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Hundreds of protesters descended on the US Supreme Court on Saturday to denounce the justices' decision to overturn the half-century-old Roe v. Wade precedent that recognized women's constitutional right to abortion, Reuters reported.

The sweeping ruling by the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, is set to vastly change American life, with nearly half the states considered certain or likely to ban abortion. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court's reasoning could also lead it to reconsider past rulings protecting the right to contraception, legalising gay marriage nationwide, and invalidating state laws banning gay sex.

The crowd featured both abortion opponents wearing T-shirts reading “I am the Pro-Life Generation” and abortion rights supporters chanting “my body, my choice.”

“The Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions,” Democratic President Joe Biden said on Saturday.

He added that the White House would look to police how states enforce bans, with administration officials having already signaled they plan to fight attempts by states to ban a pill used for medication abortion.

“The decision is implemented by states,” Mr. Biden said. “My administration is going to focus on how they administer and whether or not they violate other laws.”

Christian conservatives had long fought to overturn Roe, with Friday’s ruling a cherished win that was the result of a long campaign to appoint anti-abortion justices to the top court. The ruling had the support of all three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump, according to Reuters.

It is at odds with broad public opinion. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found that about 71% of Americans - including majorities of Democrats and Republicans - said decisions about terminating a pregnancy should be left to a woman and her doctor, rather than regulated by the government. That support is not absolute: 26% of respondents polled said abortion should be legal in all cases while 10% said it should be illegal in all cases, with the majority supporting some limits.

The ruling will likely influence voter behavior in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when Mr. Biden's Democrats face a high risk of losing their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. Some party leaders hope the decision will win over suburban swing voters, though activists expressed disappointment and demoralization at suffering such a defeat while their party held total power in Washington.

“They can ask for vote for more power but don’t they already have the Congress and the White House?” said Patricia Smith, a 24-year-old supporter of abortion rights, who was headed to the Supreme Court to protest. “They have not been able to pass much in terms of legislation despite the power, so what is the point?”

The decision came just a day after the court issued another landmark ruling finding that Americans have a constitutional right to carry a concealed gun for protection — leading them to invalidate a New York state law that set strict limits on concealed carry permits.

The two rulings showed an aggressively conservative court ready to flex its muscle and remake American life at a time when Congress is often deadlocked and struggles to pass major policy changes, Reuters reported.

It also signaled that Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative who preferred to act incrementally, no longer holds the power to slow the court's action. Roberts had voted to support the Mississippi abortion ban that was the subject of Friday's decision, but did not vote to overturn Roe itself.

During a call with journalists on Saturday, a group of Democratic state attorneys general said they would not use their offices to enforce abortion bans.

“We are not going to use the resources of the Wisconsin Department of Justice to investigate or prosecute anybody for alleged violations of the 19th century abortion ban,” said Josh Kaul, that state’s attorney general. “I’ve also encouraged district attorneys, sheriff prosecutors and police chiefs in our state not to use their resources to investigate or prosecute abortions.”

The White House on Saturday said it would challenge any efforts by states to restrict women’s ability to travel out of their home state to seek an abortion, according to Reuters.

A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a shooting in the centre of Norway's capital, Oslo, BBC reported.

Two people died and 21 were wounded early on Saturday in what police calls an "act of Islamist terrorism". 

The shootings were in and near the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, the Herr Nilsen jazz club and another pub. 

Norway's prime minister told the BBC the suspect was questioned in May, but was not deemed a threat at the time.

"We now need to see the result of an investigation," PM Jonas Gahr Stoere told the BBC's Newshour programme late on Saturday.

The shooting started at about 01:15 local time on Saturday (23:15 GMT Friday), officials said.

Eyewitnesses said the suspect took out a gun from his bag and started firing, forcing terrified people to either throw themselves to the ground or flee.

The attacker was arrested by police officers - who were helped by bystanders - minutes later. Two weapons were retrieved at the crime scene by police, one of them a fully automatic gun. 

