Turn down the volume as WHO sets new safe limit for music venues
Young people risk hearing loss from loud music in venues such as nightclubs and concerts, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it issued a new global standard for safe listening, Reuters reported.
Nearly 40% of teenagers and young adults aged 12–35 years in middle and high-income countries are exposed to potentially damaging sound levels in venues such as nightclubs, discotheques and bars, the WHO said in a statement, adding that it recommended a maximum average sound level of 100 decibels.
The risk of hearing loss is intensified because most audio devices, venues and events do not provide safe listening options, Bente Mikkelsen, WHO director for the department for noncommunicable diseases said on Wednesday.
The WHO also said that it recommended live monitoring of sound levels and designated “quiet zones” at venues.
The new recommendations are in addition to guidelines the WHO issued in 2019 outlining how individuals can limit hearing damage due to prolonged exposure to loud music on devices such as mobile phones and audio players.
Nepal records 105 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths on Thursday
Nepal logged 105 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths on Thursday.
With this, the country's active caseload mounted to 1,116,761. Similarly, the death toll has climbed to 11,943.
According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 448 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 70 returned positive. Likewise, 2,476 people underwent antigen tests, of which 35 tested positive.
The Ministry said that 320 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.
As of today, there are 7, 517 active cases in the country.
The Ministry said that 7, 349 people are staying in home isolation while 168 are in institutionalized isolation.
Among the infected, 61 are in Intensive Care Units and nine are on ventilators.
Three stolen artifacts brought back to Nepal
Three artefacts dating back to 13th to 17th centuries that were stolen have been brought back to Nepal from the United States.
These stolen artefacts – a wooden toran (festoon), a woodwork featuring the image of a flying gandarva, and an idol of Gautam Buddha in meditation posture dating back to the Malla dynasty – were handed to the Department of Archaeology amid a function here today.
The objects that were stolen from different places of Nepal at different dates and kept at a museum and two galleries in the US were brought to Nepal with the diplomatic initiatives of the two countries.
Of them, the toran dating back to 17th century was stolen after 1985 from the entrance to Yampimahabihar in Lalitpur.
Similarly, the flying gandarva was stolen in the year 1997 from a puja house of family deities of Shakya at Itumbahal of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
The Buddha idol dating back to 13th century is priced at USD 30,000. Similarly, the toran is priced at USD 110,000 and the flying gandarva at USD 22,000.
Addressing the event, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale thanked the representatives of the US-based museum for handing over the stolen objects back to Nepal. RSS
Gyalpo Lhosar being observed today
The Sherpa community across the country is celebrating Gyalpo Lhosar by organizing various programmes on Thursday.
The festival is celebrated every year from Falgun Shukla Pratipada, the second day of the waxing moon until the full moon.
On the occasion, people of the Sherpa community cook and eat various delicacies, organize various cultural programs and exchange best wishes with each other.
Gyalpo Lhosar marks the beginning of the Tibetan New Year.
The government has declared a public holiday to celebrate the festival.
