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Weekly Editorial Cartoon

Non Fiction

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Gretchen Rubin

Published: Dec 25, 2015(Revised Edition)

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks

Pages: 368

For some, happiness means a cold glass of beer on a hot sum­mer day. For others, it might be a good cup of coffee and a book to the pitter-patter of rain outside. Sleeping in late during the week­ends is also said to make quite a lot of people extremely happy. What makes you happy today might not do so tomorrow, and what makes one person happy might have no effect whatsoever on someone else. But one thing is certain: We are all in our own little quests for happiness, and the pursuit of happiness is a never-ending one. That is where The Happiness Proj­ect by Gretchen Rubin can come to your rescue. This book is a great read to, in a way, understand hap­piness and try to devise your own pathway to bliss. Rubin, an author, wife and mother of two, felt she had lost her ability to find happiness in day-to-day life despite having everything she could ever want—a loving husband, wonderful kids, good health, and a career she was content with.

However, one day she had an epiphany of sorts when she was on a bus. She felt she was just going through the days without truly enjoying them. Rubin wanted to know what it was that was stopping her from being truly happy, and she decided to devote a year to what she called ‘The Happiness Project’.

The book is the outcome of Rubin’s own experiments in trying to improve her life, one resolution at a time while putting to test classic advice on happiness, from Thoreau to Oprah, to find out what works and what doesn’t. From boosting energy and making time for love to pursing a passion and being lighthearted, Rubin tackles one aspect of her life every month and works on it before moving on to another. This allows you to reflect on your own life and take in little nuggets of wisdom, learning from Rubin’s experiences. You are saved the hit and trail run that Rubin had to go through.

The memoir style writing is what makes The Happiness Project an engaging read and, because Rubin is never preachy, it’s unlike any other self-help book you have ever read. She never tells you what to do.

She just shows you what she did and how it affected her life, and implores you to identify areas in your life that you would like to work on (just like she did) and create your own happiness project in the process. Her book is just a rough guideline to get you started. And, believe us, it works.

For more of Rubin’s advice, you can visit her website that has podcasts and blogs as well. Her other works on happiness include The Four Tendencies, Better than Before, and Happier at Home.

The overflowing of Bhaktapur’s major rivers on July 12 caused widespread flooding in the area, resulting in three deaths and over Rs 120 million worth of damages. As our main story this week shows, the hardest hit in these floods were people from lowest economic strata: those running small retail shops and cottage industries. A week after, they were still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

One of them was Lal Lama of Radhe Radhe in Thimi. On the morning of July 12, Lama found his two children floating in the water that had seeped into his small shop. He nearly drowned as well. Barely was he able to save his family. This wasn’t the first time tragedy struck the Lama family. In fact, it had been displaced from its earlier abode in Kavre by the 2015 earthquakes. Most of their belongings destroyed by floods, Lal’s family may have to move again.  

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The slapping of extra c on inter­net services, in addition to a two percent increase in taxes on voice calls, may at the outset seem justified. Way too many hours are wasted every day in useless chats over social media, and the cheaper it gets to call people, the greater the scope for abuse of telephones and mobile phones too. But that would be a myopic view.

In this country of under 29 million people there are over 37 million mobile phone subscriptions. Of course, many subscribe to more than one plan. Yet it is note­worthy that overall internet penetration in Nepal has crossed 61 percent, and at least half the population is believed to carry smartphones. These datasets suggest that people from all walks of life, and from all econom­ic backgrounds, are using internet and mobile phones.

Yes, there is some wastage of time online. But these amenities also create a wealth of opportunities for everyone. With the greater penetration of phones and internet, vegetable farmers in rural areas can now directly negotiate with the wholesalers, thereby cutting out the middlemen who typically pocket 15-20 percent of the sale value. Cheap calls and internet voice ser­vices allow the families to stay in regular touch with their sons and daughters toiling abroad; there can be no substitute for physical presence of your loved ones, but the voice and images transmitted over Skype is the next best thing. TED talks and education courses offered over YouTube make Nepalis more knowledge­able and better prepared for modern job market.

If fact, there are countless other productive and cre­ative uses of internet and phone services. Uganda ear­lier this year imposed a ‘social media tax’, as most of its citizens were using social media platforms to “spread gossip”. In the view of many Ugandans, the real reason for the tax is that the government of President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in office continuously for 32 years, wants to stifle dissent. Could the Nepali govern­ment, which is also increasingly accused of authori­tarian tendencies, also be up to no good? By increas­ing taxes the ruling communist party is in fact going against its own election manifesto.

