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U.S. nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported. 

Japan and the U.S. "reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The flight of two U.S. B-52 strategic bombers with three Japanese F-35 stealth fighters and three F-15 air-superiority jets was the first time the U.S. had asserted its military presence since China began military exercises in the region last week amid heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, according to Reuters.

The Nagdhunga-Malekhu road section, which was being partially closed for five hours daily for up-gradation works, has been opened for Friday and Saturday. 

The road stretch will remain open with no mobility restriction in keeping with the inaugural session of the 11th National Congress of the CPN-UML. 

It may be noted that the Nagdhunga-Muglin Road Project had been working on the section since last December 10 by partially closing the road. 

The project has shared the information that the road section would not be closed for two days. 

Chief of the Nagdhunga-Muglin Road Project eastern section Keshab Prasad Ojha informed that after this the road up-gradation works would continue by closing the road operations during the stated time as per the previous schedule. 

"We have been carrying out the works on the road section by restricting the mobility for five hours from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm since December 10 in coordination with the Dhading and Kathmandu district administration offices. We took the decision not to close the road considering possible traffic pressure in view of the UML's National Congress", he shared. 

A group of Youth Association on Wednesday had met Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Kulman Ghising and requested that the road be opened for two days for the party's national congress. 

The final match of the ongoing Nepal Premier League (NPL) second season has been set for Saturday. 

Defending runners-up Sudurpaschim Royals and Lumbini Lions are taking on in the final to be held at 3.30 pm at Kirtipur-based TU International Cricket Ground. 

Sudurpaschim have come closer to the title defeating Biratnagar by 77 runs in the first Qualifier. 

Likewise, Lumbini have secured their place for the final beating Biratnagar by 40 runs in the second Qualifier. 

Biratnagar which suffered a defeat by Sudurpaschim in the first Qualifier got a chance to play in the second Qualifier. 

Sudurpaschim had lost the last NPL's final to Janakpur Bolts by five wickets. Lumbini were  ousted from the league phase in the  previous edition of the franchise tournament. 

The NPL title winner will bag a cash prize of Rs 11 million while the runners-up will get Rs 5.1 million. 

The third winner is entitled to receive Rs 2.5 million and fourth Rs 1.5 million. 

Eight teams had participated in the NPL tournament hosted by the Cricket Association of Nepal. 

The NPL second edition this time kicked off on  November 17, 2025. 

Russia could attack a Nato country within the next five years, the Western military alliance's chief has said in a stark new warning, BBC reported. 

"Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies," Mark Rutte said in a speech in Germany. "We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured."

He echoed similar statements about Russia's intentions made by Western intelligence agencies, which Moscow dismisses as hysteria, according to BBC. 

American rapper Snoop Dogg has been named an 'honorary coach' for Team USA at next year's Winter Olympics, BBC reported. 

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced on Thursday the 54-year-old will take on "a volunteer role celebrating and supporting America's athletes off the field of play". 

Snoop Dogg was a big presence for the US during the summer Games in Paris last year, serving as a special correspondent for broadcaster NBC's Olympics coverage, as well as performing at the handover ceremony for Los Angeles 2028, according to BBC. 

Thailand has dissolved parliament after nearly a week of fresh clashes along its border with Cambodia, with a general election to be called within 45 to 60 days, BBC reported. 

In a royal decree published on Friday, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cited the deadly border dispute among other challenges his minority government has struggled to contain since it took office three months ago.

"The appropriate solution is to dissolve parliament… which is a way to return political power to the people," he said, according to BBC. 

The US has imposed fresh sanctions on six more ships said to be carrying Venezuelan oil, a day after seizing a tanker off the country's coast, BBC reported.

Sanctions have also been placed on some of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's relatives and businesses associated with what Washington calls his illegitimate regime.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the seized vessel, called the Skipper, had been involved in "illicit oil shipping" and would be taken to an American port, according to BBC.

Nepal’s total public debt has reached Rs 2,729.42bn by mid-November, rising by Rs 55.37bn in the first four months of 2025/26. According to the latest data of the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), the country’s public debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at 44.69 percent.

External debt continues to dominate Nepal’s debt profile, accounting for 53.25 percent, or Rs 1,453.45bn of the total debt, while domestic debt represents 46.75 percent, or Rs 1,275.96bn of the total debt. The report also highlights a significant negative exchange loss of Rs 44.23bn, which weighed heavily on the valuation of external liabilities during the period.

Between mid-July and mid-November of the current fiscal year, the government mobilized a total of Rs 138.75bn in public debt. Domestic borrowing accounted for Rs 120bn of the total public debt mobilized during the period, while the remaining Rs 18.75bn came from external debt.
Domestic debt mobilization remained at 33.15 percent of the target set for the current fiscal year. In contrast, external debt mobilization remained sluggish at just 8.03 percent of the annual target of Rs 233.66bn. This early imbalance suggests challenges in securing or disbursing external financing as scheduled.

In the current fiscal year, the government has earmarked Rs 411.01bn for public debt servicing—Rs 67.45bn to service external debt and Rs 343.55bn to service domestic liabilities. Of this amount, Rs 302.47bn has been allocated for principal repayment and Rs 108.53bn for interest payments. The budget is set aside.

The government has spent Rs 150.89bn, or 36.71 percent of its total annual debt-service budget, in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Of the total amount, Rs 131.66bn went for domestic debt servicing and Rs 19.23bn for external debt servicing. Of the total amount, Rs 127.61bn went for principal payment, while the remaining Rs 23.28bn was spent to pay interest.

The government mobilizes domestic debt primarily through instruments like development bonds and treasury bills. Development bonds make up 76.01 percent of the domestic debt stock, while treasury bills account for 22.51 percent. Smaller instruments, including citizen saving bonds, foreign saving bonds and IMF bonds, constitute the remainder.

According to the report, 9.57 percent of the total external debt came from bilateral lenders, while the remaining 90.43 percent was mobilized from multilateral lenders like Asian Development Bank, Word Bank, International Monetary Fund.