Liberal Party of Australia Victoria Division/AAP Image
Nitin Gursahani was the candidate for the seat of Thomastown but a Liberal Party spokesman has confirmed he is no longer endorsed.

Sunny Leone – an Indo-Canadian adult film star and model

Nitin Gursahani, a Victorian Liberal Party candidate who reportedly planned to bring a Bollywood adult film star to Melbourne before the state election has been sacked. News Corp Australia reports Mr Gursahani’s family’s company Kiren Australia, of which Mr Gursahani is marketing manager, is sponsoring an event at Toorak featuring Sunny Leone on the night before the November 29 election. Ms Leone is an Indo-Canadian adult film star and model.

A Victorian Liberal Party candidate who reportedly planned to bring a Bollywood adult film star to Melbourne before the state election has been sacked.

Nitin Gursahani was the candidate for the seat of Thomastown but a Liberal Party spokesman has confirmed he is no longer endorsed.

News Corp Australia reports Mr Gursahani’s family’s company Kiren Australia, of which Mr Gursahani is marketing manager, is sponsoring an event at Toorak featuring Sunny Leone on the night before the November 29 election.

Ms Leone is an Indo-Canadian adult film star and model.

Mr Gursahani’s phone number was listed with online advertisements for one of her Melbourne events, News Corp says.

A Liberal Party spokesman said on Saturday night that Mr Gursahani was not forthcoming in the application process.

“This material does not reflect the values that underpin our party,” he said in a statement.

Mr Gursahani is the second Victorian Liberal to lose his candidacy for the 2014 poll. Sydenham hopeful John Varano quit last Sunday over allegations he assaulted his former wife seven years ago.

Mr Varano categorically denies the charges, which he says were dismissed by a US court.

@MSN

By Melissa Siegel

“The bed’s gettin’ cold and you’re not here,” Selena Gomez sings in “The Heart Wants What It Wants. “The future that we hold is so unclear / But I’m not alive until you call / And now I bet the odds against it all / Save your advice, ’cause I won’t hear / You might be right, but I don’t care / There’s a million reasons why I should give you up / But the heart wants what it wants / The heart wants what it wants.”

Selena Gomez’s gorgeous AMAs performance just featured her standing in the middle of the stage, the anger visible on her face. The backdrop changed from images like stormy clouds, exploding roses, and a tear-filled eye. By the end of the song, Gomez herself was breaking down on stage, at one point even mouthing, “Thank You Jesus.”

Watch Selena Gomez perform “The Heart Wants What It Wants” at the 2014 AMAs.

While Selena Gomez nailed her American Music Awards performance, she admitted this week she was “nervous” about performing “The Heart Wants What It Wants” live for the first time.  On Monday, she posted the Instagram photo below with the caption, “Rehearsing for the AMAs. Wasn’t prepared for how nervous Id be, I mean I’ve done this before. But now it’s just me.”

The original video of the song

Text of the song:

When I was on, when I was on stage
And I was thinking of..
I felt like I know
I know him though
And I know that, and I know his heart
And I know what he wouldn’t do to hurt me
But I didn’t realize that I-I-I
Feeling so confident, feeling so great about myself
And then it just be completely shattered
By one thing, by something so stupid
But then you make me feel crazy
You make me feel like it’s my fault
I was in pain

[Intro]
What the heart wants
What the heart wants
What the heart wants

[Verse 1]
You got me sipping on something
I can’t compare to nothing
I’ve ever known, I’m hoping
That after this fever I’ll survive
I know I’m acting a bit crazy
Strung out, a little bit hazy
Hand over heart, I’m praying
That I’m gonna make it out alive

[Pre-Chorus]
The bed’s getting cold and you’re not here
The future that we hold is so unclear
But I’m not alive until you call
And I’ll bet the odds against it all
Save your advice cause I won’t hear
You might be right, but I don’t care
There’s a million reasons
Why I should give you up

[Chorus]
But the heart wants what it wa-a-a-a-a-nts
The heart wants what it wa-a-a-a-a-nts

[Verse 2]
You got me scattered in pieces
Shining like stars and screaming
Lighting me up like Venus
But then you disappear and make me wait
And every second’s like torture
Heroin drip, no more so
Finding a way to let go
Baby, baby, no I can’t escape

[Pre-Chorus]

[Chorus – Extended]
But the heart wants what it wa-a-a-a-a-nts
The heart wants what it wa-a-a-a-a-nts
The heart wants what it wa-a-a-a-a-nts
The heart wants what it wa-a-a-a-a-nts

[Bridge]
This is a modern
Fairytale
No happy ending
No wind in our sails
But I can’t imagine
A life without
Breathless moments
Breaking me down, down, down, down

[Pre-Chorus]

[Chorus – Extended]

[Outro]
The heart wants what it wants, baby
The heart wants what it wants, baby
It wants what it wants
It wants what it wants

Filed under: Global Tagged: American Music Awards, American Music Awards 2014, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, The Heart Wants What It Wants

रामकुमार श्रेष्ठ

दक्षिण एशियाली मुलुकहरु बीच कृषि, ग्रामीण बिकास, संचार, यातायात, कला, संस्कृति, खेलकूद जस्ता बिभिन्न नौ क्षेत्रमा क्षेत्रीय सदभाब कायम गर्ने अभिप्रायले ८ डिसेम्बर १९८५ मा बंगलादेश, भुटान, भारत, मालदिभस, नेपाल, पाकिस्तान र श्रीलंकाका सरकार तथा राष्ट्र प्रमुखहरुले सार्क स्थापनालाई औपचारिक रुप दिए । भारतको प्रस्ताबमा १३ नोभेम्बर २००५ मा अफगानिस्तानलाई ल्याइयो र ३ अप्रिल २००७ मा यस्ले सदस्यता लिएपछि सार्कको सदस्य संख्या ८ पुग्यो । बिभिन्न चरणमा गरेर अस्ट्रेलिया, चीन, यूरोपियन युनियन, ईरान, जापान, मौरिटस, म्यानमार (बर्मा), दक्षिण कोरिया र अमेरिका गरी नौ मुलुकहरु पर्यबेक्षकको रुपमा छन । २०१२ मा दक्षिण अफ्रिका सहभागी भएको थियो । इण्डोनेसिया र रसिया सार्कको पर्यबेक्षकको रुपमा आउन  चाहन्छन भने चीन, ईरान र म्यानमार सदस्यको रुपमा । ईरान र म्यानमारलाई सदस्यता दिने संबन्धमा कुनै बिबाद छैन, तर चीनलाई सार्कको सदस्यता दिलाइनु पर्छ भन्ने पक्षमा पाकिस्तान र बंगलादेश देखा परेका छन र हाल नेपाल पनि यही पक्षमा देखिन्छ, तर भारतको लागि भने यो प्रस्ताब सहज रुपमा पाच्य हुन सक्ने देखिदैन ।

चीनले सार्कका अन्य सदस्य मुलुकहरु पाकिस्तान, बंगलादेश र श्रीलंकासंग निकै सकृय रुपले सार्कमा आफनो उपस्थिति जनाउन लबिङ गरिसकेको छ । चीनको विकास र स्थायित्वको लागि दक्षिण एसियाको भौगोलिक र रणनीतिक महत्वबारे चीनले नयाँ ढंगले अघि बढ्ने सोँच वनाएपछि अहिले चीनको दक्षिण एसिया नीति आक्रमक बन्दै गएको देखिन्छ ।

एशियाका शक्ति राष्ट्रहरु चीन र भारत अमेरिकाका संभाव्य प्रतिष्पर्धी हुनु, अमेरिकाको राष्ट्रिय सुरक्षा परिषदले तयार पारेको र त्यहाँको सरकारले स्वीकार गरी अपनाएको “एशिया – २०२५” नामक रणनीतिक दस्तावेजले २१ औँ शताब्दीको पहिलो चौथाईमा आफ्नो ध्यान दक्षिण एशियामा केन्द्रित हुनु पर्छु भन्दै ह्वाइट हाउसले आफ्नो दूरगामी लक्ष्य प्रष्ट पार्नु र अमेरिका आफ्नो प्रतिस्पर्धी नजन्मोस् भन्ने चाहनु अनि सार्कमा जे जस्ता मुलुकहरु पर्यबेक्षक र सदस्यको रुपमा आइरहेका र आउन चाहेको देखिन्छ यस्ले दक्षिण एशिया बिस्व राजनीतिको एउटा महत्वपूर्ण केन्द्र हुन आएको देखिन्छ ।

नजिकिंदो सार्क सम्मेलन र तातिदो दौडधुप:                     

आगामी कार्तिक अन्तिम साता सार्कको १८औ सम्मेलन आयोजना गर्न लागेको मुलुकका प्रधानमन्त्री सुशिल कोइरालासंग चिनियाँ उप प्रधानमन्त्री वाङ याङले सम्मेलन सफलताको लागि आफूहरुले गर्नुपर्ने सहयोगका लागि प्रस्ताव पेश गर्न आग्रह गरेर चीनले सार्कप्रतिको चासोलाई उजागार गरेको छ । त्यस्को केही साताअघि नव निर्वाचित भारतीय प्रधानमन्त्री नरेन्द्र मोदीको सपथ ग्रहण समारोहमा सार्क सदस्यहरु सहित त्यसको पर्यबेक्षक मुलुकलाई समेत निम्ता गर्दा चीनलाई निमन्त्रण नगर्ने मात्रै नभएर चीनलाई चिढाउने गरी भारतमा निर्वासित जीवन विताइरहेका तिव्वतीहरुको अवैधानिक सरकारका प्रतिनिधीलाई समेत विशिष्ट अतिथिका रुपमा समारोहमा समावेश गरियो । चीनसँग राम्रो सम्वन्ध रहेकै कारण आफूसंग सिमा जोडिएको म्यानमारलाई समेत समारोहमा ल्याइएन ।

भारतका प्रधानमन्त्री भए लगत्तै नरेन्द्र मोदीले छिमेकसँगको सम्बन्धलाई कूटनीतिक प्राथमिकतामा राखी तत्कालै भुटान, जापान र नेपाल भ्रमण गरी आक्रामक कदम बढाए । बेइजिङ भने अलि फरक रुपमा प्रस्तुत भयो – मध्य एसियाको ताजकस्तान, मालदिभ्स, श्रीलंका र भारत पुगेका राष्ट्रपति जिनपिङ पाकिस्तानको भ्रमण प्राबिधिक कारण देखाएर रद्ध गरे र नेपाल भ्रमणलाई तत्कालै प्राथमिकतामा पारी भारतलाई टकराव दिएको देखाउन चाहेन । आफू गुजरातको मुख्यमन्त्री हुँदा पश्चिमले बहिस्कार गर्दा समेत चार पटक राम्रो स्वागत गर्ने चीनलाई प्रधानमन्त्री हुँदा भने सार्क सम्मेलन नजिकिंदै गर्दा बेवास्ता गर्नुको जवाफमा राष्ट्रपति जिनपिङले भारतकै भ्रमण गरी आगामी ५ बर्षमा २० बिलियन डलरको लगानीको प्रतिबद्धता जाहेर गरेर दिए । यस्का पछाडि मोदीको जापान भ्रमणको कुटनीतिले पनि काम गरेको छ । हुन त आगामी ५ बर्षमा जापानको ३५ बिलियन डलर लगानीको भन्दा धेरै गुणा बढी १०० बिलियन डलरको सहयोगको हल्ला चलाइएको थियो । यस्ले भारत र चीनको बिल्कुलै फरक कुटनीतिक शैलीलाई उजागार गर्छ ।

चीनको प्रबेश नै किन?

