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An Israeli airstrike killed at least 24 Palestinians in a tent encampment housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, local health authorities said on Sunday, as mediators hosted a new round of talks between Israel and Hamas, BBC reported.

Israel expanded its military offensive in the enclave and ramped up bombing that has killed hundreds of people over the past 72 hours.

The Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes in the past few days had killed hundreds of Palestinians despite a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to the region.

Hamas described the strike as a "new brutal crime" in a statement on Sunday and blamed the U.S. administration for the escalation.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the latest strikes but it said in an earlier statement that it was conducting extensive strikes in areas of Gaza as part of its plan to reach its war objectives, according to BBC.

Donald Trump says he will be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Monday about ending the war in Ukraine, saying the call would be about "stopping the 'bloodbath'", BBC reported.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said the call would take place at 10:00 EDT (14:00 GMT) and he would then speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the leaders of some Nato countries.

Russia and Ukraine were unable to reach any breakthrough when they held their first face-to-face talks in three years in Istanbul on Friday, although a prisoner swap was agreed.

Trump had offered to attend the talks in Turkey if Putin would also be there, but the Russian president declined to go, according to BBC.

Minister for Forests and Environment, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, today addressed the plenary session of the Sagarmatha Sambaad that kicked off today. 

The session was   themed “Climate Change, Mountains, and the Future of Humanity" where the Minister said ," Nepal, home to eight of the world’s fourteen highest mountains, bears a sacred responsibility to safeguard these natural sanctuaries."

Such mountains constitute part of what is often referred to as the “Third Pole”, a region that sustains one-fifth of humanity with freshwater, biodiversity, and spiritual vitality, he added. 

"These mountains are not only majestic, but they are also essential climate regulators, yet, they now stand on the frontline of a rapidly intensifying climate emergency," the Minister reminded the forum.

He went on to say that the Himalayan landscape is transforming before our eyes." Glaciers are retreating. Ecosystems are shifting. Traditional ways of life are being upended. This is not a local crisis, it is a global one."

Highlighting the severity of climate change impacts on the Himalayas, he said," from the Himalayas to the Andes, from the Alps to the Rockies, the world’s mountains are under siege. The vulnerability is shared from highlands to islands."

What begins in the mountains ripples downstream, affecting river basins, agricultural plains, and coastal ecosystems. Indeed, the fate of humanity is intertwined with the fate of these mountains, according to the Minister who apprised the session that climate indicators are surpassing alarming thresholds. 

According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 was the hottest in the past 175 years. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report confirms that mountain regions are warming at twice the global average, he presented the facts. 

In the last three years, we’ve seen the largest glacier mass loss on record. Sea levels are rising faster than in the past two decades. Many of these changes are irreversible, he added. 

From retreating glaciers to increasing glacial lake outbursts, avalanches, floods, and shifting hydrological cycles, the consequences of climate change are widespread. The cryosphere is at risk like never before, threatening water security, food systems, and regional stability, the Minister said.  

 He further highlighted that "for Nepal, the stakes are especially dire. Our rugged topography itself amplifies our vulnerability.  Fragile ecosystems, steep terrain, and rain-fed agriculture heighten our susceptibility to climate-induced disasters." 

And it is the most vulnerable among us—smallholder farmers, women, indigenous communities, Dalits, children, and the elderly—who bear the heaviest burdens.

Despite our negligible contribution to carbon emissions, we face the full brunt of a climate crisis we did not cause. The costs for our socio-economic development are mounting. Climate change undermines our development aspirations, including our goal to graduate from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category and achieve developed country status by 2043. 

In 2023, Nepal’s per capita CO₂ emissions stood at just 0.57 tons, far below the global average of 6.76 tons, the Minister addressed the session, adding that our forests, covering nearly 46% of the country, act as vital carbon sinks and biodiversity havens. 

Even in the face of daunting challenges, Nepal remains resolute in its climate leadership. We have embraced a justice-centered approach, embedding climate action into national planning. Our enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) is dedicated to achieving net-zero emissions by 2045—five years ahead of the global target. 

Our National Climate Change Policy and National Adaptation Plan provide clear roadmaps to resilience, with sectoral strategies targeting agriculture, energy, water, infrastructure, and biodiversity.

Through a decentralized framework, local governments are empowered to spearhead climate action through Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs), ensuring the inclusion of women, indigenous peoples, and youth—voices that are vital yet often marginalized in climate discourse.

Nepal’s Community Forestry Program, largely led by women and indigenous communities, demonstrates how nature-based solutions can support both conservation and human development, he said. "Our approach is holistic - a just transition to a green economy, building climate-resilient infrastructure, and securing sustainable livelihoods."

Nepal, as a committed Party to the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement, urges urgent and collective global climate action. Emphasizing the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), the keynote speaker highlighted the importance of the Polluter Pays Principle and the need for climate finance that is new, additional, predictable, grant-based, and easily accessible.

He criticized the reliance on loans—over 70% of climate finance in 2020—saying it burdens vulnerable nations like Nepal and erodes trust. The unmet $100 billion climate finance commitment must be replaced with a credible and urgent $300 billion target, guided by justice.

Mountain nations like Nepal, facing rapid cryosphere degradation, must be prioritized. Loss and damage funding is seen not as charity but climate justice. Carbon markets are welcomed provided they uphold fairness, environmental integrity, and benefit local communities, the Minister said.

Mountains are vital ecosystems that support climate regulation, biodiversity, and billions of people, yet remain underrepresented in climate discourse. Nepal calls for a Global Alliance for Mountains and Cryosphere under the UNFCCC, and integration of mountain ecosystem services into global frameworks, the statement further added

The minister stressed that the “Early Warnings for All” initiative must extend to mountains, supported by robust monitoring, risk assessments, and adaptive strategies to build resilient mountain communities.

