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Four persons were injured when a suspicious object exploded while picking jimbu (a dried herb) at Tetang in Muktichettra Rural Municipality-3 of Mustang district on Tuesday.

The District Administration Office, Mustang said that the incident occurred at around 5 pm yesterday.

The injured have been identified as Res Rokka Magar (23), Tika Buda Magar (19), Tejendra Roka Magar (25) and Dilip Roka Magar (25).

Chief District Officer of Mustang Netra Prasad Sharma said that the injured have been referred to Pokhara for further treatment from Jomsom Hospital.

They are said to be in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the District Police Office, Mustang said that a team of the Area Police Office, Chusanga under the leadership of Sub-Inspector Padam Rana has headed towards the incident site for investigation.

Hundreds of families of Baraha Municipality of Sunsari and Belka Municipality of Udayapur have been displaced after the Saptakoshi river gushed into human settlements following incessant rainfall.

The floodwaters of Koshi river gushed into the human settlements and arable land of Sri Lanka Island from Dumribot after India did not open all the gates of Koshi Barrage.

Locals of Barahachettra of Sunsari and Belka Municipality of Udayapur have been terrorized after the Koshi river changed the direction.

Badri Rai of Sri Lanka Island of Barahachettra Municipality-6 said that the Koshi river changed the direction towards west after 39 years as India did not open the doors of Koshi Barrage.

He was of the opinion that the Koshi will cause a huge damage if it is not controlled immediately.

Local Bikram Pandey said that the locals have started going to safer places after the flood water entered Sri Lanka Island.

Hundred houses are at high risk of floods after the Koshi river entered the Sri Lanka Island via Dumribot, Sisaulighat, Dhauri Island and Chilime.

The local administration has been facing difficulties to control the floods though it has mobilized Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel, Chief District Officer of Sunsari Indra Des Yadav said.

Ramesh Karki, Mayor of Barahachettra Municipality of Sunsari, said that hundreds of families have been displaced after the Koshi changed the direction towards the west.

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire have received the most Twitter abuse of any Premier League players, a new report has found, BBC reported.

Ofcom analysis of 2.3 million tweets in the first half of last season found nearly 60,000 abusive posts, affecting seven in 10 top-flight players.

Half of that abuse was directed at just 12 individuals - eight from United.

However, the study by the Alan Turing Institute also found the vast majority of fans use social media responsibly, according to BBC.

"These findings shed light on a dark side to the beautiful game," said Kevin Bakhurst, Ofcom's group director for broadcasting and online content.

"Online abuse has no place in sport, nor in wider society, and tackling it requires a team effort."

The US has urged its citizens to be vigilant against possible anti-American violence abroad following the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, BBC reported.

His death could prompt al-Qaeda supporters or other linked terror groups to target US facilities and personnel, said the state department.

Zawahiri was killed by a US drone in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.

He had helped mastermind the 9/11 attacks on the US in which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.

The 71-year-old Egyptian doctor took over al-Qaeda after the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

The killing was confirmed on Monday by US President Joe Biden, who said Zawahiri had carved "a trail of murder and violence" against American citizens.

Mr Biden said Zawahiri's death would bring closure to families of the victims of the 2001 attacks, in which hijackers crashed passenger jets into landmark buildings in New York and Washington - including two skyscrapers in Manhattan.

He added that Zawahiri had also masterminded other acts of violence, including the suicide bombing of the USS Cole naval destroyer in Aden in October 2000, which killed 17 US sailors, and the 1998 attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in which 223 people died, according to BBC.

"The Department of State believes there is a higher potential for anti-American violence given the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on 31 July 2022," the department said in a worldwide caution update.

"Current information suggests that terrorist organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions across the globe," it added.

"These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings." 

US citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a "high level of vigilance and practice good situational awareness" when travelling abroad, the alert added, BBC reported.

Friends who know I am in Taiwan have been sending me increasingly alarming messages - "I hope you have your flak jacket with you!" "Does your hotel have a bomb shelter?" 

They've seen the fire-breathing rhetoric coming from Chinese state media, most notably the Global Times, and have concluded that Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan could end very badly, BBC reported.

Indeed some very eminent US-based China scholars have said the same, calling the visit "reckless" and warning against "pushing Beijing into a corner". 

