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When KP Sharma Oli first became the prime minis­ter at the end of 2015, he inherited a country that was in a state of virtual lockdown from the border blockade. It is to his credit that he was able to pass a constitu­tional amendment to end it. He must also be lauded for bringing a semblance of balance in the country’s relations with its two neighbors. But his nine months in office also were marked by the same degree of crony­ism, corruption and impunity as the reigns of any of his immediate predecessors. He, as prime minister, could also have shown more sensitivity in his messaging to the marginalized communities, Madhesis especially.

As he is set to be prime minister again, in as early as a couple of weeks, a different set of challenges await Oli. He will be the first prime minister after the implemen­tation of the federal setup. It will be up to him to guide Nepal through this tricky transition to a full-fledged federal set-up. With the left alliance forming government at the cen­ter, as well as six of the seven provinces, Oli will have the mandate to lay a strong foundation for a peaceful and prosperous federal Nepal.

This is why it is vital that the merger between UML and Maoist party happens early, preferably before the formation of the new government. If the two parties unite now, it will all but guarantee that the country will have a stable government for the next five years.

If not, people will not be assured that the kind of tasteless politicking that has been in display since the 1990 political changes—whereby, on average, govern­ments came and went every nine months—won’t again bedevil Nepal. And if that happens, Nepal’s develop­ment prospects and its quest to graduate from the group of LDCs in the foreseeable future will remain unfulfilled. This is why, the Maoists, as the junior part­ner in the ongoing merger talks, need to be reasonable in their demand for portfolios in the new party. But as the senior leader in the left alliance, and for the sake of the country he professes to love, Oli should not hesi­tate to make significant concessions as well.

After bringing about a revolution and getting people talking about menstrual hygiene on social media, R Balki's Pad Man is ready to achieve another milestone.

Apart from releasing in 50 countries, the film, starring Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor will become Bollywood's first film that will release in Russia, Ivory Coast and Iraq.

The elated producer Twinkle Khanna took to Twitter to announce this. "I once told my Pad Man that I will take him places... Well, not only will Pad Man release in 50 countries all over the world but It is Bollywood's first film that will be releasing day and date in Russia, Ivory Coast and even Iraq," Twinkle tweeted.

Pad Man is releasing on February 9. It is based on the story of real life hero Arunachalam Muruganantham and addresses the issue of menstrual hygiene. Arunachalam had invented a machine to produce low-cost sanitary napkins, after seeing the plight of his wife. Radhika Apte plays the role of the protagonist's wife in the film.

The release date of Padman was earlier scheduled to release on January 25. It's release was postponed after Sanjay Leela Bhansali requested Akshay Kumar to do so in order to allow a smooth release for his film Padmaavat, which had seen trouble since its days of shooting.

In a recent interview, the usually tight-lipped actor Priyanka Chopra opened up about her relationship status. And not just that, she even accepted being in a very committed relationship in the past year.

There is no stopping our very own global sensation Priyanka Chopra. She became a household name abroad with her stellar act as Alex Parrish in Quantico and wowed fans even more in the hit franchise Baywatch. With two more Hollywood films in her kitty currently, her transition from Bollywood to Hollywood has been nothing but smooth.

In a recent interview with Filmfare, the usually tight-lipped actor opened up about her relationship status. And not just that, she even accepted being in a very committed relationship in the past year. Here’s what she said, ” Right now, I’m single. Of course, I’ve been double ya! What do you think I’m a saint? But recently, I’ve been single. Let’s just say that! I’ve been single after a really really long time. I get a lot of attention. But I don’t know what to do with it. Of course, I like it. I’m a girl and I’m vain.”

Also, when the Baywatch actor was asked if she dated anyone in America, the actor responded in the affirmative. She also specified that it wasn’t any of her Quantico co-stars because all of them are married. And on being further probed if she found anyone interesting in the past year, Priyanka said, “No, I haven’t. I’m a serial monogamist. I was in a very committed relationship. But since almost a year, I’ve been single. I’ve met a bunch of people. I’ve gone out with people. I let someone woo me but no… My mind hasn’t exploded, not yet!” (IndianExpress)

As a result of the hacking, the verification tick on Abhishek's Twitter account vanished, and his cover photograph featured a missile that read "Ayyildiz Tim" in chalk.

Abhishek's profile also had several tweets in Turkish.

Twitter said in an official post: "Our teams are working to resolve an issue affecting a small number of Indian users. We will notify affected account holders directly. Reminder: do not click on links in DMs coming from unknown accounts."

On Tuesday, it emerged that the Twitter accounts of Anupam, RSS leader and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav and senior Indian journalist and Member of Parliament Swapan Dasgupta were hacked.

After his account was restored, Anupam sent out an advisory to his followers.

"To everyone on Twitter: Please don't open any link sent on your direct messages, however genuine they appear. That is the tool hackers are using to hack into your account. Please share this message with as many people as you can. Thanks." (IANS)

Quincy Jones, the legendary music producer behind Michael Jackson, says that the late King of Pop plagiarized some of his hits.

"I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs," Jones said in an interview full of eyebrow-raising comments published Tuesday by Vulture, the culture site of New York magazine.

"The notes don't lie, man. He was as Machiavellian as they come," the 84-year-old music veteran said.

He specifically cited "Billie Jean" -- a signature song off the Jones-produced "Thriller," the top-selling album of all times.

