8 JAPANESE VOLUNTEERS ARRIVE Kathmandu,29 June: A new batch of eight volunteers of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday for two years of assignment, according to JICA, RSS reports. Each year JICA dispatches Japanese volunteers eager to make use of their skills and experience acquired in Japan to developing countries. The new batch of JICA volunteers dispatched as per the bilateral agreement between the two governments would be assigned to work in different fields of expertise to take part in various fields across the country and help improve the livelihood of locals. Three senior volunteers would work in earthquake safety and disaster management, solar energy and database management sectors at Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan city, National Academy of Science and Technology and Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT). nnnn GOLD SLIPS RS.700 PER TOLA Kathmandu, 29June: The price of gold decreased by Rs 700 per tola (11.66 grams) in the Nepali market on Friday, RSS reports. The hallmark gold was traded at Rs 56,500 per tola in the local market on Friday, according to the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association. The gold price is witnessing fluctuations both in the domestic and international market these days. The hallmark gold was traded at Rs 57,400 per tola June 26. Similarly, the price of silver was cheaper by Rs 20 per tola on Friday as compared to the Thursday's price. Silver was traded at Rs 1,010 per tola in the Nepali market on Friday. nnnn FLOODS CREATE HAVOC IN NORTH-EAST INDIA Kathmandu, 29 June: GAUHATI: Raging floodwaters fed by monsoon rains have inundated more than 2,000 villages in northeast India, sweeping away homes and leaving hundreds of thousands of people marooned Friday. At least 27 people were killed, but the toll was expected to rise, AP reports from Gauhati. The Indian air force was delivering food packages to people huddled on patches of dry land along with cattle and wild elephants. Rescuers were dropped by helicopter into affected areas to help the stranded, but pouring rain was complicating operations. About 1 million people have had to evacuate their homes as the floods from the swollen Brahmaputra River — one of Asia's largest — swamped 2,084 villages across most of Assam state, officials said. Assam's flooded capital of Gauhati was hit by mudslides that buried three people. Many of the city's 2 million residents were negotiating the submerged streets in rubber dinghies and small wooden boats. Most businesses were closed. Officials have counted 27 people dead so far, but the toll is expected to be much higher as unconfirmed casualty reports mount. Many of the victims so far have drowned, including five people whose boat capsized amid choppy waves. Telephone lines were knocked out and some train services were canceled after their tracks were swamped by mud. As the floods soaked the Kaziranga game reserve east of Gauhati, motorists reported seeing a one-horned rhino fleeing along a busy highway. "We never thought the situation would turn this grim when the monsoon-fed rivers swelled a week ago," said Nilomoni Sen Deka, an Assam government minister. Residents of Majuli — an 800-square-kilometer (310-square-mile) island in the middle of the Brahmaputra River — watched helplessly as the swirling, gray waters swallowed 50 villages and swept away their homes. "We are left with only the clothes we are wearing," said 60-year-old Puniram Hazarika, one of about 75,000 island residents now camping in makeshift shelters of bamboo sticks and plastic tarps on top of a mud embankment soaked by rain. Ratna Payeng, who was sheltering with her three small children in the camps, said she was praying for the rains to stop. "If they don't, our land will become unfit for cultivation and everything will be lost," Payeng said. Nearby, a herd of 70 endangered Asiatic elephants, which usually avoid humans, were grouped together, Majuli island wildlife official Atul Das said. "The jumbos have not caused any harm, but we are keeping a close watch," he said. In neighboring Nepal, landslides also triggered by monsoon rains killed at least eight people Thursday night and left two others missing. nnnn.