06/18/2013 10:25 GMT

KATHMANDU, June 18, 2013 (AFP) - At least 12 people have been killed in landslides triggered by three days of heavy monsoon rain in remote parts of Nepal, officials said Tuesday.

Seven members of the same family, including five children, were killed Monday after a landslide buried their house in a village in northwestern Nepal, a local police officer told AFP.

"Part of a hillside above Malika village broke away and smashed into the house below, killing all the family members," the officer, Prakash Gharti Magar, said.

DAMAK, Nepal, June 17 (UNHCR) – Seventy-nine-year-old Keshar Singh Rai vividly remembers the day he started his life as a refugee. It was August 1992, when he came to Nepal from Bhutan with his wife Bhai Maya Rai and their three sons.

"Before leaving Bhutan we were in the greatest dilemma of our life. We made a very difficult decision to leave Bhutan without our eldest son and two daughters," said Keshar Singh, with tears rolling down his cheeks. Their eldest son was in a different town for work and two daughters were already married and living with their husbands' families.

Link: Nepal Monthly Update – May 2013

Executive Summary

The United Nations Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN) was established in March 2007 to complement the Government’s Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) and mobilize resources for activities of clear, short-term relevance to the peace process. This Sixth Consolidated Annual Progress Report on Activities Implemented under the UNPFN reports on the implementation of projects approved for funding as of 31 December 2012, both funded directly by the UNPFN as well as projects funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).

Communities in towns that line Nepal’s main highways are better able to deal with the severe water and sanitation issues that result from sudden and massive urbanization.

Birtamod, Jhapa—Every drop of fresh water from the tap in Durga Ratna Darjini’s home reminds her of the days, not so long ago, when she had to pump unclean ground water up by hand.

Access to safe drinking water has made the widow’s life easier in a multitude of ways, she says.

At least seven persons belonging to two families were killed and four others went missing in a landslide that hit a remote village of Thukimba-6 of Taplejung district Wednesday night.

The victims have been identified as Salman Siwa, 40, his wife Manamaya Siwa, 36, their sons Nasiram Siwa and Khagendra Siwa including Naina Siwa, 10, daughter of Tejman Siwa. Two people who were also killed in the incident are yet to be identified. The bodies of the victims were recovered from a huge pile of debris.

What are possible models for Nepal’s education system in the future federal state structure? This question is at the center of the new two year project “Planning effective delivery of education in a federal state” that UNESCO will present at a meeting on 30 May 2013.

Funded with a budget of USD 378,000 by the United Nations Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN), the project contributes to Nepal’s peace and development process by fostering constructive dialogue and planning leading to progress in constitution making.

JHIRPU PHULPINGKATT, Nepal , Jun 2 2013 (IPS) - Residents of Jhirpu Phulpingkatt, a village nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, about 110 km from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, are on red alert.

As the impacts of climate change batter the towering mountains above them, these villagers on the banks of the Bhote Koshi river have started to dread the sound of incoming text messages, which may carry evacuation warnings.

Introduction

Migrant labour is a major feature of Nepal’s development in the last few decades and at present contributes to more than 20 percent of Nepal’s gross domestic product1. The World Bank estimated that in 2011 more than two million people were working abroad, 40 percent of them in India2. The number of migrants to India is proportionally higher than to other destinations, mainly due to the substantial costs and paperwork involved for overseas migration.