सार्क प्रबेशको प्रसंगमा आएका सबै राष्ट्रहरुको प्रबेशको आ-आफ्नै किसिमका महत्वहरु हुन सक्छन तापनि बिभिन्न कारणले गर्दा बिशेषत: चीनको प्रबेशले थुप्रै सकारात्मक संभाबनाहरुको ढोका खोल्न सक्ने संभाबनालाई नकार्न सकिन्न । २००२ मा काठमाण्डौंमा भएको सार्कको शिखर सम्मेलनमा पाकिस्तानका परवेज मुशर्रफले भारतीय प्रधानमन्त्री अटल बिहारी वाजपेयीसंग अनपेक्षित तवरले जसरी हात मिलाए, त्यत्ति घटनाले विश्वभरी संचार जगतमा सनसनी नै फैलायो भने त्यस्तै किसिमको सकारात्मक बातावरण चीन र भारतका प्रतिनिधि बीच पनि दोहोरिने बातावरण एउटै साझा मन्चको रुपमा सार्कलाई बनाएर तयार गर्न सकिएको खण्डमा विस्व शान्तिको लागि नयाँ थप आयाम प्रदान गर्न सक्छ । लामो समय संबादहीन अवस्थामा बस्दाभन्दा नियमित भेटघाटले वार्ताका संभाबनाहरु बढाउने भएकोले चीनको सार्क प्रबेशले भारत चीन संबाद बढन गै दुई देश बीच बिद्यमान समस्या न्यूनिकरणका संभाबनालाई बढाउन सक्छ भन्ने कुरामा आशाबादी हुन सकिन्छ ।

पछिल्ला बर्षहरुमा सार्क सम्मेलन वार्षिक रुपमा सदस्यहरु भेटघाट र कुराकानी गर्नेभन्दा कुनै उल्लेख्य उपलब्धी हासिल गर्न नसकेको आरोप लागि रहेको बेलामा चीनको प्रबेशले शक्तिको होडमा लागिरहेका मुलुकहरुको जमघटका कारण हैसियत प्रदर्शनकै खातिर पनि संस्थाले नयाँ गति लिन सक्ने कुरालाई नकार्न सकिन्न । शक्ति सन्तुलनका कारण यस क्षेत्रमा यस किसिमबाट शान्ति स्थापनामा सकारात्मक बातावरण तयार हुन सकेको खण्डमा यस क्षेत्रमा देखा परेको राजनीतिक, सामाजिक र आर्थिक पछौटेपनको कायापलट हुन सक्ने कुरामा समेत आशाबादी हुन सकिन्छ ।

भारत—चीनको मित्रवत् सम्बन्धका कारण बिशेष गरी दुई देशको असहज सम्बन्धले गर्दा मारमा पर्ने साना देशहरुमा सकारात्मक प्रभाब पर्नु स्वभाबिकै हो । यस्को लागि पनि चीन सार्कमा हुनु आबस्यक देखिन्छ ।

सोभियत संघको बिघटन पूर्व भारतको सोभियत संघसंग र पाकिस्तानको अमेरिकासंग निकटता थियो, तर शीत युद्धको समाप्तीसंगै बिस्वको समीकरणमा आएको परिवर्तनले भारतलाई अमेरिकासंग नजिक्याएको छ भने पाकिस्तानलाई चीनसंग । अहिलेसम्मको अबस्थामा यस क्षेत्रको समस्यालाई या त भारत-चीन या त भारत-पाकिस्तान या त भारत-नेपाल जस्ता द्धीपक्षीय समस्याको रुपमा व्यबहार गर्ने गरिएको पाईन्छ र समस्या समाधानको लागि पनि तदनुरुप नै कार्य गरेको पाईन्छ । सार्कमा चीनको प्रबेशले यी मुलुकहरुको बीच बिद्यमान द्धीपक्षीय समस्या समाधानको लागि बृहत्तर संबादका संभाबना कारण समस्या समाधानको प्रयास बहुपक्षीयमा रुपान्तरण हुनसक्ने संभाबनालाई पनि नकार्न सकिन्न । कहिलेकांही यस किसिमको संभाबनाले पनि समस्या समाधानका नयाँ बिकल्पको उदय पनि हुन सक्छ । यस किसिमको संभाबना कमै हुने भए तापनि यस किसिमले समस्या समाधान हुनेतर्फ आशाबादी नै हुन नसकिने भन्ने पनि होइन ।

शक्ति असन्तुलन सामान्यत समस्याको कारण बन्न सक्छ – यो प्राकृतिक नियम हो । र प्रकृतिमा समस्या आफ्ना बिभिन्न स्वार्थ पूर्तिका लागि अनाबस्यक तवरले बुद्धिको प्रयोग गर्ने भएकाले मानबीय प्रबृतिका कारण देखा पर्ने गर्दछ । बिना स्वार्थ गरिने काम समस्याको कारक नहुने र कथंकदाचित भै हालेको खण्डमा पनि त्यस्को नकारात्मक असर न्यून हुन्छ । स्वार्थको प्रकृति अनुरुप त्यस्को असरको स्वरुप स्थानीय, राष्ट्रिय, क्षेत्रीय र बिस्वब्यापी हुन सक्छ । यदि सोभियत संघको विघटन नहुँदो हो त इराकसंग अमेरिका र यस्का सहयोगीहरुले युद्ध गर्थे गर्दैनथे यसै भन्न सकिन्न । इराक र अफगानिस्तानमा अमेरिका र यस्का केही समर्थक मुलुकहरुको बर्षेनी अरबौं डलर खर्चन पर्ने गरी सैनिक परिचालन गरिदैनथ्यो भने विस्वमा देखा परेको बर्तमान विस्व आर्थिक मन्दी देखा नपर्न पनि सक्थ्यो । अत: समस्या न्यूनिकरणको लागि हरेक ठाउँमा शक्ति सन्तुलन अपरिहार्य देखिन्छ । सार्क बिस्तार प्रसंगलाई पनि यसबाट अपबादको रुपमा राख्न सकिन्न ।

समस्या समाधानका संभाबित उपाय:

चीन, ईरान र म्यानमारलाई सार्क नामकै  कारण सदस्यको रुपमा ल्याउन समस्या देखिएको खण्डमा आबस्यक्ता नै परे सार्क नामलाई परिवर्तन गरेर पनि संभाबनाको ढोका खुल्ला गर्न नसकिने होइन किनकि संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघको पनि पहिला लिग अफ नेशन्स नाम थियो र यस्का उद्धेस्य र कार्य क्षेत्रहरु परिवर्तन गरी नाम परिवर्तन गरियो भने सार्कलाई आबस्यक परे यस्लाई सदस्य राष्ट्रहरुको हित र यस क्षेत्रको शान्ति प्रकृयामा दूरगामी असरलाई प्रभाबकारी बनाउन सकिन्छ भने यस्का उद्धेस्य र कार्य क्षेत्रहरु परिवर्तन गरी नाम परिवर्तन गर्न नसकिने भन्ने प्रश्न जटील बन्न नसक्ने देखिन्छ ।

ठूला दुइका बिपरित  स्वार्थ:

चीनले सार्क फोरमलाई प्रयोग गरेर आफनो विकास र प्रगतिका वाधकहरुवाट मुक्त रहने प्रयत्न गरेको देखिन्छ । त्यतिमात्र होइन चीनको उर्जा व्यापार र हिन्दमहासागरबाट हुने व्यापार र परिवहानको सुरक्षाका लागी समेत चीन दक्षिण एसियाली मुलुकहरुसंग हातेमालो गरेरै अगाडी बढ्ने मनस्थितिमा पुगेको देखिन्छ । समग्र दक्षिण एसियाको शान्ति स्थायित्व र समृद्धिसंग आफनो पनि विकास र प्रगति जोडिएका कारण चीन दक्षिण एसियाली मुलुकको मञ्चमा आफनो दरिलो र महत्वपूर्ण उपस्थिति राख्नै पर्ने निस्कर्षमा पुगेको वुझ्न कठिन छैन । अति तीव्र गतिमा आर्थिक विकास गरिरहेको चीनको सामाजिक मात्र होइन आर्थिक स्वार्थ समेत सार्कसंग जोडिएको छ । एसियाली स्तरको एउटा छुटै वैंक स्थापना गर्न प्रस्ताव अघि सारिसकेको चीनले पाकिस्तानमा तामा र फलाम खानी, अफगानिस्तानमा तामा खानी र म्यानमारमा ग्याँस र तेल उत्खनन कार्यमा लगानी गरिसकेको छ भने बंगलादेशमा ग्याँसमा लगानी गर्ने सोचमा छ । दक्षिण एसियाको कच्चा पदार्थ आफना उद्योगहरुको लागि उपयोग गर्ने चीनको सोच एउटै साझा मञ्चमा वसेर सम्पूर्ण दक्षिण एसियाली मुलुकसंग सहकार्यको हात अघि बढाउन सके मात्र कामकाजी हुने बुझेरै चीनले सार्कलाई उपयोग गर्ने रणनीति अवलोकन गरेको बुझ्न सकिन्छ । यस अलवा आफ्ना उत्पादनहरुको बजार विस्तारको लागि भारत, पाकिस्तान र बंगालादेश जस्ता ठूलो जनसंख्या बोकेर बसेका मुलुकहरुसंग सीधा र सहज व्यापारिकसम्वन्ध स्थापित गर्नु पनि चीनको सार्क चासोको महत्वपूर्ण पक्ष हो । चीनले यसका लागी सन् २००८ मा नै सार्क राष्टहरुसँग स्वतन्त्रण व्यापार गर्ने सम्झौताको लागि प्रस्ताव गरिसकेको छ । वार्षिक लगभग ३० प्रतिशतका दरले दक्षिण एसियासंग बढ्दै गएको व्यापारवाट मनग्य फाइदा उठाउने चिनियाँ सोच स्पष्ट रुपमा चीनको सार्क प्रतिको चासोमा झल्केको पाइन्छ ।

चीनको हिन्दमहासागरीय क्षेत्रलाई घेर्ने विशेष निति (मोतीको माला) लाई सफल पार्न पनि चीनको मरिहत्ते हो भन्न कुनै गाह्रो छैन । भारतको चिन्ता सार्कको पूर्ण सदस्य बन्ने चीनले धेरै अघि देखिनै इच्छा दखाई रहेको भए पनि भारतको अनिच्छाको कारण त्यो सफल हुन नसकिएको अवस्थामा सन् २००५ मा ढाँकामा सम्पन्न सम्मेलनले चीनलाई पर्यबेक्षकको रुपमा सार्कमा भित्र्याउने निर्णय गर्यो । सन् २००७ को १४औ दिल्ली सम्मेलनमा पहिलो पटक परिवेक्षकको रुपमा आएको चीन त्यस यता अन्य पर्यबेक्षक मुलुकभन्दा निकै सशक्त ढंङले सार्कमा प्रस्तुत भइरहेको छ । नेपाल, पाकिस्तान, बंगालादेश र श्रीलंकाको जोडमा चीनलाई स्वीकारेको भारत अहिले पनि चीनको सार्क राष्ट्रसंगको वढदो सम्वन्धप्रति खुशी देखिँदैन । त्यसको पछिल्लो प्रमाण हो मोदी शपथ समारोहमा चीनलाई गरिएको वेवास्ता र दलाई लामाका दूतलाई गरिएको स्वागत ।

भारतले चीनलाई सार्कमा भित्र्याउन नहुने ठोस आधारहरु प्रस्तुत गर्न सकिरहेको छैन । तथापि चीनसंग अन्य सार्क राष्टहरुको आर्थिक, साँस्कृतिक र ऐतिहासिक सम्वन्ध नरहेकाले सार्कको विस्तार आवश्यक छैन भन्ने उसको तर्क छ । आफूलाई दक्षिण एसियाको प्राधिकारयुक्त ‘ठुल्दाई ठान्ने भारत चीनलाई आफनो क्षेत्रमा कुनै हालतमा पस्न नदिने सोचमा रहनु पनि स्वभाविक नै हो । आफना नजिकका मित्रहरु टर्की र रुसलाई परिवेक्षकका रुपमा भित्र्याउन नसकिरहेको अवस्थामा भारतले चीनलाई सहज रुपमा सार्कको पूर्ण सदस्य वा सक्रिय पर्यबेक्षकका रुपमा नस्वीकार्ने पक्का छ । नेपाल लगायका सार्कका अन्य साना सदस्य राष्टहरु भारत र चीन जस्ता एसियाका उदयमान हस्तीहरुबाट जे जसरी हुन्छ लाभ लिने सोचमा छन् ।

दक्षिण एसियाली मुलुकसँग आफ्नै विशेष प्रभाव कायम राख्न चाहने भारत चीनका केही गतिबिधिमा असहिष्णुता प्रदर्शन गर्ने उदाहरणको अभाब छैन । चीनले भुटानलाई २२ वटा पर्यटक बस उपहारमा दिँदा भारतले सहुलियत दरमा भुटानलाई दिँदै आएको ग्यास निर्यातमा रोक लगाएको थियो। यसपटक चिनियाँ राष्ट्रपतिको भ्रमण तालिकामा शुरुमा पाकिस्तान रहेकोमा मौनता दर्शाउँदै रुष्टता देखाइरहेको भारत प्राबिधिक कारण देखाएर तालिकाबाट पाकिस्तान हटाउने बित्तिक्कै एकाएक भारतमा परिवर्तन आएको थियो । हुन त चीनको तालिका हेरफेरमा चीन-भारत- पाकिस्तान सम्बन्ध मात्रै जिम्मेवार नभएर मोदीको जापान भ्रमण पनि जोडिन आउँछ । यस्ले बन्द मुलुक भनेर चिनिने चीनभन्दा खुला मुलुक भनेर चिनिएको भारत संकुचित भएको देखाउँछ ।

