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A memorandum of under­standing was signed between the Chef’s Association of Nepal and the Turkish Gastronomy Tour­ism Association (GTD) this week. Turkish Airlines is the Official Partner Airlines for the collabo­ration. The collaboration is aimed at exchanging the food culture of Nepal and the Republic Of Turkey with one another.

With this collaboration, the two parties will help contribute to local to global, and global to local collaboration, in Culinary Tour­ism. Both will take part in activi­ties to empower and increase the recognition of their cultural heri­tage and modern kitchen culture of respective countries.

Rabindra Tiwari won the Hyun­dai Open Golf Tournament at Gokarna Golf Club this week. Tiwari, playing with six handi­cap, scored 41 points to win the trophy. He scored birdies on fifth and 18 holes, while his drop shots was on ninth, 16th and 17th holes. With the win he also got Rs 100,000 worth of gift voucher and a Coolpad smart phone. Bharat Bastakoti and Bhairaja Pandey were tied for second place. On the count back Bastakoti finished runner-up as he scored 20 against 19 of Pandey. Bastakoti got a trophy, Rs 50,000 worth of gift voucher and Cool­pad smart phone. Pandey was the second-runner up on the count back and got a trophy, Rs 20,000 worth of gift vouchers as well as a Coolpad smart phone.

Altogether 127 golfers took part in the tournament sponsored by Laxmi Intercontinental Pvt. Ltd., the sole authorized distributor Hyundai Cars in Nepal.

Qatar Airways has been recognized for its out­standing achievements at the Luxury Network Inter­national Awards that took place at the Hilton Beirut Habtoor Grand Hotel, Lebanon, on April 30.

The event was organized by the world’s leading lux­ury affinity marketing group, The Luxury Network, in cooperation with CAEL (Contribution Appreciation to Embassies in Lebanon) and under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri. It was attended by Qatar’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali bin Hamad Al Marri, Hamad International Airport Vice President Commercial and Marketing, Abdulaziz Al Mass, Project Executive Director Hamad Port, Eng. Jassim Al-Shirawi, as well as other dignitaries and VIP guests.

If you want to hone your skills in music, especially on the guitar, join instructor Rajat Rai’s private classes at Baluwatar. Rai is a guitarist, musician, song-writer and composer who plays with Cadenza Collective and April Rush and specializes in jazz music. He has worked as an academic coordinator at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory since 2013 and recently been teaching advance level guitar students in private classes as well as conducting the one and only Nepal Army big band. His private classes for all levels are focused on improvisation, music theory and ear training, among other skills.

Contact: 9808535145,
[email protected]

Annapurna Circuit trekking is known as Nepal's classic trek that offers more variety than any other equivalent length trek, taking us through virtually all types of scenery that Nepal has to offer. The superb views of the Manaslu, Anna­purna, and Dhaulagiri, and an amazing variety of landscapes ranging from sub-tropical through alpine to an arid semi-desert akin to Tibet, it’s a complete package of adventure and relaxation. The climax of the trek is crossing the formidable Thorung-La pass (5,416m) and reaching the Anna­purna Base Camp.

Contact: abovethehimalaya.com; Viber/WhatsApp: +977 98510 95 800. A range of dates are available for the 22-day trek.

The launch featured post-thrash metal band Vomitting Snakes, which made a comeback after a two-year hiatus, and death metal act Binaash, which opened the stage for Screaming Marionette.

Screaming Marionette fea­tures Nikesh Gharti on the vocals, Nabin Khadka and Sajan Gurung on guitars, Nimesh Nakarmi on bass and Sushan Gurung on drums. The band, which also won the KCM ICMC last year, had previously released their debut music video “Gaali” on YouTube. The video had received a warm response from the audience, encouraging them to launch the EP. The band is now on a cross-country tour to promote their EP. APEX BUREAU

Weekly Editorial Cartoon

Is it disappointing, though hardly surprising, that our new parliamentarians are lobbying hard for the continuation of the controversial Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Previous governments used to allocate funds to MPs—which swelled to Rs 30 million for each during the tenure of the previous par­liament—that were meant for the development of their respective constituencies. They each got an addition­al Rs 5 million, for similar purpose, under a separate Parliament Development Fund. Tellingly, these outlays would be spent at the sole discretion of individual MPs. Most of the funds were predictably misused, which is why they became wildly unpopular.

But the new MPs are now lobbying not just for the continuation of the arrangement, but they also want the allotted amount under the CDF to increase over three-fold, to Rs 100 million each. If the government bows down to their demand, and it seems to be con­sidering doing so, it will cost the exchequer at least Rs 3 billion a year. This is indefensible, for multiple reasons. Now that the country has fully embraced federalism, there are separate budgets for individual provinces and local units. Moreover, any of their budget shortfalls will be met by the central government. There is thus no justification for giving individual MPs such discretion­ary spending power.

These self-serving acts of our MPs and ministers also suggest that they are in politics primarily to make mon­ey, and not to serve the people, a perception that adds to public cynicism about their government. This is an unhealthy development for a budding democracy. Of course, this doesn’t imply that our MPs should not earn enough or that all of them are crooks. But they already make plenty. The basic monthly salary of a federal MP alone is Rs 55,000. When other bonuses are added, the final take-home pay is well above Rs 100,000. How much more do the MPs of a country with a monthly per capita income of less than Rs 8,500 need?

The new government of KP Sharma Oli has of late made some courageous decisions in public interest, for instance in its refusal to budge against the long-en­trenched transport syndicates. Its strong stand against interference in Nepal’s internal affairs by other coun­tries and institutions is also laudable. It is doing a good job in foreign policy too. Now it should have the cour­age to refuse this selfish and unjustified demand of the federal MPs. If it can do so, there would be no bigger proof of its commitment to public service.