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A total of 35 people have been found infected with COVID-19 in a week. Furthermore, in the last 24 hours, three persons were found to have been infected with the virus.

According to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, COVID-19 infection has been confirmed in 31 districts of Nepal since last December to the beginning of July. So far, 249 people have been confirmed COVID-19 positive. One person has died of the virus.

Meanwhile, considering the increased risk of COVID-19 infection, the Ministry of Health and Population has made COVID-19 surveillance more effective, by setting up health screening desks at 17 border checkpoints across the country. 

COVID-19 testing is carried out at health desks at all border checkpoints using the RDT method, MoHP spokesperson Dr Prakash Budathoki said.

The Ministry has also urged one and all to adopt standards such as wearing masks, washing hands with soap and water or using sanitizers, and paying attention to personal hygiene to avoid getting infected from respiratory ailments including COVID-19.

Those coming from COVID-19 affected areas and with symptoms similar to COVID-19 have also been suggested to stay in self-quarantine and isolation.

Microsoft is undergoing a significant reorganization that may result in the termination of up to 9,000 workers in the US, or around 4 percent of its total staff. Though specific divisions were not named, reports indicate significant cuts in its Xbox gaming unit. Game projects like Perfect Dark and Everwild have been cancelled, and The Initiative studio will be shut down. Staff at Turn 10 and ZeniMax Online Studios are also affected, according to BBC.

The layoffs come as Microsoft shifts focus to AI, with $80bn allocated for data centers. Over 800 job losses are concentrated in Redmond and Bellevue, Washington.

Telephone service has been disrupted in three local levels of Humla district for more than two weeks, leaving the service-recipients without reliable communication. 

In Kharpunath rural municipalities, villages such as Pius, Bacchegauda and ward no 3 of Sunkhada have experienced frequent outages, with the network signal only appearing late at night, according to a local resident Shanti Shahi.

A telephone tower at Thana of Raya is dysfunctional now, she added. Likewise, in Sarkegaad, local residents of Syaltadi, Rip and Unapani villages report that the Nepal Telecom services are not functioning. 

"Even if the mobile phone shows the signal, calls do not go through," lamented Binod Fadera of Rip village. The rural municipality itself lacks operational connection of telecommunication, added a local business person Gagan Aidee.

Prolonged telecommunication disruption has plagued Piplang of Chankheli Rural Municipality for nearly a month. Locals must climb high hills to make calls as the network fails to function in their locality, shared Basuna Tamang, a local resident.

Chankheli Rural Municipality Chairperson Pyarilal Shahi attributed the disruption in the telecommunication services due to issues in the Nepal Telecom's tower at Melchham. 

Shahi mentioned that administrative works have been hampered due to lack of connectivity and local residents are also facing problems in communications.

Also, the delay surrounding the construction of 4G tower by the Nepal Telecom to provide network access to the rural municipality has further added to the woe of the local residents for reliable and convenient communication service.

Chief Administrator at Chankheli Rural Municipality Deepak Giri shared that they have been resorting to letter correspondence for administrative business in absence of reliable telecommunication services.

Much to the dismay, wireless internet installed by a private company is also not functioning effectively, he said.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing entry fees for foreign tourists visiting national parks, while proposing steep budget cuts to the National Park Service.

The White House stated that the new fees will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for conservation and maintenance programs. The government defended the proposal as a gesture of fairness, pointing out that while American taxpayers fund park operations through taxes, yet foreigners currently pay the same entry fee, Reuters reported.

The executive order comes alongside a proposal to cut the Park Service’s 2026 budget by over $1bn—more than a third of its current funding. Meanwhile, staffing levels have declined, with only 4,500 of the promised 8,000 seasonal workers hired.

The White House cited Trump’s 2020 Great American Outdoors Act as a landmark achievement in conservation, according to Reuters.