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Legal professionals, students and environmental activists gathered at the Office of the Attorney General to address the growing concern of plastic pollution and explore strategies to curb its use.

The program was jointly organized by Environment Law Society, Nepal, and Climate Cardinals, Tribhuwan University Chapter.

This year's Environment Day slogan was ‘Beat the Plastic Pollution’. Every year, more than 430 million tons of plastic are produced. 

By 2040, this number is expected to double, with 19%-23% of plastic ending up in lakes and rivers annually, causing long-term impact on human health and the environment. 

Advocate Narayan Prasad Acharya, Chairperson of the Environment Law Society, Nepal, special guest  Prof. Dr senior advocate Tara Prasad Sapkota, Attorney General and Chief Guest senior advocate Ramesh Badal; Prof. Dr Bijay Prasad Mishra, senior advocate and President of Nepal Bar Association Shyam Kumar Basnet, former acting Vice Chairperson Bagmati Province Planning Commission were the key speakers of the event.

Other distinguished guests also intensified various dimensions of the plastic pollution crisis and expressed concern over the environmental threats posed by plastics. 

During the program, advocate Sulochana Dhital featured a presentation titled “Discussion series on Plastics Impacts on Environment”. Dhital further discussed the effect of plastic pollution, with its long-term impact. She also referred to the constitutional provision regarding the environment, in Article 30 (1) and 30(2), which guarantees citizens' right to a clean and healthy environment and outlines how to seek compensation to those who have suffered from environmental degradation.

She stressed the urgent need for a specific law targeting plastic use and shared that there must be coordination among the three tiers of government to tackle environmental issues. 

Following the presentation, a question-and-answer session was conducted, allowing attendees to engage in the challenges around plastic pollution. 

Sarita Rai, Head of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), Environment Management Department, also shared the initiative of KMC to reduce plastic usage and promote sustainable waste management.  

Prof. Dr senior advocate Tara Prasad Sapkota also highlighted that pollution causes 8.1 million deaths annually with 4.3 million caused by indoor pollution,  and 3.7 million from outdoor pollution. 

Attorney General Ramesh Badal also underscored the importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), referring to the protection of life, nature, and the world. 

Prof. Dr Bijay Prasad Mishra, President of Nepal Bar Association, stated that plastic pollution also negatively affects mental health, contributing to stress. 

Similarly, Dinmani Pokharel, Former Attorney General and a commentator at the event, emphasized identifying the current gap in environmental policy and addressing it through a collaborative approach. 

The event wrapped up with the immediate need to tackle plastic pollution, and promoting awareness is vital to protect Nepal’s environment. 

A controversial humanitarian organization backed by the United States and Israel did not distribute any food aid on Saturday, accusing Hamas of making threats that "made it impossible" to operate in the enclave, which the Palestinian militants denied, Reuters reported.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which uses private U.S. security and logistics firms to operate, said it was adapting operations to overcome the unspecified threats. It later said in a Facebook post that two sites would reopen on Sunday.

A Hamas official told Reuters he had no knowledge of such "alleged threats."

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said later on Saturday that GHF operation has "utterly failed on all levels" and that Hamas was ready to help secure aid deliveries by a separate long-running U.N-led humanitarian operation. Hamas also called on all Palestinians to protect humanitarian convoys, according to Reuters.

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, as his wife said he was fighting for his life in hospital, Reuters reported.

The 39-year-old senator, who was shot during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.

According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when "armed subjects shot him from behind.

The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition, according to Reuters.

The row between Donald Trump and Elon Musk over a major spending bill has exacerbated uncertainty over the future of Nasa's budget, which is facing deep cuts, BBC reported.

The space agency has published its budget request to Congress, which would see funding for science projects cut by nearly a half.

Forty science missions, which are in development or in space already, are in line to be stood down.

The president has threatened to withdraw federal contracts with Musk's company, Space X. Nasa relies on the firm's Falcon 9 rocket fleet to resupply the International Space Station with crew and supplies. The space agency also expects to use its Starship rocket to send astronauts to the Moon and eventually to Mars once it has been developed.

Dr Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University said that the uncertainty was having a "chilling impact" on the human space programme, according to BBC.

US President Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen in Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants, BBC reported.

His border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News on Saturday: "We are making Los Angeles safer."

The Californian city saw a second day of unrest on Saturday as residents of a predominantly Latino district clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) federal agents. Tear gas and batons were used to disperse crowds in the Paramount district, according to BBC.

As many as 118 arrests were made in LA this week as a result of ICE operations, including 44 on Friday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has condemned the raids as "cruel".

A person died when a motorbike he was riding on met with an accident at Sano Kerkha in Kamal Rural Municipality-3, Jhapa along the East-West Highway on Saturday.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Khagendra Bahadur Khadka of the District Police Office, the deceased has been identified as Armed Police Force Sub-Inspector Puran Lal Rajbanshi, based at the Armed Police Force Nepal BOP in Ilam. 

The accident took place when Rajbansi lost control of the two-wheeler (Pra 1-02-0052 Pa 7029) last night. 

He was heading towards Kerkha from Birtamode when the tragedy occurred.

Rajbanshi, who was seriously injured in the accident, breathed his last during the course of treatment at the B&C Hospital in Birtamod.

The Parliament meeting has been scheduled for 1 pm today.

As per the meeting agenda, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel will present a proposal seeking a discussion on the government's annual budget for the fiscal year 2025/26.

Similarly, State Affairs and Good Governance Committee Chairman Ramhari Khatiwada will present the 'Report of the Committee on the Federal Civil Service Bill, 2082'.

It may be noted that the Parliament meeting has not been able to enter the regular agenda in the past few days due to continuous obstruction by the  opposition parties, demanding the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak over the 'visit visa' scam.

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi and at one or two places of Madhes Province along with the hilly region of the country today. 

There are also chances of light rainfall and snowfall at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces.

Due to the influence of monsoon winds in Koshi, the weather will remain partly to generally cloudy in the Province along with the hilly region and mainly fair to partly cloudy in the rest of the country, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division. 

The west and central regions of the country are currently under the influence of westerly winds and local winds.

Tonight, the weather will remain partly cloudy in Koshi Province along with the hilly region and mainly fair in the rest of the country. 

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi and at one or two places of hilly region of Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces.

There are chances of light rainfall and snowfall at a few places of the high hilly and mountainous region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces.