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Kathmandu: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Narayan Prakash Saud, and Ambassador of Israel to Nepal, Hanan Goder, paid tribute to the Nepali students who lost their lives in an attack by the Hamas militant group on Oct 7 in Gaza, Israel.

Minister Saud and Ambassador Goder arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport to pay their final respects to the bodies of the deceased students, which were brought to Nepal from Israel today.

Ten Nepali students tragically lost their lives during the Hamas militant group’s attack in Gaza, Israel on Oct 7. The bodies brought back this morning included those of Lokendra Singh Dhami and Dipesh Raj Bista from Darchula. The mortal remains of Narayan Prasad Neupane from Kailali were brought back last night, and the body of Ashish Chaudhary from Kailali arrived at 1 pm today, according to Keshav Saud, the press coordinator of Foreign Affairs Minister Narayan Prakash Saud.

The identification of the bodies of the remaining six Nepali students and the completion of the necessary legal processes are still ongoing.

As per the Minister’s Press Coordinator, preparations are underway to transport the three bodies brought back today to Dhangadhi in Kailali using a helicopter belonging to the Nepali Army. These bodies will then be taken to the homes of the deceased students from Dhangadhi Airport.

Tel Aviv: A summit of international leaders in Cairo to discuss the Gaza war ended on Saturday night without any consensus towards averting an Israeli ground invasion. No joint statement was issued as Arab and Western leaders failed to even agree on language condemning Hamas's attack on Israeli communities.

An Egyptian commentator explained that a number of countries including the United States, Great Britain and Germany refused to accept a clause calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Instead, the Egyptian government issued its own statement criticizing the international community for preferring to “manage the conflict and not end it permanently.”

A “temporary solutions and palliatives... do not live up to even the lowest aspirations” of the Palestinians, the statement added.

In response, Lior Haiat, a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on X—formerly called Twitter—that the Hamas attack of Oct 7 was “a wakeup call to the world to fight terrorism together.”

Wrote Haiat, “The Islamist terror threat does not only endanger Israel, it endangers the states of the region and the whole world. It is unfortunate that even when faced with those horrific atrocities, there were some who had difficulty condemning terrorism or acknowledging the danger. Israel will do what it has to do and expects the international community to recognize the righteous battle.”

Earlier in the day, the first trucks delivering humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Israeli officials denied a New York Times report that quoted a UN official saying that trucks entering the Strip had not been checked beforehand.

“All of the equipment was checked before going into Gaza,” said Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). COGAT, a unit of Israel’s Defence Ministry, said that only water, food and medical equipment had been allowed in.

Rafah is the only border crossing out of Gaza controlled by Egypt, not Israel. The crossing is not equipped to handle large numbers of commercial deliveries. Commercial deliveries to the Strip from Egypt are routed through Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, which is adjacent to the Egypt-Gaza border.

The Kerem Shalom crossing is closed for security reasons.

Israel has been striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since an Oct 7 assault by Hamas that caught Israelis off-guard. Fighting raged for days as the Israel Defence Forces initially struggled to clear out the terrorists. More than 1,400 Israelis were killed, and over 4,800 more were injured. Over 200 hostages were taken to Gaza. 

ANI/TPS

Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he will visit China in early November, making the announcement Sunday hours before he was to fly to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden.

Albanese also said China agreed late Saturday to review the crippling tariffs it levied on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers’ biggest export market since 2020.

Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai on Nov 4-7.

“It’s in Australia’s interest to have good relations with China, and certainly my focus in the coming days will be very much on the visit to the United States,” Albanese told reporters at Australian Parliament House.

“With Australia’s closest partner, talking about the future of our alliance, the future which has been upgraded by the AUKUS arrangements, a future based upon our common values, our commitment to democracy, and our commitment to the international rule of law and stable order throughout the globe,” Albanese added, using the acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under the trilateral pact, the US and Britain will cooperate to provide Australia with a fleet of submarines powered by US nuclear technology to counter a more assertive China.

