Nepal News

Three Nepalis jailed in UK for manslaughter, violent disorder

2009-07-12T00:31:00.000-07:00

Three Nepali youths have been jailed in the UK for beating a man and throwing him in the River Thames, reports say.
Bishal Gurung, 23, a waiter from Esher in Surrey, was attacked at Victoria Embankment, central London, last year. His decomposed body was recovered two weeks later from the river.
Rocky Gurung and Kemik Thakali, both 21 and from Morden, Surrey, have been sentenced a three-year jail-term each for Bishal’s manslaughter, at the Old Bailey.
Their accomplice Missan Gurung, 23, from Abbey Wood, south-east London, has been jailed for nine months for violent disorder.
The court heard Bishal had been celebrating Nepalese New Year with friends at the moored Yacht Club boat on 13 April 2008. After he left the party he was chased and attacked by the trio, who mistakenly believed he had assaulted one of their friends.
Bishal’s body was recovered from the Thames two weeks later. A post-mortem examination found that he died from immersion in water. Rocky Gurung has also been sentenced to one year in prison for violent disorder, to run concurrently with his three-year. nepalnews.com

TC street protest continues

2009-07-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

KATHMANDU, July 7 - Nepal Students' Union (NSU) Tuesday continued its demonstration in front of Tri-Chandra College in the capital protesting against Sunday’s clash in which two NSU leaders were hit by bullets fired by an armed group.
The irate NSU students have been protesting in front of colleges in the capital today citing the concerned authorities did not arrest those six involved in the incident despite a written report.
Transportation has been affected due to the demonstrations after a large number of students poured onto the streets.
Areas including Ratna Park, Chabahil, Mitrapark have also became tense following the demonstrations, the traffic police informed.
The police had to fire half a dozen rounds of bullet to contain the situation after the campus turned into a battle ground after the two sides clashed on Sunday in which different kinds of weapons were used.
Five other NSU students were injured when the group barged into the college premises, opened fire at the NSU members and set the college administration on fire following a dispute regarding the tender for construction of a new building at the college.
NSU central member Bhim Gurung and student leader Ravi Thapa have sustained bullet injures, while Indra Giri was injured in the clash.
All Nepal National Independent Students' Union (ANNISU) central member and Youth Force in-charge Iam Bahadur Mahar and names of other five was submitted in the report on Monday.
The protest programme will be further intensified if the culprits are not taken in to custody with in 24 hours, Nepal Students' Union (NSU) senior leader Manoj Mani Acharya informed.
He condemned that the police administration stayed mourn when the incident took place.
The NSU has accused that the Ministry of Home Affairs did not show any concern in arresting as the culprits belong to the sister organisation of the CPN-UML.

Two more diagnosed with swine flu in Nepal

2009-07-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

KATHMANDU, July 2 - Two more have been diagnosed with the pandemic AH1N1 virus, popularly known as the swine flu, in Nepal.
With this, the number of infected people has increased to five.
The newly-diagnosed people were apparently staying near the US-based non-resident Nepali couple and their eight-year old son who were diagnosed on Sunday. They came to Nepal via Doha from the US.
The same family’s five-year-old son and their relative’s 17-month-old daughter were tested and it confirmed the AH1N1 virus in the blood samples, according to Dr Senendra Raj Upreti, director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division under the Ministry of Health.
Dr Upreti said they were tested after symptoms of swine flu were seen.
Treatment has already been started under special attention, he said. Even those who were around the infected people but have not shown any symptoms have been tested.
The test reports were made public on Thursday.
World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared swine flu pandemic on June 11.
The virus has spread to over 113 countries so far. Since it was first detected in Mexico on April 25 this year, over 60,000 people have been infected and 263 have died, according to WHO.
According to Dr Upreti, on 29 April, the government issued an alert to over 40 Rapid Response Teams and stationed a team of health professionals at Tribhuvan International Airport. It has also stepped up vigilance for symptoms of the flu at border points.
The government has also deployed surveillance teams across the country and strengthened hospitals, mainly Tribhuvan Uni-versity Teaching Hospital and Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital to enable them to provide special treatment.
“AH1N1 virus causes respiratory disease in pigs. It is caused by the type A influenza virus that spreads to humans. But recent outbreaks show genetic assortment mutation especially of bird flu, animal flu and human flu. Hence, it is more dangerous, as it is air-borne and can be transferred from human to human,” said Dr Upreti.
He also said the department has stockpiled drugs, namely Tamiflu and masks and now has in place a system capable of attending to 40,000 patients. Nonetheless, he advised precautionary measures such as wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining distance from other people.

Koshi begins to breach new spur

2009-07-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

INARUWA, July 2 - With the fluctuation of water level in Saptakoshi River due to persistent rainfall over the past five days, the swollen River has started to wash away a newly built spur for the safety of the Koshi embankment on Thursday.
Increasing water pressure in the Saptakoshi River has started to breach a spur named 1861 constructed at Madhuvan region in Sunsari district.

The construction works have been initiated in the region to maintain the spur.
Police Sub Inspector Manoj Poudel, deployed to look after the security of the embankment, informed that reconstruction works at the damaged spur have started by constructing a 'bolder crating' with the help of wires.
Poudel said the damaged spur is under control and there is no reason to worry for now.
At around this time last year, Saptakoshi River had breached the embankment and had rendered thousands of people both in Nepal and India homeless.