Kathmandu, 20 May : Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has slashed load shedding by one hour a day effective from Friday.

Earlier, load shedding hours were limited to 77 hours a week.

Now the power outage time reduced to 70 hours a week and around 10 hours a day.

After water level rise in rivers due to rainfall, NEA had reduced the load shedding hours.

Kathmandu, 20 May : Chelsea captain John Terry has signed a another new one-year contract, making a surprise to his fan saying in January he would be leaving at the end of the season.

Terry, 35, had agreed a new deal that would take him into a 22nd season at Stamford Bridge which he joined from his childhood; club's website said.

The club said the decision had been taken after talks between Terry, incoming manager Antonio Conte, owner Roman Abramovich and the club's board.

Terry said, "I am delighted to sign a new contract with the club and I am looking forward to next season under the new manager and hopefully we can make it a successful one."

Chairman Bruce Buck said; "We are happy terry will spend another year with us. He has been the leader of the Chelsea squad throughout the most successful period in our history.

Terry, who had capped 78 times for England, has made 703 appearances, 570 as captain, and won every major honor with the club, including four Premier league titles and five FA Cups.

While travelling we have to check all the things are good, so that we could easily and happily enjoy our tour. One wrong step could be ruined our travel. Our vacation could be ruined by a seedy hotel room, an overpriced restaurant, a wasted afternoon at a tourist-trap attraction or an overnight flight crammed in the middle seat. Here's how to make all the right moves while travelling.

• Avoid water that is not bottled or boiled. Avoid raw vegetables and pre-cut fruit as much as possible. 
• Always hire a guide or trek with other people. There have been numerous disappearances of solo trekkers in recent years. There are online forums where travelers can look for fellow-trekkers. Always communicate your travel plans to your next of kin. 
• Even though Nepal is known for its pristine environment and beauty – not the highways and major city streets. They are crowded with traffic, full of smoke and bumpy and dusty. Hence travelling on a bicycle or a motorbike for the most part is not advisable. There are some off-road mountain bike trails that are ok to do.
• Do not give money to beggars on the streets. Even though they look pitiful, your giving away of money encourages them only to beg for more. If you really care support one of many charity organizations working in Nepal.
• Be sure to exchange back all the Nepalese currencies before you leave. They are not accepted (or even exchanged for that matter) outside of Nepal. Besides, taking currency out of the country is against the law.
• Do not fully rely on schedules and times that are committed to you whether in verbal or written while you are in Nepal. Have time buffer as much as you can between your major plans and activities, especially if you have a hard stop date that you need to fly out by.
• Always be alert/aware of “Bands” (Strikes – where no transportation is allowed) as they can alter all your travel plans substantially.
• Do not assume that “ganja” (marijuana) is legal in Nepal. It is not. Even though it is a common weed on hillsides you can get in trouble for picking it and carrying it for consumption purpose.
• Do not assume that when a Nepali says “yes” or shakes the head in affirmation that it is a done deal or they agree with you. Re-confirm using simplest of words but being as direct as possible to make sure.
• Stay away from dance bars in Kathmandu and Pokhara. These are tourist traps where they scam you on buying alcohol and food at much inflated prices.
• All nightlife pretty much ends by 10 pm with only a few places around the Thamel area that may stay open a little later.
• Bring a universal plug and voltage adapter kit for your Electronics. Nepal uses 220V.
• Always have some tissue paper and hand sanitizer with you at all times.
• Insist for a Running Meter in the Taxi. After 10 PM you do pay double of the meter fare however – that’s the commonly accepted norm.
• Avoid displaying food around monkeys around temples, as they are used to snatching it.

KATHMANDU, 19 May : Various Maoist splinter parties on Thursday announced the merger and renamed the unified party as the CPN Maoist (Centre).

The new name was endorsed by the dissolved UCPN (Maoist), CPN (Maoist-Revolutionary), CPN (Maoist), Revolutionary Communist Party, CPN (Maoist) Rebel faction, Naya Shakti Nepal and others.