तर चीन र भारतको स्वार्थको टकरावको कारण यी मुलुकहरुले समय समयमा घाइते बन्नु परेको तथ्य हामी कहाँ छ । नेपालमै गणतन्त्र स्थापनालाई कतिपयले चीनलाई सार्कमा भित्र्याउने ज्ञानेन्द्रको प्रस्तावको प्रतिफलको रुपमा समेत विश्लेषण गरेका छन् । प्रचण्ड नेतृत्वको सरकारले अनाहकमा सिंहदरवार छोड्नु परेको घटनालाई प्रचण्डको पहिलो चीन भ्रमण गरेर परम्परा तोड्ने दुस्साहशको परिणितिका रुपमा हेरिन्छ । बंगालादेश र पाकिस्तानले चीनसंग वढाएको सामिप्यता र श्रीलंकाले आफनो टापुमा चीनलाई व्यापारीक गतिविधी गर्न दिएको उदारताको मूल्य चुकाइरहेका छन् । नेपालजस्ता दुवै साँढेहरुको बीचमा रहेको बाछोले यी दुवैका लक्ष्य के हुन् भन्ने कुरा ठम्याएर उचित कुटनितिक कदम चाल्न नसक्ने हो भने ‘चोक्टा खान जाँदा झोलमा डुवेर मरेको ’ उखान चरितार्थ हुने खतरा रहन्छ ।

भारत, चीन र अमेरिकाहरुले आ-आफ्नो स्वार्थ अनुरुप काम गर्नु र त्यसै अनुसार चलाउन खोज्नु एउटा पक्ष हो भने त्यसलाई बुझेर नेपालको राष्ट्रिय स्वार्थलाई अधिकतम् लाभ हुने हिसाबले हामीले काम गर्न सक्नु सिक्काको अर्को महत्वपूर्ण पाटो हो । हाम्रो राष्ट्रिय स्वार्थ तथा चाहना भनेको सशक्त, स्थिर तथा विकसित राष्ट्र बनोस् भन्ने हो तापनि यस्तो जटील अवस्थाबाट कुशलता पूर्वक अगाडि बढन निस्कलंकित बेजोड राष्ट्रबादी नेतृत्ब बिना संभब छैन । यस किसिमको आन्तरिक बातावरण अनुकूल नहुने हो भने वाह्य बातावरण अनुकुल हुनुले मात्र खासै अर्थ नराख्न सक्छ देशले कम्तिमा एउटा निस्चित दुरी तय नगर्दासम्म ।

भारतले पछिल्लो समय चीनप्रति देखाएको ब्यबहारको प्रत्युत्तरमा चीनले आफ्नो निकटको पाकिस्तानको भ्रमणलाई कुटनीतिक कारण देखाएर रद्ध गरेर भने पनि भारतको जुन भ्रमण गर्‍यो यस्ले खुला भनेको भारत संकुचित र बन्द भनिएको चीन बढी खुला भएको सन्देश बिस्व सामू दिएको छ । यो एक किसिमले चीनको कुटनीतिक बिजय पनि हो । अधिकांश छिमेकी देशसंग राम्रो सम्बन्ध नरहेको सन्दर्भमा चीनको आगमनका कारण आफू छायाँमा परिन्छ भनेर भारत त्रसित भएको सन्देश पनि बिस्व सामू जान सक्छ । नेपाल भ्रमणमा रहेका भारतका प्रधानमन्त्री नरेन्द्र मोदीद्धारा नेपाली संविधानसभामा सम्बोधन गर्ने क्रममा “विश्वलाई चकित गर्ने बुद्ध जन्मेको देश” भनी नेपालको लुम्बिनीलाई बुद्धको जन्मथलोको रुपमा स्वीकारिएको सार्वजनिक सम्बोधनले अन्तराष्ट्रिय संचार जगतमा राम्रो स्थान प्राप्त गर्यो अन्तराष्ट्रिय जगतले यो बिषयलाई मौनतापूर्बक नियालिरहेकोले । पछिल्लो समयमा चीनले गरेको भारत भ्रमण र मोदीको नेपाललाई बुद्ध जन्मेको देशको रुपमा स्वीराकोक्तिको ऐतिहासिक महत्व छ । आजको खुला प्रतिस्पर्धात्मक बिस्व परिबेशमा यस किसिमको कुटनीति नै स्वस्थ र सर्ब जन हिताय हुने भएकोले भारतले सबै छिमेकी देशसंग मित्रबत सम्बन्ध कायम गरी चीनलाई पनि सार्कमा ल्याएर आफ्नो स्वार्थमा मात्रै केन्द्रित हुनेमा भन्दा बिस्व शान्तिमा योगदान दिने कुटनीतिमा लाग्नु नै उत्तम देखिन्छ ।

omram2002@gmail.com

@Ratopati

Monika Tu calls herself a “property concierge” and says she can’t get enough Australian real estate for her cashed-up Chinese clients.

“Business is going extremely well and Australia becomes more and more popular for the Chinese,” she told 7.30.

Last year the head of Sydney-based company Black Diamondz set herself an ambitious sales target.

“My target was $100 million I remember, and I have reached now about $120 million,” Ms Tu said.

Her clients are wealthy Chinese businesspeople interested in high-end properties.

As she shows a potential client through a lavish $13 million home on Sydney’s lower north shore, she explains her business:

“I am dealing with high net worth foreign buyers and we specialise in luxury properties. Almost 100 per cent are established properties.”

Under Australian rules, all foreigners can buy new property but there are restrictions on the sale of established properties.

Real estate agent Robert Simeon believes some investors are using loopholes to get around the rules, especially those for temporary residents who are supposed to sell their properties within three months of leaving Australia.

“Overseas students … are allowed to buy property while they study and they have to sell it once they’ve graduated. Well, there is no evidence that any property has ever been sold,” Mr Simeon told 7.30.

“The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) is hopeless and the fact is the Australian Government has been caught asleep at the wheel.”

A parliamentary review of foreign investment tabled on Thursday makes a series of recommendations, including fines for those who buy property illegally and changes to the Migration Act so the FIRB must be informed when a temporary resident leaves Australia on expiry of their visa.

Ms Tu does not believe efforts to tighten up the enforcing of the rules will affect her clients.

“There are a lot of rules, and first of all they have to have a visa, they have to be a resident here and they will be able to buy,” she said.

“The majority have a significant investor visa … I think you have to invest a certain amount of money like, probably, $5 million into a business or management funds, and that is how they qualify for the visa.”

With Chinese interest in Australian real estate booming, Ms Tu is expanding her business.

“My team has increased. Previously we had four or five people, now we have 15 and our market share has increased,” she said.

This year she expects to double her previous sales goal to $200 million.

@ABC

Priyanka Chopra is in trouble over a property in Versova, which she has leased to a spa owner.

Recently, th Mumbai police raided the premises for allegedly being used to run a sex racket.

Reportedly, Chopra, who is disturbed with the whole issue, was unaware of the prostitution business being run on her property.

In fact, Chopra who trusted the owner, had even visited the premise along with her mother Madhu. Further, Madhu and Chopra’s brother Siddharth were also present at the launch of the spa.

By HUGO DUNCAN and DAVID MARTOSKO,

• Figures show the Chinese economy is worth $17.6 trillion, compared to America’s $17.4 trillion
• The IMF estimates China’s economy will be worth a whopping $27 trillion in 2019
• The US has been the global economic performance leader since it overtook Britain in 1872 
• White House seemed oblivious on Wednesday, crowing that ‘the economic policies that this president put in place are the envy of the world’

China has toppled America to become the biggest economy in the world, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund.

The White House seemed caught flat-footed by the news, crowing on Wednesday about America’s relative economic strength in comparison with the rest of the world.

The US has been the global leader since it overtook Britain in 1872, but has now lost its status as top dog.

The latest IMF figures show the Chinese economy is worth $17.61 trillion compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.

Economic battle:The International Monetary Fund has indicated that China, and not the US, is now the biggest economy in the world

Out of the loop? US President Barack Obama touted America’s manufacturing economy during an Oct. 3 speech at an Indiana steel company, claiming that jobs and work orders were no longer ‘moving to China or other countries’

China – whose wealth has accelerated in recent decades amid rapid industrialization – is expected to extend its lead, with the IMF estimating its economy will be worth just under $26.98 trillion in 2019.

That would be 20 per cent bigger than the U.S. economy, which is forecast to be worth $22.3 trillion by then.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest seemed oblivious to the news as it percolated on Wednesday.

Asked for his assessment of the health of the global economy in the face of Russia’s zero-sum economy and other troubles in Europe – including Germany’s search for stimulus measures to head off a recession – Earnest crowed.

Those conditions, he said, ‘make the president’s policies look pretty good. They certainly make the performance of the American economy look pretty good.’

‘The United States is showing the kind of resilience that other counties are desperate for,’ Earnest claimed. ‘And a lot of that is due in no small part to the policies that this administration put in place.’

‘There is no doubt that the economic policies that this president put in place are the envy of the world,’ he boasted.

Earnest added that the White House is ‘hoping that the economy of our allies and partners around the globe strengthens. We certainly would like to see that happen.’

He cited ‘a tremendous record of progress that we have made here in the United States … occurring against the backdrop of a global economy that continues to struggle.’

That, Earnest told reporters, ‘is an indication of how strong the America economy is.’ 

President Barack Obama himself showed his confidence in a U.S.-centered manufacturing economy on October 3 during a speech in Princeton, Indiana.

‘About 10, 15 years ago, everybody said American manufacturing is going downhill, everything is moving to China or other countries,’ Obama said. ‘And the Midwest got hit a lot harder than a lot of places because we were the backbone of American manufacturing.’

‘But because folks invested in new plants and new technologies, and there were hubs that were created between businesses and universities and community colleges so that workers could master and get trained in some of these new technologies, what we’ve now seen is manufacturing driving economic growth in a way we haven’t seen in about 20-25 years.’

Flat-footed: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest claimed on Wednesday that ‘there is no doubt that the economic policies that this president put in place are the envy of the world’

 Silver lining: Without adjustments for living costs, the Chinese economy is still smaller than that of the US

 The latest IMF figures show the Chinese economy is worth $17.61 trillion, compared with $17.4 trillion for the US

Spokespersons for several U.S. senators who serve on the Finance Committee did not respond to requests for comment. Two Republican aides said on background that they wouldn’t be offering a critique.

The new IMF analysis is based on a statistic called ‘purchasing power parity’ (PPP), which makes adjustments for the fact that goods are cheaper in China and other countries relative to the US.

Without these cost adjustments factored in, the Chinese economy is still smaller than that of the U.S., at $10.3 trillion.

But experts have described the toppling of America after nearly 150 years by China, even on the PPP measure, as a ‘symbolic’ moment for the global economy.

China enjoyed three decades of double-digit growth before the global downturn, as industrialization and sweeping economic reforms created a new powerhouse in the East.

Growth has slowed in recent years but remains strong by Western standards with the IMF forecasting expansion of 7.4 per cent this year and 7.1 per cent in 2015.

By contrast, the IMF is predicting growth of just 2.2 per cent in the US this year and 3.1 per cent next year.

Financial powerhouse: In the last decade alone, the skyline of major cities in China, such as Shanghai (pictured), have been completely transformed as the economy grew in leaps and bounds

The Fund said Tuesday that the U.S. and the UK ‘are approaching economic lift-off’ as they bounce back from the recession.

But Olivier Blanchard, chief economist at the IMF, warned that ‘potential growth is lower than it was in the early 2000s’ for much of the West, including the U.S. and the UK.

He added that China is ‘maintaining high growth’ which will slow in the coming years to a more ‘healthy’ level between 6 per cent and 7 per cent. Arvind Subramanian, senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute and an expert on China, recently highlighted the ‘symbolic’ importance of China overtaking the US.

‘China is very big and getting bigger,’ he said. ‘It’s not to be underestimated.’

The news that China is now the largest economy in the world is an embarrassment for Barack Obama and ends America’s 142 years at the top.

Britain had out-produced the U.S. and its European rivals for much of the 19th century, at the height of the industrial revolution and with trade links across the Empire. But the US caught up as a growing population, the expansion of the railways and a focus on industry as well as agriculture boosted its economy.

 China’s wealth has accelerated in recent decades amid rapid industrialisation. Pictured, a car factory in Beijing

China has a population of around 1.3 billion – four times that of the US – but its economy has only just become the biggest

The PPP measure of output makes India the third largest economy, followed by Japan in fourth place and Germany in fifth.

Russia, Brazil, France, Indonesia and the UK make up the rest of the top 10 in that order.

Many economists believe the PPP measure of an economy is the fairest measure because it takes into account the cost of living in different countries.

For example, although wages are typically far lower in less developed countries than in mature economies, goods and services are often also cheaper, which affects individual consumers’ comparative purchasing power.

But critics argue that analysis does not take into account how well off people actually are.

China has a population of around 1.3 billion – four times that of the U.S. – but its economy has only now become the biggest.

That means Americans are typically far wealthier than their Chinese counterparts, and better off than people in other emerging markets that benefit from huge work forces and more rapid growth.

Zhou Yongkang faces serious corruption charges

Zhou’s suspected rapsheet is extensive, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state newswire:

“The [party’s] investigation found that Zhou seriously violated the Party’s political, organizational and confidentiality discipline. He took advantage of his posts to seek profits for others and accepted huge bribes personally and through his family, the statement said. He abused his power to help relatives, mistresses and friends make huge profits from operating businesses, resulting in serious losses of state-owned assets. Zhou leaked the Party’s and country’s secrets. He seriously violated self-disciplinary regulations and accepted a large amount of money and properties personally and through his family. Zhou committed adultery with a number of women and traded his power for sex and money.”

