether adequate measureshave been taken in order to manageoperation risks in each branch anddepartment in their internal auditreport.The latest NRB directive requires thecommercial banks to get the existinginformation system audited and submitthe report within mid-January 2014.People select mountain goats for sacrifice during the Dashainfestival, at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu on Thursday .POST PHOTO: PRAKASH TIMILSENABuses departing valley by thethousand as Dashain fever gripsPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10THE annual Dashain exodus isin full swing with people rushingout of Kathmandu to theirhome towns and villages for the year’sgreatest festival. As happens everyyear a few days before Dashain, amass departure of the out-of-townpopulation takes place when peoplereturn home to rejoin their families.For the last few days, thousands ofbuses, micro buses and other vehiclescrammed with festival goers havebeen streaming out of Kathmandu,and scattering in all directions to variousparts of the country.On Wednesday, around 3,000vehicles left the valley fromKoteshwor alone, said Sub-InspectorShiva Prasad Neupane of theMetropolitan Traffic Police (MTP)who has been assigned to head thehelp desk there.Mukti KC, director at theDepartment of TransportManagement, estimated that around65,000 people left the valley onWednesday. Departures are expectedAccording to theFederation of NepalNational TransportEntrepreneurs, 3,500buses are plying thecountry’s highwaysdaily, carrying peopleto different parts ofthe countryto be higher on Thursday, Friday andSaturday.Transportation entrepreneurssaid that the number of peoplewho have left the valley so far hasreached the level of last year’sDashain departures.According to the Federation ofNepal National TransportEntrepreneurs (FNNTE), 1.3 millionDashain travellers left the valley lastyear. “We expect another 150,000departures in the next few days,” saidDol Nath Khanal, general secretarythe FNNTE. According to the federation,3,500 buses are plying the country’shighways daily carrying peopleto different parts of the country.Demand for bus tickets out ofKathmandu jumped this year due tothe large number of job aspirants intown to sit for the Korean LanguageTest. Around 46,000 hopefuls haveconverged on the capital to take theexam.“They are now leaving the valley,adding to the rush,” said KC of theTransport Management Department.“Calculating the number of busesrequired on the basis of each bus carrying45 passengers, they will need1,000 buses.”Meanwhile, the department,police and transport entrepreneurshave set up help desks at a dozenplaces around the valley to helpDashain travellers and deal with theircomplaints. Most of the complaintsare about bus companies not returningthe money when buses brokedown and leaving passengers strandedwithout arranging alternativetransportation. People have alsocomplained that the same seat wassold to two travellers. “We haveresolved these complaints,” said Sub-Inspector Neupane.

IITHE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013MONEY | ekantipur.comRoyalty from telcos, ISPs up 48pc toRs 2.77b in 2012-13, NTA reportsPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10THE government’s royaltycollection from telecomcompanies and internetservice providers (ISPs) hasincreased by 48 percent to Rs 2.77billion in the fiscal year 2012-13compared to the previous year,shows the Nepal TelecommunicationsAuthority (NTA) annualprogress report. The NTA submittedthe report to the Ministry ofInformation and Communicationson Wednesday.The goverment collected Rs1.86 billion in royalty in the fiscalyear 2011-12 from the NTAlicencees, according to NTAspokesperson Kailash PrasadNeupane. The growth in royaltycollection stemmed from theincreased income of the telecomcompanies along with the growthof customers of telecom services.As per the TelecommunicationsAct, companies operatingtelecom, internet and networkservices are required to pay 4 percentof their total income asroyalty to the government eachyear from their income of previousfiscal year.The royal collected in the lastfiscal year is from the income ofprevious fiscal year 2011-12 whenthe NTA licencees had earned acumulative Rs 64.52 billion. TheNTA licencees are required to paythe royalty by first nine monthseach fiscal year (by Mid-April)based on their income in the previousfiscal.In the last fiscal year, stateownedNepal Telecom paid royaltyamounting to Rs 1.31 billion,private sector company Ncellpaid Rs 1.17 billion, UnitedTelecom Limited (UTL) Rs223.7 million, Smart Telecom RsFiscal Year Royalty Collection2012-13 Rs 2.77 billion2011-12 Rs 1.86 billion2010-11 Rs 1.39 billion2009-10 Rs 1.11 billion2008-09 Rs 867.35 millionNissan New Mobility CONCEPT ultra-compact electric vehicles commute on the road during a starting ceremony of aone-way car sharing service with the City of Yokohama on Thursday. Called “Choimobi Yokohama,” this new service,which will be provided in downtown Yokohama, will eventually employ up to 100 units of the Nissan New MobilityCONCEPT ultra-compact electric vehicles and commences on Friday.AFP/RSSGold drops on stronger dollar,hopes of US breakthroughREUTERSLONDON, OCT 10GOLD fell below $1,300 an ounce onThursday as the dollar rebounded onsigns Washington was moving towardsbreaking a stalemate over debt andaverting a U.S. default.House Republican leaders will visitthe White House on Thursday as effortsintensify to break the impasse that hasleft parts of the U.S. government shutteredfor more than a week.Both the Republican andDemocratic parties earlier floated thepossibility of a short-term increase in thecountry’s $16.7 trillion debt limit toavoid a default and allow time for broadernegotiations on the budget.