The 10 parties and factions also chose UCPN-Maoist Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal as Chairman of the unified party.

On the occasion, Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said, the new party he was heading would take the communist movement to a new height and materialize the dream and aspirations of the Nepali people.

He hope that the new party would be successful to bring changes by addressing the issues of the families of disappeared, fighters, and the people injured in the conflict.

Dahal hailed the republic, secularism, proportional inclusiveness as the achievements of the party. He also ruled out the possibility of the restoration of the monarchy.

According to him, implementation of constitution is a priority for the party.

It has been learned that the unified party would have a 699-member central committee.

Earlier, on Saturday, the parties had signed an 13-point base for unification.

Kathmandu, 19 May : Nine passengers were killed in a bus accident in Tamakhani, Jita of Lamjung on Thursday afternoon. The passenger bus (Na 6 Kha 4136) met with an accident.

The bus veered off the road and fell some 400 meters down the hill, senior constable of District Traffic Police Office senor Bhumiraj Ghimire said.

12 passengers are injured with nine reported to be in critical condition, police said.

The bus driver is on the run.

Kathmandu, 18 May : Presumptive US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he is willing to meet North Korea's leader to discuss its nuclear programme.

"I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him," the businessman said of Kim Jong-un.

Such a meeting would mark a significant change of US policy towards the politically isolated regime.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton decried Mr Trump's "bizarre fascination with foreign strongmen".

The statement, delivered by one of her aides, added that Mr Trump's foreign policy "made no sense".

In a separate interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said he "absolutely had regrets" about his nine-month campaign, but that if had not conducted himself in the way he had, he would not have been successful.

The BBC has also learned that Mr Trump could visit the UK before the presidential election in November.

Diplomats expect his visit to the UK could happen after he formally becomes the Republican party candidate at a convention in July.

Earlier this week Mr Trump said "it looks like we're not going to have a very good relationship" with the UK.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and new London Mayor Sadiq Khan have harshly criticised Mr Trump's proposed ban on Muslims coming to the US.

Pressure on China
Mr Trump's comments about North Korea came in an interview with Reuters news agency late on Tuesday, in which he also expressed disapproval of Russian President Vladimir Putin's military actions in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Putin is a figure who Mr Trump has previously said he respects.

On the subject of North Korea, the New York property developer said he would pursue face-to-face talks and added that he would also put pressure on China, as North Korea's only major ally.

"I would put a lot of pressure on China because economically we have tremendous power over China. People don't realise that," he said.

"China can solve that problem with one meeting or one phone call."

Following Mr Trump's comments, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei as saying that Beijing "supports direct dialogue and communication between the US and North Korea", adding: "We think this is a very conducive thing to do."
- BBC

Kathmandu, 16 May : Police in Colombia say they have seized their largest ever domestic haul of illegal drugs - nearly eight tonnes of cocaine.

The drugs had been hidden on a banana plantation near the north-western coastal town of Turbo.

President Juan Manuel Santos congratulated officers on Twitter, saying: "Operation in Turbo seized the greatest amount in our history."
Police say the drugs belonged to Clan Usuga, a criminal gang.

Three suspects were arrested and another three escaped, a statement read.

Nearly 1.5 tonnes of the drugs had been wrapped "and ready to go out to the export market", Defence Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said.

It was the largest seizure of cocaine on Colombian territory although there may have been slightly larger cocaine seizures at sea, he added.

Clan Usuga is mainly engaged in drug trafficking but has also been accused of extortion, illegal mining, forced disappearances and murder, correspondents say.

Colombian police estimate the gang has about 2,000 active members.

Over the past five years, the security forces have captured 6,700 members of the group.