The authorities later said the suspect was a Norwegian national.

Of the 21 injured, 10 were in a serious condition, according to BBC.

The terror alert level in Norway has now been raised to its highest level, though the country's PST intelligence service said it currently had "no indication" further attacks were likely. 

Oslo's annual gay Pride parade was due to be held on Saturday, and was formally cancelled on police advice.

But despite that, hundreds of people marched near the scene later in the day, shouting: "We're here, we're queer, we won't disappear!"

"I think it's fantastic that this march is taking place, otherwise he would have won," one woman in her 50s told AFP news agency.

Rainbow flags and flowers were laid near the scene of the attack, which was sealed off by police tape, and bystanders comforted each other with hugs. 

The gunman was known to security services since 2015 as a "suspected radicalised Islamist", and had a history of mental illness, Norway's PST intelligence service said.

"There is reason to think that this may be a hate crime," police said earlier. "We are investigating whether... Pride was a target in itself or whether there are other motives."

King Harald, Norway's monarch, said he and his family were "horrified" by the violence. He said "we must stand together" to defend "freedom, diversity and respect for each other". 

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that she was "shocked by the heinous attack on innocent people", while French President Emmanuel Macron said: "We stand stronger against hate if we stand together."

In the US, John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, said: "We're all horrified by the mass shooting in Oslo today targeting the LGBTQI+ community there and our hearts obviously go out to the all the families of the victims, the people of Norway, which is a tremendous ally, and of course the LGBTQI+ community there and around the world,"

Witnesses who were at the London Pub have told how they fled to the basement, where 80 to 100 terrified partygoers were trying to hide.

Bili Blum-Jansen told TV2: "Many called their partners and family, it felt almost as if they were saying goodbye. Others helped calm down those who were extremely terrified."

Another survivor told how he was hit by flying glass, BBC reported.

"I just noticed that a shot was fired, and I was hit by a shard of glass. There were more and more and more shots, so I escaped into the inner bar and tried to get as many as possible with me," he told Norway's public broadcaster NRK.

"I saw a man arrive with a bag, he picked up a gun and started to shoot," said journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK, who was in the area at the time.

A woman told the Verdens Gang newspaper that the gunman had taken careful aim at his targets. "When I understood that it was serious, I ran. There was a man covered in blood motionless on the floor," she said.

Another man told the newspaper he had seen a lot of people on the ground with head wounds.

President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school, Associated Press reported.

“Time is of the essence. Lives will be saved,” he said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Citing the families of shooting victims he has met, the president said, “Their message to us was, ‘Do something.’ How many times did we hear that? ‘Just do something. For God’s sake, just do something.’ Today we did.”

The House gave final approval Friday, following Senate passage Thursday, and Biden acted just before leaving Washington for two summits in Europe.

“Today we say, ‘More than enough,’” Biden said. “It’s time, when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential.”

The legislation will toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

The president called it “a historic achievement.”

Most of its $13 billion cost will help bolster mental health programs and aid schools, which have been targeted in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and elsewhere in mass shootings.

Biden said the compromise hammered out by a bipartisan group of senators from both parties “doesn’t do everything I want” but “it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives.” 

“I know there’s much more work to do, and I’m never going to give up, but this is a monumental day,” said the president, who was joined by his wife, Jill, a teacher, for the signing, according to Associated Press.

After sitting to sign the bill, Biden sat reflectively for a moment, then murmured, “God willing, this is gonna save a lot of lives.”

He also said they will host an event on July 11 for lawmakers and families affected by gun violence. The president spoke of families “who lost their souls to an epidemic of gun violence. They lost their child, their husband, their wife. Nothing is going to fill that void in their hearts. But they led the way so other families will not have the experience and the pain and trauma that they had to live through.”

Biden signed the measure two days after the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday striking down a New York law that restricted peoples’ ability to carry concealed weapons. And Saturday’s ceremony came less than 24 hours after the high court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion nationwide for nearly five decades. 