“If there is some kind of risk aversionor uncertainty you would expect gold tomove higher, which has not been thecase with the U.S. budget impasseunfolding,” ABN Amro analyst GeorgetteBoele said.“Investors have continued to sellgold on rallies and expectation the U.S.political deadlock will soon be behind uscould result in further losses.”Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,298.51an ounce by 1008 GMT, after dropping0.9 percent in the previous session, thebiggest daily loss since October 1. U.S.gold futures for December were down$8.50 an ounce at $1,298.60.A rise in U.S. 10-year Treasury yieldsto 2.70 percent from 2.60 percent just aweek ago helped the dollar index extendits recovery from an eight-month low hita week ago.As gold pays no interest, the rise inreturns from U.S. bonds and other marketsis seen as negative for the metal.“How the U.S. dollar moves in thenear term may provide direction forgold,” HSBC said in a note. “It is possiblethat investors move into Treasuries as asafe haven despite the possibility of U.S.default. This could reduce yields andbolster the dollar but detract from gold.”Gold was also undermined byWednesday’s minutes from theSeptember policy meeting showing thatthe Fed’s decision last month was a “relativelyclose call” for policymakers andthere was still broad support to trimbond-buying this year.Gold has fallen about 22 percent thisyear on fears the Fed would start cuttingback its $85 billion bond purchases asthe metal had been boosted by centralbank liquidity and low interest rates.14.4 million, Nepal SatelliteTelecom Rs 6.86 million andSTM Telecom Sanchar paidRs 3.8 million.Among the ISPs, Subisu CableNet, World Link and Mercantilewere the top three royalty payers,making deposits of Rs 12.6 million,Rs 8.4 million and Rs 3.3 millioninto the government coffers.Web Surfer and Vianet paid royaltyRs 977,000 and Rs 821,000respectively. NTA officials said theroyalty collection, frequencycharge and Rural TelecommunicationDevelopment Fund(RTDF) fee is expected to increasefurther in the current fiscal year.The NTA witnessed contributionof Rs 1.33 billion in the RTDFby its licencess for developmentof telecom in rural areas in the lastfiscal year, resulting in theincrease of the fund to Rs 6.02 billion.The telecom law requirestelecom and internet serviceproviders to contribute 2 percentof their total income in the RTDF.In the fiscal year 2011-12, theauthority had collected Rs 920million in RTDF fees.Oil rises to $110on Libyan PM'skidnappingREUTERSLONDON, OCT 10CRUDE oil rose to $110 per barrel onThursday as the kidnapping of Libya’sprime minister delayed the prospect of afurther recovery in production from theNorth African nation.Brent futures were $1.01 higher at$110.07 per barrel at 0817 GMT.Gunmen from a former rebel factionkidnapped Libyan Prime Minister AliZeidan on Thursday in reprisal for thegovernment’s role in the U.S. capture of atop al Qaeda suspect.Libya’s oil output has risen to 700,000barrels per day, after falling at mid-year toits lowest since the country’s 2011 civilwar as strikes, militias and politicalactivists blocked most oilfields and ports.Since violence broke out, the government’sfledgling army and police forcehave struggled to deal with armed protesters.Investors were looking to whenthe rest of the oil production - total capacityis over 1.5 million bpd - would be backon stream."Markets were not anticipating aquick restart of the 0.9 million bpd missingcrude oil production from Libya but arestart was a bearish flag," said OlivierJakob, analyst at Petromatrix in Zug,Switzerland. "That flag can now bepushed further away in time." U.S. oil wasup 43 cents at $102.04 per barrel.Commodity and equity prices werealso supported on signs of progress inWashington on ending the U.S. fiscalstalemate and averting a possible debtdefault. U.S. Republicans were lookinginto a short-term hike in the government’sborrowing authority to buytime for talks on broader policy issues,a Republican leadership aide saidon Wednesday.Also supporting prices was renewedworry about supply from Nigeria. ShellNigeria (RDSa.L) said on Wednesday ithad shut its Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP)after reports of leaks, deferring 150,000barrels per day of crude oil just 10 daysafter the pipeline was re-opened."Better supplies out of Nigeria andLibya were another bearish influence butthis seems not to be the case anymore,"said Christopher Bellew, broker atJefferies Bache. Oil recovered losses fromthe previous session after U.S. crudestocks rose by 6.8 million barrelsin the week to October 4, well aboveforecasts by analysts of a 1.5 millionbarrel increase.Dubai property bounces but stirs fears of new bubbleTRADING INFORMATIONSHARESNEPSENepal Stock ExchangeSinghadurbar Plaza, KathmanduOctober 10, 20131 Ace Dev Bank Ltd 134 133 133 6072 Agricultural Dev Bank Ltd 287 274 287 9,0843 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 332 322 328 3,7794 Alliance Insurance Co Ltd 244 244 244 8065 Asian Life Insurance Co Ltd 441 425 435 5,2236 Bank of Kathmandu 538 525 538 5597 Butwal Power Co Ltd 795 795 795 1508 Bishwa Bikas Bank Ltd 151 151 151 619 Chilime Hydro Power Co 1,260 1,246 1,250 3,93310 Citizen Investment Trust 1,683 1,683 1,683 5011 Commerz and Trust Bank Nepal Ltd 158 152 152 1,95412 Citizens Bank Int’l Ltd 252 250 251 1,54313 Citizens Bank Int’l Ltd (Pro) Share 135 126 135 333,03714 Everest Bank Ltd 1,566 1,560 1,560 1,01715 Excel Dev Bank Ltd 343 343 343 2016 Everest Insurance Co Ltd 211 211 211 6717 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 