Onlineparasi.com: January 2021

Speaking at the 69th International World Customs Day today organised at the Department of Customs, he said that the department and the private sector should cooperate with each other to control irregularities in customs.

Finance Minister Paudel said that the customs department and the private sector are two sides of the same coin. Thus, he stressed on working together for mutual benefit.

“We need to pay attention to the problems facing the private sector and the existing problems in the customs system,” said Minister Paudel.

He also mentioned that the customs department should play a supportive role in resolving the legitimate problems of the private sector.

Speaking on the occasion, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Shekhar Golchha said that ready-made goods and raw materials should be managed from two levels as per the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. According to him, there are many problems in the export inspection at the moment and it should be made easier.

“Currently, it takes around 11 hours to clear the customs during trade,” he said.

“This problem should be solved to make it easier for the entrepreneurs.” He also said that it was very important to reopen the northern checkpoint which had been closed for almost a year citing various reasons.

Similarly, President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Rajesh Kazi Shrestha demanded that e-payment system be introduced soon as the one-door system is being implemented. He also said that the income tax should be reduced from 13 per cent to 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, addressing the event, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Baikuntha Aryal, said that various actions and discussions have been held to facilitate import and export sector of the country. He said that special discussions are underway to open the northern border too. Similarly, the ministry informed that discussions will be held with India to set up Bhairahawa and Birgunj integrated check posts as well.

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1st private space crew paying $55M each to fly to station

CAPE CANAVERAL: The first private space station crew was introduced Tuesday: Three men who are each paying $55 million to fly on a SpaceX rocket.

They’ll be led by a former NASA astronaut now working for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the trip for next January.

“This is the first private flight to the International Space Station. It’s never been done before,” said Axiom’s chief executive and president Mike Suffredini, a former space station program manager for NASA.

While mission commander Michael Lopez-Alegria is well known in space circles, “the other three guys are just people who want to be able to go to space, and we’re providing that opportunity,” Suffredini told The Associated Press.

The first crew will spend eight days at the space station, and will take one or two days to get there aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule following liftoff from Cape Canaveral.

Russia has been in the off-the-planet tourism business for years, selling rides to the International Space Station since 2001. Other space companies like Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin plan to take paying customers on up-and-down flights lasting just minutes. These trips — much more affordable with seats going for hundreds of thousands versus millions — could kick off this year.

Axiom’s first customers include Larry Connor, a real estate and tech entrepreneur from Dayton, Ohio, Canadian financier Mark Pathy and Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe, a close friend of Israel’s first astronaut Ilan Ramon, who was killed in the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003.

“These guys are all very involved and doing it for kind of for the betterment of their communities and countries, and so we couldn’t be happier with this makeup of the first crew because of their drive and their interest,” Suffredini said.

Each of these first paying customers intends to perform science research in orbit, he said, along with educational outreach.

Lopez-Alegria, a former space station resident and spacewalking leader, called the group a “collection of pioneers.”

Tom Cruise was mentioned last year as a potential crew member; NASA top officials confirmed he was interested in filming a movie at the space station. There was no word Tuesday on whether Cruise will catch the next Axiom flight. Suffredini declined to comment.

Each of the private astronauts had to pass medical tests and will get 15 weeks of training, according to Suffredini. The 70-year-old Connor will become the second-oldest person to fly in space, after John Glenn’s shuttle flight in 1998 at age 77. He’ll also serve under Lopez-Alegria as the capsule pilot.

Axiom plans about two private missions a year to the space station. It also is working to launch its own live-in compartments to the station beginning in 2024. This section would be detached from the station once it’s retired by NASA and the international partners, and become its own private outpost.

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LIVE: Covid-19 vaccination drive officially begins in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination drive in Nepal from his official residence in Baluwatar.

Health and sanitation workers deployed in the frontlines will first receive the vaccines in the first phase of the campaign. Over 400,000 such frontline workers will be included in the initial stage.

The campaign has officially begun through a virtual announcement of its commencement from 11 different hospitals in the capital.

The director of Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital Dr Sagar Rajbhandari has received the first jab at the hospital.

The India manufactured Covishield, one million doses of which have been provided to Nepal by India in aid, is being administered by the government on the aforementioned group. Covishield is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which is manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India.

Watch the live video here:

Video Courtesy: Nepal Television

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EDITORIAL: Path to recovery

There are many ways to recovery, but we must shun the uneven one leading to growing inequality

Just how severe the coronavirus pandemic has been is hard to quantify, with its impact felt on every sector of the economy, but a report of the ‘ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work’ should give a fair idea of just what it has meant for the labour market around the globe. According to the report, 8.8 per cent of global working hours, equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, were lost in 2020, which is four times the number of jobs lost during the 2009 global financial crisis. This eventually led to an 8.3 per cent decline in global labour income, which is about 4.4 per cent of the global gross domestic product. With so many jobs lost and loss of income, one can well imagine the struggle that people around the world are making to make ends meet. While the year 2020 has been a bleak year from any perspective due to the pandemic, it is still unknown if the current year will be any better, with deadlier variant of the coronavirus surfacing, and lockdowns and curfews becoming the norm in many developed countries.

Still there are predictions of a relatively strong recovery in the second half of the year, as nations across the world start vaccination programmes in earnest. The degree of recovery would, however, depend on the progress of the vaccination programme.

Even under an optimistic scenario, where the pandemic is under control and there is an increase in consumer and business confidence, the ILO has forecast a 1.3 per cent loss of working hours globally in 2021. Thus, it would be naïve on the part of the government to think that once the vaccination programme is rolled out, things will fall back to the pre-pandemic days immediately. The ILO Monitor has made certain policy recommendations for recovery, and it would be in the interest of our government to adopt them. They include macroeconomic policies that are accommodative in 2021 and beyond; targeted measures to reach the hard-hit groups, in particular women and younger workers; focussing support on the hardest-hit sectors, such as accommodation and food, and retail and manufacturing; and social dialogue to implement the recovery strategies to create inclusive, fair and sustainable economies.

There are many ways to recovery, but we must shun the uneven one that leads to growing inequality and instability with more crises ahead. The government cannot afford to pay attention to only those who lobby hard for their cause, such as the business community. It must see to it that those sectors and workers hit hardest are not left behind, as this will lead to increasing inequality. The ILO Monitor has recommended a path that will provide lasting, sustainable and inclusive recovery — one that focusses on a human-centred recovery for building back better, prioritises employment, income and social protection, workers’ rights and social dialogue.

Bringing the country back to normalcy soon is a huge challenge, but not an impossible task if all the stakeholders put their heart and soul into it. However, with the country facing political unrest since the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the Prime Minister, the course of recovery and its sustainability will be determined largely by the political scenario that unfolds.

