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A massive fire broke out at a shoe factory in Balaju on Wednesday.

According to Dinesh Mainali, spokesperson at the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, police with the help of locals and fire engines are trying to douse the fire.

The reason behind the fire is yet to be established.

"Construction stops, mortgage stops. Deliver homes and get repaid!"

That was one of the chants disgruntled apartment buyers in China used at a protest in June. But their ire over unfinished homes didn't stop at signs and chants.

Hundreds of them stopped paying their mortgages - a radical step for China, where dissent is not tolerated, BBC reported.

A young couple who moved to Zhengzhou in central China told the BBC that after receiving the down payment last year, the developer withdrew from the project and construction stalled.

"I have imagined countless times the joy of living in a new home, but now it all feels ridiculous," the woman, who did not wish to be named, said.

A woman in her late 20s who also bought a home in Zhengzhou told the BBC that she too is ready to stop paying her mortgage: "After the project is fully resumed, I'll continue paying."

Many of them can pay but are choosing not to, unlike the US subprime mortgage crisis in 2007 when money was lent to high-risk borrowers who then defaulted, according to BBC.

They have purchased homes in roughly 320 projects around the country, according to a crowd-sourced estimate on Github where homeowners have been posting about their decision. But it's unclear how many actually stopped paying. 

The boycotted loans could total $145bn (£120bn), S&P Global ratings estimates. Other analysts say it could be even higher.

The revolt has rattled authorities, focusing attention on a market already under pressure from a slowing economy and a serious cash crunch.

More alarmingly, it has signalled a lack of confidence in one of the main pillars of the world's second largest economy, BBC reported.

"Mortgage boycotts, driven by deteriorating sentiment toward property, are... a very serious threat to the financial position of the sector," think tank Oxford Economics said in a recent note.

Furious allies of former President Donald Trump are demanding an explanation for the FBI's raid on his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, BBC reported.

The FBI and Department of Justice have yet to comment on the search, which Mr Trump disclosed on Monday evening.

It is reportedly linked to an investigation into his handling of classified and sensitive material.

It was the first time a former US president's home has ever been searched by law enforcement.

Reports suggest the FBI activity is connected to an investigation into whether Mr Trump, a Republican, removed classified records from the White House and took them to Mar-a-Lago.

The search was approved at the highest levels of the Department of Justice (DoJ), an unnamed US official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. 

Republicans have depicted the investigation as politically motivated, with leading figures demanding a briefing from Attorney General Merrick Garland, head of the DoJ.

Mr Trump's former Vice-President, Mike Pence, who has subtly distanced himself amid speculation they may both launch 2024 White House runs, called on the attorney general to give "a full accounting" of why the search warrant was carried out. 

"No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history," he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Trump's allies in Congress, meanwhile, vowed to launch an investigation if they win back control of the House of Representatives and Senate in November's mid-term elections, when the balance of power in Washington will be decided, according to BBC.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that President Joe Biden was given no advance notice by the FBI of the raid, and that he "learned about this from public reports".

"The president was not briefed and was not aware of it. No-one at the White House was given a heads-up," she said. 

She told reporters that Mr Biden had gone to great lengths to preserve the independence of the justice department, adding: "President Biden believes in the rule of law."

The raid was first announced on Monday evening in a statement by the former president, who was at Trump Tower in New York City. 

Lindsey Halligan, a lawyer for Mr Trump, said she had received a call around 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT) that the FBI had a search warrant for Mar-a-Lago and that she should come to the property.

She said she saw 30 to 40 gloved FBI agents, some in suits and others dressed casually, and around 10 to 15 FBI vehicles, including a rental truck.

Ms Halligan told CBS she and another lawyer for Mr Trump were barred from entering the complex, and that the search was divided into three sections: a bedroom, office and storage area.

"Complete overkill," she said. "If they needed documents, they could have asked."

The Secret Service agents protecting Mr Trump were notified shortly before the warrant was served, an unnamed law enforcement official told CBS, BBC reported.

The war in Ukraine began with Crimea and must end with its liberation, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, BBC reported.

He was speaking just hours after a string of explosions hit a Russian airbase there, killing one person.

Mr Zelensky did not mention the blasts but devoted his nightly address to the peninsula, saying: "Crimea is Ukrainian and we will never give it up."

Russia has played down the explosions, and a top Ukrainian adviser denied Ukraine was responsible.

Crimea is officially part of Ukraine but was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a referendum which the international community sees as illegitimate. Many Ukrainians see this as the start of their war with Russia.

Footage on social media showed beachgoers running as the explosions hit, with witnesses saying they had heard at least 12 blasts. Crimea's Russian-appointed health department said one civilian had been killed and another eight injured.

