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Many young people aspire to pursue higher education abroad after completing Grade 12. Often, they believe that there are limited opportunities in Nepal, and look to migrate to foreign countries. However, Sandesh Subedi from Kushma, Parbat, holds a different opinion. Instead, he is actively serving his nation by spearheading a campaign for blood donation. Sandesh knew about the significance of blood in human life during a critical period in his own family. When he was in Grade 6, his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and their family faced a shortage of blood for her treatment. Tragically, Sandesh’s mother eventually passed away. However, this experience inspired Sandesh to honor her memory by actively engaging in blood donation. “I realized the critical need for blood when my mother was undergoing treatment at Neuro Hospital in Kathmandu. It was difficult for our family to arrange blood during that period,” Sandesh shared. Sandesh has taken a unique approach to spearhead his campaign by combining it with cycling. The inspiration to incorporate cycling into his mission came to him when he had the opportunity to meet world cyclist Ajit Baral. Recognizing the numerous health benefits associated with cycling, Sandesh saw it as the perfect medium to promote his blood donation campaign. “After meeting Ajit, I was inspired to use cycling as a means to advocate for blood donation,” Sandesh shares. Not only does cycling promote physical well-being, but it also provides an excellent platform to raise awareness on the importance of donating blood, he added. “If a patient needs blood, it has to be given by somebody. If you don’t donate blood, it doesn’t mean you will have excess blood in your system. Similarly, donating blood does not deplete your own blood supply,” Sandesh said, adding, “A person can donate 350ml of blood at a time, and it can be preserved for three to four weeks, providing a valuable resource for those in need.” “Contrary to misconceptions, blood donation does not harm the body. The donated blood replenishes within 24 hours. Individuals in the age group of 18-60, weighing more than 45 kg, and in good health without any chronic diseases can donate blood. After donating once, it is possible to donate blood again after three months.” During his journey, Sandesh shares these vital pieces of information with the people he meets. "It is important for people to understand that even if we don't donate blood, it will eventually get destroyed within our bodies," he stated. “It is important to educate people and debunk the misconceptions surrounding blood donation. Many individuals still hold the wrong belief that donating blood will make them weak. Meanwhile, countless lives are being lost due to blood shortages." Sandesh successfully completed the 1,028-kilometer journey in one month. During the trip, he managed to actively engage 558 individuals in the blood donation program. During the trip, Sandesh received memberships of Nepal Red Cross Society and the Nepal Blood Donors' Society. “The support and encouragement of these organizations played a significant role in motivating me throughout the journey," he added. Collaborating with the youth, students, and local communities, Sandesh took the initiative to organize awareness programs about blood donation in various parts of the country. "Blood donation brings about dual benefits," Sandesh explained. "Firstly, when one donates blood that would otherwise be naturally destroyed within the body, it revitalizes the donor's own system. Secondly, and most importantly, it saves lives." Sandesh believes that blood donation is one of the most profound acts of service that one can perform. Reflecting on his journey and the impact of his campaign, he said, "Throughout this endeavor, I have been blessed with the gratitude of numerous people. Even though my own mother departed this world prematurely, I take solace in knowing that I have fulfilled her dream as she used to tell me social service is the greatest religion.” Sandesh has compiled an extensive list of activities pertaining to blood donation. He aims to expand the reach of his campaign to districts that were not covered during the Mechi-Mahakali cycling tour. His primary goal is to raise awareness and educate people in those areas about the importance of donating blood.  

The Embassy of Nepal in Washington, DC has received  40 Nepali wooden artifacts dating back to the 19th-20th century from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USA.   The artifacts smuggled from Nepal were confiscated in Honolulu, Hawaii by the United States Customs and Border Protection on 18 Aug 2010. Nepal  had officially requested the Government of the United States to return these objects to Nepal in 2011.

In the handover ceremony held on Sunday, Nepal’s Ambassador to the US, Sridhar Khatri, extended his sincere thanks to the DHS, the Department of State, media and art and heritage campaigners for their support in retrieval and repatriation of the artifacts. He particularly appreciated and thanked the investigators and staff members of the DHS and HSI for their hard work and dedication in recovering the objects of art handed over today and other artifacts that were recovered earlier.

Deputy Assistant Director of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Ricardo Mayoral expressed his happiness on the successful return of these important artifacts to the Government of Nepal after long investigations. He also assured that the HSI will extend fullest cooperation to the embassy for repatriation of other stolen and lost artifacts of Nepal. 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of State Scott Urbom stated that the United States will continue its cooperation and collaboration with Nepal to preserve and restore its rich art and architectural heritages. He said that the successful recovery of the illegally exported artifacts is a major achievement.  The trove of the artifacts handed over to the Embassy includes 39 engraved and painted wooden panels and a carved wooden shrine, among which the four panels were randomly selected for display during the handover ceremony.

Photographs of other artifacts were displayed separately to give the audience a flavor of what the remaining pieces would look like. These precious Nepali artifacts are estimated to date back to the period between the 19th and 20th century. They signify various aspects of Lord Buddha’s life and his teachings as well as the Buddhist religious and cultural values and practices. As part of efforts to recover and repatriate the lost and stolen heritages of Nepal, the embassy has been actively engaged with relevant agencies of the governments of Nepal and the United States. 

The embassy had repatriated to Nepal seven artifacts—stone statues of Uma Mahesvara, Chaturmukh Shivlinga, Nagaraja, Padmanpani and Shakyamuni Buddha—on 18 May 2022; and a wooden statue of Nritya Devi and a standing stone statue of Lord Buddha on 28 April  2023. The embassy said it will send the artifacts received on Sunday to the Department of Archaeology of Nepal as soon as possible.

Some parts of the country including the Kathmandu Valley today experienced light rainfall due to the influence of the Westerly and the local winds. According to the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the weather is cloudy in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and isolated rain is likely in the hilly regions of Koshi, Bagamati and Gandaki provinces. The Kathmandu Valley witnessed brief rainfall today, said Division’s meteorologist Sameer Shrestha. No impact of Cyclone Mocha As the Division said, there will be no impact of Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal. The Cyclone Mocha is moving towards east and Nepal is not likely to see its impact. It will have its major impacts on Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Myanmar, according to him. Now Mocha has taken pace and is moving towards the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

There were 621 incidences of fire including forest fires in a month in the country. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the country recorded 527 cases of fire and 94 wildfires between April 14 and May 13. The death casualties in these incidences were 16: 11 in fire and five in forest fires while 65 have been injured. According to Authority deputy-secretary, Sundar Prasad Sharma, with the increasing temperature, the incidences of fire take place each day, causing the losses of lives and property. The failed attempts to douse the fire without any safety measures generally resulted in deaths, he said, urging one and all not to take any risk of life during the fire and not to intervene it without taking safety measures. Green tree branches and soil can be used along with water to control forest fire, according to the Authority which urges all not smoke in forest area, not to throw away burning cigarette butt near the forest, to make sure it is no more burning during its management and bury the fire remnants in soil.