Blackbuck population

The blackbuck population has increased in Bardiya’s Blackbuck Conservation Area, the only protected area where the endangered species called antelope cervicapra are found, thanks to the government’s efforts and the cooperation from the local communities. As per the official data, there were just nine blackbucks in 1976 in Bardiya’s Gulariya Municipality.

These days, their population has risen to 200.

About eight years ago as many as 100 blackbucks were swept away or went missing in the heavy floods in the Babai River. Prior to the floods, there were around 300 blackbucks roaming the area. The endangered animal is the major attraction of the area, which is located close to the Bardiya National Park, home to the endangered one-horned rhino, Royal Bengal Tiger, wild pheasants and peacocks. As the number of endangered species continues to grow, the government has shifted some of them to the Suklaphanta National Park in Kanchanpur district in farwest Nepal, where the climatic condition is similar to that of Bardiya National Park. Blackbuck Conservation Area, spread over 17 square kilometres, can become a major tourist destination if the concerned agency launches a publicity campaign.

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Heroes’ welcome for K2 climbers after record winter summit

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 26

Ten Nepali climbers, who set a record by successfully scaling K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in the winter season, received a heroes’ welcome as they arrived here this morning.

By ascending the 8,611-metre-high Mt K2 in the winter season, 10 Nepali climbers, including Nirmal Purja aka ‘Nimsdai’, set a new world record in the field of mountaineering. Purja was assisted by Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzing Sherpa, Gyalzen Sherpa, Pema Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Sherpa, Kilu Sherpa, Mingma G, Dawa Tenzing Sherpa, and Sona Sherpa.

The team received a grand welcome at Tribhuvan International Airport from the Department of Tourism, Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal Mountaineering Association, and other tourism organisations.

Though shorter than Mt Everest, K2 is renowned for being far more tougher to climb, with not a single successful winter ascent until the Nepali group stood atop its summit on January 16.

Winter winds on K2, which straddles the Pakistan-China border, can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour and temperatures drop to minus-60 degrees Celsius. Only a total of 367 successful ascents have been made on Mt K2 so far and 86 people have lost their lives in the attempt.

This is Purja’s second world record. He had set another record in 2019 by successfully climbing all the top 14 mountains in the world in the shortest time span of around six months.

Meanwhile, presenting letters of appreciation to the climbers in Baluwatar today, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced they will be felicitated with medals in the future.

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Biden administration aims to have enough vaccine for most Americans by summertime

WASHINGTON: The United States aims to acquire an additional 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, enough to inoculate most Americans by summertime, as he races to curb a pandemic he warned could still get worse.

Biden’s administration will purchase 100 million doses each of the vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, and Moderna Inc, increasing the overall total doses to 600 million, with delivery expected by summer.

The previous purchase target was 400 million doses.

Each vaccine requires two doses per person to be fully effective, suggesting the new purchases would build up enough of a stockpile to inoculate most of the country’s 331 million people. The vaccines are not approved for use by most children.

“This is a wartime effort,” Biden said in the White House State Dining Room under a painting of President Abraham Lincoln, who led the Union to victory in the US Civil War.

Pfizer is confident it can deliver the extra doses in the time frame specified by Biden, spokeswoman Sharon Castillo said.

Moderna declined to comment.

The new purchase target, along with promises to get more vaccine to local authorities, raises the bar for a Democratic president who took office last week with vows to repair what he said was a disastrous emergency response by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

Biden said he would hike the amount of the vaccine going to local governments to 10 million doses per week for the next three weeks, up from 8.6 million currently. The news was welcomed by governors, who said they needed even more doses.

“We appreciate the administration stating that it will provide states with slightly higher allocations for the next few weeks, but we are going to need much more supply,” Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said in a statement after being briefed on a call by Jeff Zients, the administration’s COVID-19 response coordinator.

“I urge President Biden to take every imaginable step within his power to ramp up production without delay.”

OBSTACLES AHEAD

Considerable challenges remain, ranging from faster-spreading virus variants, supply shortages and public fears about taking the vaccine. Biden’s administration has tried to address the latter problem by getting senior officials vaccinated in public. Vice President Kamala Harris took her second and final Moderna-manufactured shot on Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health.

Biden has asked Congress for a $1.9 trillion relief package to increase testing and vaccine distribution, but the proposal has been met with Republican resistance over the price tag and the inclusion of some measures not directly related to virus control.

Senate Democrats will approve the stimulus even without the support of Republicans, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.

The administration has also faced extensive questions after sending mixed messages on issues such as when the population would be fully vaccinated.

On Monday, Biden said he believed it was possible to have 150 million doses of the vaccine administered in his first 100 days in office, an aspiration his press secretary, Jen Psaki, said was not an official adjustment of the current target of 100 million doses over that same time period.

The pandemic, which has killed over 420,000 Americans, is currently infecting more than 173,000 people daily and has left millions out of work.

“Cases will continue to mount,” Biden warned. “We didn’t get in this mess overnight. It’s going to take months for us to turn things around. Let me be equally clear: We’re going to get through this. We will defeat this pandemic.”

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Nepal Covid-19 vaccine roll-out: PM Oli to inaugurate drive in Nepal at 10

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will inaugurate the Covid-19 vaccine drive in Nepal from Baluwatar at 10:00am, today.

Health-workers and sanitation workers deployed in the frontlines will first receive the vaccines in the first round of the campaign. Over 400,000 such frontline workers will be included in the initial stage.

The drive will begin with the virtual announcement of its commencement from 11 different hospitals in the capital.

The director of Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital Dr Sagar Rajbhandari will receive the first jab at the hospital.

It has been advised that the Covishield vaccine received from the Indian government cannot be administered to minors. Only individuals above 18 years can opt to receive the same.

Likewise, those showing symptoms of the disease will also not receive the vaccine. Pregnant women also cannot get jabbed against the disease.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has stated that a person has to sign a consent letter, a standard procedure, prior to getting vaccinated.

Recently, the Government had received a million vaccines in support from the Government of India.

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Contempt of court case filed against PM Oli

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 26

Senior Advocate Kumar Sharma Acharya and Advocate Kanchan Krishna Neupane today filed a contempt of court case against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for his remarks against Senior Advocate Krishna Prasad Bhandari.

The PM recently mocked petitioners who had challenged the dissolution of the House of Representatives for appointing nonagenarian lawyer Bhandari to plead in their favour. The PM had said, “They have taken ‘ a grandfather lawyer’ to plead in their favour.

Why are they doing such theatrics?”

Acharya has stated that Oli’s remarks undermined the prestige of 94-year-old Bhandari, the senior-most lawyer in the country and the first president of Nepal Bar Association, the umbrella body of lawyers. The petitioner said nobody had the right to mock a lawyer for pleading in the court.

