👀 Bijuli Qatar

Namaste! This week in Kathmandu, some waiwai noodles turned out to sh*t, landing the Chaudhary group a slap on the wrist with a 2 lakh fine. While that might just be pocket change for them, it's a spicy reminder that even noodle moguls aren't above the law. This noodle fiasco got us thinking—how does a billionaire family roll in Nepal? They might not flaunt a private jet (hit us up if we're wrong here), but what's on their dinner table? What kind of bhaat do they eat? Seriously, what does one even do with a billion dollars in Nepal? On to more stuff that you might not relate to, here's this week's happenings.

La Eta Hernus

Desh

Bijuli Qatar: Last week's news was dominated by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar (seriously, what's with royals everywhere and these long names?), who landed in Kathmandu for a quick two-day visit. He was greeted with all the bells and whistles at Tribhuvan International Airport by President Ramchandra Paudel and a spiffy guard of honour from the Nepal Army. The city rolled out the red carpet, decking out the streets with the tackiest banners and welcome gates. Between high-level chats with our big banduks and a swanky state banquet at Hotel Soaltee, it was a whirlwind of diplomacy and festivity. It was truly a special moment as this was the first high-level visit from the Gulf, where 400,000 of our Nepali brothers and sisters make their daily bread.

The Emir and Prime Minister Prachanda discussed the appalling working conditions faced by Nepali workers in Qatar, including the tragic deaths of many Nepali workers leading up to the World Cup in 2024. The Emir expressed strong commitments to ensuring fair and decent working conditions for all Nepali workers. Lol, no they didn't. Instead, they signed six MoUs on a bunch of business-related things—we're not reporting on that since Nepal signs more MoUs than Beckham signed contracts when he was about to retire. If anything comes out of it, we'll let you know. The president did ask the Emir for Qatar's assistance in rescuing and bringing back Bipin Joshi, who has been held hostage by Hamas since October 7, 2023.

Social media was abuzz with people and their takes: "Why is there a holiday for the Emir's visit when we kicked out our own king?" asked the royalists. "He's here to build mosques!" exclaimed some conspiracy theorists. However, our favorite part of this visit was that the Nepali government gifted two elephants to the Emir. It was reported that the elephants were to fly with the Emir to Qatar. However, at the last moment, it was revealed that the Qataris hadn't finished the paperwork, so the elephants couldn't go to Qatar. What a whirlwind of events that will likely lead to absolutely nothing.

DRAMA!: Last week, a website called Sidhakura published a video claiming that leaders from Annapurna Media Network and Kantipur Publications were part of a meeting involving sitting and former Supreme Court justices, as well as senior lawyers, to dismiss more than 400 corruption cases. The news portal named Capt. Rameshwar Thapa, chairman of Annapurna Media Network (AMN), and Kailash Sirohiya, chairman of Kantipur Publications, as key figures in the so-called high-profile secret meeting.

Sirohiya claimed it was fake news. The Press Council of Nepal asked Sidhakura to remove the content, claiming it was all hype. Sidhakura responded with a firm no, so the news is still up. The video is about an hour long. Make your own decision on what you think about the veracity of the news. This does raise important questions about whether we're equipped as a country to denounce fake news. With AI-generated content on the rise, how will we determine if a video of Rabi dai saying "I love smoking doobies on Tuesdays" is fake? Do you have any suggestions? DM us or Sumana Shrestha with your ideas.

Tech 

AI gone too far: Drake's latest drop, "Taylor Made Freestyle," featuring AI-generated vocals from Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, vanished into thin air after Tupac's estate waved a legal red flag. Uploaded last Friday and poof—gone by Thursday, the track sparked a legal skirmish when Tupac’s lawyers called it a "flagrant violation" and a legacy "abuse," demanding its removal within 24 hours. This tussle highlighted an irony since Drake himself previously protested the use of his cloned voice in another viral track. While the digital Tupac and Snoop took lyrical jabs at Kendrick Lamar in the freestyle, the real drama unfolded off-stage, turning the track into a brief but fiery chapter in music tech controversies.

Suntala: The Apple Vision Pro seems to be facing some hurdles, as reports suggest Apple has scaled back production of the $3,500 mixed-reality headset due to lower demand than expected. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo spilled the tea, revealing that Apple slashed shipments amid forecasts missing the mark, especially outside the U.S. market, hinting at a lukewarm reception stateside. Kuo also hinted that Apple might be rethinking its Vision Pro strategy, potentially scrapping plans for a cheaper model in 2025. Despite its eye-watering price tag and some comfort and battery life gripes, the Vision Pro offers a glimpse into the future of tech, even if Netflix users need to jump through some hoops to access their content.

Fatafat

Stat: Nepal's tourism scene is throwing a major comeback party in 2023! Tourist arrivals have skyrocketed, with a 65% bump since last year, bringing the total to a whopping 1,014,882 visitors.

Listen: Serial Season 4 (Find it wherever you listen to podcasts)

"Serial" is the seminal podcast that started the podcast revolution. Season 4 is a human-scale history of Guantanamo, told by the people who lived through decisive moments in its evolution, who know things the rest of us don't about the second and third-order effects of an improvised justice system.

