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There is a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in the hilly areas of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces today.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning is also likely at a few places in the Tarai region of Lumbini and one or two places of Madhesh Province. 

This afternoon, the weather will be generally cloudy in the hilly areas of the country including Lumbini and Sudupaschim Provinces and partly cloudy in the Tarai region. 

Later, tonight the weather will remain generally cloudy in the hilly areas of the country including Koshi, Madhesh and Sudurpaschim Provinces and partly cloudy in the Tarai region. There is a possibility of moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning at a few places in the hilly areas of the country including Madhesh and Sudurpaschim Provinces and one or two places in the remaining Tarai region.

Currently, the influence of monsoon winds is active across the country, adds the Department.

Kylian Mbappe will don an iconic new shirt number for Real Madrid following the departure of one of the club’s all-time greats, The Independent reported.

The 26-year-old French forward wore the number nine shirt in his debut season after arriving from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last summer.

But like Cristiano Ronaldo in 2010, it’s taken only one year for Mbappe to ditch the nine as he takes up the number he has become accustomed to wearing for the French national team.

The club announced on Tuesday that he would follow Real Madrid greats Ferenc Puskas, Clarence Seedorf and Luis Figo by wearing the iconic number 10 jersey at the Santiago Bernabeu, according to The Independent.

India Champions have opted out of the World Championship of Legends semi-final against Pakistan, scheduled for Thursday, reaffirming their firm stance against participating in competitive matches against their arch-rivals, according to a report from PTI, The Times of India reported.

The decision comes despite India Champions securing their place in the semifinals after a dominant win over West Indies Champions, chasing down the target in just 13.2 overs in their final group-stage match on Tuesday.

Earlier in the tournament, the league-stage clash between India and Pakistan was officially called off following strong objections from Indian players and a key tournament sponsor. This was followed by public statements from former India cricketers, including Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan, declaring they would not take part in the match, according to The Times of India.

Indra Baniya has been elected the Parliamentary Party Leader of Nepali Congress in Bagmati Province Assembly .

In the election held today Baniya defeated Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama by receiving 22 votes against 14 votes. According to the election committee, one vote was invalid. 

A total of 37 Province Assembly members participated in the voting. 

It may be noted that during the previous election held for the same post between Baniya and Lama, Lama defeated Baniya by five votes. 

Lama garnered 21 votes while Baniya secured 16 votes.

The Ministry of Finance has formed a taskforce for the formulation of a law to help improve budget discipline in the country. 

Chief of Fiscal Federalism Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance, Mahesh Baral has been assigned the coordinator of the taskforce, said the Secretariat of the Minister of Finance. 

Other members in the taskforce include Under Secretary in the MoF Budget Formulation Division, Under Secretary in the Legal and Judgement Execution Division and former Joint Secretary Nirmal Hari Adhiakri as a theme expert while Under Secretary of the Fiscal Federalism Division has been entrusted as member-secretary of the taskforce. 

It may be noted that point number 359 of the budget speech of the current fiscal year has stated to maintain allocation efficiency and increase efficiency of public financial management, enhance the outcomes of public spending through budget discipline and consolidate cash flow management for maintaining balance in the Federal Reserve Fund. 

Likewise, it has also specified provisions to utilize the public borrowing in the productive sector in a sustainable manner, and execute the public financial management strategy. 

The point number 371 of the budget speech has mentioned about the formulation of a law to consolidate budget discipline at federal, provincial and local levels as per the constitution. 

The MoF has formed a taskforce to implement the arrangements specified in the budget speech.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that the electricity tariff for irrigation has been fixed at only Rs 3 per unit. 

Taking to his social media today, the Prime Minister has also said that 500 deep borings are being dug in the drought-stricken Madhes Province.

“The work of digging 500 deep borings has started in the Tarai. Farmers will be charged only Rs 3 per unit of electricity for irrigation,” Prime Minister Oli has noted.

Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has said that Nepal has been strongly raising the issue of climate justice in international forums.

At a program organized by Nepal Tarun Dal, Kaski, at Pokhara on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Rana expressed the view that Nepal should get compensation through a Fund for responding to Loss and Damage. 

Stating that Nepal had raised a voice related to this issue in the International Court of Justice, the Foreign Minister said that Nepal has been facing negative impacts of carbon emission by developed countries. 

"We strongly raised the issue that Nepal should get compensated for loss and damage and our damaged physical structures like bridges and school buildings should be built", she mentioned, adding "Nepal should lower carbon emission to net-zero. A tree plantation campaign should be launched to expand the forest area which now stands at 45 percent."  

Stating that climate change has invited a major challenge, Minister Rana stressed the role of the new generation is important to lessen its risks.

"It is necessary to plant trees, to reduce the use of plastic, to increase the use of electric vehicles and renewable energy to protect the coming generation from climate change impacts", she argued.

The Foreign Minister further said Nepal's independence and sovereignty have been established in the world due to its stable foreign policy, sharing, "Nepal has its own foreign policy. It has its own identity in the world community and we have been maintaining it since long. It is a matter of pride for all."

Similarly, National Assembly member and outgoing central President of Nepal Tarun Dal, Jit Jung Basnet, urged the Tarun Dal to hold its convention of all-levels on time. 

He emphasized on the implementation of a seven-point deal signed between Nepali Congress and CPN-UML during formation of the government. 

Likewise, Tarun Dal President Bidhwan Gurung urged the members of the organisation to be involved in rescue and relief in the event of a disaster. 

Stakeholders have emphasized on the need for an early warning system to help reduce weather-related multi-disaster risk.

At a consultation organized by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), various speakers said that an early warning system (EWS) is necessary to minimize damage as weather-related disasters have been increasing of late.

On the occasion, Director General of the Department, Kamal Ram Joshi, said that early warning is necessary in a country like Nepal with a complex topography, where the risk of water and weather-related multi-disasters created by climate change and its effects is increasing.  “An early warning system is necessary to minimize the human and economic losses that may occur from such disasters,” he said.

Deputy Director General, Suman Kumar Regmi, said that to make the early warning system effective it is necessary to improve the importance of monitoring and forecasting, the need for available resources, technology, infrastructure, institutional capacity and service expansion in a timely manner.

Joint Secretary of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Arjun Kumar Bam, said that a reliable early warning system will not only reduce the impact of natural disasters but also play an important role in protecting the lives and livelihoods of communities.

UNDP's Climate Change and Resilience Program Analyst Deepak KC said that the Early Warning for All campaign launched at the initiative of the United Nations will help identify the gaps in the EWS and determine the necessary programs.

The Early Warning for All campaign aims to protect all citizens of the world from early warning services by 2027.

Meteorologist Shanti Kandel said that due to the early warning system, damage caused by floods has been reduced in recent times and that an early warning system is also necessary for other multi-hazards.