150 150 150 7718 Global IME Bank Ltd 435 417 428 8,22519 Guras Life Insurance Co Ltd 264 249 264 6,59220 Grand Bank Nepal Ltd 181 179 180 2,62121 Gaurishankar Dev Bank Ltd 97 97 97 7722 H & B Dev Bank Ltd 49.97 48.04 49.98 3,32423 Himalayan Bank Ltd 735 718 733 43224 Himalayan Gen Insu CoLtd 387 387 387 6025 Infrastructure Dev Bank Ltd 62 62 62 1126 International Leasing & Fin Co 136 134 135 38527 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd 165 163 164 3,07528 Janaki Fin Ltd 249 249 249 21029 Kumari Bank Ltd 311 301 301 1,01830 Kasthamandap Dev Bank Ltd 63 63 63 7231 Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd 115 115 115 2232 Kamana Bikas Bank Ltd 153 153 153 5033 Laxmi Bank Ltd 354 348 354 21234 Lumbini Fin Ltd 124 122 124 35135 Lumbini General Insurance 230 220 226 67936 Life Insurance Co Nepal 1,375 1,375 1,375 4837 Lumbini Bank Ltd 201 196 201 1,56738 Machhachapuchhre Bank Ltd 246 238 240 6,03139 Mega Bank Nepal Ltd 186 180 182 12,82440 Multipurpose Fin Co Ltd 65 63 65 3041 Nabil Bank Ltd 2,035 2,015 2,030 1,25542 NABIL Bank Ltd (Pro) Share 1,270 1,270 1,270 18943 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 392 382 392 19,32544 Nepal Bank Ltd 164 157 164 13,27045 Nepal Credit & Com Bank 288 282 282 11,82046 NDEP Dev Bank Ltd 82 80 82 3,61647 Nilgiri Bikas Bank Ltd 131 131 131 2348 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 862 851 860 3,37749 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 620 603 620 2,61250 Nepal Insurance Co Ltd 446 430 446 17751 Neco Insurance Co 166 166 166 2752 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 720 710 712 55453 NLG Insurance Co Ltd 478 470 470 32054 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd 2,175 2,170 2,170 1,05455 National LifeInsu Co Ltd 1,040 1,000 1,040 15,08356 NMB Bank Ltd 260 254 260 3,24157 Nepal Doorsanchar Co Ltd 601 599 601 28058 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 475 475 475 57259 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 330 320 323 4,30860 Prudential Fin Co Ltd 60 60 60 45061 Premier Insurance Co Ltd 174 174 174 1062 Prime Life Insurance Co Ltd 390 384 390 2,34863 Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd 103 103 103 10064 Rural MicroFin Dev Centre Ltd 592 560 570 35,36865 Sanima Bank Ltd 259 242 255 4,61366 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 794 765 794 47667 Siddhartha Bank Ltd 395 390 390 2,20868 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 1,793 1,760 1,760 12469 Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 119 115 117 87870 Shine Resunga Dev Bank Ltd 204 198 200 1,43971 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 310 288 310 9,14272 Sagarmatha Insurance CoLtd 805 790 805 1,25773 Shikhar Insurance Co Ltd 520 511 511 78274 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd 718 652 690 23,56575 Swarojgar Laghu Bitta Bikas Bank Ltd 347 341 345 24876 Surya Life Insurance Co Ltd 244 244 244 4577 Sunrise Bank Ltd 232 228 232 45878 Swabalamwan Bikash Bank 498 496 496 41679 Tourism Dev Bank Ltd 90 89 90 4,55880 Union Fin Ltd 100 100 100 14781 United Fin Ltd 138 138 138 5682 Uniliver Nepal Ltd 9,999 9,999 9,999 4083 Western Dev Bank Ltd 95 94 94 132Total Traded Amount Rs.: 156,505,776Total Traded Shares: 579,846Total Transactions: 1,423TRADING PRICESN COMPANY MAX MIN CLOSING NO SHARESINDEX CURRENT PTS CHANGE %CHANGENEPSE 566.99 6.52 1.16Sensitive 135.93 1.66 1.24Float 39.77 0.33 0.84HIGHEST GAINERSBase: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100566.99pts1.16%SHL CZBILP SANIMA SBI NBL NICL9.54% 8.87% 7.14% 5.87% 5.81% 5.44%MODERATE GAINERSMPFL ADBL NBB GLICL LGIL NDEP4.84% 4.74% 4.53% 4.35% 4.15% 3.80%MODERATE LOSERSGSDBL TDBL UFL KEBL EDBL NIL-1.02% -1.10% -1.43% -1.71% -1.72% -1.78%HIGHEST LOSERSLICN NUBL EIC CTBNL WDBL RMDC-1.79% -1.86% -1.86% -1.94% -2.08% -3.06%Sub-Indices Current Pts Change %ChangeBanking 543.82 8.04 1.5Hotels 743.92 43.89 6.27De Bank 279.05 0.05 0.02Hydro Power 1335.79 3.19 0.24Finance 274.82 1.31 0.48Insurance 1342.11 4.12 0.31AGENCE FRANCE PRESSEDUBAI, OCT 10DUBAI’S property sector ismaking a strong comebackfive years after pricesin the emirate nosedived, but asurge in demand and bouncingprices have triggered calls toremember the crisis.Scale models of grandiosedevelopments rolled out at thethree-day Cityscape propertyshow, which ends on Thursday,showed the renewed confidencein a market that shed around halfof its value.But Ali Lootah, chairman ofNakheel, the giant developerbehind a clutch of landmark projectsin the Gulf emirate includingits famous palm-shaped manmadeislands, was bullish. “Dubaiis booming again,” he said.He was speaking as NakheelDubai has weatheredthe debt crisis, leaningon its robust trade,tourism and transportsectors, although itstill carries a debtexceeding $100 billionlaunched a new seafront developmenton reclaimed land, alongwith a handful of residential projects.“We have a lot of peoplemoving to Dubai. Dubai is back inbusiness, and I’m not really worriedabout speculations,” he said.Speculation on the marketpushed property prices to recordhighs before sending themtumbling during the global financialcrisis. Dubai’s propertymarket grew rapidly during thefive years before the crash as thesector became a magnet for foreigninvestors.But foreign financing dried upwhen the global financial crisis hitthe sector, just as it struck theheavily-indebted governmentrelatedcompanies, while theeconomy contracted in 2009 and2010. Dubai has weathered thedebt crisis, leaning on its robusttrade, tourism and transport sectors,although the city-state stillcarries a large burden of debtexceeding $100 billion (74 billioneuros). Its economy grew 3.7 percentin 2011 and 4.4 percent in2012, and is expected to expandby 4.1 percent this year.Some residential property hasbounced by about 20 percent,said Alan Robertson, chief executiveofficer for the Middle East-North Africa region at Jones LangLaSalle property consultancy.