Submit your Article

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution titled “International Wellness Day” proposed by Nepal, designating April 15 each year as the International Wellness Day.

According to the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, Lok Bahadur Thapa, the resolution underscores that health goes beyond the mere absence of illness and embraces physical, mental, social, cultural, emotional and ecological well-being.

He said the resolution also promotes preventive healthcare, healthy lifestyles and inclusive health systems as key elements to build stronger and more resilient societies worldwide.

According to Ambassador Thapa, Nepal expressed sincere appreciation to the co-sponsoring countries and fellow member states for their support and cooperation throughout the process leading to the adoption of the resolution by the United Nations.

The Election Commission has said  that over 10.7 million votes (total 10720,567) have been counted so far under proportional category of the House of Representatives elections.

The vote count updated at 3:30 am today showed the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) at top with over 5.1 million votes.

The RSP is followed by the Nepali Congress with over 1.7 million votes, while the UML is third in the race with over 1.4 million votes. The Nepali Communist Party stands fourth in the tally with over 800 thousand votes, which is trailed by the Shram Sanskriti Party with 378 thousand votes.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party has so far collected 329,197 votes in the proportional category. It is followed by the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal with 174, 305 votes, the Rastriya Paribartan Party with 171,444 votes and the Janamat Party with 78,927, according to the EC.

Bangladeshi Ambassador to Nepal Shafiqur Rahman congratulated the people of Nepal on the peaceful and successful elections, describing it as an important milestone in the country’s democratic journey. 

He made the remarks while welcoming the guests at an iftar-dinner hosted in honour of the Heads of Mission and members of the diplomatic corps in Kathmandu on Tuesday, reads a statement issued by the Bangladeshi Embassy in Kathmandu. 

During the event, the Bangladeshi envoy expressed willingness to work with the new government of Nepal to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. 

Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, and other distinguished guests were present in the program. 

On the occasion, the ambassador conveyed Ramadan greetings and touched on the spirit and teaching of the holy month of Ramadan. 

He underscored the longstanding friendly relations between Bangladesh and Nepal, and reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to further strengthening this partnership.

Referring to Bangladesh’s journey towards democracy and reforms, the ambassador noted that the new government in Bangladesh is committed to advancing democratic reforms and building a discrimination-free, corruption-free and prosperous Bangladesh under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

The United States has confirmed that around 140 of its service members have been wounded since the start of the war against Iran on February 28, Aljazeera reported. 

The Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday that most of the injuries were minor.

“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 US service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said.

Much of the centre of the German city of Dresden will be evacuated on Wednesday, after the discovery of a large unexploded British World War Two flying bomb, BBC reported. 

The 250kg (551lb) device was discovered near the former Carola Bridge, which collapsed in the Elbe River in 2024.

The fire brigade in Dresden says this is the city's largest evacuation to date for such an incident, affecting around 18,000 residents, tourists and commuters.

Meta should do more to address the "proliferation" of fake content made with artificial intelligence (AI) tools on its platforms, the social media giant's own advisors have said, BBC reported. 

The 21-person Oversight Board raised the concerns as it rebuked the company for leaving up an AI-generated video that claimed to show extensive damage in Haifa, Israel by Iranian forces without a label.

It called on the company to overhaul its AI rules, warning that an increase in fake AI videos related to global military conflicts had "challenged the public's ability to distinguish fabrication from fact ... risking a general distrust of all information."

The deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime, the UN has said, BBC reported. 

A new report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says Russian authorities "at the highest level" have deported "thousands" of children from the occupied areas of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin's "direct involvement" has been "visibile form the outset," it adds.

The air quality index (AQI) measured the Kathmandu Valley pollution as the second worst in the world on Wednesday. 

The weather has been deteriorating in the valley and many parts of the country for some days. 

Director General at the Department of Environment, Gyan Raj Subedi, has argued that lack of rainfall and strong wind caused the deposit of polluted air in the bowl-shaped valley. He urged all not to go out of residence except essential work and use mask while going out of residence.

"For some days, most of the places including the Kathmandu Valley witnessed gloomy weather. Even the rains are not in sight, nor the sunny weather. With strong wind in short supply, the polluted air is choking the valley," he said, adding, "Once the weather improves, the air pollution subsides." 

Meteorologist at Meteorological Forecasting Division, Sanjiv Adhikari, however, informed that the weather would improve gradually with gradual disappearance of haze.

The AQI measured Kathmandu Valley's air quality at 174, placing it as the second worst polluted city in the world till 4 pm today.

Environmental campaigner Bhushan Tuladhar said preparedness is imperative for air pollution. Massive public awareness against air pollution is needed together. 

The AQI notches from 150 to 200 are categorized 'hazardous to every ones' health', while the reading from 201 to 300 signals 'very unhealthy' and above it 'very harmful'. The measurement from 0 to 50 indicates the air quality as 'good'.