Veteran Bollywood actress Sadhana no more

Dec 25, 2015- Veteran Bollywood actress Sadhana died here on Friday after a long battle with cancer, a family friend said.

She was 74 and is survived by her foster daughter.

"Sadhana (Shivdasani) breathed her last at her home this morning," the friend and BJP city spokesperson Shaina N.C. told IANS.

A top rung star in the 1960s and 1970s, Sadhana was born in Karachi. Her family moved to India and settled in Mumbai when she was barely seven years old following the country's partition.

She entered films as a child actress in 1955 with a minor appearance in Raj Kapoor's film "Shree 420". In 1958, she had a significant role in India's first Sindhi language film 'Abaana'.

Some of her best known movies were "Ek Musafir Ek Hasina", "Asli Nakli", "Mere Mehboob", "Waqt", "Who Kaun Thi?" and "Mera Sayaa".

Source: The Kathmandu Post

India PM Modi in surprise Pakistan visit

Dec 25, 2015- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Pakistan on a surprise visit in which he will meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Modi was on his way back to India from Afghanistan when he stopped off in the eastern city of Lahore. The visit coincides with Mr Sharif's birthday.

Mr Modi is the first Indian PM to visit Pakistan since 2004.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have been high in recent years but relations have begun to warm.

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Loss of Rs 21 billion incurred to national economy since Tarai agitation

Dec 25, 2015- The country has already suffered economic loss worth more than Rs 21 billion since the Birgunj customs point remained disrupted following the agitation waged by disgruntled Madhesh-centric political parties more than four months. 

The Birgunj Customs Office collects some 55 per cent of the total revenue. 
According to the Customs Office, it could achieve the target of collecting Rs 1.99 billion against its target of collect some Rs 7 billion in first four months of the current fiscal year 2072/073 BS. 

Surya Sedhai, Spokesperson of the Customs Office, the loss was also incurred due to the closure of major checkpoints adjoining Indian border points. 
The steep decline in the revenue collection is also due to the disruption of the import of fuel, mainly petroleum products from India. 

"The country is bound to suffer a heavy economic loss if the disruption in the major Customs Offices continues like this," he added. RSS 

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Islamic extremist arrested in Germany on terror charge

BERLIN: Authorities in Germany have arrested one of the country’s most prominent Islamic extremists on suspicion of supporting a foreign terror group, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Sven Lau was arrested Tuesday in the western city of Moenchengladbach, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Lau is suspected of four counts of supporting the group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, or JAMWA, which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States last year.

Prosecutors alleged that the 35-year-old was the go-to contact for extremists wanting to fight for JAMWA in Syria and provided financial and material support to the group under the cover of humanitarian aid shipments.

The top security official in North Rhine-Westphalia, where Lau was arrested, described him as “one of the leading figures in the Salafist scene” in that state.

Lau, a convert to Islam, made headlines last year when he attempted to establish a “Sharia police” in the city of Wuppertal to enforce a strict interpretation of Islam.

“With their propaganda glorifying violence and their alleged help for suffering people in war zones, Salafist preachers such as Lau provide a breeding ground for the radicalization of young men,” said Ralf Jaeger, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister. “They are inciting young people to join jihadist terror groups in Syria and Iraq.”

Lau’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Venezuelan National Guard charged with drug trafficking

WASHINGTON: US prosecutors are preparing to unveil drug trafficking charges against the head of Venezuela’s National Guard, according to people familiar with the case, as the United States investigates the suspected involvement of senior Venezuelan officials in the cocaine trade.

Nestor Reverol, the former head of Venezuela’s anti-narcotics agency and a long-time ally of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, is named in a sealed indictment pending in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, according to the people.

Nestor Reverol would be one of the highest-ranking Venezuelan officials to face US drug charges. He could not be reached for comment by Reuters.

In recent years, he has rejected US accusations that Venezuela has failed to curb illicit drug shipments and has touted the government’s success in cracking down on the flow of cocaine from neighboring Colombia.

Also named in the US indictment is Edylberto Molina, a former deputy head of the anti-narcotics agency and currently a military attache posted in Germany, a person familiar with the matter said.

The National Guard, which is the branch of the armed forces that controls Venezuela’s borders, did not respond to an email seeking comment on Reverol and a National Guard press official contacted by telephone declined to comment.

