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Bird flu has been detected in five poultry farms of Morang district.

The authority confirmed bird flu in the chicken belonging to Dahal Agro Farm, Haleshi Mahadev Farm, Athiyabari Farm, A to Z Farm and Kamakhya Poultry Farm located in different places of Morang. 

It was shared by the Veterinary Lab, Biratnagar. 

With the confirmation of disease in the poultry farms, the Lab forwarded a process to destroy the chicken, eggs, feed and other related materials. 

Nearly 10 farmers were reaching the Lab daily with dead chickens for the test, according to Dr Kamal Giri, Chief of Lab.

Among 198 samples tested since last July, 45 were tested positive, he shared. 

Other suspicious cases were sent to Kathmandu for further examination.

With the partial effect of westerly wind and local wind, the country has experienced generally cloudy weather. 

It is generally cloudy in the hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi Province while partly cloudy in the rest of the places at present. 

It is raining lightly with brief snowfall in one to two places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces. Even lightning and thunder are occurring there, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division. 

The hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces are predicted to have generally cloudy weather later today, while the hilly and mountainous regions of other provinces will be partly cloudy.

The Tarai region will have clear weather.

Some hilly and mountainous regions of the country, including Sudurpaschim Province are predicted to have partly cloudy weather  at night. Generally clear weather is likely in the Tarai region tonight, the weather service added.

The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has taken action against three firms during a recent market monitoring.

Dasharath Grocery Pvt of Imadol, Lalitpur was fined Rs 50,000, while Sah and Sah Enterprises of Suryabinayak, Bhakpur Rs 10,000, and A & A Shopping Center of Tikathali, Lalitpur Rs 5,000. 

The firms were fined as they were found involved in illegal transactions. The Consumer Protection Act, 2079 was invoked for the punishment.  

The authority issued directions to 15 other firms to correct their business practice. 

The market monitoring was conducted together with the representatives from local level, consumers' rights and stakeholders. 

The Department has continued market monitoring for some weeks.

President Ram Chandra Paudel is scheduled to administer the oath of office and secrecy to the senior most member of the House of Representatives (HoR), Arjun Narsing KC, today. 

The oath-taking ceremony is being held at the President's Office, Sheetal Niwas at 11:15am. 

KC is the senior most leader elected as a HoR member from the March 5 elections. 

KC is a 78-year-old leader elected under the proportional category of election from the Nepali Congress. 

Following the oath-taking, he would administer the oath of office and secrecy to other HoR members tomorrow.

In the 275-member HoR, the lower house of federal parliament, 165 were elected directly while 110 from proportional category.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), established just four years back, became the largest party in the parliament securing 182 seats in HoR, while the NC became the second with 38 seats, while the CPN-UML was the third one with 25 seats.

Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime ​Organization that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the Strait of Hormuz if ‌they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday, Reuters reported. 

The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has all but halted shipments of about ​one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas ​through the strait, causing oil supply disruption.

The note from Iran's Ministry ⁠of Foreign Affairs was sent to the 15-member Security Council ​and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday. It was then circulated ​on Tuesday among the 176 members of the London-based U.N. shipping agency responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution, according to Reuters. 

The Pentagon is expected to send ​thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, adding to a massive U.S. military buildup even as President Donald Trump talks about a possible deal with Tehran to end the war, Reuters reported. 

Reuters first reported on March 18 that Trump's administration was considering deploying thousands of additional U.S. troops, a move that would expand options to include deployment of forces ​inside Iranian territory. Such an escalation could dramatically raise the stakes in the conflict, which is already in its fourth week ​and has roiled global markets.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not specify where in the ⁠Middle East the troops would go or when they would arrive in the region. The soldiers are stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to Reuters. 

Russia has launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine over a 24-hour period since the war began, hitting cities across the country with 948 drones, BBC reported. 

Ukraine's Air Force said 556 drones had been fired since 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Tuesday, in an unusual daytime attack which killed at least three people and injured dozens. 

In the western city of Lviv, the 16th century Bernardine monastery - part of a Unesco World Heritage site in the city centre - was damaged, local officials said, according to BBC. 

The Philippines has become the world's first country to declare a state of national energy emergency in response to the conflict in the Middle East, BBC reported. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he had signed an executive order to safeguard energy security, citing the "imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability" of the country's energy supply.

The US-Israel war with Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a key shipping route - have sent shock waves through global energy markets, causing shortages and price rises, according to BBC.