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A person died and 13 others sustained injuries in a Scorpio jeep accident at Adhabhar Jungle in Bara along the East-West Highway on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as jeep driver Loknath Sedhai (25) of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City-11, Bara.

The jeep (Ba 19 Cha 4377) was heading towards Hetauda from Simara when the incident occurred this morning, DSP Rajesh Thapa, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Bara said.

Prem Sah (22) of Bindabasini Rural Municipality-2, Parsa, Raju Gupta (12) of the same place and Nirmala Devi Sah of Jitpur Simara-7, who were critically injured in the incident, are undergoing treatment at the Birgunj-based Bayodha Hospital.

Others are receiving treatment in Simara-based Alpine Hospital and Birgunj-based Bayodha Hospital, DSP Thapa said.

A place in the Champions League semifinals secured. The dream of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies still intact. Key players rested amid a hectic schedule, Associated Press reported.

Liverpool is in a good place entering the home straight of what could turn out to be the club’s greatest ever season.

Even conceding two late goals to draw 3-3 at home to Benfica couldn’t take the smile of Jurgen Klopp’s face.

“The day we qualify for the semifinals of the Champions League and I’m not happy, please come here and knock me out,” the Liverpool manager said Wednesday after seeing his team advance from the quarterfinals 6-4 on aggregate.

With Liverpool inflicting significant damage by winning the first leg 3-1 in Lisbon last week, Klopp was confident enough to rest stars like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for a return match against Benfica that turned into a wild, end-to-end contest at Anfield, according to the Associated Press.

Roberto Firmino’s second-half double put Liverpool 3-1 ahead on the night and 6-2 ahead on aggregate, only for Klopp’s team to ease off the pace. Benfica took advantage by getting behind Liverpool’s makeshift defense to score through substitute Roman Yaremchuk and rising star Darwin Núñez, but the gap was too much to make up.

“It was pretty comfortable,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said, “but we’re disappointed with the goals we conceded.”

Ultimately, Liverpool has coasted into the last four of Europe’s top club competition and is there for the 12th time — tying the record for an English team with Manchester United — and the first since the last of its six title triumphs in 2019.

Villarreal awaits Liverpool in the last four. Despite the Spanish team eliminating both Juventus and Bayern Munich and its coach, Unai Emery, being a master strategist of European competitions, it’s pretty much a dream scenario for Klopp and his team, Associated Press reported.

The quadruple of major trophies might really be on for Liverpool, already the winner of the English League Cup, currently in second place in Premier League — just a point behind Manchester City — and into the semifinals of the FA Cup.

That Klopp was able to rotate so heavily against Benfica — even Andrew Robertson and Fabinho had the night off — should enable Liverpool to field a full-strength team against Man City in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

City wasn’t in such a luxurious position Wednesday, taken all the way by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital where a 0-0 draw sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory. City, which will face Real Madrid in the semifinals, saw Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker go off with injuries in an often brutal game against Atletico, on the same night Klopp kept his best players fresh and relied on his backups.

Ibrahima Konaté was one of them and he followed up his goal in the first leg — his first both for Liverpool and in the Champions League — with another header to open the scoring off Kostas Tsimikas’ outswinging corner, according to the Associated Press.

Gonçalo Ramos made it 1-1 in the 32nd minute — keeping Benfica in with the unlikeliest of chances — with a goal that had a hint of fortune about it. The ball ricocheted to the 20-year-old forward from a tackle by Liverpool midfielder James Milner and his finish from the edge of the area was emphatic past Alisson.

Firmino is no longer first choice for Liverpool following the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz but the Brazil striker staked his claim for a starting spot in the team’s big upcoming games with a double in the space of 10 minutes.

His first goal came after mistakes from goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who fumbled as he attempted to gather a through-ball, and center back Jan Vertonghen, who hurried his resulting clearance. Jota drove the ball back into the middle of the area and Firmino applied the finish in the 55th.

The Brazilian volleyed in Tsimikas’ free kick to make it 3-1 but Liverpool let Benfica back into the match.

“We were 6-2 up on aggregate and maybe we relaxed,” Jota said, Associated Press reported.

In the end, it was Pep Guardiola getting the better of Diego Simeone in the battle of contrasting styles in the Champions League, Associated Press reported.

Atlético Madrid couldn’t find a spark for its struggling attack and was held to a 0-0 draw by Guardiola’s Manchester City on Wednesday in a game that featured more heated exchanges and rough fouls than clear-cut chances and fluid play. 