Russia's defence ministry insisted the blasts were down to ammunition that had exploded in a store - although this has not been independently verified, according to BBC.

And Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak denied that Ukraine was behind the blasts, telling the Dozhd online television channel: "Of course not. What do we have to do with this?"

Any attack on Crimea by Ukraine would be considered deeply serious by Moscow. Russia sounded a warning last month when ex-President Dmitry Medvedev threatened that "Judgement Day will instantly await" if Ukraine targeted Crimea.

Mr Zelensky did not refer to the blasts in his speech on Tuesday, but spoke at length about the peninsula, saying: "We will not forget that the Russian war against Ukraine began with the occupation of Crimea.

"This Russian war...began with Crimea and must end with Crimea - with its liberation," he said.

Mr Zelensky's latest remarks suggest he believes that Ukraine must retake the peninsula before the war can end - but in the past he has said different things on the issue, according to BBC.

He previously indicated Ukraine could accept peace if Russia returned to their positions before 24 February, meaning retaking Crimea would not be considered a requirement.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk sold $6.9 billion worth of shares in the electric vehicle maker, tweeting it was important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock amid a legal showdown with Twitter over a $44 billion takeover deal, Reuters reported.

Musk, the world's richest person, had said in April that there were "no further TSLA sales planned" - after he sold $8.5 billion worth of shares in the company back then.

But legal experts have suggested that if Musk loses his battle against Twitter and is forced to complete the acquisition or pay a stiff penalty, he could conceivably have to sell more Tesla shares.

Musk tore up his April 25 agreement to buy the social media platform and the two sides face a drawn-out legal battle that could still cost Musk billions of dollars. The two sides head to trial on Oct. 17.

In the latest stock sale, Musk sold about 7.92 million shares between Aug.5 and Aug.9, according to multiple filings. He now owns 155.04 million shares in Tesla, according to Reuters.

The latest sales bring total stock sales by Musk to about $32 billion in less than one year.

Saying “the countdown has begun,” 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williamsannounced Tuesday she is ready to step away from tennis so she can turn her focus to having another child and her business interests, presaging the end of a career that transcended sports, Associated Press reported.

In an essay released Tuesday by Voguemagazine, and a post on Instagram — the sorts of direct-to-fans communication favored these days by celebrities, a category she most definitely fits — Williams was not completely clear on the timeline for her last match, but she made it sound as if that could be at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 29 in New York.

“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness do I enjoy tennis. But now, the countdown has begun,” Williams, who turns 41 next month, wrote on Instagram. “I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different, but just (as) exciting Serena. I’m gonna relish these next few weeks.”

Williams, one of the greatest and most accomplished athletes in the history of her — or any other — sport, wrote in the essay that she does not like the word “retirement” and prefers to think of this stage of her life as “evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

“I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads,” she wrote. “I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”

That she would be publicly contemplating the end of her playing days is not all that surprising, given her age — her 10 Grand Slam titles after turning 30 are unsurpassed — her history of injuries and her recent record: one victory in a singles match in the past 12 months (that win arrived Monday in Toronto; she is scheduled to play again on Wednesday), according to Associated Press.

“Serena Williams is a generational, if not multigenerational, talent who had a profound impact on the game of tennis, but an even greater influence on women in sports, business and society. At a time when our nation and the world have wrestled with essential issues of identity, Serena has stood as a singular exemplar of the best of humanity after breaking through countless barriers to her participation and ultimate success,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said. “She leaves an indelible legacy of grace and grit that will inspire athletes, female and male, for many generations to come. We can’t thank her enough for all she has done for our sport.”

Williams’ status as an athlete, and a groundbreaker, is obvious to everyone. 

Putting all speculations to rest, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday made a BIG announcement – ''alliance with the BJP is over.''

Although a formal announcement is yet to be made in this regard, sources said that Nitish Kumar-led JDU has decided to part ways with the BJP during a crucial meeting of party MLAs, ZEE reported.

The Election Commission has said that it would make the voter education program effective to prevent the invalidation of ballot papers in the elections.

At a program organized at the Election Commission on Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya said that the voter education program would be made effective by correcting the past mistakes.

During a discussion with the mediapersons, EC spokesperson Shaligram Sharma Paudel said that the poll body sought suggestions to make the voter education more effective.

He further said that the 116 parties registered at the Commission have been urged to register the parties again to take part in the upcoming elections.

Paudel said that an application with the decision of the Central Committee should be submitted to the Election Commission if two or more than two parties want to contest the elections with the same electoral symbol.

He was of the opinion that the preparations for the upcoming elections are going on in full swing.

The federal and provincial elections are going to be held on November 20.