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Saying “the countdown has begun,” 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williamsannounced Tuesday she is ready to step away from tennis so she can turn her focus to having another child and her business interests, presaging the end of a career that transcended sports, Associated Press reported.

In an essay released Tuesday by Voguemagazine, and a post on Instagram — the sorts of direct-to-fans communication favored these days by celebrities, a category she most definitely fits — Williams was not completely clear on the timeline for her last match, but she made it sound as if that could be at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 29 in New York.

“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness do I enjoy tennis. But now, the countdown has begun,” Williams, who turns 41 next month, wrote on Instagram. “I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different, but just (as) exciting Serena. I’m gonna relish these next few weeks.”

Williams, one of the greatest and most accomplished athletes in the history of her — or any other — sport, wrote in the essay that she does not like the word “retirement” and prefers to think of this stage of her life as “evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

“I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads,” she wrote. “I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”

That she would be publicly contemplating the end of her playing days is not all that surprising, given her age — her 10 Grand Slam titles after turning 30 are unsurpassed — her history of injuries and her recent record: one victory in a singles match in the past 12 months (that win arrived Monday in Toronto; she is scheduled to play again on Wednesday), according to Associated Press.

“Serena Williams is a generational, if not multigenerational, talent who had a profound impact on the game of tennis, but an even greater influence on women in sports, business and society. At a time when our nation and the world have wrestled with essential issues of identity, Serena has stood as a singular exemplar of the best of humanity after breaking through countless barriers to her participation and ultimate success,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said. “She leaves an indelible legacy of grace and grit that will inspire athletes, female and male, for many generations to come. We can’t thank her enough for all she has done for our sport.”

Williams’ status as an athlete, and a groundbreaker, is obvious to everyone. 

Putting all speculations to rest, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday made a BIG announcement – ''alliance with the BJP is over.''

Although a formal announcement is yet to be made in this regard, sources said that Nitish Kumar-led JDU has decided to part ways with the BJP during a crucial meeting of party MLAs, ZEE reported.

The Election Commission has said that it would make the voter education program effective to prevent the invalidation of ballot papers in the elections.

At a program organized at the Election Commission on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said that the voter education program would be made effective by correcting the past mistakes.

During a discussion with the mediapersons, EC spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Paudel said that the poll body sought suggestions to make the voter education more effective.

He further said that the 116 parties registered at the Commission have been urged to register the parties again to take part in the upcoming elections.

Paudel said that an application with the decision of the Central Committee should be submitted to the Election Commission if two or more than two parties want to contest the elections with the same electoral symbol.

He was of the opinion that the preparations for the upcoming elections are going on in full swing.

The federal and provincial elections are going to be held on November 20.

Nepal recorded 1, 090 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 958 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 560 returned positive. Likewise, 3, 342 people underwent antigen tests, of which 530 tested positive.

The Ministry said that 438 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 5, 806 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 43. 35 points to close at 2,062.80 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 8.  68 points to close at 397. 43 points.

A total of 6,646,036 units of the shares of 222 companies were traded for Rs 2. 81 billion.

Meanwhile, Himalayan Hydropower Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 97 percent. Likewise, Ganapati Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 7. 27 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 94 trillion.

The Placement Cell of Kathmandu University is organizing the KU SOM Job and Internship Fair (KJIF) on August 22-23.

KU SOM Job and Internship Fair (KJIF) is an annual flagship event which acts as a bridge between students of KUSOM and Corporate houses. It gives students not only a platform to connect with the company of their choice but also provides employers an opportunity to explore the talent pool of KUSOM. The event aims to derive maximum benefits and provide a win-win solution to both parties.

In the year 2021, KJIF, which was conducted virtually considering the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessed the participation of a total of 60 companies (making it the highest till now).

This year 64 companies have confirmed their participation.

Some of the companies who have confirmed their participation for this year are Laxmi Group, Standard Chartered, Chaudhary Group, IME Group, Leapfrog, E-Sewa, Unilever Nepal, Goldstar, Daraz and Hongfu among others.

Along with the company participation, the organizer is also expecting a maximum participation of 200 students from BBA, BBIS, and MBA of KUSOM.

Since its establishment in 2011, the event has been receiving overwhelming responses from the leading national and multinational companies every year.

The event has been able to achieve its mission of establishing right connections with the industry which is being reflected in the success rate of placements and feedback given by companies about the event along with the students.

An unidentified group vandalized 14 tippers carrying garbage, two dozers and an excavator in Banchare Danda, Nuwakot on Monday.

Inspector Laxmi Khadka of the District Police Office, Nuwakot, said that the group vandalized the vehicles which had gone to dump the garbage.

She said that the incident occurred at around 11 pm yesterday.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.

An unidentified body of a man was found inside a parked container at Salakpur in Sundarharaicha Municipality-8 of Morang district on Tuesday.

The body of the man, who appeared to be in his 50s, was found on the front seat of the container (Na 3 Kha 4743) this morning, DSP Deepak Shrestha, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Morang said.

According to locals, the container was parked in the area for the past four days.

DSP Shrestha said that a team from the Area Police Office, Belbari under the leadership of Inspector Khagendra Dhamala has already reached the incident site to carry out an investigation.

He assumed that the man may have been the driver or assistant driver of the container.

Further investigation into the case is underway, police said.