Bus hits school vehicle, 33 injured

At least 33 people including 14 school children were injured when a passenger bus hit a three-wheeler carrying students in Sarlahi on Monday.

According to reports, the accident took place when a vehicle carrying students of Angel Academy crashed with a Jhapa-bound passenger bus at Hariuan this afternoon.  Six of the seriously injured students are undergoing treatment at a local hospital while one student has been rushed to Janakpur for treatment, reports said. nepalnews.com mbk Aug 02 04 

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Marginal growth in tourist arrivals in July

Visitors coming to Nepal by air in July 2004 showed an increment of 1% compared to the same period last year. 

According to a Nepal Tourism Board release quoting the Department of Immigration, non-Indian visitor arrivals grew by 18%, but a decrease in the Indian market by 16% resulted in the overall arrivals remaining the same as July 2003. 

Among the non-Indian visitor traffic to Nepal during the month, the major performers continued to be North Americans and Europeans followed by Japanese and Chinese visitors. The US market remained stable while the Canadian market grew by 30%. 

The British (+17%), German (+15%), French (+21%), Spanish (+97%), Italian (+76%) and Dutch (+61%) markets showed best of the growths. Japan (+6%) and China (+57%) too recorded growth. A few markets like Taiwan (-10%), Bangladesh (-12%), Israel (-7%) and Norway (-17%) showed a decline.

Some country wise figures released were 7,186 visitors from India, 1,123 from the UK, 802 from France, 468 from Germany, 863 from Japan and 332 from China. The Indian market share was 40% and the non-Indian market 60%.

In comparison to 1999 July, when the number of air arrivals was 23,536, the figures of July 2004 are still down by 24%. nepalnews.com dr Aug 02 04

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TU to hire part-timers on course contract basis

The Tribhuvan University (TU) Sunday announced that it would hire the part-time teachers on course contract basis.

According to a press release issued by the TU, the part time teachers will get a salary of Rs 7,500 a month plus a month bonus equal to the salary as per the course contract. The contract can be renewed on the basis of the necessity of the university and the genuineness of the candidates every year.

President of the TU Part Time Teachers' Association (TUPTTA) Nanda Kishor Singh however, argued that the TU council decisions had failed to address their demands and warned of a new round of protests if the university remains fixed to its stand, according to reports.

The TUPTTA called off strike on July 29 after the agitating teachers and TU administration agreed verbally on a course contract appointment. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04 

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Swiss aid to continue despite Maoist problem

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is to continue its cooperation to Nepal despite Maoists problem in the country, the national news agency said.

"Though it is difficult to implement development programs in the villages, the Swiss co-operation will continue in future," the RSS quoted Jorg Frieden, country director of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation as saying.

According to the report, Jorg stressed on the need of a peaceful solution to the present insurgency and advised the constitutional forces to work jointly for the resolution of the conflict. "If the rebels come for dialogues with their demands, the international community will recognize them a political party," he added, according to the RSS.

Swiss co-operation is mainly working in the fields of suspension bridges, infrastructure development, environment protection, and forest  and good governance in Nepal. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04

Maoist killed in security action in Bara

A suspected Maoist was shot dead in security action in Basariya of Bara district Sunday night. The dead rebel has not yet identified, the Monday morning radio report said with no further details. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04 

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Two arrested with Yarshagumba

Bouddha police Saturday arrested two persons with 580 grams of Yarshagumba (cordyceps sinesis) in a hotel in Jorpati of Kathmandu. 

According to a police inspector, Jetha Lama and Jhanden Lama were arrested while waiting for customers to sell it. The Lama duo are from Sindhupalchowk. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04

Rhino found dead

A one-horn-rhino was found dead in a forest of Pragatinagar VDC of Nawalparasi district on Saturday, the national news agency said. It is believed to have died of old age.

According to the RSS, officials of the Royal Chitwan National Park have completed the post mortem of the rhino and the horn, hoof, bone and skin of the rhino have been taken for safekeeping to Kasara of the national park.

The price of horn of one-horn rhino is more than 2 million rupees in the international market. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04 

Bajura faces acute food shortage

Bajura district is facing a severe food shortage since the last two weeks, a daily said Monday.

According to the Annapurna Post, the godowns of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) in the district headquarters have been empty for the last two weeks as the Karnali Airways helicopter, hired to fly food to the district, has been taken to the capital for maintenance. 

People who have arrived in the district headquarters to buy food, some, after walking for a week, have remained stranded in Martadi bazaar. The report added that it would take 10 more days before the helicopter services resumed. 

Mukunda Pyakurel, the chief officer at the NFC, Bajura, admitted that there was no food stock left in the godown. "We have 5,000 kg of grain in the godown, but that is only for emergency purposes," he added. 

Bajura district is situated in the far west development region. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04

Mountaineer Mingma released

Mingma Sherpa, who was arrested by the security forces from his residence at Bouddha on Friday night, was released Sunday evening.

According to the security sources, Sherpa was arrested as he possessed sophisticated communication equipment. Security forces had noticed groups of people visiting his residence on a regular basis, the source said. "So he was taken under custody and released after necessary investigation."

Sherpa, a veteran mountaineer, uses such communications equipment while climbing mountains. nepalnews.com pd Aug 02 04

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Diarrhea kills 44 in Pyuthan, Saptari

The spread of diarrhea in various parts of Pyuthan and Saptari in the last 15 days has killed 44 persons and infected hundreds more, various reports said Monday. 

At least 36 persons in nine rural Village Development Committee's (VDC) of Pyuthan district have died due to the disease with many more hospitalized. The lack of medicines in the area has worsened the situation. The chief of the public health office said that necessary medicine have been dispatched to different health posts to combat the situation. 

Meanwhile, reports from Rajbiraj said eight persons have also died due to diarrhea. The disease has affected hundreds others. According to the Kantipur daily, most of the dead and affected are Madehsi dalits. In Achham, the disease has infected more than 200 people since Friday. nepalnews.com pd August 02 04

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