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India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said on Friday that India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and stressed that dialogue is the only answer to settle differences and disputes after India abstained in the UN Security Council vote which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of Ukrainian regions, calling for an immediate cessation of violence.  The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania that condemns Russia's "organization of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders." The UN security council voted on the resolutions condemning referendums in Ukraine at UNSC on Friday which were tabled by the US and Albania and failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it whereas India, China, Gabon, and Brazil abstained.  Explaining the vote, Kamboj urged that all efforts are made by the concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and said that dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes.  "Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment. The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open," she said during the address at UNSC. She further highlighted the statements made by the External Affairs Minister in his recent engagements at UNGA during the High-Level Week on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advice to Russian President Putin during the SCO Summit in Samarkand that this cannot be an era of war, Kamboj said that India is hopeful of an early resumption of peace talks for resolution of the conflict.  "India's position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored on principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states," the UN envoy added.  "Escalation of rhetoric or tensions is in no one's interest. It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India has decided to abstain from this resolution," Kamboj said.  Putin signed the documents on Friday to formally announce the annexation of four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia's annexation sparked wide criticism from around the world. The United States announced that it will impose a "swift and severe cost" on Russia.  Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the "United States unequivocally rejects Russia's fraudulent attempt to change Ukraine's internationally recognized borders."  "We will continue the United States' powerful, coordinated efforts to hold Russia to account, cut Russia's military off from global commerce and severely limit its ability to sustain its aggression and project power," he added.  In an earlier briefing on Tuesday, Kamboj said the Ukraine war has resulted in the loss of countless lives and miseries for people particularly women, children and the elderly with millions becoming homeless and taking shelter in neighboring countries.  Ruchira Kamboj said that New Delhi will continue to work with the International Community to mitigate economic hardships resulting from the Ukraine conflict.  During the UNSC briefing, the UN envoy also reiterated that India's approach to the ongoing war in Ukraine will be human-centric as the country firmly believes that global order should be anchored on international law in the UN charter. (ANI)

Hilaree Nelson, an American ski mountaineer, was found dead on Mt. Manaslu, Nepal, near where she went missing. It was earlier confirmed that she had fallen into a crevasse while skiing down the peak of the mountain with her partner, Jim Morrison, on Sept 26. The 49-year-old was hit by an avalanche on her way back to the base. Her body was brought to Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu.  ‘It’s truly a necessity to have a passion as a compass in life’ was Nelson’s philosophy and she lived by it. Passionate about mountaineering, she had climbed many peaks all over the world. She was the first female to summit two 8000-meter peaks (Everest and Lhotse) in 24 hours. Nelson was named one of Men’s Journal’s ‘Top 25 Most Adventurous Women in the Last 25 Years’ as well as one of National Geographic’s ‘Adventurers of the Year in 2018’.  In 2018, Nelson and her partner Jim Morrison also performed the first ski descent of the Dream Line on Lhotse. It was one of the boldest runs of all time. “She was pretty attached to Nepal,” says Jiwan Ghimire, her best friend. “She was a mountaineering enthusiast, and the high peaks of Nepal always had her rushing back after her first visit in 2005,’’ he adds. Nelson started skiing when she was three years old. She was a mother of two and the current North Face Global Athletic Team Captain in Telluride, Colorado. “She was passionate about skiing and the mountains. She lived for them,” adds Ghimire.

