Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (November 20, 2019). 

Kathmandu court orders shopkeepers not to run shops from Dui Maju until it passes an interim order

The Kathmandu District Court has ordered the shopkeepers operating their business on the premises of Dui Maju shrine not to run their shops there until it passes an interim order.

A single bench of Judge Bhuvan Singh Thapa issued the order to this end on Monday.

Heritage lovers and conservationists have welcomed the court’s order.

Read the full story here.

Alleging political intervention, applicants for transitional justice commissions are withdrawing their names

Despite repeated promises by the government to conclude the transitional justice process—which has dragged on for more than a decade, the way things are moving indicates that end won’t come anytime soon.

A day after a recommendation committee formed to pick officials for the two transitional justice commissions made public a list of probable candidates, at least two applicants withdrew their names on Tuesday, citing political interference, an allegation that conflict victims have also been making about the entire process.

Read the full story here.

Nepal’s luxury hotels are growing but the rooms are empty

High-end hotels might be proliferating across the country but there aren’t enough guests to fill them up, according to the financial reports of Nepal’s three key five-star institutions.

The first quarter financial reports from Taragaon Regency Hotels, Soaltee Hotel and Oriental Hotels, all of which are listed on the Nepal Stock Exchange, showed that profits have taken a nosedive after posting record profits last fiscal year. The first quarter of the fiscal year runs from mid-July to the end of September.

Read the full story here.

Iodised salt once prevented goitres but it is now leading to hyperthyroidism

Several studies—including the 2016 Nepal National Micronutrient Status Survey jointly carried out by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Health and Population—have found that Nepalis are consuming an excessive amount of iodine.

According to the survey, over two thirds—68 percent—of the population across the country is consuming iodine over the World Health Organization recommended dosage of 15 to 40 parts per million (ppm).

Read the full story here.

Destruction of biodiversity corridor for Nijgadh airport could be disastrous for wild elephants

The proposed Nijgadh International Airport site is adjacent to Parsa National Park and is home to endangered wildlife and an important biodiversity corridor at the foothills of the Chure range. Conservationists fear that the construction of the airport will destroy the natural biodiversity corridor used by the wildlife of the national park, especially those used by wild elephants.

Read the full story here.