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Kathmandu: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is arriving in Kathmandu this night in the course of his four-day official visit to Nepal at the invitation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud will greet the UN Secretary-General at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. 

On the first day of his visit on Sunday, Secretary-General Guterres is scheduled to have a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel at the Office of the President and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. 

The Secretary-General will have separate meetings with Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli at the New Baneshwor-based Federal Parliament Building. 

Likewise, Guterres is also scheduled to hold separate meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister duo, Purna Bahadur Khadka and Narayankaji Shrestha. 

Following the meetings, he will observe the Patan Durbar Square, a heritage site of historical and archeological importance. 

Prime Minister Dahal will host a banquet reception on Sunday evening in honor of Secretary-General Guterres. 

In the course of his visit, the Secretary-General will move to Namche, Pokhara, Annapurna Base Camp and Lumbini on Monday. 

According to the Parliament Secretariat, he is scheduled to address the joint session of the federal parliament at 4.00 pm on Tuesday. 

Guterres, who is scheduled to visit Nepal first after assuming the UN Secretary-General post in 2017 will discuss the matters relating to the peace process, sustainable development and climate change, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed. 

The upcoming high-level visit of the UN Secretary-General taking place after a hiatus of around 15 years has been taken with importance.

Dhaka: Police in Bangladesh’s capital fired tear gas to disperse supporters of the main opposition party who threw stones at security forces during a massive rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee general elections next year.

At least one policeman died and dozens of others were injured, alongside scores of opposition supporters, police and witnesses said.

Dhaka police spokesman Faruk Hossain told The Associated Press that violence late Saturday raged in at least 10 spots in Dhaka, where security forces confronted opposition activists who attacked them, vandalized vehicles and torched vehicles.

An opposition spokesman, Zahiruddin Swapan, said more than 1m activists joined their rally, but Hossain put the number at about 200,000.

The violence broke out at the Kakrail area in Dhaka when activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia allegedly attacked a bus carrying the ruling Awami League’s members to a separate rally a few blocks away, witnesses and media reports said.

Footage on Somoy TV station showed a roadside police box was on fire, torched vehicles and shattered glass from a building. Violence spread by Saturday afternoon as security officials fired sound grenades and tear gas at the rally venue where Zia’s supporters chanted anti-government slogans.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of Zia’s party, announced a daylong general strike across the country on Sunday, accusing security forces of ruining a “peaceful” rally.

“Our rally was peaceful. But the authorities have used excessive force to ruin our rally. They attacked our people mercilessly,” Swapan said.

Ekattor TV station reported that a police hospital also was attacked. An Associated Press team at the scene said that violence had spread in the area and many people took cover in nearby alleys.

The ruling party had earlier warned that any attempt to trigger violence would be met with force.

Authorities deployed about 10,000 police while paramilitary border guards were also seen near the opposition’s rally site.

In the southeastern district of Chattogram, Hasina criticized the opposition for holding the rally, saying that Zia’s party was attempting to derail her government’s development agenda.

“Today BNP (Zia’s party) wants to oust the government. They are giving various types of threats to launch a movement ... No threat will work,” she told a huge rally at Anwara in Chattogram, where she inaugurated a Chinese-built underwater tunnel.

The opposition says it is attempting a final push to remove Hasina as the Election Commission prepares to announce the country’s 12th national election, expected to be held in January.

The rivalry between Hasina and Zia has been ongoing for decades, and Hasina’s government has been under pressure for months as the opposition has held largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations.

Alamgir, secretary-general of Zia’s party, said it would continue to push for the resignation of Hasina's administration and the installation of a caretaker government.

“We don’t trust this government. They must go first to hold a free and fair election. Otherwise they would rig the election,” he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Hasina hopes to return to power for a fourth consecutive term and says the election should be held under her government’s supervision as specified in the constitution.

The US State Department said in September it was taking steps to impose visa restrictions on individuals responsible for undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh. They include members of law enforcement, the ruling party and the opposition.

The Biden administration has made the push for free and fair elections in Bangladesh “a prime focus of its democracy promotion policy abroad,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.

The imposition of visa restrictions followed previous measures including restrictions on the country’s elite anti-crime force. Rights groups and the US say the force, which has been credited for effectively handling Islamist militancy in the country, is responsible for many enforced disappearances of government critics and opposition activists. The restrictions have resulted in a decrease in the number of deaths in so-called “cross-fire” incidents in recent months, media reports said.