The cryosphere serves as the Earth’s early warning system, and preserving it is essential to limiting warming to 1.5°C. This is a moral imperative and a planetary necessity, the statement mentions

The statement concluded with a call for the Sagarmatha Sambaad to drive action, not just dialogue. Nepal urged the global community to act urgently, inclusively, and decisively, to safeguard mountains—the "soul of the planet"—for current and future generations. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli handed over the Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC-3) to the representative of the President of Azerbaijan and President of COP29, Mukhtar Babayev, in order to disseminate a positive message in Sagarmatha Sambaad.  

 At an inaugural session of the most awaited Sagarmatha Sambaad, Prime Minister Oli officially unveiled NDC-3 and handed it over to Babayev.

The Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday had endorsed the NDC draft prepared by the Ministry of Forests and Environment based on the Paris Agreement under the COP-21 of the party country of United Nations Framework related to Climate Change. 

Nepal prepared the NDC in accordance with goals set in the Paris Agreement which has the provision that all party countries have to submit their NDC in every five years. Nepal had submitted its first NDC in 2016 and second in 2020. It had approved the NDC-3 with a goal of submitting it by 2025. 

Nepal has prepared the draft incorporating sustainable goals, mobilization of domestic and international financial sources and climate implementation plan up to local levels covering the period up to 2035.

Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has described the mountains as humanity's shared global resources.

In her welcome statement in the Opening Session of the Sagarmatha Sambaad organized for the first time in Kathmandu on the theme of 'Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity', she said the mountains are the source of fresh water to millions of people.

Stating that the Himalayas are bearing the greatest burden of climate change-induced stressors today, she noted that the rate of glacier melting due to climate change effects has significantly increased. Minister Rana mentioned that this has negatively impacted the daily lives of the mountain communities.

"Mountains store and supply freshwater, act as natural carbon sinks and are home to breathtaking biodiversity and abundant natural resources. They offer an array of sustainable climate solutions in the form of reforestation, watershed protection and eco-tourism," she stated.

Reminding that the climate change-induced disasters have shaken the very foundation of human existence and livelihoods, the Foreign Affairs Minister said the floods and glacial lake outburst triggered by climate change impact has caused a big damage, and the droughts, water scarcity and forest fires has given untold suffering.

"The Sambaad provides an occasion for reflection and introspection and aims to encourage meaningful conversations on matters that matter to us all, from the mountains to the seas, and from the Global North to the Global South," she added.

Noting that the Himalayas, in particular, are facing an unprecedented stress test in real time today, exposing not only the fragile nature of our mountain ecosystems but also a glaring evidence of the lack of meaningful global climate action, she said Nepal, as a mountainous country, is forced to face a heavy and disproportionate burden of the negative impacts of climate change.

"Yet there are incredible examples of many local communities fighting strenuously against climate change. Women, indigenous people, youth, and marginalized groups- especially in mountain regions- are the gentle caretakers of our natural world. They fight on the home ground and they know how to fight a long fight."

The minister stressed on the occasion that recognizing and giving value to their local knowledge and lived experience is critical to building adaptive and sustainable communities, as is empowering them with resources and opportunities for finding sustainable solutions to an existential crisis.

Nepal has committed to achieving the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.  Hydropower, a clean form of energy, has remained Nepal's largest source of electricity. 

Minister Rana shared community forest, a natural resource management program pioneered by Nepal, has not only helped Nepal enlarge its forest cover significantly but has also emerged as a model of participatory conservation the world over.

"Climate change is a global crisis transcending national boundaries. Nothing less than a global alliance based on justice and solidarity can hope to make a dent on the existential crisis that climate change brings in its wake", she mentioned, adding that we call for a sufficient and effective loss and damage fund that could be easily accessed by countries in crisis. 

The Foreign Minister added that the world should acknowledge the vulnerabilities of countries like Nepal as well as support targeted mitigation and adaptation strategies through the provision of climate finance, adaptation support and technology transfer.

Nepal has therefore been consistently at the forefront of advocating for climate justice in international forums and multilateral institutions, she opined.

Minister Rana argued that this forum would be an opportunity to contemplate on the linkage between climate change and regional and international peace, security and stability as well as the impacts of climate change on migration, food security, humanitarian crisis and disaster risks. 

She expressed the belief that the Dialogue would help spark fresh ideas, foster cooperation and mobilize greater political willpower in combating the specter of climate change and the existential threat to the future of humanity.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 3, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 184, 800 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 181, 800 per tola on Thursday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1, 945 per tola today.

Two women died after being knocked down by a speeding car at Basantapur in Buddhabhumi Municipality-1, Kapilvastu on Friday.

The car hit them while they were on morning walk along the Gorusinghe-Arghakhanchi road section, Police Inspector Birat Sharma Paudel of the Area Police Office, Gorusinghe said.   

The deceased have been identified as Shanta Khatri (60) and Til Kumari Rayamajhi (65). 

Critically injured in the incident, the duo breathed their last on their way to a hospital.   

Police have arrested car driver Khimraj Shrestha (32) of Sainamaina Municipality-5, Rupandehi district for investigation.

The Sagarmatha Sambaad, the international dialogue on climate action, sustainability, and global partnerships, themed "Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity" has kicked off in Kathmandu today. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the Sagarmatha Sambaad amid a special function a while ago.

More than 350 national and international distinguished personalities are present at the event.   

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister and Coordinator of Sambaad Management Committee Arzu Rana Deuba welcomed the distinguished guests attending the event. 

Currently, the distinguished guests are addressing the event. 

There will be parallel thematic sessions after the closing of the inaugural session.