“As executive head, the PM has more responsibility to respect prevailing laws. His remarks against the senior-most lawyer Bhandari, who has played an important role in promoting the cause of the judiciary and who had defended political leaders during Panchayat regime, is contemptuous,” Acharya said.

Kanchan Krishna Ghimire stated that the PM’s remarks against Bhandari and other lawyers were contemptuous as they created obstacles in the adjudication of justice.

“The PM compared the court proceedings in HoR dissolution case to a drama.

He also said that lawyers were twisting their arguments.

The PM’s remarks are therefore contemptuous,”

Neupane said. He demanded maximum sentence against the PM as per Section 17 of the Administration of Justice Act.

Meanwhile, Advocate Raja Ram Ghimire has filed a contempt of court case against Senior Advocate and former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana for his recent remarks about HoR dissolution cases. The apex court has, however, not registered the case yet citing lack of fulfilment of court procedure.

Ghimire said Dhungana recently said if the Supreme Court failed to reinstate the HoR, it could fail the current constitution and people may unseat the justices.

He said Dhungana’s statement was against the independence of the judiciary.

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Afghanistan’s first female breakdancer sets sights on Paris Olympics

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Cricket Australia confirms Indian players subject to racial abuse

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‘Athletes will be vaccinated’: Mo Farah confident Tokyo Games will go ahead

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Matthew Wade cut from Australia Test squad for South Africa series

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Gianluigi Buffon in blasphemy probe by Italian FA, could face ban

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Florida offers to replace Tokyo as Olympics host, according to state official

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Thomas Tuchel appointed Chelsea manager following Frank Lampard’s sacking

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Inter earn last-gasp Coppa Italia win over Milan as Zlatan Ibrahimovic sees red

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Manchester City roar to summit after win against WBA, West Ham in top four

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Monday 25 January 2021

Job losses from virus four times as bad as 2009 financial crisis: ILO

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

The unprecedented disruption in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to four times as many job losses as during the global financial crisis over a decade ago, according to a latest report from the International Labour Organisation.

New annual estimates in the seventh edition of the ‘ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work’ confirm the massive impact that labour markets suffered last year. The latest figures show that 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost for the whole of 2020 (relative to the fourth quarter of 2019), equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs or approximately quadruple the jobs lost during the 2009 global financial crisis.

These lost working hours are accounted for either by reduced working hours for those in employment or ‘unprecedented’ levels of employment loss, hitting 114 million people. Significantly, 71 per cent of these employment losses (81 million people) came in the form of inactivity, rather than unemployment, meaning that people left the labour market because they were unable to work, perhaps because of pandemic restrictions, or simply ceased to look for work.

Looking at unemployment alone drastically understates the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market, the report states.

These massive losses resulted in an 8.3 per cent decline in global labour income (before support measures are included), equivalent to $3.7 trillion or 4.4 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

Impact by groups and sectors

Women have been more affected than men by the pandemic’s labour market disruptions.

Globally, employment losses for women stand at five per cent, versus 3.9 per cent for men. In particular, women were much more likely than men to drop out of the labour market and become inactive.

Younger workers have also been particularly hard hit, either losing jobs, dropping out of labour force or delaying entry into it. The employment loss among youth (15 o 24 years old) stood at 8.7 per cent, compared to 3.7 per cent for adults. This ‘highlights the all too real risk of a lost generation’, the ILO Monitor says.

The report shows the uneven impact on different economic, geographic, and labour market sectors. It highlights concerns of a ‘K-shaped recovery’, whereby those sectors and workers hit hardest could be left behind in the recovery, leading to increasing inequality, unless corrective measures are taken.

The worst affected sector has been accommodation and food services, where employment declined by more than 20 per cent, on average, followed by retail and manufacturing. In contrast, employment in information and communication, and finance and insurance, increased in the second and third quarters of 2020. Marginal increases were also seen in mining, quarrying and utilities.

Looking ahead

While there is still a high degree of uncertainty, the latest projections for 2021 show that most countries will experience a relatively strong recovery in the second half of the year, as vaccination programmes take effect.

The ILO Monitor puts forward three scenarios for recovery — baseline, pessimistic and optimistic.

The baseline scenario (which draws on International Monetary Fund forecasts from October 2020), projects a three per cent loss of working hours globally in 2021 (compared to fourth quarter of 2019), equivalent to 90 million full-time jobs.

The pessimistic scenario, which assumes slow progress on vaccination in particular, would see working hours drop by 4.6 per cent, while the optimistic scenario forecasts a 1.3 per cent decline. This would depend on the pandemic being under control and an upsurge of consumer and business confidence.

In all scenarios, Americas, Europe and Central Asia, would experience around twice the working hour losses of other regions.

The ILO Monitor includes a series of policy recommendations for recovery, including macroeconomic policies to remain accommodative in 2021 and beyond; targeted measures to reach hard-hit groups; international support for low and middle-income countries; focusing support on the hardest-hit sectors; and social dialogue to implement the recovery strategies necessary to create more inclusive, fair, sustainable economies.

“The signs of recovery we see are encouraging, but they are fragile and highly uncertain, and we must remember that no country or group can recover alone,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder has been quoted as saying in a media release.

“We are at a fork in the road.

One path leads to an uneven, unsustainable, recovery with growing inequality and instability, and the prospect of more crises.

The other focuses on a human-centred recovery for building back better, prioritising employment, income and social protection, workers’ rights and social dialogue. If we want a lasting, sustainable and inclusive recovery, this is the path policymakers must commit to.”

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K2 winter expedition team receives heroes welcome in Kathmandu airport

Kathmandu. January 26

The ten-member K2 winter expedition team arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday after a successful historical accent on January 16. Hundreds of people gathered at the Tribhuvan International Airport to cheer the team and to celebrate their success.

Legendary climbers Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and Nirmal Purja (Nimsdai) along with other Nepali Sherpa climbers stood atop Mt K2 (8,611m) in the Karakoram massif, the first ever winter ascent of the world’s second highest peak.

Photos captured by Photojournalist Skanda Gautam for The Himalayan Times –

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Province 2 to administer vaccines from Jan 27

JANAKPUR, JANUARY 25

The Province 2 government has decided to start administering COVID-19 vaccines in all the eight districts simultaneously from January 27.

A meeting of the Provincial Corona Crisis Management Committee held today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut decided to launch the campaign to administer vaccines to infected people, said the CM Communications Secretariat.

CM Raut is scheduled to inaugurate the campaign at Birgunj-based Narayani Hospital, Minister of Internal Affairs and Law of the province Gyanendra Kumar Yadav at Provincial Hospital, Janakpurdham and Minister of Social Development Nawal Kishor Sah at Rajbiraj-based Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital, said Province 2 health director Bijaya Jha.

“The province has received 34,000 vials of the vaccines, and they will be supplied to districts by January 26.”

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Alternative energy sources

The demand for energy is increasing rapidly every year in every country, including Nepal.

In order to meet the growing demand for energy, different kinds of alternative energy sources can be used, of which biogas is worth mentioning.

Biogas, which is considered an ideal energy converter, burns much more efficiently, and the residue, sludge, is a better fertiliser than the raw dung, providing the output over twice as much heat and nearly three times as much useful fertiliser as would have been obtained from the original dung.

The manure produced from biogas plants can be used as a better organic fertiliser by 20 to 30 percent than other compost fertilisers. In addition, the residue, sludge, produced from these plants kills the weeds and helps every crop thrive luxuriantly.

Human waste and some vegetation waste can also be used in biogas plants. Since proper treatment eliminates some pest disease carrying organisms, it improves the sanitation of a country.

The use of biogas not only reduces cooking time but also saves the consumption of kerosene, which has to be imported from other countries using scarce foreign exchange. To operate pumps and other machines, the clean smokeless gas emitted from biogas plants can be used.

Apart from reducing deforestation, the use of biogas helps maintain an ecological balance indirectly and stimulates the stable feeding of livestock.

By using biogas plants, foreign currency which otherwise would be spent in importing different kinds of fuel, can be saved considerably and utilised in productive sectors.

Since forests are shrinking every year in the world, there are not encouraging signs of obtaining the necessary quantity of firewood in the future.

Since switching to fuels such as gas or kerosene is not possible for all people, agricultural residues can serve as the alternative to firewood for millions of people living in the developing and the least developed countries.

Although crop residues burn quickly, making cooking a more time consuming and tedious activity, woody crop residues can be used as the best cooking fuel. Cocoa nutshells, jute sticks and millet stalks burn well and are gaining popularity in most countries, especially in the least developed ones.

Furthermore, solar and wind energy can meet the growing energy needs of the people.

Though they are very expensive to tap, they are renewable and everlasting. Therefore, it is expedient to pay special attention to harnessing such energy as the cost of producing power from solar and wind has come down considerably over the years.

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Corona vaccine from India: A lifesaver for Nepal

Quite a few vaccines are being rolled out around the globe at the present. In the United States, the PfizerCOVID-19 vaccine has received widespread acceptance. It is said to have an efficiency of 94 per cent. et another vaccine by Johnson and Johnson is said to be three percentage points more efficient at 97 per cent. These vaccines are prohibitively costly for the poor people, especially from the developing world

The gift of one million vaccines from India is reminiscent of the delivery of the Sanjibani herb by monkey God Hanuman of the Ramayan fame. It brought Laxman back to life from the jaws of death like the legendary bird, Phoenix, which is said to have come out of the ashes.

These vaccines also will play almost a similar role as these will render the frontline workers of Nepal, especially the health workers, immune from the coronavirus.

This will certainly improve the chances of the common citizens to regain their health after receiving full attention of the medical persona. The health workers themselves were vulnerable to the virus and could not be at their best when it raised its ugly head back in January last year. As a result, so many breathed their last during treatment.

Quite a few vaccines are being rolled out around the globe at the present. In the United States, the Pfizer- COVID-19 vaccine has received widespread acceptance.

It is said to have an efficiency of 94 per cent. Yet another vaccine by Johnson and Johnson is said to be three percentage points more efficient at 97 per cent. These vaccines are prohibitively costly for the poor people, especially from the developing world.

Moreover, they need to be stored at a very low temperature, which is not practical in developing countries like Nepal. For Nepal, Covishield, an Astra Zeneca| Oxford University vaccine manufactured by Serum India Institute, is more suitable as it can be stored at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Moreover, it is affordable due to its modest cost.

It is indeed a great relief that the vaccine has been delivered within a month of its discovery, given that it took more than 170 years for the small pox vaccine to reach the ordinary Nepalis.

It was available only around the late sixties after Nepal reached a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Health Organisation when it was already in use in England after its discovery in 1798 by Edward Jenner.

King Girvana Yuddha died of smallpox in 1816 as he preferred to worship the Mother Goddess Shitala Mai, who was regarded as the goddess of small pox, instead of using the vaccine that was made available by Britain’s then Resident Representative Edwin Gardener.

Even the cholera vaccine took more than 70 years to arrive in Nepal, again in the late sixties, which was discovered by Waldemar Haffkine, a Russian bacteriologist, back in the year 1892.

It would have taken longer had India not taken the initiative to make it available to the countries of the region. It is not only Nepal but also Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Seychelles and Maldives that have received the first dispatch.

It is also seeking to send it to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka upon the reception of approval from these countries. India has shown how it is a friend in need and hence a friend indeed.

This is not the first time that India has come to the rescue of Nepal in the time of distress. During the last devastating earthquake of 2015, India was the first country to land in Nepal within hours of the massive destruction it caused, carrying huge amounts of relief and rescue materials. As a result, so many earthquake victims were rescued live from the heaps of debris.

Also, at the donors’ conference that followed, then Foreign Minister, late Sushma Swaraj, had paid a visit to Nepal and donated the highest amount.

It has certainly enhanced the image of India in the Nepali mindset, which had been otherwise tarnished by the creation of unease in the Nepal-India border and more recently by the inauguration of a road by the Defense Minister of India Rajnath Singh passing through the territory which Nepal has been claiming since a long time.

India must have realised how hurt Nepal must have been after its request for dialogue received not even a lukewarm response, when it was engaged in round the clock talks with China over a border dispute, particularly after being meted out similar treatment by China.

It had constructed buildings in Arunachal Pradesh that India has been claiming as its own as has Nepal that claims Lipulek, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani to be its territory.

India as the largest democracy of the world and regional superpower should realise its responsibility fully.

India’s not very consistent behaviour at times of being pound wise as reflected by the delivery of the vaccines followed by the penny unwise act of being insensitive to the neighbours does not auger well for its global stature.

However, such problems are bound to occur among neighbours, which can be amicably solved in the future.

Because now is the time of rejoicing at the availability of vaccines rather than spoiling the mood by remembering undesirable past incidents.

It remains to be seen how many people will show interest in this vaccine. In India, 300,000 vaccines were up for grabs last Saturday, but only 207,229people used them. Some 447 people got sick with fever, headache and nausea, which is a minuscule 0.14 per cent.

Some adverse reactions are natural with any vaccine.

For example, 29 people aged75 to 80 are said to have died after being administered 42,000 Pfizer vaccines in Norway.

In India also, a few people have died, but the report has hinted at some other factors rather than the vaccine.

One million vaccines make only a tip of the iceberg.

What is needed for the entire population is far more. Nepal has been procuring the drugs from India since time immemorial.

Indian drugs have proved their efficacy all these years.

The next round of purchased vaccines should land the deadly virus in the funeral pyre, heralding Nepal to the much-desired arena of peace and prosperity.

