15 thieves arrested:

ITAHARI: Itahari police have arrested 15 persons on Tuesday and Wednesday on the charge of stealing valuables from a house. Inspector Bishwomani Pokhrel said Dhan Bahadur Rai, Manoj Karki, Santosh Rai, Jeki Sekh, Birendra Jha, Mahesh Tamang, Ganesh Bista, Balram Gupta, Arjun Malla Thakuri, Balram Kumal, Chandra Rai, Kiran BK, Ranjit Rai, Nabin Mahara and Tej Bahadur Basnet were held in connection with stealing valuables worth Rs 239,000 from a house of Rupesh Rijal on Sunday. — HNS

YCL seizes fertiliser:

BARDIYA: Cadres of the Maoist-aligned YCL on Tuesday seized 100 sacks of smuggled fertiliser. Bardiya District Coordinator of YCL Binay Tharu said: “The YCL cadres seized the fertiliser smuggled into Nepal in Bhada bridge.” He added that they would hand over the fertiliser to the customs office on Thursday. — HNS

Nine hurt in blast:

BIRGUNJ: Nine persons were injured in a socket bomb explosion at Adarshanagar, Birgunj-13, on Wednesday. Among the injured, Surendra Raut of Bara’s Jitpur is in a critical condition. The wounded are undergoing treatment at the Narayani sub-regional hospital. — HNS

UN team in Damauli:

TANAHUN: A team of the joint monitoring coordination committee headed by UNMIN sector commander Kol Willies Nakosi arrived in Damauli on Wednesday to check whether the security organs and the Maoists in Tanahun district were abiding by the peace treaty. The team met representatives of five political parties and district heads of security organs. According to sources, the committee wanted to know whether Nepal Army and the Maoists had relapsed into armed conflict. Briefing the team, CDO Kashi Nath Marasini said the parties and government were maintaining mutual coordination. Tanahun district in-charge of the CPN (Maoist) Ajit sought the removal of the Nepal Army barracks from Khairenitar and Dhakaltar. — HNS

Two abducted:

Bara: An unidentified group on Tuesday kidnapped a trader and former journalist Hridayraj Gautam of Kalaiya-4 in Bara district. Two persons on a motorbike kidnapped Ghimire, 38, and took him towards an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, an unidentified group abducted Ram

Hari Ghimire, 40, from Koyalabhar Tandi of Parsa on Tuesday.— HNS

Two girls abducted:

RAUTAHAT: A group on Tuesday afternoon abducted two girls from Gaindakot of Chandranigahapur VDC in Rautahat district. “An unidentified group of men kidnapped Santa Maya Bal, 15, and Chinimaya Bal, 14, while they were returning from school,” said Chinimaya’s father Jit Bahadur Bal. — HNS

Indian education aid:

Kathmandu : The Indian Embassy, Dhankuta and Gulmi DDCs and two school authorities on Wednesday signed two separate Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of school and campus buildings. India would provide a grant of Rs 5.3 million for the construction of buildings of the Gokundeshwar Higher Secondary School in Dhankuta and Rs 19.1 million for the construction of a building of the Shringeeshor Campus, Ranibas. — HNS

Girls rescued:

BIRATNAGAR: Seven Nepali girls have been rescued from Jogbani. One Krishna Giri, a resident of Dhankuta, had promised them that he would send them to Kuwait via Delhi and Mumbai in India. The girls were aged between 20 and 25. — RSS