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Laxman Paswan, who was arrested on the charge of murdering Rubi Sah of Madhav Narayan Municipality-6, Rautahat, died during the course of treatment in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Paswan had set himself on fire in an attempt to commit suicide.

Police said that more than 60 percent of his body was burned.

He was then taken to the Burn Hospital in Kirtipur.

The District Police Office, Rautahat has confirmed the death of Paswan.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is leaving for a five-day visit to China on August 30.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made public the schedule of the Prime Minister’s five-day visit to China by issuing a statement on Wednesday. 

Accordingly, Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin.

He is then scheduled to address the SCO Summit in Tianjin on September 1.

During the conference, Prime Minister Oli will hold sideline meetings with world leaders, the Foreign Ministry stated.

After attending the program, the Prime Minister will leave for Beijing.

There, he will meet Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on September 2.

During his visit to China, PM Oli willparticipate in the program organized to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Prime Minister Oli will return home on September 3. 

Ishwori Devi Neupane took the oath of office and secrecy as the Chair of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives. She took the oath before Speaker Devraj Ghimire today. 

Earlier today, she was elected unopposed to the post that had remained vacant following the resignation of Chair of the Committee Ramhari Khatiwada of the Nepali Congress. 

The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Singha Durbar-based Federal Parliament Secretariat. 

The Home Minister, the Minister for Defense, the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the Minister for Youth and Sports, the chief whips of political parties representing in the Parliament and lawmakers were present on the occasion. 

Neupane, who represents the Nepali Congress (NC) in the lower house under the proportional representation system, was the sole candidate for the post.

The rhino census, which was halted last year after donors indicated they could not provide support, will be conducted this year.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation has allocated some budget for this purpose this year.

Dr Ram Chandra Kandel, the Director General of the Department, said that the tiger count is done every four years. Accordingly, this financial year, a tiger count will be conducted.

According to him, the tiger census is starting in November. He mentioned that it will take about three months to conduct the tiger census.

The tiger count will be carried out in Parsa, Chitwan, Banke, Bardiya, and Suklaphanta National Parks.

​​For the tiger count, the Department has allocated Rs 1.8 million, and more than Rs 15 million is said to be required for this purpose.

He said the rhino counting program has been scheduled for April. It takes one month to count the rhinos.

The rhino census will be carried out in Chitwan National Park, Parsa National Park, Shuklaphanta National Park, and Koshi Tappu National Park.

Director General Kandel said Rs 1.8 million has been earmarked for the rhino census.

The cost of conducting the rhino census is expected to exceed Rs 20 million. The remaining amount will be requested from donors.

It was reported that there were 335 tigers in Nepal, according to the tiger census conducted in 2022.

According to the 2022 census, there are 128 tigers in Chitwan, 125 in Bardiya National Park, 25 in Banke National Park, 41 in Parsa, and 36 in Shuklaphanta.

In Nepal, tiger census was also conducted in 2009, 2013, and 2018.

In the 2009 count, 121 tigers were found across the country, 198 were found in 2013 and 235 in 2018.

The rhino count is done by (in real-time) riding an elephant. Seven hundred and fifty-two rhinos were found in national parks and conservation areas across the country in the rhino count conducted in 2021.

In the 1960s, the population of rhinos had decreased to about 100. It is estimated that there were 800 rhinos in Nepal in the 1950s.

In the 2021 census, 694 rhinos were counted in Chitwan National Park.

The rhino count increased from 29 to 38 in Bardiya National Park, and from eight to 18 in Shuklaphanta.

Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has retired from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and plans to play in other franchise leagues across the world, BBC reported.

Ashwin, 38, played for five franchises including the Chennai Super Kings - where he won the title twice in 2010 and 2011 - and is fifth on the all-time wicket-taker list with 187.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow any player in Indian international or domestic cricket to feature in overseas leagues.

"They say every ending will have a new start," Ashwin posted on social media, according to BBC.

"My time as an IPL cricketer comes to a close today but my time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today."

Wolves have rejected a second Newcastle bid for striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who scored twice in the win over West Ham on Tuesday, BBC reported.

The Magpies had returned with a £55m offer after a £50m approach was turned down earlier this week. 

Wolves do not want to sell the Norway international, firstly because of how little time they would have to find a replacement, with the transfer window closing on Monday, and also because of how valuable Strand Larsen is to their Premier League survival chances. 

Newcastle are looking for fresh firepower with Alexander Isak trying to engineer a move to Liverpool - the Sweden forward is in a stand-off with the Magpies and yet to play this season, according to BBC.

KPop Demon Hunters has climbed "up, up, up" Netflix's charts to become its most viewed movie ever, the streaming platform says, BBC reported.

Since its release in June, the animated musical has been watched more than 236 million times, overtaking the action comedy Red Notice to take the top spot.

It is the latest in a series of chart-topping achievements by the film, which has become a surprise global hit.

Songs from the movie have also been some of the most streamed online on Spotify, while the track Golden hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this month, according to BBC.

Denmark's foreign minister has summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen, following a report that American citizens have been conducting covert operations in Greenland, BBC reported.

Denmark's public broadcaster DR quoted sources as saying the aim was to infiltrate Greenland's society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify who the men were working for.

Danish intelligence warned Greenland was being targeted by "various kinds of influence campaigns".

Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said "any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom [of Denmark] will of course be unacceptable", and the US charge d'affaires had been summoned in that light, according to BBC.