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Foreign Secretary of Nepal Bharat Raj Paudyal held a meeting with Jan Adams, Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, in Canberra on Tuesday. During the meeting, they discussed various matters of bilateral relations and agreed to further expand and strengthen cooperation in different areas of mutual interests, read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the occasion, the memorandum of understanding was signed between the government of Nepal and the government of Australia on Cooperation on the Fields of Water Resources Management. Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary at the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat of Nepal and Jan Adams, Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments, the statement read. A Nepali delegation led by Foreign Secretary Paudyal arrived in Canberra on August 28 to hold the second meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia which was scheduled to be held on August 30. Other delegation members from Nepal include Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary, Water and Energy Commission, Kailash Raj Pokharel, Ambassador of Nepal to Australia, Lok Bahadur Thapa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sita Basnet, Under Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kul Bahadur Magar, Deputy Head of Mission of Embassy of Nepal.  

The second meeting of the Bilateral Consultations Mechanism (BCM) between Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia was held in Canberra on Tuesday. Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Justin Hayhurst, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, led their respective delegations to the BCM meeting. The two sides reviewed the bilateral relations between Nepal and Australia and exchanged views on further strengthening the bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields including education, energy, investment, trade, tourism, technology transfer, migration, cooperation in climate action, and disaster risk reduction, among others, read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both sides agreed to prioritize the exchange of high-level visits, promote people to people contacts, and facilitate trade, investment and transfer of technology. They also discussed cooperation in multilateral forums, including the exchange of experiences in UN Peace keeping operations. While appreciating Australian cooperation to Nepal, Foreign Secretary Paudyal requested the Australian side to place Nepal as a priority country for Australian aid, support for post-COVID economic recovery, graduation from the LDC status, and realize the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and consider issuing visa services from the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Earlier, Nepal and Australia signed MOU on Cooperation on Water Resource Management yesterday under which Australia will provide support on capacity development and training technical assistance in water resource management among others. The Nepali delegation led by the Foreign Secretary comprised Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary, Water and Energy Commission, Kailash Raj Pokharel, Ambassador of Nepal to Australia, Lok Bahadur Thapa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sita Basnet, Under Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Kul Bahadur Magar, Deputy Head of Mission of Embassy of Nepal. Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia was established on 14 July 2017 and its first meeting was held in Kathmandu on 16 August 2018.

Business tycoon Gautam Adani is now the world’s third-richest person after surpassing Louis Vuitton's Bernard Arnault on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, IndiaToday reported. The latest listing on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows Gautam Adani in the third spot, behind Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla's Elon Musk. Gautam Adani's net worth has been pegged at USD 137B, followed by Bernard Arnault at USD 136B. According to reports, this is the first time a person of Asian origin has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Nepal reported 257 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 458 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 143 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 463 people underwent antigen tests, of which 114 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours and 232 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 3, 146 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 2. 33 points to close at 1,995.34 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1. 49 points to close at 388. 95 points. A total of 2,914,505 unit shares of 226 companies were traded for Rs 1. 01 billion. Meanwhile, Upper Hewakhola Hydropower Company Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 8. 45 percent. Wean Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 4. 77 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2. 86 trillion.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 94, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 94, 500 per tola on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 94, 300 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver is being traded at Rs 1,145 per tola today.

Three women died after being struck by a lightning at Malahi in Garuda Municipality-3, Rautahat on Tuesday. Police identified the deceased as Sudmiya Devi (39), wife of Rup Narayan Shahi, daughter Jagiya Kumari (17) and local Satya Narayan Sahani’s daughter Manisha Kumari (18). Critically injured in the incident, they were rushed to the City Hospital but breathed their last during the course of treatment. The tragedy occurred while they were working in the paddy field of Saroj Sahani at around 7: 30 am today. Satya Narayan’s wife Saheli Devi (40) was injured in the incident. Police said that she is undergoing treatment at the City Hospital.

Serena Williams extended her US Open farewell with a gritty opening win on an entertaining night packed with hope and celebration in New York, BBC reported.