Day: September 16, 2023

Bheriganga (Surkhet), Sept 16: As many as 26,000 children have not been registered during their birth in Karnali Province.

According to the National Census, 2021, there were 204,638 children below the age of five in the Province. As per the census, 25,990 children were yet to have registered births.

Among 87.3 per cent registered birth, the number of girl children remains higher by 0.7 per cent, according to the census. Lack of awareness is said to be the top cause behind non-registration, the stakeholders said.

Child right activist Nawaraj BC explained that the parents lacked awareness that they should register the births of their children on time. The birth registration of the children whose fathers could not be identified can be done but the documentation is not done for such children, described BC.

The government has placed a policy so that no children should be deprived of birth record but lax implementation is leaving many children's birth undocumented, he lamented.

The father and mother of the child have to mandatorily enlist their children in birth registration along with a name. The birth registration is required for a child to get a birth certificate which is the first legal document of identity for the newborn.

The provincial Ministry of Social Development has been launching an awareness drive after finding the reason for children missed in birth registration, informed Anita Gyawali, Head of Women, Children and Senior Citizen Division.

Source: National News Agency - Nepal

Chitwan, Sept 16:Total 414 people donated blood at a programme organised in Chitwan by Rotary Club of Ratnanagar on Friday.

Of those donating the blood, 352 were men and 62 women. Similarly, 239 were new blood donors. Out of 352 blood donors, two were differently-abled persons.

On the occasion, Mayor of Ratnanagar Municipality, Prahlad Sapkota, shared that a blood bank was going to be established at Ratnanagar.

He further mentioned that they had asked all wards to organise blood donation programme at least three times in a year, extending gratitude to the Rotary Club for its involvement in humanitarian service at a time when there is acute shortage of blood.

Similarly, Club President Hari Krishna Shrestha said a large number of donors donated blood this time.

The blood donation programme was organised with technical support of Provincial Blood Transfusion Centre, Bharatpur.

Likewise, Chitwan President of Nepal Red Cross Society, Hari Poudel, shared that the highest quantity of blood was collected in a single day of this year.

Source: National News Agency - Nepal

Kathmandu, Sept 16: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that the government is working for meaningful participation of youth in every sector of the society.

Addressing the Nepal Youth Entrepreneurship Summit 2080 here this morning, he said that creation of youth-friendly investment environment, start-up, innovation and entrepreneurship, credit facilities have been prioritized to promote the involvement of Nepali youth in the country.

Informing that the government has announced that the financial year 2080-81 will be observed as the year of youth entrepreneurship, he said that the enthusiasm and participation of the youth is also needed to get positive results from it.

He also expressed the commitment to implement the positive conclusions of the summit organized with the aim of promoting and encouraging youth entrepreneurship.

Mentioning that present time is special in terms of demographic dividend as the youth population is high in the country, Prime Minister Dahal said that we should focus on the overall development of the youth without losing on the demographic dividend.

"The government is committed to making the Nepali youth not only the leaders of the future but also the stakeholders of the present", he said while adding that the national youth policy and the plans and programs specified by the government would be timely for the same.

Emphasizing that the knowledge, skills, competence, ability and experience of the youth should be mobilized in nation building initiatives, he said change, development and transformation of the country is not possible without thinking about the future of millions of Nepali youths currently abroad. "We also have the responsibility of creating an environment where the youth can see their future within the country."

Source: National News Agency - Nepal

Kathmandu, Sept 16 (RSS): Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' is leaving for New York, USA this evening leading the Nepali delegation to the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) being held at the UN Headquarters.

Prime Minister Dahal is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 21. The theme of the General Debate of the 78th UNGA has been chosen as “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability for All”.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will attend the opening session of the General Debate of the 78th UNGA and attend the reception to be hosted by President of the United States of America, Joe Biden on September 19, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While in New York, the Prime Minister will also address the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit and Climate Ambition Summit, among others, on the sidelines of the UNGA.

The Prime Minister will have a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries.

During the visit, Prime Minister Dahal is being accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud, Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and other senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: National News Agency - Nepal

Kathmandu, Sept 16: Nepali Congress leader and member of the House of Representatives Purna Bahadur Tamang has said that all political leaders should rise above their respective party notion to start building the nation.

Elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Ramechhap, Tamang said that not only those in the government and political parties but all the MPs have not been able to focus on the rights and interests of the people and for the prosperity of the country.

Tamang, who is also NC Ramechhap chair, told in a dialogue with RSS, "All the leaders talk about building the nation but there is no national consensus among them on this matter and hence it does not get implemented in practice." All parties should unite to investigate the truth about corruption and irregularities including the gold smuggling case, fake Bhutanese refugees, Lalita residence land case and bring the culprits involved in it to justice.

MP Tamang expressed his displeasure that some leaders were not investigated in some cases of corruption and said if corruption is to be checked strict and fair action is necessary.

On a different note, Tamang expressed his displeasure with the Supreme Court's suspension of the implementation of the MP Development Fund programme, commenting that it was a curtailment of legislative powers.

Born in Ramechhap in 2022 BS, Tamang entered politics from 2036 and after 2046 remains active in politics under the Congress party. Leader Tamang was elected district president of Ramechhap in the 14th general convention of the party.

Referring to the fact that MPs are not getting business as required and laws are not being formulated as per the people's expectations, MP Tamang claimed that the government is currently a coalition government consisting of various parties and the opposition parties also obstructed the House.

Tamang said people's representatives should participate in the discussions in the federal parliament in a disciplined and restrained manner. Since MPs are not only representatives of the people but also lawmakers, they should be able to convey a positive message through their presentation and conduct in the House, which will be recorded as history.

He said it is time to think seriously about the public comments about the increase in administrative expenses including salary and other perks provided to people's representatives in federalism. It has started to raise questions about the justification of federalism.

Source: National News Agency - Nepal

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam today categorically said there is no alternative to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh for its cherished development.

"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined to take forward the country's progress continuously. She has been working relentlessly for the development of the country along with elevating the fate of its people. None can dare to stop the development trend," he said.

The state minister came up with the observation while addressing the prize-giving ceremony of 50th School, Madrasha and Technical Education Summer Sports Competition 2023 on Charghat Upazila Complex premises in the district as the chief guest.

On the occasion, he also distributed prizes of National Education Week 2023 as well distributing certificates among the participants of ICT training of the department of youth development.

With Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sohrab Hossain in the chair, the ceremony was addressed, among others, by Upazila Chairman Fakhrul Islam and Pourasava Mayor Ekramul Haque.

Shahriar Alam said the women are being trained through the department of youth development and Tothyia Apa for making the country further self-reliant.

He mentioned that there is no alternative to competent workforces for building Smart Bangladesh envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz believes Bangladesh could have done well in the Asia Cup if they could play the whole tournament without any injury issue.

"The result could have been different had we fielded a full strength team from the beginning. We hope that all of the players will recover from the injury and we'll go to the world Cup with good mindset," Miraz said after Bangladesh team arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport today from Colombo.

Bangladesh team's balance was disrupted when they had to leave the country for Asia Cup without Liton Das who suffered from a viral fever. With Tamim Iqbal already being ruled out of the tournament, Bangladesh had to field a new opening pair. Thereafter though Liton joined the team, Najmul Hossain Shanto, the most inform batter of the side got injured and returned to the country.

Mushfiqur Rahim, another inform batter, later had to skip the last match against India as he got the extension of leave to be with his wife and new born daughter.

"Tamim Iqbal was not with the team while Liton suffered from illness suddenly. Shanto was the most inform batter but he too got injured during the tournament. Overall the situation was not favourable for us," Miraz explained.

Bangladesh however made an exit to the tournament with two victories. They beat Afghanistan in the group phase and then edged past India by six runs in the last match of the Super Four phase, when their hopes of final was over.

Still Miraz hoped that the win against India would give them a mental boost ahead of the World Cup.

"Yes, there was no hope for us to play the final, still we wanted to win the game against India. We knew if we can beat India, it would give us the mental boost for the World Cup. The World Cup is a big event and it will be held in India. So we needed the mental spirit which we got after beating India," he said.

But Bangladesh had the things to savour as they got two talented young players in - Towhid Hridoy and Tanzim Hasan Sakib who both put their hands up in the match against India alongside captain Shakib Al Hasan.

