Today, Shweta Singh Kirti shared a rare video of Sushant Singh Rajput which proves that he was super talented. In the video, the late actor can be seen writing with both hands and it is simply amazing.Ruth Bader Ginsburg may be battling cancer for the fifth time, but she’s still in the mood for love. Other people’s, that is. The “notorious” U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 87, made a brief quasi-public appearance over the weekend to officiate at the wedding of a family friend on Sunday.
RAUTAHAT, AUGUST 31
Police have arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in the murder of a Hindu priest in Rautahat more than a week ago.
On August 19, some unidentified persons had shot Shreeram Sah, the priest of Hanuman temple in Khesarahiya bazaar of Madhavnarayan Municipality, while he was resting in his home in the evening after having his meal.
Murder accused Ram Naresh Patel and Bal Kumar Patel of Dewahi Gonahi Municipality are said to have been arrested from the across the Nepal-India border.
According to sources, they were arrested from their hideout in Ghodasaha area of Purbi Champaran of the Indian state of Bihar, with the help of Indian police.
Four other persons, including ward 1 chairperson Shekh Narullah of Dewahi Gonahi Municipality, Rajendra Patel and Ram Prabesh Patel, have been missing from their homes following the incident.
While police hasn’t confirmed the arrest of the two persons, various religious organisations have protested the failure of police to investigate the incident effectively and arrest the perpetrators.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 1, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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RAUTAHAT, AUGUST 31
On the 13th day of priest Shreeram Sah’s murder, foundation stones for Ram Janaki temple and Hanuman temple were laid in Khesarhiya of Madhav Narayan Municipality, Rautahat.
Following Sah’s murder, Nepal Communist Party Province 2 Chair and Rautahat constituency 3 Province Assembly member Prabhu Sah had declared that temples would be constructed.
Maulapur Municipality Mayor Rina Devi Sah laid the foundation stones for Ram Janaki temple and Hanuman temple.
Priest Sah had built the temple on his own and was taking care of the temple selflessly. Prabhu Sah said he had announced construction of the temple to realise the dream of the priest. Rautahat CDO Indradev Yadav pledged to set up a police post in its vicinity.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 1, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 31
Cases of asymptomatic COVID patients staying in home isolation suddenly becoming ill and succumbing to the contagion have come to light, prompting the need to spread awareness about precautions patients staying in home isolation must take.
Santa Kumar Das, who is COVID-19 Management Committee Coordinator at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, told THT that people staying in home isolation should frequently check their oxygen level and should be rushed to hospital when their oxygen saturation drops below 90 per cent. “Often people staying in home isolation have no symptom of the disease, but they do not know that their oxygen level has dropped, which becomes fatal,” Das said.
He said even asymptomatic patients staying in home isolation should be rushed to hospital when their oxygen level drops to abnormally low point or when they experience other severe symptoms. Das added that patients staying in home isolation should keep a pulse oximeter, which measures oxygen level, at home. It costs Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000.
According to Das, health authorities should monitor the health of COV- ID-19 patients who are staying in home isolation at least twice a day and should inform patients what they should or should not do while staying in home isolation.
“Leaflets and other information disseminated to the public about COV- ID-19 may not be enough and therefore, there is a need for constant monitoring of patients staying in home isolation. The government should form mobile teams of health professionals who could visit COVID patients in their homes,” he added.
Das also said that government authorities needed to tell patients staying in home isolation which hospitals they should visit. “COVID patients should be told in advance where they will be treated. When COVID patients develop symptoms or need medical care, they should not be wasting time looking for the hospital that will admit them,” he said.
Director of Patan Hospital Rabi Shakya said, “COVID patients staying in home isolation should be rushed to a hospital even if they experience slight deterioration in their health.”
Assistant Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Samir Kumar Adhikari accused local authorities of inadequate monitoring of patients staying in home isolation.
“Local governments should increase their monitoring of patient staying in home isolation,” he said.
Regarding a patient from Bhaktapur who died yesterday while staying at home, Adhikari said he was kept at home at the insistence of his family who told health authorities that the patient was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and family members could take better care of the patient.
“Home isolation is a good option for asymptomatic cases as staying close to family can keep their morale high,”
Adhikari said, adding that it would not be possible to put all asymptomatic patients in hospitals.
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In 2012, Izabelle Leite made her Bollywood debut by essaying the supporting role of a prostitute in Aamir Khan’s Talaash and followed it up with the leading lady role of Anu in the erotic thriller Sixteen. She is celebrating her 30th birthday on Tuesday (September 1st) and on the special occasion, scroll down for some of her hot-as-hell pics in beach outfits like bikini, monokini and lingerie.
On August 24th, the school education department of the state had announced that the online classes for students in Telangana will begin from September 1.
RAUTAHAT, AUGUST 31
Criminal activity has been on the rise in Rautahat district of late.
A woman aged 40 was found murdered in Rautahat last evening. The body of Mintra Devi Baitha, 40, was found in the field at Laxmipur tole of ward 3 of Gadhimai Municipality, Rautahat, last evening. She had left home at 10:00am to collect fodder for cattle.
Police have started investigating the incident, said SP Rabiraj Khadka.
Niranjan Ram, 20, of Jingadawa of ward 8 of Garuda Municipality, Rautahat, was murdered a fortnight ago.
Four days after Ram was killed, a priest of Hanuman temple at ward 2 of Madhav Narayan Municipality, Shreeram Sah, was killed. Despite investigation, police are yet to book people involved in the priest’s murder.
