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The government has successfully vaccinated 93 percent of the target group against Covid-19.

Out of the total population over 18 years of age, 18,498,160 people have been given at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.

Similarly, the number of people who have been fully vaccinated is 16,184,858. This is 81.2 percent of the total target population. In addition, 3,118,785 (91 percent) people in the age group of 12-17 years have been vaccinated for the first time. The number of people fully vaccinated under 18 years of age is 2,311,998 (67 percent).

According to the ministry, a total of 39,223,941 vaccines have been provided to all age groups till March 18. Out of which 18,695,826 first dose, 18,698,595 second dose and 1,829,520 quantity booster dose has been provided.

The Government of Nepal has been providing Vero Cell, Covishield, AstraZeneca, Modern, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The government had received a total of 47,882,800 doses of vaccine including grant assistance and procurement.

There are currently 3,996 active cases of Covid-19 in Nepal. A total of 1,118,180 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Nepal since the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country. The virus has killed 11,950 people so far.

The Government of Nepal has set a target of vaccinating all those above 18 years of age against Covid-19 by mid-April 2021. Only seven percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to achieve the goal of '100 percent vaccination'. Under the age group of 18, only nine percent of the population is left to receive the both doses of vaccine. RSS

Singer Prakash Saput has removed the scene of a female combatant shown indulging in prostitution from the song 'Pir' after widespread criticism. He uploaded a new video of the song to YouTube on Saturday evening.

Singer Saput has clarified that he removed the video after he felt that the particular scene in the video song would remain as a thorn in the video that would remain as an archive on social media. He also said that song Pir has not only been successful but has also been an eye opener in many senses.

Also read: Editorial: Questioning art

"While making creations based on the facts, it is important to keep in mind the views of the Nepali audience, listeners, the group/community and the society as a whole," said Saput. He also said that the particular scene and character had actually overshadowed other beauty of the song and video.

The new video has been 're-uploaded' by editing the scene.

Singer Saput has also requested all sides concerned not to further politicize and exaggerate in the context of the new song. RSS

Two persons died in separate incidents in Mahottari district on Saturday.

Suman Thakur (18) of Mukhiyapatti Musarniya-3, Dhanusha died while swimming in a pond at Matihani Municipality-7.

Thakur, who fell unconscious while swimming, was rescued from the pong and rushed to the District Hospital in Jaleshwor where he breathed his last during the course of treatment, the District Police Office, Mahottari said.

Similarly, Rahup Sah (50) died of electric shock at Bairiya in Samsi Rural Municipaltiy-3 of Mahottari.

Sah, who was injured in the incident, died on the way to a hospital, the District Hospital, Mahottari said.

DSP Prakash Bista said that they are looking into both cases.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday said his country will invest $42 billion in India over the next five years in a deal that is expected to boost bilateral trade, Associated Press reported.

Kishida met his counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi during his maiden visit to India since assuming office. The two leaders held talks ranging from economy to security cooperation.

In a televised press statement, Kishida said the investment plan will bring huge benefits for several industries, from the development of urban infrastructure to green energy.

Kishida also said the two sides reaffirmed Japan and India’s commitment to strengthen security ties across the Indo-Pacific region and held discussions over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

“We discussed the situation in Ukraine. (The) Russian attack is a serious matter as it has shaken international norms,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

India says ties with Japan are key to stability in the region. The two nations, along with the United States and Australia, are members of the Indo-Pacific alliance known as “the Quad” that is countering China’s rising influence in Asia.

India is the only Quad member that has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has refrained from taking sides and abstained from voting against Russia at the U.N. or criticizing President Vladimir Putin.

Japan, meanwhile, has imposed financial sanctions to isolate Russia, including export controls on high-tech products.

The Japanese investments in India touched $32 billion between 2000 and 2019, mainly in the automobile, electrical equipment, telecommunications, chemical, insurance and pharmaceutical sectors. Japan has also been supporting infrastructure development in India, including a high-speed rail project.

The bilateral trade between India and Japan for 2019-20 crossed $11.87 billion, according to government data. India’s exports from Japan amounted to $3.94 billion while India’s imports from Japan stood at $7.93 billion.

In September, the Quad leaders announced Japan would work with India on a $100 million investment in COVID-19 vaccines and treatment drugs, Associated Press reported.

Kishida will end his India visit on Sunday.

Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine’s besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help,Associated Press reported.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war’s worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II. 

“Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth,” Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

Russian forces have already cut Mariupol off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to eastern territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russia’s hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West. 

Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said Saturday. “One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed,” Denysenko said in televised remarks, according to the Associated Press.

The Mariupol city council claimed hours later that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia. It didn’t say where in Russia, and AP could not immediately confirm the claim. 

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against “the overwhelming force of the enemy” or at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.

“There is currently no military solution to Mariupol,” he said late Friday. “That is not only my opinion, that is the opinion of the military.”

In Mykolaiv, rescuers searched the rubble of the marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack Friday. The region’s governor said the marines were asleep when the attack happened.

It isn’t clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for survivors the following day. But a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war, Associated Press reported.

Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelenskyy has remained defiant, appearing in a video early Saturday that was shot on the streets of the capital, Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said Russia is trying to starve Ukraine’s cities into submission but warned that continuing the invasion would exact a heavy toll on Moscow. He also repeated his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him to prevent more bloodshed. 

