At least 31 killed as heavy rains set off flash floods in Afghanistan
Heavy rains set off flash floods that killed at least 31 people and left dozens missing in northern Afghanistan, the Taliban's state-run news agency reported Monday, Business Standard reported. The Bakhtar News Agency said the flooding took place on Sunday in northern Parwan province. The agency said that women and children were among the dead and 17 people were reported injured. At least 100 people remained missing on Monday, the report said, and a search and rescue operation was underway. The flash floods swept away dozens of homes in the three affected districts in Parwan. The province is ringed by mountainous and more often witnesses floods from heavy rains, according to Business Standard. The local weather department said more rains were expected in the coming days in most of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. Heavy rains and flash floods across the country killed 40 people in July and 19 the month before.
Covid: UK first country to approve dual-strain vaccine
The UK has become the first country to approve a dual vaccine which tackles both the original Covid virus and the newer Omicron variant, BBC reported.
Ministers say the vaccine will now form part of the autumn booster campaign.
Moderna thinks 13 million doses of its new vaccine will be available this year, but 26 million people are eligible for some form of booster.
Health officials say people should take whichever booster they are offered as all jabs provide protection.
The original vaccines used in the pandemic were designed to train the body to fight the first form of the virus which emerged in Wuhan, in China, at the end of 2019.
The Covid virus has since mutated substantially, with a stream of new variants emerging that can dodge some of our immune defences. They have caused large surges in cases around the world.
Cases of coronavirus are currently falling in the UK. In mid-to-late July, around 2.5 million people tested positive for coronavirus.
Banchare Danda locals call off protest
Locals of Banchare Danda, who had been creating obstructions at the landfill site by stopping tippers carrying garbage from the Kathmandu Valley, have decided to withdraw their protest for now. The locals said that they would take the next step by observing the three-month time asked by the government. The Banchare Danda Waste Landfill Site Affected Area Management Concern Committee said that it has decided to put off the protest for now after the government asked for three-month time to prepare a report on the impact of the garbage in the affected area and the measures to solve the problems. Committee Coordinator Shree Ram Dhungana said that they have announced to halt the protest after the Urban Development Ministry on Sunday decided to form a Technical Consultation Committee and move ahead as per the report prepared by the team. He said that the entire Sisdol Waste Management Struggle Committees would help the technical team for three months. Dhungana made it clear that they would announce the second phase of protest programs by observing the works and role of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.
Locals seize six trucks carrying chemical fertilizers in Birgunj
Locals have seized six trucks loaded with chemical fertilizers from the Bhutandevi-based province office store of the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited.
Irate local farmers took control of the chemical fertilizers being transported to other districts.
Birgunj Metropolis Mayor Rajesh Man Singh, who reached the incident site, said that he would take initiatives to increase the quota of chemical fertilizers in the district.
locals held a discussion with mayor Singh and Agriculture Inputs Company Province Office Birgunj Chief Chandra Prakash Chaulagain among others on the issue.
The provincial office of the company has been distributing fertilizers in Parsa. Though farmers here require 8,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizers, the metropolis has set a limited quota of 800 metric tons, locals lamented.
