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Employees working in Annapurna Media Network are to get eight-week free online courses from America.

Data Jupiter, an American company in New York, is to give eight-week free courses to the employees working in Annapurna Media Network on various subjects.

An agreement was signed amidst a program organized at Corporate Tower in Tinkune, Annapurna Media Network’s headquarters, on Friday to give free courses to the employees of Annapurna Media Network and to provide educational certificates from America.

Manoj Basnet, General Manager of Annapurna Media Network, and Prof. Dr Rajan Thapaliya, Director and CEO of Data Jupiter, signed the agreement.

Thapaliya teaches data science, computer science and AI as a professor at National University, University of Arizona and The City University of New York among others.

Annapurna will recommend the name of the employees for the course.

Date Jupiter will provide an eight-week free online course on a subject of their choice along with an educational certificate.

“We are very excited to collaborate with Annapurna Media,” Thapaliya said, adding, “Every course we offer will be taught by professors, experts in their field, working in the US.”

Data Jupiter will provide free courses in Computer Science, Data Science, Cyber ​​Security, AI, Business Studies, Sales and Marketing and AI Journalism among others.

Basnet said that this cooperation will play an instrumental role in increasing the capacity of the employees working in the company and obtaining internationally recognized certificates.

“This agreement is a significant achievement,” he said. “Our employees will be able to get knowledge on various sectors free of cost through this agreement.”

The Asian Spinal Cord Network (ASCoN), the network of 75 member organizations across 18 countries of the Asian continent, awarded Esha Thapa, Executive Director of Spinal Injury Sangha Nepal (SISN), with this year’s ASCoN Star Award.

The ASCoN Star Award, initiated in 2015, recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of spinal cord injury (SCI) services and support. This accolade was first awarded to Valerie A. Taylor, Founder of the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh, and has since become an annual tradition to honor exemplary dedication in SCI management.

Thapa, a prominent figure in the health and disability sector for over two decades, has been instrumental in fostering transformative rehabilitation services and empowering persons with spinal cord injury in Nepal.

In its statement, ASCoN noted: “We recognize Thapa for her exceptional contribution and unwavering dedication to improving spinal cord injury services in Nepal and across Asia through knowledge-exchange and capacity-building. Her work exemplifies the spirit of innovation, compassion and resilience that ASCoN strives to inspire across its network.”

Under Thapa’s leadership, SISN – established in 2001 – has emerged as a beacon of hope for individuals with SCI in Nepal. SISN’s initiatives, the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) and the Vocational Opportunity for Inclusion in the Community and Employment (VOICE) Centre, have collectively impacted over 4500 lives of persons with SCI.

ASCoN, founded in 2001, continues to play a critical role in connecting organisations and stakeholders across Asia. It is an affiliated society of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS). The annual ASCoN conference, whose 2024 edition just concluded in Nepal, serves as a platform for government policymakers, medical professionals and advocates to collaborate and promote policies and practices that improve the lives of persons with SCI.

Minister for Health and Population Pradeep Paudel has said that Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital is going to be developed as a burn treatment center.

Minister Paudel said it in a program organized on Thursday to welcome the new director Albert Benzin of the hospital in Sankhu in Shankharapur Municipality of Kathmandu. He said that he is working by prioritizing the treatment of burn cases.

He said, "Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital is a specialized hospital for burn treatment. The government has recently announced eight other hospitals across the country as hospitals where burns can be treated. Sushma Koirala Hospital can also be added to it, he said.

Health Minister Paudel said that the hospital, which is run by the Sushma Koirala Memorial Trust with German support, can provide training on burn treatment to doctors and nurses working in other hospitals as well.

Similarly, former Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala said that in the beginning, they had to face a lot of problems to open hospitals in remote areas.  She said that in the beginning, there was no treatment for burn cases in the country when the hospital was established.

Nepali Congress central member and parliamentarian Chandra Bhandari mentioned that there is a need for burns treatment hospitals across the country.

Mayor of Shankharapur Municipality, Ramesh Napit, mentioned that Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital is the oldest burn hospital.

Hospital director Santosh Bikram Bhandari shared that Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital was established in 2054 BS as the first hospital in Nepal for the treatment of burns. Since its inception, the hospital has treated 48, 322 people and performed 32, 864 surgeries related to burn cases. The hospital, which is run with the help of Germany, has treated 15,375 people free of cost so far.

The Bala Chaturdashi festival is being observed throughout the country today by commemorating the departed souls.

Devotees have gathered in the Shiva temples including the Pashupatinath Temple since last night to observe the festival.

In the night, they light lamps in commemoration of the departed family members and spend the night observing a vigil. In the wee hours the next day, the devotees sow the Satbeej (seven kinds of grains) along the premises of the shrines this morning. 

The festival formally began on the night of the 13th day of the waning moon in the month of Mangsir and is concluded today by spreading the Satbeej along the premises of shrines of Hindu god Shiva.

A large number of devotees have thronged the Pashupatinath Temple to observe the Bala Chaturdashi festival, according to the source. Those unable to visit reached the temples of Shiva nearby their residences and localities and observed the festival.