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Surging prices for gas, food and rent catapulted US inflation to a new four-decade peak in June, further pressuring households and likely sealing the case for another large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, with higher borrowing costs to follow, Associated Press reported.

Consumer prices soared 9.1 percent compared with a year earlier, the government said Wednesday, the biggest 12-month increase since 1981, and up from an 8.6 percent jump in May. On a monthly basis, prices rose 1.3 percent from May to June, another substantial increase, after prices had jumped 1 percent from April to May.

The ongoing price increases underscore the brutal impact that inflation has inflicted on many families, with the costs of necessities, in particular, rising much faster than average incomes. Lower-income and Black and Hispanic Americans have been hit especially hard, because a disproportionate share of their income goes toward such essentials as housing, transportation and food.

Some economists have held out hope that inflation might be reaching or nearing a short-term peak. Gas prices, for example, have fallen from the eye-watering $5 a gallon reached in mid-June to an average of $4.66 nationwide as of Tuesday — still far higher than a year ago but a drop that could help slow inflation for July and possibly August.

In addition, shipping costs and commodity prices have begun to fall. Pay increases have slowed. And surveys show that Americans’ expectations for inflation over the long run have eased — a trend that often points to more moderate price increases over time, according to Associated Press.

Yet for now, the relentless spike in inflation has caused a steep drop in consumers’ confidence in the economy, sent President Joe Biden’s approval ratings tumbling and posed a major political threat to Democrats in the November congressional elections. Forty percent of adults said in a June AP-NORC poll that they thought tackling inflation should be a top government priority this year, up from just 14 percent who said so in December.

The anniversary of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s year in office came hot on the heels of the storming of Presidential and Prime Ministerial residences in Colombo. Following the July 8 incident in Sri Lanka, Nepalis are debating if something similar could happen here. It certainly can. Had King Gyanendra not stepped down in the nick of time during the 2006 anti-monarchy protests, the royal palace too could have been overrun. While a repeat in Nepal of the Sri Lankan crisis is unlikely in the near future, it cannot be ruled out in the longer term. This is because in the past one year PM Deuba has done little to improve people’s perennially low opinion of their government. 

Deuba’s biggest achievement was giving Nepal’s grassroots democracy a new lease of life by successfully holding the May 13 local elections. Besides that it is hard to think of Debua’s any other achievement. Economic indicators have steadily gotten worse. The pandemic’s aftereffects and the ongoing war in Ukraine have weighed heavy on Nepal. Yet the government has also failed to bring comfort to the people in these troubled times. Instead, his (now ousted) finance minister did everything in his power to wreck the already troubled economy by pandering to vested interests.

Deuba liked to bemoan Oli’s authoritarian tendencies but he too has preferred to rule by diktat and concentrate power in Singhadurbar. Or he would have detached vital state organs like the the Department of Revenue Investigation and National Vigilance Center from the PMO. The transitional justice has continued to stagnate under his watch. Nepal’s foreign partners are more suspicious of Kathmandu than ever before. Meanwhile, the prime minister sounds out of sorts as he finds himself hemmed in both in and outside his party.

There was some hope that in these fading days of his political career, the five-time prime minister would try to cement his legacy as a statesman. But he has further tarnished his political legacy. Unlike in Sri Lanka, his offices may not be stormed. Yet the signs of public disillusionment against his government are there for everyone to see. 

Kathmandu Valley recorded 125 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 100 cases were reported in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur and Lalitpur logged seven and 18 cases respectively in the last 24 hours. 

As of today, there are 694 active cases in the country.

Nepal reported 206 new Covid-19 cases today. 

According to the Ministry, 2, 082 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 177 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 093 people underwent antigen tests, of which 29 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 45 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 1, 005 active cases in the country.

A book titled “Rana Tharu Samudayama Prachalit Lokkatha Ra Mithak” written by journalist Indra Chaudhary was launched amidst a function in the Capital on Monday.

The investigative book was published by Nepal Pragya Pratisthan.

The book was mainly focused on the popular folk stories and myths of Rana Tharu Community who live only in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in the far-western region of Nepal.

“Folklores are the traditional stories created by the community,” writer Chaudhary said, adding, “It has direct influence on faith, belief, culture and society.”

The knowledge and experience of one generation are passed on to another generation through this type of stories, he said. That is why, in order to safeguard the existence of human civilization and community, it is necessary to preserve it in writing, Chaudhary further said.

Though he was born in the Dangaura Tharu Community, Chaudhary said that he grew up with the people of Rana Tharu

“I got an opportunity to understand the culture, tradition, customs and rituals of Rana Tharu closely. But, the folk traditions have been vanishing at present with the influence of modernization. That is why, I think all these things should be preserved and I started collecting the folk stories,” he said.

The book has the collection of 12 stories like “Karmuo Aur Sapano,” “Sadasurka Aur Sadabircha,” “Soratha,” among others.

Likewise, the various castes, sub-castes popular in Rana Tharu Community and myths are also included in the book.

Sri Lanka's political and economic crisis escalated as protesters stormed the prime minister's office on Wednesday, demanding the country's leaders step down after President Gotabaya Rajapaksafled to the Maldives without resigning, CNN reported.

Rajapaksa had been expected to formally resign Wednesday but instead left the crisis-hit nation and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as its acting leader, citing a section of the constitution that allows a prime minister to "discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of president" when the president is ill or "absent" from Sri Lanka. 

Wickremesinghe was also due to formally resign "to make way for an all-party government."

The move further enraged protesters, who want both leaders to vacate their roles as the country's 22 million people struggle to buy basic goods, fuel and medicine.

Hundreds of demonstrators breached the compound of the prime minister's office in Sri Lanka's largest city Colombo on Wednesday and entered the premises, according to footage from the scene and local witnesses. 

The grounds have now been taken over by protesters who are gathering in celebration, following a standoff with armed police at the gates of the property.

People could be seen on the balcony of the property, lighting firecrackers and waving the Sri Lankan flag, according to witnesses.

Demonstrators outside demanded that neither the President nor the Prime Minister "be spared."

This follows months of escalating anger over the economic crisis, with Rajapaksa accused of high-level corruption and mismanagement that ultimately bankrupted the country.

As demonstrators took to the streets, acting President Wickremesinghe appointed a committee of senior armed forces commanders headed by the Chief of Defense Staff Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva to "restore law and order" in the nation, a high-ranking military official told CNN Wednesday, according to CNN.

Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency across Sri Lanka and a curfew on Wednesday only to later cancel both orders, according to the prime minister's office. 

In Colombo, a handful of protesters also entered the premises of state broadcaster Sri Lanka Rupavahini on Wednesday, negotiating a "deal" with broadcast staff to not give airtime to politicians such as Wickremesinghe.

At the prime minister's office, demonstrators waving the Sri Lankan flag thronged the building and celebrated on the balcony of the property after a standoff with the police, according to eyewitnesses and footage from the scene, CNN reported.

Nepal reported 125 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

In the last 24 hours, Kathmandu recorded 100 cases and Bhaktapur and Lalitpur reported seven and 18 cases respectively.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 082 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 177 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 093 people underwent antigen tests, of which 29 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 45 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 1, 005 active cases in the country.

A massive fire broke out at Bhrikutimandap in Exhibition Road, Kathmandu on Wednesday.

According to Dinesh Mainali, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Kathmandu, the fire broke out at a godown of wheelchairs this afternoon.

"The fire broke out at 3 pm. Fire engines of Lalitpur and Kathmandu are trying to extinguish the fire," he said.

The reason behind the fire is yet to be ascertained.