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Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa has urged the government to stop terrifying people in the name of embossed number plate.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, he urged the government to be serious on the issue of embossed number plate.

Leader Thapa said that the government's directive to install embossed number plates in all vehicles was an atrocity against the citizens.

Earlier, the Department of Transport Management had issued a notice asking people of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces to install embossed number plates to their vehicles by mid-July.

The Department said that action would be taken against those who do not affix embossed number plates to their vehicles.

Saying that it would be too expensive to install embossed number plates, Thapa urged the government to review its decision at the earliest.

An embossed number plate is camera-readable and contains a microchip, which is connected to the vehicle’s GPS system so that the vehicle can be located in the event of theft or accident.

At least 25 persons are confirmed to have died after a bus carrying 28 tourists from Panna district in Madhya Pradesh and two staffers fell in a 150-metre-deep gorge in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Sunday evening, The Indian Express reported.

According to officials of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), which is involved in the rescue and relief operation along with the district administration, 25 bodies have been recovered and the five injured people taken to a nearby hospital. The passengers were on their way to Yamunotri Dham in Uttarkashi.

“On Sunday evening we were informed that around 4 km ahead of Damta, under the Purola police station area, a tourist bus fell into a gorge. The bus reportedly had 28-30 passengers and fell into a 150-metre-deep gorge. Soon after getting the information, SDRF teams reached the spot and started a rescue operation. Backup teams from Ujeli, Mori, Chakrata, and Sahastradhara posts have also been sent,” read a statement issued by the SDRF.

“So far, we have recovered 25 bodies from the spot and five were injured. As per unverified information, one of the injured died during treatment. There were a total of 30 persons on the bus–28 pilgrims, a driver and a conductor,” said an SDRF official, adding that the rescue operation was going on.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ex gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the kin of those killed in the accident. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each.

In a tweet from the PMO India Twitter account, Modi said the bus accident in Uttarakhand was heart-wrenching. “I express my condolences to those who lost their loved ones. The local administration in the supervision of the state government is trying to provide every possible help,” he tweeted, according to The Indian Express.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the disaster control room in Dehradun and directed the district administration to carry out relief and rescue work expeditiously. Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh also expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked to Dhami over the incident and said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams had also been deployed to help with the search and rescue operation.

“The information of a bus carrying devotees falling into a gorge is sad. I have talked to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the incident. Local administration and SDRF teams are involved in the rescue operation and those injured are being taken to nearby hospitals. The NDRF will also reach there soon,” Shah tweeted.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the death of the pilgrims from Panna was unfortunate. “I and my team are in constant touch with the Uttarakhand government and district administration. Arrangements are being made for the treatment of the injured and bringing the bodies of the deceased to Madhya Pradesh. The families should not consider themselves alone in this time of crisis. We all are with the grieving families,” he tweeted, The Indian Express reported.

A person died and another sustained injuries when a motorbike they were riding on met with an accident at Danda in Ratuwamai Municipality-9 of Morang district on Sunday.

The deceased has been identified as Raj Kumar Sharma (25) of Sunbarsi Municipality-9.

Police said that the incident occurred after Sharma lost control of the bike (Me 4 Pa 4551) at around 5:20 pm yesterday.

Critically injured in the incident, Sharma was rushed to the Rangeli Hospital but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Pillion rider Kishan Kumajar (22) of Arariya Kusakatta, India was injured in the accident, police said.

He is undergoing treatment at the Rangeli Hospital.

Police said that they are investigating the case.

There have been 780 confirmed cases of monkeypox in countries where the virus is not usually found, the World Health Organization says, BBC reported.

That is roughly triple the 257 cases it reported a week ago.

It says the figure - for the past three weeks - is probably an underestimate and assesses the global risk level as "moderate".

The infection is usually mild, but this is the first time it has spread widely outside Central and West Africa.

The WHO said cases had been identified in 27 countries where it is not already "endemic" - meaning places it is expected to be found, according to BBC.

Most of these new cases are in Europe and North America as well as small numbers in Mexico, Argentina, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

The UK has the most cases, with 207, followed by Spain with 156 and Portugal with 138.

In its latest update, the WHO said some countries were reporting that new cases were appearing beyond known contacts of previously confirmed cases, which it said suggested chains of transmission were being "missed through undetected circulation of the virus".

"It is highly likely that other countries will identify cases and there will be further spread of the virus," it added.

While the current risk to human health for the general public "remains low", the public health risk could "become high" if the virus becomes widespread in countries where it is not normally found, it said. No deaths have been reported as a result of the current outbreak, BBC reported.

The global health body said most, but not all, of the reported cases so far have involved men who have sex with men. There is no evidence that monkeypox is sexually transmitted, but it is passed on through close contact.

The organisation said many cases were not presenting with the typical clinical picture for monkeypox, with some describing pustules appearing before symptoms such as fever.

Most cases of the virus clear up on their own within a few weeks. Symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles, as well as a rash which goes through different stages.

Monkeypox can sometimes be more severe, however, and has been reported to have caused deaths in West Africa in the past, according to BBC.