Narayani Hospital in Nepal's southern city of Birgunj has its own health care waste treatment center now, bringing much relief to those inside and around the health facility. The health care waste management center was inaugurated on Thursday at the hospital, with a ceremony held to mark the handover of essential healthcare equipment for the operation of the center, Xinhua reported. The center is equipped with a set of autoclave machines, which use steam to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores. Under a project run by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with financial support from China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDF), the hospital has also received medical equipment and parts like segregation chambers, medical trolleys, waste bins, needle cutters and personal protective equipment to ensure proper waste management. In addition, 20 officials and 45 others from the hospital have been trained on standard operating procedures regarding health care waste management. The waste treatment center was built in an area where all types of waste were piled up without segregation in the past, and it came as a huge relief to patients, hospital staff and those living around the hospital. "I had been living with the stench of garbage for the last several years," said Krishnaa Barma, a senior nurse from Narayani Hospital. "This waste management facility has brought me and my other colleagues who live in the building near this facility a huge relief." Sachin Shrestha, a grocery shop owner, had to burn incense to dilute the stench of hospital garbage. "I did not believe that such a quick transformation took place here in the last two weeks or so when the waste management facility was set up," he said. The stench was not the only trouble for locals, birds had also carried medical waste to their homes in the recent past. "The birds even brought waste created during the delivery of a baby," recalled Anupa Gautam, a local resident. For poor children who used to collect garbage, the medical waste rendered them vulnerable to various diseases including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B because of used needles left in the garbage, according to hospital officials, according to Xinhua. Things are turning for the better after Narayani Hospital became one of the very few hospitals in the city to have its own waste treatment system. In Birgunj, there are only two hospitals running their own waste treatment plant, said Rajeshman Singh, mayor of the border city. "The metropolitan city has its own two small waste treatment plants and we use them to sterilize hazardous garbage collected from various hospitals," he added. At Narayani Hospital, the largest in Madhesh Province with 300 beds, 170.26 kg of waste was generated per day, according to an assessment conducted in 2020. "As much as 15 percent of the total garbage is hazardous, according to a recent assessment," said Sruti Sah, head of the hospital's nursing department. Along with the operation of the waste treatment center, Narayani Hospital has started to collect and segregate all the non-disposable items such as plastic, gloves and metal. "We plan to sell these items and make an income, which we can use to fund the sanitation staff," said Sah. Besides Nepal, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are also covered by the project of Learning from China's Experience to Improve the Ability of Response to COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific Region, with technical support from the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, China National Health Development Research Center under the National Health Commission, and Tsinghua University/Basel Convention Regional Center for Asia and the Pacific. In addition to Narayani Hospital, six other hospitals in Nepal are covered under the project as well. Addressing the inauguration and handover ceremony at Narayani Hospital, UNDP Nepal's Deputy Representative Bernardo Cocco voiced his hope that the new waste management system would allow the hospital to provide better health care services in Birgunj, Xinhua reported. To mark the occasion, a representative from the Chinese Embassy in Nepal congratulated the handover ceremony. China always put the people first, for nothing in the world is more precious than people's lives, the representative said, expressing hope that the program can "keep on bringing safer health services to the communities and benefiting the local people." "China is ready to provide the most needed medical expertise and critical supplies," the representative added.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) senior Vice-Chairman Rabindra Mishra has announced that he will contest the parliamentary election scheduled for November 20 from Kathmandu-1. He announced his candidacy in the presence of former RPP chairman Prakash Chandra Lohani, General Secretary Bhuwan Pathak and party spokesperson Mohan Shrestha among others at Thapagaun in Kathmandu on Friday. Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden, however, was not present in the program. Leader Mishra announced his candidacy less than a week after he was appointed as the senior vice-chairman by joining the RPP. He had contested the previous election to the House of Representatives from the same constituency. But, he was defeated by Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh with a margin of 818 votes. Leader Singh accumulated 10, 936 votes while Mishra garnered 10, 118 votes. Mishra is the former Chairman of the Bibeksheel Sajha Party. He worked as the editor-in-chief of BBC Nepali Service and left the BBC in February 2017 to enter politics.    

Nepal reported 63 new Covid-19 cases on Friday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 941 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 30 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 594 people underwent antigen tests, of which 33 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 103 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 1, 004 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 16. 29 points to close at 1,853.76 points on Friday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 3.83 points to close at 363. 42 points. A total of 1,791,480 unit shares of 223 companies were traded for Rs 63 billion. In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green except for Life Insurance. Meanwhile, Aviyan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Samling Power Company Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 7. 94 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 66 trillion.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 93, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 93, 100 on Thursday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 92, 500 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1, 170 per tola today.

Former King Gyanendra has said that there are complaints that Nepal has turned into a playground for foreigners. Extending greetings through video on the occasion of Bada Dashain on Friday, he said that the independent and sovereign country Nepal should be protected with the joint efforts of all. Shah was of the opinion that the unstable politics has promoted corruption in the country, thereby making the daily life of common people difficult. “Leaders’ hunger for power has been pushing the country towards failure. The country should never be defeated by any of our actions,” he said, adding, “The country’s independence and sovereignty have been at risk while trying to protect the existing Constitution and system.” The former monarch said that the country is looking for the right system, organization and the character who is loyal to the country and people.