Pakistan appeals to world for flood help amid devastation
Pakistan is appealing for further international assistance after floods wreaked havoc across the country, BBC reported.
The US, UK, United Arab Emirates and others have contributed to a monsoon disaster appeal but much more funds are needed, an interior ministry official told the BBC.
More than 1,000 people have died and millions have been displaced since June, Salman Sufi said.
He said Pakistan's government was doing everything in its power to help people. In the north-west of the country, thousands of people fled their homes after rivers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province burst their banks, causing powerful flash floods.
"The house which we built with years of hard work started sinking in front of our eyes," Junaid Khan, 23, told AFP news agency. "We sat on the side of the road and watched our dream house sinking."
The province of Sindh in the south-east of the country has also been badly affected, with thousands displaced from their homes.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Sufi said the country was in desperate need of more international support, according to BBC.
Funding from a lot of development projects had been rerouted to the affected people, he added.
Nepal logs 324 new Covid-19 cases, one death on Friday
Nepal reported 324 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Friday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 673 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 163 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 842 people underwent antigen tests, of which 161 were tested positive. The ministry said that 11, 999 people lost their lives to the virus so far. At least 418 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours. As of today, there are 3, 943 active cases in the country.
Himalaya Airlines conducts test flight at Gautam Buddha Airport
Himalaya Airlines tested a flight at newly built Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa. The Nepali airline operator has tested the flight as part of a training session for its pilots from Thursday, said Director General for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal engineer Pradip Adhikari. An aircraft belonging to the Airlines landed in the airport at 12 pm on Thursday, he said. Now, only Jazeera Airways is regularly operating commercial international flights at the airport after testing flights on May 16. The flights are scheduled for three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday).
32 students fall ill after consuming lunch provided by school in Jhapa
As many as 32 students have fallen sick after consuming lunch provided by the school in Kakarbhitta, Jhapa on Thursday. Police have arrested Narayan Bista, a canteen owner, in connection to the incident. The meal was prepared by Bista, who runs a canteen for the school. Twenty-six of the sick students were admitted to Mechi Hospital, Bhadrapur, said school teacher Shubhadra Aryal. The ill students suffered from food poisoning, said doctors involved in their treatment. Bista has been arrested for investigations, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Gyan Kumar Mahato. "We have interrogated the canteen owner. The meal was cooked early on Thursday morning and served in the afternoon. The food items became toxic due to increasing temperature. Negligence on the part of the canteen owner is found," he said. The school has been providing free day meals to its students as part of the government's campaign to provide free lunch to students. Drinking water served to students on that day was also contaminated according to complaints, said DSP Mahato. "Complaints have it that worms were found in the water served to the students. We have launched investigations into the matter as well," he said. Acting head teacher of the school, Hari Prasad Neupane said the school would launch investigations into the matter. "We provided free meals to the students. The lunch was leftover food according to complaints. We will investigate," he said. Following this incident, the school has shut down the canteen and samples of food items served by the canteen were sent to the concerned sector for a quality check, said chairperson of the school management committee, Bhawani Kerung. The parents have accused the school administration of negligence on the case. Repeated calls to the school management to check food quality served by the canteen went unheard, they complained.
