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A wide-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has been grounded after a technical problem was detected in it. With this, the passengers bound to Doha, Qatar have been stranded.

NAC spokesperson Ramesh Poudel said the flight had to be stopped as a problem occurred with the flight control sensor of the wide-body plane. Technical repair of the grounded aircraft is in progress now. He said the passengers bound to Doha on this flight will be sent to the destination via an alternative flight this evening.

"The passengers of the Doha flight were stopped due to the technical problem in the aircraft last night. Preparations have been made to send the passengers to the destination by another flight at 7: 45 pm today. The passengers have been asked to come to the airport at 4 pm," he said.

Out of the NAC's four planes operating on international routes, a narrow-body plane has been dispatched to Israel for repair. Flights are affected due to frequent technical glitches in the NAC planes.

NAC has two narrow-body and two wide-body aircraft for operating international flights. The 276 passengers bound to Doha from Kathmandu were kept in a hotel for the night.

Nepal will be presenting a report on its progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the United Nations. The report to be prepared through the voluntary national review (VNR) on SDGs is to be presented by July.

The National Planning Commissions today organized a workshop on the Voluntary National Review of SDGs in Kathmandu today, gathering valuable submissions from various stakeholders.

Prior to this, Nepal conducted the first VNR on SDG in 2017 followed by the second in 2020.  According to the NC, the third VNR will be concluded by the next six months.

In today's workshop, the NPC Vice -Chair Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said the event aimed to assess Nepal's efforts towards the sustainable development goals, learn from successful practices in other countries, and gather submissions from various sectors to promote coordination and cooperation with diverse agencies.

According to him, Nepal is fully committed to achieving the sustainable development goals and efforts towards this end are underway from the federal, provincial and local governments.  There has already been the localization of SDGs in Nepal and the budget has accorded priorities to them. Effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place for projects and plans related to the SDGs.

The 16th five-year periodic plan that will be coming into effect from the fiscal year 2081-82 BS (2024-24) has prioritized the endeavors to graduate Nepal from the category of the least developed country and to accomplish the SDGs, he added.

The Sustainable Development Implementation and Monitoring Committee under the coordination of the Vice-Chairperson of the National Planning Commission has been working to prepare a third voluntary third national voluntary review related to sustainable development.

The Economic Management Division of the Commission is working as the secretariat. Shrestha shared that Nepal would present this report in the meeting of a high-level political forum under the United Nations in July.

Lauding the activities carried out by Nepal for achieving sustainable development goals, UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy pointed out the need of making efforts for further progress-oriented results.

"Nepal's progress in achieving sustainable development goals is admirable. Compared to other countries in the world, the progress of Nepal is better. But it is necessary for us to make further efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals within the stipulated time", she added.

She stressed that Nepal from the position of Chair of least developed countries should be more responsible in the activities of sustainable development goals and upgrading.

All UN member countries in 2015 had approved sustainable development goals (2016-2030) and started implementing it.  Nepal has prepared sustainable development goals 2016-30 roadmap for Nepal and implemented it. 

As per the recent statistics of the National Planning Commission, Nepal has achieved around 43 percent progress so far in sustainable development goals.

According to the NPC, the workshop was organized at the coordination of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Representatives from line ministries, Nepal Rastra Bank, Policy and Planning Commission of all provinces, National association of Rural Municipalities, Municipal Association of Nepal, private sector, representatives of government and non-government offices and cooperative sector were present on the occasion.

You can find everything you want on YouTube. If you want to learn to cook or are looking for some new culinary inspiration, there are dozens of channels with the kind of delicious content you need. Here are our five top picks to get you started.

Food with Chetna

The host of this YouTube channel, which was started in 2015, is Chetna, a passionate cook, creative baker, and author of four cookbooks. There are 860 videos on the channel which has everything from delicious food recipes to tips on cooking and baking. Most of the videos are on cooking Indian food. Chetna, by her admittance, loves to play with flavors and combine traditional British/Western recipes with Indian flavors. Here, you will find lots of easy recipes for quick dinners as well as healthy food. The recipes are simple, use regularly found ingredients, and don’t take a lot of time. Chetna also shares her mother’s tried-and-tested recipes.

Bon Appétit

This is one of the most popular food channels on YouTube with over six million subscribers. It features more than 1500 videos and will teach you everything from how to cook a simple meal to preparing a gourmet one. Plus, there are videos on whipping up mean cocktails, making NYC’s most famous pancakes, and recreating signature dishes from various places. The videos are shot really well, making you drool as the food is cooking and when it’s being plated. If you want to learn how to cook and maybe someday be praised for your culinary skills, this is the channel that you might want to lean on.

Chef Ranveer Brar

This channel has over seven million subscribers and over 900 videos. Chef Ranveer Brar is Masterchef India judge, an author, a restauranteur, and a television celebrity. Brar calls himself a food-sufi who is on a constant culinary quest. His videos are fun with easy-to-follow recipes. Brar has a good screen presence with a sense of humor to match. He teaches you how to cook without overwhelming you with jargon and technique. He mostly teaches you to cook different versions of Indian delicacies. You can learn how to make Bhopali chicken, UP style aloo matar, and Kashmiri paneer masala among many other things.

Emmymade

Emmymade is a versatile and quirky channel that features a wide array of tasty content. Since starting the channel in 2010, Emmy has managed to garner over 2.9 million followers on YouTube. In her videos, Emmy tries out viral TikTok recipes and takes viewers on a culinary tour around the world, from Ukrainian garlic bread to Canadian poutine. The channel has your back if you are in a rush. There are YouTube shorts for when you need a quick idea. There are delicious everyday recipes for ramen, fried rice, and pot roasts. There are recipes for fun stuff that you wouldn’t usually make like mayo popcorn salad, fried ice cream, Thai tea, and homemade boba.

