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Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez and US interior minister Doug Burgum have said the two countries will be working together to develop mining in the country, BBC reported. 

Burgum, who leads President Donald Trump's National Energy Dominance Council, met Rodriguez at the presidential palace in Caracas, in the second visit by a US secretary since the US strikes and seizure of Nicolás Maduro in January.

Venezuela has already changed its law to allow more foreign investment in its previously nationalised oil sector, according to BBC. 

A Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has sunk in the Mediterranean between Libya and Malta after it was hit by explosions and a fire, Libyan port officials have said, BBC reported. 

Russia accused Ukraine of targeting the Arctic Metagaz with "uncrewed sea drones" launched from the Libyan coast. 

Ukraine's SBU state security service has not commented on the allegation and the Libyan port authority said the cause of the fire was unclear, according to BBC. 

China has cut its annual economic growth target to a range of 4.5%-5%, the lowest expansion goal since 1991 as it grapples with challenges both at home and abroad, BBC reported. 

It is the first time the target has been lowered since it was cut to "around 5%" in 2023. A target was not set in 2020 due to uncertainties caused by the pandemic.

The announcement was made during China's biggest political gathering, known as the "two sessions", alongside some details of the 15th Five Year Plan for the world's second largest economy were released, according to BBC. 

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said an American submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, BBC reported. 

He said the ship was sunk by a torpedo on Tuesday, and that it died a "quiet death".

Hegseth did not name the ship, but his announcement came after Sri Lankan officials said its navy had responded to a distress call from an Iranian ship on Wednesday morning named the Iris Dena, which had gone down about 40km (25 miles) from its southern coastline, according to BBC. 

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has predicted that most regions of the country will experience clear weather today. 

Furthermore, the Department has noted a chance of light rain and snowfall in certain hilly and mountainous areas. 

In Koshi Province, a mix of partial clouds and predominantly clear conditions is expected in the mountainous, hilly, and Tarai regions, while much of the Tarai in Madhes Province will see mainly clear weather. 

In Bagmati Province, a combination of partial clouds and mainly clear weather is forecasted for the mountains, hills, and Tarai areas. All regions of Gandaki Province are expected to have partial cloud cover. In Lumbini Province, partial clouds will be present in the mountainous and hilly areas, whereas the Tarai region will largely remain clear. 

In Karnali Province, the weather is predicted to be predominantly clear in the mountainous and hilly areas.

The Department has indicated that clear weather will prevail in the mountainous, hilly, and Terai regions of Sudurpashchim Province.

Prime Minister Sushila Karki called on President Ram Chandra Paudel at the Office of the President today. 

The President's Secretariat stated that PM Karki briefed the President on the contemporary political situation and the elections to the House of Representatives (HoR). 

The country is holding the HoR elections on Thursday. The voting is scheduled to begin at 7 am and will continue until 5 pm.

The Election Commission (EC) has urged all voters to participate actively and enthusiastically in the voting scheduled for Thursday, March 5, under the House of Representatives (HoR) elections.

At a press meet organized at the EC today on the eve of the voting, Officiating Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said that all preparations for conducting the elections have been completed. 

He called on all eligible citizens to take part in the elections as a constitutional exercise to renew democratic legitimacy and cast their invaluable votes.

A total of 65 political parties are contesting under the first-past-the-post (direct) electoral system with 61 election symbols. 

Under the direct system, there are 3,017 male candidates and 388 female candidates. One candidate from the other gender is also contesting, bringing the total number of candidates under this system to 3,406.

Similarly, under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system, 1,363 male and 1,772 female candidates who make a total of 3,135 candidates are in the race. Voting under the direct electoral system is being held for 165 constituencies, while 110 seats are allocated under the PR system.

In this election, the total number of voters is 10,893,689. Of them, 9,663,358 are male voters, 1,230,131 are female voters, and 200 belong to other genders. According to the EC, there are 186,142 temporary voters.

Nationwide, there are 10,967 polling stations and 23,112 polling centers. A total of 143 temporary polling stations have been established.

For election security, 79,727 personnel from the Nepal Army, 75,797 from Nepal Police, 34,567 from the Armed Police Force, 1,921 from the National Investigation Department, and 149,000 temporary election police have been mobilized. Altogether, 215,000 employees have been deployed.

The EC has printed a total of 42,251,200 ballot papers for both electoral systems. Additionally, 39 national organizations and four international organizations have been permitted to observe the elections.

Security has been tightened at the Nepal–India border to ensure that the House of Representatives elections on Thursday are conducted in a peaceful  environment.

Madhav Prasad Pokharel, Chief District Officer of Rupandehi, said that an informal border coordination meeting was held with his counterpart from Maharajganj District in Uttar Pradesh, India, regarding the security in the border areas in view of the House of Representatives elections.

The informal discussion between officials of both countries and the monitoring of the border area were attended by Chief District Officer Pokhrel, along with Chief of Police and Deputy Superintendent of Police of the District Police Office Rupandehi Janak Bahadur Shahi, the Armed Police Force Deputy Inspector General Navaraj Bohara, and Prakash Acharya, Director of the National Investigation Department, from Nepal side.

Similarly, Santosh Kumar Sharma, the chief officer (DM) of the District Maharajganj in India, and SP Somendra Meena of the Indian police were also present.

Chief District Officer Pokharel stated that both parties discussed the issue of closing the border during the election and effectively implementing it. He said that the Indian side also showed interest in assisting in conducting the elections peacefully and fairly.

Considering the elections, all the border crossings with India in Rupandehi district have been closed for 72 hours from 12:00 midnight on Monday, March 2. 

The district administration has stated that all borders will remain closed until voting is completed on the election day, March 5.