Police had arrested Bijay Ram for his alleged involvement in killing Niranjan Ram. Bijay died due to torture meted out by the police in custody.
Among the four killed in various incidents, Niranjan, Bijay and Mintra Devi are from the Dalit community.
Family members and the local Dalit people have been staging a relay hunger strike against the police in relation to the death of Bijay in police custody.
Due to the protest, Area Police Office DSP Gyan Kumar Mahato was recalled to Province 2 Police Office. A three-member probe committee formed by the Home Ministry has started investigating the incident from today.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 1, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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AstraZeneca Plc said on Monday it has begun enrolling adults for a US-funded, 30,000-subject late-stage study of its high profile COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Trial participants will receive either two doses of the experimental vaccine, dubbed AZD1222, four weeks apart, or a placebo, the company said.
The trial is being conducted under U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed program, which aims to accelerate development, manufacturing and distribution of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.
US President Donald Trump has said a vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be available before the Nov. 3 presidential election, much sooner than most experts anticipate.
AstraZeneca, which is developing its vaccine in conjunction with Oxford University researchers, and Pfizer Inc with partner BioNTech SE have said they could have data by October to support U.S. emergency use authorization or approval of their respective vaccines.
AZD1222 is already undergoing late-stage clinical trials in Britain, Brazil and South Africa, with additional trials planned in Japan and Russia. The trials, together with the U.S. Phase III study, aim to enroll up to 50,000 participants globally.
The U.S. trial will evaluate whether the vaccine can prevent COVID-19 infection or keep the illness from becoming severe, the National Institutes of Health said in a statement https://ift.tt/32H3FZZ.
It also will assess if the vaccine can reduce incidence of emergency department visits due to COVID-19.
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NEW YORK: Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas kicked off his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title in style as he overwhelmed Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 6-1 6-1 on Monday to reach the second round of the US Open.
Tsitsipas, who entered the first Grand Slam of the COVID-19 era fresh off a run to the semi-finals of the US Open tune-up event, never faced a break point and broke Ramos-Vinolas seven times during the 98-minute match.
“I had a clear picture of what I was doing, where I was pressing. The depth on my ball was good,” said Tsitsipas, whose best Grand Slam result to date came at the 2019 Australian Open where he reached the semi-finals.
The 22-year-old Tsitsipas, who has never been beyond the second round of the US Open, came into this week with 16 wins to his name this season and has been tipped by many to make a deep run in a tournament missing a number of top players.
Tsitsipas broke to go ahead 3-1 and that opened up his game as he went on to play the contest on his terms, flashing equal parts power and variety to overwhelm his opponent.
After Ramos-Vinolas held serve to start the third set, Tsitsipas won six consecutive games to wrap up the match and improve to 3-0 in head-to-head meetings with the Spaniard.
Tsitsipas enjoyed a solid day from the service line as he lost just four first-serve points and finished his day with 38 winners against 26 unforced errors.
The loss brought a speedy end to Ramos-Vinolas’s return to competition as the Spaniard, in his first tour-level event since the ATP Tour returned from its COVID-19 hiatus, withdrew from last week’s tune-up to be at the birth of his first child.
Up next for Tsitsipas will be a first-ever career meeting with American wildcard Maxime Cressy, who beat Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik 6-1 2-6 6-4 6-4.
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Liberty University is investigating every facet of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president as details continued to emerge of sexual misconduct.
Under fire for his upcoming film, which is allegedly based on Sushant Singh Rajput’s life, the actor defends his project.
American singer-songwriter Katy Perry recently opened up about her marriage to English comedian Russell Brand, nine years after the pair split back in 2011.
As actor Rajkummar Rao celebrated his 36th birthday on Monday, scores of Bollywood stars and his friends from the industry extended warm wishes on social media to make the day special.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta has opened up in defence of Bollywood in a series of tweets. Although he calls it an untargetted ramble, Mehta seems to be responding to actress Kangana Ranaut, who recently tweeted allegations about rampant drug use in Bollywood parties.
Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa Sikdar and son Babil Khan often share throwback pictures of the late actor on social media. And on Monday, Babil took to Instagram share pictures with the late actor along with a long caption.A lawyer for family members of the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 told a court they wanted reparations for the injustice suffered which has been compounded by a Russian “disinformation” campaign.
If the numbers of JEE (Main) and NEET aspirants are taken into account, the state has the highest stakes among the six non-BJP states seeking postponement of the tests.
An online survey conducted over two days involving more than 60 schools across Gujarat with 616 participants finds 341 students are not in favour of JEE/NEET being held right now, while 275 students want it as scheduled. By & Nischal Sanghavi
The city’s most popular higher education destination, Fergusson College, recorded the highest cut-off of 97.4% for Arts (English) while its cut-off for Science was 97%.Two St. Louis police officers were shot, one fatally, after an hours-long standoff with a gunman who had barricaded himself inside a residence after ordering the occupants to leave.
KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30
Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizens Parbat Gurung today said preparations were under way to set up Social Entrepreneurship Fund under the Social Welfare Council.
The minister was speaking at a virtual programme organised to make public a report titled, ‘Access to Justice: Social Enterprise in Nepal’ prepared by the Beyond Beijing Committee, Nepal. The fund aims to end the trend of social organisations relying on foreign financial aid to carry out social and humanitarian service, said the minister.
Pledging to formulate acts and laws related to entrepreneurship, he also urged all concerned authorities to provide necessary suggestions to formulate the acts and laws.
