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King Charles has made his first intervention in the latest round of revelations in the Epstein scandal, saying Buckingham Palace is ready to support the police as they consider allegations against his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, BBC reported. 

"The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct," a Palace spokesman said.

"While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect," he said, according to BBC. 

The government has decided to extend the tenure of the Inquiry Commission formed to investigate the physical and human losses incurred during the Gen Z uprising on September 8-9. 

The Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided  to extend the tenure of the Commission by 25 days, informed government spokesperson and Minister for Home Affairs, Om Prakash Aryal. 

It may be noted that the Cabinet meeting held on September 21 had constituted the Inquiry Commission under the premiership of former Judge Gauri Bahadur Karki to fairly investigate the physical and human losses that occurred in the course of the September 8-9 protests and submit a report. 

Likewise, the Cabinet has approved the Order 2082 to collect data for the National Economic Census, 2082. 

Minister Aryal informed that the Cabinet also decided to present the Nepal Government's Annual Report of the fiscal year 2081/82 to President Ram Chandra Paudel. 

The National Assembly (NA) has passed the Tourism Bill, 2081 BS. 

The meeting of the Upper House today unanimously approved the proposal  presented by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Anil Kumar Sinha seeking passage of the Bill. 

During the meeting, Minister Sinha informed the House that the Bill was introduced with an objective of diversifying and promoting Nepal's tourism sector. 

Likewise, the meeting passed a condolence motion on the demise of former NA member, Sukraraj Sanyok. 

Sanyok, who was elected the NA member in 2054 BS (1997/1998) representing the Nepali Congress, passed away on February 2 at the age of 90. 

The NA is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday at 1:15 pm. 

The National Assembly (NA) has unanimously passed a decision to withdraw a bill on social networks use and management.

NA Chairman Narayan Dahal presented the bill for decision and later informed that it was withdrawn unanimously. 

Chairperson of the Legislation Management Committee, Tulasa Kumari Dahal, had earlier presented the Committee report on the bill in the NA meeting.

As many as 155 amendment proposals were filed by 35 NA members during the Committee meeting.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, on February 3, had decided to withdraw the bill and requested the Parliament for it. 

A total of 12.25 million ballot papers have been printed so far for the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category of the House of Representatives (HoR) elections scheduled for March 5. 

The printed ballot papers are for 100 electoral constituencies of 44 districts, according to the Election Commission. 

EC Assistant Spokesperson Kul Bahadur GC said that the printed ballots papers are for Dolpa, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Humla, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Rukum West, Salyan, Surkhet, Bajura, Achham, Bajhang, Doti, Dadeldhura, Darchula, Baitadi, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Panchthar, Ilam, Tehrathum, Bhojpur, Okhaldhunga, Sunsari, Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Khotang, Dhankuta, Baglung, Gulmi, Jhapa, Gorakha, Myagdi, Parbat, Bardghat Susta East (Nawalparasi), Morang, Udaypur, Mustang, Lamjung, Syangja and  Bardiya. 

These ballot papers have already been packed and packed boxes number 10,759.  

The printing has been continuous since the morning of January 30.

It is said that the EC requires printing over 20 million (total 20,323,000) ballot papers for the HoR direct election. 

The printing of ballot papers has been underway at the Janak Education Materials Centre, Sanothimi since January 6. In the first phase, over a million (total 1,098,200) sample ballot papers were printed and distributed to various districts.

Meanwhile, under the proportional representation of the electoral system, over 20 million (total 20,830,000) ballot papers have been printed, packed and verified. 

They are now ready for the dispatch.

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia's Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year, Reuters reported. 

Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15. 

The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine groups have organized protests ‌in cities and ‌towns across the country on Monday evening, according to Reuters. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 26. 05 points to close at 2, 672. 39 points on Monday. 

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 02 points to close at 455. 65 points.

A total of 26,766,347-unit shares of 324 companies were traded for Rs 1. 52 billion.

Meanwhile, Khanikhola Hydropower Co. Ltd. (KKHC) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 97 percent.

Likewise,  Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited (MKHC) was the top loser as their price fell by 5. 40 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 48 trillion.

A joint team of the Armed Police Force (APF) Nepal and the Birgunj Customs Office raided a warehouse in Adarshnagar, Birgunj Metropolitan City-10. During the raid, a clash broke out between traders and security personnel following a tip-off about revenue fraud. Three Armed Police personnel are injured.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikash Adhikari, working at the APF Nepal, the proposed Border Security Force, and Birgunj Customs, a team including armed personnel had reached the warehouse of ‘Babita Enterprises’ run by Pramod Kumar Kanu in Adarshnagar based on a special tip-off.

Right after the search began, local traders protested saying they were harassed for no reason, claiming that they had clear invoices for the goods. The Armed Police Force stated that the clash broke out after a group of traders angrily pelted stones at the Armed Police.

During the raid, the Armed Police Force seized five packs of saris, kurthas and trousers from the warehouse. Although the value of the seized goods is estimated to be around Rs 500,000, the detailed details and exact quantity of the goods have not been made public yet.

Currently, the work of collecting the goods is underway. Deputy Superintendent Adhikari informed that further investigation is underway to determine who owns the warehouse and whether the goods are legitimate or not. Security has been tightened in the area after the incident.