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The price of gold has increased by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 107, 600 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 107, 300 per tola on Friday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 107, 100 per tola. It was traded at Rs 106, 800 per tola.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 20 and is being traded at Rs 1,330 per tola today.  

A man has gone missing in the Karnali river since Saturday evening after a tuin (ropeway) he was using to cross the river got snapped. 

The missing person has been identified as Makkar Singh Nepali (38) of Negaun of Soru Rural Municipality-5 in Mugu.

He fell into the river from the Lyapche (Khadikhet) Ghat based in Sarkegad Rural Municipality of Humla.

The incident took place when Nepali, a worker employed for a road construction project in the Gyusi Chhare section along the Karnali Corridor, was returning to his residence after work.

Property worth millions of rupees was destroyed when a fire broke out at the Janakpur-based Big Mart on Saturday.

The fire was taken under control only this morning, according to the District Police Office, Dhanusha.

The fire at the Mart located in Ramananda Chowk of Janakpur Sub metropolis was extinguished with the help of firefighters from various local governments, police and the locals.

Mart proprietor Ram Babu Ray said that property worth around Rs 100 million was destroyed in the flame.

"My family and I were on the second floor of the Mart when we noticed the fire, and we managed to escape to safety," he said.

Skin care is just as important as taking care of oral hygiene. Nowadays, people are relying more on social media beauty influencers who promote beauty and skin care products which sometimes can be rather misleading due to differences in skin types. Doing so may lead to allergies, rashes, irritation, and other skin problems. Therefore, it is crucial to treat your skin with skin experts instead of somebody you know.

Ami Pradhan is a consultant dermatologist in Healthy Choice Clinic at Baluwatar. She has been counseling and helping her clients with their skin problems. Babita Shrestha interviewed Pradhan about better practices to keep your skin healthy.

What are the key factors contributing to overall skin health? What basic steps should it include?

First and foremost, healthy skin means a healthy body and lifestyle. For that, you should have nutritious food,  a stress free mind, exercise and healthy sleep patterns. To work precisely on skin health, the first basic steps are cleansing, moisturizing and sun protection. In order to keep skin healthy, you must follow a daily skin care routine. In case you have sensitive skin, skin care is mandatory otherwise you may face severe skin problems. 

What role does diet and nutrition play in maintaining healthy skin?

A healthy, balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants can enhance your skin. You can nourish your skin even more by avoiding drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol, and aerated beverages. Be mindful of  keeping your body hydrated because when you keep your body healthy, your skin naturally gets healthier. So, for hydration, it's better if you drink 2-3 liters of water per day. 

What are your recommendations for sunscreen use for different skin types?

If you look at the tube of sunscreen, you can find sun protection factors ranging from SPF 30 to SPF 50+. Your use must be at least SPF 30. Additionally, you can check Ultraviolet A Radiation (UVA) and Ultraviolet B Radiation (UVB) spectra. The best sunscreen to use is broad spectrum because it blocks both UVA and UVB rays. These days, people are frequently exposed to mobile devices, laptops, and computers. For this, you can also find blue light and infrared light sunscreen. 

In addition, it is very crucial to use sunscreen based on your skin type. If you have oily skin, it’s better to use gel form and for dry skin, you can use cream form while for normal skin, lotion is recommended. Your skin will look better if your sunscreen suits your skin type. For the fact, the sunscreen can only last for 3-4 hours, so reapplication is very important. Nowadays, you have sunscreen sticks available in the market, which is quite handy to re-apply. Moreover, using the right portion of sunscreen is vital for healthy skin. According to medical research, 30 ml is required for the whole body. But it's impossible to measure everyday life. So, I recommend you to use the two finger rule to measure the amount.

Are there any ways to identify one’s skin type?

First, wash your face, and don’t apply any cream for one hour. Later you can check the sensation in your skin. If you feel rough and tight, it goes on the dry side and if you see oil in your T-zone including forehead, nose, chin and cheeks, it’s the oily skin. For combination skin type you may find both oily and dry sides. Sometimes, the hormonal cycle may also affect your skin type, especially in females. During the menstrual cycle, most of the time you have oily skin. It’s because of the production of sebum which is why you have skin breakouts. Besides, your skin type might change according to weather, age and some medication you take.

Are there common mistakes about skin care?