For months, the noose had been tightening around Zhou, who retired from the Standing Committee in 2012 due to age limits. Dozens of his known associates and underlings were arrested in three of his previous spheres of influence: the nation’s domestic security apparatus, which received more official funding than the Chinese military did; the highly lucrative state-owned oil industry; and the populous province of Sichuan.

Zhou’s family members, including his wife, brother and son, have been detained. Last year, Bo Xilai, a former Zhou political acolyte and ex-chief of Chongqing municipality, was sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption and other crimes.

Over the summer, the party had placed Zhou under formal investigation for “serious disciplinary violations,” a codeword for corruption. It was quite the comedown for a man who once controlled the nation’s panopticon state security machine.

Since taking office in 2012, China’s President Xi Jinping has unleashed an anti-graft campaign that has resulted in thousands of arrests of government officials. Xi famously promised to nab both “tigers and flies,” high-ranking leaders and the lowliest of communist cadres. And there was no mightier tiger than Zhou.

Xinhua reiterated how Zhou’s alleged misdeeds affected the sanctity of the Chinese Communist Party: “His behaviors badly undermined the reputation of the Party, significantly damaged the cause of the Party and the people, and have yielded serious consequences.”

Zhou will almost certainly be convicted, if past political investigations are any indication. But it’s still going to take a lot more than midnight announcements to convince a skeptical public that graft won’t flourish in China’s future.
@TIME

Deepak Sharma Bajgain of World Records Holders’ Council of Nepal informed that proof of Saugat’s record bid are being collected to be forwarded to the Guinness World Records.

The director also makes an appearance on screen.

“The visualisation of the script turned out better than expected. We are confident that this film is worth watching and the public will like it,” he said during a promotional event on Sunday.

By Nancy Gibbs

Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, says the proverb, but rather the hero’s heart.

Maybe this is true in any battle; it is surely true of a war that is waged with bleach and a prayer.

For decades, Ebola haunted rural African villages like some mythic monster that every few years rose to demand a human sacrifice and then returned to its cave. It reached the West only in nightmare form, a Hollywood horror that makes eyes bleed and organs dissolve and doctors despair because they have no cure.

But 2014 is the year an outbreak turned into an epidemic, powered by the very progress that has paved roads and raised cities and lifted millions out of poverty. This time it reached crowded slums in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone; it traveled to Nigeria and Mali, to Spain, Germany and the U.S. It struck doctors and nurses in unprecedented numbers, wiping out a public-health infrastructure that was weak in the first place. One August day in Liberia, six pregnant women lost their babies when hospitals couldn’t admit them for complications. Anyone willing to treat Ebola victims ran the risk of becoming one.

Which brings us to the hero’s heart. There was little to stop the disease from spreading further. Governments weren’t equipped to respond; the World Health Organization was in denial and snarled in red tape. First responders were accused of crying wolf, even as the danger grew. But the people in the field, the special forces of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Christian medical-relief workers of Samaritan’s Purse and many others from all over the world fought side by side with local doctors and nurses, ambulance drivers and burial teams.

Ask what drove them and some talk about God; some about country; some about the instinct to run into the fire, not away. “If someone from America comes to help my people, and someone from Uganda,” says Iris Martor, a Liberian nurse, “then why can’t I?” Foday Gallah, an ambulance driver who survived infection, calls his immunity a holy gift. “I want to give my blood so a lot of people can be saved,” he says. “I am going to fight Ebola with all of my might.”

MSF nurse’s assistant Salome Karwah stayed at the bedsides of patients, bathing and feeding them, even after losing both her parents—who ran a medical clinic—in a single week and surviving Ebola herself. “It looked like God gave me a second chance to help others,” she says. Tiny children watched their families die, and no one could so much as hug them, because hugs could kill. “You see people facing death without their loved ones, only with people in space suits,” says MSF president Dr. Joanne Liu. “You should not die alone with space-suit men.”

Those who contracted the disease encountered pain like they had never known. “It hurts like they are busting your head with an ax,” Karwah says. One doctor overheard his funeral being planned. Asked if surviving Ebola changed him, Dr. Kent Brantly turns the question around. “I still have the same flaws that I did before,” he says. “But whenever we go through a devastating experience like what I’ve been through, it is an incredible opportunity for redemption of something. We can say, How can I be better now because of what I’ve been through? To not do that is kind of a shame.”

So that is the next challenge: What will we do with what we’ve learned? This was a test of the world’s ability to respond to potential pandemics, and it did not go well. It exposed corruption in African governments along with complacency in Western capitals and jealousy among competing bureaucrats. It triggered mistrust from Monrovia to Manhattan. Each week brought new puzzles. How do you secure a country, beyond taking passengers’ temperatures at the airport? Who has the power to order citizens to stay home, to post a guard outside their door? What will it take to develop treatments for diseases largely confined to poor nations, even as this Ebola outbreak had taken far more lives by mid-October than all the earlier ones combined?

The death in Dallas of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed on U.S. soil, and the infection of two nurses who treated him, shook our faith in the ability of U.S. hospitals to handle this kind of disease. From there the road to full freak-out was a short one. An Ohio middle school closed because an employee had flown on the same plane as one of Duncan’s nurses. Not the same flight, just the same plane. A Texas college rejected applicants from Nigeria, since that country had some “confirmed Ebola cases.” A Maine schoolteacher had to take a three-week leave because she went to a teachers’ conference in Dallas. Fear, too, was global. When a nurse in Spain contracted Ebola from a priest, Spanish authorities killed her dog as a precaution, while #VamosAMorirTodos (We’re all going to die) trended on Twitter. Guests at a hotel in Macedonia were trapped in their rooms for days after a British guest got sick and died. Turned out to have nothing to do with Ebola.

The problem with irrational responses is that they can cloud the need for rational ones. Just when the world needed more medical volunteers, the price of serving soared. When nurse Kaci Hickox, returning from a stint with MSF in Sierra Leone with no symptoms and a negative blood test, was quarantined in a tent in Newark, N.J., by a combustible governor, it forced a reckoning. “It is crazy we are spending so much time having this debate about how to safely monitor people coming back from Ebola-endemic countries,” says Hickox, “when the one thing we can do to protect the population is to stop the outbreak in West Africa.”

Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and “us” means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are TIME’s 2014 Person of the Year.

@TIME

A small shared Bankstown apartment, an old sedan, a job as a waiter and dole payments – such was the meagre world of Vietnamese refugee Pete Tan Hoang.

Except for as much as $1 billion that he gambled at Australia’s biggest casino, Crown Melbourne, in a little over a decade.

Hoang, 36, was shot in the face in September while waiting on a darkened street in suburban Sydney.

His murder has left police perplexed, but has also shined a light on massive laundering on behalf of a global crime syndicate with links across Asia and the Americas, and highlighted the scale of the narco money laundering problem in Australia.

Hoang’s story, his rise from a Vietnamese-born orphan living on a refugee visa to one of Australia’s biggest gamblers and money launderers, also raises concerns about how he was able to rort the system for so long and for so much money – particularly at Australia’s biggest casino.

Court documents from a recent case reveal Hoang ran as much as $1 billion in black cash through Crown between 2000 and 2012.

He also was allowed to gamble under four different names and received a slew of perks, including overseas holidays, cash gifts of as much as $100,000, and gambling “commissions” in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) estimates at least $15 billion a year is laundered in and through Australia each year; other estimates suggest it is higher.

Much of that money is the result of drug trafficking.

Most federal crime agencies in Australia acknowledge they face an increasingly monumental struggle against global crime groups seeking to launder their multi-billion-dollar narco profits.

Despite being targeted during a 2005 to 2006 ACC operation dubbed Operation Gordian, and with a series of intelligence reports revealing his role as a drug trafficker and money launderer, Hoang remained a fixture at Crown until he was charged with money laundering in late 2012.

Hoang was also involved with several Vietnamese-Australian drug trafficking syndicates in Sydney and Melbourne.

New South Wales Police homicide squad commander Mick Willing told ABC’s 7.30 and Fairfax there was little doubt Hoang’s background in drugs and Asian organised crime syndicates played a role in his death.

“We have certainly considered that he was involved in drug trafficking and moving money through casinos – [that] may have been a catalyst for his death,” Mr Willing said.

How a Vietnamese orphan wound up in a global crime syndicate

Born an orphan in Vietnam in 1977, Hoang arrived in Australia in 1997 on a student visa and an Indonesian passport under the name Petrus Keyn Peten.

Within months he had applied for refugee status, under the name Minh Tan Nguyen.

By 2001 he had become an Australian citizen, and changed his name twice more.

By the time he had become a citizen he had already been banned from Sydney’s casino, The Star.

Law enforcement officials speaking to 7.30 and Fairfax on condition of anonymity said he became a professional money launderer, gambling millions in the profits of heroin and other drugs, giving it the appearance of legitimate casino winnings.

Intelligence gathered by state and federal law enforcement during the mid 2000s suggests Hoang was involved with a group of Vietnamese-Australians that formed the Australian end of a Hong Kong-based crime group known as Ong Ngoai – or “grandfather” in Vietnamese.

Ong Ngoai is a global drug trafficking syndicate with links across Asia and North and South America. Australian police have identified at least two dozen drug syndicates here with links to it.

Michael Purchas was the brains behind Operation Gordian, and spent months watching Vietnamese-Australian criminals including Hoang sell drugs and launder the profits.

“He was a known gambler at casinos, [Hoang] would certainly deal with other people’s money at casinos under instructions,” Mr Purchase said.

Operation Gordian was hailed as a breakthrough investigation into money laundering and resulted in the convictions of small group Vietnamese-Australians responsible for laundering about $93 million in drug profits in a year.

At the time Hoang was only a peripheral figure and managed to slip the police dragnet.

He continued to be involved in the trafficking of heroin and other illicit drugs. The amount of money he laundered through casinos – primarily Crown Melbourne – also increased.

In May 2012 Hoang was once again banned from Sydney’s Star and also from Jupiter’s Casino in Brisbane.

His luck ran out in October 2012, when he was arrested in a high roller room at Crown casino attempting to gamble with $1.5 million in cash that police alleged were the proceeds of crime.

Twelve years of gambling yielded almost $1b, court case hears

The resultant court case revealed he had bought about $75 million worth of chips at Crown between 2000 and 2012, which equalled a gambling turnover of at least $225 million, possibly as high as $1 billion.

Deakin University social scientist Professor Linda Hancock is the author of a book on Crown casino and said Hoang’s turnover was an “amazing” amount of money.

“He would be accounting for a very high proportion of gambled funds. He would be what’s called in the business, ‘a person of interest’,” Professor Hancock said.

“So you would think that there would be a trigger between any casino and the police for such a person.”

While Crown did report many of Hoang’s transactions to federal authorities as it is required to, it also provided him a slew of perks and benefits not available to most gamblers.

He was allowed to have four different identities at the casino – Pete Hoang, James and John Ho and Patrick Lu – and received free business class flights, accommodation, and alcohol as well as cash gifts up to $100,000.

The case also revealed his remarkable gambling patterns.

A hearing in June this year received evidence that during the month of September 2012, he was bought over $9 million in chips and played the card game baccarat at an average of $106,000 per hand.

The casino paid him a commission based on the amount he had gambled, and that month he earned $199,000 as a result of his high-stakes gambling.

Crown casino declined to answer specific questions about Hoang’s treatment, but said: “Crown is and has been for some time assisting state and federal law enforcement agencies regarding Mr Hoang and we will continue to do so.”

@ABC

Coming up with a list of the richest women in the world can be a tricky affair because there are very many rich women, and parameters of measuring wealth may differ greatly. That’s why you may end up with slightly different lists, depending on who has compiled it. Again, whether a given list presents the actual picture is not easily determinable because some women are not keen on disclosing their wealth. Experts mainly rely on publicly available information and what the woman in question is willing to disclose.

She is the daughter of famous Sir Richard Branson. Holly has a medical degree which she received in 2007; she worked for a year in the neurology department of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Today her medical career is a thing of the past. She is involved in many of her father’s business activities around the world such as listening to South African kids pitch their startup ideas at the Branson Center of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg, South Africa. Officially, Holly is listed as the special projects manager at Virgin. She is also on the board of Virgin Unite, an incubator for the many nonprofit startups. Holly has reported on Richard’s site that she’s expecting twins soon, and therefore you will probably not see her as much at charitable events in this upcoming year.