But the National Guard did issue a series of Tweets in Reverol’s defense on Tuesday night using the hashtag #NestorReverolSoldierOfTheFatherland and saying he should be praised for capturing more than 100 drugs bosses.

“We reject the campaign from the fascist right against our Commander General,” one said.

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino also weighed in. “Stop the campaign to tarnish the Bolivarian Armed Forces and their leaders. Let the truth come out!” he tweeted.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to an emailed request for comment on the US indictment.

It is unclear what the specific charges are against Reverol and Molina, or when they will be made public.

US Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr and a spokesperson for Brooklyn US Attorney Robert Capers, whose office is handling the case against Nestor Reverol, declined to comment. US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) spokesman Joseph Moses declined to comment.

US prosecutors have unsealed indictments charging at least five former Venezuelan officials with drug trafficking crimes over the past four years, according to records from Florida and New York district courts.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dismisses charges of official involvement in drug trafficking as an international right-wing campaign to discredit socialism in Venezuela.

His Socialist Party says drug interdiction efforts have improved since Venezuela expelled the DEA in 2005.

ACCUSATIONS

Venezuelan opposition leaders have for years accused high-level government officials of involvement in the drug trade or of turning a blind eye to the role of military officers in narcotics trafficking.

The US State Department said in its annual narcotics control report this year that Venezuela has become one of the main transit routes for illegal drugs from South America due to the country’s porous border with neighboring Colombia, its “weak judicial system, sporadic international counter narcotics cooperation, and permissive and corrupt environment.”

Up to a quarter of all cocaine exported from South America in 2011 departed from Venezuela, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Members of Venezuela’s National Guard have been heavily involved in the drug trade, according to Mike Vigil, the DEA’s former chief of international operations.

“The National Guard has been key to opening up the doors into Venezuela for Colombian drug trafficking organisations and subversive groups,” he said. “They have transformed Venezuela into a massive pipeline for cocaine into the United States and Europe.”

Two other former officials with the National Guard have been indicted on US drugs charges in recent years.

Relatives of Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores have also been caught up in US anti-drug-trafficking efforts.

Two of her nephews, Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, were arrested in Haiti last month and indicted in federal court in Manhattan on cocaine trafficking charges. Lawyers for the nephews did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They have previously said the pair would plead not guilty.

US officials said those arrests were not an effort to go after Maduro’s government but a case of US law enforcement seeking to prosecute suspected wrongdoing.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

One million diabetics in Nepal

14 Dec, Kathmandu: The number of eye patients has been increasing with the corresponding increase in the number of diabetics due to the change in lifestyle and food habits in the country, according to doctors.

It is said the number of people losing eyesight due to the various eye problems related to diabetes is also on the rise. There is high chance of eye problem developing in people with diabetes. There are around one million diabetics in the country at present.

Doctors say that people with diabetes have two times more probability of developing eye problem and 25 times greater risk of blindness. Likewise, there is more risk of a child born of a diabetic woman having diabetes.

“Diabetes has been seen even in people at a younger age due to the habit of spending luxurious lifestyle among the people and the change in food culture in the country, which is a matter of concern,” said senior ophthalmologist Dr OK Malla. He advised diabetics to have regular eye check-ups.

As per the data provided by the International Diabetes Association, nearly five per cent blindness among people globally results from diabetes. Thirteen per cent of the blindness in Nepal is due to diabetes.

In this backdrop, Vice President of Nepal Diabetes Association, Dr Madhur Dev Bhattarai, underlines the need of undertaking a country-wide programme for prevention of blindness due to diabetes. He also pointed out to the dearth of technology and human resources to cope with the increasing number of diabetic eye patients in the country. RSS

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Pulls over to Meet Fans Who Waited 3 Hours to See Him

On his way to run errands on Sunday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson saw three girls by the road holding up signs asking for cars to honk—so he honked.

When he came back three hours later, the girls were still there. But they had changed the signs to try to get The Rock’s attention.

It worked.

Here’s the story, as told by Johnson:

#1 thing people ask me about is this story about these awesome girls. All ages and races – lucky dude to have the greatest fans in the world.

#Repost

Maybe it’s random or maybe it’s holiday fate… either way it makes my heart sing… I decide to take a Sunday drive in my pick up to run errands and go train at my buddy’s gym. As I’m driving down the road I see three young girls holding signs that just say “Beep”, “Happy Holidays” etc. So I drive by and do what anyone would do.. I beep and wave. As I look in my rearview I can see that they’re pointing at my truck (my all black pick up is pretty recognizable in our little country town). I go train and run my errands and over 3 HOURS later I’m driving back down our little backroad and the same three angels are standing by the side of the road – only this time they’re jumping up and down, waving and screaming as I drove by. I thought, “Did those signs say my name?”…”Should I turn around just in case?” I decide to hit the brakes and look in my rearview and in that very moment I see them going BONKERS! I flipped a U-turn and drove back to them. They were elated. So was I. These little angels waited outside for over 3 hours for me to hopefully drive back down their road.. their mom and dad came running out and we all exchanged hugs and took pics. I made sure I got a pic with my phone, wished them all Happy Holidays, got back in my truck and went on my way. The coolest part of this whole random (or maybe fateful) act is that by turning around I literally got to meet some of the sweetest and kindest little ladies and family I’d ever met. May sound silly or corny, but moments like this are by far the greatest part of fame. Happy Holiday’s guys and thank you universe for this really cool moment. #CheckoutSantaWithThePhotoBomb

#GreatestFansInTheWorld

That’s just the kind of guy Johnson is. When his fans go through all that just to meet him, he’s going to take the time to interact with them. As his Instagram posts say, that’s what he likes most about his fame.

The girls set out to spread a little Christmas cheer. As a bonus, they met The Rock. What a day.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Problem of discrimination: Corrective measures needed

If a Nepali tourist in the Netherlands gets charged double price for a bus fare, this is illegal. Likewise if a Nepali tourist has to pay money to just walk along the main square in Amsterdam, whereas all Dutch people can roam about freely, this would be illegal. And isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?

Last week I travelled with my wife from Pokhara to Kathmandu by bus. At the ticket counter my anger at being discriminated in this country soars to new heights: I have to pay almost double price for sitting in the same bus. ‘Travel with a difference’ is what Greenline calls it. I am Dutch, my wife was born in Nepal, so we travel a lot to Nepal. I love your country but this discrimination is nagging at me. Mind you I am not entering a museum, nor going into any temple, I am just passing through, going from A to B, and I am being charged money for doing nothing more than walking around.

This dual pricing is everywhere and has become so accepted that people forget what it really is: pure and blatant discrimination. Discrimination according to the Oxford dictionary is ‘The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex’. So what form of discrimination are we facing here? In order to understand this we need to look at some of the justifications I come across when talking to Nepalis, government official etc.

‘It’s not discrimination, it is just because you have a different nationality.’ This remark of Greenline’s manager in Pokhara is so sad it actually becomes laughable. To differentiate according to nationality is of course pure discrimination and condemnable as it is. But if nationality is really the issue here then why do all the Nepalis who have moved abroad and taken on foreign citizenship still pay the Nepali price?

My wife still pays the Nepali bus price, the Nepali man next to us who actually holds an Australian passport pays the Nepali price. Perhaps it is language then or the fact that they see me as a tourist? But no, even if I speak fluent Nepali and hold a residential visa, Greenline refuses to sell me a ticket for ‘Nepali’ price.

‘Foreigners have more money and should therefore pay more for the same product or service.’ Now this I think is a tricky one. I don’t mind the local singing bowl shop keeper being opportunistic and asking a tourist a higher price for his product. Haggling is in this case part of the deal and most probably when the deal is concluded both are happy with its outcome. The tourist thinks it’s a great deal and the shopkeeper is happy that he got a little extra for his product. A win-win situation.

But again I don’t think wealth is really issue here. The Nepali-Australian man next to us owns three businesses and has about 50 employees…I think it’s very likely he has a lot more money to spend than I do. And I have several Nepali friends who own well running businesses here in Nepal, they certainly are wealthier than me and a lot wealthier than the average backpacker.

In most instances of ‘gora’ discrimination, the underlying factor seems to be racial: anyone who looks Nepali will get a Nepali price, anyone who looks like a foreigner will get the foreigner treatment. I am sure that in official dealings with the government a nationality check is done and one is discriminated against according to nationality rather than race. But in day-to-day life racial discrimination is the norm.

