Author: space4knews

May 27, Kathmandu – Geoffrey Wall, a former pilot of Canadian airline Air Canada, has been accused of operating commercial flights for 17 years using a fraudulent license. According to Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich, the accused endangered the safety of thousands of passengers. Wall faces charges including fraud amounting to over $5,000, public mischief, use of forged documents, and possession of a fake certificate. The 59-year-old was arrested on June 1.

This case came to light following Transport Canada’s investigation, which uncovered irregularities in Wall’s documents. Authorities stated that Wall began his aviation career in 1998 and, by 2009, had managed to become a pilot-in-command, or captain, using a counterfeit certificate. He subsequently operated flights carrying thousands of passengers for several years. The deception was only uncovered last year during a routine operational inspection by Transport Canada at Pearson Airport, where his documentation raised concerns.

Following this, a thorough investigation codenamed ‘Project Icarus’ was launched. Investigators are currently examining how the accused forged these documents and managed to evade oversight for such an extended period. (With agency assistance)

27 Jestha, Kathmandu – The timing of the fourth meeting of the Central Policy, Research, and Training Institute of Nepali Congress has been rescheduled. Acting Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Dulal informed that the change was made due to special reasons. According to him, the meeting will now be held today, Wednesday, at 1 PM. Earlier, the unit had set the meeting time for 11 AM.

Dulal stated that four agenda items have been set for the meeting. These include presentations of concept papers by subcommittee coordinators, a discussion on the proposed internal code of conduct, assigning responsibilities for additional subcommittees, and deliberations on current and miscellaneous topics.

The government has amended land regulations to manage the landless and informal settlers across the country within the next 600 days. The tenure for problem-solving and district committees has been set at 500 days, with a provision to extend an additional 100 days if necessary. According to the regulations, landless individuals will not be eligible for land in areas deemed risky from religious, cultural, environmental, or forest perspectives.

May 10, Kathmandu — The government has decided to regularize landless and informal settlers within the upcoming 600-day period. The Land-Related Regulation 2021 was amended to establish problem-solving committees. According to the new regulation, the government will appoint the chairpersons of these committees, which are empowered to identify landless and informal settlers and undertake necessary actions.

The revised regulation mandates that the three-member committee include one female member. The committee’s secretary will be a first-class gazetted officer appointed by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs, and General Administration. Members must have at least 10 years of experience in land or natural resource management. Additionally, each district will form a Land Problem-Solving Committee.

The committee’s tenure will last 500 days from the date of formation, extendable by up to 100 days if work remains incomplete. In districts with over 5,000 applications, the district committee’s tenure will be 500 days; 200 days for districts with 1,000 to 5,000 applications; and 150 days for those with fewer than 1,000 applications. The land allocation and management of informal settlers must be finalized within this timeframe.

Chief District Officers will serve as chairpersons of the district committees. Committee members will include senior administrative officers designated by the Chief District Officer from local government, district coordination office heads, land administration office chiefs, division forest office chiefs, and district administration officers. The head of the Survey Department will function as secretary.

The committee will establish criteria and standards for identifying and certifying landless Dalits, landless squatters, and informal settlers. Local governments will receive approved formats for collecting necessary documents. Land mapping and verification will be conducted by the Survey Committee for those who have resided continuously since Magh 28, 2066 (mid-February 2010), to facilitate land allocation.

The government will transfer only state land—excluding lands reserved by law, riverbanks, and government-owned lands acquired beyond legal limits—to landless Dalits and squatters. Furthermore, government land opened for special purposes or acquired but unused by projects may also be allocated to landless or squatter communities.

The committee may provide land to the landless from government custodial land and various publicly managed land types including ‘aelani,’ ‘parti,’ ‘aankada,’ ‘hale,’ ‘pate,’ ‘koda,’ ‘birota,’ ‘kipat,’ and ‘ukhda.’ Assistance can also be extended to informal settlers residing in industrial areas.

Using data collected from local governments, the committee will develop an analysis system to classify informal settlers’ land and collect fees after land allocation. The committee is authorized to relocate unsafe settlements or manage them through integrated settlement development. Certain powers cannot be delegated to individual members or district committees.

Management responsibility applies only to government land registered in the name of Nepal’s government when accommodating landless Dalits, squatters, and informal settlers. The committee will classify informal settlers based on data provided by local governments and publicly disclose this information. Corrections can be requested within 15 days by submitting an application to the local government.

