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Yair Lapid has become Israel's interim prime minister, taking over from PM Naftali Bennett after just one year, BBC reported.

Mr Lapid, head of a centrist party, will lead the country as it heads towards elections on 1 November.

It follows the collapse last week of the coalition which he formed with Mr Bennett. The upcoming elections will be Israel's fifth in less than four years.

Mr Lapid faces a tough challenge from former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to return to power.

Although the new prime minister has previously said he is committed to a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, he is unlikely to begin any bold new initiatives as an interim leader.

Naftali Bennett handed over to Mr Lapid on Thursday in accordance with an existing agreement to rotate the premiership. Mr Bennett will occupy the post of alternate prime minister until the November election, which he has said he will not take part in.

Israel has seen a record-setting cycle of elections since April 2019 as parties time and again failed to secure enough seats to form a governing coalition with a majority. The Lapid-Bennett coalition temporarily broke the stalemate.

Mr Lapid, a 58-year-old former TV news anchor, ousted Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving leader, last June, according to BBC.

The outgoing government was the most diverse in Israel's history, comprising eight parties from across the political spectrum - including those with ideologically opposing views. It also contained an independent Arab party for the first time since the state was established in 1948.

Despite Mr Bennett's attempts to focus only on issues where parties could work together, it started to fray towards the end of its first year, becoming a minority government when a member of his right-wing Yamina party quit earlier this month.

In an emotional TV address last week, Mr Bennett said he and Mr Lapid had "turned over every single rock" to try to keep the coalition going, but that they had run out of options. 

Mr Netanyahu welcomed the announcement as "great news for millions of Israeli citizens". 

Polls currently indicate that his party will take most seats in a new election but will still struggle to form a governing majority with its religious and nationalist allies. 

The prospect of a further period of political uncertainty comes at a sensitive time, as Israel faces the challenges of rising living costs, an upsurge in violence in its conflict with the Palestinians, and renewed international efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran - something which alarms Israel, BBC reported.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has lost some of its power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, BBC reported.

The landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court represents a major setback to President Joe Biden's climate plans.

He called it a "devastating decision" but said it would not undermine his effort to tackle the climate crisis.

The case against the EPA was brought by West Virginia on behalf of 18 other mostly Republican-led states and some of the nation's largest coal companies.

They argued that the agency did not have the authority to limit emissions across whole states.

These 19 states were worried their power sectors would be forced to move away from using coal, at a severe economic cost.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court sided with the conservative states and fossil-fuel companies, agreeing that the EPA did not have the authority to impose such sweeping measures.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt for Missouri - one of the 19 states - called it a "big victory... that pushes back on the Biden EPA's job-killing regulations".

The court hasn't completely prevented the EPA from making these regulations in the future - but says that Congress would have to clearly say it authorises this power. And Congress has previously rejected the EPA's proposed carbon limiting programmes, according to BBC.

Environmental groups will be deeply concerned by the outcome as historically the 19 states that brought the case have made little progress on reducing their emissions - which is necessary to limit climate change.

The states made up 44% of the US emissions in 2018, and since 2000 have only achieved a 7% reduction in their emissions on average.

"Today's Supreme Court ruling undermines EPA's authority to protect people from climate pollution at a time when all evidence shows we must take action with great urgency," said Vickie Patton, general counsel for Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

It means President Biden is now relying on a change of policy from these states or a change from Congress - otherwise the US is unlikely to achieve its climate targets.

This is a significant loss for the president who entered office on a pledge to ramp up US efforts on the environment and climate.

On his first day in office he re-entered the country into the Paris Agreement, the first legally-binding universal agreement on climate change targets.

And he committed the country to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 52% by 2030 against 2005 levels.

"While this decision risks damaging our nation's ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis," he said.

The outcome of this case will be noted by governments around the world, as it will affect global efforts to tackle climate change. The US accounts for nearly 14% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, BBC reported.

A United Nations spokesman called it "a setback in our fight against climate change" but added that no single nation could derail the global effort.

In the US, this ruling could also affect the EPA's broader existing and future regulatory responsibilities - including consumer protections, workplace safety and public health.

The ruling gives "enormous power" to the courts to target other regulations they don't like, Hajin Kim, assistant professor of law at University of Chicago, tells the BBC.

This is because judges can say Congress did not explicitly authorise the agency to do that particular thing, she adds, according to BBC.

Hong Kong is under tight security as it marks 25 years of handover with Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance, BBC reported.

This is Mr Xi's first trip outside of mainland China since early 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic. 

He will be present as former police chief John Lee is sworn in as Hong Kong's new chief executive. 

Mr Lee replaces Carrie Lam, a contentious leader under whom Hong Kong saw huge pro-democracy protests and China's influence grew.

The anniversary itself was often marked by protests but these have been muted since the introduction in 2020 of a security law that has stifled free speech and dissent.

Various official events celebrating the handover will be held across the city on Friday, a public holiday. They typically culminate in a firework display over Victoria Harbour.

Mr Xi's visit this year - the first to Hong Kong since the 20th anniversary celebrations in 2017 - has led to tight security, with the city deploying plain clothes officers and "special constables" drafted from prison guards and immigration forces, reports BBC Chinese's Martin Yip.

An Omicron outbreak earlier this year in Hong Kong fuelled doubts over whether Mr Xi, who has personally championed China's zero Covid policy, would cancel his visit. 

