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The Ministry of Health and Population is going to administer vaccines against typhoid targeting children from 15 months to 15 years of age. 

According to Ministry joint-spokesperson Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, the nationwide vaccination campaign will kick off on April 8 and will conclude on May 1.

Parents/guardians have been requested to visit the nearby vaccination centre and ensure each eligible child is vaccinated against typhoid fever.

According to Dr Adhikari, after the campaign, the typhoid vaccine will be incorporated into the government’s routine vaccination programmes for children. RSS

Nepal reported 21 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 5, 152 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 11 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 157 people underwent antigen tests, of which six were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 319 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 1, 254 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 30. 43 points to close at 2,541.83 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive dropped by 5. 30 points to close at 474. 09 points.

A total of 4,958,914 units of the shares of 231 companies were traded for Rs 2. 54 billion.

Meanwhile, Rastra Utthan Laghubitta Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, ICFC Finance Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 4.82 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3.60 trillion.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will pay an official visit to India from April 1-3. 

He will be visiting India at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of India on Monday

During his visit to India, he is will pay a courtesy call on Vice-President and his Indian counterpart Modi on April 2.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi,  Prime Minister Deuba will visit Vanarasi, UP, the statement read.

Nepal and India enjoy age-old and special ties of friendship and cooperation. In recent years, the partnership has witnessed significant growth inall areas of cooperation. The upcoming visit will provide and opportunity to the two sides to review this wide ranging cooperation partnership and to progress it further for the benefit of the people, the statement further read.

Two elderly men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in raping minor girls in different places of Kailali district. 

DSP Bed Prasad Joshi, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Kailali, said that they have apprehended Tilak Shah (60) for raping an 11-year-old girl of Chure Rural Municipality. 

Joshi said that Shah was arrested based on a complaint that he raped the girl while she had gone to a jungle to collect for the cattle. 

Similarly, police have nabbed Kallu Damai of Ghodaghadi Municipality-11 for raping an 11-year-old girl of the same municipality. 

DSP Laxman Bahadur Shahi, Chief at the Area Police Office, Sukhad, said that Damai was arrested on Sunday. 

Police said that they are looking into both cases. 

The Election Commission today released the number of voters eligible for the upcoming local level elections scheduled for May 13.

According to the EC, there will be 17,733,723 voters.

A meeting of the EC held today fixed the total number of voters for the local level polls, including 8,992,010 men, 8,741,530 women and 183 others, the EC Assistant Spokesperson Surya Prasad Aryal said.

According to EC, Morang has the highest number with 715,223 voters, while Manang counts the lowest number with 6,416.

Jhapa and Kathmandu are ranked second and third with the highest number of voters, while Mustang and Dolpa are ranked in the districts with the second and third lowest voters' number.

The EC has come up a new provision making voters eligible if they turn 18 years on May 12 this year.

Aryal said 10,756 voting stations and 21,955 voting centers have been set for the local level polls. RSS

Hong Kong said on Sunday it is shortening the ban on airlines that are found to have carried three or more passengers who test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, as the number of local cases continues to ease from its peak, Reuters reported.

Starting on Friday, the ban on individual airline routes will be halved to seven days as part of an ongoing "flight suspension mechanism", the government said in a statement.

The change comes after the government said last week a ban on flights from nine countries - Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Britain, the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines - would be lifted on April 1.

If there is at least one positive test and at least one case of non-compliance with pre-departure testing on any single flight, the airline will also be suspended from flying the route for seven days.

Hong Kong reported 8,037 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday and 151 deaths, the second day in a row below 10,000 cases, as its latest wave of infections continues to ease, according to Reuters.

The financial hub will relax the social distancing measures in phases starting April 21, allowing restaurant dining after 6 p.m. with tables of four people, up from two currently.

Hong Kong's economy is set to contract in the first quarter, breaking four quarters of recovery streak, as retail sales fell for the first time in 12 months in February and export growth slowed, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on his blog.

Businesses and the city's economy are reeling from widespread closures, as the government has imposed stringent social distancing rules since January amid a dramatic spike in the Omicron variant.

While the former British colony has officially stuck to a "dynamic zero" coronavirus policy similar to that of mainland China, which seeks to curb all outbreaks, it has been shifting to mitigation strategies as deaths skyrocketed, Reuters reported.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denied that the United States has any plans to bring about regime change in Russia or anywhere else, BBC reported.

Mr Blinken's comments come a day after President Joe Biden said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, should not be allowed to remain in power. 

Mr Biden made the unscripted remark at the end of a speech in Poland.

Mr Blinken said the president simply made the point that Mr Putin could not be allowed to wage war against Ukraine. 

The Kremlin dismissed Mr Biden's remark, saying it was for Russians to choose their leader. 

"I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else," Mr Blinken said on Sunday during a visit to Israel, according to BBC.

"As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia, or anywhere else, for that matter.

"In this case, as in any case, it's up to the people of the country in question, it's up to the Russian people," he added.

"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," US President Joe Biden said about his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin during a speech in Poland's capital, Warsaw, on Saturday.

This was quickly followed by the White House saying Mr Biden wasn't calling for regime change, but was instead making a point about Mr Putin not being allowed to exercise power over his neighbours.

This was clearly an attempt at rolling back - the concern is that this is going to put more pressure on Putin and make him more uneasy.

Given that he is the head of a country that is struggling militarily, and is in control of a nuclear arsenal, the concern on the Americans' part is that they don't want to back Mr Putin into a corner.

Calling out for regime change directly could cause instability and increase unpredictability.

And the last thing you want in these circumstances is unpredictability, BBC reported.

Mr Biden's comment prompted strong criticism from veteran US diplomat Richard Haass.

The comments "made a difficult situation more difficult and a dangerous situation more dangerous", tweeted Mr Haass, who is president of the US Council on Foreign Relations.

"That is obvious," he added. "Less obvious is how to undo the damage, but I suggest his chief aides reach their counterparts & make clear the US is prepared to deal with this Russian government."

Mr Haass returned to the subject after the White House qualified President Biden's remarks, saying: "The White House walk back of @POTUS regime change call is unlikely to wash, according to BBC.

"Putin will see it as confirmation of what he's believed all along. Bad lapse in discipline that runs risk of extending the scope and duration of the war."