Indian national nabbed for attempted rape
Police on Tuesday arrested an Indian national for attempting to rape a woman from Jahada of Morang. DSP Deepak Shrestha, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Morang, said that Mohammad Hajam (23) of Arariya, India was apprehended for trying to rape a 25-year-old woman of Jahada Rural Municipality-5. According to a preliminary investigation, Hajam tried to rape the woman when she was alone in the house. She shouted for help when Hajam tried to rape her. DSP Shrestha said that the Indian national was arrested following a complaint lodged by the family members. Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.
US to send $3 billion in aid to Ukraine as war hits 6 months
As Russia’s war on Ukraine drags on, US security assistance is shifting to a longer-term campaign that will likely keep more American military troops in Europe into the future, including imminent plans to announce an additional roughly $3 billion in aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come, US officials said, Associated Press reported.
US officials told The Associated Press that the package is expected to be announced Wednesday, the day the war hits the six-month mark and Ukraine celebrates its independence day. The money will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones, and other weapons, ammunition and equipment that may not see the battlefront for a year or two, they said.
The total of the aid package — which is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is the largest to date— could change a bit overnight, but not likely by much. Officials said that it will include money for the small, hand-launched Puma drones, the longer-endurance Scan Eagle surveillance drones, which are launched by catapult, and, for the first time, the British Vampire drone system, which can be launched off ships. Several officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the aid before its public release.
Unlike most previous packages, the new funding is largely aimed at helping Ukraine secure its medium- to long-term defense posture, according to the officials familiar with the matter. Earlier shipments, most of them done under Presidential Drawdown Authority, have focused on Ukraine’s more immediate needs for weapons and ammunition and involved materiel that the Pentagon already has in stock that can be shipped in short order.
In addition to providing longer-term assistance that Ukraine can use for potential future defense needs, the new package is intended to reassure Ukrainian officials that the United States intends to keep up its support, regardless of the day-to-day back and forth of the conflict, the officials said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted the more extended focus Tuesday as he reaffirmed the alliance’s support for the conflict-torn country.
“Winter is coming, and it will be hard, and what we see now is a grinding war of attrition. This is a battle of wills, and a battle of logistics. Therefore we must sustain our support for Ukraine for the long term, so that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation,” Stoltenberg said, speaking at a virtual conference about Crimea, organized by Ukraine.
Six months after Russia invaded, the war has slowed to a grind, as both sides trade combat strikes and small advances in the east and south. Both sides have seen thousands of troops killed and injured, as Russia’s bombardment of cities has killed countless innocent civilians, according to Associated Press.
There are fears that Russia will intensify attacks on civilian infrastructure and government facilities in Ukraine in the coming days because of the independence holiday and the six-month anniversary of the invasion.
Late Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and the State Department issued a new security alert for Ukraine that repeated a call for Americans in the country to leave due to the danger.
“Given Russia’s track record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” it said.
Other NATO allies are also marking the independence day with new aid announcements.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is providing more than 500 million euros (nearly $500 million) in aid, including powerful anti-aircraft systems. The aid will also include rocket launchers, ammunition, anti-drone equipment, a dozen armored recovery vehicles and and three additional IRIS-T long-range air defense systems, the German news agency dpa reported.
The funding must still be approved by parliament, and some of it won’t be delivered until next year.
And Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $3.85 million for two Ukraine projects through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program. It includes about $2.9 million in funding for ongoing development of Ukraine’s national police force and other emergency services, and about $950,000 to help advise Ukraine’s defense ministry.
To date, the US has provided about $10.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration, including 19 packages of weapons taken directly from Defense Department stocks since August 2021, Associated Press reported.
US defense leaders are also eyeing plans that will expand training for Ukrainian troops outside their country, and for militaries on Europe’s eastern and southern flanks that feel most threatened by Russia’s aggression.
Student loan help for millions coming from Biden after delay
President Joe Biden on Wednesday is set to announce his long-delayed move to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student loans for many Americans and extend a pause on payments to January, according to three people familiar with the plan, Associated Press reported.
Biden has faced pressure from liberals to provide broader relief to hard-hit borrowers, and from moderates and Republicans questioning the fairness of any widespread forgiveness. The delay in Biden’s decision has only heightened the anticipation for what his own aides acknowledge represents a political no-win situation. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s intended announcement ahead of time.
The precise details of Biden’s plan, which will include an income cap limiting the forgiveness to only those earning less than $125,000 a year, were being kept to an unusually small circle within the Biden administration and were still not finalized on the eve of the announcement.
Down-to-the-wire decision-making has been a hallmark of the Biden White House, but the particular delay on student loans reflects the vexing challenge confronting him in fulfilling a key campaign promise, according to Associated Press.
