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A federal judge in Florida has struck down the Biden administration's mask mandate for airplanes and other forms of public transit, calling it unlawful, BBC reported.

US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle said the national public health agency had exceeded its legal powers in issuing the mandate. 

The US transit authority said it would now no longer enforce mask wearing. 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just last week extended the mandate until 3 May.

Judge Mizelle is based in Florida, but federal judges can issue rulings that block nationwide government policies.

Her order on Monday effectively removes the masking requirement in all airports, trains, taxis and transit hubs.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the decision "disappointing" and noted that the CDC still recommends travellers cover their mouths and noses, according to BBC.

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment to Monday's ruling. 

Last week US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the mandate had been extended into May because of rising Covid-19 cases. 

The lawsuit was first brought in July 2021 by the conservative group Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF) and two Florida residents who said wearing masks increased their anxiety and panic attacks. 

The plaintiffs argued that the CDC mandate was "arbitrary and capricious" because it gave exemptions to certain groups - like children under two years of age - but not to others. 

In her ruling, Judge Mizelle, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, found that the CDC had improperly invoked what is known as the "good cause exception", allowing the agency to skip public notice and comment on the mandate.

"Because 'our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends,'" Judge Mizelle wrote, invoking another case, "the Court declares unlawful and vacates the Mask Mandate."

Shortly after the legal decision was issued, the Transportation Security Administration - which runs US airport security - confirmed it would no longer enforce the mask mandate, BBC reported.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines said face coverings would no longer be required on domestic flights and certain international flights.

Since the CDC first issued a public health order in February 2021 requiring masks for travellers, more than 7,000 unruly passenger incidents have been reported - 70% of them involving masking rules, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Biden administration's Covid-19 mandates have had mixed success in the court system.

The Supreme Court in January blocked the White House from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test rule for employees at large private companies.

But the Biden administration's requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against Covid-19 was upheld on appeal earlier this month, according to BBC.

After days of regrouping and reinforcing, the Russian military began a new and potentially climactic phase of the war in Ukraine by launching its long-feared, full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country’s industrial heartland, the Donbas, Ukrainian officials said, Associated Press reported.

The stepped-up assaults began Monday along a broad front of over 300 miles (480 kilometers), Ukrainian officials said.

“The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a video address. He said a “significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive.”

Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia. Russia has declared the capture of the Donbas to be its main goal in the war since its attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, failed.

“No matter how many Russian troops are driven there, we will fight,” Zelenskyy vowed. “We will defend ourselves.”

Before the offensive got underway, Russia bombarded the western city of Lviv and other targets in what appeared to be an intensified bid to grind down the country’s defenses, according to the Associated Press.

The Ukraine military’s general staff said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces had intensified assaults in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions — both part of the Donbas — and in the area of Zaporizhzhia.

On Monday morning, “almost along the whole front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defenses,” Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, told Ukrainian media. “Fortunately, our military is holding out. They passed through only two cities. This is Kreminna and another small town.”

There were street battles in Kreminna, and Russian forces took control of the city, according to Luhansk regional military administrator Serhiy Haidai. He told Ukrainian TV that heavy artillery fire set seven residential buildings on fire and targeted a sports complex where the nation’s Olympic team trains.

Haidai said that before advancing, Russian forces “just started leveling everything to the ground.” He said his forces retreated to regroup and keep fighting.

Meanwhile, in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov Regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard that was holding out against Russian forces, said in a video message that Russia had begun dropping bunker-buster bombs on the Azovstal steel plant where the regiment was holed up, Associated Press reported.

The sprawling plant contains a warren of tunnels where both fighters and civilians are sheltering. It is believed to be the last major pocket of resistance in the shattered city.

In Lviv, a city close to the Polish border that has seen only sporadic attacks during almost two months of war, at least seven people were reported killed in missile strikes. Lviv has been a haven for civilians fleeing the fighting elsewhere. And to the Kremlin’s increasing anger, it has also become a major gateway for NATO-supplied weapons.

The attack on Lviv hit three military infrastructure facilities and an auto shop, according to the region’s governor, Maksym Kozytskyy. He said the wounded included a child.

A hotel sheltering Ukrainians who had fled the fighting in other parts of the country was also badly damaged, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.

“The nightmare of war has caught up with us even in Lviv,” said Lyudmila Turchak, who fled with two children from the eastern city of Kharkiv.

The biggest city in western Ukraine and a major transportation hub, Lviv is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Poland, a NATO member.