Rights groups and the US also criticized the government for enacting a controversial cybersecurity law, saying it is designed to silence critics and the opposition, an allegation authorities deny. Critics have also slammed the recent jailing and subsequent release on bail of two Bangladeshi rights activists.

Hasina recently told parliament that the US wants to remove her from power at any cost. But the opposition and critics have welcomed the move by the US, which is the largest importer of Bangladesh’s garment products.

Reactions to the US move in Bangladesh have broken down along partisan lines, Kugelman said. Hasina’s administration slammed it as “meddling” while many critics welcomed it, saying they hope it will push back against what they view as Hasina’s growing authoritarianism.

Recent elections in Bangladesh, especially the last one in 2018, were widely believed by the West to be flawed. The Awami League party doesn’t have a good track record of overseeing free and fair elections since Hasina returned to power in 2008.

Kugelman said the government and opposition “are on a collision course” and that “there’s a good chance we could see an election with no opposition participation.”

AP

Jerusalem: As an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip looms in its most devastating war yet with Hamas, one of the greatest threats to both its troops and the 2.3m Palestinians trapped inside the seaside enclave is buried deep underground.

An extensive labyrinth of tunnels built by the Hamas militant group stretches across the densely populated strip, hiding fighters, their rocket arsenal and over 200 hostages they now hold after an unprecedented Oct 7 attack on Israel.

Clearing and collapsing those tunnels will be crucial if Israel seeks to dismantle Hamas. But fighting in densely populated urban areas and moving underground could strip the Israeli military of some of its technological advantages while giving an edge to Hamas both above and below ground.

“I usually say it’s like walking down the street waiting to get punched in the face,” said John Spencer, a retired US Army major and the chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Urban defenders, he added, “had time to think about where they are going to be and there’s millions of hidden locations they can be in. They get to choose the time of the engagement—you can’t see them but they can see you.”

Overnight on Saturday, the Israeli military said its warplanes struck 150 underground Hamas targets in northern Gaza, describing them as tunnels, combat spaces and other underground infrastructure. The strikes—what appeared to be Israel's most significant bombardment of tunnels yet—came as it ramped up its ground operations in Gaza.

What the past has shown

Tunnel warfare has been a feature of history, from the Roman siege of the ancient Greek city of Ambracia to Ukrainian fighters holding off Russian forces in 24 kilometers (15 miles) of Soviet-era tunnels beneath Mariupol’s Azovstal Iron and Steel Works for some 80 days in 2022.

The reason is simple: tunnel battles are considered some of the most difficult for armies to fight. A determined enemy in a tunnel or cave system can pick where the fight will start—and often determine how it will end—given the abundant opportunities for ambush.

That’s especially true in the Gaza Strip, home to Hamas’ tunnel system that Israel has named the “Metro.”

When Israel and Egypt imposed a punishing blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007, the militant group expanded construction of its tunnel network to smuggle in weapons and other contraband from Egypt. While Egypt later shut down most of those cross-border tunnels, Hamas is now believed to have a massive underground network stretching throughout Gaza, allowing it to transport weapons, supplies and fighters out of the sight of Israeli drones.

Yehiyeh Sinwar, Hamas’ political leader, claimed in 2021 that the militant group had 500 kilometers (310 miles) of tunnels. The Gaza Strip itself is only some 360 square kilometers (140 square miles), roughly twice the size of Washington, DC.

“They started saying that they destroyed 100 kilometers (62 miles) of Hamas tunnels. I am telling you that the tunnels we have in the Gaza Strip exceed 500 kilometers,” Sinwar said following a bloody 11-day war with Israel. “Even if their narrative is true, they only destroyed 20 percent of the tunnels.”

The Israeli military has known of the threat since at least 2001, when Hamas used a tunnel to detonate explosives under an Israeli border post. Since 2004, the Israeli military’s Samur, or “Weasels," detachment has focused on locating and destroying tunnels, sometimes with remote-controlled robots. Those going inside carry oxygen, masks and other gear.

Israel has bombed from the air and used explosives on the ground to destroy tunnels in the past. But fully dislodging Hamas will require clearing those tunnels, where militants can pop up behind advancing Israeli troops.

During a 2014 war, Hamas militants killed at least 11 Israeli soldiers after infiltrating into Israel through tunnels. In another incident, an Israeli officer, Lt Hadar Goldin, was dragged into a tunnel inside Gaza and killed. Hamas has been holding Goldin’s remains since then.

