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Wrapping up her three-day visit to Nepal, Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Thi Anh Xuan returned home last night.

The Vietnamese leader visited Nepal at the cordial invitation of Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey and Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai saw off Vietnamese Vice President Xuan at the VVIP lounge of Tribhuvan International Airport. 

During her visit to Nepal, the Vietnamese Vice President paid a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel on Monday.

Likewise, the delegation-level bilateral talks were held between Vice President Yadav and his counterpart Xuan. 

She also met with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Foreign Affairs Minister Arzu Rana Deuba. 

This is the first-ever highest-level engagement from Vietnam to Nepal. 

This year holds special importance as it marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Vietnam.

The Weather Forecasting Division has stated that the monsoon low pressure trough is currently located to the south of its normal position in the east and in its normal position in the west.

The Division forecasted that the weather will remain generally cloudy in the hilly parts of the country today and the remaining parts will be partly cloudy. Moderate rainfall is likely at some places in Koshi and Sudurpaschim Provinces along with one or two places in the Tarai belt, according to the Division.

Later tonight, the weather will remain generally cloudy in the hilly parts of the country and partly cloudy in the rest of the country. 

There is a possibility of moderate rainfall at a few places in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces along with the remaining hilly regions of the country.

The festival of 'Teej', also known as the 'Haritalika', is being observed by all, especially women throughout the country today. 

The festival of women falls on the third day of the waxing moon of Nepali month of Bhadra as per the lunar calendar. 

The revelers of this festival, mostly women, observe fast wishing for longevity and a prosperous life for their spouse.

The three-day festivity begins with 'Dar' on the second day of the fortnight in the month of Bhadra and is marked with fasting and cultural programs the next day. 

Women rejoice with various delicious dishes known as 'Dar' a day before 'Teej' and fast on the next day as per the tradition.

Women on this day take ritual baths in the morning and offer worship in the evening. 

They pay homage to Lord Shiva, light oil-fed lamps and spend the night awake. The festivity comes to an end on the fifth day of the fortnight after worshiping the legendary 'Saptarishi' (seven sages).

This unique festival of Nepali women is also a celebration of sisterhood as sisters gather at their natal home and indulge in jubilant dancing and singing.

Married women put on bangles, 'Pote' (a necklace made of glass beads), 'Tilahari' and 'Sindur' (crimson powder) considered the symbols of good luck and dress themselves up in red saris or other red outfits and adorn themselves with different kinds of ornaments.

Both married and unmarried women perform various pooja and observe fasting, praying for fulfillment of their wish for a happy and prosperous conjugal life.

Shiva temples including the Pashupatinath Temple in the capital sees an overwhelming number of women devotees this day.

Rapper Lil Nas X has pleaded not guilty to injuring a police officer and resisting arrest after he was detained last week while wandering the streets of Los Angeles in his underwear, BBC reported.

The rapper, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, is facing three felony counts of battery with injury to a police officer and one felony count of resisting arrest. 

Police said when they responded to a call about a man wandering the streets partially naked, the Grammy-winning artist charged at them.

He was taken to the hospital for a possible overdose after the incident in the early hours of Thursday, authorities said, according to BBC.

World leaders and journalist groups reacted to an Israeli strike on Monday at Gaza Strip's Nasser hospital that killed at least 20 people, including five journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and others, Reuters reported.

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS:

"The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli strikes that killed five journalists in Nasser hospital in southern Gaza and calls for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its continued unlawful attacks on the press."

PALESTINIAN JOURNALISTS SYNDICATE:

"The Syndicate affirmed that this heinous crime represents a dangerous escalation in the direct and deliberate targeting of Palestinian journalists and confirms without a shadow of a doubt that the occupation is waging an open war on free media, with the aim of terrorizing journalists and preventing them from carrying out their professional mission of exposing its crimes to the world."

Two Elon Musk-backed businesses have officially sued Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of joining forces illegally to block threats from potential competitors, BBC reported.

The lawsuit, filed in the US by X and xAI, takes aim at Apple's decision to integrate OpenAI's chatbot into the operating systems of its smartphones, an exclusive arrangement that it says violated competition law.

The filing makes good on a threat Musk had lobbed against the two tech giants earlier this month, when he alleged that Apple favoured OpenAI in its app store rankings, according to BBC.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while OpenAI said the filing was "consistent with Mr Musk's ongoing pattern of harassment".

US President Donald Trump met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in the leader's first major foreign trip since assuming the presidency in June, BBC reported.

During the meeting, Trump spoke about his "very good" relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, saying that he hopes the relationship "stays that way".

He added that he would meet with the North Korean leader in the "appropriate future".

Minister for Health and Population Pradeep Paudel has expressed the commitment to provide free treatment and medicines to the diarrhea and cholera patients visiting the Narayani Hospital in Birgunj. 

Minister Paudel, who came here to observe the status of diarrhea and cholera outbreak in and around Birgunj, instructed the hospital management to ensure free treatment services to the infected people. 

"I urge the Narayani Hospital to manage medicines of any kind to the patients coming here for diarrhea and cholera treatment without any fee", he said, adding, "If the drugs of the World Health Organization's protocol are adequate that’s okay. Otherwise, the hospital management is urged to freely provide additional medicines if needed". 

On the occasion, Minister Paudel enquired about the health services of the hospital and grievances if any. "The patients shared that they have to purchase some medicines". 

The minister instructed the hospital management to not charge any cost to the patients while undertaking any tests for diarrhea and cholera. 

He further said that medicines will be arranged at any cost in coordination among the three tiers of government. The Ministry will not allow the dearth of medicines and health human resources so as to prevent further outbreak of diarrhea and cholera. 

Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, Chuman Lal Das informed that a total of 48 patients are undergoing treatment of the infectious water-borne diseases at the hospital.