In the new Nepali Constitution, the provisions under Right to Equality clearly state that “The State shall not discriminate against citizens on grounds of religion, colour, caste, tribe, sex, sexual orientation, bodily condition, disability, status of health, marital status, pregnancy, financial status, origin, language or region, ideological conviction or any of these.”

‘Hurray!’ was my initial reaction, here it clearly says that discrimination according to race, language or wealth is not allowed. But a second closer look draws my attention to the word ‘citizen’. I am not a citizen of Nepal, nor will I probably ever be. Even if I hold a non-tourist visa, I am still not a citizen of Nepal. So according to the new Constitution discrimination of foreigners on any of the above mentioned grounds is perfectly legal and thus acceptable.

The constitution of my country has a different perspective on the application of equality: “All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances. Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race or sex or on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted.”

So if a Nepali tourist in the Netherlands gets charged double price for a bus fare, this is illegal. Likewise if a Nepali tourist has to pay money to just walk along the main square in Amsterdam, whereas all Dutch people can roam about freely, this would be illegal. And isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?

Exactly how far is Nepal going to take this milking of the tourist cash cow? ‘A guest is god’ is a motto I heard a lot in Nepal. Well I certainly felt that way 20 years ago when I came here the first time. Nowadays I feel more like a walking dollar who can be ripped off, double charged, cheated and discriminated against with the consent of, and even stimulated by, the Nepal government.

The fact that this discrimination is even approved of by the new Constitution is outright sad and frustrating. So dear Nepali government, please take your responsibility as defender of human rights, as promoter of equality and stop this overt discrimination against foreigners and treat us as equal human beings.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Initial 5 symptoms of cancer Never avoid them

Cancer is the intense disease as it can cost lot of your hardly earned money and you body too. But when the cancer can be figured out in the right time them we can take steps to prevent ourselves from it. You do not have to panic even after you have initial symptoms of the cancer. But regular check-up and consultation of doctors is very important. Here are some of the initial symptom seen in every initial stage of cancer and do not avoid it.

1. Pain – Do not avoid if you are feeling pain in any part of your body. It is foolish thing to take painkiller and avoiding it even fro time being.It is very hard to find the breast cancer in women in its initial stage.

2. Fever– Fever is also the indication that your body is not in healthy condition. Occurrence of fever regularly can be the symptom of cancer. You may suffer from the problem of having very long fever when you have cancer in you. Sometime avoiding the fever thinking its seasonal fever can cost you a lot later.

3. Loss of weight– If you are losing you weight insignificantly or 10% of your weight within 1 week then you immediately go for treatment. Loss of weight without any exercise or work out is not good indication. Also sudden weight of loss even if you are dieting is not good.

4. Tiredness– If you are feeling weak and tired then you are not healthy condition. The initial symptom of cancer is tiredness and weakness. Specially those who smokes and take tobacco should be more careful about it.But in some condition due to the blood pressure also you tends to feel tired and weak.

5. Stress– If you feel stress every time and the colour of your urine and stool is changing then you need to be careful. Most of the people thinks that stress is out of busy lifestyle but sometime it can bring intense problem in your health. Out of the symptom of the initial cancer stress and itching are also the symptom.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

House panel endorses bill on reconstruction authority

The Legislation Committee of the Legislature-Parliament today endorsed the Reconstruction Authority Bill that had been lying with the panel for around two months due to the dispute between the government and the main opposition party over the provision of appointment of the authority’s chief executive officer.

After the Nepali Congress agreed to forward the bill to the full House by attaching its different opinion, the panel’s meeting today decided to forward it to the full House.

As per the changes made by the new government to the original bill that was registered by the previous NC-led government, a new CEO can be appointed instead of giving continuity to Govinda Raj Pokharel, who was appointed as CEO by the previous government through an ordinance.

His post was discontinued after the ordinance expired and CPN-UML and Unified CPN-Maoist rejected to pass the bill brought to give continuity to the works of the authority formed as per the ordinance.

The NC wants Pokharel to continue as CEO, while UML and UCPN-M want to appoint new CEO.

“The government could have begun reconstruction work two months ago had the UML and UCPN-M allowed the bill to pass during the NC-led government. However, the two parties registered 73 amendment proposals to obstruct the passage of the bill and insisted on appointing a new CEO,” said NC lawmaker Nabindra Raj Joshi.