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EDITORIAL: Fighting virus together

It has proven that countries are cooperating with one another at the regional level in the fight against the virus

The government is all set to launch its anti-COVID-19 vaccination programme across the country from tomorrow, six days after India-donated one million Covishield doses arrived in the country. The Ministry of Health and Population announced the other day that the ministry was planning to give the Oxford-AstraZeneca-developed vaccine and manufactured by Serum Institute of India to a total of 430,000 people under the first phase. The ministry said that the programme would be launched from 62 major hospitals in seven provinces and 120 immunisation centres. Under the first phase, the Covishield shots will be given to frontline healthcare workers, waste management workers, ambulance drivers and helpers, those deployed in the management of COV- ID-19 vaccination campaign, female community health volunteers, those involved in the management of bodies of COVID-19, those working in the international entry points, elderly in care homes and their caretakers, jailbirds, security personnel working in jails and security personnel deployed at the vaccination centres. The ministry also said 300 more inoculation centres would be administering the vaccine shots by January 31. It is expected that the vaccination drive will last for 10 days. Preparations to administer the vaccines to the target groups have already been completed.

It may be recalled that the Department of Drug Administration had permitted the emergency use of Covishield against virus infection in Nepal. Earlier, the government had also issued an ordinance allowing for the emergency use of a vaccine developed in other countries and approved by them for emergency use.

The Covishield vaccine course consists of two doses of 0.5 ml each and will be administered intramuscular. The second dose of the vaccine should be given to the first recipient within four to six weeks of the first dose. The ministry has said another shipment of the same amount of vaccines will arrive well before the start of the second dose. The ministry has asked the people to take part in the programme without any fear as the vaccine will have only mild side effects.

Nepali people are receiving the first lot of the vaccines almost one year after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in February last year. The vaccines are being launched in Nepal immediately after the developed countries found the cure for it, and they were manufactured in India, which also started the vaccination drive on January 16, two weeks ahead of Nepal. The way the vaccination drive is being launched in Nepal and elsewhere, it has proven that countries are cooperating with one another at the regional level in the fight against the deadly virus that has not only claimed the lives of thousands of people, but has also brought economic activities to a grinding halt. As we know that the one million vaccine doses donated by India are not adequate to meet our needs, the government should quickly start procuring the required quantity of the vaccines to inoculate around 70 per cent of our population, as announced earlier by the government. As the Finance Ministry has assured to provide funds for the vaccines, the concerned ministry should initiate the procurement process without delay.

Dry Manang

Farmers in Manang district in north-central Nepal are worried by the delay in snowfall this year.

Snow normally begins to fall by mid-November in this harsh terrain, but it has been erratic for some years. Manang is a rain shadow area and receives the least amount of rainfall among the districts of Nepal as it lies to the north of the Himalayas, which blocks the moisture-laden monsoon winds. Thus, timely snowfall is the only way to cultivate crops and fruits, such as wheat, buckwheat, potatoes and apples, which also determines their quality. The cultivation of crops and fruits apart, lack of snow could also affect the production of the medicinal herb, yarsagumba, a major source of income of the locals.

The delay in snowfall in Manang and elsewhere could be reason for greater anxiety and must be understood why it is happening. Climate change could be a factor, as the Himalayan peaks, namely Annapurna I, II, III and IV, as well as Gangapurna and Lamjung located here, are dark and dry without snow cover even at this time of the year. All this calls for research involving scientists so as to identify what can be done to save the Himalayas and the livelihood of the local people.

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Navalny’s team calls new protests in Russia for his release

MOSCOW: Allies of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who faces years in prison, called for new protests next weekend to demand his release, following a wave of demonstrations that turned out tens of thousands across the country in a defiant challenge to President Vladimir Putin.

Mass rallies took place Saturday in over 100 cities in what observers said was the largest outpouring of anger in years, and Navalny’s supporters urged protesters to keep up the pressure.

Navalny strategist Leonid Volkov tweeted Monday for more demonstrations on Jan. 31 in “all Russian cities. … For Navalny’s freedom. For our freedom. For justice.”

During Saturday’s protests, over 3,700 people were detained, according to OVD-Info, a human rights group that monitors political arrests. The group said the number was a record in its nine years of work. More than 1,400 detentions occurred in Moscow alone — also a record, according to Russian media.

Some of those detained were released without charges, but many others faced court hearings. In Moscow, courts have handed jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days to at least 30 detainees and fined 64 others.

Authorities also launched more than a dozen criminal investigations in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities on charges of inciting unrest, involving minors in illegal activity, violence against police, blocking roads, hooliganism and damaging property. Navalny’s team said Russia’s Investigative Committee also is probing violations of virus-related restrictions.

Dozens of Navalny associates in various cities were detained in the days before the protests. Alexander Peredruk, senior partner of the Apologia of Protest legal aid group involved in the defense of over 1,000 detainees from the Saturday protests, called the authorities’ response “unprecedented.”

Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and Putin’s fiercest critic, was arrested Jan. 17 as he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had spent nearly five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities deny the accusations.

He was ordered jailed for 30 days but faces years in prison, with authorities accusing him of violating the terms of a suspended sentence in a 2014 conviction for financial misdeeds. Navalny has said the conviction was politically motivated.

Navalny’s arrest and the detention of demonstrators sparked outrage both at home and abroad, and some Western officials suggested imposing additional sanctions on Russia for its jailing of Navalny.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki urged the immediate and unconditional release of Navalny, as well as those who were detained in the crackdown. Psaki did not say when President Joe Biden plans to speak to Putin.

Biden was asked if he would put sanctions on the people involved in the poisoning and arrest of Navalny and what that means for prospects of the extension of the New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia.

“I find that we can both operate in the mutual self-interest of our countries as a New START agreement and make it clear to Russia that we are very concerned about their behavior,” he said, whether it involved Navalny or some other issue.

The European Union’s foreign ministers on Monday condemned his arrest and the detention of thousands at the protests. “The Council considered it completely unacceptable, condemned the mass detentions, and the police brutality over the weekend,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing the meeting in Brussels.

The ministers, however, stopped short of weighing new sanctions. Borrell said “there has not been any concrete proposal on the table,” but added that the ministers are “ready to act, depending on the circumstances.”

In Russia, public indignation was further fueled by an investigation Navalny’s team released into what they called “Putin’s palace.” A two-hour video posted on YouTube on Jan. 19 alleged a lavish “palace” was built for Putin on the Black Sea through an elaborate corruption scheme. It has since received over 86 million views.

The Kremlin has denied the estate had anything to do with the president. Speaking to students via video on Monday, Putin himself addressed the allegations, calling them an attempt to “brainwash our citizens” and saying that “none of what is mentioned there as my property has never belonged, and doesn’t belong, to me or my close relatives.”

