Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (August 9, 2019).

As tensions rise over India’s Kashmir decision, Nepal opts to wait and watch

The Narendra Modi government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian constitution and strip Jammu and Kashmir of its autonomy sent shockwaves throughout India, with many neighbouring countries, including Nepal, looking on. While major powers like the United States, China and the United Kingdom urged calm and dialogue, South Asian countries Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives said that India’s actions are a purely internal matter.

While it has yet to take a position, experts and political leaders all believe that Nepal should first take a cautious approach and hold discussions. Read more of the story by Anil Giri here.

Bhairahawa airport may be completed by December or March but no one knows when operations will begin

After nearly half a dozen extended deadlines, the government now plans to complete the construction of the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa either by December or March next year.

On Wednesday, newly appointed Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai told journalists that Nepal’s second international airport was at 73 percent and that it was on track to complete and commence operations by December.

But in a separate meeting with Mukhtor Khamudkhanov, Nepal country director of the Asian Development Bank, the financier of the project, later on Wednesday, Bhattarai said that the government is committed to completing the project by March 2020.

While the minister's statement has added to the confusion over the completion of the airport, no one knows when the airport will begin commercial operations. Sangam Prasain with the story here.

In Province 2, people are getting electrocuted to death—at a rate of one every day

In January, a bus carrying 35 people was returning from a marriage ceremony when it touched a high tension wire hanging off a pole in Sabaila, Dhanusha. The current transmitted to the bus, electrocuting six passengers to death and leaving several others injured and unconscious.

That same week, in Kuwarampur, Janakpur, two people died when they were attempting to traverse an under-construction section of the road and their feet touched a naked wire on the ground.

In the last fiscal year alone, 527 people in Province 2 died after being electrocuted, according to Provincial Police Office Spokesperson DSP Gyan Kumar Mahato. Electricity leakages, naked high-voltage wires, and fluctuating voltage corrupting electrical appliances are behind these deaths, said Mahato. Locals blame the Nepal Electricity Authority for the deaths. More here by Ajit Tiwari.