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The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently tracking several COVID-19 "variants of interest", including EG.5 which is on the rise in several countries, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Wednesday, according to the United Nations.

"The risk remains of a more dangerous variant emerging that could cause a sudden increase in cases and deaths,” he said.

EG.5 is a sublineage of the omicron variant and has been detected in 51 countries, including the United States, China, South Korea and Japan, according to an initial risk evaluation.

While overall risk is low, "based on its genetic features, immune escape characteristics, and growth rate estimates, EG.5 may spread globally and contribute to a surge in case incidence." 

Tedros recalled that three months have passed since he declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency, though at the time he cautioned that it remains a threat, United Nations reported.

Since then, the number of reported cases, hospitalizations and deaths globally has continued to decline.

Meanwhile, the number of countries reporting data to WHO also significantly declined. In the past month, only 25 per cent reported their COVID-19 deaths and only 11 per cent reported their hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions.

Tedros said the risk of severe disease and death is vastly lower than it was a year ago, due to increasing population immunity - whether from vaccination, infection or both - and from early diagnosis with better clinical care.

“Despite these improvements, WHO continues to assess the risk of COVID-19 to global public health as high. The virus continues to circulate in all countries, it continues to kill and it continues to change,” he added.

In response, WHO has published recommendations for countries, which include updating their national COVID-19 programs to move towards longer term sustained management of the disease.

They are also urged to continue collaborative surveillance to detect significant changes in the virus, as well as trends in disease severity and population immunity.

Tedros called for all countries to report COVID-19 data, especially on death and severe disease, genetic sequences, and vaccine effectiveness.

Governments should continue to offer vaccination against the disease, especially for the most at-risk groups, and ensure equitable access to vaccines, tests and treatment.

Nearly seven million people have died from COVID-19, and there have been more than 769 million confirmed cases worldwide.

The virus first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and WHO declared the global pandemic the following March.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division has forecasted light to moderate rain in most of the places of the country on Sunday.

The Division said that there are chances of heavy to very heavy rain with thunder and lightning in a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudur Pashchim Provinces and in one or two places of Madesh Province.

Likewise, the Division has predicted generally to be mostly cloudy throughout the country with the potentiality of the occurrence of light to moderate rain at most of the places of the country tonight.

Heavy to very heavy rain with thunder and lightning has been forecast in some places of Karnali and Sudur Pashchim Provinces, at a few places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki  and Lumbini Provinces. 

It has predicted extremely heavy rainfall in one or two places of Sudur Pashchim Province.

The Kathmandu Valley has been receiving rainfall since this morning.

The Division said that presently the axis of monsoon trough is located towards north (near Nepal) from the average position while Nepal experiences influences of a low-pressure area surrounding the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states of India.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has said that no flights meant for rescue operations have been prohibited in remote areas during the 'operation hours'.

The recent decision of the CAAN mandates airlines to conduct flights to remote areas only within the fixed time. 

The decision is said to be for mitigating the risk of air incidents during the monsoon season and enhancing flight safety. However, the CAAN has been criticized for the move.

CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niraula said that the restriction on flight beyond the operating hours is solely applicable during the monsoon period and is not targeted at rescue flights.

The prohibition is just for commercial flights in remote areas. 

The CAAN said that typically the 'operation hours' for airports based in remote areas begin at 6:30 am and end at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Democracy in Turns: A Political Account of Nepal

Sanjay Upadhya

Politics | History        

As Nepal struggles to construct a new democratic identity under its seventh constitution in as many decades, the wider machinations and manipulations that have dominated politics ever since the country emerged from the unification of petty principalities in the mid-eighteenth century continue to cast a long shadow, Sanjay Upadhya argues. Democracy in Turns critically examines the country’s past political experiments—complete with all key players and proceedings—in an effort to understand modern Nepali democracy and envision its future.

How to Kill Men and Get Away with It

Katy Brent

Thriller | Mystery

Meet Kitty Collins. Friend, lover, killer. He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone. I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made, I appeared to get away with it. That’s where my addiction started. I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

A deliciously dark, hilariously twisted story about friendship, love, and murder. Fans of My Sister the Serial Killer, How to Kill Your Family, and Killing Eve will love this wickedly clever novel.

Money Master the Game

Tony Robbins

Business | Finance

Based on extensive research and one-on-one interviews with more than 50 of the most legendary financial experts in the world—from Carl Icahn and Warren Buffett, to Ray Dalio and Steve Forbes—Tony Robbins has created a simple 7-step blueprint that anyone can use for financial freedom. Robbins has a brilliant way of using metaphor and story to illustrate even the most complex financial concepts. He is an advocate for the reader, dispelling the myths that often rob people of their financial dreams. Robbins walks readers of every income level through the steps to become financially free by creating a lifetime income plan.

I’m 22 years old and work makes me anxious. Although I get it done on time, I’m always panicking. I feel like I shouldn’t take a break and start working as soon as I wake up, and need to continue until it’s time to sleep. I feel guilty if I don’t do so. What should I do to overcome this? 

Answered by Kapil Sharma, counseling psychologist, Nepal Institute of Mental Health

First of all, it’s important to understand what triggers your anxiety. There might be a certain reason or incident that pushes you to become anxious every time you think of work. It might be because of money worries, having some uncertainties, fear of failing, or maybe you think your work is quite urgent. It’s important to figure out the reason behind the anxiety.

