Two Indian mountaineers, Anurag Maloo and Baljeet Kaur, who were lost during descent from Mt Annapurna in Nepal, have been found and while Kaur is recovering well, Mallo is still in a hospital in critical condition.
Several attempts were made to rescue Maloo after he fell into a 300 m deep crevasse on Mount Annapurna – the 10th highest peak in the world – in north central Nepal on April 17. He was flown to a hospital in the resort town of Pokhara, according to expedition organiser Thaneswar Guragai, who is based at Seven Summit Treks in capital Kathmandu.
Renowned Northern Irish climber, Noel Hanna, perished on the same mountain on April 17, after he successfully reached Annapurna’s treacherous 8,091m summit.
Baljeet Kaur, also became unwell on Annapurna, but miraculously survived – despite spending the night without the aid of supplement bottled oxygen.
Annapurna is considered dangerous because of the frequent risk of avalanches, with more than 72 people said to have died on the mountain, according to hiking officials. It is technically one of the most difficult mountains to climb in the world, including K2 and Nanga Parbat.
Kathmandu is more polluted than Delhi
Nepal’s capital Kathmandu has continued to reign in the top 10 positions in the list of most polluted cities in the world as forest fires continue to rage across the nation affecting visibility.
According to IQ Air, an organization measuring the real-time pollution of 101 cities in the world, Kathmandu stood in the first position with the Air Quality Index crossing the mark of 190.
As per the US Embassy air quality measuring station in Phora Durbar, the AQI of Kathmandu crossed the mark of 200 terming the air quality to be toxic to breathe. As the AQI continues to drop the visibility of the bowl-shaped capital has continued to smother.
Due to air pollution, the number of patients with respiratory diseases, lung cancer, heart disease, hypertension and stroke has increased in Nepal in recent years. Studies have shown that 42,000 people died in Nepal in 2019 due to indoor and outdoor air pollution, 19 per cent of the total deaths due to air pollution were children under 5 years of age and 27 per cent were of the age group above 70 years.
The flights have been affected due to the increased air pollution at various places in the country including in Kathmandu for three days. Flights to Pokhara were affected recently as well.
Indonesia lose right to host under-20 FIFA World Cup, replaced by Argentina
FIFA has selected Argentina to host the under-20 soccer World Cup after revoking the hosting rights of Indonesia. This decision was made after Indonesia’s football association cancelled the draw scheduled to take place in Bali due to the governor’s refusal to host Israel’s team.
The South American Football Confederation Congress received the official bid from the Argentine Football Association to host the under-20 soccer World Cup from May 20 to June 11. The tournament’s official draw will take place in Zurich.
Argentina, which has won a record six titles, last hosted the under-20 World Cup in 2001. Additionally, it is in the running to jointly host the 2030 World Cup finals alongside Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay.
“I would like to thank the AFA, its President Claudio Tapia, as well as the governmental authorities, for their commitment to hosting this magnificent event at such short notice,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “Having this year’s edition taking place in a country that lives and breathes football will be a tremendous inspiration for the stars of tomorrow.”
Argentina hosted the under-20 World Cup in 2001 when it won the fourth of their record six titles. It is also seeking to jointly host the World Cup finals in 2030 with Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.
Former Karnataka CM Shettar quits BJP, joins Congress
Former CM Jagadish Shettar joining the Congress, the BJP will not see the three prominent Lingayat figures contesting in these assembly elections from the party in Karnataka. Former CM Yediyurappa had already quit electoral politics and former deputy CM Laxman Savadi joined the Congress party. Jagadish Shettar will contest from Hubballi Dharwad central constituency on a Congress ticket.
“Despite losing the minister post [in the Basavaraj Bommai government], I worked hard. Just to get a ticket for Mahesh Tenginkai BL Santhosh conspired against me,” Shettar said. “Look what happened to Ramadas. Just because he is not a BL Santhosh loyalist, they dropped him. Srivasta was given the ticket,” Shettar said.
“BL Santhosh was given charge of Kerala and he did not even win a single seat. He was made in-charge of Tamil Nadu. The BJP only won a few seats. He was in-charge of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. See the condition of the party there. A person who failed in these states is giving advice to number one and two of the party,” Shettar added.
