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The All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU), the student wing of CPN-UML, staged a demonstration in the Capital on Wednesday demanding adjustment of prices of petroleum products.

The cadres of ANNFSU staged the demonstration outside the Nepal Oil Corporation.

They staged the demonstration to pile pressure on the government on adjust the prices of petroleum products based on the price list sent by the supplier Indian Oil Corporation.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 95, 300 per tola today.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 94, 800 per tola.

The yellow metal was traded at Rs 95, 600 per tola on Sunday.

Similarly, the price of silver has decreased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,210 per tola today.

A person died and another was injured when a truck hit a motorbike they were riding on at Surtibikaschowk in Gaushala Municipality-1 of Mahottari on Wednesday.

Haridev Sahani (28) of Rajkhor, Gaushala Municipality-4 died when the truck (Na 4 Kha 3331) hit the two-wheeler.

Police said that the incident occurred when Sahani was going to drop his son Dilip to the school.

Critically injured in the incident, he was taken to the Provincial Hospital in Janakpur but breathed his last on the way, the Area Police Office, Gaushala said.

Police said that Dilip was injured in the incident and is undergoing treatment in Bardibas.

Inspector Ranaj Mishra said that they have impounded the truck and arrested its driver for investigation.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

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."