Submit your Article

Maryland health officials have confirmed a case of the New World screwworm parasite in a person who recently traveled from Guatemala. The parasite, which attacks cattle and other warm-blooded animals, is spreading north from Central America and southern Mexico, Reuters reported.

The individual received treatment in Maryland. State veterinarians were notified last week, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deferred questions to the state, with officials citing communication through state channels.

According to Reuters, the case follows US government efforts to combat the pest, including plans announced last week to build a sterile fly facility in Texas.

India fears a planned Chinese mega-dam in Tibet could cut Brahmaputra River flows by up to 85 percent in the dry season, a government analysis shows. Beijing’s $170bn project, the world’s largest hydropower dam, could divert over a third of annual flows before the river enters India, Reuters reported.

In response, New Delhi is fast-tracking the proposed Upper Siang Multipurpose Dam in Arunachal Pradesh, which would be India’s biggest. Officials say it could offset water losses, stabilize supplies, and absorb potential surges from Chinese releases.

China insists its project will not harm downstream nations, but Indian officials view it as a strategic risk. The Brahmaputra supports more than 100m people across China, India, and Bangladesh, according to Reuters.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 146 prisoners each on Sunday in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates, officials from both sides confirmed.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said many of those freed had been in captivity since 2022 and included a journalist taken early in the war. He thanked the UAE for its role in the exchange, according to Reuters.

Russia said the released soldiers were receiving care in Belarus and noted that eight civilians from the Kursk region were also returned. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky accused Kyiv of delaying the return of other Kursk residents, calling the process “painful bargaining.”

National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., will begin carrying pistols and rifles Sunday night as part of President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown, officials confirmed. The Guard said weapons would only be used as a last resort, according to Reuters.

Trump signaled he may expand deployments to Chicago and Baltimore, criticizing Democratic leaders despite data showing crime has fallen in both cities.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Trump lacks authority to send troops into Chicago, calling the move an attempt to “manufacture a crisis.”

While Trump holds direct authority over the D.C. Guard, any effort to deploy troops to Democratic-led cities would likely face legal challenges, Reuters reported.

France will summon US Ambassador Charles Kushner after he accused the country of failing to curb rising antisemitism, BBC reported.

In a letter to President Emmanuel Macron, Kushner said hatred of Jews in France had surged since the Gaza war and urged Macron to ease criticism of Israel. France called the remarks “unacceptable” and stressed ambassadors must not interfere in internal affairs.

According to BBC, the row follows similar criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Macron announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September.

President Donald Trump has threatened to send troops to Baltimore after Maryland Governor Wes Moore invited him to join a “safety walk” in the city. Trump dismissed the invitation as “nasty” and said he would prefer Moore “clean up the crime disaster” first, BBC reported.

Moore called the president’s comments “tone deaf and ignorant,” arguing Trump has not seen Baltimore’s communities.

The dispute comes as Trump expands National Guard deployments to Democratic-led cities, a move Democrats call an abuse of power. Crime data shows violent offences in Washington DC and Baltimore are already at historic lows, according to BBC.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned Trump has no legal authority to send troops into cities like Baltimore and Chicago.

The process of thought seems quite complex but it is due to two systems of brains at work. The first system represents conscious thoughts like adding or multiplying some numbers. It is the system that you think you are. It takes effort to use this part of the brain because this system is usually lazy but is capable of catching and correcting mistakes. This is not the only major major system in play but there is also system two. This system two is mainly responsible for the unconscious thought and is really quick as it needs to be because of the copious amount of information coming through our senses. 

This system filters out the unnecessary information and only picks out the relevant without the conscious system in play. This system also fills in the necessary bits of our conscious thought from system one. 

Each of this system is related to our main memory structures, the system two quick interpretation is possible due to long term memory and familiarity including the library of information built in through our life. In contrast, system one exists entirely in working memory making it possible to hold only 4 to five noble things in mind at once. In demonstration we can remember only a few digits of a random number at once but if the number is familiar it is quite easy to remember. 

This process is learning and the process of learning is simply passing off information of short term memory from system one to system two to make it long term. In order for this to happen, one needs to actively engage with the information and with effort. In demonstration, tying up your shoelace for the first time was quite difficult and it probably took all the working memory at that time but now we don’t even need to think about it as it has already been passed off to system two due to continuous effortful engagement with the information. 

This is also known as muscle memory although it is not in the muscles it is still in the brain controlled by system two. Sometimes what we think of superhuman abilities comes down to incredible automation skills of system two developed through the relentless practice of system one.

Shreeshant Rijal

Class XII

KMC, Bagbazzar

Human settlements on earth have been divided into various categories—cities, towns, suburbs and far-off villages. As a human settlement continues to grow in size, open spaces start to become dearer. Does it mean that living in a city should necessarily be equal to living without sufficient open public spaces? Do we children and the generation ahead have to accept silently that we are destined to live with all the disadvantages that a bad urbanization brings along? Who is responsible for the ugliness and the mess in a badly planned city? 

We children are not responsible for that, are we? Yet, we are the ones who are affected the most. That is why it is important that we must seize every opportunity to raise awareness. Discussions about the value of open public places, such as city squares, parks, playgrounds, and stadiums, are essential. These days, children in cities are criticized for staying indoors. But hardly anybody bothers to ask if there are any dedicated playgrounds for children in their neighborhoods.

I used to wonder why open spaces were important—until my mother told me about the 2015 earthquake. That was the time when people realized the critical need for open spaces in cities. Kathmandu Valley cannot undo the mistakes it made in the process of urbanization, but cities like Tulsipur have a chane to learn from them.

Open spaces in cities offer us many benefits. They help maintain groundwater level through the seepage of rainwater. They provide children with a safe space to play. Parks and their greenery can promote internal tourism and help clean the air. Open spaces can also serve as venues for various cultural shows and social gatherings. 

In conclusion, while planning and developing a city, the government should not ignore any aspect of urbanization that contributes to livability. 

Saanvi Dhital

Grade VI 

Sanskar Pathshala, Dang