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Kathmandu: Nepal has secured its spot in the final of the ACC U-19 Premier Cup Cricket Tournament. In the semi-final match held in Malaysia, Nepal defeated Japan by 144 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

With its entry into the final, Nepal has qualified to compete in the U-19 Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan.

The match was affected by rain when Nepal had scored 140 runs with the loss of two wickets in 25 overs. As the rain continued to delay the game, the stipulated 50 overs were reduced to 22, with a target of 187 runs set for Japan to win. In response, Japan managed to score only 43 runs in 11.5 overs, losing all their wickets.

None of Japan’s players, apart from Shotaro Hiratsuka (15) and Kiefer Yamamoto (13), could reach a double-digit score.

Nepal’s Hemant Dhami and Dipesh Kandel took three wickets each, while Subash Bhandari took two, and Akash Chand took one wicket.

Deepak Bohora was the top scorer for Nepal, amassing 79 runs with 10 boundaries and two sixes in 70 balls.

Similarly, Deepak and Akash Tripathi partnered for 93 runs for the second wicket, with Akash contributing 35 runs, while Arjun Kumal made 10 runs and Dev Khanal scored eight.

Nepal will face the UAE in the final on Oct 24. The UAE reached the final by defeating Singapore in another semi-final match.

Kathmandu: The ‘Phulpati Badhai’, feu de joie, was organized at the Nepal Army Pavilion in Tundikhel, Kathmandu, on Saturday afternoon. This day marks the seventh day of the ongoing 10-day Dashain festival.

President Ramchandra Paudel, who holds the constitutional role of Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Nepal Army, graced the event as the chief guest. On this occasion, the Nepal Army showcased a parade.

A military chopper that flew over the army pavilion displayed a banner that read ‘Phupati Badhai Ceremony 2080 BS’ and showered flowers. The army band played patriotic songs as well as various other tunes.

Furthermore, various army troops performed drills and marched past.

Vice-President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chief Justice Bishwambhar Shrestha, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Purna Bahadur Khadka, among others, witnessed the parade.

The Phulpati Badhai is a unique and distinguished program that upholds religion, culture, and tradition. It is a long-standing tradition of the Nepali Army to observe the Phulpati Badhai with great fervor.

On this day, a palanquin containing the Jamara (barley shoots) and Phulpati—an assortment of flowers, leaves, and fruits from different auspicious parts—is brought into Hanumandhoka Durbar in Kathmandu from Gorkha Durbar.

Jerusalem: Gaza has long been a powder keg, and it exploded after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct 7 and began killing and abducting people.

More than 1,400 people in Israel—mostly civilians—were killed in the Hamas attack, and the Israeli army says about 200 hostages were taken into Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. Nearly half Gaza's population—the vast majority of whom are already refugees—have been displaced.

Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza, preventing the entrance of food, water and fuel—a move that has created a catastrophic humanitarian situation. As the Israeli military gears up for a ground invasion and pledges to topple Hamas, the futures of Gaza and its 2.3m Palestinians look uncertain.

Here’s a look at the history of the Gaza Strip:

1948-1967: Egypt

Before the war surrounding Israel's establishment in 1948, present-day Gaza was part of the large swath of the Middle East under British colonial rule. After Israel defeated the coalition of Arab states, the Egyptian army was left in control of a small strip of land wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

During the war, some 700,000 Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel—a mass uprooting that they call the Nakba, or “catastrophe.” Tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked to the strip.

Under Egyptian military control, Palestinian refugees in Gaza were stuck, homeless and stateless. Egypt didn't consider them to be citizens and Israel wouldn't let them return to their homes. Many were supported by UNWRA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which has a heavy presence in Gaza to this day. Meanwhile, some young Palestinians became “fedayeen”—insurgency fighters who conducted raids into Israel.

1967-1993: Israel

Israel seized control of Gaza from Egypt during the 1967 Mideast war, when it also captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem—areas that remain under Israeli control. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers semi-autonomous areas of the occupied West Bank, seeks all three areas for a hoped-for future state.

