Author: space4knews

The beautification of Badki Pokhari located in Malangwa Municipality-7, Sarlahi, was initiated by the Madhesh Province government in the fiscal year 2076/77. A contract worth NPR 61,293,355 was signed in Ashwin 2077 (September/October 2020) for the project, yet only 23.58 percent of the work has been completed to date. Despite multiple deadline extensions, local residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the unfinished work and the performance of both the government and the construction company.

Badki Pokhari in Musaili has been a central place of religious faith, social gatherings, and events for local residents for many years. It becomes particularly crowded with devotees during the Chhath festival. When the Madhesh Province government launched the beautification plan under the ‘Chief Minister’s Cleanliness Campaign’ in fiscal year 2076/77, it generated considerable enthusiasm among the locals. However, nearly six years after the project started, the beautification remains incomplete.

The project has also impacted the income of the local school. The pond belongs to Shri Baudhidevi Janata Secondary School, which used to lease it annually for fish farming. Before the beautification began, the pond had been leased for five years at NPR 11.7 million. Principal Devendra Dubey stated that the school has been losing over NPR 2 million annually due to the halted leasing arrangement.

Isa Mikrani, Ward Chairperson of Malangwa Municipality-7, Musaili, has repeatedly raised these concerns with the relevant authorities but reports no response. He mentioned, “Our only remaining option now appears to be protests and hunger strikes.” Furthermore, the Infrastructure Development Office has indicated that the project deadline has been extended multiple times in contractual agreements with the construction company. Locals continue to express discontent with both the government bodies and the construction firm involved.

Former Supreme Court Justice Harigovind Singh Pradhan passed away on Wednesday. In mourning his death, the Supreme Court has decided that no court sessions will be conducted on Thursday. Kathmandu, 7 Jestha — The Supreme Court administration announced that in commemoration of the passing of former Justice Harigovind Singh Pradhan, no court sessions will be held today, Thursday.

The author shares the experience of spotting the 533rd lifer, a rare white-eyed gull, in the United States. The article highlights the breeding behavior in red-billed gulls, where males and females of different colors take turns protecting and caring for the nest. A study from Cambridge University is also mentioned, suggesting that birds may recognize their own reflection and show variations in song learning.

On Sunday morning, I woke up before fully opening my eyes and glanced at my phone. Aside from two or three important apps, I didn’t have many notifications. Among those active notifications was one from Group Me — a messaging app similar to Discord that many bird watchers use. Usually, Group Me doesn’t buzz with many messages unless a rare or unusual bird is spotted. Seeing the notification, I quickly checked and read “Garganey in southern Minnesota.” The garganey, known as the white-eyed teal in Nepali, is a bird found in Asia and Europe but is extremely rare and migratory in the United States. While I had previously seen the white-eyed teal at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, this sighting would be a lifer for me in America.

At that time, my American lifer count stood at 532. Determined not to miss the 533rd, we traveled three hours to the location. By the time we arrived, it was midday. At the edge of a field, in a water pool, there were many ducks. We scanned carefully but didn’t see the white-eyed teal. The other ducks in the pool appeared similar from a distance. We waited, watching closely. After a while, a different flock of ducks landed there. I diligently scanned with my binoculars and spotted one that looked different from the rest—it was the white-eyed teal! The sought-after bird was finally found!

7 Jestha, Biratnagar – The Koshi Province government is set to unveil its annual policy and program for the fiscal year 2082/83 today. The budget session of Koshi Province commenced on Wednesday. During the second meeting today, the government will present its policy and program. Provincial Chief Preshuram Khapung is scheduled to introduce the policy and program during the Provincial Assembly session at 3 PM.

Under the leadership of Hikmat Kumar Karki, the government has prepared the policy and program focusing on agriculture, tourism, infrastructure development, and job creation as its key priorities. Based on this policy and program, the government plans to present the annual budget for fiscal year 2083/84 on the 1st of Ashad.

The United States has charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with the murder of American citizens and involvement in two plane crashes between Cuba and Florida in 1996. The indictment, made public on Wednesday, alleges that Castro and five others are responsible for the deaths of four people, including three American citizens, in crashes involving planes linked to a Cuban-American group called ‘Brothers.’ At the time of the incidents, the 94-year-old Castro was head of Cuba’s armed forces and faced international criticism over the events.

