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The Westerly and local wind coupled with the moisture-laden wind entering from the Bay of Bengal have their influence in the weather system of the country at present, the Meteorological Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said. 

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country with the possibility of light to moderate precipitation accompanied by thunder and lightning at some places of Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and some places of the hilly region of Lumbini and Karnali Provinces and at a few places in the rest of the country today.

Light rain and snowfall are likely to occur at some places of the mountainous region of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces. According to the Division, there is a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in Koshi Province.

Similarly, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country tonight. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places of the hilly regions of the rest of the provinces.

Light rain and snowfall are likely to occur at a few places of the mountainous regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and heavy rainfall at one or two places of Koshi Province tonight.

Three persons died and two others were injured in a jeep accident at Siddheshwar, Rainadevi Chhahara Rural Municipality-1 in Palpa district last night.

The jeep (Lu 1 Ja 2377) was heading towards Thulapokhara from Asare of Siddheshwar when the accident occurred, said Sunil Malla, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Palpa. 

Following the incident, five of the injured were rushed to the United Mission Hospital in Tansen and doctors declared three of them as dead, police said.

The deceased have been identified as 36-year-old Dipendra Budha, 31-year-old Chet Narayan BK, and 23-year-old Janak Regami of Siddheshwar, Rainadevi Chhahara-1.

The injured jeep driver, Ranjan Reshmi (27) and another injured Saroj Budha 23) are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

According to the police, the jeep fell some 200 meters down the road. Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said. 

Four hundred and two people from 53 countries have taken permits as of April 27 to climb Mt Everest, the world's tallest peak, in this spring climbing season this year, the Department of Tourism said. Seventy-four among them are women.

Department Director Liladhar Awasthi said that 41 expeditions have taken permission. 

In the same season last year, a total of 414 people, including 75 women and 339 men from 41 mountaineering expeditions, had taken permission to climb Mt Everest.

Royalty of Rs 684 million has been collected from the permits issued for climbing various mountain peaks this year.

The Department stated that the royalty amount is expected to increase further as climbers continue to arrive.

The Department has set up a field office at the Everest Base Camp to ensure safe, orderly mountain climbing and to regulate the mountaineering activities in the Mt Everest. It is stated that during the 72 years of climbing Mt Everest, many new records have been set as a growing number of mountaineers jostle to stand tall on the top of the Everest.

Even though climbing Mt Everest is fraught with risk and challenging, an increasing number of climbers are still aspiring for ascending the tallest mountain on Earth.

One of them is Solukhumbu's Tashi Gyaljen Sherpa who has set out to climb Mt Everest four times in 20 days this season with the aim of setting a new record.

So far, more than 8,000 domestic and foreign climbers have reached atop the highest peak in the history of Everest climbing and the trend of setting new record continues.

Tea worth Rs 3.57 billion has been exported till April 13 of the current fiscal year 2024/25, starting July 16, 2024.

Tea exports are expected to reach Rs 4.5 billion this year, according to the National Tea and Coffee Development Board.

Board official Chandra Puri said Nepal's tea sector has created around 60,000 jobs and there are 171 tea estates and 120 small and medium tea processing centres.

According to him, tea was grown on a total of 20,760 hectares of land across the country in the fiscal year 2023/24. During this period, 27 million kilograms of processed tea was produced. There are 15,203 tea farmers in the country.

Puri informed that 16.5 million kilograms of tea worth Rs 3.63 billion was exported in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the Board has decided to organize a tea exhibition at Harihar Bhawan in Pulchowk today on the occasion of the 29th National Tea Day. The exhibition has been organized with the objective of promoting Nepali tea in the international market.

Puri said that discussions would be held among the representatives of tea farmers, workers, cooperatives, entrepreneurs, business persons and concerned organizations amidst the exhibition of tea produced in different districts of the country at one place.

The theme of the National Tea Day this year is 'Healthy Tea, Sustainable Market, Foundation of Prosperous Nepal'.

The death toll from a powerful explosion at Iran's biggest port of Bandar Abbas has risen to at least 40, with more than 1,200 people injured, state media reported on Sunday, as firefighters worked to fully extinguish the fire, Reuters reported.

Saturday's blast took place in the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, Iran's biggest container hub, shattering windows for several kilometres around, tearing metal strips off shipping containers and badly damaging goods inside, state media said.

The incident occurred as Iran held a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman.

Fires kept breaking out in different parts of the affected area as of Sunday night, according to state media, with helicopters and fire fighters continuing efforts to extinguish them, according to Reuters.

Chemicals at the port were suspected to have fuelled the explosion, but the exact cause was not clear and Iran's Defence Ministry denied international media reports that the blast may be linked to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.

The U.S. State Department said on Sunday Washington was in touch with both India and Pakistan while urging them to work towards what it called a "responsible solution" as tensions have risen between the two Asian nationsfollowing a recent Islamist militant attack in Kashmir, Reuters reported.

In public, the U.S. government has expressed support for India after the attack but has not criticized Pakistan. India blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed over two dozen people. Pakistan denies responsibility and called for a neutral probe.

"This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely. We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

"The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution," the spokesperson added, according to Reuters.

The weather today will remain partly to generally cloudy in the hilly areas of the country including Koshi and Madhes Provinces and clear to partly cloudy in the rest of the country. 

There is a possibility of light rain with thunder and lightning in some places in the hilly areas of the country including Madhes Province and one or two places in the rest of the country. There is also a possibility of light rain and snowfall in some places in the mountainous areas of the country.

This is due to the influence of westerly winds coupled with local winds. In addition, the water vapor-rich air entering from the Bay of Bengal is also having an effect, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division.

Similarly, tonight, the weather will remain partly to generally cloudy in the hilly areas including Koshi Province and clear to partly cloudy in the remaining parts of the country. There is a possibility of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning at some places in the hilly parts of Koshi, Madhesh  and Gandaki provinces, and at one or two places in the hilly parts of Bagmati and Karnali provinces. 

There is a possibility of light rain and snowfall at one or two places in the mountainous parts of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces.

Matatirtha Aunsi or Mother's Day is being celebrated in honour of mothers with devotion across the country today.

This festival is considered a day of devotion, respect and recognition of the mothers, who are considered greater than the priests and fathers in the religious scriptures, and a day to seek blessings from her. It is customary for children to get up early this morning, take a bath, dress their mother in beautiful clothes, and feed her with sweet and savory foods to seek her blessings and recognize her contribution and very important role in the family and society. 

Those who have already lost their mother remember them and the great and difficult deeds she accomplished by making offerings to her soul and offering food to the needy in her remembrance.

Ancient Vedic scriptures highlight the importance of mother and the motherland in the noble saying, ‘Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargadapi Gariyasi’, meaning that the mother who gives birth and the motherland are greater and more loving than heaven, says Theologist and member of the Nepal Calendar Determination Committee, Prof. Dr Devmani Bhattarai.

He says that it is mentioned in the scriptures that the importance of a mother is a thousand times greater than that of a father. Because of such importance, the living mother is honoured and served with sweet delicacies and gifts while offerings are made in the name of the deceased mother with devotion. 

On this occasion, a fair is held today at Mata Tirtha in Chandragiri Municipality of Kathmandu while many visit temples and gather at river confluences and banks to pray for eternal peace for their late mothers. Those with a living mother, visit her with various gifts while seeking her blessings.