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The US secretaries of state and defense met Sunday night with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the highest-level visit to the country’s capital by an American delegation since the start of Russia’s invasion, Associated Press reported.

The meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which was confirmed by a senior Ukrainian official, came as Ukraine pressed the West for more powerful weapons against Russia’s campaign in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces sought to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops in the battered port of Mariupol.

“Yes, they’re meeting with the president. Let’s hope something will be decided on further help,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych told Russian lawyer and activist Mark Feygin on his YouTube show “Feygin Live.” The United States has not yet commented.

Before the session with Blinken and Austin, Zelenskyy said he was looking for the Americans to produce results, both in arms and security guarantees.

“You can’t come to us empty-handed today, and we are expecting not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons,″ he said, according to the Associated Press.

Zelenskyy’s last face-to-face meeting with a top US official was Feb. 19 in Munich with Vice President Kamala Harris, five days before Russia’s invasion. While the West has funneled military equipment to Ukraine, Zelenskyy has stressed repeatedly that his country needs more heavy weapons, including long-range air defense systems and warplanes.

In an apparent boost for Ukraine, polling agencies said French President Emmanuel Macron would win reelection over far right candidate Marine Le Pen, who has faced questions about her ties to Moscow. The result was hailed by France’s allies in the European Union as a reassuring sign of stability and continued support for Ukraine. France has played a leading role in international efforts to punish Russia with sanctions and is supplying weapons systems to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy’s meeting with US officials took place as Ukrainians and Russians observed Orthodox Easter. Speaking from Kyiv’s ancient St. Sophia Cathedral, Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, highlighted its significance to a nation wracked by nearly two months of war.

“The great holiday today gives us great hope and unwavering faith that light will overcome darkness, good will overcome evil, life will overcome death, and therefore Ukraine will surely win!” he said.

Still, the war cast a shadow over celebrations. In the northern village of Ivanivka, where Russian tanks still littered the roads, Olena Koptyl said “the Easter holiday doesn’t bring any joy. I’m crying a lot. We cannot forget how we lived.”

The Russian military reported hitting 423 Ukrainian targets overnight, including fortified positions and troop concentrations, while its warplanes destroyed 26 Ukrainian military sites, including an explosives factory and several artillery depots, Associated Press reported.

Since failing to capture Kyiv, the Russians have aimed to gain full control over the eastern industrial heartland, where Moscow-backed separatists controlled some territory before the war.

Russian forces launched fresh airstrikes on a Mariupol steel plant where an estimated 1,000 civilians are sheltering along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters. The Azovstal steel mill where the defenders are holed up is the last corner of resistance in the city, otherwise occupied by the Russians.

Zelenskyy said he stressed the need to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, including from the steel plant, in a Sunday call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is scheduled to speak later with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

Arestovych, the Zelenskyy adviser, said Ukraine has proposed holding talks with Russia next to the sprawling steel mill. Arestovych said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia has not responded to the proposal that would include establishing humanitarian corridors and the exchange of Russian war prisoners for the fighters still in the plant.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to travel to Turkey on Monday and then Moscow and Kyiv. Zelenskyy said it was a mistake for Guterres to visit Russia before Ukraine. 

“Why? To hand over signals from Russia? What should we look for?” Zelenskyy said Saturday. “There are no corpses scattered on the Kutuzovsky Prospect,” he said, referring to one of Moscow’s main avenues.

Mariupol has endured fierce fighting since the start of the war because of its location on the Sea of Azov. Its capture would deprive Ukraine of a vital port, free up Russian troops to fight elsewhere, and allow Moscow to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, according to Associated Press.

More than 100,000 people — down from a prewar population of about 430,000 — are believed to remain in Mariupol with scant food, water or heat. Ukrainian authorities estimate over 20,000 civilians have been killed. Recent satellite images showed what appeared to be mass graves to the west and east of Mariupol.

Police have arrested two foreign nationals in possession of 7kg white heroin from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu.

Police said that the drug was found from the suitcase of Kaputula Abhisarg of Zimbabwe, who had come to Kathmandu from Johannesburg, South Africa via Qarar Airways in the third week of April, during the security check.

Police said that they have also arrested an Indian National who had come to receive the drug.

The market price of the confiscated drug is Rs 140 million.

A massive fire broke out at a freed Kamaiya's settlement in Bipatpur of Kailari Rural Municipality-7, Kailali district on Sunday.