Albanese said he will meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

The visit to China and a potential breakthrough in the wine dispute mark a further repair in relations since Albanese’s center-left Labor Party won elections last year after nine years of conservative government in Australia.

China has agreed to review its tariffs on Australian wine over five months, Albanese's office said. In return, Australia has suspended its complaint against its free trade partner to the World Trade Organization.

A similar dispute resolution plan led to China removing tariffs from Australian barley.

Albanese said reopening the Chinese wine market would be worth more than $631m to exporters.

“We’re very confident that this will result in once again Australian wine, a great product, being able to go to China free of the tariffs which have been imposed by China,” Albanese said.

“It is important that we stabilize our relationship with China. That is in the interests of Australia and China, and it is indeed in the interests of the world that we have stable relations and that is what this visit will represent,” he added.

The visit will come near the 50th anniversary of Labor Party leader Gough Whitlam becoming the first Australian prime minister to visit the People's Republic of China in 1973.

Albanese accepted an invitation weeks ago to visit China this year, but finding suitable dates had been challenging.

Albanese is visiting Washington to meet with Biden this week and will return to the United States after his China trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ forum in San Francisco on Nov 15-17.

It will be the ninth time Biden has met with Albanese as prime minister. The first meeting was in Tokyo hours after Albanese was sworn in as government leader in May last year for a leaders' summit of the Quad strategic partnership that also includes Japan and India.

As well as the AUKUS deal, the leaders will also seek more cooperation on clean energy, critical minerals and climate change.

Albanese’s department announced Friday that it decided after an investigation not to cancel a Chinese company’s 99-year lease on the strategically important Darwin Port despite US concerns that foreign control could be used to spy on its military forces.

Some security analysts interpreted the decision to let Shandong Landbridge Group keep the lease signed in 2015 and long criticized Albanese as a concession to China ahead of his visit.

China’s release of Australian journalist Cheng Lei this month after she spent three years in detention in Beijing on espionage allegations was widely seen as a concession to Australia.

Albanese said the breakthrough on wine “has not been transactional,” meaning Australia did not make any corresponding concessions to Chinese demands.

“We’ll continue to put our case on matters that are in Australia’s national interest,” he said.

“I’ve said very consistently: We’ll cooperate with China where we can, we’ll disagree where we must, and we’ll engage in our national interest, and that’s precisely what we’re doing,” he added.

AP

Kathmandu: Newly elected leadership of the Non Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) assumed office on Saturday. The very first meeting of the Association was also held on the same day and it was headed by newly elected President Dr Badri KC. However, no decision of the meeting has been unveiled. 

Prior to this, the NRNA International Coordination Council's election committee presented the certificates to victorious candidates who were subsequently sworn in by the committee. 

Newly elected president KC has said that an election audit report to be received from an international agency, specifically for an information technology audit, would be acceptable to the Association. 

It may be noted that the NRNA International General Assembly, held on Oct 19, was marred by disputes over alleged irregularities in the online voting process.

The bodies of Nepalis killed in armed attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel have been brought to Kathmandu.

The bodies arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 8:30 am today.

Foreign Minister NP Saud and the Israeli Ambassador to Nepal had reached the airport to receive the mortal remains.

The bodies have been taken to the Nepal Army barrack and the foreign minister has also reached the barrack.

The body of another person will be brought to Kathmandu at 1 pm.

The Tel Aviv-based Nepali Embassy in Israel sent the bodies of four Nepali students to Nepal on Saturday after completing the legal process.

The bodies of Narayan Neupane, Lokendra Singh Dhami, Dipesh Raj Bista and Ashish Chaudhary were brought to Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, the Embassy said that they are searching for Bipin Joshi who has been missing in Israel by using all the available mechanisms.

Ten Nepali students had died when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched its Oct 7 attack on Israel, stabbing, shooting and burning to death more than 1,400 people. The attack—the worst in Israel’s history—sparked a retaliatory assault on Gaza that has killed around 3,000 people there, most of them civilians.