Joshi said the NC would put forth its views during discussions in the full House and it hoped the government would forge consensus on it rising above political interests, as it is in the national interest.

The bill will be discussed in the full House before it is put to vote after the ongoing obstruction of the House by Madhes-based parties ends.

Sources said the ruling coalition has provisioned in the bill to make leader of the main opposition party the vice-chairperson of the consultative committee and vice-chairperson of the directive committee of the authority in an attempt to woo the NC.

Relations between coalition partners NC and UML had soured after UML opposed NC’s move to make Pokharel the CEO of the authority.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Agni Kharel hoped that the agitating parties would help pass the bill by ending their House obstruction.

The next meeting of the House has been scheduled for 3:00pm tomorrow.

Although Nepal’s development partners have pledged $4.4 billion for the reconstruction work, the work has not begun in the absence of reconstruction authority.

Setting up the authority has been affected even after more than seven months of the April 25 devastating earthquake due to government’s lackadaisical approach and dispute among major political parties over key issues.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Paris attacks: Bataclan third attacker identified

French police have identified the third attacker at the Bataclan during the Paris attacks, Prime Minister Manuel Valls says.

Mr Valls did not name the man, but did not dispute reports naming him as French national Foued Mohamed-Aggad, 23, from Strasbourg.

Ninety people were killed at the Bataclan in last month’s attacks.
All three gunmen who attacked the venue wearing suicide vests have been confirmed as French nationals.

Other attackers who took part in the co-ordinated attacks around Paris on 13 November that killed 130 people in total have either been identified as home-grown French or Belgian extremists.

Mohamed-Aggad reportedly travelled to Syria in late 2013 as part of a group of radicalised youth from Strasbourg that included his brother.
Several of the group were later arrested upon returning to France in spring last year. Mohamed-Aggad is believed to have remained in Syria.
He was identified late last week by police after DNA samples were confirmed to match with members of his family, AFP reports.
The two others who blew themselves up at the music venue were identified as Frenchmen Omar Ismail Mostefai, 29, and Samy Amimour, 28.

The three men stormed the Bataclan at around 21:40 on 13 November, during a concert by the Eagles of Death Metal rock group. They opened fire on concert-goers, repeatedly reloading their guns before police started to arrive at the scene.
One of the gunmen was killed but the two others took hostages and eventually died when elite police units launched a final assault hours later.

French media say that Mohamed-Aggad was recruited by Mourad Fares, a man known to have actively recruited young Frenchmen on behalf of jihadist groups in Syria.
Fares was arrested in Turkey last year. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve described him as a “particularly dangerous individual close to jihadist terrorist movements” including the so-called Islamic State (IS).

He was placed under provisional detention in France in September 2014 and is being prosecuted for a string of terrorism-related offences in France and Syria.
One other Paris attacker remains to be identified, but two men who blew themselves up at the Stade de France carried Syrian passports that are suspected to have been fake.
Mohamed-Aggad’s father, Said, told Le Parisien that he had only learned of his son’s role in the Bataclan massacre through the media and “would have killed him beforehand” if he had known that he would go on to carry out such an attack.
Said Mohamed-Abbag separated from his wife in 2007 and said his son had lived with his mother.

The other two Bataclan attackers were identified in the aftermath of the shooting.
Mostefai was identified from a finger-tip found at the venue. He was reported to have previously worked as a baker in Chartres near Paris but in 2010 was identified by authorities as a suspected extremist.

Amimour, from the north-eastern Paris suburb of Drancy, had been charged with terror offences in 2012 over claims he planned to travel to Yemen.
After being placed under judicial supervision, he disappeared, with authorities issuing an international arrest warrant.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Nepal in Nat Geo’s Cool List amid tourism gloom

Dec 9, 2015- A drop in hotel bookings, empty airplane seats and fewer trekkers are what Nepal has experienced since the April 25 earthquake and subsequent trade embargo by India that has led to massive losses in the tourism industry this year.

But there is some good news too. Nepal has been included in National Geographic Traveller magazine’s Cool List for 2016. The UK-based popular travel publication has placed Nepal in the sixth spot among 16 cool locations to visit next year.

“Tourist numbers to Nepal plummeted by 85 percent after the devastating earthquakes, but the country is once more open for business and safe to visit, with a new government-backed website providing official updates on affected areas,” said National Geographic Traveller magazine.

