NC LEADERS START ARRIVING IN NAWALPARASI FOR MAHASIMITI MEET Kathmandu, 7 April:: NC leaders, including President Sushil Koirala.Sunday started arriving in Nawalparasi to participate in a Mahaszmiti meeting that begins Monday. The closed door session is being held at Tribenidham. The meeting being held after two and a half years is discussing four agenda items.. Arrival of some leaders has been delayed because of the Nepal bandh. MORE GOLD PRICE SLIPS RS. 800 PER TOLA Kathmandu, 7 April: Gold price fell Rs.800 pertola in the bullion market Sunday. The yellow metal was being traded for Rs.56.500 per tola. Price slumped last week after a fall in international market. nnnn . BIRD FLU BREAKS OUT IN TAPLEJUNG AS WELL Kathmandu, 7 April: Hundreds of diseased fowls were culled today in the district headquarter Phungling following the outbreak of bird flu in the eastern hilly district of Taplejung, The Himalayan Times writes from Taplejung. According to the sources at the Taplejung District Livestock Office‚ about 640 fowls‚ from as many as 19 houses and poultry farms in Phungling‚ were culled after they were diagnosed with H5N1 virus after a lab test confirmed bird flu. The outbreak was first detected in the fowls of a local Jeeban Adhikari’s house. “After the fowls in Adhikari’s house began to die one by one we had sent the samples to Biratnagar‚ and then to Kathmandu. Later‚ it was sent to the United Kingdom from where we got the confirmation of the outbreak‚” said District Livestock Office chief veterinary Dr Hari Narayan Yadav. A team of six technicians had been deployed at the outbreak-hit place to cull the affected fowls. The houses and poultry farms‚ whosefowls were culled will get an adequate compensation on the basis of their weight‚ authorities said. Meanwhile‚ with the finding of the disease in the district‚ authorities have banned the import of chicken and related items. “Keeping in view of the further spread of the disease‚ we have banned the import of chicken from outside and even banned the purchase of chicken inside the district itself‚” confirmed Chief District Officer Kiran Thapa‚ also the Bird Flu Control Committee Coordinator. (Avian flu has also broken out in Chitwan, Jhapa and Nawalparasi simultaneously.) nnnn NEPALIS IN SOUTH KOREA CONCERNED Kathmandu, 7 April: If media reports are to be believed, the situation in the Korean peninsula is fast escalating towards warm The Himalayan Times writes. North Korea is becoming more and more aggressive and has put its missiles system ready to strike against American defence bases in South Korea and elsewhere in the region. The United States has also warned it will respond appropriately to any attack and has kept its defence bases on high alert to retaliate swiftly. Thousands of Nepalis living in South Korea have panicked given the developing situation there. However the Embassy of Nepal in Seoul that has come up with words to cheer up Nepalis in the country. “The situation is not as bad as has been reported,” Kaman Singh Lama, Ambassador of Nepal to South Korea, told THT over telephone. As many as 23,000 Nepalis are living in South Korea; most of them are there as migrant workers. If war breaks out between North Korea and the United States, its impact will automatically be felt in South Korea as it is a US ally and North Korea considers the South as its “enemy”. Ambassador Lama said Nepalis have started dialling or approaching the Embassy of Nepal in Seoul expressing their concern about the evolving situation. To address their anxiety, the embassy issued a public notice, stating that the situation is normal and there is nothing to be worried about. Lama said there were no room to fear any future war between the two Koreas. Even the South Koreans felt confident a war would not erupt. “They are calm and confident that there won’t be any war at least any time soon,” he added. “The South Korean defence minister had also told parliament there was no immediate threat of war.” Nevertheless, North Korean foreign ministry yesterday asked all foreign embassies in Pyongyang to evacuate their missions by April 10, signaling that war was imminent. According to Lama, there are only a few dozen Nepalis working with international bodies such as the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation and other non-governmental and humanitarian organisations in North Korea. nnnn