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As many as 54 inmates tested positive for Covid-19 in Morang Prison.

Chief District Officer of Morang Kashi Raj Dahal said that 35 were tested positive on Saturday.

He said that 48 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 35 returned positive.

According to Dahal, those who were tested negative also have symptoms similar to Covid-19.

Earlier on Friday, 19 jailbirds were tested positive for Covid-19.

Dahal said that the number of people suffering from the Covid-19 has reached 54 after 35 more people tested positive on Saturday.

The latest report showed that the Covid-19 is spreading at an alarming rate in the prison, he said.

CDO Dahal said that preparations are being made to admit those who tested positive for Covid-19 to the Koshi Covid Hospital for further treatment.

“The health condition of those tested positive for Covid-19 is normal. There is a high risk of spreading the virus to other prisoners if they are kept inside the prison,” he said, adding, “Preparations are being made to take them to the hospital to reduce risk inside the prison. For that we are trying to understand the situation of the hospital.”

Despite its capacity to accommodate only 300 prisoners, more than 1, 012 inmates are kept in the prison, Dahal said.

The Executive Committee members of Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NICCI) led by President Shreejana Rana paid a courtesy call on newly appointed Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Friday.

During the meeting, Rana discussed NICCI’s contribution to development of Nepal-India bilateral trade, transit, investment, energy and tourism in the last 30 years.

She emphasized that NICCI will remain pro-active for bilateral developments in these areas.

The delegation also informed the ambassador  on the activities  done by the Chamber and also discussed the planed programs of the Chamber like Partnership Summit and Energy Summit among others for the ongoing and upcoming years and requested the embassy for the active support.

President Rana also touched upon the importance of bilateral tourism.

She briefed the Indian Ambassador about the Nepal-India Bilateral Tourism Promotion Joint Working Group that has taken place in the last few years which was facilitated by NICCI.

In response, Ambassador Srivastava appreciated the works done by NICCI and thanked NICCI team for the visit.

He said that India has always been supporting in the development of Nepal and so continues to support in overall development of Nepal today as well.

He expressed his assurance to support NICCI’s activities for enhancing Nepal-India bilateral trade, transit, investment and overall economic relation in the days ahead and eager to work together.

Ambassador Srivastava along with First Secretary (Commerce) Abhishek Upadhyay were present in the meeting from the embassy while the delegates of NICCI led by President Rana was accompanied by the Executive Committee members.

Russia is preparing for the next stage of its offensive in Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, after Moscow said its forces would step up military operations in "all operational areas," Reuters reported.

Russian rockets and missiles have pounded cities in strikes that Kyiv says have killed dozens in recent days.

"It is not only missile strikes from the air and sea," Vadym Skibitskyi, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, said on Saturday. "We can see shelling along the entire line of contact, along the entire front line. There is an active use of tactical aviation and attack helicopters.

"There is indeed a certain activation of the enemy along the entire front line... Clearly preparations are now underway for the next stage of the offensive.”

The Ukrainian military said Russia appeared to be regrouping units for an offensive towards Sloviansk, a symbolically important city held by Ukraine in the eastern region of Donetsk.

Ukraine says at least 40 people have been killed in Russian shelling of urban areas in the last three days, as the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24 intensifies.

Rockets hit the northeastern town of Chuhuiv in Kharkiv region on Friday night, killing three people including a 70-year-old woman and wounding three others, said regional Governor Oleh Synehubov.

"Three people lost their lives, why? What for? Because Putin went mad?" said Raisa Shapoval, 83, a distraught resident sitting in the ruins of her home, according to Reuters.

To the south, more than 50 Russian Grad rockets pounded the city of Nikopol on the Dnipro River, killing two people who were found in the rubble, said Governor Valentyn Reznichenko.

Moscow, which calls the invasion a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour, says it uses high-precision weapons to degrade Ukraine's military infrastructure and protect its own security. It has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.

Kyiv and the West say the conflict is an unprovoked attempt to reconquer a country that broke free of Moscow's rule with the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered military units to intensify operations to prevent Ukrainian strikes on eastern Ukraine and other areas held by Russia, where he said Kyiv could hit civilian infrastructure or residents, according to a statement from the ministry.

His remarks appeared to be a direct response to what Kyiv says is a string of successful strikes carried out on 30 Russian logistics and ammunitions hubs, using several multiple launch rocket systems recently supplied by the West.