That's not how it's viewed here. 

Freddy Lim is a one-time heavy metal singer, and now a ruling party MP. These days Freddy sports a short haircut and a smart shirt, but tattoos still peek out from beneath his neatly pressed cuffs.

"There is a basic principle that we welcome high level politicians like Nancy Pelosi coming to Taiwan. It's very important. It is not a provocation against China. It is welcoming a friend in a normal way, just like any other country," he told the BBC.

This is something all the main political parties in Taiwan agree on.

Charles Chen is an MP for the opposition KMT (Kuomintang) party, and a former presidential spokesman. 

"I think this time if Speaker Pelosi can come to Taiwan, it will be a crucial time for the United States to show support to Taiwan, to Taiwan's democracy," he said. 

From Taiwan's point of view the arrival here of the third most powerful politician in the US carries huge symbolic significance. It also serves to normalise such high-level visits, which Taiwan would like to see a lot more of (the last one was 25 years ago).

But by itself Nancy Pelosi's visit does not change the fundamental calculus - that Taiwan's status as a free and democratic society is in jeopardy, according to BBC.

There is a growing realisation that China's threats to "reunifying the island, by force if necessary" are real, and that China now vastly outmatches Taiwan in military capability.

Last week Taiwan showed off its military power in a five-day extravaganza of live fire drills and air and naval manoeuvres called Han Kuang 38. 

To the casual observer it was an impressive show of modern military might. To specialists it showed just how far Taiwan has fallen behind China. 

Its tanks, artillery and fighter jets are old, its navy ships lack the most modern radar and missile systems and it has no modern submarines. 

There's little doubt that in a head-to-head fight, China would win. But what would trigger a Chinese attack? For Beijing the red line has traditionally been a formal declaration of independence by Taiwan.

Mr Chen says the current government of President Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been getting dangerously close to that. 

"The condition for Beijing to attack Taiwan may be that it believes Taiwan is going independent and there's no way to draw back," he says. 

"So, if in the next presidential election the DPP candidate wins again, then maybe Beijing will make a decision to make an early attack on Taiwan to prevent it going independent." 

That is a rather self-serving argument from a party that is desperate to get back in to power. But it does illustrate the deep dividing line in Taiwan politics. 

On one side is the KMT, which wants to assure Beijing that Taiwan will not change the status quo. On the other are those like Freddy Lim, who believe placating China has failed and that the only answer is for Taiwan to have a stronger defence. 

"We have tried to appease China for decades. And it just proves we cannot appease them," he says.

"After the Ukraine war, the polls clearly show that Taiwanese people support having a stronger defence... Especially the younger generation show a strong will to defend our own country."

Mr Lim is right that the Ukraine war has had a big impact here. 

Last weekend at a disused factory building half an hour outside Taipei, I watched around 30 young men and women learning basic gun skills. The weapons are powered by compressed air, but otherwise are identical to the real thing. The training company is run by Max Chiang.

"Since February the numbers joining has jumped by 50% and the number of women joining is now 40-50% of some classes," he tells me.

"People have begun to realise the reality that a stronger country could invade a smaller neighbouring country. They've seen what happened in Ukraine and it shows what could happen here."

In a building next door, a more advanced group is going through street fighting scenarios. This group is in full camouflage, with body armour, helmets and radio communications gear, BBC reported.

At a table loading her gun is Lisa Hsueh. 

"If our tensions with China lead to war, I'll stand up to protect myself and my family. That is the reason that I learned to use a gun," she says.

"Women like me don't go fight at the front line. But if a war breaks out, we will be able to protect ourselves in our homes."

I ask her why she believes it's important to be ready to fight for Taiwan. 

"I cherish our freedom. We live in a democratic country. So, these are our basic rights. And we must uphold these values," she answers. 

"China is a country without democratic rights. So I feel blessed to have grown up in Taiwan."

China has branded a landmark visit to Taiwan by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "extremely dangerous," BBC reported.

It accused Ms Pelosi, the most senior US politician in 25 years to visit the island China claims as its own, of "playing with fire".

"Those who play with fire will perish by it," Beijing warned in a statement.

US national security spokesperson John Kirby said there was "no reason for this visit to become a spurring event for a crisis or conflict".

Speaking after she arrived, he reiterated to reporters that the trip was consistent with the US's long-standing policy towards China and did not violate the country's sovereignty.