“This is a nation that has long relied heavily on tourism, with many visitors lured by the chance to combine volunteerism with an adventure holiday in a stunning landscape.”

Ashok Pokhrel, president of the Nepal Association of Tour Operators, said that National Geographic Traveller magazine was highly popular among adventure travellers, and that the 16 must-see destinations for next year would help motivate them to travel to Nepal.

“Besides, the government should also promote Nepal more aggressively, and a large budget should be set aside for marketing for next year once the political tensions are settled,” he said. The government should lead the industry at this time as the private sector that is on the verge of bankruptcy is not in a position to promote Nepal, he added.

Tourist arrivals plunged 46 percent in the first 10 months as a series of disasters pounded Nepal’s tourism sector, a government report said.

According to a report prepared by the Tourism Ministry, Nepal lost 352,330 arrivals during the review period, hitting foreign exchange earnings and jobs in the industry. The country received 300,325 foreign visitors by air until October, down from 652,655 in the same period last year.

Bad times started for Nepal tourism with the accident of a Turkish Airlines jet at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport in March that led hundreds of potential visitors to cancel their trips.

The next month, the country was struck by a killer quake which destroyed tourism infrastructure, heritage sites and trekking trails. The dreadful event on April 25 set off a mass departure of tourists and a flurry of booking cancellations.

Just as tourism was beginning to recover from the effects of the deadly tremor, a political problems following the promulgation of a much-delayed constitution resulted in a fuel crisis which dealt another blow to the tottering industry. The current scenario is even worse. The trade embargo and resultant fuel shortage has forced hotels and restaurants to shut down, cut down job numbers and reduced the tourist length of stay to all-time lows.  The ministry said that tourists were currently staying for less than six days in Nepal. Last year, the average length of stay was 12.44 days. The average occupancy of hotels plunged below 20 percent in October following the Tarai unrest and fuel crisis. A number of hotels have closed down and others have laid off their workers.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

ADB to give $15m for quake victims

Dec 9, 2015- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide $15 million (equivalent to Rs1.57 billion) as a grant under the window of the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) to help restore disrupted livelihoods and schooling in poor and severely earthquake-affected communities.

The JFPR is a fund set up by the government of Japan and managed by the ADB. The assistance will be mobilized under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Livelihood Restoration for Earthquake Affected Communities Project, which also aims to strengthen their resilience against future disasters.

Finance Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi and ADB Country Director for Nepal Kenichi Yokoyama signed the grant agreement on Tuesday at the Finance Ministry on behalf of their respective sides.

Source: Sabkura news Pvt. Ltd.

Sri Lanka rocked by drug shock

Wicketkeeper Kusal Perera’s shock suspension after failing a drugs test has left Sri Lanka reeling ahead of the two-Test series against New Zealand starting in Dunedin on Thursday.

After Dhammika Prasad’s series-ending back injury, it was the second damaging blow for Angelo Mathews’ new-look side in what was always going to be an uphill battle in testing New Zealand conditions. Perera, 25, one of Sri Lanka’s new brigade following the retirements of several stars including Kumar Sangakkara, was sent home on Monday after returning a positive result to a banned steroid from a random test during their recent series against Pakistan.

He is the second Sri Lankan international to fail a dope test following batsman Upul Tharanga’s suspension for three months after testing positive during the 2011 World Cup. The loss of the three-Test keeper follows the back injury suffered by leading fast bowler Prasad in a warm-up match against a modest New Zealand Board President’s XI.

It was not the hit-out the tourists were hoping for with Dimuth Karunaratne’s 93 in the first innings, backed by 63 from Udara Jayasundara and 61 from Kithuruwan Vithanage in the second, the only scores of note. The Sri Lankan batsmen can expect no mercy when the first Test starts at Dunedin’s University Oval on Thursday with New Zealand coach Mike Hesson ordering green, seaming pitches to suit his pace attack.

New Zealand are at their best playing at home, which Sri Lanka learned the hard way 12 months ago when bowling spearheads Tim Southee and Trent Boult took 22 wickets between them as the Black Caps completed a 2-0 series whitewash. Mathews’ side return a year later, still in a rebuilding phase, to face a settled New Zealand line-up looking for a confidence boost after losing their recent away series defeat to Australia.