Asked about Saturday’s protests, Putin said that “all people have the right to express their point of view within limits, outlined by law.” He referenced the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and said that those taking part in it were facing “between 15 and 25 years, as if for domestic terrorism.”

“They also came out with political slogans. But outside the law. Why should everything outside the law be allowed here? No,” Putin said.

The Russian protests and crackdown appeared to have further strained Russia-U.S. relations.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price on Saturday condemned “the use of harsh tactics against protesters and journalists” and urged authorities to release Navalny and “all those detained for exercising their universal rights.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of interfering with Russia’s “internal affairs,” after the U.S. Embassy in Moscow put a warning on its website detailing times and places of rallies in different Russian cities and urging U.S. citizens to avoid them.

On Monday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov lodged a protest to the U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan in connection to “social media posts in support of unlawful rallies” by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

The ministry said it has also deemed the statement of the U.S. State Department spokesman “inappropriate.”

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Prolific Joe Root has potential to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s Test record, says Boycott

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Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Punjab vs Karnataka Live Score: Table topper Punjab face defending champions Karnataka

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US House of Representatives delivers impeachment case against Trump to Senate

KATHMANDU: The United States House of Representatives led by the Democrats delivered the impeachment case against former President Donald Trump to the Senate, on Monday.

Trump has been charged with inciting insurrection in a speech to supporters before the deadly attack on the Capitol.

Leading the group of nine representatives who will also act as prosecutors in Trump’s impeachment trial, representative Jamie Raskin read out the charge before the Senate. “Donald John Trump engaged in high crimes and misdemeanours by inciting violence against the government of the United States.”

Trump, a republican whose term ended last Wednesday, is the only US president to have been impeached twice by the House and will become the first to face trial after leaving the office.

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US Ambassador Berry meets Nepali Congress President Deuba

KATHMANDU: In the latest series of meetings, United States Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry met with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, late on Monday.

Ambassador Berry, taking to Twitter, said that he was having a succession of high-level meetings with the Nepali government and political party leaders to discuss global priorities of the new US presidential administration.

My meeting with NC Prez @DeubaSherbdr was one in a succession of high-level meetings I’ve been having with the Nepali gov’t & political party leaders to discuss the new presidential administration’s global priorities. pic.twitter.com/xKKXxO8E6l

— Ambassador Randy Berry (@USAmbNepal) January 25, 2021

Earlier on the same day, Berry had met with co-chair of Dahal-Nepal faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in which the US envoy reiterated the US commitment to strengthening democracies, combating climate change, and uplifting women and girls’ rights around the world.

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President, PM send wishes to Indian counterparts on Indian Republic Day

KATHMANDU: President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli have both sent wishes to their respective Indian counterparts — President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi — on the occasion of Republic Day in India.

President Bhandari has extended her best wishes for the health and happiness of the President of India and for peace and prosperity of the Indian people. In her message, the President has also wished that the historic bilateral relations between Nepal and India would further be strengthened, as per a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Oli has also expressed his wishes for continued peace, progress and prosperity of the Indian people. The Prime Minister states in his message that both countries enjoy deep and diverse relations marked by friendship, equality, cooperation, and mutual respect.

PM Oli expressed his appreciation towards India’s marked progress in the fields of science and technology, medicine, and economy. He has also thanked the Indian government for sending one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal as grant.

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Athletic Bilbao routs Getafe 5-1 in Spanish league

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Gareth Bale scores as Tottenham recovers to oust Wycombe in FA Cup

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Oli faction to hold mass meeting on February 5

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

The faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has announced a ‘massive’ mass meeting to be held in Bhrikuti Mandap, Kathmandu, on February 5.

The Oli faction announced the protest following regular protest programmes organised by the Dahal-Nepal faction of the party against dissolution of the House of Representatives by PM Oli.

Oli had, on December 20, recommended House dissolution which was approved by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari along with announcement of mid-term elections on April 30 and May 10 within hours.

The Dahal-Nepal faction has been protesting against the PM’s move calling it ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘authoritative’ ever since.

As the agitating Dahal-Nepal faction has made public various mass protest programmes, the Oli faction today announced the date for mass meeting at a press meet. The faction has claimed that they some 200,000 people will join the mass meet.

At the press meet, the Oliled faction also decided to form a 1,111-member committee under the chairmanship of Krishna Gopal Shrestha for the mass assembly.

Speaking at the press meet, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwor Pokharel said that the mass meeting would urge people to prepare for a fresh mandate to end anarchism and ensure political stability. He further said party unity was still possible if the Dahal-Nepal faction was ready for election and withdrew the November 13 no-trust motion filed against Oli.

Similarly, Shrestha said that they would hold a demonstration without obstructing traffic movement in the city. Earlier, the Dahal-Nepal faction’s mass protest in the capital had drawn flak for inconveniencing people.

“We will mobilise volunteers to support the traffic police to ensure smooth traffic movement in the city on the day of the mass meet,” Shrestha said.

Likewise, NCP leader Ananda Prasad Pokharel informed that volunteers would manage the waste after the programme.

Health volunteers, as well as special mobile health teams will be on standby during the mass meeting, said the organisers.

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Pakistan vs South Africa 1st Test Live Streaming: When and where to watch the match live?

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Real estate boom in the time of pandemic

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

With economic activities gradually picking up pace, the country has started witnessing a boom in real estate activities.

According to records of the Department of Land Management, altogether 76,532 houses and plots of land were bought and sold across the country just in the last one month (mid-December to mid-January). During this period, the government collected revenue worth Rs 6.65 billion from real estate transactions.

According to the department, the real estate business has been increasing of late. Altogether 56,838 plots of land were bought and sold in the three-month period till mid-October, while more than 50,000 plots of land were traded from mid-October to mid-November.

As many as 61,451 houses and plots of land were bought and sold from mid-November to mid-December.

In a yet to be released report obtained by The Himalayan Times, the department has stated that the major reason behind increase in real estate business is the gradual revival of the economy and the savings of the people. “Due to lack of other investment avenues because of the pandemic, the real estate sector has drawn the interest of investors.”

Excess market liquidity, which has prompted banks to offer loans at lower interest rates has also prompted people with regular income to expand their assets, the report adds. “Moreover, the recent bull run in the stock market has also encouraged investors to invest in the real estate to secure their earnings.”

Within Kathmandu valley, many houses and plots of land are being bought and sold in Suryavinayak, Nalinchowk, Duwakot, Changunarayan, Mulpani, Thali, Sankhu, Tokha, Godavari, Lubhu and Khokana. Buyers seem to be attracted to these areas as land is available at a cheaper price compared to areas within the Ring Road, localities are quieter than the main city, pollution is less, and roads and sewers are better managed, as per the report.