The hot Lydia Hearst is an American performer, fashion model, blogger and heiress to a publication established by her great-grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, and daughter of Patricia Campbell Hearst. Although her birth name is Lydia Marie Hearst-Shaw, she is known widely as Lydia Hearst. Her family has a habit of involving themselves in philanthropic causes which has eventually led Lydia to become a Smile Ambassador for Operation Smile. After Lydia graduated from Wilton High School, she enrolled in Sacred Heart University where she majored in the subjects of Communications and Technology. Lydia was always inspired by fashion trends, photography and the art. She was discovered by famed professional photographer Stephen Meisel, her first magazine cover was for Vogue Italy in April 2004. Hearst has covered countless fashion magazines all over Europe, South America and the United States. She has worked with the greatest photographers in the world including Patrick DeMarchelier, Mario Testino, Paulo Roversi and Terry Richardson. If all that wasn’t enough she made an appearance in two music videos and a modeling reality competition. In conclusion she is the dream of every man, she’s rich, young, beautiful and single, what more can you ask?

Ivanka Trump was born in the city of New York, you might recognize her dad, American business magnate Donald Trump. She attended Georgetown University for two years, and then transferred to Wharton Business at the University of Pennsylvania, she has a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Before joining the Trump family business, Ivana worked for Forest City Enterprises and cooperated with Dynamic Diamond Corp. Today she is currently acting as the Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions for The Trump Organization. Recently she has also released her own line of fashionable handbags and footwear.

Ivanka Trump published a book named The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life, which came out to the shelf’s October 2009. On that same month, Trump married businessman Jared Kushner, the couple has currently two kids.

As a result, he was convicted of 12 counts of using a postal service to cause offence, ordered to perform 300 hours of community service and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.

Monis was banned from sending similar letters to the relatives of British soldiers, but claimed in court at the time the condition was a breach of his freedom of speech.

Monis’ former lawyer Manny Conditsis describes him as a “damaged goods individual” with an ideology that clouds his common sense.

Monis was also accused of being an accessory to his ex-wife’s murder and faced charges on 40 offences relating to the indecent and sexual assault of several women in 2002.

He was granted bail and was set to reappear in court in February 2015.

Jamal Daoud who lives in Sydney’s west, told SBS he first met Man Haron Monis in 2008 at a rally on the wars surrounding the Middle East, and that meeting happened at Martin Place.

Mr Daoud, of the Social Justice Network, said on Tuesday he had been fielding calls from people today trying to connect the name to the man at the centre of Sydney’s siege.

He says some at that rally realised there were many things about what the 50-year old had told them that didn’t add up.

“A lot of my friends called me today to express their shock that this man who was pretending to be a community leader a religious man a mufti and religious leader could commit such horrendous crimes,” Mr Daoud said.

AAP

माननीय कानुनमन्त्रीज्यू, म अहिले अभिभावकविहीन भएकी छु । अपराधीहरू निर्दोष भनी छुटेकाले सबैले मलाई नै दोषी ठान्छन्, त्यसैले म आफ्नो गाउँ फर्किन सक्तिनँ । तसर्थ मैले सिंगो नेपाललाई आफ्नो घर मानेकी छु भने नेपाल सरकारलाई अभिभावक ठानेकी छु । त्यही अभिभावकहरूमध्ये सम्बन्धित क्षेत्रका मन्त्री हुनुभएकाले तपाईंलाई यो पत्र कोरेकी हुँ । तपाईंका दुई छोरीहरू हुनुहुन्छ भन्ने थाहा पाएकी छु । कृपया मलाई पनि आफ्नै छोरीझैं ठानी न्याय दिलाइदिनु हुन अनुरोध गर्दछु ।

मेरो किटानी जाहेरीले पक्राउ परी दोषी सावित भई १३ वर्षका लागि जेल चलान भएका ती बलात्कारीहरू छुट्नु भनेको के उनीहरू निर्दोष अनि मचाहिँ दोषी हुँ त ? यदि म दोषी हुँ भने मलाई तुरुन्तै कारबाही गरियोस्, हैन भने ती बलात्कारीहरूलाई पुनः पक्राउ गरी सजाय सुनाइयोस् ।

काठमाडौ, पुस १ – माननीय कानुनमन्त्री,

नरहरि आचार्यज्यू,

नमस्कार ।

म एउटा गरिब परिवारकी १७ वर्षीया छोरी हुँ । मैले तपाईंको नाममा पत्र लेख्न हुन्थ्यो वा हुन्नथ्यो थाहा छैन । तर पनि मनैदेखि आफ्नो अभिभावक ठानी यो पत्र कोर्ने दुस्साहस गरेकी छु । कृपया केही गल्ती भए सुरुमै क्षमा चाहन्छु ।

मेरो नाम पूजा बोहरा हो । घर सुदूरपश्चिम बैतडी जिल्लाको दुर्गम कैलापाल गाविसमा पर्छ । मेरो बुबाको यथेष्ट जग्गाजमिन छैन । त्यसैले उहाँले धनीको घरमा हली बसेर सात सन्तानको लालनपालन गर्नुभएको हो । मेरो बुबा गरिब र अशिक्षित भए पनि सायद शिक्षाको महत्त्व बुझेकैले होला, मलाई गाउँकै कैलाश प्राविमा भर्ना गरिदिनुभयो । मेरो भाग्य नै भन्नुपर्‍यो, जुन दिन विद्यालय टेक्ने अवसर पाएँ, कुनै परीक्षामा दोस्रो हुनु परेन ।

‘छोरी होस् त फलानोजस्ती’ भन्ने सुन्दा मेरा गरिब आमाबुबा गर्वका साथ सन्तुष्टिको सास फेर्नु हुन्थ्यो । अरूभन्दा तेज पढाइ भएका कारण मलाई विद्यालयले छात्रवृत्तिको सुविधा दिएको थियो । घरैनजिकको त्यो विद्यालयमा ५ कक्षासम्म मात्रै पढाइ हुन्थ्यो । त्यसपछि पढ्न अर्को विद्यालय जानुपर्ने भयो, जुन मेरो घरबाट डेढ घन्टाको उकालो-ओरालो जंगलैजंगलको बाटोमा थियो । एक त म सानी ९ वर्षकी थिएँ, अर्कोतर्फ जंगलको बाटो एक्लै जानुपर्ने भएकाले

मेरो आमाबुबाले ‘अब विद्यालय जानु पर्दैन, बरु विवाह गरिदिन्छौं’ भन्नुभयो । मेरो गाउँमा महिनावारी नभएकी छोरीलाई बेहुली बनाएर अन्मायो भने ठूलो धर्म लाग्छ भन्ने विश्वास छ । आमाबुबाको कुरा थाहा पाएर मेरा स्कुलका गुरुहरू घरमै आई सम्झाईबुझाई गरिदिनुभयो र मैले अर्को विद्यालय गएर पढ्ने अवसर पाएँ ।

अर्को विद्यालय गएपछि मैले झन् मिहिनेत गरेर पढ्न थालें । जसरी हुन्छ, राम्रो अंक ल्याएर एसएलसी पास गर्ने र भविष्यमा इन्जिनियर बनेर आफू जन्मेको दुर्गम पहाडी गाउँको विकास गर्ने मनमनै अठोट गरेकी थिएँ । त्यही क्रममा २०६८ चैत ७ देखि एसएलसी परीक्षा सुरु हुने खबर आयो । सिद्धेश्वर उच्च माविका विद्यार्थीका लागि बैतडी, पाटनबजारस्थित श्रीकृष्ण उच्च माविमा परीक्षा केन्द्र तोकियो । एसएलसीका लागि परीक्षा केन्द्र तोकिएको विद्यालय मेरो घरबाट ५ घन्टाको पैदल यात्रामा मात्र पुगिने र परीक्षा बिहानै ८ बजेदेखि हुने भएकाले मलाई फेरि अर्को समस्या आइपर्‍यो । धन्य, बुबाले बजारमै एकजना आफन्तको घरमा बस्ने व्यवस्था मिलाइदिनुभयो ।

दुई दिनको परीक्षापछि गणित विषयको तयारीका लागि एक दिन छुट्टी थियो । बिदा भएका कारण म बसेको घरका आफन्तको अनुमति लिएर पाटनबजारस्थित पुस्तक पसलमा गणितको गेसपेपर किनेर ल्याउँछु भनी गएँ । त्यो बजारमा एउटैमात्र पुस्तक पसल थियो । एसएलसी चलिरहेका कारण विद्यार्थीहरूको भीड थियो । म आफ्नो पालो कुरिरहेकी थिएँ । पुस्तक पसले ‘हिजोको जाँच कस्तो भयो, राम्रो गर्‍यौ ?’ भन्दै मसँग बोल्दै थियो । त्यहाँ बस्दाबस्दै गर्मी भयो । चैतको महिना त्यसै पनि गर्मी बढेको थियो । मैले ‘पानी दिनुस् न दाइ, कस्तो प्यास लाग्यो’ भनें । ऊ ‘एकैछिन है’ भनी पुस्तक पसलको सटरबाट भित्र अर्को कोठातिर गयो । अनि रित्तै आई ‘पानी सकिएको रहेछ, मैले लिन पठाएको छु’ भन्यो । मैले ‘ठिकै

छ घरमै गएर पिउँछु, मलाई किताब

दिनुस्, गइहाल्छु’ भनें ।

त्यत्तिकैमा अर्को मान्छे हातमा सोडापानीको गिलास बोकेर आयो । उनीहरूले एउटा मलाई दिए, दुईवटा गिलास आफूहरूले पिए । त्यो पिएको ४-५ मिनेटजतिमै मलाई कस्तो चक्कर

लागेजस्तो, त्यो पसल पूरै उल्टो फर्केजस्तो, वाकवाक लागेजस्तो भयो । मैले त्यही पुस्तक पसलेलाई ‘दाइ मलाई वाकवाक लागेजस्तो भयो, ट्वाइलेट कता छ’ भनी सोधें । ऊ ‘ट्वाइलेट अलि पर छ, म देखाइदिन्छु’ भनी अघिअघि लाग्यो ।

म ट्वाइलेटभित्र पस्नेबित्तिकै ऊ पनि सँगसँगै पस्यो । मैले किन आएको भन्दा ‘हल्ला नगर्, म जे-जे भन्छु, त्यही मान्’ भन्दै भित्तातिर धकेल्यो । एकैछिनमा अघि सोडा ल्याएर दिने केटो पनि आइपुग्यो । उसले ‘कोही आए भने मलाई बोला है’

भनी अर्को कुनै मान्छेलाई ट्वाइलेटबाहिर अह्राएको सुनेकी थिएँ । अब ट्वाइलेटभित्र दुईजना केटाहरू र म भयौं । मेरो खुट्टा थर्थरी काम्न थालेको थियो । अत्तालिएर स्वर पनि राम्रोसँग निस्किरहेको थिएन । तर पनि गुहार भन्दै चिच्याउन खोजें ।

म चिच्याएको देखेर एक जनाले मलाई समात्ने र मुख थुन्ने, अर्कोले कपडा खोल्ने गरे ।

म भने आफूलाई बचाउन ठूलो कसरत गर्दै थिएँ । २-३ मिनेटको घम्साघम्सीपछि, त्यो ट्वाइलेटमा ब्लेड रहेछ, त्यसले मेरो खुट्टाको औंला र पैतालामा काटिदिए । ‘अब यो ब्लेडले तेरो घाँटी चिर्छौं’ भन्दै थिए । म रुन, कराउन, बोल्न नसक्ने भइसकेकी थिएँ । उनीहरूले काटेको ठाउँबाट रगत बगिरहेको थियो । यत्तिकैमा उनीहरूले आफ्नो लुगा खोलेर मेरो मुखमा कोचिदिए र पालैपालो अस्मिता लुटे । मेरो सामूहिक बलात्कार गरे । मेरो अस्मिता लुट्नेहरू एउटा बैतडी जिल्ला, भूमेश्वर-३ को सागर भट्ट -वर्ष २३) थियो भने अर्को बैतडी, गुजर-२ को अमर अवस्थी -वर्ष ३०) थियो । सागर भन्ने जगन्नाथ पुस्तक पसलको सञ्चालक थियो भने अमर चाँदनी फोटो स्टुडियोको सञ्चालक थियो । उनीहरूले मलाई कति घन्टासम्म लुछे, त्यो याद छैन । होस आउँदा म ललितपुर जिल्लाको पाटन मानसिक अस्पतालको आकस्मिक कक्षमा लडिरहेकी थिएँ ।

हिजोसम्म सबैकी हाइहाइ भएर पुजिएकी म सबैकी पि्रय पूजा, अनि भविष्यमा इन्जिनियर बनी आफ्नो

दुर्गम जिल्लामा योगदान पुर्‍याउने अभिलाषा बोकेर बडो हर्षका साथ एसएलसी परीक्षामा सामेल भइरहेकी म पूजा सबैको तिरस्कारकी पात्र भएकी थिएँ । पत्रपत्रिका, टीभी, एफएममा मेरो समाचार आएको थियो । मेरो परिचय फेरिएको थियो । १४ वषर्ीया बालिका एसएलसी दिन जाँदा सामूहिक बलात्कारमा परी मानसिक सन्तुलन गुमाई अस्पतालमा भनेर सबैतिर प्रचार भएको थियो ।

