Gold price increases by Rs 400 per tola on Tuesday
The price of gold has increased by Rs 400 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 91, 800 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 91, 400 on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 91, 300 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1, 180 per tola today.
One killed in Makwanpur lightning
A person died after being struck by a lightning in Makwanpur on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Aitasingh Bhlon (55) of Bakaiya Rural Municipality-11. DSP Tek Bahadur Karki, who is also the spokesperson of the District Police Office, Makwanpur, said that incident occurred while he was staying in the home yesterday evening.
Deadly earthquake rocks Mexico on ‘cursed’ anniversary
A powerful, 7.6 magnitude earthquake has struck western Mexico, killing at least one person and causing panic in the country’s capital on the anniversary of two previous quakes, Aljazeera reported. The earthquake hit shortly after 1pm local time (16:00 GMT) on Monday and was centred in the border area between the states of Michoacan and Colima at a depth of about 15km (9 miles), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The Mexican government said one person was killed in the Pacific port of Manzanillo when a department store roof collapsed on them, while regional officials reported damage to several hospitals in Michoacan. One person was injured by falling glass at one of the hospitals, they said. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of damage in the capital after the earthquake, which rumbled through Mexico on the same day that major quakes battered the country in 1985 and 2017. “It’s this date, there’s something about the 19th,” said Ernesto Lanzetta, a business owner in the Cuauhtemoc borough of the city. “The 19th is a day to be feared.” The earthquake on September 19, 2017, killed more than 350 people, while the other on the same date in 1985 killed thousands. “It seems like a curse,” Isa Montes, a 34-year-old graphic designer, said of the quake’s timing as helicopters flew overhead, surveying the city. Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Mexico City, said many in Mexico viewed the timing of Monday’s quake as “really bizarre”. “It’s happened exactly on the anniversary – the 19th of September – as two other major earthquakes in Mexico,” Holman said. “Those last two earthquakes really wreaked havoc, especially here in the capital.” Many Mexicans reacted to the latest quake by posting an array of memes online venting their amazement. There was one of a bird reading a book titled “how to skip from September 18 to September 20,” while another, mimicking an announcement by the Mexican government, invites outsiders to “Visit Mexico” and “on every September 19, come live the experience of a real temblor”. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of the country’s most prestigious seats of higher learning, said there was no scientific explanation for three major quakes on the same day and attributed it to pure coincidence, according to Aljazeera.
Elderly woman killed in Morang bike hit
An elderly woman died after being hit by a motorbike in Dhanpalthan Rural Municipality-7 of Morang district on Monday. According to Morang Traffic Police Chief Inspector Raj Kumar Karki, the deceased has been identified as Kalawati Mandal (65) of Dhanpalthan-7. The two-wheeler (Province 1-04-001 Pa 8894) heading towards south from north hit her at around 6:30 pm yesterday. Critically injured in the incident, she was rushed to the Golden Hospital in Biratnagar but doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Police said that they have arrested bike rider Bikash Yadav (17) of Dhanpalthan-7 for investigation.
Ukraine warns of ‘nuclear terrorism’ after strike near plant
A Russian missile blasted a crater close to a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Monday, damaging nearby industrial equipment but not hitting its three reactors. Ukrainian authorities denounced the move as an act of “nuclear terrorism.”
The missile struck within 300 meters (328 yards) of the reactors at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk in Mykolaiv province, leaving a hole 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) deep and 4 meters (13 feet) wide, according to Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom, Associated Press reported.
The reactors were operating normally and no employees were injured, it said. But the proximity of the strike renewed fears that Russia’s nearly 7-month-long war in Ukraine might produce a radiation disaster.
This nuclear power station is Ukraine’s second-largest after the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has repeatedly come under fire.
Following recent battlefield setbacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened last week to step up Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Throughout the war, Russia has targeted Ukraine’s electricity generation and transmission equipment, causing blackouts and endangering the safety systems of the country’s nuclear power plants.
The industrial complex that includes the South Ukraine plant sits along the Southern Bug River about 300 kilometers (190 miles) south of the capital, Kyiv. The attack caused the temporary shutdown of a nearby hydroelectric power plant and shattered more than 100 windows at the complex, Ukrainian authorities said. The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said three power lines were knocked offline but later reconnected.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry released a black-and-white video showing two large fireballs erupting one after the other in the dark, followed by incandescent showers of sparks, at 19 minutes after midnight. The ministry and Energoatom called the strike “nuclear terrorism.”
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately comment on the attack, according to Associated Press.
Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, since early after the invasion. Shelling has cut off the plant’s transmission lines, forcing operators to shut down its six reactors to avoid a radiation disaster. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the strikes.
The IAEA, which has stationed monitors at the Zaporizhzhia plant, said a main transmission line was reconnected Friday, providing the electricity it needs to cool its reactors.
But the mayor of Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia plant is located, reported more Russian shelling Monday in the city’s industrial zone.
While warning Friday of a possible ramp-up of strikes, Putin claimed his forces had so far acted with restraint but warned “if the situation develops this way, our response will be more serious.”
“Just recently, the Russian armed forces have delivered a couple of impactful strikes,” he said. ”Let’s consider those as warning strikes.”
The latest Russian shelling killed at least eight civilians and wounded 22, Ukraine’s presidential office said Monday. The governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, now largely back in Ukrainian hands, said Russian shelling killed four medical workers trying to evacuate patients from a psychiatric hospital and wounded two patients.
The mayor of the Russian-occupied eastern city of Donetsk, meanwhile, said Ukrainian shelling had killed 13 civilians and wounded eight there, Associated Press reported.
Patricia Lewis, the international security research director at the Chatham House think-tank in London, said attacks at the Zaporizhzhia plant and Monday’s strike on the South Ukraine plant indicated that the Russian military was attempting to knock Ukrainian nuclear plants offline before winter.
Nanmadol: Mudslides and flooding as typhoon batters Japan
Rescue workers in Japan have warned of mudslides and flooding as one of the biggest storms in recent decades batters the country, BBC reported.
Typhoon Nanmadol has killed at least two people and injured 90 others since it made landfall on the southernmost island of Kyushu on Sunday morning.
Nine million people have been told to evacuate, and more than 350,000 homes are without power.
Forecasts predict up to 400mm (16 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours.
State broadcaster NHK said one man was killed when his car was submerged in flooding, and another died after being buried in a landslide. One more person remains missing, and reports say 87 others have been injured.
The super typhoon brought gusts of up to 234km/h (145mph), destroying homes, and disrupting transport and businesses. It's equivalent to a category four or five hurricane.
The capital, Tokyo, experienced heavy rain, with the Tozai underground line suspended because of flooding. Bullet train services, ferries, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled; shops and businesses have shut. Local video footage showed roofs ripped off of buildings and billboards toppled over.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delayed a visit to New York, where he is due to give speech at the UN General Assembly, until Tuesday, to monitor the storm's impact, according to BBC.
The storm is forecast to turn east and pass over Japan's main island of Honshu before moving out to sea by Wednesday.
Scientists have predicted an active hurricane season this year, influenced by a natural phenomenon known as La Niña.
Warmer sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and Caribbean as a result of climate change may also impact the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, BBC reported.
Covid-19 pandemic is over in the US - Joe Biden
President Joe Biden has declared the pandemic over in the US, even as the number of Americans who have died from Covid continues to rise, BBC reported.
Mr Biden said that while "we still have a problem", the situation is rapidly improving.
Statistics show that over 400 Americans on average are dying from the virus each day.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that the end of the pandemic is "in sight".
In an interview with CBS programme 60 Minutes aired on Sunday, Mr Biden said that the US is still doing "a lot of work" to control the virus.
The interview - aired over the weekend - was partly filmed on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show, where the president gestured towards the crowds.
But administration officials told US media on Monday that the comments did not signal a change in policy and there were no plans to lift the ongoing Covid-19 public health emergency.
In August, US officials extended the public health emergency, which has been in place since January 2020, through to 13 October.
To date, more than one million Americans have died with the coronavirus disease, according to BBC.
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the seven-day average of deaths currently stands at over 400, with more than 3,000 dead in the past week.
