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The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised interest rates for the first time in more than 11 years as it tries to control soaring eurozone inflation, BBC reported.

The ECB increased its key interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 0.0% and plans further hikes this year.

The rate has been negative since 2014 in a bid to boost the region's economy after years of weak growth.

But consumer prices rose at a record 8.6% in the 12 months to June as food, fuel and energy costs soared.

That is well above the bank's 2% target.

Inflation is the pace at which prices are rising. For example, if a bottle of milk costs €1 and that rises by 5 cents compared with a year earlier, then milk inflation is 5%.

The Ukraine war and Covid supply chain issues have driven up everyday costs across the eurozone, putting pressure on households.

The bloc is vulnerable because it relies heavily on Russia for its oil and gas. This week it urged member states to begin rationing supplies amid fears Moscow will halt gas deliveries this year, causing further price spikes, according to BBC.

Explaining its decision to raise rates in July, ECB president Christine Lagarde said: "Economic activity [in the eurozone] is slowing. Russia's unjustified aggression towards Ukraine is an ongoing drag on growth.

"We expect inflation to remain undesirably high for some time owing to continued pressure from energy and food prices and pipeline pressures in the pricing chain," she added. 

The bank says further rate hikes "will be appropriate" and that it will take a "meeting-by-meeting" approach to raising rates.

It comes after the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve put up their rates to try and rein in rising prices. 

The idea is that by making it more expensive to borrow, people will spend less, bringing down demand and therefore prices. 

However, there are also concerns that higher rates could push countries into recession - which is defined as two successive quarters of economic decline, BBC reported.

These fears helped push the euro to a 20-year low against the dollar in recent weeks.

The ECB began cutting interest rates after the 2008 financial crisis to stimulate growth, and took them as low as -0.5% during the pandemic.

However, earlier this year it signalled it planned to increase them again, although economists had only expected an increase of 0.25 percentage points in July, according to BBC.

Nepal reported 435 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 667 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 317 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 092 people underwent antigen tests, of which 18 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. 

As of today, there are 2, 537 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 5. 87 points to close at 2,044.72 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 86 points to close at 391. 64 points.

A total of 3,908,395 units of the shares of 225 companies were traded for Rs 1. 64 billion.

Meanwhile, Central Finance Co. Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 3. 16 percent. Likewise, ICFC Finance Limited Debenture was the top loser with its price dropped by 6. 71 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2. 91 trillion.

Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota directed the government to inform about the State Partnership Program (SPP).

Saying that his attention had been drawn, Sapkota, during a meeting of the House of Representatives on Thursday, directed the government to inform about the status of the SPP.

“My attention has been drawn towards the SPP agreement raised by honorable lawmakers. In this regard, I direct the Government of Nepal to inform about the decision of the Government of Nepal and its implementation,” he said.

The government is yet to write to the US saying that Nepal would not participate in the US’s State Partnership Program.

The House of Representatives extended the deadline of the probe committee formed to investigate charges against former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma by seven days.

Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota tabled a proposal to extend the deadline by seven days as per the demand of the committee in the Parliament on Thursday. The proposal was endorsed by the Parliament.

The 10-day deadline ends today.

The House of Representatives formed the committee on July 6 to investigate the issue that Sharma invited two unauthorized persons to tweak the tax rates a day before he presented the budget in the Parliament.

The committee, which was given 10 days’ time to carry out an investigation and submit the report, started its work on July 12.

The committee questioned Sharma on Thursday.

Sharma said that he answered all the questions asked by the committee. The committee will make the final decision, he said.

The committee has already grilled 10 officials of the Finance Ministry involved in formulating the budget.

The parliamentary special committee formed to investigate the issue about allowing the unauthorized persons to enter the Finance Ministry while making the budget, recorded the statement of former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma on Thursday.

The parliamentary special probe committee questioned former minister Sharma at its office this morning.

Talking to journalists after recording the statement, Sharma said the he answered all the questions asked by the committee.

Likewise, probe committee secretary Surendra Aryal said that Sharma repeated the same thing he had said in the Parliament earlier.

Sharma said that no one had entered the Ministry without the permission of the authorized persons.

Aryal said that the committee has not been able to get the CCTV footage of the two unauthorized persons entering the Ministry on the eve of the budget presentation.

He further said that the hard disk of the CCTV has been sent to the forensic lab of the Nepal Police to retrieve the missing CCTV footage.

Aryal was of the opinion that they will move ahead on the basis of the report of Nepal Police.

Former Minister Sharma is accused of inviting two outsiders in this chamber to tweak tax rates a day before he presented the budget in the Parliament.

The committee has already questioned 10 officials of the ministry involved in making the budget.

The deadline of the committee is expiring today. The committee has urged Speaker Agni Sapkota to extend the time.

Lightning strikes have left 14 people dead and 16 others injured in various parts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said here, PTI reported.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those who were killed in the lightning strikes on Wednesday.

According to the details provided by the relief commissioner’s office, four deaths due to lightning were reported from Banda, two from Fatehpur and one each from Balrampur, Chandauli, Bulandshahr, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Kaushambi, Sultanpur and Chitrakoot districts.

Adityanath condoled the loss of lives and directed officials to ensure proper treatment is provided to the injured, the officials said. 

Query

In my childhood, I had many bouts of explosive rage, which led me to throw things, misbehave with friends and family and even cut my arms. As I grew up, I started developing depressive symptoms. I had problems concentrating in my studies and work. It's been some years since I started working and I don’t enjoy it. The issue with me is that I give up too easily. I am 30 now and I still feel angry at myself thinking about my past. I recently smashed my phone and tore my driving license. Family conflicts are also fairly common with me. I feel unloved, uncared for, and ignored. I often get demotivated. What should I do? Please help! —M.J.

Answered by Dristi Moktan, Counsellor, Happy Minds  

Given all that you have experienced since childhood and that things have only become worse with time, it would be preferable to consult a mental health expert. Anger issues in early stages can be somewhat self-managed, but as they intensify, you must be aware of your own limits. They are often too much to handle on your own. It is advisable to get professional help as anger issues are often symptoms of an underlying cause. 

But here are a few strategies you can use to manage your anger. It's important to first think about what makes you angry, what you actually feel when you're angry, what are the consequences that follow, is it hurting you, or are you merely expressing your sentiments? You might want to keep track of your anger. Being more emotionally aware of yourself can enable you to see things clearly. The more you express your feelings, the more they'll help. You can also try writing down your feelings when you get angry. 

Another thing you can do is to delay your response: if you feel angry, try to hold back your response and then reflect on the situation. We can't control our emotions, but we can control our responses. If you ever get a feeling of anger rising inside you, take a deep breath, hold it and exhale slowly. If that still doesn't work, consider leaving the situation that is triggering your anger. You can also imagine a pleasant scenario to help you calm down.  

Practicing meditation can also be beneficial to regulate your emotions. Given enough time and practice, all of these approaches can help you develop a robust coping mechanism for anger.