पछि बुबा, आमा र काकाबाट मैले यी सबै कुरा थाहा पाएँ । पशुहरूले मलाई लुछ्नुजति लुछेर मरी भन्ने ठानी एकान्त नालीमा फालिदिएका रहेछन् । पुस्तक किन्न भनेर हिँडेकी म बेलुकासम्म नफर्केपछि आफन्तहरूले खोज्न जाँदा मलाई रगताम्य भई घ्यारघ्यार गरी नालीमा लडिरहेको अवस्थामा भेटेका थिए रे । बेहोस अवस्थामा फेला परेकी म होसमा त आएछु, तर पुरै मानसिक सन्तुलन बिग्रेको हालतमा ।

उता बैतडीमा मेरो स्कुलमा सबै साथीहरू, गुरुहरू एकजुट भई जुलुस निकालेपछि मात्र ती दुई जना अपराधीलाई प्रहरीले समातेर अनुसन्धान थाल्यो । अनि ममाथि परेको घटनाप्रति पूर्व मेचीदेखि पश्चिम महाकालीसम्मका थुप्रै जनाले सहानुभूति प्रकट गर्नुभयो । मिडियाले लगातार मेरो अवस्था उजागर गरिदियो । त्यसैले तत्कालीन प्रधानमन्त्री बाबुराम भट्टराईको सरकारले मन्त्रीस्तरीय निर्णय गरी तत्काल मलाई एक लाख रुपैयाँ औषधोपचार खर्च पनि प्रदान गर्‍यो । प्रधानमन्त्री बाबुराम भट्टराईकै आदेशमा ती अपराधी पुर्पक्षका लागि थुनामा राखिएछन् ।

घटना भएको छ महिनापछि मात्रै मेरो मानसिक अवस्थामा सुधार आई पहिलेका कुराहरू सम्झन सक्ने भएँ । उता अपराधीहरूले ‘पागलले त जे पनि भन्छ, जसलाई पनि आरोप लगाउँछ, हामी निर्दोष छौं’ भन्दै छन् रे भन्ने सुनें । तसर्थ २०६९ पुस ९ गतेका दिन मलाई सहयोग गर्ने रक्षा नेपाल भन्ने संस्थाका कर्मचारी र अभिभावकको सहयोगमा म जिल्ला अदालत, बैतडीमा जिल्ला न्यायाधीश हिमालयराज पाठकका अगाडि बयानका लागि उभिएँ । त्यतिबेला मेरो सामुन्ने उभिएका ती अपराधीको हर्कत म यहाँ बयानै गर्न सक्दिनँ । मेरो बयान, केन्द्रीय प्रहरी विधि विज्ञान प्रयोगशालाले गरेको कपडा परीक्षण, अस्पतालले सामूहिक बलात्कार भएको भनी दिएको स्वास्थ्य परीक्षणको रिपोर्टलगायत अन्य अनुसन्धान र प्रमाणका आधारमा जिल्ला न्यायाधीशको इजलासले ती अपराधीहरूलाई १३ वर्ष कैद र जनही ५०-५० हजार रुपैयाँको जरिवाना तोक्यो ।

बयानपछि फेरि फर्किएर रक्षा नेपालकै सेल्टरमा आएँ । संस्थाकै सहयोगमा आत्मविश्वासी, निडर बन्ने तालिम लिन थालें । २०६८ सालको एसएलसी त ती अपराधीका कारण छुटिहाल्यो । इन्जिनियर बनी देशको सेवा गर्ने सपना टुटिहाल्यो । ०६९ सालभरि मानसिक र शारीरिक अवस्था मजबुत पार्ने, अदालत धाउनेमै गयो । ०७० सालमा चाहिँ पुनः १० कक्षा दोहोर्‍याएर पढें र त्यही सालको एसएलसीमा ७० प्रतिशत अंक ल्याई पहिलो श्रेणीमा पास हुन सफल भएँ ।

ती अपराधीले निमोठिदिएको मेरो जीवनमा थोरै आशा पलाउन थाल्यो । यो सफलतासँगै पुनः आफ्नो लक्ष्यमा पुग्ने सपना देख्न थालें । अलिकति खुसी हुन नपाउँदै २०७१ असार ३ गते कान्तिपुर दैनिकको प्रथम पृष्ठमा ‘बैतडीमा छात्रा बलात्कार प्रकरण, सामूहिक बलात्कारमा दोषी ठहरिएकालाई उन्मुक्ति’ भन्ने समाचार छापिएको देखें । त्यही समाचारबाट थाहा भयो- एक वर्षअघि बैतडी जिल्ला अदालतले १३ वर्ष कैद भनी गरेको फैसलालाई पुनरावेदन अदालत, महेन्द्रनगरका न्यायाधीशद्वय नरबहादुर शाही र रमेशप्रसाद राजभण्डारीको

संयुक्त इजलासले उल्टाइदिएको रहेछ र दुवैजना अभियुक्तलाई निर्दोष भनी सफाइ दिएको रहेछ ।

यो फैसला सुनेपछि अहिलेसम्म मेरो हालत के भइरहेको छ भन्ने कुरा म यहाँ व्यक्त गर्न सक्तिनँ र कसैले अन्दाज पनि लगाउन सक्तैन । अहिले ती दुवै जना अपराधी ठूलै युद्ध जिते जसरी गाउँमा छाती फुलाएर हिँडिरहेका छन्, म भने युद्धमा हारेको सिपाहीझैं लत्रिएर बस्नुपरेको छ ।

माननीय कानुनमन्त्रीज्यू, म अहिले अभिभावकविहीन भएकी छु । अपराधीहरू निर्दोष भनी छुटेकाले सबैले मलाई नै दोषी ठान्छन्, त्यसैले म आफ्नो गाउँ फर्किन सक्तिनँ । तसर्थ मैले सिंगो नेपाललाई आफ्नो घर मानेकी छु भने नेपाल सरकारलाई अभिभावक ठानेकी छु । त्यही अभिभावकहरूमध्ये सम्बन्धित क्षेत्रका मन्त्री हुनुभएकाले तपाईंलाई यो पत्र कोरेकी हुँ । तपाईंका दुई छोरीहरू हुनुहुन्छ भन्ने थाहा पाएकी छु । कृपया मलाई पनि आफ्नै छोरीझैं ठानी न्याय दिलाइदिनु हुन अनुरोध गर्दछु ।

मन्त्रीज्यू, अहिले बलात्कारसम्बन्धी नयाँ कानुन बन्दै छ भन्ने सुनें । १ सय ६१ वर्ष पुरानो अहिलेको मुलुकी ऐनमा परिमार्जन हैन, परिवर्तनको जरुरी छ । संशोधनमात्र हैन, संवेदनायुक्त हुनु जरुरी छ । जन्मकैद भने पनि त्यो आखिर २४ वर्षको मात्र सजाय हो रे भन्ने जानकारी पाएकी छु । अनि जति नै वर्षको कानुन बनाए पनि बलात्कृत छोरीले मैलेजस्तै सास्ती, पीडा त पाउने हुन् । बलात्कारको पीडा सबैलाई उस्तै हुन्छ । तसर्थ अब बन्ने ऐनमा बलात्कारीलाई फाँसीको सजायको व्यवस्था गरी बलात्कृत छोरीहरूको सम्पूर्ण जिम्मा राज्यले लिनुपर्छ भन्ने म जोडदार माग गर्छु ।

अन्त्यमा माननीय मन्त्रीज्यू, मेरो किटानी जाहेरीले पक्राउ परी दोषी सावित भई १३ वर्षका लागि जेल चलान भएका ती बलात्कारीहरू छुट्नु भनेको के उनीहरू निर्दोष अनि मचाहिँ दोषी हुँ त ? यदि म दोषी हुँ भने मलाई तुरुन्तै कारबाही गरियोस्, हैन भने ती बलात्कारीहरूलाई पुनः पक्राउ गरी सजाय सुनाइयोस् ।

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This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Running down a dream

लन्डनस्थित लाइसेस्टर विश्वविद्यालयमा अध्ययनरत  २१ वर्षे नेपाली छात्रा उषा अर्यालले बायोटेक्नोलोजी युवा उद्यमी स्किम्स प्रतियोगिता (एस) २०१४ मा जित दर्ता गरेकी छन् । गुल्मी सिरसेन–५ कि अर्यालसहितको टिमले एस प्रतियोगितामा जित दर्तासँगै  २ हजार ५ सय पाउन्ड  हात पारेकी छन् ।

उनीसँगै अर्को समूहले पनि अवार्ड हात पारेको छ । जितसँगै अर्यालले सन् २०१५ को अप्रिल महिनामा अमेरिकाको टेक्सासमा हुने इन्सप्रेनरसिप स्किल इन द इन्टरनेशनल आरआईसीई बिजनेस प्लान प्रतियोगितामा समेत आफ्नो क्षमता देखाउने मौका पाउने छिन् । उक्त प्रतियोगितामा अन्य ४० देशका विभिन्न उद्यमीहरु समेत सहभागी हुनेछन् ।

‘यो बेलायतका लागि निकै खुसीको विषय हो, यस्ता क्षमतालाई विश्वभर फैलाउनका लागि हामीले काम गर्नुपर्छ’ बेलायतका विश्वविद्यालय, साइन्स एन्ड सिटिज मन्त्री ग्रेक क्लार्कले भने ‘हामीलाई यस्तै बैज्ञानिकहरुको खाँचो छ जस्ले यस्ता प्रतियोगितामा भाग लिन सकुन ।’ उनले यो प्रतियोगिताले व्यक्तिको बैद्धिक्ता, आत्मविश्वास तथा उद्यमी प्रतिभालाई प्रस्फुटन गराउने बताए । यस्ता व्यक्तिले मुलुकको आर्थिक विकासमा सहयोग पु¥याउनुका साथै नयाँ काम तथा रोजगारीको सम्भावना पनि प्रशस्त खुलाउने बताए ।

अर्यालले जेनेटिक्स विषयमा पीएचडी गर्दैछिन् । उनले साउदी अरेबियाको रियादबाट प्रारम्भिक शिक्षा लिएकी थिएन भने त्यसपछि काठमाडौंको रोडोडेन्ड्रन इन्टरनेशनल बोर्डिङ स्कुलमा पढेकी थिएन । त्यस्तै बेल्जियमस्थित ब्रसेल्सस्थित सेन्ट जोन्स इन्टरनेशनल स्कुल समेत अध्ययन गरेकी उनले एसएलसी भने काठमाडौंस्थित लिटिल एञ्जल्स स्कुलबाट विशिष्ठ श्रेणीमा उत्तीर्ण गरेकी थिइन ।

उनले त्यसपछि लन्डनस्थित होल्यान्ड पार्क स्कुलबाट ए लेवल अध्ययन गरेकी थिइन । त्यसपछि बेलायतका प्रमुख तीन विश्वविद्यालय अन्तर्गत पर्ने युनिभर्सिटी अफ लन्डनबाट अध्ययन गरेकी थिइन । उनले त्यहाँ अध्ययनगर्दा बीएससी ह्युमन जेनेटिक्स विषयमा टप टेनमा पर्न सफल भएकी थिइन । उनी अहिले स्नातकोत्तर तह नपढी लाइसेस्टर विश्वविद्यालयमा पूर्ण छात्रवृत्तिमा जेनेटिक्स विषयमा पीएचडी गरिरहेकी छन ।

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Ariana Grande-Butera, known professionally as Ariana Grande, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Born: June 26, 1993 (age 21)

कराँतेका उदीयमान खेलाडी भए पनि पछिल्लो समयमा आएर फुटबल खेलले पनि विशांकलाई मोहित पारेको छ रे। फुटबल खेलले उनको मन तान्नुको पछाडि कारण भने रहेछन्, -राष्ट्रिय फुटबल टोलीका चर्चित खेलाडी अनिल गुरुङ। 

उनले सन् २०१३ को सेप्टेम्बर ४ तारिखमा ब्ल्याक बेल्टको प्रमाणपत्र पाएका थिए। पक्कै पनि, यो असामान्य उपलब्धि हासिल गर्न उनले गर्नुपरेको परिश्रम सामान्य थिएन।

 

प्रशिक्षणका क्रममा एक दिन उनको भेट अनिलसँग भएछ। अनिलले पनि उनलाई फुटबल खेल्न र भविष्यमा राम्रो खेलाडी बन्न सुझाव दिएछन्। त्यसपछि त के चाहियो र! दिनरात फुटबलकै मात्र कुरा गर्न थालेछन् घरमा। 

घरमा पानी चुहिंदा ओभानो ठाउँ खोज्दै गुन्द्रीमा रात काटेको अनुभव संगालेका सूर्यकुमार खाती स्वीट्जरल्यान्डस्थित पाँचतारे होटलमा पनि सुतेका छन् । फरक यति हो, स्वीटजरल्यान्डको पाँचतारे होटलमा सुत्दा उनको परिचय संगीतकार आलोकश्रीको थियो ।