The deceased have been identified as Narayan Prasad Neupane and Ashish Chaudhary of Kailali, Ganesh Kumar Nepali of Bajhang, Dipesh Raj Bista and Lokendra Singh Dhami of Darchula, Ananda Sah of Dhanusha, Rajesh Kumar Swarkar of Sunsari, Rajan Phulara and Padam Thapa of Doti and Pravesh Bhandari of Salyan.

Preparations are underway to take the bodies to Dhangadhi on a Nepal Army chopper on Monday.

Hindus across the country are celebrating the eighth day of the ten-day-long Bada Dashain festival as Maha Ashtami by worshiping the Goddess Durga Bhawani.

On this day, people offer special prayers to the goddesses Mahakali, Mahalaxmi, and Maha Saraswati. This particular day of the Dashain festival is considered significant as it is believed that on this day the Goddess Durga gained her divine power.

On the occasion, people perform religious rituals at the Dashain Ghars and armories and offer worship to goddesses at various shrines by offering sacrifices of different animals. The people also chant the mantras from Durga Saptashati, Shrimad Devi Bhagwat and Devi Stotra scriptures.

Devotees throng various goddess shrines in the Kathmandu Valley early in the morning to offer worship and make offerings of goats and ducks.

Likewise, across the country, people visit various goddess temples to perform worship and make offerings, including the sacrifice of goats, ducks, and roosters.

Special Durga Puja ceremonies and prayer rituals take place at the Dashain Ghars. There is also a tradition of worshiping weapons, vehicles, and machines on the day of Maha Ashtami.

For those who refrain from animal sacrifices, various vegetables and fruits are offered in place of animals.

Furthermore, on this day, a special Kalaratri worship is performed at midnight at the Dashain Ghar in local Hanumandhoka. 

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted the Kathmandu Valley this morning.

The quake with its epicenter around Khari of Dhadhing was recorded at 7:39 am today, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center's Chief Lok Bijay Adhikari.

The tremor's effects were also felt in the surrounding districts of Dhading.

Manchester: Bobby Charlton, an English soccer icon who survived a plane crash that decimated a Manchester United team destined for greatness to become the heartbeat of his country’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died. He was 86.

A statement from Charlton's family, released by United, said he died Saturday surrounded by his family.

An extravagantly gifted midfielder with a ferocious shot, Charlton was the leading scorer for both United (249 goals) and England (49 goals) for more than 40 years until being overtaken by Wayne Rooney.

“Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world,” United said.

“He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as he was for his outstanding qualities as a footballer; Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game.”

Alex Ferguson, who managed United from 1986-2013, said before Charlton's death that he “is the greatest Manchester United player of all time—and that’s saying something.”

“Bobby Charlton is absolutely without peer in the history of the English game,” Ferguson said.

Charlton was also renowned for his humility, discipline and sportsmanship. He was never sent off in 758 appearances for United from 1956-73 or 106 internationals for England from 1958-70.

Charlton played with George Best and Denis Law in the so-called “Trinity” that led United to the 1968 European Cup after surviving the 1958 Munich crash that wiped out the celebrated “Busby Babes” team. He won three English league titles at United, and one FA Cup.

“For a footballer, he offered an unparalleled combination of grace, power and precision,” said former United defender Bill Foulkes, another survivor of the Munich air crash.

“It added up to a greatness and something more—something I can only call beauty.”

Charlton’s England scoring record stood for 45 years until Rooney scored his 50th goal for the national team in September 2015. Three of his England goals came in the World Cup in 1966, during which Charlton played every minute for the team and stood out especially in the semifinals when he scored twice against Portugal to lead England to a first major final.

England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in the final.

Although Ryan Giggs beat Charlton’s appearance record for United in 2008, his scoring record for the club lasted another nine years. It was only in 2017—44 years after Charlton last wore the famous red jersey of England’s most successful club — that Rooney scored his 250th goal for United.

After retiring in 1973, Charlton went into coaching and founded a youth scheme that included David Beckham, a future United and England great, among its participants.