Feature Image: File

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Arguments against prime minister’s move continue

If the PM with clear majority in the House is allowed to dissolve the HoR, he can win a majority again and dissolve the HoR again

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

Lawyers representing petitioners challenging the dissolution of the House of Representatives continued to argue against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s decision before the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate Shambhu Thapa argued that the PM had no prerogative to dissolve the House. He said according to the constitutional, the HoR could not be dissolved as long as the House was able to form a new government.

He said Article 76 (7) could be invoked to dissolve the HoR only when the PM lost the vote of confidence in the House.

Thapa claimed that the PM himself did not know which article of the constitution he was invoking to dissolve the HoR.

Advocate Megha Raj Pokharel argued that the PM heading a majority government could not dissolve the House. When the bench asked Pokharel the reason for that, he said, “If the PM faces obstacles within his own party, then he can use the option of seeking the vote of confidence in the House, or his party can change the parliamentary party leader or the PM can resign from his post. The constitution has not envisaged any other alternative. If the PM with clear majority in the House is allowed to dissolve the HoR, he can win a majority again and dissolve the HoR again.”

He said the PM’s move to dissolve the HoR was a malicious act because he did so knowing that the constitution did not give him the power to dissolve the House.

“When the government is formed under Article 76 (1), only the party that has clear majority can say that there is no alternative force to form the government. The party can change the parliamentary party leader and the PM anytime.

But in this case, the PM has been saying that there is no alternative to his government.

He acted with a mala fide intention,” Pokharel said.

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Shubman Gill had all the answers: Batting coach Vikram Rathour

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PT Usha says coach OM Nambiar should have received Padma honour earlier

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IOC begins talks with IOA to vaccinate athletes before Olympics

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Sunday 24 January 2021

The way Joe Root handled himself throughout his knock was a great learning experience: Kumara Sangakkara

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Need a lift? SpaceX launches record spacecraft in cosmic rideshare program

A veteran rocket from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company launched 143 spacecraft into space on Sunday, a new record for the most spaceships deployed on a single mission, according to the company.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 10 a.m. EST from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It flew south along the eastern coast of Florida on its way to space, the company said.

The reusable rocket ferried 133 commercial and government spacecraft and 10 Starlink satellites to space – part of the company’s SmallSat Rideshare Program, which provides access to space for small satellite operators seeking a reliable, affordable ride to orbit, according to the company.

SpaceX delayed the launch one day because of unfavorable weather. On Jan. 22 Musk, also chief executive of Tesla Inc., wrote on Twitter: “Launching many small satellites for a wide range of customers tomorrow. Excited about offering low-cost access to orbit for small companies!”

SpaceX has previously launched to orbit more than 800 satellites of the several thousand needed to offer broadband internet globally, a $10 billion investment it estimates could generate $30 billion annually to help fund Musk’s interplanetary rocket program, called Starship.

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India and China clash; many reported injured on both sides: AFP

KATHMANDU: The Indian and Chinese troops have yet again entered into a new border brawl, AFP new agency have quoted the Indian media.

“Indian, Chinese troops in new border brawl, injuries on both side,” stated AFP.

India Today stated that Chinese soldiers tried to cross the border last week but were challenged by Indian soldiers in Naku La in North Sikkim, which resulted in the clash. The Indian media further stated that around 20 Chinese soldiers were injured in the incident while four from the Indian side sustained injuries.

The Chinese side is yet to comment on the matter.

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Sample collection for filariasis begins

DHANKUTA, JANUARY 24

Sample collection for filariasis has started in Dhankuta.

Dhankuta Public Health Office said it had administered medicine against filariasis eight times last year.

Dhankuta DPHO had administered the medicine against filariasis for up to six times to all people living in the district. “Since symptoms of filariasis have been seen again in some parts of the district, we are collecting samples to administer the medicine for the ninth time,” said DPHO Chief Tulasi Prasad Guragain.

Samples were collected at Sangurigadhi and Mahalaxmi rural municipalities and anti-filariasis medicine was administered to bring down the disease last year.

“We are working to administer anti-filariasis medicine in some parts of the district from next month,” said Guragain.

He said the medicine would be administered to children below five years of age, pregnant women, and people with chronic illness.

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White House begins talks with lawmakers on COVID-19 relief

WASHINGTON: Top aides to President Joe Biden on Sunday began talks with a group of moderate Senate Republicans and Democrats on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as Biden faces increasing headwinds in his effort to win bipartisan backing for the initial legislative effort of his presidency.

Lawmakers on the right question the wisdom of racking up bigger deficits while those on the left are urging Biden not to spend too much time on bipartisanship when the pandemic is killing thousands of Americans each day and costing more jobs amid tightening restrictions in many communities.

At least a dozen senators met for an hour and 15 minutes in a virtual call with White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese and other senior White House officials. Many hope to approve a relief package before former President Donald Trump’s trial, which is set to begin in two weeks, overtakes Washington’s attention.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, called the opening talks a “serious effort.”

“There was not a hint of cynicism or lack of commitment to at least trying to work something out,” King said. “If they were just trying to jam this through, I don’t think it would have interrupted the Packers game.”

King told reporters that there was “absolute consensus” among the group that the No. 1 priority was to speed up the distribution of vaccinations and expanding COVID-19 testing and tracing.

The White House did not seem to budge on breaking up the package or reducing the overall price tag, even as it pushes for bipartisan support. There was also no discussion of breaking the package apart or pushing it through on a procedural move that could be done without Republicans, King said.

Senators from both parties raised questions about the economic aid provisions, particularly making direct $1,400 payments to Americans more tailored to recipients based on need.

Senators also wanted more data on how the White House reached the $1.9 trillion figure.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told The Associated Press that no red lines were drawn. But she added there was consensus among the call’s participants “that the more targeted the aid is the more effective it can be.”

Overall, “it was a conversation and it was not about drawing lines in the sand,” Shaheen said. “It was about how can we work together to help the people of this country.”

Many of the senators are from a bipartisan group that struck the contours of the last COVID-19 deal.

The two leaders of the House’s Problem Solvers Caucus, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Tom Reed, D-N.Y., as well as White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients and White House legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell joined the call.

Out of the gate, Biden has made clear that quickly passing another round of coronavirus relief is a top priority as he seeks to get the surging pandemic and the related economic crisis under control, while demonstrating he can break the gridlock that has ailed Congress for much of the last two presidencies.

Biden and his aides in their public comments have stressed that his plan is a starting point and that finding common ground on relief should be attainable considering the devastating impact the pandemic is exacting on Democratic and Republican states alike. With more than 412,000 dead and the economy again losing jobs, Biden has argued there is no time to lose.

