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The two border points—Tatopani and Rashuwagadhi—towards China have been closed for the past two weeks. Director General of the Customs Department Kamal Prasad Bhattarai said that China closed the two border points without informing the Nepal government officially. Though China has not given a specific reason to close the border points, the northern neighbor might have closed the border due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, he said. Bhattarai, however, said that the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies was informed verbally about the border closure. According to statistics, around 25 percent of the commerce passes through these border posts. The border closure will add more pressure on traders at a time when the biggest festivals are round the corner, Director General Bhattarai said. The government is in a dilemma on how to approach China to reopen the border for two-way trade as the northern neighbor had closed the border points one-sidedly. “We have talked with the concerned ministry to open the border. The officials have told us that they will take the initiatives to resolve the problem,” he said, adding, “We cannot do anything.” Nine border points of 10 districts have been opened for trade between Nepal and China. Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi, however, were the only border points which were in full operation. The container trucks with goods worth billions of rupees have remained stranded at the border points. China closed the Tatopani border point on August 10 and the Rasuwagadhi border point on August 14. The Tatopani-Khasa border point, which remained close for four year following the devastating earthquake of 2015, reopened on May 29, 2019.

A man has gone missing after being swept away by a river at Tatopani in Beni Municipality-4 of Myagdi. The District Police Office, Myagdi said that Milan Rai (22) of Triyuga Municipality-10, Udayapur has gone missing after being swept by the Myagdi river on Saturday night. DSP Tilak Bharati said that the incident occurred while he had gone to take bath at the river. Ward member Prem Sris said that Rai had been driving a tractor at Tatopani area for the past three years.  

Property worth around Rs 1. 5 million was reduced to ashes when a fire broke out at a furniture factory in Gauradaha, Jhapa on Sunday. DSP Basanta Pathak of the District Police Office, Jhapa said that the fire broke out at the Payal Furniture factory owned by Munilal Sharma in Gauradaha Municipality-1 at around 3 am today. DSP Pathak said that the factory was completely destroyed in the flame. The reason behind the fire was electric short circuit. The fire was later taken under control with the help of fire engines of Gauradaha, Damak and Kamal Rural Municipality, police personnel and locals at around 4: 30 am.    

Se Sokna, a sixth-grade student at the Angkomnob Primary School in Bati district, 40 km south from Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, was elated after receiving a Chinese-donated "Kit of Love" on Thursday, saying that the package was very useful, Xinhua reported. "This kit is very valuable for us and I like it," she told Xinhua after receiving the package, which included a school bag, stationery, a stainless-steel water bottle, and a stainless-steel lunch box, among others. Another sixth-grade student San Sokchen, 12, said he was very grateful to China for the donation, saying that the package had not only aided his study, but also helped improve his personal hygiene. "I received a school bag, tinned fish, a bottle of Ovaltine, a water bottle, and a lunch box," he told Xinhua. "I'm very happy and excited." Jointly funded by Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) via Cambodia's Civil Society Alliance Forum (CSAF), the "Kit of Love" project was launched here by Cambodia's Minister of Post and Telecommunications Chea Vandeth and Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Liu was visiting Cambodia as head of a CPC delegation from Aug. 23-26, and he had met with ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP)'s president and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and also some other party leaders. CSAF's planning and project director Chea Munyrith said the three-month project aimed to meet the needs of stationery among students, to encourage them to study hard, to help improve hygiene and environment, and to connect the hearts of peoples of the two countries, according to Xinhua. "A total of 10,000 'Kits of Love' will be donated to students in three target areas, including capital Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk province and Tboung Khmum province," he told Xinhua. Munyrith said the "Kit of Love" project would not only contribute to reducing poverty, but also to improving the well-being of students in rural areas. "We believe that this project will deepen the bonds of solidarity, friendship, and brotherhood between our two countries and peoples," he said. Nget Sam Oeun, principal of the Angkomnob Primary School, where the project was launched, said a total of 257 students in the school had received a "Kit of Love" each. "This is a good project because it has helped improve health and hygiene for rural students," he told Xinhua. "The project will importantly contribute to improving health and hygiene for primary school students, particularly helping protect them from the COVID-19 pandemic." "The 'Kit of Love' truly reflects the kind hearts of the Chinese people towards their Cambodian counterparts, and it has also brought smiles and hopes to rural children in Cambodia," he added, Xinhua reported.

Serena Williams will play alongside older sister Venus in the US Open doubles in what will be the final tournament of her career, BBC reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a decree introducing financial benefits for people who left Ukrainian territory to come to Russia, including pensioners, pregnant women and disabled people, Reuters reported. The decree, published on a government portal, establishes monthly pension payments of 10,000 roubles ($170) for people who have been forced to leave the territory of Ukraine since Feb. 18. Disabled people will also be eligible for the same monthly support, while pregnant women are entitled to a one-off benefit. The decree says the payments will be made to citizens of Ukraine and the self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - two breakaway Russian-backed entities in eastern Ukraine that Moscow recognised as independent in February in a move condemned by Ukraine and the West as illegal. On Feb. 18, Putin ordered every person who arrived in Russia from Donetsk and Luhansk to be given a payment of 10,000 roubles. Moscow has been giving Ukrainians Russian passports in what Ukraine and the United States say is an illegal effort by Moscow to annex territory it has occupied as part of what they regard as an imperialist Russian land-grab, according to Reuters. Moscow says it is prosecuting "a special military operation" to protect itself and defend Russian-speakers who it says were persecuted by Ukrainian authorities, something Kyiv denies.

A car driven by Princess Diana in the 1980s sold for 650,000 pounds ($764,000) at auction Saturday, just days before the 25th anniversary of her death, Associated Press reported.

Silverstone Auctions said there was “fierce bidding” for the black Ford Escort RS Turbo before the sale closed. The U.K. buyer, whose name was not disclosed, paid a 12.5% buyer’s premium on top of the selling price, according to the classic car auction house.

Britain and Diana’s admirers worldwide are preparing to mark a quarter century since her death. She died in a high-speed car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.

Diana drove the Escort from 1985 to 1988. She was photographed with it outside boutique shops in Chelsea and restaurants in Kensington. She preferred to drive her own car, with a member of her security team in the passenger seat.

The RS Turbo Series 1 was typically manufactured in white, but she got it in black to be more discreet. Ford also added features for her security, such as a second rear-view mirror for the protection officer, according to Associated Press.

The car has just under 25,000 miles on it.

Last year, another Ford Escort that Diana used sold at auction for 52,000 pounds ($61,100).