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President Ram Chandra Paudel has extended best wishes on the occasion of Christmas, a festival of Christian community, today. 

He wished the festival inspired everyone to foster peace, love and harmony among Nepalis.

The festival would help strengthen a national unity in Nepal which is a country of diversity, the Head of State said, adding that the festival like Christmas also fosters cultural identity and religious faith. 

Tolerance lies in the community with diverse faiths, he reminded.

The Christian people celebrate Christmas (December 25) amid fanfare every year. 

Various sorts of programs are also organized to observe the Christ Day in Nepal, the President stated in the message.

The number of birthing centers in Gandaki Province has reached 364. With this, the deliveries at home have gradually declined. 

Chief of the Medical Service Division at the Ministry of Health in the Province, Dr Ramesh Kumar KC, informed that the number of child births at home has reduced to less than 200 in a year in the Province.

He informed there are 18 hospitals providing delivery service with surgery while the health facilities conducting critical delivery stand at 52. 

All districts except Manang in the Province provide the delivery service.

Even a program is run by the Ministry for the capacity building of health workers and availability of medical equipment. 

Annually, the Province records nearly 24,000 births. Out of a total 36,000 pregnancies, nearly 12,000 undergo abortions.

Dr KC further said out of total pregnancies, nearly 4,000 conduct child births in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Palpa. 

The provincial government has aimed at achieving 'complete institutional delivery' by ending delivery at home. 

The recent demographic and health survey has shown that 89 percent child births are managed at health institutions. 

It is realized due to strengthening of birthing centers, rising public awareness, training to health and medical workers and availability of medical equipment.

Tribhuvan University, the oldest university in Nepal, is holding its 51st Convocation Day today.

For the first time in its history, TU has been able to secure the presence of Nobel laureate Prof Kajita Takaaki as the Chief Guest, according to TU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Deepak Aryal. 

Kajita is a distinguished university professor from Japan. He received the Nobel Prize in 2015 in physics.

Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Aryal informed that all preparations were complete for the ceremony today. 

As many as 16,380 university graduates are being ordained in the convocation. 

The event is being attended by 41,000 people, including the students and their parents. 

However, as many as 89,191 students have graduated- bachelor, master and PhD levels of education- from TU this year, according to the Vice Chancellor.

The students scoring top in respective faculties are being conferred the medals on the occasion.  

The Election Commission has issued a draft of the election code of conduct-2082, seeking feedback. 

The draft code of conduct is prepared for the upcoming March 5 elections to the House of Representatives (HoR). 

The code of conduct drafted as per Section 22 of Election Commission Act, 2073 has aimed at making the elections free, fair and economical.

There are 10 chapters and five schedules in the document. 

Once the code comes into effect, the earlier code of 2079 would be terminated.

Those violating the code of conduct are warned of getting their names public. 

The political parties participating in the elections are required to make public the election manifestos.

Two British campaigners are among five people denied US visas after the State Department accused them of seeking to "coerce" American tech platforms into suppressing free speech, BBC reported. 

Imran Ahmed, an ex-Labour adviser who now heads the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, CEO of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), were labelled "radical activists" by the Trump administration and banned from entering the US.

A French ex-EU commissioner and two senior figures at a Germany-based anti-online hate group were also denied visas, according to BBC. 

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has given details of an updated peace plan offering Russia the potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east and the creation of a demilitarised zone in their place, BBC reported. 

Detailing the 20-point plan agreed by US and Ukrainian envoys in Florida at the weekend, Zelensky said the Russians would respond on Wednesday once the Americans had spoken to them.

Describing the plan as "the main framework for ending the war", he said it proposed security guarantees from the US, Nato and Europeans for a co-ordinated military response if Russia invaded Ukraine again, according to BBC. 

Police located several guns, a stockpile of ammunition and a shopping list for bomb materials in the home of a Western Australian man arrested after pledging support for the Bondi attackers, a court has heard, BBC reported. 

Martin Glynn, 39, appeared in a Perth court on Wednesday charged with racial harassment, possessing a prohibited weapon and failing to store firearms correctly.

Prosecutors allege flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, both declared terrorist groups by Australia, were located during a police raid sparked by a tip-off from the public, according to BBC. 

US authorities have discovered more than a million more documents potentially related to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that they plan to release in the coming days and weeks, officials say, BBC reported. 

The FBI and federal prosecutors in New York informed the Department of Justice (DoJ) of the discovery.

"We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible," the DoJ said on Wednesday, according to BBC.