As the US increases pressure on Cuba’s communist government, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has dismissed the US charges as “political maneuvers without any legal basis.” Speaking at the Freedom Tower in Miami, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced four separate murder charges against Castro related to the downing of planes and resulting deaths.

“The United States and President Trump do not forget, and should not forget, their citizens,” Blanche stated. These charges will be prosecuted in American courts, and some could carry life sentences. At a time when Cuba is attempting political and economic reforms under its one-party system, the US Justice Department has targeted a senior figure from the communist regime.

Responding to the US State Department’s statements, Cuban President Díaz-Canel accused the US of spreading falsehoods and collectively punishing the Cuban people. He described the charges against former leader Castro as an “attempt to legitimize a military attack against Cuba” and expressed objections to the American allegations, asserting that facts about the plane crashes have been distorted.

May 21, Dolpa. A patient affected by a lake-related incident in the upper region of the mountainous district of Dolpa has been rescued. The Dolpa District Police Office reported that a man named Chandra Bahadur Chaudhary, approximately 30 years old, from Madhuwan Municipality-2, Ganga Patuwa in Bardiya, was rescued by a Nepalese Army helicopter from Saldang, She-Foksundo Rural Municipality-3, located in the northern area of upper Dolpa.
According to police, Chaudhary had arrived in Saldang on May 16 from Lalitpur via Mustang to repair an excavator registered under the name of Foksundo Rural Municipality with the registration number Ba 1 Ga 3636, under the Jagdamba Engineer Company. On the morning of May 17 around 11:30 AM, he suddenly developed breathing difficulties and was taken to the Saldang health post for treatment. Since the local health post could not provide adequate medication or treatment, with coordination led by Rural Municipality Chairperson Dhawa Sumdung Gurung, he was evacuated by a Nepalese Army helicopter on Tuesday for advanced treatment at the Province Hospital in Surkhet, according to the police.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has announced applications for the positions of Chairperson of the Press Council, Chairperson of the Public Service Broadcasting Organization, and Managing Director of the Gorkhapatra Corporation. The deadline to submit applications is set for 18th Jestha, with detailed information available on the ministry’s official website.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Balendra, the government has canceled previous political appointments and initiated a new recruitment process by issuing this advertisement. On 7th Jestha in Kathmandu, applications were officially invited for these prestigious positions. The last date to apply is 18th Jestha.

Following the formation of the Balendra-led government after the House of Representatives election held on 21st Falgun, all political appointments made by the former administration were annulled. This announcement marks the initiation of a fresh recruitment process. The application forms, eligibility criteria, required documents, and further details have been published in the official notification on the Ministry of Information and Communications’ website.

A highly powerful instrument equipped with 5,000 fiber-optic sensors has produced an immense map of the universe. This unprecedentedly large map challenges current understandings of our cosmos. Located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA, the device called the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has captured images of over 47 million galaxies and quasars, as well as more than 20 million stars. This number is six times greater than the total number of galaxies and other cosmic objects counted previously. These images depict objects approximately 11 billion light-years away, meaning DESI has photographed galaxies from the early stages of the universe’s formation. According to astronomer Luz Angela Garcia from ECCI University in Colombia, this era dates back roughly 13.7 billion years.

This map enhances our understanding of galaxy structures and their formation processes while providing new clues about “dark energy,” a major scientific mystery until now. Over five years, DESI has mapped one-third of the sky. Remarkably, the instrument measured more than 100,000 galaxies in a single night. The light emitted by these galaxies enters the device through fiber-optic detectors, allowing measurement of their spectra, which helps calculate the extent of the universe’s expansion. Another significant achievement of DESI is offering a new perspective on dark energy. It is believed that dark energy constitutes 70 percent of the universe and acts as a force driving its expansion.

Until now, dark energy has been regarded as the “cosmological constant,” a concept Albert Einstein incorporated into his general relativity equations. Clare Cameron, in an article published in Scientific American, explains that this concept assumes the universe is expanding steadily. This new discovery reinforces the idea that dark energy is not constant but evolves over time, strengthening the theory of a dynamic, developing dark energy.