You need to track down when it exactly started. Was it when you started working somewhere new, or is it because your supervisor changed, or any other reason that might make you uncomfortable in your work environment? Also, you say you panic whenever you have to work. So when does it start? Before, after, during, or throughout your work? That’s something you need to think about as well.  We can only sort this problem out once we’re fully aware of when it started and why it triggers you. 

Once you have figured it out, think about the first thing that comes to your mind when you start getting anxious. Sometimes we assume the outcome of our work based on our past experiences. Maybe something like that triggers your thoughts as well. It’s important to understand if you’re panicking based on facts, or your emotional judgment and assumptions. 

You have also said that you feel guilty of taking short breaks from work. But working all the time isn’t healthy either. Why do you think you can’t take a break? Is it because you are afraid of procrastinating, need to complete everything on your plate as soon as possible, are taking upon work that’s overbearing, or is the work urgent? You need to ask yourself these questions. Also, I suggest you try out a task management tool called ‘Eisenhower Matrix’ that helps you organize your work based on urgency and importance. 

As for your guilt, take a pen and a piece of paper and list down the reasons why you feel guilty. Most of the time, the reasons behind our guilt are just assumptions and nothing more. We can work through it but we need to know what’s behind that feeling. There are cognitive-based training and task management skills that you can get from a professional if you need support. Doing this alone can be difficult. So don’t shy away from seeking help.

Everyone loves weekends. You get a break from your hectic routine. It’s when we can do what we want and spend some time with ourselves or our loved ones. ApEx talked to a few known personalities to find out how they like to spend their weekend. 

Reecha Sharma, Actor

I’m quite a homebody. For me, staying home with my family is the best way to spend my weekend. Weekdays are quite hectic for both me and my husband. So the weekend is when we get to have a nice and quiet time with our families. We like to stay home with our son, have lunch together, watch movies, and have some good conversations. We go out sometimes when we have time. It’s usually for hiking or to the movies. But ideally, we both prefer to stay home. 

Neer Bikram Shah, Actor

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With the work I do, sometimes I need to go shooting or dubbing even on weekends. I think I speak for many actors when I say that we are always hoping to have our weekends to ourselves. I’m always looking forward to having no professional engagements on Fridays and Saturdays. But, when I do have some time to myself, my priority is my family. I love spending time with them on my weekends, especially with my grandkids. They are like my friends. I like to take them out for lunch, movies, or anywhere where we can spend some quality time together. Sometimes, we even go a bit far to places like Dhulikhel and Chandragiri just to grab some lunch. I find that quite refreshing. 

Amar Neupane, Writer

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I don’t think of weekends as some special day to be very honest. A special day can be any day when I would like to spend some with myself, my friends, and my family. I don’t wait for weekends to give myself a break. Doing research for my next work, meeting new people, and spending time living in different parts of Nepal is what I enjoy the most. And I make time for that as much as I can. On days when I am free, I spend some time with my friends and family. We have gatherings where we share our thoughts, and we go for activities like hiking and trekking. 

Nevertheless, for me, an ideal Saturday would be when I can just be by myself, read books, write something based on my months-long research, and just delve into literature. I’m someone who enjoys being on my own. That gives me time to process my thoughts, read the books that I have yet to read, and write something that I have always wanted to.

The Janata Samajbadi Party has demanded parliamentary investigation into the Gaur massacre.

Organizing a press conference at the Parliamentary Party Office in Singha Durbar on Friday, the party accused the government of trying to frame the victims by making a deal with them.

Spokesperson Manish Suman said that the party has objected to some of the points of the agreement signed with the victims.

“The investigation process into the Gaur massacre is being taken in the wrong way.  We disagree on many points in the agreement,” he said.

Though the party has no mentality to quit the government, he said, it will depend on the behavior of the government.

“We are politicians. We will not be afraid of cases. But we want to express our dissatisfaction over the way the Gaur incident has been portrayed,” Suman said.

He expressed his doubts over the intention of the government, saying why a deal was made now in an incident that occurred 17 years ago.

Leader Suman also demanded to make public the reports of the past.

“It has been mentioned in many reports that the Maoist foiled the peaceful assembly of the Forum. Why did the government make an agreement after 17 years? Let the reports of the past be made public. Let the facts be ascertained by carrying out a parliamentary investigation,” spokesperson Suman said.

He was of the opinion that there is an involvement of the Maoist in the incident that took place in Gaur of Rautahat on March 21, 2007.

Suman said that the incident occurred due to the mulishness of the then Maoist leader Prabhu Sah.

“It was the Maoist who attacked with weapons in the peaceful assembly of the JSP. The Maoist foiled the assemblies in Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj,” he said.

The JSP leader accused the Maoist of exploding bombs and opening fire in the program venue of the JSP.

Spokesperson Suman made it clear that the incident occurred after the Maoist cadres clashed with the anguished public.

Police have arrested Rohan Kumar, son of businessman Rakesh Kumar Adukiya, in connection with the 100-kg gold smuggling case.

Nepal Police spokesperson Kuber Kadayat said that Rohan Kumar was nabbed from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) while coming to Nepal from India.

The Department of Immigration has handed Rohan Kumar over to the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI).