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Nepal reported 81 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 097 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 39 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 350 people underwent antigen tests, of which 42 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 175 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 1, 483 active cases in the country.

The International Day of Peace which is celebrated across the globe on September 21 every year is being observed in Nepal with diverse programs. The UN General Assembly had announced September 21 as the international day of peace in 2002. This date was established by a resolution as a day of ceasefire and non-violence. Nepal has also marked the day since 2002 by organizing several activities. On the occasion today, various organizations, including Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES) and The Story Kitchen (TSK) are hosting programs to assert global peace. It has been demanded that peace should begin from each individual for the global peace and that all countries should enable environment to that end.

As many as 11 people have died due to dengue infection in Bagmati Pradesh. According to the statistics of the Health Directorate of Bagmati Province, 11 people have died due to dengue in the province. Maheshwar Shrestha, Head of the Health Directorate of Bagmati Province, informed that four people died of dengue in Kathmandu, two in Lalitpur, two in Sindhupalchowk, one in Makwanpur, one in Sindhuli, and one in Dhading. Similarly, 13,375 dengue patients have been found in the province so far. The highest number of dengue patients — 4,878 cases — has been reported in Lalitpur district. Similarly, 4,674 dengue patients have been reported in Kathmandu, 1,100 in Makwanpur, 713 in Bhaktapur, 429 in Chitwan, and 399 in Dhading, according to the Directorate of Health.

United States authorities charged 48 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest pandemic-related fraud scheme yet, stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children, Associated Press reported.

Federal prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food nutrition programs. Prosecutors say few meals were actually served, and the defendants used the money to buy luxury cars, property and jewelry.

“This $250 million is the floor,” Andy Luger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said at a news conference. “Our investigation continues.”

Many of the companies that claimed to be serving food were sponsored by a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which submitted the companies’ claims for reimbursement. Feeding Our Future’s founder and executive director, Aimee Bock, was among those indicted, and authorities say she and others in her organization submitted the fraudulent claims for reimbursement and received kickbacks.

In interviews after law enforcement searched multiple sites in January, including Bock’s home and offices, Bock denied stealing moneyand said she never saw evidence of fraud.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice made prosecuting pandemic-related fraud a priority. The department has already taken enforcement actions related to more than $8 billion in suspected pandemic fraud, including bringing charges in more than 1,000 criminal cases involving losses in excess of $1.1 billion.

Federal officials repeatedly described the alleged fraud as “brazen,” and decried that it involved a program intended to feed children who needed help during the pandemic. Michael Paul, special agent in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office, called it “an astonishing display of deceit.”

Luger said the government was billed for more than 125 million fake meals, with some defendants making up names for children by using an online random name generator. He displayed one form for reimbursement that claimed a site served exactly 2,500 meals each day Monday through Friday — with no children ever getting sick or otherwise missing from the program, according to Associated Press.

“These children were simply invented,” Luger said.

He said the government has so far recovered $50 million in money and property and expects to recover more.

The defendants in Minnesota face multiple counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Luger said some of them were arrested Tuesday morning. Authorities announced 47 indictments at the news conference. A 48th person, who according to a criminal complaint was scheduled to board a one-way flight to Ethiopia on Tuesday evening, was arrested sometime after the prosecutors’ press conference.

According to court documents, the alleged scheme targeted the USDA’s federal child nutrition programs, which provide food to low-income children and adults. In Minnesota, the funds are administered by the state Department of Education, and meals have historically been provided to kids through educational programs, such as schools or day care centers.

The sites that serve the food are sponsored by public or nonprofit groups, such as Feeding Our Future. The sponsoring agency keeps 10% to 15% of the reimbursement funds as an administrative fee in exchange for submitting claims, sponsoring the sites and disbursing the funds, Associated Press reported.

But during the pandemic, some of the standard requirements for sites to participate in the federal food nutrition programs were waived. The USDA allowed for-profit restaurants to participate, and allowed food to be distributed outside educational programs. The charging documents say the defendants exploited such changes “to enrich themselves.”