Ariel Bernstein, a former Israeli soldier who fought in that war, described urban combat in northern Gaza as a mix of “ambushes, traps, hideouts, snipers.”

He recalled the tunnels as having a disorienting, surreal effect, creating blind spots as Hamas fighters popped up out of nowhere to attack.

“It was like I was fighting ghosts,” he said. “You don't see them.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday said he expected a difficult ground offensive, warning it “will take a long time” to dismantle Hamas’ vast network of tunnels. As part of the strategy, Israel has blocked all fuel shipments into Gaza since the war erupted. Gallant said that Hamas would confiscate fuel for generators that pump air into the tunnel network. “For air, they need oil. For oil, they need us,” he said.

The Israeli military also said Friday it had carried out “very meaningful” airstrikes on underground targets.

Typically, modern militaries have relied on punishing airstrikes to collapse tunnels. Israeli strikes in Gaza so far in this war have killed over 7,300 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. But those strikes can inflict only limited damage on the subterranean network.

US forces fighting the Vietnam War struggled to clear the 120-kilometer (75-mile) network known as the Củ Chi tunnels, in which American soldiers faced tight corners, booby traps and sometimes pitch-dark conditions in the outskirts of what was then Saigon, South Vietnam. Even relentless B-52 bombing never destroyed the tunnels. Nor did Russian strikes on the Ukrainian steel mill in 2022.

Underlining how tough tunnels can be to destroy, America used a massive explosive against an Islamic State group tunnel system in Afghanistan in 2017 called “the mother of all bombs,” the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US military.

An additional layer of complexity

Yet in all those cases, advancing militaries did not face the challenge that Israel does now with Hamas’ tunnel system. The militant group holds some 200 hostages that it captured in the Oct 7 assault, which also killed more than 1,400 people.

Hamas' release on Monday of 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz confirmed suspicions that the militants had put hostages in the tunnels. Lifshitz described Hamas militants spiriting her into a tunnel system that she said “looked like a spider web.”

Clearing the tunnels with hostages trapped inside likely will be a “slow, methodical process,” with the Israelis relying on robots and other intelligence to map tunnels and their potential traps, according to the Soufan Center, a New York security think tank.

“Given the methodical planning involved in the attack, it seems likely that Hamas will have devoted significant time planning for the next phase, conducting extensive preparation of the battlefield in Gaza,” the Soufan Center wrote in a briefing. “The use of hostages as human shields will add an additional layer of complexity to the fight.”

The potential fighting facing Israeli soldiers also will be claustrophobic and terrifying. Many of the Israeli military's technological advantages will collapse, giving militants the edge, warned Daphné Richemond-Barak, a professor at Israel’s Reichman University who wrote a book on underground warfare.

“When you enter a tunnel, it’s very narrow, and it’s dark and it’s moist, and you very quickly lose a sense of space and time," Richemond-Barak told The Associated Press. “You have this fear of the unknown, who’s coming around the corner? … Is this going to be an ambush? Nobody can come and rescue you. You can barely communicate with the outside world, with your unit.”

The battlefield could force the Israeli military into firefights in which hostages may be accidentally killed. Explosive traps also could detonate, burying alive both soldiers and the hostages, Richemond-Barak said.

Even with those risks, she said the tunnels must be destroyed for Israel to achieve its military objectives.

“There’s a job that needs to get done and it will be done now,” she said.

AP

Gandaki: The United Nations Secretary-General is scheduled to make an official visit to Nepal, starting tomorrow, Sunday. This visit marks his first trip to Nepal since assuming office in 2017. During the visit, the UN Secretary-General is planning to visit the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC), creating excitement among local tourism entrepreneurs.

Dilip Gurung, the secretary of the Chhomrong Tourism Committee, expressed his pride in the visit, saying, “It is undoubtedly a matter of great pride for all of us that a highly distinguished personality like the UN Secretary-General will be visiting the ABC. We anticipate that his visit will further enhance the global recognition and reputation of Nepal’s mountain tourism, including the Annapurna Base Camp and the entire region.”

The Annapurna Base Camp is currently witnessing a significant influx of domestic tourists during the Dashain holidays, with hotels fully occupied by local visitors.

According to Gurung, tourism in the ABC has faced challenges in recent years due to the 2015 earthquake, a severe storm a few years ago, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite these setbacks, the area is now experiencing a resurgence in tourism, with approximately 400 internal tourists visiting the Base Camp on a single day, as reported on Friday.

