Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (August 23, 2019).

Suicide is a big problem in Nepal but not many are talking about mental health

Over 5,000 Nepalis commit suicide every year, according to a review of the Nepal Police’s five-year data, which show a steady rise in numbers. The majority of such deaths involve hanging.

Nepal currently does not have a national strategy on suicide prevention. As a result, no concerted efforts have been made to address this growing mental health issue at the national level. Programmes aimed at suicide prevention are primarily led by mental health professionals and non-governmental organisations, according to a 2018 paper published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry.

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As Nepal, India eye renewed ties, some irritants continue to persist

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar returned to New Delhi on Thursday with mixed results. Although Nepal and India agreed to chart out the broad terms in the next chapter of their bilateral relationship, there were specifics and a number of outstanding complaints.

During his two-day visit to Kathmandu, which was keenly observed by foreign policy analysts in Nepal, both sides agreed to chart out a future roadmap for a “comprehensive economic partnership”, according to Nepali officials.

But there were also expected grievances, from Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to leaders from the ruling and opposition parties, including at the fifth meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission. Chief among them was the submission of the Eminent Persons’ Group report, which India has so far avoided receiving.

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New provision to allow Nepali domestic help in Gulf to return home during break

Tens of thousands of Nepali migrant workers—stuck in various Gulf countries—will be able to return home as the government is planning to revise the existing ban on Nepali citizens from taking up housemaid jobs in those countries.

Nepali workers—both men and women working as domestic help—have not been able to return to Nepal after the government prohibited Nepali citizens from going to work as domestic help in the Gulf countries.

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MMA, the money-spinning combat sport, tries to find a hold in Nepal

Mixed Martial Arts, popularly known as MMA, is a full-contact combat sport that allows fighting using any style of martial arts while standing or on the ground. It incorporates techniques from boxing, wrestling, judo [jiu jitsu], karate, muay thai and other martial arts disciplines. Although initially decried by some, who called it a brutal sport without any rules, MMA has of late undergone a number of changes and become a rapidly growing sport in the world. This growing international craze has now arrived in Nepal.

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Parliamentary committee postpones implementation of Clean Feed Policy

In a reversal of talk on immediate implementation of the Clean Feed Policy which bans screening of non-Nepali advertisements on foreign pay channels, the parliamentary Development and Technology Committee has paved the way for the existing service providers to air clean feed content only a year after the endorsement of the Advertisement Bill.

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