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Records have tumbled and firefighters faced new blazes as much of Western Europe baked in a gruelling heatwave, BBC reported.

The UK, normally used to milder climates, saw temperatures of more than 40C (104F) for the first time. 

Germany saw its hottest day of the year so far while Portugal raised its death toll after days of excess heat. 

Deadly wildfires have swept the continent. The UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned there was worse to come.

Heatwaves have become more frequent and more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change.

"In the future these kinds of heatwaves are going to be normal, and we will see even stronger extremes," WMO chief Peterri Taalas said.

In addition to record temperatures in the UK, several fire services declared major incidents after a surge in fires.

A major blaze in Wennington, east London, set homes alight. Residents who had to be evacuated told the BBC that some eight homes and possibly a local church had been destroyed in the fire, while a firefighter at the scene described it as "absolute hell". 

In France, 64 different areas registered record-high temperatures on Monday, according to BBC. 

Although the all-time high for mainland France has not been topped, the south-west of the country has experienced its biggest wildfires in more than 30 years. Since 12 July, fires have engulfed more than 19,300 hectares (47,700 acres) of the wine-growing Gironde region.

Some 34,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes.

In Belgium, a fire broke out in dunes at the Belgian resort of De Haan, setting several vehicles alight. But following the ferocious heat, the country is now bracing itself for thunderstorms that could lead to 20-30mm of rain in some region, Le Soir newspaper reports.

On Tuesday, Germany experienced its hottest day of 2022. The national weather service recorded 39.3C at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT) in the western city of Duisburg.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands saw one of its hottest days on record on Tuesday with 39.5C in Maastricht, forecasters said.

Temperatures in Portugal have decreased significantly. However, more than 1,000 heatwave-related deaths have been recorded since last week. 

Wildfires have become a common consequence of these extreme temperatures across Europe. 

Central and north-western Spain has also been ravaged by wildfires. 

The Copernicus monitoring service - part of the EU's Earth observation programme - said total carbon emissions from wildfires between June and July are the highest seen in Spain for the period since 2003.

In Greece, a wildfire fuelled by gale-force winds raged on the mountainous region of Penteli, near Athens. It has damaged homes and and prompted local authorities to evacuate at least four areas and a hospital. 

Forecasters in Italy are warning of temperatures as high as 40-42C between Wednesday and Friday, BBC reported.

Several wildfires have already been reported in the country, and blazes that broke out on Monday evening in Tuscany were still raging on Tuesday afternoon.

Sri Lanka's MPs are set to vote for a new president after their former leader fled the country and quit amid protests over the country's economic crisis, BBC reported.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, currently interim leader, has been nominated for the role by the ruling party and is seen as the frontrunner.

But protesters want him to go too after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned. 

The PM faces a serious challenge from Dullas Alahapperuma, a dissident ruling party MP backed by the main opposition.

Whoever is elected by parliament will have a mandate to serve out the rest of Mr Rajapaksa's term, which ends in November 2024.

Sri Lanka is effectively bankrupt and facing acute shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies.

The country needs a stable government to continue stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.

Mr Rajapaksa's administration and family, which have ruled the country for nearly two decades, have been blamed for the current crisis, according to BBC.

He fled to the Maldives last week after crowds took over government buildings, demanding political leaders - including Mr Wickremesinghe - step down. Mr Rajapaksa then flew to Singapore and officially resigned late on Thursday.

A total of 225 parliamentarians are eligible to vote on Wednesday. If a contender receives more than half of the preferential vote, they win the position outright.

It is a three-way contest between Mr Wickremesinghe, Mr Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the left-wing National People's Power Party. 

Mr Alahapperuma is a senior MP from the governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) - the Rajapaksas' party which swept to victory in a landslide in the last elections.

A former minister under that administration, he was among the cabinet members who quit en masse shortly after protests began in April.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa was initially expected to run for president, but in a last-minute twist on Tuesday he withdrew from the race, saying it was for the "greater good" of the country. 

He added that his party - which has about a quarter of the seats in parliament - would work towards Mr Alahapperuma's victory. Reports say he could get the job of prime minister in such an eventuality, BBC reported.