“Yesterday, I spoke about the Supreme Court’s shocking decision striking down Roe v. Wade,” Biden said. “Jill and I know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans. I mean so many Americans.” 

He noted that the abortion ruling leaves enforcement up to the states, some of which have already moved to ban abortion or will soon do so. Biden said his administration will “focus on how they administer it and whether or not they violate other laws, like deciding to not allow people to cross state lines to get health services.” 

Asked by reporters about whether the Supreme Court was broken, Biden said, “I think the Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions.” He walked away without answering more questions, noting, ” “I have a helicopter waiting for me to take off.”

The government has slashed the prices of petroleum products.

Speaking at a press conference organized on Saturday, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Dilendra Prasad Badu said that the price of petrol has been slashed by Rs 20 per litre.

Likewise, the price of diesel has been reduced by Rs 29 per litre.

As per the new decision, petrol will now cost Rs 179 per litre and diesel will cost Rs163 per litre.

The new decision will come into effect from today midnight.

Naveen Srivastava, the new Ambassador of India to Nepal,  arrived in Kathmandu today. 

Shri Naveen Srivastava is a career diplomat. He is coming from New Delhi where he was heading the East Asia Division that deals with China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. He headed the Indian delegation in several rounds of diplomatic talks with China on the eastern Ladakh border row. 

Shri Srivastava has served previously as Ambassador of India in Cambodia from 2015-17. He has also served in Washington, Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong in various capacities.

About Jyoti Bikash Bank Limited

Jyoti Bikash Bank Limited is a ‘B’ class development bank engaged in commercial banking activity. It was established in 2009 by a group of employees from the Nepal Electricity Authority, businessmen, professionals and ordinary citizens. Initially, the bank’s focus was promoting the hydropower sector by lending credit facilities to potential hydropower projects. But over the years, the bank has evolved into a trustworthy financial institution. Today, it caters to a large segment of the society.

ApEx Interview with Paras Raj Kandel, Deputy CEO

What makes Jyoti Bikash Bank different? 

Our bank has a culture driven by purpose, vision, mission and values that help us to be more progressive than others. 

The main impediment to providing financial access to a large section of Nepali society is lack of adequate and credible information. There are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the providers of the banking services and the service recipients. We believe designing our products/ services and aligning operations and service-delivery by keeping the customers’ needs at the center will go a long way towards building our bank as a credible brand. In this context, we have been actively working to understand our customers’ needs, revising existing products and bringing in new ones. We are also exploring technology to provide a smoother customer experience and streamlining internal operations. By focusing on customer needs, especially in the MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises) and retail segments, we have been able to create a different and meaningful presence in the Nepali financial market.

We want to bring prosperity to people’s lives through a wide range of highly accessible financial services and the dissemination of related financial information. The bank aims to become an institution that caters to the Nepali citizens and society by delivering modern, informed, and easy financial services. We have an environment of shared values with our customers via easy, faster, and technology-driven banking and financial decision-making information services. This has made us the public’s favorite.

How do you think a development bank like yours differs from a commercial bank? 

The differences are based on various parameters. Initially, commercial banks had an urban approach, and development banks were focused in rural areas. But with a few changes in regulations by the central bank, both categories of banks have now expanded their reach and freely compete for customers. So there is not much of a difference between commercial and development banks. Development banks can also issue dollars and credit cards these days. We are among the first few banks to issue dollar cards and our credit card service is soon being launched.

JBBL donating a baby warmer to a health facility as part of its CSR.

With little to differentiate commercial and development banks, are development banks still relevant then? 

This is an important question not only for banking the entire financial sector. Overlapping spaces have been created due to both kinds of institutions targeting the same work areas and audiences. Yet, development banks still retain their popularity among the grassroots. Development banks provide easy service for both MSMEs and rural people. Still, this relevance could be increased if the regulators could step in to determine what each category of banks can and cannot do. 

What are the steps your bank is taking to improve people’s financial access? 