Reading List:

1. The ghosts of India's TikTok: What happens when a social media app is banned (BBC)

2. Inside the Kenyan cult that starved itself to death (The Economist)

   During covid-19 a preacher lured thousands of people into a remote forest. Then he told them to stop eating.

3. A Japanese Town, Frustrated by Overtourism, Is Blocking Its Instagram-Famous View of Mt. Fuji (TIME)

Kahi Nabhako Jaatra

Sports

Rhinos: Nepal faced a narrow 10-run defeat to West Indies in the second match of their five-game series at TU Cricket Ground, despite a valiant unbeaten 71 from skipper Rohit Paudel. After the visitors set a challenging target of 161, powered by Gudakesh Motie's fiery 33 off eight balls, Nepal’s spirited chase fell short, wrapping up at 150-9 and leveling the series at 1-1.

It's amazing that we are playing the Windies; it's even more amazing that we actually beat them once! However, we made international social media buzz this week when a few pictures of the Windies team loading their own suitcases into a Sumo went viral. Many claimed that the Windies should have gotten better treatment upon their arrival, while cricket veterans asserted that this is common in all countries and that Nepal is very hospitable. K k news huncha yo desh ma.

Three news briefs and a lie

Three of these news briefs are real, and one is faker than NRN uncles who have a deep interest in the Ilam elections. Can you spot the odd one out? (Scroll all the way to the bottom for the answer).

1. In Gorkha, Nepal, a 57-year-old man was rushed to the hospital after complaining of general uneasiness, only for doctors to discover an entire bottle up his butt via a video X-ray. The patient sheepishly admitted that the 10 cm bottle had been his unwelcome guest for a month. He's now recovering, presumably with fewer bottles on board.

2. The foreign affairs ministry stirred up some drama when they released a hoarding board featuring goddess Kumari and the Emir of Qatar, where it looked like the goddess was bowing to the Emir. People were quick to complain, pointing out that Kumari doesn't bow to anyone. In response, the ministry awkwardly erased just the Kumari part from the hoarding board.

3. In a delicious twist of irony, the chief officer at the Transport Management Office in Bharatpur was caught red-handed with a fake driver's license during a routine MaPaSe check last Friday. Despite the glaring faux pas, he still hasn't been shown the door. Guess it's true what they say—sometimes, it's really hard to part ways with top talent!

4. The Emir of Qatar arrived in style, greeted at the airport by President Ram Chandra Paudel, with a special car lined up for his transport. But, plot twist! The car was a bit of a tight squeeze—literally—as the Emir found his knees jammed against the front seat. Without missing a beat, he swapped out our modest ride for a roomier set of wheels from his own embassy.

A request

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Eta Hernus Quiz

So, the Film Development Board of Nepal officially introduced the digital box office system in theaters across Nepal in 2018. We don't have records of formal box office collections before 2018, but here’s a question: What are the five highest-grossing Nepali movies since 2018? How many can you guess? Can you name the five highest-grossing foreign films?

Bidesh Tira Hernus

Mera Bharat Mahan: There are elections happening in India. The Indian National Congress in these elections is like us asking our parents for approval for that Pokhara trip—we know what the results are going to be, but we try anyway. Not much more on those elections (check out the article from our reading list last week), but we'll leave you with a cool portal.

Harvey Weinstein: The New York Court of Appeals has decided that the disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein didn’t get a fair shake at his 2020 trial. They ruled 4-3 that it was out of line for the judge to let several accusers, not directly involved in the charges, testify against him. Despite the shake-up, Weinstein's not getting out just yet; he remains behind bars and might even get shipped off to California where he's already facing a cool 16 years for a separate conviction. Oh, and in case you're counting, the tally of women accusing him of nasty stuff dates back to the 70s and hits over a hundred.

Best of Twitter/Switter

Eta Pani Hernus

Chunaab: In the latest episode of electoral drama from Ilam-2, Suhang Nembang of the CPN-UML is currently leading the pack with 3,249 votes, as of Sunday evening. Hot on his heels is Dambar Khadka from the Nepali Congress, clocking in at 2,469 votes, while independents Dakendra Singh Limbu and Rastriya Swatantra Party’s Milan Limbu are just trying to keep up. This by-election, a rollicking family affair, fills the seat left vacant after former Speaker Subas Nembang's untimely exit last year (guess who his son is), stirring up a spicy contest among 19 hopefuls.

We can’t have an issue without Balen sir: Balen sir is at it again, this time with a new book filled with his poetry—not from his ongoing PhD, but from his personal collection, some of which you might have caught on his Twitter feed. In other news, he tweeted that sick folks from any paalika in Nepal can now access free healthcare in one of the 323 beds across 43 hospitals in Kathmandu. Let us know if you've snagged a copy of his book or benefited from this healthcare move!

(Answer to three newsbriefs and a lie: The third one is a lie. Answer to Eta hernus Quiz: Nepali movies: Kabaddi 4 (21.39 crore), Chakka Panja 4 (17.53 crore), Jaari (17.18 crore), Chakka Panja 3 (16 crore), Mahajatra (15.90 crore). Foreign movies: Bahubali 2 (23 crore), KGF: Chapter 2 (19.30 crore), RRR (13.5 crore), Pathaan (13.28 crore), Jawan (12.68 crore).

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