As her plane touched down, Chinese state media reported that its military jets were crossing the Taiwan strait. Taiwan denied those reports at the time - but later said that more than 20 Chinese military planes had entered its air defence zone on Tuesday.

China - which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province which will one day unite with it - has previously warned that its armed forces "will not stand idly by".

Within an hour of the plane's arrival, it announced that the People's Liberation Army will conduct a series of live-fire military drills in the air and at sea around Taiwan later this week - warning ships and aircraft not to enter the affected areas.

It follows days of escalating tensions ahead of the visit, in which Chinese warplanes had already ventured out as far as the median line, the unofficial dividing line separating China and Taiwan in the waters between them.

Earlier, Ms Pelosi said her visit honoured "America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy" and did not contradict US policy.

In her statement, Ms Pelosi said: "America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy."

And in an article published in the Washington Post newspaper at the same time, Ms Pelosi also wrote that Taiwan's "robust democracy... is under threat".

"In the face of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) accelerating aggression, our congressional delegation's visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan, our democratic partner, as it defends itself and its freedom," she said, according to BBC.

While Ms Pelosi's visit had been the subject of huge international speculation for days, it had been shrouded in secrecy until the last minute.

When she set off on a tour of Asia on Sunday, there was no mention of Taiwan on her official itinerary, which included Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

The White House has been open in its opposition to any such trip, and President Joe Biden said the military assessed it as "not a good idea".

But after Ms Pelosi landed, the White House's Mr Kirby told CNN this visit was similar to previous trips by other officials.

"There is no reason for this to erupt into conflict. There's no change to our policy. This is absolutely consistent with it."

Addressing the strong reaction from China, he said: "The United States is not going to be intimidated by threats."

There are signs that Ms Pelosi's visit is garnering bipartisan support from Republican opponents who would usually be very unlikely to count themselves among her fan base, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Washington.

The latest opposition politician to back her, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, said: "You do not want the Chinese Communist party dictating to senior American leaders where they can and cannot travel."

He added: "She's there, we're supporting the trip and we're closing ranks behind her."

China exerts international pressure on other nations to accept its "One China" principle - that there is only one Chinese nation, based in Beijing. Only 15 nations in the world have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Long-standing US policy has been to recognise the Beijing government, but also maintain "robust unofficial" relations with Taiwan. That includes selling weapons for Taiwan to defend itself.

As Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Ms Pelosi is second in line for the US presidency after the vice-president. Yet she is also a long-standing critic of Beijing.

As a congresswoman in 1991, two years after the Chinese government cracked down hard on protesters in Tiananmen Square, she visited the site of the demonstrations and unfurled a banner in memory of those who died - sparking an angry response from the government there, BBC reported.

Ms Pelosi is expected to stay overnight, Taiwanese media have reported, and meet members of the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday, as well as Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military maneuvers in retaliation for her presence, Associated Press reported.

Pelosi flew in aboard a US Air Force passenger jet and was greeted on the tarmac at Taipei’s international airport by Taiwan’s foreign minister and other Taiwanese and American officials. She posed for photos before her motorcade whisked her unseen into the parking garage of a hotel.

Her visit ratcheted up tension between China and the United States because China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and it views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island’s sovereignty.

The Biden administration, and Pelosi, say the United States remains committed to the so-called one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.

The speaker framed the trip as part of a broader mission at a time when “the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.” Her visit comes after she led a congressional delegation to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the spring, and it serves as a capstone to her many years of promoting democracy abroad.

“We must stand by Taiwan,” she said in an opinion piece published by The Washington Post on her arrival in Taiwan. She cited the commitment that the US made to a democratic Taiwan under a 1979 law.

“It is essential that America and our allies make clear that we never give in to autocrats,” she wrote.

Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory and has not ruled out using military force to take it.

The Biden administration did not explicitly urge Pelosi to call off her plans. It repeatedly and publicly assured Beijing that the visit did not signal any change in US policy toward Taiwan.

Soon after Pelosi’s arrival, China announced a series of military operations and drills, which followed promises of “resolute and strong measures” if Pelosi went through with her visit, according to Associated Press.

The People’s Liberation Army said the maneuvers would take place in the waters and skies near Taiwan and include the firing of long-range ammunition in the Taiwan Strait.

