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Patients of sickle cell anemia and thalassemia are on the rise, especially in the Tharu community in Banke. 

It was detected during medical screening of sickle cell anemia along with thalassemia in the areas having the majority of Tharu population.

According to the District Health Office, Banke, the number of patients diagnosed with sickle cell has reached 23 in Raptisonari Rural Municipality.

As details of the people examined for sickle cell have yet to be collected from other municipal units, the aggregate number of the survivors has not been ascertained in the district, said Health Office Chief Dhiraj Jung Shah. 

Though free treatment has rendered relief to the patients of sickle cell anemia to some extent, the measure has not relieved the survivors of thalassemia, he further shared. 

It has not been ascertained how many people are surviving with thalassemia. Screening was carried out among the students of grade 9 and 10 of the Tharu community in Raptisonari. It is still ongoing, he shared. 

Some of the patients commented that they have to spend tens of thousands rupees for treatment in private health institutions after complaining of several physical complications. 

The survivors have been facing trouble in their treatment when they were not aware of government-sponsored treatment up to Rs 100,000. 

Ram Krishna Tharu (28) of Raptisonari Rural Municipality-4, Baijapur in Banke said he was not informed of government arrangements for free treatment to the sickle cell anemia survivors. He added he has spent a huge chunk of money for treatment at private hospitals. 

Sickle Cell specialist Dr Rajan Pandey said patients are being compelled to spend tens of thousands of rupees even after their diagnosis. He said blood tests were the permanent solution to the sickle cell anemia. 

Apart from Raptisonari rural municipality in the district, Kohalpur municipality also has witnessed the same health issue. Authorities said the overall situation of the district can be ascertained only after collecting data from all local levels. 

It was shared that 96 people were diagnosed with sickle cell anemia and thalassemia when blood samples of 572 people were tested in a screening camp organized by the health office.

An unassuming patch of red dirt in remote Australia has made history as the site of Nasa's first rocket launch from a commercial spaceport outside the US, BBC reported.

The sub-orbital rocket blasted off from the tiny site early on Monday local time.

It will enable astrophysics studies that can only be undertaken in the Southern Hemisphere, Nasa says.

The launch was also the first in Australia in more than 25 years.

The rocket is Nasa's first of three to blast off from the newly constructed Arnhem Space Centre on the edge of the Northern Territory.

Scientists hope it will help them study the impact of a star's light on the habitability of nearby planets.

Onlookers who travelled to the remote site glimpsed the rocket for only about 10 seconds before it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

"It was in the blink of an eye, but to me, it was like it was in slow motion because the whole area just lit up," Yirrkala School co-principal Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, according to BBC.

"It went up, and then the sound, it was just like a rumbling boom, like nothing I've ever heard. And I just shook with amazement."

The sounding rocket's tenure in space was similarly short - the 13m-long projectile fell back to Earth after a planned 15 minutes.

But experts believe the data gathered in that time will help illuminate the secrets of star constellations 430 million light years away.

"Without getting too deep into the science, it was effectively a large X-ray camera looking at various astrological phenomenon and trying to capture parts of boulders in the Milky Way and particularly the star cluster of Alpha Centauri," Arnhem Space Centre chief executive Michael Jones told the local network Nine.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles hailed the launch as an "extremely proud" moment for Australia, adding it was conducted with the blessing of the region's Aboriginal traditional owners.

"Here on Yolngu land, young Territorians can look up at the sky and know what can be done," Ms Fyles said.

"When we see the oldest living culture combining with the science of space, as we have here, it's something we can all reflect on and be very proud."

Australia has stepped up its space efforts in recent times, unveiling a defence agency focused on countering Russia and China's ambitions in space.

The Arnhem Space Centre is the first and only commercially owned and run equatorial launch site in the world, BBC reported.

"We have achieved a remarkable feat and made a huge mark in the history of Australia's journey in space," Mr Jones said in a statement.

"[It] confirms that we and Australia can provide access to space and this is just the beginning for us."

The next launch is expected to take place on 4 July.

Nasa has pledged to collect all material and debris and return them to the US, according to BBC.

At least four people have been killed and scores more were injured after a stand collapsed during a bullfight in central Colombia, BBC reported.

Footage has emerged showing the three-storey wooden stand filled with spectators falling at a stadium in El Espinal, Tolima department.

The traditional "corraleja" event involved members of the public entering the ring to engage the bulls.

President-elect Gustavo Petro urged local officials to ban such events.

"I ask mayors not to allow more events involving the death of people or animals," he said.

It was not the first time such an accident had happened, he added.

The dead included two women, a man and a child, Tolima Governor Jose Ricardo Orozco said, and at least 30 people were seriously injured. There are fears that the death toll will rise further.

A bull also escaped from the stadium and caused panic in the municipality, according to BBC.

Local councillor Iván Ferney Rojas said the town's hospital and ambulance services were unable to cope with the number of injured, El Tiempo newspaper reports.

"We need support from ambulances and neighbouring hospitals, many people are still unattended," Mr Rojas is quoted as saying.

Sunday's event was part of celebrations of the popular San Pedro festival.

However Mr Orozco said his regional authority would move to ban the corralejas, saying they were dangerous and cruel to animals, BBC reported.

Birgunj transit, the country's main trade transit, has witnessed a surge in exports by a whopping 73 percent to neighbouring India and other third countries in 11 months of the current fiscal year, 2021/22 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous FY.

As a result, the revenue collection has increased approximately 23 percent, said Sumit Gupta, information officer at the Birgunj Customs Office.

The export amounts in 11 months of the current FY have stood at over 76.55 billion, an increment of over Rs 32.31 as compared to more than Rs 44.24 billion during the same period in the previous FY.

The exported goods included refined soybean oil, palm oil and sunflower oil, fruit juice and clothes, said Gupta.

The customs office collected over Rs 188.78 billion in revenue in 11 months of the current FY, an increment of more than Rs 34.80 billion as opposed to over Rs 153.98 billion during the same period in the previous FY.