US official’s Nepal visit

KATHMANDU: United States Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey will travel to Nepal, Bhutan and India from October 29 to November 9. According to the United States State Department website, she will meet refugees benefiting from the United States-funded programmes in the region during her visit. She will also “assess the progress and implementation” of a programme that will resettle vulnerable exiled Bhutanese in the United States over the next few years. While in Nepal, Sauerbrey will meet officials of the United Nations and the government of Nepal working in projects assisting exiled Bhutanese. She has also plans to travel to camps in Jhapa and the newly established resettlement processing centre in Damak, it added. — HNS

Compensation offer

KATHMANDU: Owner of the bus that hit and killed motorcyclists Rikesh Maharjan, Dinesh Maharjan and injured Bimal Majarjan on October 19 near Maitighar, on Saturday agreed to pay Rs 300,000 to each of the family of the victims and bear all medical expenses of the injured. Dashram Maharjan, a kin of the victims, said the owner has verbally agreed to provide the compensation. Locals of Harisiddhi VDC, Lalitpur, have been taking to streets demanding compensation for the victims’ families. — HNS

Newari coins released

KATHMANDU: The Bhintana guthi of the Newar community in Ason on Saturday released silver coins inscribed with the face of Newari poet laureate Siddhi Das and the Newari New Year 1128 BS. Noted actors Madan Krishna Shrestha and Harivansh Acharya jointly launched the coins. Other coins also bear the likenesses of noted figures like Shankhdhar Sakhwa, Chiraddhar Hriday and Nishthanand Bajracharya in honour of their contributions to literature and culture of Nepal. — HNS

Martyr’s monument

SUNDARIJAL: A national-level martyr monument will be built in Gokarna of Kathmandu with statues of martyrs from the Rana regime to the Jana Andolan-II. The government has allocated Rs 1.5 million for building infrastructure of the monument with a master plan. — RSS