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Viral influenza affects over 6,500
Viral influenza has infected altogether 6,539, causing six more deaths, the latest Health Ministry data said Wednesday. The data compiled by Epidemiology and Disease Control Division under the Health Ministry said a total of 16 districts have been affected with the disease. They include Syangja, Tanahu, Taplejung, Sindhupalchowk, Sindhuli, Ramechhap, Parbat, Dadeldhura, Gorkha, Jhapa, Panchthar, Makwanpur, Kavre, Bhojpur, Dolakha and Udaypur. The highest number of affected people was 1,200 in Lakhanpur VDC of Ramechhap. “We are still receiving reports from districts. We update our data every week,” said officials. nepalnews.com mr July 3 Quadruplet babies Yadav, 22, gave birth to them five months into her pregnancy. She was admitted to the hospital after complaints of stomach pain. “She is in normal health condition, but the quadruplets died within a few hours of their birth,” said Punam Thakur, a nurse. Yadav was a resident of Dhalkebar village in Dhanusha district. nepalnews.com mr July 3 Clean chits to three The CIAA has granted “clean chits” to three revenue officials facing corruption investigation for a year, CIAA sources said. Joint secretary Sher Jung Dhoj Karki, section officer Agni Karki and head clerk Daya Sagar Parajuli are the three against whom the CIAA would not be filing any cases at the court. The three were among the 22 revenue officials whose houses the CIAA raided jointly around a year ago. They were mainly being investigated on allegations of accumulating property worth millions of rupees without any valid source. “Fearing public protests, the CIAA has not formally declared the decision to release the three,” the sources said. nepalnews.com mr July 3Schools open; no more padlocks From Thursday onwards, private schools will end indefinite school-closure and student unions will lift padlocks, said an agreement reached between the two sides Wednesday night. The agreement was reached after the Education Ministry managed to host formal talks between the two. “The two sides ended the impasse after agreeing to form a functional group,” said Ministry spokesperson Lav Prasad Tripathi. The “functional group” will be 11-membered comprising representatives of PABSON, NPABSAN, student unions, guardians and the Ministry itself. “The group will prepare a report within the next one month to be implemented within 15 days,” said Guru Raj Ghimire, president, Nepal Students’ Association. The report will basically “study and recommend” on fee-ceiling, free education to children of martyrs and poor families, and 25 percent scholarships to students from various background. Prior to the agreement, private schools’ gathering at Staff College Wednesday vowed to continue the strike and to maintain solidarity among the schools. “With the agreement in effect from Thursday, we have withdrawn all our strike and agitation programs,” said Umesh Shrestha, president, PABSON. Around 8,500 private schools, 1.5 million students and over 100 thousand teachers were said to have affected with the shut down that began Monday. nepalnews.com mr July 2 Gita Rana and Kishore Bahadur Karki have been appointed members of National Sports Council (NSC), the apex sporting body said Wednesday. Rana was selected from the Nepal Gymastics Association and Karki from
Nepal Shooting Association. Dr.Baburam Bhattarai heads internal talks Five Maoist negotiators, including Coordinator Dr.Baburam Bhattarai, are holding "internal talks" ahead of the third round of peace negotiations between the Government and Maoists. "The talks may take several days. Discussions are being currently held," the rebel source at the contact office in Amannagar told Nepalnews over telephone at 9 PM. "He (Dr.Bhattarai) is leading the discussions," the authoritative rebel
source said. There was speculation about the whereabouts of Dr.Bhattarai after he
failed to appear in public in the capital forseveral weeks.Kamal Thapa, government spokesman and one of two negotiators, and two rebel Thapa said government had completed its homework amid
rebel charges that government was stalling. Pokhrel appointed PM's Joint Secretary Thir Prasad Pokhrel has been appointed Joint Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's Office made the announcement Wednesday. nepalnews.com br July 2 Kirat Workers' Party called a strike to garner support for Government, Maoist peace talks in 14 districts of Kosi, Mechi and Sagarmatha Anchals, reports from the area said. The strike went off peacefully The partya ffiliated with the rebels has a base in the hily
regions of The strike partially effected normal life in the districts. Maoists have launched a drive to create public opinion in favour of peace talks. nepalnews.com br July 2 Kathmandu Special Court Wednesday sentenced former Chairman of the Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) Debendra Jha to a two-year prison sentence and a fine of Rs.3.2 million for embezzlement while purchasing a cheese vat, several years ago. Indian businessman Sunil Mathur was also sentenced to a two-year prison term and a Rs.3.2 million fine in the case. nepalnews.com br July 2 Tourist arrivals shot up 29 percent in June compared to the same month last year, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said Wednesday. Altogether 17,811 tourists visited by air in June. Indian arrivals reached 11,967-- an increase of 41 percent; third country arrivals increased marginally by nine percent to 5,844. "The continuous upbeat performance by the Indian market is clearly because of the sustained tourism promotion in India coupled with attractive summer packages launched for the market, jointly by Nepal Tourism Board, Royal Nepal Airlines, Indian Airlines and other private sectors of Nepal. "As Nepal is SARS free, a significant number of Indians diverted their
summer trip to Nepal away SAARC preparatory meet on July 8 A preparatory committee meeting of SAARC standing committee will be held on July 8 this month, Radio Nepal said Wednesday. The meeting will discuss the 4th special meeting of SAARC standing committee to be held on July 9 and 10 in Kathmandu. The standing committee comprises foreign secretaries of seven member nations. Nepal is the current chair of SAARC. According to Foreign Ministry officials, the meeting will discuss various issues. Mainly it will discuss the next SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan this year. nepalnews.com mr July 2 Private schools’ national gathering The “counter-agitating” PABSON and NPABSAN are now hosting a national gathering of private schools, Rajesh Khadka, chief advisor and immediate ex-president of NPABSAN told Nepalnews Wednesday afternoon. The meeting is being held at Staff College, Jawalakhel. “The meeting will come up with common ideas on the present stalemate,” a participant said. Meanwhile, government sources said the Education Ministry has chosen the Regional Education Directorate Office, Sinamangal as the venue for informal talks between the private schools and seven agitating student unions. “The Staff College meeting will decide whether to participate in that talks,” said the participant. nepalnews.com mr July 2 Dollar slips below Rs.76.00 mark The dollar slipped below the Rs.76.00 mark Wednesday. Nepal Rashtra Bank fixed Wednesday’s selling rate at Rs.75.78 to the greenback; Tuesday it was selling for Rs.76.12. The dollar’ slide began in March coinciding with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The dollar was selling at Rs.78.34 on March 1. nepalnews.com br July 2 World's highest railway station China has started construction of the world's highest railway station at a height of 5,068 meters above sea level on the southern face of the Dangla mountain range in Tibet Autonomous Region, PTI reported. The station, being built on the strategically important Qinghai-Tibet railway, is believed to the world's highest. With a completion date of August 2004, the station is expected to become a tourist attraction. The Dangla station will use environmentally friendly energy such as solar and wind power, as do the other stations on the Qinghai-Tibet railway. The Qinghai-Tibet railway originates in Xining, the capital of northwest Qinghai province, and ends at Lhasa, the capital of Tibet with a length of 1,956 kms. nepalnews.com br July 1 KU - student agreement Kathmandu University and seven student unions have reached a four-point agreement Tuesday, published reports said Wednesday. With the agreement, the KU will provide scholarships to eleven students including one dalit and full scholarships to two bachelor level students. KU will continue reforms and a task force will also be formed to monitor the University’s management. The agreement was reached during talks
between KU registrar Dr. Sitaram Adhikari and student unions. nepalnews.com
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