Nepal death toll passes 6,800 as government comes under criticism for blocking aid


Officials in Nepal told NPR the death toll from last week's 7.8-magnitude earthquake has passed 6,800, and thousands of people are still missing.
The latest numbers were reported as the Nepali government faces criticism for allegedly blocking relief shipments to remote areas of the country, The Guardian reports. NGOs and other international bodies have reported that their supplies are being stopped at the Indian border and held up for taxation, a charge Nepal's finance secretary denied.
But anecdotal reports of blocked shipments continue to be made, prompting U.N. representative Jamie McGoldrick to warn that Nepal "should not be using peacetime customs methodology."
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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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