२०६३ मा जेबी संयोगीको शब्द तथा आलोकश्रीको संगीतमा भारतीय गजल सम्राट् जगजीत सिंहको स्वरको गजल-संग्रह ‘संयोग’ बजारमा आयो । ‘संयोग’पछि उनकै संगीतमा २०६३ मा ‘राष्ट्रियता’ २०६५ मा एसपी कोइरालाको एकल शब्दमा ‘उपमा’ र २०६६ मा विकास राणा र सुष्मा राणाको स्वरको ‘लुकेर लाएको माया’, २०६६ मै रूपक डोटेलको एकल स्वरमा ‘उमङ्ग’ गीतिसंग्रह श्रोतामाझ आए । ‘२०४६ सालदेखि प्रारम्भ भएको मेरो सांगीतिक यात्रा अहिलेसम्म सुखद छ,’ आलोकश्री भन्छन्- ‘भर्खरै बजारमा आएका गीतिसंग्रहहरू ‘लुकेर लाएको माया’ र ‘उमङ्ग’ ले पनि सफलता पाउनुले मेरा सबै मेहनतको श्रोताले कदर गरेको अनुभव गरेको छु ।’

मानिस सगरमाथा चढ्छ, विश्व देख्छ, विश्वकै अग्लो स्थानमा पुगेको गर्व अनुभूत गर्छ, अनि लुरुलुरु तल र्झछ,’ शिखरमा एक्लै पुगे पनि बस्ने मन गरे पनि आखिरमा बेसक्याम्प झर्नैपर्छ,’

घरमा पानी चुहिंदा ओभानो ठाउँ खोज्दै गुन्द्रीमा रात काटेको अनुभव संगालेका सूर्यकुमार खाती स्वीट्जरल्यान्डस्थित पाँचतारे होटलमा पनि सुतेका छन् । फरक यति हो, स्वीटजरल्यान्डको पाँचतारे होटलमा सुत्दा उनको परिचय संगीतकार आलोकश्रीको थियो ।

आलोकश्री यस्ता पात्र हुन्, जसले मेहनत र आत्मविश्वासकै कारण आफ्नो पहिचानलाई करोडौं नेपालीका माझ परिचित गराएका छन् । गोरखाको आँपपिपलमा पहिलो पटक आँखा उघारेका आलोकश्री जम्बो परिवारका सदस्य थिए ।

‘बुबाहरू चार दाजुभाइ तथा चार दिदीबहिनी हुनुहुन्थ्यो’ आलोकश्री भन्छन्- ‘त्यसमा पनि हाम्रा बा-आमाका पाँच सन्तान थपिएपछि परिवारको साइज झन्डै दुई दर्जन पुगेको थियो ।’ ‘आम्दानी भए पनि खर्च धेरै हुने भएकाले घर चलाउन मुस्किल हुन्थ्यो,’ उनी सम्झन्छन्- ‘कक्षा ८ मा पुगेपछि म पनि मेलापातमा व्यस्त हुन थालिसकेको थिएँ ।’ यसरी बिहान- बिहान गरेको कामबाट आउने २-३ रुपैयाँ जम्मा गरेर उनी महिनामा ५० रुपैयाँ पुर्‍याउ**थे, जुन विद्यालय शुल्क तथा कापी किताबमा खर्च हुन्थ्यो ।

अध्ययन पहिलो प्राथमिकतामा रहे पनि धेरै कुरामा रुचि राख्ने आलोक ०३८ सालतिर रेडियोका पारखी भैसकेका थिए । ‘रेडियो बजेको थाहा पाउनेबित्तिकै मेरा पाइला टक्क रोकिन्थे ।’ उनी भन्छन्- रेडियोबाट आउने आवाजले मलाई यति अचम्मित तुल्याउँथ्यो कि कसरी मानिस यति सानो भाँडोभित्र अटाएका होलान् । यसबीच कसैले उल्क्याइदियो, रेडियोभित्र कलाकार हुन्छन् भनेर, बाले दुःख गरेर जोडेको ट्रान्जिस्टर भताभुङ्ग हुने गरी खोलेर हेरें, सयौं तार गुजुल्टिएर बसेको देखेपछि कलाकार नपाएको पीडामा डाँको छोडेर रोएँ ।

विद्यालयमा उनी अध्ययनका अतिरिक्त अन्य क्रियाकलापमा पनि सहभागी हुन्थे । एकातर्फ गाउँघरको रोदी र अर्कातर्फ रेडियोको प्रभावका कारण हुनसक्छ, उनी आफैं लोकधुन सिर्जना गरेर टुक्का मिलाई-मिलाई गाउँथे । आफैंले रचेका शब्दमा लय हालेर चौतारीमा बसी भाका हालेको क्षण उनी अझै सम्झन्छन् । चौतारीमा एक्लै बसेर रेडियोमा फर्माइस गरेको नक्कल उतार्दै गाइरहेकै क्षणमा एक दिन कक्षा शिक्षकले देखेछन् । भोलिपल्ट उनले साथीभाइमाझ गाउनुपर्ने भयो, तर अगाडि गएपछि कामेर गाउनै सकेनन् ।

घरको जेठो सन्तानका रूपमा जन्मिएका आलोकश्री अपरिपक्व उमेरमै दायित्वबोध गरेर जिम्मेवार बन्ने अभ्यास गरिरहेका थिए । कल्पनामै सही, उनले काठमाडौं पुगेको, रेडियो नेपालमा गएको अनि आफ्नो भावना रेडियोमार्फत मुखरित भएको थुप्रै सपना देखे ।

८ कक्षाबाट ९ कक्षामा जाने बेलामा गाउँमा एउटा विवाह हुन गयो, जसको जन्ती बेहुली लिन राजधानी जाँदै थियो । उनी जन्ती बन्न सफल भए । हजुरआमाको साथमा जन्ती आएका आलोकश्री विवाहघर जावलाखेलबाट रेडियो नेपाल खोज्दै सबेरै हिंडे । १० बजे सिंहदरबार अगाडिको मूल गेट आइपुगेका उनले दुई बजेपछि मात्र त्यहाँ जान पाइने कुरा थाहा पाए । दुई बजे छिर्ने बेलामा गेटमा देखिएको भीडमा आलोकश्रीलाई यी सबै रेडियो नेपालका कलाकार हुन भन्ने लाग्यो । रेडियो नेपाल पुगेपछि अवलोकन महाशाखा हेरेर उनी सुटुक्क रेकर्डिङ स्टुडियो छिरे । साढे २ देखि साढे पा’च बजेसम्म स्टुडियोमा बसेर रेकर्डिङ हेरेपछि उनी त्यहाँबाट बाहिरिए ।

‘झमक्क साँझ परेको थियो, भोक-प्यासले आलस-तालस भएको थिएँ’ उनले सम्झिए- ‘सिंहदरबारबाट बाहिरिएपछि म हराएँ । सोध्दै-सोध्दै राति १० बजे म जावलाखेल पुगेंं ।’ त्यसपछि उनमा संगीतको चस्का यति बढ्यो कि अब संगीतबिनाको जीवन अपूरो हुने विश्लेषण उनले गरे । रेडियो नेपाल पुगेको त्यो क्षण उनका निम्ति अविस्मरणीय क्षण बन्यो, त्यसैले एक महिनासम्म उनले गाउँले साथीहरूलाई रेडियो नेपालका बारेमा गफ दिइरहे ।

नमेटिने गरी पसेको संगीतको तिर्सनाका कारण उनले गीतलेखनमा आफूलाई अभ्यस्त बनाउन थाले । आफैं गीत लेख्यो, भाका मिलाएर लय हाल्यो अनि रेडियोको फर्माइस कायर् क्रमझैं फलानोको शब्द-संगीतमा फलानोको स्वर भन्यो अनि गाउन थालिहाल्यो, उनले हास्दै भने- ‘म एक प्रकारले पागल भैसकेको थिएँ ।’

एसएलसी उत्तीर्ण भएलगत्तै आमाले कुखुरा बेचेर दिएको २० रुपैयाँ खल्तीमा राखेर उनी काठमाडौं आए । ०४४ सालको कुरा हो यो, गीतको ठूलो डायरी बोकेर उनी फेरि रेडियो नेपाल पुगे । त्यसबेला उनलाई आफूजस्तो कलाकार रेडियो नेपालले खोजिरहेको छ भन्ने भ्रम पनि थियो ।

आफन्त अंकलको घरमा बसेर पुस्तक पसलमा काम गरे पनि संगीतको नशाले उनलाई छाडेको थिएन । स्टेसनरी पसलमा सामान ल्याउने तथा सप्लाइ गर्ने क्रममै उनले स्कुलमा टिचिङ पनि सुरु गरे । संगीतकारहरूले आफ्नो गीतको अवमूल्यन गरेको देखेपछि उनमा संगीतकार बन्ने जोस चढ्यो । ‘गीत रेकर्डका क्रममा गीत छनौटदेखि गायकलाई पनि आफूले भनेजसरी नै गीत गाउन कमान्ड गर्ने संगीतकार पो ठूलो मानिस रहेछ जस्तो लाग्यो ।’ उनले भने- ‘त्यसपछि स्कुलबाट एडभान्स लिएर १ हजार ६ सयमा सेकेन्डह्यान्ड हार्मोनियम किनेर ल्याएँ ।’

त्यसपछि फुर्सदको क्षणमा हार्मोनियममा औंला चलाउन थालिहाल्ने आलोकश्री स्व-अध्ययनबाटै सारेगममा पोख्त बन्न सफल भए । अभ्यास गर्दै जाँदा नयाँ-नयाँ कम्पोजिसन तयार हुँदा उनमा संगीतकार बन्ने भूत चढ्यो । त्यसपछि फेरि उनी रेडियो नेपाल धाउन थाले । रेडियो नेपालमा भेटिने सबै गायकलाई मेरो गीत गाइदेऊ भन्दा कसैले नपत्याएको त्यो समय पनि उनका निम्ति पिडादायी थियो । दुई वर्ष निरन्तर संगीत साधना गरेर तयार पारेका थुप्रै गीत बोकेर हि*ड्दा कसैले नपत्याइरहेका बेला एक गायकले १ हजार रुपैयाँ दिने भए गाइदिने बताए, तर उनले पैसा मात्र खाए, गीत गाएनन् । उनको संघर्ष देखेर गायक पूर्ण परियारले ‘तिमीदेखि टाढा भए पनि तिम्रो याद आउँछ’ गीत गाइदिए । पप प्याटर्नको यो गीत त्यसबेला खुब हिट भयो । गायकले हजार रुपैया’ खाइदिएकै समय म कामज्वरोले यति थलिएँ कि त्यसकै कारण दाँतै भाँचियो, उनले बिर्सनलायक त्यो समय संझदै भने, ‘अहिले संझदा नराम्रो सपना देखेजस्तो अनुभूति हुन्छ ।’ रेडियो नेपालबाट पहिलो पटक यो गीत बजेको दिन उनलाई रातभर निद्रा लागेन ।

रेडियो नेपालमा गीत रेकर्ड गराउन सफल भएपछि उनले पहिलो चरणको सफलता पाएको अनुभूति गरे । त्यसपछि लगातार चार वर्ष अध्ययन-अध्यापनको संसारमा हराए । स्नातकोत्तर पूरा गरेपछि उनी पूर्णकालीन रूपमा संगीतको क्षेत्रमा र्फकने योजनामा पुगे ।

‘बिहान उठ्नेबिबत्तिकै हिमाल देख्न पाइयोस्,’ कालिप्रसाद रिजालले सिर्जना गरेको यो कविता मधुपर्कमा छापिएको देखेपछि त्यो गीतलाई कम्पोज गरेर उनले रामकृष्ण ढकालबाट स्वरबद्ध गराए । त्यसपछि रामकृष्णलाइ लिएर उनी रिजालको घर पुगे । गीत सुनेपछि रिजाल दंग परे ।

नारायणगोपालको निधनपछि गायनक्षेत्रबाट टाढिएका रिजाललाई फेरि सांगीतिक संसारमा तान्न उनीहरू सफल भए । शिक्षक भएर काम गरिरहेकै समयमा उनले केही साथीसंगको सहकार्यमा गोदावरीको बाँडेगाउँमा किङ्गडम स्टार हाइस्कुल स्थापना गरे । सहरसंगै जोडिएको ग्रामीण क्षेत्रको त्यो भेगमा राम्रो विद्यालयको खाँचोलाई यो स्कुलले परिपूर्ति गर्‍यो । संगीतले नाम दिए पनि उनलाई दाम दिने काममा उक्त विद्यालयको भूमिका महत्त्वपूर्ण बन्यो । उनले त्यही मौकामा एकल गीतिसंग्रह ‘छायाँ’ तयार पारे । जसमा समावेश सबै गीत लोकपि्रय भए । उक्त संग्रहबाटै उनको परिचय सूर्यकुमार खातीबाट आलोकश्री बन्यो । आलोकश्रीमा परिणत भएको उनको परिचय पनि यति फलिफाप भयो कि त्यसयता उनी निरन्तर सफलताको यात्रा तय गरिरहेका छन् ।