Mr Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister who has never served a full term, is perhaps the most contentious of the three candidates.

Some protest organisers have vowed to continue demonstrating if he becomes president, with many pointing out that he has close links with the Rajapaksa family. 

"He came into power saying he was going to hold everyone accountable, the Rajapaksas even, but he did nothing," said university student Anjalee Wanduragala. 

"It's absurd to think that people are going to trust him again."

A US judge has ordered that Twitter's lawsuit against Elon Musk go to trial in October, a blow to the world's richest man who had asked for a delay, BBC reported.

Mr Musk walked away from his $44bn (£36bn) bid to buy Twitter earlier in July, prompting the company to sue him.

Twitter hopes that the court will order Mr Musk to complete the takeover at the agreed price of $54.20 per share.

The tech billionaire has accused Twitter of withholding information about fake accounts.

His legal team has called for the trial to be held early next year due to its complexities, but Twitter asked for a September date.

On Tuesday, a judge in the state of Delaware agreed with the company and said a delay to the trial would cast a "cloud of uncertainty".

"Delay threatens irreparable harm," Chancellor Kathaleen St Jude McCormick said. "The longer the delay, the greater the risk."

The lawsuit accused Mr Musk of a "long list" of violations ahead of the potential merger and argued that he had "cast a pall" over the company, according to BBC.

At the hearing on Tuesday, Twitter's lead counsel William Savitt said the ongoing uncertainty about whether the takeover would go forward or not "inflicts harm on Twitter everyday".

Nepal logged 357 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 857 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 268 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 500 people underwent antigen tests, of which 89 tested positive.

No one died due to the virus today.

The Ministry said that 62 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 1, 982 active cases in the country, the Ministry said.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 16. 27 points to close at 2,045.69 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2. 77 points to close at 391. 53 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 5,713,248 unit shares of 213 companies were traded for Rs 2. 29 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Life Insurance topped the chart with 80 points.

Meanwhile, Emerging Nepal Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 8. 01 percent. Civil Bank Debenture was the top loser as its price fell by 7. 75 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 92 trillion.

The Indian rupee hit a seventh straight session of record lows on Tuesday as weakness in domestic shares and currencies weighed, but dollar selling intervention by the central bank helped limit further losses, Reuters reported.

The US dollar hovered just above a one-week low reached overnight versus major peers as markets reduced the odds of a percentage-point Federal Reserve rate hike this month.

The partially convertible rupee was trading at 79.93/94 per dollar after hitting a record low of 80.05. The unit had ended at 79.97 on Monday, according to Reuters.

Spain's Health Ministry has said that 510 people died from heat-related causes in the first week of a heatwave when the mercury reached 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country, Xinhua reported.

The fatalities were reported by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) on Monday, which forms part of the Ministry, between July 10 and 16, with Saturday the deadliest to date with 150 victims.

According to the ISCIII System of Monitorisation of Daily Mortality, the number of heat-related deaths increased sharply as the heatwave escalated, Xinhua news agency reported.

It said deaths quadrupled from 15 to 60 in the four days from July 10 to 13. The figure then jumped further to 93 last Thursday and 123 on Friday, before reaching a climax of 150 on Saturday.

The toll is feared to rise even further when new figures are published for Sunday.

The heat is especially affecting the elderly, with 321 of the 510 victims aged 85 years or above, 121 between 75 and 84 years of age, and 44 between 65 and 74 years of age.

However, deaths were also reported among the younger population, including two municipal workers in Madrid who died of heatstroke. This prompted the city hall to adopt more flexible working hours, so that workers could avoid working outdoors during the hottest hours of the day.

Among the younger victims were also a fireman and a shepherd, who died in the wildfires that are engulfing Spain as well as some other areas in Southern Europe, according to Xinhua.

This is Spain's second heatwave of the summer. The previous one, from June 11 to 17, caused 829 deaths, according to ISCIII.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 93, 800 per tola today.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 93, 300 per tola.

The yellow metal was traded at Rs 94, 000 per tola on Monday. 

Similarly, the price of silver has decreased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,160 per tola today.