Nepal times

Cargo train from Kolkata port arrives near Biratnagar Apr 29, 2018-A cargo train that had left Kolkata port in India five days ago arrived Bathana Station at Nepal-India border point near Biratnagar on Sunday. The cargo train had departed with 58 containers carrying goods imported from various third countries on Wednesday. Earlier, the border point near Birgunj was the only destination for the cargo trains transporting goods imported from third countries. The extension of the service to the border point near Biratnagar has made the business with third countries easier as goods can be delivered faster to the industries and businesses of the importers, said industrialists and businesspersons. Currently a pilot project, once the service becomes regular it will bring the imported goods close to Nepal border directly. After the Budhanagar, Morang-based Integrated Customs Post comes online the train will enter Nepal with the imported goods. Federation of Nepalese Chambers

Singer Halsey freezing eggs at 23 due to endometriosis Pop star Halsey, 23, has revealed that she is freezing her eggs due to her struggle with endometriosis, and described how she suffered a miscarriage in the middle of a concert. The singer -- best known as the voice on The Chainsmokers’ chart-topper “Closer” -- said that doctors repeatedly ignored signs that she was suffering from endometriosis, a painful disorder in which tissue normally inside the uterus grows outside it. Halsey said she had decided to freeze her eggs despite her young age due to concerns about future fertility. “Doing an ovarian reserve is important to me because I’m fortunate enough to have that as an option,” she told the television medical show “The Doctors.” “I need to be aggressive about protecting my fertility, about protecting myself,” she said. Halsey has previously told fans about her struggle with the condition, including suffering a miscarriage on stage when she had not even realized she was pr

Three years on, quake-displaced living on horns of dilemma Selang (Sindhupalchowk), April 24 Even years after the devastating earthquake of April 25, 2015, scores of families displaced from villages in Sindhupalchok have not returned, though geologists have said it is safe for them to return to their plots of land and rebuild. Besides, there are some whose land was rendered inhabitable and are eligible to relocate elsewhere, but are undecided where to. Shyam Gole, whose house in Golche village was destroyed by the massive earthquake is eligible to relocate to any safer area to build a new house, but he has not been able to decide where he should relocate. Gole’s was among the 80 families from Golche who had moved to Baskharkha, Selang village, in Sindhupalchok, after the earthquake. Only seven families of Golche are eligible to be relocated to “safe areas”. Most of the families, including Mingmar Dong’s, were declared ineligible to move to other areas because the

Seven five-star hotels under construction complete EIA ENVIRONMENT CHECK Apr 17, 2018-Seven five-star hotels under construction have completed their environment impact assessment (EIA) while three are in the process of doing so, the Department of Tourism said.   Hotels with more than 100 beds are required to do an EIA while others have to carry out an initial environmental examination (IEE) before beginning construction. This compulsory requirement ensures that environmental performances are carried out in accordance with environmental laws and standards, and that they are generally conducted during the feasibility study for the project. Rajesh Kumar Lamsal, an official at the Tourism Department, said properties with 50 beds have to conduct an IEE while properties with more than 50 beds have to conduct an EIA. The government has allowed hotels and resorts to import furniture, carpet, kitchen equipment and other industry-specific items during the constructio

Isco leads Real to Malaga win AFP Madrid, Apr. 17: Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were both rested and Real Madrid hardly broke sweat as they beat Malaga 2-1 on Sunday to climb to third in La Liga. Isco scored one and set up another at La Rosaleda in a comfortable victory for a much-changed Real side, following Wednesday’s last-gasp Champions League win over Juventus. Diego Rolan grabbed a consolation for Malaga with the last kick of the game but the result was never in doubt. “Today I can be happy with a job well done,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane said. As well as Bale and Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Raphael Varane were left out, with the all-important Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich looming next week. Real Madrid’s Isco, right, and Malaga’s Roberto Jose Rosales fight for the ball during La Liga soccer match at the Rosaleda stadium, in Malaga, Spain on Sunday. (Photo:AP) But Isco did his chances of a start in Germany no harm at all by bendin

Tourist arrivals in first three months of 2018 hits 300,000 Kathmandu, April 16: Some 300 thousand tourists arrived by air route to Nepal in the first three months of 2018, the latest figures on tourist arrivals by air route released by the Department of Immigration show.  As per the data given by the Department, 286,882 tourists arrived in Nepal via air route in January, February and March. The highest number of tourists arrived from China. Forty thousand Chinese tourists arrived via air in these three months. Similarly, 34 thousand Indian tourists arrived by air over this period. This tourist arrival figure is more by 11.4 per cent compared to the number of tourists who arrived by air in the first three months of 2017. The arrival of a notable number of tourists in the beginning of the year has added much encouragement in the tourism sector, general secretary of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), Binayak Shah said. According to him, mountaineers and trekkers from vari

Transport operators to stage protest as last resort to protect syndicate As the government has taken a strong stance against the syndicate system in the public transport sector, transport entrepreneurs are planning to stage a stern protest as their last ditch effort to continue with their illegal syndication. Demanding the removal of the new transport management regulation, introduced recently by the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), the transport entrepreneurs have decided to stage protests, said Saroj Sitaula, general-secretary of the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE). He, however, did not disclose the protest programmes to be organised by the public transport operators.  “A meeting of all the public transport operators held on Sunday decided to launch a protest against the government’s move to introduce the new regulation without consulting the transport operators. To inform all about the protest programme, we are organising a press

