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Cholera has been detected in 14 persons in the Kathmandu Valley.

Dr Sangita Mishra, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population, said that 14 persons have been diagnosed with cholera.

During a press conference organized in the Capital on Wednesday, she said that the cholera-causing E coli bacteria were found in 12 out of 18 samples collected from Lalitpur.

The Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division has urged the general public to be vigilant to control cholera.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. People can get sick when they eat food or drink water contaminated with cholera bacteria. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.

It’s a genuine fear. With nearly 70 percent of Nepali households still reliant on agriculture for their livelihood, an acute shortage of fertilizers in the plantation season spells trouble for those in the government as the country heads into national and provincial elections. Ensuring timely and adequate supply of fertilizers should be de rigueur for the government of an agriculture-dependent country. Yet the ruling parties seem to have sprung into action only when they realized that widespread anger among farmers, the traditional vote banks of political parties, could hurt them electorally.

The country is worryingly short of chemical fertilizers, urea especially, this plantation season. The government has been trying to import more chemical fertilizers from India, China, Indonesia and every other possible place. It isn’t easy. The war in Ukraine has resulted in food shortages and high inflation around the world, making countries limit the exports of vital commodities like medicines and fertilizers. Nepal is having a hard time importing enough fertilizers for its farmers in this global climate of shortages and supply bottlenecks.  

Yet things in Nepal should not have gotten so bad that many farmers now see no option to looting whatever little fertilizer there is, as happened in Dhading recently. Many pieces of the fertilizer shortage puzzle are askew. Our antiquated procurement laws unnecessarily lengthen the import process. Following much criticism, the Cabinet decided to sidestep these laws and import fertilizers from India on a government-to-government basis. But it is still unclear how imports from other countries will be dealt with. 

Inexplicably, even as the country’s need for fertilizers has soared and foreign goods have become costlier, the new budget allocated a paltry Rs 15bn for fertilizer import—less than half the needed amount. This was shortsighted. In the foreseeable future, the only durable way to meet domestic demand is to produce more chemical fertilizers inside the country. Relying on foreign governments and companies is no longer a safe bet as the country inches closer to a full-blown food crisis resulting from low volumes and high prices of food-related imports.     

Nepal reported 62 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 008 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 51 returned positive. Likewise, 612 people underwent antigen tests, of which 11 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 19 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 261 active cases in the country.

Lumbini Province State Minister for Health Bimala Kumari Oli resigned from her post on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Kul Prasad KC informed the Province Assembly meeting that Oli tendered her resignation on Sunday.

The Chief Minister said that her resignation has already been approved.

Earlier on June 14, police arrested Oli after a complaint was lodged against her for misbehaving with the wife and daughter of YCL leader of Dang Ek Raj Basnet.

Later, the province government formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident.

Two persons including ward chairman have been arrested for their alleged involvement in raping a 28-year-old woman in Baitadi.

The arrestees have been identified as ward chairman of Mainali Municipality-1 of the district Sharad Singh Negi and Keshav Singh Negi.

Inspector Lok Raj Joshi said that the duo were arrested based on the victim's complaint.

The woman has been sent to the District Hospital for medical check-up.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

A traffic policeman has been suspended for assaulting a doctor in Lalitpur.

DSP Siddhi Bikram Shah of the District Police Range, Lalitpur, said that constable Rajendra Thapa has been suspended on Tuesday.

Thapa had brutally assaulted a doctor in Lalitpur on Sunday.

Dr Kul Bahadur Ghising sustained serious injuries on his mouth.

He is receiving treatment at the Lalitpur-based Alka Hospital.

Dr Ghising works at the Arogya Healthcare Foundation.

Relatives of Ghising had demanded treatment expenses saying that Thapa assaulted Ghising while he was walking on the footpath.

Playing her first singles match for a year after injury, Serena Williams’ opening-round Wimbledon loss to Harmony Tan on Tuesday was hardly her most unexpected defeat, but there were plenty of signs it could be the most portentous yet, Reuters reported.

Of course nobody goes on for ever, not even Williams who has performed numerous near miracles throughout a career spanning three decades.

Still, it made for uncomfortable viewing seeing the rusty seven-times champion a faded shadow of the player who has won 23 Grand Slam singles crowns.

For having long made a habit of seeing off lesser mortals while cruising at barely half pace, on Tuesday there seemed nothing to dig into, no extra gear, nor any aura to lend an advantage.

Instead she brandished blunted tools and slumped to a three-set defeat before contemplating her future.

“That’s a question I can’t answer,” the 40-year-old said when asked if she would return to Wimbledon. “Like, I don’t know. I feel like, you know, I don’t know. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up, according to Reuters.

“Today I gave all I could do ... Maybe tomorrow I could have gave more. Maybe a week ago I could have gave more. But today was what I could do. At some point you have to be able to be okay with that.

“And that’s all I can do. I can’t change time or anything,

so ...”

It is always going to be tough for Williams to walk away from the sport she has dominated. And despite falling short on her return to singles action here, she seems motivated to keep going, keeping the door open for an emotional return to New York for the U.S. Open in August.

“It definitely makes me want to hit the practice courts because, you know, when you’re playing not bad and you’re so close,” she said, seeking something positive from a bad day.

“Like I said, any other opponent probably would have suited my game better. So, yeah, I feel like that it’s actually kind of like, Okay, Serena, you can do this if you want.

“Yeah, I mean, when you’re at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam, is something that’s always super special. Your first time is always special. There’s definitely, you know, lots of motivation to get better and to play at home.”

The water level has risen in Saptakoshi River following incessant rainfall.

The red lights are put on and red flags hoisted after the water level crosses 150,000 cusec.

Chief District Officer of Sunsari Indradev Yadav said that the water flow in the river was measured at 158, 125 cusec on Wednesday morning.

It is considered as dangerous after the water level crosses 150, 000 cusec in the river.

Arable lands and human settlements have been inundated after the concerned authorities did not open all the gates off Koshi Barrage which is under the control of the Indian government.

The Sapkota Koshi has started eroding the land of SriLanka Island as the authorities have opened all the gates of the Koshi Barrage, local Santosh Chandrabansi said.