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Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated President of Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane and its senior leader Balendra Shah on their remarkable victory in the 2026 elections in Nepal.

In a congratulatory message, Prime Minister Sharif said the strong mandate reflects the trust and confidence of the Nepali people in new and dynamic leadership.

He also expressed Pakistan’s willingness to work closely with the newly elected Government of Nepal to further strengthen the historic friendship and cooperation between the two countries, according to the Pakistani Embassy in Kathmandu.

The U.S. will ​release 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic ‌petroleum reserve in a bid to reduce oil prices that have soared due to supply shocks from the U.S.-Israeli war on ​Iran, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on ​Wednesday, Reuters reported. 

Wright said the release is part of a broader ⁠release of 400 million barrels of oil agreed ​to by the 32-nation International Energy Agency earlier in the ​day.

Wright said the release will begin next week and will take about 120 days to deliver, according to Reuters. 

Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships on Wednesday and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the ​worst oil shocks since the 1970s, Reuters reported. 

The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese, as it has spread into Lebanon and thrown global energy ‌markets and transport into chaos.

Despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran also fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back, according to Reuters. 

Three brothers have been arrested in Norway linked to an explosion outside the US embassy in the capital, Oslo, on Sunday, BBC reported. 

The authorities believe the blast was caused by an improvised device that was placed at the building's entrance. It caused minor damage and no injuries were reported.

The brothers, all in their 20s, are Norwegian citizens with links to Iraq, Norway's police attorney Christian Hatlo told a press conference on Wednesday, according to BBC. 

The US has launched a new investigation into some of its biggest trading partners after the Supreme Court struck down a key part of President Donald Trump's tariffs policies last month, BBC reported. 

On Wednesday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Section 301 unfair trade practices probe could lead to new tariffs against countries including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico by this summer.

The probe could allow the US to impose tariffs on goods from any of the countries found to have engaged in unfair trade practices, according to BBC. 

The Nepal Airlines Corporation is all set to conduct a 'Special Flight' tonight aimed at rescuing passengers stranded at Dubai Airport. 

The airline released a flight notice on Tuesday, indicating that a wide-body aircraft will depart at 11:15pm to transport passengers from Nepal to Dubai, while also facilitating the return of those stuck in Dubai back home. 

Flight RA 230 (Dubai–Kathmandu) is set to arrive in Kathmandu on Thursday morning at 4:10. 

In light of the ongoing US–Iran conflict, Executive Director Amritman Shrestha said that this will be the Nepal Airline's first special flight to Dubai in 12 days to assist the stranded travelers. 

He emphasized that passengers will be accommodated based on a 'first come, first served' policy. Shrestha noted that approximately 270 to 280 passengers are expected to reach Dubai tonight. 

The Executive Director further explained that these special flights are organized to ensure the safe return of passengers who have been awaiting rescue in Dubai. 

He confirmed that RA 229 (Kathmandu–Dubai) is scheduled to leave for Dubai at 11:15 tonight, with RA 230 (Dubai–Kathmandu) departing at 4:10am on Thursday. 

Only those passengers who had tickets booked between February 28 and March 9 and were unable to travel will be eligible for tonight's flight. 

The Corporation has urged all passengers to revalidate their tickets prior to traveling.

Following the completion of vote counting for the proportional representation segment of the House of Representatives (HoR) elections, 51 participating parties received fewer votes than the required threshold for parliamentary representation. 

In the elections held on March 5 under the proportional representation system, a total of 57 parties participated with a combined election symbol. Out of these, six parties are set to enter parliament, while 51 did not achieve the minimum votes required. 

The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that only parties securing at least three percent of the total valid votes will be granted seats. 

Deputy Spokesperson of the EC, Kul Bahadur GC, noted that there is a legal framework that treats the entire country as a single electoral constituency, allowing candidates from a party to be elected to the House of Representatives based on the total votes each party receives. 

He reported that out of 17,039,115 valid votes counted for proportional representation, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leads with 5,103,923 votes. 

The Nepali Congress (NC) garnered 1,749,583 votes, CPN-UML received 1,404,854 votes, the Nepali Communist Party (NCP) obtained 805,773 votes, the Shram Sanskriti Party (SSP) got 378,649 votes, and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) secured 329,472 votes. 

He added that the remaining parties did not surpass the threshold.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 46. 78 points to close at 2, 796. 57 points on Wednesday. 

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 8. 32 points to close at 481. 37 points.

A total of 36,049,451-unit shares of 329 companies were traded for Rs 1. 60 billion.

Meanwhile, Salapa Bikas Bank Limited (SABBL) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise,  Kalika power Company Ltd (KPCL) was the top loser as their price fell by 8. 47 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 70 trillion.