China's STAR Composite Index closes lower Friday

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 2.16 percent lower at 1,865.37 points on Friday.

The STAR 50 Index, which tracks the 50 largest stocks listed on the board that also meet certain liquidity requirements, closed 2.10 percent lower at 1,577.36 points.

The sci-tech innovation board, commonly known as the STAR Market, was inaugurated in June 2019 at Shanghai Stock Exchange. It is designed to support companies in the high-tech and strategic emerging sectors.

When Malkumari Dhakal Nagarkoti, a Nepali mother, went to work on the morning of Aug 26, she had no idea that a massive glacier collapse high in the mountains would shatter her world in a matter of minutes.

The severe mudslide, triggered by a high-mountain glacier collapse in Nepal's border area neighboring China, devastated both sides in the morning, washing away homes, roads, and bridges. When the disaster happened, Nagarkoti found herself trapped in a terrifying scramble for survival while desperate to find her young daughter.

"I used to leave my child at the religious place at 6 a.m. and go to work," said Nagarkoti. "While at work, around 7:30, quarter to 8, I got a call. I was told that I had to rescue my child, and my brother-in-law contacted me. He said, 'They say a flood is coming.' After he said that, I thought I'd go get my child, and the school vehicle was coming. I was about to get in that vehicle, but then I remembered the office door I had forgotten to lock. Luckily, as I went to lock the office door, the vehicle left. After it left, the vehicle overturned right before my eyes. After it overturned, I managed to escape. After that, a bit of the floodwater touched me too," she said.

With all roads and bridges destroyed and her cell phone dropping into water, Nagarkoti was entirely cut off from the outside world. However, she managed to outrun the surging waters and fled home by walking through the jungle for hours. When she finally made it back home the following day, she had no idea that her injured daughter had already been evacuated to Kathmandu for treatment.

"There was no road. All the bridges and roads were damaged. I was there, and I had no contact or news from the child's school. I didn't know anything," said Nagarkoti.

"From there, I knew nothing at all. Only my child came to mind. I wondered whether my daughter was alive or not. I had no contact with anyone. I had my mobile in my hand; I dropped it and ran. I was completely unaware. I felt I had to save my own life," Nagarkoti went on. "And from there, near Rasuwa, over by Bogati Tar school, I managed to save my life by running. And from there, going through the jungle, further and further, I became increasingly worried whether my daughter was alive or not. I wasn't even in my right mind...by the time I reached my home, my child had already been taken to Kathmandu," she said.

Nagarkoti's daughter was saved by villagers.

"They had helped her. The brothers from the village had seen her stuck in the wire mesh. While running across the school ground, she couldn't run any further. She got stuck while crossing the wire mesh. After she got stuck, the village brothers grabbed her like this and pulled her out. They pulled her out and carried her, and they helped bring her, put her in a vehicle and took her to Kathmandu," said Nagarkoti. "I barely made it home the next day. When I reached my home and I didn't see my child, I was told she'd been taken to the hospital, so I went there. Yesterday, at the hospital, the child was taken for treatment," said Nagarkoti.

While Nagarkoti was eventually reunited with her injured daughter, the disaster left them with virtually nothing. Their home and land have been completely erased.

"Nothing. Right now there's no home to live in. It's turned completely into a cliff. There was a little land, but that too has turned into a cliff. Where will we live? Where will we take a child like this? How will we treat the child? We don't have a single rupee. We're struggling just to eat," Nagarkoti said.

The disaster has caused significant casualties and left many people missing in both China and Nepal.

As floodwaters recede, survivors in Nepal return to salvage belongings and remove thick mud and debris from damaged multi-story buildings. Local schools were turned into temporary shelters, yet rebuilding remains a huge struggle.