Shanghai to lock down millions again for mass COVID testing
China's commercial hub of Shanghai will lock down millions of people for mass COVID-19 testing this weekend - just 10 days after lifting its gruelling two-month lockdown - unsettling residents and raising concerns about the business impact, Reuters reported.
Racing to stop a wider outbreak after discovering a handful of community cases, including a cluster traced to a popular beauty salon, authorities have ordered PCR testing for all residents in 14 of Shanghai's 16 districts over the weekend.
Five of the districts said residents would not be allowed to leave their homes while the testing was carried out. A notice issued by Changning district described the stay-home requirement as "closed management" of the community being sampled.
The latest scare triggered a rush to grocery stores and online platforms to stock up on food, as users of China's Twitter-like Weibo expressed fear they could be locked down for longer, having only started going back to work after the last lockdown was lifted on June 1, according to Reuters.
Some areas had remained sealed off or quickly returned to lockdown due to infections and their close contacts.
"The residential compound next to mine has already been locked down," said Zhang Jian, a 34 year old real estate agent.
"If there is a mass testing and there is another positive case in the compound, it will have a serious impact on our lives."
Raj Shrestha appointed as President of NYEF Lalitpur Chapter
Raj Shrestha has been appointed as the President of the Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs' Forum- Lalitpur Chapter. He was the Vice President of the Chapter and a member of its Executive Committee.
The first annual general meeting held at Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat on Thursday appointed Shrestha as the President of NYEF Lalitpur Chapter.
He succeeded Aabhushan Jyoti Kansakar.
In his strategic message, Shrestha emphasized on spearheading an action-driven leadership that will place paramount importance on accelerated “growth” as the year-round goal.
The meeting was divided into two sessions, closed and open, whereby the annual financial report and the annual program report of the previous tenure was presented by Shrestha and Subin Shrestha, the newly appointed Vice President for the Chapter.
The Chapter also officially announced their Executive Board Members, who are individuals from a wide range of industries bringing in their expertise and knowledge in taking forward the mission of the chapter for this fiscal year.
Dinesh Shrestha, Executive Committee Member and Vice President of the Industry Department of FNCCI and NYEF National Governing Council President Udeep Shrestha were the chief guests of the event.
India reports 7,584 new Covid cases, 24 deaths
An upward trend in new Covid-19 cases continued in India on Friday, with the country recording 7,584 new cases and 24 deaths. With this, active cases rose to 36,267. The total number of recoveries logged in the last 24 hours was 3,791, The Indian Express reported.
The BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants are making their presence felt across various areas in the country with the daily Covid tally now showing a rise in the country. When contacted, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, told The Indian Express that it could be the start of a mini wave. “The sub-variants that are emerging are more transmissible than the original Omicron BA.1 and there is a likelihood of waning immunity. It is a possibility that there could be mini waves every four-six months or so and hence, apart from all Covid-appropriate precautionary measures that need to be taken, it is important to also track the variant,” Dr Swaminathan said, according to The Indian Express.
The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported globally fell everywhere except the Middle East and Southeast Asia last week, according to a World Health Organisation weekly report released Wednesday. In its latest weekly update on the pandemic, the UN health agency said confirmed cases dropped 12% to more than 3 million and reported deaths declined 22 per cent to about 7,600.
Booster shots to be provided to children aged 12-17 from today
The government has decided to inoculate booster shots to all the children aged between 12 and 17 years, who were administered with Covid-19 vaccine three months ago, from today.
A meeting of the Health and Population held on Tuesday decided to administer booster shots from Friday.
The children were inoculated with Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
Similarly, the government has started preparations to administer Covid-19 vaccine to the children aged between five and 12 from June 23. They will be inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine.
Britney Spears marries fiancé Sam Asghari
Britney Spears has married fiancé Sam Asghari, seven months after being freed from a conservatorship that she said had prevented her from getting wed, BBC reported.
The couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Last year, the pop star, 40, told a court the controversial 13-year legal guardianship had meant she was "not able to get married and have a baby".
The arrangement ended in November and she later got pregnant, but announced in May she had suffered a miscarriage.
Shortly before the wedding, a former husband of the star was restrained outside her home after trying to gatecrash the event. Jason Alexander, who was married to Spears for just under 55 hours in 2004, managed to enter the property briefly, live-streaming himself as he passed a security guard and other people. There was no sign of the couple themselves.
Mr Alexander was arrested by Ventura County police on a warrant from a different county for an undisclosed offence, and officers had still to decide whether trespassing charges would be pressed, according to BBC.
Spears met 28-year-old personal trainer Asghari in 2016 on the set of her music video for the song Slumber Party.
In an interview with BBC Persian, conducted the month before her pregnancy announcement, Asghari said that marriage and plans to have children "should have happened three years ago".
The couple got engaged last September, two months before the end of the conservatorship, which had seen her father Jamie control many aspects of her life.
Her dad, mother and sister were reportedly not expected to be at the wedding ceremony. Among the guests seen arriving were socialite Paris Hilton and actress Drew Barrymore.
Jamie Spears previously said the arrangement had been "necessary" for his daughter's mental health, but agreed it was time for her "to re-take control of her life".
Mr Asghari is the star's third husband. After Mr Alexander, she was married to Kevin Federline from 2004 to 2007, BBC reported.
One killed in Gulmi excavator accident
A person died when an excavator fell off a cliff in Gulmi.
The deceased has been identified as driver Yagya Oli (33) of Tilakpur, Shantinagar Rural Municipality-1, Dang.
The vehicle (Lu 1 Ka 4771) was heading towards Lumcha from Ratapani of Chatrakot Rural Municipality-2 of the district when the incident occurred, the District Police Office, Gulmi said.
DSP Madhav Raj Kharel of the District Police Office, Gulmi said that the excavator fell some 500 meters down the road.
Floods, landslides wreck havoc in Gorkha
Floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall have caused damage in various places of Gorkha.
Ward Chairman Bhejraj Pandey said that the landslide swept away a house in Palungtar Municipality-6.
He said that the flood washed away a motorable bridge and thousands is ropanis of land in ward-9.
The flood swept away the house of local Keshav Bahadur Thapa at Kalleri in Palungtar-6.
Police said that the flood damaged the houses of Saraswati BK, Khel Bahadur Gurung, Padam Bahadur Thapa, Bir Bahadur Rana and Jyoti Rana among others.
Similarly, Ward Chairman Chet Bahadur Gurung said that four houses are at high risk of being swept away at Chapthok Ukhubari.
Likewise, a flooded river damaged the house of Rammaya Kunwar at Jogibesi in Palungtar-9.
Police said that the Chuti Khola washed away a bridge at Bardi.
Ward Chairman Gurung said that landslides have obstructed roads in various places.
Police said that the Abukhaireni-Manakamana road section has also been obstructed due to the landslide.
2 found dead near Marsyangdi River
Vehicular movement along the Prithvi Highway has been obstructed after the road caved in near the dam of Abukhaireni Rural Municipality -5 of Tanahun.
Police said that two persons were found dead near the Marsyangdi River where the road was caved in.
Sub-Inspector Gokarna Nepal of the District Traffic Office, Tanahun said that the identities of the deceased have not been established yet.
A rescue team from Pokhara and Chitwan are searching the river as parts of a motorbike and a car were found in the river, he said.