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The counting of votes under the proportional representation system for the House of Representatives (HoR) election, which took place on March 5, has been finalized.

With the recent completion of vote counting in Gorkha 1 and Ilam 1, the overall counting for proportional representation has also concluded, said Kul Bahadur GC, Assistant Spokesperson of the Election Commission. 

He noted that the process of gathering details from the relevant election officer's office to the commission is still in progress following the completion of the counting. 

Now that the vote counting for proportional representation is done, the commission has initiated the groundwork to determine the allocation of seats for political parties under this system. 

Reports indicate that this process is expected to wrap up in a few days. 

In the meantime, the Election Commission has reported that by 11 am today, a total of 10,739,115 votes have been counted for the proportional election. Among these votes, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) is leading with 5,139,235 votes. 

The Nepali Congress has garnered 1,749,583 votes, while the CPN-UML has received 1,448,854 votes. The Nepali Communist Party has 805,773 votes, the Shram Sanskriti Party has 378,649 votes, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party has 329,472 votes. 

Other parties have not managed to meet the required threshold of three percent of the total valid votes cast under the PR system as per the prevailing law.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 2, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 319, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 317, 000 per tola on Tuesday. 

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 5, 720  per tola today.

The World Bank has extended support to Nepal’s Clean Air and Prosperity Project to reduce air pollution from industries and strengthen air quality management. 

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved Rs 7.7 billion credit for the project. 

The project will help reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions, particularly from industrial and commercial boilers and furnaces, while strengthening national systems for air quality management. 

“Air pollution is not only a public health crisis but also a significant economic burden in Nepal, costing the country more than six percent of GDP each year through health costs and lost labour productivity,” said David Sislen, Division Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. 

This project aims to protect millions of people from harmful pollution by helping Nepali enterprises adopt cleaner and more efficient technologies that at the same time also lower operating costs, improve competitiveness, and support sustainable industrial growth, he added. 

The counting of tigers in the Shuklaphanta National Park began on Tuesday. The tigers in the Park and its vicinity are being counted for the fifth time. 

A conservation officer at the Park, Purushottam Wagle, informed that the big cats would be enumerated with camera trapping methods. The tigers are counted every four years. This is the fifth time the count is going on. 

A survey will be conducted in the Park and its vicinity where a total 520 automated cameras have been installed by identifying the tigers' trail.

A 77-member technical team has been mobilized for this task. Even the elephants would be used for easing the count. The workforce carries out its duty through 11 camps. 

The last survey held in 2022 had recorded 36 tigers in the Park which covers 305 square kilometer area. The number of big cats is expected to have increased since then.

The African swine flu has taken a huge toll on pig farming in Parbat district. 

As many as 46 pigs have died of flu, spreading alarm among the commercial pig farmers.

A test was conducted in the livestock for swine flu in the surrounding areas of district headquarters, Kushma. After the test found the spread of African swine flu, the farmers have been asked to maintain alertness.

The Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service, Parbat informed it conducted tests after some pigs in Kushma Municipality showed the symptoms such as fever, thumping, huddling, nasal and ocular discharge and loss of appetite. The rapid kit test resulted in a positive, according to Suresh Kumar Shrestha, Chief of Office.

Then the Office conducted monitoring in the areas suspected of disease and urged the farmers to keep pig sties clean, use bleaching powder and formalin to disinfect the sty, and keep separate the infected pigs. They are also asked to conduct the test in case of suspicion, bury the dead pigs and keep away the domestic cattle from wild boars. 

There are over 40 commercial pig farms in Parbat district. The farmers in the related areas have been asked to maintain adequate preparedness.

Australia ⁠has confirmed that two more members of the Iranian women’s football team have received humanitarian visas, after five players were earlier ‌granted asylum over concerns for their safety should they return to Iran, following the team failing to sing their national anthem before a recent match, Aljazeera reported. 

A player and a member of the team’s support staff decided ⁠to stay ⁠in Australia after seeking asylum, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke told reporters on Wednesday.

The pair has now joined five other team members granted humanitarian visas on Tuesday, Burke told reporters, according to Aljazeera. 

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal struck from the penalty spot with the final kick of the game to salvage a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, cancelling out a late strike from Harvey Barnes, Reuters reported. 

Newcastle appeared set to take a slender advantage into the second leg after Barnes scored in the 86th minute when he volleyed home Jacob Murphy's cross.

But elation for the home fans turned to heartbreak when Malick Thiaw brought Dani Olmo down in the box in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The 18-year-old Yamal, who had been quiet all night, fired the penalty into the bottom corner as goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale dove the wrong way, according to Reuters. 

Atletico Madrid took a big step toward the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday with a 5-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the Metropolitano Stadium, Xinhua reported. 

Tottenham coach Igor Tudor said before the match that he was prioritizing Premier League survival over European progress, and his side made a disastrous start as Atletico led 4-0 after 22 minutes.

Tudor started with Antonin Kinsky in goal, even though the 22-year-old had not played a minute in either the Champions League or the Premier League this season. A mistake from Kinsky gifted Atletico the lead in the sixth minute when he slipped while trying to play the ball out from the back, allowing Marcos Llorente a simple finish, according to Xinhua.