“There is a need to formulate acts and laws that would help remove problems related to taxes in the social entrepreneurship sector. In this regard, I urge all organisations in the social welfare sector, civil society and NGOs to provide their suggestion.”He expressed that the social entrepreneurship campaign would contribute to making women economically self-reliant to help end the violence against women. On the occasion, President of NGO Federation of Nepal Jitram Lama drew the attention of the minister to manage necessary acts and laws for the development of social entrepreneurship.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 31, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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Kathmandu, August 30
Free transportation service has been made available for health workers and hospital staff in Kathmandu valley.
The bus service comes amid prohibitory order in place, which has made it difficult for health workers and hospital staffers to discharge their duties due.
The service is provided from 6:30am to 8:30am in the morning and from 5:30 pm to 7:30pm in the evening. Nepal Medical Association, Rotary Club of Kathmandu, Health Professionals, Nepal National Hospital, Kalanki, Nepal Scouts and Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal cooperated for the initiative.
“The free bus service aims to address the need of transportation of health workers and hospital staffers,” said Medical Director of NMA Dr Prakash Poudyal.
Three buses have been operated on different routes in the first phase. A bus from Bansbari goes through Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kanti Children’s Hospital, Bir Hospital and Thapathali Hospital ending at Patan Hospital. Another route begins from Patan Hospital and goes through Thapathali Hospital, Eye Hospital, Tripureshwor, Bir Hospital, Kanti Children’s Hospital, and Teaching Hospital ending in Bansbari. Number of buses and service time would be gradually increased as per the need, said NMA’s Executive Member Dr Ritesh Thapa.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 31, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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Kathmandu, August 30
Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa has expressed concern about the rising number of COVID-19 cases among personnel of different security agencies across the country.
Speaking at a virtual meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, Minister Thapa said the growing number of security forces contracting COVID-19 was worrisome. He also said that the government would not leave any stone unturned to control the coronavirus spread among security personnel.
Minister Thapa also expressed concern over safety of the jail birds and people in police custody, who are required to live in groups.
The meeting was attended by four lawmakers, including the committee’s chairperson Shashi Shrestha, lawmakers Lalbabu Pandit, Rekha Sharma, and Dila Sangraula. All lawmakers, except Minister Thapa, had gathered at a meeting hall in Singhadarbar. A lawmaker, who attended the meeting, said the committee had directed the government to act in a robust manner to subdue the spread of COVID-19 in barracks, prisons and police custody. The committee has also forwarded a suggestion to the government to release arrestees of minor crime.
The committee has also suggested the government to improve prison management across the country at the earliest.
As of today, over 2,500 security personnel from Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have contracted the COVID-19.
Among them 1,570 security personnel of Nepal Police have contracted the virus. Of them, 686 have recovered while 884 are undergoing treatment at various COVID-19 hospitals or in home isolation.
Over 500 security personnel of APF have contracted the virus, according to Deputy Inspector General Raj Aryal. He further said around 50 per cent of security personnel have recovered from the disease. As many as 432 security personnel of Nepali Army have contracted the virus as of today.
Santosh Paudel, spokesperson of the NA said 119 infected NA personnel have recovered.
NA’s security personnel have been providing security on some border points in the country. NA personnel also provide security at quarantine centres, isolation centres, conduct health camps and are required to manage bodies of those who have lost their lives to the virus.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 31, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 28
A four-day national symposium on Nepal’s post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation concluded in Kathmandu today, claiming that Nepal’s experiences and learning had set an example for the world.
The new facts and knowledge gained through the research presented at the symposium by various experts helped understand that Nepal’s experience would add a new dimension in the post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation in the world, said Sushil Gyewali, chief executive officer of the National Reconstruction Authority, the symposium organiser.
“Research papers presented during the sessions have shown that reconstruction of private housing has moved ahead effectively due to the active participation of the local communities, old structures were strengthened with retrofitting technology. Rebuilding of historic monuments has helped revive age-old construction techniques and transfer knowledge to the new generation,” he said.
CEO Gyewali said though cement and steel structures technology had been discussed among those in the engineering field, it was now proved that traditional construction materials like wood, stone and chuna surki too could help build strong structures. Stating that the new building code formulated by the NRA was a new beginning in the construction sector, Gyewali expressed satisfaction that the communities were aware that the houses must be earthquake-resilient.
Secretary at the NRA Ramkrishna Sapkota said the papers presented during the symposium would help document the best practices, which would be useful to the next generation. NRA organised the virtual symposium to share its experiences in reconstruction.
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Two St. Louis police officers were shot, one fatally, after an hours-long standoff with a gunman who had barricaded himself inside a residence after ordering the occupants to leave.
After several delays, Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet' has hit the theatres in the UK. Now, Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor who is currently in London with hubby Anand Ahuja stepped to watch the film on the big screen.
Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty was questioned by the CBI's Special Investigation Team for eight hours on Sunday, on issues including the medical treatment and medicines administered to Sushant Singh Rajput and mention of drugs in her chats, and is likely to be questioned again as her answers were "not satisfactory".
Top criminal lawyers discuss the legal implications of Rhea Chakraborty’s interviews to the media and what they mean for the ongoing CBI probe
Milind Soman and wife Ankita Konwar have been giving major couple goals for a long time now. And on the occasion of Ankita's 29th birthday, Milind hosted a party at his home for the family.
Chadwick Boseman aka the 'Black Panther' of the Marvel Cinematic Universe passed away on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 43. The Hollywood star was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, however, he never talked about the same publicly.
Sushant Singh Rajput's death case is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The agency has been interrogating everyone related to the case along with the prime accused, SSR's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty. The CBI is looking into various angles in the case.
