Acc u-19 women’s c’ship: Unbeaten Nepal move to semis

Unbeaten Nepal cruised to the semi-final of the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship as toppers of group A with their four wickets triumph over Thailand at KOC Hubara, Kuwait, on Monday.

Chasing a target of 87 runs Indu Varma stroked 40 runs as the defending champions accomplished the target in 22.3 overs with the loss of six wickets.

Nepal who have eight points from four matches will now take on Bhutan in the semi-final on Thursday.

Nepal’s batting which had looked solid in the last three matches was exposed by accurate bowling and sharp fielding by Thailand.  The Himalayan nation lost three wickets inside five overs and were in a vulnerable position until Varma came in to rescue the team.

Anuradha Chaudhary was the first to return back to the seats. Having run for the first run in no haste both the openers Shilu Rijal and Anuradha found themselves on the same end thus brining Anuradha’s innings to an early end with 10/1 in the third over.

Rijal followed suit in the in the same over when she was trapped leg before by Nattakan Chantam and Nepal were 12 for the loss of two wickets.

Another run out in the same over had Thailand on top as the new batter Kavita Gautam who had yet to open her score was run-out to fold Nepal to 13/3.

Captain Rubina Chhetry and Indu Varma put on 28 runs together before Chhetry was bowled by Areeya in the 12th over.

Varma remained calm at the other end and single handedly sailed Nepal home with two overs to spare.  Earlier, sent in to field, bowlers did an excellent job for Nepal folding the hard hitting Thai batters for just 86 runs. An unbeaten 34 runs from Saengsakaorat helped Thailand put on 86 for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 25 overs.

Chhetry, Santoshi Chaudhary, Sangeeta Gauchan and Varma shared a wicket each for Nepal. Nepal’s coach Nabin Singh said losing three wickets early on had Nepal on panic but an unfazed knock for Varma did the job for his team.  

Source ekantipur

Rain, snow hit country life; flights cancelled

 Normal life was affected in most parts of the country on Wednesday as the country witnessed sparse rainfall, while it snowed in high-altitude areas since Tuesday evening.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) said the westerly winds are gradually moving towards the east, and as such, almost all regions of the country received rainfall on Wednesday.

Bhairahawa received the maximum rainfall of 61.5 millimeters, while the minimum rainfall of 0.4 mm was recorded in Dhangadhi. Rainfall in the Capital was recorded at 31.7 mm. All meteorological stations in the country, except for Dhankuta and Biratnagar, recorded rainfall.

On Wednesday, 55 domestic flights and one international flight were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

"There are chances of temporary rain or thundershowers in most parts of the country in the next couple of days," said Rajendra Prasad Shrestha, a senior meteorologist.

Districts like Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Jajarkot, Rasuwa and Taplejung witnessed snowfall leaving people into hardship. Rara, Talcha, Murma, Sowa and some other places in Mugu district and Simkot, the headquarters of Humla district, were under two feet snow. The biting cold kept most of the people in the upper parts of Humla indoors.

In Taplejung, people said it has been snowing in higher areas like Olangchukgola, Yangma, Ghunsa and Pathibhara since Tuesday evening.

 source ekantipur

Fire breaks out at TIA, flights disrupted

A fire broke out suddenly on the grassland and bushes at on the eastern edge of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) runway, leaving the flights disrupted for about two hours on Tuesday evening.

However, the fire that broke out at around 6 pm was brought under control by 7 pm. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined yet.

Five fire-brigade vehicles and security personnel were deployed to the site to douse the fire. The vehicles sprayed water onto the fire. 

TIA Nepal Police SP Sharad Chand said the fire broke out at the bushes on Pepsi Cola side of the airport.

The landing and take-off of flights were halted for about an hour even after the fire was brought under control, TIA administration informed.

Source myrepulica(pic)

ekantipur(article)

Nepal sets up semifinal clash with Bhutan

 Nepal fixed its semifinal clash with 2010 finalist Bhutan in the ACC U-19 Women´s Championship Cricket Tournament on Monday. Nepal defeated Thailand by four wickets in its last league match to top Group A.

Nepal had earlier defeated Thailand by 83 runs during the first edition of the ACC U-19 Women´s Championship at Chiang Mai, Thailand. On Monday, Thailand, batting first after winning the toss, scored 86 runs for the loss of four wickets in 25 overs. 

Sirintra Saengsakaorat was unbeaten on 34 runs off 60 balls with a boundary. Chanida Sutthiruang scored 26 off 44 balls while Sureeporn Laomi scored 11 runs.
Nepal´s skipper Rubina Chhetri, Santoshi Chaudhary and Sangeeta Gauchan grabbed a wicket each. 