Sindur Jatra marked in Thimi (With photos) Apr 15, 2018-Locals of Madhyapur Thimi marked the Sindur Jatra festival in Bhaktapur on Sunday.  The festival is celebrated every year on Baishakh 2 as part of Bisket Jatra observed by people from Newar community in Bhaktapur district. The festival welcomes the Nepali New Year and marks the arrival of spring season.   During the festival, devotees gather and take out a procession carrying 32 chariots containing the idols of several gods and goddesses. People smear each other with sindhur (orange vermillion powder) and sing and dance to the tune of traditional music during the procession. (Photos by: Angad Dhakal) Source:  The Kathmandu post

Tiger sightseeing a big draw for Bardia Nat’l ParkTiger sightseeing a big draw for Bardia Nat’l Park Apr 15, 2018-The number of tourists visiting Bardia National Park has increased primarily due to the high chance of spotting the rare Royal Bengal Tiger. The lure of seeing the endangered creature in its natural habitat is proving irresistible as more than 15,000 tourists visited the park in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The park is home to endangered animals such as Royal Bengal Tiger, wild elephant, great one-horned rhinoceros and other many colorful birds. Badri Binod Dahal, assistant conservation officer at the park, said that Bardia has received “word of mouth” publicity.  This has led to a rise in the number of domestic and international visitors.  He said that visitors have been spotting tigers on the bank of Karnali River, Tinkune and Bagaura Phanta daily. In the first nine months (mid-July to mid-April), 4,581 foreign tourists visited the p

Gate to be constructed on Nepal-India border Published: April 14, 2018 Bhairahawa, April 13 A gate is set to be constructed at Belhiya of Rupandehi on the Nepal-India border. A design of the proposed gate to be built at Belhiya, Rupandehi, unveiled on April 13, 2018. Photo: THT Siddharthanagar Municipality has started a campaign to construct a gate at Belhiya which is the major entry point for tourists     entering the country via land route. It is also the entry point to Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini. The gate will be 50-metre long, 23-metre wide and 29-metre tall. The entry door will be decorated with artistic designs of Ashoka, Buddha with Swoyambhu eyes, stupas, 12 Buddha idols, and national flag to give a glimpse of Nepal’s identity. The entry door construction is expected to cost around Rs 15 million. Siddharthanagar Municipality Engineer Yamlal Pandey said the final design of the Buddha gate was prepared after consultation with stakeholders. Municipali

Horror, cheap and in-demand, comes to Hollywood’s rescue Finding dependable, bankable box-office hits for anything without a superhero has been a downright scary proposition for Hollywood. The solution, it turns out, is a nightmare, too. Horror has emerged as one of the most lucrative and in-demand genres in Hollywood, a box-office success story as well as — thanks to a new generation of ambitious genre filmmakers — a creative one. Like perhaps never before, horror is hot. For an industry that has struggled to find areas of growth outside of the pages of comic books, it’s now hailing slashers as saviors. “Right now it’s pretty obvious what audiences want,” says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “People want their horror fast and cheap. And that should be music to the ears of studios.” It certainly was to Paramount Pictures — the most hit-starved of the major studios — when John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” last weekend blew away expectations to de

Kathmandu Valley likely to face blood crisis, NRCS calls for blood donation Kathmandu, April 1: The Kathmandu Valley is likely to face the shortage of blood following the sudden rise in its demand and a sharp fall in the collection.  Nepal Red Cross Society has urged people (eligible for blood donation) for help to cope up the situation. These days, blood donation and collection has significantly dropped. According to Society's communications department chief Dibyaraj Poudel, the organisation has urged Youth for Blood and Club 25 which are active in the Valley in fresh blood collection, its district branches and sub branches based in the Kathmandu Valley and other social organisations and volunteer donor to intensify blood donation and collection programmes. Director of Blood Transfusion Center's Dr Manita Rajkarnikar said there is demand of 350 pints of blood in the Valley, but the center is finding it hard to cope with the situation as the collection has dropped

Int’l art camp concludes By A Staff Reporter Kathmandu, Apr. 10:  A two-day international art camp concluded on Monday at the Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal. The art camp was hosted by the Art Kerala Muzris of India in the ongoing five-day international exhibition being organised jointly by Creative Women Organisation of Nepal and Art Kerala Muzris.  Altogether 15 selected artists from Nepal, India and Bangladesh took part in the camp coordinated by Bangladeshi artist Nargish Soma. Sushma Rajbhandari, Aruna Hingmang, Ranju Kumari Yadav and Sunaina Thakur from Nepal, Mano V Delhi, R Jayanth Kumar, Mukesh Gupta and Bidhan Bishwas of India and Nargish Soma from Bangladesh, among others, were the participating artists in the camp. Camp coordinator Soma said that the paintings created by the artists during the camp would be displayed in the Netherlands, China, Sri Lank, Bangladesh and India by organising exhibitions. During the inauguration of the art exhibition on Saturday, th

Vehicle pollution still rising in Germany: agency Published: March 27, 2018 7:38 pm On:  Environment BERLIN:  Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions fell in 2017, largely thanks to the closure of coal-fired power plants, but car-makers and factories still need to do more to cut pollution, government officials said on Tuesday. Overall emissions in Europe’s biggest economy fell 0.5 percent through the year, according to preliminary data released by a federal environment agency. “While energy-related emissions fell significantly, those in transport and the manufacturing industry went up,” the Umweltbundesamt (UBA) said in a statement. “Therefore, additional measures are necessary to set Germany on a course toward its targets again.” The energy industry, which is undergoing a staged transition to renewable technologies, saw its emissions fall by 4.1 percent, or 13.7 million tonnes, in 2017, UBA said. But transport sector emissions rose by 2.3 percent to 170.6 million