Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (December 7, 2019).

Beauty pageant costumes keep repeating and they’re starting to become boring

In Nepal, beauty pageants have served as a platform even for Nepali designers to highlight their creations. And with the unveiling of Shrestha’s costume, it seemed as though the Nepali fashion industry was opening doors for unique and original design ideas. But the duplication of the same concept for the last two years has dampened the mood for many fashion conscious Nepalis who want to see local designers experiment with creativity and originality.

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Supreme Court asks government to halt plans for Nijgadh airport

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to put a hold on the construction of the Nijgadh International Airport.

The decision comes amid widespread criticism of the plan to construct the airport, one of the government’s pride projects, by environmentalists who say the felling of millions of trees would lead to environmental degradation, resulting in loss of habitats for different wildlife species.

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Nepal’s golden girl Gaurika grabs her second gold with the 200m backstroke win

Gaurika Singh claimed her second gold of the 13th South Asian Games as she clocked 2 minutes 17.73 seconds to win the women’s 200m backstroke at the Satdobato swimming pool in Lalitpur on Friday.

Singh initially trailed India’s Manna Rajiv Patel, but made a strong comeback to clinch another gold at home.

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Gopi Chandra Parki resists stiff challenge to restore Nepal’s glory in 5,000-meter race

Gopi Chandra Parki restored glory for Nepal in the men’s 5,000-metre race, finishing ahead of charging Indian and Sri Lankan runners at the Dashrath Stadium track on Friday.

The 30-year-old crossed the finish line clocking 14 minutes 54.20 seconds to beat Indian’s Sunar Dawar, who came in second at 14:55.21.

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Plans to put Chinese planes back in the air jinxed by lack of spares

Nepal Airlines has planned to put all four of its Chinese-made planes back in the air by February, but that is unlikely to happen for lack of spare parts. Previously, it had been forced to ground them because there were no pilots to fly them. Now that there are pilots, there are no parts.

The national flag carrier has four 17-seater Y12e planes in its fleet. Three are sitting in the hangar while one flies twice daily on the Dang sector, according to officials familiar with the matter.

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