👀 What did we miss?

Namaste! Every time we take a break over the summer and sit down to write a newsletter after a month off, we’re tasked with catching you up on everything that’s happened. But, honestly? This time around, not much has changed. Nepali politics is still a shitshow. Taylor and Travis are still dating. Israel is still killing Palestinians. It’s the same old chaos. So, if you’ve been MIA, relax - you didn’t miss a thing. Here’s a recap that feels like every other week, ever.

La Eta Hernus

Desh

Balen Dai vs. KP Oli has become the political chahalpahal of the week, and it’s not holding back. Balen dai kicked things off by accusing UML (Oli’s party) legislator Rekha Sharma of exploiting a minor for domestic labor in a fiery Facebook post. When Facebook flagged it for violating community standards, Balen dai didn’t just get mad - he went after Oli, demanding Sharma’s arrest and calling out Oli for "good governance" that only involves "crocodile tears and Facebook reparations." He even dared the government to arrest him instead if his claims were false.

Then came the unfollow war. After Balen’s post was taken down, his supporters rallied, launching a campaign that led to Oli’s Facebook follower count dropping by 73,000 in just 36 hours. While Oli’s camp scrambled to recover, Balen’s page surged to 2.1 million followers, making him the most followed political figure in Nepal. Meanwhile, UML’s digital warriors tried and failed to discredit Balen with racist and casteist remarks, but his post was eventually reinstated by Meta.

So, what the hell is going on? Balen's post is back up, the child has been rescued, and Oli’s UML faction is flailing. It’s a mix of social media warfare, public accountability, and classic Nepali political drama - except this time, it’s happening in real-time, on Facebook.

Tiktok: So, remember when the Prachanda-led government banned TikTok? Well, Oli’s government finally unbanned it. If only they’d done it before Teej - imagine the viral dance videos we missed! But why was it banned in the first place? The real kicker is that even with TikTok back, freedom of speech is still shaky. One guy was arrested for leading a campaign to unfollow PM Oli on Facebook. Meanwhile, Nepali Congress is just doing its twerking in front of whichever PM takes our democratic rights away, and claiming to be a democratic party. Ah, the dream of having better options... someday!

Sabai Neta Ustai: Tired of empty promises from Nepali politicians? We’ve got you covered! Naya Nepal (another brainchild of the EtaHernus team) tracks the promises made by politicians, holding them accountable through a crowdsourced system. It’s simple - just fill out an anonymous Google form, and after review, we’ll add it to our database. You can help by submitting promises and spreading the word. We automate daily tweets via @NayaNepalEta to keep these promises in check, and share our data with other monitoring platforms to keep politicians on their toes! (I mean, testo toes ma hudainan hola, but we’re trying, so support us!)

Tech 

Musk dai: The World Bank has pulled all its paid ads from Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) after a CBS investigation found its ads placed under racist, pro-Nazi content. This comes after X's controversial changes to its content moderation, including allowing users to buy verification and profit from their posts, even if they promote hate speech. CBS found that several big brands, including Saudia Airlines and Nordace, had ads displayed under similarly offensive content. Despite X’s claims of enforcing strict content policies, its algorithm continues to boost hateful posts, with Musk himself engaging with some of the platform's most controversial accounts.

Freedom, again: The Internet Archive has lost a major legal battle as the US Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling that its book digitization project violated copyright law. The court rejected the Archive's claim that its digital lending practices were protected under fair use, calling the argument "unpersuasive." The case stems from the Archive’s National Emergency Library launched during the pandemic, which removed lending limits on scanned books. Despite the ruling, the court acknowledged the Archive’s nonprofit status, but it still faces further copyright lawsuits that could threaten its future.

Fatafat

Stat: Nepal ranks 6th globally for net migration, with a high number of people heading abroad. Let’s aim for the top spot! Join our Discord server to connect with fellow Nepali professional abroad who can guide you and help us reach number one in no time!