Jones suggested similarities between the song and disco queen Donna Summer's "State of Independence," which was also produced by Jones and released several months earlier in 1982.

Few listeners would immediately associate the two songs, although both open and are built on unusually lengthy synthesized bass lines.

Jones also said Jackson was "greedy" and should have given partial writing credit to keyboardist Greg Phillinganes for his song "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

Jones' allegations run against prevailing public perceptions of Jackson, who died in 2009 and is often viewed as a tortured soul with little financial acumen as he amassed wealth.

The producer voiced sympathy over Jackson's personal issues, saying he had raised concern to the singer over his plastic surgery and blamed abuse by the singer's father for the King of Pop's poor self-image.

Jones has remained active as an octogenarian, recently launching the Qwest TV video streaming service for jazz, but has also made a stream of headline-grabbing comments with a generous sprinkling of profanity.

In a recent interview with GQ magazine, he said he had 22 girlfriends around the world, spoke 26 languages and had undergone a cutting-edge treatment in Sweden to help him live to 110.

"I think he was secretly in love with the sitter. She is a very pretty lady.

"It's pretty audacious, with the light under the chin, which focuses you on the head. As a bit of painting it stands on its own anyway, without any of the other stories," he added.

The painting is expected to sell for around £250,000 ($347,000, 282,000 euros) when it goes on sale jointly in London and Lagos on February 28, but Okri argued that its worth was more than financial.

"It gives us a glimpse of an important African reconfiguration of the art of portraiture," he said.

"It's going to start a fire, start a debate. Never have they given proper due to African painters. This is the perfect work to start" to ask why, he added. (   AFP)

Fcube

Now Showing on 9th Feb 2018 are:

1. Kri

2. Padman

3. Padmaavat

Next Changes on 16th Feb 2018 are:

1. Black Panther in 3D

2. Kanchhi

Big Cinemas

KRI : 8:30 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am, 12:15 pm, 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm, 6:15 pm, 7:45 pm ,9 :00 pm 

Padmaavat : 3:00 pm

Pad Man : 9:00 am, 11:45 am, 2:00 pm, 5:25 pm, 8:25 pm

AP1 HD

    1. Prayas (Tuesday, 9 PM)

Rupa Khadka interviews individuals who have made outstanding contribution to the country and the society. The guests share their personal experiences and life stories in the show. Tune in and be ready to be inspired by these real-life celebrities.

   2. Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya (Monday, 9 PM)

This talk-show hosted by Tikaram Yatri has been able to make a distinct mark in Nepali television. Yatri’s breadth of knowledge on contemporary issues shines through on every show. A consummate interviewer, he also has this unique ability to spice up his discussions with the politicians, social actors and entertainers with interesting anecdotes and stories. Both informative and entertaining.  

   3. Nepal Minds (Tuesday 7pm)

Focused on social issues, the program’s most intriguing aspect are its social experiments recorded by hidden cameras. For instance, in a recent episode, the producers wanted to see if random people in a restaurant speak up when they see a man misbehave with a woman.

    4. AP System Check (Saturday 7pm)

An investigative show that puts to test public goods and services. If certain products in the market are found substandard after their public testing, both the manufacturers and regulators are questioned, nay, grilled. The goal is to make our government agencies and businesses more accountable.

   5.Music Diary (Wednesday 7pm)

A program dedicated to music industry, the show is filled with stories of new releases, singer interviews and reports. Singers are interviewed right when they are recording their new songs. The viewers can the whole song-production process for themselves.

Annapurna Radio 94Mhz

     1. Suvaramaba (Sun-Fri at 9:20 am)

Start your day by tuning in to this refreshing show that discusses contemporary global events: the quirkier the events and subjects under discussion, the better. These interesting musings are interspersed with musical breaks.

    2. Man Pareko Pustak ( Sun- Sat 9:30 pm)

As the name suggests, this is a program where the presenter reads aloud a work of Nepali literature he is fond of. Fall asleep listening to some of the most interesting and enlightening works of Nepali literature.

    3. Jadau (Sat 8 am)

Another program focused on Nepali literature is hosted by the one-and-only Dahal Yagyanidhi. Here, too, the presenters discusses contemporary Nepali literature, often in the company of other esteemed writers. Promotion of Nepali literature is Dahal’s one and only goal.

    4. Ahimsha (Sun 6:30PM)

If you are an animal lover, this program is just for you. It talks about why animal rights are important, and how each and every one of us can contribute to it. Animal rights activists are the heroes of this show and their activism right around the world its centerpiece.

     5. Mul Prabhah (Sun- Fri 7 am)

Mul Prabaha is a discussion program on contemporary culture and politics. The interesting thing about this program is that is brings up topics that are vitally important for us but topics that we often tend to ignore.

Samsung Nepal has launched the Galaxy J2 4G edition, the latest entrant in the Galaxy J series family. Samsung is looking to further strengthen its portfolio of 4G smartphones in Nepal, allow­ing customers to have super­fast internet connectivity and faster downloads.According to the company, the 4.7-inch qHD Super AMOLED screen will provide customers with an immersive experience.

Whether it be browsing through photos, watching videos or surfing the web at blazing fast 4G speeds, users will be able to do so in vibrant colours due to the Super AMOLED screen. The large screen display will bring life to content and enhance the viewing pleasure—resulting in an immersive experience. The Galaxy J2 4G is now avail­able in Nepal for Rs11,290.