Laura in the Kitchen

Sometimes you aren’t in the mood for regular food like chicken curry, rice, pasta and all. This channel is a true savior in that sense. There is a hoard of feel-good recipes, comfort food, and just plain delicious goodness in this channel. Learn to make a meatloaf. Love eggs Benedict? Laura will teach you how to make one in minutes. Learn to make a pizza from scratch. If you have a sweet tooth, there are plenty of recipes that teach you how to make some simple snacks and desserts. Our favorites are the Fudgy Brownies and the Nutella Popsicle. She also has YouTube shorts that will provide you with some great cooking tips, teach you how to pick the right kind of tomatoes, and how to thinly slice chicken among other things.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha has called for collaborative efforts on disaster reduction and local resilience. For this to happen, all three tiers of government could work together, he stressed.

During a program of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) organized at Bhugol Park of Kathmandu on the occasion of the Earthquake Safety Day this morning, the collaboration of KMC with federal and province governments would emerge as a model, which, he argued, could be replicated to other local levels.

He reminded that the constitution has mentioned disaster management as the rights of local governments as well, so all sides' responsibilities are required to tackle the problems on it.  "Federal government is ready to work together with local levels for their capacity building," DPM Shrestha said, adding that the local levels were provided equipment for emergency and rescue operations via the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

According to the DPM, even the volunteers have a significant role in making disaster management effective. So, the volunteers could be brought under a national system.

DPM Shrestha expressed happiness over the KMC's mobilization of volunteers and initiatives taken for necessary training. He lauded the assistance KMC provided in the quake-hit area following the Jajarkot Earthquake. He wished KMC as the leading local level with resources and capacity to continue such works.

The initiatives taken by the KMC could be replicated by others, he suggested.

Moreover, DPM Shrestha commented, "KMC's role on enforcement of building code for earthquake safety and assessment and retrofitting of unsafe structures is a significant job."

On the occasion, Deputy Mayor of KMC, Sunita Dangol, said Nepal must pay heed to building quake resistant structures in view of the earthquake security.

The locally available resources and technology could be used to make infrastructures robust, she viewed, underscoring the need for further collaboration and coordination among three tiers of government.

Earthquake Safety Day is observed every year on Magh 2 of Nepali calendar since 2055BS. The Day commemorates the devastating earthquake that occurred on Magh 2, 1990BS. Huge number of lives and properties perished in the quake that measured 8.4 in Richter scale. It occurred at 2:24pm.

Senior seismologist at the National Seismology and Research Centre, Lok Bijay Adhikari, informed that as many as 8,519 Nepalis had died, while 80,000 houses were destroyed in the 1990 BS earthquake.

Total 207,248 structures perished in the earthquake.

The recent devastative quake Nepal witnessed was the Gorkha Earthquake of Baisakh 12, 2072Bs. It claimed the lives of 8,670 people and destroyed more than 700 thousand houses.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 119, 400 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 119, 500 per tola on Wednesday

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 118, 850 per tola. It was traded at Rs 118, 950 per tola.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,415 per tola today.

Nearly 5,000 households in Mugu district are living without electricity and still rely on solar or traditional lamps. 

The lack of electricity access has greatly affected the livelihood of the people, from cooking to charging electronic devices. 

In Chhayanath Rara Municipality alone a total of 2,546 households are living in the dark. It’s the same for the residents of Khatyad Rural Municipality. 

Local people say very few families have installed solar panels to power their homes, but they are not reliable. 

The people of Khatyad Rural Municipality have long been waiting for the completion of a hydropower project which has been in limbo for the last five years. 

The national transmission line has been extended only till Gamgadhi, the district headquarters, and places outside have no electricity. 

A jeep with an Indian number plate plunged into the Trishuli River on Tuesday.

 The vehicle fell into the river at Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality-5 along Narayangadh-Muglin road section early this morning.

Deputy Superintendent of Police at District Police Office, Chitwan, Shree Ram Bhandari, informed that the jeep had fallen some 85 meters down the road.

Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent of the Armed Police Force, Shailendra Thapa, informed that a team led by a police inspector at the APF disaster management training institute of Kurintar immediately left for the site after receiving information about the incident.

The locals had shared information about the accident.

The divers of APF have recovered the jeep. However, it is not sure whether the jeep had passengers, Thapa added.

Chaku, a sweet made from jaggery, sugarcane juice, ghee, and nuts, is considered essential to celebrate Maghe Sankranti. Joshi Chaku Factory, located in Tangal, Lalitpur, have been inundated with orders for the past three months. They have been working long hours, from four in the morning to eight in the evening.

Sixty years ago, Surya Das Joshi started the Joshi Chaku Factory. Today, he isn’t able to make chaku anymore but his family members are involved in the process and work at the factory. This is how they have been earning a living.

The factory employs eight people to make the chaku and another 30 to pack and deliver the product. The jaggery comes from Biratnagar in Morang and the chaku is supplied to stores in Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Banepa. “We make a nice profit only in the winter season,” says Surya Das.

Maghe Sankranti is a widely celebrated festival on the first day of the month of Magh. For the Tharu community, it rings in the new year. It also marks the end of the winter season. The festival brings warmer weather and longer days as the sun moves towards the northern hemisphere.

Chaku is consumed during winter as it gives strength and stamina. It also warms the body besides containing vitamin B and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and iron.