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The United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar on Tuesday said Russia and China were providing the junta with fighter jets being used against civilians, and urged the UN Security Council to halt the flow of weapons enabling atrocities, Reuters reported.

Thomas Andrews, a former US congressman serving in the independent post, released a report that also named Serbia as one of three countries supplying arms to the Myanmar military since it seized power last year, with “full knowledge that they would be used to attack civilians”.

“It should be incontrovertible that weapons used to kill civilians should no longer be transferred to Myanmar,” Andrews said in a statement.

Chaos has gripped Myanmar since a coup ended a decade of tentative democracy, triggering protests that troops suppressed with lethal force.

At least 1,500 civilians have been killed, according to activists cited by the UN, which also says more than 300,000 people have been displaced by rural conflict between the military and armed opponents.

The junta says it is fighting “terrorists” and objects to what it calls UN interference.

Myanmar’s military and Russia’s foreign ministry could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.

Asked about the report at a regular briefing, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said China “has always advocated that all parties and factions should proceed in the long-term interests of the country” and “resolve contradictions through political dialogue”.

In a statement, Serbia’s foreign ministry denied supplying arms and said since Myanmar’s coup it had “examined the new situation very carefully and in March last year made a decision not to deliver weapons to this country either under previously concluded agreements or new export requests.”

Human rights groups and the UN have accused the junta of using disproportionate force to fight militias and ethnic minority rebels, including artillery and air strikes in civilian areas.

There is a possibility of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning in some parts of the country.

According to the Weather Forecasting Division, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is expected in some parts of the hilly areas of Far West, Karnali, Lumbini and Gandaki today due to the effect of the westerly low pressure system.

There is a possibility of light rain in one or two places in the hilly areas of the rest of the provinces and light to moderate snowfall in some places in the high hills and mountains of the Sudur Paschim, Karnali and Gandaki provinces.

Light rain has been reported in one or two places in the hilly areas of the far western region due to partial to moderate cloud cover in the hilly areas of the country. The Division has said that there is partial cloud cover in the rest of the areas. 

According to the latest details of the Division, the minimum temperature in Kathmandu Valley for today is 5.2 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature is 18.7 degrees Celsius. Similarly, the lowest temperature is minus 3.5 degrees Celsius in Jumla and highest is 24.6 degrees Celsius in Nepalgunj. RSS

A woman was killed in a tiger attack in Bardiya on Tuesday.

The deceased has been identified as Lili Tharu (41) of Sainawar, Thakurbaba Municipality-4.

According to the District Police office, the tiger attacked her while she had gone to feed cattle near her house.

Popular actor and folk singer Jayananda Lama passed away on Wednesday.

Director of Halka Ramailo Marichman Shrestha said that he died this morning.

It has been learnt that Lama died after he fell down while getting out a vehicle in front of his house.

He has acted in more than 100 films so far.

Lama made his acting debut in the movie Man Ko Bandh in 1973.

Lama, a permanent resident of Sindhupalchok, sang many popular songs like 'Kalakatte Kayeyo, Mula Ko Chana and Salala Pani' among others.

The East-West faceoff over Ukraine escalated dramatically Tuesday, with Russian lawmakers authorizing President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders responding by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks, Associated Press reported.

Both leaders signaled that an even bigger confrontation could lie ahead. Putin has yet to unleash the force of the 150,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, while Biden held back on even tougher sanctions that could cause economic turmoil for Russia but said they would go ahead if there is further aggression.

The measures, accompanied by the repositioning of additional U.S. troops to the Baltic nations on NATO’s eastern flank bordering Russia, came as Russian forces rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin said he was recognizing the independence of the separatist regions in defiance of U.S. and European demands.

Speaking at the White House, Biden said the Kremlin had flagrantly violated international law in what he called the “beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.” He warned of more sanctions if Putin went further.

“We are united in our support of Ukraine,” Biden said. “We are united in our opposition to Russian aggression.” When it comes to Russian claims of a justification or pretext for an invasion, Biden said, “None of us should be fooled. None of us will be fooled. There is no justification.” 

Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the threat of invasion, which U.S. officials have for weeks portrayed as all but inevitable, appeared to evaporate. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled plans for a Thursday meeting in Geneva with his Russian counterpart, saying it would not be productive and that Russia’s actions indicated Moscow was not serious about a peaceful path to resolving the crisis.

Western nations sought to present a united front, with more than two dozen European Union members unanimously agreeing to levy their own initial set of sanctions against Russian officials. Germany also said it was halting the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy.

Responding swiftly to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order sending troops to separatist regions of Ukraine, world leaders hit back with non-military actions Tuesday in hopes of averting a full-blown war in Europe, Associated Press reported. 

Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a massive, lucrative deal long sought by Moscow but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies. 

And in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden announced financial sanctions on banks and oligarchs as punishment for what he called “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.” He said the U.S. would impose “full blocking” on two large Russian financial institutions and “comprehensive sanctions” on Russian debt.

“That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western finance,” Biden said. “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.”

Biden promised that more sanctions would be coming if Putin proceeds further.

The European Union announced sanctions taking aim at the 351 Duma legislators who voted in favor of recognizing separatist regions in Ukraine, as well as 27 other Russian officials and institutions from the defense and banking world. They also sought to limit Moscow’s access to EU capital and financial markets. 

“This package of sanctions … will hurt Russia and it will hurt a lot,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Paris.

“We will make it as difficult as possible for the Kremlin to pursue its aggressive policies,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

Outside the EU, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson named five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals whom the UK hit with sanctions on Tuesday.

And if Putin pushes further into Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted, “there will be even stronger sanctions, even a higher price to pay.”

The U.S. and other Western nations have pressed daily for diplomatic efforts to head off a dangerous military confrontation. But the failure of that effort was underscored Tuesday as Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled plans for a Thursday meeting in Geneva with his Russian counterpart, saying Russia’s actions showed there was no point.

Western powers have long made clear the fate of Ukraine must not lead to a direct military confrontation with Russia and the potential of a world war, so sanctions were the limited option.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli held a meeting in Baluwatar on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and to end the House deadlock.

Nepali Congress Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka among other leaders accompanied Deuba in the meeting.

Similarly, senior Vice-Chairman Ishwor Pokharel, Vice-Chairman Bishnu Paudel and Deputy General Secretary Bishnu Rijal attended the meeting from the UML.

Leaders said that the meeting discussed the ways to endorse the $500 million grant agreement from the Parliament.

A Nepali Congress leader said that the UML unofficially agreed to help endorse the MCC.

Saying that the MCC was registered in the Parliament Secretariat during a government led by the UML, PM Deuba, who is also the President of the Nepali Congress, urged Oli to help ratify the compact.

In response, Oli said that they would continue obstructing the House until their demands are met. But the has agreed to create a conducive environment to pass the MCC amid the obstruction, a leader, who attended the meeting, said.

Divya’s Cake is a small eatery at Daubahal, Lalitpur, which serves a variety of bakery items like cakes and cookies. The place is popular for its delicious shake cake (a rich, creamy and sweet milkshake topped by a piece of cake). All items on the menu are reasonably priced and loved by the customers for their unique taste. For the sweet-toothed, Divya’s Cake is the place to be.

Chef’s Special:

• Red Velvet Shake Cake

• Choco-lava Cake

• Choco-vanilla Cookies

Opening hours: 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Location: Daubahal, Lalitpur

Online pay: Yes

Card pay: No

Meal for 2: Rs 500

Contact:  9843335683