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Two lawmakers of Madhesh Province among 11 leaders of the CPN (Unified Socialist) returned to their mother party, CPN -UML, amidst a program at the party’s central office in Chyasal on Thursday. CPN (US) central member and Province Assembly member Sundar Bishwokarma and incumbent Province Assembly member and a member of Central Election Commission Sita Gurung among other returned to the UML. Similarly, Central Council members Kaushal Kishor Singh, Madhesh Bishwokarma, Madhesh Pradesh Committee members Dashrath Ram, Bidhya Thapa, Min Rahapal, District Committee members Manju Khanal, Manju Bhattarai, Achhelal Ram, and Mukti Sahani returned to their mother party today. UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli welcomed them in the party. Meanwhile, the CPN (US) has appointed Bijendra Chaudhary as the acting chairman after the party’s district committee joined the UML.    

Two persons have died of dengue in the last 24 hours. With this, the number of people who list their lives to dengue has reached 38. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 28, 109 people have been infected with the dengue so far. The infection has been seen in all the 77 districts. The Ministry has urged the people to clean the places where garbage is collected and to wear clothes with full sleeves to avoid dengue.    

A powerful avalanche occurred between Camp III and Camp IV of Mt. Manaslu in Gorkha district on Monday, killing a guide and injuring 11 others. Following the incident, a chopper of Simrik Air set out to rescue people stranded or buried in the avalanche at the fourth highest mountain without caring about the risk. Though it was not possible to rescue all the people on the very day, all of them were rescued the next day with the continuous effort of the Simirk Air. Soon after some improvement in the weather, the Simirk Air rescued two critically injured people. The Simrik Air rescued them from ‘longline Dhyathad’, Capital Surendra Paudel said. “It is not an easy task to carry out rescue operations in the mountains. Despite some hindrances due to geographical difficulty and weather, we managed to rescue the people,” he said. Around seven months ago, a fire broke out at a forest near the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla of Solukhumbu district. Locals, Nepal Police and Nepal Army personnel were deployed to put out the fire. Finally, the flame was doused by using a chopper of Simrik Air. T The Simrik Air has put out fires in five places by using modern technology in a span of one year. The Air has been extinguishing fires with the help of ‘Bambi Bucket’ in the areas where there are no roads and in high mountains. Only Simrik Air has the ‘Bambi Bucket’ in Nepal. The helicopter of Simirk Air with the help of fire fighters doused the fire within three days in Solukhumbu. It would have been impossible to save the village near the forest, had the Simrik Air not dropped the water by using ‘Bambi Bucket’. Earlier in February, the chopper of Simirk Air had taken the fire that broke out at Bhorletar Chowk in Damauli, Tanahun under control. A helicopter of Simrik Air went there from Kathmandu to extinguish the fire by pouring water. The Home Ministry had urged the Simrik Air to douse the fire in Damauli. Likewise, a massive fire broke out at the biscuit factory in Balaju Industrial area, Kathmandu on August 7. As many as 128 Nepal Army personnel and two fire engines were deployed to take the fire under control but to no avail. Later, the water was poured with the help of Simrik Air’s ‘Bambi Bucket’. The company, which is always ahead in carrying out rescue operations, also provides free service as part of its social responsibility. On April 11, 2021, the Simrik Air extinguished the fire that broke out at the Shivpuri National Park at its own expense. More than 700, 000 was spent to douse the fire. The Simrik Air extinguished the fire that broke out at a forest near the Pathivara Temple in Taplejung after five days in 2021. The ‘Bambi Bucket’ of Simrik Air can hold 1000 liters of water. Currently, Simrik Air has five helicopters of its own. Simirk Air started its journey by operating cargo flights with a large helicopter named MI7.

The festival travel rush is well under way. Every day thousands of people are leaving Kathmandu and other major city areas for their hometowns to celebrate Dashain. But for many people, traveling is often fraught with accident risks. The number of road accidents surges during the Dashain holiday. This is mainly attributed to vehicles carrying passengers beyond their capacity, high speed and reckless driving. The risk is further compounded by the poor state of the road, particularly in the hill and mountain regions. Like in previous festival seasons, this time too the government has implemented a ‘time card’ system to discourage speeding mainly on major highways. Additionally, it has decided not to allow vehicles to carry passengers beyond their capacity. But if past experiences are anything to go by, these measures are hardly implemented or followed. There is always a shortage of public vehicles during the festival time because the number of people traveling is very high. So, the authorities concerned cannot make people not travel in crowded vehicles. People want to reach their homes to celebrate the festival with their loved ones. Moreover, the government has issued travel rules targeting major highways when most accidents during the festival times occur in rural roads. Already in bad shape, the condition of most roads leading to small towns and villages of Nepal are further deteriorated by monsoon rains. These roads are seldom repaired. They have to be rendered completely impassable for the authorities concerned to take notice. What is more, old and outdated vehicles ply these roads, making travel all the more dangerous. The government and its concerned agencies should bear in mind that by just merely issuing some rules and guidelines weeks ahead of the festival cannot prevent road accidents. Instead, they should prepare well in advance, get to the root causes of road accidents that happen during the festival season and implement the safety measures. Rules that are ad hoc and short-term are not going to work, and most definitely not going to prevent road accidents from happening during the festival season.

A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday sentenced deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, to three years in prison, a source familiar with the proceedings said, Reuters reported.

Both had been charged with violating the official secrets act and had pleaded not guilty.

"Three years each, no hard labour," said the source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. The sentencing took place in a closed court.

US Vice President Kamala Harris is capping her four-day trip to Asia with a stop at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean Peninsula as she tries to demonstrate the US commitment to the security of its Asian allies, Associated Press reported.

The visit on Thursday comes on the heels of North Korea’s latest missile launches and amid fears that it may conduct a nuclear test. Visiting the DMZ has become something of a ritual for American leaders hoping to show their resolve to stand firm against aggression.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, while Harris was in Japan, and had fired one before she left Washington on Sunday. The launches contribute to a record level of missile testing this year.

Before going to the DMZ, Harris met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at his office in Seoul and praised the alliance between the countries as a “linchpin of security and prosperity.” Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, called her visit “another turning point” in strengthening ties. Harris and Yoon were expected to discuss the growing North Korean nuclear threats and the U.S. commitments to defend the South. They were also expected to discuss expanding economic and technology partnerships and repairing recently strained ties between Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen their trilateral cooperation with Washington in the region.

Harris earlier spent three days in Tokyo, where she denounced North Korea’s “illicit weapons program” during a speech on an American destroyer at a naval base and attended the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the latest missile tests would not deter Harris from the DMZ and that she wanted to demonstrate America’s “rock-solid commitment” to regional security.

“As you know, North Korea has a history of doing these types of tests,” Jean-Pierre said, calling it “not unusual.”

Yoon had anchored his campaign with vows to deepen Seoul’s economic and security partnership with Washington to navigate challenges posed by the North Korean threat and address potential supply chain risks caused by the pandemic, the US-China rivalry and Russia’s war on Ukraine. But the alliance has been marked by tension recently, according to Associated Press.

Denmark will wear "toned down" shirts for the World Cup to protest against host Qatar's human rights record and its treatment of migrant workers, BBC reported.