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Two more hospitals in Kavre have received approval for the health insurance program. With the new ones, a total of seven health care facilities joined the health insurance program in Kavre district.  

The Banepa Hospital, run by the Banepa Municipality and Mandan Deupur Hospital have joined as the first stop service for the health insurance program. 

Mandan Deupur Basic Hospital is a health care facility run by the Mandan Deupur Municipality. 

The representatives of the two municipalities signed separate agreements with the Health Insurance Board recently.

After the agreement, the Mayor of Mandan Deupur Municipality, Tok Bahadur Waiba vowed to effectively run the health insurance program.

There is a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in the hilly areas of Koshi and Bagmati Provinces today. 

With the weather remaining generally cloudy across the country, there is also a possibility of moderate rainfall at some places in the Tarai and hilly areas of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces, according to the Weather Forecasting Division.

The Division has forecasted the possibility of heavy rainfall in one or two hilly areas of Koshi and Bagmati Provinces today. 

However, the Division shared that the monsoon has remained comparatively weak as the low-pressure trough is slightly towards the south to its average position. 

Tonight, the weather will be generally cloudy in Koshi and Gandaki Provinces, and the hilly areas of the remaining provinces, and partly cloudy at other places of the country. There is a possibility of moderate rainfall at a few places in the hilly and Tarai areas of Koshi, and the hilly areas of the remaining provinces. 

There is a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in the Tarai and hilly areas of the Koshi Province tonight.

The Supreme Court has issued a mandamus order  to proceed with an investigation against Janata Samajbadi Party Chairman Upendra Yadav in the Gaur massacre case.

A joint bench of Justices Til Prasad Shrestha and Nityanand Pandey on Monday ordered the District Police Office, Rautahat to carry out an investigation against Yadav in the Gaur mass killing.

On June 4, 2023, Tribhuvan Sah on behalf of the victims' family filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, alleging that the state has failed to take action against the culprits even after years of the incident.

Hearing the same case, the apex court issued an order to proceed with the investigation against Yadav after 19 years.

The District Police Office, Rautahat and the District Government Attorney's Office, Rautahat were made defendants in the case.

On March 21, 2007, as many as 27 cadres of the then CPN (Maoist) were killed in the clash with the cadres of the then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Nepal. Upendra Yadav was the Chairman of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum then.

More than 50 Maoist cadres were injured in the incident.

After investigating the incident, the National Human Rights Commission concluded that the attack targeting Maoist cadres was premeditated. 

Two workers hired by the Myagdi-based under-construction Rahughat Hydropower Project were killed in a landslide near the approach route to the Project's major tunnel today. 

Five others injured in the incident have been taken to the hospital, according to the District Police Office's Deputy Superintendent of Police, Surya Bahadur Thapa.  

The Project is being developed at the Raghuganga Rural Municipality.. 

As of the time of this news report, the identities of the deceased have not been ascertained. However, workers at the site have reported that one of the two victims is a Nepali national.

The U.S. special envoy to Lebanon said Monday that his team would discuss the long-term cessation of hostilities with Israel, after Beirut endorsed a U.S.-backed plan for the Hezbollah militant group to disarm, Associated Press reported.

Tom Barrack, following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, also said Washington would seek an economic proposal for post-war reconstruction in the country, after months of shuttle diplomacy between the U.S. and Lebanon.

Barrack is also set to meet with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri, who often negotiates on behalf of Hezbollah with Washington, according to Associated Press.

“I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They’ve taken the first step,” said Barrack, who is also the U.S. ambassador to Turkey. “Now what we need is for Israel to comply with that equal handshake.”

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 11. 75 points to close at 2, 772. 98 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2. 12 points to close at 475. 80 points.

A total of 15,229,821-unit shares of 320 companies were traded for Rs 6. 17 billion.

Meanwhile, Union Hydropower Limited (UNHPL) was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 6. 10 percent. Likewise, Sampada Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SMPDA) was the top loser as its price fell by 4. 81 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 1. 56 trillion.

A 52-year-old man from Patabari of Madhyabindu Municipality-1, Nawalparasi has died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE), a mosquito-borne disease.

Chhabilal Subedi, Information Officer at the Province Public Health Office, Nawalparasi confirmed it. 

The incident occurred during the first month (mid July-mid-August) of the current fiscal year, which also saw four confirmed JE cases in the district. 

Among the infected, the remaining three: a 44-year-old woman, an 83-year-old woman, and a 53-year-old man successfully recovered and returned home.

In recent years, Nawalparasi district, part of Gandaki Province, has seen frequent JE cases. 

During the fiscal year 2079/80 BS, the district recorded seven infections with five fatalities. This was followed by eight infections and one death in 2080/81 BS. In the last fiscal year, two cases were reported, and both patients recovered.

JE is a transmissible disease caused by the bite of an infected Culex mosquito. 

This mosquito, medium-sized and brown with white markings on its abdomen, is active primarily after sunset and during the night. Its primary breeding grounds are stagnant water in paddy fields. The risk of infection is highest during the months of Saun, Bhadau, and Asoj (mid-July to mid-October).

Symptoms of JE include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, exhaustion, headache, fatigue, neck stiffness, and pain. In severe cases, it may lead to epilepsy, paralysis or loss of consciousness.

Worldwide, over 50,000 cases of JE are reported annually, with fatalities ranging between 10,000 and 15,000. 

Google has agreed to pay a 55 million Australian dollar ($36 million) fine for signing anticompetitive deals with Australia’s two largest telcos that banned the installation of competing search engines on some smartphones, the U.S. tech giant and Australia’s competition watchdog said, Associated Press reported.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement it had commenced proceedings in the Australian Federal Court on Monday against the Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific division. The court will decide whether the AU$50 million ($36 million) penalty is appropriate.

Under the anticompetitive agreements, which were in place for 15 months until March 2021, Telstra and Optus only pre-installed Google Search on Android phones sold to customers. Other search engines were excluded. In return, the telcos received a share of the advertisement revenue Google generated from those customers, according to Associated Press.