There are many. First one is the use of Glutathione IV tablets to make skin look fairer, which is not true. Glutathione is an antioxidant which boosts immunity in the process it helps skin. But it does not work for skin whitening. Secondly, it's about the use of Vitamin C serum for glowing skin. And another mistake is manipulating pimples in an unhealthy way. I highly recommend you not to do so as it will take a longer period to heal the scar. Not just that, later you might have a risk of infection. In case if you have to, do it in a very sterile way and if it is severe, it's better to seek professional help. 

How can one choose appropriate skin care products?

For dry skin it’s better to use cleanser instead of face wash while moisturizer and sunscreen can be used in cream form. As for oily skin, face wash is always a better option and you can use gel form moisturizer and sunscreen. While choosing serum, you can look out for hyaluronic acid serum which helps in retaining moisture. But if you have acne prone skin, niacinamide and salicylic acid is better in case of oily skin. For combination skin you can use any depending on your skin type. Also, there are other specific serums which you can use as per your concern.

What are some signs of skin problems?

I highly recommend visiting a professional if you have any irritation and discomfort in skin. Because sometimes a simple mole can turn into cancer. In case your mole is changing its size, color and texture, it’s better to seek skin expert help because with biopsy, they can figure out if it’s just benign or malignant.

What are the potential risks and benefits of various skincare treatments?

Skincare treatment makes your skin healthy and in good conditions. But before that, you should know that skin should be well prepared prior to any medical procedures. For instance, if you are doing peeling or laser therapy, your skin must be sun protected and  moisturized. If not,  then you may have side effects and healing may take time. And even after, if you don’t take proper basic skin care, darker marks might appear in the skin. Therefore,  treatments and basic skin care should go hand in hand to avoid any skin complications.

What skincare adjustments as you grow older?

As you age, your collagen starts depleting which results in signs of aging like wrinkles, puffy eyes and sagging. There is a skin turn over process, meaning our skin forms from the inner side and exfoliates the outer cell. This mostly occurs in teenagers every month  as a result their skin looks fresh. With your aging, the duration of cell time elongates which makes your skin dull and you lose plumpness. You can’t stop aging but can make your skin healthy using anti-aging ingredients using retinol and Vitamin C serum. You can try Micro-needling, which is considered one of the best skin procedures.There is also the option of Botox, which is only a preventive procedure for wrinkles as you have to periodically do it within 3-4 months.

Vehicular movement along the Prithvi Highway has been obstructed following a dry landslide at Mauribazar of Turture at Myagde-6 in Tanahun.

According to DIG Mohan Bahadur Khand, efforts are underway to remove the landslide debris with the help of an excavator.

Without warning on Saturday, Gaza’'s militant Hamas rulers attacked Israel by air, land and sea. Millions of Israelis in the country’s south awoke to the searing sound of incoming rockets and the inevitable thud of impact. Air raid sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv. Israel’s anti-rocket interceptors thundered in Jerusalem.

And in an unprecedented escalation, armed Hamas fighters blew up parts of Israel’s highly fortified separation fence and strode into Israeli communities along the Gaza frontier, terrorizing residents and trading fire with Israeli soldiers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies were scrambling to respond to the rapidly changing events. Within just nine hours, some 40 Israelis and nearly 200 Palestinians were confirmed dead, with the numbers expected to rise.

Here are some key takeaways from the multi-pronged attack that has suddenly plunged Israel into war.

Israel caught unaware

The shock that Israelis felt on Saturday morning—on Simchat Torah, one of the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar—recalled the surprise of the 1973 Mideast war. Practically 50 years earlier to the day, a full-scale Egyptian-Syrian attack on a Jewish holiday quickly turned into a disaster for an unprepared Israeli military.

Then, as now, Israelis had assumed that their intelligence services would be able to alert the army to any major attack or invasion well in advance. That colossal failure still haunts the legacy of then-Prime Minister Golda Meir and helped bring down the lengthy rule of the once-dominant Labor Party.

Now, the question of how the militants were able to stage such a huge and coordinated attack—which has already killed more Israelis than any single assault since the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago—without triggering Israeli intelligence concerns has already presented a major challenge to Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government.

The government’s supporters had expected Netanyahu and powerful hard-line ministers with a history of anti-Arab rhetoric like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to take a particularly belligerent stance against the Palestinians and respond more forcefully to threats from militants in Gaza.