Sharing a refreshing picture with her fans, actor Alia Bhatt on Sunday treated fans with a stunning picture shot by her sister and 'life line' Shaheen Bhatt.A teacher in Los Angeles said she left her home with her daughter after receiving a number of death threats over wearing an “I can’t breathe” t-shirt during a virtual class.
With several reports claiming that actress Rhea Chakraborty has confessed that the drug-related chats featuring her are authentic, her lawyer downplayed it on Saturday evening, saying they would only take the official word from the investigating agency to be the truth.
Students are getting some 'help' while taking tests at home
The California Senate voted on Saturday in favor of establishing a committee to study potential African-American reparations.
MELBOURNE: New coronavirus cases in Australia’s state of Victoria returned to the triple digits on Sunday, while neighbouring New Zealand said it would ease curbs slightly in its largest city, hit by a resurgence of infections.
Southeastern Victoria reported 114 new cases, a day after the daily tally fell to 94, its lowest in nearly two months. Its capital, Melbourne, is four weeks into a six-week hard lockdown that authorities have said may ease only gradually.
“At 100, 94, at 114, whatever the number, we simply could not open up,” state premier Daniel Andrews told a televised briefing.
The nation of 25 million has suffered about 25,600 infections and just over 600 deaths since the start of the year.
Australia’s closest neighbour, New Zealand, reported two new virus cases on Sunday, taking its tally of infections to 1,378, while the death toll stands at 22.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said curbs in Auckland would be eased from Monday, but would be tightened again if needed.
Limits will stay on public gatherings and movement in Auckland, however, with masks made mandatory nationwide from Monday.
The programme of curbs has worked well, Ardern said, telling a televised briefing, “It is designed to keep us on track with our elimination strategy.”
Both New Zealand and Australia have proved far better able to rein in the spread of the virus than many other nations, moving swiftly to clamp down with social distancing measures.
However, the high cost of the measures for both nations has been reflected in the largest loss in gross domestic product in decades.
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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 29
Seventy-six journalists have contracted coronavirus across the country according to the Federation of Nepali Journalists’ recent study.
The infected journalists are from six provinces as there is no journalist infected in Sudurpaschim till date.
As per the FNJ, Province 1 reported 13 infected journalists — 12 from Morang and one from Udayapur. Province 2 has the highest number with 28 journalists.
Of them, 13 are from Parsa, four from Bara, two from Dhanusha, three from Saptari, three from Sarlahi and one each from Mahottari, Rautahat and Sunsari districts.
Fifteen journalists tested positive for the virus in Bagmati Province. Among them, nine are from Kathmandu, two each from Lalitpur, Makawanpur and one each from Nuwakot and Kavre.
Seven journalists from Nawalpur and one from Kaski district of Gandaki Province have contracted COVID-19.
Province 5 reported 11 journalists with the virus. Among them, two are from Banke, one from Bardiya, one from Kapilvastu and two from Rupandehi. Karnali Province has only one infected journalist.
FNJ General-Secretary Ramesh Bista said some of the infected journalists had recovered, while others were undergoing treatment.
Demanding free PCR tests for journalists, Bista likened journalists to health workers and security personnel working in the frontline. “As the government has shown little interest in addressing problems faced by journalists, we decided to bring some programmes to help journalists infected with the virus.”
The FNJ, according to Bista, has decided to create a fund of Rs 10 million to support infected journalists. Nepali journalists living in various foreign countries are contributing to the fund, which is likely to be activated within a couple of months, informed Bista.
FNJ has also urged all mediapersons to adhere to health safety measures and observe adequate precautions against the infection while discharging their duties.
Bista also said that around 20,000 journalists across the country had received insurance from various FNJ branches in the country.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 30, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 29
Tracing the people coming in contact with the coronavirus infected remains a challenge in the country as the number of contact tracing teams are far from adequate, particularly in metropolis, and because digital signals of persons coming in contact with COVID-19 infected people are not being used.
The government had recently decided to form 1,075 contact tracing teams across the country but all those teams have not been formed yet.
Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Basudev Pandey said currently there were only around 650 contact tracing teams across the country. He said there were only five contact tracing teams in Kathmandu metropolis and those teams were not adequate in the largest metropolitan city that was home to millions of people. He said some people were giving wrong names and telephone numbers due to fear of stigma, which had made the job of contact tracing difficult.
“We have some cases where a COVID-19 infected person gave his swab in Kathmandu and went back to Birgunj. When he reached Birgunj, his swab results came out positive. During this period the infected person went to multiple places thinking he was not positive,” Pandey said and added that people who gave swabs to laboratories needed to stay in home quarantine to avoid the risk of infecting other people.
Spokesperson for Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ishwar Man Dangol said COVID-19 infected people’s reluctance to give full details of persons they have come in contact with is hindering contact tracing. “We have come across people who have participated in gatherings and festivals with not only family members and friends but also neighbours and relatives, but they do not give us full details of those people,” Dangol added.
Assistant Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari said one contact tracing team comprised one coordinator with at least Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, one para-medic and one lab technician. He added that there was need to form contact tracing teams at ward levels as COVID-19 positive cases had continued to surge across the country.
“People tend to give importance to swab testing and thus some people happen to do unnecessary testing, but they do not understand that contact tracing is equally important to check the spread of the contagion,” Adhikari added.
Public health expert Dr Sujan Babu Marhatta said South Korea succeeded in checking the spread of COVID-19 mainly due to its ability to trace the contacts of COVID-19 patients using electronic signals, but Nepal was not using these signals to trace contacts.
