Nepal

Kathmandu, July 5

There is a scarcity of GeneXpert test cartridges necessary for screening of tuberculosis in the country.

The Genexpert test is a molecular test for tuberculosis which diagnoses TB by detecting the presence of TB bacteria. It uses a sputum sample and can give results in less than two hours.

It can also detect genetic mutations associated with resistance to the drug Rifampicin. An antibiotic, Rifampicin is used for prevention and treatment of tuberculosis and other infections.

The GeneXpert test is available in 57 TB diagnostic centres across the country. However, 15 of the 57 centres have been facing a shortage of test cartridges for the past one week.

There has been a wide use of GeneXpert test this year as the national survey of tuberculosis is under way, said Bhim Singh Tinkari, director at National Tuberculosis Centre.

&The tests for tuberculosis have tripled this year. We are working to bring down the number of tuberculosis patients to zero by 2035, hence the increased tests,& added Tinkari. National Tubercluosis Centre had purchased 90,000 cartridges last year.

The country needs at least 120,000 cartridges a year. We have been contacting the supplier and it will take at least a weektime for the supply of the cartridges, said Tinkari.

As many as 18 deaths are attributed to TB every day. A total of 123 new tuberculosis cases are reported on a daily basis. Some 34 cases of TB are not reported to hospitals. It is estimated that 44,000 new infections occur annually, while TB accounts for 5,000 to 7,000 deaths in a year across the country, according to NTC.

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Kathmandu, July 5

Police have arrested a Pakistani couple for their alleged involved in a series of thefts in Kathmandu valley.

Mohsin Khan, 32, and Pooja Mohsin Kahan, 31, of Islamabad were held by sleuths of Metropolitan Police Crime Division from Bhaktapur Durbar Square, yesterday. They were having snacks in a cafe when the cops handcuffed and took them into custody.

Superintendent of Police Sushil Singh Rathaur said that MPCD sprung into action after it received an FIR against the Pakistani couple for stealing foreign currency notes from Thamel-based Devis Metro Money Exchange. According to the complaint, Mohsin and Pooja had visited the money exchange run by Rajendra Shrestha of Lalitpur posing as clients, last week.

The couple produced five Saudi Riyal for its exchange into US dollar. Mohsin made-off with US Dollar 900, Saudi Riyal 3,000 and Chinese Yuan 1,400 from the counter of the money exchange as Pooja engaged the staffers in a conversation to divert their attention.

The Pakistanis have committed multiple thefts in the valley and other districts as well, MPCD said. They mainly targeted shopkeepers on the pretext of having a look at Nepali currency of high denominations and duped them. Earlier on May 12, they had decamped with Rs 30,000 from RK Electronic Centre of Ramkrsihna Shrestha in Suryabinayak of Bhaktapur, Rs 70,000 from Heka Kitchen Stores of Shanta Krishna Shrestha in Madhyapur Thimi and Rs 150,000 from Rising Sports Gallery of Sharada Wagle in Butwal.

The couple would visit various shops and request shopkeepers to show them how a Nepali bank-note in denomination of Rs 1,000 looked like. As the shopkeepers showed them a bundle of notes to the ‘foreign tourists and prospective customers&, they secretly concealed some of the notes and fled the scene. Following three complaints against the Pakistanis, MPCD had arrested them on June 14. However, Lalitpur District Court released them on bail of Rs 50,000 each, after holding them in police custody for a few days.

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Kathmandu, July 5

Finance Secretary Rajan Khanal and German Ambassador to Nepal Roland Schäfer today signed a financial cooperation agreement of Euro 24.3 million on behalf of their respective governments. The total volume of bilateral technical and financial cooperation from Germany since cooperation began in 1959 amounts to around Euro 979.6 million of grant assistance, according to a press release issued by the German Embassy.

The grant assistance committed by the Federal Government of Germany in September 2018 will be used for the promotion of solar energy in rural areas, improvement of mother and child care in urban areas and sustainable economic development in rural and semi-urban areas.

Under these programmes, German Development Bank KfW, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is implementing promotion of solar energy in rural areas to support solar energy technologies such as solar pumping systems for drinking water and for irrigation, solar systems for public institutions like schools, health centres and government offices.

The bank is also implementing a project related to ‘improvement of mother and child care in urban areas including in Kathmandu-based Paropakar Maternity and WomenHospital. The project will construct and rehabilitate the extension of health facilities for up to four satellite centres. These satellite centres will provide both in-patient and out-patient services to women and children closer to their residencies.

Sustainable economic development project in rural and semi-urban areas is the continuation of earlier support to improve access to target-group oriented loans, predominantly in rural and semi-urban Nepal and in particular for loan sizes which go beyond microfinance but remain below traditional corporate finance.

Both governments expressed their commitments to ensuring a successful and timely implementation of these key projects, according to the press release.

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KATHMANDU: A quick but strong jolt of earthquake was felt in and around the valley on Saturday, at around 16:15.

According to the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), Nepal, the aftershock measured 4.6 ML with its epicentre near Bhaktapur.

Earthquake 4.6 @ 4.15 pm bhaktapur. aftershocks. -NSC

— NEOC, MoHA Nepal (@NEOCOfficial) July 6, 2019

Todaytremor was an aftershock of the massive 2015 Barpak earthquake, according to a National Seismological Centre official.

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