The strikes are causing havoc with Russian supply lines and have significantly reduced Russia's offensive capability, Ukraine's defence ministry spokesperson said on Friday, Reuters reported.

Barcelona have reached an "agreement in principle" with Bayern Munich to sign Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, BBC reported.

The 33-year-old, who has one year left on his Bayern contract, told the German champions last month that he wishes to leave.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals in 46 games last season as he helped Bayern win a 10th straight Bundesliga title.

Barca say the deal is "dependent on the player passing a medical and contracts being signed". 

"It's good to have clarity for all parties," said Bayern president Herbert Hainer, who first announced the agreement on Saturday.

"We have come to a verbal agreement with Barcelona.

"Robert is an incredible player and he won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him."

Lewandowski joined Bayern on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2014 and has scored 344 times in 374 games for the club, making him their second-highest scorer of all time behind Gerd Muller, according to BBC.

The Pole has won the league in all eight of his seasons at Bayern and also helped the Bavarians win the Champions League in 2019-20.

Bayern have also announced that Germany winger Serge Gnabry, 27, has signed a contract extension until 2026.

Barcelona completed the signing of Raphinhafrom Leeds on Friday in a deal worth up to £55m having already signed Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers earlier this month, BBC reported.

A cargo plane has crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece, local officials say, BBC reported.

The Antonov-12 operated by a Ukraine-based company was flying from Serbia to Jordan when it went down on Saturday.

It was not immediately known how many people were on board and whether there were any survivors.

Greece's ERT state broadcaster reported that the aircraft had been carrying a 12-tonne cargo, describing it as potentially dangerous.

The pilot reportedly requested an emergency landing at Kavala airport due to an engine problem but was unable to reach the runway.

Some reports say eight people may have been on board the aircraft. 

Footage has emerged purportedly showing the plane already on fire as it descended followed by a large explosion after it hits the ground.

"At 22:45 (19:45 GMT) I was surprised by the sound of the engine of the aircraft," local resident Giorgos Archontopoulos told the ERT. "I went outside and saw the engine on fire." 

Eyewitnesses also heard blasts according to several media reports, according to BBC.

Local officials said seven fire engines had been deployed but they could not approach the crash site because of continuing explosions.

"We are treating the cargo as dangerous material," Reuters quoted a fire brigade official as saying.

Greece's special disaster response unit was also investigating the scene, Reuters reported.

So far there has been no public comment from Ukraine, Serbia or Jordan, BBC reported.

Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain and southwestern France, in the grip of a heatwave that shows no sign of easing, BBC reported.

In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border.

Fires are ravaging areas of France's Gironde region, where more than 12,000 people have been evacuated.

In southern Spain, near the Costa del Sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the Mijas hills.

Holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze.

Ashley Baker, a Briton who lives in Mijas in southern Spain, told the BBC that the fire appeared more threatening on Friday, but since then the wind had blown it away from his area.

Planes have been a dropping fire retardant substance, as helicopters shuttle to and from the coast, collecting seawater to douse the flames, according to BBC.

"There are about 40 houses in our area, everyone was really nervous and standing outside or on balconies watching it," Mr Baker said.

"Even now there are fires at the top of the mountains. It moved away from here, I'm very relieved. When you live in the hills, it's very scary - all the road signs are giving you updates all the time about extreme fire risks."

Meanwhile, near France's south-west Atlantic coast, a local resident described the forest fires as feeling "post-apocalyptic". 

"I've never seen this before," Karyn, who lives near Teste-de-Buch, told news agency AFP.

The fire there and another just south of Bordeaux have ravaged nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres). Some 3,000 firefighters are tackling the blazes.

Christophe Nader and his son-in-law are now at a shelter near Teste-de-Buch, having been forced to abandoned their house in the village of Cazaux with nothing more than the clothes they are wearing. He told the BBC he was hoping to get back there to rescue their cat. Hundreds of others from the danger zone are also at the temporary shelter, which has provided beds.

Animal rescues are being organised from there, but it is a slow process, the BBC's Jessica Parker reports.

"Everything went so fast - the fire too, was big, big, big," Manon Jacquart, 27, told the BBC. She was evacuated from the campsite she works at early on Wednesday morning, and has been sleeping at a shelter near La Teste-de-Buch, on France's west coast.

