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Cases of dengue and scrub typhus are on the rise in Khotang district, according to the District Health Office (DHO), Khotang. 

Altogether 12 dengue cases and 14 scrub typhus cases were detected in the district in the month of Shrawan alone. 

According to Jivan Prasad Chaulagain, Chief of the DHO, two patients infected with each- of dengue and scrub typhus- were referred to Kathmandu for further treatment. The health condition of the infected ones is gradually improving, he said.

The district having 10 local levels is witnessing an increasing number of mosquito-borne infection and bacterial infection in the recent days with six men and six women infected with dengue and nine men and five women down with scrub typhus. 

While some patients returned home upon recovery, some are still undergoing treatment in the District Hospital, said Dr Rupesh Sangraula, Chief of the District Hospital in Khotang. 

According to him, cases of dengue and scrub typhus are common in the monsoon season. He, however, expressed concern that the Hospital lacks facilities to treat severe cases. 

There is also a surge of patients with ailments other than dengue and scrub typhus in the District Hospital, informed Dr Sangraula, adding that around 150-200 patients visit the Hospital on a daily basis.

“We are facing problems in rendering services to the patients in lack of necessary equipment and adequate beds," added Sangraula. 

In view of rising cases of dengue and scrub typhus in the district, an all-party meeting convened in Diktel on Sunday decided to launch a 'Larvae Search and Destroy' campaign in all 10 local levels. As a preventive measure, the infection-bearing mosquito larvae will be searched and perished.

Visiting Foreign Secretary of India Vikram Misri extended an invitation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for the India visit.

Misri, who arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit today, paid a courtesy call on PM Oli at the latter's office in Singh Durbar this morning and handed over the invitation letter, PM's Chief Advisor Bishnu Rimal said.

During the meeting, they discussed the issues spanning from the exchange of high level visits to the bilateral relations and mutual interests. 

However, both sides have not formally announced the date for the visit yet. 

The schedule of the visit would be made public based on mutual understanding of the diplomatic channels between the two countries.

Three people are dead and eight others wounded after a shooting in a crowded New York City club early Sunday morning, Associated Press reported.

Investigators believe a shooter or shooters opened fire with multiple weapons at Taste of the City Lounge in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights after “a dispute” just before 3:30 a.m., killing three men, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters. 

“It’s a terrible shooting that occurred in the city of New York,” Tisch said at a news briefing. She said officers are investigating at least 36 shell casings from the lounge, as well as a firearm that was discovered in a nearby street. 

Those wounded in the shooting — eight men and three women — are being treated at hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, she said. The ages the victims range from 27 to 61, according to Associated Press.

Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area, Reuters reported.

The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception”.

The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave "to ensure their safety".

Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is a blatant deception intended to "cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute".

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has ruled out the possibility of regressive laws in a democratic republic.

For the enforcement of the Constitution and laws, all agencies require to play a balanced role, ensuring the principle of separation of powers. 

PM Oli was addressing a program organized by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on the occasion of Civil Code Day on Sunday.

"We are at work to amend the existing laws and bring new ones based on need and experiences. Most of the bills are brought in this very session of the Parliament," PM Oli reminded, adding that only political democracy is not enough, so a full-fledged democracy is prioritized. In the full-fledged democracy, there is no inequality, discrimination and oppression, he assured. 

Flaws in the Civil Code could be corrected. There is no point in getting swayed after the rumour that a law on polygamy is in the offing. "We can not even think of such a provision in modern time," PM Oli reminded. 

The Head of the Government pledged support in guaranteeing prompt justice to the citizens. The executive respects the independence of the judiciary. This said, the paean as that of the Panchayat era is not entertained either, he made it clear. 

On the occasion, Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut said all organs of State have equally significant role in building just society and adhering to the rule of law in the country.

Similarly, Attorney General Ramesh Badal informed that efforts were afoot to make amendment to the Civil Code. 

Civil Code is a foundational law to establish and abide by the rule of law in the country, according to Chairman of the Nepal Bar Association, Prof Dr Bijay Prasad Mishra.

The Civil Code had come into enforcement on August 17, 2018..

More than 2,500 migrants have crossed the Channel in small boats in the 11 days since the new "one in, one out" agreement with France took effect, figures from the Home Office show, BBC reported.

The plan proposes that for each migrant the UK returns to France, another person with a strong case for asylum in Britain will be allowed to stay.

Around 28,000 people have reached the UK in small boats so far this year and more than 50,000 have crossed since Labour came into power in July 2024.

Meanwhile, a boat holding more than 100 people was reportedly sighted in the Channel this week, according to BBC.

Ronnie Rondell Jr - who was famously set alight for the front cover of Pink Floyd's iconic Wish You Were Here album cover - has died at the age of 88, BBC reported.

The Hollywood stuntman and actor died on 12 August at a care home in the US state of Missouri, according to an online obituary.

Rondell was involved in the production of a number of films and TV shows during his long career, including Lethal Weapon, Thelma and Louise and Star Trek: First Contact. 

He is survived by his wife Mary and his son, who is also called Ronald, according to BBC.

More than 200 people remain missing in one district of north-west Pakistan as a result of devastating monsoon flooding and landslides, an official has said, BBC reported.

Flash floods have killed more than 300 people in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in recent days, with most of the deaths recorded in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A local official in the worst-affected Buner district told the BBC that at least 209 people were still missing there, but it is feared that number could rise. 

Rescue teams have buried eight unidentified bodies as there were no family members found alive to claim them, said Jehangir Khan, spokesman for the deputy commissioner office of Buner, according to BBC.