Nepal
Bangladesh women's football team reach Nepal
A 32-member national women's football team reached Nepal Monday on a chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines to play two FIFA tier-1 international football friendly matches against the hosts.
Bangladesh team landed in Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:30am Nepal time and got tested for Covid-19 at the team hotel in Kathmandu.
Read: Women's Football: Brahmanbaria become group champions outplaying Cox's Bazar 4-1
After receiving their Covid reports Tuesday, the touring Bangladesh players will start practising in the afternoon.
The touring Bangladesh team will play against Nepal on September 9 and 12 at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu ahead of their AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 India qualifiers.
The match on Thursday will be the first international fixture for the national women's team in more than two and a half years after playing the semifinal of the SAFF Championship against India in March 2019.
After playing two matches in Nepal, Bangladesh women's team will directly fly to Uzbekistan on September 14 to play the qualifying round of the AFC Women's Asian Cup there from September 19-24.
In Group G, Bangladesh will face Jordan on September 19 and Iran on September 22 in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
Read:Bangladesh women's football team to leave for Nepal Monday
Bangladesh players
Yasmin Akhter, Masura Parvin, Nargis Khatun, Nilufa Yesmin Nila, Shamsunnahar Jr, Sheuli Azim, Mishrat Jahan Moushumi, Maria Manda, Monika Chakma, Krishna Rani Sarkar, Sanjida Akhter, Marzia, Sirat Jahan Shopna, Sabina Khatun, Shamsunnahar Sr, Tohura Khatun, Sohagi Kisku, Sathi Biswas, Nasrin Akhter, Anuching Mogini, Ritu Porna Chakma, Rupna Chakma and Akhi Khatun
Officials
Zakir Hossain Chowdhury (team leader), Amirul Islam (team manager), Paul Thomas Smalley (technical director of the Bangladesh Football Federation), Golam Rabbani Chotan (head coach), Mahbubur Rahman Litu and Mahmuda Akhter (assistant coach), Biplob Bhattacharjee (goalkeeping coach), Saeed Hasan (media officer) and Laizu Yeasmin Lipa (physio)
Bangladesh women's football team to leave for Nepal Monday
A 31-member national women's football team will fly to Nepal early Monday on a chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines to play two FIFA tier-1 international football friendly matches against the hosts.
The touring Bangladesh team will play against Nepal on September 8 and 12 at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu ahead of their AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 India qualifiers.
Read: Women's Football: Brahmanbaria beat Mymensingh 3-1 to reach semifinal
The qualifying round of the AFC Women's Asian Cup will be held in Uzbekistan from September 19-24.
In Group G, Bangladesh will face Jordan on September 19 and Iran on September 22, both in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
PM Hasina congratulates Nepalese PM Deuba, hopes to strengthen ties
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday congratulated newly appointed Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and expressed hope that his new leadership will further deepen the excellent relations between their two close neighbours.
"Your return to the high position for the fifth time and the overwhelming support extended to you by the Parliament of Nepal on 18 July 2021, is a testimony to the trust and confidence the people and the political leadership of Nepal have on your leadership," she said in the congratulatory message.
Sheikh Hasina stated that as close neighbours, Bangladesh and Nepal enjoy excellent bilateral ties that are based on multiple commonalities and shared linkages, said a media release of PM’s press wing.
Also read: PM congratulates Tigers for win against Zimbabwe
She expressed her deep confidence that under Deuba’s able leadership the existing multifarious cooperation between Bangladesh and Nepal will further be deepened through exploring the untapped opportunities in potential sectors of collaboration.
She recalled the recent visit by the President of Nepal to Bangladesh which, she said, added “immense value to our celebrations of the twin epochal events of the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh.”
She stressed that Bangladesh is on its way to translating the dream of the Father of the Nation for “Sonar Bangla” into a reality by becoming a developing economy by 2021 and a developed economy by 2041.
Also read: Prime Minister congratulates Tigers for ODI series win against West Indies
The Premier said Nepal can benefit from Bangladesh’s socio-economic development.
