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Iran's relations with Gulf states will require a "serious review" in light of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, limiting ‌the power of external actors so the region can become prosperous, Tehran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday, Reuters reported. 

Asked if he was concerned that relations would be harmed by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: "It's a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors and we cannot do without each other; we will ​need a serious review."

"What the region has witnessed over the past five decades is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] ​and an excessive reliance on external powers," he said in a written response to questions, calling for deeper ties ⁠between the Gulf Cooperation Council's six members, along with Iraq and Iran, according to Reuters. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European allies of seeking to "blackmail" Kyiv into reopening a pipeline transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, BBC reported. 

He said restoring the flow of Russian crude oil through Ukraine into the European Union (EU) would be like lifting economic sanctions on Moscow.

Ukraine says the Soviet-era Druzhba oil pipeline was damaged by Russian air strikes in January and has yet to be repaired, according to BBC. 

A further four people have died in Kenya after heavy rain caused widespread flooding, police said, taking the number to have died in the past week to at least 66, BBC reported. 

The capital, Nairobi, was hit by more heavy rain overnight although no new deaths were reported.

Eleven people were rescued after a minibus taxi, known locally as a matatu, got stuck as water rose in Nairobi, according to the Kenya Red Cross, while two children were saved from a flooded house, according to BBC. 

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petroleum products effective from midnight today. 

According to the NOC, the price of petrol was hiked by Rs 15 per liter, while the prices of diesel and kerosene were increased by Rs 10 per liter.     

Consumers in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dipayal will now pay Rs 172 per liter for petrol and Rs 152 per liter for diesel and kerosene.     

In a statement issued this evening, the NOC mentioned that the decision for the rate adjustment was made as the fuel prices were hiked in the new supplies to the NOC from the Indian Oil Corporation.

The NOC has stated that the unusual price hike of petroleum products in the international market led to this situation, while urging the consumers for their continued support.   

The Nepali Embassy in Kuwait has urged Nepali nationals residing in Kuwait with a valid resident permit and who wish to return home to travel via Saudi Arabia. 

Issuing a notice on Sunday in view of the evolving situation in the Middle East, the Embassy requested Nepalis residing in Kuwait to submit their Saudi Visa application online if they intend to travel to Nepal via airports in Saudi Arabia. 

The Embassy also notified that Nepalis bearing a valid resident permit (Kuwait's Civil ID) are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia via land route for their travel to Nepal once they obtain a visa.

The Supreme Court (SC) is hearing the writ petitions filed against President of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rabi Lamichhane, on money laundering and organized crime charges on Monday, as the case could not be completed on Sunday. 

A division bench of Justices Saranga Subedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel would continue hearing on the petitions. 

Prior to this, a division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Shreekant Poudel had ordered that the petitions be presented for the hearing on Sunday.

Attorney General Sabita Bhandari had on January 14 decided to withdraw the case at a time when the case was under consideration in the SC. 

The writ petitions were filed against the decision of the Office of the Attorney General to withdraw the case related to the organized crime and money laundering charges.

Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi, advocates Yubaraj Paudel and Avash Regmi had filed separate writ petitions at the SC against the decision of the Attorney General.

The Nepali Congress (NC) has finalized the names from among the list of proportional representation candidates for the House of Representatives members. Among them, 15 candidates are women.

The meeting of the NC Central Working Committee convened today recommended the names of six candidates each from the indigenous communities and Khas Arya categories. 

Likewise, one each candidate has been selected from the Tharu, Dalit, Madheshi, Muslim and backward region categories. 

The meeting also decided to send three more names under the designated cluster to the Election Commission, said party Spokesperson Devraj Chalise. 

The candidates were chosen from the party's previously submitted closed list for the PR system. 

"We have finalized the names of the candidates based on the 20 seats secured by our party for the PR. We have altogether 62 seats in both the National Assembly and House of Representatives combined, out of which, 21 seats are reserved for women. So far, we have submitted a list that includes 15 women," explained Spokesperson Chalise.

If there is any issue in the cluster categories, the party will make necessary changes in line with the Election Commission's instruction, he reminded.

The meeting was chaired by party President Gagan Kumar Thapa and attended by Vice-Presidents Bishwa Prakash Sharma and Pushpa Bhuasal, General-Secretaries Pradeep Poudel and Gururaj Ghimire among others. 

The Shram Sanskriti Party has submitted the names of four candidates to the Election Commission (EC) under the proportional representation (PR) system.  

The party has secured four seats in the House of Representatives (HoR) elections under the PR system by crossing the threshold of three percent.

The party's vice chairman Loknath Chudal said that Rubi Kumari Thakur was chosen from the Madheshi women's cluster, Radhika Ramtel under Dalit women, Ambika Devi Sangraula Khadka from Khas Arya women and Purna Prasad Limbu from Adibasi Janajati cluster.  

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, Nepali Communist Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party also submitted the names of their candidates to the EC under the PR system for crossing the threshold of three percent of total votes.