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Sir Keir Starmer's plan for an international force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine has been dismissed as "a posture and a pose" by Donald Trump's special envoy, BBC reported.

Steve Witkoff said the idea was based on a "simplistic" notion of the UK prime minister and other European leaders thinking "we have all got to be like Winston Churchill".

In an interview with pro-Trump journalist Tucker Carlson, Witkoff praised Vladimir Putin, saying he "liked" the Russian president.

"I don't regard Putin as a bad guy," he said. "He's super smart."

Witkoff, who met Putin ten days ago, said the Russian president had been "gracious" and "straight up" with him. Putin told him, he added, that he had prayed for Trump after an assassination attempt against him last year. He also said Putin had commissioned a portrait of the US president as a gift and Trump was "clearly touched by it".

During the interview, Witkoff repeated various Russian arguments, including that Ukraine was "a false country" and asked when the world would recognise occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian, according to BBC.

Witkoff is leading the US ceasefire negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine but he was unable to name the five regions of Ukraine either annexed or partially occupied by Russian forces.

Israel has carried out multiple air strikes on Lebanon after several rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, in the worst violence since a ceasefire came into effect in November, BBC reported.

The Israeli military said it had hit dozens of rocket launchers and a command centre belonging to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political group, in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's health ministry said seven people, including a child, were killed and 40 injured in the air strikes.

Several armed groups operate in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Palestinian factions, and no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hours after the first set of strikes, a second wave of attacks were carried out at night on targets that included what the Israeli military described as command centres, infrastructure sites and a weapons storage facility in Lebanon.

Saturday's rocket attack from Lebanon came days after Israel reinforced its offensive against Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, in Gaza, according to BBC.

The Israeli military said it had intercepted three rockets in the northern Israeli town of Metula, and there were no casualties.

Hezbollah said it had no involvement, and it remained committed to the ceasefire.

The weather is partly to generally cloudy in the hilly regions of the country including Koshi, Bagmati and Madhes provinces and clear the rest of the country. 

However, light rain with thunder and lightning is occurring at one or two places in Koshi and Madhes provinces. This is because the country is currently under the partial influence of a westerly low-pressure system as well as local winds, says Meteorological Forecasting Division.

Later this afternoon, the weather will remain partly to generally cloudy in Koshi, Madhes, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and clear in the remaining provinces. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder and lightning at some places in Koshi and Bagmati provinces and at one or two places in Madhes and Gandaki provinces. There is also a possibility of light snowfall at one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous parts of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces.

Tonight, the weather will remain partly cloudy in Koshi province and clear in the rest of the country. There is a possibility of light rain with thunder and lightning at one or two places in Koshi Province, as well as light snowfall at one or two places in the high hilly and mountainous regions.

The World Meteorological Day is being observed by organising a variety of activities across the world, including in Nepal. 

The day is observed at the initiative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) commemorating the coming into force of the Convention establishing the World Meteorological Organization on 23 March 1950. It showcases the essential contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to the safety and wellbeing of society and is celebrated with activities around the world. 

The theme for World Meteorological Day 2025 is "Closing the early warning gap together".

Issuing a statement President of WMO, Dr Abdulla Al Mandous has urged all WMO Members to intensify their efforts and achieve significant progress in closing the early warning gap together. "Through enhanced collaboration, innovation, and commitment, we can build a safer and more resilient world for all," reads the statement.

Climate change is a real and undeniable threat to our entire civilization. The effects are already visible and will be catastrophic unless we act now. Early warnings for all make economic sense. On a global scale, every US dollar invested in early warnings is estimated to result in 9 US dollars in net economic benefits, says the WMO. 

It may be noted that the WMO recently confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record. Changes in our environment are driving more extreme weather events. Rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, devastating rainfall, storm surges, flooding, deadly droughts, and wildfires are on the rise. Sea levels are increasing, exposing densely populated coastal areas to coastal inundation and ocean wave impacts. The societal effects of these events continue long after the headlines fade.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has emphasized the need to promote and increase consumption of locally produced goods. 

Inaugurating the third general convention of Federation of Nepalese Industries and Entrepreneurs,  People's organization of the CPN (UML), here today, Prime Minister Oli urged to make the country self-sufficient, stressing on national production and consumption. 

He expressed the view that the government was ready to encourage the production of domestic goods in this sector. 

Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav has said feasibility study of reservoir-based large drinking water projects was underway for long-term solution of drinking water. 

In today's meeting of the National Assembly, responding to a query of lawmaker Bhuwan Bahadur Sunar, Minister Yadav mentioned that the ministry has forwarded a feasibility study of reservoir based large drinking water projects including managing drinking water through wholesale distribution system making diversion of Sunkoshi and Raptikhola rivers in order to resolve drinking water problems. 

He added that projects related to deep boring have been started from the concerned project office in order to resolve the problems immediately in Tarai districts as the level of groundwater in Tarai-Madhes districts is decreasing.  