She reiterated that the relationship between the two countries that was forged when the leadership of Nepali Congress extended support to Bangladesh during the Liberation War in 1971 will continue to expand and deepen in the years ahead.
She extended invitation to Deuba to visit Bangladesh at his earliest convenience.
Official says Nepal desperately needs vaccines
Nepal has significantly reduced coronavirus infections after its worst outbreak, which overwhelmed the country’s medical system, but is in desperate need of vaccines, its health minister said Thursday.
“We have gone down from the red stage to the yellow stage, but are not yet able to reach the green zone,” Health Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We are working very hard to get us there.”
Nepal has been under lockdown since April after new cases and deaths spiked following a massive outbreak in neighboring India.
Also read: Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge
Close to 10,000 new cases and hundreds of deaths were reported daily in mid-May, when the surge was at its worst. There was an acute shortage of hospital beds, medicines and oxygen for patients.
In the capital, Kathmandu, doctors treated patients in hospital corridors, verandahs and parking lots, and ambulances were turned back due to a lack of space. There were long lines at oxygen plants to fill cylinders.
After weeks of lockdown, the situation has improved. The number of new cases on Thursday was 2,607 along with 39 deaths, according to the Health Ministry.
Nepal launched a vaccination campaign in January but was forced to suspend it after India halted exports of domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccines because of its own outbreak. China then donated 800,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine in March and another 1 million earlier this month.
Still, only about 8.5% of the population has received one shot and about 2.5% have been fully immunized.
Also read: Bangladesh stands by Nepal in its Covid-19 crisis
“The main issue for us is vaccines, and unless we get vaccines we cannot say everyone is safe,” Tamang said. “We have been appealing to all countries manufacturing vaccines to please provide us with some.”
About 1.4 million elderly Nepalese received an initial dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March but now are unsure when they can get a second dose as the government struggles to acquire the vaccine.
Tamang said the government has set aside funds to purchase vaccines, and both the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are providing money as well, so funds are not currently a problem.
COVAX, the U.N.-backed project to supply vaccines to poor regions of the world, pledged Nepal 2 million doses by March but has only provided 248,000 because it also is facing a serious shortage.
“We were supposed to get vaccines from the COVAX facility, but we feel like we have fallen to the lowest priority position on their list,” Tamang said.
He said new regulations have been adopted to allow any vaccine producer to come to Nepal to run vaccine trials, and if possible produce them, with all fees waived.
Also read: China cancels Everest climbs over fears of virus from Nepal
With the emergency phase now over, the country needs to focus on improving its medical facilities and equipment to prepare for future disease outbreaks, Tamang said.
He noted that Nepal has received planeloads of emergency supplies such as oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, face masks, gloves and other medical goods from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Australia.
“We are very thankful to all the donors who came to help us in our time of need but now we are urging the donors to please give us ICU beds, ventilators, X-ray machines and equipment to test for other diseases too,” Tamang said.
Guide: Over 100 virus cases on Everest despite Nepal denials
A coronavirus outbreak on Mount Everest has infected at least 100 climbers and support staff, an expert mountaineering guide said, giving the first comprehensive estimate amid official Nepalese denials that the disease has spread to the world’s highest peak.
Lukas Furtenbach of Austria, who last week became the only prominent outfitter to halt his Everest expedition due to virus fears, said Saturday one of his foreign guides and six Nepali Sherpa guides have tested positive.
“I think with all the confirmed cases we know now — confirmed from (rescue) pilots, from insurance, from doctors, from expedition leaders — I have the positive tests so we can prove this,” Furtenbach told The Associated Press in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
“We have at least 100 people minimum positive for COVID in base camp, and then the numbers might be something like 150 or 200,” he said.
Read: Nepal president dissolves Parliament; elections in November
He said it was obvious there were many cases at the Everest base camp because he could visibly see people were sick, and could hear people coughing in their tents.
A total of 408 foreign climbers were issued permits to climb Everest this season, aided by several hundred Sherpas and support staff who’ve been stationed at base camp since April.
