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Xiaomi introduces Redmi Note 8 Pro

Xiaomi, a global technology leader, announced this week the much-awaited Redmi Note 8 series of smartphones. With a multitude of world firsts, including a quad-camera setup, the Redmi Note 8 series looks set to disrupt the smartphone segment all over again.

With a powerful 64MP quad camera setup paired with an equally capable chipset, Redmi Note 8 Pro is an absolute beast. The camera setup extends to the front with a 20MP selfie shooter.

The octa-core Helio G90T mobile platform brings unprecedented gaming capability to this segment. With a refreshed Aura Design featuring an exquisite Gamma Green color and dual Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, Redmi Note 8 Pro is a rare combination of a beautiful, ergonomic design with awesome insides. The rear facade of Redmi Note 8 Pro sports 3D curved glass, creating an ergonomic hand feel with a thickness of only 8.8 mm. All-day battery life has been a hallmark of the Note series and this time a 4500mAh battery (18W charger in box) ensures that one gets the best of gaming and photography all day long.

Redmi Note 8 Pro is available in 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB storage variants for Rs 26,999, Rs 29,999 and Rs 32,999 respectively. The phone has three color variants namely Gamma Green, Halo White and Shadow Black.

Marvelous Me Season 1 ends

Vogue Lust Entertainment’s Marvelous Me Season 1 fashion show concluded this week with Prakash Mishra winning the title prize. Ten out of the 52 participants who went through a three-month-long rigorous training program presented themselves at the final event held at the Revive Hotel, Mahalaxmisthan. The final contestants then went through a talent round, a Q&A round and other activities. The panel of judges consisted of rapper/film producer/social activist Surendra Gurung (Hakim), media-person Suman Kumar Sigdel and the winner of Mister World 2019, Akshay Jung Rayamajhi.

Sunway International holds graduation ceremony

Sunway International Business School affiliated to Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur with Tribhuvan University Equivalence conducted its Grand Convocation Ceremony at the Soaltee Crown Plaza this week. A total of 35 graduates for Master of Business administration were conferred degree this year, according to the institution.

Abdul Rahman Bin Zakaria – Registrar of Infrastructure University of Kuala Lumpur was the chief guest for the ceremony. Pramod Poudel, Academic Director at Sunway International Business School in his commencement speech highlighted five aspects of leading a successful life for graduates namely kindness, purpose, career, time and happiness.

Go sightseeing
In Kirtipur

Explore and learn about the ancient hub of Newari culture, Kirtipur, with a guided on-foot tour that is sponsored by Kirtipur Municipality. There’s a lot to see in the former capital of Kathmandu like Chilancho Stupa, Tri Ratna Temple and Bagh Bhairab Temple on this free two-hour tour. Just 30 minutes from Thamel, Kirtipur is a heritage site worth paying a visit to even if you are strapped for time. Call 9841302500. 

Party
In Kathmandu 

If going to Germany for a Volksfest is a bit cumbersome, worry not. You can head to Tangal on November 23 to enjoy the third annual Beer Jatra. Organized by TOUR LYF, Beer Jatra is the biggest beer festival around, with over 50 varieties of beer and all the merrymaking, food and music that comes along, including the hangover! There will also be food stalls, a flea market, beer games, and live bands. Call 9801057609.

Swing dance 
In Lalitpur

Join the community of swing/lindy hop dancers, bringing you the joys and jumps from the 20’s and 30’s. They will be dancing and helping you learn the steps too. Hosted by Swing Dance Kathmandu and Swing Academy Kathmandu, the dancing starts from 6:30 pm on Tuesdays at ‘Base Camp: Outdoor Lifestyle’ at Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur. This is an easy dance so even new people can learn it and dance. Everyone is welcome. You can take a partner along, or go solo! 
Call 9841226397. 
 

Eighteen long months after the formal unification of the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center), the gentleman’s agreement between KP Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal is finally being implemented. The new understanding is that Oli will serve out the remaining of his five-year term as prime minister, and Dahal will oversee the party. Meanwhile, Oli has taken this opportunity to reshuffle his cabinet: ‘under-performing’ six ministers and three state ministers have been removed and replaced. The portfolios of some other ministers have been changed. The prime minister says these changes will soon be reflected in governance and service delivery.

It’s possible. The long-running power-sharing dispute between Oli and Dahal was a big hindrance to the NCP’s functioning and, by extension, the working of the two-third federal government. As big an obstacle were ministers who either served vested interests or didn’t do much. So, at least on paper, the power-sharing breakthrough and cabinet reshuffle could work to the advantage of both the party and the country. But they also might not. The new Oli-Dahal understanding, brokered by President Bidya Bhandari, could again unravel given Dahal’s fickle nature. And some of the new inductees into the cabinet are hardly beacons of rectitude.

Yet the prime minister has been canny this time. Those from the Madhav Nepal camp in the party, who had long been miffed at Oli’s ‘unilateral ways’, have also been included in the new cabinet, and a new truce seems to be developing between Oli and Nepal. With the party and the government more united, the prime minister should now be in a better position to push his agenda.

PM Oli will hopefully set clear targets for his cabinet colleagues and promote meritocracy. Also, with the burden of running the party lifted from his shoulders, he should train his focus on good governance and service delivery. In that case, with the main opposition still mired in internal disputes, the NCP will also be in good stead going into the next round of elections in 2022. No less than Oli’s legacy is on the line in what could be the last leg of his political career. There is thus every incentive for the prime minister to roll up his sleeves and take charge.

Listen
Forever More Music Festival 2019

4 pm, Saturday, November 23
Moksh
Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur

A festival that provides a platform for all kinds of creators and performers who want to showcase their work to a diverse audience, Forever More Music Festival brings together people with a shared love for music.