Nepal improved its bowling compared to the previous match as it gave only 10 extras. In the previous match against the UAE, Nepali bowlers had conceded 33 runs extras that included 29 wides.

In chasing the moderate total of 87 runs, Nepal lost six wickets and played 22.4 overs. Nepal did not start well as it lost its first wickets with 11 runs on board. Opener Shilu Rijal and Anuradha Chaudhary were back on the pavilion with one run each. Nepal was three down by the start of the fourth over with 12 runs on board. 

Indu Berma, who was adjudged the player-of-the-match, was not out on 40 runs off 53 balls with three boundaries. Berma shared a 28-run partnership with skipper Chhetri for the fourth wicket. Chhetri was back on the pavilion with her personal 11 runs off 31 balls. Immediately after the fall of the skipper, Nepal lost another wicket of Pratiksha Basyal for duck. 

Berma was supported by Mamata Chaudhary for the sixth wicket as they shared a 41-run partnership. Chaudhary gave away her wicket after scoring 12 runs. Sonu Khadka was not out on two runs. 

Nepal´s coach Navin Singh said that his side won the match because of tight bowling. “We had discussed the bowling of the previous match prior to today´s match and that helped the players to keep line and length in mind while bowling. Our batting was poor against Thailand as the players lacked match experiences and they were not good at running between the wickets.”

Coach Singh added that they are ready to face Bhutan in the semifinal with a winning mentality.

Player-of-the-match Berma said that she was happy to lead Nepal toward the victory. “Thailand bowlers bowled well but I was not afraid of them and stayed at the crease to lead the team to victory.”


Source myrepublica

Girl was killed after failed rape attempt

 The 13-year-old schoolgirl of Halidbari-4 found dead in a tea estate near her home was in fact murdered after an attempted rape, investigations have revealed.

Neighbor Mithun Rajbanshi, who was one of the two suspects nabbed by police on Saturday, admitted that he killed Sabitra Rajbanshi after she resisted his attempt to rape her. 

"He took her life after a failed rape attempt," Chief of Jhapa Police Tarini Prasad Lamsal said. "He tried to rape Sabitra who was collecting firewood while Mithun had gone to the estate to respond to nature´s call at around eight Thursday morning," Superintendent of Police (SP) Lamsal elaborated. 

Mithun strangled the seventh grader to death as she cried for help after he tried to force himself on her, SP Lamsal revealed. Mithun also received a small cut on his ear from Sabitra´s sickle during the scuffle with the girl. The postmortem report had confirmed that she was not raped.

The tea estate where Sabitra was found dead is about 250 meters north of her home, a hut provided by the tea estate owned by one Mohan Parajuli. Her father Kelisingh and mother Surji work at the tea estate.


Source myrepublica

YCL locks Offices(Nepal)

Back in 2007, the party had picked out promising members of the PLA and formed the combative YCL in a bid to foment an urban insurrection for state capture. 

"Two brigades of PLA personnel were sent out of the cantonments by the party leadership and PLA commanders to ensure the victory of the party during the CA elections," YCL central committee (CC) member Lalit Thapa said, adding, "The party had promised to treat us on par with those remaining in the cantonments, but it did not [keep its word]." 

Thapa claimed that 363 PLA members including himself were taken out of their battalion and made members of the YCL.

"They assured us that it would make no difference even if we didn´t participate in the UNMIN verification process," he lamented, and said the YCL members were compelled to launch the protest after the party failed to live up to its word. 

Just before sending their combatants into the cantonments in 2007, the Maoists had picked out the promising PLA personnel and directed them to work for the YCL with a view to fomenting an urban insurrection for state capture. The Maoists also rounded up local youths from across the country to fill up the cantonments.

Issuing a statement, the protestors have demanded PLA identity cards, rehabilitation for physically disabled YCL members, relief packages on par with the PLA, and integration into the Nepal Army (NA), among other things.

They said they will hold talks with any leader other than PLA chief Nanda Kishor Pun and the coordinator of the Special Committee, which is headed by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. The YCL members have also stated that they will launch an indefinite general strike in western Nepal from February 13.


Source myrepublica

Nepal wins again

: Nepal registered 32 runs victory over Nerul Gymkhana on Monday in its third friendly match in India. 

Nepal´s national cricket squad is touring Mumbai for training and is scheduled to play eight practice matches as a preparation for the upcoming ICC World T20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE in March. 

Winning the toss, Nerul Gymkhana invited Nepal to bat first. Nepal scored 185 runs for the loss of nine wickets in the allocated 40 overs.

Gyanendra Malla scored 40 runs off 73 balls with two boundaries. Basanta Regmi was unbeaten at 37 off just 30 balls with two boundaries and as many sixes. Skipper Paras Khadka and Prithu Baskota scored 26 runs each. 