He said the number of contact tracing teams were not enough and the main responsibility of contact tracing should be shouldered by the communities and local levels. “Even non-technical people can do contact tracing jobs if they are properly trained,” he said.
Dr Pandey said forming more teams and training contact tracers would require more resources.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 30, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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Cotton University (CU) is all set to launch an undergraduate programme for sportspersons — the first-of-its-kind course in the northeast — from this academic session.
IIT Bhubaneswar has commenced classes for the new academic year amid Covid-19 pandemic. It has started first year classes of postgraduate (PG) students and next semester of existing BTech, MTech and MSc students.
However, lockdown will continue to be implemented strictly in the Containment Zones till September 30, 2020.Two Russian-based Associated Press reporters covering Belarusian demonstrations have been booted out of the nation.
Mark Zuckerberg admits Facebook made a mistake by not removing a page encouraging armed Americans to come to Kenosha, Wisc.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge called his resignation “appropriate” in a tweet.
Boseman and Ledward never publicly announced their marriage.
Novak Djokovic has announced his resignation as head of the ATP’s Player Council and intends to form a new breakaway body to represent athletes — but his plans have immediately met with stiff resistance from within tennis.
World number one Djokovic, Canadian Vasek Pospisil and top-ranked American John Isner all resigned from the council after they were formally requested to step down by other members, a source told Reuters on Saturday.
Djokovic’s move to form a separate players association seemed to have brought together the governing bodies, who called for unity at a time when tennis has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Serb, who beat Canada’s Milos Raonic in the final of the Western & Southern Open 1-6 6-3 6-4 in New York on Saturday, was however still determined to push ahead with the breakaway group.
“I have read in the letter from ATP, that they think that ATP cannot co-exist with the association,” the 17-times Grand Slam winner said. “I have to respectfully disagree.
“This is not a union. This is a player association.”
The ATP governs the men’s professional tour and its board, chaired by former Italian professional player Andrea Gaudenzi, is composed of representatives of both players and tournament owners.
“We recognise the challenges that our members face in today’s circumstances, however, we strongly believe that now is a time for unity, rather than internal division,” an ATP statement said.
“We remain unwavering in our commitment to deliver for our players across all areas of our business, ensuring they receive maximum benefit from their years on Tour, and their voices are heard.”
Besides the ATP and the WTA, the sport is also controlled by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the boards of the four Grand Slams.
In a joint statement, the governing bodies said they have worked “tirelessly” to ensure the sport returned safely after a five-month hiatus and help the players who needed financial help during the shutdown.
“Now more than ever we need collaboration and strong relationships, and we fully support the ATP in its role in representing the best interests of players throughout this process,” it said.
FEDERER, NADAL WEIGH IN
The players are now present in New York’s bio-secure bubble ahead of the US Open, which starts on Monday.
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, who make up the ‘Big Three’ of men’s tennis along with Djokovic, are also part of the council but have opted out of playing this year’s U.S. Open.
Nadal echoed the ATP’s thoughts.
“The world is living a difficult and complicated situation. I personally believe these are times to be calm and work all of us together in the same direction,” he said on Twitter.
“It is time for unity, not for separation.”
Federer, the most successful men’s player with 20 Grand Slam singles titles, agreed with Nadal.
“These are uncertain and challenging times, but I believe it’s critical for us to stand united as players, and as a sport, to pave the best way forward,” said the 39-year-old, who is recovering from double knee surgeries.
Djokovic said he “would love to have Roger and Rafa on board” but that he understood their perspective.
“It’s like having a baby. The time is never right or it’s always right,” said Djokovic.
“We are just trying to get a sense of how many players do really want to join this initiative. Then we will take it from there.”
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LONDON: Arsenal beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalties on Saturday to lift the FA Community Shield, the curtain-raiser for the English domestic season, after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw on a chilly afternoon at Wembley.
Gunners captain and match goal-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired in the final penalty of the afternoon to complete the north London side’s second win over the league champions in the space of six weeks following a shortened summer break.
“We are improving. There is still work to do but I’m really happy and it’s an exciting time to be an Arsenal player,” Aubameyang told BT Sport after the match. It was the Gunners’ second trophy within a month following the side’s FA Cup final win over Chelsea on Aug. 1.
The game, played each summer between the league and FA Cup winner of the season just finished, was a very even and at times rather slow affair.
Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk had an early strike ruled out offside before Arsenal‘s opener, a well-worked move to break out of the champions’ high press.
Bukayo Saka took the ball up the field on the right, crossed all the way over to Aubameyang on the far left, and the Gabon striker skipped forward and curled an inch-perfect shot beyond the reach of Liverpool keeper Alisson into the opposite corner.
The Liverpool attack appeared disjointed by contrast. While they pushed Arsenal right back up the field for long stretches, they were unable to put together a single shot on goal in the first half.
Liverpool’s Japanese substitute Takumi Minamino eventually levelled the tie in the 73rd minute with a shot from close range, picking up his first goal in 15 appearances since arriving on Merseyside in January from Red Bull Salzburg.
“If we’d scored earlier that would have helped … We had our big moments, which we didn’t finish off, so that’s the result,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp told reporters.
Mohamed Salah, Fabinho, Minamino and substitute Curtis Jones all scored for Liverpool in the shootout, but fellow late substitute Rhian Brewster blasted his shot – his first touch of the ball – onto the bar.
Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Cedric Soares and David Luiz all scored for the Gunners before Aubameyang stroked his shot past Alisson to seal the victory for the Londoners.