Earlier this month, the Colombian government said it would launch air raids against gangs involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

The new strategy specifically targets three gangs - Clan Usuga, Los Pelusos and Los Puntilleros.
- BBC

The problem of thinning hair may rise with the age of an individual as well as menopause, pregnancy, genetics, illness etc. Common causes of thinning hair include hormonal imbalance, protein deficiency and so on. An individual should increase the intake of protein rich items to obtain strong and healthy hair.

Different and simple home remedies can be used to treat the problem of thinning hair.

- Coconut oil is excellent for hair. A mixture of coconut oil (4 tablespoons) and lime juice (2 teaspoons) is good for treating the problem of thinning hair.

- Massaging scalp with olive oil can be another effective way to tackle thinning hair. It is recommended to remove the oil after 6 to 8 hours for obtaining better results. It can further help in improving hair texture.

- Castor oil is useful for treatment of thinning hair. Mix castor with a few drops of honey and apply the mixture on your scalp once a week.

- Another effective remedy will be the mixture of onion juice and honey on the hair. Massaging scalp with the onion pulp on every alternate day for a period of 2 weeks can provide highly effective results.

- A mixture of henna containing triphala powder, shikakai, reetha and extract of coriander leaves 2 to 3 times in a week to treat the problem of thinning hair.

- You could also make a paste out of fenugreek seeds. Crush the seeds n mix them with a little bit of water to make a paste. Massage this on your scalp once a week.

All the mountaineers including two foreigners and eighteen Nepalis have been saved safely. All the climbers trapped at Mustang-Mustang bordering space Sore Bung have been airlifted to Fu Village.

"Twenty climbers stranded in Sore Bung area bordering pony and Manang have been airlifted to Fu village.As many as twenty folks as well as 2 foreigners had been marooned at Sore Bung due to inclementness. It lies at the altitude of 5,900 meters ," Bhimkanta Sharma, Chief District Officer of Manang District, told Republica Online.

Two among the twenty climbers have been known as German nationals Tobias Groenen, 48 and his married woman Gutrun Ingritzi Ermann, 44, while the eighteen area unit Nepalis.

The climbers, who had started trekking from Damodarkunda of Manang district, got trapped at Sore Bung due to snow storm before they reached Fu village.

The rescue operation had been hit attributable to inclementness. As the chopper couldn't land the bottom, the climbers were rescued with the facilitate of a rope.

According to Sharma, one guide, one mountaineering Asian and sixteen porters area unit among the 18-member Nepali team.

Kathmandu, 13 May : Rahul Dravid, the former India captain, and Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka captain, have been appointed to ICC cricket committee for the next three years.

Former India captain Anil Kumble was re-elected the chairman of the committee for another three-year term and Richard Kettleborough replaced the retired Steve Davis as the umpires' representative. Kettleborough has won the ICC's Umpire-of-the-Year award thrice.

Dravid, along with Tim May, the former chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association, were chosen by current Test captains to represent the interests of the current players. They replaced Kumar Sangakkara and former India legspinner L Sivaramakrishnan, whose tenures had lapsed. Jayawardene was picked to do the same role with respect to past players. He took over from Mark Taylor.

Dravid and Jayawardene played all three forms of cricket for over a decade, scoring more than 10,000 runs in Tests and ODIs. Since retirement, they have both had success as commentators and were sought after as coaches. Dravid is in charge of the India Under-19 and A teams while Jayawardene had a stint with England as batting consultant.

The cricket committee has the authority to recommend changes to the rules by which the game is played. The implementation of these changes depends on the ICC board ratifying them.

After a batting-friendly 2015 World Cup, played under the rule that a maximum of four fielders were allowed on the boundary after the 40th over, the ICC cricket committee proposed abolishing the bowling Powerplay and allowing for an extra fielder outside the inner circle for the final 10 overs. The ICC put the changes into practice a month later.

The next meeting of the cricket committee is scheduled for May 31 and June 1 at Lord's, three weeks before the ICC annual conference in Edinburgh.