Sunil Chauri and Bharat Solanki grabbed three wickets each while Manish Rao took two wickets and Bharat Patil took a wicket.

Chasing the total of 186 runs, Nerul Gymkhana was restricted to just 159 runs in 38.5 overs. Sarfraz Khan´s 51 runs off 79 balls could not help Nerul Gymkhana. Vishal Chitrakar scored 28 runs for the losing team. 

Spinner Rahul BK grabbed four wickets and conceded 36 runs in his eight overs spell. Pace bowlers Amrit Bhattarai and Krishna Karki took two wickets each and Prithu Baskota and Avinash Karn shared a wicket each.


Source myrepublica

Nepal to face Bhutan in semis

 Nepal topped the Group ‘A’ of the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship extending its winning streak now to four matches in the tournament as it defeated Thailand by four wickets in its last group-stage match in Kuwait on Monday.

Sent in to field first, Nepal restricted Thailand to 86/4 in 25 overs with a brilliant display of bowling at KOC Hubara Ground. S Saengsakaorat top scored for Thailand with her unbeaten individual score of 34. 

In reply, Indu Barma played an undefeated knock of 40 runs to guide Nepal to yet another victory in 22.3 overs with four wickets in hand. For her superb batting, Barma was adjudged the player of the match.

Nepal will face Bhutan in the semifinal on Thursday.


Source myrepublica

Authorities cull chickens in infected poultry farms

The authorities culled hundreds of chickens in the bird flu affected poultry farms in eastern Nepal on Monday.

A team under the leadership of Dr Bol Raj Acharya, the Eastern Regional Veterinary Health Director, culled the infected birds at Pathibhara poultry farm at Khanar-2.

Around 200 chickens were culled this morning, Acharya said.

"Chickens at PK Poultry Suppliers at Bajra of Itahari-6 will be slaughtered later today," Acharya informed.

Sunsari administration has declared both the areas, adjoining the poultry farms as infected zone.

The district veterinary office has directed authorities concerned to increase surveillance in all poultry farms in the area. It has also prohibited import and export of chickens and poultry products in Sunsari.

The government authorities on Sunday confirmed the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Khanar and Itahari in Sunsari district, Phakphok in Ilam district and Faktep in Panchthar.

The Directorate of National Animal Health (DNAH) had suspected bird flu after around 7,000 chickens died in Pathibhara Poultry Firm at Khanar-4 and PK Poultry Suppliers at Itahari-6.

A sample of the dead chicken was sent to England for confirmation test. The test confirmed that the chickens died of bird flu.

Source ekantipur

Bird Flu confirmed in Sunsari; Ilam, Panchthat hit

While government authorities on Sunday confirmed the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Khanar and Itahari in Sunsari district, similar outbreaks were reported in Phakphok in Ilam district and Faktep in Panchthar, where more than 400 chickens have died.

However, fowls in the affected areas are yet to be slaughtered, increasing the risk of the infection spreading to other localities.

The Directorate of National Animal Health (DNAH) had suspected bird flu after around 7,000 chickens died in Pathibhara Poultry Firm at Khanar-4 and PK Poultry Suppliers at Itahari-6. As of Sunday evening, more than 8,000 fowls have died in the two poultry farms.

"We have not been able to slaughter the fowls as we have not been able to check the health of personnel who are to slaughter the fowls, while there is a lack of tami flu (the drug to treat the flu) and sending safety gears to the team has been delayed," Dr Bol Raj Acharya, the Eastern Regional Veterinary Health Director, said.

Dr Shreeram Prasad Shah, the chief of the District Public Health Office, Sunsari, said the date of tami flu stored in the area has already expired. The medicines sent by the centre, however, arrived late on Sunday evening.

The district veterinary office has directed authorities concerned to increase surveillance in all poultry farms in the area.

In Ilam and Panchthar, authorities have declared an area of 3 km around the two sites as infected zone.

A team led by doctors has been deployed at the site in Ilam. The team will kill fowls in the nearby areas and take up other preventive measures. Around 200 households live in the outbreak area.

"We have deployed security personnel to stop the import and export of chickens and poultry products," said DSP Bishnu KC said.

In Kathmandu, Secreatry of the Ministry of Health and Population Dr Praveen Mishra said, "People need not panic. We are prepared to handle the situation."

General symptoms of the flu are fever above 100.4 F, cough, sore throat, muscle ache and difficulty in breathing.

Bird Flu, also known as Avian influenza, is an infection caused by the avian (bird) influenza (flu) A viruses. The influenza A viruses occur naturally among birds.

Most cases of avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from contact with infected poultry or surfaces contaminated with secretion/excretions from infected birds. The faeces of the Aves are considered the most dangerous medium of transfer.

Source ekantipur