"I'm just worried, I'm afraid… I'm trying to be as strong as I can but I'm not ok… I want to forget this week," she said.

Since Tuesday, temperatures have soared to 47C in Portugal and above 40C in Spain, leaving the countryside bone dry and fuelling the fires. More than 300 people have died from the heat in both countries, Spain's Efe news agency reports, BBC reported.

The Portuguese pilot who died was flying solo in a Fire Boss amphibious plane.

Portugal's fire hotspots are in the north - east of the city of Porto. Fires have destroyed 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of land this year - the largest area since the summer of 2017, when Portugal suffered devastating fires in which some 100 people died.

Gemma Suarez, a Spanish farmer evacuated from Casas de Miravete, sobbed as she told Reuters news agency: "What a night. We haven't slept all night.

"A social worker came to see me to go pick up my elderly uncle. We spent the night in Navalmoral but we didn't sleep at all. I have never seen such a big fire."

Query

I am a 52-year-old banker who was diagnosed with breast cancer six months ago. At my doctor's suggestion, I will have to undergo chemotherapy, as well as remove one of my breasts to stop the cancer from spreading. My doctor tells me that I will survive, but I feel sad and hopeless. Somehow, I have no enthusiasm to undergo treatment and get better. Lately, I have been avoiding my friends, family and well-wishers. Is this normal? -A confused patient

Answer by Rishav Koirala, Psychiatrist and Researcher

For most cancer patients, it is very difficult to accept the fact that they have cancer. It is normal to feel frustrated in a situation like yours. The reluctance to undergo treatment is also fairly common, as the news of cancer can make patients emotionally vulnerable. 

Chemotherapy has many kinds of mental and physical effects on the human body. It can result in loss of hair and weight, which is directly connected to the individual’s appearance. For most cancer patients, the thought of this can be very stressful. They are unable to come to terms with the fact that they will undergo physical changes. After all, our appearance is part of our identity.  

I want to assure you that feeling this way is normal. But letting this escalate will worsen your stress. As a cancer patient, you need enough rest and a positive outlook, which is not possible if you focus on the negative and keep imagining bad scenarios for yourself. 

One thing you can do to stop overthinking negative thoughts is give them a positive spin. For instance, if you are worried about losing your hair, focus on the long-term outcome and not the temporary effects of therapy. The hair will grow back once the treatment is over. More importantly, you will be cancer-free and healthy again.

Yes, it is difficult to stay positive when you have been diagnosed with cancer. But positivity is something you practice and it is a gradual process.

You should also remember that you cannot tackle this situation on your own. You need people to talk to. So, rather than avoiding interactions, I suggest you find someone whom you are comfortable sharing your thoughts, someone who will listen to you and give you the right suggestion. Doing this can improve your depressive symptoms. 

If these suggestions do not work, you can always consult a psychiatrist or a psychologist, who can help you navigate this difficult process. 

Hammersmith Bridge has been wrapped in giant pieces of foil to stop it from overheating as temperatures soar, BBC reported.

Silver insulation foil has been placed over the structure to protect it from the sun and keep the bridge open, with London expected to see highs of 35C (95F) next week.

A £420,000 temperature control system is also switched on at night.

The bridge, currently only accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, was also closed in 2020 due to a heatwave.

An amber alert has been issued by the Met Office from Sunday until Tuesday, with extreme heat expected in the capital.

Hammersmith Bridge, which was built in 1887, is currently undergoing major repair works at an estimated cost of £140m.

The heatwave in 2020 closed the Grade II*-listed structure when cracks in the cast-iron expanded. The bridge reopened the following year but only to pedestrians and cyclists.

Almost £9m has already been spent on stabilising the bridge's pedestals.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council said a toll to help pay for repairs was the "only way" the bridge could reopen entirely, according to BBC.

Insulation foil and the cooling system are being used to keep the bridge's pedestals safe in order for it to remain open. 

The supporting chains are maintained to stay at 13C (55F). Engineers will need to close the bridge if the temperature of the chains reaches 18C (64F), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Sebastian Springer, the engineer who is leading the project, said: "The safety of the public is our first priority.

"The temperature control system allows us to track weather spikes and maintain a constant temperature. As we deal with the current extreme heat, we are also coming up with innovative solutions to keep the temperature within the threshold."