10 june, Bhimdattanagar- Preliminary data on the extent of damage caused by the  that hit Kanchanpur district on June 6 is available. As per the preliminary data collected by Nepal Red Cross Society Kanchanpur district office, the storm has caused damage to 870 houses. Thirty seven houses have been completely damaged, the office chief Manoj Uprety said. According to him, the exact data on the damage caused by the high winds to physical property would be available in two or three days.

He said a joint team of the Red Cross, local levels, local administration and security bodies is mobilized to collect data on the extent of damage caused by the storm. The Red Cross has been providing relief package to the needy families hit hard by the disaster.

Meanwhile, 525 electricity poles have been broken or uprooted by the storm in Kanchanpur, Nepal Electricity Authority’s Mahendranagar power distribution centre stated. The power cables at many places have been snapped by the storm, centre’s chief Avadesh Kumar Gupta said, adding that damage to the electricity structures is estimated to be worth Rs 15 million. (RSS)

9 june, lagos- At least 18 people were burnt to death in a ghastly motor accident in southwest Nigeria’s Ondo State on Saturday, an official said.

Femi Joseph, the state police spokesperson who confirmed this to Xinhua, said the bodies of the victims had been deposited at the mortuary of the Ondo State General Hospital in Akure, the state capital.

He said the accident involved a fully loaded 18-seater bus moving toward Abuja, the nation’s capital, and a lorry moving in the opposite direction.

Joseph said the lorry had a head-on collision with the bus while trying to avoid a pothole on the road, after which the bus went up in flames with no single survivor. Deadly road accidents are common in Nigeria often due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving. An official report said more than 100 deaths take place every month in Nigeria due to road accidents. (RSS)

9 june , Colombo- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be making a brief stopover in Sri Lanka on his way back to India from the Maldives, becomes the first foreign leader to visit the island nation after the deadly Easter terror attack that killed more than 250 people on April 21.

The brief stay in Sri Lanka is also a part of the Prime Minister’s first overseas visit after assuming office for a second term last month.

According to a release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.

Modi would be given an official welcome ceremony at President’s Secretariat here. He will then plant saplings at the President’s House and meet President Maithripala Sirisena in the afternoon.

Later, the Prime Minister will further meet his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of Opposition and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and an official delegation of the Tamil National Alliance, a political party that represents the country’s Sri Lankan Tamil minority.At 2 p.m. (local time), Modi will also hold talks with the Indian community in Colombo.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to emplane for India at 3 p.m. (local time). On Friday, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, Austin Fernando said that the Prime Minister’s visit to Sri Lanka shows India’s humane approach towards the people of island-nation after the Easter Sunday blasts.

Multiple explosions ripped through Sri Lanka on April 21, when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday. The explosions rattled three churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing more than 250 people. A local Jihadi group and ISIS affiliate, National Thowheeth Jama’ath, claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks which have been widely condemned. The official visits further indicate the importance India attaches to the policy of ‘Neighbourhood First’. (RSS)

9 june, manila- Thirteen people including a bride-to-be and two children were killed when the truck they were riding on after attending a traditional pre-wedding ceremony rolled over on a mountain road, police said Sunday.
The dump truck was carrying 53 passengers in eastern Camarines Sur province on Saturday and was going down the highway when it lost control, injuring dozens of other people, said San Fernando town police investigator Victor Quinao.

The group had come from participating in a Filipino tradition where a man and his family visit the home of a woman to formally ask for her hand in marriage, Quinao said, adding the bride was among those killed.
“The truck lost control and rolled over, throwing off some of the passengers while others were crushed,” Quinao told AFP, adding it was unclear why the bride-to-be was on the vehicle.

“It was a dump truck used to transport soil and sand and was owned by the local government. It appears it was borrowed for the event. The passengers put improvised benches while others were standing.”
The fatalities included children aged four and five, Quinao added.Police said they were investigating the possible liability of the driver.Road accidents are common in the Philippines, where inadequately maintained buses and poorly trained drivers form the backbone of land transport options.

A lawmaker has criticised the nation’s regulators over usafe vehicles, saying they allowed “rolling coffins” to ply the roads. (RSS)

9 june, Birendranagar- In a bid to curb crimes including the violence against women, the Karnali State has launched a peace and security campaign. Violence against women, drug abuse, drug trafficking, road accidents are some pressing problems in the State.

Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi inaugurated the public awareness and road safety programme aimed at making people aware of social ills that has tarnished the community image and challenged security situation. The campaign is launched at the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law.

Chief Minister Shahi urged all to make the State civilized by working together to end the violence against women, drug and alcohol abuse, and road accidents.

Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police, Mahesh Bikram Shah, encouraged all sides to create a situation which would lure the people from other States to visit Karnali to know the peace and security. He however said the cases of violence against women were growing every year. He further informed that 182 trainers were fanned across the villages as part of the campaign. (RSS)

9 june, kathmandu- President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the University education should be people-oriented and compatible with time. Inaugurating a two-day international conference on ‘Internationalization of University Education’ organised by the Tribhuvan University (TU) amidst a programme here today, the President stressed the university education mechanism should be transformed into a centre for innovation, research and knowledge by assimilating the goals of sustainable development.

The President sought the TU’s meaningful role to realise the nation’s vision for ‘ Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’. “Universities are always expected to move ahead on the basis of knowledge and research. Internationalization of University education is the need of the hour and the Tribhuvan University should be proactive towards that end,” the President suggested.

Nepal, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, an apostle of peace and tolerance, has a long tradition of new research and thinking and the present educated and conscious community should further contribute for additional innovation, the Head-of-the-State asserted.
In the context when the science and technology has already transformed the globe into a single village through the means of globalization, higher education should serve as a guideline for the society in building of a welfare-based and just human society. The trans-border movement of students in search for quality education would be relevant to exchange mutual knowledge and experiences along with the exchange of cultural values and norms, according to the President.

