Author: Himalaya Post

KATHMANDU: Two sky trucks of Nepali Army flying towards Dhangadi and Biratnagar carrying medical equipment imported from China were diverted back to the Tribhuvan International Airport citing some ‘weird smell’ coming from the medical stuff. The choppers were flying to Dhangadi and Biratnagar on Monday with the medical equipment that were brought from China on Sunday. Nepal Army spokesperson Bigyan Pandey confirmed the return of the sky trucks to the TIA. “Yes, it is true the sky trucks were diverted from halfway,” Sharma said. It has not been certain as what caused the weird...

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi held a video conference with the Heads of all of India’s Embassies and High Commissions worldwide at 1700 hrs today. This conference—the first such event for Indian Missions worldwide—was convened to discuss responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Modi noted that extraordinary times require extraordinary solutions, which was why even in this globalized era, most of the world had quarantined itself. This was an unavoidable step taken to fight this pandemic, but it was also hugely consequential, as the closure of the globalized system has had an extensive and far-reaching impact upon the international transport system, financial markets and the global economy. Modi said that India had taken unprecedented and early steps in response to this pandemic from mid-January this year, to reduce the risk of importing the infection, and thereafter to prevent a large outbreak. This included the world’s largest quarantine and lock-down, implemented by India. The Prime Minister Modi complimented Heads of Missions for their efforts to evacuate Indians stranded abroad in some of the epicentres of the crisis. He also exhorted them to take steps on five specific counts: I. To ensure their own health and safety, and that of their teams and families; ii. To attend to Indians who remain in various foreign countries, given the uncertainty of continuing international travel restrictions. He called on Heads of Indian Missions...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. China’s official figures for new coronavirus cases suggest transmission has all but ended in many regions, but local experts have warned that official numbers omit important categories of cases. Hubei, the province where the outbreak originated, has reported no more than one new case a day for more than a week, allowing the government to signal the end of the crisis period. Officials and disease control teams have been able to leave the area, and travel restrictions and quarantines have also been relaxed. But interviews with local medics and disease specialists reveal that the situation in Hubei’s capital Wuhan could be worse than the official figures make out, suggesting any declaration by Beijing of victory against the pandemic would be premature. Experts have highlighted the existence of unreported cases, as well as the large number of asymptomatic cases that the government refuses to publicise in its official tally. It is extremely worrying to continue to publicise ‘zero new cases’ Wuhan nurse Two nurses in Wuhan, who wished to remain...