“This action is a solemn deterrent against the recent major escalation of the negative actions of the United States on the Taiwan issue, and a serious warning to the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces seeking ‘independence.’”

China’s official Xinhua News said the army planned to conduct live-fire drills from Aug. 4 to Aug. 7 across multiple locations. An image released by the news agency indicated that the drills were to take place in six different areas in the waters surrounding Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Washington’s betrayal “on the Taiwan issue is bankrupting its national credibility.”

“Some American politicians are playing with fire on the issue of Taiwan,” Wang said in a statement that referred to the U.S. as “the world’s biggest saboteur of peace.”

Back in the United States, 26 Republican lawmakers issued a statement of rare bipartisan support for the Democratic speaker. The statement called trips by members of Congress to Taiwan routine.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell backed Pelosi’s visit as a display of support for Taiwan’s democracy and said any allegations that her itinerary was provocative were “utterly absurd.”

“I believe she has every right to go,” McConnell said in a Senate speech.

Senators are considering legislation to bolster Taiwan’s defense as direct response to China’s rhetoric. The Taiwan Policy Act, which has support from both parties, will be discussed Wednesday by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The package would bolster Taiwan’s defense capabilities with nearly $4.5 billion in security assistance over the next four years and provide other support for Taiwan’s democratic government and civil society. The measure would also designate Taiwan as a “major non-NATO ally,” which opens the door to more security and trade benefits.

Backers call it the most comprehensive restructuring of US policy toward Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, Associated Press reported.

Pelosi’s trip was not officially announced ahead of time.

Barricades were erected outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei. Journalists and onlookers thronged the streets just outside and pressed against the hotel’s lobby windows as they awaited Pelosi’s motorcade. Two buildings in the capital lit up LED displays with words of welcome, including the iconic Taipei 101 building, which said “Welcome to Taiwan, Speaker Pelosi.”

China has stepped up overflights and other provocative moves toward Taiwan and neighboring territory in recent years, asserting broad claims of its rights around the region.

China’s military threats have driven concerns about a new crisis in the 100-mile-wide (140-kilometer) Taiwan Strait that could roil global markets and supply chains.

The White House insisted that China had no valid cause for anger.

“The United States will not seek, and does not want, a crisis,” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, told a White House briefing Tuesday. “At the same time, we will not engage in saber-rattling.”

U.S. officials have said the American military will increase its movements in the Indo-Pacific region during Pelosi’s visit. The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group were in the Philippine Sea on Monday, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The Reagan, the cruiser USS Antietam and the destroyer USS Higgins left Singapore after a port visit and moved north to their home port in Japan.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday that China had sent 21 planes flying toward Taiwan, 18 of them fighter jets. The rest included an early warning plane and an electronic warfare plane.

Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi, head of one of three branches of the U.S. government, is the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.

Pelosi’s aircraft, an Air Force version of the Boeing 737, took a roundabout route, flying east over Indonesia rather than directly over the South China Sea, according to Associated Press.

The speaker has long challenged China on human rights, including traveling to Tiananmen Square in 1991, two years after China crushed a wave of democracy protests.

In 2009, she hand-delivered a letter to then-President Hu Jintao calling for the release of political prisoners. She had sought to visit Taiwan’s island democracy earlier this year before testing positive for COVID-19.

China has been steadily ratcheting up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. China cut off all contact with Taiwan’s government in 2016 after President Tsai Ing-wen refused to endorse its claim that the island and mainland together make up a single Chinese nation, with the communist regime in Beijing being the sole legitimate government.

Pelosi kicked off her Asian tour Monday in Singapore. She is to travel to Japan and South Korea later this week.

A Pakistani military helicopter carrying a senior commander and five others crashed on a mountain during a flood relief operation and all on board were killed, the military and police said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The army aviation helicopter, which was helping with flood relief work in Balochistan province, lost contact with air traffic control on Monday.

"The accident occurred due to bad weather," the military said in a statement.

The wreckage was found on a mountain in Lasbela district, senior provincial police officer Pervez Umrani told Reuters.

The commander of the south Pakistan-based 12 Corps, Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, was among those killed, the military said, according to Reuters.

Southern Pakistan has been hit hard by floods after unusually heavy monsoon rains. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of homes have been swept away.