UCPN MAOIST SAVING RS.1.8 MILLION Kathmandu 17 Jan, UCPN Maoist saving in the current fiscal year is Rs.1.7 million, according to a statement presented by the party to the election commission.. The earning for the fiscal year 2068/69 was Rs.84.2 million. Parties have to submit annual income.expenditure to election commission. nnnn THURSDAY MORNING TEMPERATURE 2.30 DEGREES CELSIUS Kathmandu, 17 Jan.: Thursday morning’s temperature at 7 AM in the capital was 2.3 Celsius rising from the minimum 1 degree Celsius. Mercury is expected to rise of 17 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. nnnn. ARMY PLAYS BAUDHA IN FOOTBALL LEAGUE Kathmandu, 17 Jan.: Friends Club play Bansbari Thursday in the martyrs memorial A division football league championship at Dashrath Rangashala. Tribhuvan Club of Nepal Army plans Baudha in another match. nnnn PM WARNED BY DEPUTY ON JOURNALIST MURDER CASE Kathmandu, 17 Jan.:: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar today warned that any further bid by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and his party to create any obstruction in the ongoing investigation into the case of slain journalist Dekendra Thapa could deal a telling blow to the incumbent coalition. Talking to journalists at the airport in Biratnagar today, DPM Gachhadar said any further move by Prime Minister Bhattarai to protect accused killers of journalist Thapa could close the door to cooperation between his party (Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Democratic) and Unified CPN-Maoist. DPM Gachhadar’s statement today came a day after the Supreme Court asked the prime minister and the attorney general not to create any hindrance in the legal proceedings under way in Dailekh. Five Maoist cadres were arrested in Dailekh on January 5 on charge of murdering journalist Thapa some eight years ago. However, investigation was halted after the prime minister and attorney general directed authorities in the district not to continue with the legal proceedings, much to the chagrin of Dailekh locals, journalists, civil society members and rights defenders. “No one should make any attempts to shield criminals, especially when the Supreme Court has already issued an order in relation to Thapa murder case,” said Gachhadar. “If an individual or a party, in this case the prime minister or his party UCPN-M, continues to hinder the justice process, I don’t think we will be able to continue our support to the government.” He assured the journalists that the justice process would not be halted. “I have already directed the concerned bodies to move ahead with the investigation. The perpetrators must be punished as per the law of the land,” said DPM Gachhadar. Nnnn PROPOSAL FOR GOVT. TO BEAR LEGAL COST OF COL.LA,MA HELD IN UK Kathmandu, 17 Jan.; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has submitted a proposal seeking Cabinet’s approval to bear all the expenses required to defend Col Kumar Lama who has been arrested and charged in London for committing torture in Nepal in 2005. A source close to the matter informed The Himalayan Times that MoFA has sought an initial sanction for 50,000 pounds sterling to bail out Lama, who after his arrest on January 5 has been remanded to 20-day judicial custody and is due to appear at the Westminster Magistrate Court in London., The proposal was made following consultation with Nepal’s Ambassador to the UK Suresh Chalise. nnnn DENGUE FASTEST SPREADING TROPICAL DISEASE Kathmandu, 17 Jan.:Dengue is the world's fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a "pandemic threat", infecting an estimated 50 million people across all continents, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, Reuters reports from Geneva.. Transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes, the disease is occurring more widely due to increased movement of people and goods - including carrier objects such as bamboo plants and used tyres - as well as floods linked to climate change, the United Nations agency said. The viral disease, which affected only a handful of areas in the 1950s, is now present in more than 125 countries - significantly more than malaria, historically the most notorious mosquito-borne disease. The most advanced vaccine against dengue is only 30 percent effective, trials last year showed. "In 2012, dengue ranked as the fastest spreading vector-borne viral disease with an epidemic potential in the world, registering a 30-fold increase in disease incidence over the past 50 years," the WHO said in a statement. Late last year, Europe's suffered its first sustained outbreak since the 1920s, with 2,000 people infected on the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira. Worldwide, 2 million cases of dengue are reported each year by 100 countries, mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, causing 5,000 to 6,000 deaths, said Dr. Raman Velayudhan, a specialist at the WHO's control of neglected tropical diseases department. But the true number is far higher as the disease has spread exponentially and is now present on all continents, he said. "The WHO estimates that on average about 50 million cases occur every year. This is a very conservative estimate," Velayudhan told Reuters, adding that some independent studies put the figure at 100 million. "Dengue is the most threatening and fastest spreading mosquito-borne disease. It is pandemic-prone, but it is a threat only. Definitely a bigger threat now than ever," he said Malaria caused more deaths but was on the decline, affecting fewer than 100 countries. SILENT EXPANSION Speaking to a news briefing after the WHO released a report on 17 neglected tropical diseases affecting 1 billion people, Velayudhan said: "The mosquito has silently expanded its distribution. "So today you have (the) aedes mosquito in over 150 countries. The threat of dengue exists all across the globe." In Europe, the aedes mosquitoes that cause both dengue and chikungya disease have spread to 18 countries, often via the importation of ornamental bamboo or second-hand tyres, he said. "But we are trying to address this in a more systematic way, by controlling entry of vectors at points of entry - seaports, airports, as well as the ground crossings," Velayudhan said, noting that it was hard to detect mosquitoes and their eggs. Dengue causes flu-like symptoms that subside in a few days in some sufferers. But the severe form of the disease requires hospitalisation for complications, including severe bleeding, that may be lethal. There is no specific treatment but early detection and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates below 1 percent, according to the Geneva-based WHO. "You have to bear in mind that it has no treatment and vaccines are still in the research stage," Velayudhan said. The most advanced, being developed by French drugmaker Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), proved only 30 percent effective in a large clinical trial in Thailand, far less than hoped, according to results published in September. But researchers said it did show for the first time that a safe vaccine was possible. The WHO also said aims to eliminate globally two neglected tropical diseases, dracunculiasis, known as guinea worm disease, in 2015, and yaws, or treponematoses, in 2020. (Note: Cases are being regularly reported from Nepal.) nnnn