“We’re going to continue to push because we can’t wait,” said White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “Just because Washington has been gridlocked before doesn’t mean it needs to continue to be gridlocked

Central to Biden’s campaign pitch, beyond healing the wounds created by Trump’s presidency, was that he was a proven bipartisan dealmaker, one who would draw upon his decades in the Senate and deep relationships with Republicans to bridge partisan divides.

Some Biden advisers watched with worry as the Senate, just days into the president’s term, was already in gridlock as to a power-sharing agreement, with Republican leader Mitch McConnell refusing to budge on a demand to keep the filibuster intact. If the Senate twists itself in knots over its very basics, some Democrats wondered, how could it reach a big deal?

Additionally, some of Biden’s preferred methods to lobby and schmooze have been curtailed by the pandemic. Though his address book remains one of the best in Washington, it stands to be far more difficult for Biden — at least for the foreseeable future — to engage in the face-to-face politicking that he prefers.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, ahead of the meeting, raised concerns again about the wisdom of the government engaging in massive deficit spending.

“If we get beyond COVID, I believe that the economy is going to come roaring back,” Romney told “Fox News Sunday.” “And spending and borrowing trillions of dollars from the Chinese, among others, is not necessarily the best thing we can do to get our economy to be strong long-term.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he didn’t have high hopes for negotiations leading to Republican support and suggested Democrats may need to use budget reconciliation to pass it with a simple majority. The procedural tool would allow Democrats to push the package to approval without the 60-vote threshold typically needed to advance legislation past a filibuster. Republicans used the same tool to pass tax cuts during the Trump administration.

“What we cannot do is wait weeks and weeks and months and months to go forward,” Sanders said. “We have got to act now. That is what the American people want. “

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‘Not much point’ apologising to Kiwis for underarm ball: Chappell

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Four made public with stolen NT equipment

RAJBIRAJ, JANUARY 24

Police today made public four persons arrested for their alleged involvement in stealing electronic equipment and batteries from the Nepal Telecom tower in Saptari.

Organising a press meet on the premises of Sapatri District Police Office, police made the arrested people public. Electronic appliances, including 24 sets of HH batteries and earthing cable worth millions were stolen from the BTS tower of GCM mobile of Nepal Telecom installed at the top of a house belonging to Shiv Narayan Chaudhary at Surunga Municipality, Saptari, a fortnight ago.

Police arrested the main accused Rakesh Yadav, 22, Surya Narayan Mahato, 35, and Pawan Jaisawal, 35. Similarly, Dipak Agrawal, 41, was held for purchasing the stolen equipment.

Police have seized a mini truck used for transporting the stolen equipment from the Telecom tower. The vehicle belongs to Surya Narayan Mahato.

“Seven batteries out of 24 stolen batteries and some equipment were seized from Agrawal’s godown,” said SP Rajendra Dhamala.

Preliminary police investigation showed that 17 batteries and some equipment were exported to India via an alternative route. “We are coordinating with Indian police to search for the stolen batteries and other telecom equipment,” said DSP Bhuwaneswor Sah.

The main accused Rakesh Yadav had projected himself as a Telecom employee and loaded the equipment in a truck for mechanical check. Two others had helped him load the equipment and batteries in the truck.

Meanwhile, police also made public two persons involved in stealing a motorbike. The arrested are Nandi Paswan, 24, and Raj Kumar Sah, 21.

Police seized a motorbike belonging to Anish Kumar Chaudhary and some cash. They had thrashed Chaudhary and looted his bike. All the arrested were remanded to 10-day custody by the district court today and a case was filed against them.

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Estonia to get first female PM as government deal clinched

TALLINN: Estonia’s two biggest political parties clinched a deal on Sunday to form a new government to be led by a female prime minister for the first time in the Baltic country’s history, replacing the previous Cabinet that collapsed into a corruption scandal earlier this month.

The party councils of the the opposition, center-right Reform Party and the ruling. left-leaning Center Party voted in favor of joining a Cabinet headed by Reform’s prime minister-designate and chairwoman Kaja Kallas.

Both parties are set to have seven ministerial portfolios in addition to Kallas’ prime minister post in the 15-member government, which would muster a majority at the 101-seat Riigikogu Parliament.

A joint statement said the Reform Party and the Center Party “will form a government that will continue to effectively resolve the COVID-19 crisis, keep Estonia forward-looking and develop all areas and regions of our country.”

Earlier this month, President Kersti Kaljulaid, who is expected to appoint Kallas’ Cabinet in the next few days, said tackling Estonia’s worsening coronavirus situation and the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic should be an immediate priority for the new government.

Kaljulaid, Estonia’s first female head of state since 2016, tasked Kallas to form the government as her pro-business and pro-entrepreneurship Reform Party emerged as the winner of Estonia’s March 2019 general election.

Pending approval from lawmakers, Kallas, 43, will become the first female head of government in the history of the small Baltic nation of 1.3 million which regained its independence amid the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

A lawyer and former European Parliament lawmaker, she is the daughter of Siim Kallas, one of the Reform Party’s creators, a former prime minister and a former European Union commissioner.

Kaja Kallas took the reins at the Reform Party in 2018 as its first female chair. Her first Cabinet will see women in other key positions too as Reform’s Keit Pentus-Rosimannus takes over the finance minister post and diplomat Eva-Maria Liimets becomes the foreign minister.

The government formation marks the second such attempt for Kallas in less than two years as she failed to bring about a Reform Party-led government after the 2019 election. That paved the way for the archrival Center Party and its leader, Juri Ratas, to form a three-party coalition without the Reform Party.

Ratas and his Cabinet resigned on Jan. 13 over a scandal involving a key official at his Center Party suspected of accepting a private donation for the party in exchange for a political favor on a real estate development at the harbor district of the capital, Tallinn.

Ratas’ government, which took office in April 2019, was shaky from the start as the coalition included the populist EKRE, the nation’s third-largest party which runs on a nationalist, anti-immigration and anti-EU agenda.

The strong rhetoric of the EKRE leaders, Mart Helme and his son Martin Helme, created several embarrassing situations for Ratas’ government with public statements that were seen as insulting to Estonia’s international allies and tarnishing the country’s image, and which brought the government to the brink of collapse at least twice.

Kallas ruled out straight away of including EKRE in her Cabinet, citing considerable differences in values. Reform Party defines itself on its website as “the leader of the liberal worldview in Estonia.”

The perceived damage caused by the right-wing EKRE to Estonia’s image is seen as so severe that Kallas acknowledged earlier to Estonian media that her Cabinet would embark on a diplomatic mission to regain trust among the country’s allies and assure them of Estonia’s new political course.

Estonia’s prime minister since November 2016, Ratas won’t be part of the new Cabinet. Local media reported earlier that he could become the parliamentary speaker in March.

Estonia has been a member of the European Union and NATO since 2004.

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from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/2Y8LElh