30 may, Veracruz –At least 21 people were killed and over 30 sustained injuries in a road accident on Wednesday in eastern Mexico’s Veracruz state.

The accident took place after a tour bus collided with a mini-truck and burst into flames, reported Al Jazeera. Emergency officials reached the spot immediately and carried out the rescue operation.

The officials pointed out that the bus’ brakes failed while going downhill and crashed into the other vehicle, causing both to catch fire.

“The forensic experts at the scene report 17 bodies of passengers who were travelling in the bus, plus two people who died in the semi-truck,” said Guadalupe Osorno head of the Civil Protection service. “Two people were dead on arrival at the hospital, and another who was in serious condition died,” she added. (RSS)

30 may, Budapest – Seven South Korean tourists died and 21 others were missing after a sightseeing boat capsized and sank on the Danube in Budapest, Hungarian and South Korean officials said Thursday.

The accident happened near the parliament building in the heart of the Hungarian capital after a collision with a larger river cruise boat during torrential rain around 09:15 pm (1915 GMT) on Wednesday, according to officials.
A total of 33 South Koreans were on board, Seoul’s foreign ministry said, confirming the seven dead were Korean. The youngest was a six-year-old girl, travel agency officials said.

The 26-metre tourist boat, called the “Mermaid,” was also carrying two Hungarian crew members. “Our services have recorded the death of seven people,” Pal Gyorfi, a spokesman for Hungarian emergency services, said early Thursday morning. “Seven people have been taken to hospital in a stable condition with hypothermia and shock symptoms,” Gyorfi added.

“A further 21 people are missing,” a Hungarian police spokesman Kristof Gal told AFP. “Police are searching the river throughout the entire length of the Danube in Hungary south of where the incident took place,” he said.
– All night search –

Local media reported that one of the bodies was found several kilometres south of the collision location, although Gal declined to confirm. The temperature of the river water is between 10 and 15 degrees, according to local media. The search for the missing with the help of divers and police shining lights continued through the night, said an AFP photographer at the scene.

A film crew working from a bridge south of the accident site also used reflector lights to help light up the water through the gloom and pouring rain, reported local media. Heavy rainfall since the beginning of May has led to high water levels and a fast-moving river current, complicating rescue efforts.

The accident happened on a popular part of the Danube river for pleasure trips, from where passengers can view the city and parliament building illuminated at night.

The boat was regularly serviced and had no apparent technical faults, Mihaly Toth, a spokesman for Panorama Deck that owned the vessel, told the Hungarian news agency MTI. “It was a routine sightseeing trip,” said Toth.”We know nothing about how it happened, the authorities are investigating, all we know is that it sank quickly,” he said.
– Hit by bigger cruise boat –

An eye-witness told the Index.hu news-site that the Mermaid, which could hold 60 people on board, had been hit from behind by a large cruise boat. Web camera footage from a hotel rooftop posted on local news-sites appeared to show the bigger boat colliding with the Mermaid.

The wreckage of the Mermaid was found on the riverbed after several hours of searching near the Margaret Bridge, one of the main bridges connecting the two parts of the Hungarian capital, local media said. Access to the river has been blocked by the authorities, according to public television.

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in instructed the government to “deploy all available resources” for the rescue, the presidential office said. Seoul planned to send a team of 18 officials to assist the authorities in Budapest, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

The foreign ministry said minister Kang Kyung-wha would leave for Budapest later Thursday as head of a government taskforce. Embassy staff have also been assisting the emergency services in the identification of victims. The Hungarian interior and health ministers visited the scene and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. (RSS)

30 may, tokyo – Narita International Airport Corp. unveiled four new robots to be deployed for security patrols at the international airport located in Tokyo’s neighboring prefecture of Chiba, local media reported Thursday.

The 1.20-meter-high robots that run on wheels and are loaded with security technology, including a 360-degree surveillance camera and heat and metal sensors and detectors, will be operational from June 3 this year, the airport operator said.

In the run-up to and through the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be hosted in Tokyo, Narita’s operator said it expects a major surge in inbound travelers destined for the international sporting spectacle.

The robots will contribute to the airport’s security operations in light of the expected influx of visitors and two of the robots will be deployed at Terminal 1 and another two at Terminal 2, the operator said.