If an application is filed, the committee must decide within 21 days after receiving local government recommendations. Upon successfully providing land to landless Dalits and squatters, the government will dissolve the committees. All records, work documentation, and decisions must be handed over to the ministry upon dissolution.

The district committee’s decisions on land allocation and management, certified registrations, and records will be transferred to the land and survey office. Under the Land Act, land cannot be allocated in areas of religious, cultural, strategic importance, natural disaster risk zones, public land, rivers, canals, national parks, conservation areas, forest lands, or within road boundaries.

Similarly, land required by federal, provincial, or local governments for official purposes is also exempt from allocation.

The United States has launched a series of retaliatory strikes against Iran in response to Iran’s downing of an American helicopter. The US military targeted Iranian air defense systems, command centers, and radar installations. According to Iranian official media reports, explosions were heard in the Persian Gulf region.

“This mission was carried out in response to Iran’s unjustified attack,” stated the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in a press release. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that, in retaliation to the US strikes, a drone attack was carried out on the US naval base in Bahrain. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said that Iran had shot down a US helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM reported that two crew members of the Apache helicopter were rescued by a US naval drone. This marks the first public confirmation of such a device being used for a rescue mission. US officials indicated they had intelligence that Iran had attacked the helicopter using a drone; however, an American official stated it remains unclear whether the Iranian side deliberately targeted the US helicopter.

Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr News has denied Iran’s involvement in the helicopter downing incident. In a telephone interview with ABC News, President Trump attributed the recent US strikes directly to Iran. “What they did to our helicopter was the reason for our response. I believe our response had to be much stronger and more forceful, and it was,” he said.

Iran accused the US of carrying out the strikes under false pretenses. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for the withdrawal of US forces from the region and warned of keeping safe. He asserted that Iran would “never stop responding” to any attack. “Even if defeated on the battlefield, America is testing how it can challenge our resolve,” he wrote on Twitter. He also noted that foreign troops near Iranian territory face risks from human error, accidents, and crossfire. “The best way to reduce those risks is for foreign forces to leave,” he added on Twitter.

In the Suryadarsan cooperative scam case, UML-affiliated leader Mahendra Bhote, who was in custody, has been released on a bail of NPR 500,000 after agreeing to pay NPR 170 million as bail amount. With the approval of the Attorney General, the money laundering and organized crime case against accused including Ravi Lamichhane has been withdrawn by the court. While Gitendrababu Rai, one of the key figures in the Suryadarsan and other cooperative scams, is reportedly in Malaysia, he remains at large.

May 26, Kathmandu. Mahendra Bhote, who was imprisoned in connection with the Suryadarsan cooperative scam case operating in Pokhara, was released on Monday. He was granted release on bail after agreeing to pay a bail amount of NPR 170 million and depositing NPR 500,000. The Kaski District Court bench, presided over by Judge Himalal Belbase, ordered his release on bail. Bhote is a leader of the youth wing affiliated with the CPN-UML and had been defeated in the recent local elections for the chairmanship of Madi Rural Municipality.

The case initially demanded a compensation sum totaling NPR 1,113,443,045 to the complainants. In the Suryadarsan cooperative scam case, other accused including National Independent Party Chairman Ravi Lamichhane and former DIG Shivlal Joshi have already been released. Lamichhane was released on bail on January 18, after depositing the bail amount for compensation. Despite multiple releases of others involved in the cooperative scams, the main figure Gitendrababu Rai remains a fugitive. He is known as a chief suspect in scams relating not only to Pokhara’s Suryadarsan cooperative but also Kathmandu’s Swarnalakshmi, Butwal’s Supreme, Chitwan’s Sahara, and Parsa’s Sanopailla cooperatives.

Due to suspicions that he was residing in Malaysia, a Nepal Police team went there in 2024 seeking him, locating him at that time. However, diplomatic correspondence with the Malaysian government failed to facilitate his return to Nepal. A red notice has been issued against Rai by Interpol. It is believed that Gitendrababu Rai has invested more than NPR 100 million obtained through cooperative scams in Malaysia.