The District Police Office, Kailali said that more than 70 houses were destroyed in the fire.

DSP Bed Prasad Joshi, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Kailali said police personnel deputed from local police post, Bhajan Police Post with the help of locals and fire engines from Ghodaghadi Municipality, Tikapur Municipality and Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City are trying to douse the flame.

Nepal reported 13 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 4, 255 swab samples were tested today, of which 13 returned positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 25 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 269 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 95.52 points to close at 2,420.96 points on Sunday, the first trading day of the week.

Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 17. 74 points to close at 460. 88 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 6,639,504 unit shares of 238 companies were traded for Rs 2. 53 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Life Insurance topped the chart with 423. 37 points followed by Development Bank with 262. 37 points.

Meanwhile, National Hydropower Company Limited, Best Finance Company Limited, Shree Investment Finance Company Limited, Janaki Finance Limited and Arun Valley Hydropower Development Company Limited were the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 3. 44 trillion.

Enroll in an eight-day training and get a certificate at the end of the course. There, you are now qualified to get a Rs 300,000 interest-free bank loan to start your own business. Sounds too good to be true, but it is. 

This is what Changunarayan Municipality in Bhaktapur district has been offering to its unemployed youths. 

Mayor Som Prasad Mishra says the entrepreneurial scheme has so far transformed the lives of 150 local youths. 

The local government here has introduced several social programs that have become boons for its residents. 

A student admission scheme for girl students is another popular and successful endeavor. It was introduced to encourage girl’s education.

Under the program, the municipality sets up bank accounts in the names of all girl students going to local community schools, and contributes Rs 4,000 to each account annually. The money saved in their accounts can be withdrawn once they reach the age of 20. 

“The money can be used to fund their higher education,” Mishra says. “This scheme was launched also because they do not want the girl students to marry early, at least not until they have received a decent level of education.” 

Changunarayan Municipality was formed by merging the erstwhile village development committees of Changunarayan and Nagarkot. It is a home to several historic and tourist sites. The township has nine wards.    

In the last five years, says Mishra, most of these local units have built their own office buildings from where they have been offering efficient services to the locals. 

“The municipal building is also in the final phase of construction. The building could have been completed much earlier, but we had to shift our focus after the Covid-19 pandemic,” he says. 

A municipal hospital, with over 25-bed capacity, was brought into operation during the pandemic. 

Much of the works carried out by the municipality and its ward offices in the last five years were focused on building their own and public infrastructure, such as upgrading the existing roads, opening new tracks, setting up health posts, and installing water supply lines. 

Mishra says a total of 36km road was asphalted, another 36km was graveled or reinforced, and nearly 70km-long new tracks were opened in five years.

The municipality also expanded the water supply lines to thousands of homes. 

“Only 4,000 homes had a water supply facility when we got elected five years ago. We have managed to raise this number to 12,000,” says Mishra. He adds the remaining 2,ooo homes will also soon have the water supply facility.

Deputy Mayor Bina Bastola says in the initial days, they had faced several challenges in the absence of proper infrastructure and local laws and regulations. 

“There was a state of confusion. We started our work by raising taxes from local brick factories and sand mine operators,” she says. 

Soon enough the newly elected representatives found their bearings. From there on, they have been working with confidence and conviction. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bastola says, Changunarayan Municipality worked exceptionally well to help out its distraught residents. 

She is particularly proud of the programs that were implemented for women employment and empowerment. 

“Many women not only got employment as a result, there was also a marked decrease in the incidents of domestic violence,” she says. “Contrary to the judicial committees in other parts of the country, which mostly receive cases of domestic violence, we get cases concerning property and inheritance.” 

Besides women, Bastola adds, the municipality has also introduced various schemes targeting its senior citizens. 

Changunarayan Municipality also took major steps to conserve its forests and vegetation, which make up 20.5 percent of its total area. In forests around Nagarkot and Muhanpokhari areas, the concerned local units planted various species of herbs. Tree saplings were also planted in and around the Changunarayan temple area. 

Chief Administrative Officer Hari Prasad Chapagain says in the last five years, they prioritized the development of infrastructure and streamlining of public services by incorporating information technology. 

“Changunarayan introduced various successful programs in the last five years. Our works were rewarded when our municipality was ranked the 10th best municipality in the world in the Open City Incubator Program of the New York University School of Engineering,” he says. “This changed the way other municipalities around the country perceive us.” 