Israel built more than 20 Jewish settlements in Gaza during this period. It also signed a peace treaty with Egypt at Camp David—a pact negotiated by US President Jimmy Carter.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi referenced this 40-year old treaty Wednesday when he declined to permit Palestinian refugees from Gaza into Egypt, saying the potential entrance of militants into Egypt would threaten longstanding peace between Israel and Egypt.

The first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in Gaza in December 1987, kicking off more than five years of sustained protests and bloody violence. It was also during this time that the Islamic militant group Hamas was established in Gaza.

1993-2005: Palestinian authority

For a time, promising peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders made the future of Gaza look somewhat hopeful.

Following the Oslo accords—a set of agreements between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat that laid the groundwork for a two-state solution—control of Gaza was handed to the fledgling Palestinian Authority.

But the optimism was short-lived. A series of Palestinian suicide attacks by Hamas militants, the 1995 assassination of Rabin by a Jewish ultranationalist opposed to his peacemaking and the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister the following year all hindered US-led peace efforts. Another peace push collapsed in late 2000 with the eruption of the second Palestinian uprising.

As the uprising fizzled in 2005, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon led a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, uprooting all of Israel's troops and roughly 9,000 settlers in a move that bitterly divided Israel.

2005-Now: Hamas

Just months after Israel's withdrawal, Hamas won parliamentary elections over Fatah, the long-dominant Palestinian political party. The following year, after months of infighting, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

Israel and Egypt imposed a crippling blockade on the territory, monitoring the flow of goods and people in and out. For nearly two decades, the closure has crippled the local economy, sent unemployment skyrocketing, and emboldened militancy in the region, which is one of the most densely populated places on the planet.

Through four wars and countless smaller battles with Israel that devastated Gaza, Hamas has only grown more powerful. In each subsequent conflict, Hamas has had more rockets that have traveled farther. The group has displayed a growing array of weapons. Its top leaders have survived, and cease-fires have been secured. In the meantime, it has built a government, including a police force, ministries and border terminals equipped with metal detectors and passport control.

What comes next?

Since the Oct 7 attack, Israel has stated its goal is to crush Hamas. This will be no easy task given the group's deep base of support. But even if Israel does realize its goal, it has said little about what it hopes will come next.

On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel hopes to relinquish control of Gaza and establish a “new security regime.” He did not elaborate.

Experts have cautioned that defeating militancy is not possible—even if Israel manages to topple Hamas, militants could well fill the power vacuum.

AP

Kathmandu: On the occasion of the Bada Dashain festival, Fulpati is being brought into homes today, following a cherished tradition observed throughout the country.

Fulpati, a medley of auspicious flowers, leaves, and fruits from various plants, is ritually anointed at the Dashain Ghar on the seventh day of the Bada Dashain festival. It is brought to Kathmandu in accordance with Vedic rites to be consecrated at the Hanumandhoka Durbar.

At Hanumandhoka Durbar, a procession that includes the Gurujyuko platoon, the Nepal Army, the Nepal Police, high-ranking officials of the Armed Police Force Nepal, civil service, the Asha Gurja team, band music, panchebaja, adorned kalsyoulis, and a cultural pageantry departs from Jamal with the Phulpati.

The Nepal Calendar Determination Committee affirms that Fulpati's entry into homes does not require an auspicious hour. However, it holds special significance for the Dashain festival, which officially commences with Ghatasthapana.

Furthermore, a palanquin containing Phulpati is sent from Dashainghar in Gorkha Durbar to be transported all the way to Hanumandhoka Durbar in Kathmandu. This tradition adheres to time-honored Vedic rites and dates back to the era when Prithvi Narayan Shah, the then King of Gorkha, initiated his rule from Hanumandhoka Durbar in Kathmandu. Since then, an annual tradition has been established where a palanquin bearing Phulpati is dispatched from Gorkha Dashainghar on the seventh day of the Bada Dashain festival, Nepal's grandest festival.

The assistants of the Gorkha Durbar carry Phulpati up to a place known as Phulpati Chautara at Satipipal, from where it is subsequently transported to Kathmandu.

Starting today, all government as well as private offices close down, encouraging people to return to their respective ancestral homes and seek blessings from Durga Bhawani and their elders.