"Preparation of budget was underway in order to bring 280 drinking water projects including overhead tanks coordinating with provinces and local levels will be in operation from next fiscal year," shared Minister Yadav, adding that construction activities of 38 drinking water projects of Tarai-Madhes have been forwarded taking multi-year resource consent from the Ministry of Finance in the current fiscal year.  

The Water Supply Minister further said that there is a plan of initiating activities to carry out study and research to revive the water sources in hilly and mountainous areas and protection of water source with the collaboration of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. 

Activities to install chlorination units at every drinking water plant have been started to ensure safe drinking water, he mentioned. 

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has prioritized the construction of pumped storage hydropower projects to manage daily electricity demand fluctuations and enhance the country’s energy security. The NEA’s Project Development Department has identified 156 potential pumped storage projects nationwide.

Of these, 33 projects with a combined capacity of 42,000 MW have been shortlisted and categorized. A feasibility study is underway for a 332 MW pumped storage project in Syarphu Lake, Rukum (West), after obtaining a survey permit. Additionally, the 670 MW Dudhkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Project is studying a 200 MW pumped storage component.

A feasibility study is also being conducted for the 1,596 MW Hulingtar-Dukim Pumped Storage Project in Dhading’s Benighat Rorang and Chitwan’s Ichhakamana rural municipalities. Located near Kathmandu, this project benefits from access to roads, transmission lines, and other necessary infrastructure. The NEA’s Project Development Department is currently conducting a Detailed Engineering Study (DEX) for the project.

The project involves constructing two reservoirs by building 45-meter and 103-meter-high dams on the Hugdi (upper) and Mowa (lower) rivers, respectively. The power plant will be situated on the Mowa River. Electricity will be generated using water stored in the Hugdi reservoir, and after generation, the water will be pumped back from the Mowa reservoir to Hugdi. The project is designed to operate at full capacity for six hours during peak demand periods.

Pumped storage projects store water in an upstream reservoir during off-peak hours when energy prices are low. This stored water is later used to generate electricity during peak hours when demand and prices are higher. These projects play a crucial role in power system stability, peak demand management, and surplus energy utilization. They also enable Nepal to generate and consume electricity efficiently while exporting surplus energy to India at premium rates during peak periods.

On Saturday, NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising, Project Development Director Nasibman Pradhan, and other officials inspected the Hulingtar-Dukim project site. Ghising highlighted the project’s advantages over others due to its strategic location, favorable environmental and social conditions, accessibility, infrastructure availability, and proximity to transmission lines and power demand centers.

Ghising stated that the project would initially be developed with a capacity of 510 MW in the first phase, eventually expanding to full capacity. “The process of obtaining a survey permit will be prioritized to accelerate construction,” he said. The project is expected to generate approximately 3.36bn units of electricity annually, with an estimated cost of $587,000 per megawatt.

The government has initiated preparations to prioritize programs in the upcoming fiscal year's budget aimed at addressing the challenges that Nepal could face following its graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2026.

Concerns have been raised that Nepal’s current benefits in the global market may diminish after graduation. Post-graduation, Nepal will lose certain trade-related intellectual property advantages which could negatively affect Nepali products. However, government officials believe that proactive policy and diplomatic efforts could help mitigate these risks and maintain existing benefits.

In 2021, the UN General Assembly approved Nepal’s transition from an LDC to a developing country, based on the recommendation of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy. 

The Ministry of Finance has been engaging in discussions with relevant agencies to integrate the roadmap for Nepal’s graduation into the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. Intensive consultations have taken place between the National Planning Commission, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, and the Ministry of Finance on the issue.

Officials insist that there won’t be much impact from waiver of facilities post-graduation as it would not affect Nepal’s exports to India, its largest trading partner, which accounts for two-thirds of the country’s total trade. As a close neighbor, Nepal enjoys special concessions under bilateral agreements, which will remain intact even after graduation.

Nepal’s exports to China, where it enjoys duty-free access for several products, will also remain unaffected. Although current exports to China are minimal, the northern neighbor holds significant potential as a future export market for Nepal.

However, exports to other markets, such as the United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom—where Nepal currently benefits from LDC privileges—could face problems, according to finance ministry officials. They added that grant assistance could also diminish gradually post-graduation.

The finance ministry has stated that preparations are already underway to formulate new policies to address these issues. The goal is to align the graduation process with the budget’s objectives for sustainable development, a finance ministry official said.

During recent discussions, officials underlined the need to develop policies, plans and programs that will ensure the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 is both smooth and sustainable and aligns with Nepal’s post-graduation strategies.

The finance ministry plans to support sustainable economic growth and job creation through fiscal policy, stable monetary policy and the effective operation of development assistance. Additionally, trade analysis and enhancing capacity and financial access for high-return projects are also among the ministry’s key priorities.

The criteria for LDC graduation include per capita gross national income, human asset index and economic and environmental vulnerability indicators, among others.

Officials say Nepal is expected to benefit from strengthened access to development and business investments, new trade and economic partnerships, sustainable development, enhanced national image, and increased credibility, among others, post-graduation.