Rather than luxuries, internet and phones have become modern-day necessities without which it is hard to function. Again, the rich folks will easily be able to afford the extra 13 percent tax. It is the less well-off, the proletariat whose cause the communist party champions, who will struggle to pay.

The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and the main opposition Nepali Congress are on a collision course. The NCP leaders accuse their Congress counterparts of rank opportunism—Congress did precious little on medical education reform when it was leading the government, the accusation goes, but has overnight morphed into an ardent advocate of the fasting Dr Govinda KC. The other accusation is that Congress is trying to subvert the authority of a demo­cratically-elected government by obstructing parliament and protesting in banned areas. They argue that five months are nearly not enough to judge this government.Congress leaders contend that they cannot be mute spectators even when the government has put the country on a slippery slope to full-blown authoritarianism, by for instance declaring popular protest places as ‘no go’ areas and by empowering the ‘medial mafia’ by watering down the medical education ordinance brought by the previous Con­gress government. There are other bones of contention too. The constitution requires that speaker and deputy speaker of the federal parliament and well as the seven provincial parliaments be from different parties, but in six of the seven provinces NCP holds both the positions. The appointments to constitutional bodies made by the previous Congress gov­ernment have been cancelled and social security measures it introduced rolled back—and hence the current standoff.

But what will these protests by opposition parties led by Congress—with Baburam Bhattarai’s Naya Shakti even asking for Prime Minister KP Oli’s resignation—amount to?

“It is true that the performance of this government has been disappointing thus far,” says political analyst and former chief election commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel. “But I also don’t think there are enough legitimate grounds for resignation.”

Pokharel credits Oli for trying to bring a “semblance of order” in governance, something that has been missing in Nepal since the 1990 change, “but the way the government has gone about achieving this order is wrong.”

But does he see enough reasons to fear autocracy? “The tendency is there. The biggest cause for concern right now is that the executive has become extremely powerful while the two other organs of the state are weak. This in turn has desta­bilized the principle of check and balance,” Pokharel replies.

Ominously, with the ruling communist party all-powerful and the main opposition in Nepali Congress at its weakest historically, they have no incentive to listen to one another.

 The highest temperature of the year was logged Wednesday as a protracted heat wave continues to sear wide swathes of Japan, leading the government to issue a warning to the public to protect themselves against heat-linked illnesses. 

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said that 12 people have died in the heat wave during the week through last Sunday and almost 10,000 people were hospitalized for heat-related illnesses, such as heatstroke and dehydration. 

Of those hospitalized, the majority were in Osaka Prefecture, with 752 people being sent to hospital, followed by Tokyo with 704 people and 687 people in Aichi Prefecture, local media reported. 
The figure for those sent to hospital for treatment, the agency said, was 3.7 times higher than that of the previous week and, according to local media, around 5,000 people alone were hospitalized over the three-day holiday weekend. 

Temperatures on Wednesday hit 40.7 degrees Celsius in Tajimi City in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, marking this year's highest temperature, with the mercury also soaring to 40.6 degrees Celsius in Gifu's Mino City. 

Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that of the 927 points it monitors across the nation, 185 of them saw temperatures rise to 35 degrees Celsius or more, with the heatwave expected to continue for a week. 
The weather agency has forecast daytime highs of at least 35 degrees Celsius for Nagoya, Kyoto, and numerous other regions over the next seven days. 

Of the heat-related fatalities, in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, a six-year-old boy died of heatstroke on Tuesday after a school trip outdoors where the temperature was about 33 degrees Celsius, local media reported. 

A 94-year-old woman is also believed to have died from heatstroke in Nabari City, Mie Prefecture. She was found by her relatives on Tuesday evening lying in a field unconscious, according to local media accounts. 

As for the capital city of Tokyo, a record 2,900 emergency calls were received by the Tokyo Fire Department on Tuesday, marking the highest number of calls received in a single day since emergency services began in 1936. 
The JMA has said that the heat wave will continue throughout the week ahead owing to powerful convection activity near the Philippines, where air currents are strengthening a Pacific high-pressure system. 

The protracted heat wave has made it particularly hard for ongoing relief operations in areas in western Japan pummeled by recent torrential rains. 

In Okayama, Hiroshima and Ehime prefectures, the three hardest-hit regions by the downpours, 813 people were reportedly hospitalized with heat-related illnesses last week, including volunteers who were cleaning up debris and assisting at evacuation shelters. 

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 Five marines were killed and one injured when a South Korean military helicopter crashed on Tuesday at a marine base in the country's southeast, the defence ministry said. 

The helicopter came down and caught fire during a test flight after repairs at the base in the port city of Pohang, the ministry said in a statement. 