The result put City through to the semifinals thanks to its 1-0 win in the first leg at home, and kept alive its hopes of winning Europe’s top club competition for the first time. 

But the game was marred by ugly scenes as the teams left the pitch. A scuffle had broken out between players during the final minutes as Atlético accused City of time wasting, and the animosity spilled over into the tunnel as the teams walked off after the game. Extra security had to be called in to keep players and officials from the two camps separate. Some players had to be restrained as police officers intervened, according to the Associated Press.

“We have to congratulate our rivals, they played a great match with the type of soccer that we are used to seeing,” Simeone said. “It hurts to be eliminated but I’m proud of what we are and of how we compete.”

Simeone started smiling and applauding when City resorted to time-wasting in stoppage time, though he later said he was only pushing his fans to keep supporting their team. He also appeared to take a shot at Guardiola when asked after the match if he felt the City coach had disrespected him by saying it was hard to play against overly defensive teams like Atlético.

“Many times, those who have a great lexicon, are very intelligent and are capable or praising you with a contempt,” Simeone said. But we are not fools, even though we may have a smaller lexicon.” 

Atlético tried to leave behind its more defensive-minded approach and created some danger, but it still managed only three attempts on target after having none in the first leg, Associated Press reported.

“In the second half, they were better than us and we were lucky that we didn’t concede,” said Guardiola, who became the first coach to reach nine Champions League semifinals. “Overall, though, we are in the semifinals and it’s deserved.”

The hosts played the final minutes a man down after defender Felipe was sent off for kicking an opponent. The benches had been cleared a few moments earlier as Atlético’s players appeared upset with City’s attempt to waste time.

The match ended with more than 12 minutes of stoppage time and Atlético had a couple of goods chances to break the deadlock but couldn’t capitalize on them. 

Runner-up last year, City will next face Real Madrid, which eliminated defending champion Chelsea on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

In the other quarterfinal on Wednesday, Liverpool advanced past Benfica to set up a semifinal against Villarreal, the modest Spanish club that eliminated Bayern Munich on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

At least six people were charred to death and 10 to 12 others were injured after a fire broke out at a chemical factory in the Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh, the police said Thursday, The Indian Express reported.

Superintendent of police Rahul Sharma said the fire in the factory at Akkireddygudem was possibly caused by a nitric acid leak. The state government has announced ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to those injured in the fire.

Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan expressed anguish over the fire accident and extended condolences to the bereaved families, according to The Indian Express.

Mumbai Indians inched closer towards elimination after setting themselves up for their first win, only to slump to their fifth defeat on trot as Punjab Kings won a high-scoring IPL thriller by 12 runs, The Indian Express reported.

A target of 199 looked imminently chaseable when teenagers Dewald Brevis (49 off 25 balls) and Tilak Varma (36 off 20 balls) were at the crease but Punjab bowlers did well enough to restrict MI to 186 for nine at the end of 20 overs.

India is willing to commit up to another $2 billion in financial assistance to Sri Lanka while also supporting the island nation with food and fuel, five sources told Reuters, as New Delhi tries to regain ground lost to China in recent years, The Indian Express reported.

“We are definitely looking to help them out and are willing to offer more swap lines and loans,” said an Indian source aware of various discussions with Sri Lanka.

A senior government source in New Delhi said Sri Lanka’s warning on Tuesday of defaulting on debt payments was a worry, but that “we can still give them up to $2 billion in swaps and support”.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister offered talks on Wednesday with protesters calling for the government to step down over its handing of an economic crisis as the opposition threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against it in parliament, according to The Indian Express.

However, Sri Lankans protesting outside the President’s Office in Colombo on Wednesday rejected Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapksa’s offer for talks and demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and all members of his family from the government.

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday lowered Sri Lanka’s foreign currency rating to “CC” from “CCC”, citing the economic crisis in the country and rising external funding pressures. “Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process is likely to be complicated and may take months to complete”, the ratings agency said in a statement.

While protests seeking the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is continuing in various parts of the country, the working-class in Sri Lanka is struggling to make both ends meet as the nation continues to battle economic crisis, The Indian Express reported.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin says her country will decide whether to apply to join Nato "within weeks", BBC reported.

She said she saw no reason to delay the decision, at a joint news conference alongside Sweden's prime minister.

Her comments coincided with a report to the Finnish parliament that said membership of the bloc could result in "increased tensions on the border between Finland and Russia". 

Moscow has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato in recent weeks. 