Nepalese mountaineering officials have denied there are any active cases this season among climbers and support staff at all base camps for the country’s Himalayan mountains. Mountaineering was closed last year due to the pandemic.
Nepalese officials could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday. Other climbing teams have not announced any COVID-19 infections among their members or staff. Several climbers have reported testing positive after they were brought down from the Everest base camp.
Furtenbach said most teams on the mountain were not carrying virus testing kits, and that before his team pulled out, they had helped conduct tests and had confirmed two cases.
Read:China cancels Everest climbs over fears of virus from Nepal
Most teams are still at base camp, hoping for clear weather next week so they can make a final push to the summit before the climbing season closes at the end of the month, Furtenbach said.
In late April, a Norwegian climber became the first to test positive at the Everest base camp. He was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was treated and later returned home.
Nepal is experiencing a virus surge, with record numbers of new infections and deaths. China last week canceled climbing from its side of Mount Everest due to fears the virus could be spread from the Nepalese side.
Nepal reported 8,607 new infections and 177 deaths on Friday, bringing the nation’s totals since the pandemic began to more than 497,000 infections and 6,024 deaths.
Nepal president dissolves Parliament; elections in November
Nepal’s president dissolved Parliament and announced fresh elections on Saturday after the prime minister, who was heading a minority government and was unlikely to secure a vote of confidence in the chamber, recommended the move.
A notice issued by President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s office set the elections for Nov. 12 and 19.
Nepal has been grappling with a political crisis at the same time it’s struggling with a coronavirus surge and record numbers of daily infections and deaths, amid acute shortages of hospital beds, medication and oxygen.
Last year, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli dissolved Parliament on his own due to feuds within his ruling Nepal Communist Party. However, several petitions were filed at the Supreme Court and the judges ordered Parliament to be reinstated.
The latest decision also is likely to be challenged in court and a decision could take weeks.
Read: Bangladesh stands by Nepal in its Covid-19 crisis
Oli had lost a vote of confidence earlier this month after a faction of his party refused to support him. He was again appointed to head a minority government but needed the support of half the lawmakers within a month to continue. It was, however, unlikely Oli could muster the vote.
He became prime minister after his Nepal Communist Party won two-thirds of seats in the 2017 parliamentary election. The strong showing gave hope of a stable, long-lasting government, but his party split earlier this year over differences concerning party leadership.
Oli has been criticized for giving too much attention to the party squabbles instead of the pandemic.
China cancels Everest climbs over fears of virus from Nepal
China has canceled attempts to climb Mount Everest from its side of the world’s highest peak because of fears of importing COVID-19 cases from neighboring Nepal, state media reported.
The closure was confirmed in a notice Friday from China’s General Administration of Sport, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The move reflects the abundance of caution China has taken in dealing with the pandemic. While China has mostly curbed domestic transmission of the coronavirus, Nepal is experiencing a surge with record numbers of new infections and deaths.
Read:EXPLAINER: Why did Mount Everest's height change?
China had issued permits to 38 people, all Chinese citizens, to climb the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) -high mountain this spring. Nepal has given permission to 408 people. Climbing was not allowed from either side last year because of the pandemic.
In Nepal, several climbers have reported testing positive for COVID-19 after they were brought down from the Everest base camp.
The month of May usually has the best weather for climbing Everest. Scores have reached the summit this week and more are expected to make attempts later this month once the weather improves. Two climbers have died on the Nepalese side, one Swiss and one American.
China earlier said it would set up a separation line at the peak and prohibit people on its side from coming into contact with anyone on the Nepalese side. It was unclear how that would be done.
Bangladesh stands by Nepal in its Covid-19 crisis
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday handed over medicines and health protection items to the Nepalese Ambassador in Dhaka Dr Banshidhor Mishra for the COVID affected people of Nepal amid the deteriorating situation in the Himalayan nation.
The Ministers handed over the items at a brief ceremony at State guesthouse Padma.
