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Police have arrested a man in possession of a pistol and pharmaceutical drugs from Sunsari.

The detainee has been identified as Rohit Rai (19) of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City-3.

SP Sanjay Singh Thapa, Chief at the District Police Office, Sunsari, said that Rai was detained with the pistol and drugs from Koshi Rural Municipality-2, Sunsari.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team deployed from the District Police Office, Sunsari, nabbed Rai with the pistol and 10 ampules each of Diazepam and Nitrosun and three ampules of Lupigesic and 3, 375 pieces of Tramadol, Thapa said.

Police suspect that Rai may have brought the weapon and the drugs from India.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged by 7. 56 points to close at 1,971.38 points on Friday.

Similarly, the sensitive index fell 0. 69 points to reach 381. 14 points.

A total of 2,355,001units of shares of 229 companies were traded for Rs 1.49 billion.

Likewise, all sub-indices saw red in today’s market except Mutual Fund.

Meanwhile, Adhikhola Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9.99 percent. Likewise, River Falls Power Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 93 percent.

At the end of the day, total market civilization stands at Rs 2. 81 trillion.

Exposure to nanoparticles during cooking causes changes to brain activity similar to that observed in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, finds new research from Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences (NU SEDS).

Mehdi Amouei Torkmahalleh, Assistant Professor at NU SEDS, and colleagues investigated the brain activity of individuals before, during, and after exposure to ultrafine particles from cooking. 

Ultrafine particles, which can be found in cooking fumes, are incredibly small and able to penetrate the human body.

Participants were present during the frying of a chicken drumstick on a gas stove and therefore exposed to cooking ultrafine particles. Brain activity was recorded using an electroencephalograph (EEG) before cooking, at the end of cooking, and 30 minutes after cooking. 

Ultrafine particle concentrations in the air were constantly monitored, which reached peak levels during frying.

They found that beta waves of the brain decreased during exposure to the ultrafine particles, similar to people with neurodegenerative diseases. Also, theta/beta wave ratio of the brain increased during and after exposure, similar to that observed in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. 

Brain activity for most would return to normal within 30 minutes.

Professor Torkmahalleh says,“Brain responses after long-term exposure may deteriorate with time and, after sufficient long-term exposure, never revert to pre-exposure levels leading to a similar status to neurodegenerative disease. This is a novel hypothesis for our current and future research studies.

This suggests that people chronically exposed to cooking aerosol might progress towards Alzheimer’s.”

The changes to brain wave patterns during and shortly after exposure could be due to the ultrafine particles from the cooking fumes reaching the brain through the nose. The researchers suggest using respirators or sufficient ventilation during cooking to reduce potential risk of neurodegenerative disease.

Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka said that the chapter of the State Partnership Program (SPP) has already been closed.

At a meeting of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives held on Friday morning, Minister Khadka said that the debate on the SPP is not necessary as its chapter has already been closed.

Khadka made it clear that the SPP is not in the interest of the country.

“SPP is not in the interest of the country. We will not take this issue ahead. We are not in the strategic alliance,” he said, adding, “The chapter of this issue has been closed. Let’s not talk about this issue. Let’s not talk about the same thing over and over again.”

Minister Khadka said that it is not necessary to talk about the SPP as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has already said that the government will not take the issue ahead.

Chief of Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma said that Nepal will not take part in the military alliance.

Taking part in a meeting of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives held on Friday, he said that the State Partnership Program (SPP) was not acceptable to the Nepal Army.

“We have already informed the US officials that Nepal will not participate in the military alliance,” he said, adding, “SPP is not acceptable for us. We sent a letter as it was said that the program was for humanitarian assistance. We did not send the letter for military alliance. We have already informed the US that Nepal will not take part in the military alliance.”

He said that the Nepal Army will not play with the sentiments of the people.

The CoAS Sharma said that the documents of the agreement that have been made public are not official.

Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka and Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Prabhu Ram Sharma have participated in a meeting of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives on Friday.

Minister Khadka and CoAS took part in the meeting after the Committee invited them to discuss the State Partnership Program (SPP).

The Committee summoned CoAS Sharma to inquire about Nepal Army's involvement in the SPP and his upcoming US visit.

Committee President Pabitra Niraula said that the parliamentary committee wanted to know about Nepal Army's role in SPP and CoAS Sharma's US visit after the lawmakers of ruling and opposition parties raised questions in the Parliament on the issue.

Former Defence Minister duo Ishwor Pokharel and Bhim Rawal are also in the meeting.

Elon Musk was sued for $258 billion on Thursday by a Dogecoin investor who accused him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency, Reuters reported.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, plaintiff Keith Johnson accused Musk, electric car company Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and space tourism company SpaceX of racketeering for touting Dogecoin and driving up its price, only to then let the price tumble.

"Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading," the complaint said. "Musk used his pedestal as World's Richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement."

The complaint also aggregates comments from Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others questioning the value of cryptocurrency.

Tesla, SpaceX and a lawyer for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A lawyer for Johnson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on what specific evidence his client has or expects to have that proves Dogecoin is worthless and the defendants ran a pyramid scheme, according to Reuters.

Johnson is seeking $86 billion in damages, representing the decline in Dogecoin's market value since May 2021, and wants it tripled.

He also wants to block Musk and his companies from promoting Dogecoin and a judge to declare that trading Dogecoin is gambling under federal and New York law.

The complaint said Dogecoin's selloff began around the time Musk hosted the NBC show "Saturday Night Live and, playing a fictitious financial expert on a "Weekend Update" segment, called Dogecoin "a hustle."

Tesla in February 2021 said it had bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin and for a short time accepted it as payment for vehicles.

Dogecoin traded at about 5.8 cents on Thursday, down from its May 2021 peak of about 74 cents.

The case is Johnson v. Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-05037, Reuters reported.

The United States on Thursday announced that it will provide $6 million in emergency assistance to Sri Lanka to address the needs of the marginalised and vulnerable communities impacted by the country's economic crisis, The Times of India reported.

This new funding will also provide technical assistance to the Sri Lankan government as it implements economic and financial reform measures to stabilise the economy, in line with an anticipated International Monetary Fund (IMF) package, the US embassy in Colombo said in a statement.

“The US is committed to supporting the Sri Lankan people as they face today's economic and political challenges. As a longstanding development partner, we will continue to champion efforts that promote sustainable economic growth and good governance,” said Julie Chung, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka.

This emergency funding through the US government's development arm, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), responds to emerging or unforeseen complex crises overseas. Part of this funding will go to USAID's social cohesion and reconciliation project (SCORE) to support small-scale agricultural productivity and microenterprises in communities that traditionally experience high poverty rates and are especially impacted by the crisis.

This funding will also support public sector efficiency and resource management through USAID's project to accelerate results in trade, national expenditure, and revenue, according to The Times of India.

"The $6 million in new assistance is part of a much larger package of foreign assistance to Sri Lanka from the American people to meet the current need. That support is part of a shared history that has seen the United States provide over $2 billion in economic and humanitarian support since 1956," the statement said.

The US will continue to add to its significant ongoing investments and assistance projects in Sri Lanka to help meet the immediate and long-term needs of the people of Sri Lanka. The US on Wednesday announced USD 120 million in new loans to Sri Lanka to grow and support small and medium-sized businesses in the country.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain 1948. The economic crisis has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and other fuel, toilet paper, and even matches.

The country is experiencing long queues for refuelling at pumping stations as the government finds it difficult to finance fuel imports to retain a reserve adequate for a minimum of three months, The Times of India reported.