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Nepal is currently under the influence of a westerly low-pressure system coupled with local winds in the lower atmosphere near the eastern belt of the country. As a result of this pattern, the hilly and Himalayan regions of the country will be generally cloudy and the Tarai part will be partly cloudy today, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.    

The Department stated that generally cloudy conditions are expected in the hilly and Himalayan regions of the country, while partly cloudy conditions are expected in the Tarai. 

There is a possibility of light to moderate rain and snowfall with thunder and lightning at some places in Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces as well as in the hilly and Himalayan regions of the remaining provinces.

Light rainfall with thunder and lightning is also likely at a few places in the remaining Tarai regions.

Later tonight, generally cloudy conditions are expected in the Koshi Province as well as in the Himalayan region of the country, while partly cloudy conditions are expected in the remaining areas. 

There is a possibility of moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning at some places in Koshi Province, and at one or two places in the hilly and Himalayan regions of the remaining provinces, the weather service added.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) has asked all business enterprises across the country to participate in the ongoing Second National Economic Survey. 

The Second National Economic Survey was started on April 15 and will continue till July 16.

Director of NSO, Dr Bed Prasad Dhakal, said that trading and business firms both in formal and non-formal sectors are asked to join the national economic survey.

According to Dr Dhakal, data from agriculture, mining, production, industry, trading, private business firms, banks and financial institutions, cooperatives and other enterprises are being collected. 

As high as 32 percent of the estimated data was collected as of May 5, Director Dr Dhakal added. 

Likewise, more than 7,400 business firms had pledged to submit their details online and 1,600 plus firms have already submitted their details, it is said. 

The census aims to provide an accurate picture of the national economy through statistical information.

The census is a significant initiative for gathering basic and reliable statistics, which are essential for formulating economic policies, plans and development strategies.

It is expected that the economic census will make a vital contribution to short-term and long-term economic plans prepared by the government, investment promotion and employment creation and receive details.

The government conducted the national economic census for the first time seven years ago. 

A total of 923,356 business institutions across the country were recorded during the first economic census and 3.228 million people were involved in the business institutions. 

The US military fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday, shortly after Donald Trump issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran, telling it to accept a deal to end the war or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.

The US fighter fired several rounds and “disabled the tanker’s rudder” as it attempted to breach the US’s blockade of Iranian ports, US Central Command said in a social media post, The Guardian reported. 

The attack came after the US president’s social media announcement – the latest in a rapid series of dramatic and often contradictory changes in policy amid unconfirmed reports of progress in stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

France on Wednesday deployed its carrier strike ​group to the Red Sea as part of planning for a potential mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, urging Washington and Tehran to consider the proposal given the global economic impact of their competing blockades, Reuters reported. 

Fresh exchanges of fire on Monday underscored the stakes as the U.S. and Iran struggle for control of the narrow waterway, a vital artery for global energy and trade, shaking a fragile four-week-old truce and reinforcing rival maritime blockades.

Israel has attacked Beirut for the first time since it agreed to a ceasefire in the war with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, putting further pressure on a deal that has failed to stop the conflict, BBC reported. 

The air strike hit the city's southern suburbs, known as Dahieh, where Hezbollah is based. Images posted online showed large flames and at least one building heavily damaged.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had personally approved the strike which targeted a commander of the group's elite Radwan Force.

Iran says a US proposal to end the war is "still being considered", after reports the two sides could be close to an agreement, BBC reported. 

US news outlet Axios reported on Wednesday that the White House believes it could be closing in on a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran.

A senior member of Iran's parliament dismissed it as a "wish list", while a foreign ministry spokesman said Tehran would share its views of a US proposal with Pakistani mediators.

The government has annulled the registration of 12 national-level trade unions in the civil service and health service sectors. 

The Department of Labour and Occupational Safety and Health today cancelled the registration of eight trade unions under the Nepal Civil Service Act, 2074 BS and four trade unions under the Nepal Health Service Act, 2053 BS.

The registration of the Nepal Civil Service Employees' Organization, Nepal Civil Service Employees' Union, Nepal National Civil Service Employees' Organization, Nepal Madhesi Civil Service Employees' Forum, Nepal Health Workers' Association, Madhesi Health Workers' Forum Nepal, Unified Government Employees' Organization Nepal and Independent Civil Servants' Organization Nepal under the civil service has been cancelled.

Similarly, the registration of the Nepal Health Workers' Union, Health Workers' Union Nepal, National Health Workers' Association and National Progressive Health Workers' Organization Nepal under the health service has also been cancelled, according to the department's spokesperson Maninath Gop.

The current government had scrapped the provisions related to trade unions in the public service through the Ordinance designed to amend some Nepal Acts , 2083. With the promulgation of that Ordinance by the President, the national-level trade unions in those services became inactive.

Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha has been appointed as the Officiating Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha today assigned the responsibility of Officiating Executive Director to Shrestha, who was the Deputy Executive Director of the Authority.

Shrestha has been assigned with the new responsibility after Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya was relieved of his post through an ordinance brought by the government, according to Minister Shrestha's secretariat.