The Foreign Minister handed over a token box of Remdisivir Injection manufactured by BEXIMCO Pharma to the Ambassador as part of 5000 vials of Remdisivir to Nepal from SAARC COVID Emergency Fund created at the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Remdisivir was transported by Himalayan Airlines to Kathmandu on Tuesday, as arranged by the Nepalese Embassy in Dhaka.
Also read: Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge
The Health Minister handed over token boxes of Hydroxychloroquine tablets manufactured by Essential Drugs Company, PPE and masks for the friendly Nepalese people.
The Health Ministry is sending a substantive volume of these items which will be transported to Nepal by the Nepalese Embassy soon.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Health Services Division Secretary Lokman Hossain Miah were also present.
Thailand axes travel corridors with Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan
Thailand has shut its door to travellers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan after confirming cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 in the country.
"The Thai embassies in these countries have also stopped issuing certificates of entry for non-Thai nationals from May 10 until further notice," Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said.
The ban was slapped as health authorities Monday confirmed the country's first cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 in a Thai woman and her 4-year-old son who have been in quarantine after arriving from Pakistan.
The finding comes as Thailand fights against a new wave of the Covid-19 that began in April. Many of the recent cases involve the British variant of the virus – more infectious than the original form found last year.
Thailand banned travellers from India, other than its citizens, starting May 1 in response to the rising tide of Covid-19 cases in the South Asian nation that began in early April. India has reported more than 22.6 million infections, second only to the US, and more than 246,000 deaths. However, the experts believe both figures are undercounts.
Also read: 78 Bangladeshis, foreign nationals arrive from Thailand
Apisamai Srirangsan, a deputy spokesperson for Thailand's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration said: "The Indian variant was found in a pregnant 42-year-old woman who arrived on April 24 with three sons. She and her 4-year-old were staying in the same room under state quarantine. The two other sons, ages 6 and 8, stayed in another room and tested negative."
"The authorities are also worried about people who cross into Thailand illegally, mostly from neighbouring Cambodia and Myanmar," Apisamai added.
Thailand on Monday announced 1,630 new cases, bringing its confirmed cases to 85,005 since the pandemic began. There were 22 new deaths, for a total of 421.
New clusters continue to be discovered in Bangkok, not only in crowded communities but also at markets and department stores. Other clusters have been found among migrant workers at factories in two provinces near Bangkok, reports AP.
Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge
Across the border from a devastating surge in India, doctors in Nepal warned Friday of a major crisis as daily coronavirus cases hit a record and hospitals were running out of beds and oxygen.
Nepal reported 9,070 new confirmed cases on Thursday, compared to 298 a month ago. The number of fatalities also reached its highest with 58 on Wednesday and 54 on Thursday, for a total of 3,529.
“Right now there are no beds available today in any hospital that is treating COVID patients,” said Dr. Jyotindra Sharma, chief of Hospital for Advanced Medicine & Surgery in Kathmandu. “Even if any beds were made available, there is a huge scarcity of oxygen and we are not at the peak of this crisis.”
At the hospital, one of the leading facilities in Nepal for treating COVID-19 patients, extra beds were crammed to accommodate more people. They’ve all been taken and the only way to get admitted is through a waiting list.
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“In the extreme situation, people could be dying in the streets,” Sharma said, adding it’s “just not possible to immediately increase the capacity of the hospitals.”
At the government-run Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, several COVID-19 patients were lying in beds set up on the veranda and hooked to oxygen cylinder. They’re the lucky ones. Others were turned away because there’s not enough space or equipment.
“We are under-prepared, under-resourced, and under-capacitated to perform any thing that is expected,” said Dr. Bishal Dhakal, who has been working with coronavirus patients since the beginning of the pandemic.
A lockdown was imposed last month in major cities and towns, and Nepal this week stopped both domestic and international flights.
The government has pledged several times to increase the number of hospital beds and boost the treatment and preventive measures. However, there has not been any significant change.
Nepal began its vaccination campaign in January with 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca shots donated by India, but it had been suspended because of India’s refusal to allow exports as its crisis worsened.
The vaccination resumed when China donated 800,000 doses, and Nepal is negotiating with Russia for supplies of the Sputnik V shots.