But he arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday via a high-speed train. He was greeted by outgoing chief executive Carrie Lam who spent her last day in office in Covid quarantine before she met Mr Xi. 

He gave a brief speech saying Hong Kong had "risen from the ashes" after a series of challenges.

Although details of his itinerary have not been made public, reports said he crossed the border again to spend the night in the nearby city of Shenzhen before returning to Hong Kong on Friday, where he is expected to deliver a keynote speech.

He will also formally appoint Mr Lee, known for his tough pro-Beijing views, as chief executive. 

Mr Lee had got the top job through an uncontested election - a sore point for many Hongkongers who say China has gone back on its promise to make the process fully democratic eventually. 

His new 21-member cabinet, heavily staffed by pro-Beijing leaders, includes three who have been sanctioned by the US for "undermining Hong Kong's autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly" of its people.

China's increasing control of Hong Kong has drawn criticism from the West.

"We're not giving up on Hong Kong," UK PM Boris Johnson said on Friday. 

"Twenty-five years ago we made a promise to the territory and its people and we intend to keep it, doing all we can to hold China to its commitments so that Hong Kong is once again run by the people of Hong Kong, for the people of Hong Kong."

I am a 21-year-old student with a terrible case of insomnia. I have tried everything possible to get a good night’s sleep, from exercising till exhaustion to using sleeping pills–all to no avail. I feel tired and sleepy but I can barely get myself to sleep for two hours. Some days, I am up all night and asleep all day. This has been going on for six months now. I started having this problem in my teenage and it's only gotten worse. What should I do? —An insomniac

Answered by Rishav Koirala, Psychiatrist and Researcher

Most of the time when a patient claims to have a sleeping disorder or insomnia, it is usually a secondary problem. Mostly, it is a symptom of other mental health issues like anxiety and depression. My professional experience tells me that it is only about 10 percent of the time when sleeping disorder is a primary issue. So, to figure this out, you will have to go through a proper assessment with a professional to identify the root cause of your sleeping disorder. Only then can we move towards treatment. 

You also mentioned the activities you have tried to sleep better. You should know that some of those activities do more harm than good. For instance, tiring yourself out through exercise is not good, for excessive workout has a bad effect on your sleep, causing distress and sleep disorder. On the sleeping pills, did you take them after professional consultation? If not, I suggest you get off those pills immediately. If a professional prescribed it, then chances are those pills do not suit you. If that medication does not work, another might. 

Concerning your sleep pattern, sleeping all day and being awake at night is the worst enemy of your mental health. I suggest you look up ‘sleep hygiene’ on the internet and try some of the tips to improve your sleep schedule. Some things included with ‘sleep hygiene’ are: going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends; ensuring your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing and at a comfortable temperature; and avoiding large meals, caffeine and alcohol before bed.

Further, there are times when we feel like we have not fallen asleep, while our body is actually getting enough sleep. We wake up thinking we got minimal rest but in reality, our body will have had an adequate amount of sleep to support us throughout the day. You getting only two hours of sleep a night for the past six months also suggests this. If a human body gets only two hours of sleep a day, it will not function after a week or even less. So your body might be getting adequate sleep but you feel sleep-deprived because of stress. 

My first suggestion for you would be to go through some techniques to maintain sleep hygiene, which you will find on the internet. Second, it is good to seek professional help, if you haven’t, to identify the root cause of your sleep disorder. Only then can you proceed to the solution. 

Thames International College is organizing Thames Assemblage 2022 is bringing together the three annual flagship events Nepal Social Work Symposium, Thames Business Gabfest, and Art Carnival.

The Assemblage will be held at Taragaon Museum on July 7 and 8, 2022, and will gather leading experts, practitioners, intellectuals, and students to deliberate upon various issues and ideas through interdisciplinary lenses, as relevant to the dynamic environment we live in. It will also bring together students in a celebration of their artistic expressions.

Academics, public intellectuals, civil society leaders, politicians, civil servants, non-profit professionals, activists, social workers, media personalities, entrepreneurs, business thinkers, strategists, technologists, economists, writers, poets, artists, and educators are invited as guest speakers.

This year, Thames is making an effort to invite speakers and address topics we feel would resonate with young, aspiring students. Students as young as high school students can participate in the symposium as the audience.  Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai will speak on: Nepal after 10 years: social and economic perspectives. Editor-in-Chief of Kantipur Daily Sudheer Sharma will speak on Geopolitics and Nepal.

Police on Thursday raided a company operated by Chinese nationals on the damside of Pokhara on suspicion of carrying out illegal activities.

Police raided the company this afternoon and took three Chinese nationals under control on suspicion of carrying out illegal activities.

They had been defrauding people with false promises of helping them get jobs through IT companies.

SP Ramesh Thapa of the District Police Office, Kaski said that they have taken the Chinese nationals under control for interrogation.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Nepal reported 55 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 532 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 36 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 166 people underwent antigen tests, of which 19 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 17 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 280 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 74. 93 points to close at 2,037.64 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 12.63 points to close at 391. 78 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 7,254,070 unit shares of 227 companies were traded for Rs 2. 45 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Life Insurance topped the chart with 296.05 points.

Meanwhile, Nepal Finance Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Global IME Bank Limited Debenture was the top loser as its price fell by 3.89 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2. 90 trillion.