"Five of the six crew members on board were killed and the remaining one has been taken to hospital due to injury," it said. The ministry said an investigation into the cause would be launched soon. 

The helicopter was a domestically made model known as the MUH-1 or Marineon, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. 

Manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries said it would "fully cooperate with the military to identify the cause of the crash", according to the Yonhap news agency. AFP

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Victorious France were set to return to a heroes' welcome on Monday after winning the World Cup for the second time with a rollercoaster 4-2 victory over Croatia which set off chaotic celebrations at home. 

Teenager Kylian Mbappe applied the coup de grace in Moscow as France, aided by an own goal and the video assistant referee, overcame determined opponents in one of the most compelling finals of the modern era. 

Mbappe, just 19, scored France's sizzling fourth goal and was voted the best young player of a tournament in which he has shown he is a superstar in the making. 

The triumph also put Didier Deschamps, who captained the national side to victory on home soil in 1998, alongside Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer as only the third man to win the World Cup both as a player and coach. 

French President Emmanuel Macron, who cheered every goal in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, was drenched by torrential rain during the trophy presentation and attempted to "dab" with the players in the changing room. 

On Monday, Macron will welcome the team back to Paris and the players will make a bus parade up the Champs-Elysees avenue from 1500 GMT, where they are expected to be feted by hundreds of thousands of people. 

"MERCI" Macron wrote in a one-word tweet after the match which saw him celebrating wildly in the stands and visiting the players in the changing rooms. 

-'To the stars' - 

Fans in France celebrated into the night, honking car horns and flying the tricolour flag while the Eiffel Tower was lit up in blue, white and red. 

However, youths also looted a Champs-Elysees store and police fired tear gas on the crowds as celebrations got out of control. 

"Endless happiness," trumpeted the headline in France's L'Equipe newspaper, while the Journal du Dimanche rushed out a special edition in Paris hailing a team which has ascended "To the Stars". 

Deschamps, who was soaked by champagne by his overjoyed players in a chaotic press conference, said the win was "just as big and just as beautiful" as the 1998 triumph. 

"There are two things that matter -- one is that these 23 players are now together for life, whatever happens, and also that from now on they will not be the same again, because they are world champions," he said. 

"To be champions of the world as professional footballers, there is nothing better." 

'We made history' 

The breathless victory under stormy skies meant his side -- a balance of youthful vitality and big-tournament experience -- have buried the pain of their defeat in the Euro 2016 final in Paris. 

"We did something incredible, we made history and we are going to enjoy it," said Antoine Griezmann, who scored France's second goal from the penalty spot. 

"We're going to see our families and we're going to party. Tomorrow in France will be the same, we're going to party with the French people." 
  
For Croatia, a country of just four million people, the loss was bitter but their fans took solace in the best run in the nation's history, which featured a stunning win against Argentina and a semi-final victory against England. 

Croatia playmaker Luka Modric was voted player of the tournament, Belgium's Thibaut Courtois was named the best goalkeeper and Harry Kane of England won the Golden Boot as top-scorer with six goals. 

US President Donald Trump tweeted congratulations to France for their "extraordinary soccer" and also praised Russia's President Vladimir Putin for his hosting of the tournament, which he described as "one of the best ever". 

Putin said Russia could be "proud" of its organisation of the event, adding that foreign visitors holding World Cup fan ID cards could have visa-free entry for the rest of 2018. 

 Six-goal thriller 

France scored first when Mario Mandzukic headed into his own net following a Griezmann free-kick in the 18th minute -- the first own goal in World Cup final history. 

Ivan Perisic's venomous strike levelled the scores but then, in a major turning point, referee Nestor Pitana awarded France a hotly debated penalty for a Perisic handball after consulting the video assistant referee (VAR). 

As thunder rolled around the stadium, Griezmann held his nerve to stroke his spot-kick into the net as goalkeeper Danijel Subasic went the wrong way. 

Croatia were unbowed as they ran the game from midfield, with Modric and Ivan Rakitic pulling the strings as roars of "Croatia" rang out. 

But Paul Pogba and then Mbappe both struck from outside the area to make it 4-1, before Mandzukic forced a humiliating mistake from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to raise faint hopes of a late comeback. 

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said his side's luck had run out after the VAR penalty. 

"I never comment on referees but in a World Cup final you do not give such a penalty," said Dalic, whose team had to battle through extra-time in all three of their knockout games before the final. 

But he added: "You should never give up, never stop believing. At 4-1 down I was not defeated. Overall, Croatia played a great tournament and showed its strength and quality." 

Disappointed but proud Croatian fans in Zagreb cheered their team to the very end, lighting flares and firecrackers in the capital's packed main square at the final whistle. AFP

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