‘Pandemic shifted our focus. we still achieved a lot’ 

Som Prasad Mishra, mayor of Changunarayan Municipality 

How do you assess your term? 

It was challenging and rewarding at the same time. We were the first elected local representatives after the country adopted the federal model. So there was a dearth of local laws, human resources, and infrastructure. It took us a year just to set up a system. We had just found our rhythm and were fine-tuning our services when Covid-19 struck. The pandemic forced us to shift our focus. Suddenly, health, education and employment became our pressing priorities. We got to work as per our plan for only two years. But, I must say, we achieved a lot in those two years. We accomplished many tasks related to infrastructure, such as roads, schools and health posts. 

What are the things that Changunarayan have done differently compared to other local bodies? 

Our program targeting youth employment was very successful. It helped many unemployed young people, including those who lost their jobs to the pandemic and those who were planning to go abroad for employment. We created job and business opportunities for our youths at home. We also introduced a special scheme for girl students to encourage them to stay in school and get higher education. Besides, Deputy Mayor Bina Bastola also played an active role in bringing various programs for women empowerment and employment, which have become quite successful. We also did a lot to improve our services to the people through the use of technology. Changunarayan was rated as the best performer in the Open City Incubator Program run by the New York University School of Engineering and named the world’s 10th best municipality. Most recently, we have been working to set up an open data portal. Changunarayan has done a lot in terms of incorporating technology in its services compared to other municipalities.  

Are there any particular public grievances that you would like to share? 

Well, there are people who come to us seeking personal favors, mainly concerning jobs. But we cannot fulfill the wish of one particular person. We may have also failed to work in favor of those individuals who had helped us a lot during the elections. But that aside, we have tried to do the best to our ability to build a better system. There are also complaints concerning water supply lines, or road connectivity not reaching some homes. 

The Nepali Congress made public its manifesto for the local level elections on Sunday.

Party President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel, Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka and Dhanraj Gurung and General Minister duo Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma jointly made public the election manifesto amidst a program organized at the party office in Sanepa this afternoon.

A committee led by General Secretary Thapa had prepared the manifesto.

The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday it held "fruitful technical discussions" with Sri Lanka on its loan request, while the World Bank said it was preparing an emergency aid package for the crisis-stricken country, Reuters reported.

Sri Lanka, an island country of 22 million people, is struggling to pay for imports amid a crushing debt crisis and sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves that has fueled soaring inflation. Prolonged power cuts and shortages of fuel, food and medicines have sparked nationwide protests.

Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry has been in Washington this week talking to the IMF, the World Bank, India and others about financing help for his country, which has suspended payments on portions of its $51 billion in external debt.

The World Bank's emergency response package includes $10 million to be made immediately available for the purchase of essential medicines, funds shifted from its ongoing COVID-19 health preparedness project, a World Bank spokesperson said.

The global lender, which along with the IMF held its spring meetings this week, did not provide a total value for its package, but Sabry said on Friday that about $500 million in aid was being considered, according to Reuters.

The World Bank spokesperson said the package would leverage existing bank-financed projects and repurpose funds to quickly provide medicines, meals for school children and cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households.

Support to provide cooking gas, basic food supplies, seeds and fertilizers and other essentials is also under discussion, the spokesperson said, adding that the World Bank was "deeply concerned" about the situation in Sri Lanka.

The IMF said in a statement on Saturday that talks between its staff focused on the need for Sri Lanka to implement "a credible and coherent strategy" to restore macroeconomic stability, and to strengthen its social safety net and protect the poor and vulnerable during the current crisis.

"The IMF team welcomed the authorities' plan to engage in a collaborative dialogue with their creditors," IMF Sri Lanka mission chief Masahiro Nozaki said in a statement after the country took steps to explore a restructuring of some $12 billion in sovereign bonds, Reuters reported.

Sabry told reporters on Friday that the talks with the IMF were focused on a more traditional Extended Fund Facility program, but that $3 billion to $4 billion in bridge financing was needed while this could be finalized. 

The IMF has said that Sri Lanka's debt needs to be put on a sustainable path before it could make new loans to Colombo - a process that could require lengthy negotiations with China and the country's other creditors. 

Sabry said on Friday that in addition to the IMF loan and World Bank assistance, Sri Lanka is discussing with India some $1.5 billion in bridge financing to help continue essential imports, and added that he has also approached China, Japan and the Asian Development Bank for help, according to Reuters.