An ethnic minority called off a two-week general strike in Nepal’s southern plains yesterday following an agreement with the government.
Shops, main markets, offices and educational institutions began reopening across the region known as Terai, as public and private transport resumed on major highways.
The strike had paralyzed nearly half of Nepal’s 75 districts with many places reporting shortages of essential items and food grain.
It had effectively cut off supplies of farm produce and fuel to many hill districts, including the capital Kathmandu.
The government and ethnic Tharu leadership reached a six-point agreement late on Saturday night.
Kathmandu agreed to remove the Tharu and other ethnic communities from a list that classified them under the dominant Madhesi group in the region.
The delisting was aimed at preserving minority rights and giving them priority for some public-sector jobs.
The government also agreed to provide compensation to the families of those killed and injured in violence during the strike.
At least five people, including a police officer, were killed and scores injured during two weeks of unrest.
The Maoist-led government has been struggling to deal with the demands of ethnic groups since it came to power last year.
Armed rebel groups are demanding greater autonomy and right to self-determination. Several attempts to bring them into peace negotiations have failed.
Over 250 people have been killed in ethnic violence in southern Nepal in the past two years.
Three years after a deadly virus struck India’s endangered Asiatic lions in their last remaining natural habitat, conservationists are hunting for new homes to help booming prides roam free. The majestic big cats, slightly smaller than their African cousins and with a fold of skin along their bellies, were once found widely across southwest Asia. Hunting and human encroachment saw the population plunge to just 20 by 1913, and the lions are now found only in a wildlife sanctuary in India’s western Gujarat State. Following years of concerted government efforts, the lion population in Gir National Park has swelled to nearly 700, according
A rogue overgrown sheep found roaming through regional Australia has been shorn of his 35kg fleece — a weight even greater than that of the famous New Zealand sheep Shrek, who was captured in 2005 after six years on the loose. The merino ram, dubbed Baarack by rescuers, was discovered wandering alone with an extraordinarily overgrown wool coat, and was promptly shorn to save his life. Kyle Behrend, from the Edgar’s Mission farm sanctuary, said that it appeared Baarack was “once an owned sheep” who had escaped. Merino sheep do not shed their fleece and need to be shorn at least annually, as
DMZ SWIM: Over more than three hours, South Korean surveillance cameras caught him eight times and audible alarms sounded twice, but border guards did not notice A North Korean defector wore a diving suit and fins during a daring six-hour swim around one of the world’s most fortified borders and was only caught after apparently falling asleep, a Seoul official said. South Korean forces did not spot the man’s audacious exploit, despite his appearance several times on surveillance cameras after he landed and triggered alarms, drawing heavy criticism from media and opposition lawmakers. Even after his presence was noticed, the man — who used diving gear to make his way by sea around the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean Peninsula — was not caught for another
The Paris prosecutor’s office on Tuesday said that French actor Gerard Depardieu was in December last year charged with rape and sexual assault after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped. Depardieu was not detained when he was handed the preliminary charges on Dec. 16 last year, the office said. The prosecutor’s office addressed the charges after the case was leaked to the media. Media reports have said that the charges relate to allegations made by an actress in her 20s that date back to 2018. An initial inquiry against the star was dropped in 2019 because of lack of evidence, but
RSS