Other transportation hubs and business premises in Japan are already utilizing similar robot technology to carry out security and surveillance operations amid a lack of security personnel owing to Japan’s ever-tightening labor market.Similarly, the robots at Narita are expected, for the first time at a Japanese airport, to help share the burden of physical staff, and are capable of using extendable probes or “arms” to examine baggage and waste disposal boxes.

In a demonstration at the airport the previous day, the robot successfully checked a trash bin using its probe and its heat sensor detected a heated hand warmer and sent an alert to the monitoring station that an unusual object had been detected.

The wheeled robots, developed by Secom Technology, will be able to navigate inside the terminal buildings following a programmed course and are capable of using motion sensors to avoid obstacles as they maneuver.Enditem (RSS)

30 may, Damauli- The Shuklagandaki municipality in Tanahu has provided a grant to goats farmers as an incentive for them. Fifty famers mainly from indigent community of Shuklagandaki municipality-12 received Rs 20,000 to 100,000 each, said ward chair Manaraj Gurung. Leading farmers Til Bahadur Gurung and Min Bahadur Gurung who have systematic goat farms with more than 15 mother goats were given Rs 100,000 each.

Eleven families, unable to invest own, were provided with Rs 20,000 each to start livestock rearing and poultry farming. Those farmers already building a systematic fence with at least five mother goats were given Rs 30,000 each and nine farmers rearing more than 10 mother goats received Rs 50,000 each.

The funds was managed from the budget allocated this year by the local government for the promotion of livestock rearing. As ward chair Gurung said, the local government will regularly monitor to press the beneficiaries for proper use of subsidy. Similarly, a grass cutter machine costing over Rs 35,000 was distributed to seven farmers involved in buffalo rearing on 25 percent subsidy. (RSS)

30 may, kathmandu-  The Ministry of Water Supply is learnt to have been working on an idea of a high-powered authority for the systematic management of waste produced from the Kathmandu Valley. Secretary at the Ministry, Deependra Nath Sharma, during a meeting with members of Bagmati River and Ring Road Area Clean-up campaigns, shared the government concept of establishing the high-powered body to deal with the waste management issues, which, as he said, are becoming more challenging day by day.

He applauded the initiations taken from the civic level to restore the beauty of rivers including the Bagmati, adding that rising pollution had been a major threat to rivers, the sources of human civilization. Such a level of civic sense mattered a lot, he stated.

According to him, the lack of cooperation between the local governments during the installation of drainage pipes in the Valley made cleanliness efforts more challenging. Works in regard with the construction of waste water treatment center at Guheshwori have neared final stage. Such works at Kodku, Sallaghari and Sundarhighat get delayed. The Melamchi Drinking Water Project is sufficient just to address the needs of 3.5 million people and in rural areas, people are still forced to walk eight to ten hours a day to fetch water.

High-powered Bagmati Civilisation Integrated Development Committee project chief Ashish Ghimire apprised the secretary that they could not get budget ( from the Ministry of Finance) required for management of central capital-based rivers despite three-month long efforts.

Campaigns members Dr Raju Adhikari, Mala Kharel, Pramila Poudel, Chitra Sunuwar, Shobhakant Pandey, Rohit Giri, Chakra Bahadur Chand, and Bebi Thapa, among other sought the government’s proper attention to keeping rivers clean. (RSS)

30 may, palpa- Historic Palpa Museum has been formally inaugurated after four years of its operation. The inauguration ceremony took place Wednesday was attended by State 5 state assembly member Tularam Gharti, District Coordination Committee Palpa’s chief Daya Raj Basyal, State 5 social development ministry’s secretary Krishna Prasad Gyawali, and Federation of Nepali Journalists, Palpa chair Rajesh Kumar Aryal, among others. On the occasion they highlighted the need of effective management and regular surveillance of the museum.

With the museum coming into operation formally, entry fee system has been implemented. Entry fee for student is Rs 5 per head, for domestic tourist Rs 15, tourist from SAARC nations has to pay Rs 50 and this is Rs 100 for those from other countries. It will remain open from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm from Wednesday to Sunday; from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm on every Monday and will remain closed on Tuesday, according to Tansen municipality officer Bharat Acharya.

