Lopez double fires Barcelona to 4-2 comeback win at Slavia Prague
Barcelona came from behind to defeat Slavia Prague 4-2 on a freezing night in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Fermin Lopez scoring twice and Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski adding second-half goals to secure the victory, Reuters reported.
The win lifts Barcelona to ninth place in the standings with one game remaining on 13 points, level with seven other teams vying for a top-eight finish and direct qualification for the round of 16. Slavia languish third from bottom with just three points.
On a bitterly cold evening in Prague, with temperatures dropping to minus eight Celsius, Slavia stunned the visitors with an early lead, according to Reuters.
Kane double carries 10-man Bayern past Union Saint-Gilloise and into knockout stage
Bayern Munich top scorer Harry Kane struck twice in three minutes to carry his team to a 2-0 victory over Belgium's Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Wednesday and book their ticket for the knockout stage with a game to spare, Reuters reported.
Man-of-the-match Kane headed in at the near post from a Michael Olise corner in the 52nd and added another goal from a 55th-minute penalty after he was brought down, to end a rare three-game goal drought in the competition.
The England captain, who now leads the scorers' list with seven goals, could have sealed his hat-trick in the 80th minute but hammered his second penalty on to the crossbar, according to Reuters.
Newcastle ease to 3-0 win over PSV to book knockout place
Yoane Wissa scored his first Champions League goal as Newcastle United eased to a 3-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven at St James’ Park on Wednesday to seal their place in the knockout stages of the competition for the first time, Reuters reported.
Newcastle move up to seventh in the table with 13 points from their seven games and on course for automatic qualification for the last 16. PSV are in 22nd place with eight points and work to do to advance to the knockout stages.
The top eight teams in the table automatically advance to the last-16, while the sides positioned 9th to 24th enter a playoff round to determine the other eight qualifiers, according to Reuters.
HoR elections: Dalit community sees meager candidacies under FPTP electoral system
Dalit community has witnessed a meager number of candidates in the House of Representatives (HoR) elections scheduled for March 5.
Nepali Congress (NC) has fielded its assistant general secretary Prakash Rasaili Snehi as a candidate of Dalit community from Bajhang.
CPN-UML has presented Chakra Snehi from Dadeldhura and Bimala Biki from Bardiya-2.
Likewise, Nepali Communist Party has given tickets only to Padam Biswokarma from Syangja-2 and Man Bahadur Sunar from Kanchanpur-3.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has nominated Khagendra Sunar from Banke-3.
Padam Sundas, a leader of the Dalit movement and former ambassador, has noted that the major political parties have always treated the Dalit community as a vote bank but have consistently deprived them of political opportunities.
He commented, “The contribution of Dalit leaders within the party is equal to that of other communities, but they do not get tickets during elections. Discrimination is being practiced while allotting tickets though Dalit holds 13 percent of total population".
Bindu Pariyar, President of the Association for Dalit Women's Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), opined that the democratic legacy party NC, which has repeatedly fought for change, and Nepali Communist Party and UML, which claim to struggle for the rights of marginalized, have proven to be insensitive towards Dalits.
She noted that by not directly giving tickets to the Dalit community, their representation in Parliament is seen as meager.
Just like the constitutional provision requiring 33 percent women in Parliament, there should also be a mandatory provision for Dalits, she argued.
In the House of Representatives of 2022, there were 15 Dalit representatives (5.81 percent) while in the 2008 Constituent Assembly, 50 Dalits (8.32 percent) were present.
There were 40 Dalits (6.65 percent) in the 2010 Constituent Assembly, and 20 Dalits (7.27 percent) in the House of Representatives of 2018.
Looking at these numbers, the representation of Dalits in Parliament is seen to be decreasing consecutively.
Out of 59 members of the National Assembly, only eight are Dalits.
Although Article 42(1) of the Constitution has stated that socially disadvantaged individuals shall have the right to participate in state agencies based on the principle of inclusiveness, its practical implementation has not been achieved.