Since his debut, Hridoy was playing well but Asia Cup was a big stage for him to show his credential and he demonstrated his skill, hitting two half-centuries. Tanzim Sakib meanwhile made a debut against India and took two wickets including Rohit Sharma.

"There were many positive things. Young players played well in this tournament. Hridoy further showed his credential and Sakib made a debut to remember. Lower order batters also got runs against India. So we left the tournament with a good note," he added.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Mahmudullah Riyad and Tamim Iqbal made a comeback as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 15-member squad for the first and second ODIs of this month's three-match series against New Zealand in Dhaka today.

Mahmudullah faced an axe after the England series at home in March this year following his bad patch with the willow.

Tamim however missed the Asia Cup due to his recurring back injury.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan was in rest along with Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and the pace trio of Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Shoriful Islam.

Liton Das will lead the side in absence of Shakib.

There was no place for batters Naim Sheikh, Afif Hossain, and Shamim Patwari who were all part of the squad that played in the Asia Cup.

Alongside Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad, Soumya Sarkar, and Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan also returned to the side.

The uncapped players in the squad are left-hander Zakir Hasan, pacer Syed Khaled Ahmed, and leg-spinner Rishad Hossain.

"The decision to rest players was taken in consideration of the World Cup in India which will be a long tournament where ensuring the mental and physical fitness of the cricketers will be very important. The series against New Zealand provides us an opportunity to take a look at some other players as well ahead of this major event," Chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nanni said here today.

"The squad is a blend of experience and youth and only Zakir, Khaled and Rishad have not featured in ODIs yet. Zakir was very close to playing against Ireland in March before he suffered an unfortunate injury. Khaled has done well in his list A career and Rishad offers a different dimension to our bowling attack."

The Bangladesh team will commence training on September 19 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

The three ODIs against New Zealand are slated to be held on September 21, 23 and 26. All of the matches will be held in Mirpur.

Squad (for 1st & 2nd ODIs): Liton Das (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Zakir Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Khaled Ahmed.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) today supported about 42,000 students in 140 government primary schools in two upazilas of Cox's Bazar under the school feeding programme.

The USDA provided the assistance in Cox's Bazar Sadar and Ukhiya upazila as the United States has supported the national school feeding programmes in Bangladesh through the USDA, the McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programme, for over two decades, said a press release here.

Their financial support with World Food Programme's (WFP) technical assistance has been critical to the success achieved through the national school feeding programme, it said.

According to the release, school feeding helps combat child hunger and poor nutrition, promote good eating habits among children and improve livelihood opportunities for their communities.

With the provision of nutritious and tasty fortified biscuits as morning snacks, complemented by teacher training, and relevant education and nutrition support, millions of children's lives have changed for the better thanks to improved health, nutrition and learning outcomes.

Since 2010, school enrollment and attendance has increased and students' reading and writing proficiency improved under the national school feeding programme.

This week, experts from USDA, including Richard Higgins, Stephanie Gaffney, along with their colleagues have come to Bangladesh to see impact of USDA's support. They will visit school feeding activities implemented by WFP in Cox's Bazar, Ukhiya, WFP's warehouse in Chattogram, and a biscuit production factory in Khulna.

"By providing school meals, teacher training, and related education and nutrition support, the McGovern-Dole project has helped boost school enrollment, increase attendance, and improve reading outcomes and literacy results," said Richard Higgins.

"WFP has helped to bring our vision into fruition and we look forward to furthering our fruitful partnership", Higgins added.

"School feeding is more than just filling the empty stomachs of hungry children. It is a sound strategy to combat child hunger and poor nutrition, promoting good eating habits among children and improving livelihood opportunities for their communities," said Dom Scalpelli, Country Director of WFP Bangladesh.

"We are thankful to USDA for its longstanding partnership and generous support, which has been critical to WFP and our assistance to the Government of Bangladesh in their efforts to continuing expanding school feeding to reach more children," he added.

The visit of the USDA comes at a time when the government is planning to start the country's next national school feeding programme. In July, Bangladesh became a member of the International School Meal Coalition (SMC) when the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh made the commitment during the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment in Rome.

Support from USDA remains critical to the successful roll-out of the new school feeding programme, from development, testing and scale up of the systems and structures for the new modality. National School Feeding Programme will significantly contribute towards the development of children, the future of Bangladesh.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha