Italy’s Meloni concedes referendum defeat, calling it ‘a lost opportunity’
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has conceded defeat in a referendum on her justice reforms, while confirming she would continue as prime minister, Aljazeera reported.
With almost all votes counted, the provisional result from Sunday and Monday’s constitutional referendum put the “No” camp at about 53.5 percent, and “Yes” at about 46.5 percent, with a higher-than-expected turnout of more than 58 percent.
“The Italians have decided. And we respect this decision,” Meloni said in a statement on X on Monday, alongside a video, saying the result of the referendum was “a lost opportunity to modernise Italy”.
Light rain likely in Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali Provinces
The weather in hilly and Himalayan regions in Koshi, Madhesh and Lumbini Provinces are generally cloudy, while the remaining parts in the country are partly cloudy at present.
According to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, light rain and snowfall coupled with thunder and lightning are taking place in one or two parts of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces.
This afternoon, generally cloudy conditions are expected in the hilly and Himalayan regions in the country including the Koshi Province, while partly cloudy conditions will prevail in the Tarai.
There is a possibility of light rain and snowfall with thunder and lightning at a few places in the hilly and Himalayan regions of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces, and at one or two places in the remaining hilly and Himalayan regions.
Tonight, generally cloudy conditions are expected in the hilly and Himalayan regions and the weather will remain clear in Tarai.
There is a possibility of light rain and snowfall with thunder and lightning at some places in the hilly and Himalayan regions of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces, at a few places in the remaining hilly and Himalayan regions.
According to the Department, the country is under the partial influence of westerly winds along with local winds at present.
World TB Day being marked today
World TB Day is being marked across the world today.
In Nepal, different programs are being organized by the Ministry of Health and Population, and the health care fraternities to raise public awareness against TB.
As per the National Strategic Plan to End Tuberculosis, Nepal has set a goal to decrease incidence rate from 238 in 2020/21 to 81 patients per 100,000 population by 2025/26; decrease mortality rate from 58 in 2020/21 to 23 per 100,000 by 2020/21; end TB by 2035; prevent TB by 2050; and reduce the catastrophic cost to zero.
This year's World TB Day 2026 is being celebrated under the theme of ‘Yes! We can end TB!’, which is a bold call to action and a message of hope, affirming that it is possible to get back on track and turn the tide on the TB epidemic, even in a challenging global environment, the World Health Organization stated.
"With decisive country leadership, increased domestic and international investment, rapid uptake of new WHO recommendations and innovations, accelerated action, and strong multisectoral collaboration, ending TB is not just aspirational - it is achievable," it said.
According to the WHO, 83 million lives have been saved since 2000 by treating TB patients, while 10.7 million people fell ill with TB in 2024 and 1.23 million people died of TB in the same year. In Nepal, 67,000 TB patients were confirmed in 2024.
Four killed in separate road accidents
At least four people died in separate road accidents in Doti, Jhapa and Parbat districts.
Two youths died in Doti, one in Jhapa and the next one in Parbat.
Subodh Rokaya (22) and Kailash BK (19) of Adharsha Rural Municipality died after a jeep they were travelling in fell off the road in Doti on Monday, Information Officer of District Police Office in Doti Nabraj Dhungel said.
Dhungel said that the jeep (Sudurpaschim Province 01-001 Cha 3923) skidded off the road as the driver lost control over the vehicle.
The bodies of Rokaya and BK were recovered near Sailikhola, some 900 meters down the road.
Likewise, biker Sukdev Ganesh (50) died after a van (Pra-1-01-002 B 6411) hit a motorcycle (BR-11C-3071) at Kachankabal Rural Municipality-4 in Jhapa last night.
Critically injured Ganesh died while receiving treatment in a health facility in the locality, spokesperson of District Police Office in Jhapa Khagendra Bahadur Khadka said.
Furthermore, the driver of a jeep (Ga 1 Jha 8029) died after the vehicle fell some 30 meters down the road on the bank of the Kaligandaki river along the Kushma-Phalebas section at Madikuwa in Phalebas Municipality-4, Parbat district.
Police Inspector Dinesh Poudel said that the deceased has been identified as Sajjan Pariyar (35).
The jeep was carrying urea fertilizer from Kusma bazaar to Phalebas Municipality.
Two pilots killed in New York runway collision, Trump deploys ICE to strained US airports
Two pilots died in a runway accident that shut New York's LaGuardia Airport on Monday and U.S. President Donald Trump deployed armed immigration agents to help ease hours-long security lines at major airports strained by personnel shortages, although their impact was not immediately clear, Reuters reported.
The crash between an Air Canada Express (AC.TO), opens new tabjet and a fire truck at LaGuardia injured dozens of passengers and led to hundreds of flight cancellations at the start of the working week in the latest disruption for airports and carriers that have been knocked off-kilter by a weeks-long budget standoff in Congress, according to Reuters.
Bahrain proposes UN Security Council approve use of force to protect Hormuz shipping
Bahrain has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to use "all necessary means" - diplomatic language for force to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a text seen by Reuters on Monday, Reuters reported.
Diplomats said the draft text was backed by other Gulf Arab states and the United States, although they said it was unlikely to succeed.
The move underscores mounting concern in the region that Iran could continue to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that carries about a fifth of global oil supplies and underpins Gulf economies, according to Reuters.
Iran denies talks with US after Trump postpones strikes on power grid
Iran denied on Monday that it had engaged in negotiations with the United States, after President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb Iran's power grid because of what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian officials, Reuters reported.
A European official said that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages. A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war ‌could be held in Islamabad as soon as this week.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East".
Trump approved Iran operation after Netanyahu argued for joint killing of Khamenei, sources say
Less than 48 hours before the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone to President Donald Trump about the reasons for launching the kind of complex, far-off warthe American leader once had campaigned against, Reuters reported.
Both Trump and Netanyahu knew from intelligence briefings earlier in the week that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his key lieutenants would soon meet at his compound in Tehran, making them vulnerable to a “decapitation strike” – an attack against a country's top leaders often used by Israelis but traditionally less so by the United States.
But new intelligence suggested that the meeting had been moved forward to Saturday morning from Saturday night, according to three people briefed on the call, according to Reuters.







