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Nepal reported 21 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 856 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 19 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 049 people underwent antigen tests, of which six were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 15 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 97 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged by 29. 89 points to close at 1,966.37 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index fell 4. 60 points to reach 378. 90 points.

A total of 4,182,369 units of shares of 229 companies were traded for Rs 1.49 billion.

Likewise, all sub-indices saw red in today’s market. Life insurance topped the chart with 189. 58 points.

At the end of the day, total market civilization stands at Rs 2. 80 trillion.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Govinda Prasad Sharma Koirala clarified that the government has not made any preparation to sign the State Partnership Program (SPP) agreement.

He said so while speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Minister Koirala made it clear that neither the government nor any side have urged the concerned authority to sign the agreement.

Responding to the queries on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Minister Koirala said that the US government welcomed the interpretative declaration on the same day when the $500 million pact was endorsed from the Parliament. Hence, he urged not to be in doubt as the declaration was part of the agreement.

A woman was arrested with one round of bullet from the Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday.

Kiran Kumari Singh (36) of Haripur Municipality-7, Sarlahi was apprehended with one round of bullet from the hand baggage checking area of the airport, police said.

Singh was nabbed while she was about to board a flight of Buddha Airlines.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Amazon says it will begin delivering parcels to shoppers by drone for the first time later this year, pending final regulatory approval, BBC reported.

Users in the Californian town of Lockeford will be able to sign up to have thousands of goods delivered by air to their homes, it said.

The shopping giant has promised drone delivery for years but has faced delays and reported setbacks. 

But it said it planned to roll out the service more widely after Lockeford.

"The promise of drone delivery has often felt like science fiction," it said in a blog post. "[But] later this year, Amazon customers living in Lockeford, California, will become among the first to receive Prime Air deliveries.

"Their feedback about Prime Air will help us create a service that will safely scale to meet the needs of customers everywhere."

Amazon said the drones will be programmed to drop parcels in the backyards of customers in Lockeford, which has a population of about 4,000 people, according to BBC.

They will be able to fly "beyond-line-of-sight", meaning they don't have to be controlled by a visual observer and instead use sensors to avoid other aircraft, people, pets and obstacles.

The aim is to get packages to customers safely in less than an hour, the retailer said, BBC reported.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden said that the US intervention has increased significantly in Nepal after the endorsement of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, he urged the government not to act in a way that would create imbalances in non-aligned foreign policy.

“The US intervention has increased in Nepal after the ratification of the MCC,” Lingden said, adding, “Let’s not do anything that will create imbalances in non-aligned foreign policy.”

Meanwhile, saying that the federal election is approaching nearer, leader Lingden demanded that the independent election government should be formed to hold the election in a free, fair and transparent manner.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Gagan Thapa has raised questions over the State Partnership Program (SPP).

Saying that Nepal cannot take part in any program involving Nepal Army, Thapa, during the meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, said that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba should answer on the issue.

He said that the doubts on the issue will be cleared if the Prime Minister answers the queries in the Parliament.

The main opposition CPN-UML lawmaker Pradeep Gyawali had also demanded the government's answer on the matter in the Parliament meeting today. He said that the agreement will not be accepted under any circumstances.

The UML has been protesting after the draft of the SPP agreement was made public in a section of Nepali media.

A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court demanding re-election to the top post of the District Coordination Committee of Dailekh.

Durga Kumari Shrestha, who had filed her candidacy for the top post of the District Coordination Committee, filed writ petition on Tuesday.

In the writ filed against the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Dailekh among others, she has demanded an order to hold the re-election to the top post of the District Coordination Committee as per the law. 

Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Dailekh, Chief Election Officer Dandapani Lamichhane, District Coordination Committee, Dailekh, Independent candidate Nawaraj Shahi, who was elected to the top post of the District Coordination Committee, proposer of independent candidate Sundar Kumar KC, supporter Bina Karki, Province Election Office, Karnali Province and Election Commission have been made defendants. 

In the writ, the petitioner said that Nawaraj Shahi, who was elected as a member of Aathbis Municipality-7, Dailekh, could not file independent candidacy for the top post of District Coordination Committee. 

He was elected to the top post of the District Coordination Committee, Dailekh on June 11.