We have professionally competent and dynamic human resources working to engage the society, particularly the grassroots people. Even as a part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we are partnering with schools, social institutions and business houses. As the information gap is a major issue for people from rural areas, we give them financial literacy. We merged with Jhimruk Bikash Bank Limited (Pyuthan) in the fiscal year 2017/18 and acquired two more regional-level development banks: Raptiveri Bikash Bank Limited (Nepalgunj) and Hamro Bikash Bank Limited (Nuwakot) in the fiscal year 2018/19 and 2019/20 respectively. This has helped us connect with people from rural areas. 

We take feedback to improve our customer service and have a dedicated customer relationship management team. The bank is also exploring ways to digitize a wide range of our services, so that we could make a positive impact in the long run. 

As of now, we are focused on three major digital processes: physical data transfer to an online system, automation of bank operation and decision making, and customer experience by providing platforms to connect with other stakeholders in the financial ecosystem. All these will help our customers make optimal use of the bank’s products. It will be a new and improved experience for them.

Children at a school in Dolpa with the solar lamps distributed by JBBL.

What is the bank doing as a part of its CSR? 

CSR is always our top priority. The NRB asks financial institutions to allocate one percent of their profit to the community, but we contribute 1.5 percent. We will increase this rate, as permitted by our profits. Hamro Bikas Bank Limited had a policy of providing three percent of its profit for CSR, and we have taken inspiration from this approach. At that time, the NRB didn't even have a CSR policy. We have a bottom-up approach to CSR. This means a team of respective branches and public representatives together preparing the CSR proposals. 

How challenging has the current liquidity crisis been to your bank?

It is challenging because, even amid the liquidity crisis, we have to continue to support our customers, as we believe in shared values. Keeping our assets in good condition is also a challenge. But to overcome the crisis, we keep our engagement with customers strong. If they trust us, nothing can drag us down.   

Nepal Teen Leaders has organized a panel discussion on career counseling for the +2 passed students. It was held on June 20 at Presidential College. Panelists Dr Estroy Pokhrel, head of business of Gyapu Market Place Abhimanyu Sharma, Chemical Engineer Nischal Baniya, Chairman of Presidential College Kshitiz Puri, and CA Nischal Maharjan shared their professional journey to the participated students and held a Q&A session.

This program was supported by the Vibrant Institute of Medical Education and AOC, Academy of Commerce.

Question

I am a 33-year-old working woman. I am not married but in a relationship. I tend to give more time to my work rather than to my loved ones or myself. This has affected my relationships with my partner, friends and family members. Consequently, I find myself lonely and to cope with this, I give myself even more work. I absolutely love my work and enjoy that part of my life very much. But at the same time, I feel I’m missing out in my personal life. Please help. -A workaholic 

Answered by Kapil Sharma, Counseling Psychologist, Hudec Nepal

You seem to be aware of the reason for your predicament. You admit that you have turned into a workaholic as a part of coping mechanism. But it also seems that your work-related stress has invaded your personal life and relationships.

You need to learn to balance your work and life. For this, the first thing you can do is setting goals, limits and boundaries at work. This will help you get more organized. Right now, you are unable to organize and set a boundary between your personal and professional life. The second thing is to focus on self-care, by allocating time for yourself.

Doing these things can get confusing, so what you can do is list out all your tasks, prioritize them and assign times to do them. You don’t have to give equal time and energy for each task. Focus where to invest your time based on urgency and importance. Also, learn to say ‘no’ to tasks that you cannot make time for. Many of us have the habit of saying yes to everything, only to later be racked with guilt and regret not being able to say no. Remember, it’s important to make time for oneself and prioritize self-care. 

A healthy lifestyle is essential to cope with stress and to find work-life balance. Eat well, get enough sleep, listen to uplifting music, include physical activity in your routine, and have some self-relaxation time. Try making your hobbies a part of your routine, be assertive, and develop a support system at work and home.

If your life feels too chaotic to manage and you still feel trapped in a vicious cycle of work-guilt-work, we are here to help you. Talk to professionals and take advantage of available services.