छायाँपछि आलोकश्रीको एकल संगीतमा ०५७ मा ‘हिउँचुली’, ०५७ मै ‘लय’ गीतिसंग्रह आए । यी दुवै संग्रह सुपरहिट भएपछि आलोकश्रीको पहिचान अझ बलियो भयो । त्यसपछि उनले २५ वर्षपछि उदितनारायण झालाई सुगम संगीतमा श्रोतामाझ ल्याए । २०५९ मा श्रोतामाझ आएको उपहार शीर्षकको यो गीतिसंग्रहले नेपाली सुगम संगीतमा थुप्रै रेकर्ड कायम गर्‍यो । उपहारपछि २०६१ मा टुनामुना गीतिसंग्रह बजारमा आयो । शब्द, संगीत उनकै रहेको यो संग्रहका सबै गीतले स्रोताको मन जिते । राजेशपायलको स्वरको ‘नौजाले मायाले’ यही गीतिसंग्रहको गीत थियो । कमसङ्गीतयात्राकै क्रममा १० भन्दा बढी देशको भ्रमण गरेका आलोक श्री सङ्गीतमा उदित नारायण झा रामकृष्ण ढकाल देखी रुपक डोटेल मल्लिका कार्की र राजन थपलिया सम्मले स्वर दिएका छन् ।

२०६३ मा जेबी संयोगीको शब्द तथा आलोकश्रीको संगीतमा भारतीय गजल सम्राट् जगजीत सिंहको स्वरको गजल-संग्रह ‘संयोग’ बजारमा आयो । ‘संयोग’पछि उनकै संगीतमा २०६३ मा ‘राष्ट्रियता’ २०६५ मा एसपी कोइरालाको एकल शब्दमा ‘उपमा’ र २०६६ मा विकास राणा र सुष्मा राणाको स्वरको ‘लुकेर लाएको माया’, २०६६ मै रूपक डोटेलको एकल स्वरमा ‘उमङ्ग’ गीतिसंग्रह श्रोतामाझ आए । ‘२०४६ सालदेखि प्रारम्भ भएको मेरो सांगीतिक यात्रा अहिलेसम्म सुखद छ,’ आलोकश्री भन्छन्- ‘भर्खरै बजारमा आएका गीतिसंग्रहहरू ‘लुकेर लाएको माया’ र ‘उमङ्ग’ ले पनि सफलता पाउनुले मेरा सबै मेहनतको श्रोताले कदर गरेको अनुभव गरेको छु ।’

आलोकश्री यतिखेर सातामा न्यूनतम् १० वटा गीतमा संगीत भर्छन् । आलोकश्री भन्छन्- ‘एउटा गीतको न्यूनतम ३५ हजार रुपैया’ लिन्छु ।’ संघर्षकै क्रममा ०४८ सालमा मागी विवाह गरेका आलोकश्रीकी छोरी कक्षा १२ मा र छोरा कक्षा १० मा अध्ययनरत छन् ।

जीवनयात्राका क्रममा यतिखेर आलोकश्री फरक सोच राख्न थालेका छन् । नेपाली लोक फ्लेभरलाई सुगम संगीतमा ढाल्न सफल यी संगीतकार सांगीतिक यात्राको एउटा उचाइ प्राप्त गरिसकेपछि सामाजिक सेवाको योजना बुन्न तल्लीन छन् । ‘मानिस सगरमाथा चढ्छ, विश्व देख्छ, विश्वकै अग्लो स्थानमा पुगेको गर्व अनुभूत गर्छ, अनि लुरुलुरु तल र्झछ,’ शिखरमा एक्लै पुगे पनि बस्ने मन गरे पनि आखिरमा बेसक्याम्प झर्नैपर्छ,’ दार्शनिक शैलीमा आफ्नो लोकपि्रयतालाई विश्लेषण गर्दै यी ३८ बर्षीय संगीतकारले भने- ‘किनभने उसका सबै आफन्त बेसक्याम्पमै हुन्छन्, मैले पनि सगरमाथा चढिसकेपछि आफ्नो भूमिकामा सीमितता ल्याउनैपर्छ । जहाँ मेरा आफन्त हुन्छन् ।’ जीवनको अबको यात्रा पूर्ण रूपमा सामाजिक उत्तरदायित्व वहन गर्न खर्चिनुपर्छ भन्ने भावनाकै कारण गोरखामा विश्वविद्यालय स्थापना गर्ने लक्ष्यका साथ उनी अघि बढेका छन् ।

@Gorkhalisamaj

Within a decade, greenback’s could be replaced as the world’s reserve currency

The dollar’s hegemony continues to be cemented, meanwhile, by the operations of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Founded at Bretton Woods, they’re both Washington based, of course, and controlled by America, despite some Francophone window-dressing.

The advantages this system bestows on the US are enormous. “Reserve currency status” generates huge demand for dollars from governments and companies around the world, as they’re needed for reserves and trade. This has allowed successive American administrations to spend far more, year-in year-out, than is raised in tax and export revenue.

By the early Seventies, US economic dominance was so assured that even after President Nixon reneged on the dollar’s previously unshakeable convertibility into gold, amounting to a massive default, dollar demand kept growing.

So America doesn’t worry about balance of payments crises, as it can pay for imports in dollars the Federal Reserve can just print. And Washington keeps spending willy-nilly, as the world buys ever more Treasuries on the strength of regulatory imperative and the vast liquidity and size of the market for US sovereign debt.

It is this “exorbitant privilege” – as French statesman Valéry Giscard d’Estaing once sourly observed – that has been the bedrock of America’s post-war hegemony. It is the status of the dollar, above all, that’s allowed Washington to get its way, putting the financial squeeze on recalcitrant countries via the IMF while funding foreign wars. To understand politics and power it pays to follow the money. And for the past 70 years, the dollar has ruled the roost.

This won’t change anytime soon. Something just took place, though, which illustrates that dollar reserve currency status won’t last forever and could be seriously diluted. Last week, seven decades on from Bretton Woods, the governments of Brazil, Russia, India and China led a conference in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza to mark the establishment of a new development bank that, whatever diplomatic niceties are put on it, is intent on competing with the IMF and World Bank.

It’s long been obvious the BRICs are coming. The total annual output of these four economies has spiralled in recent years, to an astonishing $29.6  trillion (£17.3 trillion) last year on a PPP-basis adjusted for living costs. That’s within spitting distance of the $34.2 trillion generated by the US and European Union combined.

America’s GDP, incidentally, was $16.8 trillion on World Bank numbers, and China’s was $16.2 trillion – within a whisker of knocking the US off its perch. The balance of global economic power is on a knife-edge. Tomorrow is almost today.

Consider also that the BRICs collectively hold sway over 50pc of global currency reserves, rising to almost three-quarters if you take the emerging markets as a whole. The G7 nations between them control only 20pc – and less than 8pc if you exclude Japan.

Based on such balance sheets, we’re now seeing institutional change. The new BRICs Development Bank, modelled on the IMF, will have a $100bn currency reserve available to lend around the world, giving distressed debtor nations an alternative to the “Washington consensus”.

For a long time, the BRICs have been paying in to the IMF, yet been denied additional influence over what happens to the money. Belgium has more votes than Brazil, Canada more than China.

The institutions governing the global economy have failed to keep pace with reality. Modest reforms giving the large emerging markets more power, agreed with much fanfare in 2007 and again in 2010, have been stalled by Washington lawmakers. The BRICs have now called time, setting up their own, rival institution based in Shanghai.

The key to the dollar’s future is petrocurrency status – whether it’s used for trading oil and other leading commodities. Here, too, change is afoot. China’s voracious energy appetite and America’s increased focus on domestic production mean the days of dollar-priced energy look numbered.

Beijing has struck numerous agreements with Brazil and India that bypass the dollar. China and Russia have also set up rouble-yuan swaps pushing America’s currency out of the picture. But if Beijing and Moscow – the word’s largest energy importer and producer respectively – drop dollar energy pricing, America’s reserve currency status could unravel.

That would undermine the US Treasury market and seriously complicate Washington’s ability to finance its vast and still fast-growing $17.5  trillion of dollar-denominated debt.

In May, Beijing and Moscow signed a huge multi-decade gas supply contract, to sit alongside a similar oil deal agreed in 2009. No one knows what share of this energy trade will be on a yuan-rouble basis – and the two governments aren’t saying. This question, seemingly inane, is among the most important diplomatic issues of our time.

At the moment, although Russia’s export partners do sometimes settle in roubles, most Sino-Russian trade is still in dollars. But the combination of this new gas deal, and western sanctions on Russia – has seen Moscow and Beijing step up bilateral efforts to facilitate large-scale non-dollar settlement.

With western anti-Russia sanctions likely to be tightened again after the tragic shooting of a Malaysian passenger plane over Ukrainian airspace, Beijing’s response will be closely scrutinised. I, for one, expect the Chinese to say little until it’s clearly established who grounded the plane and why.

Although the dollar’s reserve status won’t end overnight, the global payments system is now moving inexorably towards that outcome. The US currency accounted for just 33pc of all foreign exchange holdings in 2013, on IMF numbers, down from 55pc in 2001.

Within a decade or so, a “reserve currency basket” may emerge, with central banks storing wealth in a mix of dollars, yuan, rupee, reals and roubles, as well as precious metals. Perhaps some kind of synthetic bundle of the world’s leading currencies will be developed, with emphasis placed, after years of western money-printing, on assets backed by commodities and other tangibles.

I also believe central banks may include cyber-currencies (such as bitcoin) in their reserves. If you think that’s mad, consider that mankind has long sought scarcity – be it with shells, stones or metallic elements – to store wealth. Now the money-printing taboo has been broken by yet another generation, it makes sense to use complex computer algorithms to ensure that only a certain amount of a particular currency unit can ever exist.

The dollar’s status is a big question. Judging the outcome is more akin to star-gazing than scientific economics. But the establishment of this BRIC Development bank, timed to coincide with the anniversary of Bretton Woods, is an audacious and significant move. The world’s emerging giants now have thumbscrews on the West.

@TT

By Natalie Robehmed:

Each year, Forbes crunches the net worth of every American billionaire to see who will make the exclusive Forbes 400 list. But 11 members of this club are luckier than the rest: they are in good health, have full heads of hair and many, many years to spend their fortunes.

This year there are 11 American billionaires under the age of 40 on the list.  The youngest member of the Forbes 400 is 30-year-old Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz, who has been the most junior person on the Forbes 400 since making his debut in 2010. He lost bragging rights as country’s youngest billionaire this summer when Snapchat raised money valuing the photo sharing app at $10 billion. Now Evan Spiegel, 24, holds that title but with a net worth of $1.5 billion, he just misses the cut for the Forbes 400.

Moskovitz is just eight days younger than his former Harvard roommate, Mark Zuckerberg, who is the second-most-junior member of the list. The Facebook CEO is worth an estimated $34 billion, up from $19 billion last year, making him the year’s biggest dollar gainer. At just 30 years old, he is the 11th richest person in America – and the wealthiest under 40.

A close third is newcomer Elizabeth Holmes, also 30 but born in February, who joins the ranking this year thanks to her blood testing company Theranos. Holmes founded the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company with money saved for college, and has reportedly raised more than $400 million, valuing the 10-year-old company at $9 billion . Two other new additions to the Forbes 400 who fall into the under 40 club are WhatsApp’s Jan Koum, who, aged 38, is worth $7.6 billion, and Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick, also 38, who joins with a $3 billion fortune thanks to his ride-sharing company.

Unsurprisingly, Silicon Valley whiz kids dominate the billionaire nursery. Napster cofounder and former Facebook CEO Sean Parker is 34, while Twitter cofounder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey is 37. Wireless network entrepreneur and Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, 36, ranks with a $2.8 billion fortune founded on his Ubiquiti Networks while GoPro camera maker’s Nick Woodman, 39, is worth an estimated $3.9 billion. In percentage terms,Woodman is the year’s biggest gainer, with a 200% increase in his net worth since last year, to $3.9 billion. GoPro went public in June; the stock has been soaring as more people buy GoPro cameras and strap them onto bike helmets, surfboards, scuba gear and more.

Outside of tech, there are still fortunes to be made – or inherited. Scott Duncan, worth $7 billion aged 31, is one of four billionaire siblings who are heirs to the energy-pipeline fortune built by their late father, Dan Duncan. While hedge fund managers have previously had a strong showing in the freshman class of the Forbes 400, this year only Chase Coleman, 39, makes the cut. His Tiger Global Management has about $12 billion in assets under management; Coleman’s personal fortune nears $1.9 billion.

This year’s group of 11 youngest billionaires in America have a combined net worth of $78.5 billion, or just under 4% of the $2.29 trillion aggregate net worth of the Forbes 400 ranking.

@Forbes