TU Vice Chancellor Dr Tirtha Raj Khaniya said he was hopeful that the Conference would prove a milestone in the TU’s history. As he said, the TU has made policy-level reforms to internationalize the higher education system in the changing context. University Grants Commission chair Dr Bhim Prasad Subedi shared the Commission was always with the TU for research-based and quality education. Rector Prof Dr Sudha Tripathi was of the view that appropriate curriculum, sustained research culture and good management remained as preconditions to enhance the quality of University education and its internationalization. The event will see the presentation of working papers on different related topics by experts from several seven countries including Nepal. (RSS)

9 june, kathmandu- Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who had reached Doha, the capital city of Qatar, last night left for Geneva a while ago in course of his Europe visit. The Prime Minister is leading the Nepali delegation to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Centenary Session scheduled for June 10 in Geneva, Switzerland and is paying an official visit to two other European countries. The Switzerland visit will be followed by an official visit to the United Kingdom and France.

The Prime Minister will utilize the ILO forum to make international community clear about Nepal’s relations and solidarity with the ILO and challenges facing Nepal-like least developed nations in regard with labour relations and inform the world community about labour-related social security provisions that adopted Nepal under its existing constitution, said a journalist from the Radio Nepal, Naresh Phuyal included in the Prime Minister’s entourage quoting Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, as saying.

On the sidelines of the ILO Centenary Session to be attended by the Head of the State and Head of the State from around 45 countries, the Prime Minister will make a courtesy call on Vice President of the Republic of Turkey, Fuat Oktay; and will hold bilateral meetings with his Norwegian counterpart Ms Erna Solberg other senior officials from several countries.

In the evening of June 10, he will leave for the United Kingdom where he will address as the Guest of Honour at Oxford Union of University of Oxford on the theme of ‘Peace, Democracy and Development’ and highlight Nepal’s journey of peace and democracy and our efforts to achieve prosperity.

While in the UK the PM Minister holds official bilateral talks with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, on June 11 at 10 Downing Street, the Ministry states in its press release. After visiting the United Kingdom, he leaves for France on the June 12. On June 13, the he will hold official bilateral talks with Edouard Philippe, Prime Minister of the French Republic. He is scheduled to return home on June 15.

The Prime Minister’s entourage comprises his spouse Radhika Shakya, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali; Minister for Employment and Social Security, Gokarna Bista; chief political advisor to the Prime Minister, Bishnu Rimal; foreign affairs advisor, Dr Rajan Bhattarai; press advisor Kundan Aryal and lawmakers Bimal Prasad Shreewastav and Binda Pandey. (RSS)

9 june, Kanchanpur- A powerful storm that hit Kanchanpur, the district in Far West State, with its neighbour Kailali, a few days ago, caused a loss of over Rs 7.5 million to the Nepal Electricity Authority as it largely damaged electric poles, cables and transformers here.

The NEA Mahendranagar distribution said the wind brought down electric poles along with transformers and snapped cables, putting the loss at over Rs 7.5 million. The wind let down 174 poles at Raikwar Bichawa of Krishnapur municipality alone, while 100 at Bhimdatta municipality, 150 at areas covered by the Belauri distribution centre, 35 at Shuklaphanta and 30 at Bedkot municipality. It damaged two transformers. The repairing works are going on in full swing. Electricity supply to major market areas and rural areas has been already restored. (RSS)

9 june, Melamchi- More than 50 persons from Binjel of Balefi rural municipaliy-5 in Sindhupalchowk district have been suffering from diarrhea, while some of them are in critical condition, according to Balefi rural municipality chairman Kedar Chhetri.

They have been receiving treatment at Sindhu Sadabahar hospital and local medical shop Khadichaur. A local Milan Subedi informed that the hospital was bound to manage space by keeping three patients in a bed owing to influx of the patients. The patients are the Bhujel people.

The Bhujel people began suffering from the diarrhea after they took the wedding feast in the village. Doctors attending the patients said they had suffered from food poison after consuming foods in the marriage party. Meanwhile, local medical shop owner Resham Karki informed that the epidemic might have occurred due to the intake of contaminated water.

The patients in critical condition have been taken to Dhulikhel hospital and Teaching hospital of Kathmandu for further treatment, added chairman Chhetri. (RSS)

9 june, kathmandu- Prakash Narsingh Rana has been elected president of Thamel Tourism Development Council (TTDC).

Rana bagged 333 votes and got elected to the post while his nearest competitor Arjun Lal Pradhan received 213 votes in the election held to the post. Another contender to the post, Sameer Gurung bagged 36 votes.

Rajuman Dangol, Bhabishwar Sharma and Geeta Gurung of Rana panel have been elected to the three vice-president posts. Dhruba Adhikari, also from Rana panel, has been elected to the post of general secretary. Badri Timalsena and Punyaram Lageju have been elected to the post of secretary and treasurer, respectively.

They are from the Pradhan panel. The elected members include Dinesh Shrestha, Rajendra Bahadur Dulal, Swapnil Sharma, Rupesh Gurung, Karma Ghale, Keshab Bahadur Basnet, Surendra Shrestha and Narendra Bahadur Shrestha.
Talking to the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) after the election results were announced this morning, the TTDC newly elected president Rana said that he would vigorously work to promote Thamel as an international tourism destination.

“The TTDC executive committee under my leadership will work for further deepening the cordial relations existing between the local residents of Thamel and the tourism entrepreneurs. I will work towards promoting Thamel as a model tourism hub in coordination with the local government,” he outlined his priorities as TTDC president. (RSS)