This region is a renowned tourist destination and can be reached via a three-day trek from Ghandruk in Kaski. Those seeking a more extended trek can choose the route from Naya Pul (New Bridge) along the Pokhara-Baglung Highway.

The Annapurna trekking route, which includes the majestic Annapurna Peak, the tenth highest mountain in the world, is considered one of the most spectacular trekking routes globally, according to Dharmaraj Panthi, the President of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) Gandaki.

Traditionally, this area welcomes tourists from various parts of the world, including Europe, the United States of America, Malaysia, China, and Korea. The successful ascent of Annapurna I by French mountaineer Maurice Herzog in 1950 significantly contributed to the global fascination with mountain tourism.

Situated at an elevation of 4,130 meters above sea level, the ABC gained further popularity for trekking tourism after Eric Shipton’s historic trek here in 1966.

Kathmandu: The newly-appointed Secretary-General of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Golam Sarwar, has assumed office. He began his duties last Tuesday following approval by the SAARC Council of Ministers, as announced by the Kathmandu-based SAARC Secretariat today. 

Ambassador Golam Sarwar is the 15th Secretary-General of SAARC and the third to hail from the Government of Bangladesh.

As a career diplomat, Ambassador Sarwar has served in various capacities both domestically and internationally. Before this assignment, he served as Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Malaysia, the Sultanate of Oman, and Sweden, concurrently accredited to Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.

Throughout his extensive diplomatic career, Ambassador Sarwar has represented Bangladesh on numerous occasions in various regional and international forums.

Born in July 1966, Ambassador Sarwar holds a Master of Commerce/Business Degree from the University of Dhaka and has received advanced diplomatic training in Germany.

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed hope that the upcoming visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Nepal would help enhance Nepal’s reputation globally. Speaking at a festival reception organized today by the Nepali Congress at the party central office in Sanepa on the occasion of Kojagrat Purnima, the Prime Minister highlighted the significance of the visit in addressing the needs of Nepali citizens.

During his Nepal visit, the UN Secretary-General is expected to address issues related to climate change, Nepal’s peace process, and its economic development goals, according to the Prime Minister. He also said that Nepal would welcome the Emir of Qatar just after the UN Secretary-General’s visit, noting that these high-level visits reflect Nepal’s successful diplomacy. 

The UN Secretary-General’s visit to Nepal is scheduled to take place from Oct 29 to Nov 1, at an invitation from the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister highlighted that such festival receptions not only contribute to promoting unity in the political sphere but also lead the nation toward political stability. 

He extended his best wishes to NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, party leaders, and cadres on the occasions of Dashain, Tihar, Nepal Sambat, and Chhath festivals.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the festival reception tradition initiated by NC leader BP Koirala, which has been observed annually on Kojagrat Purnima, the last day of the Dashain festival, since the year 2034 BS, has its role in promoting political understanding and goodwill.

Kathmandu: Various Nepali movies have got featured in the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2023 underway since Friday.

Nepali filmmakers have already reached Mumbai to participate in the festival that will run till Nov 5. Organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), the festival showcases 250 films from 70 countries, competing in various categories.

From Nepal, 'Gaun Ayeko Bato' (A Road to a Village) is participating in the South Asia Premier category, while 'The Red Suitcase' and 'Gurans' (Rhododendron) are competing in the South Asia Competition. 'Bahadur: The Brave,' directed by Diwa Shah, is also a part of the competition.

In the short films category, 'Helena' and 'WindHorse' are representing Nepal, and 'Chiso Ghar' (A Bleak Home) has been selected for its world premiere under the Focus South Asia category.

Bidushi Giri the director of 'Chiso Ghar,' expressed her excitement about participating in the film festival, saying, "I am eagerly looking forward to sharing film techniques, skills, and experiences with fellow filmmakers at the event. I'm also excited to watch the films selected for the festival and receive feedback on my work."

The participation of Nepali cinema in such event is expected to gain the global recognition for the Nepali film industry and attract investments for the production of Nepali movies.

Jerusalem: Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said Saturday, signaling a further escalation in its campaign to crush the territory's ruling militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago.

Fighter jets hit dozens of underground targets, the military said. As part of the stepped-up bombardment, Israel also knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information, largely cutting off the 2.3m people in besieged Gaza from contact with the outside world.

The Israeli military said Friday it was expanding ground operations in the territory, another sign that it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza. Military officials have said a key target would be Hamas' extensive network of tunnels and underground bunkers, much of it located under Gaza City in the north of the territory.

Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours after nightfall Friday.

The Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused “complete disruption” of internet, cellular and landline services. The cutoff meant that casualties from strikes and details of ground incursions could not immediately be known. Some satellite phones continued to function.

Already plunged into darkness after most electricity was cut off weeks ago, Palestinians were thrown into isolation, huddling in homes and shelters with food and water supplies running out. Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were largely unsuccessful early Saturday.

Relatives outside Gaza panicked after their messaging chats with families inside suddenly went dead and calls stopped going through.

Wafaa Abdul Rahman, director of a feminist organization based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said she hadn't heard for hours from family in central Gaza. “We’ve been seeing these horrible things and massacres when it’s live on TV, so now what will happen when there’s a total blackout?” she said, referring to scenes of families that have been crushed in homes by airstrikes over the past weeks.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said ground forces were “expanding their activity” Friday evening in Gaza and “acting with great force... to achieve the objectives of the war.” Israel says its strikes target Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the militants operate from among civilians, putting them in danger.

The Hamas media center reported heavy nighttime clashes with Israeli forces at several places, including what it said was an Israeli incursion east of the refugee camp of Bureij in the central Gaza Strip. Asked about the report, the Israeli military reiterated early Saturday that it had been carrying out targeted raids and expanding strikes with the aim of “preparing the ground for future stages of the operation.”

Israel has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border ahead of an expected ground offensive. Since mid-week, the military has reported nightly hours-long raids by ground forces into Gaza, saying troops struck Hamas targets with the aim of preparing the battlefield.

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has soared past 7,300, more than 60 percent of them minors and women, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. A blockade on Gaza has meant dwindling supplies, and the UN warned that its aid operation helping hundreds of thousands of people was “crumbling” amid near-depleted fuel.

More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during Hamas’ Oct 7 attack, according to the Israeli government, and at least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza. Among those killed were at least 310 soldiers, according to the military.

Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel.

The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous Israel-Hamas wars, estimated at around 4,000.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Friday that Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza soon. It “will take a long time” to dismantle Hamas’ vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expects a lengthy phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys “pockets of resistance.”

His comments pointed to a potentially grueling and open-ended new phase of the war after three weeks of relentless bombardment. Israel has said it aims to crush Hamas’ rule in Gaza and its ability to threaten Israel. But how Hamas’ defeat will be measured and an invasion’s endgame remain unclear. Israel says it does not intend to rule the tiny territory but not who it expects to govern—even as Gallant suggested a long-term insurgency could ensue.

In Washington, the Pentagon said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Gallant on Friday and “underscored the importance of protecting civilians during the Israel Defense Forces’ operations and focusing on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza.” The Pentagon said Austin also brought up “the need for Hamas to release all of the hostages.”

The conflict has threatened to ignite a wider war across the region. Arab nations—including US allies and ones that have reached peace deals or normalized ties with Israel — have raised increasing alarm over a potential ground invasion, likely to bring even higher casualties amid urban fighting.

With no electricity, no communications and no water, many of those trapped in Gaza had little choice but to wait in their homes or seek the relative safety of schools and hospitals as Israel expanded its bombing early Saturday.

Throughout the night, orange fireballs exploded on the horizon above the apartment buildings and refugee camps of Gaza City, briefly illuminating clouds of white smoke hanging in the air from previous strikes. Some bombs hit in tight groups, apparently slamming into the same location.

Lynn Hastings, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the occupied territories, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that without phone lines and internet, hospitals and aid operations would be unable to operate. The Red Crescent said it could not contact medical teams and residents could no longer call ambulances, meaning rescuers would have to chase the sound of explosions to find the wounded. International aid groups said they were only able to reach a few staffers using satellite phones.

The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm, saying the world “is losing a window into the reality” of the conflict. It warned that the information vacuum “can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis- and misinformation.”

The loss of internet and phones deals a further blow to a medical and aid system that relief workers say was already on the verge of collapse under Israel’s weekslong seal. More than 1.4m people have fled their homes, nearly half crowding into U.N. schools and shelters. Aid workers say a trickle of aid Israel has allowed to enter from Egypt the past week is a tiny fraction of what is needed.

Gaza hospitals have been scrounging for fuel to run emergency generators that power incubators and other life-saving equipment.

Gallant said Israel believes that Hamas would confiscate any fuel that enters. He said Hamas uses generators to pump air into its hundreds of kilometers (miles) of tunnels, which originate in civilian areas. He showed reporters aerial footage of what he said was a tunnel shaft built right next to a hospital.

AP