Born with Pride Conference kicks off
The two day-long Born with Pride Conference is being organized at the Hotel Himalaya, Kathmandu by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kathmandu, Samriddhi Foundation and the German Nepal Friendship Association. The conference is engaging in conversation with multiple stakeholders of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, politicians, activists, academicians, lawyers, organizations and civil society. As many as 21 speakers from seven South Asian Countries as well as from Europe and the Tibetan community and more than 100 participants attend the event. The high number of participants shows the importance of the issue and the great willingness to know more about the issue. The conference also has welcomed seven keynote speakers from across the Nepali and European political spectrum addressing various LGBTQIA+ community issues. There are five interactive sessions to discuss various topics such as queer in power, inclusive digital spaces for queer persons, the issue of legal recognition, the role of media, and the acceptance and integration of queer persons in civil society. Speaking at the conference, Dr. Carsten Klein, Head of the FNF Regional Office South Asia states, “platforms like this provides an opportunity to have a healthy dialogue, network, and come together to solve the inequalities and discrimination”. Former Minister of Urban Development and member of the House of Representative Ram Kumari Jhakri thanked the organizer for organizing the conference and highlighted the need of convergence of political and civil society campaigning to achieve the shared goal of promotion and protection of queer rights noting that “our party has nominated two inclusive candidates in the upcoming federal and provincial election and that we are determined to bring them in the upcoming house of representative”. Yannick Shetty, Member of the Austrian Parliament, highlighted the need of a value based foreign policy that condemns discrimination. The event will conclude on 28th September with the prize distribution for the Winners of the Born with Pride Visual Art Competition that was organized online before the conference.
13 persons buried in Manaslu avalanche rescued
All the persons, who went missing in an avalanche at Manaslu Base Camp in Gorkha district on Monday, have been rescued. The District Police Office, Gorkha said that 13 persons, who were buried in the avalanche, have been rescued on Tuesday morning. The Incident occurred while they were heading towards the fourth base camp from the third. SP Kedar Khanal said that two persons were rescued on Monday while 10 this morning. He said that six persons have been sent to Kathmandu. Preparations are underway to send others to the Capital, he said. Nima Dorje Sherpa (40) and Dawa Sherpa (25) of Sankhuwasabha, Phurita Sherpa (40) and Lakpa Tamang (37) of Dolkha have been sent to Kathmandu this morning. Among them, Nima Dorje is critically injured. Three helicopters of Simrik Air, Heli Everest and Kailash Air have been deployed to carry out rescue operations. Thirteen people, who were carrying essential materials for the mountaineers, were buried in an avalanche yesterday. Among them, one died on the spot while 12 others sustained injuries. It has been learnt that 404 people had taken permits to climb Mount Manaslu this year.
Hurricane Ian nears Cuba on path to strike Florida as Cat 4
Hurricane Ian was growing stronger as it barreled toward Cuba on a track to hit Florida’s west coast as a major hurricane as early as Wednesday, Associated Press reported.
Ian was forecast to hit the western tip of Cuba as a major hurricane and then become an even stronger Category 4 with top winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before striking Florida.
As of Monday, Tampa and St. Petersburg appeared to be the among the most likely targets for their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.
“Please treat this storm seriously. It’s the real deal. This is not a drill,” Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Timothy Dudley said at a news conference on storm preparations in Tampa.
Authorities in Cuba were evacuating 50,000 people in Pinar del Rio province, sent in medical and emergency personnel, and took steps to protect food and other crops in warehouses, according to state media.
“Cuba is expecting extreme hurricane-force winds, also life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall,” U.S. National Hurricane Center senior specialist Daniel Brown told The Associated Press.
The hurricane center predicted areas of Cuba’s western coast could see as much as 14 feet (4.3 meters) of storm surge Monday night or early Tuesday.
In Havana, fishermen were taking their boats out of the water along the famous Malecon, the seaside boardwalk, and city workers were unclogging storm drains ahead of the expected rain.
Havana resident Adyz Ladron, 35, said the potential for rising water from the storm worries him.
“I am very scared because my house gets completely flooded, with water up to here,” he said, pointing to his chest, according to Associated Press.
In Havana’s El Fanguito, a poor neighborhood near the Almendares River, residents were packing up what they could to leave their homes, many of which show damage from previous storms.
“I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have so little,” health worker Abel Rodrigues, 54, said.
On Monday night, Ian was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 km/h), about 105 miles (169 kilometers) southeast of the western tip of Cuba, with top sustained winds increasing to 105 mph (169 km/h).
The center of the hurricane passed to the west of the Cayman Islands, but no major damage was reported there Monday, and residents were going back into the streets as the winds died down.
“We seem to have dodged the bullet” Grand Cayman resident Gary Hollins said. “I am a happy camper.”
Ian won’t linger over Cuba but will slow down over the Gulf of Mexico, growing wider and stronger, “which will have the potential to produce significant wind and storm surge impacts along the west coast of Florida,” the hurricane center said, Associated Press reported.
Deadly gun attack at Russian school
A gunman has opened fire at a school in central Russia, killing at least 17 people and injuring 24, Russian officials say, BBC reported.
The victims include 11 children at the school of about 1,000 pupils in the city of Izhevsk.
The gunman killed himself at the scene and was a former pupil of the school.
Videos posted online appear to show panic inside the building where the shooting took place, with children and adults running along corridors.
Other footage shows blood on a classroom floor and a bullet hole in a window, with children crouching down underneath desks.
Eleven children and four adults were killed, including two security guards and two teachers, according to Russia's investigative committee. All but two of the 24 injured people were children.
Staff and pupils have been evacuated from the school building, which is in central Izhevsk - a city of about 650,000 residents.The attacker - named as Artem Kazantsev, who was born in 1988 - is reported to have been armed with two pistols.
A video posted online by state investigators shows the dead body of the gunman on the floor, wearing a T-shirt with a Nazi symbol and a balaclava. Investigators are searching his place of residence, according to BBC.A mourning period lasting until 29 September has been announced by the head of the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin is "deeply mourning" the deaths and denounced the shooting as an "inhuman terrorist attack", according to his spokesperson.
