Cameras fitted

DAMAK: UN officials on Friday installed close circuit cameras and alarms in containers in which Maoists have locked up their weapons in the Chulachuli camp in Ilam district. The UN technical team came from the capital on Friday afternoon and installed the cameras and alarms in two containers. “We can watch activities which occur near the containers in a screen through the cameras. The alarms will go off if someone touches the locks,” said Parwana, the commander of the PLA’s first division headquarters. Altogether 14 persons - UN representatives and ex-Gurkha soldiers - are monitoring the containers which contain 340 weapons. — HNS

Kids fall sick

JHAPA: Seven children fell sick after they ate magnolia kernels in Mechinagar in Jhapa district on Thursday evening. “They ate the kernels while returning home from school,” said their guardians. Megha Tamang, Kripa Tamang, Priya, Sani, Muna, Dipesh and Moti Bhattarai were fallen sick. They are undergoing treatment in the Mechi Hospital. The children fainted after eating the kernels. They are now out of danger, said hospital sources. — HNS

Website launched

KATHMANDU: An online photo gallery, www.imagine.com.np, has been launched to provide amateur photographers with an opportunity to exhibit their works and hone their talents. “This is a new concept,” said Sunil Jung Shah, the manager of the online gallery. As no established galleries want to exhibit photographs of young photographers, they get discouraged. — HNS

Food shortage

KALIKOT: Around 1,000 people have been directly affected from an acute shortage of food grains in areas like Palata, Thin, Dhaulagaha, Ramanhakot, Thirpu and Narikot of the Kalikot district for the past 10 months. The government could not supply rice in addition to the regular supply for the fiscal year 2062/63 BS from the Thirpu Depot, officials at the depot at Kalikot said. Locals said the administration has ignored the plight of the people despite requests. — RSS

14 kids rescued

KATHMANDU: A team of police personnel and officials of the District Child Welfare Committee Kathmandu and Child Care Homes Monitoring Committee rescued 14 children, who were locked up in an unregistered shelter home at Dallu-29, on Friday, a team member said. Krishna Maya Fuki, the owner of the one-room shelter home, has been taken into custody. The children have been sent to the Umbrella Nepal. — HNS

Rights body’s concern

KATHMANDU: The Joint Forum for Human Rights (JFHR) has expressed “serious concern” over the continued attacks by Maoists in various peaceful mass meetings and rallies organised by other political parties. Referring to Maoist Chairman Prachanda’s recent opinion in which he had said that the issue of constituent assembly elections was becoming less important now, the JFHR has asked Prachanda to clarify in public his opinion. The JFHR has also raised concern about the “display” of arms by Maoist cadres in various public places. “This is against the code of conduct,” a JFHR statement said today asking the party to immediately stop exhibiting arms. — HNS

Strike at ALICO

LALITPUR: Some staffers of the American Life Insurance Company were stranded in the office here at Pulchowk on Friday when they tried to organise a strike for the second day, demanding improvement in the staffers’ working conditions. “We are forced to work in an unfavourable environment and the management refuses to address our genuine demands,” said a member of ALICO Staffers Union Nepal, not wanting to be named, adding that they have been threatened and misbehaved for holding the strike. Union members say the strike will go on until the management meets their demands. — HNS

Detention upheld

KATHMANDU: The Patan Appellate Court on Friday upheld the order of the Kathmandu District Court (KDC) to send Prabhat Kumar Gupta, who had stabbed a Supreme Court Justice, Kedar Prasad Giri, some months ago, to judicial custody. A division bench of justices Ali Akabar Mikarani and Hari Prasad Ghimire upheld a two-month-old decision of the KDC following a hearing. During Friday’s hearing, lawyers of Gupta Kedar Karki, Tika Prasad Ghimire and Dorna Dahal said there was no ground to detain Gupta as he had no intention to kill Justice Giri. Advocate Karki said they will move the Supreme Court challenging the order. — HNS