The plan would likely eliminate student debt entirely for millions of Americans and wipe away at least half for millions more. The nation’s federal student debt now tops $1.6 trillion after ballooning for years. More than 43 million Americans have federal student debt, with almost a third owing less than $10,000 and more than half owing less than $20,000, according to the latest federal data.
Twitter whistleblower raises security concerns
A former security chief for Twitter has turned whistleblower and testified that the company misled users and US regulators about gaps in its security, BBC reported.
Peiter Zatko also claimed that Twitter underestimated how many fake and spam accounts are on its platform.
The accusations could affect a legal battle between Twitter and billionaire Elon Musk, who is trying to cancel his $44bn (£37bn) deal to buy the company.
Twitter says Mr Zatko's allegations are inaccurate and inconsistent.
It says he was sacked in January for ineffective leadership and poor performance. In Mr Zatko's damning revelations, first revealed by CNN and The Washington Post, he accused Twitter of failing to maintain stringent security practices and "lying about bots to Elon Musk".
He filed his complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July. The BBC has seen a redacted copy of the complaint shared via CBS news.
In it, Mr Zatko also criticised the way in which Twitter handled sensitive information and claimed that it has failed to accurately report some of these matters to US regulators.
Twitter has faced a number of high profile hacks with Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Kanye West all targeted.
Among his concerns Mr Zatko alleges that Twitter suffered from an usually high rate of security incidents - "approximately one security incident each week serious enough that Twitter was required to report it to regulators".
He said that so-called insider threats - security risks posed by people with malicious intent from within the company - went "virtually unmonitored".
The former security chief revealed his concern about how Twitter handled data, alleging that too many employees had access to sensitive systems and user data, according to BBC.
On fake and spam accounts, he said that "deliberate ignorance was the norm" at the tech company, and accused Twitter executives of having little incentive to accurately identify how many there really are on its platform.
However in the view of The Washington Post, he "provides little hard evidence" to back up these assertions.
Nevertheless, Elon Musk's lawyers have jumped on the comments. His legal team are currently trying to get the Tesla boss out of the deal, by arguing that Twitter has no way of verifying how many of its 229 million daily active users were actually human.
Following the publication of Mr Zatko's revelations, Mr Musk tweeted screenshots of The Washington Post's story, and tweeted an image carrying the phrase "give a little whistle".
Mr Zatko's lawyer told CNN that his client started the whistleblowing process before the takeover bid became public, and had not made contact with Elon Musk.
A former hacker, Peiter Zatko is a well-known figure in computer security circles.
Nicknamed Mudge, he was a member of computer security think-tank L0pht (pronounced "loft"), and took part in congressional hearings on cyber-security in 1998.
He has also held senior positions with Google and the US government's research and development agency, DARPA.
A Twitter spokesperson said: "What we've seen so far is a false narrative about Twitter and our privacy and data-security practices that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context, BBC reported.
"Mr Zatko's allegations and opportunistic timing appear designed to capture attention and inflict harm on Twitter, its customers and its shareholders.
"Security and privacy have long been company-wide priorities at Twitter and will continue to be."
John Tye, of Whistleblower Aid, which is assisting Pieter Zatko, described him as a "hero" and called on agencies to investigate the allegations quickly, according to BBC.
Najib Razak: Malaysia's ex-PM starts jail term after final appeal fails
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sent to jail to begin serving a 12-year sentence, after the top court rejected his appeal, BBC reported.
The 69-year-old's charges relate to a corruption scandal involving state-owned wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
He was convicted in July 2020, but had been out on bail during the appeal.
The court also denied Najib's request to delay his sentence. He has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
In 2020, a court had found him guilty on seven counts - centred on a total of 42m ringgit ($9.4m; £8m) which was transferred from SRC International - a former unit of 1MDB - into his private accounts.
He was sentenced to 12 years' jail and a fine of 210m ringgit ($46.8m; £39.7m).
They also claimed he was misled by financial advisers, particularly fugitive financier Jho Low - who has been charged in both the US and Malaysia but also maintains his innocence.
In his final push for freedom on Tuesday, Najib's lawyer requested the removal of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from the panel presiding over the case - in what was seen as a bid to forestall a final verdict, according to BBC.
They claimed she could be biased as her husband had made a Facebook post in 2018 which was critical of Najib.
However, the chief justice declined the request as she said the post was before the charges were brought against Najib.
In her verdict, the chief justice said the five-judge panel unanimously found that the conviction of Najib on all seven counts was safe and the appeal "devoid of any merits".
The charges addressed on Tuesday make up only the the first of five trials relating to 1MDB.
Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, also faces money laundering and tax evasion charges - to which she has pleaded not guilty.
She separately faces corruption charges related to a solar hybrid project, and the High Court is set to deliver her verdict for this case on 1 September, BBC reported.
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.
