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The Australian government has announced a gun buyback scheme in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack - its deadliest mass shooting in decades, BBC reported. 

The scheme is the largest since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, which left 35 people dead and prompted Australia to introduce world-leading gun control measures.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when two gunmen, believed to have been motivated by "Islamic State ideology", opened fire on a Jewish festival at the country's most iconic beach, according to BBC. 

President Ram Chandra Paudel has unveiled the mascot of the 13th edition of Kinder Olympic Program today.

At a special program organized at the Office of the President-Sheetal Niwas, President Paudel also handed over the Olympic torch to Binod Shrestha, Chairperson of the Nepal Student Sports Federation.

The 13th Kinder Olympic Programme is taking place from December 27 to 30 at Dasharath Stadium at Tripureshwor, Kathmandu.

The Federation and NSSF Kinder Olympic Committee are jointly organizing the sport events where students from pre-school and primary school will compete in 12 different games.

A public holiday has been declared across the Sudurpaschim Province today on the occasion of the Bhuwa parba or festival. 

Bhuwa parba is an original and historic cultural festival observed in the province.

The Sudurpaschim Province Government today decided to close all government offices and public institutions in the province to celebrate the festival.

This festival, which is celebrated with special significance particularly in Bajura, Bajhang and Achham, is associated with the legend of the Mahabharata epic during the Dwapara Yuga. 

According to religious beliefs, this festival is celebrated in joy of the victory that the Pandavas achieved over the Kauravas in the battle of the Mahabharata.

Dil Bahadur Budha, former ward chairperson of Shuklaphanta Municipality-11, said that the traditional dance performed during this festival is considered a symbol of bravery. 

According to him, with the recent increase in migration from hilly districts to the Tarai, the vibrancy of this festival has also significantly grown in Kailali and Kanchanpur.

Special cultural programs of Bhuwa dance and Deuda dance, accompanied by singing, reflecting the uniqueness of the hill culture, are organized in urban areas as well, including Dhangadhi and Mahendranagar.

Budha said that this festival has strengthened the cultural unity between the hills and the Tarai.

"Bhuwa festival is not just entertainment, but it is observed as an enactment of battle in commemoration of legends and historical tales. This festival begins the day before Poush Krishna Aunsi (the new moon day in the month of Poush) and is celebrated joyfully for three to five days," he said.

According to him, as part of the Bhuwa celebration, men wear traditional clothes (white robe and turban) and carry a sword and shield in their hands and dance in a circle formation while enacting a battle scene, collectively demonstrating martial skills.

European Unionleaders decided on Friday to borrow cash to fund Ukraine's defence against Russia for the next two years rather than use frozen Russian assets,sidestepping divisions over an unprecedented plan to finance Kyiv with Russian sovereign cash, Reuters reported. 

"Today we approved a decision to provide 90 billion euros to Ukraine," EU summit chairman Antonio Costa told a news conference early on Friday morning after hours of talks among the leaders in Brussels. "As a matter of urgency, we will provide a loan backed by the European Union budget."

The leaders also gave the European Commission a mandate to keep working on a so-called reparations loan based on Russian immobilised assets but that option proved unworkable for now, above all due to resistance from Belgium, where the bulk of the assets is held, according to Reuters.