In January 2021, by comparison, more than 23,000 people were reported dead with the virus over a single week-long span. About 65% of the total US population is considered fully vaccinated.
Top Republicans criticised the president's remarks, with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting: "Biden now says 'the pandemic is over' as he's kicking tens of thousands of healthy soldiers out of the military with his COVID vaccine mandate."
Public health officials have expressed cautious optimism in recent weeks that the world is edging towards a pandemic recovery, but continue to urge people to be careful.
On Monday, Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, acknowledged the situation had improved.
But in comments made at a Washington DC think tank, he said the daily death rate remained "unacceptably high".
"We are not where we need to be if we're going to be able to 'live with the virus,'" Dr Fauci said.
The US recently authorised new vaccines that match the version of the Omicron variant currently dominant in the country, with federal health officials asking Americans to keep their jabs up-to-date.
Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the world has "never been in a better position to end the pandemic".
"We are not there yet," he said. "But the end is in sight."
Covid-19 also continues to have a significant impact on the US economy, with the National Bureau of Economic Research reporting last week that Covid-related disease had slashed the US workforce by about 500,000 people.
Mr Biden said he believes that the pandemic has had a "profound" impact on the psyche of Americans.
"That has changed everything... people's attitudes about themselves, their families, about the state of the nation, about the state of their communities," he said.
"It's been a very difficult time. Very difficult."
More than 6.5 million people have died since the beginning of the pandemic around the world. The US has had the highest death toll, followed by India and Brazil, BBC reported.
Queen Elizabeth II funeral: Nation pays final farewell
The nation has paid a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, with a state funeral and military procession, BBC reported.
World leaders and foreign royalty joined King Charles III and the Royal Family in the congregation at Westminster Abbey.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets as the coffin was taken to Windsor where she was laid to rest.
At the funeral, the Dean of Westminster paid tribute to the Queen's "lifelong sense of duty".
The Very Rev David Hoyle spoke of her "unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as Queen and Head of the Commonwealth".
The day began with final respects being paid by members of the public who had queued up to see the Queen's lying-in-state in Westminster Hall.
Then, in a spectacle not seen for generations, her coffin - on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, drawn by 142 sailors - was taken in a solemn procession to Westminster Abbey.
King Charles III walked alongside his siblings, Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex walked side-by-side behind their father along a route lined by representatives of all parts of the military.
As the funeral procession entered the abbey, world leaders, politicians and foreign royalty stood as her coffin was carried up the aisle to be placed on a catafalque, draped in the royal standard with the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre on top.
Some of the youngest members of the family were in attendance at the abbey - the Queen's great-grandchildren Prince George and Princess Charlotte, aged nine and seven, sat with their parents the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Prime Minister Liz Truss and her husband Hugh O'Leary were present alongside cabinet ministers and all of the UK's surviving former prime ministers, seated in the abbey's quire.
About 100 presidents and heads of government joined the 2,000-strong congregation at the abbey - as well as US President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, there were French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan, according to BBC.
Europe's royal families were strongly represented - with kings and queens from Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and The Netherlands. Denmark's Queen Margrethe II - now Europe's longest-reigning monarch - sat opposite King Charles close to the coffin.
The Emperor and Empress of Japan also attended, alongside other overseas royalty including Malaysia's King and Queen and King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan.
The religious service heard church leaders highlight the affection in which the Queen has been held by many people.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: "People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer.
"But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten."
He also spoke of how the Queen had declared on her 21st birthday "that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth".
He added: "Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we have seen."
Westminster Abbey is bound up with parts of the Queen's own personal history - it was where she was married and where her coronation took place. Her funeral heard Psalm 23 - The Lord Is My Shepherd, which was sung at her wedding.
As the abbey service came towards its end, the Last Post was played - by the same musicians who performed it at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at Windsor last year - before the nation came to a standstill for two minutes' silence.
The Queen's piper then played a traditional lament before the King stood silently as the national anthem was sung, BBC reported.
Among the personal touches at the ceremony was a handwritten message from the King, which was placed on top of the coffin in a wreath of flowers cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Highgrove House and Clarence House at his request. It read: "In loving and devoted memory. Charles R."
