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Israel carried out air strikes on Sanaa International Airport on Wednesday after Houthi rebels launched two ballistic missiles toward Israel, both of which were intercepted.

Al Jazeera reported that four strikes damaged the runway and a Yemenia Airways plane. The airport had recently resumed limited operations, mainly for United Nations and humanitarian flights, after previous Israeli attacks.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes targeted “terror sites” and destroyed the last remaining aircraft at the airport. He warned that any attack on Israel would be met with a “heavy price”, as stated by Al Jazeera.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed legislation requiring age verification on app stores operated by Apple and Google. Beginning January 1, 2026, users in Texas will be required to prove their age before downloading apps, and minors will need parental consent for downloads and in-app purchases, according to BBC.

The law intends to promote online child safety, but it has drawn criticism from tech companies.  Apple opposes the bill, claiming that it may jeopardize user privacy by forcing the collection of sensitive data from all users, not just minors. Google has not made any public comments.

Texas follows Utah in enacting similar laws, but federal measures such as the Kids Online Safety Act stay stalled in Congress. States are increasingly taking on their own responsibility to regulate online safety, BBC reported.

An earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck Kaski district on Wednesday.

The tremor occurred at 11:56 am today with its epicenter at Phulibang, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center in Lainchaur.

Earlier, on May 26, an earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale occurred with its epicenter around Ramidanda in Jajarkot district.

In recent times, a series of tremors has been occurring in Nepal.

Due to being in the Himalayan region, Nepal is considered an earthquake-prone area.

King Charles paid a brief visit to Canada on Tuesday, expressing his strong support for the country as it faces annexation threats and tariffs from US President Donald Trump.

Charles commended Canada as "strong and free" and underlined its ideals and global leadership during the first speech by a British monarch in nearly 70 years at the opening of Parliament, according to Reuters.

The King, who is undergoing cancer treatment, was accompanied by Queen Camilla and wore the Order of Canada. The visit lasted fewer than 24 hours.

SpaceX’s ninth Starship test flight ended in failure Tuesday, with both the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage destroyed.

The 122-meter rocket lifted off at 7:37 p.m. local time from Starbase. The Super Heavy booster failed during engine re-ignition for landing in the Gulf of Mexico, following a deliberately high-stress descent, according to Xinhua.

The upper stage of the Starship suffered a fuel tank leak, resulting in loss of attitude control. A cargo hatch also failed to open, hampering the deployment of test payloads. Mission control deactivated the vehicle, resulting in an uncontrolled reentry over the Indian Ocean.

This is the third consecutive loss of the Block 2 Starship upper stage, increasing concerns about NASA's Artemis program, which depends on a modified version for future Moon landings, Xinhua reported.

The recent month-long teachers’ movement, which was driven by the demand for the immediate enactment of the Education Act, has underscored the need for urgent reforms in Nepal’s community education system. While the movement primarily focused on securing professional rights and employment stability, it largely sidelined issues related to the quality of education—raising concerns about whether such protests truly contribute to meaningful educational reform.

Although the movement did not directly address systemic improvements, some of its outcomes are expected to indirectly benefit school education. However, once the protest gained momentum, discussions around key policy issues that should have been addressed in the Education Act were overshadowed by demands for teachers’ rights and benefits. Experts argue that workplace stability and social security are key to unlocking educators' full potential.

Despite this understanding, various categories of teachers have been created over time—often due to political favoritism and donor-driven programs—leading to further complications. A lack of timely problem-solving by authorities has emboldened protestors, allowing them to dominate education discourse more than the official mechanisms.

Two major factors are seen as the primary reasons behind the delay in passing the Education Act. First, existing education policy mandates that institutional schools be converted into trusts after a certain period, a point of contention. Second, the government has yet to clearly decide whether to enforce the constitutional provision of free school education or to redefine the objective of school education altogether.

This delay is further complicated by a conflict of interest. Many political leaders own institutional schools and hold influential positions in the education sector. This dual role hinders the creation of unbiased legislation. Moreover, although the constitution and laws guarantee compulsory and free education up to grade eight, in practice, community schools continue to charge parents monthly fees under various pretexts, including for “support” and administrative costs. Even the Examination Board collects fees under the guise of registration and exam charges.

Given these realities, there is growing acknowledgment within the current leadership that making school education entirely free may not be feasible without compromising quality. As the debate continued following the submission of a parliamentary subcommittee’s report, attention remained fixed on teacher adjustments—such as increasing the number of positions and making temporary or contract-based teachers permanent—rather than addressing deeper issues within the education system.

Meanwhile, data from the Economic Survey sheds light on structural challenges within community schools. Of the 27,990 community schools operating nationwide, 15,965 have fewer than 100 students. Organizing proper teaching and staffing for such small student populations is highly complex. Another 9,704 schools have between 100 and 500 students, while only around 1,600 schools enroll more than 1,000 students—suggesting that only a small fraction meet the criteria for being considered standard schools.

This data indicates that the current focus of debate is detached from the pressing needs of the education sector. In light of this, restructuring and consolidating schools should be part of the broader reform agenda. While merging schools may be necessary, it alone cannot solve the problem. Instead, implementing multi-grade teaching systems with appropriate teacher training in sparsely populated areas could address the challenges more effectively.

As the government prepares to introduce the new School Education Act, it is crucial to base reforms on ground realities. A task force composed of independent experts should be formed to study the actual conditions of community schools. Without considering factors such as Nepal’s diverse geography, migration patterns, and shifting parental attitudes, any hastily prepared legislation risks exacerbating existing problems. While the government has proposed issuing the act by July 29, education stakeholders argue that taking four to six additional months to develop a more comprehensive and responsive law would be more beneficial in the long run.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 600 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 189, 300 per tola today.

Meanwhile, the price of silver, however, has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 2, 005 per tola today.

A fire broke out at the Tirupati Wood Panel Industry in Sunsari–Morang Industrial Corridor on Wednesday.

Efforts are underway to bring the fire that broke out at 2: 30 am under control.

According to the Chief of the Area Police Office DSP Laxmi Bhandari, the fire may have started due to a short circuit.

He said that a total of 16 fire engines from Dharan, Biratnagar, Itahari, Damak, Pathari, Duhi, and Inaruwa have been used to contain the fire.