Biden marks nation’s Covid grief before inauguration pomp

Hours from inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden paused on what might have been his triumphal entrance to Washington Tuesday evening to mark instead the national tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic with a moment of collective grief for Americans lost.

'Film industry needs govt support to recover'

Akash Adhikari is one of the foremost directors and producers of the country. He is the president of Nepal Film Producers’ Association (NFPA) and a central member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) representing the commodity groups. Adhikari is also an executive member of the Asia-Pacific chapter of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. Besides, he has his own production house The Sky Movies Pvt. Ltd. A graduate in filmmaking from the...

Priyanka wants Hollywood to embrace Asian stories

Priyanka Chopra wants to get south Asian stories "influxed" into Hollywood. The 38-year-old actress - who was born in Jamshedpur, India, but now lives in the US - is determined to see more diversity in the American movie business, after starring in Netflix's new Indian drama 'The White Tiger'. Priyanka - who married Nick Jonas in 2018 - explained: "I chased after this movie, actually, I read about it on Twitter.

Waiting For Vaccines

The world has heaved a sigh of relief as the battle against COVID-19 pandemic has made important breakthrough with the development of vaccines against the deadly viral contagion. In a very positive development, some countries have already started inoculating its citizens against the virus that has taken its huge toll on human life and health. Britain was the first country to administer the vaccine against COVID-19 in early December and since then, dozens of nations

Political Will Key To End Discrimination

More than 2.5 billion women and girls around the world have been affected in multiple ways with discriminatory laws and lack of legal protections. A multi-stakeholder approach, including the UN Women, is now campaigning for Equality in Law for women and girls by 2030. My question here is which magic wand can be used to change the world from now till 2030 that almost a century could not. The UN Charter was adopted i

Overcoming Trumpism

NEW YORK – Butler, Pennsylvania, is a small steel mill town north of Pittsburgh, with a population of 13,000 people. Donald Trump is popular there. One of its citizens, Nadine Schoor, 63, expressed her feelings about the president to the New York Times. “I look at President Trump,” she said, “and we’re the family – the country’s the family… And he’s the parent. He’s got a lot of tough love, and he doesn’t care what anyone thinks to get something done that he knows is righ

Curbing Air Pollution

On January 4, 2021, Kathmandu became the most polluted city in the world as the city saw a record high in air pollution. On the night of January 4, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at over 600 in Kathmandu. It was measured by the US Embassy Air Quality Monitor (AQM) in Phora Durbar. Meanwhile, the Department of Environment measured the AQI in Kathmandu at above 400 throughout January 4. And IQAir, which is a global AQI measuring platform, noted the AQI to

Ageing Nepal receives US$ 20,000 literacy award

Ageing Nepal, an organisation of Nepal involved in UNESCO's campaign to make senior citizens literate, has received the King Sejong Literacy Award. The oraganisation has received an award of USD 20,000. The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is an annual prize awarded to two institutions, or individuals across the world for their contribution to the fight against illiteracy. The award for the year 2020 has also been received by the World School of the United Kingdom.

Govt will help to revive tourism sector: FM Paudel

Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has said that the government would provide necessary assistance to revive the tourism sector which has been severely affected due to COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking at a discussion organised at the Ministry of Finance with the representatives of tourism and hotel business, Finance Minister Paudel said that the government has introduced relief, concession and incentive programmes and stressed on their effective implementation.

Joe Biden to propose 8-year citizenship path for immigrants

President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump’s restrictive...