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The United States government is donating 2.2 million doses of pediatric vaccines to Nepal to fight Covid-19.

Issuing a statement on Sunday, the US embassy in Kathmandu said that these highly effective, life-saving vaccines for children ages 5-11 are provided through the generosity of the American people and add to the 2.26 million doses of Pfizer vaccines, and the 1.5 million single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines that the United States has donated to Nepal so far.

This donation also celebrates 75 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Nepal.

The United States' historic support for Nepal's health sector reflects the powerful results of our partnership.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government of United States has worked directly with the Government of Nepal to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure the continuity of critical health services, and support the country in mitigating the pandemic's secondary social and economic impact – particularly on education and livelihoods, the embassy further said.

"In preparation for the launch of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine campaign, USAID supported Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population to train frontline health workers in 56 districts on administration of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine," the statement further said.

Worldwide, the United States has pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion vaccines to 115 developing countries and has already delivered over half of a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines. With its contribution of $4 billion, the United States is the largest bilateral donor to the global vaccine initiative, COVAX, US embassy said.

"The United States is committed to leading the global COVID-19 response because it is the right thing to do and will make us all-Americans and Nepalis alike-safer. We are proud to work with Nepal to end this pandemic."

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

With the price drop, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 97, 500 per tola today.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 97, 800 per tola on Friday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 97, 000 per tola today.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 265 per tola.

Floods in two northeastern states of India, Assam and Meghalaya, have killed 32 people in the past two days, officials said Saturday, the Global Times reported. 

According to an Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) bulletin, 13 people were killed in the state, while over 1.8 million people were affected by the ongoing flooding in 28 districts. 

Officials at the State Disaster Management Authority of Meghalaya (SDMAM) said 19 people were killed in the state in two days. 

"Fourteen people, including a six-month-old infant, died in the rain-induced floods and landslides in the state on Friday, thus taking the death toll in the past two days to 19," an official of SDMAM said. 

The flooding has affected nearly 3,000 villages in Assam and 108,104 people are taking shelter in relief camps, according to the Global Times.

Officials said water has inundated 43,338 hectares of cropland and damaged crops. Several embankments, culverts and roads have been damaged. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday talked to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to enquire about the flood situation and assured all help from the federal government, the Global Times reported.

CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal claimed that an environment has been created for all the Maoists to come together at one place.

Speaking at a program organized in the Capital on Sunday, the former Prime Minister claimed that the situation has been readied for all Maoists to come together at one place to protect the country’s transformation.

Saying that they have come to this stage by crossing the divisive chain of unity, he was of the opinion that the environment has been created for all the so-called former Maoists to come to one place.

Chairman Dahal further said that some elements who are against the change are trying to overturn the political change in the country.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba snubbed the meeting of the International Relations Committee under the Federal Parliament.

The Committee summoned the Prime Minister to discuss the State Partnership Program (SPP) and his upcoming US visit.

The SPP has become a hotly debated issue lately, leaving the lawmakers of various political parties divided.

The Committee called Prime Minister Deuba after speculations that Nepal is set to join the SPP during his visit to the United States sparked uproar.

Committee President Pabitra Niraula said that the Prime Minister's Office has informed that he would be able to attend the meeting today due to his busy schedule.

The meeting of the Committee held on Friday decided to hold a discussion with the Prime Minister on SPP.

Two persons died when a jeep met with an accident at Chisapani in Aathbis Municipality-11, Rukum West.

The deceased have been identified as jeep driver Kabiram BK of Bafikot Rural Municipality-8 and assistant driver Kamal Khadka of Musikot Municipality-11.

The four-wheeler (Ga 1 Ja 1897) was heading towards Rimna from Radi when the incident occurred, police said.

Priyanka Rani Joshi has been crowned Miss Nepal 2022 at the 26th edition of the Miss Nepal organized by the Hidden Treasure.

At the grand finale event of the pageant held in Godawari, Lalitpur, Joshi, an entrepreneur, beat 26 other contestants to bag the title.

Similarly, Sareesha Shrestha and Nancy Khadka were named Miss Nepal Earth and Miss Nepal International, respectively.

Likewise, Smarika Sharma won the title of Miss Beauty with a Purpose, Mamata Dhakal Miss Photogenic, Ganga Gurung Farmasi Face of 2022, Rose Kandel Miss Beautiful Hair and Sophia Shrestha Miss Glamor.

World governing body Fifa has teamed up with players' union Fifpro to try to identify people who target players with abusive social media posts, BBC reported.

A report tracked 400,000 social media posts during the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 and this year's Africa Cup of Nations.

The study found that over 50% of players received some kind of abuse.

The report found that black players who missed penalties were the most abused players in the Euro 2020 final.

BBC Sport understands that England's Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka, who both missed their spot-kicks in the shootout defeat by Italy, were the players who suffered the most abuse during the Euro 2020 final.

"Our duty is to protect football, and that starts with the players who bring so much joy and happiness to all of us by their exploits on the field of play," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino, according to BBC.

"Unfortunately, there is a trend developing where a percentage of posts on social media channels directed towards players, coaches, match officials and the teams themselves is not acceptable. This form of discrimination, like any form of discrimination, has no place in football."

The report found that most of the abuse during the two periods in question came from the players' home countries.

Homophobic (40%) and racist (38%) comments made up the majority of the abuse, according to the report, with most of it remaining online.

The report also states that 90% of accounts flagged as having published abusive comments have a "high probability" of identification.

In response, Fifa and Fifpro are to launch a dedicated 'in-tournament moderation service' that will scan recognised hate speech terms published to identified social media accounts. 

Once detected, the aim is to prevent the comment from being seen by the recipient and their followers. 

"Online abuse is a societal issue and as an industry we cannot accept that this new form of abuse and discrimination affects so many people including our players," said Fifpro president David Aganzo, BBC reported.

"This collaboration recognises football's responsibility to protect the players and other affected groups against the abuse they increasingly face in and around their workplace."