When asked about whether he will renew his contract with Arsenal which currently expires next summer, Aubameyang – their leading scorer for the last two seasons – remained enigmatic: “We’re going to see in these days. Today we take the trophy, that’s it.”
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta sounded more positive about both Aubameyang’s contract and the team as a whole, saying: “I try to do my job which is convince him he’s at the right place. I’m very positive he is going to sign.”
“It’s not a one-off when we beat the teams we have in the last two months consistently,” he said, though he added: “We have aspects in our game we have to improve.”
The post Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to lift FA Community Shield appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30
How does it feel to live with a wound – one that is kept alive with the constant rubbing of salt by precisely the ones who should have actually treated it? The answer obviously is that it feels painful, very painful indeed. Having a loved one in the family suddenly snatched away, and not getting an answer about the whereabouts for years after years from those who committed this is certainly very painful.
The pain of not knowing the truth of what happened to one’s loved one is psychologically devastating. With lack of a definite answer from the state authorities whose duty it is to investigate and reveal the fate of the victims of enforced disappearance, the families remain in a state of limbo not knowing what happened while hoping that their loved one is still alive and will return some day.
Enforced disappearance is one of the worst forms of human rights violations which is often used during times of conflict by the parties to the conflict as a means to terrorize people. It is devastating not only to the victims and their families but also to the community and society at large as it instills fear, insecurity and trauma on those who are directly or indirectly affected. According to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from the Enforced Disappearance ‘enforced disappearance’ is an act of ‘arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.’
Enforced disappearance was widespread in Nepal’s ten year conflict. According to a 2004 report by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the phenomenon of disappearance was used arbitrarily by both ‘the Maoist insurgents and the Nepalese security forces’. The report also notes that ‘a culture of silence’ had sprung up across the country, with ‘villagers too fearful to report disappearances for fear of reprisal from the security forces or the Maoists insurgents’.
The conflict ended in Nepal in 2006 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which promised to make the fate of the ‘disappeared’ public within 60 days. Since the end of the conflict, about a dozen different governments came to power, but none prioritized serving truth and justice to the victims. Consequently. the families of over 1,300 persons forcibly disappeared during the conflict continue to wait with no answer about the fate of their loved ones. For a family whose relative was disappeared in the early days of the conflict, say in 1997, it has been an excruciating wait of over 23 years.
This lack of answer for far too long is unbearable to the families. They want to know the truth of what happened, why and by whom. They also want a decent closure of the situation so as to move on with a satisfactory note. This is possible only if they know the truth and are able to perform the final rites of their loved ones if they are no longer alive. As they say, they want either laas or saas of their loved ones (alive or dead). As long as they are not provided one of this, they will continue to have aash (hope) of their loved ones being alive. This state of uncertainty is not only tiring but also burdensome in practical terms as the unresolved legal status of the disappeared person in the family makes it difficult for them to inherit the property and other legal entitlements. If the disappeared one is the breadwinner in the family, the material loss, deprivation and stress is incalculable.
In 2015, the government established the Commission for the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) under a faulty law that the Supreme Court ruled to amend arguing that the law had provisions that could grant amnesty even to perpetrators involved in grave human rights violations such as the enforced disappearance, torture, rape and murder. The politically appointed members of the CIEDP failed to deliver squandering four precious years and hundreds of millions of rupees before ending their term in February 2019. Unfortunately, the government and the political leadership do not appear to have learnt a lesson as the much needed amendment of the transitional justice law is still pending, and the CIEDP currently stands as a toothless body that is yet again manned by political appointees brushing aside the long standing demands of the stakeholders including victims and civil society that the whole transitional justice process be redesigned with necessary amendment on law and a genuinely meaningful consultation with all the stakeholders concerned.
Now people may ask why bother about those who have gone missing either in the hands of the state security forces ‘doing their duty to the state’ or in the hands of those who were fighting for a so-called ‘just, egalitarian and pro-people federal republican Nepal’ ? After all, the two fighting parties have now for long settled their scores and are part of the same ruling establishment. So, why bother at all? Why talk about those whose absence does not make any difference in your life? And why particularly in times like these when we are faced with bigger issues in life such as the COVID crisis?
My answer to these questions is a big ‘No’. Now, more than ever before, is when we should raise the issues of state accountability because it affects us all. No context or situaiton should serve as a pretext for the government to deflect from its accountability and obligations. While the government and the political leadership has pathetically failed to deliver on Nepal’s transitional justice, we as citizens also owe our bit in this collective failure. The sense of disregard to the past wrongs and a culture of silence and forgetfulness on our part is also a reason why we as a society in Nepal are drifting far apart from the principles and values of rule of law, accountability and justice. As long as we fail to acknowledge and empathize with those in our society who have been wronged, harmed, victimized, disenfranchised, marginalized, exploited, and subjected to injustice, and unless we stand up and speak up, we are fundamentally reinforcing the same culture of silence thereby promoting impunity, and hence potentially throwing ourselves into the same web of anarchy. To quote Martin Luther King Jr. “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
This International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances let’s pledge to rally behind our fellow brothers and sisters who are waiting for an answer concerning the fate of their loved ones. With COVID and everything, times are certainly difficult for all of us, but let’s also know that it’s much worse for those of them who are waiting day in, day out just to know what happened to their loved ones. The compounded economic, social, psychological and material stress and hardship they endure in the face the current COVID crisis is even more daunting. Therefore, let’s be with them. Let’s stand together with them to demand truth, justice and accountability from our leaders because solidarity matters now more than ever before.
Let’s also demand that the transitional justice law be amended as per the Supreme Court ruling and international standards. In these particularly difficult times of COVID, let’s also demand with the government that the social safety measures accommodate the victims of conflict as one of the beneficiaries. Let’s also remain constantly vigilant and active to hold the governments to account for their wrongful acts of commissions and omissions.
Thapaliya is the Director of Amnesty International Nepal.
The post “Forgotten and Forsaken” appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 28
The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) postponed its Secretariat meeting scheduled for tomorrow till September 3, as two of the Secretariat members had to go into self-quarantine.
This combo image shows Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel (left) and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa. Photo: THT
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s Press Adviser Surya Thapa said the meeting was postponed as two Secretariat members — Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel and Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa — had to quarantine themselves after an employee at COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre tested positive for COVID-19. CCMC is led by Pokharel, while Thapa is one of its members.
The next Secretariat meeting is scheduled to discuss the report submitted by the party’s six-member task force led by party General Secretary Bishnu Prasad Paudel.
The task force had recently submitted an 18-page report suggesting that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli should be allowed to hold the post of prime minister till the tenure of the current House of Representatives ends and that of party co-chair till the party’s unity convention.
The task force also suggested that NCP Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal should be given executive power to run party affairs.
Oli and Dahal had formed the task force after the majority of the party’s Standing Committee members had asked Oli to quit either the post of PM or party co-chair. Oli had refused to quit any post.
The post Defence, home ministers in self-quarantine appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
KATHMANDU, AUGUST 28
Nepal Police arrested several e-commerce entrepreneurs, including more than 20 delivery persons, yesterday, stating that home delivery services were against prohibitory orders issued by the District Administration Office, Kathmandu, on August 26. The orders, which were first issued on August 19, will remain in force till September 2.
Staff of a Kathmandu-based restaurant detained by Nepal Police at Durbar Marg, in Kathmandu, on Thursday, August 27, 2020. Photo courtesy: Alok Yonzan
During this period, several e-commerce companies had been providing home delivery services of household stuff, food items, vegetables and medicines, among other goods. Besides arresting delivery persons, police also took the respective company’s operators under control.
“A police van arrived at my place at around 4:00 pm and police personnel asked me to accompany them, stating that our company had conducted home delivery services, violating the law,” said Samita Ojha, founder of Sasto Mela. “First they held our delivery boy and then they came to arrest me.
Other e-commerce entrepreneurs were also in custody,” she added.
Today too, Sasto Mela tried to deliver goods before 9:30 am. However, police detained a delivery boy.
Nepal Police Office at Tinkune has stated that home delivery services have not been mentioned as essential services in the prohibitory orders issued by the DAO, while entrepreneurs claim that they were delivering essential goods.
“Even during the lockdown period we delivered goods to consumers without any obstacle from the administration, but now the police say it is against the law,” Ojha told THT. “The order has to clearly mention that home delivery services of essential goods are not allowed. Moreover, we have not been delivering any unnecessary goods. All our deliveries are household items and medical supplies,” she added.
Instead of promoting e-commerce, the administration seems to be demotivating this new global business practice, she rued.
Meanwhile, Amun Thapa, founder of Sasto Deal, said the young e-commerce entrepreneurs were putting their lives at risk to serve the people and it was shameful on the part of Nepal Police to randomly arrest them without any proper notice or reasoning. He added that the entrepreneurs should not be punished for the lack of coordination between the CDO office and Nepal Police.
“Just a few days back, we had talked to officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies regarding our service and the latter had said we could operate the same,” said Nikita Acharya, founder of UG Cake. According to her, she too was taken to the police station and confined for three hours.
“Instead of arresting us, they could have asked us to stop our services from the next day,” said Acharya. “We now have to suddenly halt our services and cancel all the orders, though most of the orders have already been paid for,” she added. “The police could have dealt with this in a better way as we were delivering essential items.”
In one example of the inconvenience that consumers had to suffer, Prazone Maharjan received a call from Daraz online this morning informing him that his order — which included food items, masks and sanitiser — had been cancelled.
“Home delivery service had somehow made our life easier and it is one of the best options to avoid the crowd at shops in the morning,” he said, adding, “Also, not all people have access to a market or shops close to their homes or some might not be able to go out due to a medical condition or because they have children at home. So, halting the service, I feel, is not a very wise decision.”
He added that the government could have introduced some rules and allowed the service to continue.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has written a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting it to allow home delivery services.
The post Police halt home delivery service, arrest staff appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
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KATHMANDU, AUGUST 28
Nepal Police arrested several e-commerce entrepreneurs, including more than 20 delivery persons, yesterday, stating that home delivery services were against prohibitory orders issued by the District Administration Office, Kathmandu, on August 26. The orders, which were first issued on August 19, will remain in force till September 2.
Staff of a Kathmandu-based restaurant detained by Nepal Police at Durbar Marg, in Kathmandu, on Thursday, August 27, 2020. Photo courtesy: Alok Yonzan
During this period, several e-commerce companies had been providing home delivery services of household stuff, food items, vegetables and medicines, among other goods. Besides arresting delivery persons, police also took the respective company’s operators under control.
“A police van arrived at my place at around 4:00 pm and police personnel asked me to accompany them, stating that our company had conducted home delivery services, violating the law,” said Samita Ojha, founder of Sasto Mela. “First they held our delivery boy and then they came to arrest me.
Other e-commerce entrepreneurs were also in custody,” she added.
Today too, Sasto Mela tried to deliver goods before 9:30 am. However, police detained a delivery boy.