Russia has complained about the increasing flow of Western weapons to Ukraine and warned that such aid could have consequences. On Russian state media, some anchors have charged that the supplies amount to direct Western engagement in the fight against Russia, according to the Associated Press.

Ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury has said that there is a tremendous eagerness in Bangladesh to import hydropower from Nepal.

Speaking at a program organized by the Institute of Foreign Affairs to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the envoy said both countries are actively engaged in the discussions to facilitate the export of hydroelectricity from Nepal to Bangladesh.

The Ambassador said that the two countries are working on expanding the road, rail, and air connectivity. The recently signed BBIN agreement is expected to remove all impediments to seamless road connectivity between the two countries, the envoy said.

We are also in the process of upgrading the existing air service agreement to connect more airports which will facilitate more trade and tourism in both countries, he added.

The envoy stated that both sides are expecting high-level engagements including foreign secretary and commerce level talks in order to strengthen the institutional linkages and streamline the trade-related issues.

The envoy informed that the two countries are negotiating a Preferential Trade Agreement(PTA) and a bilateral investment protection treaty is under consideration. 

An elderly man died after he was crushed by the chariot of Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur on Monday.

The deceased has been identified as Durgaman Kasapal (71) of Katunje, Suryabinayak Municipality-5, Bhaktapur.

Critically injured in the incident, he breathed his last during the course of treatment at the Bhaktapur Hospital.

Nepal reported 10 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 3, 600 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which nine returned positive. Likewise, 1,091 people underwent antigen tests, of which one was tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 34 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 350 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Teen Leaders (NTL) has organized a graduation and welcome ceremony for its third and fourth batch respectively amid a certificate distribution program at Hotel Royal Singi in Kathmandu on 16 April 2022. The event was inaugurated by former Deputy Prime Minister Bhim Rawal who urged youths to join politics. He added that it is not possible to improve our situation without youth’s participation and efforts on mainstream politics.

Surendra Basnet, vice president of National Youth Council showed his commitment to collaborate with NTL members in various youth-centric programs in the coming days.

Similarly, president of Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal (HISSAN) Ramesh Silwal thanked the executive team of NTL for conducting such a year-long program as it helps students to focus on their extracurriculars simultaneously. Chairman of Golyan Group, Pawan Golyan said, “Post teen phase is the time to grow oneself from every direction as this time has the hunger of learning.”

Editor-In-Chief of AP1 HD television Tikaram Yatri suggested students to know their passion and work to achieve expertise in the similar field. “I would not have succeeded if I were in politics as that’s not my expertise,” he added. Similarly, Manoj Gyawali, deputy general manager of Nabil Bank presented the importance of extracurriculars by giving the example of process during hiring a person for a job.

General Manager of Turkish Airlines for Nepal Abdullah Tuncer Kececi said that he is happy with the progress of NTL members and his company is ready to help students whenever in need.

The program was chaired by Shiva Danai, director of NTL. He requested the stakeholders for the collaboration with NTL so that they jointly help the scenario of students. Lastly, Bishal KC, member of the organizing committee and executive director of Career Point Education Services Pvt. Ltd. said, “Nepali academic houses have provided good education to the students but they have not been able to help in their entire development. NTL is hence helping the students to connect the missing dots.”

India’s tally of daily COVID-19 cases nearly doubled on Monday from the previous day to more than 2,000 for the first time in a month, government data showed, and the southern state of Kerala reported a big jump in deaths, Reuters reported.

India was at the centre of the global COVID crisis this time last year but the situation has improved since then and most precautions including the wearing of masks have recently been dropped.

But cases have been creeping up in the country of 1.35 billion people, with 2,183 new infections reported on Monday, taking the running total to more than 43 million, according to health ministry data, according to Reuters.

The ministry reported 214 more deaths, including 151 since April 13 in the southern state of Kerala, which is widely considered to issue more accurate data than many other states.

India has reported a total of about 522,000 deaths from the coronavirus though many global experts have said its real death toll could be up to 4 million, from several hundred million cases.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has repeatedly rejected those higher estimates saying the mathematical models used to estimate deaths in smaller countries cannot be relied on for India, Reuters reported.

Apart from Kerala, the capital, Delhi, and the states of Maharashtra and Haryana reported triple-digit increases in infections in the past 24 hours.

However, hospitalisations remained low though those numbers have also been inching up over recent days since all restrictions were dropped, according to Reuters.