The Palpa Palace dating back to the Rana regime (built in 1903 AD) was destroyed in 2006 during the Maoist insurgency. It was later rebuild and to transformed into the museum. It remains as the subordinate body of State 5 government and is to be operated under the supervision of Tansen municipality.(RSS)

30 may, galeshwor- Myagdi has given instruction to cease bridge construction works under the Beni-Jomsom-Korola road project. The Office cited the use of substandard construction materials in the construction of a cemented bridge over the Rahughat River and directed for the halt until a next notice. Raghuganga rural municipality Chief Bhawa Bahadur Bhandari gave a notification to the office that low-standard sand and rocks were used in the construction of bridge foundation.

Rahughat that lies in three kilometers north to the district headquarters Beni serves as the border of Galeshwor of Beni municipality-9 and Piple of Raghuganga rural municipality-3.

Chief District Officer Leeladhar Adhikari confirmed the office has directed to stop the bridge construction works until further notice. The contractor company Gajurmukhi United, however, denies any sorts of wrongdoing in the construction. As the company engineer said sand and rocks extracted from the Kaligandaki River were used in the foundation. (RSS)

30 may, kathmandu –The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has arrested a person for trying to bribe a police official. The CIAA squad took Abhishek Karki of Jhapa under control for allegedly offering money to police inspector Bhupendra Giri of Metropolitan Police Circle, Thankot in a bid to seek police favour in the drug smuggling charge facing one Pujan Bam of Kalikot. Pujan was found possessing narcotic drug inside an empty noodles packet while he had been at the circle to meet relative (inmate) Nabin Shahi Thakuri. Presently, he is in police detention.

Karki allegedly approached the police official and offered him Rs 10,000, saying the later would get Rs 40,000 if the case was dismissed, said circle chief Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kumar Bikram Thapa. He was caught red-handed while forcing the police officer to accept the amount. The CIAA team also confiscated Rs 120,000 from Karki. (RSS)

30 may, galeshwor- The country celebrated the 12th Republic Day on Wednesday with several programmes across the nation. The Day commemorates the overthrow of the 240-year-old monarchy establishing the people’s true sovereignty for the first time in the country.

But, the achievement was not cost free as many had sacrificed their lives and many more were mutilated in the process. Though there are no significant changes in the lives of those living with injured and mutilated bodies and the families of the martyrs, it seems they are happy to have rights to speak and express their views and opinions.

Bijaya Subedi is among those who chose to fight for the people’s rule, risking their lives. Now she lives with the residue of war on her body, and said as age passes, she is facing more health challenges, but she finds a reason to compensate the pain to see people’s elected face(s) to the post of the head of the state and the citizen’s right to freedom of expression.

She was among those gathered at Pokhara to observe the Day organised by the People’s Movement Martyrs’ Families and Inured Coordination Committee, Kaski in commemoration of all those who attained martyrdom during the people’s movements.

“Despite agonies and pains like we people are facing at the personal level, the country saw political transformation. There is a system that allows the people to choose a person to be at the helm of the key post from among themselves. People’s verdict has been institutionalized. People have the right to freedom of opinion, and we take it the achievements of republic,” she said.

Coordination committee chair Shekhar Gautam said there was a need for collective efforts among parties to make the republic successful against the backdrop when attempts were being made within and outside the home in a bid to attack this system and make it a failure. “We do not have a major expectation from the government, but we just want it to work to make the people feel its presence by bringing changes in the country.”

Nepal Bar Association central chair Surendra Thapa Magar remember all those who gave their blood for the transformation, and sought contribution from all quarter to consolidate the republic and make it a success. (RSS)

30 may, Goushala- A school based in Pipara rural municipality of Mahottari, the district in state 2, has been padlocked for three days after the school principal did not allow a Dalit teacher to sign in.

Dinesh Das, a new math teacher, appointed to the Ramnarayan Ayodhya Secondary School, after he passed the recent Teachers’ Service Commission exam, was allegedly barred from signing the attendance register, just for being a Dalit.

The principal’s unjust move enraged the locals who were some 100 in number padlocked the school as a result. Local leader Bikram Chaudhary of ruling Nepal Communist Party ( NCP) confirmed school principal Manoj Thakur’s discriminatory treatment against the new math teacher. A large number of students are forced to stay home due to the closure of the school. (RSS)