Nepal Police Office at Tinkune has stated that home delivery services have not been mentioned as essential services in the prohibitory orders issued by the DAO, while entrepreneurs claim that they were delivering essential goods.
“Even during the lockdown period we delivered goods to consumers without any obstacle from the administration, but now the police say it is against the law,” Ojha told THT. “The order has to clearly mention that home delivery services of essential goods are not allowed. Moreover, we have not been delivering any unnecessary goods. All our deliveries are household items and medical supplies,” she added.
Instead of promoting e-commerce, the administration seems to be demotivating this new global business practice, she rued.
Meanwhile, Amun Thapa, founder of Sasto Deal, said the young e-commerce entrepreneurs were putting their lives at risk to serve the people and it was shameful on the part of Nepal Police to randomly arrest them without any proper notice or reasoning. He added that the entrepreneurs should not be punished for the lack of coordination between the CDO office and Nepal Police.
“Just a few days back, we had talked to officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies regarding our service and the latter had said we could operate the same,” said Nikita Acharya, founder of UG Cake. According to her, she too was taken to the police station and confined for three hours.
“Instead of arresting us, they could have asked us to stop our services from the next day,” said Acharya. “We now have to suddenly halt our services and cancel all the orders, though most of the orders have already been paid for,” she added. “The police could have dealt with this in a better way as we were delivering essential items.”
In one example of the inconvenience that consumers had to suffer, Prazone Maharjan received a call from Daraz online this morning informing him that his order — which included food items, masks and sanitiser — had been cancelled.
“Home delivery service had somehow made our life easier and it is one of the best options to avoid the crowd at shops in the morning,” he said, adding, “Also, not all people have access to a market or shops close to their homes or some might not be able to go out due to a medical condition or because they have children at home. So, halting the service, I feel, is not a very wise decision.”
He added that the government could have introduced some rules and allowed the service to continue.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has written a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting it to allow home delivery services.
The post Police halt home delivery service, arrest staff appeared first on The Himalayan Times.
15-month-old Evelyn's body was discovered in March.
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Kathmandu, August 27
Though prohibitory orders restricting mobility and non-essential services are in place in Kathmandu valley their implementation has remained poor.
People’s activities and mobility taking place in the name of emergency situations have rendered a severe blow to the government move to combat the coronavirus infection.
According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, Kathmandu, people were found violating security protocol and government order. People were found travelling unnecessarily.
Some people were travelling even without using face-mask, Division Chief Senior Superintendent of Police Bhim Prasad Dhakal said.
SSP Dhakal added that unhindered mobility would be further restricted since that has raised the level of risk.
Police personnel have been mobilised for surveillance of people walking on the street and so far 2,014 individuals had been booked for roaming on the street, said SSP Dhakal. He said people were travelling by using fake identity cards.
According to MTPD, as many as 7,163 vehicles were held in Kathmandu valley during the week-long enforcement of prohibitory order.
Among the vehicles held by the police, 80 per cent were two-wheeler. As many as 1,102 persons violating the prohibitory order, citing emergency situations were also booked during the period.
Temporary police posts have been set up in 45 places of Kathmandu valley to prevent people from flouting the prohibitory order.
Police have urged the people not to step outdoors except emergency work.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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Kathmandu, August 27
As the number of COVID-19 cases is on the rise in Kathmandu valley, the issue of contaminated waste generated by hospitals, health care facilities and isolation centres has emerged as a new challenge for local level governments.
The amount of contaminated waste has been increasing exponentially.
Experiences from other countries have shown that the amount of hospital waste could increase by up to 600 per cent due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Bearing this in mind, Guthi, in collaboration with World Health Organisation, Nepal and with active participation of various municipalities in the valley recently organised, ‘Discussion Programme on Management of the Solid Waste and Safety of the Sanitation Workers during COV- ID-19.’ At the programme, Dr Sudan Panthi from WHO made a presentation based on the guideline, Health Care Waste Management in the Context of COVID-19 Emergency, published by the Ministry of Health and Population, read a press release issued by Guthi, an NGO working in the sector of environment protection and sanitation, today.
Dr Surendra Prasad Chaurasia, chief of Environmental Health and Health Care Waste Management Section at the MoHP highlighted the points mentioned in the guideline. He opined that due to the high risk of COVID-19 infection, extra precautions must be taken while managing health care waste.
Ashok Kumar Byanju Shrestha, president of Municipal Association of Nepal and mayor of Dhulikhel Municipality said the government had not prioritised waste management and had failed to give proper attention to the safety and livelihood of sanitation workers.
Dhurba Acharya, president of Solid Waste Management Association of Nepal, shed light on the issues faced by sanitation workers during this emergency period.
He pointed out the lack of infrastructure for waste management.
Waste segregation and recycling have been limited to pilot projects and garbage trucks face problems in transporting waste to the landfill sites due to bad roads during monsoon season.
Currently, hundreds of COVID-19 patients are in home isolation in the valley. As such, the waste generated by those patients is ultimately mixed with the municipal waste, which leads to the risk of contamination and infection, especially for sanitation workers.
Acharya pointed out that it was important to segregate the waste generated by COVID-19 patients.
Bio-hazard bags must be provided to safely collect waste from the households with such patients, according to Acharya.
Mitra Prasad Ghimire, general secretary of SWMAN, warned that waste from households with COV- ID-19 patients in home isolation and hospital waste was being collected alongside municipal waste.
He also stated that sanitation workers in Kathmandu and Lalitpur lacked PPEs to safely carry out their duties.
Ghimire emphasised that safety of the sanitation workers must be the priority during this time.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
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