Shop
The Art Market: Christmas Edition

1 pm, Saturday. November 23
The Yellow House
Sanepa, Lalitpur

Christmas is around the corner, and The Art Market will not miss a chance to celebrate it. It is collaborating with creators of art in various forms and building a platform for entrepreneur artists to showcase their creativity.

See
Baidam screen print exhibition

10 am, November 23-December 24
Bikalpa Art Center
Pulchowk, Lalitpur

Bikalpa Art Center presents the second solo exhibition of Prabod Shrestha. The exhibit features 21 pieces of screen print works with juxtaposition of his poetry. Shrestha’s works are reflection of minimalism, meditativeness and intuition.

Participate
Learn & Relish Healthy Diet

12 pm, Friday, November 22
Maitreya Bodhi Home Care & Clinic
Bagbazar, Kathmandu

With the belief in the saying “Food is an important part of a balanced diet”, this sensitization session is organized by Bihani Social Venture and Runsan Nepal (Retired United Nations' Association of Nepal) and supported by Maitreya Bodhi Home Care & Clinic.

Q.    What is your favorite travel destination?
A.    I’m quite the wanderer. I don’t have a specific place that is my favorite.

Q.    What is your guilty pleasure?
A.    Binge buying camera accessories.

Q.    If you could have coffee with a person, living or dead, who would it be?
A.    Definitely Alan Watts.

Q.    What is your go-to outfit?
A.    Anything that’s comfortable.

Q.    What work do you most enjoy doing?
A.    I enjoy anything to do with cameras.

Q.    What do you want to be remembered for?
A.    I’d like to be remembered for the things that I will one day say that will make the most sense to a lot of people.

Q.    If you could change something in the world, what would you first change?
A.    It’s more of a ‘growth’ thing than a change to be honest. I’d love to let people understand that we’re slowly being consumed a little too much by ‘social media’ than what’s healthy, which in return is causing people to lose their sense of empathy.

APEX CELEB QUIZ  #15

Q.    What is Ayushman DS Joshi's biggest pet peeve?
    a) Body odor    b) Dirty nails

Send us your answer on our Facebook page. One winner selected by lucky draw will get a Rs 2,000 coupon from Dallé.  

Play board games
In Lalitpur

Every Thursday from 6 pm to 9 pm, you can play all kinds of board games like Catan, Zombies, and Smash Up at Baked n’ Fresh. This coffee shop in Jhamsikhel is happy to teach newcomers how to play, and if you own any board game that you are comfortable teaching others, you can take them along as well. You join the games for free. It starts at 6 pm, but you can inform the shop if you are arriving earlier and start playing with your friends when you arrive. Call 01-5545448. 

Learn to make Torma 
In Kathmandu

Always placed at the center of the prayer hall in a monastery, tormas are ritual cakes usually hand molded from roasted barley flour and butter. They are dyed with different colors and every torma has a special meaning. They could represent a deity or a mandala and also offering or un-attachment. For this workshop you will make something basic that will be completed in three hours. Shechen Tamang, who has been doing this for 12 years, will guide you. After you finish making the torma, you will then be taken inside a prayer hall too. The cost of the workshop is Rs 2,500, which includes all tools and materials. Call 9818421646. 

Trek to Chandrakot 
In Pokhara

Chandrakot is the perfect hike if you are on a short vacation and looking for a quick indulgence in the Annapurna range. A short drive from Pokhara will take you to Lumle, from where you can begin your trek to Chandrakot, poised on a high ridge, while enjoying the trademark panoramas of the Annapurna region. This 1.5 hour novice-level trail will land you in the heart of the Gurung and Magar community overlooking all the majestic sights the range has to offer. If you are in Pokhara and want to go for a day hike, visit Chandrakot.

Q.    One thing you do to cheer yourself up?
A.    Be alone so that I can recollect my thoughts.

Q.    If you could have coffee with one Nepali celebrity, who would it be?
A.    Bartika Eam Rai.

Q.    Best compliment you have received?
A.    Someone recently messaged me saying that listening to my songs makes him feel better. I feel happy about it. 

Q.    What inspires you the most?
A.    Listening to pop songs. I grew up listening to them and that made me want to become a singer myself.

Q.    If you could wish for anything…
A.    Happiness for myself and people close to me.

Q.    What is the most precious thing that you own?
A.    My late great-grandmother left me a ring. It is the most precious thing to me.

Q.    One Nepali singer you absolutely admire and why?
A.    Bartika Eam Rai because I find her music to be very real, raw and different from others.

Turkish Airlines photography awards

The winners of the “Skylife Photography Contest” organized by Turkish Airlines got their awards during a ceremony this week in Istanbul. Organized internationally for the third year, the theme of this year’s Contest was “Discover”. The award ceremony held at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center was attended by Turkey’s Education Minister Ziya Selçuk, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee M. İlker Aycı. Minister Selçuk, Çavuşoğlu and Aycı presented the awards to the top three contestants. The winner of the Turkish Airlines Grand Prize was Fei Xie, while the second prize was won by Mustafa Kurtbaş. The third prize went to Thi Ha Maung.

Daraz back with ‘11.11’ 

Daraz, the country’s leading online marketplace, has officially announced that the second edition of ‘EkDinKoSale’ i.e. 11.11 sale will kick off at midnight on November 11, offering customers a unique experience that will go beyond retail.  

November 11 was known as the Singles Day in China that celebrated singlehood. But things changed in 2009 when Alibaba launched the first 11.11 shopping event on that day, offering heavy discounts on its Tmall shopping platform. The mega sale event has now become a global phenomenon and takes place annually right through the Alibaba global ecosystem including all Daraz markets. Daraz introduced the 11.11 sale in Nepal in 2018 after its acquisition by Alibaba. Last year Daraz witnessed an 80x increase in sales on that single day.