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Bangladeshi Ambassador to Nepal Shafiqur Rahman congratulated the people of Nepal on the peaceful and successful elections, describing it as an important milestone in the country’s democratic journey. 

He made the remarks while welcoming the guests at an iftar-dinner hosted in honour of the Heads of Mission and members of the diplomatic corps in Kathmandu on Tuesday, reads a statement issued by the Bangladeshi Embassy in Kathmandu. 

During the event, the Bangladeshi envoy expressed willingness to work with the new government of Nepal to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. 

Senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, and other distinguished guests were present in the program. 

On the occasion, the ambassador conveyed Ramadan greetings and touched on the spirit and teaching of the holy month of Ramadan. 

He underscored the longstanding friendly relations between Bangladesh and Nepal, and reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to further strengthening this partnership.

Referring to Bangladesh’s journey towards democracy and reforms, the ambassador noted that the new government in Bangladesh is committed to advancing democratic reforms and building a discrimination-free, corruption-free and prosperous Bangladesh under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

The United States has confirmed that around 140 of its service members have been wounded since the start of the war against Iran on February 28, Aljazeera reported. 

The Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday that most of the injuries were minor.

“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 US service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said.

Much of the centre of the German city of Dresden will be evacuated on Wednesday, after the discovery of a large unexploded British World War Two flying bomb, BBC reported. 

The 250kg (551lb) device was discovered near the former Carola Bridge, which collapsed in the Elbe River in 2024.

The fire brigade in Dresden says this is the city's largest evacuation to date for such an incident, affecting around 18,000 residents, tourists and commuters.

Meta should do more to address the "proliferation" of fake content made with artificial intelligence (AI) tools on its platforms, the social media giant's own advisors have said, BBC reported. 

The 21-person Oversight Board raised the concerns as it rebuked the company for leaving up an AI-generated video that claimed to show extensive damage in Haifa, Israel by Iranian forces without a label.

It called on the company to overhaul its AI rules, warning that an increase in fake AI videos related to global military conflicts had "challenged the public's ability to distinguish fabrication from fact ... risking a general distrust of all information."

The deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia constitutes a crime against humanity and a war crime, the UN has said, BBC reported. 

A new report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says Russian authorities "at the highest level" have deported "thousands" of children from the occupied areas of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin's "direct involvement" has been "visibile form the outset," it adds.

The air quality index (AQI) measured the Kathmandu Valley pollution as the second worst in the world on Wednesday. 

The weather has been deteriorating in the valley and many parts of the country for some days. 

Director General at the Department of Environment, Gyan Raj Subedi, has argued that lack of rainfall and strong wind caused the deposit of polluted air in the bowl-shaped valley. He urged all not to go out of residence except essential work and use mask while going out of residence.

"For some days, most of the places including the Kathmandu Valley witnessed gloomy weather. Even the rains are not in sight, nor the sunny weather. With strong wind in short supply, the polluted air is choking the valley," he said, adding, "Once the weather improves, the air pollution subsides." 

Meteorologist at Meteorological Forecasting Division, Sanjiv Adhikari, however, informed that the weather would improve gradually with gradual disappearance of haze.

The AQI measured Kathmandu Valley's air quality at 174, placing it as the second worst polluted city in the world till 4 pm today.

Environmental campaigner Bhushan Tuladhar said preparedness is imperative for air pollution. Massive public awareness against air pollution is needed together. 

The AQI notches from 150 to 200 are categorized 'hazardous to every ones' health', while the reading from 201 to 300 signals 'very unhealthy' and above it 'very harmful'. The measurement from 0 to 50 indicates the air quality as 'good'.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly’s government raised the fuel price saying that it is also important to make sure local production goes on and to balance the economy, AP reported.

Egypt priced fuel by up to 17 percent after the Middle East war has sent prices of oil soaring. 

Prime Minister Madbouly said that the government had to make a choice between maintaining current fuel prices which might have imposed heavy costs on the state and raising them to shield industrial and business operations from repercussions of war, according to AP.

According to AP, Qatar has been warning citizens to stay safe inside their settlements due to the fear of Iranian attack. The UAE also informed that it has activated it’s air defence to intercept incoming fire from Iran.