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The air pollution afflicting the country, including the federal capital, Kathmandu, for quite a while has declined remarkably after the rainfall last Friday.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 178, making Kathmandu City as the second most polluted city in the world a week back. 

The AQI has now declined sharply placing Kathmandu City at AQI 60. It means Kathmandu is the 67th polluted place in the world now.

The AQI measurement from 0 to 50 is considered 'good' while 51 to 100 'requires alertness', 100 to 150 is 'unhealthy', impacting badly the people with respiratory and heart diseases. It is 'unhealthy for all' if the AQI ranges from 151 to 200, while the 'very unhealthy' stage is 201 to 300 and 'very dangerous' in case of the AQI above 300. 

Director General at the Department of Environment, Gyanraj Subedi, informed that the rainfall coupled with storms swept away the dust and polluted particles. It resulted in clean air.

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has held a discussion on security arrangements in Singha Durbar in view of the upcoming oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected members of the House of Representatives (HoR).

The meeting held on Sunday was attended by Secretary at Home Ministry, Raj Kumar Shrestha, Inspector General of Nepal Police, Dan Bahadur Karki, and high level officials at the Ministry. 

They dwelt on preparation of security for the swearing-in ceremony and the security inside Singh Durbar for the HoR sessions.

Home Minister Aryal directed the subordinates to ensure smooth security arrangement, traffic management and other logistics for conducting swearing-in ceremony and parliament meetings.

The security officials briefed the Minister on necessary arrangements in this regard.

A woman died after a wall collapsed at the Hasana Brick Kiln in Harisiddhi, Lalitpur Metropolitan City–28, on Sunday.

The deceased has been identified as Tilsari Khadka (55) of Rukum. 

Critically injured in the incident, Khadka was rushed to Medicity Hospital in Thaiba, where she succumbed to her injuries during treatment, according to DSP Purnima Kumari Chand.

Four other labourers were injured in the incident. They have been identified as Janaki Chanda (27) of Rukum, Shanti Kunwar (27) of Salyan, Nand Kumari Magar (46) of Rolpa; and Suma Kumal (29) of Dang.

Police said Chanda, who sustained serious injuries, has been referred to Model Hospital for further treatment. 

The condition of the other injured is said to be stable.

Police said that they are looking into the case. 

Kathmandu University (KU) has been appointed as the chair of the Interim Executive Committee of the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC), a multilateral group of universities from the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. 

The Interim Committee has been mandated to oversee HUC’s tasks, including the adoption of the new charter and byelaws and renewal of memberships. 

KU is represented by its Vice-Chancellor Prof. Achyut Wagle, who will serve as the chair of the Interim Executive Committee until a General Assembly, to be held within a year, elects a new committee, reads a statement issued by the KU. 

The decision was taken during the two-day retreat of the HUC in Kathmandu last week. 

Hosted by KU, the retreat convened 70 international guests, including 29 Vice-Chancellors of the HKH region, to establish a roadmap for the future and ensure the financial sustainability of the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) in a global, multilateral context. 

Participants from Thailand, India, China, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bhutan took part in  the event. 

Prof. Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Chancellor of The Energy and Resources Institute School of Advanced Studies, India, delivered the keynote address during the program. 

Prof. Dhawan emphasized bridging the gap between scientific research and traditional wisdom to build climate-resilient communities, ensuring that indigenous knowledge systems are integrated into a transboundary roadmap for the Hindu Kush Himalaya, according to the statement. 

"By enhancing academic collaboration, universities can reverse environmental degradation and protect our global biodiversity hotspots from the escalating threats of the Anthropocene," Prof. Dhawan said.

Former justice of the Supreme Court Dr. Ananda Mohan Bhattarai served as the event's special guest. 

He called for moving beyond parochial laws to align with global legal frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement. 

“We must protect the vital ecosystems like the Shivalik and Karnali regions and ensure that ecosystem service budgets reach local communities, and transform environmental conservation from a legal promise into a sustainable reality for the entire Hindu Kush Himalaya,” Bhattarai said.

Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University, Prof. Achyut Wagle, highlighted that not only our ecology but the culture of our indigenous communities and the existing flora and fauna are under immense threat, the statement further reads. 

"It is the urgent responsibility of university scholars to utilize data-driven inferences to bridge the gap between academic research and effective policy-making to safeguard the Hindu Kush Himalaya," said Professor Wagle.

The participants deliberated on the pressing issues of the HKH region across seven technical sessions, including HUC’s financial sustainability, multilateral academic and research collaboration, HUC's global positioning, and the initiation of a vice-chancellors’ forum for regional cooperation. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) surged by 54. 51 points to close at 2, 931. 55 points on Sunday. 

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 11. 11 points to close at 505. 31 points.

A total of 61,407,074-unit shares of 364 companies were traded for Rs 1. 69 billion.

Meanwhile, Corporate Development Bank Limited (CORBL), Salapa Bikas Bank Limited (SABBL), Reliance Spinning Mills Limited (RSML), Aviyan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (AVYAN) and Solu Hydropower Limited (SOHL) were the top gainers today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Similarly, NIC Asia Balanced Fund (NICBF) was the top loser as its price fell by 5. 71 points. 

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 96 trillion.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a second corruption case at the Supreme Court over alleged irregularities in the construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport.

According to the Commission, the case has been filed against 21 individuals and two companies, including then Tourism Secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari.

The Persian Gulf country said it made sure that its air defence were responding to the missile and drone attacks from Iran and the Defence Ministry informed that two missiles and drones were launched at the kingdom island which hosts the is 5th fleet. 

They also said that a total of 145 missiles and 146 drones have been fired at Shiite-majority Bahrain since the start of the war, AP reported.

The government is set to launch a 'Human Papillomavirus' (HPV) vaccination campaign against cervical cancer in four districts of the country this week.

Head of the Child Health and Immunisation Branch of the Department of Health Services, Dr Abhiyan Gautam, said that the vaccination campaign will be conducted in Dolpa, Humla, Jumla and Manang, where schools were closed due to snowfall in February when the vaccination campaign was conducted across the country.

HPV vaccines were administered to 6th-grade students and 10-year-old girls outside school throughout the country from February 8 to 27, except in those four districts.

Similarly, children from grades 7 to 10 and out-of-school girls aged 11 to 14 were also vaccinated. 

Dr Gautam, the head of the vaccination branch, stated that during the campaign, 323,000 girls in 73 districts were given the HPV vaccine.

Dr Gautam said instructions have been given and health workers trained in those districts to make the necessary preparations for the vaccination campaign.

He stated that the main cause of increased risk of cervical cancer is infection from the human papillomavirus, which is why the government has launched a vaccination campaign against it.