KATHMANDU -- Nepali officials on Wednesday reported substantial progress in the reconstruction efforts following the devastating earthquakes in 2015, as donors and development partners pledged more support to the South Asian country.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction 2021 hosted by the Nepali government, Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari spoke of the remarkable progress in rebuilding over 700,000 individual houses and most of the damaged schools, health institutions and heritage sites. (Nepal-Post-Quake Reconstruction)

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NEW DELHI -- India's Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and 12 others including his wife were killed and one was injured on Wednesday in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, officials said.

"Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our armed forces and the country," India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh wrote on social media.

The helicopter crashed at Coonoor area of Nilgiris district, about 538 km southwest of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. (India-Helicopter Crash-Toll-ROUNDUP)

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ISLAMABAD -- China donated 7,000 saplings on Wednesday to support Pakistani prime minister's 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program and help Pakistan in its fight against climate change.

In a ceremony held at the Chinese embassy here, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong and Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam jointly planted a tree in the embassy's premises to mark the event. (Pakistan-China-Tree Donation)

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HONG KONG -- Hong Kong on Wednesday reported no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, with the total tally remaining at 12,471.

A total of 61 cases have been reported in the past 14 days and all were imported, according to Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection.

Since the launch of the government inoculation program in late February, more than 4.79 million people, or 71.2 percent of the eligible population, have taken at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 4.56 million, or 67.7 percent, are fully vaccinated. (Hong Kong-COVID-19) Enditem

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