पुरुष फिफा विश्वकपका विजेताहरूको भविष्यवाणी गर्ने प्रयासले समयसँगै विभिन्न मोडहरू लिएका छन्। अहिलेका दिनमा यो विषयमा सुपरकम्प्युटरहरू, फुटबलप्रेमीहरू जसले गहिरो ज्ञान राख्छन्, र तथाकथित ज्योतिषीहरूबीच प्रतिस्पर्धा चलिरहेको छ। जर्मन वित्तीय विश्लेषक जोआचिम क्लिमेन्ट, जसले अघिल्लो तीनवटा प्रतियोगिताका विजेताहरू सही पूर्वानुमान गरेका कारण ध्यानाकर्षण पाएका छन्, शीर्ष टोलीहरूबीच भाग्य र संयोगका महत्वपूर्ण भूमिकाहरूलाई जोड दिएका छन्। बीबीसी स्पोर्टसँगको कुराकानीमा उनले भने, “कुनै टिमको हालको ‘फर्म’, निर्णायकको निर्णय, वा उक्त दिन बल गोलपोस्ट वा क्रसबारमा तानो पर्ने घटनाहरू ‘पूर्ण रूपमा पूर्वानुमान गर्न सकिँदैन।'”

तर इतिहास हेर्दा, ट्रफीका लागि प्रतिस्पर्धा गर्ने टिमहरूले केही महत्वपूर्ण पक्षहरूलाई ध्यानमा राख्नुपर्छ, जसमध्ये केही अचम्म लाग्ने कुरा पनि छन्। अहिलेसम्म विश्व फुटबल कर्निभलमा सहभागी भएका ८४ मुलुकमध्ये केवल आठ देशहरूले मात्र उपाधि जित्न सफल भएका छन्। ती आठ च्याम्पियन राष्ट्रहरू हुन् अर्जेन्टिना, ब्राजिल, इङ्ल्यान्ड, फ्रान्स, जर्मनी, इटाली, स्पेन, र उरुग्वे। अहिलेसम्म १३ राष्ट्र विश्वकप फाइनलमा पुगेका छन्, र केही टिमहरूले धेरै पटक फाइनलको अनुभव लिएका छन्। जर्मनीले आठ पटक फाइनल खेलेको छ, ब्राजिलले सात पटक, जबकी अर्जेन्टिना र इटालीले प्रत्येकले छ पटक फाइनल पुगेका छन्।

नयाँ देशलाई विश्व च्याम्पियन बन्न कठिन देखिन्छ। अन्तिम पटक नयाँ विजेता २०१० मा देखा पर्‍यो जब स्पेनले इतिहास बनायो। नेदरल्याण्ड्सले विश्वकप फाइनलमा तीन पटक खेलेका छन् तर कहिले पनि उपाधि जित्न सकेका छैनन्। क्लिमेन्टले नेदरल्याण्ड्सले २०२६ विश्वकप जित्ने भविष्यवाणी गरेका छन्। २००२ मा दक्षिण कोरिया एशियाली पहिलो टिम बने जो सेमिफाइनलसम्म पुगे, र २०२२ मा मोरोक्कोले अफ्रिकाबाट सेमिफाइनलमा पुग्दै इतिहास रचे। २०१४ मा जर्मनी पहिलो यूरोपियन टिम बने जसले ल्याटिन अमेरिकी माटोमा विश्वकप जित्यो। १९३० मा उरुग्वेको आयोजना गरिएको पहिलो फिफा विश्वकपदेखि २०२२ मा कतारमा आयोजना गरिएको प्रतियोगितासम्म, आफ्नो घर महाद्वीप बाहिर विश्वकप जित्नु दुर्लभ घटना रहयो। २२ प्रतियोगिताबाट यो कार्य केवल छ पटक मात्र सफल भएको छ। ब्राजिलले दक्षिण अमेरिका बाहिर १९५८, १९९४, र २००२ मा उपाधि जित्यो; स्पेनले २०१० मा; जर्मनीले २०१४ मा; र अर्जेन्टिनाले २०२२ मा।

Instagram has rolled out a long-awaited feature for its users, enabling them to reorder their profile posts at will for the first time. Starting Monday, June 8, users can now customize the arrangement of posts on their profiles, a function previously limited to chronological display only. This new ‘Grid Reordering’ feature offers full control over the profile’s layout.

According to a statement from Meta, this feature is designed to help users highlight different phases of their lives, showcase older content with renewed focus, or prominently display key projects. To use the feature, users need to visit their profile, press and hold any post (long press), then select the ‘Grid Reordering’ option from the pop-up menu. From there, posts can be easily dragged to preferred positions within the grid. However, posts and Reels that are pinned remain fixed at the top of the profile.