“We think prices will continueto grow quite quickly over thenext 12 months, but over the next24 months we will see the rate ofgrowth slow down,” he told AFP,adding that prices were still 20 to30 percent below their 2008 peak.“We think that this is an initialburst of growth which will settledown as the pent-up demand wehave experienced is satisfied.”He said his consultancy predictedthat “the market willreverse into a more sustainablegrowth in prices”.Robertson warned againstgetting carried away by signs ofrecovery, but said he was cautiouslyoptimistic for the future.He did not foresee anotherbubble burst because of “a numberof key differences,” highlightinga recent decision to doublesales duties to four percent, in anattempt to curb flipping.“This will take a bit of steamout of the market place,” saidRobertson, pointing to demandfrom end users, including Arabinvestors sheltering their moneyin Dubai away from their countriesthat have been rocked by theArab spring uprisings.Robertson sees Dubai as a“safe haven”, noting that 80 percentof buyers are paying in cash,with the remaining fifth backedby mortgages. To meet the risingappetite of investors, Dubai hasdusted off ambitious plans fornew developments.At the Cityscape show, modelsof properties showcased elaboratefeatures, including manmadecanals dotted withFlorence-style bridges, and aDubai-I wheel.

IIIMONEY | ekantipur.comTHE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013Food inspectors step up patrollingPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10THE Department of Food Technologyand Quality Control (DFTQC) hasshut down a ghee factory and twosweat shops for failing to ensure the qualityin their products and production process.The department shut down Shree RamGhee Udyog in Lalitpur and filed a caseseeking an action after the factory was foundselling the adulterated products. Thedepartment also closed two sweets shopsbeing operated in Thapathali, Kathmandu.DFTQC spokesman Pramod Koirala saidthe department took action against the factoryafter they found it selling substandardghee. “Shree Ram was found selling pureghee mixed with vegetable ghee,” he said.Ghee and edible oil are the fast sellingproducts during Dashain and Tihar festivals.According to the DFTQC, more than 60 percentof the ghee samples that the departmenttests every year are found to be substandard.Koirala said the department sealed theshops as they failed to maintain properhygiene during the sweet production.The DFTQC has increased frequency ofmonitoring as the food consumption surgeduring the Dashain festival. It conductedinspection of around 110 outlets selling edibleitems in September. Of these, 74 wererestaurants and sweets shops. According tothe department, they have filed casesagainst 37 shops which were selling adulteratedfoods or lacking cleanliness in production,posing health risk to the consumers.US deadlock threatensworld economy: OECDAGENCE FRANCE PRESSEWASHINGTON, OCT 10If the debtceiling is notraised, it added,“our calculationssuggest thatthe OECDregion as a wholewill bepushed backinto recessionnext yearFAILURE to raise the USborrowing ceiling due topolitical deadlock couldforce most of the leadingindustrial democracies intorecession, the Organisationfor Economic Co-operationand Development saidWednesday.Nine days into a partialshutdown of the US government,the OECD, whichgroups 34 leading developedpowers, said thatWashington’s paralysis overthe budget and debt capthreatens the stability of theentire global economy.“The current politicaldeadlock in the UnitedStates is needlessly puttingat risk the stability andgrowth not only of the USbut also the world economy,”the organization saidin a statement.“As the governmentshutdown drags on, thelevel of concern is ratchetingup,” it said.If the debt ceiling is notraised, it added, “our calculationssuggest that theOECD region as a wholewill be pushed back intorecession next year, andemerging economies willexperience a sharp slowdown.”“The magnitude of furtherpossible negative feedbackeffects can only beguessed at.”Warnings from aroundthe world over Washington’sbudget turmoil have grownin the past week, asAGENCE FRANCE PRESSELAGOS, OCT 10PIRATE attacks in the Gulf ofGuinea have increasingly targetedinternational cargotankers, with roughly $100 million (74million euros) in product stolen since2010, a risk analysis group saidThursday, revealing new detailsabout regional unrest.The nature of maritime crime offNigeria, Togo and Benin has sparkeddebate in recent months, with someprominent organisations calling it anemerging piracy hub where attacksare on the rise.POST FILE PHOTOBut the Denmark-based RiskIntelligence challenged that claim,telling AFP that while the nature ofthe targets has changed, the numberof attacks has actually gone downsince an amnesty deal was struck in2009 with rebels in Nigeria’s oil-producingsouth.“It has been declining sinceamnesty was imposed,” said DirkSteffen, head of maritime security atRisk Intelligence, which closely tracksthe region.What has changed, he said, is thetype of ships being attacked, leadingto a spike in the number of reportedincidents.The department shutdown Shree Ram Ghee Udyogin Lalitpur and two sweatshopseing operated inThapathali, KathmanduFour separate teams from the depatmenthave been inspecting the valley marketdaily, said Koirala, adding that theinspection would continue even during themain holidays during the festivals.“Considering frequency at which tradersresort to adulteration of foodstuff during thefestive season, we have planned to give continuityto market inspection,” he added.“Starting from Friday our teams will carry ontheir duty all six days during Dashain.”Meanwhile, the Department ofCommerce and Supplies (DoCS) onThursday seized the substandard food productsfrom five retail shops in the valley. Theshops facing action are ManakamanaGeneral Stores at Old Baneshwor, WetrosNepal departmental store at mid-Baneshwor, My Dear Shop at Dhobikhola,Kirana Pasal in Baneshwor and AcharyaKirana Store at Devkota Marg.According to the DoCS, most of thesestores were found selling edibles thatcrossed expiry dates. Some of them werefound not maintaining the price lists publicly,while others were involved in sellingcertain products without permission.$100 million lost in WAfrica pirate attacks since 2010: StudyThe nature of maritime crimeoff Nigeria, Togo and Beninhas sparked debate in recentmonths, with some prominentorganisations calling it anemerging piracy hub whereattacks are on the riseDemocratsandRepublicans remaineddeeply divided on how tofund the government forfiscal 2014, which beganOctober 1 without a budgetin place.Meanwhile the governmentfaces a cash crisis asearly as October 17, whenthe Treasury says it could beforced to default on obligationsbecause it lacks thepower to borrow further tocover a chronic deficit.While the Treasuryremains mum on whichbills it might not pay, someworry that it could defaulton its debts.The OECD forecast thatfailure to raise the debt ceiling,now at $16.7 trillion,would force a contractionin government spendingthat would cut 4 percentagepoints from US economicgrowth—currently runningat about 2 percent annually.“We trust in the wisdomof US political leaders toraise the debt ceiling andensure the normal operationof the US government.”the OECD said.People queue to receive remittance at Kist Bank’s central office in Kathmandu on Thursday.China signs second-biggestswap line with ECBREUTERSBEIJING/FRANKFURT, OCT 10CHINA accelerated plans to internationalizeits currency on Thursday by agreeing toswap euros and yuan with the EuropeanCentral Bank in a deal that is set to beChina’s second-largest to date.The bilateral currency swap agreementbetween the European Central Bank (ECB)and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) isvalid for three years and has a maximumsize of 350 billionyuan, or 45 billion euros($60.8 billion).The deal is the latest of a string of currencyswaps that China has created withother nations to promote usage of the yuanin global commercial and financial transactions,with the ultimate goal of rivaling thedollar as a reserve currency.“The emphasis is on renminbi internationalization,”said Louis Kuijs, an RBSeconomist in Hong Kong.He said currency swaps also providecentral banks with additional liquidity intimes of financial emergencies, though thisfunction is of secondary purpose in China’sswap agreements.The swap deal with the ECB is China’ssecond-biggest with a foreign central bank,after South Korea’s 360 billion yuan swapline. China also has a 400 billion yuan swapagreement with Hong Kong.As China’s second-largest trade partner,Europe is a natural destination for Beijingin raising the yuan’s profile. The interest isPOST PHOTOreciprocated by some European nationssuch as Britain andGermany which want tobe the clearing center for the yuan inEurope and provide what may be a lucrativefinancial service.The yuan is now the world’s eighthmost-traded currency, financial servicesprovider SWIFT said this week, with a marketshare of 1.5 percent and overtaking theSwedish krona, the South Korean won andthe Russian rouble.China’s swap deal with the ECB comesafter French President Francois Hollandesaid in June thatFrance is working on settingup a currency swap line with theworld’s No. 2 economy.Bank of France Governor ChristianNoyer welcomed the agreement onThursday. “Banks in the euro zone andFrance will henceforth have the securitythey need to develop their activities in renminbiover the long term,” Noyer said in astatement to Reuters.Only Hong Kong has been anointed byBeijing as an official offshore trading centerfor the yuan, although banks in Taiwan andSingapore also provide similar services.With its status a center for global foreignexchange trading, London appears tobe the forerunner in clinching an agreementwith Beijing to become Europe’s offshoreyuan trading center, Chinese academicshave said.Indeed, SWIFT said its data showed 60percent of yuan trades are done out ofBritain.IFC plans to raise $1b frombonds for India projectsREUTERSMUMBAI, OCT 10THE World Bank’s private sector arm,International Finance Corp., plans tolaunch a $1 billion rupee-linked bondprogramme within weeks to raisemoney internationally for privateprojects in India.IFC officials said the bonds’maturity had not been finalised butthe programme could includetranches of two or three-year paperinitially followed by long-term bonds.The coupon and settlement of thebonds will be in dollars but the proceedswill be converted into rupeesand allocated to private sector projectsin India, IFC officials told Reutersby telephone.“The bond coupon and the FXexchange rate will all reflect theIndian rupee’s fundamentals,” said“The difference now... is thatthere have been more targetedattacks against product-carryingtankers,” Steffen told AFP.“Most ships that are involved ininternational trade tend to reportwhen they are attacked,” he said.In the past, pirates typically raidedlocal or regional vessels, whosecrews had various motivations,including political ones, to keep quietafter being robbed.The International MaritimeBureau, which is funded by ship owners,said in July that armed robberyand kidnappings at sea had beensurging off west Africa.AGENCE FRANCE PRESSEMOSCOW, OCT 10RUSSIA’S Soviet-era flagcarrier Aeroflot unveiled itsown budget airlineThursday that will have noreclining seats or businessclass while promising faresnearly half those chargedby the competition.Aeroflot said its newDobrolyot carrier—looselytranslated as the “niceflight” airline—will fly initiallyfrom Moscow to SaintPetersburg and eight otherRussian cities beforeexpanding its horizons.“By limiting its expenses,the low-coster will beable to compete on priceswith trains,” Aeroflot promisedin a company presentation.Dobrolyot was thename Aeroflot itself carriedin the first eight years of itsexistence between 1923and 1930.The concept of a budgetairline could seem dubiousin a country wheresmall regional airlines arenotorious for their poorflight safety record.But Aeroflot has takenhuge recent steps toimprove its image whilescooping up several awardsfor Eastern European servicein the process.Aeroflot stressed thatDobrolyot will keep up withthe parent company’s traditionof buying Westernplanes such as Boeing airlinersand steering clear ofRussia’s less-trustworthyand inefficient Tupolevs.Dobrolyot intends tolaunch operations in mid-2014 flying eight Boeing737-800s.These will be fitted outin navy and sky blue liverythat has the airline’s namespelled out in Russianacross the front.Aeroflot’s share of theRussian market has slippedto just 40 percent—a far cryfrom the days in the Sovietera when it proclaimeditself as the world’s largestairline.But the company hasbeen on an upswing of latethanks to new standardsJingdong Hua, vice-president,Treasury and Syndications at IFC,World Bank Group.The rupee has rebounded bymore than 11 percent since hitting arecord low of 68.85 against the dollaron August 28 after being hammeredearlier this year on concerns aboutIndia’s gaping current account deficitand expectations for reduced capitalinflows to India once the U.S. FederalReserve starts to scale back its stimulusprogramme.Investors in the bonds will bearthe exchange rate risk, but are likelyto benefit from a wide interest differentialbetween India and the UnitedStates. Hua said demand was likely tobe strong due to IFC’s AAA credit rating.IFC is also in talks with the Indiangovernment about setting up anonshore bond programme, but officialsdid not elaborate.The IMB has over the last 18months repeatedly cited a rise inattacks in the region.While Risk Intelligence disputesthat narrative, the Danish group saidpirates in the Gulf of Guinea are makingmore money than ever.A statement from the groupdescribed the coordinated attacks onlarge commercial tankers as “a relativelynew type of crime” that hasbecome “highly lucrative.”“An estimated 117,000 metrictons of product worth approximately$100 million (74 million euros) hasbeen stolen since 2010,” the statementsaid. For Steffen, the solution toAeroflot unveils‘nice flight’budget airlineadopted once it became amember of the SkyTeamalliance in 2006.SkyTeam now callsAeroflot’s fleet “one of themost modern, youngestand fastest-growing ... inEurope.”Aeroflot this year alsoburnished its image bybecoming the official carrierof the ManchesterUnited football club.The company promisedThursday that its spinoffwill have fares that areabout 40 percent cheaperthan the competition forthe same destinations.The budget travellerwill have to understandablyput up with somehardships for these savings.Aeroflot’s presentationsaid Dobrolyot’s planes willhave no reclining seats orin-flight entertainment.There will be no businessclass. And the cabinswill be cleaned only once aday and not after everyflight as on most moreprestigious airlines.Aeroflot promised thatpassengers will however beable to upgrade for morecomfortable seats withextra legroom and be ableto purchase a basic lunchon board.“There is little doubtthat we have to adopt thesame limits on service thatexist on foreign low-costairlines,” Aeroflot chiefexecutive Vitaly Savelyevtold reporters.“Nothing will be free.”Savelyev also stressedthat Dobrolyot will take tothe skies only if Russiaamends laws forbiddingairlines from selling nonrefundabletickets that canonly be purchased throughthe Internet.“We expect such a lawto be adopted by the end ofthis year,” Savelyev said.Analysts believe thatSavelyev is acting in thenick of time. Low-costEuropean airlines arealready flexing their muscleon the Russian aviationmarket—seen as one of theworld’s most vibrant withan annual growth rate of 20percent.RBI lets banks toraise fund frommultilateral bodiesREUTERSMUMBAI, OCT 10THE Reserve Bank of India onThursday allowed banks to raisefunds from global multilateral institutionsuntil November 30 as long asthe money raised is for general bankingpurposes and not for capitalenhancement.These borrowings frommultilateral bodies will also be eligiblefor the recently opened forexswap facility.The RBI set up a swap windowfor banks last month, offering toexchange foreign currency forrupees at below market rates forlenders that raise funds abroad.The RBI on Thursdayalso allowed banks to borrowfrom entities other than theirown branches overseas under existingregulators.the scourge has to come fromNigeria’s government. “The backersand sponsors are Nigerians.The buyers and brokers of stolencargo are Nigerians and the attackteams are Nigerians,” he said, notingthat the pirates may get some “logisticalhelp” from accomplices inBenin, Ghana and Togo.Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer,generating some two million barrelsper day from onshore and deepwaterfields in the Niger Delta, whichfalls along the Gulf of Guinea.Many of the targeted vessels havebeen laden with crude oil, destinedfor refineries around the world.

