Speaker Sapkota directs government to resolve problems of Tribhuvan University
Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has directed the government to resolve the problems of Tribhuvan University, the oldest university of Nepal. Sapkota issued the directive to resolve the problems at the earliest after the main opposition CPN-UML demanded a ruling to sort out the issues. Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, UML lawmaker Pradeep Gyawali said that the ruling parties have been attacking the university time and again. He accused the government of being a mute spectator instead of taking action against those who are trying to destroy the university. “The university is on the verge of collapse. Thousands of students have left the country,” he said, adding, “The case filed against the attackers of the professor has been withdrawn. The main opposition cannot be a mute spectator.” It has already been three months that the student unions have padlocked the university.
Plans afoot to clear basement of Suraj Arcade
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City is making preparations to clear the basement of New Road-based Suraj Arcade. A team of the KMC has reached the Suraj Arcade for the same. The Metropolitan City team reached there after Mayor Balen Shah directed the officials to clear the basement of the Suraj Arcade and to demolish the structures built illegally around the shopping center. The KMC swung into action after the Suraj Arcade management ignored a 35-day notice of the Metropolitan City to clear the underground parking area. The parking on the street has caused chaos in the area after the Suraj Arcade does not allow parking in the basement. Earlier on Sunday, the KMC dismantled the structures constructed above the subway in Ratnapark.
India v Pakistan: Hardik Pandya leads India to dramatic Asia Cup win
Hardik Pandya led India to a dramatic final-over win over Pakistan in the sides' opening match of the Asia Cup, BBC reported.
With India chasing 148 from 20 overs, Hardik hit the fourth ball of the final over for six to seal a five-wicket win.
The all-rounder struck three fours in the 19th over to reduce the equation from 21 runs from 12 balls to seven from six, before Ravindra Jadeja was bowled at the start of the last over.
Hardik finished 33 not out from 17 in reply to Pakistan's 147 all out.
Virat Kohli also made 35 from 34 balls before he was caught off left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, who took 3-33 and bowled the final over in Dubai.
After Jadeja fell for 35, new batter Dinesh Karthik took a single and Nawaz bowled a dot ball but, with six needed from three, Hardik cleared the long-on boundary, according to BBC.
Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 43 from 42 balls for Pakistan, while India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 4-26 as Babar Azam's side were dismissed in 19.5 overs.
It was the great rivals' first meeting since the T20 World Cup last autumn, an encounter Pakistan won by 10 wickets.
The win puts India top of Group A in the Asia Cup - which is being played in the Twenty20 format in this edition - above Pakistan and Hong Kong. Afghanistan thrashed Sri Lanka in the Group B opener on Saturday - a group which also includes Bangladesh, BBC reported.
The top two teams in each group go into the Super Four phase, which is then played in a round-robin format before the top two meet in the final on 11 September.
EU faces 'awful' winters without gas cap - minister
Belgium's energy minister has warned that EU countries will face "five to ten" "terrible" winters if nothing is done to reduce natural gas prices, BBC reported.
Calls are mounting for an EU-wide cap on the price of gas and its decoupling from the price of electricity.
EU states have been struggling with huge energy price hikes since key gas supplier Russia invaded Ukraine in February, triggering sanctions.
But Germany says it is replenishing its gas stores faster than expected.
Western countries backing Ukraine are trying to cut the amount of Russian gas and oil they import. Russia, which supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year, has in turn restricted supplies.
Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten wrote on Twitter that gas prices in Europe needed to be frozen urgently, adding that the link between gas and electricity prices was artificial and needed to be reformed.
In Germany, the year-ahead contract for electricity reached €995 (£844; $991) per megawatt hour on Friday while in France, it rose to €1,130. This represents a more than tenfold increase in both countries from last year, AFP news agency notes, according to BBC.
"We have to stop this madness that is happening right now on energy markets," Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
Electricity prices must go down, he said, calling on the EU to decouple electricity and gas prices.
"We cannot let [Russian President Vladimir] Putin determine the European electricity price every day," he added.
Germany - the largest importer of Russian gas in 2020 - has been racing to bolster its gas reserves before winter despite Russia cutting deliveries.
Its aim is to fill its gas capacity to 85% by October. It has implemented energy-saving measures to do so.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said such measures - along with buying gas from alternative suppliers - had enabled Germany to fulfil its goal sooner than anticipated, BBC reported.
He estimated that the 85% target could be reached by the start of September.
Artemis: Nasa ready to launch new era of Moon exploration
The American space agency is counting down to the lift-off of its giant new Moon rocket - the Space Launch System, BBC reported.
SLS is the most powerful vehicle ever developed by Nasa, and will be the foundation of its Artemis project which aims to put people back on the lunar surface after a 50-year absence.
The rocket is timed to go up from the Kennedy Space Centre at 08:33 local time (12:33 GMT; 13:33 BST) on Monday.
Its job will be to propel a test capsule, called Orion, far from Earth.
This spacecraft will loop around the Moon on a big arc before returning home to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in six weeks' time.
Orion is uncrewed for this demonstration but assuming all the hardware works as it should, astronauts will climb aboard for a future series of ever more complex missions, starting in 2024. "Everything we're doing with this Artemis I flight, we're looking at through the lens of what can we prove out and what can we demonstrate that will buy down risk for the Artemis II crewed mission," explained Nasa astronaut Randy Bresnik.The US space agency has several opportunities over the next week to fly SLS-Orion, but it will want to take the option immediately in front of it, according to BBC.
The weather here in Florida is very dynamic at this time of year, with frequent electrical storms passing over the spaceport.
Indeed, the pad's lightning towers have been struck several times in recent days.