As political analysts lambast Netanyahu over the failure, and the casualty count climbs, Netanyahu risks losing control of both his government and the country.

Unprecedented infiltration

Hamas claimed its fighters had taken several Israelis captive in the enclave, releasing gruesome videos of militants dragging bloodied soldiers across the ground and standing over dead bodies, some of them stripped to their underwear. It said that senior Israeli military officers were among the captives.

The videos could not immediately be verified but matched geographic features of the area. Fears that Israelis had been kidnapped evoked the 2006 capture of soldier Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas-linked militants seized in a cross-border raid. Hamas held Shalit for five years until he was exchanged for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

In a dramatic escalation unseen in decades, Hamas also sent paragliders flying into Israel, the Israeli military said. The brazen attack recalled a famous assault in the late 1980s when Palestinian militants crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel on hang-gliders and killed six Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli army belatedly confirmed that soldiers and civilians had been taken hostage in Gaza, but refused to provide further details.

A dangerous gamble by Hamas

Hamas officials cited long-simmering sources of tension between Israel and the Palestinians, including the dispute around the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews and remains at the emotional heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.

In recent years, Israeli religious nationalists—such as National Security Minister Ben-Gvir—have increased their visits to the compound. Last week, during the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israeli activists visited the site, prompting condemnation from Hamas and accusations that Jews were praying there in violation of the status quo agreement.

Hamas statements have also cited the expansion of Jewish settlements on lands that the Palestinians claim for a future state and Ben-Gvir’s efforts to toughen restrictions on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

More recently, tensions have escalated with violent Palestinian protests along the Gaza frontier. In negotiations with Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations, Hamas has pushed for Israeli concessions that could loosen the 17-year blockade on the enclave and help halt a worsening financial crisis that has sharpened public criticism of its rule.

Some political analysts have linked Hamas’ attack to ongoing US-brokered talks on normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. So far, reports of possible concessions to Palestinians in the negotiations have involved Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, not Gaza.

“We have always said that normalization will not achieve security, stability, or calm,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told the AP.

Israel in crisis

The eruption of violence comes at a difficult time for Israel, which is facing the biggest protests in its history over Netanyahu’s proposal to weaken the Supreme Court while he is on trial for corruption.

The protest movement, which accuses Netanyahu of making a power grab, has bitterly divided Israeli society and unleashed turmoil within the Israeli military. Hundreds of reservists have threatened to stop volunteering to report for duty in protest at the judicial overhaul.

Reservists are the backbone of the country’s army, and protests within the army ranks have raised concerns about the military’s cohesion, operational readiness and power of deterrence as it confronts threats on multiple fronts. Netanyahu on Saturday called up “an extensive mobilization of reserve forces.”

A perilous cycle

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and exchanged fire numerous times since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza from forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority in 2007. Cease-fires have stopped major fighting in past rounds of conflict but have always proven shaky.

Each agreement in the past has offered a period of calm, but the deeper, underlying issues of the conflict are rarely addressed and set the stage for the next round of airstrikes and rockets.

With its increased leverage in this round, Hamas is likely to push harder for concessions on key issues, such as easing the blockade and winning the release of prisoners held by Israel.

AP

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Gabrielle Zevin

Fiction | Contemporary

In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

The Chalk Man

CJ Tudor

Thriller | Mystery

In 1986, Eddie and his friends spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he’s put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank... until one of them turns up dead.

That’s when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

On Writing

Stephen King 

Writing | Memoir

“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced to provide relief to Bajhang earthquake victims.

The Prime Minister, who had reached Bajhang to inspect the quake-hit areas, announced to provide Rs 50, 000 to construct temporary houses to the families whose houses were completely destroyed in the earthquake.

Similarly, the Prime Minister has announced to provide Rs 200, 000 to the family of a man who died after being trapped in the landslide following the earthquake.

He said that Rs 15, 000 to 20, 000 immediate relief expenses will be provided to other families affected by the earthquake based on the number of the family members.

The Prime Minister has also announced to provide relief materials like tents, blankets, medicine, food, clothing, and materials needed by differently-abled people.

He said that the materials will be arranged in coordination with the three levels of government.

Prime Minister Dahal said that the arrangements will be made to provide free treatment to the injured and the government offices, community buildings and schools damaged in the earthquake will be reconstructed soon.