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Shaheen Afridi's four-wicket haul and a calm hand from the Shan Masood helped Pakistan beat Bangladesh by five wickets and qualify for the semi-finals, Hindustan Times reported. South Africa's stunning loss to the Netherlands earlier in the day made this game a virtual quarter-finals, with both Bangladesh and Pakistan having a chance to finish in the top two. It was Pakistan who prevailed in a nervy chase in which both sides made a lot of mistakes. Bangladesh have finished fifth in the group, below the Netherlands.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 400 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 94, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 93, 100 per tola on Friday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 94, 000 per tola. It was traded at Rs 92, 000 per tola on Friday. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1, 275 per tola today.

Although the dependence on food is increasing, agriculture is still not in the priority list of the political parties. Former Executive Director of the Nepal Rastra Bank Nara Bahadur Thapa said that the government and the political parties have not been able to come up with a program for self-sufficiency in agriculture. “An issue related to the people’s livelihood does not seem to be an election issue. This is unfortunate,” he said. Nepal Bank Chairman Pawan Golyan said that Nepal will be self-reliant on food within a few years if agriculture is given priority. It has been learnt that 67 percent of Nepal’s population is dependent on agriculture. But the issues of agriculture included in the election manifesto of the political parties are limited only in paper. Establishment of land bank: UML It has been mentioned in the manifesto of the CPN-UML that the land bank will be established. The party said that the land will be scientifically managed and used based on its nature. It has also been mentioned in the manifesto that the party will stop the encroachment of agricultural land. Similarly, the party has committed to mobilize the cooperative sector in the modernization of agriculture and for the development of entrepreneurship. The party has also promised to develop agriculture as the backbone of the economy and double the investment in the agriculture sector. The party said that it will provide fertilizers and improved seeds to farmers at reasonable prices on time. Likewise, the party has committed to provide sizable loan to the farmers for the development of agribusiness. Modernization and commercialization: NC The Nepali Congress has mentioned in its manifesto that it will modernize and commercialize the agriculture within five years. The party said that it will form a cluster of agricultural land at each level, test food elements and prepare a production plan by drawing of the quality of the soil. The party has promised to increase the small and solar irrigation and manage large irrigation systems in a scientific way, open factories of chemical fertilizers and announced to give priority to the agriculture loan and interest subsidy to farmers and entrepreneurs. Transform agriculture sector: CPN (Maoist Center) The CPN (Maoist Center) through its election manifesto said that it will transform the agriculture sector. The party has committed to modernize and commercialize the agriculture sector for the farmers. The party also said that it will make the country self-reliant on foods, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs and milk within five years. The party has also mentioned in its manifesto that the fertilizers will be delivered on time and rice cultivation program will be taken ahead. Establishment of fertilizer factories: CPN (US) The CPN (Unified Socialist) said that it will increase the investment in agriculture infrastructure. The party has vowed to provide agricultural machineries, seeds and fertilizers on time. The party said that it will establish chemical and organic chemical fertilizer factories across the country. The party has committed to make the country self-reliant on foods, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs and milk within two years and export food within five years.                                    

Foreign tourist arrivals in Nepal have more than tripled in the first 10 months of 2022 than the whole year of 2021, show government figures released on Friday, Xinhua reported. The South Asian country received 473,563 foreign tourists by the end of October, a sharp rise from 150,962 recorded in 2021, according to the Nepal Tourism Board data. "It is clear that we're on the path to recovery," Binayak Shah, first vice-president of Hotel Association Nepal, told Xinhua. "We have received growing inquiries from foreign travel agencies about their clients' visit plans to Nepal," he added. Nepal's tourism sector, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, has a long way to go before it can repeat the feat of having as many as 1.19 million foreign tourists in 2019, according to Xinhua. Amid rising tourist arrivals, the hotel occupancy rate has climbed to an average of 25 percent nationwide from almost nil last year, according to Shah.