Early morning is when conditions are usually at their calmest, which makes Monday a great day to fly.
"Basically, the beginning of the launch window, or just after 08:30 in the morning, has an 80% chance of favourable weather," said meteorologist Melody Lovin.
Ukraine war: Russian recruitment drive unlikely to have impact - UK
Russia's plan to expand its armed forces is unlikely to have an impact on the Ukraine war, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said, BBC reported.
Vladimir Putin recently signed a decree to increase the Russian armed forces' military personnel to more than 1.15m - a potential increase of 137,000.
But the MoD said the boost was unlikely to increase Russia's combat power - partly because of ongoing losses.
President Putin's decree came amid a military recruitment drive.
There have been reports that recruiters have even been visiting prisons, promising inmates freedom and money.
Currently, Russia has a limit of just over a million military personnel, plus almost 900,000 civilian staff.
In one of its regular updates on the war, the UK ministry said it was not clear if the planned increase would be achieved by recruiting more volunteers - or by increasing conscription, according to BBC.
But any increase was unlikely to have an impact in Ukraine given that:
- Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops,
- Very few new contract (i.e. non-conscript) servicemen are being recruited
- Conscripts are not technically obliged to serve outside Russian territory, the MoD said.
Western officials say some 70-80,000 troops have been killed or wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago.
Russia planned a short, decisive campaign when it invaded Ukraine in February, but Ukrainian resistance has stalled its progress, and in recent weeks front lines have hardly moved, BBC reported.
Currently, Russian men aged 18 to 27 are subject to conscription, although many are able to avoid or reduce their service - usually one year - through medical exemptions or by enrolling in higher education.
Pakistan flood victims throw note pleading for help
Hundreds of people are stranded across the river in the Manoor valley of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after a flash flood hit the region on Friday, destroying at least ten bridges and dozens of buildings, BBC reported.
"We need supplies, we need medicine and please rebuild the bridge, we are left with nothing now." Those are the contents of a handwritten note villagers throw to our team when we visit.
The Manoor valley is located up in the mountains of Kaghan - a famous tourist destination in Pakistan. The valley has been hit by a torrential flood that killed at least 15 people, including women and children.
Flash floods swept away the only concrete bridge connecting the scenic valley to the main city. Since then, all the villages on the other side of the river have been cut off and resident are waiting for help.
The BBC's team reach the valley after a dangerous one-hour drive where the road was damaged at many points due to the flooding and landslides. In Manoor, two bridges have completely collapsed and a temporary wooden bridge has been erected. Here, we meet a woman sitting with her belongings. She tells the BBC she can see her home but is unable to reach it.
"My home and my children are on the other side of the river. I've been waiting here for two days now thinking the government might come and repair the bridge. But authorities are telling us that we should start walking around the other side of the mountain to reach our homes. But that's a hike of eight to ten hours. I am an old woman. How can I walk this much?"
She waits for a few more minutes and leaves when the rain starts again and water flowing underneath the temporary wooden bridge begins to swell up.
We see men, women and children sitting outside their mud houses on the other side of the river. They wave at us thinking we are government officials, according to BBC.
It is then that some of them throw us a piece of paper across the river, packing it into a plastic bag filled with stones in order to throw it to the side of the river where we are filming. This is the only way they can communicate with the other part of the village these days. Mobile networks do not operate here.
The handwritten letter carries information about the losses they are coping with and also requests supplies and medicine for the stranded villagers.
"Many people are sick and can't leave the village on foot. Kindly get the bridge built, it's the main connection with the city," the letter says.
"There are many other people who have lost their property and means of income," he says. "They need help. They need food. There was a small market here which was swept away. Shops had all the food and supplies.
"My home is on the other side and now I'll have to walk for eight hours to reach my home. How can I do that in such an old age?" he asks.
Many shops and hotels have been destroyed here. Soheil and his brother have lost their mobile phone repair shop to the flood.
He tells the BBC he has three families to feed and is uncertain about his future now. "I don't know what to do. No one has come here to help us as we deserve. Every shopkeeper here is worried. They are all poor people who have big families to feed," he says.
"These authorities and politicians come here for photo sessions and fun. They come, take photos and leave. No one is helping us."
"We have completed the assessment and flood victims will be compensated soon," he states. "Work has already started regarding reconstruction of the bridge, but it will take some time."
Da-Pow: New edition still packs a familiar punch
The new version of Da-Pow, a well-loved dumpling place, invites you with a warm and fun vibe. The place, which relocated to Mid Baneshwor not so long ago, has retained its original comics theme while incorporating modern aesthetics in its decor.
Those who had been to the restaurant’s first location at Gairidhara would have noted its fresh look, good lighting and comfortable furnishing. The latest addition to the furniture—and a welcome one—are the lazy susans. Now, when you visit Da-Pow with a group, you can help yourself with the food items on the rotating table.
In the food department, Da-Pow continues to serve its toothsome specials. Da Bao dumplings served with the signature chutney dip of churpi, tomato and chili oil remain the customers’ favorite. If you are visiting for the first time, we recommend you to start with corn dogs before moving on to a heavier dish like Da Bao. Alternatively, you could try Open Bao, a taco-like dish with smoky pork belly wrapped with steamed dough, instead of Da Bao. Boiled dumplings cooked in a chicken broth, which comes with two pieces of Ting momos on the side, are also highly recommended.
The only thing missing at the new place is the comic book collection itself.
But the establishment owner assures us that the comics will soon be available. For now, the customers will have to make do with the pages and strips framed on the restaurant walls while they wait for their food.
Their special:
- Da Bao
- Boiled Dumplings
- Mini Burgers