“The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia’s costs will be so high that you will not be able to rise again for several generations,” he said.

Putin appeared Friday at a rally in Moscow where he lavished praise on his country’s military.

“We have not had unity like this for a long time,” Putin told the cheering crowd.

The rally took place as Russia has faced heavier-than-expected losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home, where police have detained thousands of antiwar protesters. 

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 in years of fighting in Chechnya.

The Russian military said Saturday that it used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, according to the Associated Press.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

The United Nations has released the World Happiness Report.

According to the report released on Friday, Nepal is ranked 85th in South Asian countries, which is the best ranking in the region. Bangladesh is ranked 99th and Pakistan 103rd while Sri Lanka is 126th, India is ranked 136th in the list of countries in South Asia.

According to the list, neighbouring China is ranked 82nd, three places above Nepal. The report portrays Afghanistan as the unhappiest country in the world in the 146th position.

Meanwhile, Finland has been listed as the happiest country this year as well. The country has been on the list of happiest nations for five consecutive years.

Finland is followed by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Israel, New Zealand and Austria in the list as the happiest nations. RSS

Senior CPN-UML leader Bhim Rawal is a fierce opponent of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal compact. Amid protests, the Federal Parliament had endorsed the compact on February 27. Rawal continues to speak against the compact, maintaining that it compromises Nepal’s sovereignty. Priyanjali Karn of ApEx talked to him to solicit his views on the compact and his future plans.  

Despite your strong objection, the parliament endorsed the MCC compact. What next?

In line with our constitutional provisions, we should always keep national interest at the center of our external dealings. Nothing is more important. Without changing its provisions that challenge our national interest, the MCC compact was endorsed in a haste and amid protests. This shows Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other top leaders are not sensitive about our national interest. Additionally, the parliament should function as per the parliamentary regulation, but in the case of compact ratification, it was violated. 

Could you explain how the compact-ratification process was against the constitution?

Article 279 of the constitution clearly stipulates which type of agreement needs the backing of two-thirds majority and which can be passed by a simple majority. We should first formulate a federal law to chalk out a procedure on the passage of agreements by majority votes. But right now there is no such law. That is why the compact’s endorsement goes against the constitution.

Our constitution also talks about independent foreign policy and we remain firm on a non-alignment. Some provisions of the compact go against these constitutional provisions, but the government ignored such a sensitive matter and steamrolled the compact. 

What does the compact’s endorsement say about our political parties?

Like I said, the compact has several provisions which go against our national interests. If such provisions are implemented, our domestic laws, our right to self-determination, our national independence will be compromised. Therefore, all patriotic Nepalis should cautiously and consciously watch how such provisions unfold in the coming days.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is at the forefront of violating the constitution and laws. We have to watch closely how the government implements the provisions that are against the constitution and takes forward the interpretative declaration endorsed by the parliament. The compact’s endorsement clearly shows our political parties serve foreign powers.

You have been a rebel in your own party, including on the compact. What is your current status in CPN-UML?

I am just an ordinary UML member. I am also a member of the House of Representatives elected from Achham district.

How is your relationship with party Chairman KP Oli?

I do not have any special relationship with him. We have not talked since the party’s 10th general convention in Chitwan.

Query

My 22 year-old-brother, who is in the final year of his Bachelor’s level, has not been doing well in college. Lately, I’ve noticed he comes home late and drunk almost every day. He rarely talks to anyone at home and gets irritated if we ask him something. He isn’t his normal self. My family is worried. Knowing him, I can say he will not agree to get help. What should we do? -A concerned brother

Answer by Dr Rishav Koirala, psychiatrist, Grande International Hospital

With the information you have provided, the issue points towards addiction. Addiction into some substance (alcohol or drugs) doesn’t mean that the person will have withdrawal symptoms, it may be a symptom of addiction but doesn’t mean its compulsory.

First, it is important to look at addiction as an illness and it should be treated as such. And the sooner you seek treatment, the better. Addiction affects your thinking. It can reach a point where you cannot separate right from wrong, and don’t realize you are harming yourself and the people around you.

In fact, about 60 to 70 percent of those with addiction have additional mental health problems. Either they had it in the past, or they are struggling with a mental health problem right now. A large percentage try to self-medicate themselves using more alcohol. There is also the possibility of developing a mental illness. Those who have anxiety or depression are also more inclined to substance abuse.  

The best option is to seek expert’s help for your brother. A psychiatrist can make him understand what’s going on with him and how he can help himself. It is best to seek help now, when the problem is just starting. 

Even if your brother is unwilling to acknowledge that he is increasingly dependent on alcohol and refuses help, that shouldn’t stop you and your family. You can go and talk to the psychiatrist yourself in the beginning. The psychiatrist can advise you and offer treatment options for your brother.   

Meanwhile, your family members should try to engage and communicate more with your brother. Social interaction and guidance from a person they trust can be of great help for someone with addiction. 

In our society, seeking help for addiction can be difficult because of the associated shame and stigma. But you should understand that your brother is suffering from an illness from which he can’t get out on his own. It’s also the responsibility of friends and families to support them and encourage them to seek treatment.

Threats and rebukes will not make them sober. Empathizing with their struggle is a better option.