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The outbreak of measles, an acute viral respiratory illness, has gripped Banke district. Out of eight local levels in the district, 265 persons have been found infected with the virus in five local levels. A child has died of measles in Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City. Minister of Health and Population of federal government Padam Giri visited the measles-affected areas of Nepalgunj and met the families of the patients. “The minister met the family member of the deceased. He said he would take a special initiative to take the measles under control in Nepal,” Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City Health Branch Chief Ram Bahadur Chand said, adding, “There is a slim chance of virus spreading as more people than the target group have been vaccinated against measles and rubella. Vaccination focal person of the District Health Office Naresh Shrestha said that six children of Nepalgunj ward-7 were found infected with the virus for the first time on December 27. A two-year-old child of Nepalgunj -5 died of measles on January 4. By that time, only 36 persons were infected with the measles in Nepalgunj. The concerned authority started administering vaccines against the measles from January 6. A person was found infected with the virus in Khajura Rural Municipality on January 8. The authority also started administering vaccines to the people in the rural municipality from January 17. A person infected with the measles was also found in Nainpur Rural Municipality on January 18. According to the District Health Office, 265 persons have been found infected with measles in five local levels of the district. Nepalgunj alone has 205 patients.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Speaker Devraj Ghimire held a meeting in Baluwatar on Monday. During the meeting, they discussed contemporary political issues, according to a source. The Prime Minister’s Secretariat said that the duo discussed various issues like making the Parliament effective and overall Parliament activities. CPN-UML candidate Ghimire was elected to the post of the Speaker of the House of Representatives on January 19 with support of the ruling parties. Out of 268 lawmakers participated in the meeting, he emerged victorious by securing 167 votes. His closest contender Ishwori Neupane of the Nepali Congress garnered 100 votes. Ghimire was elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Jhapa-2. He has resigned from the party after being elected as the Speaker.  

Nine people were killed in a mass shooting in the city of Monterey Park, California, late on Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said, Reuters reported.

“Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives are responding to assist Monterey Park Police Department with a shooting death investigation. There are nine deceased,” the department said in a brief statement.

“There is no additional information available at this time.”

The department said the suspect was male, but it was not clear if he was still at large.

The shooting took place after 10 p.m. (0600 GMT on Sunday) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park, U.S. media reported.

Footage posted on social media showed injured people on stretchers being taken to ambulances by emergency staff. Around the scene of the shooting – reported to have been at a dance club – police guarded cordoned-off streets, the video showed.

“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighboring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred,” Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a tweet, according to Reuters.

Tens of thousands of people had attended the festival earlier in the day.

The Los Angeles Times quoted the owner of a nearby restaurant as saying that people who sought shelter in his property told him there was a man with a machine gun in the area.

Seung Won Choi told the newspaper that he believed the shooting took place at a dance club.

Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles county, around 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Los Angeles, Reuters reported.

Nepali Congress and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party have registered applications at the Parliament Secretariat demanding a main opposition party. The Congress filed the application at the federal Parliament Secretariat demanding facilities that the main opposition party got while Nepal Workers and Peasants Party lawmaker Prem Suwal submitted the application to Speaker Devraj Ghimire. The Parliament Secretariat said that the decision will be taken as per the rules and regulations. In the application, Nepali Congress proclaimed itself a main opposition party. The Nepali Congress has 89 lawmakers in the Parliament. Among them, lawmaker Tek Bahadur Gurung is suspended. An official at the Parliament Secretariat said that the Nepali Congress filed the application demanding that it be provided with facilities that the main opposition party got. The debate on whether Nepali Congress should be considered as the ruling party or the opposition started surfacing after the party gave a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 10. Experts have been saying that the Nepali Congress should not be considered as the opposition party. The Congress lawmakers presented themselves as the main opposition when they took part in the Parliament meeting. The Nepal Workers Peasants Party has also submitted an application to the Speaker demanding that the party be announced as the main opposition party. Out of 270 lawmakers present in the Parliament meeting on January 10, 268 gave a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Maoist Center Chairman Dahal also got votes from the Nepali Congress, CPN (Unified Socialist) and Democratic Socialist Party which are not part of the ruling coalition. Nepal Workers Peasants Party lawmaker Prem Suwal and Rastriya Janamorcha Party Chairman Chitra Bahadur KC only voted against him.  

Two youths of Janakpurdham, Nepal, who were abducted in India two weeks ago, were found dead. The deceased have been identified as Rohit Sah (21) and Bishnu Sah (22) of Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City-8. They had been out of contact for the past 13 days. They are from the same family. Rohit has left home with Bishnu saying that they would visit a relative’s house at Bela Parihar in Sitamadi district of India. Both of them were abducted from the same place. Police called the relatives of the youths on Sunday to identify the bodies. The bodies have been kept at the Bela Parihar-based police office of India. Family members of the youths, who went out of contact after reaching the relative’s house, have been getting calls for ransom from kidnappers for the past few days. The abductors, who had demanded Rs 5 million in the beginning, had asked Rs 2 million later. They had also recorded the voice of Bishnu and sent it to the family. The kidnappers had called the family members of the youths to Malangwa border of Sarlahi with the ransom money.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 105, 000 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 105, 200 per tola on Friday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 104, 500 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 375 per tola today.

Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala has said that the party made a mistake by giving a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. During a meeting held at Anup Foodland in Battisputali on Sunday, Koirala said that though they had said during the party’s executive committee meeting that the vote of confidence should not be given to the Prime Minister, it was endorsed by majority. “We had said during the party’s executive committee meeting that the vote of confidence should not be given to the Prime Minister. We said that Nepali Congress should play the role of opposition. But, we were compelled to give the vote after the majority took the decision,” a leader, who attended the meeting, said quoting Koirala. Though Prime Minister Dahal is positive towards the Nepali Congress, the ruling coalition parties are not positive towards the Nepali Congress, Koirala said. That is why, the issue of giving the President to the Nepali Congress is no longer in PM Dahal’s hand. Koirala said that now the issue of giving a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Dahal will be discussed in the Central Committee meeting scheduled for January 29.