IVTHE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013MONEY | ekantipur.comBIZLINETrust, StanChart join forcesKATHMANDU: The Queen Elizabeth DiamondJubilee Trust (The Trust) and Standard CharteredBank have formed a strategic partnership to helpsignificantly advance the elimination of avoidableblindness. An estimated 80 percent of blindnessglobally could either be prevented or treated. Thisnew partnership, launched on World Sight Day,will increase momentum behind the VISION 2020goal of eliminating avoidable blindness by theyear 2020. The Trust, established by theCommonwealth heads of government in 2011 tomark and celebrate the queen’s 60-year contributionto the Commonwealth, will be supported byStandard Chartered, an organisation that hasbeen focused on tackling avoidable blindness for10 years through its community investment initiative,Seeing is Believing. Through the partnership,ambitious programmes with proven solutionswill be delivered across the Commonwealthby the Trust, supported by a donation of US$ 20million from Standard Chartered, the largest corporatedonor to the Trust.Mega Mart offers discountKATHMANDU: Mega Mart,the operator of Big Mart, hascome up with a discountscheme targeting the ongoingfestive season. As per theplan, customers will benefitfrom a direct cash discountof Rs 5 to Rs 98 on dailyessentials like vegetables, rice, edible oil, chocolates,light beverages and liquor, among others.Likewise, a customer shopping at Big Mart willreceive a washing machine, two buyers will get arefrigerator each and three people will get a vacuumcleaner each through a lucky draw. Big Martmaintains outlets at various places across theKathmandu valley.Everest AGM okays bonusKATHMANDU: The19th annual generalmeeting (AGM) ofEverest Bank held onWednesday approvedthe payment of 50 percentcash dividend and10 percent bonusshares as recommended by the board of directorsand approved by Nepal Rastra Bank. The bankfurther announced that the payment of cash dividendand distribution of bonus shares wouldcommence from Thursday. The bank said in astatement that it is the highest cash dividend orbonus shares so far in the country for the currentfinancial year.Hero MotoCorp unveils15 new productsPRESS TURST OF INDIAGURGAON, OCT 10HERO MotoCorp, India'slargest two-wheeler makertoday unveiled 15 newproducts that will hit themarket during the sixmonths of the current fiscal.The company also saidit will enter new markets ofTurkey and Egypt in thenext few months, while it isalso working on a low costbike for the entry level segment.The new productsshowcased includerefreshed top-end bikeKarizma R, ZMR, SplendorI-Smart and new variant ofscooter Pleasure.“It has just been overtwo years since we commencedour solo journey,and in such a short span oftime, we have made significantup gradation of ourexisting line-up, incorporatingnext generation technologyand features. This isalso a reiteration of ourcapability to developindigenous technologies...,”HeroMotoCorpManaging Director andLevel Money letssmartphones showwhether it would befiscally smarterto pass on buying hatextra round of drinksor sleek new gadgetCEO Pawan Munjal toldreporters here.Last month, HeroMotoCorp had announcedthat it would introduce over15 new offerings by Marchnext year as it seeks to consolidatethe leadershipposition.The offerings include arefreshed version of itshigh-end bike Karizma.This is Hero's first commercialproduction model inwhich US-based partnerErik Buell Racing (EBR) hasplayed a major developmentrole since their tie-up.A majority of the newofferings will hit the marketin the ongoing October-December quarter as thecompany looks to cash inAGENCE FRANCE PRESSESAN FRANCISCO, OCT 10FOR those who use amobile wallet, a newapp aims to help keeptrack of when electronic cashis running low.The Level Money applicationunveiled Thursday aimsto give smartphone users a“money meter” at a timewhen carrying cash is passe.The app, for those whouse Apple’s mobile iOSgadgets, is aimed squarely atpeople age 35 or younger,referred to as Millennials orGeneration Y.Check out the latestPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, OCT 10IF you are shopping forapparels and are not surewhere to step in amid thehustle and bustle of busyshopping streets inKathmandu, you may want totry US Polo, a newly openedclothing store at the country’shigh-end shopping district --Durbar Marg. What makesthe store preferable is, first,the wide range of fresh collectionsthe store offers, and,second, the affordabilitydespite the brand competingin the premium segment.US Polo features varietiesof products for men, womenand children, making it acomplete shopping destinationfor apparels.The store has largely specializedin casual wear, partywear and semi-formal attire.“We will soon add accessorieslike sunglasses, caps, walletsand belts, among others, tomeet the requirements ofcustomers,” said BirendraPrajapati, manager at USPolo. The store will also stockshoes in the near future.Prices at the store startfrom Rs 1,000. The entire garmentcollection at the storehas been manufactured at themanufacturing unit of USPolo in India. “The sameitems are also exported toother markets like the US andUK, among others. Despitehaving different manufacturingunits in several countries,the quality factor remainsunchanged,” Prajapati said.Highlighting the reasonbehind the opening of a USPolo store in the capital city,Prajapati said that the acceptanceof brands among theyounger generation and theon the festive season inIndia. Apart from refreshof existing models, theothers will have innovationsdeveloped by the company'sR&D team, forwhich patents have beensought.Munjal said that whenHero MotoCorp announcedits new identity in 2011, 50new products were promisedin three years.