The Brendon McCullum-led New Zealanders are brimming with confidence in home conditions where they have not lost a Test nor a series since going down 0-1 when South Africa visited in 2011-12. They are also a team that played better than the 0-2 scoreline in Australia last month would indicate. “We are back in conditions we are familiar with and grounds we are familiar with and hopefully we can show the high standards we have shown over the last couple of years,” said Southee Tuesday. “It’s typical Dunedin weather. We find it cold so I’m sure the Sri Lankans will find it even worse.”

In Australia, only opener Martin Guptill and off-spinner Mark Craig failed to shine but Hesson is prepared to keep faith with the out-of-form pair. “Mark and Martin didn’t perform to the level they would have liked over in Australia, but both have shown in the past what they’re capable of and we’re confident they’ll make valuable contributions in the upcoming series,” he said. “We think it’s a strong squad, but equally we’ve got a group of players on the fringe of selection who are ready to be called upon if necessary.”

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Sly won’t be in Rambo series

LOS ANGELES: Despite the production companies endeavours to get the original Rambostar on board the project, Sylvester Stallone will not feature in the series.

The star told Deadline on December 7 that he will not be involved in any capacity in theRambo: New Blood TV series bought by Fox . The script for the new series was written by director Jeb Stuart of Die Hard fame and was to focus on Rambo’s relationship with his son. The report suggests that without Stallone’s participation, the project is unlikely to go on.

Stallone remains connected to Fox as an executive producer on another TV series in Development for the network, based on the action franchise The Expendables.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Dry port construction at Rasuwagadhi border point begins

RASUWA: A process has been forwarded for the construction of a dry port at the Rasuwagadhi border check point in Rasuwa district.

Manager at the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Hemendra Shahi, said that mapping of the land at Timure VDC for the construction of the dry port has already been completed as the Government of China has already signed the agreement in this regard.

Owners of the land, whose lands are to be acquired for the construction of the dry port, have already been informed, it is learned.

Stating that the dry port would cover 109 ropanis of land including five hectares of Langtang National Park, 58 ropanis of locals as well as land of some government offices, Shahi said that some 300 good-loaded containers could be parked in a systematic manner at the port.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Britain invites Speaker Gharti for visit

KATHMANDU: Britain invited Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar for a visit to the United Kingdom.

Calling on the Speaker today, the British Ambassador to Nepal Richard Morris extended the invitation to her on the occasion of 200thanniversary of the Nepal-Britain ties.

According to Speaker’s Personal Secretary Suraj Kumar Dura, Gharti said she would decide over the invitation considering her schedules and engagement in various parliamentary affairs.

They also agreed to frequently exchange visits of lawmakers between two nations.

Morris had reached the Speaker’s Office in Singhadurbar to congratulate Gharti for her election to the post.

The duo, during the meeting, also discussed other aspects of the bilateral relation, Dura said.

Morris said he has expected the Nepal-Britain relations to consolidate further in the coming days.

He also expressed his concern over the National Reconstruction Authority Bill, currently pending at the Parliament.

Top officials of the Parliament Secretariat and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present during the meeting.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.

Dutt to be free in 3 months

PUNE: Incarcerated Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, whose five-year sentence for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts was confirmed by the Indian Supreme Court in March 2013, will be freed from prison by March 7, 2016, official sources said here on December 8.

The sources indicated that barring last-minute glitches, Dutt would be released by March 7 after completing the remaining 42-month period of his sentence.

Dutt was acquitted of terror charges under the TADA, but found guilty of possessing illegal arms, acquired ostensibly to protect his family during the communal conflagration that engulfed Mumbai after the demolition of the Babri Mosque on December 6, 1992.

Following the Indian apex court orders, his bail was cancelled and he was ordered to surrender within four weeks, which he complied with on May 16, 2013 and was lodged in Arthur Road Central Jail.

A week later, he was shifted to the Yeravada Central Jail, Pune, where he has been lodged since then and has earned the reputation of being a well-behaved inmate.

Of the five-year sentence, the actor had already served 18 months as an under trial and was required to undergo another 42 months, which is now on the verge of completing.

In between serving time, Dutt was granted either parole or furlough on various grounds, attracting a lot of criticism from various quarters, while some prominent personalities demanded his release from jail.

Source: Sabkura News Pvt. Ltd.