Finland and Sweden are militarily non-aligned but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted increasing public support to become members of the Western defensive alliance. Swedish leader Magdalena Andersson told reporters that the same "very serious analysis" was taking place as in Finland and she saw no point in delaying it.

Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported on Wednesday that Ms Andersson was aiming to apply for membership in time for a Nato summit in late June, according to BBC.

Finland shares a 1,340km (830 miles) border with Russia, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that Moscow would have to "rebalance the situation" with its own measures if the Nato bid went ahead. 

"I won't give any kind of timetable when we will make our decisions, but I think it will happen quite fast," said Ms Marin. She pointed out that Nato membership offered Finland the security guarantee of Article Five, whereby an attack on one member is viewed as an attack on all.

While the two leaders met in Stockholm, Finland's security review was being launched in Helsinki. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Russia's war had changed the security environment in Europe and forced the review of Finnish defence policy. 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is transforming European security. The Nato military alliance has been given new purpose and now - potentially - could get new members too, BBC reported.

Voters in Finland and Sweden have long cherished their non-aligned status. But now the mood is changing. Sanna Marin's predecessor as prime minister, Alexander Stubb, says the decision is a "foregone conclusion". 

Sweden is also looking afresh at Nato - the country's ruling Social Democrat party is reviewing its historic opposition to joining the alliance. 

But Russian spokesmen have repeatedly said any expansion of Nato would be considered a "provocation" and warned there would be "consequences".

The presidents of four countries on Russia’s doorstep visited Ukraine on Wednesday and underscored their support for the embattled country, where they saw heavily damaged buildings and demanded accountability for what they called war crimes carried out by Russian forces, Associated Press reported.

The visit by the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia was a strong show of solidarity from the countries on NATO’s eastern flank, three of them like Ukraine once part of the Soviet Union. The leaders traveled by train to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to meet with their counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and visited Borodyanka, one of the nearby towns where evidence of atrocities was found after Russian troops withdrew to focus on the country’s east. 

“The fight for Europe’s future is happening here,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said, calling for tougher sanctions, including against Russia’s oil and gas shipments and all the country’s banks. 

Elsewhere, in one of the most crucial battles of the war, Russia said more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops had surrendered in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces have been holding out in pockets of the city. A Ukrainian official denied the claim, which could not be verified. 

Russia invaded on Feb. 24 with the goal, according to Western officials, of taking Kyiv, toppling the government and installing a Moscow-friendly one. But the ground advance slowly stalled and Russia lost potentially thousands of fighters. The conflict has killed untold numbers of Ukrainian civilians and forced millions more to flee. It also has rattled the world economy, threatened global food supplies and shattered Europe’s post-Cold War balance.

A day after he called Russia’s actions in Ukraine “a genocide,” US President Joe Biden approved $800 million in new military assistance to Ukraine, saying weapons from the West have sustained Ukraine’s fight so far and “we cannot rest now.” The munitions include artillery systems, armored personnel carriers and helicopters, according to the Associated Press.

Appearing alongside Zelenskyy in an ornate room in Kyiv’s historic Mariinskyi Palace on Wednesday, Nauseda, Estonian President Alar Karis, Poland’s Andrzej Duda and Egils Levits of Latvia reiterated their commitment to supporting Ukraine politically and with military aid.

“We know this history. We know what Russian occupation means. We know what Russian terrorism means,” Duda said. He added that both those who committed war crimes and those who gave the orders should be held accountable.

“If someone sends aircraft, if someone sends troops to shell residential districts, kill civilians, murder them, this is not war,” he said. “This is cruelty, this is banditry, this is terrorism.”

In his daily late-night address, Zelenskyy noted that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 400 bodies were found, on Wednesday as an ICC investigation gets underway. Evidence of mass killings of civilians was found there after the Russian retreat.

“It is inevitable that the Russian troops will be held responsible. We will drag everyone to a tribunal, and not only for what was done in Bucha,” Zelenskyy said late Wednesday, Associated Press reported.

He also said work was continuing to clear tens of thousands of unexploded shells, mines and trip wires left behind in northern Ukraine by the departing Russians. He urged people returning to homes to be wary of any unfamiliar objects and report them to police.

Also Wednesday, a report commissioned by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe found “clear patterns of (international humanitarian law) violations by the Russian forces in their conduct of hostilities.” It was written by experts selected by Ukraine and published by the Vienna-based organization, which promotes security and human rights, according to the Associated Press.