Ukraine war: Kyiv counts cost of fragile independence
Few know the cost of challenging Russian influence better than Viktor Yushchenko, BBC reported.
The former Ukrainian president was poisoned with a toxic chemical while campaigning in 2004 against a Moscow-preferred candidate. He then led protests against a rigged election before taking office the following year.
Sitting in his timber-framed home on the outskirts of Kyiv, Mr Yushchenko praises the "power of national spirit" as the key to Ukraine's independence.
"Today I can say with confidence that 42 million Ukrainians speak in one voice. And that allows us to face any enemy, including Russia."
You can still see the scarring on the former president's face from when he was poisoned. Ukraine's day of independence falls six months to the day since Vladimir Putin launched an invasion from the north, east and south. In that time, almost 9,000 members of the Ukrainian military have been killed and some 5,500 civilian deaths have been confirmed by the UN.
While few here predicted the war, Mr Yushchenko largely blames what he sees as the West's historic inability to combat Russian aggression: notably the 2008 conflict in Georgia and the annexation of Crimea six years later.
However, he thinks Ukraine's ultimate test has changed its standing in the world.
"Today, when more than 50 countries have expressed solidarity with the ideas of our fight. They're providing all kinds of support - military, financial and humanitarian."
Carpentry now occupies most of the former statesman's time. We are surrounded by dozens of sculptures, and the former president tells me of his absolute belief that Ukraine can carve out a victory in this war, according to BBC.
The more Russia tries to pull Ukraine into its orbit, the stronger its people's sense of national identity becomes.
At a small factory on the left bank of Kyiv's Dnieper river, Nataliia's business used to make hotel uniforms, but now produces Ukrainian flags.
She started getting requests from military checkpoints early on in the invasion, now she gets more than 2,500 orders a month - not just from the army, but businesses too.
"These are very dear colours to us," she tells me over the whirring sound of sewing machines.
"Every Ukrainian feels these colours and we see them in everything - in the sky, in wheat. This gives us pleasure, joy and positive emotions, because our work is useful."
Six months into the war, Ukraine is presented with some uncomfortable realities.
After weeks of talking about it, Ukraine's planned counter-offensive in the south, on the occupied city of Kherson, has yet to materialise.
Yes, there have been longer range missile strikes deeper into Russian-held territory, but this war is now dominated by artillery along an almost static front line, BBC reported.
A way towards educational equity through the digitization of career roadmaps and soft skills
Kailash Raj Pandey and Himal Raj Pandey shared their ongoing work and plans to democratize information on career prospects in various fields in the event held on August 19 in Kathmandu. These experiences are shared by executives from leading Tech ventures around Kathmandu while developing a method to teach soft skills through interactive in-person games (Train-the-Trainer Model). Through this, they hope that each student in Nepal from an under-resourced background will be able to get the same information to become successful in their career ahead. Through this program, all the students involved showed a lot of progress in soft skills which as well enhanced their confidence. They were also able to get a clear picture of the career opportunities in Nepal and were able to dream of a better future for themselves. Reflecting on their own personal experiences, Kailash and Himal recognized that "soft skills" and information on various career opportunities are critical to achieving job/grant/college outcomes after having passed the hurdle of developing core knowledge in a particular subject. They also realized that role models were also crucial in providing them with the right guidance and confidence required at various crossroads of life. During the past months, these two young men conducted a successful pilot program that taught valuable soft skills to 17 higher secondary students at Kankali Secondary School, a government school located in the western hilly suburb of Kathmandu valley. After some sufficient classroom sessions, they connected the students to executives at leading tech companies in Kathmandu (F1Soft, GrowByData, and Bhoos). Kailash and Himal are currently institutionalizing these efforts to contribute to educational equity by focusing particularly at the high school level and will be sharing their plan at the event. Kailash graduated from Middlebury College in the US with a degree in Computer Science and Economics. He will be joining Harvard Kennedy School in the near future for his graduate study. He has been working at Precision Development, a non-profit led by a Nobel laureate and other experts at the forefront of behavioral economics, where he spearheaded both technical and strategic fronts on the applications of satellite remote sensing for large-scale Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). His experience also includes investment due diligence for a multimillion-dollar revolving fund that aims to enable thousands of smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods through climate adaptation. Himal is currently a second-year student at Williams College, MA with an interest in the intersection between Neuroscience and Computer Science. He has worked in microbiology research with a Nobel laureate during his high school, and chronobiology research at college. Both Kailash and Himal are passionate about making systems-level changes in education equity.
Nepal logs 634 new Covid-19 cases, one death on Tuesday
Nepal reported 634 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 757 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 343 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 192 people underwent antigen tests, of which 291 were tested positive. The Ministry said that 417 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 4, 221 active cases in the country.
Nepse surges by 1. 85 points on Tuesday
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 1. 85 points to close at 2,054.98 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 0. 58 points to close at 397. 69 points. A total of 4,031,025 unit shares of 222 companies were traded for Rs 1. 33 billion. Meanwhile, Ru Ru Jalbidhyut Pariyojana Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10 percent. Siddhartha Equity Fund was the top loser as its price fell by 6. 88 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 94 trillion.
Govt revokes decision not to allow foreign nationals to travel to third countries from Nepal
The government has decided to revoke its earlier decision not to allow foreign nationals to travel to third countries from Nepal except for transit at the airport. The Cabinet meeting held on Monday made 16 decisions including the same. The meeting also decided to form a salary commission under the headship of former Chief Secretary Lilamani Paudel. Information and Communications Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, who is also the government spokesperson, made public the decisions by organizing a press conference at the Communication Ministry.
Monitoring Committee to be formed to facilitate waste management of Kathmandu
The government has decided to form a Facilitation and Monitoring Committee to facilitate the waste management of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. A meeting held on Monday under the coordination of Urban Development Minister Metmani Chaudhary decided to form the committee. The committee will comprise the members of the House of Representatives of Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Dhading. Informing about forming the committee, Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa said that the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started collecting garbage and sought help of all the people for the long-term management of the waste. Writing a status on Facebook, he said that continuous facilitation and monitoring are necessary for the waste management of Kathmandu Valley. He was of the opinion that the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is working at its best to manage the waste.
Gold price drops byRs 300 per tola on Tuesday
The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 95, 000 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 95, 300 per tola on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 94, 500 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has decreased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,160 per tola today.
Parliament meeting postponed till August 29
The meeting of the Legislature-Parliament has been postponed till August 29. The meeting was postponed after tabling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Enforced Disappearance Commission (Third Amendment) Bill, 2079 in the Parliament. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Govinda Prasad Sharma presented the Bill in the Parliament today.