Quote: प्रचण्डलाई एक राउण्ड किक् दिएको, असन्तुलित भएर बोल्दैछन् : ओली

ओलीलाई प्रचण्डको जवाफ– ‘अब जनताको राउन्ड किक कस्तो हुन्छ, तिनले देख्छन्’

We don’t have any takes on this, k bhanne? kasari bhanne? kina bhanne?

Reading List:

1. Why is landing at Kathmandu Airport so difficult? (flightradar24)

2. Why A.I. isn’t going to make art. (Ted Chiang, The New Yorker)

   To create a novel or a painting, an artist makes choices that are fundamentally alien to artificial intelligence.

3. How Bangladesh’s tech industry navigated an unprecedented political crisis (Faisal Mahmud and Nayem Shaan, restofworld)

   July’s internet blackout and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s sudden exit is estimated to have cost the industry $300 million.

4. Why are Nepalese shunning Gulf and Asia to work in the EU? (Swechhya Raut, DW)

   Nepalese workers looking for a job abroad have traditionally looked in other parts of Asia or Arab countries such as Qatar or Dubai. But in recent years, more and more workers are ending up in Europe.

Kahi Nabhako Jaatra

Sports

Palesha Goverdhan has made history by becoming the first Nepali athlete to win a Paralympic medal, earning bronze in the women's K44 under 57kg taekwondo event at the Paris Paralympics. Her victory, defeating Serbia’s Marija Micev, is Nepal's highest sporting achievement at the Olympic level. Goverdhan, who has consistently improved since narrowly missing a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, expressed pride in her win and hopes it will inspire more support for para-athletes in Nepal. She will be awarded Rs 6.5 million in recognition of her achievement.

The Nepal Premier League 2024, a franchise-based T20 cricket tournament, will take place from November 30 to December 21 in Kathmandu. Organized by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), the league will feature eight teams representing major Nepali cities, including Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Biratnagar. Matches will be held at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground. The league aims to give Nepali cricketers exposure on a global stage, with the NPL logo symbolizing Nepal’s cricketing ambitions and national pride, blending iconic Nepali symbols like the khukuri and Mount Everest (lol).

Three news briefs and a lie

Three of these news headlines are real, and one is faker than her pretending to listen to you when she asks you “Teej ko party ma saree lagaam ki lehenga?” If you click on the true headlines, the links will take you to the news articles. If you click on the fake one, you’ll be in for a surprise!

1. आफ्नो मिर्गौला ७० हजारमा बेचेका युवा नै मिर्गौला तस्करीका नाइके

2. सार्वजनिक बिदा भन्दै गलत सूचना बनाएको आरोपमा एकजना नियन्त्रणमा

3. रक्सि खाएको आरोपमा ज्वाईंलाइ रुखमा बाँधेर पिट्ने ससुरा प्रहरी नियन्त्रणमा

4. फोनमा कुरा गर्ने क्रममा गल्तीले काखीमुनि पानी तताउने रड राख्दा एकको मृत्यु

Eta Hernus Quiz

For this week’s EtaHernus quiz, let’s see if you can guess which Nepali politicians made these bold promises (none of which have been fulfilled, of course):

1. Make Nepal the Switzerland of Asia – time to dig out your yodeling gear?

2. Eliminate the need for queues in government hospitals – a healthcare utopia, or just a dream?

3. End the situation of children living on the streets – a noble pledge still waiting for results.

4. Upgrade Kirtipur cricket ground into a well-equipped stadium – cricket lovers, this one’s for you!

5. Find the culprit behind Nirmala Pant’s rape-murder case – justice still awaits.

Who made these promises? Take a guess!

Bidesh Tira Hernus

In the U.S., a 14-year-old student, Colt Gray, and his father, Colin Gray, have been charged following a deadly shooting at Apalachee High School, Georgia, which left two students and two teachers dead. Colt faces felony murder charges, while his father is accused of giving him the AR-style rifle used in the attack. The small community is reeling, with prosecutors expecting additional charges for the injured victims. This marks the deadliest U.S. school shooting since March 2023, further highlighting the ongoing debate around gun control and school safety in America.

Proud Gorkhali Moment

A request

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(Answer to Eta hernus Quiz: See here)

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