After brief spells in charge of Preston, Wigan and Irish side Waterford, Charlton returned to United in 1984 as a director and persuaded the board in 1986 to appoint Ferguson, who delivered 38 trophies during nearly 27 years in charge.

Knighted in 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II, Charlton remains a mainstay at Old Trafford, featuring alongside Best and Law on a statue outside United’s stadium.

Charlton avoided the controversies and distractions that damaged the career of Best, with his style and demeanor bringing a popularity that transcended the tribalism of club and international football.

“I felt he could be a bit aloof,” the late Best said in a 2001 magazine interview. “We were never at each other’s throats, we simply didn’t go and have a pint together.”

Robert Charlton was born 11 Oct 1937, in the coal-mining town of Ashington, northeast England, and his talent was obvious from a young age.

“We realized Bobby was going to be a bit special as a player when he was about five years old,” said older brother Jack, who played for Leeds and won the World Cup alongside him. “He was always kicking a football or a tennis ball against a wall and when it bounced back it stuck to him like a magnet.”

Charlton wrote in 2007 that his family sometimes relied on illegally caught salmon or rabbit to ward off hunger, while his father—also named Robert—gathered coal washed up on local beaches and sold it to bolster his income.

His father’s commitment to his mining colleagues meant that in 1966 he missed Charlton scoring both goals against Portugal in that World Cup semifinal because he didn’t want someone else to have to cover for him in the pit. He was, however, persuaded to attend the final when the Charlton brothers lifted the trophy.

Charlton’s playing career began far from home in Manchester after leaving school at 15, making his United debut three years later against Charlton in 1956.

Within two years, tragedy struck the tight-knit group of United players whose relationship was forged as trainees in austere conditions. The team was still celebrating winning at Red Star Belgrade to secure a place in the European Cup semi finals when their plane caught fire on its third attempt to take off in heavy snow after a refueling stop in Germany.

Charlton miraculously emerged from the smoldering wreckage with only light head injuries and picked his way through the wreckage to help survivors. Spotting manager Matt Busby groaning in agony on the smoke-shrouded runway, Charlton rushed to help the father-figure who had promoted him to the first team.

But eight members of the “Busby Babes” team packed with bright prospects were among the 21 fatalities. They included Duncan Edwards, considered one of England’s most talented players at 21.

“Sometimes it engulfs me with terrible anger and regret and sadness—and guilt that I walked away and found so much,” Charlton wrote in 2007.

Charlton became driven by a lingering obligation to preserve the memories of the Munich dead, returning to action less than four weeks later and helping a hurriedly assembled team of survivors and stand-ins reach that season’s FA Cup final.

Busby rebuilt his team around Charlton, adding the 1965 and 1967 English league titles to the championship they won in 1957.

“There was always one great hope—the return to greatness of my beloved club,” Charlton said.

The biggest prize of his club career arrived in 1968 as United became the first English club to become champion of Europe. Charlton scored twice in a 4-1 extra-time win over a Benfica team containing Portugal great Eusebio.

But Charlton is perhaps best known for being part of the England team that won the World Cup. It remains England’s only major title in men’s soccer.

Charlton and his brother fell out over Jack’s public assertion that Bobby’s wife caused him to become estranged from his mother. But the pair reconciled and Jack presented Bobby with a lifetime achievement trophy at the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

“We have had our public disputes, proving that in any family discord can sometimes disrupt the force of love and blood, but throughout that time I never lost the sense of wonder and gratitude that we were together in 1966 on such a great day in the history of our nation’s sport,” Bobby Charlton said.

In Nov 2020, it was announced that Charlton had been diagnosed with dementia, the same disease that afflicted his brother—who died in 2020 at age 85—and another World Cup winner, Nobby Stiles.

“This man, from day one, was everything I wanted to be,” United striker Marcus Rashford wrote of Charlton after hearing about the diagnosis. “Kind, professional, caring, talented.”

He is survived by his wife, Norma, whom he married in 1961, and his two daughters.

AP