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Ambassador of Nepal to the United Nations, Lok Bahadur Thapa has been elected as the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 

After being elected as the President, he called it a “historic moment” for the country and its enduring commitment to multilateralism.  

Thapa said that the motto of his presidency will be “Delivering Better,” which requires strengthening partnerships and multilateralism to achieve effective implementation of initiatives, including the 2030 Agenda adopted 15 years ago.  

“Delivering better is not an option — it is an imperative. It is our pathway to restoring trust in multilateralism, bridging divides, empowering the most vulnerable and translating commitments into action,” he noted on the occasion.  

He said that Amar Bendjama (Algeria), Héctor Gómez Hernández (Spain), Wellington Darío Bencosme Castaños (Dominican Republic) and Paruyr Hovhannisyan (Armenia) were also elected to the vice-presidents of the ECOSOC for the coming year.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division has predicted general changes in the weather across the country today. 

Moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning is likely to take place in several hilly areas of the Koshi, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim Provinces, as well as in some parts of the Tarai region this afternoon, the Division said. 

Similarly, there is a possibility of moderate rainfall accompanied by thunder and lightning in many hilly areas of the country, including the Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati, and Gandaki Provinces and some parts of the Tarai tonight. 

There are chances of heavy rainfall in some hilly areas of Bagmati Province. With this, there is a risk of soil erosion, flooding, and extreme water flow patterns, it is stated. 

The Division has urged all concerned to remain alert with chances of urban and Tarai areas experiencing flooding, and the water level rising in large and small rivers and streams. 

Further, the public and all relevant organizations have been advised to take precautionary and preparedness measures with excessive rainfall likely to impact daily life, agriculture, health, tourism, construction, road, and airways. 

Ali Ahmad's eyes fill with tears as he lifts his shirt to show deep bruises across his back.

While he was detained, Iranian officers struck him and accused him of spying, he says. "They used hoses, water pipes and wooden boards to beat me. They treated us like animals."

He was speaking to the BBC earlier this month at Islam Qala on the two countries' border, before crossing back over to Afghanistan. His name has been changed to protect his identity.

Iran - which says it hosts more than four million undocumented Afghans who fled conflict in their homeland - has been stepping up deportations for months. In March those without papers were given a July deadline to depart voluntarily, but since a brief war with Israel in June, the authorities have forcibly returned hundreds of thousands of Afghans, alleging national security concerns, BBC reported.

Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a woman, BBC reported.

In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.

McGregor appealed on the grounds that his lawyers believed his answers to police during interviews should not have been put before the jury, according to BBC.

Justin Timberlake has revealed he is living with Lyme disease, BBC reported.

The 44-year-old said he was "shocked" to receive the diagnosis but it explained why he "would be on stage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness". 

The Cry Me A River singer shared his diagnosis on Instagram following the conclusion of his Forget Tomorrow world tour.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks. A few people diagnosed and treated for the disease can continue to have symptoms, like tiredness, aches and loss of energy, that can last for years, according to BBC.

A radioactive wasp nest with radiation levels ten times of what is allowed under regulations was found at a facility that once produced parts for US nuclear weapons, federal officials said, BBC reported.

"The wasp nest was sprayed to kill wasps, then bagged as radiological waste," says a US Department of Energy report released last week. No wasps were found at the site near Aiken in South Carolina.

Investigators say the contamination is not related to a nuclear waste leak, and that there was no impact to "the environment, or the public".

Environmental groups have criticised the government's handling of the situation, according to BBC.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Gaza on Friday to inspect food distribution sites, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed, BBC reported.

Leavitt said Witkoff would visit the territory along with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and "secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground".

Witkoff, who is on a visit to Israel, also had a "productive" meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the press secretary added, according to BBC.

The US says it is going to impose sanctions on the Palestinians' self-governance organisation as well as the body that represents it on the international stage, BBC reported.

The sanctions affect both the Palestinian Authority (PA) which was established by the Oslo peace accords, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which was recognised after the same process as the official representative of the Palestinian people in return for it recognising Israel and renouncing violence.

The State Department said it would deny visas to PLO members and PA officials, according to BBC.