“Today we have 15, sothere are 35 more to comein the coming years,”he added.On the development ofa low-cost bike, Munjalsaid: “In our R&D we arealways working to bring thecost down. We are workingon a bike that will be lessexpensive than ourcurrent entry level bike HFDawn but not drasticallycheaper.” He declined toshare further details of thebike. HF Dawn is currentlypriced at Rs 37,000.Hero MotoCorp hadsaid its first bike without thetechnology of erstwhilepartner Hondawould hitthe market by 2014.threads at US Polo“For the vast majority ofthat group, money managementis checking the balanceat the ATM after the moneycomes out of the machine,”said Level co-founder andchief executive Jake Fuentes.“Frankly, we don’t thinkabout money the same wayour parents do,” the 27-yearoldcontinued. “We didn’tgrow up with savings bankpassbooks and physicalmoney; you swipe a card andput it back in your wallet.”Level Money lets smartphonesshow whetherit would be fiscally smarterto pass on buying thatever increasing awarenessamong buyers had inspiredthem to open the store. “Ifyou go to a local store, a qualityT-shirt will cost around Rs1,500. We are offering brandedones at around Rs 1,800.This is why brands are gettingpopular, and why we haveintroduced it here,” saidextra round of drinks or sleeknew gadget.“We want to give you thisreal-time money meter,”Fuentes said.Level Money synchronizeswith bank accounts andcredit or debit cards, analyzingentries to identify incomeand monthly bills such as rentor mobile phone service.The application lets peoplespecify how much of theirpay they want to save.“We distill it down to stuffthat has to be paid everymonth, savings, and everythingelse comes up as spendable,”Fuentes said. “That isPrajapati. Claiming that theproducts available at thestore are nominally priced,Prajapati said that they aim tocater to the demand of peoplefrom the middle incometo high income groups.Likewise, the store is alsoplanning an expansion due tothe overwhelming response itthe way this generationthinks: Am I feeling rich todayor am I not?”San Francisco-basedLevel entices people by projectinghow much moneythey are on pace to havesaved at the end of a month toput toward splurging onthemselves.Level partnered with personalfinance software titanIntuit to handle people’s personalinformation with“bank-level security andencryption.”“Level is a radically simpleapproach to money management,”Fuentes said.US Polo featuresvarieties of productsfor men, women andchildren, making it acomplete shoppingdestination forapparels. Thestore has largelyspecialized in casualwear, party wear andsemi-formal attirehas been receiving frombranded apparel buyers. “Ithas been less than a monthsince we opened, but theresponse is amazing,” saidPrajapati. The store expects toopen another outlet atJawalakhel and one morelocation in the capitalthis year.A customer selects sandles at Bentley showroom at Durbarmarg in Kathmandu on Thursday.POST PHOTO: PRAKASH TIMILSENANew application aims to keep tabs on mobile wallet“We think this is part of asea change to using mobiledevices for financial decisionsin a way not seen before.”Level Money is availableonly for iPhones in the UnitedStates but the nine-personstartup was intent on expandingquickly to more devices.“Our ambition is tobecome the next generationof financial services company,”Fuentes said.Level does not makemoney from the free applicationbut envisions eventuallycashing in by providing moresophisticated financial servicesto users.MARKET WATCHRETAIL PRICEVegetables Unit Price (Rs)Red Potato Kg Rs 40White Potato Kg Rs 35Onion (Indian) Kg Rs 140Tomato Small Kg Rs 68Tomato Big Kg Rs 74Squash Kg Rs 44Cabbage Kg Rs 40Egg Plant Long Kg Rs 50Cow Pea Kg Rs 64Fruits Unit Price (Rs)Apple Kg Rs 135Pomegranate Kg Rs 240Mango Kg Rs 200Water Melon Kg Rs 60Sweet Orange Kg Rs 120Pineapple 1Pc Rs 95Cucumber Kg Rs 40Pear Kg Rs 100Papaya Kg Rs 110Banana Doz Rs 90Lime 100 Pcs Rs 420DAILY COMMODITIESCommodities Unit Price (Rs)Pokhreli Rice Kg Rs 60Jeera Mashino Rice Kg Rs 65Indian Bashmati Rice Kg Rs 95Mansuli Rice Kg Rs 58Sona Rice Kg Rs 50Beaten Rice (Taichin) Kg Rs 84Beaten Rice Kg Rs 42Big Mas Kg Rs 106Small Mas Kg Rs 100Big Mung Kg Rs 140Musuro (No 1) Kg Rs 110Musuro (No 2) Kg Rs 100Rahar Kg Rs 120Chana (Big) Kg Rs 110Chana (Small) Kg Rs 100Chilli Powder Kg Rs 240Jeera Powder Kg Rs 350Sugar Kg Rs 75White Soyabean Kg Rs 100Black Soyabean Kg Rs 120Fried Mustard Oil lt Rs 240Soyabean Oil lt Rs 140Dalda Ghee lt Rs 115Nepali Ghee lt Rs 540GASOLINE WATCHBULLIONINT’L MARKETPRICE PER 10 GRAMSHallmark Gold Rs 47,670Tejabi Gold Rs 47,455Silver Rs 797.50SOURCE: NEGOSIDAEnergy Price (US$) %ChangeBRENT CRUDE FUTR (bbl) 107.25 -1.03GAS OIL FUT (ICE) (MT) 906.50 -0.60GASOLINE RBOB FUT (gal) 258.85 -1.51NATURAL GAS FUTR (MMBtu) 3.63 2.08Agriculture Price (US$) %ChangeCOCOA FUTURE (MT) 2,629.00 -0.42COFFEE ‘C’ FUTURE (lb) 113.7 0.00CORN FUTURE (bu) 436.75 -1.08COTTON NO.2 FUTR (lb) 86.48 -0.84ROUGH RICE (CBOT) (cwt) 15.08 -0.33SOYBEAN FUTURE (bu) 1,265.50 -1.34SOYBEAN MEAL FUTR (T) 399.6 -1.43SOYBEAN OIL FUTR (lb) 40.96 -0.34SUGAR #11 (WORLD) (lb) 18.12 0.11WHEAT FUTURE(CBT) (bu) 678.5 0.00Industrial Metals Price (US$) %ChangeCOPPER FUTURE (lb) 326.45 -1.76Precious Metals Price (US$) %ChangeGOLD 100 OZ FUTR (t oz) 1,287.80 -2.95SILVER FUTURE (t oz) 20.68 -4.74