I am an 18-year-old science student and handling the study pressure is getting too much for me. I didn’t want to study science but my parents forced me into it. Now I can barely pass any test. It is not like I don't understand science; I just cannot get myself to study the subject. I just want to get over with the two-year course and switch to humanities. In the meantime, I need some suggestions on how to remain calm and focus on my studies. I don’t want to get frustrated all the time. –A worried student Answered by Tashi Gurung, Counseling Psychologist, Happy Minds It’s a good thing to be aware of what field of study you would like to pursue in the future. Not just you, but many at your stage of life are confused on what subject is better for them. Sometimes a lot of us end up choosing the wrong field, but that is okay. There is still a chance to switch to the subject of your interest. So, don’t panic.  Being forced into studying something you are not passionate about can be difficult. But you can get out of it by having an honest conversation with your parents. Tell them what subject you are interested in.  Make them understand your perspective. Tell them what you are passionate about, what career path you would like to choose, and how you and your parents can move forward with the decision you have made for your future.  This is something you need to do to avoid further frustration. One thing you can do is open this topic for discussion in the future rather than shutting it off completely in one conversation. For instance, ask them to think about what you have said and you guys can discuss it again. This way your parents will feel that you are looking forward to their suggestions.  But before switching the course, you must get done with your high school. You need to accept that you must soldier on for two years. Accepting this fact will help ease your frustration. Since you will have already made up your mind about how the two years are going to be, you can work on completing your studies without stressing over it.  Sharing your problems and frustrations also helps. Rather than keeping your problems to yourself, it is best to share them with someone close to you. Allow someone else to show and tell you that you will be able to choose any subject you like after high school, when you are failing to do so yourself. Sometimes we are too consumed with our feelings to see anything beyond that. Having someone in life to share one’s problems with helps you see things differently. They can have a positive influence on your life and state of mind.

Serki Lhamu Sherpa, social worker and president of Azizz Foundation, has been awarded with the title of ‘Emerging Woman Leader in Social Service’ by the Women’s Icon, an organization based in Tamil Nadu, India.  Sherpa has been involved in social service since 2011. She founded the Aziz Foundation in 2016 which has been helping students and school teachers in remote districts of Nepal.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari is leaving for Iceland on Monday to attend Reykjavík Global Forum – Women Leaders being held in Reykjavík on November 8-10, 2022.

The Forum is co-hosted by Women Political Leaders (WPL), the Government of Iceland, and the Parliament of Iceland.

Initiated in 2018, the Forum is an annual event convening women leaders across the sectors, including politics, business, civil society, academia, arts and media. It is a platform to deliberate on the best practices on gender equality, empowerment and women leadership.

Women Political Leaders (WPL) has decided to confer this year the prestigious WPL Trailblazer Award on President Bhandari.

The Award is presented to incumbent and former women Presidents and Prime Ministers in recognition of the achievements of the leading women politicians.

During the visit, President Bhandari is scheduled to receive the award and deliver an acceptance speech. The President will also deliver a keynote speech in the Forum, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Senior officials from the Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will accompany her in the trip.

President Bhandari will return to Nepal on November 12, 2022.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has publicly backed the findings of a new report showing the urgent need to reduce tobacco use in Nepal. The report from the Nepal Development Research Institute shows that smoking is a bigger killer in Nepal than in any other South Asian country. Over 37,000 Nepalis died from smoking in 2019 – that’s nearly one in five (19.4%) of all deaths, twice the rate in 1990 and well ahead of India where just 13.1% of deaths are caused by tobacco. And the rate of death from tobacco has increased more in Nepal in the last 30 years than in any other country in the world. NDRI is part of a coalition of organisations calling for politicians to:

.     Match the levels of tobacco taxation in India by 2025

.    Ban the sale of cigarettes as single sticks

·   ​Stop the reopening of government cigarette factories

·   ​End tobacco sales within 100 metres of schools and hospitals

At the second National Health Summit conference last month,where the report was launched, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba endorsed the report’s findings saying: “This report provides a worrying snapshot of the impact that tobacco is having on the lives of Nepalese now and the impact it will have in the future if we don’t take action. This confirms that tobacco control must be central to Government’s mission to improve health across the country.” The PM’s endorsement signals that a future Nepali government led by the Nepali Congress party would take tough action to curb smoking. This is backed up by the party’s manifesto, published last week, which now includes a commitment to increase tobacco tax. The NDRI, other members of the tobacco control coalition and other health experts and campaigners are now writing to other party leaders to seek confirmation that the next government, whoever leads it, will do what is necessary to bring down smoking-related deaths and disease. Dr Jaya Kumar Gurung, from the NDRI, said: “When it comes to the number of people who die from smoking, Nepal is a tragic outlier. If we’re going to change this, then the next government will need to take the necessary action. We need higher tax on tobacco and restrictions on sales, and we need it urgently. We welcome the PM’s support and call on all party leaders to confirm they are treating this health problem with the seriousness it deserves.” The NDRI’s new report comes with the endorsement of Bhawani Prasad Khapung, Minister for Health and Population. In a foreword to the report, he writes: “If we do not act now, Nepal is on track to lose over 400,000 lives in the next 10 years because of tobacco. We must urgently step up our efforts to prevent these forecasts from being realized. “I am hopeful that this report will be helpful for policymakers, managers, decision-makers, evaluators, researchers, academics and that it will motivate a multi-sectoral effort at turning these trends around. Such efforts will have the full support of the Ministry of Health and Population and I look forward to collaborating with a range of stakeholders on this important agenda.” The report is also endorsed by Nepal Medical Association and the Nepal Cancer Relief Society.